Vicky's World

Australia!

2007-12-02T23:28:00.000+08:00

Oh right I'm leaving for Australia on the 7th and returning on the 24th, does anyone have any requests to get anything? A kiwi or two?

Ahahahahahaaha I have orders of Smackers lip gloss. If you want, check out their catalogue or something and tell me what you want. www.smackers.com

Cheers!

Happiness

2007-12-02T23:05:00.000+08:00

Happiness is a state of mind. I've learned a lot from my dad, but the most valuable lesson he taught me, and Lizzie, is that. And I'm glad for it.

You see, once you've accepted that fact, nothing in life can faze you as long as you are able to draw happiness, from everything and every moment. Even sad and angry moments are worth living because in the end, we all die and if you think about it, does anything we actually do have an impact? Maybe that's how nihilism was derived, but I think that would be too extreme, and we'd be forgetting the all important emotion of compassion.

So yeah, thank you Ahpa! :D

Black hole that sucks WORDS

2007-12-02T23:00:00.000+08:00

New post now, I'm spamming my blog remember?

Where was I? Ah yes. Blogging.

What's there to say? Uh.............................

Revelation

2007-12-02T22:45:00.000+08:00

I want to spam this blog with useless posts so the horrid prom photos (not to mention the pimple) wouldn't be on the front page.

And I do apologize for not updating but I feel obliged to finish the prom post and every time I think about that I decide not to blog at all because I've pretty much blabbed about it to everyone remotely interested in it. Anyways, photos pretty much say everything, don't they? And TANIA OWES ME PHOTOS but she's off gallivanting in fastfood nation now so I don't think I'll get them any time soon.

Hmmm... omg. Is it possible? I think it is happening! I'm getting... ... ... bored of blogging! Zomg!!!!111234asdf

GlitZ '007

2007-11-18T04:01:00.000+08:00

Graduation night! The night where everybody spends a bomb on their own appearances and the only one who gives a damn is themselves!

That was my preconception of what grad night would be like, and it wasn't entirely accurate, 'cause it was so much fun!

*eyetwitch*

Okay, first off, ME! I went in the homemade dress with a henna on my back, and I'll just let the photos do the talking.

This is Lishan's mom hard at work on the dress pattern. It was the day we bought my dress necessities.

That would be Lishan in the background, in the striped top. Truthfully, on that day I realized how little I knew of making clothes, least to say a dress fit for prom! Thank god for Aunty Yoeng, who makes clothes during her free time, as a hobby I think. She has two different sewing machines, a standard one and a funky looking one I get a headache just looking at. Shan't go into the technicalities of making the dress... tisn't a really interesting process...

By the way that's Aunty Yoeng (I think I'm spelling her name wrong) in the pink shirt and that idiot over there's me. Wearing a paper dress. WHOO how fun.

Don't my fingers look pretty in this picture? I do think so.

Note: I'm really sorry I'm not as elaborative as usual in today's post, weariness is bringing me down, down, down... will endeavour to be more entertaining next time!

Ahh and this is the main attraction, the henna! Lishan designed it and applied it and it's a renaissance rapier, with brambly thorny drippy roses and a pocket watch that says 7.14 (my favourite numbers ever) and has a butterfly resting on the decorative hilt. It looks the best when the henna is still on, and the design is outstanding on the skin.

And this is Lishan penning in the design before she did the henna. In the previous picture, you may have noticed a star near my ass. Well Lishan was doodling on my back when she got bored and I didn't scrub that off properly, so no, that isn't a real tattoo.

This is the nicest photo of my back ever, ever, ever. Must be the angle. Anyways, this was the henna after the second application (Lishan did over the first one THANK YOU!) cause the first application came out very faint and orange. [TOOK THIS PHOTO OUT; FEEL VERY EXPOSED ON THE INTERNET PAISEH]

OH and these are my wonderful 40 dollar shoes! I love them, and even though they were 2 inches high, they were so comfortable!

This is my back after the third application. At prom with the dress on.

And this is prom already, and is shit I can't type my brain's all wired I'll edit this post tomorrow in the meantime enjoy the photos sorry I'm reallyreallyreallyreallyreally tired

Postworthy

2007-11-18T01:56:00.000+08:00

THANK YOU LISHAN, AUNTY BEE LENG AND AUNTY YOENG!!!!!!!!!

The effort I put in for my dress for grad night was actually only 10% and these 3 amazingly helpful and wonderful people are the real makers of it, especially both aunties!!!

LISHAN THANK YOU FOR THE UNBELIEVABLY INCREDIBLY AWESOME HENNA! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Also, I would really like to thank Tania's sister, Angeles for helping with the makeup and hair!

Okay I'll dig into the details in the next post, patience please! :D

Mischief

2007-09-26T23:11:00.000+08:00

Have gotten all prelim results back, and am proud to have scored A1 for english! AMAZING really.

Anyways, something really funny happened in class on Monday. Changsheng and Kailiang were fooling around in class, as usual, but this time... Changsheng called the police! On Imma's phone some more, poor 'victimized', in the words of Mr. Tan, girl. Seriously lah! She was panicking.

Why, you ask?

Kailiang said to the guy on the other end, "My Pikachu escaped from its Pokeball!!"
Hahahahahhahhaaahhahhahahahha!!!! So funneh lah! Then the police called back, and Imma didn't know what to do, she was all flustered! Omg if it had happened to me I would've throttled them till their fingers turned blue! She went to a teacher though, always the sensible one, and apparently the principal, Mr. Lee, got involved.

Eventually, everything settled, though I think the school came down harder on them than the police, and in my opinion, rightfully so! They were so silly, they should've taken out the SIM card from the phone and made an Emergency Call! Then the call wouldn't've been trackable.

Later, before dismissal from chemistry lecture in the auditorium, Mr Tan was giving his customary pep talk to us about 'the last sprint to O levels'. He then mentioned that he didn't want to hear about any disciplinary issues about skipping the truncated lessons and how we're old enough blahblah.

"... and then today got two ba-neh-neh from 4D. Damn stupid leh! Go call police, huh? Say dunno what, pokemon stolen is it?"

My class erupted into laughter after he said 'ba-neh-neh', and it was altogether very entertaining.

Today during chemistry lesson, Mr. Tan asked Kailiang whether he'd gotten back his pokemon, and something like what he'd said to it, and Leon went, "Go Raichu go!"

[If you're not familiar with Pokemon, Pikachu evolves with the lightning stone thing to become Raichu. And if you must know, I was an avid fan of Pokemon season 1 and 2. :)]

We went through the chemistry paper today, including a question on sacrificial protection. Then he discussed with us the organic chemistry question whereby squalene oil was introduced. He told us that it has a lot of uses, and is very beneficial when ingested, for example, it helps to prevent cancer. Then he said that it is derived from whales, and people actually have to kill the whales to obtain it.

Inevitable loud remark from someone, "SACRIFICIAL PROTECTION!"

Hehehehehhahahahhaheheheha....

Shall begin revision for O levels tomorrow! Enough break-ing!

Funnies!

2007-09-22T23:45:00.001+08:00

Every time I go over to Aida's house, I take a different route. I don't know why, and I got lost (again) on Thursday. (Hid out at her place while chemical fumes forced many a cockroach out of their hiding places at my block.)

I feel such a sense of satisfaction and acheivement every. single. time. I see this signpost, you cannot believe it.

Anyways, as you all know, I went around a lot today, from my previous post, and met many people and so on. What I didn't realise, was that I had a Pimple From Hell near my upper lip!!!!1

Omgzz wad 2 do!!!so embrsing!!#$

Close this window if you don't want your eyes to BURN!!!

I put tea tree oil on it and hope it goes away by tomorrow. DIE pimple DIE.

Oh ya, and just now...

Ahmi: Eh, you got blog or not?

Me: Er, ya.

Ahmi: You leh?

Lizzie: ...sorta...

Ahmi: Wah, the other day on you hua zhi shuo got one actress don't need to work leh! Get thousand over dollar a month by don't know what, beh-logging ah!

Me: Xiaxue?

Ahmi: Ya I think that one.

I proceeded to show my mom her blog, and the displaying entry was the one on a korean actress's plastic surgery.

My mom wasn't really happy with the vulgarities, but found her really entertaining (after she read the entry on the Yangtze cinema, which they talked about on the Chinese talkshow).

I don't think she'll become one of Wendy Cheng's avid readers though, Ahmi got giddy scrolling down the webpages.

Oh, and lookee this!

Okay, you can't really see it. But. This is from my kitchen window (I live on the third storey) and what I circled was the reflective RED eyes from our block resident cat! My mom loves looking at the cats lounging about like the feline lazies they are while she washes the dishes. She's a right cat lover she is...

Just that she hates taking care of them. I want a cat. :(

Oh and can somebody help me? Blogger keeps putting in unnecessary spaces every time I add a photo. It's annoying 'cause I have to keep deleting them.

Prom

2007-09-22T23:45:00.000+08:00

When my sister went dress-hunting for her prom last year and tried on manymany dresses annoying manymany salespeople and taking manymany pictures, she got torn between manymany dresses.

I swore I would never be like her and obsess over prom. Guess what? I am, now! And, those of you who have been reading my blog regularly would know that I made a promise to wear a certain outfit for prom and if I didn't, I would... I can't remember what I said, but I guess if anyone would be so kind to remind me, please do! So I can carry it out.

