We just checked into hostel today! :D Now my key is on the little fish keychain that I bought from Bangkok! Actually I was supposed to give those keychains (there are 12 of them) to 403-ers, but I guess using one won"t do much harm; after all there are 5 extras. My room is RB-03-04-2. It's quite good because it's facing the track; the opposite rooms in the same cluster are facing AYE so it'll be quite noisy.
Somehow I still remember something one of the year 5s 2009 (see, i'm still thinking i'm year 4) said last year when it was their turn to move in. It was council camp (council camps are usually at the end of the year, no matter how they try to push it forward) and I guess we were in the hall. Someone, I dont' remember who said something along the lines of "hostel is a dust-collecting machine"; I don't remember the exact words, but i've got the meaning. And true enough, its quite dusty.
I guess the main reason for the dust in the hostel was that the doors were not closed so the dust can easily fly in. And I hate the fact that the cupboard with the brooms and vacuum has such a musty smell; I can still smell it now. Oh shucks, the memory of smells. Our vacuum cleaner is weird, it doesn't have the nose thing and our brooms, their bristles are spoilt; our dustpans, they're wet and dirty with hair; my wall, its so dirty, like coffee stains or something that can't be removed and my whiteboard, there are marker stains that I suppose have been left there for half a century; and my cupboard can't lock, it seems the lock locks the other way, that's funny.
Hostel is not hotel. So be happy with what we have and live with it. Overall i'm quite happy with my room and I'm so glad I have a great mummy to help me clean my room and refuse to let me do anything except simple wiping. I guess i shall have pictures tomorrow because tomorrow's move-everything-in-day and mummy has prepared a camera to snap away. Knowing her, she'll take a myriad of pictures and delete/edit them later. And it'll be smiling till my jaws hurt for everywhere she goes, it'll be "net, smile!" I'll smile for her, because i'm her little princess and i know she loves me.
While the rest of the people are having council camp, i'm at home slacking. Not exactly, because i've done quite a lot this holiday. I know its the second post today and I don't usually post twice in a day (twice in a week is has greater likelihood), but I just had this sudden urge to summarise and see what i've done this holiday. So perhaps next time I could compare holidays and see whether every holiday is more productive than the previous one.
I know, I know, holidays are meant for relaxing. But relaxing has a certain productivity too. Have I rested enough for the upcoming year? Have I accomplished what i've set out to do this holiday? I don't know -- that's why i'm making a list.
What I did this holiday (pluses are what i set out to do)
Watch movies! 2012, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes +
Watch a Korean Drama series with my family (Temptation of the Wife)
Cut my hair +
Read loads of story books +
Explore Bangkok! +
Reformat my laptop +
Go for class parties
What I didn't get to do (minuses are what i set out to do)
Watch some movies: Mulan, Bodyguards and Assassins
Read a Cardiac book -
Find out how to put applications in my phone -
Study Calculus thoroughly -
I can't think of more :( Shall add to the list as i remember them
I just finished reading The Kite Runner. It's such a sad and touching story that i'll read it again. Nay, its so sad and touching that I wouldn't want to read it again. No wonder this book gained accolades. Its so descriptive that it evokes emotions in you and despite attempts of you not wanting to read it because of all the cruelty and betrayal and more, you're still glued to it; you feel uneasy as you put it down and can't wait to plop on the sofa to dwell in its world again.
Somehow I wish the ending didn't turn out that way. On the contrary, it's the ending that makes the book so good; you have this 'awww' feeling and you feel that though its not the very cliche happily-ever-after ending, at least amendments were made. I wish Amir and Hassan could see each other one last time and that Amir tell Hassan how much he appreciated his presence and that he was truly sorry about all he had done; and Hassan would tell Amir that it's alright and he's been forgiven and he'll smile again. Or perhaps it could have ended with Soraya and Amir and Sorab having fun kite-flying, that Sorab finally stepped out of his shell and talked and play like any other child; that Soraya could once again love him like her own son.
CPI stands for Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation. Or it could stand for the Christmas Price Index, which also measures inflation -- but in a different way. It uses the items in the Twelve Days of Christmas and measures how much it costs to buy all 78 items then and now. Items: a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling [sic] birds, five gold(en) rings, six geese, seven swans, eight maids, nine dancing ladies, ten leaping lords, eleven pipers, and twelve drummers.
Okay, gold rings costs USD$99.99 each and dancing ladies are significantly more expensive than leaping lords. In 1984, when the CPI just started, all items costs $12 623.10 (I can still envision Aik Ann saying "...and 45 cents" with so much passion!) and today, in 2009, they cost $21 465.56. Those are in US Dollars, by the way.
Christmas@Home on 26th with mummy's cell group was one of a kind :D Little kids are easily fascinated, and are more so by 30 games in a handphone, like Mei's. Good thing my phone wasn't harassed because i didn't have cool games. But well, I was once that age, joining in the fun and the games, though I am quite certain I did not scream and demand my way or attention like Constance nor was I so silly as to play hide and seek and knock into someone's chin with my head like Janelle. It was interesting entertainment when Mei and I were trying to find things to do while the adults chatted and the kids played catching around the Thomson Ridge Bungalow. So we each took a kid in our mind and we looked at their actions then we created a conversation based on their actions; its just like Who's Line :D
Whats your christmas gift? Jesus is the best gift of all! :D
My favourite Christmas song is: Come on ring the bells, light the christmas tree, Everybody say, Jesus we remember its your birth-irth-day. I thought the tune was quite nice and catchy the first time i heard it a christmas ago.
Today's Party DAY! There's Dylan's Party later at 2pm or so, then mummy's cell group party at 6pm for dinner and games! Tomorrow there's christmas service at church! :D And its the last day of relaxation. Then I shall study for calculus test which happens on the 2nd week of school and i'll redo my tutorials. This is the last sunday i'm spending at home; the next sunday's move-into-hostel-already :( I'll miss my bed, my tv, my fridge and my family. Aww.
