7am - Wake up (On days when I have PT, wake up time is 5.30am)
8.15am - Latest time to get onto bus to Dhoby Ghaut (On gym days, this is the time I get out of the gym.)
9.00am - Start work (although my department actually officially starts at 9.30am. Oh well.. gives me some "start-up" time.)
12pm - Lunch hour
6pm - Last person to leave and lock up. Leave for whatever class it is I have that day.
7pm - 7.30pm - Start of whatever class it is I'm having.
9.30pm-10pm - End of whichever class I had.
11pm - Reach home; start preparing tomorrow's lunch.
12am - Shower, attempt to do whatever book keeping/Japanese homework I might have.
1am - Sleep.
And that my friends, is how the Siew Mai lives practically every day now. (z_z)
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Sunday, March 27, 2005
I Miss Having Free Time
Just to appease RJ, I have returned to my now much-neglected blog. Therefore, RJ, you should feel honoured. I'm blogging because of you. :P
Nothing much has been happening really. Work is slowly coming along. I'm learning how to answer phone calls properly, still compiling databases, wrote my first two notice circulars to the Adult Dance Class students, issued payment notices, etc. This week should get more intereting though. The dancers are back from their London tour, so that means classes will resume. It also means that my Education & Outreach Manager will be back. Eep. More importantly, it means the General Manager will be back. Double eep!! (O_O) I don't think I've really learned enough to be left by myself.
Got a bit of a scare on Thursday after work. I was walking down the Fort Canning steps towards Park Mall when I got stopped by this mad man. At first he just asked me the time, which I very politely told him. But when I was about to take another step down he stopped me again and started talking to me about how so many people are getting off work early and there are so many students around that particular day. Then he went on about how the next day was a public holiday, that's why so many people are off early, and he asked if I was a Christian. No matter how I tried to walk away he wouldn't let me and just kept talking to me. I was seriously freaked out. Then suddenly there was this honking behind me and lo and behold! It was my colleague!!! She happened to drive by and decided I needed rescueing. I practically ran into the passenger seat of her car. I don't know how long I would've been standing on the steps in polite (albeit scared) conversation with that mad man if she hadn't driven past.
That's it really. Haven't done anything else coz I really don't have anymore time to do anything else. Practically every night after work I have something on. Work is from around 9am - 6pm from Mon to Fri (my Sat working times haven't been decided yet. Personnel Manager said to wait until the GM came back. Go figure.). And after that my schedule is something like this.
Monday: Japanese 7.15pm - 9.45pm
Tuesday: Book Keeping 7pm - 10pm
Wednesday: Church Choir practice 8pm-10pm
Thursday: Flamenco Primer/Segundo 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Sat: Book Keeping 2pm-5pm
Then of course, church on Sunday 8.30am. So basically, from Mon to Thurs I get back home only around 11pm every night. But dammit. I still wanna go out. I haven't watched a movie in the cinemas since The Incredibles. And there seem to be a few good movies out now. Also realize I haven't actually met up with a lot of friends for a while. Hmmm.....
Well? Any takers?
Nothing much has been happening really. Work is slowly coming along. I'm learning how to answer phone calls properly, still compiling databases, wrote my first two notice circulars to the Adult Dance Class students, issued payment notices, etc. This week should get more intereting though. The dancers are back from their London tour, so that means classes will resume. It also means that my Education & Outreach Manager will be back. Eep. More importantly, it means the General Manager will be back. Double eep!! (O_O) I don't think I've really learned enough to be left by myself.
Got a bit of a scare on Thursday after work. I was walking down the Fort Canning steps towards Park Mall when I got stopped by this mad man. At first he just asked me the time, which I very politely told him. But when I was about to take another step down he stopped me again and started talking to me about how so many people are getting off work early and there are so many students around that particular day. Then he went on about how the next day was a public holiday, that's why so many people are off early, and he asked if I was a Christian. No matter how I tried to walk away he wouldn't let me and just kept talking to me. I was seriously freaked out. Then suddenly there was this honking behind me and lo and behold! It was my colleague!!! She happened to drive by and decided I needed rescueing. I practically ran into the passenger seat of her car. I don't know how long I would've been standing on the steps in polite (albeit scared) conversation with that mad man if she hadn't driven past.
That's it really. Haven't done anything else coz I really don't have anymore time to do anything else. Practically every night after work I have something on. Work is from around 9am - 6pm from Mon to Fri (my Sat working times haven't been decided yet. Personnel Manager said to wait until the GM came back. Go figure.). And after that my schedule is something like this.
Monday: Japanese 7.15pm - 9.45pm
Tuesday: Book Keeping 7pm - 10pm
Wednesday: Church Choir practice 8pm-10pm
Thursday: Flamenco Primer/Segundo 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Sat: Book Keeping 2pm-5pm
Then of course, church on Sunday 8.30am. So basically, from Mon to Thurs I get back home only around 11pm every night. But dammit. I still wanna go out. I haven't watched a movie in the cinemas since The Incredibles. And there seem to be a few good movies out now. Also realize I haven't actually met up with a lot of friends for a while. Hmmm.....
Well? Any takers?
Saturday, March 19, 2005
The Work Begins... and more old updates
Ok. The only reason why I'm blogging at this moment is because my sister is still in the shower even though we've been back from dinner since 10pm and my mother and I have been practising our choir music since then. So slow I tell you that person.
Yeah. The work is starting to pile on. On Thursday and Friday I was just typing and typing on the office comp. I starting to worry about when the dancers come back from their London tour and when the new adult dance classes start. (O_O) Will be swamped with a lot of forms and a lot of money. None of which will belong to me. So sad.
In other news: I have finally learnt how to ride a bike!! *smug look* I have the bruises to prove it! Very beautiful ones on my right knee and left thigh. Not very steady yet, but I have done it!! Heh!!
Oh. And one other snippet which is actually quite old news. Only posting it now because I've been debating whether or not I should. But since it's more or less been concluded to be a passing phase, I don't see any cause of worry. Last Friday, my mother and I were playing around with her electronic home blood pressure thingymabob. And for some reason, it kept registering really low heart rates even though our blood pressure registered as normal. We decided it was going wonky and changed the batteries. Then we tried again, and true enough, my mother's vital signs were measured as normal. Mine however, were still a bit off. My blood pressure was normal enough. But my heart rate kept measuring around 45-48bpm. So as a final test of the machine's integrity, we plugged it up to my dad. And this time it actually seemed to work, so tried again on me. Same thing, heart rate was damn low but BP was normal. So BOTH my parents felt my pulse and found I had drop beats, i.e. irregular heart beats. It was all very strange so they decided that I should go and get an ECG (electro-cardiogram) reading.
The next day my dad brought me down to his old classmate's (who also happened to be his heart surgeon) clinic to borrow the ECG. The nurse stuck a lot of little suction things on my chest and clamped my wrists and ankles with what looked like giant crocodile clips. I felt like an O-level physics experiment. So lay there for a couple of minutes and got a reading. The nurse read it and was like "48... A bit low huh..." So she sent it off to Dr. Choo and I was told to wait around so that he could see me. When I went into the office, I was hooked up to another blood pressure thingy. Blood pressure was still normal but this time my heart rate measured at 41 and 43 (took twice).
Dr. Choo looked at my BP readings, looked at my ECG, scribbled down some notes and looked at me and said something to the extent of, "No chronic conditions, no serious history, kidneys ok, liver ok... Might just be inborn." I'm like "Huh?" Apparently it does happen, naturally slow hearts, in about every... 1 in 1000? Or was it 10,000? Can't really remember. But it was 1-something and definitely had more zeroes than 100. And such people can go on for a lifetime without any serious ailments or even not knowing at all. But thing is that I've never registered a slow heart rate before (in school checkups and whatnots). Either that or no one's bothered to tell me about it.
In any case, I'm supposed to go back to the clinic in another 6 weeks to take a 24-hr ECG reading. So I'm going to be attached to a portable ECG machine for 24hrs and I won't be able to bathe. (T_T) I have to go down a total of three days consecutively. One to attach the ECG to me, one to take it off, and the last to see Dr. Choo. Basically it's to see if this condition is a persisting thing or a one-off condition. Well... I haven't fainted yet and I can still go for an hour on the treadmill. So I doubt I'm going to die of a heart attack soon. Probably consumed something that slows down heart rate that particular day or something. There are such things you know, in medicines, tonics... goodness knows what else. Even constant exercise will lower your resting heart rate. Anyway. I'm FINE. No need for worry. That's why I'm actually posting this piece of news. Heh. Still have to go down in six weeks though. Just to make things official. Lalala. So fun. No bath for 24 hrs... *sob*
Yeah. The work is starting to pile on. On Thursday and Friday I was just typing and typing on the office comp. I starting to worry about when the dancers come back from their London tour and when the new adult dance classes start. (O_O) Will be swamped with a lot of forms and a lot of money. None of which will belong to me. So sad.
In other news: I have finally learnt how to ride a bike!! *smug look* I have the bruises to prove it! Very beautiful ones on my right knee and left thigh. Not very steady yet, but I have done it!! Heh!!
