Village Matters

DBSK - Winter Rose Lyrics

2011-12-26T20:55:00.002+08:00

Winter Rose is a very beautiful song; beautiful vocals, beautiful lyrics, beautiful melody. What more can you ask for? Oh, beautiful idols too. =P So here I am, to share the lyrics with you guys:

Romaji

Fuyuno seizano youni gairojuno akari
Sorawo oou beruno yukino otogasuru
Hanareteita jikanmo daite dakishimete
Want kiss sotto My love motto
Fukaku tsutaetai bokuha

Kimiga ireba soredeii
Sousa close to heart, close to my love
Tatta hitotsu shikanai aiga kokoni arukara
Kimino tameni irebaii
Itsumo close to heart, close to your love
Tokimekiwo kasaneau kokorono nakani winter rose

Kinya ginno mall ni afureru hitonami
Chiisana hakowo daita kimiga kaketekuru
Sono isshunni munega shimetsukerarete
Want kiss zutto Your love kitto
Kotaewo mitsuketa bokuha

Kimiga ireba soredeii
Sousa close to heart, close to my love
Futari dakewo futariha shinjite irareru hazu
Kimino tameni irebaii
Itsumo close to heart, close to your love
Samishisamo wakariau kokorono nakani winter rose

Imamadeno donna omoide nimo
Tada kono ichinichiwo yurushite
no more tears no more lies
Konyaha shiawasega mukuwareru tameno yorusa
Tsuyoku futariha musubareteru tsuyoku

Kimiga ireba soredeii
Sousa close to heart, close to my love
Tatta hitotsu shikanai aiga kokoni arukara
Kimino tameni irebaii
Itsumo close to heart, close to your love
Tokimekiwo kasaneau kokorono nakani winter rose

Translation

The winter stars, the illuminations on the roadside trees
The veil covering skies, the sound of the falling snow
Hug, hugging even the times we were apart
I want to kiss you softly, my love, more and more
I want to convey my deep feelings to you

My only hope is that, you be at my side
Yes, close to heart, close to my love
The one and only love is here in my hands
I will be here only for you, always
Close to heart, close to your love
Our love blends together, in our hearts, winter rose

The crowds overflowing in the golden and silver malls
You are running to me with a small box in your hand
Watching you at that moment, my heart leaps
I want to kiss you forever, your love, surely
I’ve finally found my answer

My only hope is that, you be at my side
Yes, close to heart, close to my love
We should be able to believe in our love
I will be here only for you, always
Close to heart, close to your love
We can even share our loneliness, in our hearts, winter rose

For each memory we hold up to this moment
Please forgive this day, no more tears, no more lies
Tonight shall be the time our happiness would be rewarded
We are strongly tied together, so strongly

My only hope is that, you be at my side
Yes, close to heart, close to my love
The one and only love is here in my hands
I will be here only for you, always
Close to heart, close to your love
Our love blends together, in our hearts, winter rose

Source: sainokuni@vimeo & smiley@OneTVXQ.com
Translation: smiley @ OneTVXQ.com
Special thanks: (To all my friends on twitter)
Credits: OneTVXQ.com {One World. One Red Ocean. One TVXQ!}

What Am I Doing?!

2011-12-19T01:48:00.002+08:00

I'm supposed to be asleep at this hour, but I haven't done anything! PW is gonna scold me again!

Anyway, my love for K Pop hasn't decreased a single bit, but because of my busy schedule, I haven't listened to as many new songs as I would have as compared to the past. And I definitely would have blogged more! OMG I can't believe this is my first post in SIX months.

As a baby step to updating my blog, I will add 3 new songs to my playlist. Yes, 3 of my favourite songs at the moment, by my favourite artists - Lee Seung Gi and Dong Bang Shin Ki (HoMin and JYJ). Beautiful songs. Enough said at the moment.

Baek Ji Young - Average

2011-06-08T03:05:00.002+08:00

One of my favourite female singers, Baek Ji Young, has released a new album! I didn't really spend time listening to all the songs in her album, but there's this song that I really liked - Average.

As usual, Baek Ji Young's vocals are full of emotion and depth, but I especially like this song because it's soothing to the ears and its lyrics are simple yet meaningful. I've always liked the lyrics of Baek Ji Young's title tracks and this time round, "Average" is special because it conveys a special concept different from the mainstream ballads. So "Average" is definitely NOT average!

"Average" is about a woman who yearns for an average life and love, which the current guy who broke her heart can't give to her and she's trying to run away from everything that is not average. Also, someone on YouTube commented that the desire for an average life and love is because if it's average, it's not fantastic and hence, not heartbreaking either. Wow. I wish I can have such deep interpretation as this YouTube user.

