28.08.08
6:21 p.m. x 29.08.08
Yesterday was the day!
And yet I felt sick the moment I woke up. =S I guess it was because I slept at 3 the previous night, trying to finish Company Law (and yet it was fruitless), and woke up at 10.
Had actually wanted to treat my mom for lunch but gm wanted to go Taka to do some teachers' day shopping and asked if we wanted to join her. So, at 11 plus, we were on the way to Taka. Everything was just doing along a downward spiral.
[1] I felt so cold at Taka so I was quite pissed off.
[2] I felt a little hungry because I only had a small pao for breakfast.
[3] I was walking around with my Company Law notes and a highlighter.
[4] Gm spent like an hour at the SMALL area at B1 so I stood around, but in the end my legs couldn't take it anymore so I went to the Courts level to find a place to sit. There, two old man sat next to me and one was talking so loudly on his phone and the other kept tapping the bench so it was really irritating.
[5] I was having a sore throat.
So in short, everything was quite bad there.
Back at home, I continued ploughing through my hw because I wanted to go out in the evening and just want to get something off my mind! I worked and worked till 430, before I gave in to my body's demands and went for a short nap. Fortunately, the nap helped a bit, although it's effects were non-lasting.
Aniwaes, I received yet another bear yesterday.
I was in shock when I saw the box that contained the bear. Like, two groups of friend got me the same kind of thing from the same shop!? Fortunately one got me pink (the bear's a guy) and one got me blue (the bear's a girl, strangely haha!). I was quite touched by the effort.
I had wanted to bring my mom to the Singapore Flyer but I realised that she's got fear of heights so I changed my plans.
I took tons of pics on the flyer. Many were of the same buildings, but in a different angle, at a different height or part of a different picture composition. I love taking pics of scenery!!! Below are some which I quite like out of the many I took. I bet the view would be much better after all the construction work has completed.
Second picture from right: Some idiot tried to disturb me while I was taking the pic so it turned out that way. =.= Looks for fireworks...........?
And the one I LOVE MOST!
Oh, and I met Sam's family last evening too! Sam've already told me that her family's going to go to the flyer yesterday at around 8pm, on the complimentary tixs the flyer compensated her and Dennis with. But I think it was really so coincidental! We were waiting at the entry platform because the group of people in front of us were all Japanese, so somehow the usher there made us wait for the next capsule instead of letting us join them inside the same capsule. Then, while waiting for our capsule, I saw some guy smiling and trying to wave at me. Looking at him, I realised he's Sam's brother! Haha he recognises me! And with him were his dad and mom. I've seen Sam's mom before but never his dad. Well, he looks normal...like any other dad. XP
I'm still sick today, down with cough and sore throat. And I had a tutorial presentation to do...I think I really srewed up on it because I was using the wrong slides (somehow my slides got jumbled up) and I didn't know, so I just continued reading out my typed answer while using the wrong slides. It was only after I finished part 1 of my answer that I realised. How stupid! My brain wasn't working, I guess. And Jap is getting worse, really....I'm starting to dread it!!!
------------------------pre - 28.08.08
5:45 p.m. x 27.08.08
Tomorrow's a special day!
For the past one week or so, there've been loads of secrets exchanged between sam and sh, sam and me, and sh and me. The first with respect to my birthday celebration/present, the second with respect to sh's birthday celebration/present, and the last with respect to sam's birthday celebration/present.
So, everytime they need to discuss something, I'll walk behind a bit. The same goes for the other 2 pairs lol! But once it a while, someone would say something she's not supposed to and the party concerned will just pretend not to hear.
Like how I, while we were driving (see entry below) to Suntec to get each other's bdae presents, said to Sam, "Let's go to the shop next to KFC to see if got SH's present." I said that thinking that SH wasn't familiar with taka. But, after I said that, Sam said, "The bag..." And she stopped, realising that she had let it out what we're getting for SH. Or like how Sam said to SweeLing, with me next to her, "Your font is so big, we had to reduce the font size of other people's!" Or like yesterday, when Zi'ang called to ask if we got into NAAT (no, but at least we got into the MUN subcomm!!) and he ended up asking me, "So what time and where are we meeting tomorrow?" I replied, "Huh?" And he had the decency to repeat the question. It was only when I said, "I think you better ask sh and sam," that he realised his mistake! Or like how Sam, sh were in the FAL this afternoon and sh msn-ed me saying that she'll leave first (because she wants to go home early) and go find the fish tank first while I stay to accompany Sam till Dennis' class ends. Sh, on seeing my colourful MSN window, commented on it (she was on my right) and Sam (who was on my left) turned to look at the screen. Yes, she saw the "fish tank". XP
And yes, we've been so boliao lately that we keep msn-ing each other when though we're just sitting next to each other.
In case you're wondering, our birthdays are one week apart. Mine on Thurs, Sam's next Fri and sh's the Friday after next. Is it because we're all Virgos, we kind of embody the same characteristics and way of thinking? Sure, we're different in a lot of ways, but broadly speaking, we're about the same.
So aniwaes, below are the presents I received from them today! Thankies!
The present and a card! LOL sh got my pic from the pic I took with Ray!
The back of it, with well wishes. Guess what's in the box?
It's a bear!!
Sam and SH gave him (yes, they made him a 'he') the name Milkshake (Pink fur + Milkshake = a bit gay...?) So I named him Kuma Milkshake, meaning Bear Milkshake! You can call him Kuma-chan!! haha! If you press his right hand, he'll sing you a really quite birthday song!
All my presents received today. LOL Jian Yong, SweeLing and Audrey got me this accessory packed in Jap style paper!!
I really think I've changed. I felt so paiseh when I realised that they wanted to sing me a birthday song in the cafe. It was such a different feeling from before! =( Am I growing old????
Aniwaes, tomorrow's gonna be a great day too, I hope!! Gonna sit the Singapore Flyer!!!!!
------------------------(not-so) boring week
10:12 p.m. x 22.08.08
Thus far, the week has been a mixture of boredom and excitement.
The most exciting day was Tues and Wed.
On Tues, I had to attend this Global Banks networking session. It was only then that I realised how smart people look in formal wear, but I guess only when the whole audi full of people are wearing formal. Otherwise, one would just look so out of place!
Wed was really exciting. Sam, sh and I went for an interview for the organising committee of the NTU MUN. It was a really last minute thing and we had only receive notice of the interview on Tues, Everything's so last min, we didn't even prepare anything for it. But the interviewers are nice people so it was rather relaxed, the interview.
After the interview, we rushed to Suntec to get presents. None of us knew how to get there so Sam took charge of driving Dennis' car and I gave her directions using the map. It was really hectic and at one point, we got 'lost' because we passed an exit without knowing (now, I'm not even sure that the exit existed!) Now I can totally understand why the teams on The Amazing Race get so stressed up whenever they're driving around and searching for a destination. GRGGHH.
Lunch was really rushed too because we had limited time. After lunch, sh and Sam rushed off to get my birthday present (LOL! We've been discussing presents and surprises in front of each other for the past week. Our birthdays are all one week after each other's) and I went to choose a tie for Dennis, for his interviews and for Career Foundations class. It was really tough because I have no idea what he likes! SO STRESSED! I chose like 15 ties before narrowing it down to 5 and eventually choosing 1. =(
After that, it was time to go because we had to rush back to school for an interview. We didn't prepare for this interview as well so everything was quite relaxed, although very stressful at the same time due to the lack of preparations. =(
I guess I'm a little jaded by interviews already, especially those for clubs and societies, because they usually ask the same questions. This is unlike job interview whch really twists your brain.
