Monthly Archive

as a kid i never liked the winter melon drinks my mum used to make when we complained of sore throats and fevers. it’s some kind of dried winter melons i think; i’m fine with winter melon soups. it’s been such a long time since she made that drink. i didn’t remember that it was a drink i hated and answered “okay” when she said she would make me some of that today. i’m on the verge of sore throats and fevers again, must be the crazy weather over here in singapore.

so i’ve been downing the suspicious drink and man, it really tastes like it’s got alcohol in it. the drink looks totally harmles, almost transparent and smells a little sweet when you sniff at it. it comes with those strips of winter melon which my sister loved. after taking a gulp of the winter melon drink, i suddenly remembered to stay far, far away from those melon strips cos i hated that too.

i still hate the weird taste. but i guess i’ve remembered why i dislike the drink and i’m gonna reject it anytime my mum offers me that in the near future.

i’ve passed this semester with two distinctions and two credits! the results are not as good as last semester’s, but at least i’m over and done with two of the scariest courses.

one scary course to go in the last semester, before i say goodbye to academic life.

life’s been a little hectic especially now that i’ve taken on another project. i’m helping my bro with his wedding dinner photo collage video. it was painful watching what he did so i offered my services, at a reasonable cost of course. i seldom do things for free. it’s pretty fun doing these, i just don’t like the numbness in my arms from using the mouse for too long.

another busy week to go. i’m still unemployed and looking for a full time temporary job, by the way.

if i had a mac desktop i’d be very, very tempted to get this! it’s the sideview of apple’s new wireless keyboard, in case you can’t tell from the picture.ultimate minimalism! it’s so freaking simple and sleek…..yum.

it’s always good if i don’t blog when i have lots of free time. it means i’ve actually gone out to meet people and that my social life isn’t decomposing.

the past few days were spent….eating, watching the dinosaur-doraemon (yes, the dinosaur is deliberately placed before doraemon) movie, shopping at daiso vivo, shopping at daiso imm, eating and finally, mahjong. i lead a sedentary life but hey, at least i made the effort to get out of jurong west. it’s always good to have kampung buddies like the seahyiyi and mf cos they’ll either travel the whole bloody distance with me or vote for jurong west gatherings.

i officially declare myself as a mahjong player at the beginner level. meaning i have to ask the other players every now and then which “wind” direction and which “number” i am. meaning i exasperate other people by doing a lot of reversal actions cos i’ve thrown the wrong tile, took the wrong tile at the wrong time, etc. etc.. meaning i keep shouting “AH!” instead of “pung!” or “hu!” when i draw a good tile. oh well, at least i’m pretty entertaining, or so i think.

tomorrow’s gonna be an intensive present-searching day. my dad is giving us daily reminders about his birthday and it’s funny how he thinks everyone isn’t getting him anything at all and blah blah blah. now i know why i’m so nonsensical and greedy (in terms of food). i hate getting presents for the male species cos there’s so limited things i can get. utterly boring.

a lot more social activities coming up and no, no photos allowed until my next haircut.

i’m trying to look for temporary jobs in the public sector here and sheesh, their website doesn’t really cater to mac users. therefore i cannot fill up the online resume and how am i gonna get a job? i guess i’m not destined for public sector jobs after all.

*update: the website not only discriminates against mac users, they’re very anal and dumb about the registration process. i declare it a blood-inducing site, even for pc users.

by this time most people would have gotten news of the latest calamity - my hair.

after some consideration i made up my mind to be adventurous and do something different. so different that i’m really regretting it now. it takes a lot of courage and confidence to step out of my house now, can?

aiyah, but then hair grows, doesn’t it? i’ll get over it soon.

day 2 back at home. my room resembles a disaster zone with my belongings strewn around. i’ve been attempting to clean up everything in my room cos the last time i was back, i didn’t really bother keeping everything in order.

now i’m finding things from many years ago and i’m wondering what the hell they’re doing in the desk drawers. there’s tonnes of things to put in the correct places but i have no idea how i should rearrange everything. i need space, lots and lots of space.

i’ve also been on an eating blitz. it’s scary how much i’ve been eating. unhealthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners. i need to slow down on my eating missions; it’s been raining a lot and i haven’t been able to go for swims.