It's christmas eve and i have totally lost track of time. Two days ago, when I asked Christopher how he knows who's in his class (apparently he counted from the email which was arranged by class, not alphabetical order, silly me), i told him Christmas is one week away. And I remember his reply: it's in two days! HAHA.
How I wish time will just stagnant here, that I don't need to grow up, that I don't need to change classes, that I don't need to move into hostel. Its not that I don't want to move into hostel; I've chosen to stick with everyone and not be excused from the boarding programme on excuse of my heart problem, so I have to go along with my decision. Go ahead and don't turn back to regret. That's what mummy would say. That's what she said too when I made the decision to accept the DSA offer into this school, to drop economics, to drop physics and not to take a music major.
Its just that hostel is an entirely new environment and the longest I've ever been away from home without family around is just 5 days and 4 nights. So I'm going to have 5D4N camps every week in school and I don't know if the idea is pleasing. I have to step out of my comfort zone and learn to fend for myself; no more calling mummy in the middle of the night due to cramps or severe headaches, no one beside me to tell me that I don't look good and I probably have a sore throat, no mummy to make sure everything is in order, down to the very speck of dust.
And if you survive hostel, you get to go overseas to study. If not, stay here in NUS and study hard.
I don't know whether to be happy or upset about mentor group allocations. I don't even know half of the people, and there isn't another 403 person with me in the class! :( And and and, Yawen, Junyan and Xitong are all in the same class, so that makes me the odd one out. I hope i can fit in the class as easily as i fitted in 403.
After being in 403 and 303, everything seems pale in comparison. And your standards of a 'class' and its definitions are set too high. Whether you're a chicken (like Terry), a joker (like Ka-shing), a pessimist (as Dylan calls himself), a nerd (as we often call Bryce), a human (like most of us) or a pig (like Yanling :O ), 403 accepts and accommodates you. We tease each other but we never criticise. We laugh at each other but we never bully.
One day i shall hold a 403 gathering at my house. But mummy has to agree first.
And my mentor is a new teacher too. Akane Yoshida. I suppose he/she is japanese. I can't figure out the gender and searches on google gives different profiles. At least, two years ago, when we searched 'Sie Siok Hui', something definitive came up that tell us she taught in SCGS and her probable age. Aww.
We went JB to watch Avatar yesterday! So sad it isn't in 3D if not the special effects and the graphics would have been so coolllll and i'll be so fascinated at catching those glow in the dark organisms on Pandora. Pandora is such a nice planet! I so love it and i wish it were real so that i could live there! And the high-tech space system is really cool too! That's so advanced in time, pro scriptwriter :D
The special effects and the graphics were super good! But the storyline was disappointing though. Well, its a trade-off i guess. Maybe Jake could explain more why he wanted to save Pandora because it doesn't seem right; you usually defend your own race -- the human race, right? The story has three parts, all recorded through Jakes video-log. Part 1: Before going into Avatar body. Jake tells how he ends up here in replacement of his dead twin brother who spent 3 years training for this mission. Part 2: Jake in Avatar body, learning the ways of the Na'vi. I love this part the best because I love the cute culture and ways of the Navi. And I especially like the interconnectivity of everything, where Na'vis could make connections using their long braid with other animals to tame them, and also by looking into their hearts. Part 3: Jake trying to save Pandora; this one isn't that nice, but it ends up as Jake being permanently to sleep, waking up in the Avatar body.
The beautiful Pandora landscape :D
Seeds of the sacred tree, very pure spirits
Landscape again
Ewa, where memories are stored and the ancestors live
That's it in a far view; its going to be destroyed by humans because its sitting on great wealth of precious metals that could potentially turn those in the team into billionaires. The natives fight to defend that plot of land.
The sign that made Neytiri bring Jake back to the clan; Ewa has chosen him
Cool high-tech systems! Maybe one day it'll be reality. Just like touch screen phones and voice detection and eye detection etc were featured in The Incredibles and are now reality.
The final scene. Aww.
Neytiri: You are now a man, you can now choose a woman and mate with her. *goes on listing some women and their qualities, like hunting etc*
Jake: I have chosen a woman. But she must also chose me
Neytiri: She has already chosen you.
*they kiss and mate in front of Ewa, the 4th picture*
No, there's no genie. It's God.
Wish #1: To have a healed heart
Wish #2: To have a happy family; one free of quarrels, hatred and resentment
Wish #3: To be able to learn the violin
We went Singapore Indoor Stadium for New Creation Church christmas service! The musicians are so cool! :D I want to be one of them next time! O.o
And I made this :D I conceptualized it during the sermon, and it turned out good. Maybe should add people in the tent or collecting the Manna. But the focus should be on the manna.
Its raining. Okay, it has stopped now, so the correct phrasing should be "It was raining". This sounds like the Stomp contest where people take photographs of signs with bad english errors. The funny thing is, errors aren't always errors to the locals and the people who made the signs. So they're technically not errors; they're natural. Something like "No outside food allowed" is inaccurate because outsiders (pun intended haha) won't quite understand.
I love the fresh air after a rain. So my windows are being opened wide. :D
My throat hurts; i've lost my voice.
I shall stop complaining.
O.o I made more paint pictures! If my pictures are nice, why didn't you say so earlier? That could have motivated me to do more and i do need encouragement from time to time. And yes, you get a christmas present too.
Lets title this "FIRE!" Though the fire isn't well positioned and I was lazy to make earthquake cracks
Maybe I should invert the colours and use this as my calendar. I've already got one, never mind.