Oh. And one other snippet which is actually quite old news. Only posting it now because I've been debating whether or not I should. But since it's more or less been concluded to be a passing phase, I don't see any cause of worry. Last Friday, my mother and I were playing around with her electronic home blood pressure thingymabob. And for some reason, it kept registering really low heart rates even though our blood pressure registered as normal. We decided it was going wonky and changed the batteries. Then we tried again, and true enough, my mother's vital signs were measured as normal. Mine however, were still a bit off. My blood pressure was normal enough. But my heart rate kept measuring around 45-48bpm. So as a final test of the machine's integrity, we plugged it up to my dad. And this time it actually seemed to work, so tried again on me. Same thing, heart rate was damn low but BP was normal. So BOTH my parents felt my pulse and found I had drop beats, i.e. irregular heart beats. It was all very strange so they decided that I should go and get an ECG (electro-cardiogram) reading.
The next day my dad brought me down to his old classmate's (who also happened to be his heart surgeon) clinic to borrow the ECG. The nurse stuck a lot of little suction things on my chest and clamped my wrists and ankles with what looked like giant crocodile clips. I felt like an O-level physics experiment. So lay there for a couple of minutes and got a reading. The nurse read it and was like "48... A bit low huh..." So she sent it off to Dr. Choo and I was told to wait around so that he could see me. When I went into the office, I was hooked up to another blood pressure thingy. Blood pressure was still normal but this time my heart rate measured at 41 and 43 (took twice).
Dr. Choo looked at my BP readings, looked at my ECG, scribbled down some notes and looked at me and said something to the extent of, "No chronic conditions, no serious history, kidneys ok, liver ok... Might just be inborn." I'm like "Huh?" Apparently it does happen, naturally slow hearts, in about every... 1 in 1000? Or was it 10,000? Can't really remember. But it was 1-something and definitely had more zeroes than 100. And such people can go on for a lifetime without any serious ailments or even not knowing at all. But thing is that I've never registered a slow heart rate before (in school checkups and whatnots). Either that or no one's bothered to tell me about it.
In any case, I'm supposed to go back to the clinic in another 6 weeks to take a 24-hr ECG reading. So I'm going to be attached to a portable ECG machine for 24hrs and I won't be able to bathe. (T_T) I have to go down a total of three days consecutively. One to attach the ECG to me, one to take it off, and the last to see Dr. Choo. Basically it's to see if this condition is a persisting thing or a one-off condition. Well... I haven't fainted yet and I can still go for an hour on the treadmill. So I doubt I'm going to die of a heart attack soon. Probably consumed something that slows down heart rate that particular day or something. There are such things you know, in medicines, tonics... goodness knows what else. Even constant exercise will lower your resting heart rate. Anyway. I'm FINE. No need for worry. That's why I'm actually posting this piece of news. Heh. Still have to go down in six weeks though. Just to make things official. Lalala. So fun. No bath for 24 hrs... *sob*
Monday, March 14, 2005
Starting Work
Will be starting work tomorrow at the Singapore Dance Theatre. Not as a dancer of course. I'm not that wonderful. As my mother puts it, I will be the admin assistant to the admin assistant of the admin assistant. Hahaha.. Sound diao-ded? Quite lah. Hahaha. My mum's friend is the General Manager of SDT but she's touring with the company in London at the moment. So her assistant (I assume the position is Asst. GM) is in charge. Then under her is this other girl who's in charge of planning events and stuff, so let's call her the Events Planner. And I will be helping the EP with the admin and the "Education and Outreach" aspects. Basically I issue receipts, liase with schools who want workshops, advertise workshops, etc etc... Yes people, no matter what positional title they give me, it just means that I am a glorified receptionist. Lalala. But the people all seem very nice. So that's a plus already. Lalala. And it's such a SMALL office!!! When I went in today for the "interview" I only saw 3 people in the office. The AGM, the EP and one other Malay fellow whom I haven't officially met yet. (O_O) So small!! The only minus I can think of right now is that it's all the way in Fort Canning Centre. Have to climb hill everyday now. (T_T) Anyway, I hope it works out. Don't want to be fired after one day.
Oh, for the sake of further updates that were supposed to have appeared eons ago, I have decided that I WILL apply for the UK/Scottish universities after all, and they shall be my first choice if I actually get accepted. Don't really know what my chances are. I would think quite slim actually, especially since I'm applying late. But what the hell. The worst that can happen is that I don't get accepted right? So far the unis I've decided to apply to are King's College London (HA!! Fat hope right?? Oh what the heck!), Aberdeen and Edinburgh (Both Scottish! Love the accent. Lalala! (^_^) ). Also looking at Leeds and Brunel but not sure whether or not to include them as choices in my UCAS form. AH! And get this, I've decided that I will study... *drumroll* ENGINEERING!!! Wahahahhahah!!! Mad right? The first reaction of everyone I've told so far is a look of disbelief (or silence over the phone) and then a "Are you serious??" that drips with cynicism and some attempts to convince me how awful engineering will be for me. But well, my A-level subjects WERE Maths and Physics after all, both of which I got a B in... And I know that's a lousy excuse. But I really am serious. I really do believe that I can do well in engineering. So it's worth a try right? Or do I really garner so little faith in people?
Anyhow, don't worry. I'm not totally giving up on my Languages. If I'm allowed to I will do a joint study in engineering and language. Plus if I apply for Leeds, I will put down my choice of study there as Languages. Leeds has always been more of an Arts college anyway. So what about the Biomedical sciences I talked about some time ago? I will still apply for them on my Australian and New Zealand applications, since they're not so particular about whether or not I took biology at A-level. So...
Pray that everything works out in the end.
Oh, for the sake of further updates that were supposed to have appeared eons ago, I have decided that I WILL apply for the UK/Scottish universities after all, and they shall be my first choice if I actually get accepted. Don't really know what my chances are. I would think quite slim actually, especially since I'm applying late. But what the hell. The worst that can happen is that I don't get accepted right? So far the unis I've decided to apply to are King's College London (HA!! Fat hope right?? Oh what the heck!), Aberdeen and Edinburgh (Both Scottish! Love the accent. Lalala! (^_^) ). Also looking at Leeds and Brunel but not sure whether or not to include them as choices in my UCAS form. AH! And get this, I've decided that I will study... *drumroll* ENGINEERING!!! Wahahahhahah!!! Mad right? The first reaction of everyone I've told so far is a look of disbelief (or silence over the phone) and then a "Are you serious??" that drips with cynicism and some attempts to convince me how awful engineering will be for me. But well, my A-level subjects WERE Maths and Physics after all, both of which I got a B in... And I know that's a lousy excuse. But I really am serious. I really do believe that I can do well in engineering. So it's worth a try right? Or do I really garner so little faith in people?
Anyhow, don't worry. I'm not totally giving up on my Languages. If I'm allowed to I will do a joint study in engineering and language. Plus if I apply for Leeds, I will put down my choice of study there as Languages. Leeds has always been more of an Arts college anyway. So what about the Biomedical sciences I talked about some time ago? I will still apply for them on my Australian and New Zealand applications, since they're not so particular about whether or not I took biology at A-level. So...
Pray that everything works out in the end.
Friday, March 11, 2005
First Post of March
Ah... Hahaha.. Gomen ne, everyone. I have been very lazy. _(_ _)_ I kowtow to you in sincere apology (apparently that's the 'smiley' for kowtow.. nvr understood why though). Will update slowly. Here's a starter.
I didn't get the hotel job. Sucks. It would have paid well. Oh well. Never mind. Have been informed by my mother that her friend who is affiliated with the Singapore Dance Theatre (she's a.. management consultant? Patron?? I don't really know but she organizes and manages events for them and things like Arts Fest) has managed to get me a mini-job. I'm basically going to be the Girl Friday for SDT. While they will do the main organizing and what-nots, I'd have to go and book hotel rooms and stuff. Saikang work lah. But it will add to my resume and the time is quite flexible I hear. But then again when they say "no fixed time" it might also mean really weird working times. (-_-)'" Not sure what the pay is like yet. Have to give them a call on Monday. Hopefully will be a fun job.
These past few days been walking around with my head down everytime I have to go out. If I could help it I wouldn't go out at all. Reason being that I now look like some scaly-skinned alien from the desert planet Arrakis (aka Dune. Still dunno? Go read Frank Herbert). Nekoweenie, I know I told you it was a rash, but it's actually more of a burn. Yes people, I have burns on my face. It doesn't look so bad now but yesterday and the day before my entire T-zone area was red and had hundreds of tiny raised welts (kinda like when you get hives, or goosepimples) all over. This was due to my re-use of a medicated cream for my acne. I've used it before and I've never had such a reaction to it but back then I was only using it once every two days and plus I had stopped using it for about a year. This time I used it every night and after about 3,4 nights, POOMF!! My skin exploded. I didn't use very much, just about a third of the first joint of my pinky for the whole face. My skin just wasn't used to the chemicals in the cream anymore. Two days ago it was a burning sensation on my forehead and cheeks. Yesterday it didn't burn so much but started to itch. Today, when it's starting to dry off and the skin is starting peel, it's itching like mad. Have had to take Piriton (an antihistamine) to curb the itch. (T_T) The things we do to look beautiful. Won't be so bad the next time, coz then my skin would be more accustomed to cream.
