childhood reminices

recently i was just talking with my friends about our childhood, and i remembered i used to have a very vivid imagination. i would dream up all kinds of stories, pretty much one a day or so, and even act out some of them. usually they involved princesses and princes and heros and heroines. a few days ago, i went home and dug out my collection of childhood scribbles.

turns out i actually wrote a story back when i was 10. i remember that i decided i shall finally write down one of my exciting imaginings, and write my first novel! i was really excited and wrote furiously, and i added random comments in brackets along the way and random afterthoughts too. i included all the vocabulary i picked up from books i've read and from school, and it was done! unfortunately, it was only like 7 pages long, hardly enough to warrant a novel.

i thought it was really long back then, and so i realised it's not so easy to write a novel, no way i can write another 300 pages!!! so i decided i didn't like writing and i could never become an author (yes not even fanfiction!)

i think blogging is the most i can do hmm.

by the way, i was really into teenage romance back then, so my story had a lot of romancey stuff that i didn't really understand as a kid. for example, i didn't know what 'embraced' meant, though i thought it meant something like hugging and kissing, i just put in another 'hugged' just in case xD

and yes the thing is i didn't have a computer or internet then, so all i could use was from memory/books/TV and i had to handwrite everything which made writing seem so long and bothersome haha. so ok here's the story: and please don't laugh. too much. :D 

and please pardon the terrible grammar errors and spelling mistakes, everytime i read it i feel so tempted to edit it, but no i cannot. i have to preserve the integrity of my childhood writing, and always remember how a kid once wrote.

my favorite part: "super-duper-waterproof-soundproof-fireproof-biteproof-poisonproof-monsterproof-electricproof-xx-yy-zz-black cloak!" i tried to include everything i could think of, and xx-yy-zz for anything else i missed out. haha yes that's exactly how a kid writes xD

i was really creative as a child right?? i'm really surprised when i discovered this story, never knew i had it in me to write anything more than school required xD also this story somehow seems more like a 3rd book in a trilogy. there should probably be a 1st and 2nd book involving how Wendy met Frankie, how they ended up together, and also how Mum and Dad divorced and stuff. maybe should have a love triangle between Wendy, Frankie and some other guy. or girl. or heck just make it a love pentagon as YA novels tend to have.

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i also wanted to be an actress, and i had all kinds of movie storylines, so i decided to write down in a script for my perfect movie opening. unfortunately, this ended up even worse...i wrote only 2 pages when i realised it took so much effort to write in the setting, the thoughts, the many character movements in addition to the dialogue in a script. so yes i gave up haha. here it is:

i also watched many gameshows as a kid, and i really liked asking trivia questions and stuff. so i came up with many sets of "Who wants to be a millionaire" questions, and wrote down all the trivia i saw on TV and stuff i learnt in school (mostly primary school science, if you actually notice). so yes a lot of the trivia are very trivial and stupid, but i'm still glad to know i had this kind of childhood memory from back then.

i remember i always bugged my parents and my brother to answer these questions, and i would delight in stumping them with a tough one hee. please pardon the ones with messy/terrible handwriting, i was probably rushing as i'm taking down questions on the spot (watching TV) xD

here are the questions haha, how many can you answer?

happy (belated) birthday, singapore!

having been watched so many national day parades, every year i haven't really appreciated them much. this year i decided i should watch it properly, so i went to find the video so i can watch it in its entirety this time.

watching it really made me feel happy and proud and sad and patriotic all at once. this year there was no "moment of anguish", surprisingly, but they still showed a video clip of lee kuan yew...i wonder how he feels seeing his younger self every year. doesn't that make him feel old and sad that he isn't like how he was in his younger days?

also, even though the whole parade was super cheesy and happy and hyped up, i quite like it that they focus on modern-day scenes and the everyday singaporeans. so many people were featured this time, and it's all the things that make us singapore. so happy haha. and even merlion was featured, it/he got to "swim over" and join the parade haha! so creative ^^"

and of course  the NDP theme song one singapore, which i just bashed about a few posts ago was featured. now i know why the song was like that...the entire NDP was going to be like that, so the song was just a forewarning for us lol. it's ok la, still not nicely produced and off-tune and off-beat and all, but it showcases everyone and the heartlanders. feels heartwarming ^^

the fireworks looked pretty nice too, even though nothing spectacularly special. the gold and blue ones were my favourites! cal colours hee. and i like those heart-shaped ones too, though they look kindof lop-sided, not sure if they looked better from down-up. hmm and the interesting semi-american/british/australian dunno what mixed with singaporean accent that our english newscasters speak with can be heard as the commentators speak in the video. that, is definitely uniquely singapore xD

You can go and watch the video below, it's 2 hours 45 min long but you can skip around haha. the fireworks start sometime at 2hour 30min if you're only interested in that, the evening entertainment sometime around 1hour 30min i think?

