You're the centre of adrenaline.

2011-12-26T01:57:00.003+08:00

Last night, I walked home in the rain, on a path along the coast. In my hoodie. The only thing missing was some music - but natural sounds were lovely too.

I just joined postcrossing! My mailbox (physical, not email) is going to be much more interesting now I think. =]

Since today's date is nice

2011-11-11T23:16:00.003+08:00

The saddest thing that's happened to me so far this sem is almost all my cacti dying on me =( I think they couldn't take Singapore's erratic climate.

At least Whitman's still around.

"I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.

One world is aware, and by far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness I can wait."

Really, no other 54 pages have had such a grip on me,

not-quite-old school delights

2011-11-05T00:07:00.002+08:00

I sent out a bunch of emails to friends overseas. Very excited when I saw the first reply today =]

My friends are awesome and I'm done with essays!

Just two weeks left till exams but right now I'm glad.

I'll never get tired of Whitman

2011-11-01T22:41:00.002+08:00

I wish I could blog like her.

He says my article was well-written butI don't know how good his standards are.

Last dregs of a semester that's been swallowed in one burning hot gulp. Wonder what Trelawney would make of my teacup.

Johnnies Gone for a Soldier

2011-10-30T23:29:00.002+08:00

I might as well catch the last few minutes of October.

Oh wait, October has 31 days.

I hope I don't regret my decision not to S/U Natural Hazards and Climate Change.

I'm surrounded by a charging iPod, a dying laptop (only 10% left, it warns me), a half dead but stoic phone, an empty bottle, a brochure for a film festival that's over, an essay question that hasn't been started on. And some happysad Celtic music.

I have to resist the temptation to just drop all other work and go finish The God of Small Things.

2011-10-30T23:22:00.004+08:00

And I really like the name 'Rahel' - I hope it's pronounced the way I pronounce it. Ruh-hail.

Of all the times to come back here, I choose the night where I have a book to complete by tomorrow morning, an article to do up by tomorrow evening and an essay due the day after. Sheesh.

2011-10-30T23:16:00.003+08:00

I really should get your names off my password.

"Humbling was a nice word, Rahel thought. Humbling along without a care in the world"

"They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much."

From The God of Small Things

XKCD is so awesome.

2011-09-14T22:32:00.002+08:00

after a long time, just to say

2011-09-13T21:46:00.005+08:00

"Please believe that I am falling apart.

I am not speaking metaphorically; nor is this the opening gambit of some melodramatic, riddling, grubby appeal for pity. I mean quite simply that I have begun to crack all over like an old jug - that my poor body, singular, unlovely, buffeted by too much history, subjected to drainage above and drainage below, mutilated by doors, brained by spittoons, has started coming apart at the seams. In short, I am literally disintegrating, slowly for the moment, although there are signs of acceleration. I ask you only to accept (as I have accepted) that I shall eventually crumble into (approximately) six hundred and thirty million particles of anonymous, and necessarily oblivious dust. This is why i have decided to confide in paper, before I forget. (We are a nation of forgetters.)"

-Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

---------------------------

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to "glorify God and enjoy him forever." "

-Henry David Thoreau, Walden; or, Life in the Woods

--------------------------

"More people also crowd into dangerous areas for frivolous reasons. They build homes at the bases or tops of large cliffs for a scenic view, not realising that large portions of the cliffs can give way in landslides or rockfalls. They long to live along edges of sea cliffs where they can enjoy the ocean view, or they want to live along the beach to experience the ocean more intimately. Others build beside rivers that are picturesque or seem soothing. Far too many people build houses in the woods because they enjoy the seclusion and scenery of this natural setting.

Some experts who are concerned with natural catastrophes say that such people have chosen to live in an "idiot zone". People who deliberately choose to live in hazardous areas might as well choose to park their cars on a rarely used railroad track. Trains don't come frequently, but the next one might come any minute."

-Hyndman and Hyndman, Natural Hazards and Disasters, 2nd Ed.

Wait up, July.

2011-07-10T23:56:00.003+08:00

Meeting people! That and violin have been topmost on my schedule.

Will be off to two countries in a few days time, and those few days seem so packed, I don't feel like going overseas anymore.

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber - another show I got to go for. I love my CCA. =]

Am really glad all you overseas people are back!

philosophy for the sweet tooth

2011-06-19T11:58:00.001+08:00

FLO RIDAAAAA

2011-06-16T01:20:00.006+08:00

Hah, the perks of being a writer.

That was one awesome live performance at Sentosa.

The usual popular songs (Low, In The Ayer, Turn Around, Club Can't Handle Me, etc) plus less popular songs, and his new single.

Free flow of drinks. I managed to stomach a sip of champagne. =D

Crowd-surfing brought him to really close quarters, and if I remember right, he seemed more overwhelmed than the listeners.

He started late, as is customary, and ended in a little over an hour. Which was perfect for me, but of course, others may not agree.

I am now of the opinion that the best music is live.

Am reading A History of the World for Rebels and Somnambulists, which is proving to be a really good read!

"Spring and Fall" - Gerard Manley Hopkins

2011-06-14T00:55:00.004+08:00

to a Young Child

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you will weep know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow’s springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

_____________________________________________

Margaret mourns her own mortality.

When I first read this poem, the first two lines stuck in my head and I was repeating them for the next few days.

This time, it's the last two lines.

"Mother Nature FTW: I Got You, Bro"

2011-06-10T00:12:00.000+08:00

see more Hacked IRL - Truth in Sarcasm

20 days after the exams.

2011-06-09T00:24:00.002+08:00

Thank goodness exam results aren't as bad as I feared they'd be, examiners must have been really lenient.

Holidays have been brilliant so far.

A first attempt at pool, rehearsals with a famous music director, a bit of freelance writing, rehearsals for NAC, badminton, friends returning (!!!), a new phone, long bus trips to far-way libraries, cycling to Changi beach and back.

And lots more stuff coming up, like the photography exhibition and Ballet Under The Stars production I get to attend and write reviews on, books I can finally read, friends' birthday parties, meet-ups, The Contemporary (3-day lit seminar), and planning my timetable for next sem. =]

Plus, more friends are returning soon!

3 days into freedom (i plan to jot down what i do everyday. in brief.)

2011-05-23T22:57:00.003+08:00

Exams ended on Friday, May 20th. On a very very bad note. =\

Stopped by the library on the way home, borrowed some Marcel Proust, John Green, K.M. Peyton, a. uncensored collection edited by Judy Blume, and some other vague book that had a

nice cover. Walked home from the library, and caught up on some emailing. Dhevy's letter number 3 of 21 arrived and it got me very excited!

Saturday -

Back to practising violin. SIFAS in the afternoon, then Hindi class afterwards, and it's good to be back at it! =]

Sunday -

Major housecleaning. PA in the afternoon, and it's good to be back there too! We watched Shiraz, and I like it though lotsa others said it's boring (because it's in black and white). Sister returned home in the evening, and related her experiences in Bangkok! Heard from Mr Andrew again, who has more writing for me. And SUNDAR IS BACK!

Monday -

Almost went to the Neptune Court office to file a complaint, but decided to gather more information first. Watched Little Miss Sunshine, and I'm so glad Yuvanes recommended it! Lunch plans with the girls tomorrow finalised. And I made it to the Peer Helping Programme, as a confidante! It's a pity I'll be in Indonesia during their training sessions, so I can only join next year. Went cycling after a Zoo Tycoon session, and cycled to Changi Beach for the first time in my life. Took me two hours altogether - there and back again. Legs are going to scream tomorrow. Got a call from Congo!!! Gotta make an overdue call to Sundar now, and start on the Proust book while waiting for a bro.

UI = user interface. AI = umm, artificial intelligence?

2011-05-15T17:21:00.001+08:00

(yes, i DID google those)

see more Failbook

2011-05-07T20:06:00.003+08:00

Sometimes, I pretend not to know answers, or act dumb, because I don't want people to think I've outgrown them.

"The future's cloudy and it's raining on the poor class
Road to peace is closed heavy traffic on the war paths"

"you ain't gotta flaunt for me"

2011-05-06T23:31:00.003+08:00

For the first time ever, I'm tempted to buy a perfume. An Eau De Toilette, to be specific.

All because of the name. I don't even like the design.

