Since moving to SMR where each is allowed a single room of her own, interactions in this unit had decreased to a certain extent. Sure, there are those dinner moments where Sheau Jiuan and Pit Yung sit in the dining table and bicker about their imaginary husbands like some old tai tais reminiscing their bygone youths. And there were those random moments Ainaa walks out and we terrorise her with stupid remarks and questions, especially with Michelle calling her “TTB!”
But other than those short, sinful moments of indulging in conversations, we’ve all pretty much turned into recluses in our own rooms. Door are more often than not, closed. Such happy moments happen on a daily basis but they only last for so long.
As the external exam draws nearer, what with us in the midst of our second EE now, I can sense the pressure that’s building up on everyone’s shoulders. There seems to be a strange aura of fear hanging in the air; the fear of underperforming and the fear of disappointment. One can always tell the change in mood by looking at Yi Hui’s meteorological-like glass board. It used to tell a story of how laziness will lead to us becoming a piece of shit – that was when all of us were busy slacking and watching movies. And now it’s the lyrics of Westlife’s Try Again – after our disastrous Economics paper on Friday. Sobbsss!
But the truth is that, when I look back to this moment in a year’s time, I know I am not going to remember the amount of efforts I put in. I won’t even remember my marks. Perhaps I’d even forgotten the subjects I’m taking and the ones I have had to slave for. All that I will recall in a year’s time, hopefully on a cool balcony somewhere in Australia, is the time where my poor housemates had to eat Gardenia bread that’s expired for four days because they were so hungry and food delivery from Ee Lyne was late. They literally microwaved the bread and fry it with eggs. Poor things!
I will remember the experiments we had with the microwave oven where we tried to toast the bread and the bread came out charred, aka hangus-ed. But we still ate the edges anyway! LOL. That was how un-wasteful we are. :) I will remember when Yi Hui 白痴-ly toasted the bread for 1 second and later discovering that the perfect timing for a piece of Gardenia to be properly toasted is 1:16 minutes (although Pit Yung hangus-ed another piece a day later with 1:16! Haha!). We bought two bonanza loaves of Gardenia the following day.
I will recall the night before our Economics paper. No, not the studying part. The part where I remembered I saw something on the stimulus package question in a reserved collection book in library but had stupidly forgot to jot down. In the heat of last minute studying, Yi Hui, Sheau Jiuan, Siew Chee and I drove to library at 8.00 p.m. just to take a look at the question. Seemingly a good deed like what a bunch of hardworking, kiasu nerds are supposed to do, no? Yea well, we went to a mamak stall after that for supper for 2 hours, feasting on unhealthy roti canai, mee goreng and tandoori. -_-!
And I doubt I will ever forget that Saturday night when we revised Rabbit Proof Fence together. I sat in front and watched what must be the most childish renditions of the siaopos I know. I remember Michelle clipping the clothing pegs on Siew Chee’s hair and Siew Chee, in her childish tantrums, threw the pegs back at Michelle’s face. Then Michelle pushed her chair away. Siew Chee turned and muka terus berubah. And after 3 almost torturous hours of watching a classroom episode of a bunch of problematic, possibly temporarily afflicted with Down syndrome kids, we went for supper. Lol!
The point here is to build some lasting memories in the midst of that pia-ing. There shouldn’t be guilt haunting you from all these moments you chose to slack. If anything, I consider it an investment in my memories. =)
Just remember that every investment has its risks though! =D
And it depends, of course, on your confidence level. Haha. In which case, we are all very poor investors because we invest during what I would call, a recession when our confidence levels are almost rock bottom. =P
