Long-windedness
Sunday, November 27, 2011 @ 10:29 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
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| I squeal (whether inwardly or aloud) whenever I see Erik. |
The time-gap between my posts is getting longer. Well, it's not like I have readers who check on this site regularly anyway. But here I am, trying to breathe some life into this place. Or type some life, in this case. This is an awfully long post, by the way.
Labels: Birthdays, classouting, Movies
When Writers Write
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 @ 12:56 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I think I ought to post about the Writers' Festival before I forget.
Stella and Ms Gamar managed to get tickets for us for three of the events held during the Singapore Writers' Festival. I chose to go for 'Balancing the Books: Creativity VS the Bottomline', a panel discussion about the compromise between writing and money. Two writers, Michael Chabon and Joe Haldeman, were present and answered many questions which were raised by the moderator and from the floor. I was amused by their frankness and witty remarks. The writers also made clear the difference between writing for money and writing for passion. I'm not sure if I'd ever be a novelist, but one thing's for sure: I do hope that my writing would bring me money in the future.
I also bought a book 'The Catherine Lim Collection' that features at least four stories written by the Singaporean author. Because I got it from the festival, there was a discount and an autograph from Catherine Lim on one of the pages. This is the first time I'm getting a signed copy for a book! I've read the first story in the book so far ('The Serpent's Tooth') and it's pretty interesting. I never knew that the traditional Chinese way of treating backaches was to make the patient swallow (yes, swallow, not chew!) newborn mice wrapped in salted leaves. I'm not sure of the reason, but the mental image alone is pretty morbid to me!
We later had lunch at Plaza Singapura when the panel discussion ended. It's seldom that we get to eat as a class. Well, it wasn't really a class actually, since all of us broke up into three groups to eat at McDonald's, Long John Silver's, and Yoshinoya respectively. But I got to eat with Yvette, Hazel, Cong Xu, Chuan Ying, Zhao-yi, Annzy and Zi Wei at Yoshinoya. It's rare to eat with them - except Zi Wei of course. In fact, I just ate dinner with Zi Wei at the Somerset branch of Yoshinoya just a few days before the panel discussion. The time after lunch was spent loitering - DTVM's best at that - or in Internet slang, 'trolling'. It'd be great to go out as a class again. Even if it was a fairly short 'outing' that was somewhat just an extension of going for the panel discussion at SMU on a Sunday.
Other than the Writers' Festival, there really isn't much to post about. I highly doubt that anyone would be interested in the research papers and concept paper I have to do for my CAs. Oh but I hear that the first CA for my journalism module might be a debate! Sounds a little intimidating yet fun, doesn't it?
Oh oh oh, and I just got a new dress and a pair of casual shoes over the weekend. It's a beautiful blue dress and I can't wait to wear it! It might be too formal for school but I think I'm going to wear it on my birthday nevertheless. I'm the birthday girl after all! As for the shoes, it's this pretty shade of pink that reminds me of cotton candy! I think Mummy has spent quite a lot on the dress and shoes but she said that they are my birthday gifts!
To be honest, I usually feel excited for my birthday when I see Christmas decorations being raised in the shopping malls and streets. It's usually an indication that my birthday's coming near since the decorations are usually put up a month and a half before Christmas. Unfortunately, maybe it's because my CAs have taken up so much of my time, I've not gotten the chance to see much of this year's Christmas' decorations. Maybe I ought to make a trip to town soon!
Where have I been?
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 @ 2:10 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I've been terribly lazy lately. Well, I have been posting about stuff but I just didn't publish them on my blog because I preferred everything to be in chronological order. And the thing is that, my post about the LEAP camp is an awfully lengthy post on its own. I've not even ended it yet. That's the reason (or excuse, depending on how you see it) for the absence of any new posts or updates on this blog.
Anyway, I've just decided that I shall post about post-camp events first, at least till I've completed my post about the camp. By then I'd be able to shock you all with one of my longest post ever about a camp. Well, not really the longest, since the one about my trip to South Korea was so long that it covered four posts. I think I'm just a pretty long-winded person. And since this blog kind of doubles up as my personal journal sometimes, albeit with all the bitching and ranting taken out, bear with me, if you can.
To be honest, I didn't do much after I came back from the camp. I fell ill and spent a good part of the last week of the holidays just being home. I tried to watch more dramas to be able to write my reviews but it wasn't exactly good progress since I couldn't find a few episodes so I couldn't follow the plot properly. Then there were also my stories to tackle. I rewrote a paragraph or so but that's all I did in that week. I should really find time to write a new chapter at least. I'm such a procrastinator, aren't I?
I also spend a lot of time sleeping. The cough syrup that I took had a drowsy side-effect on me. I vaguely recall dreaming of a few great stories while asleep. But the problem was, I couldn't remember anything when I woke up. Except the fact that it was a really good dream. How do people keep dream diaries? I seldom remember my dreams. Well, I only remember a few particularly vivid parts, or maybe a vague sense of what it was about.
Anyway, my camp group (we named ourselves 'Shaka Laka Bung Bung', 'Bung Bung' for short) met up on the last Friday of the holidays. It was a little strange initially, seeing everyone out of their camp clothes and talking about things other than the camp activities. We went to town and I got to go to the new H&M outlet there. I must say, the baby clothes are pretty over there! It's as if those little tots you see on the streets have their own haute fashion cult too!
I didn't get to stay with them to play pool at night, since I had to attend ACER's teambuilding session the morning after. I took the train home with Syafiq and it was nice talking to him - I didn't get to speak much to him during the camp. He told me about his course and if not for him, I wouldn't really know DADP is actually about. I was quite surprised that Syafiq enjoys writing stories too!
