Lately

Lots of things are gonna come to an end soon. Prefects' duty is long over and rebellion genes are starting to show their traits, mostly in Marilyn. :)

For the first few days after retirement, we decidedly sat at the canteen table, waiting specifically for some prefect to come and chase us away. And for the first weeks of retirement, we all hit an eating frenzy. 20 minutes of break seemed like the longest time on Earth. We'd eat bowl food, then buy some finger food, then walk to Koperasi and buy drink (the only comfort we had was that the trip to Koperasi from canteen would take some time off the 20 minutes =.="). That was recess for us.

Oh! And for once since a long time, we remember the importance of going to the canteen early. We have to run down from class just to grab a whole table for ourselves. Every day we plan in class on who would run down and reserve the table. Heh. Sometimes, teachers plan to teach a little longer and jeopardise our table grabbing scheme. So for awhile, we try to quickly go "Thank you, teacher!" as soon as the bell rings and race out. Sometimes, when the class is less stressful and more flexible, we'd stand at the door, ready to chiong, 3 minutes before the bell. =)

We always win the race. :D (especially if we're coming down from Chemistry lab)

PJ is more fun these days. We played this funny game a few weeks ago where Marilyn and I had to get up together from our sitting positions. =.=" We couldn't do it. Miss Susie laughed at us and said it was like watching 2 hippos trying to get up. ;p Then we had basketball after that week. And the other day we played monkey. It was so fun. :D Marilyn was the monkey for the longest period. I think I like PJ now.

Life is never boring after all.

******************

Marilyn: What is the cheapest food in Spring?

Me: The yong tau hu mee.

Marilyn: Ha? Oh! Oh yea. It's the yong tau hu thing right.

Me: Yup. It's the mee.

Marilyn: Ah la. The yong tau hu and mee la?

Me: Ha? No. It's the mee.

Marilyn: *annoyed* Yala! The mee with the yong tau hu right?

Me: No. Only the mee.

I think she peng-ed...

Not-so-mighty mind

I did not expect the post to be this long... but it is and I'm lazy to shorten it...

The day started pretty early with Food and Fun Fair. We had to go to school earlier to help set up the stalls. We had to carry a really heavy TV up to the hall and then we had to pull up the heavy hose to fill up the aquarium. The latter turned out a bit messy because leaves started falling and there were food stalls down stairs. Oops… *apologetic smile*

Then I went off to help at the Pagoda where I met Eleena who had had an accident with the TV (not ours) so Christine lent me her camera. :D it was so fun being the “photograper” with a big, big camera. =) but it was nightmare trying to adjust the lighting. So I ended up wasting her memory space with shots of the same thing, only with varying degrees of brightness. =.=”

And then I returned the camera to her when Eleena secretly ripped off her bandage when no one was looking. That’s when I met Emmeline, looking like a nurse with her hair tied in two. She gave me a RM 10 coupon because she overbought. As promised, I went to spend it at her class’ stall. I tried the Electric Snake (fun and cheap) but I couldn’t really managed til the end… so too bad la. I got sweet though. Sweets and…. More sweets.

A lot of other games were quite crowded so Abigail and I left the hall, bumping into Esme along the way. The moment I started talking to Esme was the moment Gurprit turned her head towards my voice, told me she could join an Olympic for finding me and said we had to leave to Spring already. Lol.

 So we left and got to Spring. We took a short-cut in but it wasn’t a very good entry because… well… it was kinda in front of everyone. Haha. So embarrassing. But we didn’t have another choice so we ran off to toilet to change. Well, I went to change. Then we came out and watch the Form 3s in their objective challenge.

I have photos but I’m too tired to upload them up now. I’m aching all over. My legs have not felt this tired since Form 1 City Day Parade. Some more I’m having backache as well. Signs of aging. T_T So… apologies for the pictureless post. Exit now if you want… unless you wanna read about my not-so-mighty mind experience. =)

The form 3s had pretty ok questions. Some were funny, like asking what’s the name of Timon. Some were strange and some were quite tough. There was one math question on calculating the radius from a given volume of sphere. Quite a large number I remember. So it probably wasn’t very easy. 

But both teams did well and got… I forgot their score. About 150, I think. They were side by side each other in the score board which was a good sign.

And then it was our turn at the carpet. It wasn’t very comfortable sitting cross-legged on the carpet. We had barely sat for 10 minutes when we suffered pins and needles. At one point, I was wondering how were we ever going to stand up in case we key in late if all our legs were numb. -.-“

But luckily we never had to stand up because we keyed in pretty fast. Questions weren’t so hard. There was biology questions on components of plasma (no platelets) and meiosis II (which I got confused with all the phases but luckily my team mates we level-headed) and organs and enzymes (there’s maltase in small intestine) and nucleic acid (it has no iron, remember that now). There was also math which wasn’t so tough except for the log one. We got stumbled for awhile but we figured it out pretty fast.

