CXXVI – Cacophony before the storm

126

Well, this will be my last post for the month. Hopefully what you see below can account for that.

FEB
8^th:     IDEA Presentation and CRS Presentation
10^th:    ITAB Web Presentation
11^th:    MOB FY Paper
22^nd:    PACC FY Paper

MAR
1^st:    ECONS FY Paper
2^nd:    STATS FY Paper

So yep, say hello to my pre-arranged itinerary. Not that I wanted this arranged anyways, but oh well, that's the price of trying to get a GPA of 3.65.

Anyhow, updates. I'm now in the Events Dept for FOC! That means I'll be stationmaster for field games! Actually, I wanted to be GL (Group Leader for the unacquainted), but Joyce somehow managed to convince me that running around with your group simply isn't worth it (which by the way is actually quite a good point). And since I didn't mind becoming one, I've become one.

Honestly, I can't wait for what's coming up next!

OH and I've chosen the Financial Trading option over Banking! I could still change, but heck. That's what I've wanted (: Onward!

Right I shall stop here. From here on out it's mugging FTW. No, seriously, I have to get my O level groove back again. Damn.

Till then!~

CXXV – FOC surprise!

125

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!

124

~

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

~

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. :/
~

But anyway...
~

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!
~

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.
~

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!
~

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.

123

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

You could guess the rest.
~

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.

122

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!

121

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!~

CXX—Avatar & everything else

120

Well, went to watch Avatar with some of my secondary school friends a few days back, and seriously, there is hardly a word to describe how wonderful this movie is. How corporate greed leads to racial—as in human-alien—betrayal and the such...well, if you have not watched it, I suggest you do, or your holidays may have simply gone to waste. ;) It is definitely one of the best films of the year. James Cameron should give himself a pat on the back!

In other news, school's starting soon, and if you're in a quandary over what to do over the New Year Weekend, too bad. Mine at the very least is filled, though not to the brim. Bryan's New Year party will feature quite a fair bit over the next 2 days. That means lots of XBOX360 (Halo at least), people, mahjong and of course, the annual movie marathon which we all love. Saturday's empty on my schedule, but Sunday evening me and the other choir people will be celebrating Moses' and Bryan's 18^th!

Still, that would mean the last term of my school year would arrive. Huzzah. Just hope I can land that facilitator job. :D

Thus with this post I wave adieu to this tumultuous decade that has been marked in blood, fear, empty pockets and the great surf surge (which means the internet domination). Since there is no word that can collectively describe these 10 years adequately (and since "Naughties" seemed, to quote a man of prominence, "silly"), I will aptly leave this aside.

Goodbye, decade with no label. Not that people need labels for this anyways, for it's just too...memorable. :P

Oh, and a happy New Year too!

Till then!~

P.S Happy birthday, Dad (:

CXIX - Joyeux Noël.

119

As I type this we herald what all people, regardless of who we are and where we're from, have been waiting for. Something maybe perhaps worth keeping note in a not-too-good year.~

It's cold right now. Perhaps it's to keep to this spirit so many are familiar with.

Christmas. What more is there to say? Fir trees, presents, Santa. We all love it no?

Well, nothing to say now, so before I sign off:

Joyeux Noël. Merry Christmas. (:



Till then!~

CXVIII - Holly-DAZED.

118

This holiday has proven itself much tougher to endure than I have initially thought.

It can get quite boring and routine, and multiplied with my siblings' rowdiness (sometimes I can't stand how immature they can become), it simply starts to turn out being quite disappointing.

However, these few weeks can redeem themselves yet.

Firstly, credit to Wen Xin for finding websites like MLIA to help me kill time. How much more average can my life get? Otherwise it would seem that Facebook is my only constant companion—maybe it really is. It becomes your friend when no-one else seems to have time for get-togethers (or for you), and after several hours refreshing your homepage and profile-hopping, it becomes a real bugger. So Wen Xin, thanks (:

Next, and no prizes for guessing, is Forza 3. –Graeme, this is a lil' taste-test for you.

It has given me hours of artificial adrenaline-fuelled racing in cars I hope, but not really expecting, to get. The fastest I've come to? In a Veyron, the thousand-horsepower legend, on the Le Mans straight—396km/h, 11km/h off the mark. It's the closest to actually driving it, as the tyres screech, the engine screams and whines, and the landscape passes in a blur of colour. To top the icing on this delight of a game is how your vehicle interacts with the environment—barricades, opponents, grass, everything. Trying to knock another car off the track when you're doing 300km/h, even on a straight, can yield disastrous results.

Or does it? The Rewind utility is there to mend every wrong you make when doing speeds even the traffic police would be afraid of. However, abusing this utility (or using it at all) could result in you cheating and winning races on its back. Sure, you can use it all you want when you're practicing, just to make sure you get a good feel of the track, but NOT when you race just to win—that's cheating.