The next day was mostly spent in school, where I met the people in ACER for the first time. We played icebreaker games to lighten up the atmosphere. Michelle also told us about the objectives of ACER while the senior told us how to deal with the different types of students they encounter. I wonder if I'll ever be able to be as good as them. I sometimes clam up in front of unfamiliar people (just like how I did in camp). If only I could be myself with friends and strangers alike - just like Matin and Joey who can be so comfortable and affable with everyone. It's funny that I was able to do public speaking before, but when I need to talk to a small group of strangers, I freeze up unconsciously sometimes.
Anyway, it was altogether a cheerful and fun session with the ACERs and although the seniors offered for us to join them for lunch, I decided to head home. My mum was cooking, after all. I chatted with Syuhaidah on the way back. It's nice getting to meet Syuhaidah again. She was in my group, Masquerade, for CASS FOC. We got to talking about our courses and school in general before our stop eventually came.
After the weekend came the first week of the second semester, of course. It was exhausting having an 8am-6pm Monday for the first day right after the holidays. I got to learn about the technical stuff, like the camera and we even revised about the different types of shots. Unsurprisingly, I slowly dozed off when we came back to the lab after trying out the big camera outside. It was pretty bad of me since Mr Esman and Ms Gamar were trying to carry on with the lesson despite us being half-dead. We were barely surviving the seven-hour module.
But otherwise I guess the rest of my modules are pretty much fine. After the first week, I pretty much got used to the timetable and the classes. I mean, I even enjoy VPPP (Video Productions, Principles and Practices; the seven-hour module) now. I still think handling the camera and directing talents could be scary sometimes, but it's really fun editing it and then seeing the fruits of your labour on screen. I'm hoping that I'd be able to do well for my modules though. This semester's modules seem so much tougher with a lot of research involved. There's also the conceptualizing, pitching and script-writing to worry about now. It's not just stories and articles anymore.
What I've Been Up To
Friday, September 30, 2011 @ 12:50 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I've succumbed to Tumblr. It's quite interesting and I often reblog stuff that appears on my dashboard every few minutes. To put it simply, it's the ideal site for people who love posting more pictures than huge chunks of text or plain lazy bloggers (like me). I created an account recently. Don't click on the link if you are some anti-Kpop extremist though. Don't say I wasn't kind enough to warn you (I usually can't be bothered).Which reminds me, I still have my empty Wordpress account to take care of. What should I use it for?
That aside, I've been lagging behind in French. With the holidays and whatnot, I've entered the 'lazy bum' mode. I'm sure that when I return to school, French lessons would go back to being a mass of foreign matter to me once more. Why didn't I pick 한굴 in the first place? I find it strange that my cousin Dennis who initially wanted to learn Japanese ended up with French too. Somehow we ended up picking French (and I'm not even sure of the reason). It'd be awesome if I were to be able to master French and Korean someday. I could get a job as a translator!
Anyway, the past few days have been spent on getting the stuff necessary for my camp next week. I've yet to complete my packing since I had to unearth all the clothes I usually wear for camp. The ones that I won't mind getting torn or dirty. I hope the camp would be fun! The rest of my classmates are in other groups while I'm alone, but I guess that means it'll be easier to make new friends. The camp's in Kota Tinggi (sp?) and I had to get a new passport just for it, since my previous passport was expiring in six months.
Too bad I can't show my cute nine-year-old self as my passport photo. When I used my old passport last year, the airport security took a second glance to check if it's the same person. I must admit it's not surprising some people think that I've undergone some sort of plastic surgery. The difference is quite scary. But I've not gone under the knife and I'm still under-aged for plastic surgery in Singapore. To be honest, I'm not against the idea of people undergoing plastic surgery actually. I think it's alright as long as you come out looking better and you're fine with telling others about it. Plus it takes guts to go through the pain and side-effects from the surgeries. Guts that I lack.
Too bad I can't show my cute nine-year-old self as my passport photo. When I used my old passport last year, the airport security took a second glance to check if it's the same person. I must admit it's not surprising some people think that I've undergone some sort of plastic surgery. The difference is quite scary. But I've not gone under the knife and I'm still under-aged for plastic surgery in Singapore. To be honest, I'm not against the idea of people undergoing plastic surgery actually. I think it's alright as long as you come out looking better and you're fine with telling others about it. Plus it takes guts to go through the pain and side-effects from the surgeries. Guts that I lack.
I might fail as a housewife
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 @ 10:00 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
For the first time, I managed to cook my instant noodles perfectly. I managed to get the amount of water right, the timing right, and the noodles were cooked. It's quite a feat because I'd usually end up with half-cooked noodles. I happily started on my noodles after I managed to cooked it so well, only to realise that I'd forgotten to add the seasoning in. The bowl of noodles was as bland as paper (yes, I've tasted paper many times while eating burgers). This is the second time I forgot. Cooking is troublesome!
It seems that it's an unlucky day for me, since I burnt myself with the iron afterwards. I was ironing a few tees - those made of cotton are the only clothes my mum allows me to iron - when I burnt my arm. It's going to scar and it's kind of swollen now. It still hurts a little.
You know what? I doubt I'll ever make a brilliant housewife. Maybe if I could get a rich tycoon for my husband, I'd be a rich taitai. I'd live my life attending high teas with other RTTs and get a butler at home. Haha. I think the pain is tampering with my mind now.
A List: What You Might Not Know
Friday, September 23, 2011 @ 11:30 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
#1 I hate beehoon.
I know countless Singaporeans eat beehoon each day and it's horribly normal for any buffet/party/office function to serve it since it's so easy to cook and cheap to buy. But I hate it. Just the sight of it makes me nauseous. I've tried to eat it many times since it's so common and they always serve it at parties et cetera, but I still hate it so much. The most I can manage is a few mouthfuls of that vile thing.
#2 I have a bad temper.