the warm weather is making me feel freaking sleepy…

i am back back back! landed after 11pm last night, thanks to the one hour delay on qanta’s part again. yet another delay, the third one i’ve had in the last 5 qantas trips. it could be just my luck, or it could be qanta’s poor operations.

in any case, i discovered that each time i’m back, there’s more junk in the house. junk in the kitchen, in the guest room, everywhere. mostly because of the light renovations carried out in the first half of this year and somehow, the junk is still here and i suppose it will linger for some time. the neat freak in me is tempted to do something drastic to get rid of all the junk but i’m lazy.

the modem is now located in the kitchen and because i haven’t figured out how to connect wirelessly, i am seated at the kitchen counter using the internet. with piles kitchen junk surrounding ally and really, it isn’t a very nice place to work in. soon i’ll setup the wireless and move the old pc out of my room so that i can use the internet comfortably in my room. that sounds like a lot of work, darn. we’ll see how it goes.

right now i should just concentrate on thinking about my haircut, the photo-album-to-be, how to create more space in my room and how to earn more money. yah, a lot of serious things to think about. i still have to do some self-reflections on time management, remember?

the last time i heard, this is supposed to be my summer holidays.

everyone knows about the taiwan version of hana kimi. that was a tolerable show because of wuzun the eye-candy. and that was last semester stuff, nothing new or exciting.

but this semester, i discovered the japanese version of hana kimi! believe me, the female lead in this show is so much more attractive and easy on the eyes. her acting is more tolerable, unlike ella chen in the taiwan version, who frowns when she’s happy, sad, touched, surprised, etc. etc. it’s as if her acting is centred on her eyebrows. maki horikita, the japanese actress playing the same character, is not only prettier but her acting isn’t as exaggerated or painful to watch. yeah, perhaps she’s a little too feminine-looking for the role but still….

not convinced? these are some of ella’s expressions in just one episode of the drama serial and you’ll see what i mean. increase the frequency of these by another 60% and multiply that by 16 episodes. now i know i watched the taiwan version solely for wuzun the eye candy.

very often i feel like hitting myself really hard on the head. i seem to have zero self-discipline. i thought i would learn my lesson from last semester, when i had to forgo sleep for a few consecutive nights because i didn’t start work earlier, or because i spent considerable amounts of time watching dramas, precious time which could have been better spent working on assignments or studying for exams.

i know that it’s hard for me to concentrate and work if i don’t get enough entertainment but i suspect that’s just an excuse for my poor time management and laziness. to be exact, its not really laziness. i did a lot more work last semester than my undergrad days. and i worked more this semester than the last. i think it’s just that i haven’t put in maximum effort but i’ve passed with okay grades and nothing has screwed up. hence, i am still assuming that i can get things done at the last minute. it’s frightening how i can be so indifferent to deadlines and exams.

i must say it’s a really bad habit and it’s getting worse. oh well, they say problem identification is the first step to the solution eh?

guess i have some serious self-reflections to do during the summer holidays.

it’s weird how space affects my moods.

once in a blue moon i’d feel depressed and suffocated, the kind when i know i’m on the verge of crying. the only thing that can make me feel better is curling up under the desk or in a corner where no one would find me. it’s the only place where no one can see me, where nothing and no one can attack me and where i can hear my own breathing. these spaces become almost non-existent at home cos anyone can barge in on me so i often have to head outside to be alone and being out there in the open doesn’t help.

but during my normal days i’d get all claustrophobic and depressed if i’m cooped up in a room, especially in a room with no windows or little natural lighting. it simply drives me nuts.

i just came out from under the desk and i don’t know how to make myself feel happier. there’s too many things going on in my mind and my brain can’t multi-task.

i thought this template was pretty cool, so i switched. besides, it allows me to use my original blog name! the blabbering blob is back! woohooooo!

right, so everything’s a little messy and ugly right now. i’ll sort out the things in their right places once i get some real free time on my hands. right now i’m supposed to be studying really hard for my last paper so that i can score a high distinction. just kidding, i’ll be happy with a distinction lah.

the next few days are gonna be a blitz with meeting last-semester classmates, shopping for macadamia nuts (-_-||) and packing the damn luggage. i hate travelling for more than 5 hours, especially if it involves transits and lots of waiting time. bloody hell.

my left arm is now paralyzed. it’s been a long time since i wrote non-stop for a 3 hour exam. i didn’t even attempt all the questions during the 3 hours, i had to give up on one cos it was too bloody difficult and there simply wasn’t enough time.

