The stuff i wanted to cover (briefly)

-Essays
im doing my third progression, an academic essay on a writer and his essays. i chose Orwell. I had exercises overdue. Did that last night, slept at 8am, woke at 830am, dreamt of rubbish. Went back to sleep, woke at 9am also dreaming of rubbish. Went to class, fought to stay awake, said yes to every imaginary question being fired at me, and had no dreams. I slept better in the LT than on my bed =
-Spanish
I had a take home test last week, cos of the strike. So we received the spanish papers, and the course coordinator mistakenly sent the answer key with the paper. I was happy of course, but i did try my best to study for that. I've got another test on this thursday, and another next week. It's amazing how much new Spanish i learn in a week. And with every chapter that passes, i forget the previous one. So there's alot of revision to be done. Hopefully my Spanish will be good enuf by the peru trip.

-Helen and Bayle go to New Malaysia with me
So UVA had the whole Thanksgiving week free i think. So Helen and Bayle came down to NYC, stopping at Philly and god knows where. Check her blog for more info and fotos, i linked her on my sidebar. I chose new malaysia cos i had sting ray a few nights before (couldnt tahan) and realised the prices there were cheaper than at Penang or Nyonya i think. They've got kickass curry and Roti Canai. The Bak Kut Teh had a strong Dang Gui taste, and the Chicken Rice leaves much to be desired in terms of Singapore Standards. The KL style Hokkien Mee was good though.

Dont want to paste a people shot. Go Helen's site and find.


-Peru troubles
So the liaise point for our tour was this shady Mr Fidel who swiched companies during Morris' arrangements with him and when we called his "New Company" they said he didn't work there. Problem was he was like the only person on the continent from a tour agency that could speak english. And my spanish wasnt good enough to argue or to even ask some questions (due to poor knowledge of vocab and sentence tenses). Thankfully Sunny (from Ntu exchange here) had a Spanish friend (Christine i think) on exchange too and she helped me make the necessary arrangements. She told me she couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but managed to do it. Imagine me trying then (which i did. The call lasted 1 min, consisting of "i dont speak spanish, do u speak english? No, no speak english. No hablo ingles. No comprende. Anyone? Alguno habla ingles? and lots of pauses in between, you get the idea).


-Eye for sight troubles
Another community service thing i signed up with, aims to provide the poor with free eye screenings and old glasses. Troubled me abit, the administration but now everything is ok. Only thing is that they're doing a screening at 530 on Fri Morning, but i have to hand my other Spanish take home test by Fri 9am. We'll see how that goes.


-Keith's arrival
So keith came down to the city by bus, and we meet up. His ears are so red it'd make Rudolph blush.

Went to K-Town for a sushi / Korean buffet for about $12 late lunch. Was not bad. Felt really good catching up and talking to someone familiar. After that we walked to Macys to look around and walked to times square too.

At Macys we were looking at coats, i reached to adjust Keith's collar and zapped his ear with a loud crack. He thought i flicked it. Tsk static...


-Keith Em and Kai go to New Malaysia
So after times square we meet up with Em (whom we've not met for damn long) and her boyfriend, Kai. We eat Kang Kong Belacan, Assam Sting Ray, and Beef curry or something like that, can't remember. Didn't take pictures of food like i usually do, but got a foto later at my place. Was great catching up again.



-Thanksgiving thanks
Went to Gabby's for thansgiving the next day. Felt bad cos couldn't go see sights with Keith, but figure that we've still got time for that next time. Had a wonderful dinner, complete with 21 .lb turkey and all. Pies, wine, mmm... Pity my stomach has shrivelled to a measly size since learning that i gained 14 pounds (approx 6.5 kg) since i've been here. Fotos are jamming, check the previous post for turkey picture. We waited at the wrong bus stop for my bus back to NYC, so we tailed the bus in Gabby's car to the next stop. In my haste jumping out of the car my thumb got zapped by static so hard it split my skin. Oh also my first sight of snow.
barghz the damn foto thing is screwy. maybe load the fotos next time.


-Woodbury and Macy's madness
Spent money at Macy's buying my comforter at long last and a fleece throw for cold mornings. Great discounts, and was great seeing Auntie Cheng again. Its always great to see her. After that, went down to Woodburys. The discounts were well worth the $37 bus ticket to and fro. Polo Ralph Jeans for $30, Tommy Hilfiger sweater for $28, DKNY Jeans for $40, various long sleeved shirts (at less than $20 each, good price for branded stuff). Buy of the year: Dual Layer North Face Jacket $225, so warm and wind and waterproof. The kinda stuff that would cost 600 SGD at camper's corner. Will also last me years of mountain climbing.