Not many know about this though. I rarely show my angry side to others. I don't believe in making a scene but I can get really mad and scary. I'm rather temperamental too.
#3 I used to take art classes.
Believe it or not, I took lessons and if not for a few personal matters, I could have continued. If I had stayed on for a year more, I'd have learnt still-life drawing in detail.
#4 I have a sharp tongue.
My current classmates and some of my Crescent friends might disagree. But I do have a sharp tongue and loads of people, ranging from my peers and adults have told me that in the past. When I was much younger, I made quite a few people cry because of the mean things I said. I didn't intend to be mean, I was just too frank and to be honest, I never cared about other people's feelings. I'm pretty good in insulting people too even if I don't use vulgarities. I just keep my mouth shut now, for the sake of relative peace between my friends and me. And now I feel guilty when I say anything bad about someone. I'm becoming a big softie.
#5 There's a bratty side to me.
#6 I enjoy doing impersonations.
I used to impersonate my Secondary school teachers during breaks last time. When I finally broke out of my shell in Crescent, I started to be able to goof around and I loved mimicking my teachers. I imitate comical people or people I can't stand to make my mum laugh sometimes too. But I only do it in front of people I know well though.
#7 It's easy to make me laugh but I dislike lame jokes.
#8 My shoe size is ginormous.
I have a complex about my feet. I don't really like to show them in public because they are so big.
#9 I sneeze like a dog (according to what others say).
The way I sneeze is strange and some have told me that it sounds like a dog instead. I've never heard a dog sneeze before so I can't confirm it myself unfortunately.
#10 I love performing.
This isn't really new information if you know me well actually. I enjoy performing because it's a way of expressing different sides of yourself in various ways. Or maybe I just love the limelight. It's not realistic, but I once wanted so much to be an entertainer.
This to make up for the lack of material to write about recently. I've been living out my small wish of being a temporary hermit. In fact, my mum is convinced that I'd start growing fungus anytime soon. She's dragging me out tomorrow "to see the sun".
Same difference
Saturday, September 17, 2011 @ 2:20 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I went to the zoo on Monday. I felt a little disheartened that a few enclosures were closed and the animals were relocated (or hidden, I bet). I miss Inuka the polar bear. At least a few penguins are still there and I managed to visit those which were shifted to Jurong Bird Park during June with Jo.
It's funny how different it is with different people. I've gone to the zoo with many people before and I realised each visit is a different experience altogether, even if most of the enclosures are the same. The last time I went to the zoo, I was with Rosi and the rest. It was really fun since they were an excitable bunch. I remember the seal (or was it a sealion? Are the two the same?) giving Rosi a big wet kiss on her cheek!
I went with Stefanie, Shaw and Hazel this time. It was a fun time since we went quite early and managed to cover nearly the whole zoo. Stefanie took photos of nearly all the enclosures we visited and I think she has more than sufficient photo evidence of every animal we saw! This is the first time I got such efficient guides too! Hazel, Stefanie and Shaw had no problems with the map and directions at all. I just tagged along and trusted my three guides all the way.
I think the 'highlight' of our trip was at Kidsworld. We had our lunch at KFC and looked at the animals there afterwards. We managed to feed the rabbits and pet them, look at the horses, ponies, goats and this kampong exhibit which was really creepy. The exhibit had cockroaches one-third the size of my body! The mannequins in that little hut seemed like they were just stolen from the set of a horror movie too! It's too scary to be inside alone.
After giving ourselves a huge scare in the kampong exhibit and greeting the adorable rabbits, we went ahead to the water playground that's the hugest attraction at the Kidsworld. Hazel stayed to take care of our belongings since she didn't wish to get wet. Stefanie, Shaw and I played like little kids over there. In fact, most of the kids at the playground barely reached my waist and they were all accompanied by their parents. There was a boy who came over and hugged my leg randomly. I'm not sure why he did that but he must have gotten lost. But aside from that, it was great being able to play with the water and the slides. I say that while ignoring the huge age disparity between the kids playing at the playground and us, of course.
We visited many more animals after drying ourselves afterwards. Unfortunately, I was really uncomfortable because I forgot to bring a change of underwear. It's not exactly comfy to have wet undergarments with dry clothes on top. When we went for two animal shows afterwards, I left a wet 'butt-print' on the wooden benches after sitting on them. It was kind of embarrassing.
It was a long ride back to the bus interchange from the zoo. I think Shaw and I dozed off after getting seats on the bus while Stefanie stayed awake. I woke up with a crick in my neck and remained quite dazed on the rest of the trip home. It's good that I managed to recognise the bus stop Stefanie and I were supposed to alight at to take the third bus. It's the same bus I take each Chinese New Year to visit my cousins. The two of us were very lucky that day, by the way. We didn't need to wait more than a minute for the buses we took! I couldn't believe our luck!
Besides the zoo outing, I also went out with Mummy on Thursday. The library was our first stop, where I returned and borrowed more books. Since the selection of novels isn't interesting, I borrowed a recipe book and this guide on web design. Mummy borrowed some book on healthy lifestyle. Thanks to that book, I'm now banned from eating too much sweets since eating too much sweets could lead to hair loss apparently.
Nex Serangoon, a relatively new mall in the north, was our next stop. It looks very much like a normal heartland mall, with lots of food outlets and grocery stores for the people living nearby. In fact, I think it has more food than anything. The mall was pretty big too and Mummy and I just browsed through most of the shops on each level. Maybe because it was a Thursday, but the place seemed empty. The two of us didn't shop much and we went back without buying anything in the end. My stomach was also giving me problems. I think my gastric problems might be coming back. I'm crossing my fingers that my tummy would be better soon. I don't want to visit the doctor!
