Shoals of Dolphins

As a child of the eighties and nineties, I remember my English teachers being quite critical about grammar and the differences between the spoken and written word. "In formal writing," preached one, "Never write in the manner as how you would speak." Exceptions to this rule were only made if we were to quote another person or if our compositions were story-based and contained some form of dialogue. Even then, we had to be careful how we phrased our written "spoken" words.

I do accept, however, that language is always evolving. We gain new words and invent original descriptive phrases every decade. "Google" for example is now widely accepted as a verb and is synonymous with "search" or "look up". Back in my schooling days, starting a paragraph with "and" or "but" was a cardinal sin, only to be forgiven if we could prove that it was a calculated piece of writing designed to make an emphasis and draw attention to the point we were trying to make in that paragraph. Nowadays it is simply a way of starting a paragraph. I cringe, but I do acknowledge that unfortunately, that is how people speak and write in modern times.

The sciences, as well are ever-evolving. Yet I doubt that nature evolves as quickly as language, unless you subscribe to the words of Charles Xavier (aka Professor X of the X-Men). I quote:

"Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward."

In the Home section of this Friday's (24th January 2014) Straits Times, there is an article - rather soulless, in my opinion - describing the quiet, close-to-nature lifestyle to be found on St. John's Island. Besides some of the, I suppose, archaic writing "sins" described above, the writers go on to describe the island's dolphin visitors as travelling in "shoals".

I froze for a moment as I read that sentence. Surely I am not so cut-off from the world, that I missed an earth-shattering evolutionary announcement that dolphins were now considered fish!

If memory and education serve me well, the most widely accepted collective noun used to describe a group of dolphins is "pod", as in "a pod of dolphins". The terms "school" and "team" have also been used, although not as commonly. A "shoal" on the other hand, is used to describe fish.

Now, if I am wrong, there can only be two possible explanations. One: I failed to pay attention in both my English and Science lessons in primary school. Two: As mentioned above, I am behind in the news of Science and Environment, and dolphins have actually been discovered to be cold-blooded fish rather than warm-blooded marine mammals.

As I am pretty confident that I am NOT wrong, one then wonders about the writers (perhaps the editors as well, for missing this) of this article. This one sentence describing "shoals of dolphins" seems to display a lack of basic knowledge of the natural sciences, and a poor grasp of grammatical rules. Supporters of the Straits Times and the writers may argue that it is an insignificant and quite likely careless error.

For this reader regretfully, careless mistake or not, the damage is done.

Letter to an Unnamed Friend

My Dearest Friend

And so it comes:  the eve of the New Year, the end of the Old. A time when – wanted or not – we start to think back on all the things we have achieved and the many more we may regret.

I write to you now, before I forget them, all the deep and meaningful things which came to me in a moment of inspiration in the shower (of course, as all great philosophical moments do).

First of all, allow me to apologise for the absence of a name and proper address. You see, it is not without some amount of anxiety that I draft this little attempt to vocalize the thoughts in my silly head. Maybe I have over-thought these things, and no longer follow any form of logic in my words. Perhaps I have under-thought instead and will proceed to make false accusations.  No matter. I will proceed to put down these words (foolishly wise or wisely foolish, as they may be) because at one small point, they made sense to me. As well, the marvellous (bath-time) thoughts revolved around not one, but various persons who have walked in and out of my personal – and often volatile – space.  You, my “friend”, are therefore hypothetical and absolutely generic. I think you may even be myself.

I will start with this confession: I have not always been honest with you.  Not on any specific topic, but rather a few throughout the time we have known each other. “Well now,” you might say, “That is completely normal. White lies and non-committal hums and nods are completely necessary to keep a friendship going.”

“Complete and unquestionable honesty,” You may continue to say, “Is surely the recipe for the end of a friendship.”

Is it really though? Of course, I don’t mean to say that I don’t think those same thoughts. I have very often simply gone along with a conversation just because I do not wish to irritate the person any further than he/she already is; Or failed to point out a flaw (insignificant or otherwise) in the argument to avoid becoming the subject of one’s ire; Or even allowed my own argument to collapse in order for fires to be put out.

