In middle of exam marathon. Not including National Education, we've got 4 papers to go, ending next Wednesday. Alright, a week more then.
Don't even know why they make us take the stupid NE exam anyway, at least put it in a decent timeslot and not in the middle of the afternoon lunch-ish sort of time larh. I know people have exams in the morning before that but it just serves to make them irritated, no? NE preventing them from going off, and all that. On the bright side, at least people like me who don't have exams that morning can sleep in. But really, it doesn't even matter when we fail the thing.
I can't help but think that it would be better for us to have nice breaks between our papers, so that we've got more time to study, instead of freaking out by the fact that we've got papers one after another. Ach, I suppose it's better than those in poly, I hear they have projects due all the freaking time, even if they don't have exams. I'd rather do exams really, especially when I know what I'm talking about.
I've just come to a conclusion; I learn most during lectures, like when we're under pressure to have to understand why exactly a monopoly makes so much money. I need to invest in a tape recorder, as Khayce suggested. That's why I couldn't do the Long Day's Journey essay properly today, I'd missed a couple of important lectures. I am quite hating myself for that, so I've got to be more selective about ponning school now.
And, I've only just noticed, after doing more than 10 years worth of exams, that I silently read what I write. With a start I'd realised that my lips were moving while I was talking about Huxley's use of irony. Bloody hell, I'm even doing it now. Wonder why I'd never noticed before.
Like that larh. Need to go do geog now.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
I am that child who loved wandering outside in the estate, parents mad with worry. I am that child who hated the gate when it was locked, or when the stairs were barred, with my sister on the other side making fun of me (yes, I still remember that).
I am the sister who will never be as good as you are. I am that sister whom you have shaped in so many ways, more than you know, who misses you very much too.
I am the reason you continue to work, not letting you retire early. I am that daughter who sees you coming back late everyday, and listens to your conversations about work over dinner.
I am the granddaughter who never appreciated you until you were gone.
I am that student who has spent 10 good years in a convent, the blue pinafoe marking me for life, even if I don't wear it anymore.
I am the band member who would sing with you during sectionals, instead of play the saxophone. I am the same who left the school having that as an achievement.
I am the choir member who quit because she couldn't stand the weekly scoldings, who realised that she could be doing other more productive things with her saturday afternoons and holidays.
I am that singer who let her voice go down the drain.
I am that friend who constantly worries about you. I am that friend who will constantly pimp books/musicals/anime/gaming to you. I am that friend who will give you shelter if you ever run away from home. I am that friend who will listen, if you need it.
I am your ina roel.
I am that classmate who needs to re-roll her charisma.
I am the girl who will always have a crush on you, that girl who woke up crying when you went away.
I am that teenager who will always bear that grudge against you.
I am a young woman who doesn't know what to do with the rest of her life. I am that girl who wants to grow up to be an adventurer.
I am wondering what next life will throw at me.
I am the sister who will never be as good as you are. I am that sister whom you have shaped in so many ways, more than you know, who misses you very much too.
I am the reason you continue to work, not letting you retire early. I am that daughter who sees you coming back late everyday, and listens to your conversations about work over dinner.
I am the granddaughter who never appreciated you until you were gone.
I am that student who has spent 10 good years in a convent, the blue pinafoe marking me for life, even if I don't wear it anymore.
I am the band member who would sing with you during sectionals, instead of play the saxophone. I am the same who left the school having that as an achievement.
I am the choir member who quit because she couldn't stand the weekly scoldings, who realised that she could be doing other more productive things with her saturday afternoons and holidays.
I am that singer who let her voice go down the drain.
I am that friend who constantly worries about you. I am that friend who will constantly pimp books/musicals/anime/gaming to you. I am that friend who will give you shelter if you ever run away from home. I am that friend who will listen, if you need it.
I am your ina roel.
I am that classmate who needs to re-roll her charisma.
I am the girl who will always have a crush on you, that girl who woke up crying when you went away.
I am that teenager who will always bear that grudge against you.
I am a young woman who doesn't know what to do with the rest of her life. I am that girl who wants to grow up to be an adventurer.
I am wondering what next life will throw at me.
Friday, September 16, 2005
OK TOR AGAIN
Yay! Am freeriding on someone else's wireless at home so I have internet! I now have a nice new laptop and have installed msn! I have just re-connected into the world of the virtually living. I shall be adding everyone slowly to my new msn. The old one diededed on me years ago. Since my computer won't let me post my homework on my school's web discussion board thingie for some reason, I might as well do this quiz, using my new-found internet source. And since it caters so appealingly to the self-absorbed (i.e. me, although less so now than when khayce first brought this fact about myself to my attention-- see, am doing it again).
Write 20 random facts about yourself then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts. If you're tagged it's your turn.
1. The nicest thing in my house is my bolster, named BolBol.
2. The nicest thing about my house is that it is in Covent Garden.
3. I once wrote a poem dedicated to BolBol.
4. My sister's bolster used to be called Ster Ster. Wait, that isn't about me. I used to make my sister say that my bolster is nice. That's better.
5. More than one person has said that I look like Daniel Chan.
6. I am self-absorbed enough to think that people will find a list like this interesting.
7. I like the colour tan more than the colour red now.
8. I go to a Japanese hair stylist and have funky Jap hair that looks like a mushroom.
9. I actually enjoy reading The Economist.
10. Reading The Economist makes me feel smart.
11. I am now so fat now that my aunt could not spot me in my graduation photo with my friends.
12. I now cycle every day for half an hour while reading The Economist so that I can feel fit AND smart.
13. I now do not eat any carbohydrates after 5pm.
14. I have just discovered Paul Theroux and am spending way too much money on his books, particularly his travel writing.