I love macdonald's hot chocolate! Probably overflowing passion for it due to drinking it everyday at Bangkok because of the lack of buffet breakfast in the hotel :D
My stupid laptop :/ Nothing's working. I've tried installing a programme and it fails :(
Anyway, i managed to make a glow on words! Its not good at all because its glowing in awkward places, but well, its the start! Oh man, this tutorial is so much easier to follow than the ones on the official forum, which assumes you know everything :/
My successful attempt after yesterday's failed one. As you can see, the glow is awkward.
Orange ball that glows :D Its supposed to be gradiated too, but i'm not that good on that :/
And something with shadows! Simple stuff, but i'll try harder to make nicer things!
Edit (3:51pm): How come Nes gets to go Hong Kong, Florida and New York and i don't :( I've never been outside Asia and that's sad :( But its my parents' money, so i should save up and generate cash (plant money trees!) so i can travel the world! By the request of Yu Song, I made two pictures; I don't know if that's what he wants, but i hope its close enough!
Something like let your creativity flow so don't get restricted by the parameters already set in place (boxes and sphere). Oh the sphere photo was taken in Bangkok! (And i'm too lazy to document my trip here...)
The piano in the clouds!
I added a rainbow (but tweaked the colours) and a girl running towards it. I couldn't find any photos of me running, for obvious reasons, so i have to snatch one off google images :D I like the texture of the clouds!
Research congresses are dumb. This is the second time i'm making a poster for research congress (for a different project, obviously), and there's no Bernard to bribe with a Buddy Meal from KFC. So I have to try some way to make a poster. I don't have photoshop and i'm not about to download illegal torrents either, because i don't know how to. So I'm using Paint.Net; the reason why i started playing around with paint.net is to make sure i know the settings well enough to make a nice poster. And the poster is graded. And it'll be used for my presentation.
I'm not going to post it up here yet, because its still being edited, in design at least. All the essential content are in and i'm satisfied. After that, for relaxation, I played around with the software again and got this:
Charbby! My Bull/Cow, whatever you call that toy; I named it 5 years ago.
Who does?
Holidays are so different from normal days; there's absolutely nothing to do, nothing to worry about and nothing to rush out. It's just relax and recharge for the new year. And holidays away from home are even better because you're away from home! So all the worries and frustrations that you experience at home are removed in the new environment.
But we have to return to reality. That's sad. Holidays will end, one day. One day, there's no more thinking about holidays because in the working world you have to apply for leave to go on holidays. If anyone knows of a job with such long holidays as similar to school holidays, please tell me. And no, the job is not teaching. Teaching isn't for me; at least not now. I cant imagine myself standing in front of people younger than I am and teaching, knowing that they may not listen and may do funny stuff that we do today in school. Its just a horrifying thought to stand in the teacher's shoes and deal with what we are doing to them currently (like talking in class and cracking stupid jokes; though those are mild versions).
It's 5pm and I'm not hungry. I've got a mosquito bite below my chin and it's itchy. I've got some rashes on my legs and they itch. I need some sort of glove or stockings to cover them up so i don't scratch them. Random rantings.
9:24pm: We downloaded Paint.net and played around with it. Mei was especially fascinated with this particular tutorial online and we tried it out. I did manage to get what the tutorial meant to achieve but Mei played around even more and got something nicer. And we managed to transpose pictures into fairytale landscapes; its not nice now, but i'm sure it'll be, with more practice and playing.
Aww the purple glows doesn't come out :/ so i should change the colour contrast or something...
Looks like some faraway castle or something. Perhaps next time we should use pink castles :D
I'm back from Bangkok! Actually I was back this morning. The plane touched down at 10:44pm and by the time we clear the customs and collected our luggage (our plane had some malfunction so there was a delay in the luggage movement), it was 11:32pm. By the time I went home, unpacked the essentials, changed my bedsheets, vacuumed the floor and untied the windows, it was 0:18. And i slept till 11am or so this morning. The latest i ever slept!
The Thai currency exchange rate is so to our favour, 25 baht to 1 dollar. So we got to shop shop shop for five whole days! But we didn't go Dream World or Safari Land :( I remembered those were cool places really long ago, but didn't get the chance to go this time. We took two rooms, so Mei and I each got a single bed (which was SUPER BIG that can fit two people), so it was relatively expensive. Mummy was suggesting the next time we come, which should be 5 to 10 years later, we can take 1 room and twin beds so we can stay for a longer period of time.
I'll try to document my stay in Thailand :D
Stupid Math honours, i have my first tutorial waiting for me :( 6 questions and a test coming up.
I cut my hair. It's now slightly longer than shoulder length. The great thing is, because mummy's but hairdresser (or hair-cutter), i can simply whine and get my hair cut any time. My fringe is the same length as my hair, the effort of growing it for a whole year. I feel like cutting it though. I found the hairstyle i've always wanted, i just don't know how to describe it. Mummy says she doesn't know how to cut that style, so i've got to go to a real hairdresser. It's the style of an actor in the channel U show, Cruel Temptation of the Wife. I've wanted that style for some time already, but i don't know how to tell hairstylists. One day, i shall upload a picture here so i'll remember, 10 years down the road, that when i was 16 i wanted my hair like that. I literally stood in front of the tv and waited for a nice scene to take that photo, which is in my phone now.
The good thing about short hair is that it takes lesser time to dry, it is lighter and not so hot. The good thing about long hair is that you can style your hair, like tie or clip it a variety of ways. Some seasons i love long hair, others i want short hair. My hair style depends largely on my mood; that's why mummy's rather hesitant to cut my hair nowadays, because she's afraid that i'll cry the next day saying that's not what i want. When i was little, things were much easier.
I don't know what to label this post as. I'm leaving for Bangkok tomorrow! And i'm coming back next tuesday (i think). :D
Why must blog posts have titles?
I can't think of a title for this post. If it were a diary, i would just put the date. But diaries are difficult to keep; i have 5 of them collecting dust.