Anyway the video will open in the same window, so please right-click and choose open in new tab/window if you want to stay on my blog page :D
http://video.xin.msn.com/watch/video/national-day-parade-2013/2gmphsg4g

so excited!

Ahh so excited! Rainie has a new album coming out August 23rd! Excited to hear what new songs she’s bringing us this time ^^ the theme is about angels and the wings of an angel 天使之翼, just my idea of an angelic rainie!

She really is a 百变天后, she changes her style for every single album, always full of surprises for us hee. This time she got her hair dyed orangeish and it’s still short, but she is dressed as both white and black angels. She’s got such a thin and sculpted waist, a dancer’s body indeed ^^ she apparently trains for 3 hours everyday to get her figure, no wonder…I definitely don’t have that kind of determination or patience!

Here’s her new song that’s alrd been released on radio (heard it on 93.3, which was how I found out she has a new album coming out! Yay this time I’m not going to miss out on her new album haha):

Interestingly, in her recent albums she has both implied and explicit insinuations about gay/lesbian love. Like in her 6^th album, the song 晒焦的一双耳朵 shows her falling in love with a girl friend but the relationship probably didn’t work out or something because the boyfriend was there/because of societal pressures. The whole song was just full of lesbian nuances and hints at the relationship.

Then in her 7^th album, the 微型电影 for 想幸福的人 very explicitly shows her lesbian/ bi-sexual relationships and yes there were kisses and all! Very clearly lesbians and bisexuals are being brought in here as people, not to be judged solely on their sexual orientation.

Then finally in her 8^th album, the teaser trailers show love in the midst of, or perhaps in spite, of destruction. It shows first a heterosexual couple kissing across a chain-link fence with a soldier beating the guy, trying to break them up, then a pair of guys kissing while the supermarket was being robbed, and lastly a pair of young girls kissing while a bull-dozer bulldozes its way through mortar and stone. It shows the beauty and perserverence of the many types of love shining through war, crime and destruction...

This album photos/MV were taken in Berlin, Germany so I’m really excited about the results! Seems very European/Western style this time hee.

Hmm and the long weekend is coming up tomorrow, I pretty much already have plans for everyday T.T yb is coming to singapore on national day! So have to bring her around a bit, then there are also many meet-up plans and karaoke plans so this weekend is packeddd.

Also, zouk mambo jambo is being brought back for just one night on 8 August, National Day edition. I’m totally going, so excited about mambo alrd! In fact, I just went for a national day dinner/ performance at bukit panjang yesterday with my parents, and the first performance was by the People’s Association Mambo class! So cool right, they mambo-ed to all kinds of modern songs (katy perry,taylor swift etc) and even to national day songs! Hopefully my thumb injury isn’t going to hurt too much, I’m going to mambo the best I can with it  ^^

Ah yes here’s an updated photo of the base of my thumb:

it’s healing cleanly, though I’m not sure how (and how long before) the gaps at the top and edges are going to close up/disappear. Please heal well soon, I want to play tennis and go bowling and do a myriad of other activities that require a healthy right hand!

scarred for life

just went to see the doctor to get my dressing changed, seems like the glue wasn't a good idea. should have done stitches instead, bcos glue is only effective if the wound doesn't move, like on the face.

the top edge of my wound came out of the glue, so the doctor says i will have a scar. we all blame the 24-hour clinic that doesn't have local anesthesia of all things! should be better equipped considering it's 24 hours huh!

oh well, got one day mc for today, enjoying my time at home for now hee.

now i'll have to do my own cleaning and dressing everyday bleh. maybe i'll take a photo later so we can see how it looks now. hmm and the wound is kindof itchy, and has stopped bleeding so that's good! :D

update 30 July 2013 night: here are the photos of the wound 3 days after the incident. sorry for bad lighting and/or angle.

disclaimer: not a pretty sight. please ignore/avert eyes if wounds/blood make you feel uncomfy.

the rest of you brave souls, forge ahead by scrolling down...