15. I once got picked up at the County Hall gallery by this guy who saw me clutching a Theroux novel. He worked for the Foreign Office and spoke chinese. Obviously I had to decline his invitation to dinner since I am attached. (Damn! there went a free dinner)
16. My boyfriend has logged over 400 dives (scuba). I have done about 20.
17. I still hang out with my dive instructor who is from Malta but works in London now. (As an accountant, not a dive instructor)
18. I don't drink beer anymore, unless it is Ninkeberry, which is mango-and-passionfruit flavoured beer.
19. I miss watching Glor's anime.
20. I miss Glor.
Can everyone Glor tagged link back here so we can all see what they wrote?
Yay! Am freeriding on someone else's wireless at home so I have internet! I now have a nice new laptop and have installed msn! I have just re-connected into the world of the virtually living. I shall be adding everyone slowly to my new msn. The old one diededed on me years ago. Since my computer won't let me post my homework on my school's web discussion board thingie for some reason, I might as well do this quiz, using my new-found internet source. And since it caters so appealingly to the self-absorbed (i.e. me, although less so now than when khayce first brought this fact about myself to my attention-- see, am doing it again).
Write 20 random facts about yourself then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts. If you're tagged it's your turn.
1. The nicest thing in my house is my bolster, named BolBol.
2. The nicest thing about my house is that it is in Covent Garden.
3. I once wrote a poem dedicated to BolBol.
4. My sister's bolster used to be called Ster Ster. Wait, that isn't about me. I used to make my sister say that my bolster is nice. That's better.
5. More than one person has said that I look like Daniel Chan.
6. I am self-absorbed enough to think that people will find a list like this interesting.
7. I like the colour tan more than the colour red now.
8. I go to a Japanese hair stylist and have funky Jap hair that looks like a mushroom.
9. I actually enjoy reading The Economist.
10. Reading The Economist makes me feel smart.
11. I am now so fat now that my aunt could not spot me in my graduation photo with my friends.
12. I now cycle every day for half an hour while reading The Economist so that I can feel fit AND smart.
13. I now do not eat any carbohydrates after 5pm.
14. I have just discovered Paul Theroux and am spending way too much money on his books, particularly his travel writing.
15. I once got picked up at the County Hall gallery by this guy who saw me clutching a Theroux novel. He worked for the Foreign Office and spoke chinese. Obviously I had to decline his invitation to dinner since I am attached. (Damn! there went a free dinner)
16. My boyfriend has logged over 400 dives (scuba). I have done about 20.
17. I still hang out with my dive instructor who is from Malta but works in London now. (As an accountant, not a dive instructor)
18. I don't drink beer anymore, unless it is Ninkeberry, which is mango-and-passionfruit flavoured beer.
19. I miss watching Glor's anime.
20. I miss Glor.
Can everyone Glor tagged link back here so we can all see what they wrote?
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Don't know why, but I got tagged for this twice, so I guess it mean that I'd better do it...
Write 20 random facts about yourself then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts. If you're tagged it's your turn.
1. I think I may be beginning to like red more than black.
2. But I still like black anyway.
3. I actually -do- like my classmates. Really.
4. I still think my older sister is 19, so I've got to add the years up when people ask me how old she is.
5. I like liquorice, and it's damned difficult to find good liquorice here.
6. Stupid people make me laugh. That would include the blur tourists one often sees in town.
7. I am beggining to be quite enthusiastic about wuxia films.
8. My father likes long distance running.
9. He also happens to have a degree in both philosophy and literature.
10. So does my mum. But she graduated at a chinese university so she knows all about confucious.
11. But I really -don't- know why I speak the way I do, or where it came from.
12. I can play the saxophone. And I rather miss it.
13. I'd like to think that I can/could sing.
14. I'm frustrated by the fact that no one seems to have heard of the korean manwha, Priest.
15. My left ring finger is longer than my right. Seriously!
16. The surface of my nails are ridged, so on the occasion of a manicure, the lady has to file them down.
17. I like pretty dice. Especially the runic d10 and the blue blood scarab set on dicepool.com
18. My favourite character so far isn't my Ars Magica magus, but the V:tM Daughter of Cacophony.
19. I think that anime and manga are underrated, by the general public. And I like to argue with them on that. Even if you really -do- have some nonsense stuff out there.
20. I'm so fair that sometimes under the sun, I burn when walking from place to place.
9 minutes. Tagg~!
Jerrick
Victoria
Rosie
Khayce
Ed
Jenny
Amanda
Tsu
Dawn
Write 20 random facts about yourself then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts. If you're tagged it's your turn.
1. I think I may be beginning to like red more than black.
2. But I still like black anyway.
3. I actually -do- like my classmates. Really.
4. I still think my older sister is 19, so I've got to add the years up when people ask me how old she is.
5. I like liquorice, and it's damned difficult to find good liquorice here.
6. Stupid people make me laugh. That would include the blur tourists one often sees in town.
7. I am beggining to be quite enthusiastic about wuxia films.
8. My father likes long distance running.
9. He also happens to have a degree in both philosophy and literature.
10. So does my mum. But she graduated at a chinese university so she knows all about confucious.
11. But I really -don't- know why I speak the way I do, or where it came from.
12. I can play the saxophone. And I rather miss it.
13. I'd like to think that I can/could sing.
14. I'm frustrated by the fact that no one seems to have heard of the korean manwha, Priest.
15. My left ring finger is longer than my right. Seriously!
16. The surface of my nails are ridged, so on the occasion of a manicure, the lady has to file them down.
17. I like pretty dice. Especially the runic d10 and the blue blood scarab set on dicepool.com
18. My favourite character so far isn't my Ars Magica magus, but the V:tM Daughter of Cacophony.
19. I think that anime and manga are underrated, by the general public. And I like to argue with them on that. Even if you really -do- have some nonsense stuff out there.
20. I'm so fair that sometimes under the sun, I burn when walking from place to place.
9 minutes. Tagg~!