The truth shall set thee free. So say the wise men. What the wise men failed to preach was how much honesty may sting and how it can more often than not, backfire and scar the truth-bearer instead. How often have I regretted speaking my true mind (or what I perceived to be true) ? That being said, here is yet another confession.

I have not always been honest with myself. Bear with me. This will tie in with the above. At some point.

I have lost count of the number of incidences where I have convinced myself that all is good, and the decisions I make are right. In fact the opposite may have been more true.

You may or may not have been privy to the fact that I had regular sessions with a psychiatrist in the later months of 2012. Whether or not it has improved my mental fortitude, I cannot say. Although it has made me more aware, somewhat.

One of the things the doctor asked me consistently at every session was this,

“Why are you so afraid? You desperately want everyone to approve of you. Why?”

I could never give him a straight answer. Most times I could not answer at all. The question defeated me every time. Yet through that constant interrogation, it’s made me see some unpleasant truths about myself. One is this:

I allow myself to be swayed. Not always, but so very, very often. The thought of being left out or left behind terrifies me so much that I will usually go along with any idea or plan that is laid out. I am so afraid of being wrong, that I will be the first to agree that you are right.

I want so badly, so impossibly, to be good in your eyes, I will strive to fit your model.

Sadly, a poorly fitted gear is so often the catalyst for failure in any machinery. Usually that failure is catastrophic, to say the least.

I break, without a doubt. I get tired of saying “yes”, and I get tired of not saying anything and of playing “Follow the Leader”. That’s when my reality starts to warp. Suddenly, it seems that people are being unfair, even unjust. The alleged injustices begin to add up and so, it would seem to me, it is time to go on the defensive.

Here is where the hurt and heartbreak fell all sides. You, my friend, who has only seen a poorly constructed version of me will not understand what has warranted the sudden lashing and will put up shields of your own. I will only further upset myself for this, for I cannot seem to make you understand what injustices have been laid against me. So the siege begins and the battle wages on until when next we blink, being friends was just a myth.

So it boils down to this: I am poor at being honest with myself. In doing so, I fail to be honest with you, my friend. In being dishonest with you, I betray myself and so the spiral into misery finds no end.

I see that once again, I fail to end my tedious lecture before the New Year. It is now some 30 minutes past. I’ll end it now.

I should wish to be more honest with myself and all my friends, even if some may not encourage it. More than that, however, I wish that I may be honest without fear – fear of your pride (and mine); fear of hurting one another, and fear of failing to keep yet another friend.

What's That Freebie?

So.

Yet again, another 1-year (almost) wait before I actually post something new. I guess it doesn't really matter though, since this blog really just existed as an outlet for all my rants and rages.

In any case, I've decided that I want to talk about skin products for a while. Why this sudden interest in the matters of facial vanity? Not that I've never cared about how I look physically, I've just been too lazy. Yes, I will occasionally feel the urge to apply a clay mask or think of properly following the "3-steps" of skincare (cleanse, tone, moisturize, Baby!!), but it usually dies off after about a week and I'm back to just splashing my face with warm water in the shower.

Over the National Day weekend, however, I was pulled along (quite happily, may I add) by a friend to one of these "private party" events hosted by SKII at CK Tangs. The printed advertisement made it sound like a posh product launch, promising exciting goodie bags and an opportunity to experience how SKII might change our lives! *Cue frantic fanning with hand. Look up like you're about to faint, look up!*

Sadly, my friend and I lost interest within about 10 minutes. Firstly, it wasn't much of a party. No little tea cakes, not even complimentary paper cups of lukewarm, tea-flavoured water. Then there was the general lack of organisation and communication between the staff.

SKII already has a counter inside CK Tangs, but that weekend they also had a pop-up store just outside the entrance. Assuming that was where the (non-)party was, my friend and I went to announce ourselves only to be told that it was a members-only event. *GASP* How rude! We properly registered, thank you, and even received an SMS-confirmation by someone whose parents (or maybe herself, which makes it more sad) obviously wanted their child to have a classic name, but with a twist. As it turned out, we weren't the only ones that faced such elitist discrimination. A couple more eager would-be converts to the cult of SKII also turned up and were turned away, despite one of them waving the printed advertisement in the event staff's face. When we finally located the above-mentioned twisted name someone at the indoor counter, it was revealed that "Aiyah! They never update the Excel ah!!"