stupid me

i just did something really stupid ytd...i used my hand to try and stop my bike (and me) which were going down a slope too fast. of course i ended up with a pretty deep laceration on my right hand (in the fleshy and webby part between my thumb and forefinger), so here's what happened:

i really wanted to practise some cycling before i go back bcos i probably need to cycle to school quite often in the future, so i jumped at the suggestion of a night cycling trip with smsa ppl! unfortunately it just rained so it was wet and slippery, and i haven't cycled for quite a while, and i suck at controlling the bike when i'm going slowly :(

plus i was tired from going out almost every night, so i guess i wasn't in full form to think clearly, so when they wanted to cycle from pasir ris to changi village, i was like ok! unfortunately that trail is a lot harder and dangerous than the flat stuff at ecp!! should have just stuck to cycling in ecp :/

then when we got to this sharp turn i slowed down quite a bit but i didn't notice the slope after. when i finally saw it i was like ah whatever i'm slow enough now to make it. too late did i realise that the slope was steeper than i thought, and i turned right too much so my bike went into the green railing on the right. i couldn't reach my right bike handle and my right hand couldn't do anything, so in my panic i did the first thing that came to mind: grab the railing and stop!!

if i were a pro-er biker, i would simply turn with my left hand to get back to center then brake with my right hand, but since i was panicking about my bike handle going through on the railing on the right (and obviously i couldn't brake with my right brake), i simply reached out my hand to the railing to stop the bike and me from moving. it didn't work for a second so i grabbed again harder.

of course my hand hit the vertical part of the railing and bike + me stopped. i felt pain but didn't think much about it, thinking it was just a bruise. the bike front handle turned backwards, so after checking the bike was ok, i turned it round and moved it center before cycling on. then i noticed my entire right hand was covered in bright red. for a moment i was surprised and wondering where this came from. then my 2nd thought was that i need to clean up quickly so that i was not slowing the rest down.

unfortunately, it was a pretty deep laceration and was bleeding profusely (yes i actually have the occasion to use this phrase on myself T.T...) and i was like wow how could blood look so bright and red! it's just like tomato sauce, and to think i always thought using ketchup as fake blood was totally off!

anw i was so fortunate to be with a bunch of awesome ppl! all the other ppl were so worried and thanks jh for having plenty of wet wipes, tissues and hand sanitizer on hand! thanks h.e. for helping me wash and cleanup the blood (both on my hand and the bike), and for putting my plaster on! ( thank goodness i always bring plasters along, in case of blisters or injuries ^^)

anyhow i was really scared by the blood, bcos i was nv comfortable with it and i always felt some fear esp with large amts of blood (from myself no less!). that's why i could nv be a doctor haha. aaand i totally dirtied my favorite white shorts with blood from my hand and the bike, so it looked like i just had a leak from a period (obviously not the case) and/or had been attacked by someone with a knife.

thanks j and yl for cycling all the way back to return the bikes and then drive over, and thanks yl especially for giving up his cycling and driving me to see the doctor, accompanying me the entire time, then sending me home!!

i felt really lucky and touched and happy, really glad that i had someone to tide me over the pain and blood. i nv really liked the doctor's, that's why. anw the doctor was literally digging in my wound with alcohol to clean it out (PAINNNN) for at least 3 changes of cotton swabs, then he said i needed 2 stitches.

my eyes literally popped out of my head! i knew it was a worse cut than i've had b4 (excepting the one i sustained at 2 that i totally don't rmb), but stitches mean baaad. and painnn. and more trouble after!

luckily (or not?) the doctor didn't have anymore local anesthesia  so we made do with skin glue to glue both edges of the wound together. the cut was pretty deep and gaping open with blood coming out, so it definitely needed to be closed up. i wonder how the doctor could do all this so calmly T.T

anw here's a picture of it after glue (it looks sooo much better glued up!):

the wound goes round to the other side between the thumb and 2nd finger, so it's painful and awkward for me to use my right hand now. sniffs. i also got a tetanus jab and antibiotics in case of infection, so the price tag got really high for all these :( esp the glue costs $80! and it was a 24-hour clinic (bcos it was 10+ by then and most clinics close 9 or 10pm) so the consultation fees increase at night-time to $40 T.T

anyhow i conclude doctors really can earn a lot, so it's well worth the time and money spent studying medicine...

hmm hence i am typing and texting with my left hand now, which were things i could always do but just slower than usual. though trying to brush teeth, use utensils and write with my left hand prove to be a lot more difficult. hopefully no writing is required of me until i can write decently with my right...

till then, let's hope it heals fast and leaves no scars! and i will definitely brake my way down any slope in the future, and stick to cycling at ecp...