I will eventually talk myself outta buying something just for the image (in this case, it isn't even an image, it's a scent, and I'm not going to announce what I'm wearing to everyone I meet).

But then I will think, it isn't for anyone to know, it's for ME to know.

Then I'll go, "You don't need a perfume to define you."

Then I'll agree.

No EDT then I guess.

"du fond de mon coeur." ah darby.

I need to give myself a good talking down now and then

2011-05-01T21:25:00.004+08:00

I just realised that I slouch when I'm at the laptop.

I dread to think what the past 1.5years with a laptop have done to my spine already. I need to consciously sit straight, or get a different chair for my table.

=\

Anyway, what with Macbeth at Fort Canning, The Royal Wedding and Students' Nite all in one week, it's easy to forget that I still have TWO essays to write before exams. WHICH ARE ONLY A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK AWAY.

You wanted a 4.6 didn't you.

It's true you took on a lot this sem. Maximum number of courses possible and all of them core subjects, Vice-Pres of one CCA, Hindi classes, gym membership, and the usual music school stuff.

Doesn't look like that much when you put it down on paper huh.

And yes, you don't stay on campus. But so what. Some people live all the way in Pasir Ris.

You're only doing a second major, not a second degree. Stop blaming your workload and get that GPA you want already.

Thank You, Lupe.

2011-04-19T00:41:00.003+08:00

TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN & CHILD | WE WANT AN END TO THE GLAMORIZATION OF NEGATIVITY IN THE MEDIA | WE WANT AN END TO STATUS SYMBOLS DICTATING OUR WORTH AS INDIVIDUALS | WE WANT A MEANINGFUL AND UNIVERSAL EDUCATION SYSTEM | WE WANT SUBSTANCE IN THE PLACE OF POPULARITY | WE WILL NOT COMPROMISE WHO WE ARE TO BE ACCEPTED BY THE CROWD | WE WANT THE INVISIBLE WALLS THAT SEPARATE BY WEALTH, RACE & CLASS TO BE TORN DOWN | WE WANT TO THINK OUR OWN THOUGHTS | WE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT | WE WANT CLARITY & TRUTH FROM OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS OR THEY SHOULD MOVE ASIDE | WE WANT LOVE NOT LIES | WE WANT AN END TO ALL WARS FOREIGN & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | WE WANT AN END TO THE PROCESSED CULTURE OF EXPLOITATION, OVER-CONSUMPTION & WASTE | WE WANT KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING & PEACE | WE WILL NOT LOSE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOSERS, WE ARE LASERS | LASERS ARE THE OPPOSITE OF LOSERS | LASERS ARE SHINING BEAMS OF LIGHT THAT BURN THROUGH THE DARKNESS OF IGNORANCE | LASERS SHED LIGHT ON INJUSTICE AND INEQUALITY | LOSERS STAND BY AND LET THINGS HAPPEN TO THEM | LASERS ACT AND SHAPE THEIR OWN DESTINIES | LASERS FIND MEANING AND DIRECTION IN THE MYSTERIES ALL AROUND THEM | LASERS STAND FOR LOVE AND COMPASSION | LASERS STAND FOR PEACE | LASERS STAND FOR PROGRESSION | LASERS ARE REVOLUTIONARY | LASERS ARE THE FUTURE

2011-04-14T23:42:00.003+08:00

Tonight is legendary!

For the first time in 4 semesters, I have completed an essay more than 5 hours before the deadline. In fact, it's 14.5 hours before the deadline!

I am a ready, willing and happy victim tonight, Sleep.

Young Vader

2011-04-10T13:36:00.000+08:00

and another

2011-04-10T11:44:00.001+08:00

Source: etsy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

from an awesome site - link below

2011-04-10T11:40:00.000+08:00

Source: polyvore.com via Natalie on Pinterest

The Loneliest Whale in the World

2011-04-05T23:16:00.005+08:00

Something HF shared with me:

From jonathan carroll's blog (and somewhere in tumblr)

A comment from a 2004 article by the New York Times about the loneliest whale in the world. Scientists have been tracking her since 1992 and they discovered the problem: She isn’t like any other baleen whale. Unlike all other whales, she doesn’t have friends. She doesn’t have a family. She doesn’t belong to any tribe, pack or gang. She doesn’t have a lover. She never had one. Her songs come in groups of two to six calls, lasting for five to six seconds each. But her voice is unlike any other baleen whale. It is unique—while the rest of her kind communicate between 12 and 25hz, she sings at 51.75hz. You see, that’s precisely the problem. No other whales can hear her. Every one of her desperate calls to communicate remains unanswered. Each cry ignored. And, with every lonely song, she becomes sadder and more frustrated, her notes going deeper in despair as the years go by.

I think that just broke my heart.

Plays and Players

2011-03-31T20:51:00.003+08:00

I think I messed up my PHP (peer helping programme) interview yesterday, they didn't look particularly impressed. I did have a great view from the top of the hill, where the Student Services Centre is though!

Epiphany rehearsal again last night, like Tuesday. Until 10.45pm or so. The plays are coming together really well =] It feels great being in the Black Box with so many different groups rehearsing and putting so much effort into this. And J better keep my iPod safe and not shuffle his feet =D

Managed to go catch the first half of the first DVD of LOTR, The Return of the King, Extended Edition. The scenes I haven't seen before are amazing! And really funny =D

So after rehearsal, I rushed off, and reached Vasu uncle's house at around 12.15am, to watch the second half or so of the semi-final match! India vs Pakistan; epic. Afridi has my respect, and Misbah is really sneakeh! And I have a small problem with the Indians' fielding.

Oh and Prof Y recommended my name as one of the HSS Ambassadors, I got the confirmation call today! Is this an exciting sem or what!

Final day of shooting for HL303 presentation today! A puppet version of A Christmas Carol, on film. This is one of the most memorable, fun projects I've ever been in! Can't wait to see the final product tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also Theatre Night 2! Wow it's going to be done so fast.

I can't wait to start preparing for EcoVenture 2011, Indonesia!

2011-03-30T01:13:00.000+08:00

Made it to EcoVenture!!

To people who keep stopping me near MRT stations

2011-03-29T00:18:00.002+08:00

I respect your beliefs, but stop trying to convert me! Isn't it enough that I hear you out, when everyone else ignores you?

I hate that they use rhetoric to try and get me on their side. They're YOUR beliefs, not "our beliefs", and stop assuming my disgust for certain groups of people just because they transgress YOUR views.

And why do they never understand that my life is in perfect order? I'm definitely not in desperate need of help. I agree when you talk about natural disasters happening frequently, but that does NOT mean I fear death and what happens after (if something does happen).

I can respect your views only because of the beliefs I hold and was born into, so there's no way I'm ever going to switch to your camp, especially if it claims to be the only right way.

Thank you and good day =]

Hindi Lessons and how'magonna survive this sem

2011-03-27T21:43:00.003+08:00

I started Hindi classes yesterday! With my sister, under Shiva. Really hope I can stick with it. LitFest next week - and I think the exhibition may have to be scrapped. So many people have started on essay outlines and stuff, and I haven't even looked at the questions yet/ finished reading all the texts yet. YOU WANTED A 4.6 THIS SEMESTER REMEMBERRRRR? Preeti's party! =] OH and Ecoventure interview tomorrow! There's overwhelming response, according to them. Just what are the chances =\

I just listened to a Master

2011-03-26T00:28:00.002+08:00

T. N. KRISHNAN CONCERT! O_O

I'm speechl-

(I regain momentary control of my voice to say, F.A.M.E. is in Singapore! =D )

The things you learn at Uni

2011-03-24T23:32:00.002+08:00

2011-03-24T23:29:00.005+08:00

2011-03-22T00:04:00.001+08:00

Lichee can identify who I am over the phone from the way I laugh! =D

Also, if I did Jazzband in, it would be homiecide.

Aaaaaaand, recess is done.

2011-03-20T22:00:00.002+08:00

Eventful week, I must say.