Yes, I'm wearing a dress! And it's gonna be a nice dress, I'll make sure of it. That's right, I'm making my own dress!

I don't want to spoil the surprise thought, so I'll be posting the pictures after prom, which is on the 14th of November, two days after our last day of 'O' level examinations.

Loverly Lishan is the designer! She helped me design it, and came over NUMEROUS times to sketch lotsa lotsa fantabulous dresses to choose from, which I will also scan in. (Once I find someone willing to help me scan.)

She's also gonna be the one who'll......

... don't tell you! Wait until after prom lah, I'll make sure to take as many photos with my phone camera, which takes pictures of questionable quality but nonetheless provides the convenience irrelevant snapshots require. (Did I mention that I love my phone?)

So, we spent months and months meeting on and off, whenever prom came to mind (or smses from a wacko prom-obsessor, in Lishan's case) to draw up wild and fantastical sketches! Lishan's experience and expertise as an anime fan and artist comes into play/handy and she comes up with top fashion quality dress designs like a top-fashion-quality-dress-sketch factory!
I just sit and wonder at how fast she's drawing, mentally gauging the enormous amount of time and effort it would take to sew on all those beads, or find that exact striped cloth, or crochet that net for the butterfly wings, or the HUGE amount of money needed for that much silk.

In the end, we decided on a much simpler dress than the initial other-worldly dresses. It's very elegant, me thinks, and the only thing I'll reveal is that it's brown. :)

I really love the idea of what Lishan named "Camelot sleeves" though, which is long sleeves slit lengthwise, usually from the elbows, as can be seen here. We decided against it though, because of... technical constraints.

Anyways, we finally came up with the final design on Wednesday, THE FINAL DAY OF PRELIMS, and today her mother brought us out to get the materials! Aunty is soooo super nice, we couldn't have done anything without her!

She brought us out to Arab Street, and we went around to find cloth. We had already decided what colour we want, the exact shade being burnt umber (conveniently chosen among Copic markers), and because we knew we would easily be distracted by the other colours available, had also decided that we would ONLY ACCEPT BROWN DON'T LOOK AT ANYTHING ELSE, NO THAT BEAUTIFUL RED CLOTH IS NOT NOT NOT GOING TO LOOK NICE ON YOU NOT WITH CAMELOT SLEEVES, NOT EVEN WITH JESSICA ALBA SO FORGOT IT WE'RE GETTING BROWN AVERT YOUR EYES TO ALL ELSE.

*PANT*

So we checked out the prices, browsing the paraphernalia of individual cloth places, until we came across this one (I forgot the store number, really sorry, though I do remember this good looking guy sitting at the entrance, in case you're interested. In buying cloth I mean. *frowns disapprovingly*) with a really friendly shopkeeper by the name of Sharifah. She had beautiful amber eyes (click on the link if you don't really know what amber coloured eyes look like. I didn't know either, thanks wiki!) and she gave a discount!

It was supposed to be $20/m and she lowered it to $17/m, after Lishan showed her a photo of her first attempt at dressmaking (umbrella dress scroll down for photos). Aunty bantered with her about Lishan being an aspiring fashion designer, and how she would buy material with her after becoming a famous designer.

I was irresolute between this silk satin cloth, and a $5/m cloth, which didn't really drape well, needed a lining because it was so uncomfortable, and didn't have as nice a shine to it as the other.

Okay, so I wasn't really vaccilating. Seriously, I mean, it's PROM for god's sakes. If Tania can try on 500 dollar dresses then I should spend as much as my budget-dress allows me to right?

(BTW Tania I really think that you should really choose what your heart tells you! Price doesn't matter 'cause prom is once in a lifetime and your mom and sister are paying. :D Plus I really really want to see it. Of course, prom is only a one-off thing, so, really, should you really get it? Eheheh... *laughs at consternation*)

Altogether I bought 2.5m for $36. Bargain right! Means that each metre really costed $14.4, 'cause she was lazy to cut it off the fixed size, and decided to throw it in for two bucks. Plus, it was really bigger than a 1msquared cloth. Bargain!

She introduced us to this lady based above Arab Street 101 who custom made dress patterns, and Lishan drew out our design, and she told us to wait 30 minutes while she drew it out.

Went to eat briyani rice, had a choice between Iran, Afganistan and Turkish, and ok, I ate mutton, but that was because fish only available on Friday and I was too paiseh to ask Aunty if we could eat elsewhere. No, I didn't leave a lot of mutton uneaten, because I am strongly against wasting food, and that is one of the reasons why I became pescetarian.

Went back to get the pattern, paid $25 for it. It was first $30. Aunty said should have bargained for twenty, but that she was afraid of bartering too much, in case the lady bue song (not happy) and did a botched job of it. We also bought a metre of interfacing white cloth for $3 from her.

[She also gives basic clothes making/tailoring/whatchamacallit courses at $300 for 3 months, once a week, two hours per session. Courses available after Ramadan, starting in December. Email me for her contact details. Yes I'm advertising for her because she was quite friendly. And I like her accent.]

Went to get the textile centre and got YKK 10-inch concealable zip for a dollar, summat else for $12.90 (too embarrassing to reveal) and thread for a dollar half.

Totally expenses: $36 + $25 + $3 + $1 + $12.9 + $1.5 = $79.4

And if you didn't include the summat else, it would be $66.50, which is less than what my sister paid for for her plain black cotton one! (Okay, it doesn't sound that nice, but it is actually.) Hers costed $70++.

Omgod it is so hard to remember his name. Anyways, her dress was designed by one Arthur Yen and I FINALLY found an offhand mention of him here. Bloody waste of clickyclicky.

Oh oh oh! Sharifah the shopkeeper said that the satin silk I bought was the type that Daniel Yam uses in his dresses! I don't know if it's true, 'cause she could've said it to get us to buy, but I sure as hell want to believe it! I mean! He designs $500 dollar dresses!

Yes he's the one who designed the dress Tania likes. You know, I was really impressed when she told me that the dresses are those limited edition only-make-less-than-10 kind, and that they wrote down your name and function you're attending, just to make sure they won't sell the same dress to another person attending it.

I felt especially so because Azzah had advised me against wearing black. She told me that at the TKGS prom night last year, 70% of the girls bought black dresses, and there were many people wearing similar dresses! And because she had gone with Lizzie on her dress hunting spree, she said that she kept going "Eh! I tried that dress on too!" in her mind, because manymany of the dresses were from Parkway.

So anyways, we went to Lishan's aunty's place, as she has experience with making clothes (and has a suitable large table meant for tailoring, so we didn't end up on the floor like we did last year with the umbrella dress), and her name was Yo-an or something like that.

After a lot of boring stuff, we made this! (Loads of help from Lishan's mom, couldn't have done it without her.)

The real dress won't be so ugly lah, and that's the cloth material beneath the dress pattern, and that's my feet preventing the pattern from being blown away by the fan.

I'm going over to her house again tomorrow to cut out the material proper and maybe start with the stitching and sewing required. Oh the horrors of the prosaic repetitition!

I'm feeling yawn-y just thinking about it. Okay shall post funnies in a new one 'cause I know this is one looong boring one. Thanks for bearing with me!

God I need a shower. Sticky and smelly.

Quiz

2007-09-18T22:13:00.000+08:00

(please copy and paste into a new message, complete, then send back)

You know…
Only people who know me really well know that I…
Purposely make myself out to be a clumsy bumbling idiot who doesn't takes things to heart. (I do, really, I have personal grudges with most everyone.)

Sometimes, for no rhyme or reason, I…
Act really awkwardly and say strange things in an effort to be cool. (I come out as weird to people though. Hmmm...)

I cannot stand…
Unenthusiastic people who don't make a fucking effort I mean of COURSE it's lame and stupid when EVERYONE thinks like you bastards who don't give a damn and think you're too high up and cool to be involved in silly activities like that. *pants*

In my opinion, what the world needs is not peace, but:
Magic.

I stand for...

V is for: Verbs. I'm all about action. (I desperately wish I am. In fact...)

I is for: Intense. Sometimes I can't stand being with me.

C is for: Collected. I should panic more. Or get excited more easily. *sigh*

K is for: Kinky, apparently. *shrugs*

Y is for: Yucky. That I am. :D

FiveFourThreeTwoOne

Five things to live for:
1. Reading
2. Eating
3. Dreaming
4. Art-ing
5. Loving

Four fantastic foods:
1. Apples
2. Salmon
3. Ginger candy
4. Rice

Three things that would get me off my ass:
1. Fear (of getting scolded school work exams sickness becoming overweight losing my sanity loneliness)
2. Food
3. Cats

Two things I'd really like to do before I die:
1. Attain enlightenment
2. Inspire the masses

One easy way to make me happy:
1. Smile, especially if you're a stranger. Of course, food's not too bad either.

Was sorting my inbox, when I found that. Thought it funny, decided to post it. Oh and about the grudges bit, I have since learned to Let Go. :)

Do this too, if you're reading this, and put it on your blog!

(Déjà Vu: did I post this quiz before?)

Neutral

2007-09-18T20:15:00.000+08:00

"Help keep spam out of your inbox: We know that it is fun to delete spam, but we hope that you will use the Report Spam button to flag unwanted mail. When you report spam, the Google Mail Team can use your report to help improve our spam filters and keep annoying messages out of your inbox."

