メッチャ行きたい!!!!

I WANT TO GO!!!

GACKTさま！！ And mihimaruGT!!!

I.

WANT.

TO.

GO!!

Asian Song Festival 2009

How can I go about plotting this...

The Dim Sum In Terminal 3

Unfortunately, this is not a food review. I apologise to anyone who was searching for the secrets of the delightful Chinese snacks, but landed up here instead.

Indeed my friends, the Siew Mai has found herself in Changi Airport's Terminal 3.

Except that her flight back to the other side of the world leaves from Terminal 1.

Well, the high-flying dumpling just happened to find some (a lot) of free time and so I have made that gruelling 3 minute journey from familiar territories into the unknown. It is quite exciting, I must say. All these high-end shops that seem to be glaringly absent from the other terminals. Unless I am just that out of touch with things here in Changi (and that is actually very possible).

Many fellow frequent flyers will agree with me about this frustratingly constant lack of available terminals for the free Internet access in T1 and T2. Rejoice, my brethren, for I have found a cozy little nook in T3, where there are Internet terminals for the picking. Give the GST refunds a thought the next time you fly.


Alas, the timer tells me that there is less than 4minutes 20seconds left on my current session. So I shall end my soliloquy here. Although seeing how there is nobody breathing down my Jaggad jersey for their time with the Internet, I will probably be logging in yet again.

Until the next bamboo basket steams, fare thee well...

Procrastination

I haven't studied since 6.30pm!! Lalala~~~

Maybe I'll have to come back in August this time!!!! woot woot!!!!


*sinks into depression*

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.

Exam Schedule

January 2009

19th - EG40DA Dynamics 2, 9am - 12pm
20th - EG40DB Fluid Mechanics 2, 9am - 12pm
21st - MS2004 Managing Markets and Customers, 9am-11am
27th - EG40DE Thermodynamics 2, 2pm - 5pm
30th - EG40JA Safety and Reliability, 2pm - 5pm

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

Sucks. 19th, 20th, 21st... 3 days in a row and they're all "can die" papers.

Oh well. All my papers are out to kill me so what difference does it make. Plus, all my engineering papers count for 100% of my grade.

Fantastic.

I'll just fail now, thank you very much.

Pah.

Maybe It's Just Me?

I haven't come to the Tuesday 9am class for about 2 weeks. Mainly due to the fact that I couldn't wake up, or didn't wake up in time to walk down to class. (I can't help it. The extreme cold makes me weak.)

Today I finally made it.

And he's cancelled the class. Again. When I finally make a determined effort to come.

Maybe it's just me. He cancels it just to spite me.

Or maybe I should just always come to class anyway. Ha~~ (¬.¬'')

Random Chat

So, I do a show on the student radio with two other friends. One of them (we'll call him Dutch-D) does another show later the same day. So for the first time, I tuned in to his show and chatted to him via the DJ chat button...

Dutch-D: These songs are perfect for a sunny mei day
Me: wat sun!?!

Me: You shouldn't promise things that will never be true. :P There is no sun.
Dutch-D: there's sun in May.
You are the sun! the light of my life!
Me: THAT'S why I'm always so cold! you keep stealing warmth from me!

Me: stay away from meeeeeee~~!
Dutch-D: .....
See, that makes my heart sad. SAD, so I need a special lamp to feel happy when you're not around.
Me: Oh well, there's always K (the other DJ on the show, and Dutch-D's friend).
Dutch-D: tru dat, yo
Me: haha.
Me: K: good luck... D's needy.
Dutch-D: ....
No, I'm not. I'm Motteru (Japanese slang for being popular with the guys/girls)!
Me: Aye, but sadly not furry anymore.

Me: now you're just fuzzy... sort of.
Dutch-D: ...., hey, I'm still hella fuzzy
Me: ehh. one moustache and floppy hair don't cut it.
Dutch-D: really, I need more insulting things to say about you. Just so we're even. (I guess I do insult him a lot... Oh well)

Me: You could always call me fat.
Dutch-D: ...
I don't like the whole fat spiel, too many people are messed up by it.
How about chunky monkey?
Me: Hmmm...
Me: Makes me sound like a Ben&Jerry's ice cream.
Dutch-D: Which is ... good?
Me: Actually I like B&J's chunky monkey
Me: not quite an insult is it?
Me: Unless you're implying that I'm cold and bananas.
Me: Which is true as well... So maybe not the best insult.
Dutch-D: Actually both those things are true.
Me: mwahaha.

Radio Siew Mai

Mwaha...

If you want details... なに！？ラジオ

The site that actually streams the show every Monday is here.

Have fun!

In The First House On The Corner...

[D & Siew Mai are mucking about in the kitchen (read: procrastinating)]

Siewmai: I want to go to Japan...
D: ARGH! Don't say that!!!! *wails* I want to go back...!!! (note: D spent 1.5 months in summer in Japan... Lucky bastard)

Siewmai: Let's go together!!!
D: Yeah! Let's run away!! We'll...
Siewmai: Elope?
D: Yeah! ..Er.. Elope..?
Siewmai: You've heard that word before?
D: Is it where you run away with your lover?
Siewmai: Yup. Hehe!
D: Oohh! Yah! Oh well. Let's bring N along. Poor N, so lonely.
Siewmai: Ok. He can cook for us.
D: OH! You're right!! His one good point!!
Siewmai: D!! So mean!!!
D: Hee hee.. Well... You know...