Fantastic work guys. Great communication NOT going on there.

In any case, my friend - I shall call her M from now on. One less word to type - and I finally managed to get our promised goodie bags and well, let's just say the most exciting sample we got was a 350ml bottle of distilled water with an SKII label on it. Well, alright. I guess I am being mean. With the water, we also got little net bag containing an 11ml bottle of cleansing oil, a 2ml tube of treatment repair C and a 0.6g sachet of Whitening Source Dermadefinition UV Lotion. I'm guessing that's just a fancy type of sunscreen, and nobody wanted to explain how Facial Treatment Repair C was different from Treatment A or B. M and I must've been terrible candidates for SKII cult membership because we were immediately ignored as soon as we received our bags. So we left the chaos and went off to investigate the other beauty counters.

Quite typical for a free goodie bag I guess, although the advertisement and hype kind of made me expect a little more. I was actually looking forward to having someone tell me how by-product from fermented Japanese rice can make my skin glow 0.001% more than usual, and let me tell you, that doesn't happen very often. Most times I just want to punch salespeople in the face as soon as they speak to me.

Would you look at that. I actually started this post with the intention of talking about Skin Food's Peach Sake Pore Serum, and I've ended up ranting again. Oh well, I suppose that can wait for the next post. This one's long enough. I'll also talk about some Kiehl's samples that M and I scored after leaving the SKII pretend "party". We even found free "Exfoliating and Relaxing!!" hand massages at Aveda! Smelled great too. Then of course, I was subjected to Skincare 101 by M. (T_T)

ANYHOW!! Until next time. Hopefully not 1 year later.

---

*Disclaimer: I have nothing against SKII or their products. I've never tried them, so I don't know if they'll work for me, since everyone's body chemistry is different. I'll definitely try the freebies they gave at some point, and maybe I'll talk about it. What I've written today is essentially about M's and my experience that day.

Yeap, Still Ugly.

Singaporeans have a bad reputation overseas (and let's face it, domestically as well) of complaining about every single thing and being absolutely crass about it. Well, today, allow me to join the ranks of those ugly Singaporeans and complain.

Sometimes, I really don't understand.

Why is it that Singaporeans still don't seem to have any sense of courtesy or common sense?

Here's what I've noticed in the 3 or 4 months that I've had to commute with the rat race pack...

1) People still can't stand to move into the middle of the train cabin. If your stop is only one stop away, I might still be able to forgive that, but then why are you taking the train in the first place?

2) You want to stay right in front of the doors? Fine. At least step out for a moment at the stations to let people behind get out of the bloody train. Blocking the entrance of the train not only prevents people from getting in or out, but it ultimately just causes more discomfort to yourself because you end up getting pushed about, elbowed, scratched by sharp files, stepped on, etc., etc... Seriously, is it worth it?

3) Human tailgating. Why? Just keep a comfortable distance between yourself and the fellow in front at the ez-link gantries. What's the point of sticking 1-inch close to the guy? The gantries themselves will reflect an error if ez-link cards are scanned at too-close intervals. Also, if the guy in front gets an error, he has to step back or go to the service counter. Tailgating him blocks his way, and just results in your foot getting stepped on (or stabbed, if it's a woman in heels) or a similar thing happening to the person behind you if you step back too suddenly. (Also applies to anything that requires staying in line)

4) Keeping left on the escalators, especially during rush hour. Is that really so difficult? Allow me to explain something simple. The right side is the "Express Lane". Just like driving on the roads!! If you're not rushing up or down the escalator, please, please, PLEASE keep to the left. If you're on the right-hand side and suddenly realize that there's a queue of disgruntled people behind you and no-one in front of you, take a hint and either start walking or move aside.

Oh, and hold on to the bloody railings. If somebody does bulldoze down the escalator, it's better to be safe than sorry.

