Lizards

Bloody FREAKING hell.

There was a lizard strolling on my table in hall just now! OMG. I was happily typing an email to Prof Chang regarding my mid-term essay, when I spotted something crawling around behind my laptop. Curious me looked at the thing, thinking it might be some loose paper flapping around, but noooooo it just had to be a fat, dark coloured lizard leisurely exploring my table.

I really wanted to scream at that point in time, or do something hugely dramatic to get someone's attention. But dignity and decorum won out, since there's nobody around to help me, and any sudden action might get the lizard to change course or shoot in a direction that's disadvantageous to me. So I got out of my seat as quickly and quietly as I could, all the while trying to stifle a shriek of hysteria that was gathering in my body.

As I stared at the lizard, it still happily walked around my table! OMG. It was crawling up the wall of my table towards the light, when it decided to switch course. DAMMIT! I so hoped it wouldn't move towards me. It didn't, and I guess I should thank my lucky stars for that. BUT it crawled into my file!!!!! OH MAN I SHALL NEVER LOOK AT THAT FILE IN THE SAME WAY AGAIN.

And I came back to hall with the purpose of sleeping. With the rogue lizard on the loose, how to sleep?!!!?!?! I guess I'll have to adopt the out of sight, out of mind mentality and just go to sleep.

Oh man!!!!!!!!!!

Hehe and I called Yi Lun and was hysterical with her. Poor girl couldn't do anything but just listen to me. Well I wanted someone to listen only, anyway. Nobody can help me this time except myself... Haha I just wanted an outlet to be hysterical to, so... thanks lun! Hong Hui was also one of the accidental victims of my hysteria. Haha... She called me to ask me some CGC stuff, and I told her about the lizard, coz the thumbdrive which I was supposed to check for her was near my laptop which was near the lizard. Sheesh. But I got the thumb drive! And checked the info for her! Yay me!

Ok I think I'm still suffering from the aftereffects of trauma. I'm going to sleep now.

Delusions of Persecution

I think there's a diabolical plan by the pharmaceutical company to kill me slowly.


First, they make sure I have to eat their drugs to keep my asthma under control.


Then, they make me take an overdose of the medicine. This made me hungry during class. They want to make me fat and die of heart attack or some other weight-related diseases!


Next, they just have to use those hard shiny plastic/metal capsule holders to hold the tablets, making me cut my fingers. So far I've cut 2 fingers in 2 days. Look!





Here's a close up of my poor fingers:


Goodness knows what else will happen. This morning was cutting my third finger, yesterday was cutting my index finger and overdosing. The day's only half gone.

Oh and did I tell you? the cough syrup's making me sleep and sleep. I'm going to get all fat and chubby soon. Not to mention crippled, if my back doesn't heal. -_-"

So, see? Isn't this a conspiracy theory to kill me slowly? I must say, the pharmaceutical companies are really creative. Mutilation and drugging. Wonder what's next?




Hehe did I scare you? Don't worry lar, this post was just for fun, though it's certainly true the above have occurred. Not to worry though, I'm not thinking all this is a conspiracy. I was just careless, and I think my stars are not aligned in the right way these days.... =S So please bear with me if I sound out of breath over the phone or not feel like talking online or over the phone k or keep coughing while talking to you k? *Yawn*... I so want to sleep again....

Why am I always the one who is happy when others are down? Can't I be down sometimes?

And I don't want to talk about it.

Another Chapter Closed

Yep, and with Wednesday over last week, another chapter of one of my activities in NTU has closed.

Last week was the last event of the Main Committee of Deli Aprecio Club 2007/2008. It was the Welcome Tea, and we had the election of the new committee. Technically, after they have been officially elected into the new committee, our job's done. So... after the loose ends have been tied up, life with DAC should be a thing of the past.

It feels rather weird, though, seeing as I've been in the committee for the past 3 years. I've worked with many different people from different courses, and learnt about different ways of working. And I've seen DAC going from a 2 year old club to a 4 year old one, a rather old age for a club to be in NTU, I think, seeing as people would assume that we have had more experience after 4 years. Ah well.

Anyway, with this chapter closed, as I mentioned before a few entries ago, other things will start, like research work, tuition, and others. Other things will inevitably come and take DAC's place. But that doesn't mean DAC's forgotten. Haha... it has been a rather significant part of my NTU life from the time I began there, and to a certain extent, it has shaped me too. So... Yup.

I'm feeling all kinds of emotions at the moment, and I've got readings at the back of my mind in the to-do list section, so I guess the sense of nostalgia I'm feeling is not really being translated here. Oh well, perhaps when I have time I shall come back to reminisce about it. But till then, I'd just like to leave a mark here to show the end of one chapter. Many more are going to open up in my life, but that doesn't make any other chapters any less significant. =)

Sick of people

I'm currently sick of people. I don't feel like being friendly. How?

Online Shopping

I thought I was over that phase already! =( But recently I've been feeling an urge to go look at the stuff available in my livejournal account. Oh man... Itchy fingers, itchy eyes, itchy heart! Somebody help me to curb my spending!!!

Haha but luckily, I haven't spent on anything yet. I've a target to reach. I wanna go Europe for grad trip!! Anyone wants to go?

Reading People

I can't deny this any longer. I'm terrible at reading people. I can't tell how they are feeling by looking at them and their behavior! Is it a matter of self-confidence, or is it just insensitivity on my part? Or some other reason? How the heck am I gonna be a good psychologist in this case?

Hmm... Food for thought, isn't it?

Tired

Second week of school and I'm knackered. And there's nobody else in Hall 6 to liven up my hall life. =( Well that is, with the exception of Kok Yong, but he's two floors down and I'm two floors up and there's no way we can study together because of space constraint.

I feel like jumping into bed and sleeping my life away for now.

Blessed

The last week has made me realize again that I am a very very lucky girl, and I would like to thank the following people for making my life so much easier. Without the three of you, I think I'd probably be going very mad right now.

1) I was stressed about my attachment report- the formatting, forgetting to include certain sections of the report into the contents page, thinking about how to hand it in when it's not very convenient to go over to the North Spine to hand it in when I'm at Outram one day and South Spine another.

Enter my wonderful knight in shining armour- Mr Ang Kok Yong, who told me to just write the contents and he'd do everything else for me. And by "everything else", I meant the formatting, the printing, binding, and delivery of the report. And that meant that he'd be in the lab doing his FYP for a shorter period of time.

And because I had been in NTU doing my report till rather late in the night, he also delayed his dinner (cos he was in the process of doing the formatting- it's a long story, I'd rather not say it here), and we ended up having supper at Buona Vista and 10pm. It was impractical for him to send me home to Bedok when Buona Vista's just a few stops away from Boon Lay, but he offered to, anyway. He only stopped after we found out there's a straight bus from Buona Vista to Bedok. And you know what this wonderful guy did? He kept me company on the bus, talking to me off and on on the phone (well hand phone bills are expensive you know), checking how many stops I had left, even though he himself was very tired too. He only put down the phone after I had gotten into the cab, after knowing which cab I was in, because by the time I reached Bedok, it was 1230am, and everywhere was dark and quiet. How wonderful is he?

2) The last week of the summer break also means that I have to start preparing to pack to move back to hall. However, I've been busy with the graduation project, and other things, so I didn't really have time to pack my things. Enters another angel- Mira! I had only told her to pack the cleaning supplies for me, and I would pack all the rest, but when I came home, I found that everything had been packed, and more. Mira had read through my list, and added in things which I had forgotten. And you know what was most touching? She remembered that I like having a little bolster case to sleep with, and she included that for me too! That was not necessary, but she actually remembered this little thing. How sweet is that?

3) Of course, I wouldn't have made it to hall without transport of my own, and my dear father provided me with that. He made 3 trips down to NTU, and even went around looking for things which I did not have at home so that I could bring it to hall. Without him, I'd still be left with a million and one other things to bring back to hall.