NDP theme song 2013

here's the new NDP  theme song for this year:


it’s very different from the previous few NDP theme songs which were slow/emo, i guess that is necessary for such a large group singing. this time the song is special because it is being sung by 68 singaporeans from all ages and all walks of life, so it is a really down-to-earth thing and reaches out to the heartlands. the song is really upbeat and and fun, and can be sung by both the young and old. it's also pretty catchy the more you listen to it.

However it sounds pretty rowdy/disorganized in some ways, I feel they should have organized the choir better if possible. The singing is pretty spaced out and not united in some parts, and the music should be better produced! the drums sound too noisy, and make the song sound kindof cheapskate and stuff...

I think they should hire someone like Dr Mark Wilson from berkeley’s gospel chorus, who can make a bunch of strangers who can sing ok to a harmonious group that can sing wonderfully! i really enjoyed my experience singing gospel chorus with him, he's able to bring the best out of each of us and make us one voice.

I believe the singing in the NDP song was also slightly off from the drum beat, it sounds like the choir was singing too fast (by half a beat?) at the beginning of each verse. This makes it sound childish and not very professional or NDP-like :/

oh well, it's a good change to have lively and catchy music rather than just the usual slow emo patriotic songs, and anyone can just join in with the easy-to-catch lyrics and melody. It’s a song everyone can sing, which I guess was the aim of the song...

birthday girl

yes my birthday just passed! this year i'm very lucky to have not just one, or two, but three birthday surprises!!! all very successful ones too!

i'm really happy about getting these birthday surprises! the first one was very early on, just meeting up with friends close to another friend's birthday last month, then turned out two of the friends bought us a cake to share! really unexpected bcos it wasn't either of our birthdays yet, but they wanted to celebrate before they left the country. sooo at the end of the meal the waitress just brought it out all lit up and i thought it's for my friend who has her birthday first, so we sang it for her. ended up it was for me too hahaha! so happy! the cake was a pandan/kaya cake with cream and chocolate and stuff, from bread talk. not bad, it's pretty innovative xD

then my 2nd birthday surprise was really truly a HUGE surprise. i planned a birthday surprise with the rest for a friend's birthday during a karaoke session at 10 dollar club, so we pulled it off successfully, bringing in the cake and all that in the middle of the session. then another hour later one of them went outside and i was wondering why he took so long at the toilet. turned out he was lighting candles and bringing in MY CAKE! so we got two cakes that time, and the other friends actually planned my birthday surprise on top of the one i was planning for my friend!! so sneaky, they hijack another person's birthday to do this for me lol!!! but it's really the best surprise ever, bcos i was so occupied with planning one for my friend that i never once thought that i would get one too! i got a chocolate cake from prima deli, it was nice but pretty chocolatey.

then the third one was just ytd, had a meal with juniors and then one of them said she has to go do something. then the rest were like she's just being shy, she always says this when she needs to pass motion xD i was doubting their words, and wondering why they were teasing her like this, then she came back very quickly. turned out she went to tell the waiter to bring out the cake, and when the cake came i thought it wasn't for my table, bcos the juniors aren't that close to me, plus my birthday was one day past. then the waiter came over and i was really surprised! i got a chocolate cake with lots of fruits on top from some neighbourhood bakery in eunos hahaha. very rich chocolate...

hmm on my birthday itself i got a small piece of strawberry shortcake from four leaves from an intern friend at bosch. it's so nice of her, bcos we're not that close and she didn't have to get me a cake. but i was really happy, and it's my favorite birthday cake flavor i've had so far hahaha! it's got strawberry in every layer and esp in the bottom! so nice to have fruits ^^

it's really cool that i had so many birthday cakes in the past two months, and i believe this is my most celebrated birthday ever. also had more than 120 birthday wishes (both fb and in person/text) this time, so i'm pretty happy. feeling really loved this year :)

i've had a really busy birthday week, been going out every night and still have to work everyday. also made many new friends, so i'm really tired out by now. so glad it's finally the weekend! i can sleep in tmr hee ^^

hmm for my birthday, i'm wishing for love, health and peace for friends and family. hope they will come true :)

review about a book

hello! i've been on a book-reading spree ever since i came back for the summer. i realise that having a kindle fire kind of does that to you, and my book-reading habits from sec school days are all rushing back: i cannot stand waiting helplessly for buses and trains with nothing to do, so i used to bring a book around all the time so i could read while i wait. now i have a kindle fire, so i just load all my e-books on it and i can read on and on and on, and when i finish a book i can move straight on to the next xD

i am also reading a lot of YA novels nowadays, a lot easier on the mind and very fast to read haha. my friend recommended me john green's books, so i have been reading a lot of his books, though they are all similar in how they try to be inspiring to teenagers and encourage them to not be suicidal, and to see beyond themselves and see the bigger picture of a bright future ahead.

and what with the new social site goodreads.com, i have become pretty active in the reviewing books and finding books to read thing. here's a review i just did on a john green book i just read, an abundance of katherines. all that i want to say about it is essentially here haha:

Of all the John Green books I have read, I find this book the least inspiring and least “deep” in meaning, but it has characters that I can relate to the most. Colin and Hassan are definitely my favourite John Green protagonist characters thus far.