D: And as we get older, he'll be better! When he'll take care of me...
Siewmai: Like mature cheese.
D:??
Siewmai: Old and stinky, but nice!!

D: MWAHAHA! Ok, so when we're 60, 70 and he's cooking for me, I'll tell him, "You're like mature cheese! Old, stinky, but nice!!!"

....

The secret to a long-lasting relationship. Mature chedder.

Notes:
1. D & N are attached. They are my new housemates. Have I mentioned that I moved?
2. There's a running joke in the house about D & me, if you haven't already guessed. Actually the joke is really only between us. Everyone else in the house just shake their heads when we mention it.

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.

Loch Ness Marathon 2008

I'm mad.

Back to Aberdeen!

Free airport internet!! Yay!!

I think Singapore is still the only place in the world where you don't have to pay for internet usage in the airport. That my friends, is one of the things that keep Singapore as MY country of choice. Sure, there are faults and things to gripe about. But! I wouldn't give up my red passport unless I actually didn't have a choice.

So yes, I am here in Changi Airport. Waiting to go onto the plane which was delayed for about 10 minutes. I suppose I should actually go into the boarding gate, but well.. I was bored and decided to watch the end bit of "Heroes" and have a kueh salat from Bengawan Solo. No such thing as nonya kueh in Aberdeen, OK...

Some crazy China woman has tried to bring the luggage trolley down the escalator... Obviously, it tipped over and down went her luggage. She has single-handedly managed to cease operations of the escalator. Well done.

KK... S'pose I'd really better be off. They will soon call for boarding. Will post again when I am back in the Deen!

"Osen" Opening Sequence

This has to be my favourite opening sequence for a drama to date. Watch this...



I love it!! It starts off looking all cool with it's freeze-frame movements and Aoi Yu wielding that giant flag... Then out of the blue you have Uchi Hiroki jumping out from behind her in true-blue (-_-''')- fashion. It's hilarious!!! Plus, Micro (formerly of Def Tech) sings the opening song, "Odore". I can never stop giggling when I watch this!!

A further plus is that the story itself is a really good one! Hooray!!

Off to Penang!!

Whee!!!

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^)/

Sweden Post!

HALLO!!!

I'm in Stockholm!!! Woohoo! Been here since Saturday! Well, Monday actually, if you consider the fact that we spent a day in Turku, Finland.

It's been SOOOOOO cold! I swear my skin has never been dryer. My cuticles are splitting and it smarts trying to put on my gloves.

Came with PL, G, A and C and we've just been trying to cram everything into about 3, 4 days. It's been madness. Every night we come back to the hostel, I've been ABSOLUTELY destroyed. I close my eyes and in no time at all, I'm dead to the world. Tonight is no exception. I'm about to collapse. But I just COULD NOT resist using the free internet provided by this wonderful hostel, City Backpackers Stockholm, and making a post from Sweden!!!! Let this be a mark in my blogging history. *cue dramatic pause*

So many museums, so little time! I love the Vasamuseet!!! And the old Engineering Workshop in Skansen on Djurgarden. The Palace is next tomorrow. Woooooo!!!

Right. I'm dying. Will tell all about the trip when I get back, and when I've recovered. Ha!!!

G'night!!!

3rd Year Term 1: Exam Results

Oooh ooh.

I passed my exams.

Well, I've known for 2 weeks now, but I keep forgetting to blog about it. Anyhow, here are my scores (over 20)

Engineering Methods & Analysis - 20
Fluid Mechanics - 17
Stress Analysis - 19
Engineering Materials - 14
Engineering Design - 18

A CAS 14 for Materials! It's a bloody miracle. I really thought I screwed up that paper. It's pulled my average down but thank goodness it's still above 15. I can keep my MEng.. For now. 2nd term is the crunch. As long as I keep the average I'll be fine.

That said, 2nd term is proving to be a bitch. The 3rd year project is killing all of us. I really don't know how this term will go. 5 examinable courses. I will die.

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.

Turning Into A Sloth

Somebody save me from my sloth-y-ness..... (Z_Z)

Santas Rampage Cinema

BWHAHAHHAHA!!!

I was browsing on the BBC website and found this!

I love this video!! WHAHA!!

Merry Christmas!!

Mmm.. Yah. It's a bit late, about 1.5hrs late, but what the hell.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

I just spent my FIRST ever Christmas away from home, in Aberdeen.

It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Mainly because I was invited to my friend's place for dinner. It was a small group, just four of us - 2 Japanese, 1 Australian and 1 Singaporean.

Random isn't it? And I've just realized that we're all from the Asia-Pacific region. Haha.. What a coincidence.

It was a simple dinner, but one of the nicest I've had this year. H-san made a vegetable quiche which she learnt in Malta. She's a really nice person! I'm glad I got to meet her. She and K-kun make a really nice couple I think. Hee~ (^_^)

I made a chocolate-coated strawberry & banana sandwich sponge cake for the dinner. I ran out of sugar so I had to split one portion of cake mix into 2 layers instead of making two portions. Then, I forgot to halve the cooking time since the layers were now thinner than they should've been. So.... The sponge layers turned out slightly... crispier... than I had hoped. It was still pretty tasty in the end, so it was only a demi-failure. (^_^''') Haha~ Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery, so I couldn't take a photo. I think H-san did though, so I'll see if I can get it off her or K-kun.

Boxing day tomorrow! All the sales start!! Heheheh~ Friends and I are going shopping.. I wonder what we'll find........ Woot woot!~~

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).

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

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?

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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.
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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*
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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: ........
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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.