The frustration of an IRP is finally over. No, not yet. In a day's time, it will be. I still have to push forward. Have you ever seen an athlete who runs to the finish line and stops there? That's the exact words SNGS math HOD said to me when he met me on my way home from school after getting my prelim results. I think his name was Mr Ang but i remember he is buck-tooth, really tall, wears black round spectacles and always wear pinkish or reddish long-sleeved shirt. So, one more day!
I can't understand why microsoft word doesn't let me copy the math equations over. It's so frustrating that i have to do an IRP presentation tomorrow and i haven't touched my report in a billion years. To be honest, i didn't touch my report since the day i sent it over to Prof, which was 22 november. I remember the date clearly because its the start of our class chalet! :D Ahh whatever.
I packed for Bangkok! I hope i have put everything in; it'll be really troublesome to miss out anything :/ Our luggage is half full though, which means it gives us space to buy stuff! I so want to buy a watch, a pair of nice slippers, a pair of good shoes, some shorts and nothing more! But more importantly, i want to have a wonderful holiday.
Wonderful holiday: A holiday where Lynnette can keep up with everyone else and be able to walk to the places of interest.
I want to watch Mulan! :O But Mei keeps whining that it's only 1 star and even though we have 4 complimentary tickets to any Cathay cinema in Singapore and Malaysia, we're not going to watch any show until we return from overseas; by then, Mulan may not be showing! We're not watching because we have not agreed on anything as a family! And that's because Mei doesn't want to watch Mulan :( Because it spoils her fantasy world and she hates to see people die in vast numbers.
Its a small world after all! :O We went to church this morning and mummy wanted us to go to the Youth section at Trinity because, duh, we're youths. So we went along and there were some pastors and cell leaders that brought us down. No wait, before that, they wanted to invite us to a christmas party. Each cell group has its own christmas party at different places. So we had to write down our address: ..... Castle Green. And the paster took up the paper and said, "Oh, i'm going for a party very near you, at Yio Chu Kang, Castle Green." And we were surprised! O.o we're living right in this condo! So on the 19th december we can just wear tee shirt and shorts and go down to the party! :D
And then we went to the youth church. And we were supposed to join a cell group. Since we're of this age group, we're under Sister Kassey. So we went to meet her and she started screaming because she knew us. Apparently she was some teacher in SNGS and she taught me PE in primary 5. The funny thing is, because i don't take pe, she remembers me clearly; because i don't take pe, i have no impression of pe teachers, because i always thought that in primary school they are out to make my life miserable by forcing me to do things i can't do. She said she taught us soft ball and netball, but i have no recollection. At least she remembers me; its a small world after all. Nope, this is God's divine plan!
I'm typing in incoherent sentences, i better stop before it explodes.
"Since most, if not all of you will be taking the AP Calculus Exam in May next year, you need to remember what you have learnt in Calculus 1 and MA4401" So there. We're going to have a calculus test on the second week of school, the early part of the week :(
I guess i have a phobia for tests and exams. Because there's this worry that I never do well enough.
Happy Birthday Mummy! Thank you for taking care of me for sixteen years and never complaining though your job is slightly tougher because of my heart problem which gave you a lot of worries too! But you still raised me up perfectly and gave me such a wonderful home, wonderful family and helped me in my studies in primary school so i can go to such a wonderful school!
I watched 2012 yesterday! Okay, the effects weren't as dramatic as Ms Chin described such that when the earthquake happened, you could feel the entire cinema shake. But they were fantastic! It was a long show, but catastrophe after catastrophe didn't make the time feel like 2 hours and 37 minutes had passed. Though I must admit, there were some unrealistic portions in the show, such as how can they escape unscathed when the fireballs were raining down like fireworks! :D
And we went shopping at Johore today! We ate some Korean BBQ food for lunch which was cooked by true koreans and and... mummy bought me a gown for prom! Though it should be that we buying a gown for her birthday. She was saying that other sec 4 girls were having proms and graduation nights and I didn't have but since I would have one soon, if we should see a beautiful gown, I can buy it! I don't know if that gown is considered beautiful (its definitely not as nice as Nes' gown and other gowns that were worn during this year's prom that i saw on facebook) but its specially chosen by mummy so i'll say its nice. I didn't get a proper look at it while fitting because I was way too sleepy :/
I simply cannot understand how people can study with loud rock music blasting in the background. The fact that you are singing to the music shows that you are not concentrating on your work and are listening to the music instead. Mummy says that your mind switches to and fro music and work; for me, i simply cannot stand any sort of music in the background, even classical music, because for classical music i would tend to listen to the details and figure out who wrote that and when the composer wrote that music.
Yesterday, there was a SNGS CO gathering at my condo. The girls were making a whole load of noise and we couldn't concentrate on what we were doing. I can't concentrate on reading my lovely book and my sister can't concentrate on doing her chinese homework (yes, they have holiday homework) since our silence was constantly punctuated by the loud screams and laughter of the girls from 5 storeys away. Worse still, i know a few of them personally which gives me an even worse impression of them than before. My good impression, once ruined is ruined forever.
Yet i still completed reading Pride and Prejudice. It is much easier to read after watching the movie. If i were to read the book first, i could have been bored to death, but the movie had made all the characters alive and the scenery so beautiful. And because this 1995 version of the movie really preserves all the conversation (except that they add actions to it) in the book so the book is really easy to follow. And I do love Elizabeth's wit and countering Lady Catherine, who opposed her marriage. And it was really sweet in the end that Mr Darcy had a change in character and was more humbled. But there was no kissing scene in the book, which the movie ended of with, so that's something different; after all, movie adaptations of books are seldom accurate.
We just checked into hostel today! :D Now my key is on the little fish keychain that I bought from Bangkok! Actually I was supposed to give those keychains (there are 12 of them) to 403-ers, but I guess using one won"t do much harm; after all there are 5 extras. My room is RB-03-04-2. It's quite good because it's facing the track; the opposite rooms in the same cluster are facing AYE so it'll be quite noisy.