In short, the whole week was full of interviews, and all very last minute. Can you believe that I got an sms at 3++ AM for an interview the 'next day' at 9pm? Crap!
------------------------Great job, Team Singapore!
11:00 p.m. x 17.08.08
For the first time since independence, we've scored a medal in the Games.
For the first time in 48 years, the Singapore flag is flown in the victory ceremony.
Even if it's not a gold, it feels just as shiok!
Even though people critisize that the many of the team members are foreigners.
Well, isn't the Olympics about the people and their perseverance? Since when was it about where the people came from?
They've spent the past decade or so in Singapore training. Does it matter where they were born in or where they received training during the first few years of their live as a sportsperson? Of course I would have my misgivings if they were 'imported' wholesale and spent just a couple of years in Singapore. Oh well, who cares.
The point is, I felt so happy when I found out about they even getting to the gold medal match. That itself is an amazing feat! Who cares if they emerge first, second or third? Even fourth is good already. Of cours the medal puts the cherry on the muffin. XP
The match was really adrenaline-inducing. Table tennis is really a fast sport and there was excitement throughout.
I especially like the match between Li Jia Wei and Zhang Yining. It was really an eye-opener how good the 1st ranked is. She's good at keeping her calm and totally made the games hers. I quite admire her techniques and the fast plays she made. There was this time where she and Li Jia Wei really set the ball into a mad frenzy, flying across the table...I was wowed by that!! I'm her fan already lol. Am looking forward to the singles round (both Li and Zhang). =)
======= edit, courtesy of angel haha! =======
ChinaNo.1 Zhang Yining (27 years old)
No.2 Guo Yue (20 years old)
No.5 Wang Nan (30 years old)
Singapore
No.6 Li Jia Wei (27 years old)
No.7 Wang Yue Gu (28 years old)
No.9 Feng Tianwei (26 years old)
Amaing ne, the Singapore team. They did well. =) btw, I was wondering why no Western sports people played table tennis! I didn't really follow the Games closely this time round..but I mainly see Asian people at the table tennis games..Korean's third!
------------------------Language classes
7:20 p.m. x 12.08.08
Contains Japanese characters. Rmb to change the encoding to Japanese (Shift-JIS)!
大野先生？
違います、違います！
このOhnoはあの大野じゃないんだ。
私の先生は「小野」って言う人です。
I've just came home from a grueling day. I'm not exhausted because of class. Instead, I'm exhausted because I was stuck in the rain with many others at the bus stop while waiting for a bus to come along. I waited for over half an hour, watching fully packed buses pass by one by one. SBS, DO SOMETHING!!!
Today I had my first French class and my first Japanese 3 class.
French was horrible.
The pronounciation is giving me a headache and I doubt I can read a sentence at a proper speed. And we haven't even started learning sentence construction etc yet. I ought to have stuck with an Asian language!!! Someone save me!
Japanese was far more interesting, with tons of interesting people. Many of the students came from Ohno (lol I'll type this way la. XP) sensei's Level 2 class I think, because they seem to know her. There were a lot of China chinese and they can speak really well. They speak really quickly and fluently, I feel ashamed because they supposedly haven't attain JLPT 3 (those who have are supposed to go to Level 6, unless they're like me XP) and I have problems speaking. Well, at least I understood them so..erm, it's consolation?
We broke into groups to practise asking and answering questions. My group was quite fun and fortunately they make mistakes too, so I don't feel too paiseh when I make a dumb mistake. I need to revise more because I've really forgotten a lot of what I've learnt. All my JLPT 3 stuff are gone!
The class is pretty interesting in the sense that they have diverse interests.
- One is a manga lover with over 500 books at home.
- Another loves anime and cosplaying, and does cosplay performances publicly.
- Yet more others love anime.
- And one (or one group?) likes YamaPi. XPPP I wanted to tell them I like Arashi. =P
I've never had Japanese lessons with classmates before so this is quite interesting. I'll jiayou! More for French though. =(
------------------------Heta Kuso!
10:08 p.m. x 11.08.08
Someone vandalised my car.
Not the new one, which has thus far been in safe custody inside my gm's house.
My beloved old one, which I drove to my gm's last weekend and parked it quite some distance from her house due to the lack of nearer parking space.
Today, I went to retrieve it as I wanted to drive it back home. There I thought I saw something gloo-y looking at the handle of the driver side door. At first I thought it was bird shit, and was totally disgusted by it because it kind of covered the whole handle. So I went to the other side of the car and got some tissues, hoping to wipe the stuff off. However, I didn't manage to and on closer inspection, I realised that it wasn't bird shit.
Then it hit me! "Maybe it's honey or super glue or something," I thought, remembering yy telling me about how some idiots went to put super glue at the keyhole of her dad's car.
I drove the car back to my gm's house and told her about it.
Then she told me that most probably someone tried to steal my car by melting the car handle/keyhole so they can open the car door.
WTH!
Some people really have nothing better to do. And somehow, as I think about that, an image comes to mind, something not politically correct hence I won't type it out here.
Well, at least this shows how good Volvo's security system is....?
Should I or should I not start driving my new car home, because I'll have to park it at the public carpark below my flat...where potential vandalisers may find the beautiful creature a temptation?
------------------------080808 and 090808
4:06 p.m. x 10.08.08
Yesterday was 9th Aug, Singapore's birthday!!!!
Well, it was drizzling abit during the late afternoon and with the gloomy skies, I was quite worried. But the rain was contained as a mere drizzle, fortunately. The parade was good, and the fireworks beautiful.
As they played national day songs, I found myself singing to them. It's amazing how, after so many years, I can still remember the lyrics. I still prefer the 'older' songs to those composed just in the recent years. I feel that the older songs kind of brought out more patriotic spirit in me!
When I saw MM Lee, I was shocked. Just before he arrived, they aired a short clip showing Singapore pre-independence and just after independence. There was a short part where MM Lee was filmed showing his declaration that in 10 years time, Singapore will tranform from the swampland it was back then, to a metropolis. He looked so full of drive, so young...yet at the NDP yesterday, he looked so aged! I really fear losing him. Many people (including some around me) may complain against him etc etc...but at least to me, regardless of what his motives were (if any), he did bring Singapore to what we are now. Singapore may not be the ideal nation to some, but at least we have our basics needs fulfilled, unlike some other countries.
I spotted quite a lot of mistakes at the parade last night..like one of two out of the many not marching uniformly, props 'spoiling' (there was a chinese opera singer at one performance and as she sang the lines, one of the 'feelers' she had on her headgear fell off.), the 11th parachuter of the team of 12 falling on his face when he landed, etc etc...I couldn't help but compare it with the grandness of the Games opening just the day before.
