CXXV – FOC surprise!

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Yesterday I had my first FOC meeting. Along with it came feelings of excitement, anticipation, and predisposed uncertainty.

It started at 3pm, and finished at roughly 5.30pm, so yeah, it wasn't long, but it was enough for me to know quite a few people...or at least their names. :P

Let's start from the beginning.

Justin, Vivienne, Jac and I came into a room full of people whom we've never met. We split into 2 different rooms (guys/gals), which for Viv was rather 'traumatizing' (as she was the only girl from our class to make it), and waited while we were given numbers for the girls to pick, thus forming a pair. As for me, it was this nice girl named Joyce, who wears braces like I do :P.

We were sent to an adjacent room to join a cluster of us pairs (4 clusters in total) so we could start doing icebreakers in earnest. Started with the "good morning" game, which involves us saying "Hi so-and-so, so-and-so, etc, my name is so-and-so". This was a cheating game, as we had earlier stuck name-tapes on our shoulders, so anybody having problems with someone's name just had to glance over to the person's shoulder and voilà! Problem solved!

Next game involved Tony asking us random questions about our partners. Most of us managed to escape initially, but after a while pairs got caught, and eventually one pair (surprise, surprise, it was Julian's!) had to forfeit. They did some watermelon banana forfeit, heheh.

Following that supposed to be some lie-on-belly activity, but the trials for the game failed big-time. Not easy to lie on somebody's stomach while somebody else is doing the same to you. Next!

Last came our beloved Wacko. It was funny, considering the fact that the whacker had to content with the whackees' constant spewing of names, and the latter oftentimes ended up calling out to the unfortunate soul so he/she wouldn't just stand in the middle and look helplessly around (some unlucky ones became unfortunate souls themselves). In the end, someone hyper named Jasmine got hit, and she and her partner Clay had to forfeit too. They did some glue game, where they stuck themselves together and did weird things :/

Ta-da! 1^st facilitators meeting done! I did enjoy myself thoroughly :D

 

Anyways, next Wed there is a talk for DBF students over the concentrations available for year 2. My mind has long been fixed on Financial Trading, but still, better to know what you're flying into...

Also, I'm smack in the middle of projects with datelines as long as a toothpick. What more can I say?

Uh-oh, mum's nagging at me to wipe the table :/, so I'll end here!

Till then!~

CXXIV – Oh, joy!

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Title sums it up, actually. This past week has been blessed with quite a fair bit of luck, and I'm glad. (:

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And yes, this comes still as I grapple with the thought of looming exams.
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But before that, let's reveal the post-carnage stats. It's not a pretty picture:
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2 As

1 B+
1 D+
1 D.
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Pathetic, if you ask me. Still, it's not all a bed of nails, for I can transform it into one filled with roses next month...provided I can A for every single module. :/
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But anyway...
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I am now a facilitator! Along with Justin, Vivienne, Julian and Jac! :D Yay, that means meeting with freshmen and stuff like that, haha. Training starts this Wed so I'm quite a fair bit excited about this whole thing. Hope it all works out!
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Also finally made some friends I can actually speak comfortably with in EPI! This would definitely help with my planning and stuff for my group's role-play a month from now. Quite excited, actually, cos you would see Graeme shaking with his high-mech act again! Well, perhaps.
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Yesterday my dad and I were picking up my siblings from fencing when I stumbled across this:
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A Mazda MX-5 NA. The very car I've been wanting to get my hands on.
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This example definitely has been modified, especially with a set of fixed headlights (the original has ones that pop out). It's the only NA example I've seen so far, the other MX-5s being either an NB or NC, which are much more recent. Still, I might have a chance to actually get my hands on one as soon as I get my driver's license probably next year. Whee~ :D

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Today however, is one from hell. Housekeeping hell. A trillion tons of junk has officially evacuated from the abode, and that has yielded results—a much, much neater room, for one. Which means: to hell, sinuses!
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Ok, that's all the smiles and frowns for the week, hope the next one's even brighter!
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Till then!~

CXXIII – 17 going on 18.

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It's 2010. And for someone born in 1992, that means...18. New doors open.

