TO LOVE ONESELF

2010-05-01T00:15:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

LECTURE NOTES PILE BUILDING UP. AAAAAH!!!!

http://stuffmedicalstudentslike.wordpress.com/

EL

Hello!

2010-04-05T05:37:00.001-07:00

Been pretty stressed out lately and not having time for myself and all, but it's all good stress. :) I'm consciously trying to learn something new everyday and trying to get comfortable with myself again--it's been awhile since I've felt the normal security of self-esteem. Since entering Uni in fact--can't help it! All the smart people! And you've gotta read ahead and read from different sources and try to digest all the new terms thrown at you and you can't help but break down sometimes, but breakdowns are good (it's all-in-all bad la actually, letting everything build up like that, maybe I'm still adjusting to this new life). There's a new challenge every week and I'm trying to take in whatever's thrown at me all in the name of gaining new experiences.

So the current challenges I have: adjusting my finances and creating a savings, getting a proper laptop, charity work, my Soka members, working on Saturday, AIR topic self-set deadline and the awfully strict PTPTN loan application. But I know I can challenge them, because only through harsh circumstances that you grow, so never shy away from a challenge people!

And thank you *hugs* for bringing me back to my lovely DJ today! You have no idea how much it meant to be and dropping by to catch up with my lovely teacher Pn. C and it has really renewed my resolve to study hard and achieve my dreams!

Study for the sake of those who aren't lucky enough to do so themselves. That is my philosophy of studying now. I've discovered that a simply philosophy like that motivates me tremendously. Therefore, treasure your opportunity to have an education and do your best.

Lastly, never forget your parents, tell them you love them, and the act of giving is more rewarding than the act of receiving, so give it your all!

EL

IMU Orientation

2010-03-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

la mermaid chiquita, sharon!

our little lady, liyana

preparing for indoor treasure hunt (from dear sharon's blog, xie xie ni XD)

thanks sharon! XD

after getting all the shit at every station after outdoor treasure hunt, on the hill overlooking IMU.

tracktrip!

A lot more pics I dem lazy to upload since I'm only updating from boyfriend pressure so all in all IMU rocks already and I pity those who missed out on orientation (particularly IMU orientation).

To those who will be entering IMU, DO NOT SKIP ORIENTATION OR YOU'RE A LOSER. HAHAHA.

It might be torturous at first (and for those of you less sexually exposed, a big culture shock for you) attending lectures at eight and missing dinner everyday and waddling in mud and a corrupted version of sirap bandung and going home at one only to have to wash your shit-sodden shirt and dry by the next day and repeating all of that for the next two weeks, but it's one heck of a rewarding experience and you must not give up halfway! Then only you can say proudly that you survived IMU Orientation. :)

Love my OOs. Loved the games. Loved all the shit we went through.

And I foresee an awesome year ahead. *hugs her Marieb* okthanksbai. =)

2010-02-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

COLDPLAY HIGH!

An update

2010-02-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

So. Here's the deal. University life's going to be awesome. I can FEEL it. Listen to the girl. I'm looking forward to being ragged, making new friends, working on my PR, hopping on and off commuter trains everyday, handling my own money, eating chan bao (vege pao, not sure whassitcalled, but the vendor in front of IMU sells KILLER CHAN BAO) everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner--this is called clever money management: RM3.90 a day spent on meals, shooo clever--reading in the library munching on some biscuit, running for wacky posts, joining clubs and most probably not following up on them, reading up lecture notes before lectures, participating in charity events...

Yeap. It's gonna be awesome.

Holiday's been awesome so far. Been able to do lots of productive stuff. One very important thing, however, was being able to catch up with my duties as a hancho. It's a pretty rewarding experience, if you swallow the little quirks and not mind the very fine details. And I've been chanting a lot these days, mainly for that boy, but not that I'm complaining.

Anyway, 've been reading a lot. Planting stuff, decorating the house, cooking, swimming (ok that's hardly a lot), researching, reading lecture notes, debate about the future with the Boy (can go sour sometimes but overall it's fun), attending meetings (the Boy complains about it and I don't disagree with him--five nights a week? gosh), catching up with old friends...

Eagerly looking forward to the New Year. One regret though.

Apart from that, have a great New Year everybody!

A word.

2010-01-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

PINEAPPLEJUICEISGOODFORYOU.

Curry puff!

2010-01-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

I'm preparing for next week's discussion meet and oh boy am I nervous! And I'm going into healthier cooking now hopefully they taste just as good with the alternatives and g8'09 is meeting up this Sunday I simply can't wait! Aaaah! ;)

EL

2010-01-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Cooking, cooking, cooking...<3

The Boyfriend...

2009-12-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

...wants to entrance his wedding to the Imperial March in a Darth Vader suit. I couldn't be more proud. XD

2009-12-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

THE ORACLE ANSWERED MY QUESTION!

D:

2009-12-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

It was two hours into our video call before The Boyfriend suddenly asks, "Are you wearing contacts?"

EL

As you can see

2009-12-02T04:22:00.000-08:00

I have very little discipline upkeeping a blog. Nothing momentous happened since the last entry, except finals are over, prom was good, and ah, well, the hols are here. Anyway I'm only going to post if something random or interesting happened today.

As for today, my boyfriend successfully picked the lock of the bathroom door while I was peeing. Scared the hell out of me when the lock clicked free. XD

EL

A dose of Pratchett a day

2009-11-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

"They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they want to.

This book is dedicated to those fine men."

-Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Last month

2009-10-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

COLDPLAY - POLITIK

Coldplay is going to guest star in The Simpsons! Hahahahaha!

Who would have known that my favourite childhood song had Gwen Stefani singing in it?

Moby feat. Gwen Stefani - Southside

Didn't do so well for trials. Last month to work hard for finals.

Holiday's reaching its end.

2009-09-27T00:14:00.000-07:00

In my happy little place. =)

EL

:-O

2009-09-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

New, unofficial Strawberry Swing video!

The previously launched Strawberry Swing video.

Personally I love the official one better, though both required a massive amount of work (stop-go motion, anyone? You could clearly see the fingerprints of the maker on the dolls.) .

And it's off to chemistry for now.

roll.

2009-09-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

Is nothing ever permanent anymore?

EL

2009-09-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

Now this is what we call evolution. :)

Darwin would be so proud!

Jack chopped the beanstalk, and down came the giant.

2009-09-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

It's been busy, with Math DIs and CTs done, there's the silence before the storm--being an event-free week next week--and then the eruption. Trials feel closer than ever before.

Still, it does not stop this lass from accessing the Internet (finally!) and thoroughly enjoying herself before returning to the grinding board. It's about time that she checks on updates from Coldplay.com, drools over the coveted seats that Coldplaying fans have snatched up for the Wembley performances (which no doubt will be awesome--there's nothing more amazing than watching the entire stadium singing along every line), reads long outdated entries on Twitter, and in the midst of everything, realizes that her Facebook profile is still keyed in as "In a Relationship".

I'm not.

It's up to you how you would like to react, if you had not known that already. I would accept any emotional offers but sympathy. I'm not in such a state that you would have to sympathise with me.

In fact, I feel a new kind of happiness. So this is the feeling of rebirth. Renewal would probably be another word to describe it.

It's the time when this girl pays extra attention to the beautiful unique details about the people around her i.e. her friends, now that she is released from any sort of emotional bonds, and is pleasantly surprised to discover beautiful things about them.

It's the time when she feels closest to her mother, whom all these while, had been the greatest pillar of her strength. Her mother, who taught her that cooking was a simple but effective outlet of tension and internal turmoil.

It's the time when, despite the recent break-up, the girl goes ga-ga over prom, even when prom is still two months away, because she's going to it with the most unlikely person in the world, and she finds that she's actually looking forward to it.

Trials is only a week away, but I'm running on a euphorical high everyday, because I'm phasing into a different stage of my life. I could feel it so clearly that it's almost physical.

Reflections aside, Muse's Time Is Running Out has never felt sexier.

We tried it out yesterday during band practice in that musky studio in Subang Jaya, and we are pleased. The drums and bass are amazing. Pleased, except of course for the singers themselves, because they feel as if they sound like they are on karaoke than trying to pick a second song out for the impending prom performance auditions. Who can match the God-likeness of Matthew Bellamy's shrieks?

This girl is off to lunch, and then it's back to the guilletine.

2009-08-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

As the holidays draw to a quiet end, my mum's would be beginning, as with tens of thousands of high school students' around the country. I have not had a very exciting holiday week, albeit tumultuous, but not exciting.

Still, we had Sunway Lagoon, which was really something I had looked forward to eagerly the entire week. Pity time had to rush us by. It had a plane to catch, I presume.

So here's a picture of not me, not Coldplay, but of Rui Sheng, his buddies Boyce and Kai Shen who did the most outrageous thing on the roller coaster I've ever seen. This shot was taken in Genting.

That's a chessboard in Rui's hand, in case you can't see.

Chris Martin has the best speaking voice ever.

And Jonny is absolutely adorable. <3>"Does it play be-bop? Yes...YES."

I love the MJ part and the Mr. Roboto part. Heh.

I'm off to look for articles on how to organise a successful study group. I wouldn't want my friends and I to end up laughing hysterically at nothing and talking and not getting anything done, as how study groups usually end up with.

I have strangely lost all desire to read books. In turn, I've acquired the amazing ability to finish an entire plate of freshly fried vegetables. But they must be. Freshly fried. Jing Yi would be proud.

Hello college!

A long-awaited holiday

2009-08-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

And the ulcers just went away in time for the holidays. :)

I've taken to cooking since the hols began. So the stench (or fragrance?) of garlics are permanently stamped onto my fingers. I'm not complaining. It's a nice smell! And the taste of freshly-cooked vegetables is simply mouth-watering.

Bittersweet Symphony has got to be the longest, most repetitive, least climatic song I've heard.

Am going to Sunway Lagoon with my classmates on Thursday. Can't wait! It's prolly my only plan for the holidays.

What entry would be complete without a slight dose of these lads? :)

Jonny, lead guitarist

Guy, (hot) bassist

2009-08-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

College life is pretty awesome.

We breathed in helium today. :))) Videos coming up soon.

Premiering the new haircut.

The hols are approaching, and my mouth is invaded by oral ulcers. Four oral ulcers. FOUR.

2009-08-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

LEY TIAN IS GETTING MARRIED! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!

Being in the young women division has its downs. For one, like this, your friends steadily disappears from the division as they start to marry, leaving the younger ones behind. But nevertheless, I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!

CONGRATS GIRL!

EL

2009-07-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

John Farnham - You're the Voice

Powerful song.

Cold, cold water

2009-07-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

And that was a week peppered with tests and presentations.