I am really very thankful for all the help all of them have given me, and being there for me. All these deeds, though seemingly small and might also seem to be the role they are supposed to play, hence the duty they performed, are nonetheless really really wonderful. They all went above and beyond their roles, just to make it easier for me to survive. Thank you all so so much. I think to a large extent, I am what I am today because of each of you. =)

Reports Again

I predict that my life from here onwards is going to be full of report writing. It's not that I don't like report writing, but it's just that writing reports requires crafting words from conversational and colloquial to becoming professional and civilized. It takes alot of mental energy to find the right words and phrasings to construct sentences that mean what you really want to say. I like this challenge, but when I have to keep doing it over and over again, it gets tiring.

Now I know what Grace meant when she said writing is her craft. Indeed, writing is a craft, which requires skillful shaping of your words, such that you can use it to mean things you don't really mean, but yet somehow suggest that you do mean it. I think academics are always very good at that, that's why they can cite other studies wrongly, and yet not be found out.

I could go on and on, but I have to get back to my report now. 2000 words. So near yet so far! How to squeeze in so much of what I have learnt into a mere 2000 words? Again, comes the issue of crafting your writing. How to skillfully carve your words into precise points that deliver your message accurately? How do you pour your reflections into 2000 words and yet express everything you want to say? I wish I could just hand in all 10 of my logbooks and just be done with it, but it's not right either.

Argh. Ok I shall stop my self-pitying and go on with it. I need to finish this fast so I can move on with other things!!!!

Life Goes On

So attachment came and went in a blink of an eye, and starting on the Graduation Project (from now on called GP) is starting very soon tomorrow. I had thought 10 weeks would pass excruciatingly slowly, but I was so wrong. They just came and went, and before I knew it, we had to plan what to give to our colleagues at CEL. They've really been really helpful and really friendly to us, guiding us and teaching us, and I've learnt alot from the experience. How often does one get to experience so much stuff that goes on in Psychology? It was really fun trying out the various tests, and getting the specialists themselves to teach us the interpretations and scorings.

And tomorrow, I'm gonna start on the data entry for my GP. And not too long after that, school's going to start, and everything else after that will be a complete madhouse. The days of rushing around doing projects, meeting deadlines, and studying will be here soon.

Speaking of which, many many things have happened this holiday. I started working at MindEdge, and then quit not too long after that, found a tuition job, ended attachment, and am moving on to other things now. Looking back, I realised life's really full of transitions. We never stop to realize how far we've moved on until we look back and see what we've done.

7 months ago, I thought time would also pass really slowly with Kok Yong gone in China. In the end, though time did seem to pass slowly, looking back, the 6 months passed really fast, because I had also been occupied with things going on in my life as well. I guess even if there are some things missing in our lives at certain periods of time, we slowly learn to live with it, because we have to, due to the obligations and commitments that we have made. I think, people need commitments and obligations to move on, because these are necessary to enable us to function. They keep us going, simply because we feel a need to fulfill them.

I once watched a movie, where the male lead had a philosophy which he lived by: no matter how bad things are, at the end of the day, you will still be in one piece. This had a huge impact on me, and I began to use it as my own philosophy as well. Though it might not seem so, I have actually grown more daring because of this. I used to be really shy and scared. I still am, but I've improved. And I think, since I'm still alive, I ought not to just throw my life away. And that's why I'm against suicide. How could I end my life when I don't even know how it will turn out?

But that's enough about that reflective part about life going on. Because life goes on, and time goes on, Kok Yong's come back! And Evon and Yi Lun too!

I just spent a wonderful day with Kok Yong yesterday. Haha... It's been the longest time we've spent together since he came back from China, and it was really nice. =) We went to Holland Village for dinner, then we went to the main purpose of going there- eating ice cream at Cold Rock Ice Creamery. I've been wanting to try this place, because I've been reading about it in magazines. The first time I found out the location of Cold Rock with Si Huan, Hong Hui and Pei Shan, we were too full to try it out. Then I almost got to go with Evon and Yi Lun, but I ended up feeling sick that day (sickening lar, I tell you!), then FINALLY I went with Kok Yong.

The concept at Cold Rock's pretty cool. You choose the size of ice cream you want, then after that, you choose a maximum of 2 flavours of ice cream, which is rather worth it, seeing as 2 scoops of ice cream usually cost more than $4.50. Then you decide whether you want to put toppings- toppings cost $1 each, but the varieties are so cool! There are Tim-Tams, Snickers, Willy Wonka Nerds, Ferrero Rocher, and many many more! Then they'll take your order, put them onto a granite slab, and mix everything together so you essentially have an ice cream you created based on your desire. How cool is that? I like the concept, though I have to say, in terms of quality of ice cream, there are better ice creams elsewhere, my favourite being gelatos. =) But it was nice.

Dinner was at Amici's, an Italian restaurant. Well, the food was good, but the price was quite high. I ordered pasta in squid ink and fried cod, and Kok Yong ordered the fried cod. We also had the appetiser of fried goose liver with raisins and pear. All of them were good, and I must say, Kok Yong's fried cod was very nice. It can melt in the mouth! =) The goose liver, or foie gras, as is the correct name, was quite good too. I was initially apprehensive about eating it, it being goose liver and all, but the taste was good. Paired with pears, the combination was quite complementary with each other- savoury and sweet. Yum.

I didn't take photos coz at Cold Rock, we were busy enjoying the ice cream, and at Amici's, the restaurant was too dark, so any flashes by the camera would have attracted quite a bit of attention, and for those who know what my Nikon camera is like, there wouldn't have been one flash, but a series of eye-blinding flashes that would make people think there was lightning in the room. Haha...

Then we went to watch Red Cliff. I think Red Cliff is quite a nice show. I liked watching how the strategists pitted themselves against one another in war, and of course, Tony Leung's acting is very good. =D But I was quite turned off by all the killing. I mean, I know war needs to have killing, but the way the blood was shown to spurt out like a geyser, the way the soldiers were killed- ankles slashed, throat slashed, stomachs sliced open, pulled into the group and stabbed continuously... - made me avert my eyes a few times. But it all looked very real. An irritating part's when the ending said that the movie was to be continued. Arghhh.... I was sleepy, but I still wanted to watch! Aiyoh!

Yep, but I still had a wonderful time!!! =)

Inertia

I'm supposed to be doing my logbook now, and faithfully do so everyday, because I wanna have enough time to spend with my darlings when they come back. But I can't seem to get myself started! I keep doing all sorts of things, like checking mail, listening to Connie Talbot, talking to Evon... Aiyoh!

Ok! I am going to get started now, otherwise there'll be a mad rush next week again to complete it. Bye!

蔷蔷

I found this song while reading Jareen's blog. Omg... the song's so sad! It made me cry so much as I was watching the music videos. The song is a tribute to Ella's dog, 蔷蔷, who passed away last year. I think it was after SHE toured Singapore that he died, coz she didn't perform this song while she was here... Anyway, hope you like the song!

ahhhh

Oh man, I sooo know that I'm supposed to be updating my eLogBook right now, but I keep getting distracted from it. It's so troublesome to keep updating it! I have to keep trying to think of ways to phrase what I learnt, but there are some things that we do and experience that are so hard to put into words! How do you tell them that you really did learn something from tidying up the pantry today? I know I learnt something from it, but it's hard to put it into words and make it sound like a significant thing that I learnt. It's significant to me, sure, but how do I let the reader know how much it affected me.

This is why, I think I have a love-hate relationship with words. Words can so easily disguise the true intention of the writer, and yet, without words, it is so hard to articulate even the basic meaning of what we want to let the other party know. Sometimes, what I say sounds too over the top, but that's the best way I can put things to let the other party know how much that action touched me. In times like this, I guess it's hard to express how I feel, but I just want the other person to know how much I appreciate it, because sometimes, it's hard for the other person to tell, and I want to make it known to the person that I had noticed it, and really appreciated the effort. But I know, too, that it's too over the top, too. But that's how happy you made me, seriously.

And I realise now I'm actually not turning back to my logbook. Argh. The faster I get this done, the faster I can turn my attention to other things! Gotta get my eyes on Microsoft Word now. Wish me luck!

Tagged

Rules:
People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Tag 8 people to do this quiz & those who are tagged cant refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person who they were tagged by.