Monday - Powercycling with Bhuva at Suntec. =]
Tuesday - Indie trail with Hui Fang! pictures soon.
Wednesday - Clearing piles of books on the floor, violin class, rehearsal with dancers, start of Music Festival concerts!
Thursday - Planning for Saturday's party. Mixtape-making! And finally, new sneakers =D
Friday - Rushing to start homework/where did the week go. Happened to catch an episode of Supernatural on TV! Dance by Rama Vaidyanathan at Esplanade Theatre.
Saturday -

Dharini's house for final rehearsal and changing attire. Back to SIFAS at 7.30pm, concert began at 8.30. Went alright, according to others. Playing for the dancers went alright too. Took ages for everything to end, finally managed to leave, cab home, and rush to Goldkist Resort for Saranya's chalet! Made it there before midnight. Played games/talked/met people I hadn't met for a long time till 4am, then Ganesh and I walked Sus and Sarah out to Marine Parade. Not feeling sleepy, we were wandering around the room, when we were joined by Saranya. Walked out to admire the beach at night, and recreated Dobby's tombstone in the sand =] Talked till it was past 5am, then I decided that I should get some sleep. Vaishu joined S and G after that, while I caught an hour or so of sleep on the mattress we brought down from the room upstairs and crowded on. At 6plus, the others returned from their stroll, and Lincon suggested we go watch the sunrise. So we went out again, with Vaishu, and sat on a steep breakwater admiring the huge moon and faint sunlight. =] nothing very pretty, but it was still worth it. Came back to the chalet after 7, where I caught another 20 minutes of sleep, before leaving at 7.30am for home. Pushpa left with me too but the others were still asleep.

Had intentions of starting on my work after a shower, but a short nap after the shower became deep sleep =\

Sunday - Fadilah's BBQ party! And the long walk there because I underestimated the distance.. Sorry HF!

And now, what was all that work I'd planned to do over the hols?...

RECESS IS HERE

2011-03-11T23:54:00.002+08:00

And to celebrate, I went to the bookshop, found those scrap pieces of paper you test pens on, and wrote random messages to anyone who happens to read them.

Thoughts as I rush my HL203 essay

2011-03-10T19:13:00.002+08:00

1. Thank goodness this has a small word limit.
2. I wish I were a MACHINE OF CREATIVITY that would churn out awesome, subjective, personal literature. -raises eyebrows-
3. Aren't actors and actresses ever scared that they'll get stuck in a role?
4. One more day till recess HUZZAH.

"Four for the kids that don't wanna be there"

2011-03-08T00:42:00.003+08:00

Somehow, Darby found my unused Facebook account that I had to get for COM253 last semester. Once once he did, Djo, Ousmane, Patrick and Chyening found me too.

I didn't have the heart to ignore their friend invites, so now I'm using FB for the YOG folks.

Sighhhhh.

LASERS IS OUT TOMORROW, FINALLYYYYY

2011-03-06T13:10:00.004+08:00

Heartlanders are really awesome!

I had to interview them for my news report assignment, and most of them (especially the youngsters) are really nice and friendly and helpful. At least, at the area I was exploring - the HDB blocks at Pioneer MRT and Boon Lay MRT. For one, there was the guy who walked me to Pioneer Mall instead of just givin me directions, and there was the group of people who gave me a lot of interview material and wished me luck for the assignment =]

A lot of them donated $10 bills to a street performer at JP - I don't recall seeing such generosity at Parkway Parade. I hardly recall seeing many street performers at all.

You get your fair share of rude people as well though, not to mention how my article was about groups of teenagers creating a ruckus at void decks at night. But the overall attitude of the people is different from the attitude of the people where I live.

As Dean Moriarty would say, they've got "IT".

Austen and Shakespeare

2011-02-22T12:06:00.003+08:00

Something to look back on with incredulity and a faint sense of pride.

It's been a long while huh.

I get distracted sometimes, when I'm watching a movie, cos my mind wanders away, picking up on something or some word in the film, and I have to keep rewinding to see what happened. Especially if it's in a foreign language.

Hiroshima Mon Amour was brilliant, it made me think so much I had to rewind 4 times.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways"

2011-01-20T22:45:00.003+08:00

Just filled in a survey online, and paused before filling my age in as 20.

Why is 21 supposed to be such a special year?

Anyway, Epiphany stuff is starting up, and I've got to write that article for ArtJam by Saturday. Looks like an exciting sem ahead; I just wish my courses were finalised.

Exam results came out on Tuesday, after a torturous wait, and though my GPA dropped drastically from last semester, CGPA is still about the same, and I still did better than my first sem ever, so I'm not complaining, given how I thought it would definitely drop below 4. I'm actually quite pleased, because I thought COM201 and 203 would have butchered me.

With help from Jon, I now know what kinda grades I have to achieve now onwards if I'm to have that first class honours - 4.6 every semester. That's what I got last sem, but I didn't have the second major then.. CMON CMON CMONNN. Please no violin this year?

Also, gym sessions are going to reduce drastically from next week, once uni starts.

"Yeah I think you're cute but really you should know

I just came to say hello."

2011-01-11T23:51:00.004+08:00

Okay, I sent my first letter to D.R. Congo yesterday. Mum says I shouldn't count on it reaching safely. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Told Darby to write back, so I guess I'll know if it reached. Assuming his letter reaches me.

When it's all said and done, I still love the fact that I can't use the internet to communicate with them. =]

I finally got around to watching A Walk To Remember. I think I like Jamie Sullivan's character. But I can imagine how reading the book it's based on would be torture.

"someday we'll know."

2011-01-11T23:49:00.000+08:00

"And you think there's not enough love,
And no one to give it to."

good convos.

2011-01-09T17:00:00.005+08:00

so cool! haha shreya please don't lose too much weight k, you are cool the way you are

...or put on too much weight either haha in terms of muscle

that would be frekay

------

And the awesome cleverbot is really cool. Words in bold are Cleverbot's.

I'm Doug.
if you were dough, i would love you
I am real, though. Does that mean that you love me? (wow, nice wordplay, Cleverbot.)
without a doubt.
Can't believe a word.

The geese are going to operate on you?
i heard it was the ganders.
With the candlestick in the study?
rosebud
You know that maks no sense.

do you like chris brown?
No. I like you.
i like chris brown though
In what way do you like Chris Brown?
i love chris brown's music
Me too! You're my new best friend.
i'm glad:). so do you like chris brown?
I know not of whom you speak.

Never!
nom
Wrong.
omnomnom
Cookie nom?
Exactlyyyyyyy

What are you?
a pixie
You're a pirate?
arrrr
Arrr.

Also, if yesterday's skype convo with RnB was down in writing, I would copy-paste the whole thing here... And no one would understand it anyway.

I should be able to write "2011" without thinking by.. June, hopefully.

2011-01-02T22:01:00.002+08:00

No, that's not my resolution. I don't have any resolutions.

So I started the trial period for gym last Tuesday. Had the trial PT session on Wednesday, and decided to sign up for real on Thursday. Hugeee investment, hope I use it well.

Friday was my first session with my trainer, who just about made me kill my triceps. Saturday found me unable to move my arms. I applied copious amounts of axe oil to prepare them for Sunday, and to my immense relief, they were alright on Sunday morning. Just in time for my second session.

My trainer is a great person to work with; that's a relief.

I NEED TO GET STARTED ON ALL THE THINGS I WANTED TO DO IN THE HOLIDAYS.

Also, Sundar and Sneha are back! =] Guitar Hero and Halo today, I honestly enjoyed Halo better. My profile name was thangachi, Hasinah's was indians, Lincon's was an ne and Thiru's was akka. HAHAHA. That made the game a whole lot funnier! And lots of fun at KFC and the arcade later.

I realise that if I insist on staying away from FB, I've got to put more effort into keeping in touch with friends. I had no idea G was attached! Good for you, friend =]

A bunch of grapes calls. Till next time.

Not too busy to read.

2010-12-30T23:33:00.002+08:00

"That's the point of sport: it's pointless. A glorious waste of time - though not quite as glorious or as pointless as art."
- From Swimmer by Bill Broady

"The flower which the wind has shaken
Is soon filled again with rain:
So does my heart fill slowly with tears
Until you return."
-Imagist poet Richard Aldington

Have yet to start on Whitman's "Leaves of Grass". Can't wait. Whole piles of books lie around waiting to be read.

I hope I can get 100 posts out this year.

2010-12-26T00:06:00.002+08:00

Added the finishing touches to what I hope is the worst sem ever (in terms of exams) last Thursday, at HL310, the last of 6 exams.