Hahahahaha!!! I didn't realise how true that was until I read that, which I got from the help section in Gmail. I love deleting messages! ^-^

Anyways, it's very exciting at home right now, I feel like I'm in a chinese drama, what with the conflict between my mom and our tenant from China. It gets quite tiring though, 'cause on TV, you only get to see the arguments and fights, but in real life, there's all this tension and venting-on-other-people-especially-your-children and bitching going on.

The root of the issue is mainly because of the root of all evil, money. Therefore it's relatively boring and tedious to explain, so if you are dying to know, ask me.

In my opinion, I think it's just a misunderstanding, and I've noticed that my mom cannot really get along with tenants from China. Not that I'm stereotyping, but considering that she has never gotten along with them before, but does so for the others from other countries, I think it's fair to say so. In fact, she has requested for every single one of the five sets of tenants we had had from China who were pei du ma ma (mothers who had come to Singapore to work so as to accompany their children studying here) to leave! That's saying something!

Outside

2007-09-16T19:34:00.000+08:00

Outside - Aqualung

He wants to give but he'll give himself away
She wants to take but she's taking all she can
They've got it all figured out
He wants to listen but there's so much more to say
She wants to shout it out loud but she doesn't
She doesn't open her mouth

Had enough of crying
When she's happy and smiling when she's sad
Had enough of wondering
What became of all the dreams he had
Are they out there somewhere

Baby don't you stay there on the inside
Together we can make it on the outside
You and me on the outside

Can you remember the way it used to feel
We'd run as fast and as far as we wanted to go
But then the walls closed in
And I was one step forward and two steps back
Two steps forward and three steps back

Oh it's all too much
So take my hand we'll jump together

Baby I won't leave you on the inside
Together we can make it on the outside
You and me on the outside
You and me on the outside
On the outside

Shine your light on me and I'll shine my light on you
Shine my light on you if you shine your light on me
Shine your light on me and I'll shine my light on you
On the outside
On the outside
On the outside

Baby I won't leave you on the inside
Together we can make it on the outside
You and me on the outside
You and me on the out (yeah)
You and me on the outside

I love this song, I really do! It's sweet, and lovely, and endearing, really.

"So for the record (company) Aqualung is not a band. It's the name I decided to give the music I've been making since 2002. It's written, performed, sung, produced by me. I am it's legal guardian." - Matt Hales, http://aqualung.net/articles/who_i_am.php.

So here I am, mid prelims with 4 papers left to go. For the record, 3 of them are multiple choice questions papers, and the only Paper 2 is A Maths, which, really, isn't studiable. *grins*

Oh, right, did I mention that I scored B3 for chinese 'O' Level exams? That's the actual going-on-the-certificate score!!! It's kinda old though, this piece of news, cause I got the result in... August I think?

Which reminds me of how long it's been, old friend! (I'm talking to my blog, for all you unimaginative readers out there)

AHAHAAHAHHAHAH! Omygod I'm listening to an Aqualung interview on Radio One (you can download it from their site) in 2004. Matt gave a short cover (one line only actually) of Beyonce's song (Got me looking so crazy right now, your love's got me looking so crazy right now), and he went "Hhh hh h hhh hhh hhhh hh hhhhh hhh" in this breathless style that was so mean and funny!!

Okay. I think Christine's the only one who can understand this obsession. ;)

(By the way, Chris, 7 keys really rocks!)

Typing, one of my favourite things to do and hear, has become horribly unpleasant. This is partly due to the fact that the new keyboard is quite 'sticky' as I call it, meaning that depressing the keys fast fast is not smooth. Also, the part of my upper body extensions between my elbow and wrist (whatsitcalled) is in contact with the incredibly sticky table between the keyboard and the edge of the table.

Lizzie's fault really. (Quite complicated, something to do with pistachio nuts and I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say there are still bits underneath our keyboard)

And guess what! In my sister's cupboard, she just discovered an ant infestation! So scary, the central point was in the corner beside the folded pyjamas. Literally screamed, my sister did, and my mom came to the rescue and wiped the whole thing down (yes, killing many ants in the process. I'm guessing that she started her "You all make me sin ah! Buddhism say cannot kill ant" monologue, cause I wasn't there to witness it), sealing all escape holes leading to the empty space beneath our built-in cupboards with glue.

Nice one Ahmi, you're our hero!

Damn them ants we sarcastically call our pets! Our room used to be my sanctuary where I wouldn't get ticklish ants crawling up my (fat) arm, and now it has been infiltrated! Shall blame it on Lizzie again. A month ago, she left an almost empty glass of juice on the ledge of my headboard. The next morning, I opened my eyes and saw an ant ON MY PILLOW! The little pests were swarming, (okay exaggeration but still, more than 10!!) about and my sister's half of the bed was irritatingly ant-free.

There were numerous other incidences of ant bait she left around (I did too but only once or twice) and I guess the ants thought there was enough of a food supply for them to build a nest in Lizzie's cupboard.

Grrr..... I also suspect there's another nest behind the mirror in our bathroom. I stare at the trail of ants proceeding behind it whenever I do a number two. And then there's the ants crawling around the kitchen countertop ALL. THE. TIME. And the ones scouting about the cupboard where we keep our sanitary pads. Unused mind.

Enough talk on ants. I'm eating kiwi for the second time in my life now! The first time was last week, when I was delighted to find that kiwis are really sweet! I think I decided as a child that kiwis looked horrible and the outer texture was to terrifying for it to taste any good, but I was wrong. Completely off the mark. I had previously thought the seeds were disgusting and horribly insect-like, but am now convinced that without that extra bit of crunch the seeds provide, the kiwi cannot be the majestic kiwi it is.

Kiwis are now one of my favourite foods, and I especially love eating it with the the kiwi spoon my mom bought in Germany! It has a plastic half kiwi for the handle and has a jagged edge to facilitate spooning out the yummy green flesh! Everytime my mom passes me the plate, I get shocked at how small the kiwi is, until I realize that it's fake.

In this picture, you can see a Mango lurking around beside the sticky keyboard. You may be surprised to know that this would be the second time I'm eating a mango too!

Okay, so I just took two bites of it. Still, it's an accomplishment! The Mango didn't really impress me as much as the kiwi did. I attribute that to my dislike of milk, since mangoes have a really distinctive milky taste.

Since we're on the topic of food, many of you, and I assume I have that many readers, may be curious as to whether I have kept up my vegetarianism.

BY THE WAY I have just realized that I am not a vegetarian. I am a pescetarian, pronounced 'PESKYtarian', because I eat fish and seafood. Aka pescatarian, pescotarian, piscatarian, pectarian, pescavore, piscivore, aquatarian, fishetarian and vegequarian.

Well, so far the outlook has not been bad. Sure, I may have wavered and sure, I may have succumbed to the attractions of meat, but OVERALL the main point of my not eating meat is all about cutting down. I didn't turn pescetarian because I find it cruel to kill another living organism for consummation (although that can be justified because fish feel no pain) but because of the environment. (Read more about my decision here.)

Therefore, I am not disappointed that I ate meat at...

- My cousin's 18th birthday barbeque (HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNTHIA!)
Come on, you didn't think I'd just survive on stingray and sweet potatoes did you?

- New York Pizza with Aida
The only pescetarian food was not selling and I really wanted to try the trademark giant-sized slice

- Boulevard Chicken Pie near our school
I went with Aida and I had been wanting to try the chicken pies there for more than two years, ever since I noticed the cartoon chicken whenever the bus went past it. Never got the chance, because nobody wanted to go with me, but we finally had the time on teachers' day celebrations. Plus, the article pasted on the glass door stated that it was the best chicken pie in Singapore! (It was delish by the way, you have to try it! It's halal too, and we watched the woman make the pies while we ate. I won't hesitate to eat it again, if anyone's interested to know.)

- Sausages for breakfast two weeks ago
No excuse for this one, except that I was on a roll and it smelt too good.

Not bad not bad at all if I do say so myself. So, I started on 4th June and it's the 16th of September now, so that makes it... 3 months now!

OMGOD KING ARTHUR'S ON NOW SCREW PRELIMS I'M GONNA WATCH BYE :D

Smelly Feet

2007-08-08T00:24:00.000+08:00

"Okay, I know I swore not to blog again, but I cannot resist!!

Anyways, I'm typing this on the bus so it doesn't count. God I love my phone.

Anyways, I'm going to bugis to meet Lishan for lunch. As I boarded the bus, I saw this old lady, no, old woman, with her shoes off and bare wrinkly feet propped up on the seat in front of her. I was shocked, especially since she just gave me a blank look when I stared at her. And you couldn't say she was senile or something, she was speaking in fervent hokkien to the lady sitting beside her!

I was so irritated, I sat two seats down and tried to surreptitiously take a video of it. Then upon realising that those two women probably didn't know that handphones had the sms function, much less cameras, I turned and quite obviously took a picture of it. (I'm not doing anything illegal if I don't take their heads right?) Even without their faces, it is quite obvious that they were old.

This is one of the reasons why I feel like biting people's heads off when I read or hear debates, essay questions, newspaper articles on young peoples' lack of etiquette and courtesy or inconsideration. The adults aren't setting much of an example are they?

Have gotten off the bus. Am waiting for Lishan now. What was I saying? Ah yes, the constant admonitions of the media on the 'Y' generation."