#1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Depends on the betrayal, really. If it's two-timing, I'll wonder what went wrong, then say byebye to him. Don't think I can trust him another time...

#2. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
That I can be content with what I have and just be happy. Haha sounds very politically correct, I know, but I'm sick of always thinking of trying to get ahead in the rat race.

#3. What will your dream wedding be like?
I like this question! Haha... As many people will know, it'll be a garden wedding, held in the day, and instead of a 10-course meal or however many courses, I'll have many carts around the garden, where the chefs will cook your food on the spot. No need to wear nice nice, coz it's a garden wedding, and there sure as hell won't be any shark's fin! Thenthenthen... Ah, there'll be a father-daughter dance... imagine little girls dancing with their fathers... so sweet!

#4. Are you confused as to what lies ahead of you?
Not really.

#5. What's your ideal lover like?
A family person, tries to make me feel secure, always there for me, doing little things to let me know I'm always on his mind, making the effort to know my family... Oh wait, I think there's someone like that already... ;)

#6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Being loved.

#7. What do you see yourself as?
Goodness, I really don't know how to answer this kind of question... Well I see myself as someone who tries to accommodate others, to the extent that sometimes I let myself get taken advantage of. Well don't think I don't know I'm being taken advantage of, I'm aware of it, just that sometimes I can't be bothered to confront them about it. Ah, and I do try to make people's expectations come true. If someone thinks I'm blur and don't really know what's going on, or not very bright, I'll continue behaving this way. After all, if in the first place they thought of me like that, it means they aren't looking at me in a very positive light, are they? So would they be convinced that I'm not as blur as they think if I were to show otherwise? So should I even bother? Nah... I'll save my energy. For all you know, I can turn it to my advantage. Hah!

#8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
In the first place, I think if I knew someone was attached, I'd keep my distance... But if there is such a scenario, I think I'd try to keep the hell away from him.

#9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
If it was unhappy, I don't think I want to talk about it anymore.

#10. If you had a choice, what kind of family you want to be born into?
The same one.

#11. Is being tagged fun?
Well, seeing as I've been thinking of what to write about to ripple my blog, I'd say this came at the right time. =)

#12. How do you see yourself in ten years time?
Having a family, working in a career I am working towards now.

#13. Who are currently the most important people to you?
Family, friends, Kok Yong. In no particular order. They all have the same rank.

#14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Ook, Si Wei was the one who tagged me. I'd say she's an open-minded person, who has a large depth for understanding others. I mean, I've blown her off appointments so many million times, and goodness knows that almost everytime we go out together something ALWAYS has to happen to cut shop our meeting- inappropriate shoes that made me unable to walk for long, stupid cramps that made me have to go home, and so much more, but Si Wei has been really understanding all this time, and I'm really touched because of that. I think she places her friends high on her priority list, and she's a good friend too! Hmm... but I guess sometimes she's a little too straightforward, so she might rub people the wrong way with the things she says... Overall, though, she's a great person. =)

#15. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Married but poor, but the partner has to be someone I want to spend the rest of my life with.

#16. What's the first thing you do every morning?
Look at my handphone, see the time, and sleep for another 20 minutes.

#17. Would you give all in a relationship?
Yes. If it's the right person/people.

#18. Do you live to love, live to hate or live for the sake of living?
I don't know. I think I want to live to see how my life turns out. I can't stand stories that end halfway. So you won't see me committing suicide. That's too anticlimatic. And I don't want to die all ugly and bloodied. Eeew.

#19. What type of friends do you like?
Someone who doesn't put me down all the time, be there for me when I need him/her, be open-minded. Actually, it's the presence that matters... Some people, you just feel that you can click with them, and never feel bored when you are talking or hanging out with them.

#20. What type of friends do you dislike?
I think this question's quite misleading... how do I be friends with people I dislike? Hmm... ok but to be fair, for those I don't really like, I'll still be civil to them, until they really get on my nerves, then I'll get quiet and get all blur. Better to be blur and not explode and do something I'll regret, I feel.

Anyway, people who get on my nerves are those who talk about their problems, but never seem to do anything about it. Like, do something about it, if they find the situation unbearable! Or seek help or something. Erm... and backstabbers, and people who play politics, and those who impose themselves on others and have no inkling that they're doing so. And those who hint hint at things they want you to do, such that you feel obligated to help them, and when you offer to help them, they try to act all magnanimous and long-suffering and say, "oh, it's too troublesome for you, it's ok lar, I'll do it another time... it's so heavy, I'll do it another day..." OMG. If you need help, just say it, no need to go around the bush like this. I don't know what you want. Well, I do. I know you're hinting for help, but you talking like that after I've offered my help doesn't make things any easier. It just wastes more time, and it becomes me persuading you to let me help. I don't have the energy to play this game, seriously. I've got other things to do.

ITS YOUR TURN NOW!!
Well I'm supposed to tag 8 people, but you know what? I'm not going to do it. I don't have 8 people to tag. So if you're interested in doing this, please feel free to! =)

I need more discipline.



And I need to eat less chilli. It's having a rock and roll concert in my tummy right now. =(

Can't get them out of my head

Yep, these song lyrics are the more memorable ones that keep sticking in my head. Some have been inside for a long time, while some were just stuck recently. It's just some lines of these songs, but they keep going round and round in my mind. Some might have meaning, but others don't. You be the judge. =)

"I've caught myself smiling alone, just thinking of your voice" -- Don't Say You Love Me by The Corrs

"Everyone can see who you are, take a look at yourself, tell me why keep on denying. Everything you say (denying), everything you do, so be a fool to yourself forever more. Trying every kind of move, tells me what's it gonna prove. You ain't foolin' nobody, you ain't foolin' nobody but yourself." -- Denying by Spice Girls

"But with you, I can let my hair down, I can say anything crazy I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground." -- With You by Jessica Simpson

"A little more time, a little less wait, a little more heart, a little less break. Simple and true, what they say, a little bit goes a long way. A little less talk, a little more do, a little more me, a little less you. Baby at the end of the day, a little bit goes a long way. " -- A Little Bit by Jessica Simpson

"最难过时候就会想起你, 其实你已经给了我勇气" --微笑的理由by 梁静茹，宇恒

"All I need is a good disguise One where nobody can recognize That I'm feeling so small All I need is a secret weapon I've gotta have faith Zapping monsters into outer space I'm gonna be a Superhero" -- Little Superhero Girl by Corrinne May

And of course, my favourite song:

"Don't what you do to me but
Everytime I'm with you its a natural high
its like re-discovering Eden
with chocolate-coated rainbows and cotton candy skies

And everytime you look my way
I wish i had the guts to say

There's something in your eyes
Something in your smile
Something in the way you move me
You make me want to sing
Make me want to dance
Make me want to cry
I'm falling in love with you.

I think i'll hire Cupid
He'll make you see I'm more than your friend
You'll be tossing and turning
Counting the hours till you see me again
And when we meet you'll
Kiss my hand and say the words I've longed to hear

There's something in your eyes
Something in your smile
Something in the way you move me
You make me want to sing
Make me want to dance
I'm falling in love with you" --Something About You by Corrinne May

22nd Birthday

Haha yes, you read it right. My 22nd birthday, the one I've been saying I'd blog about, but never did, because deadlines kept showing up just when I thought I'd cleared them. -_-"

Anyway, this year's birthday was a humbling experience. Not that last year wasn't humbling (I still remember the train and the surprise party... oh man, a train imported from UK- I still can't believe it. I must show it off to Kok Yong and my nephews next time), it's just that this year, I was really touched that so many people remembered and surprised me in more ways than one.

The first to celebrate my birthday with me was Si Wei, on 19th Feb. Haha... we had dinner at Spageddies, and it was supposed to be her treat, but we ended up going dutch coz there's a discount for UOB card members, and it'd be an absolute waste if we didn't make use of the discount. Haha! So Si Wei, don't feel bad lar. I wanted to make use of the discount. Judging from the amount of food we ate, I think it'd be a good idea to reduce the cost of the food. Haha... Speaking of which, I'd never eaten so much cheese before in my life. All the dishes we ordered had cheese. The garlic bread, pasta (mine was a FOUR cheese pasta, and I forgot what Si Wei had- what did you have ah, Si Wei?), and the soup, though not cheesy, nonetheless was some cream soup. I think it was clam chowder, was it? Haha... it was too bad that I had school that day, and so could only meet her after school, which didn't give us much time to catch up. =( I wanted to go Lucky Plaza to check out the jeans too! But by the time we struggled through dinner- it was really too much cheese, really- it was about 9 plus, and I did tell Meishi and Kok Yong that I'd be back by 1030, so they wouldn't wonder what happened to me. Haha... And I wish I'd taken photos!!! Oh man!!!