My grand-aunt is threatening to make me her official escort to Kuching during June for a whole month. One week is still ok. One MONTH???? Help!! Somebody make me unavailable!!!
It's Only The Fairy Tale
Mai HiME Insert Song
Lyrics: Jim Steel
Composer: Yuki Kajiura
Vocals: Miyamura Yuuko
Who are those little girls in pain
Just trapped in a castle on the dark side of the moon
Twelve of them shining bright in vain
Like flowers that blossom just once in years
They're dancing in the shadow like whispers of love
Just dreaming of a place where they're free as doves
They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage
It's only the fairy tale they believe
I didn't get the hotel job. Sucks. It would have paid well. Oh well. Never mind. Have been informed by my mother that her friend who is affiliated with the Singapore Dance Theatre (she's a.. management consultant? Patron?? I don't really know but she organizes and manages events for them and things like Arts Fest) has managed to get me a mini-job. I'm basically going to be the Girl Friday for SDT. While they will do the main organizing and what-nots, I'd have to go and book hotel rooms and stuff. Saikang work lah. But it will add to my resume and the time is quite flexible I hear. But then again when they say "no fixed time" it might also mean really weird working times. (-_-)'" Not sure what the pay is like yet. Have to give them a call on Monday. Hopefully will be a fun job.
These past few days been walking around with my head down everytime I have to go out. If I could help it I wouldn't go out at all. Reason being that I now look like some scaly-skinned alien from the desert planet Arrakis (aka Dune. Still dunno? Go read Frank Herbert). Nekoweenie, I know I told you it was a rash, but it's actually more of a burn. Yes people, I have burns on my face. It doesn't look so bad now but yesterday and the day before my entire T-zone area was red and had hundreds of tiny raised welts (kinda like when you get hives, or goosepimples) all over. This was due to my re-use of a medicated cream for my acne. I've used it before and I've never had such a reaction to it but back then I was only using it once every two days and plus I had stopped using it for about a year. This time I used it every night and after about 3,4 nights, POOMF!! My skin exploded. I didn't use very much, just about a third of the first joint of my pinky for the whole face. My skin just wasn't used to the chemicals in the cream anymore. Two days ago it was a burning sensation on my forehead and cheeks. Yesterday it didn't burn so much but started to itch. Today, when it's starting to dry off and the skin is starting peel, it's itching like mad. Have had to take Piriton (an antihistamine) to curb the itch. (T_T) The things we do to look beautiful. Won't be so bad the next time, coz then my skin would be more accustomed to cream.
My grand-aunt is threatening to make me her official escort to Kuching during June for a whole month. One week is still ok. One MONTH???? Help!! Somebody make me unavailable!!!
It's Only The Fairy Tale
Mai HiME Insert Song
Lyrics: Jim Steel
Composer: Yuki Kajiura
Vocals: Miyamura Yuuko
Who are those little girls in pain
Just trapped in a castle on the dark side of the moon
Twelve of them shining bright in vain
Like flowers that blossom just once in years
They're dancing in the shadow like whispers of love
Just dreaming of a place where they're free as doves
They've never been allowed to love in this cursed cage
It's only the fairy tale they believe
Monday, February 28, 2005
JOB HUNT: The Saga Continues
Her handphone rang suddenly, waking our heroine from her stupor. Taking the vibrating communicator in her hands, she readied herself before she finally answered the call. It was SC.
"Call this number, ask for the front desk and ask for S." The call ended.
Staring at the number now in her hands, our heroine swallowed, and carefully pressed the numbers on her phone's keypad. It was now or never.
"Hotel Inter-Continental. How may I help you?"
And so it began.
S had information that our heroine needed desperately. "Can you come now?" She was given the coordinates for the next part of the mission - the Hotel Inter-Continental itself. She had to move quickly, before the afternoon ended.
Despite the searing heat, the unfaltering dimsum finally breached the location and found her mark. With just a subtle look, our heroine knew what S meant - wait around. She'll slip out asap.
*****
"I'll take you to the security post. Then you'll have to find your way to HR yourself. But first there's some things you have to know about the post of Guest Services Agent...."
Quickly, quietly, the two made their way down to the security post.
"Good luck. I'll see you back at the front."
Taking a deep breath, our heroine proceeded down the steps towards the basement. There she would meet with her final challenge - the Interview.
*****
Tune in next time for the next installment of... *drumroll* *cue dramatic music* JOB HUNT: The Inter-Continental Verdict.
"Call this number, ask for the front desk and ask for S." The call ended.
Staring at the number now in her hands, our heroine swallowed, and carefully pressed the numbers on her phone's keypad. It was now or never.
"Hotel Inter-Continental. How may I help you?"
And so it began.
S had information that our heroine needed desperately. "Can you come now?" She was given the coordinates for the next part of the mission - the Hotel Inter-Continental itself. She had to move quickly, before the afternoon ended.
Despite the searing heat, the unfaltering dimsum finally breached the location and found her mark. With just a subtle look, our heroine knew what S meant - wait around. She'll slip out asap.
*****
"I'll take you to the security post. Then you'll have to find your way to HR yourself. But first there's some things you have to know about the post of Guest Services Agent...."
Quickly, quietly, the two made their way down to the security post.
"Good luck. I'll see you back at the front."
Taking a deep breath, our heroine proceeded down the steps towards the basement. There she would meet with her final challenge - the Interview.
*****
Tune in next time for the next installment of... *drumroll* *cue dramatic music* JOB HUNT: The Inter-Continental Verdict.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Lady Macbeth's Torment
"Here's the smell of the blood still: All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." ~ Lady Macbeth; Macbeth V:i
Now I know why she went nuts.
I had to put two of my hamsters to sleep this afternoon. The two young ones. They got really sick and for some reason the bigger one kept attacking the runt, which made it even worse faster. But the Big Baby (our way of differentiating the two offspring: Big Baby and Small Baby) was getting more sick each day too. Saw a tumor-like thing on under it's left forearm today. So decided to finally put them down. My mother helped with that. Gave them both a concentrated dosage of sedatives. And then they quietly went to sleep, and then they just stopped breathing.
Forgive me if I sound melodramatic or anything, but I really feel like a murderer right now. That word's been going around my head since 4pm.
:( I killed my baby hamsters.
Now I know why she went nuts.
I had to put two of my hamsters to sleep this afternoon. The two young ones. They got really sick and for some reason the bigger one kept attacking the runt, which made it even worse faster. But the Big Baby (our way of differentiating the two offspring: Big Baby and Small Baby) was getting more sick each day too. Saw a tumor-like thing on under it's left forearm today. So decided to finally put them down. My mother helped with that. Gave them both a concentrated dosage of sedatives. And then they quietly went to sleep, and then they just stopped breathing.
Forgive me if I sound melodramatic or anything, but I really feel like a murderer right now. That word's been going around my head since 4pm.
:( I killed my baby hamsters.
Friday, February 25, 2005
JLPT Results!!!
I got my JLPT score report in the mail yesterday. The actual certificate will only be available for collection in March. I got quite a good score! Am very very pleased. I passed lah, obviously. Here's the breakdown of my scores, as shown in the report:
Writing-Vocabulary: 91/100
Listening: 78/100
Reading-Grammar: 159/200
Total: 328/400
That's an 82% pass!! The passing score set down for JLPT Level 4 is 60% (so high!! why is it not 50%, I don't understand), so I guess I did good. (^_^) Hee!! Actually I was quite surprised by the scores, especially the score for writing and vocabulary. I didn't think I would get such a high score. Expected something around 70%.. 75% max... 82% is like... OMG. V happy now. Wheee!! Can confidently carry on with JLPT 3 now. Banzai!
Writing-Vocabulary: 91/100
Listening: 78/100
Reading-Grammar: 159/200
Total: 328/400
That's an 82% pass!! The passing score set down for JLPT Level 4 is 60% (so high!! why is it not 50%, I don't understand), so I guess I did good. (^_^) Hee!! Actually I was quite surprised by the scores, especially the score for writing and vocabulary. I didn't think I would get such a high score. Expected something around 70%.. 75% max... 82% is like... OMG. V happy now. Wheee!! Can confidently carry on with JLPT 3 now. Banzai!
Thursday, February 24, 2005
My Eyes Hurt
Smoke got in my eyes. Literally. :( I am not happy.
I just got back home from that bloody project I mentioned in my previous blog. The only positive thing about today's work was that it's the last day. #%#%& Man!! It's really freaking ridiculous. Jemalelinh was also very very unhappy about the whole thing. It was worse for her cause her parents were waiting for her already since 12am and we only got back from the site at like 2.30am or something. This is how stupid... STUPID!! today was.