Ok so here’s what I liked about the book: I like the main character Colin and the way he thinks. I can totally relate to all his quirks, how he thinks and how he is semi-socially awkward. I think I am a little like him myself, liking to spout random bits of trivia that others may or may not find interesting, and making all kinds of connections that only I find interesting but others don’t. Fortunately, my friends are a lot more forgiving and humour me by pretending these things are interesting, so I’m not a social pariah (yet).

I especially like Hassan and his wittiness. His way of expressing friendship and interacting with Colin never fails to make me laugh (or at least smile), and I believe that is how guys their age really hang out and have fun. I also like the anagrams and the math theorem (which is something I have attempted doing for random other scenarios before, but usually I give up after 5 minutes just because I’m not so OCD about math). I also love the footnotes, snide comments and the horribly long sentences Colin used to describe each Katherine encounter in his story at the end (as you can probably tell from my excessive use of long run-on sentences in this review).

However (yes there’s always a however), I got annoyed with Colin’s whining and wallowing in misery about how he always gets dumped, then his single-mindedness in not getting dumped and trying to make himself matter. Clearly he does not understand the real problem are his insecurities and how just by thinking he is a failure, he is making himself one! I find him ungrateful and unappreciative of what he has: he is a very smart guy with great memory who has won so many competitions and has had 19 Katherines liking him (which must say something about his attractiveness and stuff). Seriously, being able to date 19 girls is a feat in itself, and all by the age of 18! (or probably 17, since he went to school a year early…)

Then again, this is a common insecurity of teenagers, and I too have gone through that phase of thinking myself a failure when I have much to be grateful for. It is only because I have grown up and gotten past all this that I was getting frustrated with Colin. Fortunately, Colin realizes it at the end of the book – that he matters to people who care about him, and that he does not always have to strive towards being a genius when he has a lot more to offer as himself. He sure has a lot to be grateful for; he has loving parents,  great friends and a bright future ahead.

Ok sorry about that, enough of the rant. Just because I like to whine in real life doesn’t mean I have to like reading about other people whine right? This book would probably annoy adults to no end, but might be intriguing enough for teenagers who are going through similar problems to those that the characters are going through. Either way, this book gets 4 stars because I love the characters to death, I love the way John Green wrote this book and I love the story, but just don’t like the excessive whining and dragginess of it all.

so...while writing this, i just treated it as writing a blog post about the book. i guess that's what i would have done before goodreads and facebook and all that came along. the many social media sites of today huh. but i still want to keep some of my thoughts here, especially this review that i find especially witty. just so that years down the road i will remember that OH YEAH i actually read john green, and this was how i felt! and make sure i don't make the same mistake of re-reading a book i thought i haven't read before (i just did that for sarah dessen, i read 'the truth about forever' thinking i haven't read it before, when it turns out i have and everything in the book just felt like deja vu haha).

psi 290

it's been a while since i got to experience haze in sg...this summer it's especially bad. the psi reading just went up to 290, which is a really unhealthy level (anything more than 100 is bad, more than 200 is unhealthy!)

the shocking thing is hearing my mum vehemently cursing the people who are causing the haze, and actually wanting them all to go and die. like that would solve the problem..the haze is already here to stay, and it's not just any one person's fault. let's just hope for some wind and rain, so the psi reading goes down...

and that the governments actually do something about this negative externality! like trying to tackle the root cause of the fires (slash and burn to clear land for agriculture and commercial purposes), and fine the companies in charge or something. make them improve their technology for land-clearing so they stop harming the people there and all around too!

i totally forgot about this haze thing (since it was nv that serious), and i really never thought much about it until this year. interestingly, people were like telling me are you glad to be back in sg, i would probably be happier in the us without this haze and all that. i was really shocked to hear that, it never crossed my mind though it's probably true in terms of the timing i'm back. but i really don't feel that upset, after all i'm back for my family, not so much about the air quality.

