*sob.

Why did Maggie have to die??! Stupid name for Meg Ryan (the LOVEly Meg Ryan =) but, why? *sob. I'm beginning to like Nicholas Cage more and more...he's very engaging. Yes. I've just watched City of Angels on TV3. Such a sad movie...yet, sorta peaceful...good show anyhow, to pass the time. ...Sighhh... =)

Calvin wants a flamethrower,

I need a shrink gun. Sigh...wishful thinking. Shrink all my luggage and carry them around in my pocket. =) That'd be cool.

Pah. That cranky Aussie lady at the counter almost didn't let me take my guitar as hand carry. Eventually I managed to smuggle it in, it's called checking in en masse. Well, ok, it was just the three of us, but the black case of my guitar blended in well with my all-black clothes and the guy (we went to a different counter this time round to try our luck) wasn't as particular as the lady I went to at first, who insisted on seeing all I had on me, baggage-wise.

Got me pretty flustered and annoyed, and the heavy stuff I had to carry all over the place didn't do well to improve my mood. You're right, Rach, hooray for plane letters! Read yours during take-off, and the rest a little before, BUT I was still IN the plane, so it's all right eh? =) The letters made me all nice and happy again. Connie's plane letter was cool! Thanks Connie!...just that...the words DIE and TERRORISTS appeared a lot throughout the three pages. Hmm. Y'think she's hinting at something. =)

Wasn't jet-lagged at all this time. Got home to find out my whole street just had a black out. Blundered my way into the house in pitch darkness. The candles my siblings lighted weren't helping the heat. Thankfully, it came back after half and hour++. My dad called TNB but he couldn't get through, so you know what he did? He called the POlice! HAHAHAHAHahahah! How nuts is that? Also got home to find that we had 8 pairs of shoes stolen some time ago. But it was all my brother and my dad's. Mine were untouched, thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my loafers and Weinbrenners. Biggest loss was obviously my bro's, that extravagant fool! I keep telling him not to invest so much in shoes, you can get cheaper stuff in Bata or something, but no, it had to be his RM 200+ Reeboks and his KRS boots. Hurh. Brand new too.

So much for Taman Tun: safe haven. Well, I knew there were these robberies going on time to time in the neighbourhood, but it never happened to us, so I was living in denial. =)

I woke up this morning thinking it was 11am. Eventually I found out I hadn't yet turned my watch back 2 hours, so I still have the morning ahead of me. Awfully pleased! =)

Ho hum. The excitement coming back this time round pretty much wasn't there, compared to the first break...but waking up this morning and falling back into my old routine, I realize I missed home a lot more than I thought I did. =)

Just another weekend.

Heh. Minnie (fellow boarder) and I went to Rachael's house last night, watched Kill Bill and had dinner in between. (I am actually much more happy and excited at this event than I may appear to be. =) It was really cool, her family's awesome...and Kill Bill turned out better than I thought it would be, y'know, the whole cheesy rhyming title and all. You almost half expect to hear Sock Jock and Die Guy next or something. But hey, see? I am finally dabbling in genres beyond the feel-good romantic comedies, speaking of which, is sorely lacking in good ones nowadays. And maybe cause I actually LIKE Uma Thurman...like in Paycheck and Gattaca. And Gattaca was a really good show, in my opinion.

Went to Box Hill today, just to look-see out of boredom. Was supposed to buy two great hulking bags of nougat back for my relatives, as requested by my mom, but eventually I decided they were too great and too hulking for me to carry home. Besides, packing light is my main priority this term break because I'll be in the city at some silly art exhibition organised as part of Theory of Knowledge week three hours before my plane takes off. Long and unfortunate story. Sigh. But I did buy my first article of clothing since I came here. (The two dollar scarf doesn't count =) A pair of smart-casual black slacks that I've been looking for for AGES. I was awfully glad I finally found what I wanted.

Anyhow guys, know you're somewhere in the quagmire of exams now, don't get too stressed...and as usual, all the best! =)

Boarders' Chapel

Whoo. Just back from chapel, now sitting in my school library illegally using my laptop. Stupid wireless connection. Mine just won't work! WL has the exact same model as me and hers is working fine...Sigh. My luck I guess.