5) Could people STOP cutting in front of a queue and pretending that the person behind doesn't exist? Also, stop trying to insist that you were in the queue before, but just stepped away for a moment, so therefore you have the "right" to take back your spot. I'm sorry. If you've stepped out of the queue, you've STEPPED OUT OF THE QUEUE. There's a reason why it's sometime known as "KEEPING IN LINE". Quit whining and queue up properly. If it's so dire that you absolutely need to pay for your groceries first, at least ask if people are willing to let you go ahead.

6) Phone manners. Erghs.

I dare not even think about it.

April Bride ～余命一ヶ月の花嫁～

Sunday, on my way to Japanese class...

"SWOOP"

"Tapatapatapatapa" "Beep beep!! click" "tapatapatapatapa"...

[Rough translation below for those who don't speak text-message]

I whipped my mobile out of my bag.

"Mel, wanna watch 'Tokyo Sonata' or 'April Bride'?"
"Sure what time?"
.....etc, etc...

[End translation]

So in the end, we decided on "April Bride" at GV Plaza.

Based on a true story, it's about this young woman, Nagashima Chie, who gets breast cancer. Even though she beats it, the cancer comes back and starts moving into her bones. Knowing she doesn't have long to live, she invites a camera crew to film her life's last chapter. Her reason: there is an incredible lack of information concerning breast cancer for women in their twenties or early thirties. In order to educate young women about breast cancer, she bravely allows the world to see her in her most vulnerable moments.

It's also a love story. As if by fate, she meets a young man, Taro. Soon enough, Taro is talking about "forever". What he doesn't know is that Chie received her first diagnosis soon after they first met. Although she hides it at first, he finds out and amazingly, refuses to leave Chie's side. With the help of Chie's family and friends, Taro plans to give Chie the most miraculous and beautiful last month of her life.

It was a really nice movie. A bit slow, yes, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, the enjoyment would've been more thorough if it weren't for a couple of idiots in the cinema.

Idiot #1: Some stupid girl sitting in the row in front. For the first 5 minutes of the movie, she insisted on texting with her phone that had some megawatt screen. It was BLINDING! I'm serious. Even though the cinema lights had gone out, her phone alone was capable of lighting up the place.

Idiot #2: Another idiot girl. This time sitting somewhere in the same row as Mel and I. It was supposed to be a really poignant scene: Chie is coughing her lungs out and Taro is at a loss, stroking her back in an attempt to soothe the coughing. Yet, Chie insists that Taro catches this all on camera for the documentary....

"WALAWALAWALAWALA!!!"

Some horrendous ring tone spoilt it all. It seemed to last forever, and the owner seemed to be unable to locate the offending device. However, upon location, instead of switching it off...

Yes, idiot girl #2 started talking. She actually answered the phone. Not to say, "Sorry I'm in the middle of a movie. Bye." No, no. She started a full-blown conversation. Loudly. Oh, there were attempts by the other movie-goers to shut her up. You know, polite coughing, tongue clicking, "wa lau"s... She did go quiet for about 1 minute, and then it started again. I dare say her conversation lasted 5-6 minutes.

Idiot #3: The beng sitting right next to Mel. Obviously, he was only there because his girlfriend wanted to watch it. Throughout the movie, he snuggling up to his girlfriend. Occasionally there's a disturbing movement, but otherwise more or less immobile against his girlfriend and doesn't bother us.

Until the last 15 minutes of the movie.

It's supposed to be the climax, the most touching moment, the apex!!

And the idiot beng decides to start playing with his phone and play-fights with his girlfriend too. He disturbs her with the bright screen, she tries to snatch it away, he won't let her, etc, etc...

IT'S ANNOYING!!

No. There are no words to describe the level of irritation caused. These idiots need to be slapped, shot and slapped again.

Are Singaporeans really that incapable of being considerate? Or maybe I should start seeing things in a more positive light..

Singaporeans are capable of being that inconsiderate.

Return of the Siew Mai... All Rants Inclusive

Ok.

I confess. I'm done with University. I graduate in November. And...



I'm back in Singapore. I have been since the very beginning of September. Literally. I landed on the evening of the 1st.

I only told a couple of people, and that was only after I returned. A couple found out by accident. Some still think I'm on the other side of the world.