Here's my ranking, from darn-it at first place to not-as-bad-as-i-feared.. at sixth place.

1. COM253

2. COM201

3. HL310

4. COM203

5. HL301

6. HL230

And I just remembered I need at least a B in 201 in order to do the other courses. Sigh.. STARS Planner, old friend, we meet again.

Anyway, exams overrr. Now to concentrate in Epiphany and ArtJam and violin and reading/watching lists and WRITING LETTERS/EMAILS and setting my room in order (there's just space enough to walk through, the rest of the floor is covered with my books). And FRIENDS FRIENDS FRIENDS!

Walked around Orchard on Thursday, went for a 21st birthday yesterday, and watched The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader today. It's a great movie! Love the soundtrack too =]

There's so much to do I don't know where to start. I think I'll go read a book.

And I really want to go watch Ballerina Who Loves B-Boy!

2010-12-15T19:25:00.002+08:00

I decided to leave some reflections on the COM203 discussion board yesterday, after the final exam, asking why exams need to focus on memory rather than understanding.

Read Professor Cherian George's reply today, and I feel really embarrassed. I should have used better examples; now I made myself out to be someone who doesn't understand concepts in the first place.. I need the night to get over this, will respond tomorrow, Prof.

At least he was glad I was thinking about the way we learn.

3 exams down, 3 to go. I think I already slaughtered my GPA though. Oh well. I get to get enough sleep tonight =]

"Alright already the show goes on
All night till the morning we dream so long."

Savvy?

2010-12-09T17:39:00.003+08:00

Perhaps the most interesting thing about reading the sixty five-page-long Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (3rd Edition) is that after introducing it to the reader, they refer to it in the rest of the document as the Code. Now I feel like Jack Sparrow and Barbossa (and I doubt either of them ever finished reading it either).

"Why, thank you, Jaaaaaack."

-Jack grimaces.

"Not youuuu, we named the monkeyyyy Jaaaaaack."

"IT WAS A TIME I SLEPT IN MANY ROOMS, called myself by many names. I wandered through the quarters of the city like alluvium wanders the river banks. I knew every kind of joy, ascents of every hue. Mine was the twilight and the morning. Mine was a world of rooftops and love songs."

- Roman Payne

2010-12-02T21:50:00.003+08:00

Man am I grateful. For msn conversations in French with WL. Reminds me of French lessons with Monsieur Huet, as well as awesome August 2010.

I should probably feel more grateful for the extension of the 301 essay deadline.

"no mistake's too great to recover and bounce back"

I'm rather distracted.

2010-11-26T22:26:00.006+08:00

This morning, I woke up early enough, but daydreamed so much that I had to rush to school (and was still late).

I fell asleep over If On A Winter's Night A Traveller (which TOTALLY does not deserve such disgraceful treatment) on the MRT, despite having got some decent hours of sleep.

I forgot to charge my phone AND my iPod, but luckily I didn't bother about not being contactable, and remembered to grab the phone's earphones on the way out of home cos sometimes you've just gotta listen to something. (The sliver of charge on my phone last me till I got home, despite listening to music to and from school, by the way =] )

Then, in the middle of Media Law, I realised that I'd forgotten to eat breakfast.

After lecture, I was walking to the bus stop, when I suddenly remembered that I'd brought library books with me to return. (Part of the reason I was late is that I was hunting for books and choosing which ones to return.) I set out to HSS from SCI, forgetting that I can probably return the books at SCI ACRC although they're from HSS. I remembered early enough to turn back but I decided to go to HSS anyway cos I'm bound to meet a friend there. Then, 10 metres away from the HSS library, I remembered that I'd only brought the books from the public library, and not the school library, cos there were too many books to carry at once...

And so I turned back to take a bus from the HSS bus stop. Someone who looked like a professor walked out of a door about 8metres in front of me, saw me, smiled and waved. He was against the light so I couldn't see his face properly, but he didn't look like any of my Profs! And there wasn't anyone behind me either. So I just grinned sheepishly, but didn't wave back, and he turned back and went his way. I was really curious so I tried catching up to him, but he seemed to have disappeared! Couldn't see him anywhere. I hope he wasn't my favourite prof, and I really hope he wasn't offended =O

Returned the books at the library and got home without any other incident, as far as I can remember. Later in the evening, I realised that for the first time in my life, I can't remember a password =S It was a new account that I hadn't started using yet, but I feel terrible at having to change passwords because I've never done it before and the original was probably something cool >.<

***

I need to remember to send emails, send letters, send postcards, amidst all this schoolwork.

Film Fest is going on now!!! =D

"Coz I, Im in love with this feelin' now,
Hope that this will last a while, we should make it last a while"

2010-11-25T21:34:00.003+08:00

Listening to California Dreamin on YouTube isn't quite like listening to it on top volume in Chungking Express.

My list of movies to watch after the exams is getting pretty long!

"நீ இரவு, நான் விண்மீன்
நீ இருக்கும் வரை தான் நான் இருப்பேன். "

Gotta love The Weepies

2010-11-19T23:01:00.001+08:00

"I watch the stars from my window sill
The whole world is moving and I'm standing still
.
.
.

I thought of you and where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on."

Feeling expressive.

2010-11-15T23:58:00.004+08:00

Phone inbox has reached a nice round 8000 =O

I have a very bad feeling about my 230 essay =(

The weather in November is always fantastic =]

I got my cheque for the freelance job =D

Rediscovered the awesomeness of On The Road this morning =)

First ex-co meeting tomorrow =S

Performance yesterday! Will miss seeing everyone at rehearsals =..(

Saw a 20plus-minute film on cats and kittens! =DDD

Wish I could have a convo like that. (not on FB, of course..)

2010-11-09T22:11:00.000+08:00

see more Failbook

2010-11-08T23:17:00.002+08:00

Today was a good day - met Farah, primary school classmate, on the MRT home, and received a postcard from Germany!

Which reminds me, I really should get in touch with the international friends I made during YOG..

I like Mondays cos at 12.30, a whole gang of us convene at The Steps. It's the only time I get to see many of them this sem.

2010-11-07T18:22:00.002+08:00

I seem to be completely surrounded by technology; I'm always having to charge something or the other. Phone, laptop, iPod.

4.5 hours left to write 2500 words. I think I'm actually going to make it.

Good Ol' August and YOG

2010-11-06T13:07:00.004+08:00

From Argentina: Leo Plaza Gandini, Tomas Ruiz and Daniel Quiroga

"When you get caught between the Moon and New York City.."

Outside Paya Lebar MRT at 7pm

2010-11-02T20:15:00.003+08:00

Tuesday, 2nd November 2010.

Wanted to wait for it to get prettier but, I am ashamed to say, I decided to get onto the bus when it arrived.

Well I do have a presentation tomorrow that I haven't prepared for yet..

Sister: I can get a complimentary voucher for you, do you want one? I can get one for anyone over 18. (after a small pause) You are above 18 aren't you?

Me: -_-

Sister: It's hard to tell sometimes.

2010-11-01T21:00:00.000+08:00

Non-aircon, double-decker buses ftw! It's a pity the ride ended that fast.

2010-10-27T22:00:00.001+08:00

I wish I had a typewriter, maybe then I would write.

Not to be egoistic, but I suspect some of the references here will be lost on most people.

2010-10-25T00:55:00.004+08:00

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
to hell with coms!

shreya says:
hehehehe

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
i hate that i'm sacrificing so much lit time for it

shreya says:
yes, that's what im not too comfortable with

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
(:

shreya says:
oh well
lit has our love
always

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
YES

shreya says:
comms can try, but WILL NEVER MATCH UPPP

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
not ever
we have so many lit spies in coms

shreya says:
-solemn pact moment-

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
teaching it

shreya says:
YEA

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
-crosses heart-

shreya says:
OLD ENGLISH SOME MORE

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
YEAH HAHAHAHA

shreya says:
i mean, middle eng

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
chaucer

shreya says:
-hopes to die-

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
eliot

shreya says:
WOOT CHAUCER
though i didnt read much of him

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
-hopes to die in the name of lit-
lit martyrs!

shreya says:
-imagines self carrying bright shiny sword-
YEA

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
hahaha

shreya says:
we the martyrs

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
the chivalric notion

shreya says:
we can be gawain or someone

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
gawain may be gay!

shreya says:
oh yeaaaa

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
lol w_____ and his queer theories

shreya says:
green knight?
HAHA

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
everything is queer theory

shreya says:
hmmmm

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
be beowulf!
odysseus!

shreya says:
thennnn we can be DON JUAN HAHAHAHA

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
oedipus!

shreya says:
EH YEA

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
OH OKAY
don juan

shreya says:
noooooooooooooo not oedipus

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
the epitome of manliness

shreya says:
he's not exotic enough, stupid freud made him Common

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
oh yeah!
damn those psycho nuts

shreya says:
HAHA YEA MANLY DON JUAN LOLLLL
yea man

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
HAHAHAHA

shreya says:
making great lit characters common household names
ugh
odysseus is pretty cool too though ^.^
and achilles!