The playing was...well, passable I hope. I had a little stumble somewhere in the second song, but hopefully it went largely unnoticed. For the first time in my life, I actually felt my cheeks burning. You know I never blush. Can't and never will. =) Freaky. But oh gosh, the grand piano was SO GOOD. I hadn't actually properly played a grand piano, unless you count my hesitant pressing of keys on Li Yenn's grand. The one in DDT (Doris Daniel Theatre) was so...GRanD. Yes, and I'm so articulate, I know. Can't describe lah, the sound was so rich and warm and deep and...sigh...I did it no justice. =)

After the practice session with Mrs. Fearn-Wannan and a coupla girls earlier today, SARdenly only they launched into a prayer. Caught me completely off guard. I was blinking stupidly at the sudden flurry of bowed heads until I heard "...our heavenly Father". Gosh...wow.

A little thought on prayer: I've spent almost every assembly, dinner and chapel that goes on here observing them people praying. Watching their faces, hearing their words. I've been feeling it for quite awhile perhaps, but not as strongly as today when I observed Mrs. Fearn-Wannan praying at the front in DDT today. Though I don't join in (obviously), I can't help but feel that admiration creeping in for them who have so much, so strong, so complete a faith in a God, and the things they believe He does. I guess I won't ever be able to truly fathom the meaningfulness of it. But as I have said many times, to me, it matters less of who you're praying to, but it's the mere act of such wholehearted belief and faith in something good, well, that really counts, and calls for some form of admiration.

Though, it seems strange to me that they would insist upon having Boarders' Chapel once a fortnight, the keyword here being boarders. Understandably, a good deal of the girls would be from overseas, countries like China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea...most of them who aren't Christian. Making it compulsory to sit through prayer and praise and worship and song, seems a tad imposing. Seeing the passive, almost sullen faces of many sitting in the DDT, I can't help but wonder how the 'believers' feel (as they'd call it. Believers, non-believers. *shrugs.)Quite clearly they realize the chilliness and lack of enthusiasm in those present, as today Mrs. FW or someone was urging them to be more enthusiastic, eventually making everyone stand to sing the second song. I know how a lot of boarders feel. "Dammit, chapel tonight. Crap. Would I be able to slope off without anyone noticing. What?!?! Chapel tonight??! But I got so much work! etc etc.

Oh well. I just play the piano.

Just back from my guardian's for exeat weekend. Which would explain my silence these coupla days. I hadn't any access to the internet, unfortunately. It was a pretty slow-moving week, at times bordering on the uncomfortable, and I stuck out like a sore thumb in my guardian's house, standing about helplessly wondering what to do with myself. In the end, I just retreated into the guestroom downstairs, cause everyone else was upstairs in their rooms. They're great people, my guardians, don't get me wrong. I just feel so awful awful awful having to impose myself upon them. Blast the frickin' exeat weekend.

But I didn't come here to gripe. How you guys doing? When does the holidays end hey? Or has the exams started already? All the best, right up till 1st July. Half my holiday back home'll be gone when you finish your exams. Bummer. Shrek 2's coming out 17th here, hahahah, can't wait to watch it. Slow innit?

First night with my guardians, they took me out to watch Harry Potter. Oddly enough, I was barely impressed at all. No part of the show struck me as being particularly good, I think I've outgrown HP. Either that, or it's just hard to impress me nowadays (which rings true especially for books and movies). Rachael was saying how Malfoy is good-looking, and I'm like "WHaT?!" and Aditi called her a paedophile.

"He's SIXTEEN okaY?!" Came the defiant retort. =)

HAhahahah! But as it turned out, he was the only element of surprise there. He actually looks better than I thought he would be. For one thing, he's much taller and doesn't comb his hair in the snotty, slick style anymore, which is a major improvement. Harry just looks gangly and I can't help feeling the camera is trying to shoot him at unusual angles to make him look smaller/shorter.