Anyway, the first song playing from my player will be Average by Baek Ji Young. Lyrics are posted below (although I can't really understand the last 2 paragraphs translated. Maybe it's because it's midnight now. =X) I especially love the line "You're the worst guy I've ever met." Credits of the lyrics go to LoveKPopSubs3 @ YouTube.

Always meeting average guys
Always being loved averagely
The same average house, the same average children
Only feeling average pain
Only feeling average joy
I’m happy sometimes, I’m unhappy sometimes
I only want to live an average life

How is it, that out of everybody
I met the bad, bad you
Not like the others, I wasn’t even averagely loved
I thought you’d be there for me sometimes
And that I wouldn’t be alone
My tears don’t stop falling when you’re not around
Why am I distressed like this after he left?
You’re worse than just an average person

What’s difficult in having an average love?
In living and loving an average woman?
And you even force me further away from you
The special value of a person like you
Is that I’ll never want someone like you

How, out of everyone else
You’re the worst guy I’ve ever met
Not like the others, I wasn’t even averagely loved
I thought you’d be there for me sometimes
And that I wouldn’t be alone
My tears don’t stop falling when you’re not around
Why am I distressed like this after he left?
You’re worse than just an average person

This will be like an average pain
Others will get hurt just like me
Do you want me to believe you’re special?
Hurt like this, how can I be average?

If I’m really average enough,
I’m only asking if I’m average like everyone else says
They say I’m average enough for you to love me
What’s so difficult?
You always tear apart my heart
Why am I distressed like this after he left?
You’re worse than just an average person

Student Submission Wave

2011-05-27T00:26:00.002+08:00

The cute thing about IVLE is that when a lecturer or a student uploads a file, the "What's New" tab will show you was what uploaded and at what time.

Then I realised, whenever it's the deadline for project submission onto IVLE, the same notification will appear on the ENTIRE window:

I'm one of them actually. =X

How They Get You To Spend More

2011-04-17T01:01:00.002+08:00

I'm about to go to New Zealand in around 2 weeks' time for my graduation trip!!! But before that, there's still exams to prepare for... I'm sure my friends would already have finished half of studying, but I have yet to even start... Gosh. So many distractors!

Anyway, meanwhile, I still have to prepare for my NZ trip, so today I spent the whole afternoon outside buying necessities (which James says there is no need for me to bring so many things, and how he keeps emphasizing on travel light. I want to, but I can't go with a little thing not prepared. I want to be able to pre-empt every imaginable situation. I've actually got wilder plans like, prepare an emergency escape backpack like every Japanese does, which contains chemical warmers, dried food and drinks, torchlight, etc in case of emergency, so I can hold out for a period of time in case something happens to Christchurch again. OMG. Touchwood. Choy!) instead of studying. I bought a new watch (I haven't got one for use now), long pants and a new pair of shoes (in case my shoes spoil, which they often do, even in school). I've still got stuff not bought yet!

I kept all the NETS receipt so I could keep track of how I spent my money. OMG. Horrendously, I've spent $4K in 2 months! I'm so broke! I can't pamper myself anymore! T.T I never imagined that a lot of expenses have to go into preparing for grad trip.

In any case, I went to The Body Shop to buy some body moisturiser in case the weather in NZ is so dry that my skin cracks. Then I would not be able to enjoy my holiday anymore. I wanted the strawberry puree that they have, but being in a dispenser that you can't keep after opening, it seemed better to buy wide-mouthed containers with screw on caps. The salesperson was a nice auntie; she suggested that I buy body butter 'cos of the dry wind and that I wouldn't feel sticky 'cos it's dry there. I believed her and she opened every single tester container to let me smell the unique fragrance of each flavor. There's the floral fragrance type, then fruits type (there's one named cocoa I think. It really smelled like chocholate! It would be fun to test out the flavor on oneself, but I don't want my friends to throw me weird glances every night in the hotel room). I settled for the newest fragrance, which was Dreams Unlimited. It really smells very nice, and of course, is more expensive than the other ranges. There's even a perfume under the Dreams Unlimited series, and I am thinking of buying it one day. For work. Heh.

Oh my I've sidetracked too much. Anyway, The Body Shop was having a promotion whereby you buy 2 get 1 free. I decided to buy lip balm 'cos I don't want cracked lips... Then the lady was like, do you want to get a third item? I was thinking, why not seize the opportunity? So against my mother's insistence, I bought a bottle of face moisturiser too. I then realised that I didn't ask how much the body butter cost! It was $34.90, much higher than my budget, but I still bought it because I really liked the fragrance.