There were also chemistry questions about nucleon number and properties of sodium hydroxide. And both our teams got the sodium hydroxide wrong because our eyes chose to deceive us. =.=” they read the “which is false” as “which is true” (therefore they entered the exact opposite answer) and we read “cannot react with hydrochloric acid” as “can react with hydrochloric acid” and keyed in the wrong answer as well. Obviously 6 pairs of eyes aren’t really enough still. Haha. Miss Marjolyn pinched Amanda and I for getting that wrong. Lol.

The general knowledge was a bit more confusing. There was something on a space mover (?) called Sojourner. The options were funny. Got Marsboleh some more. So ya, we got that wrong. And we didn’t know cricket has 13 players. And we didn’t know there’s a currency called Bolivar in Venezuela. Though we got Bolivar correct because we eliminated all the rest of the answers (Peso, rupee, ringgit and baht). And Albert Einstein’s most important thing is imagination. Because he’s a physicist, I suppose. Thomas Edison’s would probably be hard work. Who knows.

So in the end, we had 4 wrongs – the cricket one, the sodium hydroxide one, the Sojourner one and another one on geometric progression (because we were too lazy to count one by one – numbers too big).

Nonetheless, we all got into the hands-on challenge – us and the both the Form 3 teams. Yay! Their hands-on started quite soon after their briefing. They had to construct a suspension bridge. Took a lot of pictures of them but none of them with my camera. Their straws were so colourful. =)

Amy’s team didn’t really build a suspension bridge so I suppose their model didn’t really qualify. Alicia’s team’s bridge collapse after they left their work table so they got rather discouraged as well. Alicia was saying “We’re dead!” while constructing it, which I returned with a smile, which the organisers returned with an announcement “Please do not communicate with the participants, even if it’s to encourage them” (maybe it wasn’t really us but the timing was so cun, it felt like he was directing it at us), which Alicia returned with a glare at me which I did not see, then I walked away.

At the end of it all, both teams were trying to cheer each other up as the judges went around judging. When they picked up Alicia’s team’s model to test and they nodded, everyone felt a flash of hope. Then they put the bridge down again in its collapsed position so we went like… “Oh.” -.-“

Then they announced the top 5 teams that got into the presentation.

Mei Theen: Hey is it results?

Guy: First team to get it…. Team number… *sth*

Me: Yea, it’s results!

Gurprit: What’s their team number?

Guy: Next is…. Team number…

Mei Theen: 46 and 47, I think.

Guy: 47!!!

Us: 47? *stunned* 47?! OH! YAAAYYYY!!! *scream and run to the Form 3s who were running towards us*

We tried to listen to their presentation but they were talking so softly we could barely hear anything. But they must have done pretty well because everyone chipped in a little something.

Then it was the Form 4 and 5 hands-on challenge. We had to build a mobile mousetrap propelled by elastic potential energy.

Apparently every single school misinterpreted the question and built mouse traps when the organisers wanted mousetraps that can move like a car with the spring to propel it forward. We read the mobile (that’s why we had wheels), we read the trap and we read the elastic potential energy. We just didn’t bother about “propel”. And as it turned out, nobody did.

Hands-on was messy. Before we started, we put everything at one side neatly. Then when we started, everything started falling down. When we couldn’t find anything on the table, we searched the floor. =.=” And I had UHU glue hanging on my blazer for 5 minutes. =.=”

We managed to get the concept of how a mousetrap works but the materials weren’t strong enough so our “pole” tumbled down. Dang. We squeezed all the UHU in the end but it wouldn’t dry fast enough so… sigh. Time ran out pretty fast and that last 5 minutes was crazy. We swept all the rubbish into the garbage bag and then we stopped and we made our exit and I went to play Sudoku to clear my mind. That was the end of it.

We stayed on until 7.00 when the results of the Form 1,2,3 category was announced.

And…. the third place went to… I forgot what school.

At that point, the form 3s gave up because they thought third was the best they could managed. After all, their model did collapse. And they started apologising and everything.

Until they announced the first runner up… which was them… then all the apologising stopped abruptly when everyone jumped. Lol.

And that was really the end of it all. So our model didn’t really work as well as we’d hoped but it was pretty fun. And lots of people came to support – lots of parents, seniors and friends. =) Thanks, guys. And thanks to my team mates – couldn’t have done anything without you. And congratulations to Alicia, Mei Yuin and Michelle. :)

I hate to think they're gone forever

In the loving memory of my school bag and everything that's in it

xx.xx.2005 - 02.07.2009

(I forgot the exact date I got it)

May you rest in peace.

*sob*

Now I will mourn the loss of all my things.... when you lose your school bag, I think you're allowed half an hour to mourn. *sob*

First, my textbooks (Add Math, Moral and EST), my Add Math exercise book, my Chemistry report book and all my other smaller exercise books.

All my hard work... I spent ages (days and hours) doing Trigonometric Equations because they were all so hard and now it's all gone. All my workings - gone. *sob*

And the Chemistry report which I'd worked quite hard to finish and actually got a "V. Good" is now gone. *sob*

And I can't do my EST homework anymore. Coz the textbook's gone. *sob*

Next - my diary.