the first section by the part-time lecturer was pure inhumane. it required lots of analysis and writing and thinking. most of my classmates gave up on one of his questions. the second section was a take-a-breather section by another part-time lecturer. before we plunged into the third section which required the most writing. the two male lecturers are simply crazy. i wonder if they actually sat down and discussed whether it was possible to answer those 8 questions within the 3 hours. 22 minutes for each question? siao one.

i’m praying really, really hard that i’ll pass the paper. i have zero confidence in it and to pass the course, we have to pass the exams.

three down, one more to go. i hope i’ll manage to regain the use of my left arm by friday.

the other nice thing that happened to me today

i was on the verge of dying today, because:

1) it was very, very chilly and windy this morning and i wasn’t dressed warm enough. i was out in the open for half an hour waiting for my friend cos i was early. then my nose starting dripping again, after my recent amazingly-quick recovery from cold.

2) i left the exam early (it wasn’t too bad) and started on the remaining 20% of my report due today. within 10 minutes of typing i felt hungry so i had to save the file, log off the computer, remove my usb drive, pack up my things and head for the food shops.

3) half the food shops were closed today cos it’s not official term time anymore. i went to the cafe, checked out the muffin shelf, saw some randomly-arranged muffins behind some labels randomly strewn around and ordered an orange-poppyseed muffin and was told there were none left. then i checked out the random-random shelf again and ordered a banana muffin. there were no banana muffins left. i got pissed and asked the lady in a polite manner to get me any random muffin they had left.

4) i returned to the computer lab with a muffin and latte, logged in to the computer, plugged in my usb drive and started to work while eating. then i wanted to print out a diagram in my report (now i remember: i’ve forgotten to label the damn diagram). print quota exhausted. copycard credit exhausted. so i unplugged the usb drive, logged off the computer, packed my things and half-eaten food and headed to the library to top up the copycard. the library’s just across the food shops.

5) i used up all the small change in my wallet for the copycard and returned to the computer lab triumphantly. then i worked and worked on the report. an hour before the deadline i decided i’ve put in enough effort so i clicked on print. *printprintprintzzzzbthubthubthub. paper jam.

6) so i called the printer people to come rescue me. they didn’t turn up after twenty minutes. deadline crawling near.

7) i had exhausted my copycard credits again. so i packed up everything, unplugged the usb drive, logged off the computer and headed for the library again. to use my nice $10 note for topping up the copycard (leaving 42 cents in my wallet) and to print out the bloody report.

i meandered from the library back to the faculty building to submit my report. i borrowed a stapler from the school office and it didn’t staple my report nicely. i got fed up, removed a binder clip from my file and clipped the report. free clip for the lecturer.

so i was walking to and fro (and to and fro and to and fro and to and fro, four trips in all) the route from my faculty to the library with a very black face.

then i met my favourite project mate from last semester and he was very nice and helpful about some exam stuff. after submitting the paper i sat down with him for a while and we talked a little. we’re taking one class together this semester but we never had the chance to talk. it is always nice talking to him cos he’s my favourite ex-project mate and he’s a nice person (duh.). before i left he was encouraging me to study hard in a very nice manner. and he very nicely offered me chocolate bars cos i looked dead. and nicely reminded my the paper was in the afternoon, cos i seriously thought it was in the morning.

if not for the nice ex-project mate niceties i’d have been very, very, very grumpy and cranky. much worse than the monster you’ve just heard whining.

picture above was taken on my way from the exam hall to the faculty buildings. crazy duckie mama and duckie papa and fluffy baby duckies took a dip in the lake in the chilly weather and were hanging out along the banks until a grumpy monster kept walking towards them trying to snap a picture. they got grumpy too and wallowed back into the lake cos there were no grumpy monsters in the lake.

mm lee said it takes only 20 minutes to get anywhere in singapore.

for him, maybe. i hate to be impolite to elderly folks but seriously, bullshit lah. he obviously hasn’t tried commuting from my home to the airport, let alone during peak hours when the darned PIE would jam like crazy. we need a minimum of 45 minutes to get to the airport and that’s with smooth traffic and speeding throughout the journey. i don’t even wanna talk about taking public transport to the airport.