Then... next was Kok Yong. Haha... We were on Skype with each other, and he gave me this:

Haha there are actually 4 versions of this, one normal coloured, and one like this, and different positions of the photos, but you get the gist of it. Haha.. Did you know that you can use Skype to take photos of the other person while talking to him/her? I didn't, until I found out. Haha... So this was Kok Yong's present for that day.

And nope, you all guessed wrongly if you think that's all he gave me. Hee... He sang a birthday song! Ahhh so sweet! *silly grin on my face* And... we did celebrate my birthday quite long ago, on Christmas. Haha.. yes, you read right. Christmas (hmm so I guess he's the first person who celebrated my birthday... but anyway, that's not the point). He remembered me saying I wanted a dress watch, so he'd been looking around for it. Haha... imagine a guy walking all round Vivocity, carrying shopping bags of various sizes inside a watch shop looking at watches... Haha... I still can't quite picture it, but I can imagine that Vivocity at Christmas is absolute madness, and given that he doesn't quite like to squeeze with crowds (and this time with so many bags in tow), I think it's really sweet that he went to so much trouble to find the watch for me. And a pretty watch it is, too, even my mother wanted to kope it from me. Haha... some of you might remember me wearing it...

Ok, and what happened next was unexpected. After I put down the phone with Kok Yong, I heard next door singing the birthday song really loudly. And I was wondering why they were singing a birthday song when nobody among them had a birthday around that time. I mean, you could say, "duh, it's for you", but I didn't wanna appear too presumptuous mah, and they never let on that they had anything planned! So there I was, in my own room, unsure whether to go to the other room to check out who they were singing for, and when the birthday song ended, they went another round, and Jeanette came to my door and shouted "Yi Ling" when the part of the song came when they were supposed to say my name came. Haha... so this time it was really obvious, so I went to Seow Ling's room. And they continued singing the song in many languages- Vietnamese, Hokkien, English, Mandarin, Korean and somemore languages. Haha... it took rather long for them to finish singing, but I was enjoying every minute of it. I mean, how often do you get people singing birthday songs to you in so many languages? I was touched. Really touched.

By the time the song finished, the candles were pretty short already, and there was quite a bit of wax on the cake. Haha... well, to know what went on, below are the photos to tell the story!

Ooh... and on my birthday, DAC had a registration booth for the mushroom park event. Sweet Yanzhen remembered my birthday and wished me! Then she reminded the rest of the committee about it, and that day, when LeRoy came to give me back my laptop, I found a note and a cookie inside. Haha... and he didn't tell me about it. I only found out just before I slept at like 12 plus... =S Anyway, this is what the present looks like! Thanks DAC!

Isn't it cute? Haha... The cookie was from Caffe Express, and it's not bad you know. And surprisingly, though it's just a cookie, it's pretty filling. Enough for my breakfast... haha!

Anddandand... the fun didn't end there! That night, I went out to watch a movie with Ling Hoong. And there, another surprise awaited me. Oh, it didn't happen immediately. Haha... I went to watch CJ7 with Ling Hoong (which, by the way, is a rather nice movie), after which we met Pony and Merrilyn for dinner at Ichiban Sushi. While waiting for them, Ling Hoong wished me happy birthday, and gave me a cute magnet, shown below:

AND, she made a card, which is very nice too!

Isn't it nice?

OK then we had the dinner. I wasn't suspecting anything, until Pony handed over a paperbag to one of the waitresses walking past, and... guess what? I saw a box of matches inside. Naturally, since Pony doesn't smoke, and I think smokers don't use matches these days, the natural conclusion was that it was gonna be used to light candles.... *sheepish smile* BUT I quickly averted my eyes. Haha! And you know what? We didn't take photos together again!! But I've got some nice photos of the cake. And it's mango mirror, Prima Deli's signature cake! =D Smart girls, knowing I like that cake from Prima Deli. Haha!

And Merrilyn gave me a shock that afternoon, by congatulating me on having twins. I was like, twins...?! Yes, and from the picture below you'll get what she meant:

And that wasn't all Pony and Merrilyn gave me. Earlier in the week, Pony, Merrilyn, Si Huan and Alvin (?) gave me a top from Dorothy Perkins which is gorgeous. But I forgot to take a photo of it!! =(

Hmm... Then the next week, Joanne gave me her present for me. When I opened it I was like, "WHOA"... When you see the picture you'll know why:

And my mother loves this bracelet so much. Haha... Thanks Joanne!

And... a few weeks later came Hong Hui and Pei Shan's present:

Which was what I was soo tempted to buy last December but didn't in the end. And the colour they got for me was the one that I had picked up and walked towards the cashier with. I was really amazed that they got this for me, and I must say, during the exam period when the water cooler in the pantry was down, this water cooler really came in handy. Haha...

And of course, I'm not forgetting those who sent me smses and left messages on my facebook wall throughout the day. I'm so sorry I can't remember all their names now, coz it was too long ago, but I hope you all know that I really really appreciate you all remembering my birthday. Because I think that just leaving a message shows that you care, and I'm really happy to receive those messages. It's just too bad that my phone doesn't have a large storage space, but I did wish I could keep all the messages... haha....

So... yep, I had a wonderful birthday again this year, and thank you all of you who made it such a wonderful day for me. =D You make me feel very fortunate, and very very humbled. =)

One Down, 4 To Go!

Yep, and I'm feeling a sense of relief as I finish French today. Though there are other heavier modules, I've to say that I've been very worried about my French, worried about the stupid articles which I can't seem to place at the right place. =S

And today's paper was pretty interesting. The comprehension was pretty cool, requiring us to write the family tree of the character, doing his timeline... and other questions in other sections included matching, filling in someone's particulars, and crossword puzzles! I love crossword puzzles, just that I couldn't read the instructions in order to know that it was a crossword puzzle. -_-" It was only after I answered what I could, then I checked with the invigilator that I realised it was a crossword puzzle. And the first invigilator I asked said it was "obvious". Well DUH I think it was obvious too, after I realised it was what it was, but when I couldn't understand the instructions, how was I supposed to know? Or maybe I just don't have the common sense required to understand it. -_-" Ah well, all in all, it was a pretty interesting paper. I quite enjoyed doing it actually. Haha, never thought I'd say that about exam papers, but yah. At some points I was really having quite a bit of fun. This is unlike other exams where rote-learning's required. It's more like the maths exam papers I did in primary 1. Haha... Well, now I'm hoping that my level of enjoyment matches the results I'm gonna get. I hope I do well! *crosses fingers*

And I better get back to work now.

All the best to all of you who have exams!

Which Language?

While revising for my French paper, a thought suddenly came to me: during the World Wars, what language was used as a medium of communication between the different countries? And how did German and Russia communicate? France is a nationalistic country, would they have spoken English? And Japan, being nationalistic as well, would they have wanted to speak English? How did the countries tell each other things and communicate their terms and conditions for war and peace? Could there have been miscommunication between the countries which led to a protracted World War, or started the wars? Like, you know how different cultures will phrase their sentences when using a foreign language based on their knowledge of their own home language, so... could there have been misunderstandings?

Isn't it interesting? Or am I the only one? Haha!

Little Superhero Girl

This video made me smile alot. The children are so cute! Somehow they moved me to tears... The singing's not that great, but they seemed so innocent!

Slacking

I totally feel like slacking right now. I'm not sure if it's coz the last of the projects was just completed today, or I simply have a subconscious death wish to plunge my GPA all the way to hell.