I think they spent like S$60 bil on it, much more than the last Athen Games. I really wondered why they spent so much when so much of their people are suffering from poverty and the rich-poor divide. However, no one can deny that the opening ceremony was amazing and jaw-dropping. The grandness, the extraordinary coordination of the performers in their formations, the overwhelming number of fireworks set...everything is just so amazing. I guess, the country is willing to spent the money for 'face' and national pride. It's a showcase of how great China has been since the Xia dynasty almost 5000 years ago (I think) and how much they have contributed to the technologies of today.
Even I got influenced by the display of national pride and it evoked this feeling within me, which I haven't felt for a long time. Afterall, we're descendents of the Chinese people in China. We're part of their long history. Come to think of it, it's amazing how we have Chinese in almost everywhere in the world. =)
------------------------the Olympics. four years later. different feelings.
11:11 p.m. x 08.08.08
I remember coming close to dreading that day last year.
I've almost forgotten the anticipation I held for that day in previous years.
This year, because of that one question, that one statement, I let my imaginations fly and found myself looking forward to it once more.
But, the higher you hope for, the greater the fall is, right?
My 2008 resolution is so not being kept to. Because it's getting confusing. I'd rather it be a short and (bitter-)sweet halt.
Aniwaes, today's a great day to marry.
08.08.08.
Plus, it's the opening day of the Olympics, which so much attention has been paid to because it's held in China.
I remember people (including me) rushing home/onto the bus after school to catch games. I remember discussing the previous days' games in class. It was such an exciting period.
Four years later, I still feel excited about it but the lack of people around me who are interested and the lack of time to devote myself to watching the matches are hindering my tension level from moving up a level.
Well, time passes, things change, and feelings do the same.
------------------------school's starting
7:48 p.m. x 03.08.08
School's gonna start tomorrow.
Had been reading the Company Law tb and..
this subject sucks.
Boring
Boring
Boring.
ciao!
------------------------Cycling at Sentosa
4:14 p.m. x 28.07.08
I went to Sentosa with yy and cw last Sat for cycling. It has been sooo long since I last cycled!
It was fun, although the cycling path was too short compared to ECP. The weather was good - not too sunny and a bit windy. =) I was having such a great time looking around while cycline: looking at people, looking at trees (they have the most interesting trees at Sentosa, I tell you!), looking at the sky...
Oh, we went to the so-called "Southen-most point of the Asia continent". But I can't figure it out. Isn't Indonesia part of Asia? If so, they're further South, right? And if you argue that since Indonesia is 'off' the main continent of Asia, then why is Sentosa counted, since it's also 'off'. I don't get it at all but that's not important. The scenery there was fabulous. I love love LOVE the waves. They were not as huge and exciting as those back in Gold Coast but...they made me think of stuff. Don't laugh, ok? They made me think of physics..of progressive waves.
YES!
I was thinking of that ok? And looking at the wavefront move up and down...I really am a science person. =X
When I went for the special term Career Foundations course, I heard a lot of new terms: Sub-prime etc etc...and a lot of new companies: GPMorgan etc etc...which I'm so foreign to. The world of finances and banking is such a stranger to me...am I suited for it?
We had this activity in class where we rotated partners and for each rotation, we had to speak to a new partner on a new topic given. I had nothing to say (I didn't even know what it was) when the topic was sub-prime. But when it became "Stem cells", I totally got excited and couldn't stop talking. In contrast, my partner had no idea what stem cells is about.
Am I in the wrong place???
Haiz.
Aniwaes, cycling was fun. I am be going with my class again this week (we had to choose between cycling + panic - jiayang's poor spelling - and movie + sushi). I hope majority wants cycling! But I doubt so, since ECP's so far for some of them...and most people round me don't really like to sweat it out.
Will see how.
Sch's starting, so I'll be online less often. =)
------------------------ありえないっつうの！
11:26 p.m. x 25.07.08
Contains Japanese characters. Rmb to change the encoding to Japanese (Shift-JIS)!
アパートをプレゼントにするのはありえない！
「うそ！！！」って。
信じられないだろう？
道明寺らしい！
------------------------permanent **** *******
3:43 p.m. x 24.07.08
I'm a really sentimental person.
I feel so sad.
My dear mao...
They're been with me for 20 good years.
I've grown used to feeling and seeing them...
They keep me warm yo!
Now that they're gone, I feel a little sad.
5 mins into the procedure, I was thinking if I should shout "STOP!" and run out. Really!
=(
I'm such an odd person.
------------------------New car
7:10 p.m. x 18.07.08
I'm deadbeat today!
Didn't manage to sleep well last night and although I slept at 1.30am, I woke up at 7.45am, even before my alarm (set at 8am) rang.
The reason: We had a dental visit today.
I was supposed to do my teeth today with my gf and gm but I threw a tantrum (really, like yell and stomp my feet type) so I got off the hook. I really have a phobia about anything dental, for some reason. Even though I wasn't set for a session, even stepping into the clinic was tough. And then I had to sit outside and wait while my gf and gm get their teeth done. All the drilling and cleansing...argh!!! I was really in a bad mood.
After dental, we went shopping for a while.
But that's not the main point. Main point is, I'll be passing my 1 year 'probation' for my driving licence (as of 30 July). AND, very coincidentally, I'll be getting a new car on that day. It's purely by coincidence yo!
Here's the new car, which I've finally decided on after months and months of refusing to buy. I mean, buying a car isn't like buying clothes; you can't throw it away after buying just because you suddenly realise it doesn't really fit and you prefer another one. It's a huge decision...but I quite like my new car, although at times, it may not be very practical - the back seats do not have very huge legroom and it's hard to get in and out.
(Oh, my car's colour is sky blue, not silver)
Great, now I owe my godparents another 188k. My current car will go to mummy, fortunately, because I really love him (yes, my car's a he) Nice colours, great pickup speed...But the old has to go for the new to come ne.
------------------------万事具备,只欠东风
4:03 p.m. x 16.07.08
I watched Red Cliff with cw yesterday and it was surprisingly good. I remember myself growling and complaining when I realised what movie we were to watch - I didn't like Lin Chilin and I had have enough of Chinese blockbusters (read: epic movies about war and war and war or sometimes fighting and fighting and fighting).
But I think I'm going to watch the part two when it comes out.
I was rolling my eyes when the screen flashed "PART TWO COMING SOON". Like WTH! I can understand why the movie had to be split into two parts. There're too much details and plot/character developments that cannot be squeezed into just one movie. Although I roughly know the ending already (all thanks to Chinese lessons by Mr Lee back at NHSS and to the video games I play based on the Three Kingdoms), I still want to catch part two just so that there'll be a proper ending to this movie.
Fortnately Lin ChiLin didn't appear too much. Don't ask me why I don't like her...I just don't. Just like how I can like something a lot without reason, I dislike her. I don't really like her role in the movie either. I'm not be biased but her role in there is so insignificant..compare that to Vicky Zhao's role. I was surprised to find her appear in the movie, and that was a very pleasant surprise! Her role had more meaning and is also very likeable. She added some humour to the movie and also gave a soft touch to the otherwise bloody movie (literally, because there were scenes where blood splattered all over like they were rain).
For some reason, I got the feeling that Vicky's character (princess of the state of Sun) and Takeshi Kaneshiro's character (Zhuge Liang) will develop something. -.- Maybe not a romantic one, but at least a close friendship.