Labels: classouting, window shopping
The Superiors
Saturday, September 10, 2011 @ 10:50 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I went to watch Super Junior Super Show 3 - 3D Movie with my mum this afternoon. I didn't attend the actual concert when they came to Singapore in January. Mummy offered to pay for my concert ticket but I chose not to go since I couldn't find anyone to go with me anyway. Not to mention the fact that I spent quite a bit of my savings while in South Korea last year. I miss that place very badly, by the way. I wish to go back sometimes.
Anyway, before I go off tangent, it was great watching the movie. We got good seats too - second row from the back, right smack in the middle. I had to resist squealing each time Sungmin or Kyuhyun appeared on-screen. Seriously. I settled for clenching my hands or clamping them over my mouth. A few girls in the cinema could not resist squealing too - their favourite member was Yesung or Donghae, I think.
Watching it in 3D makes it much more realistic than on DVD. Although they only showed a few parts of the entire concert, I think it's worth the $60 I paid for the tickets (it's $30 for one ticket). It's great that they even included an epilogue featuring Kangin who is in the army at the moment. I miss the days when it was all 13 of the boys onstage. That seems like a long time ago now. It's amazing how I've been a fan for so long.
Oh, and it's 추석 (Chuseok) now! Here's a song for the holiday! (Sungmin looks so cute in the yellow!)
Oh, and it's 추석 (Chuseok) now! Here's a song for the holiday! (Sungmin looks so cute in the yellow!)
I love my free time
Sunday, September 04, 2011 @ 12:28 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
My visit back to Crescent on Thursday felt strange. I felt kind of jaded. Like I didn't belong. I used to see my seniors coming back and rushing to take pictures with the teachers. There was no such thing for me though. Perhaps it's because I was never close to my teachers to begin with. Don't get me wrong, I think Crescent teachers are truly awesome and passionate about their job. I just never got close to them, like my friends did. It doesn't help that I wasn't much of a 'clique person' back then too. I was always with different people all the time in class. But I got to know great friends nevertheless. I hung out with Yimin and Angela during recess breaks and I have Jo who is my oldest best friend. My friends called me the 'social butterfly' however, since they all have their own respective cliques that I never really belonged in, unfortunately.
It was fun catching up with my Crescent friends though. Crescent would always be a big part of me - I think it's the same for every Crescentian. It's where I met so many friends and found myself. I had lunch at The Soup Spoon with Jo, Adeline, Jia Sin and Hazel. The pumpkin soup is lovely by the way. We ended up playing 'Truth or Dare' at the Esplanade's concourse area. No one did any dares actually. It was more of a 'Truth' game instead. We played until it was time to go and it was a fun game. I got to know a lot more about my friends.
I managed to finish the novel I bought last month, One Day, and a vanilla milkshake while waiting for Mummy later. Mummy actually got too carried away with her work that she was late to meet me for dinner. At least it gave me enough time to read the ending of the novel. I find the last few chapters rushed and too sudden. If only one of the main character didn't die so easily. It was as if the writer took the easy way out and decided to kill of the character. I'm now curious about the upcoming movie based on this book. It would be cool to watch how they are going to film the story of the characters growing over the years.
A good part of Friday was spent in town. As usual, Ziwei was late and I managed to find the HMV store in 313 Somerset despite it being my first time there. I should have gone there today instead! I just heard that there is a new stock of Super Junior's fifth album today! I didn't get to buy it on Friday because it hadn't arrived yet. I ended up buying Céline Dion's album instead. Ziwei also reconfirmed just how few American TV shows I've watched when he arrived later. At least I watched a good part of the dramas in the Korean section.
After walking about aimlessly while gossiping chatting with Ziwei, I decided to head over to Bugis. I didn't spend much time at the library since it was pretty crowded. After borrowing two books, I went home after lunch. One of them is a quirky story about a guy with a drug problem falling in love with a girl with a mental disorder. I accidentally dripped a tiny bit of spaghetti sauce on one of the pages while reading it. Teaches me not to eat a big plate of spaghetti while reading in a cafe.
I'm not sure if I should get a job for this semester break. Maybe I should after lazing around a week more. I spent the days watching dramas, writing stories and reading books so far. Maybe I should learn to cook or something. Although that's only IF Mummy even allows me near her kitchen. The last time I tried to cook, I burnt the bottom of the pot while making soup. No one told me soups could burn!
Oh dear
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 10:10 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
My appetite has been strange lately. I get hungry and I still love looking at food, but when the food appears under my nose, I have no appetite to eat it. Even if my tummy's growling. It's as if my mouth feels too lazy to open. I've been getting fatter too. Seems like I'm always having issues with my weight. I must really start exercising for real.
I'm also going to make use of the free time I have now to revise on my French. I feel so embarrassed after I realised how many stupid mistakes I made for my exam. I actually forgot apples are "pommes" in French. I wrote something entirely different instead. Stupid me. I don't really wish to see my score for this exam. I might fail. Agh.
By the way, since I'm already typing about French, I came across this phrase a few days ago,
On perd ce que l'on tient quand on veut gagner tout.
- Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, Fables: Le chat et les rats
The rough translation of the sentence is that we lose what we have when we want to have everything. It's quite true, really. When we get greedy, we often tend to lose sight of what we used to cherish. It's only at the end when we realised what we've lost that we regret. I wish I could be easily contented with what I have though. I mean, I'm generally happy with my life now. But if true happiness means having no regrets, not wanting anything more than what I have now, or having a long wishlist - then maybe I'm not that happy. I'm happy but not extremely or very happy. Alright, I think I'm confusing myself here. I just want to say that it'd be great if I'm not so greedy with my wants (like wanting to buy even more albums when I have so many CDs at home).To sum it up, we should try our best to hold on to what we have instead of grasping at what we do not.
