Alone In My Flat

As the title says. My winter break started on Saturday. So that means that I'm 1 week into it.

......

OMG!! ONE WEEK OF MY BREAK IS ALREADY GONE!?!?!

Dammit.... Let me tell you how I've been passing my time... I set up this LiveJournal account right, so that I could use it for my translation practice (and also so I could join a certain fandom community... *ahem*). Then last Friday, I decided, "What the heck! I'll try translating an entire video instead of just short articles!"

So I started translating a 55-minute Japanese video into English.

I have been absolutely obsessed with it. Within 3 days, I had finished translating the first 3 sections of it (roughly the first 16 minutes). 1 section a day. Not that it's easy translating mind you, nor does it mean that my Japanese has somehow improved by leaps and bounds over the last year. Noooooooo.... I stayed up until unearthly hours (the 2nd day I stayed up until 4-something) doing each section, simply because I was.. well... Obsessed!!! I don't know why, but I had to prove something! That I could do it!! That I WILL do it!!

Of course, then my classmates called me on Monday and reminded me of the fact that exams are in January. I needed to start studying NOW. So we made plans to study. Which we have! But it hasn't curbed my translational-obsession... Its slowed it down, definitely, but more than anything, its fired my obsession up! Because, now I need to get this out of my system before I can concentrate 100% on revision! That's a LOUSY excuse, I know. But I need to do this!

So, the last 2 sections of the video took me about 2 days each to finish. There are 3 sections left... Can I get them done by this weekend I wonder? I must, if I want to give full attention to studying by Monday.

Oh, and... I'm now officially alone in my flat. Alone for Christmas... N went home last Thursday (T_T) and D flew off to France on Friday (not that it made a difference... it hardly feels like D's been a part of the flat this year, and he's moving out with his gf in January anyhow).. And today... R left for home as well. (T_T)

It was fun the last week though. R and I finally managed to have time to hang out together, something we both missed doing since the new school term started. At least, I know I missed it. We had our usual banter, in between serious discussions or seriously random discussions. We made dinner together for the first time in a long, long time. We lived off leftovers for a week, and hey! We actually managed to whip up some pretty good meals with those leftovers! ♡

Hahaha.... I make it sound like we're a couple or something. But we're not. We do make that a running joke though, simply because we're so similar, we get along the best in the flat (in my own opinion anyway) and we work well together (I chop, he cooks. I clean, he makes tea). If anything, we're like brother and sister here, despite the fact that he's a guy from Chorley and I'm from Singapore. Anyway, I doubt R's girlfriend would appreciate the joke... (^^''')

Well. There's just me now. And my classmates. And my translation project.

.......

I should go to bed.

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.

47! Christmas Present for Myself???

I WANT!

(T_T)

But am I desperate enough??

This... (*_*)

Hoshiiiiiiiiiiiii~~~

Then the question comes: Do I want the regular version or the limited edition more. Well... Although the behind-the-scene clips looked VERY interesting, I kinda want to see their Neoki Dokkiri clips more. Saw some previews posted on youtube... Yoko's was ADORABLE!!! And Hina... That man's brain is one fast processor.

But... $$$.

Haiz. Oh well. Maybe if I ignore it long enough, I'll forget how badly I want it right now.

2 more days to the start of the Winter Break!!! AAH! I'm already in holiday mode!

The Geek In Me Says...

I officially love HJSplit.

It's a freeware program that allows you to split or join files that are too big to send through e-mails, or to upload onto the numerous online storage spaces you have nowadays. It's particularly good for say... homemade videos that you may want to send to a friend through e-mail. Now we all know that e-mails have some attachment size limit. Just split your video up into little bits, and send to your friend as separate attachments. The downside is that this only works if your friend has HJSplit (or it's smaller cousin, HJJoin) as well, since he or she will need it to patch the video up again. But once it's done, the video just plays as it should! Magic!!!

Plus, it doesn't actually need any installation. It functions just by running the .exe file! And it doesn't take that much space either!

Oh man... I sound like a paid advertisment... Haha.. Didn't mean to. But it really is such a convenient little piece of programming.

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... (-_-''')

Yes, I know. I'm a terrible blogger. I have all these blogs, and I just never update them. I never update my friendster, facebook or bebo either. And omg, let's not even mention my flickr.


But here I am in the engineering building, in one of the tutorial rooms. Supposed to be here doing my Matlab assignments but I just can't figure out how to properly define the trapezium rule for approximation in Matlab. The solution I'm getting is about 13 times more than the actual answer (supposed to be 1).


I do apologise for never updating my blog, or my photos. The thing is that I have now accumulated such a huge backlog of photos, that I just don't know where to start (read: I am too lazy to properly organize my files and folders. That is why my 30GB IBM is now only left with 4GB of space left).

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And now I am back in my flat. For the first time this year since I came back, I have the whole flat to myself. N decided on a whim to go home on Thursday, D is off to Liverpool for a sailing competition and R is somewhere climbing a mountain. So I have set up camp in the kitchen. Pulled out the sofa bed and have just been living in the kitchen since yesterday. Everything's here!! Food, the tv, radio/cd player; I'm even surrounded by 4 electrical sockets that allow me to plug in my laptop and a reading lamp! The kitchen's coffee table has just become my "bedside" table.

I love having the flat to myself. (^_^) It's such a cheap thrill.

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.

Back in Aberdeen: The First Week

Yes yes, I am now back in "Sunny" Aberdeen! Although, to be fair, it actually has been quite sunny. Well, for the last 2 days anyway. Landed last Saturday morning, and that evening immediately headed off to the gym with N and R. It was mad, I know. I was absolutely destroyed that night. Was dead to the world by 10pm. Sunday was POURING RAIN!! I do believe that was the heaviest rainfall I'd ever seen in Aberdeen in my 2 years here. It was almost like the monsoon rains back home! It was amazing!!!

Anyhooo... Things have been good so far, this first week. Went and met my advisor, got my courses for this year settled. I have to do 2 more courses than normal engineering students this year because of my Management option, but hopefully I'll be able to get through them.

Other than that, there hasn't really been very much going on, it is just only registration week. We'll see what happens once my classes get going. At the moment, my days are filled with short runs, gym visits, society issues to deal with and catching up with people. And then there are long periods of absolute nothingness, like now, where I just hang out in the kitchen, tv on, flatmates walking in and out, waiting for my evening appointment to happen. Now, if you're asking "gym visits? What gym visits?", then yes, so far I've managed to keep up my gym regime. Although I don't know how long more it's going to last, especially once the term really gets going. But we'll see. I was actually overjoyed when I managed to slip easily into the jeans I left here. Before summer they were such a tight fit, I could barely walk up the stairs in them. I going to try to keep it that way.

My official Shape Run timing is out!! Check out the sidebar!
The next 10km run will be the Baxter's Loch Ness Run. Train tickets up to Inverness and accomodation, all booked and ready! Go Siew Mai Go!!

What's Next?

Ok. Basically this is a translation (not a very strict one) of the blog entry I posted yesterday on my new Japanese blog. Yes, I started a Japanese blog. No, I'm not going to reveal the URL at the moment. 1) There's no point. How many of my friends can actually read Japanese right? In any case, no point coz no one even reads this blog. Lalala! ♪ 2) For some reason, I thought I'd keep it as separate as possible at the moment. Although some more tech savvy people may be able to find it and of course, those who 日本語もわかってる already know how to find it.

That said, I'm going to post an English version of that one entry simply because I have neglected this blog for a while. So... Here it is.
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Well, well~ Got various updates here... (-_-''')

First off, I finished 12km!! Took part in the Sheares Bridge Run on Sunday, 26th August. Finishing that distance was amazing (even though it's just 2km more than my usual)!! My usual 10km timing is about 1hr 30min, so I thought I'd take about 1hr 50min this time around. And I actually did some serious preparation for this run!! Practiced running 10km (taking about 1hr 20-25min each time) at least once a week. Alas!! Just when I thought I was all prepared to go for the 12km, tragedy struck 2 days before the actual run...

Yup. Fell sick again. On Friday night, I was having the runs and vomitting all night. Must've been bad food... And there was a slight fever as well. The next day I was just flat out on my bed (think I got up a total of 2 or 3 times). I was absolutely out of it. Whether or not I was going to be able to even make the start line was doubtful. Even my mum changed her tagline from "You should run more" to "Take it slowly, if you can't make it tomorrow, just rest"...

NO!! I was determined to make this 12km happen. Afterall I had been looking forward to it!! Nevermind if it was going to be a really slow 12km, I was going to finish it!! So, with this mindset, I was off to the run.

In the end, I took about 2hrs (according to my own timing) to finish. It was a bit slow but I was quite happy with the timing. I mean, I finished it didn't I? And that's the entire point!!! After the race, my mum and I went wakeboarding with friends. IT WAS SUPER FUN!!! I actually managed to STAND UP!!! WOOHOO!! SUCCESS!! Think I can do tricks the next time I go?? Hehehehe...

AND ALSO!! Today I went to the hair salon!!! OHHHOHOHO!! Yes, got an entirely NEW hairdo!! Waaaa~ Haven't had a proper fringe in YEARS! It's puh-reeety exciting!!!!!