OK that sounded really pissed, but truthfully, I'm not feeling pissed. Just wondering why I don't have a sense of urgency, when I should be all spidery. Maybe it's just like what Joyce said yesterday, and what Kok Yong reiterated last night- the sense of urgency I get when there is no time left to study is a positive reinforcement, coz it makes me move and try to do things better. This is classical conditioning, coz I pair having no time with studying. And after that, it all becomes operant conditioning, where having no time makes me study, minus all the sense of urgency. Hmm. This explanation sounds wonky to me. Did I get the concept right? HP324 students, help me out here! Tell me if this concept's wrong.....

And on a different topic, I realise my room at home's pretty small. Even though Yi Lun's not home, I don't think there's enough space for all my things. I just began moving my things back home, and though I've only been moving files and clothes and other miscellaneous things, I realise I might not have enough space for everything. Argh. And looking at the things left in hall, I think I'll have to put alot of my stuff inside the store room, to pull them out again when I move back to hall again next year. Maybe I shouldn't bring that many small things back to hall next year, then my move back home won't be so troublesome?

On the bright side, though, I realised I won't need to pay an additional $7 extension stay in hall just coz the office will be closed. Apparently, though they are closed, I can still drop off my keys on the night of 30 April before I leave hall. Which is great, since I probably won't be back anymore for the rest of the three months. Haha... Hmm... But I wonder if there will still be too many big and necessary items left to move on that last day, seeing as how I still need my trolley and water cooler and toiletries before the last paper. But it's good, at least I don't have to waste more money! =)

With the prospect of 30 April looming nearer, I shall decide to be positive and go attack my revision with vigour.

Ah the beauty of words, how they can belie the truth of everything.....

Finally!

Finally almost all the projects have been completed. Now I'm left with one more presentation tomorrow, then I can start revising my work in peace. After finishing the report early this morning and handing it up, I felt a load off my shoulders- finally I can put this aside and concentrate on my backlog.

Of course, when I got round to checking just how much backlog there is, I realised there's no better time to see just how behind in my work I really am. And it's a good thing I check it now, coz it's really a huge pile I haven't touched, and I'm gonna need a whole damn lot of discipline in order to finish studying everything.

Ah well, I must be grateful for the little things. At least projects finish earlier this sem! And I'm looking forward to June! =)

Instead

Verse1:
I saw him shaking his change in a coffee cup
Asked for a dollar but I told the man to give it up
Said he's hungry I don't think that it's true
I bet my dollar he'd just spend it on booze
I turned my back on him and began to walk away
But then I heard a little voice inside me say
What if it's really true?
What if he's hungry?
What if it's not for him?
Does he have a family?

How'd you get here
How'd you end up on the street
Where did go wrong
Wonder what I'd do if it were me

Chorus:
A new point of view
A walk in your shoes
I wish I could get inside your head
To see what you see
When you look at me
Cause I could have lived your life instead

Verse2:
It was 90 degrees in the Summer heat
She was veiled in black all the way down to her feet
This is America doesn't she know
Somebody take her shopping buy her some clothes
She came up to me I didn't understand a word
I was about to leave then another thought occurred
She must be really lost scared and frustrated
I should try again to see what she's saying

How'd you get here
How'd you get so far from home
What was it that made you leave
Wonder what I'd do if it were me

Chorus:
A new point of view
A walk in your shoes
I wish I could get inside your head
To see what you see when you look at me
Cause I could have lived your life instead

I wanna see oh see what you see
And I wanna feel oh feel just what you feel

Chorus(2x)

Cuz I could have lived your life instead(2x)

I used to overlook this song, until I got curious enough to search. And what a pleasant surprise, nice lyrics in addition to catchy music! I wanted to put up the song, but couldn't find it on imeem. Oh well... try looking for it if you can! =)

WHEN I SEE AN ELEPHANT FLY

Did you ever see an elephant fly?)
(Well, I seen a horsefly)
(And I seen a dragonfly)
(Yeah, I seen a housefly)
(Ha-ha-ha-ha)

Yeah, I seen all that too...
I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band
I seen a needle that winked its eye
But I be done seen 'bout ev'rything
When I see a elephant fly

(What d'you say, boy?)I
said when I see a elephant fly

I seen a front porch swing, heard a diamond ring
I seen a polka-dot railroad tie
But I be done seen 'bout ev'rything
When I see a elephant fly

(I saw a clothes horse, he r'ar up and buck)
(And they tell me that a man made a vegetable truck)
(I didn't see that, I only heard)
(But just to be sociable, I'll take your word)

(I heard a fireside chat, I saw a baseball bat)
(And I just laughed till I thought I'd die)
But I be done seen 'bout ev'rything
When I see a elephant fly

Well I be done seen 'bout ev'rything
When I see a elephant fly(With the wings)
When I see an elephant fly

---From the Walt Disney film "Dumbo" (1941)(Oliver Wallace / Ned Livingston)
Cliff Edwards, Jim Carmichael& The Hall Johnson Choir (Film Soundtrack) - 1941


I was just listening to this song on my mp3 player the other day, and I really love how they play with words. Haha... structural ambiguity, anyone? ;)

And I put this song up on my blog. Turn on your speakers and listen to the song!

Yes!

Yes! Another thing to be happy about: one project down!

Well I guess having a timed deadline's good in a sense, because it gives me a sense of urgency. But I only realised how much a procrastinator I am until 5 hours before the deadline, when I had to really get my act together and come up with something, no matter how crappy the beginning was. Yep, so after getting out a paragraph or two, I was on a roll, baby! And I ended up overshooting the word limit. Again. Like, what's new right? -_-" Never mind! It's behind me already, and I think this Linguistics project's the biggest project of the sem, and it's over. Though there's still a presentation tomorrow and a French Oral on Tuesday, I've decided to look on the bright side. Over this week, 2 headaches will be gone!

And I'm gonna have a new resolution: I'm gonna try saving more money. I need money to travel! Haha... December's coming up, and alot of important people's birthdays are coming up then, so... yep. Hopefully I can afford that air ticket. You think I should fly down to NZ from Miri? Ok, besides travelling there, I want to go on holiday!! =S Haha but where can I find so much money? I checked the 4D results... Argh, didn't manage to win anything. So sad! Whoever said kena-ing bird shit has a relationship with winning 4D probably didn't mean me. =(

Ah well, nature's law of equity. Who knows, if I'd won the money, something else would be taken from me. It's just as well, I guess? *shrugs*

And now I should get back to my work. Jiayou!!!

10 Happy Moments

Haha I got this from Evon's friend Yvonne's blog while procrastinating. I think we should try to do this more often to remind us that life's not so bleak and hopeless after all. If I tag you, please try to do it k? Cheer up everyone! =)

1. Valentine's Day (the thought still brings a smile to my face)

2. My birthday (thank you all of you for remembering and celebrating it with me and for sending me your wonderful messages! I'll be doing a post on that soon, I promise!! =) )

3. This:

4. The thought of my bank account increasing this month!

5. Helping out the LMS division - it was fun watching all the ambassadors working together to promote HSS, and their own divisions =)

6. talking to Evon on the phone, like, finally!

7. My friends being so nice to help me find participants for the Linguistics project- thank you so much!

8. The new Cartoon theme I got in my handphone!

9. My Little Mermaid organizer- yah yah I know it's childish, but I still think it's super nice! Catherine was like, "You really like Disney, don't you?" To which I happily replied, "Yup!" Haha I really like Disney you know, I want to go Disneyland again! It doesn't matter which one, I just wanna go there!!!!! =)

10. I'm anticipating this: finishing the Linguistics project and presentation.

11. I know there's supposed to be 10, but I want to put more! Coz I'm anticipating these:

- Evon, Yi Lun, and Kok Yong are coming back! =) I'll be super happy then! Haha we can like finally do sister stuff when Evon and Yi Lun come back. Miss them so so so much!!!! =)

As you can probably tell, I'm in kind of a hyper mood now. Haha... well I think this things works you know. The thought of all these happy things makes me smile with the memory of them, and kinda gives me more motivation. SO, the people I wanna tag are *drumroll please!*

1) Merrilyn

2) Si Huan

3) Evon

4) Yi Lun

5) Cotton

Report Writing

I don't like writing reports. I really don't. Argh. Even if I have good group members, I still don't like writing them.