Jemalelinh and I were originally supposed to report at 4pm. Around 1.30pm, the assistant supervisor calls us up and says they're behind schedule, report at 5.15pm instead. So ok, Jemalelinh and I decide to meet at Thomson Plaza at 3.30pm to have coffee first. Then at 4pm, the AS calls again and says oh sorry, now they're AHEAD of schedule. So now you have to report at 4.15pm!! LUCKILY, Jemalelinh had JUST gotten off the bus stop at TP. So we quickly tapao-ed our tea and rushed off in a cab. So when we reach the HQ at 4.16pm, we had to wait outside to get picked up by the bus, since we have to go to another site. About 15min later, we suddenly see what looks like our bus speeding out of the driveway without us. We are totally confounded but since no one has called us, we decided to continue waiting.
5pm!!! Finally the bus comes back and picks us up. What happened? The crew on-site had left something on the bus so the bus got called back. (-_-)"' Poor intern who was supposed to look after us also got left behind without notice. To her it was like the bus suddenly disappeared. It would have made more sense to pick us up on the way out also instead of turning back. Dumb. Anyway. That's not the end of it.
5.15pm, we reach the site. But wait on the bus first. Must check with boss what is happening. Ok. So we wait. And wait. And wait some more. At 7pm, boss finally comes up the bus and says sorry sorry, but things really went haywire. First they were ahead schedule, but shit! Jemalelinh and I weren't there to start our part early! Rush us down to the site and in the meanwhile, work on another section but shit! The apparatus is on the bus that went to pick us up! Finally get us down to the site but oh bloody crap!! Something else had to be done!!! So we effectively waited 2.5hrs for nothing. Anyway now it's late so might as well break for dinner first. Then suddenly they realize, oh eff... In the rush to get Jemalelinh and I on site, we weren't given time to get prepped up for the work. But nobody had the cow sense to send us back to HQ during our wonderful limbo period in the bus to get prepped. So instead of joining everyone for dinner, Jemalelinh and I are sent back to HQ. AS says she will tapao dinner for us. So we get prepped and rush down to Adam Road food centre thinking we're picking everyone else up and we will eat on the bus back to the site. But nooooo... We get to the food centre and eh?? We're supposed to go down and buy our food and eat there???? Bloody waste of time but OK lor! Whatever.
FINALLY! We get back to the site and we start work. Everything seems to go well until Jemalelinh and I are told to wait for a while as we're not needed for a certain section of the project. Ok so we go off to wait somewhere. There was nothing to sit on so we had to sit on the dirt. There is absolutely NO welfare for temps. Once again Jemalelinh and I were made to wait for almost 2hours before we were called out again. By this time it's already about 12.30am. Work some more, work some more. OK DONE! Just need one last thing but the rest of the crew have to move all the equipment to the other end of the site first.
So as we 4 girls (2 plus another temp and the intern) are waiting with boss and AS, we start talking and Jemalelinh says actually her parents are already waiting at HQ. Boss is like HUH?? Didn't you tell them you'd be ending late? I cut in and said yes well, the schedule said we'd be done by 12am. Boss is confused and stupid AS (we all hate the AS. She is BLOODY irritating) says noooooooo!! The schedule clearly says 2am! And she starts flipping through her file for the schedule to show us but we calmly inform them that it's 2am for the OTHER temp. For Jemalelinh and I it's 12am. You should've seen her face fall. Proven wrong then not happy already lah! Stupid cow. Boss is like oohhh shiiitt.... How come there's such a cockup in the schedule??? So sorry! But boss is nice and we all like the boss so we all can forgive boss.
The wonderful thorny cherry on the whipcream of irritation is when after we finally finish the last section and we're packing up to go back to HQ, AS comes along with her stupid file of schedules and says see see, this is the old schedule yah? I looked and pointed out the end-time to her and said yah, 12am. Then she flips to another green piece of paper and says but you see here, this is the new schedule. I didn't want to tell her that actually the "new" schedule states Jemalelinh's and my end-time as 10.45pm. I just told her that well, we weren't told. NONONO! She says! I called you this afternoon what!! Jemalelinh and I look at her calmly and explained very kindly (as you would to people with low mental ability), that she only told us the new reporting time. What we WEREN'T informed off was that our end-time had also changed.
Bloody cow I tell you. I really wanted to just slap her. Even when we were being dropped off at the HQ she was being stupid. We had to return our passes at the entrance gate and poor intern was trying to get the message across that Jemalelinh and I had to be dropped off at the gate but stupid AS was dunno talking about what with the boss so they didn't hear any of us at all. Then when the bus had already driven inside the compound and they found out we had to return our passes, gave us exasperated looks and said why didn't you say so earlier?? Poor intern tried to explain but they wouldn't listen. Boss just left it at the aiyah, nevermind lah, but thanks girls for all your hard work and got off the bus. That bloody AS, as the bus turned around to send us back to the gate, just kept on chiding and chiding as if Jemalelinh, intern and I had no common sense at all and we were all in the fault for everything except herself and her inability to listen. I tell you...... I really wanted to just hit her! Not slap anymore. I wanted to PUNCH HER BLOODY FACE IN!!!! F***ed up.
So glad it's all over. Don't have to see that stupid woman ever again. I shall go and bathe now and go to sleep. 3.44am already. Ranted for an hour. Goodness. But I really had to get it off my chest. Hmph. Stupid cow.
I just got back home from that bloody project I mentioned in my previous blog. The only positive thing about today's work was that it's the last day. #%#%& Man!! It's really freaking ridiculous. Jemalelinh was also very very unhappy about the whole thing. It was worse for her cause her parents were waiting for her already since 12am and we only got back from the site at like 2.30am or something. This is how stupid... STUPID!! today was.
Jemalelinh and I were originally supposed to report at 4pm. Around 1.30pm, the assistant supervisor calls us up and says they're behind schedule, report at 5.15pm instead. So ok, Jemalelinh and I decide to meet at Thomson Plaza at 3.30pm to have coffee first. Then at 4pm, the AS calls again and says oh sorry, now they're AHEAD of schedule. So now you have to report at 4.15pm!! LUCKILY, Jemalelinh had JUST gotten off the bus stop at TP. So we quickly tapao-ed our tea and rushed off in a cab. So when we reach the HQ at 4.16pm, we had to wait outside to get picked up by the bus, since we have to go to another site. About 15min later, we suddenly see what looks like our bus speeding out of the driveway without us. We are totally confounded but since no one has called us, we decided to continue waiting.
5pm!!! Finally the bus comes back and picks us up. What happened? The crew on-site had left something on the bus so the bus got called back. (-_-)"' Poor intern who was supposed to look after us also got left behind without notice. To her it was like the bus suddenly disappeared. It would have made more sense to pick us up on the way out also instead of turning back. Dumb. Anyway. That's not the end of it.
5.15pm, we reach the site. But wait on the bus first. Must check with boss what is happening. Ok. So we wait. And wait. And wait some more. At 7pm, boss finally comes up the bus and says sorry sorry, but things really went haywire. First they were ahead schedule, but shit! Jemalelinh and I weren't there to start our part early! Rush us down to the site and in the meanwhile, work on another section but shit! The apparatus is on the bus that went to pick us up! Finally get us down to the site but oh bloody crap!! Something else had to be done!!! So we effectively waited 2.5hrs for nothing. Anyway now it's late so might as well break for dinner first. Then suddenly they realize, oh eff... In the rush to get Jemalelinh and I on site, we weren't given time to get prepped up for the work. But nobody had the cow sense to send us back to HQ during our wonderful limbo period in the bus to get prepped. So instead of joining everyone for dinner, Jemalelinh and I are sent back to HQ. AS says she will tapao dinner for us. So we get prepped and rush down to Adam Road food centre thinking we're picking everyone else up and we will eat on the bus back to the site. But nooooo... We get to the food centre and eh?? We're supposed to go down and buy our food and eat there???? Bloody waste of time but OK lor! Whatever.
FINALLY! We get back to the site and we start work. Everything seems to go well until Jemalelinh and I are told to wait for a while as we're not needed for a certain section of the project. Ok so we go off to wait somewhere. There was nothing to sit on so we had to sit on the dirt. There is absolutely NO welfare for temps. Once again Jemalelinh and I were made to wait for almost 2hours before we were called out again. By this time it's already about 12.30am. Work some more, work some more. OK DONE! Just need one last thing but the rest of the crew have to move all the equipment to the other end of the site first.
So as we 4 girls (2 plus another temp and the intern) are waiting with boss and AS, we start talking and Jemalelinh says actually her parents are already waiting at HQ. Boss is like HUH?? Didn't you tell them you'd be ending late? I cut in and said yes well, the schedule said we'd be done by 12am. Boss is confused and stupid AS (we all hate the AS. She is BLOODY irritating) says noooooooo!! The schedule clearly says 2am! And she starts flipping through her file for the schedule to show us but we calmly inform them that it's 2am for the OTHER temp. For Jemalelinh and I it's 12am. You should've seen her face fall. Proven wrong then not happy already lah! Stupid cow. Boss is like oohhh shiiitt.... How come there's such a cockup in the schedule??? So sorry! But boss is nice and we all like the boss so we all can forgive boss.