I enjoyed the scene between them where Vicky had stormed out of a feast with the generals and Kaneshiro went to comfort her. The dialogues there were great. Not the romantic type ok!! The dialogues conveyed the helplessness they felt in their positions and...ok, hinted at some special (not nec romantic, maybe just platonic) feelings between the two.
I like Vicky's character. She's straightforward and bold, yet you can feel the typical helplessness a female living in her times will feel towards her life, marriage etc...
I like Kaneshiro's too because he, as Zhuge Liang, is very smart and composed. He has both IQ and EQ, which makes him a great strategist! (Plus he is great eye candy haha!)
Tong Leung's character's not bad too and he shows great leadership, brains (almost as comparable to Zhuge Liang's, and they seem to be able to read each other's thoughts and strategies) and comradeship towards his soldiers.
As for the rest of the generals, they had admirable skills/character too! Some of them, like Guan Yu, were readily recognisable just based on their looks. =) The battle tactics they employed (especially the 8-diagrams formation) were really impressive and glued my eyes to the screen. I cannot remember a time where I got so interested in a battlescene (other than in TROY where I was looking for hot people XP).
Not bad, plus I enjoy stories about the Thee Kingdoms and the characters in it. Even before watching this movie, Zhuge Liang had been my fav character inside! I like smart people you see. =)
------------------------Tall...short....
6:45 p.m. x 14.07.08
I took these pictures from the dorama's official site.
Notice anything odd about the pictures?
No?
Well, the female's taller than the male.
Although the two didn't get paired up in the dorama, it still looks odd just based on these pictures, ne?
I'm not anti-'tall girl + short guy' but maybe it's the cultural influences I've grown accustomed to, I feel strange looking at such a pair.
I myself am quite tall. Not soaring tall, but standing at 1.71m, I am tall for my country. So I've always hesitated wearing heels. It's not just the problem of backaches high heels can potentially bring, but also because I don't want to look too tall. =/ Then on the other hand, it's a fact that heels makes one look better and can lengthen one's legs.
I used to have nothing against my height but recently, while on a shopping frenzy, my height bothered me a bit.
I was looking for some dresses (long, to the ankles type) after being influenced by an actress's dressing style in Hachimitsu To Clover (see post below). However, no matter how hard I looked, the longest dress I found were up to my knees. Those that were supposed to be knee-length (and quite pretty) turned out to be too short for me.
And then there was an incident at Valerie at Hereen where I tried on a knee-length dress. Because the mirror was outside the fitting room, I had to exit the room to look at myself in the mirror. There was a couple outside paying for their purchases and after I re-entered the room, I heard someone commenting that the dress was too short for me. I even heard someone (not sure if it was the same person) saying that they were saying it too loudly. F. Mind your own business. In the end, I pretended I couldn't hear anything.
See? The problem of being of being too tall. I can't even find a dress I like!
As if that wasn't enough, my mom had to remind me of my height, saying that if I grew any taller, I'll have problems finding a bf. =.= (Oh yeah, this is the reason why I posted the two pics up there in the first place) So, what do you guys think?
Tall girl + shorter guy = ????My family has been asking me if I have a bf ever since I entered Uni. It's sooo frustrating! Argh. X.X I have better things to do yo!
Like creating a new layout! XP I feel like doing so...but without my comp/photoshop, I feel very restricted in terms of designs and effects. Maybe at a later date ne...Aniwaes, i've finally updated the side bar with my more recent graphics. XP Go take a look! Mostly avatars because I've been lazy =P
------------------------Skies
5:34 p.m. x 14.07.08
Will make this a quick one because I'm using my godbro's comp!
I took these photos last Sat. I was bored stiff so I decided to work on the exercise bike by the window when I saw the beautiful sky! It's been a while since I last saw a sky that wowed me here in S'pore.
The colours were a beautiful blend of a gradient of blue and pink. The clouds, for once, took on interesting shapes.
After seeing the beauty of nature, I spotted some man-made beauty! My godbro reckons it's from the NDP rehearsals. We could hear planes/jets zooming around and creating trails of white behind them. Beautiful, isn't it?
I've survived the days without the Internet on dvds and FINALLY watched Hachimitsu To Clover. I love it! The songs are really melodious and made me buy that Ken Hirai cd at HMV. The story's typical of Jdoramas with soft touches of emotions-evoking scenes here and there. I love Narumi Riko's fashion style inside! The characters (not just Riko and Toma) are all very interesting and their sub-plots managed to capture my heart (instead of making me skip them). Having one of my first few Jap loves Kashiwabara Takashi (from ISAWK) inside as the caring Nomiya is a bonus! He's still hot even today! I'm not watching Sho's ver because I doubt such a short movie can capture the whole beauty of the story. Overall, it's a dorama with a light feel to it but I would not be rewatching it anytime soon.
On the other hand, I just rewatched Taiyou No Uta. This time, I watched it for the acting, not just for the plot, so I was able to appreciate the subtle expressions, gestures and movements, which gave me room to explore and deduce the inner feelings and thoughts of each character. I have to say that Yamada Takayuki is a really superb actor for his age. His acting has depth. Either that or I'm just thinking way too much .
Ja, will be back when I get to use the comp again!
------------------------What's the purpose?
2:04 p.m. x 06.07.08
I used to really like doing volunteer work. Especially when it's on a proj-basis. Finishing one project gives me an immense amount of satisfaction, even if I'm not the organiser (but much more when I'm involved in the planning). This is the case for any types of projects I take part in. When it comes to volunteer projects, the satisfaction is doubled because of the knowlegde that what I've done brightens up someone's day, in smaller and big ways. I feel useful. I feel the purpose. And then I have great friends whom I do the volunteer word with: close friends, classmates, clubmates...people who have fun while doing the work. They in turn brighten up my day. Cherished memories are created during the work. Although there are surely people who participated just to chalk up CIP points, or because it was made compulsory, I'm sure there are just as much, if not more, people who participated without such thoughts. Perhaps they just wanted to go with the flow or perhaps they eally wanted to do their part. At least the people around me back then were genuine in their wish to help.
I enjoy those days.
Ya Yun, Ren Ling, Yolanda, Emily, and many others...
Whom I did volunteer work with and experienced their sincerity in helping.
Now, I've been asked to go do some volunteer work by my newly-made Uni friends. Somehow, I can only feel half the excitement I used to feel. The trigger behind the invitation is this Career Foundations course we took; we were told the importance of doing volunteer work to use as proof of our character during interviews. This is true, but I just don't wish to have that as my purpose when I volunteer. Many events I participated in back in JC helped to make my resume more impressive, but that was just a by-product. I participated in those events because I was genuinely interested in them. I hope this will be the same even now. It'll be painful to go through my uni days joining events with a mind set towards making an impact at a future job interview. I've experienced such 'ghost membership' in Year 1 already and I totally hated the feeling...I had a position but I wasn't doing much. I don't see myself contributing as much as before. Is it due to a change in me or is it due to a change in the people around me?
So, what's the purpose of me doing volunteer work now?
I wat to sort this out before I sign up for anything. Before term starts and school occupies my entire mind.
------------------------hiatus
1:02 p.m. x 01.07.08
For those who care enough to read this, I'll be on hiatus for a while.