It's like the Greek myth of Atalanta and the three golden apples. Hippomenes wanted to court Atalanta, a strong yet arrogant beauty who had many suitors. Eventually, she got tired of their attention and told her suitors that she'd give her hand in marriage to the man who could outrun her in a foot race, but should they fail, they'd die. Because she was such a swift runner, she was sure that she could beat every man who challenged her. Not surprisingly, many men died at her hands.
Hippomenes decided to seek the help of Aphrodite who handed him three golden apples and instructions for the race. He then managed to outrun Atalanta not by speed, but by the golden apples he left on the ground as he ran with all his might. As per instructions, he deliberately dropped the three golden apples that Aphrodite gave him during the race. Atalanta stopped each of the three times just to pick those apples up, leaving Hippomenes enough time to win. She was too distracted by the golden apples that she had never seen before. They eventually got married since Hippomenes won.
Although the message of the story isn't the same as the French phrase, it still tells of greed aside from overconfidence. There are other Greek myths which also warn of the dangers of greed in a clearer way, but I can only remember this myth for now. Come to think of it, there are plenty of fables out there which speak of the importance of being contented and warn against greed. But being greedy is sort of a human thing. Isn't it?
It's like the Greek myth of Atalanta and the three golden apples. Hippomenes wanted to court Atalanta, a strong yet arrogant beauty who had many suitors. Eventually, she got tired of their attention and told her suitors that she'd give her hand in marriage to the man who could outrun her in a foot race, but should they fail, they'd die. Because she was such a swift runner, she was sure that she could beat every man who challenged her. Not surprisingly, many men died at her hands.
Hippomenes decided to seek the help of Aphrodite who handed him three golden apples and instructions for the race. He then managed to outrun Atalanta not by speed, but by the golden apples he left on the ground as he ran with all his might. As per instructions, he deliberately dropped the three golden apples that Aphrodite gave him during the race. Atalanta stopped each of the three times just to pick those apples up, leaving Hippomenes enough time to win. She was too distracted by the golden apples that she had never seen before. They eventually got married since Hippomenes won.
Although the message of the story isn't the same as the French phrase, it still tells of greed aside from overconfidence. There are other Greek myths which also warn of the dangers of greed in a clearer way, but I can only remember this myth for now. Come to think of it, there are plenty of fables out there which speak of the importance of being contented and warn against greed. But being greedy is sort of a human thing. Isn't it?
Labels: Extracts; anecdotes; quotes, French
Free time marks the end of the semester
Thursday, August 25, 2011 @ 10:53 am leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I have one more CA10 left to go and I'll be free to enjoy my holidays. I'm kind of glad that I don't have to mug for exams like other students out there given the uniqueness of my course. There can't be exams about writing after all.
Recently, I'm debating if I should start a new blog or shift over to WordPress or Livejournal. This blog is five years old (I started it in May 2006). That's quite a long history for a blog and it's quite a hassle needing to find blogskins that allow me to have such a big archive in a clutter-free form. But I realise that a tagboard like cbox can't be inserted on WordPress, which is a pity, since I kind of like the clean outlook WordPress gives. I already have a WordPress account actually, but there's nothing in it. Should I shift over and start on a clean slate? (Please advise!)
School's been fine. I'm depending on my stories to ace my CA10 projects. The only thing I can do now is to cross my fingers. With the holidays approaching, I'll finally have time to work on my fantasy series. I started on it after O'level examinations actually. Maybe I'll let someone read it to see if it's interesting enough. There're also quite a few other stories that I'm working on - a few short stories and another that might be as long as my fantasy story. You know, after studying in my course, I seem to have developed a second style of writing. I write differently for certain types of stories now. It's no longer just the whimsical, even paced tone I take. I realised I can write in an active and passionate tone too. At least that's what my mum remarked after she read one of my CA10. I'm going to use the two styles as and when I see fit.
My mum just bought a book a few days ago. It's a Chinese book with the traditional way of having the characters going from the top to bottom of the pages in vertical lines. It looks pretty daunting but it's actually a pretty light-hearted book titled 《别再为小事生气》* by 林庆昭. Apparently, it gives 30 good attitudes towards life*. Anyway, my mum left the book on the table this morning. Since it's been a long time since I read Mandarin, I flipped to a random page and there was a short segment with a funny (or not funny, depending on your sense of humour) story. This was on the page I read:
一个男子走进一间酒吧对服务员说:“在吵架之前,给我来一杯啤酒!”
服务员慌忙递给他一杯。几分钟后,那个人又对服务员说:“吵架之前给我送点牛排和找土豆来。”
服务员便加吃惊了,但还是把菜送来了。
就这样,二十分钟过去了,服务员好奇地问:“可是你说的那个吵架是怎么一回事?究竟什么时候开始?”
“马上开始!”男人回答说:“因为我没钱付啤酒和菜钱。”
Translation***:
A man walked into a bar and told the barman, "Before I start fighting, give me a cup of beer!"
The barman hurriedly served him a cup.
A few minutes later, the same man spoke to the barman again,"Before the fight, give me some steak and potatoes."
The barman was even more surprised but he still gave him his order.
Twenty minutes passed just like that. The barman then curiously asked, "But how did the fight you were speaking of happen? When did it start?"
"It starts now!" the man replied. "Because I don't have money to pay for the beer and food."
Hope this little bit of humour cheers you all up!
F/N:
*Don't get angry at tiny matters (this is the English translation provided by the author)
**I hope I translated this right. The original text says: "30个不计较的生活态度"
*Don't get angry at tiny matters (this is the English translation provided by the author)
**I hope I translated this right. The original text says: "30个不计较的生活态度"
***Again, I hope I translated everything right. Since Chinese grammar is quite different, I hope I covered the gist of it correctly!
Labels: CASS, Extracts; anecdotes; quotes
Did you miss me?