Jerrick
Victoria
Rosie
Khayce
Ed
Jenny
Amanda
Tsu
Dawn
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
THIS IS TOR
I know how you feel about people like The Girl Who Giggled. Thankfully, I am no longer surrounded by such numbskulls, and/or can move away slowly and carefully if I ever find myself their midst. Although I did meet a very interesting girl at a business course we had to go for in Manchester. Didn't get to see the city at all (except a little bit of the Uni campus) but I had a luxurious room all to myself with a TV and ironing board! *gasp* It's funny how your standards get lowered, staying in UK hotels.
So, this girl.
'Howdy!' she said as I entered the room for our little groupwork session thingie. This greeting seemed strange as she was obviously very posh. It could have been her confused effort to connect with the common people such as myself. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she had got her countries mixed up. What else could I say but 'er, hello?'.
'Is it just you?' she replied.
I didn't know, there were meant to be 6 of us but apparently many people had had a rather heavy night the night before and hadn't actually got up that afternoon.
After a pause she said, 'So, what's your background then?'. I forgot to mention that this girl looks like the queen (perhaps a younger version) and was wearing tweed. I didn't know if I was meant to say that I was from the Bishan branch of the Ho family involved in middle class pursuits (I'm afraid), or just that I was from SG.
'No,no!' she said, 'I meant, which university are you from?'
So I detailed my educational pedigree.
'Are you at Oxford next year then?' she was referring to the LPC year that everyone has to do in order to sit their bar exam. We can do this in Nottingham, Oxford, or London.
'No, I'll be in London,' I told her.
'Jolly good.'
Absolute and awkward silence.
Luckily people started coming in and having conversations about houses in the country, and the people who knew the other people in the room, so I could relax. But the majority of my future colleagues are nice or at least ok, from what I've experienced. There are one or two that are just not on the same planet though, for example, one girl is on planet Paris Hilton.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against my future colleagues, they just exasperate me very easily.
I know how you feel about people like The Girl Who Giggled. Thankfully, I am no longer surrounded by such numbskulls, and/or can move away slowly and carefully if I ever find myself their midst. Although I did meet a very interesting girl at a business course we had to go for in Manchester. Didn't get to see the city at all (except a little bit of the Uni campus) but I had a luxurious room all to myself with a TV and ironing board! *gasp* It's funny how your standards get lowered, staying in UK hotels.
So, this girl.
'Howdy!' she said as I entered the room for our little groupwork session thingie. This greeting seemed strange as she was obviously very posh. It could have been her confused effort to connect with the common people such as myself. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she had got her countries mixed up. What else could I say but 'er, hello?'.
'Is it just you?' she replied.
I didn't know, there were meant to be 6 of us but apparently many people had had a rather heavy night the night before and hadn't actually got up that afternoon.
After a pause she said, 'So, what's your background then?'. I forgot to mention that this girl looks like the queen (perhaps a younger version) and was wearing tweed. I didn't know if I was meant to say that I was from the Bishan branch of the Ho family involved in middle class pursuits (I'm afraid), or just that I was from SG.
'No,no!' she said, 'I meant, which university are you from?'
So I detailed my educational pedigree.
'Are you at Oxford next year then?' she was referring to the LPC year that everyone has to do in order to sit their bar exam. We can do this in Nottingham, Oxford, or London.
'No, I'll be in London,' I told her.
'Jolly good.'
Absolute and awkward silence.
Luckily people started coming in and having conversations about houses in the country, and the people who knew the other people in the room, so I could relax. But the majority of my future colleagues are nice or at least ok, from what I've experienced. There are one or two that are just not on the same planet though, for example, one girl is on planet Paris Hilton.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against my future colleagues, they just exasperate me very easily.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Just jotting this down, while in school. Have to dash for Lit lect in a bit.
Bloody hell. If there's one thing that I don't like, it's being locked out of class first thing in the morning. Especially when the first period is a lecture and my notes are in class. I do sit rather close to the windows, but I don't have abnormally long arms to reach my stuff (however, have I ever mentioned that my left ring finger is longer than my right?).
Added to that, my class chairman acted like he didn't care, when I asked him about it after assembly. Don't think he liked me interrupting his conversation with other fencers. Well, of course he didn't care; he had his notes with him.
But what I detest most of all is when the person holding the fucking key tag giggles when she discovers her mistake.
Urgh.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against my classmates. They just exasperate me very easily.
Bloody hell. If there's one thing that I don't like, it's being locked out of class first thing in the morning. Especially when the first period is a lecture and my notes are in class. I do sit rather close to the windows, but I don't have abnormally long arms to reach my stuff (however, have I ever mentioned that my left ring finger is longer than my right?).
Added to that, my class chairman acted like he didn't care, when I asked him about it after assembly. Don't think he liked me interrupting his conversation with other fencers. Well, of course he didn't care; he had his notes with him.
But what I detest most of all is when the person holding the fucking key tag giggles when she discovers her mistake.
Urgh.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against my classmates. They just exasperate me very easily.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Please excuse my previous post, I'm fine. Was just PMS-ing. That's what blogs're for, no?
Just got back from fencing, haven't fenced for a month, by estimation. In fact, I hardly fence at all in the first place. Now my fingers feel like they want to fall off because my hand is so strained. Good thing I'm using a french grip though, because a pistol grip would probably do worse. Couldn't write, when I first put down my blade. Write, as in do Econs MCQ while presiding other bouts. So my TYS has 15 point score matches all over the Labour Market section.
Started on the shadowrun main book some time back, muchly thanks to Wen and his gigantic portable hard drive. Got through the history bit of it, so have grasp of what setting is like. Now I know what Khayce ment by Snow Crash beng a very shadowrun book.
Can't quite get through the technicalities of the game though, am beggining to form habit of reading only fluff text. Must be all the fanfic reading I do online, articles in PDF aren't so much different. On the other hand, I've never really liked going through technical bits, it's easier to learn it when you actually play. Like science practical like that.