New comforter!


-Traffic
Watched the movie at night with Keith, didn't like the way it doesn't really build up. Felt Scarface was a better movie. "Say Hello to my Little Friend!"


-More potter talk?
Herm-own-ninny. Mmm... Anyway yeah as i have said, i think the movie was probably one of the better ones, however it doesn't explain alot in the book (can't be helped i guess) but lots of acting could be improved. I thought Wormtail was bad (Hand hurts only the first 3 seconds of cutting it off). Voldemort was fabulous, but abit too jumpy for someone of his stature. They didn't explain priori incantatum. No quidditch. Didn't like the death eaters routing the World Cup scene. The dark mark was cool though. The yule ball scene looks like alot was chopped. The story wasnt smooth in showing Hermione's ruined evening. Thought Cho should have been sweeter. Thought Crum would have slightly longer hair. Thought Dumbledore was unnecessarily jumpy and aggressive too. Moody was great. But they didn't quite give a hint about his capture at all. Wish there was more character development for the Triwizard champs, rather than Hagrid and Maxime (eew). And of course, Harry's acting leaves much to be desired.


-Resolutions
Need to just finish homework before sunday for once in my life. It would be nice to try, and no worries on late monday nights. No dota, less games. Can't give up blogging though.


-Late nights and water to drink
Bought tankards of water to drink, am happy at being hydrated. My skin's really dry though.

Hmm not so brief it seems.

Catching up

Ok i know i've got alot of catching up to do. I'm actually really tired by the way. Got into a spell of inactivity. It was amazingly hard to get out of it, even though deadlines were pressing and i'm not playing DotA anymore. Apparently minesweeper and freecell are also games of intense concentration. Good thing is:

one dota game = 15 freecell games

or

one dota game = many attempts at minesweeper

and given that i can stop anytime, that a rash impulse to begin another game will not result in the commitment of another hour of energy, its much more attractive to waste time playing freecell and minesweeper. Besides, it teases the brain's logical wiring.

Bad thing is:

the game's short so you think another game won't hurt. When you're on a streak, you say you'll stop when u get stuck; when you finally lose the level, you not happy so u gotta play another round.

Result:

A whole load of time wasted. On sunday night i stayed up till 5 am trying to get my juices flowing for my overdue essay exercises, but they just wouldn't come out. Believe me i was tired way before 5, but i gave up that late cos i was stuck minesweeping and freecelling.


Its been quite awhile since i've last experienced inertia in such a huge magnitude. Over here, i end up finishing my work on sunday or monday nights cos thursday nights till saturday are for "relaxing". Before i got here i was enjoying my ORD break, and there was inertia not to do anything useful, but spend the time thinking about what i wanted out of life (which of course then included lots of fun playing dota). Back during army days, i had inertia in the weekends cos i just wanted to relax and rest, unwind. Back in JC days i had inertia getting to do my tutorials. That one was major inertia. Cos the failure to act resulted in major casualties: my results. Of course, this general inertia during JC was felt by most mortals (including myself)... Some of whom incidentally required one particularly motivated member of the group to take action before the rest moved (Huishan's Law) and others who waited at a particular table after PT or anything for about an hour and a half before anyone got moving (tsk tsk ding dongs). And now? Inertia to do essays. inertia to finish up spanish work. Inertia to get up and read up on the Middle East.

Its times like this when you get frustrated and proclaim that everything is pointless since you can't even control your own life. The thing is, we actually can but we choose not to, for whichever reasons. Tyler Durden subconsciously grabbed control of his own life and created an alternate reality for himself. Could i do that consciously? Could i create for myself an aura of Zhainess that will remain throughout my life (or at least the remaining years of my studenthood)? Cultivate the raw power of will over everything else... Pure discipline in its essence.

Finish all work!
Run 10km!
Become a walking thesaurus!
And a part time encyclopedia!
Swim a mile!
Do weights!
Score A's!
Edit drafts!

The sad thing is that even with my sacrificial offering of decent sleep, of pure deep slumber, these dreams do not even begin to appear in my dreams. I recently dreamt of a spanish translator talking to me. It would have been nice if i was the translator. I dream of irrelevant dreams that only serve to drain my brain of its thinkjuice. Dreams that mean nothing... Like the static on a TV screen... That still uses electricity without charging the batteries. I'd rather never ever have dreams again in exchange for 4 excellent hours of sleep every night. The kind of sleep that makes u wake up and feel like running. The kind of sleep that loosens the knots in your shoulders caused by the stress of worry. The kind of sleep that you gladly wake up from, because you know more sleep will tire you out instead.