Well... HALLO! LOL...

*cough* Yes, well... The real purpose of this post is really just to start reviving this blog. Not that the contents are going to change very much. It's still basically just a rant blog. If you want something of substance, may I direct you to the BBC News website.

So let the ranting begin...

********************************************************************

What have I been doing since I came back? Looking for a job. Wasting time. Signing up for classes, some of which I will not be able to commit to if I do find a job, like the vocal lessons.

Yes, I'm learning how to sing... This time with proper technique!! Although I've had to cancel one class due to work.

Oh. I'm freelancing at the moment for Neko-chan's office.

I also received a phonecall on Thursday from a potential employer. Cool! It's a job with overseas opportunities, but the selection process looks tough. Hmmm... I don't know...

The JET programme has just opened applications for 2010 too. So that's definitely on my to-do list.

I sound like a boring person. Read those sentences. Boring. I can't believe that I used to be involved in the drama club throughout my Singapore education. I think I've lost all funk and drive to be creative. (T_T)

Despite that, I still stupidly and foolishly (yes, both. For emphasis) hold on to those thoughts that realistically speaking, belong in some mental trashcan. I'm 26, and probably destined to crawl through the fixed-income world, or walk the path of academia. I don't mind the thought of either, but they don't particularly excite me either. Then again, what's the point of forever dreaming that I have what it takes to become some sort of international entertainer? I don't have the looks, my "talent" is limited, and to tell you the truth, I never really liked my speaking voice, much less my singing voice. Do I want fame?? No... Not particularly. I just like it. The performance, the chaos that comes before and immediately after the show, the sudden calm after the storm, the rush of it all.

In that sense, I envy my sister. She's actually brave enough to pursue it all despite being in her last year at SMU. And I don't even think she wants to make a career out of it. I haven't dared to do that since... Well. Since a while ago.

What happened? Have I lost my drive, my confidence? Or maybe I was never really interested in the performing arts. Or maybe, I've just plain given up. Dreams are for the dreamers.

Hello to the real world.

No Speakee English

Wednesday evening.

I'm having dinner in the kitchen and reading some lecture notes when I decide that it's too quiet. So I turn on the radio and tune in to a random talk channel for some background noise when my very Strange housemate M comes in. Believe me when I say "Strange" with a capital "S". I never thought that there would be such a thing as an extremist Buddhist, but now I actually live with one. It's difficult to describe. Living with M is an experience all by itself. So, back to the kitchen...

At some point, he suddenly asks me this...

M: Does it help you with your English?
Me: (looking up from notes) Hmm? I'm sorry?
M: Does it help you with your English? (and mind you, he says this very kindly and innocently and every other similar adjective you can think of. There's no malice or condescendence whatsoever in his tone)

Me: (eyebrows twitch a bit) What does?
M: Having the radio on. Does it help you?

(By this time, another housemate has entered the kitchen and you can FEEL him listening in to the conversation in interest.. i.e. will I end up killing this Strange person)

Me: (After some awkward "uhm"-ing) No... uh.. Well...
M: (looks on confused)
Me: (Gives up) Well, we speak English in Singapore.
M: Oh! Do you?
Me: Er. Yes. I.. It's my first language actually.
M: Oh! I see. ... But you speak Chinese as well...? (why? why can NO ONE let this part go?? Just because I speak Chinese doesn't mean I have to be from China!!!)
Me: Erm... Yes, well... We have to.. Or I had to..

And so the usual explaination about the Singapore education being conducted in English, and the whole compulsary second language la-di-da-di-da... I actually had to explain to him that Mandarin was Standard Chinese... He really didn't know.

3.5 years in this refridgerator of a country and still, people (who are supposed to be acquainted with me) are confused as to where I come from. Do I leave that shallow an impression?? Or is it that people here are just that one-dimensional that someone from a slightly more diverse cultural background just make their tiny little neurons short-circuit?

Pah. I'm going to study.

Pontang

15:21

That's what the clock on the computers say at the moment. Technically speaking I have a class at 16:00.

Technically.