Somehow I still remember something one of the year 5s 2009 (see, i'm still thinking i'm year 4) said last year when it was their turn to move in. It was council camp (council camps are usually at the end of the year, no matter how they try to push it forward) and I guess we were in the hall. Someone, I dont' remember who said something along the lines of "hostel is a dust-collecting machine"; I don't remember the exact words, but i've got the meaning. And true enough, its quite dusty.
I guess the main reason for the dust in the hostel was that the doors were not closed so the dust can easily fly in. And I hate the fact that the cupboard with the brooms and vacuum has such a musty smell; I can still smell it now. Oh shucks, the memory of smells. Our vacuum cleaner is weird, it doesn't have the nose thing and our brooms, their bristles are spoilt; our dustpans, they're wet and dirty with hair; my wall, its so dirty, like coffee stains or something that can't be removed and my whiteboard, there are marker stains that I suppose have been left there for half a century; and my cupboard can't lock, it seems the lock locks the other way, that's funny.
Hostel is not hotel. So be happy with what we have and live with it. Overall i'm quite happy with my room and I'm so glad I have a great mummy to help me clean my room and refuse to let me do anything except simple wiping. I guess i shall have pictures tomorrow because tomorrow's move-everything-in-day and mummy has prepared a camera to snap away. Knowing her, she'll take a myriad of pictures and delete/edit them later. And it'll be smiling till my jaws hurt for everywhere she goes, it'll be "net, smile!" I'll smile for her, because i'm her little princess and i know she loves me.
While the rest of the people are having council camp, i'm at home slacking. Not exactly, because i've done quite a lot this holiday. I know its the second post today and I don't usually post twice in a day (twice in a week is has greater likelihood), but I just had this sudden urge to summarise and see what i've done this holiday. So perhaps next time I could compare holidays and see whether every holiday is more productive than the previous one.
I know, I know, holidays are meant for relaxing. But relaxing has a certain productivity too. Have I rested enough for the upcoming year? Have I accomplished what i've set out to do this holiday? I don't know -- that's why i'm making a list.
What I did this holiday (pluses are what i set out to do)
Watch movies! 2012, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes +
Watch a Korean Drama series with my family (Temptation of the Wife)
Cut my hair +
Read loads of story books +
Explore Bangkok! +
Reformat my laptop +
Go for class parties
What I didn't get to do (minuses are what i set out to do)
Watch some movies: Mulan, Bodyguards and Assassins
Read a Cardiac book -
Find out how to put applications in my phone -
Study Calculus thoroughly -
I can't think of more :( Shall add to the list as i remember them
I just finished reading The Kite Runner. It's such a sad and touching story that i'll read it again. Nay, its so sad and touching that I wouldn't want to read it again. No wonder this book gained accolades. Its so descriptive that it evokes emotions in you and despite attempts of you not wanting to read it because of all the cruelty and betrayal and more, you're still glued to it; you feel uneasy as you put it down and can't wait to plop on the sofa to dwell in its world again.
Somehow I wish the ending didn't turn out that way. On the contrary, it's the ending that makes the book so good; you have this 'awww' feeling and you feel that though its not the very cliche happily-ever-after ending, at least amendments were made. I wish Amir and Hassan could see each other one last time and that Amir tell Hassan how much he appreciated his presence and that he was truly sorry about all he had done; and Hassan would tell Amir that it's alright and he's been forgiven and he'll smile again. Or perhaps it could have ended with Soraya and Amir and Sorab having fun kite-flying, that Sorab finally stepped out of his shell and talked and play like any other child; that Soraya could once again love him like her own son.
CPI stands for Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation. Or it could stand for the Christmas Price Index, which also measures inflation -- but in a different way. It uses the items in the Twelve Days of Christmas and measures how much it costs to buy all 78 items then and now. Items: a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling [sic] birds, five gold(en) rings, six geese, seven swans, eight maids, nine dancing ladies, ten leaping lords, eleven pipers, and twelve drummers.
Okay, gold rings costs USD$99.99 each and dancing ladies are significantly more expensive than leaping lords. In 1984, when the CPI just started, all items costs $12 623.10 (I can still envision Aik Ann saying "...and 45 cents" with so much passion!) and today, in 2009, they cost $21 465.56. Those are in US Dollars, by the way.
Christmas@Home on 26th with mummy's cell group was one of a kind :D Little kids are easily fascinated, and are more so by 30 games in a handphone, like Mei's. Good thing my phone wasn't harassed because i didn't have cool games. But well, I was once that age, joining in the fun and the games, though I am quite certain I did not scream and demand my way or attention like Constance nor was I so silly as to play hide and seek and knock into someone's chin with my head like Janelle. It was interesting entertainment when Mei and I were trying to find things to do while the adults chatted and the kids played catching around the Thomson Ridge Bungalow. So we each took a kid in our mind and we looked at their actions then we created a conversation based on their actions; its just like Who's Line :D
Whats your christmas gift? Jesus is the best gift of all! :D
My favourite Christmas song is: Come on ring the bells, light the christmas tree, Everybody say, Jesus we remember its your birth-irth-day. I thought the tune was quite nice and catchy the first time i heard it a christmas ago.
Today's Party DAY! There's Dylan's Party later at 2pm or so, then mummy's cell group party at 6pm for dinner and games! Tomorrow there's christmas service at church! :D And its the last day of relaxation. Then I shall study for calculus test which happens on the 2nd week of school and i'll redo my tutorials. This is the last sunday i'm spending at home; the next sunday's move-into-hostel-already :( I'll miss my bed, my tv, my fridge and my family. Aww.
It's christmas eve and i have totally lost track of time. Two days ago, when I asked Christopher how he knows who's in his class (apparently he counted from the email which was arranged by class, not alphabetical order, silly me), i told him Christmas is one week away. And I remember his reply: it's in two days! HAHA.