My tests and assignments have all been finished so I was hoping to get more active online soon. However, my amazing ability to spoil all electronics has once again worked its magic - my AC laptop charger is spoilt. I can't use my laptop unless I'm at my gm's place because I can borrow her son's charger for a while. Otherwise, I'll have no chance of coming online at all. So, I'll be gone..until I get a new charger/laptop.
List of electronic items I've spoilt thus far (as I can remember):
1. Radio
2. Desktop computer X 2
3. Calculator
4. Walkman
5. Printer
6. DVD player
7. ipod
8. TV set
9. Aircon controller
10.DVD player (gm's)
I bet there're more, but I can't really remember.
sigh. I'm really the jinx of all electronic appliances.
Aniwaes, I had my Jap placement test yesterday and I couldn't resist the urge to put Jun in my essay about "my birthday last year". Jun was one of my friends who attended my party and of all the presents I received, I loved his the most. My favourite song genre is Jpop and my favourite group is Arashi, so he gave me an Arashi cd which I now listen to every night before I sleep. LOL..I hope the marker has no idea who Jun is. =/
Ja, till I solve my charger problem!
------------------------友達さんへ
12:40 p.m. x 01.07.08
Contains Jap characters. Rmb to change the encoding to Japanese (Shift-JIS)!
日曜日の夜はめちゃくちゃ楽しかった！久しぶりな幸せだった。あれはデートじゃないのがよく分かったよ。でもね。。。それでもいいよ！友達だけでもいい。あなたみたいな友達がいれば十分です。こっけいで嬉し夜で、ありがとう。またいつかそうしょうね！
------------------------De-to?
8:29 p.m. x 28.06.08
I was quite shocked when I received the sms. Well, I wanted to ask *** out for a movie, but decided against it because I had too much work to do, stuff to plan out and it seemed inappropriate; I had to hold back and try to stop already. It has been dragging on for too long!
I wanted to ask, "de-to desu ka?" but I restrained myself.
Dakara, de-to desu ka?
Tabun sou ja nai ne.
Tomodachi deka desu kara.
------------------------KUSO!
4:10 p.m. x 25.06.08
Why is life like this? A rollarcoaster. Fine. But not pack all the ups and downs in a day!!!
1. I received a reply from the MLE in-charge that I will be sitting for the placement test for HMJ3 on Monday.
I had wanted to take the test for HMJ2, which is a level below HMJ3. I was asked to fill up a form and had to indicate the number of hours of lessons I had taken. I wrote 80 (which actually was lower than actual. If I had written my actual qualifications, I'll be asked to take HMJ6 I bet.). Alas, I was asked to take the HMJ3 test.
F***
I've not touched Jap for the pass 7 months already! My standard has regressed all the way to that of a '50 hours lesson' student (arbitrary)!!! Furthermore, when I studied I was aiming for the JLPTs, meaning I didn't memorise how to write the kanjis or to express English loan words in Katakana! Sure, I can read them, recognise them...but not write! However, I've looked at the HMJ exam papers and they all required actual writting (of vocab and an essay).
I'm sure to fail. But my morale now is way low so I can't be bothered.
JUST LET ME FAIL.
Futhermore, the classes for HMJ3 doesn't fit into my timetable as well as HMJ2 does. If I took the lessons, I'll have long breaks between my core lessons and the HMJ3 lessons. I'll go home much later and waste time in school.
2. I received a reply from the Career Foundations module regarding the attire for lessons 3 and 4.
This is just a 1AU class but it's so demanding!
We were told to go for two classes in interview attire:
Females: Two piece skirt suit
Or three piece – Skirt, blouse, jacket
Or skirt and blouse
Make-up for interview
Court shoes, pumps
Handbags
Accessories for work wear – eg. watch, pearl necklace, earring/ear studs.
Skin colored stockings
I only have a pant suit. No skirts at all! But I was told that even formal pants are seen as too casual during interviews. F****** sexists!!! So what? While having to finish a case interview presentation (to be assigned tomorrow and completed by Monday), to prepare for a mock interview (on Monday) and to revise for the placement test (also on Monday), I have to spend 3 hours at the malls buying a STUPID skirt.
Make up. Prejudiced against people who don't like make up, have no make up or don't know how to apply make up? WHATEVER.
Stockings. Whatever. My legs aren't really pretty (hence I don't wear formal skirts!! I only wear skirts with knee-length socks!) so I need to wear thick stockings or double layers. F***!
As you can see, I'm damn pissed off now. I've not uttered the F word for so long already..but..this is just too upsetting
------------------------Strange dream
11:08 p.m. x 16.06.08
Ok, I'm gonna update this and then pack my laptop already. Gonna fly back to S'pore tomorrow morning!
This is really random so just skip this entry.
Skip it okay?
Skip it.
Told you to skip it so quit reading!!
I had a weird dream last night. I was in school and on my way to a bus stop with my friends. Can't really remember who but I remember shuwen was inside. O.o With my other Uni friends. Totally illogical.
And...I taught this somebody how to make something...can't really remember what, but it was some handicraft. Lol yes, we dropped out of the group heading for the bus stop to make handicrafts. =.= And then, sparks flew and knowing smiles were exchanged. I started paying for the crafts...for the item, the box, everything. Why the hell was I paying??? And then we started making our way back to the group. Later, shuwen started complaining about how far the bus stop was and she'd rathe walk to her destination because it'll be way faster.
My gosh, what kind of dream was that? Don't make any sense.
And why him? Why not him?
why yh?
------------------------Australia Day 4 ; Surfers' Paradise
6:53 p.m. x 16.06.08
I wasn't going to blog much today because I'm really tired and there really isn't much to blog about. However, an incident just before nightfall changed my mind so here's an entry for today!
Today's my last day at Australia and soon, I'll be back home doing all the after-shopping shiet aka throwing out old stuff and stuffing new ones in. I hate doing that because I love all the stuff I have...I even have clothes from 4 years back and those I haven't worn for ages but which I still love. Packing is a huge project and a very dreadful one at that.
We went crazy shopping today. Like, really crazy. Call it the LDS (Last Day Syndrome) because I always find myself not buying much during other days but shopping like hell on the last day. Well, that's true except for my Japan/Tokyo trips because the stuff are always so exquisite and cute, I cannot stop my hands from throwing them into the basket. The very friendly salesperson and the abundance of lockers to deceive one from the amount of shopping already done made it worse for a shopaholic like me.
So we bought a lot of stuff and, like yesterday, we had to put them all in a laggauge bag. =.=
Then, at around 3, I excused myself from the other two shopaholics and made my way to the beach. The beach was beautiful. I took loads and loads of photos...of the waves and the clouds. My gosh, the sand was really soft. On a scale of 10, I'll rate it about 8. There were garbage here and there but it wasn't too bad. This is the kind of beach where people would actually want to sit down and just stare at the sky. Not like back in ECP where the sand feels too dirty to be sat on.
The skies...I've been repeating myself but yes, the sky was beautiful with all the clouds scattered over it. The moon was visible too. Then comes the waves. The waves are gigantic. Real waves. You can truly see the force of water/nature when looking at those waves, unlike back in S'pore. I bet no one can stand upright with the waves hitting against them. They'll be swept off their feet for sure!
The weather was good today and it wasn't cold at all. When I was at the beach, the sea breeze kept blowing. It wasn't so strong that it sent my hair flying all over. It was gentle, and chilling. The wind, the endless sound of the waves, the beautiful scenery and the touch of the soft sand beneath my feet made me stand at the same spot for a whole 10 mintues. I was just looking at everything around me; so beautiful.