Friday, August 19, 2011 @ 10:37 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I'm sorry if I haven't been updating this blog for a while (if anyone actually comes here at all). The bulk of my CAs are done. I just have two more to tackle and hopefully, I'd be able to do well for all my modules.
It was my turn for Show and Tell last week and I sang 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'. My voice isn't as strong before. Probably due to the lack of practice. I miss singing so, so much. Even more than that, I miss performing on a stage. There's nothing better than being able to perform to an audience, bringing an artform to live and showcasing a masterpiece. I miss that.
It was a relief that my classmates didn't mind my singing. I'm not exactly a great pop singer. I seem to sing choral pieces more comfortably as compared to pop songs. Unless it's classical pop. Anyway, I'm glad that they were alright with what I sang.
Moving on, Stella showed two parts of my favourite movie 'Spirited Away' during lesson last week! Too bad it was the English-dubbed version. The Japanese version with all the original seiyu was so much better! I ended up watching the movie the seventh time that night, since I realised I forgot parts of the movie while watching the two short segments in class. That's just how much I love the film.
I also found out how great anime OSTs can be, by the way. I'm using four anime tracks for my VC CA10. I know most are using pop songs but I find instrumentals easier to convey emotions. In fact, I was listening to Joe Hisaishi's compositions on loop while writing my CSM CA10 piece. It keeps me focused and more importantly, inspired. Hopefully, my story would be given a good grade. I wrote about self-esteem. Part of the story is true actually. It's up to those who have read it to guess which parts are true and which parts are not.
I'm not too sure how I should end off since it's been such a long time since I last blogged. I just saw this quote on Twitter a few minutes ago though, and I thought it kind of relates to my story:
人生最痛苦的就是,太重视别人了,甚至都忘了自己也很特别。(@ChineseLQuotes)
It's true. The most painful thing in life is that sometimes we lose sight of who we are because we value others' opinions way too much. We forget that we're special in our own ways too.


Image from thefadingnight
Labels: CASS, Extracts; anecdotes; quotes, Movies
In a Heartbeat
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 @ 10:57 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
This year's National Day Parade was different from the previous ones. It was made into a five-act musical featuring the relationship between a mother and son whilst showing how the nation has progressed over the decades. There was also an acoustic version of the national anthem accompanied by the fireworks that were synchronized to the beat of the music. Nothing better than to stir up everyone's patriotism with colourful fireworks and awesome music.
I haven't got much time to update for the past few days. I managed to leave my house keys at home last week. I was locked out for two and a half hours before my mum could rush back to open the door for me. It was a horrible time spent getting grilled by the sun - I'd much rather wait at the bus stop than to sit with my neighbour who is a lunatic.
Oh, and our class went to Kinderland last Friday, to tell them two of the children stories our classmates wrote. My group's story about the traffic light's Red Man and Green Man was picked and it was interesting watching the reactions of the little kids around us while we told the story. There was also this girl, Natanya/Natania, who was not shy at all. She answered nearly all the questions asked by Ms Stella and hugged me when she heard that there would be a story about bears next week (she's scared of bears). The children were just all so cute!
There was also the series of projects given to us, all due at the end of the month. I'm worried if I'd be able to finish it on time and yet do a good job. I've been questioning my capabilities these days.
Anyway,
Happy Birthday, Singapore!
Il y a la douleur
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 @ 9:53 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I've been feeling really depressed for the past few days. I think I'm PMS-ing. I feel so drained that I'm too tired to even smile anymore. It's those moments of self-doubt, when you find that you wish to do so much but you're not excelling in anything. My old gastric problem is also back and it's not making things any better.
On a brighter note, I finally got my French results today. I did fairly well and at least it was above my expectations. I managed to get 78/100 for my test. Unfortunately, I doubt I'd do as well for the upcoming test since I skipped two lessons and I've got quite a bit of catching up to do.
By the way, I was having lunch at Burger King with my classmates on Monday and Avelin actually got a box of funnel cakesticks for free. I think the staff at the counter accidentally slotted it in while rushing through our orders. These things taste and smell like play-dough though. Not too appealing to eat after the first bite.


Oh, the irony.
Sunday, July 24, 2011 @ 9:15 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
A conversation with someone years ago,
"Can I be considered as a best friend?"
"Do you believe in fate?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"I don't believe in best friends."
"Why?"
"Friends come and go after a while."
"What about best friends then?"
"They'll still leave in the end."
"Will you keep in contact with me in the future?"
"No. Do you believe in fate?"
"I don't know. Maybe?"
"If it's meant to be, we'll meet."
"Do you believe in soulmates then?"
"Everything is the same. They are just labels."
"Can I be considered as a best friend?"
"Do you believe in fate?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"I don't believe in best friends."
"Why?"
"Friends come and go after a while."
"What about best friends then?"
"They'll still leave in the end."
"Will you keep in contact with me in the future?"
"No. Do you believe in fate?"
"I don't know. Maybe?"
"If it's meant to be, we'll meet."
"Do you believe in soulmates then?"
"Everything is the same. They are just labels."
I guess it's a pessimist's way of thinking about friendship. Ironically, my friend believed in destiny. I can't remember the exact words, but the conversation played out as shown above. It's not surprising that we're not in touch anymore. He was right that friends come and go in life. It's tough keeping hold of a friend. I try my best to talk and hold on to most of my friends but people do drift apart sometimes, I guess. Either that or I've been an awful friend to have lost touch with so many people. The one who said all those cynical lines above in particular. But it could be for the better sometimes. There's never a direct answer when it comes to human relations, is there?
Labels: 6906, Extracts; anecdotes; quotes
I'm not sure what I did today
Thursday, July 21, 2011 @ 4:59 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
My tutorial today was canceled as my lecturer had a family emergency to attend to. I hope my lecturer is alright. It seems pretty serious if she has to cancel a tutorial in the last minute.
