merry is love ;

With an open mind

A dear friend has been preaching to me of late. I think it is due to a joke I made that despite all these years of her preaching here and there, she hasn't had me any closer to becoming a Christian. I'm strong, I said. Either that, or you're ineffective. You're a tough nut to crack, she said. I will know that I have arrived when I succeed with you.

Later will be my first time visiting the temple with friends. We just realised last night, oh no, it's like what 4 days to the A's and we haven't prayed!

Fancy a game of mahjong?

Today, I mean yesterday...

I tried Trung Nguyen coffee for the first time. Wonderful! One of the best coffee I've tried.

I learnt a new phrase - carpe diem.

I learnt how to flip a bible and how terribly difficult it is to understand what is written in there. No wonder there is something called bible study.

I was so paiseh when her parents asked about my prelim grades at the dinner table 'cause just moments before, her dad was saying, 'You can never rest. You can never rest.. (her sister finished the sentence) till you die.'

I was totally unproductive 'cause we chatted so much in that room of hers.

Ugh.

Eavesdropped too much for my own good

I was (and still am) so in the mood for studying but was totally unproductive today 'cause more than half the time, I had both ears tuned to the conversations going on at the table beside us. The first was between a teacher with her students and that teacher actually gave her three students ciggies to smoke when they asked! The horror! The second one, I cannot really remember. The third was about the second-hand mobile phones and the political scene here. The last one and also the one I paid full attention to was of a man preaching so zealously to this other man who was rather cynical of it all, just as I was. But I learnt there's a thing called 'holy fire' and that it's not about passion, it's about excitement! Whatever that meant.

While walking home, I passed Macs, saw groups of people studying who really looked like they were JC kids too, felt really bad so I went in, grabbed fries and Coke and plonked down to study a hour more, even though it was already past midnight.

But! I highly doubt I will do that again in the near future 'cause the walk home sure as hell scared the shit out of me. I saw six cockroaches! SIX! If there is one thing that will deter me from coming home late in the future, it is going to be this. Those brown, flat little things. Cockroaches! Gosh.

Counting the numbers

I counted the number of good friends I have gained throughout my three years in JC. I didn't even make it to my pinkie on my right (I started from the left). Let me count again - A, P, M, S, F, W. Excluding A, the fingers on one hand are quite adequate. This is not to say I am disappointed or anything like that. In fact, I think I am quite blessed because these are the friends 'who bring me rainbows after walking hand-in-hand through the storms'. Literally, for some of them.

Really got to thank that girl, A, for standing by me these seven years even when I came to school pms-ey perpetually every day, had a superb attitude problem that irritated even the teachers and of course, through the numerous no-talking periods.

Looking at the names, I realised I had no-talking periods with two others as well. Gosh, really ought to work on that.

The others not mentioned, I guess, were just fillers of sorts, as I was to them, during that period of time we needed each other. Either that, or I don't feel that we can, as she said, be totally honest and open because at the end of the day, we know that all is definitely well again.

Listening to Maroon 5 - This Love makes me reminisce about trainings in my very first year. That was the time when the three seniors hated us three as much as we did them. It got so hostile that at one point, we blasted them because we were always getting those stupid heavy metal trolleys. Later at that white table at NSRCC, we got to know that after every training, they would sit at the bubble tea stall at Simei to bitch about us, weekday or not, which was the exact same thing we would do after every training as well. And there were the stories of the crushes, Charles, blah blah blah. Talk about frank-ness and warmth.

Love that year. Love that team. And we were the best team in MJ's history!

P.s. I realised none of the names above belongs to dragon babies. What have I been doing the past two years?!

You bitch

You freaking unreasonable bitch. You asked, I compromised and what do I get? Absolute shit. I so wanted to bring you down on the cold, hard floor right there and then. But I didn't. Even in the past, when we had our kicking fights, I always made sure I kicked hard in that bolster or pillow you were holding so that you wouldn't be injured. I reckon you did too since we never got any bruises from those fights. I still can't quite grasp the fact that you actually said that to me. You, of all people. You, whom I thought would understand the most. I didn't ever say anything like that to you last year. I understood that it was the all-important exam - the A'levels. Even when the light bothered me and woke me up, I didn't tell you to get out of the room, did I? Where has your sensitivity gone? I was hurt you know. I was so upset, I cried. Bet you didn't know that.

