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!