You could guess the rest.
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And of course, the first thing on my mind, possibly one of the more interesting aspects of adulthood, is the car. The insurance, house, work and booze can wait (seriously, I hate the very idea of drunkenness and the problems associated. Urgh). Right now there is a Toyota Allion, but my dad has been considering to get an old Mazda MX-5 NA (yes, the one with the retro retractable headlights), thus adding a roadster to my 'inventory'.

A Toyota Allion, with auto transmission.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata NA...manual trans. Damn.

That, however, would mean getting a licence. Thankfully, I have a plan—Highway Code test by midyear, and with practice I'll take my manual driving test by next year (when I'm well and truely 18). After that, time to hit the roads (:

Leaving that aside, my exams are only a month away, which means much of my CNY will be burnt trying to revise for it. Still, the gambling and the money can be sacrificed for the fruits of success that would later come :D TIME TO STUDY HARD!

After that, holidays! 7 weeks of that should be enough. Perfect time to catch up with old buddies, some of whom I have not met for years. (:

I've got to stop now. It's late and I have to wake up at 8.30am! *Sighs*

Till then!~

CXXII – This and that.

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I'm ending the first week of school now. It's ok, considering that exams are next month. Oh well, not that there's very much to blog about anyways here, because it's just business as usual.

Had my facilitators' interview yesterday, and had quite some laughs in the process. Saving me from the silly acts is Vivienne! She did all the stuff the testers told her to do, and all I had to do was to stand still. :D Anyways, the results will be out next Wednesday, so I hope I can make it into the team! Being able to interact with the juniors would be a great joy.

Now, on to other news.

Someone introduced to me a blog (or rather, a particular post in the blog) which has been making waves in the local blogosphere. Kitchen Tigress, or KT for short, had gone to an OCBC branch on her birthday, fully expecting to be given a 'surprise' cake as per in the Sunday Banking Ad. What ensued after she was told that the ad was purely commercial is now being hotly discussed in numerous forums. Had MrBrown not picked up on this post, all that would not exist.

OK, my two cents' worth on all this hullabaloo. Since when did advertisements do a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" gimmick? Carlsburg and its holiday experience? Guess not.

Or it being able to deliver its beer even in the highest of mountains? Please.

Point is, advertisements are hardly ever true to its word (perhaps only the telcos' messages can be believed). Also logically, I have to agree, how can branches store a massive reserve of cakes for its numerous customers anyhow? The very thought beggars belief.

Next, the poor staff. Having them to put up with her only to have their 'surprise' cake flatly rejected (apparently KT bakes pretty good cakes) is just mean. While she can laugh at the supervisor's reactions, I would laugh at her gimmicks. Clichéd, but so true—what if she went through the same treatment? The sock must be on the other foot before the implications of such an action can be realised.

In short, it was just a total, unnecessary waste of time and also too much lost face on the supervisor's part. KT, you have no shame. Of course, people have their pride and egos, and essentially, what she does is up to her. However, what happens as a result...well, she'd better watch her step, because she has ruffled too many feathers. Still, you can eke out a few laughs from the ridiculousness of it all.

It's late. Time for bed! (:

Till then!~

CXXI – Happy New Year!

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Hello 2010!

Went to Bryan's place to partake in the festivities on New Year's Eve. It was not bad, most of the choir people went, as well as some of Bryan's other friends (whom I do not know much of). We played Taboo, sang carols, and counted down to the new decade with a small glass of Moet & Chandon. Heck, even the fireworks from Marina Bay were visible! Beautiful, that. (:

Thereafter I joined Moses and the other K-pop crazy people to watch some, erm, K-pop on Youtube. The Xbox360 this time was somewhat forgotten. It was difficult for me to sleep thereafter, even though I had something to attend later that morning. However, once that group started to watch horror movies (Moses' staple), weariness took over. I and the horror movie lovers left early that morning, me and TB on service 28.

I have my resolutions. Sometimes I ask myself why I set such high expectations for myself, but isn't that the express purpose?

1. GPA 3.7! Hard as it seems, I want it so badly;
   
2. Get fitter for NS, one of my greatest bugbears; AND!
   
3. Be less shy in front of acquaintances. Shyness is my greatest social faux pas.
   

Tough, but I will do my best! :D

So once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Till then!~