The wonderful thorny cherry on the whipcream of irritation is when after we finally finish the last section and we're packing up to go back to HQ, AS comes along with her stupid file of schedules and says see see, this is the old schedule yah? I looked and pointed out the end-time to her and said yah, 12am. Then she flips to another green piece of paper and says but you see here, this is the new schedule. I didn't want to tell her that actually the "new" schedule states Jemalelinh's and my end-time as 10.45pm. I just told her that well, we weren't told. NONONO! She says! I called you this afternoon what!! Jemalelinh and I look at her calmly and explained very kindly (as you would to people with low mental ability), that she only told us the new reporting time. What we WEREN'T informed off was that our end-time had also changed.
Bloody cow I tell you. I really wanted to just slap her. Even when we were being dropped off at the HQ she was being stupid. We had to return our passes at the entrance gate and poor intern was trying to get the message across that Jemalelinh and I had to be dropped off at the gate but stupid AS was dunno talking about what with the boss so they didn't hear any of us at all. Then when the bus had already driven inside the compound and they found out we had to return our passes, gave us exasperated looks and said why didn't you say so earlier?? Poor intern tried to explain but they wouldn't listen. Boss just left it at the aiyah, nevermind lah, but thanks girls for all your hard work and got off the bus. That bloody AS, as the bus turned around to send us back to the gate, just kept on chiding and chiding as if Jemalelinh, intern and I had no common sense at all and we were all in the fault for everything except herself and her inability to listen. I tell you...... I really wanted to just hit her! Not slap anymore. I wanted to PUNCH HER BLOODY FACE IN!!!! F***ed up.
So glad it's all over. Don't have to see that stupid woman ever again. I shall go and bathe now and go to sleep. 3.44am already. Ranted for an hour. Goodness. But I really had to get it off my chest. Hmph. Stupid cow.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Some Updates
Alright alright. Due to popular demand, I have returned to blog some more about my life, which is basically one huge rant fest. I don't know why people bother reading this really. My life is so boring compared to other people like say... Monkey! Monkey is having such an adventure now. And Bubba's about to embark on another exciting adventure too! Go and read their lives. Shoo. But for those who need a cure for insomnia... Here's the life of a siew mai called Veetwo.
I've started with my Japanese at Ikoma Language School. Monday was the first lesson I had with my actual class and sensei, Nakamura-san. Only it was to be my first AND last lesson with Nakamura-sensei, since she's going to be starting work with a Japanese company this coming week. Sigh. And she was such a nice sensei too. So sad. My new sensei is going to be this woman called Ueda-san. I hope she's nice. Eep. I realized that a lot of the "new" stuff that we're learning now isn't exactly new for me. I've learnt it all in NUS... Oops. Think by right I'm probably half-JLPT 2 or something. Oh well, nevermind. This is serving as very good revision for me. Considering how much I have forgotten already. It's stupid. I remember certain more complicated sentence structures but no longer have any clue how to form some simpler ones. Super diao-ded. (-_-)'"
Missed my first book-keeping class on Tuesday due to... erm... Part-time work. Oh did I mention that my schedule has changed? The book-keeping is now every Tuesdays and Saturdays instead of Wed/Sat. And erm... Yes... I am currently working on a... project. Temporary basis of course. It will be over by the coming Wednesday. I might tell you people all about it when the time comes. Maybe.
Anyhow, back to book-keeping. I attended the second lesson today, which was the first lesson for me. Thank goodness I wasn't the only one who had missed Tuesday's lesson. There were 3 others and I managed to get to know one of them. Girl called Janice. Having a "friend" in any class always makes the class more bearable. Have yet to find a "friend" at Ikoma. Sniff! Anyway. The class was quite fun, but at the end of it was also very very brain-fried. Not just brain-dead mind you. Brain FRIED. Sizzled into nothingness. What to do... Had to learn the previous 3hours from Tuesday as well as today's 3 hours. 6 Hours worth of accounts keeping in 3 hours. Total peng san boy. (x_x) The amount of homework is phenomenal for a part-time course. I have to prepare at least 2 Tradings, profits and loss sheets, 2 balance sheets and dunno how many other tables and charts. And this is just the second lesson of the ELEMENTARY level. Can you imagine when I get to Intermediate?? POOOH!!! Die.
Oh craps. I might miss out on next Tuesday's class again. That silly project again. Dammit. The schedule they gave me says I should be done by 5pm... But somehow I think it will drag until 7pm. Dammit. And I'll have to travel from freaking Boon Lay. Pah!
まったく...早く終わりなさい！！！
I've started with my Japanese at Ikoma Language School. Monday was the first lesson I had with my actual class and sensei, Nakamura-san. Only it was to be my first AND last lesson with Nakamura-sensei, since she's going to be starting work with a Japanese company this coming week. Sigh. And she was such a nice sensei too. So sad. My new sensei is going to be this woman called Ueda-san. I hope she's nice. Eep. I realized that a lot of the "new" stuff that we're learning now isn't exactly new for me. I've learnt it all in NUS... Oops. Think by right I'm probably half-JLPT 2 or something. Oh well, nevermind. This is serving as very good revision for me. Considering how much I have forgotten already. It's stupid. I remember certain more complicated sentence structures but no longer have any clue how to form some simpler ones. Super diao-ded. (-_-)'"
Missed my first book-keeping class on Tuesday due to... erm... Part-time work. Oh did I mention that my schedule has changed? The book-keeping is now every Tuesdays and Saturdays instead of Wed/Sat. And erm... Yes... I am currently working on a... project. Temporary basis of course. It will be over by the coming Wednesday. I might tell you people all about it when the time comes. Maybe.
Anyhow, back to book-keeping. I attended the second lesson today, which was the first lesson for me. Thank goodness I wasn't the only one who had missed Tuesday's lesson. There were 3 others and I managed to get to know one of them. Girl called Janice. Having a "friend" in any class always makes the class more bearable. Have yet to find a "friend" at Ikoma. Sniff! Anyway. The class was quite fun, but at the end of it was also very very brain-fried. Not just brain-dead mind you. Brain FRIED. Sizzled into nothingness. What to do... Had to learn the previous 3hours from Tuesday as well as today's 3 hours. 6 Hours worth of accounts keeping in 3 hours. Total peng san boy. (x_x) The amount of homework is phenomenal for a part-time course. I have to prepare at least 2 Tradings, profits and loss sheets, 2 balance sheets and dunno how many other tables and charts. And this is just the second lesson of the ELEMENTARY level. Can you imagine when I get to Intermediate?? POOOH!!! Die.
Oh craps. I might miss out on next Tuesday's class again. That silly project again. Dammit. The schedule they gave me says I should be done by 5pm... But somehow I think it will drag until 7pm. Dammit. And I'll have to travel from freaking Boon Lay. Pah!
まったく...早く終わりなさい！！！
Monday, February 07, 2005
Almost Here
Almost Here
Bryan McFadden/Delta Goodrem
Irish Son/ Mistaken Identity
(Guy) Did I hear you right?
'Cause I thought you said,
Let's think it over
You have been my life
And I never planned
Growing old without you
Shadows bleeding through the light
Where a love once shined so bright
Came without a reason
Don't let go on us tonight
Love's not always black and white
Haven't I always loved you?
(Girl) But when I need you
You're almost here
And I know that's
Not enough
And when I'm with you
I'm close to tears
'Cause you're only almost here
(Guy) I would change the world
If I had a chance.
Oh won't you let me?
Treat me like a child
(Together) Throw your arms around me
(Guy) Oh please protect me
(Together) Bruised and battered by your words
Dazed and shattered how it hurts
(Guy) Haven't I always loved you?
(Girl) But when I need you
You're almost here
And I know that's
Not enough
And when I'm with you
I'm close to tears
'Cause you're only almost here
(Together) Bruised and battered by your words
Dazed and shattered now it hurts
(Guy) Haven't I always loved you?
(Girl) But when I need you, you're almost here
(Guy) Well I never knew how far behind I'd left you
(Girl) And when I hold you, you're almost here
(Guy) Well I'm sorry that I took our love for granted
(Together) And now I'm with you, I'm close to tears
(Guy) 'Cause I know I'm almost here
(Together) Only almost here
Bryan McFadden/Delta Goodrem
Irish Son/ Mistaken Identity
(Guy) Did I hear you right?
'Cause I thought you said,
Let's think it over
You have been my life
And I never planned
Growing old without you
Shadows bleeding through the light
Where a love once shined so bright
Came without a reason
Don't let go on us tonight
Love's not always black and white
Haven't I always loved you?
(Girl) But when I need you
You're almost here
And I know that's
Not enough
And when I'm with you
I'm close to tears
'Cause you're only almost here
(Guy) I would change the world
If I had a chance.
Oh won't you let me?
Treat me like a child
(Together) Throw your arms around me
(Guy) Oh please protect me
(Together) Bruised and battered by your words
Dazed and shattered how it hurts
(Guy) Haven't I always loved you?
(Girl) But when I need you
You're almost here
And I know that's
Not enough
And when I'm with you
I'm close to tears
'Cause you're only almost here
(Together) Bruised and battered by your words
Dazed and shattered now it hurts
(Guy) Haven't I always loved you?