2007/08/29 00:15

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And that was this week's update. Although the official race times for the SBR are now out and apparently I finished in 1:46:30:30 (chip time). That means I actually met my target despite being off-form!!! OMG!~

BUGGER!!

I can't remember the song that I sang to Isaac for the "Dating Game" in first year, and it's seriously bugging me. I can sort of remember the first line and the corresponding tune, but afterwards it's a complete void. I can't remember the rest of the tune. The only other thing I remember is the ending line. At least I think it's the end line. I remember writing it down in my orientation booklet but even that's nowhere to be found now.

I don't even know why I'm suddenly so desperate to remember it. It doesn't particularly mean anything. It was just a silly song that a hallmate and I wrote for a silly game in halls.

ザ少年倶楽部！

Yay!!! I finally get to watch The Shounen Club on my own tv!!! And these two weeks it's The Shounen Club in OSAKA!!! Kanjani8!! 関ジャニ∞の皆さん見えるわ！！超うれしい！！村上信五！ヒナァァ～～！！(☆_☆) (I can only put stars coz I cannot find a heart...) This in addition to 風林火山(Fuurin Kazan) - which is getting more exciting each episode by the way - is just BRILLIANT!!!

I love NHK. I love being back in Singapore and having access to NHK. *rabu rabu*

I get to see this guy

and this guy

all in the same night! Is a veritable drool-fest. HAHAHAHAH!!! (All fangirl tendencies are out.)

And of course, on Friday YOSHIKI and Gackt's new band debuted in California. Apparently it was a big hit, but there were never any doubts about that. Shall wait patiently for their first single/album to appear.

Exam Results!! Year 2 Term 2

Yes ok. It's a rather belated report. The results came out about 2 weeks ago and I haven't actually done very much updating on this blog or any of my other me-sites. I think the most pitiful site I own is my drawing site. It hasn't been updated since before last summer. Anyhow, here's my report for the second half-term of 2006/2007 (remember that the CAS scale my uni uses is over 20):

Siew Mai's Report Card
EG2510
Engineering Mathematics 3 - CAS 20
Was expecting either 19 or 20 so this is ehm... expected? *ducks to avoid projectiles of rotten tomotoes and raw eggs*

EG2539
Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics - CAS 15
EEK!! JUST hit minimum expectation for myself. *sweats* I promise to do better next year when I choose my specific course of engineering. No points for guessing which branch that will be

EG2559
Electrical and Mechanical Systems - CAS 13
Ok. I know it's not that fantastic a mark. It's the bottom of the 2.1 class. But I really was having a lot of trouble with this topic. I just couldn't grasp it strongly enough. I actually gave myself a minimum of 10 to meet, so this is actually better than expected for me.

EG2579
Engineering Design and Practice 2 - CAS 18
Improvement by 1 point per term for this practical lab course... And - I regretfully admit - I didn't even put very much effort into it this term...

LOL!!

超かわいい～！



Yassu-chan cries coz Subaru stole his strawberry!! At first everyone thought he was just so moved by the food. Poor thing!

Incomprehensible World of Competitive Pricing

At Gramaphone (Takashimaya):
L'Arc~en~Ciel 4-in-1 China press box set -- SGD$22
L'Arc~en~Ciel 15th Anniversary Edition ray & ark -- Slightly less than SGD$25

In terms of general J-Rock (or J-music in general) availability, they have some of the latest stuff to come out but the range is definitely limited. How could B'z be missing from the range??

At Sembawang Music (Junction 8):
L'Arc~en~Ciel 4-in-1 China press box set -- About SGD$24
L'Arc~en~Ciel 15th Anniversary Edition ark -- Slightly less than SGD$21

Range is slightly wider than Gramaphone. BUT. It's mostly the old (really. old.) stuff, and mainly pop or trance. Not very well catalogued either. Took me about 10 minutes to find out where the Japanese section was and the J8 branch is a small branch.

Wonder how the other branches for either will fare... Next stop: HMV

NOTE: I'm hoping I can transfer this post at some point to a separate blog, so that people who aren't interested in my East Asian obsessions don't have to read about them if they don't want to. First though, I have to figure out a name for the new blog and plan it out. I already know that I want the title to include the word "VENEER", but it feels incomplete by itself...

Rings In My Mug

I've just realized something about my drinking (of hot drinks) habits. I'll make my desired hot beverage, then I'll put it aside for a while and do something else while I wait for it to cool a bit. HOWEVER! I'll get so engrossed in this side activity that I tend to completely forget about the existance of said beverage. When I finally remember it, the drink would've cooled enough such that its volume is reduced, and there is a ring around the mug marking the original level. Sometimes, there'll be two rings. (-_-''') I'll take a big swig then, while it's still relatively hot, then leave it and forget all about it again until a little later. By which time, yet another ring will have appeared.

What's that old children's rhyme/game we used to play/sing? "Round a ring of roses..."?? Well... Howzabout "Round a ring of coffee" instead?

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!

Not My Best Blog Post. Don't Read This.

Yeah. Believe the title. So why the hell am I even posting when I know it's not going to be a remotely interesting post? Coz I'm jet-lagged, dazed and still trying to sort out the fuzz in my brain. Thought this might help. Verbal diarrhea.

Anyway. On to the boring blog. Don't read it.
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Arrgh! Was in Takashimaya's Gramaphone yesterday when I saw the special 15th Anniversary Extended Editions of "ray" and "ark" by L'Arc~en~Ciel... I was SOOOO tempted to buy them!!! In the end I caved to cheaper prices and just bought the cheap China press of a 4-in-1 box set that included the albums Best Clicked Singles 13, REAL, ray and ark (normal editions). It was a good price. $22 for 4 of them... The two special editions were going for about $24.80 each. *bangs head* Generally I'm glad that I'm not an extreme fanatic when it comes to these things (already am bad enough, I think), but sometimes it would be convenient to be. Coz then, sensible thoughts wouldn't factor too much in purchases such as these...

Sigh. Somebody buy me a 雅-miyavi- cd. I like how he calls Gackt "Gaku-nii" on his blog. Hey. That was random. Nono.. get me the latest MUCC ones. No, spitz. No wait... *continues mumbling as the people in the white coats come to collect her*

FINALLY!!! No more exams!!

Siew Mai's 2nd Year, 2nd Sem Exams
Monday 21 May, 3pm
EG2539 Fluids & Thermodynamics DONE

Thursday 24 May, 9am
EG2559 Electrical & Mechanical Systems MURDERED. MASSACRED. UTTERLY AND THOROUGHLY DEAD.

Tuesday 29 May, 9am
EG2510 Engineering Mathematics 3 DONE

SKIN

来た！！
THE BAND is called SKIN.
The official line-up is now:
YOSHIKI (drums)
Gackt (vocal)
SUGIZO (guitar)
雅-miyavi- (guitar)

And they'll be performing at the Anime Expo 2007!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Somebody send me to the US NOW!!

I think if I become any more fan-girly I will actually have a stroke.

[edit: 28 May 2007] More info:
Yahoo!Japan News
Oricon Career
Sponichi Annex

Yes I realize the new links are all Japanese articles. Maybe after the exams I might be inspired to try translating them. But at the moment...

Seriously Shit

I hate it when I try to speak about something seriously, and no one takes me seriously. They tease and they joke and they just flat out refuse to realize how bothered or how concerned I may actually be. Most times, I guess I can see their side of it - the funny side or ridiculous side of the matter. Those times, frustrated as I may feel about not being taken seriously, I can still laugh it off. Sometimes, the issue bothers me too much. Sure. I'll may laugh it off with them at the moment, but afterwards I still just feel like shit about it.

Or have I actually become so much of an over-achiever that people around me can no longer believe me when I tell them that I'm worried that I've failed. Again. I doubt it though. I'm still the lazy-ass person I've always been. Maybe I'm just hardworking compared to the people here. In which case, then they are all just stupid little shits. Well. They always have been stupid little shits. I guess this just makes them even more stupid, and more shitty.


I failed once. Big time. I don't want to fail again.

SO SWEET!!

Hot Chocolate~!!
ヨシキ様優しい～！！かわいくて、格好いい！！

ヨシキ様くれてココアがほしいなぁぁぁ～～！(*_*)
行きたいな～Jロック革命コンサート。

Shot In The Head

o.
m.
g.

Resits here I come... (T_T)

J-ロック革命

行きたい！！すごく行きたい！

この事です。

Do you think if I wish hard enough, yoshiki will be inspired to organize something similar in the UK? Or Singapore for that matter?

I mean, just look at the line-up!!! *spurting nose-bleeds*

girugamesh and DespairsRay are actually PREEETTY GOOD bands to look out for! kagrra and MUCC are possibly a bit too metal for my taste although some of the stuff I've heard on Last.fm is pretty good. Don't know much about the other bands though.

AND MIYAVI?!?!?!? *faints from excessive blood loss* OMG! I was a convert when I saw this video. Go watch it NOW!

PLUS!!! Yoshiki has said on his MySpace blog that he'll announce the 4th member of his new (SUPER) band during the show. Gackt and Sugizo are already involved, and he just needs a second guitarist and a bassist!! The rumour mill has it that miyavi is that second guitarist. I'm going NUTS here!!!

Damn this post turned out longer than I intended it to be.

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.