Monday: Maths Direct Investigation, Psychology presentation. Tuesday: Maths DI, English Text Production. Wednesday: Maths Common Test, English TP. Thursday: English TP. Tomorrow: Bio presentation.

Amazing video of Strawberry Swing is out. :)

And I'm terrible at ice-skating!

EL

2009-07-12T01:13:00.000-07:00

Math and Sci in Bahasa. We're back to Square One.

Finding Neverland was one amazing film. There's something magical about Johnny Depp working with children.

Tear-jerking films:

Finding Neverland
Moulin Rouge!
Brokeback Mountain
LOTR (haha)
Tarzan
AI
Brother Bear
Forrest Gump
Titanic
V for Vendetta

Oh dear, have I just ruined these wonderful endings for you?

2009-07-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hello again, Windows Movie Maker.

EL

2009-07-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hot Guy! (Guy as in Guy Berryman, bass player from Coldplay.)

And so the Rosklide live blog update begins.

P/S: Don't worry Dynamitez! 'Tis only another bump on the road.

Tell me your politik.

2009-07-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

If there was one thing I wished in the world, I wished that the papers would stop featuring things about Michael Jackson. It makes separation all the more bitter.

Rosklide Live Blog Update tomorrow! It's going to be exciting. Strawberry Swing video on its way. Can't wait!

Big Bookstore Sales.

Bionomial distribution is fun.

IELTS speaking test next week.

I shall start writing again soon. I suspect there is a link between my hormonal cycle and the desire to write.

Politik is a damned good song. A Rush of Blood to the Head is a damned good album.

I've (finally) watched Slumdog Millionaire last night and it was good. Meh. Dev Patel is adorable.

And Sai Mun is home. :))) :))) With Arnott's Mint Slices! OMG.

EL

2009-06-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

Growing up with Michael Jackson's hits regularly heard in the house, I was naturally stunned at the news of his passing . The news, delivered by a hurried SMS from Renu 6.30 this morning, was confirmed when I flipped on the channel and CNN had a coverage on his death. I had held onto this desperate hope that he was not dead, that it had all been a hoax by some crazy fan, but even the uncle operating at IK Photocopy Centre was watching the news from one of his computers, commenting on 'what a waste of talent'.

A waste? Michael Jackson might have been anything but a waste. A look at his illustrous career will confirm it. He had been almost god-like, garnering a cult following from around the world that lasted well into the last days of his career. No allegations or accusations could even touch the colossal success he had achieved over the decades.

His light will shine on forever.

Please, listen to Politik. :) It's one of those few Coldplay songs that would make my heart ache at the bridge. 'Oh give me love over, love over, love over this.' The beautiful part starts at 2:53.

I'm going to watch this soon! Can't wait. The trailer was superbly touching.

I had my SWS meeting today, a congregation of the ladies and women. There is a group of girls I know whom are very close to each other, which can be detrimental to any discussion group. Having typical Asian mentalities, their excited chatters vanish once the facilitator begins talking. They keep their silence as though every question asked is a rhetorical one, resulting in long, awkward silences. I find it awfully discouraging and frustrating, particularly when I am proficient in English and being unable to express myself properly in Mandarin (let alone Cantonese). This has happened on one too many occasions, and I get increasingly frustrated. If this was a discussion in English, I would've been able to occupy the silence with something trivial, but being a chinese discussion, I found myself stunned dumb and not even attempting to phrase something in Mandarin.

Bah, nevermind. Listen to White Shadows by Coldplay.

Maybe you'll get what you wanted,

Maybe you'll stumble upon it,

Everything you ever wanted in a permanent state.

Psychology and Movies. I'll prolly do Lord of the Rings. It takes the least effort, albeit time-consuming to watch them all again.

Ta!

MJ RIP. Long live the king!

Crest of waves, troughs below!

2009-06-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last half an hour glued to the screen finding a suitable university that offers a Bachelor of Arts (Hons or no Hons) in English that is recognised in specifically, as Ma states, Australia.

Quite frankly, I am sick of looking for this bloody degree.

My eyes are sore, and it's frustrating to see just how little qualifications I have right now. I missed the bloody MUET registration deadline and I do not get to register until January next year, and Ma is against the idea of me working half the year away while I wait for the test in May (okay maybe you argue that MUET can be sat for while you are in university, but I'm too exhausted to check right now). And IELTS is simply too expensive.

Plus, seeing that I bloody hell am not able to afford studying Dentistry locally as I initially intended (forget about overseas) (RM600,000! WTF), I might as well move on to a course I know I will excel in, seeing how I'm pretty used to the idea of teaching/lecturing as a career. Saying goodbye to my science subjects would be painful, but Ma says I can keep them by giving tuition. Ugh ugh ugh.

I hate discussing about the future.

Moving on to cheerier things, our Psych presentation topics are out. Psych and Art! Psych and Musicians! Psych and Movies (ie Archetypes)! Sleep disorders! Anxiety disorders! Dream journals! By-stander Effect!

etc etc.

I am debating over Psych and Musicians (Coldplay and how their lyrics are deeply related to the degree they took in Uni), and Psych and Movies (Lord of the Rings, of course. It's very easy to identify the archetypes in there).

Did you know that the lyrics to Coldplay's Clocks can be intepretated as to imply addiction or death? Or that Violet Hill is about a son whose father has gone to war and he is despairing over the circus surrounding the politics of it?

Sleep. Now I know that afternoon naps are a must.

EL

The flu.

2009-06-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

The flu is here. Spreading within the vicinity of my own home.

And I detest the finale of Prison Break.

EL

ISTJ

2009-06-19T04:20:00.000-07:00

Hello. Deadmau5 (and collaborations) is good. I have just learned today that there are different genres of trance music, and House is one of them, or something like that. Interesting. Muse's earlier albums sound promising.

I have yet to analyse my personality using the Myers-Briggs Test Indicator, which is introduced in our current Psychology chapter, Personality. I suspect I'll come up with Introvert-Intuitive-Thinking-Judging (INTJ).

My report card came in, and it's not good. It shows. I'm lagging in my studies and attention, so much that sometimes I just stare at the lecturer blankly not noticing what she's saying. I hardly concentrate in class anymore, and I leap out of class at every opportunity.

Maybe it's because Sai Mun's coming home in less than two weeks. Or maybe it's because I'm plain lazy.

I have to start to buck up, or I'll perish in the fires of--

*ten minutes later*

Oh.

I'm an ISTJ--introvert (78%), sensing(38%), thinking(38%), and judging (33%)preferences. People with this type of personality are the likes of Queen Victoria, Waren Buffet, JD Rockefeller, Clint Eastwood and Queen Elizabeth II. Here's what is described as an ISTJ--an Inspector.

"The one word that best describes Inspectors is superdependable. Whether at home or at work, Inspectors are extraordinarily persevering and dutiful, particularly when it comes to keeping an eye on the people and products they are responsible for. In their quiet way, Inspectors see to it that rules are followed, laws are respected, and standards are upheld.

Inspectors (as much as ten percent of the general population) are the true guardians of institutions. They are patient with their work and with the procedures within an institution, although not always with the unauthorized behavior of some people in that institution. Responsible to the core, Inspectors like it when people know their duties, follow the guidelines, and operate within the rules. For their part, Inspectors will see to it that goods are examined and schedules are kept, that resources will be up to standards and delivered when and where they are supposed to be. And they would prefer that everyone be this dependable. Inspectors can be hard-nosed about the need for following the rules in the workplace, and do not hesitate to report irregularities to the proper authorities. Because of this they are often misjudged as being hard-hearted, or as having ice in their veins, for people fail to see their good intentions and their vulnerability to criticism. Also, because Inspectors usually make their inspections without much flourish or fanfare, the dedication they bring to their work can go unnoticed and unappreciated.

While not as talkative as Supervisor Guardians [ESTJs], Inspectors are still highly sociable, and are likely to be involved in community service organizations, such as Sunday School, Little League, or Boy and Girl Scouting, that transmit traditional values to the young. Like all Guardians, Inspectors hold dear their family social ceremonies-weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries - although they tend to be shy if the occasion becomes too large or too public.

Generally speaking, Inspectors are not comfortable with anything that gets too fancy. Their words tend to be plain and down-to-earth, not showy or high-flown; their clothes are often simple and conservative rather than of the latest fashion; and their home and work environments are usually neat, orderly, and traditional, rather than trendy or ostentatious. As for personal property, they usually choose standard items over models loaded with features, and they often try to find classics and antiques - Inspectors prefer the old-fashioned to the newfangled every time."

Huh.

Here's the link if you wish to professionally find out what type you are. http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes.asp

Anyway, off to All Leaders prep. Sigh.

EL

2009-06-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hi. Helen Keller.

EL

2009-06-12T02:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, uneventful week with the highlight being the prank call to my mother telling her that her daughter's caught in an indecent act. x)

I'll upload the audio clip soon enough. :) Meanwhile, enjoy the PS22 Chorus, this amazing children's choir I found on the Tube.

"Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? Can the child within my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life? Mmm, mmm, I don't know."

2009-06-07T17:24:00.001-07:00

RENU'S A DINGDONG. BWAHAHAHA.

EL

2009-06-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

Back from Bt Pahat!<3

Going for HYC Party tonight. That stands for Harmonix Youth Choir. Which happens to be the SMKDJ Choir. Haha.

Finale to my dreadful, uneventful, mundane holiday.

EL

2009-06-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Coldplay is 15 on the Forbes' List of Powerful Celebrities for 2009!

I love you guysss <3

Spent a lovely time with Johan in Selayang yesterday. Could have been somewhere else though. Choral Fest!! :(

Will be going to Bt. Pahat today until Tuesday. Sigh. I really, really want my sem exam results.

Bai. :)

2009-06-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

I've just entered a Coldplay forum and I suddenly realised that there are so much bigger Coldplay fans out there than I originally thought.

I am humbled.

The members were playing this game where they chose which Coldplay songs they like, and, by golly, I've barely heard of half of what they spout out, and I've heard more Coldplay songs than anyone I know.

“Coldplay is for people with great taste, intelligence, incredible good lookingness, talent, ability, success, grabbing of life. Coldplay’s for people who know what life’s about. They’re always entertaining. Delightful to talk to. Sweet, charming, incredibly good in bed. Virile. They have incredible success with girls, or boys, or both. They’re generally just the world’s best citizens. Maybe I’m biased, but I’m definitely right.” -Chris Martin

HAHAHA.

Okay I'll stop.

2009-05-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'VE JUST WITNESSED. WITNESSED. omg. Never mind.

Okay, first of all CONGRATS TO THE SMKDJ CHOIR FOR CLINCHING SECOND PLACE AT STATE LEVEL AND FOURTH PLACE AT THE ...what's it called? ANYWAY, IT'S AN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AND I'M DARN PROUD OF YOU GUYS.