Went back to IJ this week, to get Angelina's camera from Jenny, for Project Work. The fact that I reognise nearly nobody anymore is more than just slightly alarming. The few that I did were band juniors, who have stepped down. Damned good to see them again. At least the teachers are mostly constant; I said hallo to Mr Chan. Oh hell, I miss my saxophone so much! But fencing is doing a fine job of a replacement, at least. Besides, I really am quite sick of performance arts, at the mo. But honestly, the feeling of walking through the place you've always thought of as your school, only to see strangers in that classic blue pinafoe...
Mailed Eldred. Suddenly I find out that he's got a blog. On friendster no less. And he's on bloody msn messenger too. Utterly contrary to the veiws that he shared with me, while he was still here. He's doing well, and that is always a good thing to know. Which is more than I can say for some of my friends here in CJ.
It's funny how you turn around for what seems like just a moment, only to be suprised at the very odd things that happened while you weren't looking.
Is it just me, or does it seem to rain alot on days when I have Geog lectures? Tuesdays and Thursdays. How odd. In any case, I've taken to bringing a heavy jeacket down to all lectures now, so that I don't keep freezing my ass off, or have my body wanting to shut down/start hibernating. I haven't the faintest idea where the jacket came from, I just found it in the spare cupboard one day. I know it sounds creepy but I think my sister chucked it there before she left. Keyword here being think.
I think I shall go dump my hand in ice water now, so that I can fence tmr. Oww.
Just got back from fencing, haven't fenced for a month, by estimation. In fact, I hardly fence at all in the first place. Now my fingers feel like they want to fall off because my hand is so strained. Good thing I'm using a french grip though, because a pistol grip would probably do worse. Couldn't write, when I first put down my blade. Write, as in do Econs MCQ while presiding other bouts. So my TYS has 15 point score matches all over the Labour Market section.
Started on the shadowrun main book some time back, muchly thanks to Wen and his gigantic portable hard drive. Got through the history bit of it, so have grasp of what setting is like. Now I know what Khayce ment by Snow Crash beng a very shadowrun book.
Can't quite get through the technicalities of the game though, am beggining to form habit of reading only fluff text. Must be all the fanfic reading I do online, articles in PDF aren't so much different. On the other hand, I've never really liked going through technical bits, it's easier to learn it when you actually play. Like science practical like that.
Went back to IJ this week, to get Angelina's camera from Jenny, for Project Work. The fact that I reognise nearly nobody anymore is more than just slightly alarming. The few that I did were band juniors, who have stepped down. Damned good to see them again. At least the teachers are mostly constant; I said hallo to Mr Chan. Oh hell, I miss my saxophone so much! But fencing is doing a fine job of a replacement, at least. Besides, I really am quite sick of performance arts, at the mo. But honestly, the feeling of walking through the place you've always thought of as your school, only to see strangers in that classic blue pinafoe...
Mailed Eldred. Suddenly I find out that he's got a blog. On friendster no less. And he's on bloody msn messenger too. Utterly contrary to the veiws that he shared with me, while he was still here. He's doing well, and that is always a good thing to know. Which is more than I can say for some of my friends here in CJ.
It's funny how you turn around for what seems like just a moment, only to be suprised at the very odd things that happened while you weren't looking.
Is it just me, or does it seem to rain alot on days when I have Geog lectures? Tuesdays and Thursdays. How odd. In any case, I've taken to bringing a heavy jeacket down to all lectures now, so that I don't keep freezing my ass off, or have my body wanting to shut down/start hibernating. I haven't the faintest idea where the jacket came from, I just found it in the spare cupboard one day. I know it sounds creepy but I think my sister chucked it there before she left. Keyword here being think.
I think I shall go dump my hand in ice water now, so that I can fence tmr. Oww.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
THIS IS TOR
Do you know what else? At the Malaysian restaurants here, you can't have white chai dao kuei because they only have black chai dao kueh in Malaysia and they refuse to do a special one for me. Can life get any more miserable? Think about it. Can you imagine not having eaten white chai dao kueh for a year?
My obsession with proper, wholesome food is considered very strange here. And chai dao kueh is healthy compared to typical london food, which consists mainly of soggy sandwiches, greasy kebabs and MacDonald's. For some reason, the junk food here tastes a lot worse than in SG and the portions are also a lot smaller. (I tried a few fries in the name of research so that I can say I know what I'm talking about, despite my principled objection to MacDonald's.) Actually, most of the time people just don't eat. As in, they go to a pub straight after work for 'after work drinks', and then stumble home pissed at midnight (on a weekday). On weekends, dinner for most people my age means grabbing a burger while waiting in line to get into a club at 10:30pm. Before that, during the normal dinnertime hours (7-9+), everyone's at home or at another bar getting steadily more and more drunk, until they get thrown out of the bar and sober up in the cold night air. Then everyone stumbles around trying to find a club, perhaps stopping at an off-license to get more beer/alcopops in order to try and stay pissed while waiting in the queue to get in.
A weekend night in London is drunk people carousing around trying blearily to find a club 'they know is around here somewhere'. But don't get me wrong, I do go out, just to nice, non-sleazy places where one can have a drink with friends in relative comfort, hopefully without burning a hole in one's pocket. Urgh, I sound snobbish now. But what I really am trying to say is...
As I mentioned, no one actually has dinner properly here. My English friends are constantly amazed by the fact that I go to the supermarket and buy groceries like raw fish and meat, because it's usually pasta or microwave food for them. But then most of my classmates don't really live in London. They go home to their parents' houses in other parts of the country every few weekends and have proper food then (ie roast beef, meatloaf, typical ang moh food etc.). I, on the other hand, can't bloody go home whenever I want.
So I have to cook my own mee pok, laksa, etc. Did you know that a vital ingredient in mee pok is the pork lard? You know, the small crispy thing that no one eats because it is too fattening? Well, mee pok tastes like a pale shadow of itself when you don't cook it with that pork lard. And I can't bring myself to buy or make that because it is too fattening. Damn! Damned if I do, (cos it's fattening) and damned if I don't (cos it doesn't taste as nice).