I tried taking pics of myself but I couldn't capture the beautiful sea behind me. Just as I was about to leave, a guy came up to me asking me to help him and his parents take a pic. I think he's Korean. However, his English was really good. =) So I took the pic for him and asked him to help me take one in return. XP So pic done! That's the picture on the left.
Oh, I think the waves were huge or something because there was a "NO SWIMMING" sign stuck into the sand. However, just before I left, the lifeguard took it away. That signpost didn't stop this man (See left) from surfing though. It's quite coOl because it's the first time I saw a person surfing in real life.
Alright, after taking photos, I turned to leave and as I headed for the exit/entrance, I saw some seagulls and decided to take a picture of them. I later realised that I had accidentally included in the picture some people I'm going to talk about below.
The group of people I circled in red in the left picture made me blog today. Well, I was walking away from the beach via the rightmost stairs when I heard some disgusting noises. The guys were spitting at the seagulls which were at the bottom of the stairs the guys were at. They were trying to chase them away or something. A second later, one of the guys threw his skateboard towards the birds and the birds flew away, of course. This sight won that guy cheers and laughes from his friend.
I rolled my eyes secretly and walked off, stopping at the traffic lights to wait for it to turn green. When it did, I started crossing the road and as I did so, two of the previous group of guys ran pass me and stopped on the opposite end of the road before they turned to look back. They were like "Are they following us?" and "Oh no they've got backup!" Their friends later joined them at their end.
Once I've reached the other side as well, I turned back and I saw seagulls hovering around the spot where the guys were at just a few minutes ago. There were only like...20 plus seagulls at the beach just now but when I looked back, there were certainly way more than 30 of them flying around. I think those seagulls which got bullied by the guys cried for help against their attackers! And the guys quickly walked away, looking back every now and then until they were at a safe distance. It's quite amusing how they're scared off by the birds as well as how the seagulls banded together to scare off enemies!!!!
Ah...gotta go home already...back to the mundane life....back to studies...and back to making myself have a headache from all the thinking done regarding academic matters....
------------------------Australia Day 3 : Shopping
8:05 p.m. x 15.06.08
Today, we went to Pacific Fair again and this time round, I bought loads of clothes. Ok, not as much as I used to buy, but still quite a few pieces. There're really beautiful but after buying, I wonder if I'll actually wear them back at home. I'm too used to very casual dressing in S'pore because if I were to dress more nicely, I'll have some people looking and looking, which I hate. (But I myself look at beautifully dressed ladies and charmig guys lol...I'm a black teapot.)
I'm not actually in the mood to blog tonight because I just received some emails in my sch email inbox.
1. I had previously emailed someone to ask some questions about the Jap Level 2 placement test I need to take if I want to register for Jap Level 2 course next semester. I haven't really decided if I want to (a) Take Jap Level 2; (b) Take Kor Level 2; or (c) Don't take any language course. I was just asking and the lday told me I could go for the test on 17 June or something. However, I'll only be back on 17 June night so I told her I can't make it and asked if there's some other timing I could go at. =S
But the thing is, I haven't decide if I really want to take the course! Plus, I haven't touched Jap (other than watching doramas and reading Koizora) since last Nov and I practically forgot most of my grammar. Besides, I have no idea what the Level 1 syllabus requires us to know so I can't prepare. I've yet to borrow the textbook and workbook from my friend who took that course last Sem. And after I've borrowed them, I'll have to mug and mug and mug before I can take the test. =/ Then there is my course for Special Term 2 starting from 23rd June! There's no way I can prepare myself in time if the test is to take place in June (which I think it will). I had previously thought that the test will be in the first week of August, as it was written on their website.
2. I've received an email inviting me to register for a second major. =.= I had wanted to take that when I first sent in my application for a place in NTU, but I dismissed the idea because I was afraid I couldn't cope. Now they ask me again. And I have to spend another who-knows-how-many weeks thinking. No, not really. The registration starts two weeks from now and lasts for 4 days only. I need to decide quick!
To make things more complicated, if I were to take a second major, I'll have to overload my AUs. Most of the second majors require 20 AUs to fulfil and we've got 15 AUs available. Hence, I should need to overload by 5 AUs. However, I've taken Korean Level 1 and in doing so cleared 3 AUs. So now, I need to overload by 8 AUs. Even more studying.
Furthermore, I haven't decided if I want to do a minor. If I start on a second major now and decide to do a minor later, I've have to overload even more (since I've got 15 AUs for the Unrestricted Electives component and the requirements of a second major/minor are to be fulfilled by this component). At this rate, can I graduate in time? I need to decide soon because I've got to decide on the electives to take next sem and the choice (e.g. Jap, Kor or neither) will depend on whether I'll be taking a second major/minor!
As if that's not complicated enough, I've previously decided to go on an overseas exchange. If I really went, I need to make sure that some of the courses I need to do can be done overseas and the AUs be transferred back to NTU so I can finish my undergrad studies on time. There're so many factors to consider: second major, minor, exchange program.
I guess we can't have the best of both worlds. I'll have to give up on one (or two), somehow.
See?! How can I enjoy my holiday when I have these things weighing down my mind? >_< I'm so stressed up!
------------------------Australia Day 2 : Pacific Fair
11:14 p.m. x 14.06.08
Things haven't really changed too much at this shopping haven. Many of the shops I remember from back then are still standing at their positions. However, many new shops joined the old ones and now, I feel that there's more to shop there than in S'pore Orchard Road (not that there's really a lot to shop for at Orchard aniwaes). The variety of shops is really shocking and you can find video games shops, cd shops, accessories shops, fashion shops, shoe shops, children wear shops, an art gallery, a food court, a supermarket, and much more which I haven't seen!
We spent like..three hours there today and in total, we shopped at three shops. *drops dead and dies* I shopped quite fast and finished my shopping at each shop really quick. It's either 'look, think, buy' or 'look, put away, walk out' for me. But for the other 2 women, shopping isn't that straight-forward and it seemed like she's they're intending to look through every single piece of item in the shops.
I think we're returning there tomorrow. I certainly hope so!! I saw soooo many shops I want to enter!!! But my luaggage is almost full already. That's not really a problem because we're used to getting boxes from the hotel and packing all our shopping into the boxes before checking them in at the airport. However, I just don't feel like doing so this time round and I'm proud to say that I managed to talk myself out of buying some of the stuff I saw today.
After shopping, we went back to the hotel to put down our shopping before we went for a show at the hotel. It's kind of like a musical, with lots of dancing, singing and illusion effects. Pretty coOl I think, and their costumes are much better than Arashi's con costumes! Good use of fabric and sequins which made their costumes really stand out at certain angles. The dancers (both females and males) were really good and the lead singer had a powerful voice.
Two really memorable scenes were the one with 'Mexican bull fighters' (is that what you call them?) and the one with motorcar riders.