However - terrible student that I am - I have not yet attempted the tutorial questions. (T_T)

So I'm here in FN, uploading various photos onto facebook.

Well, I have to be productive somehow right??

I brought my laptop along with me to do stuff... but seeing how there was no place for my bum in the student Hub, here I am in one of the computer classrooms in FN. Not doing the stuff I planned to be doing.

Oh well. Life never really turns out the way you plan.

Bleh. This is a boring post. I'm becoming such a boring person. Ick.

I could've slept an hour more....

WTF.

2nd week in a row.

My lecturer has cancelled the lecture last minute.

I got up early and rushed down to school for this bloody lecture dammit. Stupid 9am lecture. And it's cancelled. Again.

Haiz.

Anyway. I need to start updating my blog again. It's terrible that I have *counts* 4 blogs and I don't update any of them anymore. As well, I need to start reading and writing again. I get this general feeling that my vocabulary and writing skills have just plummeted into the depths of despair in the last couple of years. It's terrible.

............

I'm sleepy.

What Doesn't Kill You...

Only makes you braindead for a very, very, very long time.

I am FINALLY halfway through my exams for this term. 2 more to go, 1 of which I haven't started studying for. I can't believe I have to sit for 5 exams this term. 5!!! All because my course title says "Mechanical and Diploma of Management" instead of "Mechanical with Management"... Because of silly little semantics like that, I have to study like a pure mech student AND a mech-man student. Yes, yes.. I know that I'll come out of this with a much better degree. I'm just saying it's tough... Not that I'm complaining...

Ok. Who am I kidding. I'm complaining.

Aizzzzz~~~~

This morning's paper was "Economics, resources and safety management". Believe it or not, that course is actually part of my engineering degree, not my diploma. It was ok. I'll pass. I don't know what grade I'll get, but I'll pass. The plan was to come back to uni after a break to start revision for the last two papers. The paper ended at 12pm.

I got home at 1pm.

I've been in front of this university computer since 3.30pm.

It's now 5.21pm.

I've done nothing.

Except update this blog. And checked my e-mails. And facebooked. And lamented how fast I can forget how to speak a language when I don't practice it.

.........

I wanna go home...

Almost 24 Hours....

Guess where I am...

For the 20 hours, I have been in my classmate's flat in Hillhead Halls. I've been in his room, his kitchen... At some point I was even on his bed...

Doing our wretched project.

It should've been finished. Instead, we are still here, toiling over the final bits of it. We've been at the "final bits" of this project for at least the last week. And in the end we still couldn't get it done on time. The deadline was just less than an hour ago. It didn't help that in the middle of it all, we lost our only formatted version of the report. Don't ask me how. MS Word just decided to revert back to the original un-edited version. So we had to re-do the editting all over again. Or rather, my poor friend had to re-edit it all over again.

The thankful thing is, our supervisor agreed to give us an extension. Although we had still hoped to get it done before 4pm. Luck was just not on our side. Still, there is still a mild hope that we can get it done and printed out by tonight.

One other ray of light in my life though... I ordered an original Master FX Replica of Yoda's lightsabre!! It's been processed and delivered... And I should receive it by tomorrow or Monday!!! \(^o^)/

Internet-less

I have been thrown into the spirals of the dark ages once again. D moved out you see, and with him went the TV and the internet.

Although it doesn't really bother me per se.. I have to admit that there are inconveniences. I cannot check my e-mails that regularly (read: every hour) and although I'm not too fussed about it, it does mean that there's a high chance of missing out on important e-mails that may have been sent last minute or something. Well, not that it's such a bad thing when you want to avoid people. Then not having the internet is a very valid excuse.

There is also the fact that I no longer have easy access into my WebCT page, which is something like a student folder. It's where the lecturers will dump stuff into relevant folders for the students to download, like lecture notes and things. NUS had a similar thing but I can't remember what it was called. So there went my brilliant idea of making a Singapore-relevant comparison. I have to find a computer inbetween classes to download them to be printed back home, because I have no money in my print budget at the moment.