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
now it feels weird when we use "oedipus complex" to talk about some psychological theory in a lit text put in for postmodernist reasons
ODYSSEUS <3
oh yes achilles! arkhilleus hahaha

shreya says:
yea, i know right
hahahahaha yea!
is he <3 because he's the only one you read?
HAH

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
nooooo!
gosh i'm offended
hahaha

shreya says:
HAHA
kiddin, homie

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
i hate aeneas

shreya says:
lol why?

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
really hate

shreya says:
cos of dido?

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
naw it's everything about him
just reading about him makes me seethe
i think partly cuz unlike odysseus he always has god-help
and they always tell him what to do and how and he just does it

shreya says:
(im so putting this convo up on my blog btw)
ooh i see i see
but no what

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
it's not much of his own efforts/abilities

shreya says:
he always has the choice not to listen to them
in fact he does that at one point right
cant rmb where

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
i can't even remember!

shreya says:
hahaha
nvm
odysseussssss

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
stupid aeneas
odysseus is so awesome

shreya says:
not stupid, just misunderstood ^.^

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
he's so awesome that with the intention of skimming through for exam time constraint purposes
i got so hooked that i ignored the time constraint
and sat down in a couch
read the entire day

shreya says:
hhahahaha

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
finished the better half of it in less than a day

shreya says:
time well-spent =D

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
that's how awesome!
YAY

shreya says:
yea, i cant believe how fast i read that either

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
(:
i'm doing crazy citations for the essay btw
stupid APA
what the hell
MLA rules!
crazy com nuts and crazy c_________

shreya says:
ok i havent looked at APA yet but im sure MLA PWNS APA
hahahahaha

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
absolutely

shreya says:
trying to be all cool

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
HAHAHAHA

shreya says:
little do they know how we look down on them from the back row =D
The Lit Cult of the Comms Lecture
LT with the boringest name of ______________

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
hahahaha

shreya says:
that's the name, right

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
think so

shreya says:
BLACK BOX RULES

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
wow i just realised that they hold lectures telling them what the ___family does to rulebreakers in the ___________ theatre

shreya says:
wow

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
black box ftw

shreya says:
the environment adds up huh

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
hahahahaha

shreya says:
eh that required capitals

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
insane

shreya says:
BLACK BOX FTW

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
HAHAHA
this is litotes
understatement for effect
queen v "we are not amused." HAHAHAHAHA

shreya says:
wait im lost
what?
(sorry =S )
sounds so familiarrrrrrr
grah

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
hahaha

shreya says:
OH

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
y______ imitated queen victoria and taught us litotes

shreya says:
YEA
WAIT
HAHAHAHAHA
Y___________SSSS

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
kickasssssss
hahaha

shreya says:
IM SORRY THAT EVER SLIPPED MY MIND
TOTALLY
WOOHOO
ok ok, ill catch up with you tmr
go finish your essay

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
sure sure
be encouraging looking

shreya says:
ill try to get started on mine =D

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
very encouraging

shreya says:
WILL DO
WILL DO VERY MUCH

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
hold us cues

shreya says:
HAHAHA
at the back of the class

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
& bilboards saying "JAZZY BLUES RULES"

shreya says:
behind y____s' head
HAHA

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
YEAH

shreya says:
IF ONLY I COULD

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
hahahahaha

shreya says:
hold a pic of dylan
for inspiration to be totally crazy

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
i want kinbote!
the great beaver
hahahaha

shreya says:
HAHAHA
unfortunately, i dont think that will be possible

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
aw man
lol
paint it on the back wall
go sleep
good night!

shreya says:
the zemblan might sue me
haha cant sleep yet
too much workkk

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
whatcha gonna do?
the zemblan killed himself anyways!

shreya says:
imma tryna decide what tah do
haha true, that
but since the book is full of ghosts
...

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
*shiver*
close your eyes & point & do whatever you've pointed at!
(point at the bed)

shreya says:
(sudden surge and unexplainable desire to retire for the night)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
fights against the mind heist!
i invoke you, brave Odysseus!
help me rid myself of this strange lethargy!
when dawn with her rosy fingers rises, i shall still be awake!

Hitsugaya Jasmine says:
HAHAHAHAHA

shreya says:
hahahahahahaa

"Everyone wanted to play Han Solo" - Carrie Fisher

2010-10-22T00:02:00.001+08:00

see more Failbook.

I didn't realise Blogger has stats on every blog!

2010-10-20T18:43:00.004+08:00

I wonder how I missed that huge tab right up there with Posting, Settings, Design and so on. So now I know how many people visit each day. The number surprised me at first, then I realised it isn't actually that big a number..

Bumped into Ms Farah at the busstop today! She remembers my name, and was filling me in on the changes to come out of the Cedar and VS through-train programme.

Ah those days of bio classes and note-taking and the myelin (spelling?) sheath, which is how Ms Farah still remembers Eileen =D

Went to the post office, now I know that a postcard to her just costs 50c.

Then went to the Information Counter to buy a ticket for The Chess Player, showing tomorrow, which I'll be watching with Hui Fang, and hopefully doing my essay on.

Two interviews to conduct tomorrow, looking forward to it =]

Taking a break from 6 essays to go get some smiles!

2010-10-18T23:04:00.004+08:00

Sheela's Reception!

I'm really not that short, it's an illusion? Or maybe all the other girls were wearing heels? Haha!

After ICS Nite 09. I think I'm trying to look RnB. I dunno how well it worked but ahh those baggy oversized jeans are really comfortable.

I was bored and free enough some months back

2010-10-18T00:01:00.003+08:00

And found this about the sign Aquarius:

Ailments:

Injuries to lower legs, ankle problems, poor circulation, varicose veins, blood disorders, nervous disorders, sheer lack of sleep.

Haha! It seems pretty interesting.

Injuries to lower legs: I dunno, maybe I can count all those scars from the numerous times I've grazed/bruised/cut my legs.

Ankle problems: nahh.

Poor circulation: They might have a point. Somehow, iron never has trouble reaching my feet. They cramp sometimes, especially in cold weather.

Varicose veins: I think this just might be handed down to me through genes.

Blood disorders: don't think so.

Nervous disorders: definitely not.

Sheer lack of sleep: okay they got me. =D

If you wanna check yours:

HERE.

Oh and another reason I like this site is that it gave me a list of people I might know, and they include:

The Tin Man from the yellow brick road,
Charles Darwin,
Lewis Carroll,
Wolfgang Mozart,
the Loch Ness Monster,
Mother Goose,
the Mad Hatter,
Yoko Ono,
Princess Caroline of Monaco,
Jules Verne,
Robbie Williams.

Yippee!

2010-10-15T23:26:00.002+08:00

I'm too inspired by HL310, I find it increasingly hard to take the same route all the time.

So I dropped off at Eunos today, instead of Paya Lebar, and decide to walk home from there. I enjoy walking, so I took my time. Took me about an hour to walk home, loved every minute of it.

Stopped halfway, to buy a Peach Ice Blend, and to pet a very friendly black cat.

Reflection. (cheesy as this title sounds, I don't think I've used it before.)

2010-10-14T20:57:00.003+08:00

Why can't I write?

I can't think of anything else I want to spend my whole life doing. (Okay, social work is an exception.)

Good writing takes a genius. Or maybe some hard practice. So I'll try. It's such a bummer that I have to choose between a second major in Communications and a minor in Creative Writing.. Would gladly go for the latter but my thinking was that I can pursue creative writing independently, or at another place, but I can't do that for comms. Even if that isn't true, I know I would have chosen comms anyway, because I wouldn't be able to walk away from the challenge of 24AUs (academic units) per semester.