How I wish time will just stagnant here, that I don't need to grow up, that I don't need to change classes, that I don't need to move into hostel. Its not that I don't want to move into hostel; I've chosen to stick with everyone and not be excused from the boarding programme on excuse of my heart problem, so I have to go along with my decision. Go ahead and don't turn back to regret. That's what mummy would say. That's what she said too when I made the decision to accept the DSA offer into this school, to drop economics, to drop physics and not to take a music major.
Its just that hostel is an entirely new environment and the longest I've ever been away from home without family around is just 5 days and 4 nights. So I'm going to have 5D4N camps every week in school and I don't know if the idea is pleasing. I have to step out of my comfort zone and learn to fend for myself; no more calling mummy in the middle of the night due to cramps or severe headaches, no one beside me to tell me that I don't look good and I probably have a sore throat, no mummy to make sure everything is in order, down to the very speck of dust.
And if you survive hostel, you get to go overseas to study. If not, stay here in NUS and study hard.
I don't know whether to be happy or upset about mentor group allocations. I don't even know half of the people, and there isn't another 403 person with me in the class! :( And and and, Yawen, Junyan and Xitong are all in the same class, so that makes me the odd one out. I hope i can fit in the class as easily as i fitted in 403.
After being in 403 and 303, everything seems pale in comparison. And your standards of a 'class' and its definitions are set too high. Whether you're a chicken (like Terry), a joker (like Ka-shing), a pessimist (as Dylan calls himself), a nerd (as we often call Bryce), a human (like most of us) or a pig (like Yanling :O ), 403 accepts and accommodates you. We tease each other but we never criticise. We laugh at each other but we never bully.
One day i shall hold a 403 gathering at my house. But mummy has to agree first.
And my mentor is a new teacher too. Akane Yoshida. I suppose he/she is japanese. I can't figure out the gender and searches on google gives different profiles. At least, two years ago, when we searched 'Sie Siok Hui', something definitive came up that tell us she taught in SCGS and her probable age. Aww.
We went JB to watch Avatar yesterday! So sad it isn't in 3D if not the special effects and the graphics would have been so coolllll and i'll be so fascinated at catching those glow in the dark organisms on Pandora. Pandora is such a nice planet! I so love it and i wish it were real so that i could live there! And the high-tech space system is really cool too! That's so advanced in time, pro scriptwriter :D
The special effects and the graphics were super good! But the storyline was disappointing though. Well, its a trade-off i guess. Maybe Jake could explain more why he wanted to save Pandora because it doesn't seem right; you usually defend your own race -- the human race, right? The story has three parts, all recorded through Jakes video-log. Part 1: Before going into Avatar body. Jake tells how he ends up here in replacement of his dead twin brother who spent 3 years training for this mission. Part 2: Jake in Avatar body, learning the ways of the Na'vi. I love this part the best because I love the cute culture and ways of the Navi. And I especially like the interconnectivity of everything, where Na'vis could make connections using their long braid with other animals to tame them, and also by looking into their hearts. Part 3: Jake trying to save Pandora; this one isn't that nice, but it ends up as Jake being permanently to sleep, waking up in the Avatar body.
The beautiful Pandora landscape :D
Seeds of the sacred tree, very pure spirits
Landscape again
Ewa, where memories are stored and the ancestors live
That's it in a far view; its going to be destroyed by humans because its sitting on great wealth of precious metals that could potentially turn those in the team into billionaires. The natives fight to defend that plot of land.
The sign that made Neytiri bring Jake back to the clan; Ewa has chosen him
Cool high-tech systems! Maybe one day it'll be reality. Just like touch screen phones and voice detection and eye detection etc were featured in The Incredibles and are now reality.
The final scene. Aww.
Neytiri: You are now a man, you can now choose a woman and mate with her. *goes on listing some women and their qualities, like hunting etc*
Jake: I have chosen a woman. But she must also chose me
Neytiri: She has already chosen you.
*they kiss and mate in front of Ewa, the 4th picture*
No, there's no genie. It's God.
Wish #1: To have a healed heart
Wish #2: To have a happy family; one free of quarrels, hatred and resentment
Wish #3: To be able to learn the violin
We went Singapore Indoor Stadium for New Creation Church christmas service! The musicians are so cool! :D I want to be one of them next time! O.o
And I made this :D I conceptualized it during the sermon, and it turned out good. Maybe should add people in the tent or collecting the Manna. But the focus should be on the manna.
Its raining. Okay, it has stopped now, so the correct phrasing should be "It was raining". This sounds like the Stomp contest where people take photographs of signs with bad english errors. The funny thing is, errors aren't always errors to the locals and the people who made the signs. So they're technically not errors; they're natural. Something like "No outside food allowed" is inaccurate because outsiders (pun intended haha) won't quite understand.
I love the fresh air after a rain. So my windows are being opened wide. :D
My throat hurts; i've lost my voice.
I shall stop complaining.
O.o I made more paint pictures! If my pictures are nice, why didn't you say so earlier? That could have motivated me to do more and i do need encouragement from time to time. And yes, you get a christmas present too.
Lets title this "FIRE!" Though the fire isn't well positioned and I was lazy to make earthquake cracks
Maybe I should invert the colours and use this as my calendar. I've already got one, never mind.
I love macdonald's hot chocolate! Probably overflowing passion for it due to drinking it everyday at Bangkok because of the lack of buffet breakfast in the hotel :D
My stupid laptop :/ Nothing's working. I've tried installing a programme and it fails :(
Anyway, i managed to make a glow on words! Its not good at all because its glowing in awkward places, but well, its the start! Oh man, this tutorial is so much easier to follow than the ones on the official forum, which assumes you know everything :/
My successful attempt after yesterday's failed one. As you can see, the glow is awkward.