I insist my underwear stays on!

To tell the truth, I am aghast by her familiarity with The Act and the details.

Oh, did you know that semen feels soapy and sticky to the touch? And really, it is ~~not that~~ easy to get pregnant because, essentially, semen is alkaline and our vagina is acidic. As a result, a neutralisation reaction will occur so the sperms will not be killed.

I learnt that today. Some sort of a sex education lesson I guess.

I have had many cravings lately. I wonder if it's the stress. I wanted so badly a chocolate eclair today and I managed to get it. That sinful indulgence. Thankfully, I am suddenly enthusiastic about running so tomorrow we're going to run after studying. Pool is still unchecked. Ugh.

What else are we allowing ourselves to be robbed of?

I am guilty.

'How many times have you excused yourself to go to the restroom, only to return to a friend busy SMS-ing, and then wondered if he preferred to be elsewhere?'

'With MSN, IM, ICQ, SMS and Blackberry ..... these alternative modes facilitate superficial social contact. So we end up with breadth in our relationships but little depth.'

Boy, this one comprehension passage really enlightened me.

Anything said with a laugh is always good

My folks are back from their trip to China! With loads of stuff to boot.

They said Shanghai is truly a bustling city and is really pretty at night. And of all things, they ate Ajisen and KFC there instead of the famous street food, 鸡蛋饼. Bleh.

This was how my uncle described their time at 黄山:
抬头见雾，
左右见树，
低头走路。
I laughed when he said that. So they didn't manage to see any of that beautiful scenery everyone raved about. Bleh again.

Also, my grandaunt soiled her pants and my grandma got knocked by a motorist. Bleh bleh bleh.

But all's well and they're home. Freedom no more. Well, at least we'll be having proper meals now. And we won't have to cook. And I finally have Baileys at home. And the dead lizard on my bathroom floor is finally cleared! Woots!

I came to the realisation that my Mandarin is shit now.

Boo! I'm craving for pool again.

I'm afraid

I read that and jitters totally went down my spine. Too soon this is going to end.

Or not.

And oh my goodness, Mun actually killed a flying cockroach last night! I was so impressed. All I did was stand 8 metres away, watch her muster her courage, approach that vile creature, throw the newspapers before stepping on it and clear the dead pest.

She's a murderer! Albeit a good one.

Stayers and leavers

You, you, you, you, you and you.

What happens after all this is over?

This is ten percent luck,
Twenty percent skill,
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will,
Five percent pleasure,
Fifty percent pain.
Just to remain in the game.

A pool obsession

Went out just to play some at 9.30pm. Crazy-ness. But I am satisfied with the way I played today. Finally, I am seeing the fruits of those three to four hours long pool sessions that I haven't had in such a long long time. Ahh the I-miss-pool-and-I-so-want-to-play-pool season is here once again.

豆酱油条大王就是豆酱油条大王，对？The King is the best so I presume because that place is never not busy. We tried to go there twice and both times we had to settle for something else. The supper culture here is getting serious.

It is heartwarming to be able to form a friendship at this juncture when we no longer meet no one around school no more.

Between you and me

I love the open-ness. I love the give-and-take. I love US.

I'll just be for a few minutes

Darn, I broke the pact! Itchy fingers couldn't resist and the mind needed its daily dosage of the computer, just like a drug addict. Ugh.

I discovered something about myself today - I actually loathe mess and dirt. That's something totally unexpected seeing the state of my desk and other random whatnots around the house. The past two nights, I've been the one cleaning the stove and sinks after our dinner because I couldn't bear to see it dirty with splatters of oil and not shine like how it's supposed to. And just now, I got irritated at the untidiness of the house and began putting everything back to place, doing the laundry etc. I bet if my mom saw this, she'll be so proud of me.

Out.