in fact, i suggest he personally explore the island transport network someday, the real network beyond his chauffeured car. i admit the transportation system is far from being the worst in the world. but hey, just the bus journey from my house to jurong point takes 20 minutes can? the linear distance is only 1.65km, according to streetdirectory.com. yeah it takes less than 5 minutes if i get there by car but i am one of those people who may never own a car in singapore cos of COEs and ERPs.

my point is, try and give a more realistic figure if he’s just trying to impress others. if he’s not trying to impress, then at least get his facts right before making such statements. if 20 minute’s travel time is a fact for him, then perhaps being my neighbour for a day will help him gain a better perspective of what things are really like for us commoners.

kopi-o gao

i finally found an instant coffee that satisfies my dark desires for caffeine. instant, considering i only need to add sugar and hot water to the coffee powder. instant coffee used to only mean 3-in-1 coffee satchets. my friend from last semester tried to introduce me to those swanky coffee powder where it had to be brewed or something; it required some apparatus called a plunger. i’ve never figured that out cos i don’t see the need to. homemade coffee should always be instant

nescafe espresso is my saviour for this semester, it packs a powerful punch compared to other brands of coffee. i used to buy international roast but the coffee was a sissy cousin of the thick, aromatic coffee i crave for. that sissy coffee was always in a shade of brown nowhere close to black and the taste was bland. that purely served as a caffeine boost.

the moment i took a whiff of this new love, i knew it was the one. the coffee’s rich and robust. something like the kopi-o i’ve always liked.

the last time i drank kopi-o-o (double power!) to stay up all night was during ‘O’ levels, the night before the history paper. now i can relive my kopi-o moments.

it feels good to find true love.

three years after buying this lecture pad, i’ve finally used up the last sheet of writing paper.

it’s amazing how i’ve endured the shade of highlighter-orange for so long, until it faded into a less blinding shade. it got drenched last semester when i was caught in the rain and since then, the sheets within had this water stain on it, yuck. i have high tolerance for ugly lecture pads.

this lecture pad also screams my origin of degree at top volume, as lecturers and classmates have all commented on the alma mater. i can now live a peaceful life without curious people asking, “is that where you did your undergrad degree?”, “how was it like there?” and best of all, “why is it technological? didn’t you do a business degree?”

i’m finally feeling stressed for the final hurdles to this semester. exams begin on the coming monday and it’s only now that i feel the urge to start studying my ass off, such great timing.

a project mate pissed me off big time about whining about how this would be revision for me cos apparently, i’ve gone through the material during the semester. he’s the only one who would be studying cos he haven’t had the chance to read those textbooks and notes previously. he must be stark raving mad. i can’t be bothered to reply and if his remarks made him feel any better or smarter than the rest of us, i’ll let it be. there’s no point in responding to his claims, his mind is a one-way track thingy.

yup, enough bitching about irritating people, i have tonnes of things to do.

the best thing about cold weather was that flies vanished from canberra. one of the most accurate signals of the beginning of warm weather is the sight of swarming flies. i’m not kidding when i say swarming flies.

it doesn’t matter whether i shower twice a day, especially before stepping out of the house. it doesn’t matter whether my clothes are fresh from laundry. it doesn’t even matter if i spray copious amounts of anti-insects spray before i go out. i suspect what they say about flies being insects and love smelly places are myths.

they’re everywhere - along the streets, on the buses, at the bus stops, anywhere but near rubbish bins. canberra flies seem to have a general preference for disturbing homo sapiens. they don’t go away when people brush them off, they don’t go away when i growl at them.

they’re invincible and there’s nothing we can do to get rid of them.

the capital down under is going to be overtaken by flies soon.

and the point is to…not to let the pictures be clearly seen

this is what happens when a random person from the school office is asked to help take pictures of the class. can’t complain though, at least she was nice enough to leave her desk and take the picture for us. the reason for the tiny pictures is simple: i hate how my hair looked. it didn’t occur to me to make sure my hair looked nice before taking the pictures.

whinings aside, this is my favourite class of the year! i suspect it’s gonna be my favourite class for the entire course duration, i actually enjoyed attending these classes, can you believe it? there’s 13 nationalities in the picture and that’s one of the reasons why the class discussions were so insightful and interesting. of course, that would have been impossible without the fantastic (i mean it!) lecturer, the angmoh in the front.

needless to say, there’s people i didn’t like, have fun guessing who they are! not that anyone can see the picture clearly. -_-||