I wish the BFG should give me a good dream tonight. A dream crowned with an aura of Zhainess. Or a simple dream of soccer (astroturf optional), or a day at the beach, or just playing cards and chilling somewhere. Or a dream with huishan in it. Or a dream of winning ToTo with the winning numbers etched in my head.

And until then, all i can dream about is less work and good grades.

Since this entry now looks too long, i shall start another on the things i thought i might talk about concerning the weekend.

funny URLs, where the designer didn't thinking about how people would read the name of the site:

Here's a list of some funny URLs, where the designer didn't thinking about how people would read the name of the site:

1) Who Represents?, a database for agencies to the rich and famous:
http://www.whorepresents.com

2) Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange
advice and views:
http://www.expertsexchange.com

3) Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island:
http://www.penisland.net

4) Need a therapist?
http://www.therapistfinder.com

5) Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
http://www.molestationnursery.com

6) Gas central heating anyone?
http://www.gasheating.co.uk

7) New to Milan and you need electric light? Why not sign up on-line with
Power-Gen?
http://www.powergenitalia.com

The strike

Basically Bush passed a law which declares that Unis have the right not to recognise the right for TAs and GAs to form a union. As a result, after one of the contracts signed for the benefit of TAs and GAs expired, the Uni decided not to recognise the union, and deny the possible renegotiation of a new contract guaranteeing benefits. Currently thats a problem because of their low pay of about 12000 a year, and although they pay no tuition, there is a clause that says that they are not allowed to take a second job. So with food, rent and bills to pay, living on 1k a month(highly impossible in NYC) and no alternative job, the GAs and TAs are striking, with the support of many professors. They are striking for the right to the recognition of the Union to bargain for their livelihood. Rather sad i feel.

And till now i haven't finished the shit i need to complete. Why is it so damn hard to just sit down and do the things i need to do? Rant Rant Rant.

I wish i had more country songs in my lappie. Dunno why, just feel like it. More Dolly Parton please.

Sighz.

Hiatus?

Sigh i just realised that its just 3 weeks to the exams.

The strike by the TAs and GAs still has not ended, and i think the Sch is not going to give in.

I've actually got quite alot to catch up on.

How?

Hiatus?

Self-proclaimed exile?

!Xobile?

We'll see.

Thanks again everyone

/me has left the chat.

Fotos from thanksgiving weekend

more to come

fillers

its 351 am now and im typing in the darkness as keith struggles to sleep amidst the "tap tap tapping" of my fingers on the keyboard. So i'll just jot the things i want to talk about later... A drama preview, if u wish to see it that way.

-Essays
-Spanish
-Helen and Bayle go to New Malaysia
-Peru troubles
-Eye for sight troubles
-Keith's arrival
-Keith Em and Kai go to New Malaysia
-Thanksgiving thanks
-Woodbury and Macy's madness
-Traffic
-More potter talk?
-Resolutions
-Late nights and water to drink

ok lets see how the entry forms up later.

Happy thanksgiving!

Theres alot to do
and alot to say.
but time passes not in my favour,
instead gently slips away.
So before i sleep
and rise 2 hours later,
i say happy thanksgiving to all
esp Gabby Frater.
(and family)

-a happy turkey eater who promises to update soon.

the okcupid test

The Boy Next Door
Random Gentle Love Dreamer (RGLDm)

Kind, yearning, playful, you are The Boy Next Door. You're looking for real Love, a lot like girls do. It might not be manly, but it's sweet.

We think the next three years will be very exciting and fruitful ones for you. Your spontaneous, creative side makes you a charming date, and we think you have a horny side just waiting to shine. Or glisten, rather. You enter new relationships unusually hopeful, and the first moments are especially glorious. If you've had some things not work out before, so what.

Your exact opposite:
The 5-Night Stand

Deliberate Brutal Sex Master
On paper, most girls would name the Boy Next Door as their ideal mate. In the real world, however, you're often passed over for more dangerous or masculine men. You're the typical "nice guy:" without just a touch of cockiness, you're doomed with girls. A shoulder to cry on? Okay, sure. But never a penis to hold.

More than any other type, Boys Next Door evolve as they get older. As we said, many find true love, but some fail miserably in the search. These tarnished few grow up to be The Men Next Door, who are creepy as hell, offering backrubs to kids and what not.