People don't even have proper lunches! Everyone eats sandwiches at their desks and some may go out for a smoke and a coffee, but no one goes and sits down at a table and orders food. Since there aren't any hawker centres here, you can't do that without spending quite a lot of money at restaurants. And if you want a healthy option, there's only sushi, which costs quite a lot here (as it does in the rest of the world, even Japan. Except Union Square in New York though).
So to anyone who is thinking of studying/working abroad, I say, go to America! Go to Australia! Do not come to London/the UK. Because if you are a true Sgean, life will be quite miserable for you. Especially if you like white chai dao kueh.
I am very poor thing. Feeling very sorry for myself.
Do you know what else? At the Malaysian restaurants here, you can't have white chai dao kuei because they only have black chai dao kueh in Malaysia and they refuse to do a special one for me. Can life get any more miserable? Think about it. Can you imagine not having eaten white chai dao kueh for a year?
My obsession with proper, wholesome food is considered very strange here. And chai dao kueh is healthy compared to typical london food, which consists mainly of soggy sandwiches, greasy kebabs and MacDonald's. For some reason, the junk food here tastes a lot worse than in SG and the portions are also a lot smaller. (I tried a few fries in the name of research so that I can say I know what I'm talking about, despite my principled objection to MacDonald's.) Actually, most of the time people just don't eat. As in, they go to a pub straight after work for 'after work drinks', and then stumble home pissed at midnight (on a weekday). On weekends, dinner for most people my age means grabbing a burger while waiting in line to get into a club at 10:30pm. Before that, during the normal dinnertime hours (7-9+), everyone's at home or at another bar getting steadily more and more drunk, until they get thrown out of the bar and sober up in the cold night air. Then everyone stumbles around trying to find a club, perhaps stopping at an off-license to get more beer/alcopops in order to try and stay pissed while waiting in the queue to get in.
A weekend night in London is drunk people carousing around trying blearily to find a club 'they know is around here somewhere'. But don't get me wrong, I do go out, just to nice, non-sleazy places where one can have a drink with friends in relative comfort, hopefully without burning a hole in one's pocket. Urgh, I sound snobbish now. But what I really am trying to say is...
As I mentioned, no one actually has dinner properly here. My English friends are constantly amazed by the fact that I go to the supermarket and buy groceries like raw fish and meat, because it's usually pasta or microwave food for them. But then most of my classmates don't really live in London. They go home to their parents' houses in other parts of the country every few weekends and have proper food then (ie roast beef, meatloaf, typical ang moh food etc.). I, on the other hand, can't bloody go home whenever I want.
So I have to cook my own mee pok, laksa, etc. Did you know that a vital ingredient in mee pok is the pork lard? You know, the small crispy thing that no one eats because it is too fattening? Well, mee pok tastes like a pale shadow of itself when you don't cook it with that pork lard. And I can't bring myself to buy or make that because it is too fattening. Damn! Damned if I do, (cos it's fattening) and damned if I don't (cos it doesn't taste as nice).
People don't even have proper lunches! Everyone eats sandwiches at their desks and some may go out for a smoke and a coffee, but no one goes and sits down at a table and orders food. Since there aren't any hawker centres here, you can't do that without spending quite a lot of money at restaurants. And if you want a healthy option, there's only sushi, which costs quite a lot here (as it does in the rest of the world, even Japan. Except Union Square in New York though).
So to anyone who is thinking of studying/working abroad, I say, go to America! Go to Australia! Do not come to London/the UK. Because if you are a true Sgean, life will be quite miserable for you. Especially if you like white chai dao kueh.
I am very poor thing. Feeling very sorry for myself.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The weather this morning suited my mood perfectly.
I stepped out of Geog lecture (Impacts of Rapid Population Growth in Developing Countries) and the sky was wonderfully overcast. I was just in time to catch that gorgeous pause, the almost audible sigh of the sky as it prepared to pour.
I want to stand on the roof, scream and shout and cry until there is nothing left of me, til the rain finally pounds that message home: you are nothing. You do not matter in the grand scheme of things.
what if what if what if
I have come to hate those words.
I feel blades eating into my flesh; spelling out that one letter I know so well, mine, all mine... and the blood runs in ruby rivulets down to stain my fair skin like ink on paper. Or maybe there is no blood? I am tired of thinking.
The lightning drowns out my rage but not the voices in my head that continue to argue and bicker and-
(Brought to you courtesy of my hormones, inferiority complex and that Unavoidable Thing Called Puberty)
I stepped out of Geog lecture (Impacts of Rapid Population Growth in Developing Countries) and the sky was wonderfully overcast. I was just in time to catch that gorgeous pause, the almost audible sigh of the sky as it prepared to pour.
I want to stand on the roof, scream and shout and cry until there is nothing left of me, til the rain finally pounds that message home: you are nothing. You do not matter in the grand scheme of things.
what if what if what if
I have come to hate those words.
I feel blades eating into my flesh; spelling out that one letter I know so well, mine, all mine... and the blood runs in ruby rivulets down to stain my fair skin like ink on paper. Or maybe there is no blood? I am tired of thinking.
The lightning drowns out my rage but not the voices in my head that continue to argue and bicker and-
(Brought to you courtesy of my hormones, inferiority complex and that Unavoidable Thing Called Puberty)
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
When you do something, it's better not to look back.
And now I don't quite know if I should have done it at all. One and a half years is a long time, for a teenager especially. A faint breath of what might have been, a quickening pulse. Then trying, trying! not to think so much.
This is why blogs are good.
Locked away into my memory files, in a separate drive. To be taken out and enjoyed, once in a while. That's all it will remain, I think. But I am grateful for it, and I am done being melancholic.
I just never knew it would hurt so much.
And now I don't quite know if I should have done it at all. One and a half years is a long time, for a teenager especially. A faint breath of what might have been, a quickening pulse. Then trying, trying! not to think so much.