(Girl) But when I need you, you're almost here
(Guy) Well I never knew how far behind I'd left you
(Girl) And when I hold you, you're almost here
(Guy) Well I'm sorry that I took our love for granted
(Together) And now I'm with you, I'm close to tears
(Guy) 'Cause I know I'm almost here
(Together) Only almost here
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Do We Really Break Up Like This ~ The Grasshoppers
难道我们就这样分手
歌手:草蜢 专辑:爱不怕
曲:蔡一智
词:林夕
编曲:王双骏
如果你寂寞是因为我停不了的忙碌
我愿意什么都放下不顾
如果你伤心是因为我不小心的疏忽
就用我一生的时间弥补
想不到让你爱我爱得那么痛苦
我以为已经尽了所能对你付出
从来也没有人会让我(如此)无助
想不到沉默的表示会是种错误
就让我大声宣布我的在乎
是不是雨个人在一起只是为了寄托
如果是这样我该怎么做
难道爱一个人只因为他的时间够多
而多年的感情不算什么
难道我们真的就这样分手
来不及告诉我有什么方法可以补救
难道我们就这样永远分手
没时间让我去问你
为什么你觉得我爱你爱得不够
这样分手
找一个我们都愿意相信的理由
一定是我的付出还不够
让你有所保留
一定是我没有好好地告诉你我的感受
不管我们之间相爱已有多久
Translation:
Do We Really Break Up Like This
The Grasshoppers Album: Not Afraid of Love
Composition: Cai Yizhi
Lyrics: Lin Xi
Additional Music: Wang Xuang Jun
If my occupations are the cause of your loneliness,
I would give up everything willingly.
If you’re hurting because I never noticed,
I’ll make it up to you for a lifetime.
I never thought that your loving me would be so painful.
I thought I had done everything I could for you.
But never before has anyone rendered me so helpless.
I never knew silence was a mistake too.
Now, let me proclaim out loud how much I care!
Do people only stay together to burden each other with hopes and dreams?
If that’s the case what should I do?
Can it be you should only love someone who’s got time spare?
And years of feelings mean nothing?
Are we really breaking up like this?
There was no time to tell me how to fix things.
Are we really breaking up forever?
There was no time for me to ask you,
Why you thought I didn’t love you enough.
To break up like this…
Find a reason we can both believe in.
It must be that I didn’t do enough,
To make you want to stay.
It must be that I never really told you how I felt,
Even though we’ve been together so long.
歌手:草蜢 专辑:爱不怕
曲:蔡一智
词:林夕
编曲:王双骏
如果你寂寞是因为我停不了的忙碌
我愿意什么都放下不顾
如果你伤心是因为我不小心的疏忽
就用我一生的时间弥补
想不到让你爱我爱得那么痛苦
我以为已经尽了所能对你付出
从来也没有人会让我(如此)无助
想不到沉默的表示会是种错误
就让我大声宣布我的在乎
是不是雨个人在一起只是为了寄托
如果是这样我该怎么做
难道爱一个人只因为他的时间够多
而多年的感情不算什么
难道我们真的就这样分手
来不及告诉我有什么方法可以补救
难道我们就这样永远分手
没时间让我去问你
为什么你觉得我爱你爱得不够
这样分手
找一个我们都愿意相信的理由
一定是我的付出还不够
让你有所保留
一定是我没有好好地告诉你我的感受
不管我们之间相爱已有多久
Translation:
Do We Really Break Up Like This
The Grasshoppers Album: Not Afraid of Love
Composition: Cai Yizhi
Lyrics: Lin Xi
Additional Music: Wang Xuang Jun
If my occupations are the cause of your loneliness,
I would give up everything willingly.
If you’re hurting because I never noticed,
I’ll make it up to you for a lifetime.
I never thought that your loving me would be so painful.
I thought I had done everything I could for you.
But never before has anyone rendered me so helpless.
I never knew silence was a mistake too.
Now, let me proclaim out loud how much I care!
Do people only stay together to burden each other with hopes and dreams?
If that’s the case what should I do?
Can it be you should only love someone who’s got time spare?
And years of feelings mean nothing?
Are we really breaking up like this?
There was no time to tell me how to fix things.
Are we really breaking up forever?
There was no time for me to ask you,
Why you thought I didn’t love you enough.
To break up like this…
Find a reason we can both believe in.
It must be that I didn’t do enough,
To make you want to stay.
It must be that I never really told you how I felt,
Even though we’ve been together so long.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Administrator Van
*adjusts new square-rimmed glasses* Ahem!
I'm on my way towards administration or management I think. Just look at the classes I just signed up for today...
1) Intermediate Japanese (JLPT Level 3) at Ikoma Language School
This was quite an adventure. I went over to check them out because I wasn't allowed to make a late enrolment at Pyaesse. The earliest I could enrol there was April. (-_-)"' So I went over to Ikoma and they said well, if you like, they could conduct a placement test for me on the spot, in the form of an informal interview, to see if I could join in any of the classes halfway. So out came these two senseis (one was called Nakamura... I can't remember the other one. I feel terrible coz I think I've been enrolled in her class.) just as I finished filling up a form requesting a placement test, and they started talking to me. I understood most of what they said to me, but for the life of me I couldn't remember my spoken Japanese and just sputtered through everything. I think I told them that I finished at NUS when I was trying to say that my studies in NUS stopped. Big Oops. But at the end of it all, my future-class sensei said that I was good! She said that clearly I could understand what she was saying and she actually understood what I said. So I was allowed to enrol exactly halfway into the current term, and the first lesson was supposed to just serve as a revision for me. (O_O) I couldn't believe my ears. I thought I was just making a fool of myself.
2) LCCI certification Book Keeping course at BMC (Ang Mo Kio Branch)
Check it out. I'm going to learn how to manage account books! Admin/Accounts Assistant Siew Mai is born! This is a very useful certification for potential secretaries or personal assistants apparently. And if ever I go into business with friends *blinks at certain pple* this will DEFINITELY come in handy. No need to hire anyone to settle my books. It's quite xiong.. Twice a week, 3 hours each time every Wednesday and Saturday. The receptionist who registered me got quite a shock when I said I was an NUS dropout, coz apparently she was from NUS as well. She was like, "Isn't that so wasted?? What modules did you take??? Almost graduated right?? So wasted!" I'm thinking,"Yes I know all that already. Can you just register me???" But I just smiled and said yah to everything she said. See? On my way to becoming typical admin person. Hahaha.
Anyhow. With these two classes, my week is officially half-gone. My current schedule stands as such:
Monday 7.15pm - 9.45pm Japanese Language
Wednesday 7pm - 10pm Book keeping
Thursday 7.30pm - 9.30pm Flamenco Primer/Segundo
Saturday 2pm - 5pm Book keeping
Egads. I will have no social life soon. And I'll never have to come home for dinner again!! (T_T) *shudder*
I'm on my way towards administration or management I think. Just look at the classes I just signed up for today...
1) Intermediate Japanese (JLPT Level 3) at Ikoma Language School
This was quite an adventure. I went over to check them out because I wasn't allowed to make a late enrolment at Pyaesse. The earliest I could enrol there was April. (-_-)"' So I went over to Ikoma and they said well, if you like, they could conduct a placement test for me on the spot, in the form of an informal interview, to see if I could join in any of the classes halfway. So out came these two senseis (one was called Nakamura... I can't remember the other one. I feel terrible coz I think I've been enrolled in her class.) just as I finished filling up a form requesting a placement test, and they started talking to me. I understood most of what they said to me, but for the life of me I couldn't remember my spoken Japanese and just sputtered through everything. I think I told them that I finished at NUS when I was trying to say that my studies in NUS stopped. Big Oops. But at the end of it all, my future-class sensei said that I was good! She said that clearly I could understand what she was saying and she actually understood what I said. So I was allowed to enrol exactly halfway into the current term, and the first lesson was supposed to just serve as a revision for me. (O_O) I couldn't believe my ears. I thought I was just making a fool of myself.
2) LCCI certification Book Keeping course at BMC (Ang Mo Kio Branch)
Check it out. I'm going to learn how to manage account books! Admin/Accounts Assistant Siew Mai is born! This is a very useful certification for potential secretaries or personal assistants apparently. And if ever I go into business with friends *blinks at certain pple* this will DEFINITELY come in handy. No need to hire anyone to settle my books. It's quite xiong.. Twice a week, 3 hours each time every Wednesday and Saturday. The receptionist who registered me got quite a shock when I said I was an NUS dropout, coz apparently she was from NUS as well. She was like, "Isn't that so wasted?? What modules did you take??? Almost graduated right?? So wasted!" I'm thinking,"Yes I know all that already. Can you just register me???" But I just smiled and said yah to everything she said. See? On my way to becoming typical admin person. Hahaha.