ALWAYS AVOID: The Nymph

CONSIDER: The Maid of Honor, The Peach

Dilemma

Its hard liking 2 actresses at a time. Its almost as if u feel unfaithful to one if u spend too much time looking at the other. And once again, I find that Heep and I seem to have alot in common.

_______
________\_______________________
________________________________/
|
_______________|
|
______________|
|
_____________|

Thank you readers!

For reasons we all know, i have decided to quite dota again. I don't know for how long, but i know this: There are many things worth my time, and Dota has ceased to be one of them. It is more admirable to be knowledgeable and worldlywise, more important to have a dream and follow it. DotA is not something that will get me anywhere, nor make me smarter, and there is nothing more i can learn from it. I shall henceforth exercise my discipline and dedicate my time and energy to more purposeful activities. Thank you for your support guys, esp Sang i really appreciate that. Miss you lots bro *Hand Sign* there ain't no other bro like you. And in case i forget, happy thanksgiving to everyone out there in advance. To the others who are always encouraging me too, (i can't possibly name everyone) thanks and thanks again. I really miss you all. Exams will be over before I know it, and then I would have grown again. And i hope that by the time i meet you all again, i would have become somebody i can be proud of being. Me.

Events of a Week

Its been rather long since i last posted. I don't know about you, but i'm starting to feel the call of being a populist blogger. It's kinda nice to know that there are people who are interested in what you do, what you're thinking, and your life in general. Its as if blogging is the answer to the question: How are you going to leave your mark on this world? Certainly its not something cast in concrete, nor is it something as grand as a mathematical theorem, or a mountain range. But the fact that somehow, somewhere, at some time, you touched the heart of someone. Well obviously then we all hope to be people who will experience loving and being loved, possibly in the subconscious desire to leave an indelible mark on this world. In the hearts of family, friends, and maybe even strangers. Yes i do agree that its not going to be easy, its a pressurising thing, and i hafta be ready for all sorts of criticism and the like. And given the fact that i started this blog to 1)keep in touch with friends, and 2)Practice writing, 3)create a log of my uni life, I'm not going to actively pursue this dream. Perhaps i'll leave my mark in some other way.

Speaking of blogging, I admire Desmond and Hanting for their style of writing. Inherently funny, explicitly funny, just damn funny. It seems that what i have believed for years to be funny, is actually not funny. For example, i always thought i was funny, but then i'm probably not so funny. Some of the jokes i'd die laughing at evoke no response from others who hear it. So... Does that mean i'm just ridiculous or what? Just weird, just crazy, just me.

Thoughts zooming by at the speed of random
waves of light that pass us by
ever again i fall apart
Have i ever learnt to fly?

Yay! my first poem in a long long time.

Which leads this entry to explore change. I hate time. I guess its inevitable that time changes everything. Almost everything, at least. Feelings change, people change, government policies change, and even the rate of change changes. I think every person who is reading this post now would probably have had friendships dissolved in the mist of time, parts of themselves lain to rest under the sands of time, memories diluted by the vapours of time, and glory faded by the winds of time. Sure, nothing lasts forever. How can life even proceed without time? If there was no time, then there would only be existence and not life. But then sometimes you just want to live in that moment forever. To feel and savour every bit of your life at a particular point in time. To remember the great times you've shared with a group of friends. To remember your first kiss. To remember winning your first competition in an inter-school meet. To remember standing in awe of the wonders of the world. To remember the feeling of omnipotency upon jumping off a plane. Don't you sometimes wish we had a pensieve like Dumbledore? So far, i know at least 3 people who would absolutely love to have one: Enil, Huishan, and me. I'll bet really, that there isn't anyone who wouldn't love to have one. Its rather sad to think that memories do change after time too. It seems as if as the character of a person changes, the memories in his vault of thought get trimmed and reshaped to suit his personality. A very selective subconscious modification. I hardly remember some of my best memories now. They were but dust in the wind.

I caught the latest Harry Potter movie at Regal at 13th and 4th (which is near my place) on friday night. I must say that for all the excitement, the wait was worth it, except that it just wasnt as powerful as i expected it to be. Sure, everyone's got different perspectives, and i'm certainly not an acclaimed director or anything, but i felt that there was a lack of explanation of alot of things that were answered in the book. Perhaps it's Rowling's idea so that more ppl will want to read the book after watching the movie. But sadly to say, the movie is not so good that it would want to make me pick up the book. Rather, its the book that's gripping, that makes me want a visual of the story in the book. Either way, i feel the movies are getting better. The first one was crap besides quidditch, the second was slightly better, third was good (besides the horrible casting of sirius), and the 4th was provocative in a way. Lets see how the rest turn out.