I saved the above in my handphone when Lishan arrived and I didn't have time to finish it. Let me tell you, it was killing me not to tell the old woman to act like an adult. And her friend! Why didn't she do anything when she saw me staring, or when others boarded the bus, took one look at her feet and moved to the back? Why didn't the people who board the bus do anything? While I was typing that out, one of Ms Puja's lessons popped into my head.

We were discussing the topic of our generation's lack-of-sense-of-responsibility/inconsideration/selfishness/lack-of-respect-for-the-elderly for the conversation component of the oral examinations, when she told us of her observation. She thought that there are always some with the aforementioned distasteful qualities, and there are always those who are opposite to that, but she often wonders, who's responsible? When a child is spoilt, who is to blame?

She then proceeded to tell us a story of when she was a child. It was right at the time when people moved out of kumpungs and into HDB flats. In kumpungs, people usually threw their litter any old how, and they kept that habit after moving into apartments, so the government decided to hold neighbourhood cleanliness campaigns. There would be competitions to see which precinct was the cleanest, and everyone would make a conscious effort to pick litter and dispose of it in the rubbish bin. So, there was a strong emphasis on a clean and litter free environment.

One day, six year old Ms Puja was walking home from school, canned drink in hand. When she finished her drink, she looked around for a rubbish bin, but there was none in sight. As she continued walking down the path, she noticed the drain alongside it, and a curious thought popped into her head. 'What would happen if I threw this in the drain?'

She couldn't understand it, but once the idea had formed, she couldn't shake it off, and her fingers itched to let fly the can. Being a young girl, she was slightly nervous and more than a bit afraid, but nonetheless, braced herself and tossed the can into the drain.

Mere seconds after the can stopped rolling, she saw an old lady stride towards her with a fiery look on her face, and young Ms Puja froze, terrified.

"Why did you do that?! Why did you throw that can into the drain?"

Ms Puja just stood there, face flushed and unable to move.

"Well? Pick it up and throw it in the bin!"

The woman left, after making sure that the girl she caught littering had disposed of the can appropriately.

After narrating the story to us, Ms Puja sheepishly told the class, "I never littered again after that incident."

And then she went on to discuss on the roles of the adults and what the damage they are causing when they fail to correct a young person, as well as how adults should make better role models of themselves.

With that, I shall now proceed to have a broodful sleep. Night!

End of the world as we know it.

2007-07-29T14:26:00.000+08:00

I have decided. With five weeks to prelims, I am going to give up what little of my social life I have, and seriously (seriously) get down to it. That includes blogging. Seeing as I don't blog so much anyways, I don't think I'll be missed. Henceforth, I shall declare Paprika (that japanese animation movie) my last fun activity. Bye now! See you after O's!

"Complain Letter"

2007-07-25T18:38:00.000+08:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is so good. But I shall refrain from fangirling because of homework and this constant naggy voice in my head screaming "AT LEAST PRETEND TO STUDY!!" and keep this short.

According to someone in class, ChangSheng called me a slut because I 'complained' to Ms Goh about a certain activity the guys take part in.

slut (slŭt) n.

1 a. A person, especially a woman, considered sexually promiscuous.
b. A woman prostitute.
2. A slovenly woman; a slattern.

Since I know myself for a virgin and am quite sure that I take two showers a day (once if I'm lazy) I think I can rightly assume he had misused the word and shall henceforth pity his wit.

Anyways, I didn't complain exactly to Ms Goh, more like made her aware of the situation. I didn't force her to do anything, though I must say, I made quite a convincing argument.

Here's the report I typed her:

"Report on a display of appalling immaturity

As Class Treasurer, I think it is impudent to deal with a matter, however trivial, that adversely affects the majority of our class on a daily basis. This matter is that of a certain group of boys who enjoy kicking bottles in class as a somewhat primeval form of soccer, and simultaneously succeeding in irritating many other students who have as much right to utilize the classroom as they do. I am imploring your help as form teacher of 4D to do stop this irrational behaviour, with the support of many others in class.

Their 'soccer' occurs every single day of school, from 11 to 11.10am precisely during recess, and outside curriculum time from 2 to 2.30pm before afternoon lessons or tests. This far into the year, their sick little game has been, dismaying to say, accepted by the class as a permanent fixture of our school day, and have even developed a clockwork consistency in regularity.

I suspect that they only play it in class as they register on a subconscious level that it is an embarrassing game, and do not want to play it publicly. I deduced this after wondering why, despite the relatively plentiful places in the school compound where they can play their game, they insist on playing in the cramped area between the whiteboard and the first row of tables. Another theory of mine is that they know how annoying it is, and that in itself is a moderately sadistic cause for play.

Mayhap they just derive pleasure from the basic simplicity of the game. Whatever their reasons, it is undeniable that this disruption has resulted in a number of unpleasant outcomes. I have listed the following, just to name a few:

1. These boys may be unwittingly inflicting psychological damage on their fellow classmates. I know this for true, as you can almost detect the inward cringe of everyone not involved in their game at every crackle of the empty water bottle being crushed, every clatter of said bottle kicked around the front of the class. There is also the dread with which everyone returns to class with, knowing that the cacophony of that game, played by students not unlike hyperactive preschoolers, greeted them.

2. We might be under-performing in tests held after school, as it is nigh impossible to concentrate on studying under the distracting circumstances. It is not really the act that bothers most of us, but the noise pollution that results from it.

3. Attention in class may be lacking due to impatience and bad temperaments that result from such noisy behaviour. This is an excerpt taken from the Franklin Institute Online (http://www.fi.edu/brain/stress.htm): “Those aggravating things that go wrong in the day and those irritating things that go bump in the night – disrupting routines and interrupting sleep – all have a cumulative effect on your brain, especially its ability to remember and learn. As science gains greater insight into the consequences of stress on the brain, the picture that emerges is not a pretty one. A chronic overreaction to stress overloads the brain with powerful hormones that are intended only for short-term duty in emergency situations. Their cumulative effect damages and kills brain cells.”
The boys may be playing to relieve their stress from school life, but I find it unfair that it is at the expense of the rest of the class.

4. As you well know, the preliminary exams are coming up in six weeks time, with our ‘O’ Level exams right on its heels. The other issues notwithstanding, the classroom is a place of learning, and as such, it should have a conducive environment for us to study. The disruptive behaviour is impairing our ability to make the most of our free time, as advised by countless teachers, between classes. Even if they do not feel the sense of urgency, I find it unjust for us to suffer for it, and imperative that immediate action be taken.

With all these reasons, I hope you are persuaded to step in and do something about to prevent our perception of the classroom, indeed, the school as a place as a place of learning to deteriorate any further. I feel that it might be difficult for them to give up this pastime of theirs, so perhaps you could give suggestions of places whereby they can engage in their games without interruption or protests, for example the grass patch where we had posed for our class photo, though preferably further away from the windows.

If you would like it, I can provide a list of the fifteen boys who participate in this activity, though I think it would create a lot of resentment in the class if they were identified and berated in front of the class. Although it is highly improbable that any one of us would be surprised, since they hardly keep their game discrete, it would be humiliating for them and I do not think that it is a good idea.

I am certain that quite a number of the class supports this movement, and, if need be, I can organise a petition and collect the signatures of those in class who find the water bottle game highly disruptive and want it stopped.

Thank you for considering my proposal, and I have faith in your decision regarding this matter!"

I hope nobody takes it this the wrong way, I hold nothing personal against individuals. :)

The Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-14T01:40:00.000+08:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is by far the best Harry Potter movie! I highly recommend watching it, especially if the previous movies have been particularly disappointing and you feel like you can't bare watch another botched effort of capturing the wonderful books on the silver screen and messing up your impression of it. This movie is really well done, and it'll be $7 well spent.

Jacqueline made a commendable review on it in her blog, and you can read it on http://dewyeyed.livejournal.com/114812.html. I especially agree with this bit:

"I always think that a film adaptation should be a different interpretation of the book. It's an adaptation, it's supposed to be different! And because of time constraints everything HAS to be cut down to it's essence. So the most important things are story, characters and pacing. Focus less on pleasing obsessive book fans!"

I really dislike listening to people saying that they hated the movie, just because stuff was cut out. I mean, sure, I gripe about certain parts, but I don't judge the movie based on these minor details. I mean, look what happened to HP and the Sorceror's Stone, and the Chamber of Secrets! The director tried to put too much into one movie; it was too content heavy. There wasn't enough development in both characters and their relationships with each other. Hagrid played a key role throughout the books, but in those movies, he didn't come out as one of the few adults who understood Harry, Ron and Hermione (HRH) and had their unconditional trust and friendship. The scenes in the movies didn't quite capture that, and I do agree that that must needs real skill in subtlety. But David Yates really pulled it off in this movie, and I thought that Alfonso Cuarón did it well, too, in Azkaban. To me, the later three HP movies were better, especially the Order of the Phoenix and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

I strongly do not think that Chris Columbus directed the Sorceror's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets well.

There is a marked improvement in the acting in the Order of the Phoenix! Especially Daniel Radcliffe's, who portrayed Harry's feelings of estrangement really well. The chemistry between HRH was brought out excellently, and so was Harry and Sirius's. The cinematography was sublime and the little reminders of the magical community, like the self-delivered letters in the Ministry of Magic or Mr. Weasley having trouble at the subway turnstile, were really gratifying.