1. 'Mexican bull fighters' -
The group of male dancers were clad in costumes which reminded me of bull fighting, hence the name. These guys were so fab in leaping, spinning etc etc...There was a guy who leaped ito the air and arched his back backwards such that the tip of his toes touched the back of his head. And he landed perfectly on his feet. Another guy spun a full circle around the stage (which was quite big, maybe the size of a regular Arashi con moving stage). He spun on his knees. Using only his knees, he moved around the stage, drawing a full circle and spinning his body around with every movement of his knees. He did it at lightning speed, finishing the circle within 20 secs, or even less. To not get giddy after spinning so many rounds is already amazing. Factor in the speed and you can call it incredible. There were many other stunts, but I can't really recall.
2. Motorcar riders -
The one set the whole theatre screaming. I was amazed too. First, two motorbikers appeared onstage and they later entered this huge metal cage in the shape of a sphere. Then, they started riding inside the cage. It wasn't just horizontally, along the x-axis of the sphere, but also vertically along the y-axis of the sphere, just like the loop of a rollercoaster track!! It's amazing how they managed to do it. Physics is coOl! XP All the Normal force and stuff.
.
Next, a lady appeared onstage and joined the guys in the cage. She stood in the center of the cage while the two motorbikers started their engines and spun around her. After the motorbikers stopped, she got out of the cage and a third motorbiker joined the other two in the cage. They started repeating the stunts as before, but this time, there was a new one - two motorbikers spun along the x-axis while the third one rode along the z-axis, his path cutting the paths of the first two. It requires a lot of coordination because if anyone of them is too slow or too fast, they may collide at the point where their paths cross!
.
As if that wasn't enough, a fourth motorbiker entered the cage. They did the same stunts.
.
Nah, it wasn't over. A last motorbiker joined them. Hence, with a total of five motorbikers in the cage, they started their motorbikes. And no, the cage wasn't very big, the diameter of the sphere can fit perhaps 7 motorbikes placed side-by-side.Imagine 5 motorbikes moving around in a sphere of that size! How well must they coordinate their speeds, their directions, their timings to stop and to start? A while after they started riding, three motorbikers moved towards the top half of the cage, riding along the x-axis. The other two were at the bottom half, riding in the same direction. The sphere then opened up, separating into 2 parts, 1/3 of it as the lower part where 2 motorbikers were at, and 2/3 of it as the upper part with the other 3 motorbikers. It was so scary! I was worried for them man. The whole thing looked like electrons whizzing around an atom necleus, only that the 'electrons' were inside instead of outside.
gm's full of praise for this performance. So is mom. I liked it too, but I didn't feel as excited as I had been back then. That holiday, I watched a musical too...and I remember myself so in love with it all: the songs, the musical itself, the costumes, and this one cute guy I saw LOL. I think the main issue lies with the music. I liked the previous musical's music better. Nonetheless, the musical was a good watch and I enjoyed it. If only S'pore has such threatre events, other than just the symphonies and operas. And if only I had friends who are willing to spend the money and time on such performances. Most of them either find the tixs too expensive or find the show too boring. =S
Oh, there was a scene where the gypsies (the musical revolves around gypsies and magical travels) were gathering around their tent and dancing. The gypsies wore those bells/charms around their waists and those charms resembled those yy would wear for her belly dancing classes. They did some amazing belly dance moves too, and I immediately thought of yy. lol.
Ok, here's a pic to end the day with! I didn't go outdoors too much today so no pictures with beautiful nature!
------------------------Australia Day 1 : Movie World
8:01 p.m. x 13.06.08
Mornings are always exciting when you're on a holiday. On my last trip to Tokyo, I woke up to a procession/election parade as the troop of people moved across the streets below my hotel room. Today, we had a visitor in the morning.
I've got no idea where it came from. Perhaps a neighbouring room since we're on the 19th floor. It has a pet collar tied around its neck...I dislike cats, especially evil looking black ones like this...However, I still snapped some pictures of it and it went all shy and hid behind a wall...but somehow, it seemed like it wanted some limelight so it did a trick for us by rolling over. Lol..that was a cute moment.
We took a limo to Movie World because it was a bright and sunny day, perfect for some activities outdoors. Here are more pictures:
I took these 2 along the way. I really love the clouds!! I don't seem to see these clouds (colour, shape, quantity) in other places I visitied.
Some interesting sights at Movie World. It hasn't changed much since the last time I visited, which was like...almost half a decade ago! I remember the tombstones from back then! It's quite cool at the graveyard because the ground was really muddy like in the wild and there were ghostly whispers emitted from hidden speakers (I hope). The area smells kind of bad too. Something like a real graveyard.
Lunch was next and I was horrified by what gm brought back to the table. As she walked towards us, from the dounter, I could see a lot of heads turn. The drumsticks were gigantic and placing 3 sets of them together made them seem all the more larger. I kind of lost my appetite upon seeing their size. The fries were also huge and plentiful. I got a little pissed off because of the attention we gathered from people. I don't like to do things that bring (unwanted) attention to me or that are bothersome to others. Plus, gm had to take one big stack of napkins. I counted! 25 pieces! For just 5 people. =.= I felt weird...their theory had always been very true to the Singaporean styreotype - "Free, take!" When it came to ketchup, they got two packs only because each packet costed 50 cents. =.= That reminded me of all our holiday trips where I would switch off the lights etc when not in use. And they'll just non-chalantly say, "We've paid for it, just use!" Simple because it's not charged via a per-use/quantity-used basis. This is how things have been in Singapore. Many save electricity and water just to save money. If they did not have to pay extra $ and yet could use more, they'll gladly use more. But sometimes, it's just wrong to do so...although it won't cost you more $, it'll harm the earth, even if by just a bit!
After lunch, we walked around, played some games and shopped. *rolls eyes* some people can shop ANYWHERE, even on the plane. Nvm...so, while waiting, I stood around the water ride. I remember playing this the last time I came, dragging gm and gf with me. XP It was really scary back I was sitting at the first row and as the boat tipped downwards, before falling, I was practically facing earth. But it was great fun! Too bad I didn't play this again this time.
There're other rides I want to try out too! Next time, when I'm with friends. My family doesn't enjoy such thrills. The rollarcoaster looks really scary!! The drop from the top of the arc is almost vertical!! But I really felt so excited watching people play. MOKMOK! I know you're game for such stuff!! Booked you k! (ps/ I waited for a while before I managed to take that third pic. It's Superman at the back of the train! coOl eh?) And for once, the Batman Space Rocket (or sth) didn't look so scary. I mean, it shoots up within 3 secs and then you're falling already. No time to get frightened! It'll be different if they stopped in midair without allowing you to expect when the fall will come. Plus, the view at the top must be really fabulous!!!
Due to time constraints (and me not having people to ride with), I only sat this one ride. The Scooby Doo ride!!! I had sat on it before the last time and I really loved it. Again, like before, I went alone. A rather interesting incident happened. I was queueing up when a group of 3 came up behind me: a boy, perhaps 8 years old or so, a man and a woman in their mid-twenties (I'm not sure because I didn't look at them directly). A family, right? They spoke Chinese with a Malaysian-like accent so I guess they're Malaysians. The boy, however, spoke no word throughout the queueing up period.
.