I had stingray for dinner last night. Ta-paoed it from new malaysia restaurant in chinatown, cos i felt that i absolutely had to get it. Plans for a Singaporean dinner there were dashed, so in true commando fashion, i completed my mission, though i be the lone survivor... even though i must say that 14.95 is a hefty sum for stingray, but then... There comes a time where one stops bothering to convert SGD to USD, because theres just no damn point. We get hawker center delicacies at $2. Chicken rice, Mee pok, Char Kuay Teow, Ice Kacang... Etc. Max max at Kopitiam its $3.50. But over here, A slice of plain cheese pizza costs $2 USD = $3.40 SGD. Even a damn packet of ramen costs 80 cents USD. Then how? Most meals at restaurants here cost above $5 USD. Imagine in SG every meal you spend $8 plus. Oh how i adore hawker centres. They really should be promoted as tourist attractions i say. Fabulous food at ridiculously cheap prices. Think about Macs. One meal $6. 3 small pieces of bread + 2 beef patties + some lettuce and 2 pickles versus Chicken rice + Sugar cane + Cheng Tng. How to compare like that? Hawker food all the way man.

Sigh, so much to say, so little time left to study. One month upon my arrival here, i reasoned out the difficulty that most people faced in college. That was the problem of choice. Its hard to reconcile the things we want to do with the things we have to do. Which is why i have said i wish i got high everytime i got 'A's. That would really help in this reconciliation. I guess its painful that every choice made has its consequences. And we all know that in the menu at a restaurant, we never get to choose both the icecream and the mudpie its always either or. What do you choose in the end?

once again, Blogger has failed me in terms of picture posting, so this will be just words and no beautiful artistic depictions of my "extremely exciting" life in a city that never sleeps. Like it even mattered anyway.

mleah..

WRONG!!!

You Are Likely a Second Born

At your darkest moments, you feel inadequate. At work and school. you do best when you're evaluating. When you love someone, you offer them constructive criticism. In friendship, you tend to give a lot of feedback - positive and negative. Your ideal careers are: accounting, banking, art, carpentry, decorating, teaching, and writing novels. You will leave your mark on the world with art and creative projects.

The Birth Order Predictor

Kiss-Because i'm a woman

the video below is the original tear jerker mtv i think... Really the best i've seen. Its the only one that keeps making me tear everytime i watch it. So. For all u romantics out there, appreciate. For u cynics and realists, just try to appreciate the gesture, as much as it might be silly.

Watch Video:

BECAUSE I'M A WOMAN (Kiss)

Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

Thankz em for videocodezone. Absolutely amazing.

On other news, my econstats midterm was ok. i think. and im gonna catch harry on thursday if i can help it. Harry gives me wings! Wingardium Leviosa!

Randomity 3490.24640295

I just can't get my ass down to working and doing the shit i'm supposed to be doing. I mean like every damn thursday night i tell myself: "Hey! Be a man! Do the right thing!" Every damn wednesday i dread the coming of the weekend. Sure i love school more than the weekends, but then the weekends just suck because i always fall short of my personal expectations.

I expect to do this! do that! complete this! finish that! And then what happens instead? I sleep (gotta catch up week's sleep, this one boh pian), i blogsurf (my favourite computer activity besides Dota and msn-ing), i dota (got incentive because i got recruited by clan MMK (ma-ma-monsterkill) on USEast, and i watch movies (this weekend i caught Van Wilder, the college movie that actually has some sort of a story and purpose, starring the lead actor and supporting actor (cant remember who), Tara Reid, and Kal Penn (aka Kumar)) I don't do Spanish everyday like i said i wanted to. I'm basically screwing myself over the weekend because its so short, yet its 3 whole days. Yet its so short. Its shorter than the 2 day weekends I experienced back in Sg as a student (not shorter than the 2 days as an NSF), shorter than the butt of a cigerette. Its so short it burns. Someone repair my wings.