Okay. Pimple. Hurts. Bad. Don't touch!

EL

2009-05-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

I've been--while checking out Rapid KL bus routes--going through lists of baby names.

Before you can start rolling your eyes at me, yours truly is actually planning ahead of time since she knows that she'd be in a daze after delivering the child and all she's gotta do when her husband asks about the name is whip out an all-ready list of baby names she has decided on.

Nothing too hard to spell or pronounce.

Nothing out of a comic book or romance novel or from the Harry Potter series.

Nothing too extravagant like Balthazar or Lorenzo.

Favorably starting with F's, A's or J's. :)

Julius, Frederic, Amy, Joseph, Sophia, Michael. Blah.

Wyatt is a nice name, but I doubt I'm pronouncing it right. Why-utt? Why-yet?

EL

Viva oh my

2009-05-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Did you hear Solange Knowles' cover of Viva La Vida?

She perverted it. She totally perverted it.

All the twangs here and there and the occasional quick ascent up the scales? Typical pop. Not cool. That is why Coldplay is good. Because they do not do typical pop. What sin has she committed??

What's next, Hilary Duff doing Lovers in Japan? Miley Cyrus covering Clocks?

OMG.

On the brighter side of things, there's the cheesy alternate video to VLV. You can't help but love Chris Martin for enduring the crown and cape-looking thing and tucking the Liberty Leading the People under his arm and walking all over the place!

As compared to that, I prefer the original video anytime. It's fascinating to watch Will hammering away at the cowbell and Chris dancing around like a drunkard. It's a lot more interesting than just watching HRM Chris dragging Eugene Delacroix's painting around.

Oh, and DID YOU KNOW that there is another reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy other than "42" when it comes to Coldplay songs? HAHAHA. It's another song, in X&Y, called "Don't Panic". HAHAHA.

Ugh. Okay enough. I've been twittering, man. It's an interesting concept. It's like you're talking directly to Hugh Jackman and Guy Berryman. Very exciting. Go join! http://www.twitter.com/ and follow me! sioweelin whee. I'm putting my real name so that Hugh Jackman knows that I exist. And Coldplay, too.

Listen to Lily Allen. Her music isn't bad. The Fear by Lily Allen. She has a cool accent I can't place.

Okay, off to the National Library. Ugh. I. Need. Loo.

Voila!

2009-05-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Lady GaGa's Lovegame video is sick. Sick, I tell you.

I've never seen any artist so in touch with her sexually.

Enough of that! Let's go on to something more geeky. V for Vendetta!

Check out V's bloody awesome opening introduction. The geek as I am, I shall commit this fifty V-containing speech to memory.

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition."

okbai. EL

2009-05-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

Gosh. I'm rotting. I can see that my complexion is slightly clay-like from all the time in front of the computer.

Been writing. :) Been reading. :) Very fulfilling.

Apart from Chris Martin sounding like he's forced to sing through a straw, the songs suit VLV very well! :)

It is Out.

2009-05-16T04:00:00.001-07:00

left right left right left

I have it. :)))

Go download it!

Oh, and class today was awesome. We played hangman. I think form two is the "just right" age to teach. No urgency for some big national exam, and mature enough to understand your cynicism and laugh along.

Study lalala.

EL

IN A NUTSHELL

2009-05-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

I hate in a nutshells. I like elaborations. :) 'Tis been an eventful weekend, but I shall hurry or I'll never get down to studying.

So Friday, Renu and I were feeling mischievous so we pranked Rui boy like, twice, and his Math Studies lecturer like, once. All we had to do was open the door, shout "Ruishengyoudumborstupid" and close it. Easy as it sounds, it takes an incredible amount of guts and gungho to do it. As for his math lecturer, we sat in class and obediently followed lesson (but she didn't teach anything la) until she noticed two foreign faces about five minutes into lesson.

Friday night, ma and I took the LRT and then the Monorail (which has an awesome view of KL) to Menara Hap Seng for the MIA Ladies' Choir concert. We were there on Yoongwai's invitation, so thank you for calling us up, honey. We badly needed the break. So met longtimenosee Yoongwai and Songyeu. Didn't get to speak to Yoongwai much (which I was looking forward to) because I was stuck with the latter, but I didn't mind k. :) Overall the choirs were not bad lah, but I still support the fact that men are an important part of the choir. :))

Went home, looked up the JPA website. Didn't get the scholarship. Bah. Oh well.

Saturday morn. Sat down and wrapped Rui's mum's multilayered present, just to realise an hour later that I left the price tag on the gift LOL. So I had to unwrap everything. What an ordeal.

Renaissance Choir concert on Saturday night! They were not bad lah, and the songs are good, and every choir I know seem to be a big fan of You'll Never Walk Alone. Must be some Liverpool thingy. Everyone sings it!

The next morning was New Leaders' Appointment, which was unnerving but it was exciting as it was my first All Leaders' Meet. The Rainbow Junior Choir, my grassroots choir, sang the ever famous "Ha-ha yo (My mother)" song. Our GD's speech ain't as dull as everyone dread it would be, so thank goodness.

Went to the doc today because of the terrible, unbearable ulcers on my lower lip. It was all swollen and bleeding today. He looked at me with this knowing smile, because I've visited him more than three times in the past two months. LOL. He gave me this oral aid ointment which "won't burn, unlike Bonjela" but which almost made me pass out in blinding pain when I applied it. He cautioned that it had local anesthetic, a warning which went unheeded resulting in a numb tongue tip. LOL. Awesome.

Attended Chinese discussion meet when I should be studying. Didn't regret it though, because Dr. Boey was there, and I learned so much from him. He's one of the very few people I know which I truly, truly admire and respect. Dr. Boey has this fiery passion and belief in him which makes him ever more convincing when delivering guidances. His story about saving the Japanese girl from committing suicide, thoguh I've heard it half a dozen times before, never fails to move me to tears. The story is like this: he was posted to a hospital in Japan, and this father came up to him telling him about his depressed daughter who wishes to end her life. Not knowing how to counsel him, Dr. Boey wrote a note to her,

"There is one thing higher than the sky, and that is your life. Treasure it."

...which was a verse from Ikeda Sensei's poem to Agnes Chan. I cry whenever I hear that verse. So simple, yet so full of meaning.

I want my boyfriend to be like him. He is the most humble person I've ever met, yet he is one of the head paediatricians in Malaysia, and the most passionate man when it comes to faith. He takes the gosho to heart and applies it to daily life. If I want someone other than Ikeda Sensei to be my mentor, it will be him.

Ok gtg bai. :)

EL

2009-05-05T02:44:00.000-07:00

I did the unthinkable today.

I entered the gents' loo.

The gents' loo!

whoooooo!!!

Thank goodness the lock on the door was not faulty.

EL

photoblog entry!

2009-05-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

On the way to Bukit Bharu.

Bukit Bharu!

Yeye! :) He's, like, eighty, and he still has the vigor of a twenty-five.

Kor fooling around in Eagle Ranch resort in PD.

Cows crossing the field on the outskirts of Malacca. Cross over to PD! lol.

Port Dickson. :)

Nilai, city of textile. Aaaaaah. Ma brought us textile-shopping. Eugh.

The monsoon drain outside Pasar Seni (?) LRT Station. The graffiti is done along the entire length of the river. Amazing eh?

The tension before Math DI began.

With all those calculators, that's easily worth more than RM3,000 on these four tables alone!

This is EL's favourite person, that lil' bag of unbridled energy we all call Renu. :]

We must watch X-men Origins: Wolverine. Yes, we must.

Forty-two.

2009-05-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Coldplay named one of their songs after the answer to everything? :)

42.

:)

Those who've read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would know what I mean. x)

I've read Philippa Gregory's The Constant Princess. It's an amazing book. Go read, go read.

It has been an awesomely eventful week, but I shant' say anything more, or I'll never get down to doing my growing pile of work. All I can say is this: Semester papers are two weeks away, and I am doooooooomed.

Oh, and congratulations to the SMKDJ CHOIR for seizing the number one spot at district level! DISTRICT CHAMPS! Up next: STATE CHAMPS! Go pwn Selangor, kids. :D:D:D You can't imagine how immensely proud I feel right now. But of course, that proud feeling comes with a bittersweet taste to the mouth...I miss you guys sooo much! :(

Okay, work work work.

EL

undesirable consequences

2009-04-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

eventful week. DI for math was, well, dreadful. i simply hate the race against time. math quiz was less stressful, though, but i think i still flunked it. chem test. bah. dreadful, too, but hopefully i'll be more or less be above average. hopefully. invigilator had an awful booming voice. when he suddenly hollered for everyone to stop writing, breaking the heavy silence, the students collectively jerked in shock. must file complaint.

we did the staring game thing today in class. hadn't been playing it since high school. renu couldn't last more than 5 secs. :) rui sheng still owned, though.

oooh and we were cheated of our money (at least, we think-lah) by this Indian woman who begged as she supposingly had a sister undergoing bypass surgery and she needed money for food and travel. no one else at the table gave anything. rui gave, like, RM9 and i reluctantly parted with my fiver. once she left, we came under fire almost immediately. LOL. Oh, and thank you for the meal, rui!

bought two packs of condoms for our coming-of-age friend. half of our group ditched us when we went to buy them. LOL. durex, the leading brand, was awfully costly so we settled for the lesser one. the cashier dude looked at the packets, snickered somewhat and remarked slyly, "shooot. hehehe." LOL. we wrote "excessive use may lead to undesirable consequences" on the side of the wrapper. :) anyway, good luck with them rubbers, chua! x) i trust you know how to operate them. if you don't, there's always the instruction sheet inside for first-timers. hahahaha.

loo enn and yee ping came over last night. apparently i'm to be elected honcho. whoaa. hopefully i will fulfil my duties well. i really want to contribute to make a difference!

SWS meeting tonight. some motherly topic about the EQ of children. bah. will still be attending, though.

will be teaching tomorrow. :))) i like teaching, i think. it's very rewarding to be able to share. which also means, SORRY JACQ IF YOU'RE READING COS' I CAN'T DROP BY CHOIR PRACTICE TOMORROW MORNING.

okay. end of mundane entry. sleep sleep. zzz.

EL

2009-04-21T04:01:00.000-07:00

I have made it my lifelong dream to be able to watch Coldplay live in concert.

Quite pathetic lah, but I'm gonna.

The best thing about Coldplay? They don't sing love songs, which I'm really tired of.

"I can't dance but I'm enthusiastic, that's the best thing."

Hahahahahaaaa!

Wah dem no life lor.

Chemistry. Sighh.