This is what Coach always says

Enemies out at sea, friends on land.

Open, healthy competition!

No internet nor computer for the next three days. Why? Because he actually completed a Chemistry paper 45minutes before time without the computer switched on! The detrimental efffects of the computer.

Going cold turkey!

Pride and Jealousy

I saw first-hand what that did. Not a happy scene.

So sweet of her to give me a wake-up call when she reckoned I was probably sleeping (which I was -ugh!-) just because I said this morning that for this week, I will sleep a maximum of four hours everyday to make up for lost time. That's the result of slacking the whole weekend away. And I really mean the whole weekend down the drain because I did not a single question for Physics, Chemistry or Math. Not even a part to a question. Actually, I didn't even write anything on any piece of foolscap paper.

Cooking is therapeutic. But this I realised only today - cleaning up is so much better!

Dinner at Newton

There were so many stalls. We patronised only one stall. Way too many choices for comfort.

Temporary freedom and independence

Mummy, Grandma, Grandaunt, Aunty and Uncle started on their journey to China last night. There will be no one next door to check on us so we're free to wreak havoc! At least till night falls and Papa comes home. =) This morning, S and I dragged ourselves out the house to the wet market to buy stuff to cook! Unpleasant hawkers there were. Geylang market is so much more welcoming though it is all wet, dirty, squeezy and just very ugh but the hawkers there are smile-y!

I want to go to Thailand, Hong Kong or China to shop this year end! And I want to go Nepal! And I want to go backpacking anywhere! And I want to go to those places with nice nice scenery so that I can learn to appreciate nature and take nice nice pictures! So before I go anywhere, I want a DSLR! A Canon EOS 30D or a Nikon D80 and I'll be happy!

The very very last official day of school.

At the airport last night - cousins!

10 October - Mag's birthday

See the fish? That's a gift from Fish n Co. to Meg. We paid the bill, stepped out of the place when we realised that we missed out on the mints! So we went back in, asked for some and got a huge handful. Terribly embarrassing.

Friday the 13th indeed

The day didn't start off well. Stepped out of the house with a heavy heart. Then upon reaching my homeroom, I realised I freaking brought the camera without the freaking batteries! Ugh. What's more, the class outing was cancelled because the principal vetoed it. Lame ass. In the end, some of them went to Seoul Garden for lunch. I didn't 'cause I was hanging out at the sailing booth which is a flop once again but not quite as bad as last year's. At least, they had quite professionally done pamphlets.

They gave us a heavy black mug as our farewell gift. Hard mug, mug hard, get it?

Gave out tiny cards today. Only did a few 'cause doing a lot would be quite meaningless, isn't it? I have a classmate who wrote for everyone in class the same 4-word message, just that mine had an extra 'I love you' and it is still lying in my file. Ok I should be more appreciative.

I'm quite impressed the cards were all ready by this morning. Seriously, 80% of the time, I end up not writing the notes 'cause I would be so tired and uninspired after doing all the names. So I thanked friends for their friendship, for being part of my JC life, for being there when I needed them, for their honesty and for making me a better person. Some sort of conclusion to this chapter of my life.

She didn't forget the J2 sailors! I thought that was sweet! Later, she told the 3 of us that we had to do well for the A's because if not, it will reflect badly on her. What nonsense. We know better.

Sometimes I think she is never satisfied. Everything is so much better now but here she goes again. The start of another unhappy season I reckon. It hasn't happened in such a long time, I thought it would never return but alas, it has. It scares me because I don't want what we have now to be destroyed. I don't want us to go back to how it was like before.

All anyone wants is more time.
Time to stand up.
Time to grow up.
Time to let go.

A toast to friendship!

Too soon! The end is coming way too soon! It is hard to believe that school is officially ending in 2 days. To no longer be under the control of the teachers and be pushed to the front of this battle they call the A'levels - scary. And there will be people I won't ever see after that. Bleh.

