One second, two seconds, three. Drip, drip, drip they go.

You know, people have mood swings. It's normal.

People get depressed sometimes; it's normal.

But I wonder how often it is for someone to be suddenly overcome with this urge to shout out to all her friends that she cherishes every single one of them. Very much.

Well, I do have that sudden urge to tell all my friends that I treasure them very, very much. I guess the experiences from the past few weeks, months or even years have come together to form a cohesive idea.

It tells me that there are a lot of materialistic people in this world. There are a lot of people who don't treasure opportunities (or they do, but for questionable reasons). There are a lot of people who don't seem to be in sync with their lives.

I find it ironic that as students, we're all in school to learn, to gain knowledge, but many forget that marks really aren't everything. I wish we didn't need to live in a time where every single thing needs to be graded before students pay attention to them. There's almost no holistic marking anymore. Everything - all its components - be it daily assignments, minor tests or even participation, have to be given some mark weightage before they are deemed as important. Other things like PE, just dao. I didn't use to be this pessimistic about the situation but being in HCI for three months has changed my perception. People who are truly keen about life are a rare breed nowadays.

What has this got to do with my friends? Well, close to everything.

In facing the difficulties caused by my encounter with this "new breed" of people, my old friends have become more important than ever. No, that's not it. It's more like providing a greater contrast. Between old friends, and the new people.

I try not to run, but when I do, I think you all know where I'll be running to, and who are the people I go to.

I tend to disagree with a lot of people. But I do so only discreetly. I won't change my principles just to fit theirs. I can live my life abiding by my rules and the society's.

I can't fully describe all the thoughts that I've harboured in the past weeks, especially when they're slipping away already. Some as soon as they appear, but slowly and surely. But there's a lot left unsaid. For sure.

Regardless, it's left me with a realisation how important my friends have been. We've stuck through the years together, took tests together, did project work together, went shopping together (though it was mostly just window shopping), went visiting other countries together... all those timeless memories, eternal events. Everything that all of you have said and done has influenced me, has helped me to become who I am today. Also, all that I've said and done probably has influenced some little part of all of you too. This almost sounds too clichéd, but it's true.

I'm almost that happy about being myself, now. And that's only because all of you have stepped in to help, to shape, to move me in some way. We never do get second chances at life, do we? Everything's all just once, once, one chance only. We hardly ever get the chance to g on a detour or backtrack.

The water goes drip, drip, drip, and it all flows away.

I'm happy to respect the intangible parts of life more than anything else. I'm happy to be able to view challenges and obstacles as chances to grow. I happy to be a me who observes human behaviour half the time I'm in school, when I could have been just studying. I'm happy with running around the class benches visiting as many friends and classmates as I possibly can within that not-so-long break, when I could have been doing something else by myself. I'm happy to try and give a smile to all these friends I meet at the corridors, in-between lessons, or even before tests. After all, each encounter is different. It's a different instance altogether.

Remember the steady drip, drip, drip... ?

It's okay to be like that, right?

I'm not sad that I can't afford to spend money at expensive places every week. I shouldn't be sad that I aren't half as physically fit as other people. I'm not sad that I can never bring myself to say "like I care" regarding almost anything at all. I care too much about too many things. I'm not sad that I can fit in with a vast majority of people. I shouldn't be.

Because it's alright. I still have all my friends. I never need quantity when I have quality.

Love you all!

When that big day finally comes

Since I feel that I owe this place an update, I shall do just that. Update.

It'll be a short one though.

There's less than a week left to huang cheng! All the hours we've spent slogging for dao ju in the past two and a half months will finally yield results!

However, even now, not all our dao ju are done. While so many people spent today slacking away (thanks to the seniors' results granting us an extra holiday), all us dao ju-ers spent the entire day working hard. From morning to night. I seriously wonder what time the guys left, and whether they'd finished the spiral staircase. Yes, the dreaded spiral staircase.

It's funny how we've all been talking about the spiral staircase since day one, yet we've not begun working on it till tonight. It's been long feared, but if they do finish it by tomorrow (or even better, by tonight) it's going to be some laughing matter indeed. Something of such a high difficulty completed within one day? If it's a success, then it only goes to show that we had the capability all the while. What's important is when we actually haul our asses into gear. Like today.

We almost done with all the backdrops! Tomorrow we'll put in the fnishing touches, and it's off to VT!

To everyone who will be going to watch Huang Cheng Ye Yun this weekend at VT, be sure to take note of all the dao ju too! And the clothes. As well as everything else. It's a production that's only possible with everyone's effort! And be rest assured, most of us have put in lots of effort into it! The actors especially.

Pretty soon, the days of reaching home past 11pm will be over. I never thought I'd actually say this, but for once I think I'll miss reaching home at that ungodly hour. Because once Huang Cheng's over, there won't be dao ju zu anymore. And without dao ju zu, life will be drab once again! I think the P.H.D (post-Huang Cheng Depression) that the seniors mentioned is already starting to show some symptoms.

It's a pity that I still don't know some of my fellow dao ju-ers well, but still I am ever so glad that I've had the chance to know them. The past two and a half months have been valuable experience. One one hand I might not be that happy with class, but on the other, I'm actually quite happy with the people on the CCA side. Is this considered a balance? I seriously wonder.

Well, let's see what else I'll have to say once this weekend is over. Stayover this Sunday night will probably be pretty good. I hope everyone's high.