Also in is the cockpit view, where you 'drive' in the driver's seat itself, with detailed...details of the car's interior (unique to each and every car) which adds to the realism. But, the view from there is poor, so those less comfortable with racing only being able to see some of the track ahead of you could try the bumper or hood view for a change.

See? I forgot all about my holiday blues already! :D

Anyways, Christmas is coming, so yeah. Hope to at least be merry with my friends around and NOT just have me sitting in front of some electronic device or console and burning my eyes out. That would really suck.

Happy holidays!

Till then~

CXVII – Yesterday’s everything.

117

It's a review, recollection, and result, all rolled into one convenient post.

Let's start with the review first.

New Moon

So I've been told, this show was only meant for sissies. And so I tell them, speak for yourselves.

Ok, let's move on.

The rough synopsis is as such: Bella is growing older; Edward isn't. When he and the Cullens leave Forks for her safety, she seeks solace from her painful depression through committing dangerous stunts and in spending time with Jacob, an old friend. However, something happens to him as well, and at the same time something/one is out baying for her blood (no prizes for guessing who, really). Through some miscommunications, Edward ends up going to Italy to have himself killed by an ancient coven, but is stopped just in time—not before a quick fight, though. They eventually return to Forks, and Bella, desperate to stay 18 forever, has to make a choice that could break an uneasy truce and cause...bloodshed.

On to the review. Surprisingly, it didn't contain very much action scenes—in fact it could possibly add up to not much more than 5 minutes of real fighting out the movie's 2-hour length—instead focussing on Bella's struggle with her feelings following Edward's departure. As such, it made for a, erm, rather dry plot which sees little character development (except for in Jacob's case, of course). Here however the feud between the vampires and local Indian tribes becomes much clearer.

Verdict: If you are a fan of the series, then good news: it could possibly appeal to you, though it could not be more appealing to teenage girls, as I found out in the cinema (yes, time to get Jacob's physique). However, if you are neither, well, just prepare for some disappointment.

Score: 3/5. Some reviews are far more critical of this, I promise you.

Other than the movie

My family and I had lunch at Billy Bombers which was, unsurprisingly, almost empty, yesterday. Who can deny that Orchard Cineleisure is a prime teen hangout spot, added to the fact that Billy Bombers is flanked by far cheaper fast food joints? Even then fast food can be notoriously expensive.

Had pretty good food, actually. Ribs were awesome, not to mention the oysters and the chicken, and the mixed grill (lamb, potato, chicken, whatnot), and the malt shake—see how much I ate? ;) I was pretty happy with the meal, though it burned a massive hole in my dad's pocket. After that was New Moon. Then we just went straight home.

Graeme and Sean had been telling me about Google Earth, and I couldn't help but try it out on my laptop.

I was astounded. I love it.

This is already the most basic tier, so don't expect much detail. As far as realism is concerned, only the lie of the land is. Buildings and structures are flat. Want to get more? You'll have to pay.

[EDIT]: After some tinkering, I realised that there IS 3D buildings utility, although it's quite unwieldy and slow (kills my processor when I go to cities like NY--massive lag). And weather. Don't know whether that's live, though.

Last, but definitely not least,

Results—not live from Prague

Ms Yeo has given us the most wonderful news: DmnChoir has gotten GOLD (2^nd in category) and BEST for interpretation of a song (Kasar)!! Best news I've heard in a while. Heard they're now headed for Dresden. Snowfights expected. xP So we're all happily awaiting their return on the 17^th. Flourish of cornets!

That's all for now. Quite a long post, this.

Till then!~

CXVI – HollyDaze!

116

EXAMS ARE OVER. Enough said.

Forza 3 shall soon be part of my console collection. This game has gotten rave reviews, and it could be the closest thing to getting an R8 or Veyron and travelling up to 350km/h on the streets without getting a speed ticket under your windscreen wiper. Can't wait!

Also, the choir is about to perform in a competition in Prague in an hour or so. Songs in the repertoire include O Magnum, Audete and 平安夜. Results should be out by evening there (which means past midnight here on Sunday). Prayers are with them! Ah, memories of winter 2005 are flowing back to me now, miss them.

Anyways, that's all I have to write for now. Three weeks of holidays!

Happy holidays. (:

Till then!~

CXV

115

I'm tired.

Next week's schedule is chock-full of exam papers. But on Friday I shall be set free.

Free to go wherever I please. Free to do (almost) anything without let or hindrance.

Or at least, that is how I hope it to be. After all, not everything can go your way, so I'll be happy with what the holidays can offer me. (:

Before I go on my week-long hiatus, here's a parting "gift", so to speak...hope you like it!

TO MY EXAMS

Well, it's time to part, adieu

Sayonara, goodbye.

Enjoy yourself while you can

But my exams, your end is nigh!

Tragic to think that you'll go so soon

But I'll laugh with vengeful scorn,

For when the time comes, so quickly

You'll disappear, vanish, be gone.

And thereafter I'll be thinking back,

What if you could feel?

Then when I realise that you CAN'T...

All I have to say?

Adieu.

Till then!~