Random Flat Conversation 7

Haven't done one of these in a while...

[Woke up late this morning. Open door while simultaneously deciding to look for something in my closet...]

Me: (sleepy grunt) Hrumph...
R: [who's slightly hungover still slightly drunk but still puttering around at 9am in the morning] Ooh! Was that a Mei-sound?
Me: Yes. [Slight consciousness creeps in] What's "Mei-sound"??
R: A sound which is made by a Mei!
Me: ...Huh...
R: If there were more they would be Mei-soundS!
Me: ... ...

AFJが大好き！

Been meaning to post an update for AGES!!! ごめんなさい、皆さん。

Ok, so let's start with last Saturday, 5 May. That was the day that the Aberdeen Kendo Club, AU Kendo Club and Aberdeen Friends of Japan worked to gether to organize the 3rd annual Japan Day as well as the annual Kendo Competition. Think there were only 3 participating universities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow), but since I had very little to do with that, I want to rave talk about the Japan Day fair!!

Went with the people of the newly set-up Nippon Connections. We were supposed to have been there for 12pm to help with the setting up and all. But lo and behold, we didn't count on the International Market being on in Union Street so all the buses were diverted and traffic was about twice as bad as usual. We ended up being almost 20min late and there's was very little left for us to do by the time we arrived. Still we managed to make ourselves useful in one way or another throughout the day. Doriana, Nikolas and I appointed ourselves (ok, I appointed myself) "official" photographers and went around blinding everyone with our digital cameras while managing to participate in the fun at the same time. My memory card is with Doriana at the moment, so photos will have to wait. Despite being a really small fair, there was a really great turnout. I was amazed at the number of people who turned up for the event. And I learned ikebana and some calligraphy. Chiho-san made me write ゆず (a small citrus fruit). Don't ask me why. I suggested writing the kanji for "one" but that was denied. Later tried writing my name but I screwed up the メ "me" character.

After the day was over, we all trooped over to Yamazaki-sensei's place for a barbecue! とても楽しかった！！ありがとうございました、山崎先生! And what I thought was the HIGHLIGHT of my day was meeting the Vice-Consulate General, Yokohama-san. Although I might have given him the impression of a crazed otaku fan-girl. Haiz. Got over-excited. After hearing that the Consulate General of Japan would be coming, I was actually hoping I might be able to have a serious conversation with them about how I became interested in Japan (and hopefully gain some brownie points and some good networking points). But that didn't quite work out. I realized too late who Consulate General Takahashi-san was (and he was actually speaking to me for a while.. DOH!!!). By the time I finally realized, he was engrossed in a game of Go, and I was too chicken to approach him with small conversation. And then I botched up the introduction that Naomi-san gave between Yokohama-san and us Nippon Connections people. My Japanese went totally haywire (didn't even know how to say I studied Japanese for about 2 years in Singapore. One of the easiest statements to make and I blanked. (>_<) Kill me.). Then I made the otaku fan-girl impression by teasing Bart about Akihabara in a slightly over-excited manner, due to my suddenly being so flustered. Kouki accused (teasingly, but still...)me of going to Akihabara as a maid. (T_T) Damn. I'll never be the diplomat my grandpa was. Anyhow, this Saturday was slightly better. It was a potluck lunch to celebrate the coming of Spring as well as a farewell party for a couple who were flying off to the Russian Island of Sakhalin. Made a lasagne that everyone seemed to really like (thank GOODNESS). There was SO MUCH FOOD!! It was unbelievable. Chiho-san made this really nice stewed chicken with soy beans!! おいしい～～！！Someone made croquettes as well. I could've cried from happiness. And there was this apple cake. I don't know who made it but it was soooo nice!!! I love this group. And met some new people as well! Kaneko-san, who's lived in so many places, Yeejin from Malaysia but who's worked in Japan, Yumi-san and er... ok, I don't remember the rest of the names. But oh! So many new people!! YAY!!! Silly Kouki, Doriana & Nikolas kept telling people that I could speak Japanese despite my trying very hard not to. Don't really like it when people do that to me coz then everyone starts yammering to me in really fast Japanese, and I'll panic and just NOT remember anything. Yet, somehow managed to tell Fumiko-san and Yumi-san that basically, it's down to not having practised very much and have little confidence in my Japanese. Fumiko-san told me to make use of Kouki while he's here. Hoho. Kouki will die. ほほほぉぉぉ～～！！！

Oh, by the way, I'm now the Treasurer for the First Aid Society. Did I mention that?

Everybody sing now... "Money money money~~"

Walk This Way ~ Let Go Your Burdens, My Friends ~

According to a study commisioned by the British Council, Singapore currently has the fastest walkers in the world, about 30% faster compared to the 90s. It's insane. You can read about the findings here. And London's actually placed 12, much lower than Singapore! What? How?? Are we actually THAT much more competitive compared to other major economies in the world? Looks like the Singaporean "Kiasu-ness" is truly a force to be reckoned with.

And Copenhagen. 2nd! I used to have this general impression that the Danish were pretty relaxed about things. Guess I was wrong. And now look at this. Happiest people in the world, the Danes. I remember actually seeing the map some time last year, and all the rankings. Singapore was like some pathetic number down the listings. But back to the Danes. Happy, yet very much in a rush. Maybe they really like being stressed out?

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

Had quite an indepth heart-to-heart with R last night. He was pretty upset about some things, which I'm not quite at liberty to repeat here. I always feel at such a loss when I find out that any of my friends are having problems that they're struggling to deal with. I'm not a very good advice-giver, nor am I one to dish out fantastic consolation lines. I'm seriously LOUSY at that. The most I can actually do for anyone is just to listen, open my arms and heart to them, and really just wish like hell that there was some way I could really share the pain and frustrations; that there was some real way I could actually stop the pain. But I know I can't. Listening is all I can do, the only thing I know how to do.

Of Thermo Tests, Earthquakes & The People Around Me

In a desperate attempt to forget that I have a thermodynamics test this afternoon and that I should be desperately cramming for it, how about some random bloggings?

Earthquake in Kent!! WTH??? I didn't know that you could GET earthquakes in the UK!! It's insane! According to this BBC report, the most recent quake in the UK was in December! In Dumfries and Galloway! How is it that this isn't actually bigger news?? Granted that the last major quake was in the 1580's (around scale 6) but still! So are earthquakes actually that common in the UK that the media no longer see them as newsworthy? Coz I didn't know that until yesterday. I guess everyone is now more caught up with the 2007 elections and why the modern fairytale couple that is William & Kate actually broke up. Pooh.

Made a new friend yesterday! Brunei guy, K, who landed in Aberdeen just 3 weeks ago. He contacted G through ex-SS president FreDICK Fredrick, and so we all met up for lunch after church. He's here on a company posting and works in the oil & gas industry. From what I heard yesterday, he's led quite an interesting life. Practically been all over the world since his dad used to work for the embassy. Think it may be quite worth the effort to get to know him better. Plus he's gonna get a car. Hir hir hir... >=D

And one last thing before I go back to crunching thermo numbers... CJoe, know that you've been pretty down and stressed out lately, what with one thing and the other. I won't say the usual cliches like "it's ok" (coz it never is) or "don't think too much about it" (coz how can you not?) or other things like that. Instead, I'll just say that you're in the hearts of all your friends here, so if ever things feel like the world's about to fall apart on your shoulders, you can always find an extra pair of shoulders to help share the burden. (^.^) And if Ah-Leb gets too irritating just don't hesitate to kick him. I'm sure he deserves quite a fair share. Hee~

Ok. Lunch (Indo-mie) & thermo. Heat transfer from the fire, to pot, to water, to noodles... (@_@)

New Sidebar Feature

Hmm... Added a little radio station thing-y on my sidebar, but I'm not sure what I think of it. Unlike the YouTube videos, the player doesn't quite follow the resizing dimensions, instead parts of it are cut off. But if I don't, the player won't fit into my sidebar. And it kinda looks ugly if I put in where my Ticker is at the moment.

Well, let me know what you think of it, if you think it works for the blog. I don't necessarily want to make it a permanent feature, just thought it'd be fun to try. If it works, I'll keep it.

Although I must say something about this online radio, Last.fm. I'm LOVING it!! Finally I have found a source of great music that I wouldn't normally be able to access in the UK or even in Singapore in some cases. And it's advertisement-free!! woot woot!

Happy Happy Birthday~!!

Haha... One more year before I hit the quarter-century mark. Hahaha...

This year's birthday was GREAT!! Omg, I don't even know the words to describe it. It was simple but I was just SO HAPPY!!

I suppose it really started a couple days before when PL called to "book" me for dinner, so I knew we were going out. Then at 12am Thursday, she, G & CJoe called to wish me "Happy Birthday", which was so sweet! And before that I was already receiving messages from Singapore (Neko-chan!! Jemalelinh!! Luv you guys SO MUCH! \( ^3^)/ chuuu~!!)

The day started off normally enough - go for tai chi, jog home, do some exercise, go for classes... I didn't say anything to the flatmates, coz I had decided to keep it low this year. I knew we'd exchanged birthdates before casually, but I wasn't expecting them to remember, and I wasn't about to go around announcing it. But N caught me out when she asked if I had any plans for the night and I invited her to join us for dinner.