When it was time to pay, the bill came up to $68.40 and I had a shock. I kept forgetting that the face moisturiser cost $29.90, and kept thinking that it was $19.90. Seriously, for that really small bottle of moisturiser, it's really not quite worth it, but I have to buy it because I don't want my face to peel and my photos to turn out ugly. Upon paying, I qualified to become a member (yes, ever since last December, I've become a member of various store chains because of the amount of money I spent in those shops) once again. Oh well. My mum couldn't believe it.

Anyway, because of the promotion, I saved $19.90 (membership fee waived and lip balm free). if I wasn't greedy enough to make use of the promotion, I would have saved $29.90 (the money spent on face moisturiser). Conclusion? How shops get you to spend more if by having promotions, to drive you to buy more than necessary. If you're not clear-headed about what you want, you can get lost amongst the sale prices. Another way shops get you to spend more is to tell you that if you spend a bit more than what you already want to buy, you are entitled to a free membership which you can use to get a discount off your current purchase. And yes, that was how I fell into the trap of my other 3 membership cards. One last way to get you to spend more: you are entitled to free membership next year, if within this membership year, you spend a certain amount. Oh well. At least, it's confirmed that I have successfully renewed my Bossini membership in less than 2 months.

Christy!!!! No wonder you are broke. =(

Beautiful In White - Shane Filan

2011-03-19T18:04:00.004+08:00

My cousin got married a few months ago, but I only found out recently that she had a video of the photos taken only! I fell in love with the background song immediately. So here's the lyrics to the song:

Shane Filan – Beautiful In White

I’m not sure if you know this

But when we first met
I’ve got so nervous
I couldn’t speak
In that very moment
I found one and
My life have found this missing piece

So as long as I live I’ll love you
Will heaven hold you
You look so beautiful in white
And from now till my very last breathe
This day I’ll cherish
You look so beautiful in white
Tonight

What we have is timeless
My love is endless
And we’ll be screaming
Say to the world
You’re my every reason
You’re all that I believe in
With all my heart
I mean every words

So as long as I live I’ll love you
Will heaven hold you
You look so beautiful in white
And from now till my very last breathe
This day I’ll cherish
You look so beautiful in white
Tonight
You look so beautiful in white
Na na na na
So beautiful in white
Tonight

And if our daughter is what our future holds
I hope she has your eyes
Finds love like you and I did
Yeah
You’ll wish falls in love will let her go
I’ll walk her down the aisle
She look so beautiful in white

You look so beautiful in white

So as long as I live I’ll love you
will heaven hold you
You look so beautiful in white
And from now to my very last breathe
This day I’ll cherish
You look so beautiful in white
Tonight
You look so beautiful in white
Tonight

My First Try at Ddeok Mandu Guk (Without the Mandu)

2011-02-21T19:35:00.007+08:00

My mum went to Fairprice Xtra with my dad and bought some frozen Korean rice cakes without my knowing. Then, she started nagging my to try cooking it. You know, I'd never cook during semester time unless I'm tired of studying (and trying to escape from reality) or I'm really really free.

So today, since it's mid-sem break, I had the urge to try cooking Ddeok Mandu Guk.

Ddeok Mandu Guk, when translated into English, means "Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup". Mandu is dumpling, and since my mum has already prepared dinner, I'm gonna leave out the Mandu so we won't have too much food for dinner. On Lunar New Year's Day, (the FIRST day), Koreans have Ddeok Mandu Guk in the morning for some auspicious meaning. I didn't research much into it, but from what I heard, it is a clear or white-coloured soup with a special kind of Ddeok (rice cake) that is round [not the kind of spicy rice cake we see on dramas] and eating it means having money ('cos coins are round) and being white, it represents purity. Eating this dish also means wishing that as one gains a year in age, one becomes more mature. Isn't the one year older concept similar to us eating those "tang yuans" on Winter Solstice? I've attached some pictures of Ddeok Mandu Guk below:

So when I finished cooking my own version, I was so proud of it... I even thought it tasted awesome! =P How can anyone be as thick-skinned as I am? I always think that food cooked by myself tastes good. >.<

Jiayou!

2011-02-13T23:42:00.004+08:00

I have not blogged for a LONG time.

But to think of it, it's not THAT long, since I'm still into my DBSK's songs. Heh.

Anyway, the upcoming CA is bound to kill me, and I'm sorta prepared to fail. Oh well. If only I have like 500GB of memory and 4GB RAM in my head, with file transfer rate of 10MB/second. Then I would have no problems for this CA. And perhaps the rest of my life. Haha.