The scene at the hearth, whereby Hermione laughed with such unaffected merriment, Ron's endearing personality was brought out heartwarmingly, and all of us in the audience was happy that Harry had such lovely friends and was having a rare moment of contentment, was perfect.

I cannot emphasize enough on how well David Yates effectively reinforced all the relationships of the many many characters in Harry Potter! Harry and Cho's thing was well WELL done, even if the kiss was a wee awkward. (Though I thought that was sweet in its own way. At first I thought the mistletoe was a nice delicate effect to add to young love or something cheesy like that, until Lizzie told me that they were in the room of requirement, and I went all 'OH!'.)

Ron and Hermione's chemistry got a whole lot better. You could unmistakably see the understanding Harry and Luna had between them, and Harry's social woes were brought to light in a very relatable way!

For example, I teared up in the first scene when Harry was on the swing, alone. And in the Order's HQ, when Harry showed how hurt he felt at not receiving any letters. And when Harry found out about all the articles that had been written about him, and when he wrote that letter to Sirius. When Sirius died, I didn't even bother wiping my tears, and I could hear sniffles all around me in the cinema.

You could really feel the movie evolve and deepen as the storyline came together, and it definitely kept me in rapt attention.

Of course, I am one who is very easily moved to tears by books and movies (ESPECIALLY books, which can really get me sobbing away like I'd lost my mama) though Harry Potter takes the cake in evoking a myriad of tenuous feelings you'd be hard put to describe.

I think that this movie has to be watched with an open mind; with the contents of the book furthest from consciousness and only the inherent essence of Harry Potter in mind.

Two words: WATCH IT.

Harry Potter and a Weird Quiz

2007-07-11T19:53:00.001+08:00

Yay! I'm watching Harry Potter and the deathly hollows tonight! At 9.30pm, despite it being a wednesday school night. We're watching it at Marina Square, and I really can't wait! I may not look or sound it, but I really enjoy reading the Harry Potter series. I'm just not the type to express it in a fangirl-y manner.

Having grown up reading the books faithfully year by year, it is only natural that me and Lizzie watch the movies as faithfully. And I've realised after re-watching the first few Harry Potter movies that, because I know the story so well from the books, I am very critical of the movie. Like how Daniel Radcliffe, no matter his consummate skill of playing the role of Harry, doesn't have green eyes.

Every time I watch each movie, I became really impressed by them, and noticed those little details one tends to overlook when one tries to follow the storyline. (This only happens when I let go of the exacting little voice in my head.)

And the Harry Potter movies are, indeed, classics. I remember Ah Pa telling me and Lizzie that he'd watched every single James Bond movie, all 19 or so of them, in the cinema, and can imagine myself telling my children the same for Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling is undoubtedly a master weaver of stories. The other day, Lizzie pulled out Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire from the cupboard, and was flipping through it. She pointed out that the language wasn't really complicated, and I could see that the Harry Potter series was truly one meant for children, tweeners, and teens. Yet, the story is fantabulously well plotted, with the magical and non-magical worlds co-existing so closely, the prefix 'co' is rendered redundant, as is the nebulous line distinguishing the book appropriate for a child or adult.

All that effort, culminating in the last book. I can't wait. At least there's the movie to night to ease that tension a little, and I am so looking forward to it!

Anyways, I went to my sister's blog and saw that Nawal had tagged me with the following.

-Each player of this game starts off by giving 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to list this in their blog and state the rules clearly. At the end, the tagged need to tag 6 others by typing their names.

No. 1
Vicky: "Lizzie! Tell me what's weird about me! I don't think I'm weird, I think I'm perfectly fine!"
Lizzie: "That's weird."

No. 2
I uncontrollable mouth spouts rubbish at its own volition, and always manages to say the wrong things at the most inappropriate times, making things a) worse than they originally were and b) myself look like the downright fool that I know, in my heart of hearts, that I am.

No. 3
I don't think this is weird, but mayhap it is. I can go without sleep for 24 hours to finish reading a book, but listing the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles can lull me to sleep before I can even get to the third point.

No. 4
Since I don't have the habit of drinking water through the day regularly, whenever I drink something, a beverage or somewhat equivalent, I need to go pee, really badly, within like, half an hour.

No. 5
I sometimes wish that there is a comfortable and nice uniform that everybody in the world can wear so I don't have to worry about my outfit or how I look, or even think about clothes.

No. 6
I sometimes wish I were lesbian, or at least bi, every time I walk past a guy and get a strong whiff of B.O. Boys are so smelly. Not all, (which accounts for the bi bit) but enough. There are really few girls I know who can generate such a foul/sour/nose-wrinkling smell without gagging.

Tagged: Aida, Tania, Christine, Jacqueline, Jacqueline and... Lishan? (Lishan you can do it in the blog section of you deviantart account, though you don't have to. This isn't a really good quiz and I'm only doing it for lack of things to discuss.)

That done, I will prepare to leave for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!

Salted popcorn, here I come!!!!

Live Earth!

2007-07-07T23:05:00.000+08:00

Apologies for the delay in updates. (Sorry Chris, I fell asleep too early on thursday, then procrastination prevailed)

Well, today's the day anyone who owns a television (and watches it) have been forced into awareness of by the bombardment of advertisements. I'm not complaining though, because it's Live Earth! A 24 hour event that rallies a good cause with great music! I must say, I am fully supportive of this movement. If making it fashionable is required to heighten environmental concern, by all means, I won't object.

Being a Singaporean secondary student, there isn't much about the declining state of Earth's environment that's surprising. We all learn about the reasons and all know ways to contribute. However, knowledge is nothing, if it isn't manipulated for a worthy cause.

Take me for example. After a really (to me) horrifying lesson in primary school, when we learned that only 1% of the water on earth is freshwater, I came to the conclusion that if nothing was done, we would all die from dehydration. I then took it upon myself to do everything I can to put off that time, implementing the 3Rs with great rigor. I swore I would never waste water unnecessarily, with all the solemnity of a child.

Now, I take twenty minute showers.

We all need reminders. Recently, I realized that there are a lot of people out there who either have no idea of the full implications of global warming, even those with education, and a lot of others who simply do not care! There are also those who do, and sympathize, but when it comes to sacrificing their air-conditioning, they suddenly demur. "What can one person do?" they plea, raising their hands helplessly.

For those who aren't aware, I sincerely hope Live Earth would help promote the many problems and their connotations. With awareness, it is impossible to undermine the cause. You either heed the advice, or continue as you've been living, and the former can only add to the ranks of those who support it.

I have no words for those who choose to ignore the publicity and continue to live a life full of wastage. Okay, maybe a line: They are deadweights in the world, and, if not undeserving of life, redundant.

For those who care, but are reluctant to forgo the little luxuries that commitment demands, I'd quote Pierre Auguste Renoir (a French Impressionist painter; impoverished yet optimistic, who barely had money for paint): The pain passes, but the beauty remains.

Indeed, we are ephemeral creatures, us humans. Nevertheless, it does not mean we cannot impress a lasting change. We already have, negatively, but it doesn't always have to be so.

It is nice to have a world-wide effort enacted with such enthusiasm. Live Earth makes me feel really optimistic for the future of the environment, and somehow, I am heartened that people worldwide are united in the venture to cease global warming.

River boat

2007-06-12T17:27:00.000+08:00

I forgot that I wanted to type about this riverboat in the previous post, cause my sister kept telling me to download 200 Pounds Beauty, this korean comedy that's quite nice.

We slept over at Lishan's place, and in the morning, her mom took us out for breakfast. She missed her turnoff to get to Singapore Swimming Club, and instead, found this really nice place!

It was around the Marina area, and was a small little boat harbour/port/quay thing (sorry, I'm unfamiliar with such terms.)

Anyways, this is a river boat, I should think, and, being the first river boat I have ever seen, I was quite fascinated by it! I mean, look at the red wheeley thing!

I wanted to know if it could turn. The wheel I mean. As you can see, it is an 'All American Tex Mex Grill', and was a restaurant! It could move, y'know, but was clamped to something that prevented it from drifting away, though it did bob up and down in the waves.

Unfortunately, we couldn't eat there, cause it was only open at 12 on Sunday, and we were hungry for breakfast.

I was very grateful for my new handphone, cause I managed to get some nice shots with it! The sun that day was so bright it hurt though, so I kinda closed my eyes and blindly took the shots. Heh.

Oh right! You know, for a second there, when I saw the words on the banister, I forgot that I had turned vegetarian, until Lizzie teased me about it. :(

My sister saw the kids menu and told me to take a photo of it. *rolls eyes*

It's kinda expensive, if you think about it. I mean, six ninty-five for a hotdog?! That'll have to be one helluva wiener! Maybe they go to paying the fuel for the boat, cause that'll be expensive, right? Still, I wanna try dining in that place.

Saw the boats and thought they would look good 'neath the scudding clouds and lightening sky.

Miscellaneous

2007-06-12T10:14:00.000+08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAAHAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

That's Jacqie as Othello Girle and Lizzie as Gigly Desdemona.

We were in Lishan's study room, and fooling around with Jacqueline's newborn (her Canon Powershot which is so super cool! Snoop through her memory stick and you can find lots of hilarious shots of Jacqie cam-whoring!! Supreme fun.) and they got it into their heads to act out what they were 'studying'.