Unfortunately, I was tapping out of the ticketing barrier at Dover station when I received the text message that there would be no tutorial today. Since they were also already on their way to school, I waited for Matin and Zi Wei at the station. We wanted to meet Avelin, Joey and Wai Meng afterwards but they asked us to head over to Orchard Road first since they wanted to finish up their breakfast at Raffles Place. They ended up staying at Raffles Place till noon instead, while Matin, Zi Wei and me ended up loitering in Takashimaya.
The three of us spent nearly two hours at the McDonalds' at Lucky Plaza. I've not been to town for ages actually. The last time I was in that same McDonalds', I was with Juniper, Yi Bin and Claudia. We were ordering the tops for the choir's performance at the Singapore Conference Hall. That was two years ago. I guess I didn't really go out that much when I was a Secondary school student, huh.
We later went to the Kinokuniya branch at Takashimaya. I bought a novel and then dragged the guys over to the stationery section. They didn't seem fascinated by it though. On my way there, I found this handbook on Singlish and it was really interesting learning the different terms. I didn't know Singlish could be so complex or diversified! Anyway, we tried to search for Zi Wei's manga afterwards but either the shelf doesn't exist or the book is hidden in some obscure corner. I'm guessing it's the former.
Lunch with mummy at Bugis Junction afterwards was nice. Mummy bought another two books for me at the Kinokuniya branch over there. They were not really pricey so she decided to buy it for me. I've got plenty of books to read now! I just need to find time to read them all.
[Edit]
[Edit]
I realise I have yet to post about the Leadership training session on Wednesday. It was actually quite a light-hearted session, since the lecturer was a fun person. We started with identifying and making out optical illusions. Everyone helped each other to see the hidden pictures. The lecturer then moved on to sobre topics like Asperger's Syndrome, schizophrenia and depression.
I also got to talk to people from 01 too! The last time I spoke someone from 01 was Collin during the training for SPXperience (which got cancelled, by the way). The two classes don't really mingle anyway. I got to know Amanda, King, Cherlyn, Heidi and I think Asyiqin (I'm really not sure of her name). They were really friendly and candid. At least I now know more people from 01.
[/Edit]
By the way, I just realised it's Racial Harmony Day today! Happy Racial Harmony Day, everyone! Maybe we could get everyone to dress up in ethnic costumes next year!
Labels: CASS, window shopping
And I was just wondering,
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 @ 10:42 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
Why is everything placed on a Wednesday? This wouldn't be the first time I'd be skipping French lesson when I think I really ought not to. But the leadership training session seems important too. There is also the briefing for the leadership camp going on at the same time and I need to hand in my registration form for that too. I'm just glad that my dilemma isn't as complex as Wai Meng's, who has so many more events to go for tomorrow.
By the way, I've finally watched the final movie of the Harry Potter series. The effects and soundtrack were great although I think the movie ended rather abruptly. I couldn't help but start crying when the professors and students stood up against Lord Voldermort while protecting Hogwarts. The part where they start working together to form a shield around Hogwarts was when I started crying. My tears just couldn't stop afterwards. It sure didn't help that Snape died so horribly and that his past was so heart-wrenching. Especially when they showed his love for Lily.
Nine of us watched the movie this afternoon: Avelin, Joey, Wai Meng, Cong Xu, Zhao Yi, Yvette, Annzy, Chuan Ying and me. We killed time by playing 'Truth or Dare' without the 'dare' part. Some questions and answers were quite funny, although I can't really remember anything now. There was also a huge confusion over the seats when we entered the cinema too because there were nine of us and we had to split into two rows. At least we settled down before the movie started.
I watched 500 Days of Summer recently too - but alone at home, this time. The movie started with the usual 'Boy meets Girl' kind of plot. But it was really heart-wrenching when the girl didn't end up with the guy in the end. Instead of the usual 'Boy doesn't like Girl', you get the female lead being unable to commit because she doesn't believe in love despite doing everything a normal couple does with the guy. The best irony came when she gets falls in love with another guy and starts believing in love, leaving the first guy behind. That's a really harsh blow.
I wonder how people know when they are in love. Sure, I've had infatuations (who hasn't?). But what makes it different when you're in love? How do you know that you truly love the person and that it's not just a simple crush?

Labels: Captured by the lens, CASS, French, Movies
A Movie and The First Fieldtrip
Thursday, July 07, 2011 @ 8:51 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
I recently watched the Thai movie Chocolate (also known as Fury) and it made me cry buckets. It's a 2008 film and its Thai name is ช็อคโกแลต if you want to search for it. It's not the usual kind of movies I would watch - it's more of an action movie with lots of violence in it.
But it's not just another senseless violent show, mind you. You could read the plot here but to sum things up, it's all about the life of a mother, Zin, with an autistic daughter, Zen, who was the result of her affair with a Yakuza boss. Zen has a special talent of being able to catch just about anything thrown at her. She also picked up martial arts purely just through observing people fighting and watching TV shows. This talent of Zen later proved to be a huge advantage as her mother's ex-boyfriend, a Thai gangster, seeks vengeance afterwards.
The entire plot is actually on Wikipedia. What made me really cry my heart out was when I saw how strong the bond between Zin and Zen is in the story. Fate was cruel to the mother-daughter pair and both of them tried their hardest to protect each other in their own ways throughout the film. It was particularly heart-wrenching to watch the ending. If you like touching movies with lots of action packed in it, I would recommend Chocolate.
Moving on, I went on a class field trip to Keppel Bay Creek this morning. It was really interesting listening to our guides talk about Keppel Club's green initiatives and the exhibit was pretty. There was even a replica of a kampung hut in the exhibit hall! There were dried leaves strewn around the place and it brought about a rustic feel. There was also a portion modeled after the movie Avatar.