My cousin Kin is flying back to Taiwan soon!!!! I wish I could spend more time with him, but it seems impossible with the tight schedule that I have now. And my favorite little cousin Fook is gonna come too!!!! Tomorrow I'm supposed to buy a birthday cake and celebrate Kin's birthday.. In advance. In any case, it's a good excuse to have a cake. My mum will cook a feast ('cos my uncle and aunt and grandma will be coming too) and on Tuesday my family will bring Kin out for dinner. Hopefully we can get something for Kin too.

Last week, I handed up my FYP Draft a little later than the stipulated deadline... Luckily my ultra-nice supervisor didn't reprimand me for that!!! =D When I sent him an e-mail with tremendous fear and prepared for the worst, explaining to him that I was late and sorry and all, his reply "no worries" calmed me down instantly. But then at 1 a.m., he sent me another e-mail saying that he couldn't find my file. Hmm. Don't tell me he works at NUS till 1 a.m.?! I quickly sent him a reply at 2.30 a.m. that I placed it at the desk outside his office... And the next day, he e-mailed me saying that he had finished marking my draft and wanted to meet me. OMG. He's amazing. My friends were saying how alike I was to me supervisor - we both work late into the night. Haha.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day... So Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!! =D

A pity I have no latest love song to share for this occasion!

Busy Busy Busy! (I Love DBSK)

2011-01-23T18:52:00.003+08:00

Because I procrastinate a lot, I have tons of stuff not done yet.

Because I'm so into K-pop and my favourite Dong Bang Shin Ki, I'm procrastinating.

I just added 2 new songs into my playlist! The first song you're listening to now is DBSK (Yunho and Changmin now)'s "WHY (Keep Your Head Down)". It's a very "noisy" song to some people perhaps, but I love it. 'Cos it's by my bias Changmin and Yunho. And if you watch their live performance, OMG, it's so fantastic that it captivates my attention completely even though I can re-watch the performances like a dozen times. For each same performance. And that's probably where I used all my time on...

I like the upbeat feel to "Why (Keep Your Head Down)" and gosh, it's so hard to learn the dance! Dong Bang Shin Ki is the best band out there. Actually, I was a bit worried about how Yunho and Changmin can sing together... But they have not let fans down. =D And now I kinda like Yunho's voice when he sings. Haha. Because it's extraordinary! Although it's a result of his damaged vocal cords when he was young... In any case, it has a distinctive feel to it.

The second song I've added is "How Can I (Story That I Don't Want To Believe)". I don't know what's wrong with the Korean music industry now, it seems like almost every singer/band like to name their songs with some words, then add on to it with brackets. In any case, the true meaning of this second song is Story That I Don't Want To Believe. This song is so beautiful that it can make you cry if you listen with your heart. It's a superb song, and it showcases the talents of Changmin and Yunho. To me, it sounds like the whole of DBSK is singing together. And then I start to imagine how heavenly it would sound like if all 5 members were to sing this song together.

Some fans have been saying how this song reflects the feelings of Changmin and Yunho for Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong. Now that the 5 of them are not together yet... Especially now that newspapers have been spreading more disharmony between the 5 of them. I was reading Lian He Wan Bao last night and the report on DBSK made me so furious! It seems like the reporter is an anti-fan of DBSK. Seriously, there is a better way to report on them...

I believe that the 5 of them will reunite soon. Always keep the faith!

And I should keep faith in myself too. That means, start work soon!

Hectic Week

2010-10-19T23:48:00.002+08:00

This week is hectic. And next week too. Till the end of the semester, every week is gonna be the same.

I just e-mailed my FYP supervisor my third draft of my proposal which I did during my break, so I ended up not studying. Then I had some questions so I emailed him those questions too. I kinda expected him to read through my 3rd draft, give me comments, then I finalise my proposal by tomorrow. However, I don't think he intends to do that. Haha. So I guess I do my proposal tomorrow and then send it again to him. I can't really expect him to make time for my FYP at my own convenience... I should have done it earlier and sent it to him.

Anyway, I had 9 questions so at the end of them all, I said, "Sorry for the long questions! Can I send my proposal to you tomorrow after you've read through this draft? Thank you!" to end the e-mail properly. Guess what he replied?

"Yes - thanks. Sorry for the short reply, in a rush"

Haha! Isn't it cute? I apologised for asking long questions but he replied with short answers. But actually my questions only warranted short answers... =/

Gotta start studying soon!