Saving point of the weekend? Well, I made this small trip to the city on Sunday to meet up with Aditi. She invited me to the National Gallery of Victoria...pretty darn good I must say. I thought the building itself looked quite impressive. =)

Anyhow, gotta go unpack now...playing the piano for boarder's chapel tomorrow and I don't think I *quite got the songs I'm supposed to be playing at my fingertips yet. Didn't get a chance to practice much during the weekend. Which worries me no end, cause I'm scared I'm gonna screw up. It's even worse than sitting for a piano practical exam, cause that time you don't have 90 something people singing Worthy Is The Lamb as you play. I beginning to wish I hadn't agreed to play for chapel. I'm getting the jitters.

National Service. OBS wannabe or secret government plot?

Yeah! No school today. I can now sit around and slack like how I've been doing for the past 3 days. Sorta half welded together with the ESP. =) People ask, what's that *points*? And I say, oh that's just an extra limb, some genetical mishap, with an overdose of maroon pigmentation. Been playing Metallica's Unforgiven (trying to learn the solo, *eye twitches* TRY-ing! NGhhh!..) and Greenday's Espionage.

Other than that, I've also been reading a book called Julia. Yes, the one in Malay which I brought all the way here. Just to keep in touch with the language you know, even though only 23 million of 6 billion people speak the language. It's just the whole thinking behind - I spent a decade and more learning/mastering this language, it's a shame to let it go to waste, no matter how commercially invaluable it is. And it's also something to be able to tell people, oh I speak 3 languages and a Chinese dialect. =)

And you never know, Malaysia might just be the next galactic superpower so that we can oppress all the other poorer planets and wage war on those rich in sand (because sand is a fast rising commodity I tell you) under the pretext that they store secret underground silos of mass bananas. *nodding gravely* We're well on our way there people...we ARE! Then everyone will have to speak our language and raise their left hand in salute and go Malaysia BOleh! every time we meet one another.

That's why NS is around see? It's actually a top-secret plot to train seemingly randomly picked (but actually it's a complex process of selection where 18-year-olds with big plans to leave the country to further studies and those already overseas are picked, and all politicians'/bigshots' sons and daughters are inexplicably excluded) secondary school grads for higher military purposes.

To build a healthy generation and instil the love for our country indeed. My foot. Total world domination, just you wait and see. =)

Those little itsy black crawlies...ah yes...

ANTS. Pah. I thought there were no ants in Australia. =) My roast almond Cadburys survived in the cupboard fine. The untimely demise of my barely eaten bag of M&Ms, however, speaks otherwise. It's a cause of a lot of hearbreak to me okay? *tilts head to one side and sniffles* I mulled some time before deciding to buy it. Just like that; down the bin. Why can't ants be attracted to other less desirable things? Like unreasonable IB coordinators for instance. They could infest her office for all I care.

Well. Okay. Maybe I don't mean that so much. I don't really hate her, just a little ticked off. She could have been a lot more understanding. My flight is at 3pm, if I go to the city on the ToK excursion on the last day of school, I won't be able to make it to the airport in time to catch my flight. You have no reason to get all uppity on me and get all mad and disappointed and wave my discipline/performance record threateningly in my face. In retrospect, I wished I didn't talk back so much though, trying so hard to defend myself. I did it with as much politeness as I could muster of course, but I doubt she'll appreciate the "...but, I did blah!" and "...but, I didn't blah!" Everyone wants to be right.

Exams are sorta finished for me today. =) Four days of break, then my Chinese exam, but that can hardly count as taxing can it? I have to really make the most of these four days brainstorming for a good Extended Essay topic, the proposal's due 15th. Good suggestions are always welcome. *hint hint* ^^ Next weekend I won't have as much opportunity cause it's exeat weekend, and I'll probably have to go to my guardian's house. Sigh. I feel so bad having to impose myself upon their lives every term. They have wireless in their house, thrilling at first, but then I remembered my laptop doesn't seem to be able to receive wireless networks here. It doesn't get the library's one. I don't know how to configure it. Anyone?