"We know it's your birthday you know."
"..." Busted.

Turns out that the three of them were planning to cook me dinner if I didn't have any plans at all. So touched!!

So it ended up with a fun dinner at the Ashvale Fish Restaurant with the people I love the most in Aberdeen. And the cake was just so cute!! Look at this!

Isn't it just adorable??? I almost didn't have the heart to cut it!! And when PL, G & CJoe revealed their present, my breath was just taken away...

I can only imagine the amount of effort that went into this. It's amazing!!! I only wish that I had the space in my room to actually prop it up somewhere. It's one of those where, the more you look at it, the more you see. WAH!! And I've only really gotten to know these guys in the last year!! (T_T) I wish there was some real way to describe how I felt when I received this.

And just when I thought the night could get any better, the flatmates surprised me when we got home with this....

A Peace Lily and "The Hogfather" DVD!! Waaaiii~~~!!! I know I told N & R at various times that I was waiting for the DVD to come out, but I didn't think they would actually remember it. And now I have my very own plant for my room!! Oh my goodness!! I love it! Oh! I promise to take such good care of it! Hope I can find a suitable plant-sitter for the summer though...

Heee~~ (^_^) I just couldn't stop smiling that day. And I don't think I've stopped. Haha!!

There are more photos from the day, they'll be uploaded onto Flickr soon enough (i.e. as soon as I get down to uploading the rest of my Easter vacation photos... (>_<)

Post-Easter Break

Ok well, not quite. We still have a week left before we go back to school. But I've been back in the flat since Wednesday.
********************************************************************

Uhm. Yah. I started this post like 1.5 weeks ago and just never got back to it. Oops. Haven't even finished uploading my holiday pictures onto Flickr. Dammit. I'm falling behind!!!

Anyhow, Easter's over. School started again last Monday, and already we had a test on Thursday. Erks. Got another one next Monday. Ekks!!! *pui* And exams are in about a month's time. I should get a tickercounter for that too I guess..

Siew Mai's 2nd Year, 2nd Sem Exams
Monday 21 May, 3pm
EG2539 Fluids & Thermodynamics

Thursday 24 May, 9am
EG2559 Electrical & Mechanical Systems

Tuesday 29 May, 9am
EG2510 Engineering Mathematics 3

Of course, my greatest confidence is once again in good old Maths. Goodness knows what will happen with the other two. Haiz. Guess this means I need to start my revision some time this week. At the very latest, next week. There's so much to study.

On the bright side though, I'll be going home on the 31st!!! Immediately after exams are over! Woohoo!!

70% Likeness to Stephen Chow???

Hmph. Oh well... At least I got an 86% likeness to Matsu Takako. Hahaha.... I actually don't really see the likeness (scarily, I see the likeness in Stephen Chow. *shudder*) but it's quite a fun program, no? Heh! This is an incentive to take glamour photos of myself... Unfortunately they have to be face-on for the program to work to its full potential.

My plan to camp out once again in my now CLEAN kitchen had to be abandoned. D came home early, so it's a no-go.

Cleansing The Flat and Mind

Haaaa!!!

Sometimes it's nice to be all alone in the flat. I've just cleaned the flat again today and for once I don't have to worry about someone coming in halfway through the cleaning or after the cleaning and totally messing up the kitchen. The last few times that's happened it was all I could do to stop myself from having some kind of hissy fit. Now it just feels so good to have a clean bathroom and clean kitchen/living room. At least until tomorrow. That's when D's coming back from his sailing thingy. Haiz.

I'm thinking of suggesting to D that he install some kind of shoe rack or shoe cupboard for the flat. At the moment everyone just kind of stomps around with the shoes that we go out in. True, there's not actually any space for a shoe rack at the moment. BUT!! D did say he was considering installing a mounted wall shelf for the phone and modem in place of the little rack that's being used right now. So what can happen is that the shoe rack then goes underneath this wall shelf. Or.... If he's willing... And if the other flatmates are willing... Have the shoe rack outside on the stairwell... We do have that little half-landing... I dunno. I'll suggest it to him and see what happens. I mean... If it can help keep the flat cleaner for just that little bit longer... Why not?

Watched TMNT with Caleb, Chris and Puili yesterday. It was entertaining. Fun just watching something that you grew up with. Although I think I still prefer the old cartoons from the 80s/90s period and the original feature films from so long ago. Argh I feel so old. But yeah it was fun. Actually I think I've watched almost every major spring release in the last month or so. Watched 300 the night before with Caleb and Siva. Hahaha!! Then before that there was The number 23, Premonition (hum... wait for the television premiere), Ghostrider (waste of money), Hot Fuzz, Music & Lyrics. Think there was one more but I can't remember it right now. Hahaha!! It's mad. And it was with more or less the same bunch of people. Ah-ha.... I wonder when we're going to start getting bored of each other...

Ah well. Enough verbal diarrhea for one day. Anymore and I'll be divulging potential candidates to have crushes on. Fwahaha... Like there are going to be any in this grey town. I'm off to bask in my clean living room/kitchen.

Eeks!!

Interval
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

That's it. I'm officially ugly! OMG!! LOOK AT THAT!!

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.

Girl, Put Your Record On!!

Fwoooaaah!!!

Went clubbing last night. First time in dunno how long. Think the last time I properly went clubbing was in September or October when I came back after the summer. So fun! *does a little jig* And it was the first time I went clubbing with Chris & Caleb!! Y(O.o)y Milestone!! Those two usually do their own thing. So amusing to see them in a club scenario. But then I'm sure it was amusing for them to see me get loose as well. Oops. (~3~)

Got my choir performance tonight!! Aaah!! First performance with the University Choral Society!! Aaaah!!! I wonder if can record the performance.. Don't actually have a digital cam-corder... My digi-cam does have recording capabilities, but I imagine the quality will be a little limited. Well... We shall see. Maybe I'll pass my camera over to Puili and Grace during church and ask them to see if they can do anything.. :p

Lalala! Better drink plenty of water... I could barely speak after leaving the club last night. And I'm sure there's still some alcohol in my system. *hic*

And it's snowing. Dammit. Middle of March, and it's snowing...

Mini Elphinstone Reunion

Suzanne came back to visit! She went back to Canada this morning though, she was only here for 5 days. But it was great fun to see her again. Had her over for dinner yesterday, along with Sally and Caitlin. And it was great! Made dhal, stir-fry choi sim and Osaka style okonomiyaki!! Or at least... As close as I could get, following a receipe. Had to improvise with a couple of ingredients (like replacing cabbage with lettuce). It was SO tasty, if I dare say so myself. Was actually quite a lot of food. Got carried away with the cooking and forgot that Sally and Suzanne aren't exactly the most adventurous eaters. They had like 1 helping each and that was it for them. Although fair enough, they did say they had a late lunch. Thank goodness N and R were around to help finish up everything.

Increasing my cooking repetoire! Woohoo!

Welcome To The Year of The Pig

Welcome To The Year of The Pig
Originally uploaded by Veetwo Siew Mai.

Oink Oink! Flickr update! Check it out

Chinese New Year Overload

Ok I know this post may be a bit late but I really have to say this about the first week of the Chinese New Year season: I don't think I've had so much food in single week. My goodness. This was how the week starting from the 17th of Feb went.

17th: CNY Eve dinner at KH's place
18th: CNY dinner at G & PL's place
19th: CNY dinner at my place
20th: CNY dinner & karaoke with G, PL, C & C and the Hong Kong and Cantonese Association

4 Days STRAIGHT!! Non-stop eating!!! Then on Saturday that weekend went out to watch Hot Fuzz with G & PL and stayed over at their place after having supper at Chicken Hut. Followed by another party on the following Monday at V's place!! I've probably put on about 2kg in that one week. (T_T) I shall upload the photos soon. I'm really terrible. Even after promising that I would update my flooble Flickr more often, I have yet to do so since December I think.

Ohh! Go watch Music & Lyrics. It's such a feel good movie. I love it. I love THAT song!!!

AND!! To stay true to the "overload" part of the post title, I went and bought some more DVDs and a new CD:

1) Lord of The Rings: Return of the King (Extended DVD version) - Mainly bought this for my brother. Since it's the only extended DVD of the trilogy that he hasn't gotten his hands on yet. But since it's not going to be back in SG until the summer, I've taken the "liberty" of breaking the seal. (^_^)v It's region 2 though. Hope he isn't that nit-picky. 18 pounds! He better appreciate this.

2) Ghost In A Shell: The movie/ Ghost In A Shell: Innocence Box Set - FINALLY! They FINALLY got it into their heads to package these two movies in a SINGLE set. And for 10 pounds I say it's a good deal!

3) Finally, Brit Awards 2007: Brits Hits 2CD set - Yes well... 'twas a moment of weakness...

Ta-da! Thus concludes my Chinese New Year season. But it's far from over. Suzanne is visiting this weekend so there's probably going to be another fair share of dinners and outings with the Elphinstone-rs from last year. (>_<) Going to turn into a real dumpling.

Hee~! Camping out on the sofa bed in the kitchen (flatmates are all away this weekend, so I must entertain myself with cheap thrills), watching the Appendix DVD of ROTK now. Hehe... I love it!!!

Aragorn!! Faramir!! Wheee~~!!