Along the way, it became an unspoken deal for the boy to ride with me. He kept standing beside me (we stood in twos) and the man said once, to no one in particular I think, "We four will take one car." Following that, he quipped, "What if they four share one car?" (Refering to me, the boy and the two girls before us). In the end, it was really so. However, just before we were to enter the cars, the person-in-charge asked if us four were together...instinctively, I nodded and we were told to move backwards to get into the car behind the girls'. The woman helped the boy into the front seat and I then moved towards the back row where the man was. I thought that perhaps the boy's mom wanted to look after him in case he got frightened. But when the boy had settled in, the woman seemed to want to move to the back so I moved towards the front. However, there were railings separating the area via which you can get into the front seats and the area via which people got into the back seats. Hence, we ended up with her sitting at the front with the boy and me at the back with the man.
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I've sat on this ride before so I roughly remembered (surprisingly!!) what to expect. Still, I had great fun even without the suspense because this time round, I really shouted whenever I felt like shouting. The last time I rode, I was sitting next to no one and the two people behind me were a couple - so I felt weird and decided to keep quiet and pretend I wasn't there. That's not fun! Much of the fun from riding rides came from the shouting and screaming.
.
However, the big surprise came later. When the ride ended, I got out and tried to adjust my bag while walking out. Perhaps my eyes weren't used to the light yet so I nearly walked into a dustbin, which won me laughs from the man I sat beside earlier. =.= So paiseh! As we left the ride, the couple 'handed over' the boy to an old man waiting outside, and I assumed that he was the boy's grandpa. I walked around a little and when I turned back, the couple was gone!! Instead, a grandma joined the boy and his grandpa. It was only then that I got the whole picture. I guess the boy wanted to ride but his grandparents weren't up for it. Hence, they got the couple to bring him in. It was then that I started feeling bad for sitting next to the man. =.=
Do you see anything out of place in this picture? Look carefully and you'll see the moon! I think I've seen it before (also in Australia, I think) but I never bothered to get it down on film. It's amazing how the moon and sun can appear at the same time.
When I reached home, I was once again in awe of the beautiful setting sun and the gradient of colours painted across the skyline...something I've never seen in S'pore. So, I took my camera out with me to the balcony and as I did so, I saw two birds flying from below to the wall above me. I looked more closely and realised they were parrots! With green, orange and yellow coloured feathers! However, one flew away as I switched on my camera and the other (as seen in that pic) flew away right as I took the pic.
That's the setting sun on the right...At that moment, "every cloud has a silver lining" came true. The sun seemed to be behind that cloud and the edges of the cloud seemed to glow!
That is the Pacific Fair in the day! On the left side of the picture are some condos and just next to the condos is the beach!! Surfers' Paradise! Btw, the clouds are pretty!
We went out for tea later and an hour later, when we came back to the room, the sky was already so dark! The stars were already out. Actually, there was a really bright star near to the right side of the center line through the picture. However, as usual, it didn't appear clearly...=( Nvm that.
One last picture of me! The log was quite high and I had to jump up to sit on it, even though I'm 1.71m...=P Guess this is gonna become my travel log for the next few days.
-----------------------
What's today's date?
13th, right?
And the day?
Friday.
Gm just asked me those questions...Well, this entry was supposed to be done about 30 mins ago but just as I finished typing the last line, the blackout happened. After attending IT classes with CK, I started to develop the habit of taking the battery out of my comp whenever the comp's on AC, so as not to spoil the battery.
So, when the blackout happened, my comp just switched off. That happened yesterday because I had to move my comp somewhere else so I put back in my batt and, not knowing that despite having the battery back in, the comp was still on AC, took the AC plug out of my comp. Then it shut off like that too. I'm worried that I've done damage to my already very damaged comp!!! >_<
And, my entry just disappeared. Fortunately, I had posted it up at vox already so I had a backup copy...just that I had to go through the very tedious job of changing all the vox-hosted pics and BScodes into Photobucket-hosted pics, thumbnails and html. =S I was so mad!!!! What an unlucky day! Apparantly, someone in our level (dunno who) tripped the circuit to the main switch that linked 6 rooms, so our rooms were affected too.
Unlucky!!
But, during the blackout, I went out to the balcony again and...although the wind was chilly, there were more stars today and the stars were brighter, as if to assure us that everything was alright and they'll be there to guide us and lit the way. Beautiful!
------------------------Gold Coast Day 0 : Amazing Nature
11:14 p.m. x 12.06.08
Mokmok, I really wanna scold you.
Why haven't you EVER told me about the night skies of Australia?????
Well, I just had my Korean exam yesterday and this morning, I got up a plane and ended up at the Down Under!
I watched four movies so the 8 hours on the plane didn't seem too long.
1. Step Up 2: The Streets
I remember yy saying she wanted to watch it because the dance moves were fabulous. I was more into Dirty Dancing type of dance movies so...I didn't really go try watch it. However, this time, I had plenty of time to spare and it was conveniently at my fingertips so I clicked into the channel and watched. I'll give it ★★★★☆ 4/5 stars. The plot was so-so, but there were cute guys and crazy dance moves. I don't know what their bodies are made of for them to be so flexible and for their movements to be so fluid at times and yet so jagged at other times. There were the usualy dance routines you'd expect from hip hop and freestyle dancing but I was more intrigued by the more uniques ones, especially those at the end of the movie and those shown during the rehearsals of Andy's (sp?) new crew. Those were so original!!
2. Vantage Point
I've never watched this genre of movies for so long already! However, after reading the review and summary, I thought it's worth giving a try. So I tried it out and enjoyed it rather much. It got a little repetitive at parts because they kept rewinding the moments before the explosion but it was intriguing at most parts because each rewind added more information and insights into the story and it felt like we were piecing a puzzle back together piece by piece. However, many of the characters (esp the blonde-heads) looked so similar, I had problem distinguishig them from each other sometimes. ★★★★☆ 4/5 stars for this as well, mainly because of how the scriptwriters managed to spin the tale so well through the perspectives of many different people.
3. Juno
I saw its poster in S'pore when it was airing but I didn't get too interested in it. However, due to the amount of time I had inflight, I watched it. For this, ★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars at most. The plot was weak. Bearable when you're watching it, but after watching, I can't find a main focal point other than Juno through her term of pregnancy. There wasn't a clear climax or any intriguing parts...it was just a story you'll get along with rather peacefully.
4. Koizora
Yes, so after Juno, here's another teenage pregnancy plot! I've watched it before but when I saw the movie title on the catalogue, I was almost jumping out of my seat!!! So I watched it again and I regret it!!!! My eyes were so tired after watching it because it was so sad. Hiro looks as charming as before and Mika looks as innocent as she was 3 months ago. I feel like watching it again on the flight back home!!
Aniwaes, after the pleasant flight, arrival at the airport was comparatively bad. Security was tight, I understand...but...I just felt uncomfortable. So at a few points I got pissed off, either by my gm or my mom. Whatever, I won't talk about it any further. Btw, there was a point where I felt that they could have done better. HAHA. It was so ridiculous, what happened. But for my safety, I shall not speak about it in more precise terms.
Ok, so which part of Australia am I exactly in?
Here's a picture, from my hotel room's balcony (Open in new window to enlarge):
That is Pacific Fair, just opposite (kind of)! Isn't it beautiful??? Below is another picture:
This is the skyline!!!! It has been a while since I have this feeling of "Pictures and words are insufficient to describe this sight". Whenever I take a plane flight, I always get awed by the view from above.
At night, when you're landing (just like today), the l