This is why blogs are good.
Locked away into my memory files, in a separate drive. To be taken out and enjoyed, once in a while. That's all it will remain, I think. But I am grateful for it, and I am done being melancholic.
I just never knew it would hurt so much.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Of course I'm alive just busy
tell Mum and Dad not to worry
didn't respond to msg sorry
still adjusting to not having them here
weird to eat with Nanny and Auntie G for dinner
swear I'm doing work
have to send out reports to classmates
writing in point form for many many notes
(that are all over the place
running out of lecture pad)
going to have a packed weekend
geog field trip among other things
staying over at Farrer Sat night
more convenient
tell Mum and Dad to just enjoy themselves
and leave me to tear my hair out here
will make proper post maybe Sunday or whenever free
get out of my head out out damn-
tell Mum and Dad not to worry
didn't respond to msg sorry
still adjusting to not having them here
weird to eat with Nanny and Auntie G for dinner
swear I'm doing work
have to send out reports to classmates
writing in point form for many many notes
(that are all over the place
running out of lecture pad)
going to have a packed weekend
geog field trip among other things
staying over at Farrer Sat night
more convenient
tell Mum and Dad to just enjoy themselves
and leave me to tear my hair out here
will make proper post maybe Sunday or whenever free
get out of my head out out damn-
Thursday, July 07, 2005
I too met Neil Gaiman two years ago on an autumn morning in the children's department of Harrods' book store. The staff were surprised to see so many people, none of them children, and some of them apparently dead. But being English, they didn't show it and even offered to take my dripping umbrella. This could have been because I was the most normal-looking person around. He signed my stardust hardcover for Gloria, and my endless nights for myself, I babbled some stuff about how he should go to Singapore and how my sister would be dying to meet him, and how he should try all the food because that's what I miss... then I realised I was talking about myself and not him. I'd completely neglected to mention even once that I admire and enjoy his work. The fact that I was there would have implied that but saying it's just common courtesy, isn't it?
Anyway what happened at yours, Glor?
Time for an abrupt change of subject: there have been bomb blasts all over London. This is a horrible and sad thing; many people are dead. Ever since 9/11, London has been holding its breath for a terrorist attack. No one knows if one had already been foiled but there is a sense here that it has finally happened. At this point, it's very easy to give into the paranoia that the Americans have gladly embraced, (and I myself being Singaporean, gave quick thanks that we still have a 5 kg bag of rice should there be a stampede to stock up,) but I hope that Londoners will not be sucked in. Every major world capital is subject to these dangers. I'm just lucky that I don't use the tube, at least not during peak hours. I was in bed the whole time and not travelling industriously on the tube so the whole 'incident' (what the Home Sec called it) passed me by.
So. I'm ok and not dead. That's 3 times in my lifetime that I've had to reassure people that I am not dead. I do live in interesting times. The first was when a girl with the same name as me died in a car`accident and they misreported in SG that shw was from LSE, the second was the tsunami when I was in Sipadan, and now.
Oh yah, THIS IS TOR and NOT GLOR if you haven't yet figured it out. It's so me to write about Neil Gaiman first, then the terrorist attack on London.
Anyway what happened at yours, Glor?
Time for an abrupt change of subject: there have been bomb blasts all over London. This is a horrible and sad thing; many people are dead. Ever since 9/11, London has been holding its breath for a terrorist attack. No one knows if one had already been foiled but there is a sense here that it has finally happened. At this point, it's very easy to give into the paranoia that the Americans have gladly embraced, (and I myself being Singaporean, gave quick thanks that we still have a 5 kg bag of rice should there be a stampede to stock up,) but I hope that Londoners will not be sucked in. Every major world capital is subject to these dangers. I'm just lucky that I don't use the tube, at least not during peak hours. I was in bed the whole time and not travelling industriously on the tube so the whole 'incident' (what the Home Sec called it) passed me by.
So. I'm ok and not dead. That's 3 times in my lifetime that I've had to reassure people that I am not dead. I do live in interesting times. The first was when a girl with the same name as me died in a car`accident and they misreported in SG that shw was from LSE, the second was the tsunami when I was in Sipadan, and now.
Oh yah, THIS IS TOR and NOT GLOR if you haven't yet figured it out. It's so me to write about Neil Gaiman first, then the terrorist attack on London.
Wow. Just... wow. So he came, and went. Probably didn't spend even a week here.
Tsu and I got to Kino at nearly 4. We were rather far back in the queue. Which was quite a good thing, I say. We made a load of new friends, while waiting. By the end of it all, the 6 of us were a-pic-a-nicking on biscuits and water kindly donated by the lady in front (whom we obviously made friends with. Her name was Linda) who gave up when we were in the rut that was the Japenese novel section, I believe.
It seems that all of us knew each other, or had something to do with each other, however indirectly or obscurely. Primary school class/bus mates, seniors, neighbours... this country is too small. I can't decide if I like that fact or not.
We met up again for the borders signing, to get more stuff signed, and to just meet, of course! Who knew waiting in a queue would be such a wonderful experience, or that you'd meet such great people...
Elljay, YX, Mel, Angela! It's been fantastic. I'm so glad we met!
So we've promised to keep in touch and all that, contacts and addresses swapped. Sometimes I think that hanging out with those guys was more fun than actaully getting to the end of the line. And it's all Gaiman's fault, heh heh!
He's... tall. And looks exactly like how he does in pictures. And so awfully nice! The number of hours of signing he did! Fans like us do nonsense in the queue for the 6 hours that we wait but he meets person after person, signing continuously. And still relatively cheerful and oh so accomodating near the end.
Did I already mention he was awfully nice? My vocab has gone down the drian, I don't quite think I'd do justice to how it felt, meeting him (twice). And getting a hug made him feel more... real, somehow.
I have thus concluded that Gaiman should come here more often.