My tribute to Gunther, edited by Heep

So. What's got me all riled up this time? Something called an economic stats midterm. Well if there's one thing i've learnt from econs stats, its that i should never take another 450-610 class, because i can't last the day. The damn problem is that its hard to find nice clases that fit perfectly in between each other. I hate it when i get class break class break class break class. Cos that wastes 4.5 hours for me, when i could actually just have class class class class and shiok away. Back to the econs stats midterm, i just can't stay awake during that damned class. Doesn't matter whether i take a doubleshot espresso before i enter that throne of the Z monster, doesn't matter if i had 7 hours of sleep the night before. Just like in JC, the ink from my pen trails off into illegible scraws, patterns only the unconscious mind is capable of producing. It's all over my econ stats notes, the blotches prove it. Just like econs lecture in JC. Jamie Reeves was damn good, but even then sometimes my writing just trails off to random inkmarks. Even the "fill in the blanks" in Helen Tan's notes were also filled with unintelligible pen scratchings. Its like you can see the beginning of the word, and then halfway the letters just stop forming, like "EConmmmmmm......i__'^__r-----"

So i don't have enough examples to refer to. I missed the Chi Square test lecture cos the night before i was rushing essay and didn't sleep at all, and i figured i'd sleep in the class anyway so i went home for a nap instead. Sadly, the economics textbook does little justice explaining the test, so I'm just trying to make some sense of the crap that's posted online.


an artsy foto i took a few weeks back after giving tuition at "The Door"

And then being online, we all know that looking at facebook or other ppl's blogs or ebaum's world or humorcentral.net are all more fun than trying to make sense of a chi square test. I stumbled upon this blog at bleedingblackbutterflies.blogspot.com, and just looked. I savoured Hanting's weekend double bill of humour. I caught up with Desmond Yeo's fantastic life in Columbia. And i look again and again at myself in the mirror



and then i realised that i look rather pissed at everything thats been going on. Even though life's been good to me, and everyone around me has made life worth living. So whats up? What am i feeling? Why am i so worked up about a midterm for? Just study and do your best, have no regrets! Quit blogging and go do it now! And so i thought i should.

I get so tired fighting myself. I remember some time ago, i wrote on the board (at my desk): Reconcile what you want to do with what you have to do. Have i been doing that? I tried some time ago, with fruitful results, but as we all know, prolonged periods of studying actually distort our minds, and make us think that studying is all a joke and results aren't that important. That what we want is just to enjoy life now cos nothing is forever. But then we study hard now to open doors for our future right? To ensure that we can have a comfortable life with the money we earn. Just for the investment of some time now to reap the benefits of opened doors and opportunities. Sometimes i wish i was more grade conscious. I wish i got high everytime i got an A. Maybe that would really motivate me to keep studying and aceing my tests. I pressure myself so much to study, yet my brain stares at my computer, a heap of nua tang. If i could yearn to study and mug like a... Chao mugger, perhaps life wouldn't be so tiring. Cos then i'd have reconciled my needs with my wants.


3 layered pork from the Korean restaurant i ate at last night. Was very good.

Us SSA ppl eating at the Korean Restaurant. It was also Xinyi's birthday. Strangely, the left side of the table are non-Singaporeans and the right side are Singaporeans.


Ok enuf talking about all this shit. its 9pm and its time to mug. Inspired by my friend Gabriel. He said:

i always respected you for what you have and who you are.. you will definitely make it big in the future.. and you know that what ya doin now is peanuts.. you have what it takes to see it through.. not only see it through.. but excel in it.. For Honour and Glory!! hahaha

And so the fight continues.

for the sake of it

posting for the sake of it. i just need some time.

I booked my tickets to peru, but then theres much more to do.

I'm looking for something lost, something hidden. But it seems to be in another plane, another time.

I think i know what i want, but then i don't know what i'm going to do about it.

Looks like i've lost myself again.

hey everyone. actually i have alot to talk about. but then i have no time. so ill talk more later. kinda work related, kinda other stuff too. resolutions and reflections.

we'll see how the day passes by

kin

Hello Nurse!

Yikes

yikes my eyes are going crazy. You know how when we take fotos sometimes we get red-eye? well i just came back from class, sat down to see whats up on my blog, and guess what: some words on my blog turned red. Its not red when u focus on it, but its hella red when its my within my peripheral vision. Whats up? lack of sleep?

Anyway, thot i'd say something about spanish class today. Got an 86 for the test i took last week. It so happens that for one of the questions, its asking for the favourite food of mice. So considering that back at old Jalan Limau Kasturi and locally the rats and mice go for rice (besides the fact that mice rhymes with rice), i totally forgot that western mice eat cheese and nothing else. So i conveniently lost 1.5 marks for some cultural differences. I brought it to my teacher, and explained the situation (at the suggestion of my classmate, even though i didn't expect anything), to which she wrote in red ink at the side in Singapore and marked it correct. So my B became a B+, and thats a good thing, no?