On a brighter note, did you know that there's igoogle? It's quite cool. Go check it out, you get to choose gadgets to put on your homepage. One of the gadgets I put is this thing called "Things to Ponder". It's so 欠扁! It was, "how do you draw a blank?" and another one was, "isn't it unnerving that doctors call what they do 'practice'?" Haha! And you can put games like bejewelled on the page, together with picture of the day, quote of the day, countdowns... haha it's quite alot of things. =) It's cool!

Happiness?

Everyday we hear of people around us saying that their greatest wish is to be happy people. Even on special occasions, like birthdays, New Years, Christmas etc, we find ourselves wishing others happiness.

But when we wish others happiness, are we projecting our desire for happiness onto others? Or is happiness a universally pursued need by all of us?

There are many theories about what constitutes happiness. Some say that it's the simplest things in life, like a cup of coffee when you want to take a break, that makes them happy. Some say time alone makes them happy. Some say adventure, going on holidays. Some say when things go well in their lives.

But how well is well? At which point will we say, "I'm a truly happy person, and I shall be contented with what I have. I will not hanker for more than I have been given. I shall be content". I think there are only a rare few who would view life in this way, and I must say, these are the people I really admire, because they are courageous enough to go against the conventions of wanting more in order to survive in society.

To me, I believe that happiness, in whichever dosage it comes in, should be treasured. Sure it stings when I find that there are better things outside which I didn't manage to get, but... if I think about it, things could have turned out worse, couldn't it? I won't deny that I'm competitive, and I want the best. But I'm trying to become a person who is contented with what she has, because in reality, nobody can have it all.

Like Evon said, there's a natural law of equity. When we get something that's extra to us, something in another aspect of our life will be reduced. I believe in that, and so, though I'll continue striving for the best, I'll learn to be contented with what I get.

I won't say it's easy, because it's definitely not. How could it, when we're always faced by people who are living examples of "if I could do it, you most certainly can", which makes us think, "he/she could do it, I think my capability's as good as his/hers, so why should I be happy with myself? This is not good enough. I must get better!"? I guess that's where 人比人，气死人 came from.

Haha an ironic thought just struck me. Aren't we often envious of those who seem happier than us, making us want to be happier people than who we are now?

Come to think of it, is it an evolutionary phenomenon that makes us so competitive?

Yep, just some thoughts before I start on the report that I'm procrastinating over. My groupmates are so efficient! Here I am, hoping that I have at least until tomorrow before their parts come in, but they're so efficient! Haha... This is good too in a way, the faster we get this done, the faster we can get back to other work. Yes! Jiayou!!

And to all of you, have a good recess! =) Jiayou!

Valentine's Day

Yah I know Valentine's Day was like 2 days ago, but I was too busy to blog about it. BUT: That doesn't mean my Valentine's Day was uneventful. Sure, Kok Yong was away, but he sure made his presence felt. Haha he sent flowers! Omg, it's the first time I've received a bouquet of flowers from a guy- my favourite flowers, no less. Yellow tulips! It was so sweet of him to send flowers while he was from China. Well, here are the photos! They were arranged so nicely!!! =)

Aren't they so pretty? Heard it was hard to find florists selling yellow tulips, so Kok Yong had a hard time looking for one. It was only after a month of searching that he was able to find a florist, with a reasonable price, though it was still pretty expensive. =S Valentine's Day is indeed a day to suck dry the pockets of couples. -_-" Well this does not in any way mean I do not appreciate his efforts. I am!!

Imagine the shock I had when the deliveryman appeared at my door calling me on the morning of Valentine's Day. Sure the guard had called up earlier to let me know, but there have been many occasions when the guard called and said there was a delivery when he had got the unit wrong. So I thought the same way- after all, nobody ordered anything. Yah, so I was quite shell-shocked when the guy actually appeared.

And what a big bouquet of flowers it was, and so beautiful! And there was a card and a little bear inside. Wow. Haha...

But besides the flowers that made my day, I think it was the knowledge that Kok Yong had actually remembered my favourite flowers and taken the trouble to search for them, and sent them while from China. That was very very sweet.

I'm trying to dry the flowers, I really hope they can be dried... Some petals have dropped already, and do you know how sad I was when I saw that?!?!! But no worries, I am pressing the petals in a telephone book at the moment, hopefully they'll be preserved... Ah well, if the tulips are not preserved, I hope the roses and the baby's breath will be.....

Wellwellwell...

What Yi Ling Means

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life.You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone.Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Haha what do you think? I think some of it has a bit of truth, but wait- do I see a contradiction? How can I be "pretty tightly wound" and still "relaxed, chill and very likely to go with the flow"...? Haha but this is pretty entertaining nonetheless. ;)

CNY and a Bit More

I realise my posts have been on the short side lately. Feedback has been that the entries are easier to read in bite-sized pieces, and I agree, actually. The font size on the blog is too small! Even I don't feel like re-reading my entries, so you're forgiven. Thing is, I know the solution is to post it up with bigger fonts, but... people got poor memory larrrrrr... Haha I promise, I'll try my best to remember to use larger fonts next time!!

Well, since it's Chinese New Year, here's wishing all of you a happy and wonderful New Year! May the Rat eat up all the bad things that happened in the past year, and leave behind all the good things!

Speaking of Chinese New Year, I had the privilege of taking a nice nice photo with 3 handsome boys last night when they came visiting. Omg I like the photo very much. For those who know, one of the cute boys is none other than Jingxun! Haha I've put up his photo before I think, and Si Huan, you thought he was cute too right? Let me show you the picture!!

From left: Jonan, Jingxun (Kieran), Ian.

It's a pity Kayden wasn't in the photo, or it would have been perfect. Haha these guys are usually the stars of my CNY. It's always a pleasure to see them. Easy on the eyes, easy on the heart. Haha!

Ok this post has been longer than the usual few, so I shall leave you to admire this photo. =)

I am an Augmenter

I think I am, you know.

1) When I drink coffee, I:
(i) get headaches
(ii) get stomachaches
(iii) get an accelerated heartbeat (thankfully, it hasn't caused me to make a misattribution of arousal, coz I swear I wasn't on caffeine when I met Kok Yong. Haha! )
(iv) lose my appetite

2) When I eat dark chocolate, I get a slight headache and I get a bit high

3) When I laugh too hard, I get asthma attack

4) When I drink tea, I get slightly woozy

5) When I'm in an excited atmosphere, like after watching an exciting match, I get a headache after that.

6) When I take too much chilli, I get a stomachache (but that could be due to too much chilli taken in the past, combined with bad eating habits, that caused this... )

ContradICTIONS!!!

Yah I'm a mess of contradictions. I want time to pass faster, yet I want it to go slower. I can't seem to make up my mind. But I think I'd like it to pass faster. =S

Attempting to Look Through Your Eyes

I don't understand why when a not-so-rich person (let's call that person NSR) gets attached to a rich one (let's call this person R), tongues will start wagging as to the motive behind the NSR's getting attached to R, and of course, the popular opinion would be that NSR chose R because of his/her money. And when things go wrong between the couple, such as perhaps the NSR initiating a breakup with R, people will go, "See, told you it was because of money! Maybe NSR realised he/she wouldn't get any money, and decided to go off in search of greener pastures!" Or if R broke up with NSR, it may be, "I told you they wouldn't last, R finally saw that NSR was with him/her coz of her/his money! Poor NSR, she got cheated..."

Well what gives people the right to talk about others' motivations for being with someone of a different socioeconomic status? What if they really loved each other? Just like what the title of this entry says, it's at attempt to look through the target people's eyes, trying to figure out why NSR or R did what they did. And you know what the irony is? They become so convinced of their reasons that they think it's a truth set in stone! OMG. Nothing you say will change their minds, and they find various reasons to support their case.