EL

2009-04-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

Hie. Not feeling good about myself. Week of tests. Will update next time.

EL

2009-04-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

Coldplay! Coldplay!

Life in technicolor II <3

EL

<3

2009-04-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

OMG OMG.

two deadlines and one test tomorrow.

and blissful break on friday. then it's all about stationary points, integrals, scatterplots, amines and amides, carbonyl groups, dna sequencing, transgenic organisms, semi-conservative replication, gel electrophoresis, fluid-mosaic model, and cell division.

actually, it's not much.

i'm lying. it's A LOT to study.

and i've gotta research about malaysia's role in world affairs. we small country small fry laaah. what to write maaan??

i'm reading the memory keeper's daughter. i find kim edwards a lovely writer.

coldplay. mmm.

EL

2009-04-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine remarked the other day, "death is better than dying."
Curious, I prompted her to say more. "It's better to leave this world that is so full of evil."
It took me all my willpower not to yell, "that's not true!" because it might be parallel to her religious belief (she said it with so much of conviction). However, I thought it was quite a sad statement as it leaves you with no room for hope or happiness. I mean, no denying there's evil in this world, but must we use death as a path to escape it? Why not fight it while you still have breath left in you? Why the futility of it all?
I don't understand. Maybe many people are unaware of the power they have within them to stop the evil of the world from spreading. Wai Leong said that day, "Those who stand aside and wait for evil to fester is more slanderous than the evil itself." I thought those words resonated a lot of truth.
Anyway, I finally got it out of my system. :) Thankkkyeuuuu. :)

GFG Camp prep meet tonight, then MAC tomorrow, then a whole weekend of deadlines to catch up on.

Whee.

Oh, I've got a new phone.

And oh, happy pre-birthday Rui Sheng!

EL

One flew east, one flew west, and one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

2009-04-07T05:09:00.000-07:00

SORRY SORRY.

Okay.

Erm.

Okay.

JD Meet was great. Managed to finish all my stuff in time for presentation to the kids. :)

ESL Issue Analysis was great. Went very smoothly. Lecturer recommended me for the speech giving during the Tan Sri Loy Scholarship ceremony. Aaaaah. Auditioned today. We'll see how it turns out.

Went back to Malacca for Qing Ming. Ate the famous satay celup and was not impressed. And people LINE UP for them! Oh dear. Maybe I should've gone with an empty stomach? On the other hand, the dim sum in Bukit Bharu was, as usual, heavensent.

Major deadline week next week. Chem practical exam spans three days. Chem SRT deadline. Bio HAE Draft deadline. Psych report draft deadline. Psych journal deadline. Well-deserved HOLIDAY ON FRIDAY!!

Watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for Psychology class. Jack Nicholson is amazing.

Allergic reaction relapse. All over legs this time.

Reading at the moment:

Paulo Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die
Paulo Coelho's The Valkyries
Markus Zusak's The Book Thief
Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie

They are all great books. Paulo Coelho weaves magic with his words. :)

I've got the leaked version of Wolverine. I'm not going to watch it, I'm not going to watch it, I'm not going to watch it ... ...

"She said she was neither happy nor unhappy, and that was why she couldn't go on. Each person knows the extent of their own suffering, or the total absence of meaning in their lives." - Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die (1998)

EL

Disney ditsy

2009-03-21T02:11:00.000-07:00

Pssst! Want to listen to Mel Gibson singing? :)

Haha, when he started speaking, I recognised the voice immediately, but wasn't sure who it was. What a shock I got when Captain John Smith was actually voiced by Mel Gibson, and Thomas was voiced by Christian Bale. Hahahahahaha.

I'm talking about Pocahontas, by the way. Yesss. I found out that the only two Disney classics I have not watched properly are Mulan and Pocahontas. Will be getting them soon. Meanwhile, here we are!

Had a Disney Princess moment yesterday. Lasted until now, Saturday afternoon. Been watching Disney stuff all the way and comparing princesses as well as princes. I think Prince Philip and John Smith and General Shang have a good shot at the Handsomest Disney Prince title. Shang, in a Cina sort of way. :) Sorry, Prince from Cinderella. Sorry, Eric from the Little Mermaid. Sorry, Aladdin. Sorry, Beast. However, the Beast has a wonderful speaking voice. Like those voices that do the voices of the big boss anatagonist in computer games. Tee hee.

Can't decide who has the better voice, Belle (mezzo soprano!) or Aurora (sixteen year old that sounds like a middle-aged woman) or Pocahontas.

How come Anastasia was not counted as a Disney Princess? And Mulan, too. Or Pocahontas. :(

There is actually TWO sequels to Cinderella! OMGoodness. Go check them out. I've watched all of them. x) The third one is quite entertaining.

There is a sequel to Pocahontas, where she meets a new man! OMG.

Okay byeee.

Coldplay in Singapore!

2009-03-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

My mood the past week's been fluctuating like nobody's business. I was at the point of breaking down on Wednesday and was feeling perky and skippy yesterday night. Completed every assignment on time and managed to snatch a bit of studying in between, so it's cool. :) For now, I'm quite motivated to write for the Dublin award competition, but we'll see.

Ma's back from Taiwan. Whooot.

My brothers have transformed into what I had feared--full-time mindless slaves of the idiot box. Gamers. GTA San Andreas and Fallout 3. Sigh. I do not approve the level of violence in the former.

I have not visited the MPH book sale in Mayang Plaza. :(

SGM Selangor's Run for Peace on Sunday! 8km of solitude with Coldplay and Norah Jones. Will be staying over at Klang Kaikan on Saturday night. Prolly be bringing over Orwell's Animal Farm and Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die to occupy myself with. Whatever goes on two legs are evil! rawr.

Yi May says Malaysia has bad feng shui. That is why Coldplay is going to perform in Singapore instead. :(((

Carbohydrates have a relatively higher melting/boiling point. That is because they have abundant hydroxyl groups are very polar which means they have strong hydrogen bonding as secondary interaction. Therefore heat energy at rtp is unsufficient to break those hydrogen bonds.

Polysaccharides are insoluble in water but they can absorb water because ... I don't remember. I'm suppose to remember.

Off to do more research. Am done with the detailed outline for Biology's human awareness essay that's due on Monday. ^_^ Ahead of deadline for the first time!

"Photons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholics." - Robot-servant from Fallout 3.

EL

Pizza Hut special delivery

2009-03-16T05:08:00.000-07:00

I found something amusing while I was submitting the form for PSD Scholarship.

cth: 037552525?

Isn't that Pizza Hut's old number?

Omigod.

The government has a sense of humour!!

*rolls eyes*

I'm not broke I'm just a broken-hearted man.

2009-03-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sigh.

I'm not happy, I can tell you that much.

That said, congrats to all on your SPM results, no matter how they turned out to be. If it turned out to be as misery-inducing as mine, with just a half grade away from getting straight A1s, then join the grieving club.

Do you know that straight A1s can bring you to so many places?

Sigh.

EL

2009-03-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

I've been worrying myself to bits lately.

Recently, just three days ago, kor found that the lymph nodes in my neck are abnormally enlarged ie. swollen. I never knew they were supposed to be abnormal cos', as far back as I could remember, they've always been there, just not so many as I have now. If I count now, they would amount to roughly about six of 'em rubbery mothballs. Kor never checked my armpits because I'm just too ticklish. -__-

Anyway, I've read up about this. He suspects it's lymphoma, a kind of lymph node cancer that is usually associated with leukemia. O_O The lymph nodes are swollen because of the excess production of lymphocytes (WBC) produced to protect the body against the sudden pathogens (not sure what they are though, cancer cells or virus or what).

Soooo far I have only fulfilled three of the many symptoms--palpable lymph nodes, night sweats, and bodily aches. I'm not sure if sleeping a lot means fatigue, so I'm not counting. If it persists for a week, then maybe I'll go have it checked up, or Kor would pester me to. Ugh. Doctors. Needles. ugh.

Contact lenses!

EL

GCO Wind Quintet in Concert 09

2009-03-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

I'm so exhausted. Ugh.

Here's the story.

Thursday. Rushed to get my emcee script template out (imagine there is no proper template for it, ugh). Stupid printers in the Web didn't want to cooperate. It was much later when I realised I didn't adjust my page to A4 size. Ugh. Then went to Cheras for the rehearsal. Ah Lum tells me that I have to speak after every song. That's 14 songs babe. The reason is because the quintet would've been a little burnt out after 5 minutes of playing and they needed the time to rest and I'm the attention diverter. (divertor? diverter?)

Friday. Panicked my way through breakfast, lunch and dinner. 14 songs! 14 different ways to present! I was on the verge of expiring. Thank goodness Sai Mun was being very understanding. Finally got all 20 cue cards ready. This is the first time my cue cards amount to a sum with two digits. Squabbled with my mom over my outfit for the night. Settled on something simple and existing. Song Yeu informs that there is no make-up artist. *faints*

Saturday. Went to get make-up as my eye liner and mascara were all used up. Then shot off to Cheras again. Rehearsal started at 3pm when it was stated as at 2pm (as usual). Wasn't much of a rehearsal. Rehearsed til 5pm before going to do my own make-up. Ugh. Then chanted til 6.30pm. Gawd. I was so worried about the attendance as the concert was not very publicised. Ugh ugh ugh. And there were some last-minute alterations as my PIC was not contented with my script. Whatever makes you happy.

Saturday evening. 7.30pm. There were only a handful of people standing outside. Started hyperventilating. Song Yeu was late, too, as Chin Choon said there was a massive two hour traffic jam from Jalan Duta all the way to Phoenix Plaza in Cheras. OMG. When the doors were opened at 7.45pm, the audience were scattered all over the hall. It was such a meager sum of people. Sigh. Song Yeu fianlly struts in at 7.50pm. *rolls eyes*

Saturday evening 8.10pm. When half the hall finally fills up, Wai Yip finally nags me into starting the concert. The first few minutes were really unnerving as the audience was soooo damned unresponsive. So many cold spots I tell you. :( I wanted to hide my face somewhere at that time because no one understood my brand of humor. Sigh.

Saturday evening 8.30pm. Audience begins to warm up when I introduce the players one by one. OMG like finally. Couldn't say much about everyone. "The guy with the cool hair and an even cooler instrument, Mr. Kevin Chean" was counteracted with "finally, the guy with the not-so-cool hair but with the coolest instrument, Mr. Yong Song Yeu!". I don't think he was very happy with the assault on the hair subject. x)

Saturday evening 9pm. After intermission, the audience thaws and starts to enjoy themselves, and even being responsive. Good. Ugh. From this point onwards, I sorta ditched my script and improvised all the way to suit the audience's current mood. In the end I cooked up an entirely new script when it comes to acknowledging Elaine's last performance with us before going to Japan.