Got back my 2nd Middle Eastern Midterm, got a good A for that (am rather pleased) as i did organise my essay well this time. Even though Grace and I spent 3 hours the previous night on 2 other questions, and just 10 min preparing the one i did, i felt i couldnt remember all the stuff we researched, so i went for the easier one (to throw smokes at). Commando training paid off, and now i get an A average for both midterms! Go me! (reminisce Lord of the Gays, i should post this up sometime)

Oh dudes and dudettes reading this, if u're always wondering why i'm talking about my grades online, it really is also due to the fact that i don't call home all that often, and thus i can keep them updated with my progress online. It kinda spurs me to do well too... Boost my image, no? Given my horrible grades in JC... I actually feel quite empowered by nice looking grades. I guess i'm at Aura of Zhainess skill level 1. (+ 2 marks per smoke bomb)

I'm miffed at Orbitz.com as they didn't have singapore as one of the countries to pay from. Wasting my time. I think i'll be leaving for Peru on the night of the 23rd, so visitors to NYC who do plan to meet me, please take note and update accordingly. I will also not be back in NYC until next year, around the 14th or so. Will be in California after new year till then, so take note accordingly.

Damnit this blogger is stopping me from uploading pictures. I'm so gonna flood this server with fotos when its up again. MUAHAHAHAHAH!

Ok time to work. I forsee tough times this week. Work work work.

Nos vemos, ¿eh? ¡Adiós!
¿Tú hablas español?

Of spiffy shirts and Japanese Dramas

Well its been some week for me, as i've described in the earlier entry... Of tests and essays, and halloween and stuff like that. Last night i spent 3 hours watching the rest of densha something (dian che nan) ie. train guy with grace cliff and ian. Well it happened that one day we just decided to watch so... finally finished the 9 episodes. Its about this hopeless guy from Japan (very hopeles: short geeky only watch anime and surf net type never talked to girls before), who falls in love with this rich, high-class, tall woman after he dares to stand up in the train and "protect" her from some old lecher (which no one gives a hoot about). So even though he gets pushed around, he manages to get the old guy off her, and she's grateful. So the next 8 episodes talk about how they get together, and some subplots, based on this chatroom that he visits that gives him courage and ideas to win her heart. Of course, they eventually get together la, which is so strange cos he's like so nerdy cute and short (1 head shorter than her), but then again love is not all about appearance rite? He was really sweet and stuff la... So.. Kudos to him, even though i think the chance of this happening in real life is 0.001%.

I really need to get my laptop fixed, cos now the sound driver's gone cocked. no cd-drive, no sound, i think can die liaoz. Damn virus. I spent alot of time on wed trying to get rid of it and edit my registry and shits. must have done something wrong =( . Anyway, I think i might pay for rush service cos it really hurts not to have the laptop at hand. I guess it depends on the demands of the week.

So what about spiffy shirts? Well it's been said long sleeve collared shirts and spiffy (colleen, collected remarks pg 62). Or snazzy (ariana, random remarks pg 4). So this is as spiffy as it gets.

Damn the foto thing isn't working atm. I'll update later then.

Actually there's alot more going on... But how do u put everything down in words?

Kin

Flashofinspiration

How i'm feeling at this moment:



Body: Tired

Mood: Happy

Mind: DirtyContent (come on i'm a guy and all guys are dirty somehow)

Spirit: Liberated

Why tired?--->cos i didn't touch my bed last night.. Stayed up to complete an essay for progression 2 based on a new text cos the writing centre said that my first attempt was crap and unoriginal and forced. So i changed the text etc.... Took no coffee cos i didn't want to feel that jumpy electric nerves thing. Instead i drank 3 bottles of Sobe drink (99c only for 0.591L and includes weird stuff like Ginseng and Taurine).

Why happy?---> cos after meeting my writing teacher in the morning, i presented her my new essay (crapped out and squeezed out). Then she asked me if i brought my essay, i said no, i did a new one cos the writing centre ppl said it was crap (i had to bring my earlier drafts to the writing centre, they'd help me with it and improve it) and i should rewrite it with some original idea. Then she tells me she thought i hit it spot on, it was so good that she gave it to the department director to read. So much for subjectivity and first drafts.

Why content?---> the week is over, looks like my writing mojo is still there, i ok-ed my mid east and spanish papers (i think) and looks like my writing teacher thinks this could be an A grade paper.

Why liberated?---> Weekend of cos feel more liberated la. Ah ba den... Besides the fact that i've less to worry about grades now... Just keep brushing up on Spanish, attempt to understand what goes on during Econs Stats lectures (which is really not that hard) and book my flight to Peru, read the texts for Middle East, finish up the Spanish work i know, edit Essay 1 and 2, finish my Econs Stats problem set, plan the courses and time tables for next week, settle my ATM card and bank deposits, go the gym, do some swimming, organise my ME notes and my Econs Stats notes, and thats about all there is for me to do this weekend.