My FYP So Far

2010-10-12T01:18:00.000+08:00

Today I shall blog a little.

I finally got to see my FYP supervisor after 1 week of not seeing him. It’s really weird, ‘cos when I don’t see him, I feel all confused about my FYP, not knowing what to do. But when he’s around, I get a little intimidated. Like, what if he asks me questions that I don’t know how to answer? And I haven’t been progressing on my FYP. However, I get doubts cleared.

Anyway, people at NCC walk really fast into the office. I sit at the computer just next to the door, so when they enter the office and walk past me quickly, I feel super cold. When it’s already cold enough. >.<>

I’ve been working hard at collecting data when I haven’t been able to finish even 20% of the data given to me. This is due to multiple reasons, such as me having to tutor my tutee for her final exams and me having to swim damn hard on my own just to make clear what is going on, only to find out that what I think I learnt from swimming on my own is wrong!

Anyway, I’ve tried to stay at NCC for as I can, but there’s a limit to how much time I can devote to my FYP. For example, my mum expects me to be back home by 7 pm so the whole family can have lunch together. There’s still CAs and assignments and group discussions and P1… How much time does one have?

So AC was worried about my P1 ‘cos I haven’t finished screening through my patients. So AC said, you should come down to NCC more to work on it. Then I told him, “I’ve been coming down here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays…” And he didn’t say anything more. I think he’s satisfied with my answer and how much time I’ve spent. Oh well.

Actually, till now, I don’t really know what I am doing, what I am supposed to do or how I am going to do my FYP. It’s like, I appear to know what I am doing, but then if you ask me deeper, I seriously don’t know. Sigh.

I’ve spent the whole of today at NCC again. From 9 am till 5.30 pm. I think I’m working there part-time. I’ve been screening patients so hardworking-ly and yet my progress is so slow. And I had such a bad headache at the end of the day that I simply knocked off at 5.30 pm sharp. And my head still hurts now. =(

Lee Seung Gi chosen as the male singer who would best handle postpartum care

2010-10-06T00:59:00.001+08:00

A set of poll results showed that singer/actor Lee Seung Gi was recently chosen as ‘the male singer who would best help with postpartum care’, which is a period shortly after childbirth.

Online music site Bugs Music held the poll for 6 days, with 685 (45%) of the 1552 voters choosing Lee Seung Gi ranking him first place. Second place went to 2PM’s Nichkhun, receiving 365 votes (25%), displaying the vast gap between the first and second place winners.

Many netizens expressed, “Seeing Lee Seung Gi’s generally calm image, I’d pick him as my first pick”, “Is there anyone else who is softer and calmer than Lee Seung Gi himself?”, “Lee Seung Gi is someone who would even have morning sickness in place of the wife”, “Maybe it’s because he played a father of a baby in a drama before, but I’m already used to that image.”

Meanwhile, other singers placed in the top 5 were: B2ST’s leader Yoon Doojoon with 245 votes (16%),Sung Shi Kyung with 116 votes (8%), and 2AM’s Im Seulong with 78 votes (6%).

Source: AsiaE

Photo: Bugs Music

I'm simply overjoyed for my Seung Gi. =D And I do think he would do a good post-partum job too. Haha.

As Life Goes On...

2010-09-07T22:59:00.001+08:00

Many things happened. Let me see what I can recall.

Last Thursday, there was a talk by the Perm Sec of Health. Seriously, I wanted to pay attention to the current issues concerning health care so I would be updated when I graduate. And perhaps go into Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore and do something there. To my disappointment, I think the Perm Sec had too much time allocated to her, so something very simple has to be explained in multiple sentences such that I lost track while trying to follow the truckloads of words. Initially, I was fully concentrating on her; halfway through I didn't bother to anymore. In any case, people around me weren't paying attention anyway.

I only vaguely remember the contents of 1 out of 2 videos. That video was about how people can get diagnosed with a chronic disease such as diabetes and then how she would be referred to her preferred GP for follow up, and referred to another place for annual checkups and referred to... some other places. It was confusing me. I didn't think it was a good idea. I mean, yeah, you provide convenience to the patient by letting her choose where she wants to receive treatment, but then you waste time on administrative matters too. Like booking appointments, etc.

And another issue: GPs may have to get a specialist in Family Medicine if they wanna be GPs after graduation from medical school. That means, people who want to be GPs because it's the easy way out (ok, maybe people who think like me), they don't have an easy way out anymore because you still have to be accredited as a specialist. If I were intending to be a GP (regardless of whether it's the easy way out or simply my interest), I would cringe. On the other hand, I am kinda happy they did this because there's no point making pharmacist renew their licences every 2 years and other fellow healthcare professionals don't have to. Hmm. Treat everyone fair.