Luckily there was great reception. Got a lot of congratulating and praises after the concert. Phew. Thank goodness no one complained that there is no Chinese emcee. Met a lot of people I didn't know and they came up to shake hands and offer compliments. Thank u, u guys are sweet. :)

So thank you Elaine, Cheong Lum, Kee Hong, Teng Jun and Song Yeu for believing in me and thrusting me such an opportunity. And thanks rui for being so supportive. Kor also. Ma, pa. Thanks.

Last but not least, thank you Sai Mun!

Pictures, blah, too lazy to upload, but here's the poster. Stole this from Song Yeu's site.

Here's a song our psych lecturer introduced to us. Really cute. I Like Giants by Kimya Dawson.

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out and look up at the sky
And I do this to remind me that I'm really, really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me
But it's only really scary cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded, and so humbled, and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye

When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said 'I like giants
Especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes
Regardless of their size'

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
And I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole
So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

So I talked to Geneviève and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead
When she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you Geneviève, cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends

We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole

And yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye

And I don't wanna make her cry
Cause I like giants.

Cos I like giants. :)

Coriolanus

2009-03-02T23:16:00.000-08:00

Hye.

Am done for deadlines and tests for the week. Got back two test papers, Math and Biology, both missed just short of three marks of the high score. Sigh. Phillips' a genius.

Am feeling ...oddly free. A bit too free. Oh well. This calls for a visit to the bookstore! <3

I've reread my books so many times since college's started (ie. no bookstore visits) that I actually read Twilight again last night. OMG. It was then I noticed that Twilight has somewhat...lost the magic. As for R.A. Salvatore, they are all in Adelaide now.

Oh, can anyone teach me how make pizza without an oven? :)

Someone help me pronounce this: Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. I need to know, because it's in my emcee script for this Saturday.

Panic, panic. Blood on the dance floor! *gasp*

EL

2009-02-27T03:26:00.000-08:00

Now who would've thought?

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, in the upcoming Alice in Wonderland directed by Tim Burton, alongside Alan Rickman (think Prof. Snape) and Helena Bonham Carter (think versatile).

I can't wait.

I'm having a Coldplay moment right now.

OMG I'VE JUST BEEN INFORMED THAT THE CONCERT I WAS SUPPOSED TO EMCEE FOR IS ACTUALLY NEXT WEEK, NOT THE TWENTY-SECOND. OMFG. WTF HAPPENED? I ONLY HAVE A WEEK TO BLOODY HELL PREPARE!!

fitch.

2009-02-26T03:16:00.001-08:00

Kristin Kreuk as Chun Li from Street Fighters? What's up with the world nowadays?

Sai Mun's gone over to Adelaide. It's easier now that he's gone. In fact, I can breathe better now. No more puffy eyes in the morning. :)

Went for my second yoga class. We managed to do the halasana, which looks exactly like this.

My nose touched my knees! Ha! Beat that!

But of course, we had to lay motionlessfor about 20 secs after that because I couldn't feel my spine and the small of my back anymore. Imagine your whole weight resting on just the small area between your shoulderblades and your neck. And I couldn't breathe the whole time, just little shallow gulps.

It's not easy okay.

Am studying for the Msian Studies test tomorrow. Sigh. FMS, EIC, plural society...

ESL generic essay writing topics are as dull as I had feared.

1. ways to eradicate poverty.

2. do online games bring any benefit?

I had no idea how to eradicate poverty so whaddahell, online games it was. -.-

I learned a new word today. Anachronistic. Means out of date or old-fashioned. :)

Study study dah-dee-dum.

I don't wanna cycle or recycle revenge; I don't wanna follow Death and all of his friends.

2009-02-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Death And All His Friends - Coldplay

I'm getting contact lens soon! Now I would be able to see what I really look like instead of squinting all the time.

Bro's having his major exam on Tuesday, the exam that would determine if he would become a doctor or not. That means there is a huge possibility I cannot watch the rerun of the Oscars tomorrow night. :( Hugh Jackman! *bawls*

Here's my schedule for next week:

Monday - zil. Maybe Oscars. Maybe a Pokemon movie with Sai Mun.
Tuesday - Bio common test I
Wednesday - Maths common test I, high chance of Sai Mun leaving for Adelaide today.
Thursday - ESL common test I
Friday - Malaysian Studies common test I

I hear that there is no descriptive writing or narrative essay for the generic writing section in ESL! :( Just factual stuff and argumentative essays. What??

Looking forward to Maths, though. Differentiation! *clap clap*

I will conquer Bio.

On Saturday I would be teaching one of my mom's form 1 classes because one of her teachers would be absent. How do you teach 13 year old chinese-speaking students who only know "Thank you" and "Excuse me" English? :-O Gotta make sure I don't feel as if I'm speaking to a wall.

It's raining!

Mmm differential calculus.

EL

One harrowing week over!

2009-02-19T03:59:00.000-08:00

The beginning of another one. Common tests next week. Common tests are exams where we combine classes by folding the sliding walls that separate the classrooms from each other. :) Cool eh? Or maybe we'll be doing them in the multipurpose hall (misleadingly referred to as MPH), which I hear is about ten degrees Celsius lower than the outside. Maybe I'll get to join with Rui Sheng's class. That'll be fun.

This week was a week of deadlines and class tests. Two class tests, two presentations, one deadline. So far, I've scored highest for two out of four tests(Bio and Psych). :) I missed the high score for Chemistry by one mark. One. You can't call me kiasu.

Lately I've been feeling pretty depressed. No prize for guessing why. sai mun's leaving in six days, for six years, and I still gotta study for my common test next week, which is a relatively big part of my internal assessment marks. Bummer.

I realised my classmates aren't very big fans of calculus (specifically, differentiation). I don't get it; I like differentiation.

Running low on pocket money. Must be the awfully expensive food around Subang Jaya. Am trying to sustain a bready-lunch diet.

Went for choir practice yesterday. We've a great bass (who studies under Mr. Ian Lim) and a string of good tenors. Altos, gambate. Sopranos, gambate to you too. Met a girl from Klang Convent, who was under Mr. Lee Shiak Yao. We've a great choir master, too. :) Sang the Sound of Music. Got to sing the solo! :D Haven't been singing solos in ages.

Hey, have you watched the Lion King musical? Nevermind I forgive you. watch!

I love the rams, and Rafiki, and the cheetahs. <3 And I love the background singing during the chorus!

Wonder how they did the giraffes. Best props I've seen in a musical so far.

Off to do more calculus. Mmm.

EL

And in the end we lie awake and dream of our escape.

2009-02-13T05:18:00.000-08:00

Harrowing week, but this signifies the start of an endless stream of harrowing weeks. Mami ahh...

Chemistry test was good. I died in the Math test.

We tried out a variety of food outlets throughout the week, so no surprise that we ended up broke by the fifth day and had to go to the market for food. They have this really good zap fan stall that cook a zillion dishes and still charge you really cheaply. One plate of zap fan with enormous helpings of lala and a bowl of iced lin chi kang costs only about RM3.80. Dirt cheap right? So it's worth the loooong walk there.

Oh, did I mention that 3/4 of my class dislikes/hates/am terrified of cats? Even the small kitties can induce a healthy screech from one of my louder classmates. :) The stray kittens are so cute that they play with your bag straps and treat your favorite pants as their scratching posts.

Today our class gave Mrs Adeline (chemistry and our mentor) and Ms Audrey (our diva-ish psych lecturer) a rose each. :) Which means I owe Ben money. I owe Sarah money, too. =( Aaah the woes of being treasurer.

We watched the Dark Knight for Psych. :o) The day before, when our class ended early, we got a healthy dose of Whose Line Is It Anyway. :o)

We went back to school today, =) which was awesome, cos' it's refreshing to see the earnest and enthusiasm in those youngsters (youngsters? I'm only one year their senior!) as they prepare for Sports Day. Yes, I went to see the Unggul kids. Sweet reunion! :D

Sai Mun's got an offer of acceptance into the University of Adelaide. Congrats sweetheart!

You asked me if you should stick to Monash-U (which you have already paid for) or go for gold. I smiled and told you that it's your future and it's your decision.

Here's the ugly truth, honey. Selfish as this might sound, I don't want you to go to Adelaide. I sat there in the lobby while you went to enquire about the refund and I cried just thinking about the possibilities of not seeing you regularly for six years.

But as I said, it's your future. Don't let me be a factor in your hopes and dreams. :)

I feel like a reluctant matyr. What a bad start to Valentine's. :(

2009-02-05T22:57:00.000-08:00

All I am looking forward to is a nice long Thaipusam weekend with RA Salvatore in my left hand and a cup of steaming hot milo in the other. Or a good long day in Borders on the carpeted floor with a book in my hands.

Unfortunately, things are not always how you want them to be. Class Test 1 next week. Boo hoo.

Am in the Web again, sitting in a defective chair (most of the chairs in the web are), started out researching genetic engineering ethics but ended up googling Christian Bale pictures.

Have you heard his rant? It was filled with more explicit words than I would say in a year.

Am reading Stephen King's "The Running Man". Kor's fault.

Thanks rui for the mp3 player, but sadly things aren't going the way I want them to. Long story short, the mp3 player isn't doing what it is created to do--play music.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

An interesting thing happened on Wednesday. I was extremely surprised to find that almost everyone in my class opposed to the Charles Darwin's theory of evolution--that we originate from primates. It seems that the majority of my class are stubbornly holding onto the belief that we descended from Adam and Eve. Mmm, interesting, eh?

Oh, for the record, I hold no doubt that Darwin was right. He's a genius.

Will be doing my ESL research on cloning instead of euthanasia. Cloning is a really cool topic, kinda controversial, too.

Ah, the sun is shining. Off I go.

"I went on a lesbian cruise once. Well I'm guessing it was a lesbian cruise because none of the women would sleep with me" Mick Molloy

The Perils of Obedience

2009-02-03T23:07:00.000-08:00

Am in the Web. Nothing much's up except that next week's CT1 and I am doomed. However, I did pretty well for my recent Bio Quiz. :) 30/30, so the elation would prolly last well into the night, then the torturous cycle of worry and frantic studying would begin again.

Ms. Audrey, our psych lecturer, told us a very interesting piece of history today. It's too long to be written here, so I'll just post the link. It's an experiment by A famed psychologist named Stanley Milgram who tested to see just how far you will go to inflict harm on a person you don't know. Think that you're so civilised? Think again. x) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Anyhoo, off to shop for groceries, and then maybe after an hour of studying, accompany my brother to watch E.T., which he claims, is one helluva great movie.