I'm not saying that it's wrong to attempt to look through others' eyes to try to figure out their reasons behind the thigns they do. God knows I've been doing this all along, and I guess it's human nature to try to decipher the things people do. But why would people get so fixated on wealth as the sole reason why an NSR would get attached to R? What if it was R who approached NSR first? What then? R wanted to share his/her wealth with NSR?! R felt that he/she wanted a change in lifestyle/was sick of his/her rich lifestyle and so thought NSR was a refreshing change? I mean, if it was just a speculation, a possible reason among several other reasons, it might be a valid excuse- after all, people are just brainstorming. But when it becomes a sole reason for a couple's get-together.... well.... don't you think they need to be given a chance? Just coming to a fixed conclusion without actually knowing what happened between a couple is rather unfair, don't you think?

Looking Through Your Eyes

Omg, this is such a sweet song! And the music video's so sweet! Haha makes me feel like looking for the cartoon to watch. It's the soundtrack from Quest for Camelot. Lyrics are below. Enjoy!



Look at the sky
Tell me what do you seeJ
ust close your eyes
And describe it to me

The heavens are sparkling
With starlight tonight
That's what I see
Through your eyes

I see the heavens
Each time that you smile
I hear your heartbeat
Just go on for miles
And suddenly
I knowMy life is worth while
That's what I seeThrough your eyes

[Chorus:]
Here in the night
I see the sun
Here in the dark
Our two hearts are one
It's out of our hands
We can't stop what we have begun
And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes

I look at myself
And instead I see us
Whoever I am now
It feels like enough
And I see a girl
Who is learning to trust
That's who I see through your eyes

[Chorus]

And there are some things we don't know
Sometimes a heart just needs to go
And there is so much I'll remember
Underneath the open sky with you forever

[Chorus]

-- LeAnn Rimes

Truly Madly Deeply

This song has always been a favourite of mine. I think the lyrics are quite sweet. I think most of you have heard the song before. Haha... Don't you think the song's nice? =) Hehe, is anyone gonna sing it to me? ;)

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy.
I'll be your hope
I'll be your love
Be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath
Truly madly deeply do..

I will be strong
I will be faithful
'Cos I'm counting on a new beginning.
A reason for living.
A deeper meaning.

Chorus
I want to stand with you on a mountain.
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever.
Until the sky falls down on me...

And when the stars are shining brightly
In the velvet sky,
I'll make a wish
Send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry..
The tears of joy
For all the pleasure and the certainty.
That we're surrounded
By the comfort and protection of..
The highest power.
In lonely hours.
The tears devour you..

I want to stand with you on a mountain,
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever,
Until the sky falls down on me...
Bridge Oh can't you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cos it's standing right before you.
All that you need will surely come...

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy.
I'll be your hope
I'll be your love
Be everything that you need.
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly madly deeply do...

Chorus

--Savage Garden

Blogger in China

I heard Blogger is banned in China. Really ah? Apparently, alot of Singaporeans can't view their friends' blogs while they're over in China, since most Singaporeans prefer to use Blogger than others. Oh, Livejournal's banned too! Hmm I wonder why. These blogging avenues are just tools for people to air their views, why ban them? People will say what they want to say. Hai... Real troublesome, don't you think?

So are there any ways of viewing blogs in China?

Thank Goodness!

The camera's been found! Yay!! At least now I don't feel as handicapped when I go out with you all. Aiyoh...

And guess where the camera was found?

On the shelf in my parents' room. Says alot about who was the last with the camera, doesn't it? ;)

McDonald's is Evil!

Yes, and I mean what I say. I think McDonald's has a secret plan to conquer the world. They want all of us to eat only their food. I came to that realization today after I bought lunch for Merrilyn and Desiree.

Their food has a distinctive smell, especially their fries. And the smell is very irresistible. A whiff of it puts images of hot, salty, potato-ey fries entering your mouth and the feeling of the saltiness of the fries exploding in your mouth. Heaven. How many times have I had these fantasies? And how many times have I succumbed to it? Countless.

And their McSpicy burger. OH MY GOD. Haha, if you go to the good branches, you get hot, spicy, and juicy chicken patties. At the not too good branches, well, I guess you can be assured that your burger is hot and a bit spicy. Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, is it? =)

So yes, back to my point. I ended up having McDonald's for dinner today, when I don't think my budget allows me to. But I was sooo craving for it! Just ask Liana and Merrilyn. I was fantasizing about it during linguistics class. Ahhhh... And I've satisfied my craving.

McDonald's is evil, I tell you. ;)

DAMN!

OMG.

I cannot find my camera. I am so screwed in every way imaginable.

But then again, I wasn't the last one to use it, but the last person who used it doesn't want to believe that he was indeed the last, so the blame falls on me.

Damn.

Tsk tsk tsk

Aiyoh, start of school only and I realise I lost all my blue mechanical pencils. You know, the blue pilot ones? Three of them and all are gone. I'm a real champion. I bet you the moment I buy one, I'll find all three of them one by one. Should I get it?

School starting!

Yep, and I'm not really looking forward to it. Seems like the holidays passed too fast to be true, and yet, when I think back about it, I didn't seem to make much use of the time. Yah yah, don't start with the "I told you so" or the exasperated look. I asked for it I know. Bleah.

Still, I can't say it hasn't been totally uneventful. I exercised, and realised how unfit I am, and yet I'm still not going jogging. I'm serious. I'm not going jogging. Well, unless someone accompanies me? Spent time with Kok Yong, which I'm sure I'm going to miss, seeing as someone's going to be MIA for quite awhile in China, while I stay in Singapore slogging my guts out once more. Oh well, time's going to pass very soon, especially since every sem comes and goes at a totally crazy pace. And hopefully I'll manage to get an attachment somewhere, and time should go pass faster. Before I know it, Evon and Yi Lun will be back, and there'll be noise in the house again! Yay! Then maybe if everything goes fine, he'll come back too, and there'll be more company! Close ones around me, yay! =) I guess that's going to be MY Christmas. Haha!

I think this sem's gonna be pretty hectic (well which sem isn't?), and I think I prefer it that way. Gives me less time to think about... things. Maybe time will rush past faster. But then again, it might not be such a good idea, with exams and projects and all. Oh well, no matter. Why fuss when I can't do anything about it? I shall find out just how fast time passes, starting tomorrow.

Till then, Happy Start of School, everyone! =)

New Year's Resolution

After much deliberation over whether I should come up with a New Year's Resolution since I always can't seem to keep to it, I decided to give it one more chance. But this time, I shall only keep to ONE resolution. The lesser, the easier, is my theory. Anyway, my New Year's Resolution is to NOT PROCRASTINATE. Yep. Easily said, but let's see whether I can keep to it.

Procrastination is seductive.

On another note, there's something wrong with my spelling of "year" today. I keep missing out the A. Is that a sign of something?

Psych Students

I wonder if people wonder what Psych students actually do in class. Well, today, let me give you a glimpse into a Psych student's life in class!

In classes like Clinical Psych, where we have 3-hour lessons, we definitely need glucose to keep our spirits and eyelids up. But what happens to the the many sweet wrappers that will inevitably accumulate by the end of the lesson? Well, we make rubbish into beautiful things, of course!

This was the first time we folded them with the wrappers from the Halls sweets. Well, not we, but Ling Hoong, specifically. As you all know very well, Halls sweet wrappers are rectangular in shape, so Ling Hoong had to tear away part of the wrapper to make it into a square, and in the end, she had only a very small area to work with. Look how 精致 the cranes are?

Of course, folding with Halls wrappers can get pretty boring, coz it's all only blue and white. So the next time, Fred bought strawberry that had, guess what, PINK wrappers! Haha... so the new cranes looked like this:

Don't the red cranes look Japanese? I think they look very nice! I'm proud to say that I folded some of these cranes, and Fred also! I think it was the first time Fred learnt how to fold cranes, and they turned fine, don't you think?

I'm sure you all know that there is a negative correlation between number of projects and amount of sleep a student can get. Well, that's true in our context too! So whenever we get a chance, we try to snatch our precious 40 winks:

Yes, a totally unglam photo of me sleeping in class before class started or during a break in lecture. Aiyoh, sleepy lar!! And HAH! If you're thinking of blackmailing me with this photo, remember it has been posted on a PUBLIC blog! =p

Hmm... apart from doing all these, we also take photos in class and after class!