Year 2 Sem 1 Exam Results

[Based on the CAS scale over 20]

Engineering Mathematics 2 - 20
Materials & Structures - 19
Electronics & Programmable Systems - 19
Engineering Design & Practice - 17

やった！Can't believe I got 19 for Materials and Electronics. I really had almost no confidence for those topics. Materials, because the notes were as good as none; and Electronics, coz well, I just don't understand it well enough.

But this is good!! Thanks to all for prayers and support! 皆、ありがとう！

Friend to All and No One

I need to stop being a "best friend" to everyone. Does it actually do anything for anyone? Definitely it rarely ends well for myself. And now the guilt sets in as I wonder if I'm being selfish for thinking that why. Granted, yes, there are true friends out there who would do just about everything they can for me, you know who you are. But then there are "friendships".

I don't even know what I'm on about anymore really. Just that sometimes it feels like going into autopilot being concerned about someone when really the truth is I want... a hug, for example, all for myself for that one selfish moment. Or some alone time.

I dunno. I'm ranting. I'm sleepy. I need to do a boring tutorial. Ignore me. (>_<)

Where Are My Results??

I want them now now NOW!!!

There Are CATS In Aberdeen!

Haha! I can't believe that I forgot to blog about this. Bad Siew Mai! Bad!

Went to watch Cats on Monday with N, R and 2 of N's friends. It was so fun!! Ok. There wasn't actually a plot, but the dancing and the singing was SOOOO great. OMG you should've seen the muscles on the guys... So well-defined!! *swoon*

AAAAHHH! It was just AMAZING!! ! AMAZING!!!

*sings* MEEEMMMOOOORRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! All alone in the MOOOOOOOONNNLIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHTTT!!!!

Wheee~~!

Ha?

What Fantasy Archetype Are you?
The Unlikely Hero You are the Unlikely Hero! Others like you are Frodo (Lord of The Rings), Young Aurthur (arthurian Legend), Luke Skywalker (Star Wars), Peter/Susan/Edmund/Lucy (Narnia), Richard Mayhew (Neverwhere), Harry Potter (Harry Potter) and Richard Cypher (Wizard's first Rule). You were happy to just live out your life as a peaceful schoolboy/farmer/wood's guide. But alas, greatness was thrust upon you. Don't let the hordes of The Totally Wicked Villain get you down, you have your Seasoned Veteran Friend to protect you and you almost always end up with the Pillar-of-Strength Love interest. Heed you Mentor well and keep your chin up, hero! You are simple, humble and kind but possess great potential for truly inspirational heroism, bravery and strength in dark times.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

Life of a Sloth

I feel like a sloth.

I've been on the couch for the last 3 hours since dinner. Ok. Granted that N is also here on the couch but that doesn't mean I'm any less of a sloth. Fwahaha... Watching the finale of Celebrity Big Brother as well, I'm embarressed to admit. Hm. They're just about to announce the winner.
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Haha! Yes! I knew it. Shilpa has won. Although I believe that most of her votes were sympathy votes. Ever since the whole racism row with Jade Goody, there was almost no doubt about her winning. Well. It was always going to be between Jermaine and Shilpa during the last couple of weeks. If it wasn't for the stupid row that Jade and her minions started, Shilpa wouldn't have stood a chance against Jermaine. Oh well. Either one of them winning would've been a good thing. I was just so filled with evil glee when Jade got evicted. Mwahahah.. Stupid b****.

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In other news, school starts tomorrow. (>_<) This term I'm going to have to travel out of Aberdeen for some lab sessions. And those labs don't even belong to the University. They belong to a local college. I don't understand why we have to use those labs? Are they better equipped than the university's? That would just be ridiculous wouldn't it? Argh. And having to report there at 8.45am in the morning! AARGH!!! 1 hour 20min to walk according to D. So probably about 45min to 1 hour on a bus, if I can even find out what buses go there. Sigh. (T_T)

Been shopping since my exams ended!!! I got a new pair of brown suede boots!! Eeee!! So happy! Spoils of war (so far) include:

From TK Maxx (kinda like Factory Outlet. It's got a lot of brand names going for CHEAP!!):
1) Pale pink 3/4-sleeve Bench t-shirt
2) Pink (rose? not sure what shade this is) long-sleeved Tommy Hilfiger shirt
3) Cream-coloured Betty Barclay sling bag
4) Red Jasper Conran sweatshirt
5) Pair of pretty Miss Outrage socks

From SportsWorld:
5) Pale blue/green Heart And Soul tank top
6) Blue-striped loose long-sleeved Ocean Pacific shirt
7) Brown Miss Fiora suede boots
8) Blue and white Diadora shirt

Wahahaha... All this for under ₤60!!! And they're good brands too!

And of course today went and got two more tank tops from Primark (one cream [₤1.50!!] and one khaki-coloured [₤2!!!]). Might go and get the emerald coloured one tomorrow... I'm GOING MAD!!!

Fwahaha....

Post Exam Rant

やっと。試験が終わりました。

Exams are FINALLY over. Well. Ok. They finished yesterday morning, but I've been having minor problems with the internet since yesterday so here's a delayed update.

The Electronics paper was surprisingly easier than I anticipated. There was only one question that I had to give up on. I may actually get above a CAS 15 for this particular course. As for the other two, Maths I should get either 19 or 20. Structures... My confidence was shaken a little when I blanked out on a simple formula. But hopefully won't be below 15 either.

So that's exams for the first term of my second year in Aberdeen. Things are looking good so far I guess. Heh. Went over to G & PL's place after the exam yesterday to do some online shopping from Japan Center. Hohoho! Although I promise I didn't spend over 20 pounds. I did that today shopping for Classical/Opera CDs and cheena DVDs... (>_<)

I can't help it!! I'm addicted to DVDs & CDs!!! And it's after exams! I should be allowed to have some kind of release!!! 发泄发泄！

LAST PAPER!!!

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Tomorrow is my last paper. Blurdy Electronics. Why do I have to study electronics??? Bah!

Dunno how it's going to go tomorrow. But well... Watch this space...

Why so Sian...

I am SO BORED of studying. (>_<) *pui*

Stupid exams. Can't wait for the last one to be over. *grumble*

On a bright side, salsa and hip hop classes are quite fun. Very different crowd though. Think I prefer the salsa class. Older, more mature, not so clique-ish. The hip hop class... mostly young teenage girls, some of them regulars. So you can imagine.

Year 2 Term 1 Exam Schedule

Exams. Again.

Engineering Mathematics 2
17 Jan, Wednesday 0900-1100
Confidence level: 99% (Cannot say 100%. Segali people say I hao lian.)

Materials & Structures
19 Jan, Friday 1500 - 1700
Confidence level: 60-70% (Huge difference, huh. Well. The topic is interesting enough but the course was (>_<))

Electronics & Programmable Systems
23 Jan, Tuesday 0900 - 1100
Confidence level: 50% (Seriously. Fuzzy logic? Really fuzzy.)

Wish me luck people. First paper tomorrow. お願い！m(_ _)m

2007 Random Flat Conversation 1

[D came back to pick up some stuff, and of course, being landlord and all, got made to fix various bits of the flat]

Me: Ah, D -- The fixer of things in this flat. That's why we keep you around the house.
D: Gee, thanks.
N: Yeah, Jim's great. I'm going to call you Jim now.
D: Wha..?!
Me: Why "Jim"?
N: Coz Jim fixes things!
Me: Why not "Bob"?
N: Coz Bob's already in there. *points to R's room* And he doesn't fix anything.
Me: No, no. As in "Bob the Builder".
N: Well, he builds things. He doesn't fix them. Jim fixes everything!
("Jim" is chuckling away at all this. After a bit he moves on to fixing the light in the hallway since "Bob" couldn't do it.)

D: (fiddling with some loose part) What did Bob do to it??
(as the light comes on, "Bob" comes out to go to the bathroom.)
N: Hiya Bob!
R: Hello, er... (pauses in the bathroom doorway)... I'm trying to think of some snappy come-back here. Er...
Me: Jim did what you couldn't do, Bob.
R: Who's Jim?
D: Hi. I'm Jim.
R: Why are you Jim?
Me: N named you.
N: No, I didn't.
Me: You named Jim.
N: Yeah, ok. I named Jim. But you named Bob.
Me: But I was referring to "Bob the Builder"!
R: ... (closes bathroom door. You can practically see the (-_-''') expression)

BTW, Happy New Year.

Ha. Yes. A bit late. Oh well. Better late than never I suppose.

So yeah. Start of a new year, I'm back in Aberdeen. Presumably busy revising for my upcoming exams. Maths has been progressing quite well, Materials & Structures... Not as fast as I would like, and Electronics is... uhm... sitting somewhere in my room.

Airport Post

Ho ho! My first ever Changi Airport Free Internet post!!

Yes. Here I am in Changi Airport, waiting for the boarding gate to open. Flight's been delayed about 30min due to late arrival. Well... Gave me time to buy little keychains. Now I need to find some candy to suck on to stop my ears from hurting.

As always, the Christmas stop back home has been short. Couldn't meet up with everyone. Next time k? At the moment my next return is scheduled for next December. Dunno what's happening in the Summer just now. So see how.