The field trip reminded me a lot about what I had learnt in Geography. I remember memorising all the coastal protection techniques (that's where the mangroves come in), responsible forestry and the uses of rainforests. It made me miss Geography lessons all of a sudden.
The guides were really friendly and there was Abdullah the character played by one of the staff members, who told us a lot about kampung life. I also got to play five stones at the kampung exhibit. It's been ages since I last played it! I remember playing it nearly everyday when I was in Primary school. My friends and I would compete with each other with the many stages. My skills are really rusty now though. I couldn't even get past the fourth stage successfully. Maybe I should search for my five stones and practise once more!
Quite a few of us went over to Vivo City afterwards. After eating our lunch, we headed to Topshop, where Natasya, Shreya, Joey and Shahidah gave Wai Meng a mini makeover. Hazel, Avelin and I also tried on maxi dresses to pass the time. I found this really beautiful strapless maxi dress which fit me extremely well. I nearly bought it but decided not to in the end. I mean, I don't really have any occasion to wear it. It's such a big pity. In fact, I can't help but keep thinking about that dress. Oh well.
We all walked around for a bit afterwards and just sat down at a corner of the mall since everyone was pretty tired. I even managed to fall asleep right in the middle of the shopping center - I woke up with a headache though.
Labels: CASS, classouting, window shopping
To sum up the weekend
Sunday, July 03, 2011 @ 10:07 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
Today's the first time I went back to school on a Sunday. It was all for my General Education project. I didn't even know we had a project till one of my Gen Ed classmate told me about it. Thank goodness my group finished it within three hours this afternoon - just a day before the presentation.
It's also the second day I skipped lunch. I haven't been feeling well and I couldn't eat much before leaving for the SIWF yesterday. It was the same today too and I got really hungry once it's mid-afternoon. But there's no way I'd be losing weight any time soon. Mummy is shoving food to me just because I couldn't eat lunch on both days. I can see my weight fluctuating once more.
One more thing:
IS THERE A WAY TO REMOVE A SPLINTER PAINLESSLY?
There's a splinter embedded in my palm. It got stuck when I carried the wooden paddles to the raft after the race yesterday. Help.
H2O
Saturday, July 02, 2011 @ 11:01 pm leave a comment? | 0 shed some light
Last Sunday was my last guitar lesson. I didn't say much to my teacher or to Eugenia and Tammy. I didn't know what to say. All I knew was that I felt really emotional, thinking of the past four and a half years with them. While Mr Wong went to photocopy a Beatles' song, the two girls and I talked about how the first few years were.
I remember Eugenia being the only girl coming to the first lesson in a skirt (not a wise choice). There was also Eugene who sat next to me for the first year before he quit altogether. He was the guy who nearly snapped his guitar strings while trying rasgueado and caused Kai Ming (who left the class in the first year too) to laugh so hard that he had to step outside just to cool down. There were also Jason, Owen and a few others whose name I've forgotten. That was the original class, before more students were added in to replace those who'd left.
I managed to take a photo with Mr Wong and the two girls before I left - not for good, I hope. Maybe there'd be a day when I'd go back. I couldn't help but cry a little afterwards but it's time to move on, I guess. I've already made my decision and I mean to stick by it.
That aside, lots of things have been happening and I've been kept so busy and tired with my projects and whatnot that I've not gotten much time to blog. There was the Singapore International Water Festival (SIWF) organised by SP at the Marina Barrage today. I was a last minute addition to the raft race team for CASS so I went to support them for the raft race. I still feel bad that I could not get on the raft. I mean, if I could have done the rowing, Matin would not have to rush from his photo shoot to get to the Marina Barrage in time for the race without his lunch.
It's a mystery why I am such a bad swimmer - that is if I can count as swimmer. I've taken swimming lessons (no thanks to my secondary school), but my hand-leg coordination is horrible and the coach kind of gave up on me after several failed attempts to teach me the technique of treading water. Till today, I have no idea how one treads water. Which is really scary to me, since that is the basic survival skill when you get thrown into water. It's a miracle that I could kayak for three days during OBS. Well, not that much of a miracle actually, since I was coerced into kayaking. There wasn't a choice. My poor friends had to pull me by the life-vest each time we went into the sea. I really should learn how to swim, so that I never need to inconvenience anyone because of it again.
Painting the raft aluminium turned out to be quite a good thing, since it was a really striking colour. It was easy to see which was our raft, even when Zhao Yi, Stefanie and Matin were out in the waters. It was pretty cute watching them paddle. Unfortunately, when they finally reached the jetty, there was some difficulty in getting the three of them and the raft out of the water. I freaked out initially because Matin looked like he was in agony from where I was standing - imagine Ms Josephine's and my shock when he dropped into the water instead of getting onto the platform. We ran down to the jetty immediately and the two of us were panicking (well Ms Josephine was pretty calm but her face looked really anxious).
Once we got down to the jetty, the three of them were already out of the water. Turned out that Matin's foot was just caught in the ropes and he dived underneath to get it out, I think. At least it wasn't anything serious - although I really thought that he was in agony for a while. Zhao Yi and Stefanie managed to get out after being hauled up by one of the student helpers. The student helpers were a great help by the way - especially so when the raft was so heavy.
The three of them later went to the water play area to cool off, with Afiq joining afterwards. I guess I spent the time watching little kids play with the fountains. There was this cute little toddler who rush back to hug his dad's leg each time he got scared of the fountain. I couldn't help but smile while watching him. I think I now can understand a little of how parents feel when they watch their children play or grow. The little boy was utterly adorable!
There wasn't much to do after the race. The team finished second from the back, which is good nevertheless. I mean, the raft wasn't built for speed so it wasn't that bad. Not to mention that the three looked like they had fun rowing today. It was a nice experience, I suppose. Maybe I should learn how to swim before trying for the raft race next year!