Anyhow. With these two classes, my week is officially half-gone. My current schedule stands as such:
Monday 7.15pm - 9.45pm Japanese Language
Wednesday 7pm - 10pm Book keeping
Thursday 7.30pm - 9.30pm Flamenco Primer/Segundo
Saturday 2pm - 5pm Book keeping
Egads. I will have no social life soon. And I'll never have to come home for dinner again!! (T_T) *shudder*
Monday, January 31, 2005
Comment Feature... ??
Something's up with my comment feature... I dunno... Doesn't seem to be working the way I want it to...
Test test...
Edit 8.36pm: I is not understanding. When I take away a certain html tag, all the comments show on my blog, which make it cluttered. Whereas if I put that html tag back in, my comment feature just disappears completely. I is not understanding this. Dunno WHAT the heck is going on. Oh well...
Edit Feb 01 6pm: Since I can't get the comment feature to work properly, it has been disabled.. Sorry pple. Have to make do with flooble.
Test test...
Edit 8.36pm: I is not understanding. When I take away a certain html tag, all the comments show on my blog, which make it cluttered. Whereas if I put that html tag back in, my comment feature just disappears completely. I is not understanding this. Dunno WHAT the heck is going on. Oh well...
Edit Feb 01 6pm: Since I can't get the comment feature to work properly, it has been disabled.. Sorry pple. Have to make do with flooble.
Announcing...SIEWMAnIme
Introducing anime/manga, Siew Mai Style... Siewmanime!
Heh.
I have a new blog, just for posting my various doodlings. Go check it out. Not very complete though.
*~Siew Mai Style~*
Heh.
I have a new blog, just for posting my various doodlings. Go check it out. Not very complete though.
*~Siew Mai Style~*
Friday, January 28, 2005
Another Song Translation!
Haven't done one of these for a while. This is the ending theme from one of my latest obsessions that shows every night (really EVERY night. Monday to Sunday...) from 12.30am to 1.30am on Channel U. This 古装戏 called 移山倒海 樊梨花 (Yi Shan Dao Hai Fan Li Hua) or The Tales of Fan Li Hua. Very addictive show. Lots of angst. Hahaha! Anyway, here's the song. It's supposed to be two lovers singing a prayer to the Goddess of the Moon I think... The translation might not be very accurate coz it's actually a fu2 jian4 song. Taiwan show mah... So it's different from cantonese and not quite mandarin. My first time translating a fu2 jian4 song. Hir hir hir... If anyone spots any inaccuracies, drop me a post.
月娘啊!听我讲
歌手:江蕙/熊天益 曲/词:熊天益
（女）
啊月娘乎我拜托
这届请你爱照顾
这呢坎坷的人嗯望的爱
呒通搁再使我
吞落悲伤的目屎
是伊是伊温柔我的心
（男）
是什么使我坚持
孤单等甲这东时
耽误热情青春的花期
当我呒愿搁作梦
吞落悲伤的目屎
是伊是伊温柔我的心
（女）
是伊惦阮身边
呒管谁人怎样看
伴阮流浪的人向前行
（男）
是伊惦心内知影我会惊
犹原疼惜无奈的我
若是会冻知影我的梦
（合）
请你一定着爱保庇伊的人
（女）
总是有情人会冻体会
歌声流泄的心意
你看今夜裵两人的月当圆
（男）
呒通搁再使我
吞落悲伤的目屎
是伊是伊温柔我的心
（女）
是伊惦阮身边
呒管谁人怎样看
伴阮这款流浪的性命
（男）
是伊阮心内知影我会惊
犹原疼惜无奈的我
若是会冻知影我的梦
（合）
请你一定着爱保庇伊的人
Translation
Moon Goddess! Hear Me
Vocals: Jiang Hui/Xiong Tian Yi Composed/Lyrics: Xiong Tian Yi
(Woman)
Ah Moon Goddess, hear my prayer
This once, please take care
Of the love this undeserving person desires.
Please don’t make me
Swallow tears of sorrow again.
Who, who will warm my heart?
(Man)
What is it that makes me insist
On waiting alone until it’s too late,
Missing out on the spring of passion.
When I dream subconsciously,
I swallow tears of sorrow.
Who, who will warm my heart?
(Woman)
Who is it that stays so close?
Disregarding what others think,
To journey on with this vagrant wanderer.
(Man)
Who is this who knows my fears?
That loves a useless me without hesitation.
If my dreams can be known
(Together)
Please love and protect this person.
(Woman)
There will always be lovers who know
The true heart of the ever-flowing song.
See, on this sad night for two, how round the moon is.
(Man)
Please don’t make me
Swallow tears of sorrow
Who, who will warm my heart.
(Woman)
Who is it that stays so close?
Disregarding what others think,
To accompany this loner’s life.
(Man)
Who is this who knows my fears?
That loves a useless me without hesitation.
If you know my dreams
(Together)
Please love and protect this person.
月娘啊!听我讲
歌手:江蕙/熊天益 曲/词:熊天益
（女）
啊月娘乎我拜托
这届请你爱照顾
这呢坎坷的人嗯望的爱
呒通搁再使我
吞落悲伤的目屎
是伊是伊温柔我的心
（男）
是什么使我坚持
孤单等甲这东时
耽误热情青春的花期
当我呒愿搁作梦
吞落悲伤的目屎
是伊是伊温柔我的心
（女）
是伊惦阮身边
呒管谁人怎样看
伴阮流浪的人向前行
（男）
是伊惦心内知影我会惊
犹原疼惜无奈的我
若是会冻知影我的梦
（合）
请你一定着爱保庇伊的人
（女）
总是有情人会冻体会
歌声流泄的心意
你看今夜裵两人的月当圆
（男）
呒通搁再使我
吞落悲伤的目屎
是伊是伊温柔我的心
（女）
是伊惦阮身边
呒管谁人怎样看
伴阮这款流浪的性命
（男）
是伊阮心内知影我会惊
犹原疼惜无奈的我
若是会冻知影我的梦
（合）
请你一定着爱保庇伊的人
Translation
Moon Goddess! Hear Me
Vocals: Jiang Hui/Xiong Tian Yi Composed/Lyrics: Xiong Tian Yi
(Woman)
Ah Moon Goddess, hear my prayer
This once, please take care
Of the love this undeserving person desires.
Please don’t make me
Swallow tears of sorrow again.
Who, who will warm my heart?
(Man)
What is it that makes me insist
On waiting alone until it’s too late,
Missing out on the spring of passion.
When I dream subconsciously,
I swallow tears of sorrow.
Who, who will warm my heart?
(Woman)
Who is it that stays so close?
Disregarding what others think,
To journey on with this vagrant wanderer.
(Man)
Who is this who knows my fears?
That loves a useless me without hesitation.
If my dreams can be known
(Together)
Please love and protect this person.
(Woman)
There will always be lovers who know
The true heart of the ever-flowing song.
See, on this sad night for two, how round the moon is.
(Man)
Please don’t make me
Swallow tears of sorrow
Who, who will warm my heart.
(Woman)
Who is it that stays so close?
Disregarding what others think,
To accompany this loner’s life.
(Man)
Who is this who knows my fears?
That loves a useless me without hesitation.
If you know my dreams
(Together)
Please love and protect this person.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Flamenco High. Baile!!
Have decided to enable the comment feature on my blog. This is for people who think that my flooble is too small for real commentary. :D But you're welcome to make noise in both places. Hahah..
Job Update: Still no job. Lalala... Still searching the classifieds. Don't worry!! Siew Mai will presevere!! Thanx everyone for the overwhelming support and lobang-lookouts!! Even trainer Shane is offering to help! So touched!!! *muakz* to everyone... except Shane. I'll just promise to do my cardio more regularly. Heh..
Just came back from flamenco class!!! Classes rather.. Since the four of us (Lydia, Pearl, Nekoweenie and me) from the primer class decided to stay on for the segundo class. Primer was quite fun. It was kind of like an extension of preparatorio, so it wasn't too difficult. And there was a family than joined us today. So cute. Parents and their daughter learning flamenco together. Then after primer we stayed on for segundo and it was like worlds apart!!!! The actual segundo people came in and we hid behind them during the class, trying very hard to copy them. MY GOODNESS!!! The speed of the zapateado is like 10x the speed we were doing in preparatorio. I was probably like the worst of the lot lah. Couldn't get the beat at all. Poor Angel was looking more stressed by the minute. But in the end it was FUN!!! AHAHHAHA!!! I must practice my ria. Totally off already. See lah. Two months never practice, dunno how to do ria already. Tsk tsk... Ok Nekoweenie, when are we going to have private practices with each other? Let's have that flamenco video marathon some weekend soon. WHeeee!!! High already. Hahahaha...
OOOOOOOHHH!!! And we got our exam certs back!!! Nekoweenie and I both got HONOURS!!!! Yay yay!!! That's just one below Honours with Distinction!! MY GOSH!!! I thought I'd be getting only a commended at best because I made so many mistakes!!! I would've been thankful for just a pass!! But Deanna Blacher gave me HONOURS!!! YAY YAY YAY!!! So happy!!! Flamenco! Baile!! *ta ria ria**stomp stomp stomp**clap clap*
Job Update: Still no job. Lalala... Still searching the classifieds. Don't worry!! Siew Mai will presevere!! Thanx everyone for the overwhelming support and lobang-lookouts!! Even trainer Shane is offering to help! So touched!!! *muakz* to everyone... except Shane. I'll just promise to do my cardio more regularly. Heh..