My poor diary which I'd wrapped earlier this year. *sob* My poor wrapped diary which had held my friend's class testimonial, the debate points, my editor speech, my to-do list for a day, those pretty bookmarks that Erica gave me last year during my RCIA days and those pictures I printed - gone. *sob*

Then there are my literature books.

Which I didn't really mind losing because apparently I have plenty of them at home, thanks to my brothers. So I was feeling pretty good about it... until I realised that The Pearl in my bag is my brother's (coz the school doesn't lend The Pearl) so I'm back to feeling rotten again. *sob*

And of course there's my pencil box.

Which I didn't mind losing either because it's an old one, descended down to me from my brother erm.... about 5 years ago. I didn't mind losing my pens too because I think there are only 3-4 usable ones in there (because I am so stingy, I keep a lot of half dead pens, as in write write write halfway no ink and has to change pen sort of pens). So there. My eraser's gone real small and it's free so it doesn't matter. There's my Pilot shaker but I've lost Pilot shakers tonnes of time so... never mind la. There's also a brand new packet of Buncho lead but that's only 60 cents.

But then, there's Amanda's Pilot pencil which I'd taken because I couldn't find her pencil case earlier today when I helped her pack. I intended to return to her tomorrow but now... that's no longer possible. So sorry, Amanda! =(

There's also my quite new highlighter that's new because I seldom highlight things, that I quite regret losing.... my brand new ruler.... but I have more at home... but still it's brand new. Anyway, I do regret losing my compasses. My compasses were made of metal. Entirely metal. Given to me from my mum and which had got me through PMR. I love that compasses. And it's now gone. *sob*

My compasses is one of the 5 things I really regret losing.

One of the other 4 is my calculator. *sob*

Just 2 days ago when I'd forgotten to bring back my calculator and found out I got NS, I thought it was rather sad that I lose my calculator and find out I got NS on the same day. But as it turned out, Amanda kept the calculator for me. And now it's gone again. *sob* Taken away from me in cold blood. It's barely 3 years old! (coz I got a new one after losing the first one in Form 3 after KH paper) And it's not even a 570 model! It's the most ancient model of scientific calculators - the 350 one, and yet it's taken away from me. *sob* Why??? Oh, did I mention I had my class' "I donated to STS" sticker stuck on its cover? It's so cute, you know... *sob*

Item #2: The guitar-shaped keychain from Thailand that I have hanging in the front of my bag.

That's a gift from Vivien in Form 1. Form 1. It's been with me since Form 1! I'd really liked that keychain. *sob* And it's guitar-shaped. *sob*

Item #3: My Adidas bottle.

Oh my beloved green Adidas bottle. Deborah got me that last year from Australia. I got it just a few days before my birthday when she kantoi-ed her surprise for my birthday. And now it's gone. Gone. *sob*

Item #4: Christine's books.

. . . . Words cannot describe how sorry I feel. Now I'll never know what happened to Psammead. Or the story of the boy in striped pajamas (the silly author wouldn't even so much as hint what the story will be in the synopsis at the back).... *sob* So sorry about the books, Christine! =(

Oh I forgot about the battered, out-of-shape cellotape that I always carry in case I need to cellotape uniform plastic bags... *sob*

And finally, my bag.

My big, bulky, ugly, blue and black bag with a tear in its front pocket. You've been a dear for nearly 5 years. *sob* I don't know why anyone would mistake you for a laptop bag (they must have, otherwise they wouldn't break a window for you) and steal you away from me.

Rest in peace wherever you are, my friends. Rest in peace....

I don't think stealing is very nice. Unless you're Robin Hood. But even then, it's wrong to steal - even from those who are rich. The money they've got are their own hard-earned money after all. Even if desperation pushes you to it, you still shouldn't break into people's houses or cars. It's one thing to steal a bun from a shop and another thing altogether to korek people's lock and take things away. Coz you not only rob them of their stuff, you also rob them of their feeling of safety. Stealing's a sin and a sin's a sin and a sin shouldn't be made into a profession. It's just wrong.

And then I feel how thankful I should be. At least I'm not dead or kidnapped or shipped off to Thailand to become a beggar. Life would be unimaginable then. Always look on the bright side of life.

I handed in my English exercise book so at least that's not lost. Thank God I actually felt not so kuai this morning so I didn't bring a lot of books (and I was hammering myself about it on the way to school). Luckily I'm no longer a prefect, otherwise I'd lose my blazer together with band money as well. At least my phone's still with me. And Thank God I've returned Abigail's pendrive - the only pendrive that had dwelled in my pencil case. Oh, and the car's not gone. :)

May this be a lesson to everyone. Never, ever leave anything in your car however insignificant it may seem because people will break the window for anything - even for an old battered, heavy school bag.

It's mad.

Just as a post script - I thought I'd restock all my stationeries in Koperasi tomorrow because I still have RM 15 worth of Koperasi coupons so I was feeling rather cheered up.... until I realised.... the coupons are in my bag. *peng three times over* So much for my plans. This just says one thing - never take anything for granted. Ever.