of course, it's bad that there's this haze, and i sincerely hope everyone's going to be fine and not suffer any lung problems or coughs bcos of this...i recall a reading from the archeology class i'm doing on coursera right now. there was this body (the ice man i think?) they were analyzing from hundreds/thousands of years back or something, and they found that his lungs were blackened from smoke, so probably back in those days they cooked food around fires all the time.

i was just wondering if the haze would do the same to us all, blackening our lungs bit by bit? or maybe i'm just exaggerating haha, but i'm just reminded of that reading.

ohh and i got so pissed off when the guy walking in front of me today was smoking a cigarette! like the haze wasn't bad enough, he had to smoke in front of me and argh. i just sped up and overtook him so i don't have to be taking in his second hand smoke...but because of that i think i breathed harder and took in more dust particles lol. i guess i should learnt to be more patient somehow...

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odd flight from sf to tokyo

not sure i want to take united again...i meet the oddest people on such flights!

on the 11hour+ flight from san francisco to tokyo on the way home, i encountered this mixed-race couple in their 50s, one black guy and white woman. i found them really interesting, they speak with some kindof southern accent, the lady sounded a little irritating with the drawl, just like in the movies.

the moment they discovered alcohol was free on the flight, they ordered at least 6 rounds of alcohol: two rounds of champagne, one round each of red wine, white wine, and several rounds of beer...i was surprised the flight attendants were so patient and kept bringing them bottle after bottle of wine and beer, just because they ask for it. isn't there some kind of limit so they won't get too drunk and get into trouble?

i was seated in the aisle, but they kept getting out of their seats and back in for restroom break (that's for drinking so much alcohol), for stretching, for walking around. the worst part is, they don't go together, they just take turns getting out and then getting back in!!

i was trying to sleep during the flight too, and i notice that i wake every hour on the dot because they need to get out, so in the end i was getting irritated. argh for sitting in the aisle.

not only that, they also get out to take stuff from the overhead compartment, and then need to spend ages packing their things WHILE in their seats, and elbow me constantly while i was sitting there erhem. i realised that i was squished to like 2/3 of my seat alrd, bcos the guy was like putting his arm all the way at my seat armrest, then i have to sleep slanted towards the aisle. sigh la. squished and not happy.

moreoever, they brought some dvd player and various dvds to watch, but they both wanted to watch (and they brought headphones, so only one person could listen at a time), so they plugged it out and watched the movie OUT LOUD, totally disturbing everyone la! fortunately there was no charger and their thing ran out of batt so they stopped. then the wife was so fidgety all the time, and so whiney at her age! she was whining about how the flight is 24 hours and it's taking forever and they have nothing to do, while the husband is saying they should just sleep and keep it down. of course the flight was only 11 hours but dunno why they thought it was 24 hours. anyway.

then they started arguing and kept getting louder and louder. the wife then kept chanting "sleep. sleep. sleep. sleep." while staring at him, then he got pissed and started scolding her for making a fuss and yelled at her to keep it down. oh what an irony, he was the one making the most noise by yelling actually. i gave up trying to sleep and started reading my book every time they started talking. it always ends up in an argument which ends with some alcohol and kisses and "honey". argh what an interesting yet irritating couple dynamics!!

of course they had no idea how to operate the lights and volume buttons and service buttons so i taught them. then they discovered that they could listen to music on the flight so they started to listen and humming, and singing, and just club dancing in their seats. like wth??? first time i saw people dancing to their music while seated! omg it made my seat shake all the time so i just ignored it and pretended like it was turbulence, but apparently they were kicking or moving the seats in front so the people in front, who were trying to sleep too, turned around and told them off a few times.

the wife also liked to open the windows whenever she liked/whenever she was bored, and start applauding. i have no idea why she was clapping, maybe it's bcos she saw nice clouds or something? or maybe it's the alcohol anw, but it just blinds everyone who was sleeping. argh i guess i'm just feeling irritated that my sleep kept getting interrupted by the two of them, esp since it's alrd quite hard for me to fall asleep when it's daytime in the us.

i thought sitting in the aisle should be a good experience since most ppl get out like twice in the whole flight, but this couple got out at least 10 times argh. they're like a completely clueless couple and definitely did not seem like a couple in their 50s. they felt like they had the right to make noise and disturb others without worry about other people...this was the most eventful but irritating flight i've ever had, and i sincerely hope i don't have such an experience again.

almost became a murderer

back from a trip to alaska...i had a truly great shock of my life on my drive up to denali national park.

i was driving on the highway at a pretty high speed when suddenly a moose strolled so nonchalantly across the highway. when i saw it, it was already in the middle of the road and i slowed down and swerved round it to give it more space. luckily it didn't charge, if not it could run very fast and get hit. 