And of course, probably the major part of my grief for the loss of internet (although it shouldn't be) is that I no longer have easy access to my Japanese language resources. I will have to go back to using the CDs that came with my textbook. Haiz. Reading the Daily Yomiuri and Sanspo Online and watching Kanajni8 was so much more fun though. Oh well.

Classes have started again. Immediately after exams. I still think it's cruel, not to give the students a mental break, especially after forcing us to study over Christmas. I'd really rather they start the term earlier, say at the end of August instead of the end of September and get the exams out of the way before the Christmas vacation.

How did the exams go? I don't know. I think I'll pass the first three... But I'm not too sure about the last one. It's a 50/50 chance. Well. I'm not going to find out until the end of February. So no point worrying about it now.

This term is going to be truly exciting... A real killer... (X_X)

Exams (T_T)

Stupid exams.

10 Minutes to 3a.m.

And I have more or less just finished my last laboratory logbook entry for the Winter term of 2007. Ok, there's still a huge chunk of it missing but I can no longer be bothered about it at 3a.m. in the morning and the fact that I'm already in holiday mode doesn't help.

It is now officially 3a.m.

My brain has switched off. Screw the logbook. I'm going to bed.

Can't Breathe Now That I Can Breathe

I am sick.

I have been sick since the Saturday before. Actually it may have started on Friday but in any case, that's more than a week now. BOTH my ears are now blocked and yesterday I developed a cough for some reason. I was still coughing this morning, although it seems to have disappeared right now.

I blame the weather most of all. If it wasn't cold and damp all the time now, I probably would have recovered by now, without any of this irritating deafness.

But what brought it on was a combination of stress and inactivity. Yes, I haven't actually done very much exercise for about a month. I have grown fat and soft once again. The stress part was the start of the Design Week that all Level 3 engineering students have to go through. That started 2 weeks ago on the 19th. The point of the exercise was that we were all assigned a topic relating to engineering design and a group to work with. For an entire week, we would have no scheduled classes, but instead would meet up in various labs in FN to work on the design of whatever it is we got. What made it worse for my group is that at first we were told our report was due in on the Friday that week, with a presentation by the MEng students (me included (T.T)). 1 week to design and write a report on the preliminary design of a hydropower scheme is pretty fierce, let me tell you that. So as we all stressed and stayed in the engineering building til late at night to produce individual reports, we suddenly got word from our supervisor that she was extending the deadline to the following Friday.

On Thursday evening.

And there was no e-mail. No, no. She only told people she happened to bump into, and asked us to pass the word around.

$*#&^&*#*^$!!! Don't get me wrong. It WAS a good thing that she extended the deadline. BUT, the last minute notification and the mode of communication was just... lame, for a lack of better words. Plus, we learnt that the later Friday was supposed to have been the deadline in the first place, just that she got it wrong. Of all the #*$&#*%*.

Sigh.

The result was a horrendous onset of the flu. Of course, it didn't help that we had yet ANOTHER piece of work due in the same Friday. 1 formal report and 2 written logbooks. All due in the same day, at the same time. For 2 whole weeks, I was sleeping at 3am and waking up at 9am to be in for 10am. On the last Thursday I slept at 4.30am tidying up my work before submission.

But, at least everything's done now. I only have one last report due in 2 weeks. So I can breathe easier now. Except that I can't actually breathe without a tonne of drugs and nasal decongestants... (-_-''')

Chinese = Don't Know Anything About Other Races/Religions?

After this morning's lecture, I decided to make an effort to speak with SF, since I more or less avoided her the whole of last year, although she was one of the first people I met in Aberdeen.

Me: Heya!
SF: Hi.
Me: How long more does your fast last?
SF: (funny look) 12 more days.
Me: 12! Not too long more then.
SF: Yeah, it lasts for 30 days.
Me: Yeah, I know.
SF: How come you know about..?
Me: Well, we have it in Singapore too.
SF: (Still the funny look)
Me: Well... you'd have it anywhere you have a Muslim community right?
SF: Yeah but you're not Muslim so I didn't think you would know about it.
Me: ...