Now let me go on to FYP. I have to do a lot of things. But I haven't started. I printed out some articles I found and I printed 2 copies. -_-" So there goes my $5. Wasted. Anyway, I'm very happy that I don't have to go down to NCC tomorrow 'cos I'm very tired already. Anyway, I lied to my FYP supervisor that I was halfway done with the task he gave me when actually I haven't started. Oh well.

My tutee is giving me problems. Again and again and again and again. There are 4 major problems. First, she dislikes coming for tuition, so she'll keep postponing tuition sessions and we end up making no progress. Second, her track record isn't going as well as it should be. Third, she hates Science and doesn't do Science when I ask/tell her to. Fourth, I can't finish teaching her all the necessary stuff. Even if I manage to, I wonder what's the percentage retained.

School is giving me a lot of burden too. I haven't started on my elective project, and there are CAs and assignments. I think studying would be more effective for me if the department made school start at 10 am. Ending at 6 pm simply drains me of my energy and I do nothing on weekday nights. Like how I feel right now.

Today, I totally gave up and fell asleep in Dr Grant Sklar's lecture. I didn't want to, but I was so tired, I just dozed off in seconds. I was sitting in the front of the lecture too! I am very sure Dr Grant Sklar saw me. Oh well. Now I have another thing to do: listen to his lecture again. And oh shit! He was showing a video on x-rays but I was sleeping through it. Now I won't know how to read x-rays. =(

And I wanna thank James for trying so hard and patiently to explain to me Factorial Designs when he could have better spent the time mugging for the CAs. I took a super long time to come to terms to what he said and perhaps understand most of what he was trying to do. And Yee Wen too! She's been a great help.

I met my junior because she wanted some of my old notes. I met her a second time when I was buying KOI bubble tea with Debra. She was like, "Are they selling it to raise funds for some voluntary work?" I replied, "Erm, I don't know, but I don't care either." LOL! Dear junior ah, this is me, your senior, Christy, who tries to make her world as simple as possible.

And Seoh Thin found my FYP supervisor on Facebook and saw him this evening. In "tight shirt and jeans" and looking like "eye candy liao". Haha. I do have to say that my FYP supervisor does dress well, and oh my goodness, his eyes are beautiful. Eye lashes and eye balls included. If only I had those eyes. Haha. And so recently when I'm taking the MRT back home, I would look at the eyes of guys (old and young alike) and I find that most males have thick eyebrows and long eyelashes. So not fair! =P

For now, one thing that can keep me happy would be to search for nice music and listen to them. And sharing them is my hobby. Haha. But there aren't many good songs recently, so I've resorted to digging out quality songs from the past year (2009) which I have missed out and listening to them instead. So I've put in new songs for my blog! If you like those songs, you can check out their names below:

In order of playlist arrangement,

1) Beautiful Life by V.O.S.

2) Over Time by Baek Ji Young

3) What Should We Finish by Soyeon (of the group, T-ara)

4) Love is Bitter, Pain Is Calling by Seo In Young

5) Love Story by Jewelry

6) Lonely Night by December

I love "Beautiful Life". I used to encourage myself by saying "Life is beautiful" when I was in JC. Now, I think I have to change my self encouragement line to "What Should I Finish?"...

What Do You Want From Me?

2010-08-30T18:30:00.003+08:00

My FYP supervisor is really pushing me to my max limits. I'm so darned running out of time with so many things to do and he keeps giving me things to do. =(

I had to force myself to sit down for 5 hours today to complete all my CITI online tests. And now I have to rush out my FYP report by Tuesday night. =( And I am lucky I did my statistics assignment early and kinda finished it already. Or I'll probably just bang my head against the wall - Die faster that way.

Doraemon, can you please reverse time? Can't you see that since semester started, I've cut down time wastage by almost 50% as compared to the previous semesters? Can you see the effort I'm putting in? Just give me more time and I'll finish all my tasks. Really.

Examples of Absence of Ethics in Past Researches

2010-08-30T00:56:00.003+08:00

I'm still doing my ethics course. Anyway, I read some examples of violation of ethics and found them very interesting and so, I'm gonna share them!

I guess I have to give proper credits because it's taken wholesale. I personally am shocked by the study on Syphilis. And the study by Milgram was what I learnt in Psychology many semesters ago...