Orange ball that glows :D Its supposed to be gradiated too, but i'm not that good on that :/
And something with shadows! Simple stuff, but i'll try harder to make nicer things!
Edit (3:51pm): How come Nes gets to go Hong Kong, Florida and New York and i don't :( I've never been outside Asia and that's sad :( But its my parents' money, so i should save up and generate cash (plant money trees!) so i can travel the world! By the request of Yu Song, I made two pictures; I don't know if that's what he wants, but i hope its close enough!
Something like let your creativity flow so don't get restricted by the parameters already set in place (boxes and sphere). Oh the sphere photo was taken in Bangkok! (And i'm too lazy to document my trip here...)
The piano in the clouds!
I added a rainbow (but tweaked the colours) and a girl running towards it. I couldn't find any photos of me running, for obvious reasons, so i have to snatch one off google images :D I like the texture of the clouds!
Research congresses are dumb. This is the second time i'm making a poster for research congress (for a different project, obviously), and there's no Bernard to bribe with a Buddy Meal from KFC. So I have to try some way to make a poster. I don't have photoshop and i'm not about to download illegal torrents either, because i don't know how to. So I'm using Paint.Net; the reason why i started playing around with paint.net is to make sure i know the settings well enough to make a nice poster. And the poster is graded. And it'll be used for my presentation.
I'm not going to post it up here yet, because its still being edited, in design at least. All the essential content are in and i'm satisfied. After that, for relaxation, I played around with the software again and got this:
Charbby! My Bull/Cow, whatever you call that toy; I named it 5 years ago.
Who does?
Holidays are so different from normal days; there's absolutely nothing to do, nothing to worry about and nothing to rush out. It's just relax and recharge for the new year. And holidays away from home are even better because you're away from home! So all the worries and frustrations that you experience at home are removed in the new environment.
But we have to return to reality. That's sad. Holidays will end, one day. One day, there's no more thinking about holidays because in the working world you have to apply for leave to go on holidays. If anyone knows of a job with such long holidays as similar to school holidays, please tell me. And no, the job is not teaching. Teaching isn't for me; at least not now. I cant imagine myself standing in front of people younger than I am and teaching, knowing that they may not listen and may do funny stuff that we do today in school. Its just a horrifying thought to stand in the teacher's shoes and deal with what we are doing to them currently (like talking in class and cracking stupid jokes; though those are mild versions).
It's 5pm and I'm not hungry. I've got a mosquito bite below my chin and it's itchy. I've got some rashes on my legs and they itch. I need some sort of glove or stockings to cover them up so i don't scratch them. Random rantings.
9:24pm: We downloaded Paint.net and played around with it. Mei was especially fascinated with this particular tutorial online and we tried it out. I did manage to get what the tutorial meant to achieve but Mei played around even more and got something nicer. And we managed to transpose pictures into fairytale landscapes; its not nice now, but i'm sure it'll be, with more practice and playing.
Aww the purple glows doesn't come out :/ so i should change the colour contrast or something...
Looks like some faraway castle or something. Perhaps next time we should use pink castles :D
I'm back from Bangkok! Actually I was back this morning. The plane touched down at 10:44pm and by the time we clear the customs and collected our luggage (our plane had some malfunction so there was a delay in the luggage movement), it was 11:32pm. By the time I went home, unpacked the essentials, changed my bedsheets, vacuumed the floor and untied the windows, it was 0:18. And i slept till 11am or so this morning. The latest i ever slept!
The Thai currency exchange rate is so to our favour, 25 baht to 1 dollar. So we got to shop shop shop for five whole days! But we didn't go Dream World or Safari Land :( I remembered those were cool places really long ago, but didn't get the chance to go this time. We took two rooms, so Mei and I each got a single bed (which was SUPER BIG that can fit two people), so it was relatively expensive. Mummy was suggesting the next time we come, which should be 5 to 10 years later, we can take 1 room and twin beds so we can stay for a longer period of time.
I'll try to document my stay in Thailand :D
Stupid Math honours, i have my first tutorial waiting for me :( 6 questions and a test coming up.
I cut my hair. It's now slightly longer than shoulder length. The great thing is, because mummy's but hairdresser (or hair-cutter), i can simply whine and get my hair cut any time. My fringe is the same length as my hair, the effort of growing it for a whole year. I feel like cutting it though. I found the hairstyle i've always wanted, i just don't know how to describe it. Mummy says she doesn't know how to cut that style, so i've got to go to a real hairdresser. It's the style of an actor in the channel U show, Cruel Temptation of the Wife. I've wanted that style for some time already, but i don't know how to tell hairstylists. One day, i shall upload a picture here so i'll remember, 10 years down the road, that when i was 16 i wanted my hair like that. I literally stood in front of the tv and waited for a nice scene to take that photo, which is in my phone now.
The good thing about short hair is that it takes lesser time to dry, it is lighter and not so hot. The good thing about long hair is that you can style your hair, like tie or clip it a variety of ways. Some seasons i love long hair, others i want short hair. My hair style depends largely on my mood; that's why mummy's rather hesitant to cut my hair nowadays, because she's afraid that i'll cry the next day saying that's not what i want. When i was little, things were much easier.
I don't know what to label this post as. I'm leaving for Bangkok tomorrow! And i'm coming back next tuesday (i think). :D
Why must blog posts have titles?
I can't think of a title for this post. If it were a diary, i would just put the date. But diaries are difficult to keep; i have 5 of them collecting dust.
The frustration of an IRP is finally over. No, not yet. In a day's time, it will be. I still have to push forward. Have you ever seen an athlete who runs to the finish line and stops there? That's the exact words SNGS math HOD said to me when he met me on my way home from school after getting my prelim results. I think his name was Mr Ang but i remember he is buck-tooth, really tall, wears black round spectacles and always wear pinkish or reddish long-sleeved shirt. So, one more day!