Ok, I couldn't find pictures of us taking them in class. But still, you know what I mean. Haha... =)

Looking back at these photos, I realise that Uni life really wasn't all about studying. We did find time to do silly things like these! BUT: they were fun!! =) Haha, recounting them and choosing the pictures to put on my blog made me smile and recall many things that have happened in the last 3 years, and I think it's quite sweet. Haha, you know what, maybe we should take more photos in class! =p

Misconceptions

It's a known fact that I am aspiring to be a clinical psychologist in the future, but like I mentioned before, psychologists are humans too. They are not saints.

I am not as open-minded, open-hearted, patient, understanding and whatever's good and opposite of bad as you think I am. I'm sorry to say this, and I'm even embarrassed to admit it, but, I'm not an angel. I'm not super-ultra-understanding. I wish I was, but I'm not idealistic enough, nor do I think that highly of myself to claim that. I can only say I try to be, but I'm not a saint.

I could understand things from others' points of view. I could accept their points of views. I could do so many things, but I'm sorry to say, I don't think I'm up to your expectation of who you think I am.

I can make people feel comfortable, because I can accept their points of views. But like sports shoes, I can't contain everyone. I'm not perfect. I cannot be perfect. If I was, I wouldn't be alive. I wouldn't be allowed to live as long as I'm going to live. I hope you understand.

I wish I knew what to do for every situation, but I don't. I wish I had the answers to everything, but I don't. I wish I knew what you are thinking, but I don't. And I don't know what to do.

If I were a Shoe...

Remember I asked all of you to tell me what kind of shoe I would be if I were one? Well, here are the answers you all gave me...

Merrilyn:
CLOGS- People choose me as a friend cos they like the sound the clogs make when they move around in it... likewise, people like me for the company and fun I bring. Clogs are durable too, and those around me constantly feel (hear) I am there, like a nice traditional old supportive friend.

Cotton:
SLIPPERS- To sum up Cotton's answer, I represent a safe haven for her to turn to when she's weary. Slippers, to her, are comfortable, and no pretense is required when she's wearing them. Similarly, she doesn't feel a need to pretend to be someone she isn't when she's around me. Slippers may be a category of footwear that is often taken for granted because of its inconspicuity (is there such a word?), but it's a necessary kind of footwear. To quote Cotton, I'm like her "心灵靠岸港，无须绚丽的包装，也即可能是冰山一角那不起眼的"拖鞋"，但却是扮演着非常重要的角色。最终要的是...能令我感到很舒服又没负担的"

Yi Lun:
PINK FLUFFY SLIPPERS- "coz u are nice and comfortable and homey to be with. not much of an outdoor shoe, u prefer the comfort of home and the homey people around you. tend to be sweet and sensitive but can be very fuzzy coz u get too comfortable with your surroundings. well looked after. still can take hardships of being walked on around the house but perhaps not as tough as army boots. pink perhaps coz u are sweet and girly. comfortable being a nice, sweet girl-next-door."

SOCKS- "u are hidden by pretty sneakers and sports shoes and do not get to flaunt much. yet, the shoes cannot do without the socks otherwise feet get smelly or blistery and uncomfortable. u have core/primary/inner beauty which is overshadowed by superficially nice shoes covering you. people have to get to know you better before they realise the indespensibility of socks. socks can be pretty too and come in all shapes, sizes and degrees of fluffiness. u may be shielded by big, hardy and resistant shoes and do not get to feel the mud and rain much."

Bird:
SANDALS- "comfortable mah,and easy to wear easy to take off. like being with you is comfortable, and you keep a nice distance, not too close not too far. like when i wanna wear i will wear when i wanna take it off, its easy to take off too."

Wen Keat:
SLIPPERS- Same explanation as Bird

Wendy:
MARY JANES- Sweet but sturdy and reliable

Pony:
SOMETHING COMFORTABLE like SANDALS: I make people around me feel comfortable.

Kok Yong:
CANVAS SHOES- Haha, the reason's for me to know and for you all to guess. =p

And what shoe do I think I would be if I were one? Well, I think I'd be a pair of sports shoes. Why?

Based on the above answers that I received, I gather I make people around me feel comfortable around me, that they do not have to put up much pretense when they are around me. So imagine slipping your feet into your favourite pair of sports shoes; how would you feel? That you're right at home and feel comfortable enough to do what you want? And you feel there's not much effort needed to lift your feet to do what you need to do. Similarly, I gather I'm make those around me comfortable with who they are around me- there's no need to put in effort to impress me with the things that you do or say, once I get to know who you are.

Secondly, sports shoes are known to provide good support for the feet, and that's what I try to do for those around me. Like sports shoes, I can't promise a totally blister-fre walking experience when my friends are walking on difficult journeys, but I can try my best to support them, and try to reduce the number of blisters they will get.

Of course, everything is bound to have its drawbacks, sports shoes included.

Sports shoes may sound lile every foot can fit inside, but the truth is, not everyone's suited to every sports shoe. When the sports shoe doesn't fit, the wearer won't have an easy time wearing it cos the comfot and support's not there. What I'm saying is, if I don't feel positive feelings towards a person, it would be hard for me to give the support and comfort that person needs. Sure, the basic comfort of the sports shoe is there, but how comfortable can it be when it's not at its optimum?

Also, ever noticed how some people with smelly feet will make the shoe smell, especially sports shoes? Well, I'm sorry to say that's my weakness- I'm too easily influenced by the views of people around me, and I believe people easily.

Thank you all of you for taking the time to reply to my question, I really appreciate it!!!

If I were a Cockroach...

Haha I had a sudden inspiration sometime before exams about what I would want to do with my life if I were a cockroach. What would my aim in life be? Hypothetically, of course. And what better way than to speak from the perspective of a cockroach? Let me tell you what I would want to do k?

If I were a cockroach, my aim in life would be to make humans change their opinions of us. No, changing opinions is too weak a word. Let's make it "respect" us. Humans, and that is referring to you all, have detested us cockroaches for the longest time. Yet, did you stop to realise that we have been aroud long before you appeared? We're generations ahead of you if you speak about life experiences. We've been around since the dinosaurs, and we stayed around even after they got themselves extinct coz they were too big and clumsy to adjust to climactic changes. We lived through the freezing Ice Age- man, that was horrid, I tell you- and we lived through SARS, when most humans were dropping like flies (pun not intended). Why are we looked upon as scums of the earth then? Our resilience to adversity should be something you all should learn from, isn't it? And speaking of resilience, we cockroaches are stronger than Superman. If you think Superman's too super to be afraid of anything, think again. IS he really that invincible? What happens when you give him kryptonite? It's "bye bye Superman, see you if we see you!" How about us cockroaches? You may think we are afraid of Shieldtox and Baygone, but did you notice? We get stronger each time a new product comes on the shelves. Hmm, makes you wonder about the term "money well-spent" on insecticides, doesn't it? ;)

I know some of you have a bad sense of direction. Maybe you all should learn from us. We have a great sense of direction and spatial perception? I can sense when and where I'm going to get whacked by you, and get away faster than you can call my name. If it happened to you, can you do it? And here's a bonus point: my sense of direction helps me get entertainment from you. When I'm bored, all I have to do is find those who are scared of me, and... just appear! The effect is hilarious- you see grown men and women jumping on tables, beds and anything elevated, just because of little black me. Puh-leaze! What can I do to you? Nonetheless, the entertainment is priceless.

And before you think we are unfriendly, let me remind you that though we are solitary creatures, we care and share territories, that's why in places where food is abundant, you often find us there. How many humans would be willing to share their abundant source of food? For free? And with people they do not have relations with?

So why do you hate us? Just coz we are small and black and hard, doesn't mean we have no heart (see, we are poetic too!) We care and share, like I said just now, and plus, have you ever seen or heard cockroaches fighting or killing each other? You see ants killing each other, killing their queen and then usurping her position- do you hear and see us doing that? Humans do it all the time too, but are they hated?

Well, I've said all I want to say about my fellow cockroaches and me. I still think we should be given respect for our resilience, our adaptability, and our generosity, don't you? See you at the next millennium- if you're still around! ;)