Really should have jotted down a post during the Queue but I guess I was enjoying myself too much. And that's it for my Gaiman entry, seeing how not all the memories in my head want to be copied out. And they're not something I'd ever forget.
I'm glad you're alright Tor..! *hugg
Might make post about what goes on in my head (and vocally wonder why my sister now ends sentences with "girl"), someother time. Mum's frantically trying to call you, why can't she get through your mobile?!
Tsu and I got to Kino at nearly 4. We were rather far back in the queue. Which was quite a good thing, I say. We made a load of new friends, while waiting. By the end of it all, the 6 of us were a-pic-a-nicking on biscuits and water kindly donated by the lady in front (whom we obviously made friends with. Her name was Linda) who gave up when we were in the rut that was the Japenese novel section, I believe.
It seems that all of us knew each other, or had something to do with each other, however indirectly or obscurely. Primary school class/bus mates, seniors, neighbours... this country is too small. I can't decide if I like that fact or not.
We met up again for the borders signing, to get more stuff signed, and to just meet, of course! Who knew waiting in a queue would be such a wonderful experience, or that you'd meet such great people...
Elljay, YX, Mel, Angela! It's been fantastic. I'm so glad we met!
So we've promised to keep in touch and all that, contacts and addresses swapped. Sometimes I think that hanging out with those guys was more fun than actaully getting to the end of the line. And it's all Gaiman's fault, heh heh!
He's... tall. And looks exactly like how he does in pictures. And so awfully nice! The number of hours of signing he did! Fans like us do nonsense in the queue for the 6 hours that we wait but he meets person after person, signing continuously. And still relatively cheerful and oh so accomodating near the end.
Did I already mention he was awfully nice? My vocab has gone down the drian, I don't quite think I'd do justice to how it felt, meeting him (twice). And getting a hug made him feel more... real, somehow.
I have thus concluded that Gaiman should come here more often.
Really should have jotted down a post during the Queue but I guess I was enjoying myself too much. And that's it for my Gaiman entry, seeing how not all the memories in my head want to be copied out. And they're not something I'd ever forget.
I'm glad you're alright Tor..! *hugg
Might make post about what goes on in my head (and vocally wonder why my sister now ends sentences with "girl"), someother time. Mum's frantically trying to call you, why can't she get through your mobile?!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Because I am bored and enjoy doing lists like this even when no one has asked me.
THIS IS TOR NOT GLOR. TOR of the injured leg. I got stung by a random sea plant which I incidentally am allergic to and now my leg looks like it is rotting. So I have to rest, stay indoors and read blogs. Wish I could put up a pic of my wound here. It is strangely fascinating, much like Glor's nail-less toe.
Total Number of films I own on DVD/Video
Not including those in SG.. only a very few since they are all burnt on DVD since I am too cheap to buy real one.
I have Team America! (Watch it!) Sixth Sense, Princess Mononoke, and Before Sunset.
The Last Film I Bought
JD gave me Team America.
Five Films I Watch A Lot/Mean a Lot to Me
1.Snoopy Come Home. I used to cry when I watched it. I used to watch it a lot. When I was 6-8.
2.Labyrinth. I thought David Bowie was very kewl but now he's just old and strange. I liked the part where she was in her house except she wasn't, because she was in the rubbish dump with the old woman!! That's when I first realised that there is a world inside your head and sometimes people forget.
3. Before Sunset is the best film I've seen in a long time. The chemistry between the two leads and the way the dialogue bounces around is delicious and causes you to go... aaargh I wish I was Julie Delpy!
4. David Copperfield's magic shows. I used to watch them a lot and they were very entertaining. I liked the one where he put a chicken's head on a duck's body and a duck's head on the chicken's body. And then they ran around the stage! So amazing! And the one where he romanced the girl by disappearing to the strains of 'Memory' from Cats. I really liked the song at that time but didn't know where it was from. I was about 10. Then, in Sec 2, I saw Les Mis and really got interested in musicals then.
5. Supersize Me. Because now I have facts and ammunition for my longterm boycott of MacDonalds and can easily explain to people why they are exploitative and hypocritical.
I have no one to tag. So sad. More about my leg later.
THIS IS TOR NOT GLOR. TOR of the injured leg. I got stung by a random sea plant which I incidentally am allergic to and now my leg looks like it is rotting. So I have to rest, stay indoors and read blogs. Wish I could put up a pic of my wound here. It is strangely fascinating, much like Glor's nail-less toe.
Total Number of films I own on DVD/Video
Not including those in SG.. only a very few since they are all burnt on DVD since I am too cheap to buy real one.
I have Team America! (Watch it!) Sixth Sense, Princess Mononoke, and Before Sunset.
The Last Film I Bought
JD gave me Team America.
Five Films I Watch A Lot/Mean a Lot to Me
1.Snoopy Come Home. I used to cry when I watched it. I used to watch it a lot. When I was 6-8.
2.Labyrinth. I thought David Bowie was very kewl but now he's just old and strange. I liked the part where she was in her house except she wasn't, because she was in the rubbish dump with the old woman!! That's when I first realised that there is a world inside your head and sometimes people forget.
3. Before Sunset is the best film I've seen in a long time. The chemistry between the two leads and the way the dialogue bounces around is delicious and causes you to go... aaargh I wish I was Julie Delpy!
4. David Copperfield's magic shows. I used to watch them a lot and they were very entertaining. I liked the one where he put a chicken's head on a duck's body and a duck's head on the chicken's body. And then they ran around the stage! So amazing! And the one where he romanced the girl by disappearing to the strains of 'Memory' from Cats. I really liked the song at that time but didn't know where it was from. I was about 10. Then, in Sec 2, I saw Les Mis and really got interested in musicals then.
5. Supersize Me. Because now I have facts and ammunition for my longterm boycott of MacDonalds and can easily explain to people why they are exploitative and hypocritical.