Oh, and here's the AFI's list of top movie quotes of the century. Strangely enough I don't recognise most of them. "I'll be back" is only at 37th. =( "My preciousssss" is at 85. =(=( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_100_Years..._100_Movie_Quotes

EL

David Cook oozes awesomeness.

2009-01-31T04:58:00.000-08:00

Check out his new song, Declaration, and then his album. (",)

EL

"Each Pokemon to understand the power that's inside"

2009-01-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

Happy CNY everybody. :)

This year's ang pau reap is definitely much more than last year. All boils down to the age, man. "Oh, you're in college already ar?" *selects bigger ang pau and gives to EL* "Here you go, big girl."

But of course, CNY has always been all about reuniting the family. This year is special since my grandpa "Yeye" lived through a gruelling period of his life after he had a stroke last December. It was a terrible time for all of us but we made it through, so here's to you, Yeye! :)

We stuffed ourselves silly and unfortunately I can't display any pictures of the dinners we had yet but I will get to that once I get them from my cousins (see, the only one without a camera phone. sigh). But altogether we had about 3 major dinners -- the reunion dinner, 1st day dinner, and 2nd day dinner.

I feel fat.

We're going light on meals now, eating only homecooked porridge and fish. Ginger-fried fish, mmmm.

We watched episodes of Pokemon with my younger cousins. We can still recite the Team Rocket theme with impeccable accuracy. I could still sing the Pokemon theme song. It's a nice song.

I had the best fun (apart from meeting the relatives) on the 2nd day of CNY when my parents took us down memory lane. We explored Banda Hilir on foot and Papa took us to his old home above a wine shop. Then Mama would describe in vivid detail how Popo used to stare out the 1st storey window waiting forlornly for her children to return home, and the three boys use their ang pau money to buy the famous satay selup across the street. Oh by the way if you want to visit the wine shop it's on Jalan Hang Lekiu. :)

Also, we visited Popo (mommy's side) in Qing Yun Teng. It's pretty overwhelming to stand in front of my late grandmother's portrait and chant nam-myoho-renge-kyo three times. Mum said she used to go there and cry. :( It's sad knowing that you won't be able to know such a great person now that she's long gone. On a brighter note, we saw dozens of people giving offerings to Confucius, the deity of study. There's a deity for students! :O

Oh, and the wine shop is a big part of why my family don't consume alcohol. Trivial detail.

Anyway.

David Cook rocks. Check out "Declaration", peepz.

Saimunie's inviting me to join his family for the Rihanna concert, but mommy's all worried about the PAS people making an appearance and causing "disquiet". But I want.

And if Coldplay does come to Malaysia, I so am going.

Here's a list of concerts/musicals I would go to if it comes to Malaysia:

Coldplay
Justin Timberlake
Kelly Clarkson
Carrie Underwood
The Ten Tenors
Joe Hisaishi (conductor)
John Williams
Wicked
Lord of the Rings the Musical

*hint hint*

My creative juices have been flowing lately, what with all the stimulants in Malacca (the lights, the colours). Oh for your information darlings, I write. Not just write. I write stories.

There are very few people who know this fact. Simone is one of them. This is a very personal detail I'm revealing.

But I think now that it's nothing to be embarrassed about.

I have been actively writing since standard six, and I got Simone into it when we became friends in form one. She's more public about it. Unlike her, I don't post them on fanfiction.net. I don't let anyone read them, not even Saimunie.

My creative juices almost always flow during periods of great stress i.e. PMR, exams and SPM. Yes, I wrote during SPM. It is impossible not to write. Go ask Simone how it feels like with your brilliant ideas all pented up. It is hell.

Yiruma is nice.

Signing off. Brothers watching Iron Man outside. Will write a bit more, then dig into my Biology. Grr.

"A traffic jam when you're already late

A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break

It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife

It's meeting the man of my dreams

And then meeting his beautiful wife

And isn't it ironic, don't you think?"

-Alanis Morissette

Moo.

2009-01-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

The hols are finally here! Well there isn't much to look forward to since the lecturers have so kindly bombarded us with piles of assignments and homework (not really lah, but it feels like a lot).

So a very Happy new Year to all of you chums out there. :) I wish you many a fortune in the year ahead.

Coldplay is sizzling hot.

For my term in Taylor's, I've signed up for music and yoga. OMG. So nerdy. Haha. Yoga. Wellness and health. Apart from that I think I'll be working out more often, in the ECA Centre. I'll get a gym partner. :) As for music, Taylor's' formed a new choir, sort of like a chamber choir, since they're so few of them. They sound okay when they performed on ECA Day, the guys being a tad bit too loud, but all that can be improved on in no time. :) Sounds exciting.

Hugh Jackman is sizzling hot, too. Like hotpan yee mee.

Going to watch X-Men 3: The last Stand even after people tell me that everyone there dies except, of course, the indestructible one. The epitome of X-Men. And then The Prestige, cos' there is both Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in it. Combo.

*grabs popcorn tub*

Happy CNY lads and lassies!

EL

2009-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ms. Audrey showed us a favourite series of hers. It's called Salad Fingers. It's just about the creepiest thing, going beyond Happy Three Friends.

If you can stomach a concoction of schizophrenia and pure weirdness and mouldy creeps, click to load the video below.

"I must find the perfect spoon."

Thirty seconds into the episode, Zeke announced, "he's got a rusty spoon fetish!" And nobody laughed. It was then that I realised half of the girls behind me did not know what a fetish was. It was then I realised how much vulgarity and indecency I've been exposed and tamed to throughout my years in SMKDJ.

So thanks a lot. Don't regret it, though.

Happy CNY dearies. :)

http://taylors-g8.blogspot.com

EL

Update. :)

2009-01-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

Everything's going on fine. I'm beginning to lose momentum in my enthusiasm for 97.0 but hopefully I'll get it back in time for our class tests after CNY. SAM means consistency, so no foooling around.

We have two new girls in our class, thus further increasing the ratio of females to males. 6 males, 15 females. :) They are quite a happy bunch of males, from what we could see. :)

yesterday I learned to cook a Loh family tradition dish for dinner. Pretty simple, just fish pieces, belacan paste, some hebe, garlic and onions, but boy didn't it taste good. My grandma used to cook it for the family because back then they were strickened with poverty and couldn't afford much. Her tastebuds were reignited when my aunty's maid recently cooked it and she was itching to taste it again ever since. So, yeah. :)

OOH. And yesterday I met my long-lost good friend Kar Mun, who migrated to Australia three years ago. Reconciliation was sweet. ^^ I didn't realise how much I've missed her. Her Cantonese is surprisingly better than before, haha. Malulah saya. OH, and she scored an awesome 97.95% for her TER. OMG.

I'm currently reading (other than textbooks and project reference books) "The Restaurant At The End of the Universe", by Douglas Adams. Anyone remembered or watched "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"? :) Also, I'm reading a book on a man's battle with Alzheimer's and how he struggles to pen down his memories before they are snatched beyond their grasps. Quite sad-lah, must get an excerpt for you, but I'm currently in the library, and the book's at my bedside.

Ms. Audrey allowed us to watch Fight Club today. Sorta didn't get the story. *compensated for that when Brad Pitt came on screen :)* Must go check the synopsis.

Anyway, I shall end here now. Gotta research for my ESL assignment. Ta. :)

Hello!

2009-01-16T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hello world!

Been busy since college started. College life so far has been amazing. :) There is not one dull moment. I still resent the long flights of staircases though, but at least I only have two days where I have to climb to the fourth floor (where rui claims he has to climb almost everyday).

College life is all about surviving not being spoon-fed, and so far the experience's been great. There is homework, but the lecturer does not bother to check, so you gotta motivate yourself to do it and find the solutions. There is no memorising, but more application, which is delightful. :) I kinda flunked my Bio quiz yesterday, oh but oh well.

No time for leisure, however. But that's what weekends are for. :)

My class is awesome. They come from all over Malaysia, Pontian (Johor), JB, Ipoh, Kuantan, Klang, Kajang, and one as far as from Kuching. And we're all really really good friends now. :)

My lecturers are good, too. Our Psych lecturer is simply so-diva-ish. She's the bomb! Hehe, really sporting and entertaining. She brought us out on a class trip to do some textbook application, doing investigative observational experiments. Bio lecturer is very experienced and she knows her stuff (PLUS she's a SGM member! HOLY CRAP.).

The food available around campus walking distance is great too. Asia Cafe offers variety. The market zapfan stall is simply awesome (with the monotonous indonesian lady reciting, "linchikang, satu"). Mien-dui-mien (Face to Face) offers awesome pan mee. Plus there's Burger King, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway, Little Taiwan...you won't get bored of food. PLUS, cafeteria has different set lunches everyday. :)

Great company, great lecturers, air-conditioning (sweaters and jackets are permanent parts of everyday wardrobe), great food. Yeah, college's great.

***

The girls attended a City Survival Skills workshop recently. It's really really good and I would suggest it to my chapter PICs and see how. As a result I bought a pepper spray for real. Haven't tried it out, but they gave us a whiff of the spray. Trust me, it's not a nice experience. One intake of breath and the peppery sensation goes right down your throat. Not very pleasant.

Anyway, the workshop teaches lots, very eye-opening, like ways to detect a two-way mirror and finding hidden cameras, ways to USE a pepper spray correctly ("don't empty the whole can on just the face!"), and...

why we should not put 999 as our first speed-dial--

"Terima kasih kerana memanggil talian kami. Untuk bahasa Melayu, tekan satu..."

"Hello, talian polis."

"Ada orang jahat nak masuk rumah saya!"

"Apa nama dik? Mana dik tinggal? Hah, Jalan apa? Macam mana spell?..."

and by the time the operator finish getting your details,

"Macam mana saya boleh bantu dik?"

you'll be saying, with a sigh of disappointment that Malaysia has yet again failed you.

"Oh, tak apalah, orang jahat itu sudah berdiri di sebelah saya."

***

Right now I'm down with a fever and sorethroat and flu, throw in a few mouth ulcers here and there. I must be lacking in vitamin C.

***

Went to Sunway Pyramid with Sai recently. Played archery. Quite fun. :) Befuddles me how those archers of old do the "rapid shot" thing. Takes at least 10 seconds to fit and notch the arrow. =.= Another "it-only-happens-in-fairy-tales" incident. Ended up with a left-arm sprain.

***

Orchestra going to perform at KLPac this weekend. Without me. =(

***

Must visit dear ole Harmonix soon.

***

That's the DJ Choir, by the way. I heard the afternoon choir's swelled to 70 members. :) oh my god.

***

Off to study, Whoo. Relapsing into a Moulin Rouge mania.

***

Land of the Leaping Roos

2009-01-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

There is something sexy about a rugged man with a cowboy hat holding a whip on a horse.