But please, everyone keep in contact. I do miss you guys. Always wish I had more time at home. Well.. Just keep watching this space I guess. Heh (^_^)

What AUFAS Members Do For Christmas

Apparently, stuff our faces... or at least, we watch other members engage in the activity. Watch this...

Uhm. Oh? I Have to Say Something Don't I?

Uhm. Yes. Oops. Let's do this bullet point style.

1) I am back in Singapore for a bit. I have been home almost a week now. And I'll be leaving again on the 3rd of Jan. Oops. Oh, and I'll be in Kuching 25th-29th.

2) I am FINALLY updating my flickr. So go see. Yes, I realize that I have not touched it for almost a year. Yes, I will try to be faithful about it.

3) I've said similar things to the above about my art blog haven't I? Damn.

4) Don't think anyone will be so kind as to sponsor a Flickr Pro account for me right? Yeap. Thought so.

5) Blogger keeps telling me to convert to the new Beta-version blog with Google. I keep refusing. I'm for some STRANGE reason completely freaked out by having to change to a new system. Oh wait. That's not strange. I'm ALWAYS freaked out by something new. Geez I need help.

6) I have done ZERO Christmas shopping this year. So just in case anyone thinks I'm trying to drop hints about what I think about you, it's just general all-rounded I couldn't be arsed to go Christmas shopping.

7) Uhm... More to come? Watch the Flickr.

Something's Bubbling Over

I'M GOING HOME ON SUNDAY!!!
I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dammit time is going too slowly. I wanna be home NOW NOW NOW!!!

Right. I think it's time to be more active next term. Here's what I plan to join:

1) University Choral Society -- NO MORE PUTTING THIS OFF!!! I don't know HOW I've managed to survive 1 1/2 years without being in a choir at some point! My vocals are probably shaite by now.

2) Archery Club -- Bow and arrows?? Oh HELL YEAH!!! Always wanted to take this up again.

?? 3) Kendo Club -- This is a VERY big maybe. I have NO knowledge of kendo, or any other kind of martial arts, even though I've always wanted to take up some form of martial art. Plus I am a COMPLETE weakling.... So maybe I'll just... erm... continue to think about it. ??

Random Flat Conversations 5

Place: Oh, come on... You should know already.

[R is cooking up his tea]
R: This is going to be the BEST cheese sauce ever!
Me: Yeah? What's in it? [trundle over to have a look]
R: [extremely proud-of-himself-ly] Doesn't that look just FANTASTIC?? [stirs his... sauce]
Me: Ehm...
Sauce: "bloop"
Me: Yeeeah... Looks... great! ... Looks quite... chunky.
R: Ah, well that's they say about me. So this and me will get along nicely.
Me: What? Who's chunky?
R: Me!
Me: Well... Where are all the chunks? [R is SCRAWNY, ok? Not exactly Hugh Jackman... Ok, maybe I'm being mean. He's... Slim? ...Lanky.]
R: Heh?
Me: Chunks! [pokes his arm] Where are they?
R: [Beams] In ME!!! [Beam beam beam]

(-_-''')?

[couple minutes later]
R:... I've had better cheese sauces.

*snigger*
*****************************************************************

Eh. Yeah. Sorry about the long break in updates. Last couple of weeks have been mad. Had a second round of class tests, more lab reports to hand in.. And well... Other things. Thanks to all the flatmates (new and old) though, and Nekoweenie back home for the tremendous amount of support. (^_^) Might have had yet another nervous breakdown if it weren't for you guys. *hugs* Thank you.

Random Flat Conversation Part 4

[It's dinnertime, I am brandishing my one lone leek and moaning about my general lack of vegetables]

Me: What can I do with a leek?
D: You could feed it to a rabbit. (D doesn't like vegetables)
Me: Hey! Leeks are nice!
D: Yeah. For a rabbit.
Me: (gives up) Well, I'm not going to feed a rabbit.
D: Mm. You could feed a cow.
Me: Haha. First, I'd have to find a cow.
D: Oh, so you already have a rabbit?
Me: ........
**************************************************

I could probably start a whole new blog dedicated to these random conversations...

I no longer know what I should say to you.
I don't know if there is anything that I can say to you anymore.

Maybe there never was in the first place.

Random Halloween Flat Conversations

Setting: Where else?
Time: After tea, N and I watching random tv sprawled all over the couch and R is getting ready to go out.

R: [walks into the kitchen in a Superman costume and socks (whatever for??) in hand] A-HA!
[N & I burst out laughing]
R: What??
Me: [choking on laughter] I have to take a picture of this!
R: Oh, but you have to do me up first!! [turns to present me with an open back]
Me: There's no zip. [N continues to giggle]
R: No, no. There's a bit of string up here..
[I tie him up securely and rush off to find my camera, as I leave I hear R asking N something that sounds like "Does my croc look big enough?" Wha...?? But I'm deaf and the tv's on so I probably heard it wrong. I come back and...The socks are gone.]
R: Here, does my crotch look big enough?
Me: [gawks in disbelief. After a shocked second of silence there is uncontrolled guffawing]
R: Well??
Me: [look at R to say something, but collapse in laughter yet again]
N:Heh heh heh... It looks like you're wearing a giant nappy. [I'm howling by now]
R: Ahh, it just needs some shaping. [Start patting and shaping his Superman undies, I am beyond redemption] How about now?[turns to his side]
Me: Bwahahaha... It looks like you're pregnant in the wrong place.
N: Maybe if you rolled up the socks...
R: Maybe... [Goes off to enhance his "Superman equipment"]
[In his absense P shows up and everyone's just waiting for Superman to get his groove on, then he returns...]
R: [His hand is rummaging inside his costume] How's this look now??
[N, P and I are just sniggering like there's no tomorrow]
N: It looks really... [R continues to "fondle" his costume]
Me: It's a little disproportionate... [*fondle, pat, fondle*]
P: It looks... .... [*pat, pat, shape, fondle*] Ok, Superman. Ready to go? [Steps out the kitchen, I swear her shoulders were shaking in attempts to suppress more laughter]
R: [as he follows, he begins to pull something out from Superman's crotch] Oh all right, maybe an extra t-shirt was just a little ambitious.
N & Me: ... ...

Evil Homework

Begone, Evil Materials Lab Report!! Hence from mine sight!!!
No more shalt thou torment mine eyes with thy abominable graphs and calculations!!!
Begone! Begone!!!

More Random Flat Conversations

Setting: Flat kitchen
Time: Around 6.15pm

[R comes in whistling and singing "All You Need Is Love", I am not-so-desperately wolfing down my dinner since I have to go for an exercise briefing at 7pm]
{Note: Dinner is commonly referred to as "tea" in these parts. I'll never understand why}

R: Tea, tea, tea... [Sees overgrown leek] My leek is growing on its own!! Oh no!!
Me: *sniggers*
R: Hope my mushrooms are ok... [looks at mushrooms] Ohhh...
Me: Your fungi growing fungi?
R: My fungi have got fungi.

[A long process then begins where R rummages through the recesses of the fridge and the freezer compartment and throws out random things which have by now gone way off. "It's not the 13th of October anymore, is it?" "No." "Is this my meat??" Asks the fellow who one day, very kindly fed me with my own chicken. ('twas a case of mistaken chicken-tity) Then he almost blows up the microwave by leaving the freezerbag-tie (you know those little metal twisty things?) on the freezerbag (in the first place... isn't plastic NOT supposed to go into the microwave?) and then very nearly sets himself on fire by adding water into a pan of hot fat.]

Gotta love the kitchen. Everything happens in the kitchen. Like this morning.

[After getting up late at 8.30am, I'm eating b'fast and watching the news when D comes in]
D: Hiya, how're you.
Me: Not too bad. Where were you last night?
D: Aw, I stayed over at P's.
Me: You know, we could probably sublet your room to someone else. [D is my landlord btw. 20yrs old, a student, and he's my landlord...]
D: !!! I'm around!! Sometimes...
Me: Sometimes...
D: Besides, what would you do with all my clothes? [Eyebrows wiggling in defiance, challenging]
Me: [Thinks for a second] You could live in the closet.
D:... I don't like this plan.

Lazy Saturday

I should be working on my Materials lab report. But here I am in the kitchen, sprawled out on the couch, BBC NEWS 24 on the telly, my logbook open on the coffee table and me blogging about my lack of motivation instead.

And I'm hungry. But it's only 4.45pm. And I feel like snacking. But I don't have any snacks and I SHOULDN'T be snacking in the first place.

It's so quiet in the flat... D's off sailing somewhere, R's off romping around in Skye and N works weekends. Can't stand this absense of human presence. Which explains why the telly's been on a good half of the day.

Argh..... Where has all my motivation gone... I was doing so well up until a couple days ago...

*quietly fizzles*

Random Flat Conversations

Setting: Flat Kitchen
Time: After a considerable amount of sugar and some dead silent time staring at textbooks

Me: We should have a flat party some time!
N: Yeah! That'd be cool. But I don't know if D would allow it though...
Me: Ahh, he will. I mean, he's young right...
N: Yeah, that's true.
Me: And he's got his whole life ahead of him.
N: ... ...

*uncontrollable laughter ensues*

Hence, it has been decided that at some point, there will be a party in celebration of D's youth. And that day shall then on be known as D's Day. I believe that a committee will be formed to petition for D's Day to be decreed a public holiday.