I carry around a book for jotting down stuff to write about while travelling to school and back home, but nothing's been jotted down yet because I'm either reading stuff for lessons, or I've fallen asleep.

Yes I'll keep trying, but maybe I should start thinking of what I should do if it turns out I can't write after all.

Funny people on Failbook =D

2010-10-12T00:29:00.001+08:00

see more Failbook !

2010-10-09T23:10:00.002+08:00

I hear whispers of the VIP gathering in December and I really really can't wait!

Cool stuff (that you might consider sadly random)

2010-10-08T23:33:00.005+08:00

1) I get a kick out of typing stuff into YouTube/Google and finding that autocomplete (you know what I mean right) is baffled, cos it means I'm searching for something different =D

2) Shafie gave me a brilliant strategy to use the next time I found strangers giving me unwanted attention (that is to say, when certain people stare as I walk along a certain area). He says to look at their hair and give a wth look. They'll get all self-conscious cos they can't see their hair. (And it was really funny when he said it but I doubt I'll ever actually do that.)

3) Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 is fantastic.

"We went to the New York's World Fair, saw what the past had been like, according to the Ford Motor Car Company and Walt Disney, saw what the future would be like, according to General Motors. And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep."

"The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present an future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just the way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent all the moments are, and they can look at any moment that interests them. It is just as illusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one, like beads on a string, and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever."

2010-10-05T23:31:00.003+08:00

We listened to Bob Dylan this week for HL230!

He looks so cool. And the pastor isn't a real pastor. I can't remember exactly who (was it Allen Ginsberg?) it is but it's someone dressed up like a pastor for fun. =D

Oh America.

And I know I'm mixing time periods up really bad with the following quote but oh well. It's from HL310, European Lit. (Besides, maybe this technique would make me part of the Surrealist gang we studied today in Film Theory, HL301. =D )

"This fire burns our brains so fiercely, we wish to plunge
To the abyss' depths, Heaven or Hell, does it matter?
To the depths of the Unknown to find something new!"

-Charles Baudelaire

Good Days Involve:

2010-10-02T00:03:00.003+08:00

1) Good friends who save seats for lecture
2) Good friends I bump into when getting down from the bus
3) Remembering to take my waterbottle to school
4) Plans for Shafie (congrats bro!) for tomorrow, with homie and carms (I'm gonna be translating for them tomorrow at Caldecott).
5) Meeting an IP classmate at the busstop
6) Looong train ride to Tanah Merah and the trip to Simmer's pretty house from there
7) Walking to East Coast to the 13/43/48 busstop instead of taking a bus there, 'cos I couldn't resist the winding road =D
8) Late lunch, then to Parkway for the bro and the usual bubble tea, and the ride back home!
9) Concert at the temple by a disciple of a singer I like, and talking to the music school friends after that! Plans for farewells are on the horizon.
10) Late nights on the laptop and off it, pretending to be busy, and realising that I really am...

Okay bye.

2010-09-28T00:29:00.003+08:00

I can't find my ruler =\ I've had it since primary school. I really hope it's somewhere at home, and not lost at school.

So many people have left.. But that only means more correspondence. Which reminds me, I need to go buy stamps.

I thought I would be more free now that the concert is over, but 2 more have popped up, and then there's the PA show of course. The Pallavi series was fun and enlightening, and a good chance to talk about issues related to the school, and what we can do about it. I suddenly feel like Marie's 'gang' in Rice Bowl. Speaking of which, I've fallen back on sooo many readings because of violin rehearsals every night, I just hope I can catch up.

Remind me to tell you (in person) how Prof ____ pronounced 'Tampines' in seminar today. =D

Ah it's only 12.35.

2010-09-23T00:32:00.002+08:00

and NOW COM253 assumes we have facebook. this second major thing is starting to get on my nerves.

Apart from that, it's pretty interesting though =D

This week has been/is disgustingly busy. Can't wait for the Friday concert to be over. But then again, I have loads left to memorise..

Oh man I missed the kite flying days =\ hope they make a comeback!

I just came home from rehearsal with Kavitha and Palla and now I'm wondering how the heck I'm gonna pull this off. Wish me luck.

Noooooooooooooooooo

2010-09-16T20:46:00.002+08:00

=(
We need to get a twitter account for COM201 Assignment 1! Danggg.

It appears there's a technical problem though, so that assignment has been postponed till further notice. Thank you =]

2010-09-15T19:16:00.002+08:00

WE. ARE NOT. ANNOYING.

Maybe just a few people are. But stop treating us as one homogenous group.

(I still love you though, xkcd.)

'Cos you're awesome!

2010-09-14T22:35:00.002+08:00

Today I learnt that the idea for the movie Inception is one of the first few theories in the history of film theory, which makes it about a century old. (I think.) It portrays, very accurately, Hugo Mundenberg's theory that the film is in the mind.

Went for the family photoshoot in the evening, to commemorate my sister's graduation! Photos in a while. It was fun, except for the make-up part.. And we got an interesting cab driver on the way home!

Am watching Casablanca now, but I just HAD to take a break to come here and type out this bit of dialogue:

- "You despise me, don't you?"
- "Oh, if I gave you any thought, I probably would."

Academy Day 2010

2010-09-12T22:54:00.003+08:00

Amu left yesterday =\ at least I got to see her at the airport. And Audrey's leaving tomorrow, and I just haven't been able to meet her =(

I realise that I would enjoy Academy Day a lot, if it weren't for the fact that there's school. I worry about the time wasted only because of the huge piles of homework. Otherwise, I'd be perfectly happy to get a chance to see and talk to so many friends, and to joke around and stuff. Reminds me of what it's like to be at camp, somehow. It's a time when eventually, people start talking for lack of anything else to do, and it brings up really interesting conversations. Plus, the whole idea of playing together makes me feel like it's one BIG group of friends, not just different disciplines coming together on one day.

So although yesterday was almost completely a waste of 12 hours, I'm glad I got to talk to friends, especially the mridangam and tabla gang. We would never have talked and joked that much if we weren't all at the same place waiting for something to happen. (And besides, the day wasn't a complete waste because I met some of the gang at the airport at night, which brought back lotsa memories of the guys from Congo =\ ) Likewise, I'm glad I was with the (new generation) violin and flute and veena gangs today, and made friends with more of that huge mridangam group.

The orchestra had a few minor mistakes, but it sounded fine. The alumni dance, for which I was playing, was more obviously careless but I think it still sounded alright. At least there's one less thing to worry about now. 1 down, 4 to go!

Now to finish reading three-quarters of a novel by tomorrow.

"Do you think about me now and then?

Do you think about me now and then?

'Cos I'm comin' home again."

Odessa Steps and old tapes!

2010-09-10T15:42:00.003+08:00

Thursdays are Hui Fang days =]

We met up earlier cos we wanted to take a chance and see if the CCA fair was still on, but it wasn't =\

COM201 lecture found the bunch of us second majors from Lit sitting in the back row. I've always found that there's something like a statement made when one sits in the back row ^.^

Was saved from freezing in COM253 by half of Hui Fang's jacket, and by us jotting down countries to research about (cos COM203 demands that we know what's going on in the world) in the first few minutes of lecture. I say that to explain that we DID pay attention.

Battleship Potempkin (the film we watched) - masterpiece of montage. And in my notes, I don't have enough time to write out the whole name so I write BPot. =D

Famous scene from the movie:

And my dad found me his old Simon And Garfunkel, and Cliff Richard cassette tapes! There's something so cool about tapes that CDs don't have.

Things to remember apart from school stuff:

2010-09-09T23:44:00.001+08:00

1) Borrow John Green's Looking For Alaska
2) Watch Casablanca
3) Watch 500 Days of Summer
4) Read Terry Prachett
5) Short-story competition?

2010-09-08T23:16:00.004+08:00

Had my first lecture with Dr Cherian George today, and he's a great lecturer! =]

An SMS from my homie, in reply to something I'd sent earlier:

O: wah i suddenly realised your msg looks psychotic "k ill"

Homie's one of the few people you can expect such observations from =D And ever since then, I've been trying to use that (k ill...) in as many sentences in my messages as possible.

Nowadays I keep blogging about what I've been up to (this post included). Not good..