I really had nothing to say after that. Is there any surprise I slowly stopped talking to her altogether after first year?? So, since I'm not Muslim or from Dubai, I wouldn't know about Eid Il Fitri (otherwise known as Hari Raya Puasa in Malaysia and Singapore)?? Maybe I'm overreacting, but I do hate being treated like an idiot. One time in first year she asked me if Singapore had "a/c". I didn't hear her clearly at first and asked her to repeat herself so she decided to clearly and slowly explain that "a/c" meant air-conditioning.

I really, really don't want to come off as racist or anything, because I'm not. I have nothing against different races or religions but this girl is just... ARGH! Eff it. I'm just not going to bother with her anymore.

S.K.I.N.始動！

http://www.yoshiki.net/jp/flv/skin.html

First live in California later this month. It's going to be HOT!!

Maybe I should just start a new blog to post about happenings in the J-entertainment world that interest me, or even just Japan in general. Not that anyone else would read it, but hey! Clogging up the world wide web with yet another useless blog? Hell! Why not?? Besides, it irritates me the way Singaporeans seem to just swallow fads with no real interest in them other than the fact that said fads are "in" now.

A while back when I was in JC, it was 哈日. Anything Japanese was IN, and therefore the thing to be seen buying and consuming. Now the tide has turned and it's 哈韩. Everything's suddenly Korean now. Not that I have anything against Korea or it's culture, but now it's SO difficult to find Japanese material, not to mention expensive. Thank God for Kinokuniya. Poh Kim? Oh yeah, they're great, except that their originals still aren't quite originals. I guess they could be legal, but when you can still see the earthquake warnings and TV programme announcements in the middle of an episode, you know it's been taped from a cable or satellite tv somewhere.

Geez... One of these days the tide will turn again and fad junkies will find themselves embracing... Oh, I don't know.. The latest Mongolian fashions, or the latest pop idol from Luxemburg, or suddenly there will be a spiked interest in Malagasy (language of Madagascar, which is actually related to Malay! Bet you didn't know that).

Pah!

Avoiding Electrical Circuits

In a desperate attempt to once again avoid studying, here is yet another random post...
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I think I'm actually more stressed than I think I am. There was a revision lecture scheduled today at the usual time, to be held in the usual lecture theatre. So, desperate as I was for any kind of help and possibly exam hints, I trooped down to the University and up to the assigned room.

There was no one there.

So I called my classmate, NM...

NM: Hello, Su Mei!
Me: Hallo. Uhm... Where is the alleged lecture supposed to be?
NM: The usual place.
Me: But... There's no one there.
NM: Er... Maybe because it's at 4pm?
Me: Yes, but... Wait, what time is it now?
NM: A little after 2?
Me: ... (-_-")

And the crazy thing was... I was actually aware of the times on some level. I know that Electrical on Mondays is always at 4pm. But for some reason when I looked at my watch at 1.40pm, I also just knew that I had to get moving if I wanted to make the lecture in time... (-.-''') Something is wrong with me.
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Made a new friend yesterday! Yay!! Yes, I know I could've mentioned it in yesterday's posts but I was busy talking about AFJ ok? (AFJラブラブ!) Anyhow, yes! New friend! Met him in church and we invited him out for lunch with us. Pity he's only going to be here for a couple more weeks.
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From The Amazing Death Predictor:
Van Su Mei: At age 52 you will die from an equipment malfunction in an exciting, fear based reality game show. Your death will receive the highest ratings of any episode of any reality show, ever.

Sian

Once again I find myself with nothing better to do.

I'm done looking at my group assignment worksheet, I'm clearly not going for choir tonight (it's already 8pm. Choir started 30min ago), neither am I going for the First Aid Society social. And nobody seems to be free to go out.

I seem to be going through some kind of phase. I wanna stay in but then I get bore of staying in and want to go out but then the idea of going out makes me tired and I wanna stay in. And the cycle just keeps repeating.

Something's up with me. Hmm.. What could it be? I'm putting it down to reaching my 6-monthly limit of Aberdeen at the moment.

The Thing About Choirs...

I love being in a choir. It's fun to sing! I love it!

BUT. There's always a but.

Choir committee members are so uptight and irritating. Maybe it's just this choir. But I swear those 2 girls need a serious dose of laxatives and maybe a great big helping of prunes.