What?!?

She is actually still in class! It's a bloody miracle. How did this happen? Thought she'd be retained in first year but NO! She's in 2nd year with the rest of us!!! Maybe something went wrong in the school administration... No... It's just a miracle that's what it is... (O_o) Armageddon must be approaching...

(p.s. this is the one who during the start of first year, had to ask what a hard-drive was... (>_<)

Back In Sunny Aberdeen

Yeap. Back in the City of the Grey Buildings. Landed yesterday at about 8.40am (about 3.40pm SG time) and prayed like mad that at least one of my new flatmates were going to be in when the taxi pulled up. The rest of the day was spent unpacking everything - from the luggage I brought back from Singapore to the stuff that I'd left here over the summer. By the evening, say around 7pm, I finally had a room fit for a siewmai. I have photos of the chaos-ridden version. These will be posted soon along with the "acceptable" room once I've taken photos of it. It's smaller than my old one in Elphinstone, but somehow nicer. Cosier, would be the word for it.

Today was no less exciting as I set off to get registered and finally start life as a 2nd year engineering student. But before gaining official student status, there is the obligatory merry-go-round, run between the same few buildings game thought up by various administrative staff to torture poor students who don't know any better. The sequence kind of went like this:

Engineering office --> Advisor's office --> Engineering office --> Advisor's office --> Senior Lecturer's office (in charge of the MEng interviews, the nice man gave me an informal interview on the spot without me having to make a separate appointment! :D) --> Engineering office --> University Office Registry --> Late Registration booths in the NEXT building (?!?) --> Registry --> Cash office --> Registration booths

So after about 2 hours (maybe slightly more), I finally collected my student card for the next academic year. In fact I almost had to go back tomorrow morning since the wait for authorization (for my fees) at the cash office took about 30min. And by the time I rushed back to the registration booths for my card, they'd just closed up. Was about to turn back, defeated, when the lady in charge came out of the computer rooms behind and made an exception for poor ole me. Yay! I must've looked really pathetic and desperate by that point. Heh heh.

So! It's back to school for me, now with internet in my room. Hohoho! But don't worry. I will still be the good student that I've been for the past year. I will do my homework and I will refrain from watching tv (don't know what there is to watch anyhow) and wasting time on the internet (CHALLENGE!! (O_o)). The aim will be to continue with the straight A's.

Oosh! がんばります！

P.s. I hope everyone realizes that I'm being sarcastic in the title. Own up all who had no idea until they read this... Be honest now... :p

Aa...AAA... AAAOOOOUUUWWWW!!!!

I think that was the sound I was making on the operating table this morning (or yesterday morning, strictly speaking) when L removed my stitches. There were only 3 but FRIGGIN' HELL IT HURT!!!! It was worse than the actual surgery itself. At least during the surgery I had no feeling whatsoever in my leg. It was like being pinched really hard on just my skin, with the pain increasing each time a stitch was removed. Notice how if you just grab a big lump of somebody it actually hurts less than if you just grab a small bit of them and pinch with about the same force? Well, imagine the latter, except worse, three times and with increasing intensity each time.

It was painful.

At least Uncle A came in to have a look at how I was holding up and how the wound had healed (unlike a certain unsympathetic parent... Don't get me wrong, I love my parents. But goodness, my dad can be so daft sometimes... Even my mum doesn't know what to do with him).

On the bright side! Had 9-for-$9 Sakae lunch with Jemalelinh AND found a cool book on designing. There were actually 3 books I saw in Kinokuniya that I really wanted to get. But since I bo lui... "Just go for the middle one lah!" as Jemalelinh said.

The other books were Engineering in History (potentially useful in my course, heavy {sort of} reading... I liked the illustrations) and The Physics of Superheroes (boring old Science put in relation to pop culture!?! FUN! Yet educational!).

But well... お金がない。 No marh-nee arhhh...

What the F***?

Haiz... Remember my abcess and the minor surgery I had for it? Guess what?

I got sliced up again today.

Don't ask me how or why this happened. I don't know myself. Couple days after I came back from my Malacca trip, I discovered a small little lump just below the original wound. It was much smaller and didn't look as bad, but my mum started me on a course of antibiotics just in case. It went down quite quickly. In fact until about 2 days ago, it had gone completely flat. Then it suddenly resurfaced. So there was nothing else to do but to go and see Uncle A and get it checked out.

He was actually reluctant about removing the thing since I'm supposed to be leaving on Sunday. But after discussing it with my mum, it was decided to operate. He didn't really have to drain it this time. There was no pus or fluid, or none that I was really aware of. As far as I could tell (after being heavily aneasthetised in the leg and lying flat on my back), this time it was mainly snipping and removing of tissue. And this time he could stitch it up, so it definitely wasn't as badly infected as the last time. He showed it to me afterwards in a little container of formalin (which was to go to mum for testing... was that really necessary?? I mean... if it's just a simple infection...). It just looked like little white lumps of (now dead) tissue. Afterwards my mum told me that Uncle A said it was probably fibrous tissue that got infected or the other way around. It's possibly related to the original abcess... I don't know... Mum will look at the thingy tomorrow, or rather her lab techs will and she'll get the results tomorrow.

All this means that I will VERY likely delay my going back to Aberdeen, since the stitches need to be removed in a week or so. (T_T) Just had to send off 3 or 4 e-mails to various University staff to inform/reschedule/ask for further advising regarding various procedures.

Plus it hurts.

I will cry. *haiz*

[Update 15 September 2006, 4.42pm: Yup. My flight's been changed for the 26th. Means late registration, late start in class and rescheduling the MEng interview... (T_T) ]

When Words Fail...

A simple gift,
From one friend to another...

























In the midst of white Forget-me-nots,
Yellow roses...



A simple reminder never to forget the friendship found within,

And a promise to do the same.

Not Happy

Absolutely NOT happy.

SQUEAL!!!!

I own a kebaya!!! \(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/

Yes! Is a very nice dark purple/pink kind of colour, and is tailored just for me!!! \(^o^)/ I like it very much... *Rabu rabu*

Well, sometime ago, Mum and I decided to make a trip up to Malacca for a day or two. So on Tuesday, we finally went. Actually quite fun to just go up Malaysia, stay a night and come back the next day. We kind of went a bit mad, walked to all the museums, even when some of them threatened to close with us inside. I must say the old Peranakan house was very interesting though. Oh and it was a very sinful trip as well... Tuesday we had Melaka cendol... TWICE. Once from a family stall and later that night in the hotel, after dinner. *phhooo* It was very good. And very filling. The trick is the gula melaka I think. It was FRESH. Sticky too. Yum. Wednesday morning was spent being driven around by a self-appointed tour guide (we only wanted a taxi to the Portugese settlement. The cab driver had other ideas..) to a bakery and a honey farm. Which was actually very good, I'll admit. The bakery's special sambal tau sah piah and sambal mooncake was very tasty (actually just the hebi hiam lah... no chili involved). *slurp* All-in-all, it was a very sinful 2-day, 1-night in Melaka. *burp*

During our little walkaround trying to find all things peranakan, we found this baju maker and oooooooh... TOTALLY fell in love with his embroidery. All hand-embroidered patterns!! Gah! It was breathtaking. So of course, being suckers for peranakan baju, my mum and I promptly bought a pattern each (comes with free batik each ok! Good deal ah!) and walked down to the tailor next door.

And today, my mum went back up to collect the baju while I attended Jemalelinh's niece's christening (SHE'S SO CUTE!). WAH HA!!

I love my new kebaya!!!!

Wry, huh?

Discworld: Which Ankh-Morpork City Watch Character are YOU?

Commander Sir Samuel Vimes
Take this quiz!








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Bet if it were just Discworld characters in general, I'd be Death.

HA. HA. HA.

Sub-contracted By Monkey

Say hello to Research Assistant Siew Mai.

As the tree-top swinger has been contracted to write an article on the four major festivals of the four major ethnic groups in Singapore, she has sub-contracted the quickly becoming over-steamed dimsum to do some pushing of paper for her. This should be interesting. I forsee the Monkey as a tough boss. Well, I'll be getting paid and the topic is quite, quite interesting so ONWARD MARCH... er... PUSH PAPER!!

It isn't much but it's something and really, anything that goes "kaching!!" shouldn't be sniffed at. And it will help out with the household expenses for at least the next month or so.

Hmm.

Did I ever mention the overwhelming guilt I feel whenever I think about the $10,000 CPF debt I owe my dad from my NUS days and the fact that we're... I'M now eating into the money my mum put away in hopes of early retirement? GOD it's depressing. Try not to think too much about it. Without forgetting it totally of course. Keep thinking, "Do it right this time! Get a good degree, good job and pay it all back in the end". But still... ARGH. I hate myself sometimes. Stupid mistakes made for stupid ideas.

I Feel Like...

a) Eating Pocky. Don't ask me why in particular, I just feel like it.
b) Going drinking
c) Going dancing
d) Karaoke-ing

Another Meme

This time taken from Ms Yuene.