2010-09-07T21:56:00.006+08:00

The team and their coach, plus Yorghenh from track, and minus Maximus.

Ok I just typed a whole load of stuff here but I cut it to paste before the picture, and realised that Blogger isn't good at pasting cut stuff. Sigh.

In brief - last week was great. This week seems even better.

Got up at 4 this morning to finish the 301 assignment, and all I could think of was how so many people have left already/are going to leave soon. =\

Glad I got to talk to: Colin. Geraldine (thanks for the notebook!) and Alina and Jennifer. Jasmine and Carmen and Lester. Shafie. Fabian. Joel and Keith. Ronnie and Evan. Fadilah.

I'm so glad I'm where I am and nowhere else.

2 days into Year 2

2010-08-31T15:54:00.005+08:00

And I've already got two things to submit next week =O Plus a mountain of readings and books to get. Hullo again, Bras Basah, old friend.

Dr Cherian George is taking COM203!! *goes off to take another look at The Air-Conditioned Nation, which hasn't been touched since IP2.*

Step Up 3D tomorrow though, I think! =D

Felix Cheong, "I Watch the Stars Go Out"
For stars heavier than eight times our sun, the enormous pressure due to gravity will fuse even heavier elements at the core. The star then explodes with tremendous fury. - Marcello Gleiser, "The Dancing Universe".

Perhaps love
is a view of stars
through the telescope of years
now aged,
no longer uncommited
in chosen places,
nor fearful
of that strident moment
when light explodes
into a million shards of heart.

I really shouldn't have borrowed that collection of poetry by Felix Cheong with so much other stuff to read, but this poem is worth it.

2010-08-29T23:29:00.003+08:00

I've got so much left to say but I can't speak well and besides, it's too late.

Because university starts tomorrow and it hardly feels like it - I think I've been too busy to realise we're having holidays. Had a lot of fun though.

And I'm gonna miss those guys so. much.

The PM mentioned an MRT line that will come up in the East soon. I'd rather it didn't, though.. I like the East Coast just the way it is.

Ernest Hemingway said his best story is six words long (For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.). Margaret Atwood's six word story goes like this: Longed for him. Got him. Shit.

Haha! Anyway, the deadline is this Wednesday. Ideasssss?

Summer Love.

2010-08-28T00:59:00.002+08:00

How do I express emotions that are mine in a language that isn't mine?

(VERY loosely quoted from a slide from HKL105 lecture last sem.)

Wed - shopping with the boys. Thursday - PIKNIK at the beach with Geraldine, Hansen, Izzat and Nadiah. Friday - more shopping with the boys, at Queensway.

=]

Volleyball!

2010-08-23T22:22:00.002+08:00

Saw my first international volleyball game today, thanks to a good friend. =] The only downside was that I had to be there at 8am, though the matched only started at 10.

It was really great though, both the boys' and the girls' matches. I think I'm hooked.

While waiting for the second match to start, I met Ale and her dad, and we were talking about how good it would be if disagreements could be settled through sport instead of war. And a tiny adorable girl from Nanjing came over to publicise the 2014 YOG in Nanjing.

Came home to a late lunch, almost fell asleep over my plate, and finally started clearing up all the backlog- emails that need answering, books that need to be finished and returned soon, stuff that needs to be recorded, stuff that needs to be put away instead of being left strewn all over the floor, so on.

Tomorrow is another busy day - violin in the morning, YOV in the afternoon, i think, Raffles Place in the evening and dance rehearsal at night. It's a good thing school hasn't started yet. Less than a week left though, eeps! Though I'm excited =]

"But then they danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like the fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!" "

- from On The Road, by Jack Kerouac

YOG Day 5 - Kallang Cricket Field (plus other things)

2010-08-22T21:48:00.007+08:00

Saturday, 21st August.
Wasn't much to do, once again, because the athletes spoke English, I think. Had biscuits and orange juice with Evgeniya and Alejandra, then watched a bit of archery with Alejandra. My I Speak... badge fell off somehow, somewhere! =( Looked all over for it but couldn't find it, so I took another one. Poor badge =( Collected the Volunteer Appreciation stuff though! Collar pins, Universal Studios ticket and a cert that I've yet to collect. Had lunch with the KTC folks, and talked to Aurelio fom Italy, who's awesome cos he volunteered for the Italian army. Left soon after, and that was my final official day of duty.

It's been a busy week. Finally met Pearlyn, and found a Mr Koh lookalike on Tuesday. Have I already mentioned this in the previous post? I know for sure I mentioned the SIFAS people, whom I met on Wednesday.

Arranged to meet Dhevy on Thursday, at a place that wasn't my house or school, for the first time ever. It felt a bit strange but it was an awesome evening of unloading. And cheesecake. =D It felt like the VJ days when we'd share cheese tarts from the second stall.

Friday morning - puja at home in the morning, trip to YOV in the afternoon to meet a friend, then a frantic rush back home to grab my violin, change, and head for SIFAS rehearsal. Which, as always, ended late. And, because of which, I couldn't go to Yatra. =\ Rushed to meet the girls after that, sipped some cranberry juice, bumped into 2 VJ friends, made a quick stop at Mustafa, and finally reached their house for the sleepover. We were all really tired by then, so we were out flat in minutes.

Had to get up before 7 on Saturday, for my final day of duty that I mentioned at the start of this reader-unfriendly post. Had class after that, and had to hang around after class for rehearsal again. Made another trip to Mustafa in the time between class and rehearsal, thanks to a tip-off from Ale about collarpins sold there that I can trade with other athletes.

Thankfully, didn't have anywhere to go on Sunday morning, but left around 12 for Alumni Dance rehearsal at SIFAS. Discovered Thulasi there, which made going to PA after , with Akhil, a breeze. T'was a really fun car ride =] Took 12 on the way home, because it's much faster than 197, and I like walking along the PCN to Marine Parade.

YOG Day 4 - Kallang Cricket Field

2010-08-18T22:14:00.002+08:00

We were supposed to watch archery today, but bad weather delayed the games. Managed to catch a glimpse of tennis too =D

Much thanks to a buncha people who made the day fun:
Liza, Yi Xi, Zhou Jin, Zahidah, Calvin, Hui Ling, Jane from Russia (Moscow), Jade (originally from Switzerland) and especially Clarence (from Switzerland). We taught each other languages and had lotsa discussions to while time away till we were needed. =]

SIFAS gang reunion in the evening! Fun, as always, with Nandita, Sudarshan and Raghav. Much laughter =]

I saw some of the team from Congo when I was on the way to where they were! Didn't see my friends though.

Have yet to start on On The Road, oh woe is me.

2010-08-17T12:02:00.001+08:00

OH. There was a bit of an upset recently, about the food the volunteers get, but my food has been pretty decent.

YOG - Day 3 - Kallang Tennis Centre

2010-08-17T11:53:00.002+08:00

In brief. Once again, photos aren't allowed.

No translation at all. Just a bit of French conversation with Clarence, international volunteer.

Watched a girls' singles match, boys' single match and boys' doubles match. Plus a bit of another boys' doubles.

I found the players in the first boys' doubles I saw the most courteous and gracious. They were from Germany, Brazil and Argentina.

I've finally learnt a bit more about tennis and the way the scoring works.

Also, had an hour's conversation with athletes who speak French that night, over the phone! I think I'm finally getting the hang of the way they speak, which is different from the way my French teacher used to speak.

YOG - Day 2 - Opening Ceremony!

2010-08-15T23:17:00.003+08:00

Mixed feelings about the day, but I'm very very glad I decided to go.

The morning was a bit messed up and disorganised, spent most of the time in a queue, meeting different friends. Several volunteers who were supposed to be present weren't there, which is why we had been called down just the night before. Once we got organised, though, it was pretty fun. They were unable to match us to countries whose langauges we speak, because it was such a last-minute affair, but that was alright. The athletes I was with were very nice, mostly. Their coaches and delegates were harder to manage, but oh well.

I managed to speak in French after all though, to the athletes sitting in front of us! They were extremely nice and friendly. If only I had been attached to their country. They were patient with my hesitant French and frequent "Pardon?"s, and often broke out into cheers and dances from their country =]

Photos aren't allowed.