Actually, my sister studied. But Jacq is so sososo fidgety! She can absolutely not sit down for five-minutes and study, not at Lishan's house anyways. It's tres amusing to watch her get up to look for the pen-she-could-not-study-without. I remember last year, fed up, I offered her two of my extra mechanical pencils, but she declined, saying that she had to have that pencil.

Sheesh, talk about procrastination, perfected to an art.

Anyways, my sister clicked on this link at Youtube.com and found this!

Here's the lyrics:

Othello's Rap

Here's the story of a brother by the name of Othello.
He liked white women and he liked green Jell-O.
And a punk named Iago who made himself a menace
Because he didn't like Othello, the Moor of Venice.
Now Othello got married to a chick named Desdemona.
But he went off to the wars and he left her alona.
It was a mona--
A groana--
He left her alona.
He didn't write a letter and didn't telefona.
Desdemona she was fearful, she was chastity-tight.
She was the daughter of the Duke. Yeah, she was totally white.
Now Othello loved Desi like Adonis loved Venus.
And Desi loved Othello --
'Cuz he had a big... sword.
He said, I'm gonna shaft the Moor.
How're you gonna do it? Tell us.
Well, I know his tragic flaw: He's too damn jealous.
I need a dupe, I need a dope, I need a kind of a schmo.
So he found himself a chump sucker by the name of Cassio.
So he plants on him Desdemona's handkerchiefs.
So Othello starts to wondering just maybe if
while he's been out fighting, Commanding an army.
Desi and Cass were playing hide the salami.
Salami, salami, s-s-salami.
So he comes back home and stuck a pillow on her face.
Kills her and soliloquizes 'bout his disgrace.
But there's Emelia at the door who we met in Act IV.
Who says, "You big dummy. She weren't no 'ho."
She was pure, clean, virginal too.
So why'd you have to go and make her face turn blue?
It's true.
It's you.
Now what you gonna do?
And Othello says, Damn, this is getting pretty scary.
So he pulled out a blade and committed hara-kiri.
Do that funky Moor thing, white boy.
Iago got caught but he probably copped a plea.
Loaded up his bags
And moved to Beverly.
Hills, that is.
We have been the Reduced Shakespeare Company.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company's soooo funny! They did it all in one night (Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth...)

Romeo & Juliet part 1

Romeo & Juliet part 2

Hahahahahaahaa... *wipes tears of laughter* Hilarious men.

On saturday, after band I headed over to Lishan's house (to pass make-up cause she wanted to have a proper photo shoot of Lizzie in her umbrella thingum) where Lizzie, Azzah and Jacqie were already there.

Lishan had just gotten back from Korea and bought a really nice souvenir for me. It's a small elegant notebook with an exquisitely hand-painted cover, intricate detailing. Pretty.

The front is of a girl falling into the clouds, really dreamy and nice.The pages are brown and unlined, and my first thought was, in mortification, "I am NEVER gonna flaw this beautiful book with my scrawling hand!!" Later though, I thought Jacq's idea was the best, and am going to use this book for nice quotes I come upon, and shall look to for inspiration.

THANKS LISHAN!!!

Lishan has one of her own, that's a girl opening a birdcage. TOTALLY APPROPRIATE, seeing as she is somewhat of a pet-bird lover. She used to have a pet chicken, wishy.

The cat reminds me of Tora. *smiles sadly*

Hey wanna see really cute photos of Tora I found yesterday? They're quite blur cause I took it with my handphone camera.

2007-06-09T19:31:00.000+08:00

Finally! I've been dying to blog since thursday!

Well actually, I skipped school on Thursday. That's because there was english, (didn't think I'd miss anything. Didn't miss anything, really.) history (there was a friggin' test which I didn't study for) and physics (which I know I can teach myself) and after lessons we had to stay back to go through the chemistry test. (I got 87.4/100, but the paper was super easy and Mr. Tan said that the grade was considered an A1 only if you got 85, which I did. *grin*)

And, of couse, there was band on Thursday. But I did spend the whole afternoon and night working on this band project that Mdm Nora assigned those pon-stars. This project was given to us because we didn't know how to play an instrument, (there was no point in us learning any because there wouldn't be enough time) but still had to attend band, so it is sort of proof that we did something constructive.

Anyways, I was supposed to present it yesterday, and had slept at 3a.m tying up the loose ends (woke up at 6.40, too) and guess what? After working my ass off for it, I'm presenting it when school reopens in two weeks. This is because the band teachers weren't in school yesterday, so I couldn't present it to them. Plus, yesterday was the last band practice for secondary 4 members, because WE ARE STEPPING DOWN!!!

To my great disappointment, I will only be presenting to the band teachers and not the secondary one band members.

I would like a bigger audience, because I do think my presentation's nice.

On Friday, I had 4 hours straight of tuition, and surprisingly, I really enjoyed it! Oh, Imma shared with us this really funny joke she learned on some Chinese show. Okay, everybody reading us, pick up a pen and paper and draw a flower. The first flower that comes to mind. Make sure it has petals (duh) and a stem!

Shall tell you what it means at the end of the post.

After reading an english comprehension passage on the merits of vegetarianism and how consumption of meat is killing the earth, I have decided to adopt a semi-vegetarian diet!

This means that I have eliminated red meat and poultry from my diet, and eat only fish and seafood for protein! That's because fish has Omega-3 which I seriously think is important, and generally has less cholesterol than other meats. My sister says that humans don't need to consume cholesterol at ALL, because our somethingsomething synthesizes it for us.

I started on Monday, and since I am such a carnivore, I am cutting it down bit by bit, as http://www.animal-lib.org.au/lists/vego/vego.shtml advices. This site is really good, answering most of the important questions about vegetarianism. It's very readable, and comprehensive.

I guess, in another world, another time, it would be perfectly okay to eat meat. I mean, all the issues that have come up that urge the benefits of giving up meat is due to the growing population in the world. Okay, here's a summary from the site:

1. It's Healthier
- vegetarians are healthier than people who eat meat
- they suffer much less illnesses like cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and other common health problems
- the risk of food poisoning is decreased by 80% (following a low-fat vegetarian diet)

2. It's Humane
- millions of animals are killed in slaughterhouses around the world
- animals suffer enormously in the process, undergoing pain and fear through routine stock mutilations and during transportation
- many animals are intensively raised in dark, sunless sheds and fed a diet of processed foods
- antibiotics, growth-promotants and hormones are routinely administered
- these animals are treated as little more than meat machines

3. It's Economical
- meat is expensive, both economically and agriculturally
- millions of people are starving in the world, it is a criminal waste of food to produce it
- animal feed are good plant food that could have been fed directly to starving people
- about 70% of crops grown in the US are fed to animals and not to humans
- meanwhile, a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world every two seconds

4. It's Environmentally Friendly
- in Central America, entire forests are felled or burnt to provide for grazing cattle (the Amazon Rainforest, the lungs of the earth!!!)
- each animal produces over 300 litres of methane, a greenhouse gas, a day
- the trees felled to clear land for cattle ranching are left to rot, and termites which feed on them produce even more methane that the cattle (Hahahaha, did you know the cockroaches fart every 5 seconds?)
- weight for weight, cattle alone outweigh the entire human population of our planet
- the effluent produced from intensive piggeries, cattle feedlots and broiler units is polluting our river systems

Another thing!

Aren't humans meant to eat meat?

"Not at all. Many people say that we are meat-eaters because we have sharp teeth. This is like judging a book by its cover. Look inside and you will find out what is really going on. Our digestive system resembles that of the herbivores and the frugivores (fruit-eaters). It consists of a very long intestine allowing slow digestion of nutrients. By contrast, carnivores have a short digestive tract designed so that meat can quickly pass through the body before it putrefies and becomes toxic. To compensate for this rapid transition, carnivores have a stomach acid concentration 10 times greater than that of vegetarian mammals (including humans) to enable them to quickly digest the meat. When humans eat meat it begins to putrefy before leaving the body, often resulting in disorders as diverse as constipation and bowel cancer if eaten persistently over a period of time."

So far I have accidentally bought a beef hotdog (monday night, it was late and I forgot!), accidentally had a small bite of Aida's chicken-and-egg sandwich, and eaten a small piece of chicken sausage this morning. Not bad right?

My mom's really supportive, so my sister's suffering for it. Insofar we have had only fish (sometimes none) for meat for dinner, and she has started buying lots of fruits! She has started buying a wide variety of fruits, to ensure that I get more of different types of vitamins.

I also found out that the fish-o-filet burger at MacDonalds' is really quite nice! The last time I ate it was before secondary school. I remember I hated eating it in the past, because everytime I requested to have one without cheese, they didn't add the dill-y tartar sauce either. (Which I simply adore now.)

OMYGOD CLICK THIS > http://www.nocagedeggs.com/caged-eggs.htm

AND THIS!!!> http://www.milksucks.com/index2.asp

According to Wikipedia, milk contains varying levels of white blood cells, depending upon the health of the source animals; controversy surrounds whether these are simply somatic cells or, in an alternate form, pus. In the United States, one to seven drops of these cells are in every eight-ounce glass of milk, varying by state, according to guidelines set up by the Food and Drug Administration and statistics reported by the dairy industry.[19]"

Hahahahaha! I've been calling Jacqueline over to read the websites and I can see her world crashing down around her.

Meat - Hotdogs, roast chicken, satays, barbeques, pies, bao, bakwa, ham, burgers
Milk - cheese, pizza, bread pudding, butter

(Sorry, not familiar with milk food products. You know, I'm so glad I don't drink milk.)