I have no one to tag. So sad. More about my leg later.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Because Kayce tagged me and I'm too damned lazy to do a proper entry. And he's right, I'm not even sure what I'll write. :P
Total Number of films I own on DVD/Video
Erm. Not many, am generally not in the habit of collecting them, either I want to watch them and see them in theatres or I miss them completely. But a few, I guess.
The Last Film I Bought
Bought or was given? Spirited Away, from Ed who got it in Malaysia.
Five Films I Watch A Lot/Mean a Lot to Me
1. Anything by Studio Ghibli. Because you can always depend on the fantastic art and superior storytelling. I mean look, Miyazaki even made Moving Castle a half love story thing and managed to pull it off without me wanting to pull out my teeth. And not all their movies end with a happily ever after, unlike Disney, and keeps you thinking about it for some time after. Tomb of the Fireflies and that tanuki I-can't-remember-the-name-of-it ones come to mind.
2. Toy Story. It was the first movie I ever watched in the cinemas (with my parents obviously). Wah, I remember that it was like some kind of expedition liddat, going out so late. And could only get popcorn because everything else was too ridiculously priced.
3. Anything by Tim Burton. I love his style and the odd ideas that he comes up with. Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorshands and Big Fish, how can anyone -not- love his movies?
4. Labyrinth. The film that introdued me, however indirectly, to a taste of the Sandman, since Morpheus was sorta kinda modeled after Bowie's Goblin king. In any case, the muppets were wonderful and it was a very good adventure indeed.
5. The LotR trilogy. Damn well made these films were, especially for something that was once said to be un-makeable. Plus I'm a fantasy junkie, 'nuff said.
Tag 5 People and Have Them Put It In Their Blog
In no particular order:
Jenny
Amanda
Rosie
Tora (even if I know what se'll put)
Schaz (because I want her to -write- something for once)
So it took me 2/3 of a carrot and half an apple to get through that. I sound like a horse don't I? Mum's home and is feeding me healthy stuff lah.
The toe is fine, for anyone who asks. Nail bed has scabbed over and half a cm of nail has grown out already. Had to get the whole thing removed because I'd left it for too long and was starting to grow in the wrong direction, that is, sideways. So the only way to solve that was to start growing the thing from scratch.
Went around flashing it to family during grandfather's birthday dinner last Saturday. As it turns out, none of them have ever seen a toenail removed. Okok, will stop being obsessed about toenail.
So it was a Big Guy's birthday cum father's day thing.
For the first time in years at my grandfather's dinner thing on Saturday we had a change in menu! Gasp! In addition to the usual chilli crab and shark's fin dishes and whatnot we also had bamboo clam (that I discovered I like quite alot) and lobster. I can see you fall off your chair, Tor! I've not really tasted lobster before but it's nice, I guess. Are you suppose to have to chew it alot?
Have just realised why I love my father. He doesn't throw me out of the house eventhough I'm an obnoxious bimbotic brat who thinks she knows everything. That and he willingly deals with idiots at work everyday to put food on the table and to send his children through school.
My life isn't that interesting to blog about, Tor. That's why I have irregular posts. Nothing's going on.
Really.
Total Number of films I own on DVD/Video
Erm. Not many, am generally not in the habit of collecting them, either I want to watch them and see them in theatres or I miss them completely. But a few, I guess.
The Last Film I Bought
Bought or was given? Spirited Away, from Ed who got it in Malaysia.
Five Films I Watch A Lot/Mean a Lot to Me
1. Anything by Studio Ghibli. Because you can always depend on the fantastic art and superior storytelling. I mean look, Miyazaki even made Moving Castle a half love story thing and managed to pull it off without me wanting to pull out my teeth. And not all their movies end with a happily ever after, unlike Disney, and keeps you thinking about it for some time after. Tomb of the Fireflies and that tanuki I-can't-remember-the-name-of-it ones come to mind.
2. Toy Story. It was the first movie I ever watched in the cinemas (with my parents obviously). Wah, I remember that it was like some kind of expedition liddat, going out so late. And could only get popcorn because everything else was too ridiculously priced.
3. Anything by Tim Burton. I love his style and the odd ideas that he comes up with. Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorshands and Big Fish, how can anyone -not- love his movies?
4. Labyrinth. The film that introdued me, however indirectly, to a taste of the Sandman, since Morpheus was sorta kinda modeled after Bowie's Goblin king. In any case, the muppets were wonderful and it was a very good adventure indeed.
5. The LotR trilogy. Damn well made these films were, especially for something that was once said to be un-makeable. Plus I'm a fantasy junkie, 'nuff said.
Tag 5 People and Have Them Put It In Their Blog
In no particular order:
Jenny
Amanda
Rosie
Tora (even if I know what se'll put)
Schaz (because I want her to -write- something for once)
So it took me 2/3 of a carrot and half an apple to get through that. I sound like a horse don't I? Mum's home and is feeding me healthy stuff lah.
The toe is fine, for anyone who asks. Nail bed has scabbed over and half a cm of nail has grown out already. Had to get the whole thing removed because I'd left it for too long and was starting to grow in the wrong direction, that is, sideways. So the only way to solve that was to start growing the thing from scratch.
Went around flashing it to family during grandfather's birthday dinner last Saturday. As it turns out, none of them have ever seen a toenail removed. Okok, will stop being obsessed about toenail.
So it was a Big Guy's birthday cum father's day thing.
For the first time in years at my grandfather's dinner thing on Saturday we had a change in menu! Gasp! In addition to the usual chilli crab and shark's fin dishes and whatnot we also had bamboo clam (that I discovered I like quite alot) and lobster. I can see you fall off your chair, Tor! I've not really tasted lobster before but it's nice, I guess. Are you suppose to have to chew it alot?
Have just realised why I love my father. He doesn't throw me out of the house eventhough I'm an obnoxious bimbotic brat who thinks she knows everything. That and he willingly deals with idiots at work everyday to put food on the table and to send his children through school.
My life isn't that interesting to blog about, Tor. That's why I have irregular posts. Nothing's going on.
Really.