Here's the part that my teacher really liked. She said that if i took it out of the essay, she'd take away a grade or 3 grades or something. Here goes:


The stormy weather was a nuisance to everyone. Patience wore thin in my apartment, tested by the whispering wind that whistled through the cracks in the building structure. The heater was down, and the only thing keeping the apartment toasty was an assortment of hot tempers and a can of coffee powder, the aroma of which permeated each room of my cold abode. The coffee kept my nerves twisted at the ends, zapping each synapse in my brain with an excessive charge for every thought that came to mind, the feeling of which was comparable to sitting on an electric chair with faulty wiring—an initial jolt of pain, followed by a heightened state of self-consciousness. It was coffee that kept me alive in college, that kept me company in obscene hours late at night, and that uncompromisingly worked its way into my life like email. For all its advantages, the downside to it was simply negligible in comparison. The coffee kept my eyes open in class, but sedated every cell in my brain. I hated coffee. It was essentially a superficial drug, a miracle drug that extended working capacity (or the looks of it), for the sake of working more, doing more, and being more. Yet, it was and still is an integral part of my college life, as it fuels the energy to satisfy my need to be more than myself. It was coffee, that gave my roommates and I the strength to look charming, think quick, react fast, and carry ourselves well. We consumed coffee like a designer drug and used it like mascara and foundation, to highlight the beautiful side of ourselves. We needed it to be beautiful in our own right. We still do.

Rating please? Post on the tag board thankz!

The funniest thing was that i didn't know how to begin an essay talking about this essay exploring beauty. It was late and i was pondering the possibilities of a solid introduction when i looked at the cup of coffee in my hand, its aroma grabbing my nostrils with all its worth, pulling at my senses, tugging at my cilia, grabbing my nose like a bull's nose ring. Hell yeah, i'll write about coffee. Its kinda like Kin and Coffee ~ Kumar and Weed.. except that i don't wanna marry a Coffee bean or anything.

i'll be giving tuition to kids again today. Did it last week, felt meaningful. After that, dinner at Hooters =P

Possible ball game on sunday, NY Knicks vs Golden State Warriors.
Booyah!

A relieved Kin
(sorry kiats stole ur blogname)

Back to work

Its crazy how often i get tests here. Its like one spanish test every 2 weeks, and all amidst the mid-terms of the other subjects. I missed the halloween parade in favour of studying and a nice korean dinner to boost my morale. I did buy a glow in the dark hair cream in an attempt to be festive, but it didnt work, and they said no refund for sales during halloween. Assholes. I had intended to be either: Gunther or Kevin (the vampire in Sin City played by Elijah Wood, absolutely creepy) , but settled for green hair that didn't glow.

Spent last night studying ME for this morning's test, and tonight will be about Spanish for tomorrow's test. Such is life, tests tests tests. Not to mention that i need to re-write my second progression as its not special enough, and a C grade will definitely condemn my GPA to the irrecoverable pits of CAS, in which case my mission to go stern will certainly fail. So i'll start work on that.

Peru trip is shaping up! but tickets are jumping in price also. Very irritating. Why should it be expensive to travel during festive seasons? who wants to celebrate new year in a Plane? it should be cheaper!

I need to start exercising too. Besides the fact that i've gained 10 pounds (but look the same), i have an insatiable appitite that mirrors the effort put into studying here. I haven't run at the gym for a month (i've run to class regularly though, rain or shine in an attempt to stay on top of things), and i feel these chest pains again (same ones at OCS when i became less fit after eating like a pig) regularly. Not good, but how to run when i got test essay essay test midterm essay test test?

I know its all about discipline and better time management, and i dare say that i'm improving much more than i was at the start of this academic year. its just that the weekends here really fly by faster than in SG even though here its fri sat and sun but sg was just sat and sun. For some damn reason i can't figure. The longer the holiday, the shorter it is. Give me one more school day.

Yeah and unfortunately rockson appears to be trying too hard to write, that his entries now seem rather forced and fake. At least he had some gems like the ICT one. You can only disguise urself for so long.

Ok mai gong liao i gotta rewrite essay.

some karaoke fotos to make u guys smile:

Homies in the club


Who's getting jiggy?


Backstreet boys

So lame. Just like that truck i saw 4 weeks ago: emblazoned on the side was the huge word LAMER and below it, movers.

LAMER movers. 100% for originality. We're so lame u can move yourself.