The ceremony was a blast too, but I could hardly concentrate on it because firstly, two of the athletes separated from the group, and then refused to join us -.- and secondly, the athletes from the French-speaking country kept asking me join them, which I was very tempted to do. (I didn't in the end, though.) Plus, it took a long time for the bus taking us back to YOV to start, cos some of the athletes got separated again! The delegates insisted that I press on though I said we should wait for the group to gather. -.- Finally got them all back to YOV, phew. They gave us taxi vouchers to go home with, after pooling of course.

Finally got home at 2am. Really glad I was able to go, though. =]

Also managed to talk in French to a new Morrocan friend, yay!

YOG - Day 1 - Jalan Besar Stadium

2010-08-14T00:21:00.003+08:00

Didn't do much in the way of translation today.

First match - Vanuatu versus Bolivia

I was supporting Vanuatu 'cos they were the ones I had to translate for. Bolivia won 2-0 though.

Second match - Singapore versus Zimbabwe

This was a much more energetic and less clean game. Singapore scored goals on the 13th second (!), 10th minute and once more. Final score: 3-1 to Singapore. My heart went out to the players from Zimbabwe though I was supporting Singapore. Although the Singaporeans were quicker and hardly lost possession, I feel that they didn't play with as much grace as the other team. Singapore was playing to win and wasn't as courteous, if I may say so, as the players from Zimbabwe. That being said, it was a joy watching Singapore play with that much skill from young boys.

I don't feel that scared anymore about talking in French, though I'll probably start getting nervous again when I'm at the Youth Olympic Village (YOV) with the athletes tomorrow, for the Opening Ceremony! =D It's a pity cameras aren't allowed.

I hope to be able to help out at YOV when I can, and meet the athletes.

Also met Sneha, Lincon, Ganesh, Amu and Reuban (with a camera!) in the afternoon, which was fun of course =]

And Wednesday was spent first at NUS, where Sundar met everyone before leaving, and where I also took the chance to meet Laura and Olivia. Then went to NTU to have a look at my books for the coming semester, then decided to walk from NTU to Pioneer MRT instead of taking the bus. The bus routes have been altered cos of YOG, and initially I'd planned to walk out, then take a bus to the station, but the weather was so awesome that I was compelled to walk to the station.

There aren't many things as exciting as watching a soccer match with a crowd.

Music and Books.

2010-08-12T20:50:00.004+08:00

Spent the entire morning on it, but...

GLITCH IN THE PLAN!

Sister will have to wait for mixtape.

YOG duty starts tomorrow. 5pm-11.30pm at JBS, for football. I love that we get to watch the matches! Quite nervous about the translating part though.. Was looking through my French textbooks and just remembered how much I've forgotten.

Reading Pile (that occupies almost half my table):

- Panorama 1 and 2 (French textbooks), and 4 files full of French worksheets.

- Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir, a novel of Lady Jane Grey. I'm fascinated by the Tudor line.

- First Words, a collection of literature from Singapore.

- On The Road, by Jack Kerouac. It's on my booklist for next semester. HL230.

- The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov. Also on the booklist. HL310.

- Ramses, The Son of the Light, by Christian Jacq.

- Pygmy, by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club. As Dhevy said, it's proving to be a very hard read.. Not sure if I wanna finish it. It's a very rude, in-your-face book. Haha.

-The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. This one has been on my reading pile for ages. Doesn't mean it's a bad book though. It's great.

- The Boy in the Moon, by Kate O'Riordan. Got it at a BORDERS clearance sale.

- 4 months' worth of Reader's Digest. eeps.

- The Age of Innocence, by Edith Warton.

- A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute.

- The Mahabharatham, in Tamil.

- Kindle Life (Dhevy, I believe this is yours).

- Kastoori's copy of The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom, which I haven't returned to her yet.

- A couple of other things on the pile: My purple notebook. Lalit's arangetram invitation and programme. Postcard from Germany! Card I bought at the bookshop in NTU. Postcard from the UK! The movie My Name is Khan, also Dhevy's. Pencilcase with the FDNY keychain from the USA, the Spain keychain from a bag of chips and the keychain with bells from a cousin in India.

I like how cramped my table is.

2010-08-12T14:27:00.002+08:00

Just finished making my sister a mixtape. It was supposed to be for her birthday, which makes it very late. But oh well. It's finally done.

I gives me a twinge of pain to see iTunes warn me about the kind of disc I should use IF I want to play it on a commercial player, APART from my computer. Don't people find players/stereo systems better than playing music from the computer?

But oh yea, people hardly buy CDs anymore. (Meaning they buy online.. I didn't mean that people are pirates. Which is, of course, true too.)

2010-08-11T22:46:00.002+08:00

Excerpt from "Now That She Is Dead" by Evelyn Ng.

"The waves lapped at our ankles, sometimes reaching as high as our knees. We breathed in warm salty air and stared at the masts of the ships in the distance. She complained that they spoilt the view, but I only smiled, and tried to look at the sun."

I think the people on the ship were just trying to get a better view too.

National Day Weekend

2010-08-10T14:49:00.002+08:00

Hiking on Friday kick-started a good weekend.

Saturday:

YOG training in the morning, which involved discussion about Inception! Lisa pointed out something I hadn't noticed - how people in the movie seem to be directing their own movie. Leo is the director, and they've got set designers (Ariadne) and producers (as always, the one with the money..) and so on. Such a layered movie.

Class in the afternoon. Got pulled into Academy Day AGAIN, despite protests. Oh well.

Lalit's arangetram at DBS Auditorium in the evening. Interesting, especially the last bit (with Shiva on the bass guitar!). Saw some of the gang. And Lakshmi too!

Caught the last bit of the movie The Eye once I got back home at around midnight. Cos of the three-day free access to a lot of channels with Starhub.

Sunday:

Lazy start. PA rehearsal in the late afternoon, which is always fun if the right people are around.

Back home to home-made spaghetti, Undercover Brother and You Got Served. I HAVE to watch both those movies again.

Omarion looks really small! And I like the song =D PUMP, PUMP, PUMP IT UP!

Monday:

Finally got to read more of First Words, which is a selection of works by young writers in Singapore. Will be quoting in the next post.

Watched Men In Black II, and now I wanna watch the first one too.

Watched the fireworks from my balcony as usual in the evening. And saw Mr Koh on TV!

Playing music while I work sometimes gives me an indication of how fast/slow I'm going.

And speaking of music, Fan Of A Fan is pretty darn good.

"Aviator shades, I ain't lookin' at you."

Tracing the old Malayan Railway tracks.

2010-08-10T10:17:00.007+08:00

Friday, 6th August 2010. Hardcore trek.

We took:

- Big bottle of H2O

- Big bottle of 100PLUS

- Water

- Orange juice

- Plasters and antiseptic, which we didn't need

- Energy bars and Michelle's sandwich

- Mosquito repellent and sunblock

- Change of clothes and slippers

We took a wrong turning into King Albert Park, which had all the expensive huge houses. Tried to bash our way through an overgrown valley, hoping we'd meet the old rail, but it was too steep and too dangerous. Plus, the lady in the last house was spying on us, I bet she thought we were illegal immigrants. Herrick was in army uniform, though!

Aha! Finally. The sign to the station.

Inception moment!

Right after Tunnel 1. Tracks submerged in the kinda mud that pulls your feet in.

Tunnel 1.

Rickety Bridge 1.

Rickety Bridge 2. We saw a guy trying to cycle over this.

It was a long bridge.

With nice scenery.

Resting on the tracks after we got near the Park Connector, under a flyover.

On a slope, under the flyover.

Graffiti near Tunnel 2 (the dangerous tunnel). Sad to see people living there. They had vegetable plants though! Chilli, brinjal, papaya, other stuff.

Phew, done at last.

At long last, changed out of muddy clothes and shoes. Waiting for a bus.

We're gonna go back! And take our time to look at everything. Plants and stuff. I'm gonna take videos of the trip, photos really don't do justice, plus we didn't take photos of the more interesting things.

January 21st 2010

2010-08-05T14:50:00.001+08:00

1. Hat Day.

2. National Hugging Day.

3. Squirrel Appreciation Day.

How awesome is that.

2010-08-05T14:35:00.003+08:00

From chucknorrisfacts.com:

Chuck Norris doesn't know about this website. If he did he would have just deleted the whole website.

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.
HAHA.