Just came back from flamenco class!!! Classes rather.. Since the four of us (Lydia, Pearl, Nekoweenie and me) from the primer class decided to stay on for the segundo class. Primer was quite fun. It was kind of like an extension of preparatorio, so it wasn't too difficult. And there was a family than joined us today. So cute. Parents and their daughter learning flamenco together. Then after primer we stayed on for segundo and it was like worlds apart!!!! The actual segundo people came in and we hid behind them during the class, trying very hard to copy them. MY GOODNESS!!! The speed of the zapateado is like 10x the speed we were doing in preparatorio. I was probably like the worst of the lot lah. Couldn't get the beat at all. Poor Angel was looking more stressed by the minute. But in the end it was FUN!!! AHAHHAHA!!! I must practice my ria. Totally off already. See lah. Two months never practice, dunno how to do ria already. Tsk tsk... Ok Nekoweenie, when are we going to have private practices with each other? Let's have that flamenco video marathon some weekend soon. WHeeee!!! High already. Hahahaha...
OOOOOOOHHH!!! And we got our exam certs back!!! Nekoweenie and I both got HONOURS!!!! Yay yay!!! That's just one below Honours with Distinction!! MY GOSH!!! I thought I'd be getting only a commended at best because I made so many mistakes!!! I would've been thankful for just a pass!! But Deanna Blacher gave me HONOURS!!! YAY YAY YAY!!! So happy!!! Flamenco! Baile!! *ta ria ria**stomp stomp stomp**clap clap*
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
A Future In Popcorn?
Well... I went down to Heeren today to check out the store which placed an ad in the classifieds. Turned out to be this beach/swim/sports wear store called NewUrbanMale, which did have a small section for ladies wear but catered mainly to the New Urban Male. So in slight shock, I decided to walk around the Annex for a while to see if there were other options and also to decide whether or not to go into NewUrbanMale and ask about the job. There were two other stores which placed an ad on their windows, one was a ladies clothing store and the other was a little store which sold only sunglasses. So after some discussion with Nekoweenie, I went into the ladies clothing store to ask about the job. I was turned down immediately. Why? No retail experience. Sigh. The only complaint I have is that the ad on the window didn't specify that retail experience was required. But I suppose I should have expected that. So stupid.
Anyway, after that rather embarressing encounter, I hung around wondering about NewUrbanMale for a little while, then decided not to pursue it since they probably want someone with retail experience also, just that they couldn't afford so many lines in the classifieds. Felt a little depressed after that so left to go to FitnessFirst for a short run on the treadmill in hopes that the resultant endorphines would cheer me up. After a 35minute session on the machine, went and showered and proceeded to go home... Not feeling any different. If anything I was getting slightly more depressed about the whole thing. I need working experience to get a job but if I don't get a job I'll never get any working experience. What a paradox. And it's true which makes it suck all the more. Sigh. I've only ever worked 3 1/2 months in NUH as a temp admin assistant... But only because I managed to land a lobang from my aunt. I don't think it really counts for much. Haiz. Will I really end up popping corn and issuing tickets and mopping floors for GV?
Anyway, after that rather embarressing encounter, I hung around wondering about NewUrbanMale for a little while, then decided not to pursue it since they probably want someone with retail experience also, just that they couldn't afford so many lines in the classifieds. Felt a little depressed after that so left to go to FitnessFirst for a short run on the treadmill in hopes that the resultant endorphines would cheer me up. After a 35minute session on the machine, went and showered and proceeded to go home... Not feeling any different. If anything I was getting slightly more depressed about the whole thing. I need working experience to get a job but if I don't get a job I'll never get any working experience. What a paradox. And it's true which makes it suck all the more. Sigh. I've only ever worked 3 1/2 months in NUH as a temp admin assistant... But only because I managed to land a lobang from my aunt. I don't think it really counts for much. Haiz. Will I really end up popping corn and issuing tickets and mopping floors for GV?
Extra Update
Ooop.. Just realized that an entry about curry puffs is quite a far cry from the one before (which had the most crying I ever had in a single entry) and I should actually update people as to how I'm doing now in the emotional state department or whether I've just gone and lost all sense of sanity.
I'm doing ok. Still freaked out about having to go look for a job even though I have very little working experience and no degree to speak of. But it helped that on that particular day I wrote that prayer, somebody called me up and instead of telling me of things I should be doing, listened to me cry over the phone. Even though I probably wasn't very comprehensible, this person listened anyway and when I stopped talking to sob - which was a number of times - kept silent and never once asked me to stop. I woke up the next day with my eyes slightly swollen but I did feel much better. Still freaked but at least it's not the end of the world anymore. That one phone call helped me deal with the fear inside so I'm really grateful for my friend. I needed to cry and I needed someone to cry to, without any interruptions. So now I'm done crying and I've learnt that there's actually someone who's willing to listen to me cry. And that helps. :)
Now I just have to see about that job...
I'm doing ok. Still freaked out about having to go look for a job even though I have very little working experience and no degree to speak of. But it helped that on that particular day I wrote that prayer, somebody called me up and instead of telling me of things I should be doing, listened to me cry over the phone. Even though I probably wasn't very comprehensible, this person listened anyway and when I stopped talking to sob - which was a number of times - kept silent and never once asked me to stop. I woke up the next day with my eyes slightly swollen but I did feel much better. Still freaked but at least it's not the end of the world anymore. That one phone call helped me deal with the fear inside so I'm really grateful for my friend. I needed to cry and I needed someone to cry to, without any interruptions. So now I'm done crying and I've learnt that there's actually someone who's willing to listen to me cry. And that helps. :)
Now I just have to see about that job...
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Never-ending Job Hunt... And Curry Puffs
Had a curry puff just now, but I think it's been justified by the fact that I walked all the way to Junction 8 and then walked all the way back again. Heh. Went there to do some grocery shopping at NTUC with my sis and the maid, but in the end we only managed to get half of what we wanted to buy at the neighbourhood Prime Supermarket on the way back. We actually managed to find everything at NTUC and we were lining up at the checkout counter already when the system suddenly hung. It was quite amusing. All the counters except for one couldn't operate. So there was this one amazingly long queue right at the very end, all the other cashiers were in a mild panic and the floor supervisor looked like he was about to cry. Most of the customers rushed over to the one working counter while some patiently waited in their original queue. I think by the time we left the working queue had stretched from the counters to the opposite wall.. I'm not very sure but it was a bloody lot of people. Other customers who were in a rush or decided it wasn't worth waiting so long just quietly put their groceries back or left them with the NTUC people and left. And from the chaos emerged the much feared Ugly Singaporeans, madly steering their carts towards the working queue to try and claim a space or making demands at the crew who really couldn't do anything since this was an overall system failure. One particular woman came up to the nice auntie serving our counter and asked if she could just pay up without scanning all the groceries. Of course the auntie said no, cannot. Because they'd have to account for the stock. The woman's face became really really black and she very discourteously and loudly exclaimed, "HUH!! FORGET IT!" and stormed out. Come on!! It's nobody's fault here. What's the point at shouting demands at the counter crew when they themselves have no idea what triggered the system failure? And they're probably at a greater disadvantage than we are since they're the ones who are about to lose hundreds of dollars tonight. We just have to change our dinner plans for tomorrow. Tsk...
Anyhow, I finally recieved an official letter from NUS stating that my appeal has been rejected. I sent in the appeal on the 3rd and the referrals on the 5th. This letter they sent was dated the 20th and today is the 25th. Yup. NUS is indeed a world-class university in terms of efficiency. Ahh.. Not that it matters anymore.
Still looking for a job. Going down to Heeren tomorrow to try my luck after seeing a very very tiny ad in the classifieds today about some clothing store there that needs people. I suppose manning a store is slightly better than being service/counter crew at GV. But maybe if I don't get the clothing store job I will apply to be counter crew for GV... Hahaha... A job's a job right? Somebody has to do it anyway.
Unless... Somebody's got a lobang hidden away somewhere... Anyone with a family cafe that needs help? Lalalala...
I want another curry puff... *drool*
Anyhow, I finally recieved an official letter from NUS stating that my appeal has been rejected. I sent in the appeal on the 3rd and the referrals on the 5th. This letter they sent was dated the 20th and today is the 25th. Yup. NUS is indeed a world-class university in terms of efficiency. Ahh.. Not that it matters anymore.
Still looking for a job. Going down to Heeren tomorrow to try my luck after seeing a very very tiny ad in the classifieds today about some clothing store there that needs people. I suppose manning a store is slightly better than being service/counter crew at GV. But maybe if I don't get the clothing store job I will apply to be counter crew for GV... Hahaha... A job's a job right? Somebody has to do it anyway.
Unless... Somebody's got a lobang hidden away somewhere... Anyone with a family cafe that needs help? Lalalala...
I want another curry puff... *drool*
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