Credits:

Elizabeth Bankert, MA
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Jeffrey M. Cohen, PhD, CIP
HRP Associates, Inc., New York NY
Jeffrey A. Cooper, MD., MMM
Huron Consulting Group, LLC, Chicago, IL
Barbara Davis Goldman, PhD
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Lorna Hicks, MS, CIP
Duke University, Durham, NC

The Public Health Service Syphilis Study (1932-1972)

One of the seminal events in the development of the current regulatory environment was the Public Health Service (PHS) Syphilis Study (1932 - 1972), frequently referred to as the "Tuskeegee Syphilis Study" [see "Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment", Revised Edition by James H. Jones] . Initiated and funded by the PHS, this study was designed as a natural study of the course of syphilis in African-Americans. At the time the study began there was no known safe and effective treatment. Hundreds of men who did not know they had syphilis and hundreds of men without syphilis (serving as controls) were enrolled into the study. The men were recruited without their fully informed consent. They were deliberately misinformed about the need for some of the procedures. For example, spinal taps were described as necessary and special "free treatment" for "bad" blood.
More importantly, even after penicillin was found to be a safe and effective treatment for syphilis in the 1940s, the men with syphilis were denied antibiotics. In addition, the researchers continued to protect the status of the study as a "natural history." To prevent the subjects from being treated by the military or by local physicians, the investigators arranged with the local draft board to prevent the men from being drafted, arranged with local physicians to withhold treatment, and told the men that if they volunteered for the military, they would no longer receive financial compensation for taking part in the study. The study continued to track these men sporadically until 1972 when the first public accounts of the study appeared in the national press. Not providing penicillin once it was deemed safe and effective may have been responsible for 28 deaths, 100 cases of disability, and 19 cases of congenital syphilis. [Levine]
Ethical problems: lack of informed consent, deception, withholding information, withholding available treatment, putting men and their families at risk, exploitation of a vulnerable group of subjects who would not benefit from participation.

More Recent Events

Death of a Normal Volunteer
On March 31, 1996, a 19-year-old Asian -American student at the University of Rochester responded to an advertisement for study subjects to undergo bronchoscopy for the harvest of alveolar macrophages. The bronchoscopy was difficult and required numerous doses of topical lidocaine. The investigators repeatedly asked the subject if she wanted to continue and the subject nodded her head "yes." The study was completed, but the subject returned to the hospital in cardiac arrest from an overdose of lidocaine and died April 2, 1996. An investigation into this death revealed that the protocol did not specify the number of lidocaine doses, that the doses were not documented, that the subject was not observed after the bronchoscopy, and that the concentrations of lidocaine were increased without IRB approval.
Ethical problems:Exploitation of a vulnerable population (student volunteers), inadequate informed consent
Death on Gene Transfer Trial
In the fall of 1999, 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger died as a result of his participation in a gene transfer trial. Jesse had a rare metabolic disorder that was being controlled by medication and a strict diet. Shortly after the gene transfer attempt Jesse experienced multiple organ failure and subsequently died. This case catapulted gene transfer research into the national news. Serious concerns related to conflict of interest, data safety monitoring, and informed consent made the Gelsinger case a contemporary illustration of continued doubts about the ethical integrity of research with human subjects.
Ethical problems:Institutional and researcher conflict of interest, inadequate informed consent

Wichita Jury Case (1953)

In this study researchers tape-recorded jurors' private deliberations in six courtroom trials to measure the influence that attorney comments have on subsequent jury decision making. The judge and attorneys knew the research was being conducted, but the jurors did not, so as not to bias their behavior. The tapes were played at a law conference and the study was reported in a local newspaper. The resulting concern that the possibility of future taping could have a repressive effect on future juror deliberations resulted in a 1956 federal law banning all recording of jury proceedings.
Ethical problems: Compromising the integrity of important social institutions, lack of informed consent, invasion of privacy.

Milgram's "Obedience to Authority Study" (1963)

The purpose of this study was to learn more about how humans respond when given instructions from people in positions of authority. The researchers informed study volunteers that the purpose of the research was to study learning and memory. Each subject was told to teach a "student" and to punish the students' errors by administering increasing levels of electric shock. The "students" were confederates of the researcher and were never actually harmed. The "students" pretended to be poor learners. They mimicked pain and even unconsciousness as the subjects increased the levels of electric shock. Sixty-three percent of the subjects administered what they thought were lethal shocks; some did so even after the "student" claimed to have heart disease. Some of the subjects, after being "debriefed" from the study, experienced serious emotional crises.
Ethical Problems: Deception, unanticipated psychological harms.