In a Baz Luhrmann movie, such a flamboyantly, stereotype character can never go wrong.

You might remember Baz Luhrmann's masterpiece "Moulin Rouge!" that won quite a number of Oscars including the ever prestigious Best Picture Award.

And, like Moulin Rouge!, this movie gives the MTV feel that makes you wanna dance along, minus the singing and feathers and dancing.

AND, like Moulin Rouge!, Australia stars the timeless Nicole Kidman and the versatile David Wenham.

AND, like Moulin Rouge!, this is a unbashful tale of romance and comedy, or shall I say, comedy and romance. Surprisingly, Baz Luhrmann manages to pull off this cliched theme, along with many other themes (which I thought was a bit redundant).

It's the perfect film for the helplessly romantic. Simone and I watched it because we fell in love with Moulin Rouge! and we exchanged glances each time we saw a similarity to Luhrmann's debut film.

I still can't decide which on-screen couple is better, Hugh Jackman & Nicole or Ewan McGregor & Nicole.

Oh, and Jackman. Is. Hot.

Happy New Year everyone :)

2008-12-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

Today has been one awesome day. :) Orchestra practice. FOUR clarinets. One 1st clarinet. Two 2nd clarinets. One bass clarinet.

Well it wasn't easy to get everyone together so this is the first time the clarinet section's all filled up since I've returned. :) And I was worrying that my reeds were wearing thin but apparently my senior's selling his old (but somehow still new) reeds that produce great sound. And if that wasn't enough, I got my dear Zekee back! PLUS, I get to play on a 6C MOUTHPIECE. SIX-CEE PEO.PLE.

So naturally it was much tougher than usual, but I enjoy the heightened difficulty. :) Presents a healthy challenge. Today Pak Lim played me bro's bass clarinet! haha. So cool.

Check out this vid peepz. Pretty lame, but it does crack people up. :)

Courtesy of Mr. Yong who so graciously introduced me to his brand of humour.

And welcome, Emily, to the clarinet family!

It's interesting how I see so much of myself in her--the fear of playing in front of better players, not asking questions. I pledge to make her period in GCO the best yet!

Off to Renaissance Choir audition tomorrow. Am down with a sorethroat today. Hopefully it goes away by tmr.

EL

Merry X'mas!

2008-12-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

And, happy birthday D'Hann! =)

2008-12-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

It is never good to bring someone acrophobic to a theme park high up above the clouds.

Ac-ro-pho-bi-a :–noun . an abnormal or pathological fear of heights.

First, there's the Skyway to First World Plaza.

The only compensation for my willingness to rise up more than a hundred feet into the air and suspended only from a cable with no parachutes in the gondola was the cool air.

It must've been at least 17 degrees Celsius.

Drops to about 15 degrees Celsius in the morning? Brr.

brr.

We went to first world hotel and braved the loooong wait. It was 0996, and we were 1145. So that meant we had at least a hundred and fourty five more people to go. We had anticipated it, so we took out our charkwayteow from Petaling jaya and ate them. Cold charkwayteow, ugh. Better than paying RM8.10 for a piece of roti canai, though.

The room isn't very nice, the average 3-star hotel.

Main attractions are the roller coasters in the theme park-lah.

Even if I'm acrophobic, and severely so, I still rode them. So kudos to me, thank u thank u.

Highlight of the day--the Flying Coaster.

Come on, I'm sure you've heard of this stomach-churning ride, no?

This ride's different cos' they'd strap you VERTICALLY and tilt you up so that you lie flat on your stomach, like Superman.

Unfortunately I never knew that fact. Also I've never taken a better look at the route it takes. If I had I wouldn't have gone on it.

It was five seconds into the ride before I realised that it was a bad idea. At that time we hadn't even gained any height yet. And that was the time I exclaimed, "Oh CRAP. I need to tie MY HAIR." So people, tie your hair before going onto a roller coaster.

Here's how it's like. And no, that's not me screaming. I would've screamed a hell lot louder, and an octave higher. I'd kill the bats within a mile radius.

At some point, some inverted phase, I stopped screaming, because you tend to forget to scream when you experience true fear. I'm not saying I'm a chicken. I'm just chronically, deathly afraid of heights.

I can't look out of the third storey corridor back at SMKDJ without feeling an uneasy squirm in the stomach.

Now that's a confession.

Back to the Flying Coaster, I'd say it's worth the ride. I came down with wobbly feet. Stupid camera shot was terrible. My hair covered three quarters of my face. damn. we still bought it anyway, cos' daniel had no hair covering his face.

Other than that we went on very few rides, cos' mummy and daddy couldn't ride most of them =( and we felt bad making them wait. So we'll go again without the adults next time. :) Partially also because we spent most our time QUEUEING and WAITING and LOOKING FOR RELATIVELY CHEAPER FOOD.

Ripley's was really cool. And Dinosaurland was nice, don't think of it as a kiddy ride. You have to check out the sorta live T-Rex in the exhibit.

We didn't manage to go onto the Spinner, Space Shot or Corkscrew. I sorta chickened out of the Space Shot by just looking at the sheer height it achieves. Na-uh. no thanks.

I'll upload the pics some other time.

Okay enough about Genting.

Who's that hunk??

He's hot. :)

Can't wait to watch Australia.

2008-12-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

TAG. Put your playlist on shuffle mode and click next each time you answer a question.

This tag isn't going to work well for me since my current playlist is full of soundtracks from LOTR, Jurrasic Park, and, um, Treasure Planet. Oh medearie.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
The Shadow of the Past -.- - Howard Shore

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
The Prophecy. (AHAHAHA) -Howard Shore

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Foundations of stone. OMG. -Howard Shore again.

(at this point the author realises that her player is not on shuffle.)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Valley of the wind. -Joe Hisaishi

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Thunder and lightning - Strauss. Hahahahahaha

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
The Happy Working Song. -Enchanted OST. right. haha.

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
The Launch. -James Newton Howard, Treasure Planet OST. =)

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Death and All His Friends. - Coldplay. LOL. It's a nice song okay. This is seriously random.

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
Jurrasic Park. -John Williams. rawr.

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
(waits until Jurrasic Park theme is over) Do You Hear the People Sing? -Les Miserables.

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Many Meetings - LOTR again. ~.~ "many meetings, chap!"

13. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
The Escapist - Coldplay. HAHAHA. Yeah you got that right. xD

14. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Entry of the Gladiators - Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Hahahahahaha really waltzy song.

15. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Clarinet Polka - Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. LMAO

16. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Lovers in Japan - Reign of Love - Coldplay :)

17. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Wonder - LOTR the Musical Laura Michelle Kelly (yeah I wonder too!)

18. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
The Battle Drums - Princess Mononoke

19. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Defying Gravity - Wicked the Musical ((whoa hahaha))

20. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
The Rings goes South - Howard Shore. (Right.)

21. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Touch me. -Armin Van Buuren (what the?)

22. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
The Bridge of Khazad-dum - Howard Shore (yeah it's too narrow. And we need handles, too. =.=)

23. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
The Breaking of the Fellowship - Howard Shore (OMG. Like, wow.)

24. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Mononoke Hime - Joe Hisaishi. -.- (not a very brilliant title.)

Do the tag if wou want.

***

I went for the LOTR Symphony again. Wonders of wonders. They had the usherers dressed up ala Lord of the Rings. But they don't resemble anything CLOSE to LOTR except the hoods. -.- I mean, who holds scythes in LOTR?

Saturday was so much better than the rehearsal.

And best of all, thank you Yoong Wai for forcing me to take a picture with the awesome conductor, Maestro Markus Huber, for I myself would not have the guts to approach him for even a handshake. He was really nice and all. :) I blabbered a lot when he asked me how was it. Nervous breakdown, you know. Went somewhere along the lines of "That was spectacular, maestro. I;ve been waiting for the symphony to come here for so long and it was so hard to get a ticket and I'm glad I got an opportunity to watch it live OMGthisisawesomethankyouverymuch." Should've added, "if you see Howard Shore, tell him that he is a total genius and that he MUST compose for the Hobbit."

Will upload the pic when I get it. Again, thank you my friend!

Going to Genting today. Whoot whoot.

And check out Inkheart people. Read the first two chapters. Sounds promising.

EL

2008-12-19T05:56:00.000-08:00

I went for the Lord of the Rings Symphony open rehearsal in Dewan Filharmonik Petronas today. An open rehearsal is just like the real performance, but with only some people not wearing their full outfits and with instrument cases littering the stage floor. But basically it's the entire symphony with no pauses.

I've been chanting so hard for the opportunity to witness Howard Shore's magic live after finding out that all the tickets for all three nights were sold out.

In return, I have been offered TWICE to watch the LOTR Symphony come to life. See how earnest prayer can work wonders?

So today was the first time. I went with Su Jane. But first a huge THANK YOU to Mr. Sow Yoong Wai for offering the tickets to us. I am forever in your debt. :)

There's a white screen above the orchestra and choir showing illustrations of the movie by John Howe and Alan Lee to tell the epical tale. Unfortunately cameras and camcorders aren't allowed into the DFP so I would just show you that the scene is like this (exactly like this),

See, that's the Witch-king himself.

We are fortunate enough to have the original conductor, not Howard Shore himself, but maestro Markus Huber; and Ann De Renais the original soprano soloist. The other soloists are Andrew the boy soprano, and an alto singer (for Lothlorien) and a bass singer (for the Return of the King). Sorry, don't know yer names.

And I tell you, I have nothing but high praises for the performance by MalaysianPhilharmonicOrchestra and YoungKLSingers and KLChildren'sChoir as well as the MIAChoir.

The concert was STUNNING. Maybe it is only so because I am a crazy fan of LOTR music. For the entire two hours I was just clutching to my seat, every muscle in my body trembling with excitement and wonder, mouth gaping, mesmerized. The choir was amazing, although Yoong Wai (one of the singers) claimed that they weren't fulfilling the conductor's expectations. Their dynamics were very clear, and I especially loved it when they roared during those battle scene themes. MPO was naturally awesome, too. Flawless.

Brass section, you were all absolutely stunning. Blasting the trumpet like that! OMG. And the trombones! I swear my seat vibrated.

Dear timpanist, I see you constantly hard at work throughout the entire symphony. This is the first time I see a timpanist so fully utilised. You're cool. :)

The performance consists of 6 movements--2 movements for each movie instalment. My personal favorites were the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and the last movements. I broke down in tears during 'The Grey Havens' and 'Into the West'. It is amazing to see how beautiful music can touch people's hearts.

Anne de Renais made all the solos look effortless. She was simply fantastic.

I especially liked the men's choir during the Bridge of Khazad-dum section in the 2nd movement, something that the tenors were, as I was impressed upon, struggling with. But you guys did great! Don't worry! Just don't gan jiong can already. Here's a piece of it.