I didn't stay for band after lunch yesterday, instead, going to Lishan's. Hung out listening to music and reading. Helped paint some more stripes on the umbrella dress, as we had rushed and did not finish on the competition day. Speaking of which, I have more photos!

"Geeky designer next to the cool dress," Lishan said.

The dress with the snack unhooked.

"I can't accept this! I lost to a transvestite angel," she grumbled.

This is Jacqueline walking down the runway with her model.

This is the skirt she made. The top layer is made of white plastic bags while the ones below are made of greasepaper.

Nice picture of Jacqueline, her model (can't remember the name), Lishan and Lizzie! (from left)

Okay blogger is giving me problems uploading photos so I guess I'll be posting the rest next time.

Watch this:

It's Meridien JC Dance Club's SYF dance piece that won gold! I like the style, and it's so unique! I love the usage of the wire.

(P.S. The number of petals represent the number of lovers you'll have sex with, and the length of the stem represents how long the *clears throat* phallus is. Okay, it's not that funny, but at tuition it really was! We got Mr. Rizal to draw one. Imma then proceeded to drow a huge flower head with a LOT of petals, and a thick long stem, with roots at the bottom. It looked like a tree actually. It was DAMN FARNIE!!!!)

Definitely my kind of ear candy!

2007-06-01T21:44:00.000+08:00

This video left me feeling really shiok. I WANT TO WATCH HIM LIVE!!! I love that they perform with so much emotion, you can hear it even in their quietest songs.

Thanks Chris for the much appreciated link! ;)

My sister has gone for a 4 day camp, and most of my bras are missing. Figures.

Anyways, I have a small photo of Lishan and my sister at the TPJC Runway taken with my handphone before the show, and since I haven't been able to get any of the promised photos (Lishan's in Korea) I shall just post this grainy one up:

Left: umbrelizzie! I think she shouldn't smile so wide. I mean, it's nice and all, but her braces really don't go well with the look. (I don't think you can see it well in this photo.)Right: Lishan, designer. Notice the umbrella she's posing with? Look at the design! It's so cool! I want one of mine own, and it's acrylic, so it's waterproof, so you really can use it as an umbrella! AAAAAHHHH!!!

TPJC Runway

2007-05-31T11:45:00.000+08:00

This is a long overdue post. This keyboard is irritating the hell out of me. I think my hands are too big and I'm not used to tapping so lightly on the keys.

Anyways, my internet got fixed on Monday, over the line with this guy (Andrew, he called himself) from Singtel Helpdesk. Guess why it didn't work? 'Cause the vendor who came over to fix up out internet (the stupid bugger who stole half our mouse and keyboard, thereby forcing us to get a new set) failed to explain to us that what he had typed in for us was a temporary password which would expire in eight to ten days. Our real password and username was on the slip of paper my mother signed to verify that he was here, which she consequently (naturally) threw away after seeing on the table for a few weeks without even asking us.

Our thanks goes to Lishan's mom, (she works for Singtel) who called those really friendly Singtel people who worked on the root of the problem in less than a jiffy!

The morning after I typed the previous post, we started feeling the urgency. I admit, I had been trying to make my stitches small and neat, despite Lishan's repeated "As long as it stays!", but that day, I threw all thoughts of proper sewing out the window. AS LONG AS IT STAYS, CAUSE WE STILL HAVE 5 PIECES OF CLOTH TO SEW TOGETHER, NOT TO MENTION PAINTING THE DRESS AND THE 4 UMBRELLAS, DESTROYING THE OTHER UMBRELLA, AND FIGURING SOMETHING OUT FOR HER GLOVES ALL WITHOUT LUNCH!!!

I really have to applaud Lishan, she put in all her effort into the making of this dress. For a whole week, she dragged the torso mannequin to school and worked on it before, during, and after lessons! (Yes, during.) She even did it in the canteen for recess, and it was really amusing to hear, as she had stabilized it on the canteen table and positioned herself on a high stool so she would be level with it and could sew properly.

This means that everyone in the canteen could see her prominently sewing together a devilish looking top while masticulating their meal.

Heh.

So we were still sewing the bloody thing two hours before we were scheduled to take a shower and ready ourselves to leave, and we were still painting the

(Sorry I've got to sidetrack because my mom is really irritating me omygod what does friendship have anything to do with "Did you know that the Great Wall of China was built with a single brick of rock?" because that's referring to success, or a big venture, or taking the first step, whereas I am arguing about how she shouldn't base a whole friendship on an unreturned bag worth a dollar.)

top and skirt stripes an hour after that appointed time. Lishan had even enlisted the help of her brother and nephew (who's this really fair and pretty boy that a cashier in China had questioned with, "你到底是男的还是女的?" (translation: Are you a boy or a girl?!)) to help with the painting of the brownish stripes on the black cloth.

The dress has two parts, the top and the skirt, which can be detached at will. The top has a wire frame and is made up of more than 16 pieces of cloth painstakingly sewn together (mostly hand stitched) and the skirt is made of 4 navy blue umbrellas sewn together and spray-painted black. The stripes originate from the top of the top and stretches down to the umbrella [supposedly] seamlessly. My sister has to walk down the runway with a black umbrella with its underside painted with a stars-and-swirls design in silver. The intention was to make a really spindly and tattered umbrella whereby it could be seen that there were designs on it, but the design itself is indistinguishable.

After how the design turned out, we couldn't bear to cut the umbrella up; it was too pretty.

Anyways, when I was sewing the last portion- my hands were really sweaty (and, strangely, so were my feet) -the needle kept slipping -my skin was sticky, god I needed a shower -nerves were jittery -eyes kept flicking to the non-existent clock -frustration with the needle swelling, I realised how I really wanted Lishan to win.

My sister looked absolutely gorgeous made up with her hair sternly pulled back and bunned. Lishan kept make-up simple with foundation, eyeliner, mascara and, the one dramatic touch, blood-red lipstick. Over time however, it faded to a really dark pink. Nevertheless, she still looked nice when she didn't smile open-mouthed. (Braces.)

I took a less-than-5-minute shower. :)

At TPJC we went to visit Jacqueline, who was also entering the contest. Her model was tall, taller than Lizzie, if you can believe it. Her dress was made of white plastic bags and greasepaper, but you really couldn't tell, it was really fantastically made and absolutely stunning! There were well-placed roses made of brownpaper attached to the skirt and a tiara-thingy made of twigs and twine (?). She looked like a pagan queen.

I'll admit it, when I first heard that Jacqueline was making her dress out of plastic bags, I was all What is that girl thinking?!?! But she really disproved my doubts and it turned out really wonderful.

I video-ed the whole runway show, it was really worth the five-dollars. There were three categories, the external contestants (the one Lishan entered), the internal contestants (students of TPJC) and the innovative t-shirt design, whereby they had to work with a t-shirt.

Basically I thought that it was fun to see all the wacky interpretations of the theme, and all the dresses were innovative.

When Lizzie came on, I'm proud to say that she got the loudest cheers from the audience! (For the external event, I mean) I guess many were surprised by the umbrellas, and the dress looked more high fashion than any of the others. I'm kinda... annoyed at the organisers because they did not specify that the dress had to have a limit to the width of the skirt, because obviously the umbrella skirt was too big to pass the tiny amount of space allocated for the walk down the stage and through the audience. As Lishan stated, there is a reason why the runway is called a runway, and not a romp-down-the-stage-up-and-down-the-steps-of-the-auditorium.

That is why the back of Lizzie's skirt disattached itself when she had to lift it and scramble down the stairs, whilst squeezing pass the audience.

Jacqueline's model also got tremendous support from the audience. Jacqie said it was because her model is a student councillor, and therefore had a lot of fans. The dress really stood out, and I thought it was the only one which responded to the theme of 'Utopia' really well.

The lighting for the runway was really, really bad I thought, and you could really tell from the video. The spotlight did a fabulous job of avoiding the models and casting them in shadow 50% of the time. Another reason to complain about the non-existent runway was because a runway would be consistently lit up regardless of where the model is standing. For TPJC's Runway event, the models seemed to be lit up mainly due to the whim of the AVA club or whoever.

And now, after all the griping and complaining, the runway results!

Lishan got....... second prize!!!

Not bad eh? Jacqueline got second place, too!

Okay, now for my analysis of the judging. It sucked. Basically, the judges were not judging based on the make, design, or thematic aspect of the dresses. They were judging based on their bloody impression of the dress! How ~~fucked~~ cocked up is that?

Seeing as the criteria of the dress was not specific at all, save for a vague gesture to the theme "Utopia, Dystopia", I'm amazed they didn't even allow the designers to explain how they interpreted the theme and applied it to the making of the dress.

I would say that most of the designers just came up with what they thought people living in utopia or dystopia would dress or look like. They did not design their dress based on what utopia or dystopia represented to them, and what it meant to them, which I thought Lishan did very nicely. Lishan's design concept was based on how she thought Dystopia meant not being able to hide from the rain, and something to do with hope. I can't remember. Shall get her to type here next time.

Restrictions to the number of designers working on the dress were not put in place (the winner of the external competition had a team of five (or was it eight?)) and neither was the material used. I mean, there were designers who used store-bought skirts and but it together, just making a few tweaks here and there. The details of the size and type of runway were not given right at the beginning.