our car probably would suffer some damage and injury too, the moose was a full-grown male with antlers and all. it takes up like 1.5 lanes on the highway and was really tall, like a horse! i remember very clearly seeing its big eyes staring at me while leisurely walking on across the road. 

this was the first time i got a close up look at moose, and i really got a heart attack from it! luckily i didn't crash into it...now i know better to scan further ahead on the highway to avoid roadkills >.>

there were really so many moose in alaska though. when i first touched down, on the way from the airport to the hostel, i saw a dead moose in the middle of the highway. some guy was standing in front of it and waving traffic around it, which is really dangerous for that guy since it was darkening and difficult for people to see. the taxi driver said it was a baby moose, even though it's pretty big and took up the entire lane. i was shocked to see such blatant roadkills in the middle of the road, but turns out it is a very common occurrence as they cross the roads all the time without care for cars.

in denali national park, when we were driving through on the park road, we also saw a baby moose trying to cross the road. we stopped and took some pictures of it, but it got nervous or something and turned back to graze on the grass. then we realised it's a baby moose so the mummy must be nearby, and lo and behold! the mummy moose was to our right. we all got shocked and quickly moved up a little, bcos i think we were making the mummy nervous, and she might want to charge at us!

on the chester park trail around downtown anchorage too, we saw a baby moose crossing right in front of us, except this time we're on foot and out in the open. fortunately it just ignored us and went for the grass. we couldn't find the mummy though, we just took some pictures and quickly walked by.

haha exciting tales in alaska. seems like it is a place full of wildlife and nature stuff, and hunting/gun use is very common and even necessary. a typical weekend consists of a family going fishing, or a father bringing his son to go hunting. 1 in 60 alaskans are also pilots, more than 6 times the average in the US! this is because alaska is much more accessible by plane than by car or anything else haha, and they can go fly somewhere to fish or hunt before returning. they are not allowed to hunt caribou within 24 hours of flying though, probably because it is too easy to kill wildlife while in the air, so people have to camp somewhere for 24 hours and hike to hunt animals.

i think it's a nice and relaxing/fun way of spending time here, but this is too much killing and meat for my liking. i prefer a city life, with veggie and no hunting/killing involved >.> seems like i'm all soft and like a typical city girl haha. oh well i'm fine with that, not cut out to be on survivor or lost anyway!

saying goodbye to undergrad life

yay last final of my undergrad life is finally over!! i'm so excited for graduation haha. i feel pretty sad about leaving berkeley though...it just hit me how wonderful it really is. just walking along the streets, there are so many different kinds of delicious food and cuisines that i didn't take enough advantage of - japanese, thai, korean, chinese, taiwanese, mexican, italian, western, greek, Mediterranean, and even has boba and my favourite froyo places. of course the boba can't compare to koi, and pinkberry is far away in SF (anywhere outside of 15 min of berkeley is considered far lol)...

the weather is also awesome. of course there are times when it's just foggy and cold and rainy and miserable, but this year has been great. barely any rain season this year, with some slight drizzles. finals week is beautiful and sunny out everyday, with the appropriate breezes to keep it cool and comfy all the time. sigh i sure will miss this nice weather...

with graduation, my parents will be coming over and i can bring them around berkeley and bay area! so fun haha. i'll then go to alaska for my graduation trip, and then returning home for an internship. of course, there's still more school to look forward to come fall, as i'll be embarking on my grad school life. hehe i'm excited to meet new people and learn more things, and delay a sad working career life  (and possibly find a rich and dashing boyfriend along the way).

on a side note before i forget, here are some memories i have of my wine-tasting decal and cantonese decal this semester. They were definitely the most fun classes I've done in a while (other than the Gospel chorus class, which was amazingly fun), and they definitely made my final semester more enjoyable and memorable haha.