This independent studying period has made me appreciate my friends a whole lot more. Monday was the day I realised that if I really wanted to study, I must get out of home because I would otherwise be at the computer or sleeping, slacking my life away. For the rest of the week (and a little of next) after that unproductive day, I have managed to find company! Except Saturday because of tuition and yet another family event. I think all that spontaneity is quite amazing. It is like 'hey, I think I should we study on Wednesday!' and we're on. And it is the same to another friend and another and... I love spontaneous people!

Let us raise our cups. This is to you, to me, to us!

SMS overdrive

It is a chore trying to regulate the number of outgoing sms-es. This is my very first time using the message counter and it's proving to be quite a nerve-wracking experience. From taking a longer time to reply, using internet sms and pinching sms-es from the sisters, I have done it all. But today can be a considered a lull day and I'm just 3 messages to the day's limit! Darn, how to clear the excess like that? Shouldn't even have started on message counting then I can be all ignorant and text to my heart's content like what I always did. I really wonder how some people can survive on 500 or even worse, 360 free sms-es a month.

On the bus home, there was a black (I think he's a Sri Lankan and I'm not being racist here) who pressed the bell just so that he could spit out of the exit door. Like what the crap?! His spit probably flew 4 metres or more judging from the extra potential energy it gained by because he leaned back before he spat.

Potential energy = mgh
where m = mass
g = gravitational acceleration [9.81 m/s(squared)]
h = difference in distance in the direction of the force

And no one, including me, did anything about that. Typical Singaporeans. Sigh.

Can't wait!

A said her father is sponsoring her a trip at the end of this year and she can travel with friends. Yay! She's thinking Australia. And we're planning to go backpacking and shopping in the US next year. Lodging will be covered since her auntie lives there. Double yay! It will be so cool; us four (or maybe five) going on a vacation together. Oh, and not forgetting learning how to scuba dive in Malaysia. Triple yay!

I just did 8 hours of studying so I'm kinda zonked out but these happy thoughts keep me going. =)

Mid Autumn Festival

We played with lanterns.

Haven't played them in donkey years. This was the best we could take because there was no tripod and using the flash would spoil the picture.

We fooled around.

I love this kid. He is so cute, always hyper and not afraid to go against conventions.

See, it's the moon!

Yeah right. That's the light from the flash. Brilliant huh?

Looks like daybreak doesn't it?

The wonders of soft lights. I'm quite proud of this picture. =)

Shopping with S on Friday was such a pleasure! I was laughing pretty much 90 per cent of the time because she says the dumbest stuff and does the most outrageous things! I was telling her that we can bargain in this particular watch shop in TM and woohoo! she did it and we got 20 per cent off which comes up to more than 20 dollars. She's the pro!

Some random thoughts: Words like 'knight', 'heir', 'whore', 'pseudo' etc. are not pronounced with their first alphabet. Then why are the first alphabets there for? I mean other than knight (to differentiate it from night), the others are so redundant. The 'p' in 'pseudo' even look a little out of place! The complexities of the English language!

The 300th post

I have moved here.

I will not delete this though I can export everything over because it is like a stage of my life. But wordpress is proving to be not as fabulous as how others have said it is so I will probably change back to Blogger in (a long) time to come.

We'll see how it goes.

Hairy little things

Hairy crabs - yum yum! Uncle brought them all the way back from Wuxi in his luggage. When I first saw them, I, being the brilliant I, commented,

'Why are the crabs so small? I thought they are called 大闸(I don't know what is the Chinese word for zha so I just chose this one)蟹. Since these are so small, they shall be called 小闸蟹.'

During the one hour I took to eat the crab, I realised:
1. Those were already considered very big for a hairy crab.
2. One crab costs freaking $25!
3. The hairs on the claws are to provide moisture for them when they hibernate underground during winter.
4. The yellow stuff (roe?) should be eaten with black vinegar.
5. I take an extremely long time to eat crabs. I was among the first to start but finished eating more than 15 minutes after all of them.

There was also red wine but I don't know how to appreciate that. At least, this wasn't dry. That's the worse kind of wine to drink. In the future, I will go for some wine appreciation course then I will not ask stupid questions like, 'why aren't red wines sweet?'.