I noticed that this competition was more of a costume-design contest, rather than one of fashion-design. (So of COURSE the guy with that elaborate looking pair of wings got first place, even though he would look more appropriate at a cosplay contest since the dress itself wasn't really that outstanding. And yes, if you were wondering, he was a guy, and wore high-heels and had really nice calves.) Magazine-worthy dresses that looked top fashion was passed over for more eye-catching ones.

I must sound bitter and unsatisfied and very very unglamorous. Well. I am.

Oh, Kim Wakerman, actress for Kids Central, was the model for Jonathan (Jacqueline's friend), and she walked out on him after seeing his design. His was really.... distasteful. It was made of newspaper with strips attached to the bottom. After the show, I followed Lizzie to the toilet to change and we saw it abandoned on the floor. Tsk tsk, these people never heard of recycling?

Okay I shall resume normal blogging next time. Thanks Jacqie for Damien Rice's '9'!

Shall post pictures of the competition up when I get my hands on them. Cheers!

Catching Up

2007-05-25T03:28:00.000+08:00

It is now a quarter to three. Am feeling too alert to fall asleep. Am able to blog because am at Lishan's house. Am grateful for the internet!

Many many things have happened since last I've typed! For example, I am completely, devastatedly in love with Michael Scofield from Prison Break. Devastatedly because he is a fictional character, therefore unattainable. And anyways I think the doctor suits him better.

Christine (love you!) lent me season 1 last week and currently season 2 has been borrowed from a classmate.

Maroon 5's new album came out! Shall proceed to internalise the songs soon.

Yesterday was meet-the-parents cum collection-of-report-books day. Mrs Poh said I was very logical and cool-headed, that I never got ruffled easily. Miss Goh said I always panic during morning assembly over undone homework and upcoming (unstudied for) tests.

I wonder why I feel more comfortable being angry at my mom than when I'm on friendly terms with her.

Just spent 20 seconds trying to think up any recent and interesting news.

Rainer passed away.

My mom got sad I guess, and, regretfully, I am completely unregretful for having absolutely no emotional reaction to this. The best I can do is say that it's somewhat of a fortune that my mom broke up with him already.

Did I mention that, when she ran out of coke, she poured orange juice all over his sofa in rage? First time I supported her in god knows how long.

Tomorrow's a big day! Tampines Junior College is having this event, and both Lishan and Jacqie are taking part in the runway competition, whereby each contestant has to submit a dress, which will be judged together with the model. The theme 'Utopia Dystopia' is given, though Lishan being from another school, is in the external competition and is excluded from this criteria (I think. I'm not sure, 'cause my knowledge of the details is quite negligible, since everything I'm typing here is what Lishan says.)

Anyways, my sister is modeling for Lishan's positively dramatic and fantabulous dress, if I do say so myself! I've been giving her a bit of help, though it's quite minimal now that I think of it. I'm more for company actually. Hmmm....

Anyways, the idea by LS is brilliant and I am dying to spill all on the design of the dress and how it relates to dystopia and

-I've suddenly gotten a really bad case of the runny nose, pardon me-

basically everything but I shall practise restrain and tell all only after the show tomorrow!

Am thinking of more stuff to type about. You know, I always catch myself longing to have the internet fixed so that I can blog but now that I'm here, staring at this field in this window, I can think of nothing except how badly my pimple situation has worsened. I hate acne. When is it ever going to clear up?!? People always say they will, but WHEN?! I'm 16 and isn't it about time they realised they're really imposing themselves upon my skin and that their trip to the netherskin is waaaay overdue?

Some pimples just don't take the hint, the nerve of them!

OH, Julien made me wonderful DELICIOUS chocolate muffins, with homemade chocolate sauce for drizzling that was heavenly. Apparently she'd run out of icing sugar for chocolate frosting, and replaced half of it with Milo, making it the best whipped sauce I'd ever tasted

Okay I just caught myself for getting to type the full-stop and falling asleep mid-sentence. Am tired. Wish all the runway contestants good life!

Goodnight!

A New Start

2007-04-14T00:21:00.000+08:00

Okay. The reason why I deleted all my old posts is because I got that feeling you only get when you look through old journals. You know, unless you're a narcissistic bastard, a person's worst critic is his or herself. I know I am, anyways.

God, I was so vulgar and insensitive! My posts had no depth, lots of bitching, whines, complains, I didn't even type anything on the meaning of life! I mean, before I got a blog, I had fantasies of being this philosophical girl who gets people thinking and, seriously, I'm very disappointed in myself.

Plus, there's the OTHER feeling. Embarrassment. How can one get over that?

So, from now on, I swear not to type when I have emotions are extreme (that means I will NOT NOT NOT type when I am pissed.) and not to have to many swear words. Ok, maybe that's too much to hope for. But I will not use the word 'fuck'.

Vulgarities are what unintellectual people use when they can't think of better ways of expressing themselves, and only serves to show how uncultured they are. Why should we lower ourselves to cursing when there are alternatives that will not affect and influence the people around us? Don't you feel your mood changing when someone says 'Fuck you!' or 'Go to hell lah you!'? Just typing that makes my brows instinctively frown. And isn't it sad that many of us have gotten used to these phrases, if not personally vocalized, then frequently overheard?

It's that boil-a-frog theory all over again. I know, I know, I shouldn't be so uptight about this. Since everyone's doing it, why not just embrace it as part of our culture, right? If I find it disturbing, fine, complain about it! But don't try to change people, 'cause that's how relationships end up ended, and that's how I'll end up labelled as 'anal-retentive'.

But...... if we desensitise ourself to such strong words, how else can we feel as much? I hear people say 'Shut up, you're being annoying!' and suchstuff every day in class, but if someone says that to me, I might laugh it off, but I'll still feel a little hurt inside.

The first time I said 'shut up' to my sister, she got really upset. I was afterwards very ashamed of hurting her feelings so carelessly. Of course, now, we say it quite commonly, but it does say quite a lot that that first time was when I was already either in upper primary or lower secondary school.

Saying that in our family was a big thing. It meant that you didn't value what the other person said. And I guess that has its pros and cons. If two words have such a big impact, then you really listen to each other. It means that when someone says 'I don't like that', you don't think, 'Yeah! Me either!' but 'Why not? What makes you feel that way and are your reasons similar to mine?' which makes a great deal of a difference, let me tell you that.

My sister has been slightly desensitised; she had stopped hitting me whenever I said 'shit'. However, I still get a good ow! if I use anything worse (such as 'bitch'. Unless I'm bitching, then she gets amused.)

Another thing I will restrain myself from doing is to gripe about schoolwork, or my grades. If they've slipped, SUCK IT UP! If they're stagnant, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! It's my future, and nobody can do anything about it no matter how much I type about it, no matter how much they know about it. And frankly, they don't really give a damn.

Observe:

Vicky surfs the net. She finds a blog, and skims through the first entry.

"OMG!!!! Mie chem i gt B3!!!!11 Wah lao kenasai study so hard, nver get A, sad sia.. Why lik dis 1? I ned A2 so i can get 9 fer olevels...."

Vicky rolls her eyes and thinks, 'I feel like having bubble tea'. However, if the person had bothered to type properly, Vicky would have thought, 'Poor thing, this girl's could've done better. Ah well, 'O' levels are still 6 months away, she still has time to pull up her socks,' and left it at that.

In conclusion, nobody cares.

I love love love Damien Rice. I love the way you can tell that he's singing from his heart, that he's feeling the song and that he's putting his soul into it! (I know, three cliches in one line, but it's really true! Just listen to 'the blower's daughter'.) (I absolutely love the irony in that song. It's true though. It reminds me of High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.)

Back again!

2007-04-11T21:26:00.000+08:00

In the end, the laptop wasn't ours. Although it came free with the internet connection, my dad had sold it, so we didn't get to keep it.

That's okay though, cause now we've got MIO, the best modem in the world! To me anyways. My dad signed us up for the 'Ultimate' package, which I guess is a good thing. GREAT I mean cause this connection is too fast, I can't believe I'm saying this but I don't think I can keep up with it!

We also have a new keyboard and mouse, and they're so nice to use! That's because the person who delivered out modem stole them. It's probably our fault since we practically gave him full access to anything in our house. I mean, it's like we just opened our door, let him in, and went back to our rooms. Okay wait. That IS what we did.

Let me just take a minute here to say that it is absolutely fabulous to be back online!

So many things have happened since our old modem spoilt. I got a new handphone! My sister rejected a place in Temasek JC after she got through with the appeal (which includes interviews and such stuff) and decided to remain in Meridien JC. She is now in the Service Learning Club and is going to start her campaign to be in the Student Council soon. Yes, she was shortlisted. Why does she want to be a councillor? "'Cause it'll look good on my record."

TK Band got silver for the SYF indoor competition this year. It is saddening, because they'd been getting gold for the past 10 years, according to Imma. However, I think that if they've tried their best, given their all blah, it is not disappointing at all. I mean, SILVER man, that's good! (Plus I think silver looks cool but that's just shallow.)

Anyways, Tania got me the most wonderful belated birthday present, AQUALUNG'S MEMORY MAN!!!! (ok, so I did blatantly hint to her that I wanted it badly. I'm not as horrible as you think ok? *indignant* She DID mention that she didn't know what to get me.)

I have to go now, so many unread updated blogs, so little time.

Oh did you notice? I got rid of all the old posts and renamed my blog!