The Bridge of Khazad-dum

Overall, awesome performance. :)

***

Okay, about yesterday's orchestra practice...My seniors in the MPYO have returned! At long last. They're done with touring East M'sia. Hurray~ Played 007, as usual. I'm worried about the orchestra as most of the string players are new. Tuning--totally off-key. String instruments were never easy to play. (That's why you should learn woodwind instruments la)

***

I have yet to apply for college. Shit.

***

Was away from Tuesday to Thursday because my robust Yeye had a mild stroke. He finally submitted to being hospitalised. It is frightening to see my strong and healthy 81-year old grandfather, who can still stride across the hall without a cane or breaking a sweat, bedridden and hooked onto an IV drip. Must be all the dim sum he's been eating.

My family and my relatives from Singapore gathered in Melaka for the week. I'm sure that must have frightened Yeye out of his skin. Anyway, so we took shifts taking care of him in the hospital. I took the midnight shift with mama, from 10pm to 8am. It was tougher to stay awake than I thought.

Now his condition is much more stable. Johan's gone back to see him. Yeye was so happy and announced to everyone that he is a doctor. Haha, poor kor.

***

Went to meet my old Yuk Chai pals after the LOTR concert in the morning. :) Walk walk walk. Eat eat eat. Walk somemore.

***

Oh yeah, I'm done with Wicked. It is simply a beautiful book. Check out the musical too.

Alright off to nurse a terrible headache.

2008-12-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hi.

Prom was great.

And no, I didn't bring a camera.

And yes, we danced, though I've never truly danced in my life. More of like, jiggle.

I'll get some pics soon. Bro's been hogging the computer I hadn't the chance.

But here's just one.

I look terrible in this one, and my ubersome hair isn't visible here. I loved my hair that night. =) But getting it out of its knots and pins was killer.

And En Kane and Audrey were Prom Royalties. Awesome. :D

Am in my ma's school now, in her office, looking up our trip to Genting tomorrow. A roti canai in First World Hotel costs a whopping RM8.10. OMG. Ma's behind me discussing a sex education camp for first-formers with her counsellors. Double OMG.

Blaa.

2008-12-11T01:55:00.000-08:00

Aaah sorry for the delay. Tis' been an uneventful week, I'm afraid. Let's see...went back to orchestra on Thursday feeling uncertain about the reception. But reception was good! :) Meglad. AND I got to play songyeu's ubersome Yamaha custom 6C dontknow-what-series clarinet because mine wasn't around and there wasn't any spare. OMG there is a significant difference between the standard instrument and a custom made one. I faced no difficulties whatsoever (except a fast-tiring embouchure) in playing it after almost a year of abstinence from the orchestra. Cool. ^^ We're playing Themes from 007 (lol) for the New Year event.

Saturday was okay (since the seniors were absent because of the LOTR Symphony rehearsals) and the songs were harder--Hungarian Dances, The Barber of Seville, and (gasps) Bizet's L'Arlesienne. And I thought we were past the transposing days. Mr. Ota is conductor again. Poor Jacq had a slightly traumatizing experience, but she blended in well, so good for you girl!

Spent half the week away from home, followed kor to Batu Pahat. BP is a very peaceful and pollution-free town, but nothing more. Lots of monkeys, too. Then went to Melaka--it's all improved and modernised, yet the essence of Melaka remains untainted. Amazing, eh? They have great night lightings, too. Also there's the new 45 mins river cruise, and the new Eye on Malaysia as well as Menara Taming Sari. Plus, they have altogether a whopping 6 malls!So Melaka isn't just a boring historical site after all.

Now going for orchestra practice again. *hums the tune to Goldfinger*

EL

lord of the cincin

2008-12-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

I was chatting with a friend of mine from the orchestra who would be performing in the Lord of the Rings Symphony this month (sold out already, unfortunately if you're hearing about it for the first time), and he laments that they might not meet up to expectations (or sth like that) and that the choir sounds different.

Me: "It's okay you'll add a local flavour to LOTR. =)"

And he produces this...

...and this.

Haha. =) Typical cina kajang-boy lameness. but cute.

Am still deciding if I would go for the Young KL Singers audition. Very daunting.

Purge

2008-11-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

Today wasn’t a very good day.

I woke up at 3am to purge myself, and three more times consecutively until 9am. No I am not bulimic. Caught a damned virus off my brother. Thanks a lot, kor.

Allow me to explain.

Kor came back on Thursday, after I returned from the Curve. Complained that he had some terrible bowel disorder, and he had to suck in whatever his body wanted to excrete from the posterior end throughout the three-hour journey from Batu Pahat. Claimed it’s something he caught from eating in the kampong angkat his team was working on. Apparently most of the med students that go to rural areas for this annual kampong angkat project return with some sort of digestive tract problem or diarrhea.

On Friday, he became sickly and down with fever. One thing about doctors is that they tend to be pessimistic and speculate the worst. Kor was musing over whether he had dengue or the Chikugunya disease. Here’s as how I recalled one of our conversations:

Me: “I think it’s just diarrhea.”
J’han: “No-lah, it’s something much worse…and I think I made it worse by holding it all in during that bus ride.”
Me: “Got take panadol or not?”
J’han: “Got, but until now no effect yet. Must be Chikugunya or dengue.”
Me: *raises a skeptical eyebrow, then goes off to install NWN*

And another one on Saturday.

Me: “Still not better?”
J’han: *something about rashes appearing after the fever*…and there is a fullness of the retro-orbit of the eye *goes on to explain about “retro” section and “orbit” of the eye*. Now I know what they meant in the books. Really wor got such thing! *slightly amazed*
Me: *gapes, then nods stupidly*

Before I knew it, I woke up that very night regurgitating the pineapples I had earlier on. It was funny as all that came out in all four vomiting occasions were just pineapples, mixed with an evident taste of bile. Went back to bed perched up against the bed stand with the bucket readily held to my chest in case my body decided that it didn’t want to digest my pineapples again. Didn’t go back to sleep or wake my parents, but instead sat there pondering on why pineapples? Perhaps the bile could not neutralize and alkaline the acidity of the citric fruit.

The vomiting was succeeded by a series of diarrhea (like I said, thanks kor!). That got me wondering how diarrhea happens—maybe my kidneys aren’t working? I wondered why I’ve never wondered how diarrhea works. Quite fascinating actually.

So yeah, stuck in alternate beds (once the current bed gets hot I move on to the next available one) throughout the day, didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. Forwent the SD Meet I was dying to go for, and my mum’s school dinner (the idea of eating an eight-course Chinese meal was revolting).

On a side note, I got a haircut (which took a whopping 2 hours) and might get it highlighted or something in the near future. Its not bad a cut, although now I’m more prone to bad hair days than good hair days.

Currently reading Cecelia Ahern’s P.S. I Love You—great book for crying your heart out. Here’s an excerpt that got me crying so hard that I had to pause to stifle the sobs. Don’t worry; I won’t spoil the book for you

“On the second of February at four o’clock in the morning, Holly held Gerry’s hand tightly and smiled at him encouragingly as he took his last breath and closed his eyes. She didn’t want him to be afraid, and she didn’t want him to feel that she was afraid, because at that moment she wasn’t. She felt relief – relief that the pain was gone, relief that she had been there to witness the peace of his passing. …and relief that the last thing he saw was her face smiling down at him, encouraging him and assure him that it was okay to let go.”

Will be going to Singapore once Daniel’s STPM is done and our passports made. It’s quite exciting as we get to reconcile with many friends and relatives there—Pa’s family, whom we have not seen since my granddad’s passing; Khai Yenn, my brilliant ASEAN scholar from Malacca studying in Singapore; Ah Ren, Julian and my uncle and aunty; Lee Mei and Sue Ann, fellow HSD comrades…did I miss out anybody?

Alright, off to play my wizard in NWN! Helluva difficult to use a wizard—gotta memorize spells before the battle and there are only so much spell slots you can have. However, you get more variety of spells than a sorcerer does. Had to respawn twice in the Hordes of the Underdark campaign. UGH. Cramping mah style.

EL

"To love oneself...

2008-11-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

...is the beginning of a lifelong romance." 1894.

In these few weeks I'm going to thoroughly enjoy my well-deserved holiday Yes, the day of liberation! After my last paper, hugged the nice Johor girls goodbye. We went to the Curve, changed, met up, and went to watch *drums roll* Twilight! I was a little skeptical about book adaptations these days because they tend to leave out key events for commercial value's sake.

But yeah, the movie was really good (minus the squealing rows of fangirls behind and in front of us) and the soundtrack is breathtaking. They DID the ultimate destruction though: cutting out significant turning points in the book. At first the chemistry between Eddie and Bella was very slight, but they eventually develop a relationship that will make u sigh wishfully. Charlie, though he turned out quite the opposite of my version of Charlie, has all the right lines and the right jabs. The Cullen family is great, too. Sometimes Carlisle's (It's pronounced CAR-Lyle) eternally good looks outshine Rob's, I mean, Eddie's. You should've heard the entire theatre squeal when the Cullens first entered the scene! Apparently there's a huge fanbase for Jasper, too. Alice is cute, she didn't let down. Kellan Lurtz suits the role of Emmett. Rosalie is as bitchy as Rosalie can get. Esme is sweet, but boringly so. The fight is good, and the "flying" scenes, too. Also, there is a CAMEO APPEARANCE of the Creator herself in one of the scenes--look out for her.

I could not help but compare the book and the film, no matter how much I wished I did otherwise. Sorry people, SPOILERS no bloodtyping scene, and a very short meadow scene. They do, however, include much dialogue from the book. And there ARE some scenes to question, like Bella's supposed to get all her information about vampires from the internet and Jacob, NOT a bookstore. But overall, it was good. =)

Romance factor of 10.

"Graduation gowns?" "Private joke. We matriculate a lot."

"It's called an adrenaline rush. It's very common. You can Google it."

So that's my verdict. Twilight readers, go watch the film. Oh wait. You prolly already have. Oh well.

So we went to Borders and hung out there for a little while, trying to look for a new author to

launch our attacks and interest on. Considered Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, ...I'll be reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire soon. Couldn't bring myself to buy any books last night because I very kedekut wan ar. Got home with McDonald's in hand (mum calls it bribery because Sai Mun pays...don't worry I'll pay back!) and dabbled with paint for a while since bro stole the modem. I'd prolly install Neverwinter Nights again, maybe replay Diablo II (ugh, play until jelak already) and The Sims 2--provided my single core computer don't crash first.

Will be watching Apocalypto tonight, after dishing out a meal for the family, and maybe after going to Kinokuniya with pa. ;) Bring on the blood and gore, arrr!!