Wine-Tasting History & Culture of Wine Decal

Got to bring home these two wine glasses at the end of the decal. we're supposed to just take one home each, but there were extras so i took another one. one smaller one for white wines (better for concentrating the smells), and a bigger one for red wines (better in terms of surface area and aerating the wine)

now i have legit wine glasses for drinking wines :)

the argentina wine i bought at trader joe's for an assignment. really refreshing and crisp, like a bright lemonade on a hot summer day

Cantonese Intermediate Decal

Here's the video of the final skit my group of four people did. I'm really proud of it because it's simply hilarious, and it was so much fun making the video. sorry for the amateurish acting and editing, i did it over like a few days, and video editing plus subtitles took over 20 hours for me. the acting was also filmed on two days, around over 6 hours, + writing the script took around 2 or 3 hours too. quite a bit of time-commitment for a pass/not pass class, but definitely fun!

happy for now

i feel really happy right now...just got back my business & ethics paper and i got an A for it! The comments were really good too, saying good structure, good research and that it's professional!

it's been a while since i last wrote a paper, and i have never written a research paper for a humanities class before. i've also heard bad stuff about how the paper really screwed up their grades, so i put in quite a bit of effort in it to make good arguments with a lot of research and stuff. i'm really happy that the graders like it after all!

u know with papers, it's always so hard to gauge and guess if people would like it. it's so subjective, and there were no drafts allowed for this paper. it was a one-off 10-page paper worth 35% of our grade, so i was really worried about whether the grader would like it. glad that it turned out well ^^

this really made my day, and now i'm all ready to chiong for the last final tomorrow :)

here's a song i didn't think much of at first, until i realised how impressive jess lee's vocals are, to sing so high so beautifully. and i got really freaked out by the mv, even though i know it's fake i couldn't imagine how the mv leading lady managed to endure all that!!!! >.>

the first white hair of my life

just discovered the first white hair of my life! it's pretty long too, must have been there for quite a while...i wonder when/how it came to be?

maybe it's from the the many stresses of college life/finals...

or maybe i'm really getting old T.T

here's a picture to commemorate the moment (in case it drops off/i can't find it anymore)

interesting thing i found out about my hair: it looks really brown under the sun or under light! (and nope i didn't dye it before...)

first white hair

a belated mother's day

i shouldn't be here...i should be studying for finals. it's my last 3 finals of my undergraduate life (yepp my final finals hehe),  but somehow i'm procrastinating and not wanting to study T.T

my parents are currently on a plane, embarking on an 18hour+ flight to the US. they will be spending a few days in the east coast with my brother, and they're going to toronto and going to visit the niagara falls, before flying over to the west coast for my graduation. i'm really excited for them to come, and i can show them my life here and how i have spent my past 3 years on my own. i'm also really excited for graduation and just relaxing/having fun...i'll be bound to a 3.5 month internship this summer, which will suck up my entire vacation at home >.>

anyway back to the main point of this post. it was mother's day yesterday, but i didn't get to wish my mum a happy mother's day personally. i was too busy studying and during a quick skype IM my dad was just saying oh you should study and let's not disturb you today. i didn't think twice about it, and i told my dad to wish my mum happy mother's day on my behalf.

this morning when i woke up, suddenly i was afraid i wouldn't get to say it to my mum, especially since she was going to board the plane to the US today. if anything happened to her, i know i will regret this to death, so i called her up just now and wished her a belated happy's mother day. she was really happy to talk to me and see me (we were doing a video call), and i was really happy too. now i feel recharged and ready to study for finals! (erhem i mean after finishing this blog post lol)

at least it's one thing off my mind for now, and i really wish that my parents have a great time for the week ahead. can't wait to see them, and can't wait for my finals to be over on wednesday! ok just 3 more days of mugging...i see the light at the end of the tunnel! gambatte!!!

Doing the Briggs-Myers personality test again

Hello!

It's been a looong while since I last posted here...but today I just did a Briggs-Myers personality test online (no thanks to my roommates). And guess what? my results are the same as before I came to university in J1 or J2!

I got INFJ, for more details click here (opens in new window).

When I first took the test in Sec 3, I got the same result of INFJ, but my Introvertedness was a lot higher, like 50+% preference over Extrovertedness. Interestingly in JC when I took the test again, I got INFJ but with a lower Introvertedness preference of around 22%. Now that I'm taking it again, I got a 22% preference of Introvertedness over Extrovertedness, so seems like I didn't exactly change that much on that aspect :)

I guess my personality is kind of fixed around INFJ for now, maybe after I start work things will change. Either way, I'm glad that I still got INFJ, so I don't need to bother remembering what my 2nd personality result is!

Some famous ppl who are also INFJ:
Mother Teresa (righttt....), Nicole Kidman!, Shirley Temple, etc

Suitable Career paths:
Literature & Writing, Humanities, Graphics Design, Archaeology, Anthropology, Social Services, Psychology, Counseling, Religious Education...

lol I'm supposed to be great at being an activist and matyr and all that, which totally doesn't fit me. Hmm...I guess it's too late to change career directions, but the only one I ever considered up there was Psychology.

If you guys are interested in doing the test to see what's your personality like, try it out here!