I can't understand why microsoft word doesn't let me copy the math equations over. It's so frustrating that i have to do an IRP presentation tomorrow and i haven't touched my report in a billion years. To be honest, i didn't touch my report since the day i sent it over to Prof, which was 22 november. I remember the date clearly because its the start of our class chalet! :D Ahh whatever.
I packed for Bangkok! I hope i have put everything in; it'll be really troublesome to miss out anything :/ Our luggage is half full though, which means it gives us space to buy stuff! I so want to buy a watch, a pair of nice slippers, a pair of good shoes, some shorts and nothing more! But more importantly, i want to have a wonderful holiday.
Wonderful holiday: A holiday where Lynnette can keep up with everyone else and be able to walk to the places of interest.
I want to watch Mulan! :O But Mei keeps whining that it's only 1 star and even though we have 4 complimentary tickets to any Cathay cinema in Singapore and Malaysia, we're not going to watch any show until we return from overseas; by then, Mulan may not be showing! We're not watching because we have not agreed on anything as a family! And that's because Mei doesn't want to watch Mulan :( Because it spoils her fantasy world and she hates to see people die in vast numbers.
Its a small world after all! :O We went to church this morning and mummy wanted us to go to the Youth section at Trinity because, duh, we're youths. So we went along and there were some pastors and cell leaders that brought us down. No wait, before that, they wanted to invite us to a christmas party. Each cell group has its own christmas party at different places. So we had to write down our address: ..... Castle Green. And the paster took up the paper and said, "Oh, i'm going for a party very near you, at Yio Chu Kang, Castle Green." And we were surprised! O.o we're living right in this condo! So on the 19th december we can just wear tee shirt and shorts and go down to the party! :D
And then we went to the youth church. And we were supposed to join a cell group. Since we're of this age group, we're under Sister Kassey. So we went to meet her and she started screaming because she knew us. Apparently she was some teacher in SNGS and she taught me PE in primary 5. The funny thing is, because i don't take pe, she remembers me clearly; because i don't take pe, i have no impression of pe teachers, because i always thought that in primary school they are out to make my life miserable by forcing me to do things i can't do. She said she taught us soft ball and netball, but i have no recollection. At least she remembers me; its a small world after all. Nope, this is God's divine plan!
I'm typing in incoherent sentences, i better stop before it explodes.
"Since most, if not all of you will be taking the AP Calculus Exam in May next year, you need to remember what you have learnt in Calculus 1 and MA4401" So there. We're going to have a calculus test on the second week of school, the early part of the week :(
I guess i have a phobia for tests and exams. Because there's this worry that I never do well enough.
Happy Birthday Mummy! Thank you for taking care of me for sixteen years and never complaining though your job is slightly tougher because of my heart problem which gave you a lot of worries too! But you still raised me up perfectly and gave me such a wonderful home, wonderful family and helped me in my studies in primary school so i can go to such a wonderful school!
I watched 2012 yesterday! Okay, the effects weren't as dramatic as Ms Chin described such that when the earthquake happened, you could feel the entire cinema shake. But they were fantastic! It was a long show, but catastrophe after catastrophe didn't make the time feel like 2 hours and 37 minutes had passed. Though I must admit, there were some unrealistic portions in the show, such as how can they escape unscathed when the fireballs were raining down like fireworks! :D
And we went shopping at Johore today! We ate some Korean BBQ food for lunch which was cooked by true koreans and and... mummy bought me a gown for prom! Though it should be that we buying a gown for her birthday. She was saying that other sec 4 girls were having proms and graduation nights and I didn't have but since I would have one soon, if we should see a beautiful gown, I can buy it! I don't know if that gown is considered beautiful (its definitely not as nice as Nes' gown and other gowns that were worn during this year's prom that i saw on facebook) but its specially chosen by mummy so i'll say its nice. I didn't get a proper look at it while fitting because I was way too sleepy :/
I simply cannot understand how people can study with loud rock music blasting in the background. The fact that you are singing to the music shows that you are not concentrating on your work and are listening to the music instead. Mummy says that your mind switches to and fro music and work; for me, i simply cannot stand any sort of music in the background, even classical music, because for classical music i would tend to listen to the details and figure out who wrote that and when the composer wrote that music.
Yesterday, there was a SNGS CO gathering at my condo. The girls were making a whole load of noise and we couldn't concentrate on what we were doing. I can't concentrate on reading my lovely book and my sister can't concentrate on doing her chinese homework (yes, they have holiday homework) since our silence was constantly punctuated by the loud screams and laughter of the girls from 5 storeys away. Worse still, i know a few of them personally which gives me an even worse impression of them than before. My good impression, once ruined is ruined forever.
Yet i still completed reading Pride and Prejudice. It is much easier to read after watching the movie. If i were to read the book first, i could have been bored to death, but the movie had made all the characters alive and the scenery so beautiful. And because this 1995 version of the movie really preserves all the conversation (except that they add actions to it) in the book so the book is really easy to follow. And I do love Elizabeth's wit and countering Lady Catherine, who opposed her marriage. And it was really sweet in the end that Mr Darcy had a change in character and was more humbled. But there was no kissing scene in the book, which the movie ended of with, so that's something different; after all, movie adaptations of books are seldom accurate.
Lynnette is a sweet little girl
Whose favourite day is 18th October
Where she is born into the House of God
And she loves playing music
From SNGS to NUSH, she loves them all
:P
Wonderful parents
Great sister
Great friends, who never hesitate to help me, yay 403!
Be able to cope with council, MA and school
A nice research mentor and a great team
A lovely hostel mate, just as i requested you and great toilet mates
Teachers' Day celebrations IC under MA
Good grades, and coping with physics
A new TV and stereo system!
Prayers
God has blessed me richly!
High School Never Ends :P
More 403 reunions
A great class next year
A great mentor next year
Great friends
Coping with hostel life
MA Exco
To be healed
To have the perfect family