A. Post a list of fandoms (games/comics/movies/tv/books).
B. Have your friends list guess your favourite character and favorite pairing from each one. (If there are any... May not be depending on the show)
C. When guessed, bold the line/slash through it, include the character name and/or pairing, and write a sentence about why you like that character/pairing. (bold is for characters, slash-through is for pairing)

1. Samurai 7
2. Blood+
3. Fullmetal Panic
4. Trinity Blood
5. Saiyuki
6. City Hunter
7. Otogizoushi
8. Samurai Champloo
9. Spider-Girl
10. Loveless
11. La Femme Nikita (US TV series version)

Random Meme

Because I'm bored. Taken from Aronwy's blog.

Instructions: Name 20 people you can think of at the top of your head. Don't read the questions before you write, and tag 5 people to do the survey.

[I'll try to use online monikers as much as possible... just in case... Those whose actual names I've put down, if you'd rather I not just drop me a note and I'll change it.]

1. Aronwy
2. Jemalelinh
3. Yuene
4. Monkey
5. Yuwei
6. Lee Su Mei
7. Mel Fann
8. Nekoweenie
9. DrAnIxX
10. Phoenich
11. InfernoXV
12. Sing Yee
13. Shuaha
14. Leninkoh
15. Bai Yu
16. Caitlin
17. Sai
18. Joanne
19. Suzanne
20. Minna

Questions:
1. How did you meet number 14?
Crappy classmate back in ACJC... Hahaha! :p

2. What would you do if you had never met Number 1?
Err... Probably wouldn't have been part of the "mutant family" back in upper secondary...

3. What would you do if 20 and 9 dated?
Ah ha.. AAAAH-HAHAHAHAHAH!!! *dies laughing* I really don't think so. Don't think Anna would approve in the first place and also, SO not Minna's type. No offence to DrAnIxX of course..

4. Would 6 and 17 make a good couple?
OMG. No.

5. Describe No. 3.
Quirky, smart and plain nuts. Haha... All the signs of a genius... Or the criminally insane.

6. Do you think no.8 is attractive?
Yup. Think she's pretty inside and out. (^_^)

7. Tell me something about No.7
Her dog peed on me...

8. Do you know anything about no.12's family?
Erp... Not really... *sheepish look*

9. What is no. 18's favorite...?
Cartoon character? Spongebob Squarepants. Guy? Dave. Although he probably has stiff competition from Spongebob.

10.What would you do if 11 confesses that he/she likes you?
If he didn't like me, he wouldn't be my friend right? DUH. Oh. You mean ROMANTICALLY??? BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!! Eh, Edz, what do you say? *snorts*

11. What language does 15 speak?
中文。

12. Who is 9 going out with?
Anna.

13. How old is 16 now?
24 years old

14. When was the last time you talked to 13?
Err... Before I went to Siem Reap... *looks sheepish again*

15. Who's 2's favorite singer?
Well... One of them is definitely Mr Crooncrooncroon Bub(b)le himself...

16. Would you date number 4?
No because a) don't lean that way, unfortunately, and b) anyway, she's taken already. I don't stand a chance. :p

17. Would you date 7?
Didn't I say I don't lean that way? Anyway (for the sake of bored hypothesizing), even if we did we'd proabably kill each other within the first few dates. Better to stay as friends who bitch together. Mwahaha...

18. Is 15 single?
No.

19. What's 10's last name?
G****i. (Unless he tells me is ok to put his real name here)

20. Would you ever consider being in a relationship with 19?
... (-_-''')

21. What school does/did 3 go to?
Er... Methodist Girls' School, Saint Andrew's Junior College, National University of Singapore

22. Where does 6 live?
Currently somewhere in the States, although her SG home is er... Greenleaf... Drive? Road? Something like that....

23. What's your favorite thing about number 5?
Anything also can crap to her. And she's easy to spook. Hirhirhir...

24. I tag...
Phoenich, Monkey, Nekoweenie, Jemalelinh & Yuene

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Help!!! My "terrorist" of a baby cousin has discovered my MSN contact!!! HELP!!! Betrayed by my own brother!!! AAARGGH!!!

All stations: ABORT ABORT ABORT!!!

Connectivity: Low

I don't exactly know when this started. Might have been yesterday, or it may even have started at the beginning of the week, or possibly earlier. Today, it just became very clear and very obvious to me.

I'm feeling somewhat disconnected. With things and even people that were close to my heart. There just seems to be something in the way, even when I'm right next to it/him/her/them.

I went back for Rag, just for the heck of it, and also because I promised Yow that I would. I'm glad I did, since I managed to see people that I probably would not have seen otherwise. Plus, KR won the Vice-Chancellor's Shield for the first time in 5 years and that's worth going down for. But in the process of catching up, reminiscing and having lunch, it became clear that somewhere along the line, the connection had failed. Of course, with people that I never had much to say to in the very beginning, it now became nothing to say at all (which I'm not very sorry about, in this particular case...). But with those that should've mattered, something was lost. I'm sad to say I felt a tinge of something similar during the latest MMM. Oh it was fun, don't get me wrong. Just that now... It was more like being an observer rather than an actual participant. I don't know.

I was asked a couple of times - by a couple of people - if I even managed to make any friends in my first year there. The truth is, I don't know. Classmates... Yeah, some I get along with better than others. My study group - we work well together during the term, but during hols... My flatmates? Sure, we were close (I think) but in a sense, we HAD to get along. Other Singaporeans or Malaysians? I had meals with them a grand total of 3 times in that 1 year.

Friends? The girls from Flat 3E aside... Not really, no. You could reprimand me and say that I've been somewhat anti-social. That I should try to go out more, participate more in their social events and take in more of their social culture. But I'm sorry. I just don't see the point in going out every single night just to get pissed.
EVERY.

SINGLE.

NIGHT.

I went there to get a freaking degree, not to achieve the world's largest beer belly, nor to compete in "How Many Spiked Drinks Have You Been Offered" or "How Many Marijuana Joints" competitions. And if I sacrifice a social standing by refusing to conform to certain "hip & happening" ideals, well so be it. I'm a low to moderate-level nerd and possibly a rather boring person. SO WHAT. Last time I tried being someone everybody wanted or expected me to be it didn't turn that well.

And if I lose certain levels of connection with people for being me... Well... We'll see how such things play out.

Siew Mai Blur Liao

I see Monkey & Wai explaining the rules of mahjong and I blur already. Despite many people telling me how easy it is, I really blur diao le... (O_o)?

My first MMM in about a year!! It's quite good to see the TLG again, since we've sort of lost contact. Mostly my fault I would say, since I hardly update my blog anymore and if I do, I rarely write anything worthwhile. Plus I tend not to say anything to anyone even if I'm logged on to MSN. Yes, so my apologies, TLG people... I shall strive not to be so anti-social anymore.

National Day MMM with a boardgames theme this time!! Been playing Cluedo and some violent french version of UNOcumSnap courtesy of L'Ham. Now there is very intense game of monopoly going on and a beginner's round of mahjong. Of which I've even given up being an observer. Can you imagine if I were actually trying to learn. HAH!!! It will never happen.

MENU!!!
National Day Monkey Madness Meeting
1) Indian & Chinese Rojak - L'HamLHam (:p) & Tore
2) Baked Pasta - Siew Mai
3) Fried Stuff & He Ye Fan (Lotus wrapped rice) - Joelle
4) Localised Columbian Prawns - Monkey
5) Chicken Wings - FatCat
6) Rice (porridge-turned-)Pudding - Tore
7) Tiramisu - Wai
8) Peanut Butter & Chocolate Tart - Mrs Budak

Actually I think that today's menu is slightly below the average TLG's standard. We usually eat more. Muahahahaha.....

Ok. Back to observing the mahjong kia....

[Update 12.06am: Many apologies for getting LHam's spelling wrong. *bows deeply* I could offer to sacrifice a mutant Aberdonian seagull to attone for my sin... Although ah, Ham... If you wanna be SPB, wouldn't a pseudo-french-sounding moniker be in your advantage??? Hee hee!! (^_^)v]

あぁ... かっこいい...

I've just opened up the latest Trinity Blood manga (#6). Siiiiiigggghhh...

Hugh is on the cover this time and he just looks too hot to handle!! Gah!!

ユーぐ神父！ちょうかっこいい！！ (*_*)

In other news! Siew Mai is going to Cambodia tomorrow!! Woooo!!!

[7.44pm Update: Ok apparently the latest ToriBla manga out is #7. BUT #6 is the lastest one out in Singapore... That I've seen anyway. If I actually did miss #7 I will... Get a new pair of glasses....]

Well, Loop-dee-doo

Who would have thought that so much can happen in just 9 months?

Having pretty much lived in a cave during my first year in Scotland, I was only vaguely (to say the least) aware of various happenings in SG -- although I admit that this ignorance wasn't without a certain amount of glee. Ignorance is Bliss, they say. Heck, my mother had to explain to me the story behind the "Bak Chor Mee" podcast she sent over our weekly telephone call.

Now, I have just finished reading the now infamous Mr Brown article and the Response (oh yes, capital 'R'. Why not?) it got. Well, well, well.

Withholding all the scathing remarks I could make, I will just say this:

Well Done, Mr Brown. You have proven to us that the thinking Singaporean is not so much of a myth after all. Well Done.

Oh Yeah. I'm Back.

Er... Yah... Landed on the 5th actually. Just haven't blogged yet...

Oops...