Allen's “Nazi Seizure of Power Study” (1965)

In his study “The Nazi Seizure of Power; the Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945,”,first published in 1965, William Sheridan Allen interviewed residents of a town in Germany about their lives during Hitler's rise to power. He made a commitment of confidentiality with regard to the names of his informants and of the town and used pseudonyms for the town and individuals when writing a book based on the interviews. After the book was subsequently translated into German, based on the information provided and additional investigative journalism, a German magazine was able to determine the real name of the town and the identities of many of Allen's narrators and published the information in an article.
Ethical Problems: Failure to maintain adequate confidentiality to protect against deductive disclosure of identity by others with additional information.

Humphreys' "Tea Room Trade" (1970)

In this study the researcher observed homosexual practices in public restrooms. The researcher went undercover as a homosexual and gained the confidence of the men by acting as a "look out." The researcher identified 100 active subjects by tracing their car license numbers. A year after he completed the observational portion of his study, the researcher disguised his appearance and in the communities where he knew the subjects lived interviewed some of the "tearoom regulars" in their own homes. He used a social health survey collecting data about their sexual orientation and marital status. Interviews were sometimes conducted in the presence of wives and children. At no time did he tell them anything about the relationship of the interview to the prior observational work.
Though the publication of the book based on the dissertation may have been helpful in dispelling some stereotypes, the report had sufficient detail that the identities of some of the participants were obvious to them and their families.
Ethical problems: Invasion of privacy, use of a vulnerable population, lack of informed consent, failure to protect against deductive disclosure of identity. [ Warwick]

Zimbardo "Simulated Prison" (1973)

This landmark psychological study of the human response to captivity and, in particular, prison life, involved assigning roles to normal male student volunteers to create groups of "prisoners" and "guards." The research became so intense, as physical and psychological abuse of "prisoners" by "guards" escalated, that several of the subjects experienced distress less than 36 hours after the study began. Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the researcher, did not stop the experiment/simulation until six days had passed. See Dr. Zimbardo's web site for more details on this study.
Ethical problems: Harm to subjects, lack of neutrality of researcher.

Restaurant Letter Study (2001)

It is important to note that not all the events that raise concerns about research ethics in both biomedical and social and behavioral research occurred before the 1974 congressional hearings. In 2001, a faculty member from the business school of a major university designed a study to see how restaurants would respond to complaints from putative customers. As part of the project, the researcher sent letters to restaurants falsely claiming that he and/or his wife had suffered food poisoning that ruined their anniversary celebration. The letters disclaimed any intention of contacting regulatory agencies and stated that the only intent was to convey to the owner what had occurred "in anticipation that you will respond accordingly." Restaurant owners were understandably upset and some employees lost their jobs before it was revealed that the letter was a hoax. The researcher later admitted the falsehood in a letter of apology to each restaurant. The study had not been submitted to an IRB for review. An investigation by the Federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) followed. In addition, the restaurants filed a lawsuit against the university.
Ethical problems: Deception, lack of informed consent, infliction of emotional distress.

Yeah, Right

2010-08-30T00:07:00.003+08:00

I just started doing my online tests on learning ethics for student researchers. And I saw this line:

Students are vulnerable in an academic environment. They must be able to participate in research with voluntariness. They must not be coerced to participate in a research project that is not to their liking.

Oh well. If only it was really true. I wouldn't have have to do FYP and I'd be happy.

Week 3 of School

2010-08-24T20:21:00.002+08:00

Ah. It's only the 3rd week and I'm already freaking tired. I already have lots of homework and assignment not done and there's still FYP!!!

I look back the past 3 years of university life and I saw what an easy life I had. I never studied, I rarely did my tutorial and seldom had stress.

Now, I do my tutorial with a pinch of zest and feel like learning everything! But given the amount of work to be done and my energy draining away, I can't do anything!

This semester, I am taking Physics as an elective. I happily did all my tutorial questions thinking that I could get all correct and almost enthusiastically attended tutorial today.

Guess what? I had quite a few questions wrong and I already have the impression that I am not gonna score for this elective already. =( And the tutor was horrible. He rushes through the tutorial and only explains once. And I don't even understand what he's saying! Luckily I had some basic Physics background, or else I'll never understand a single thing.

I thought I found back some interest in Physics, thinking that I could fall in love with it. But in the end, I hate it more. It should not be like that...

Old Receipts

2010-08-06T17:42:00.002+08:00

Today's my pay day!!! Haha. I finally am able to collect money from my tutee. =X

Not that I teach her for money (since I'm already charging such a low rate), but it's always nice to see money. Heh heh.

Anyway, I took out the $50 which I put into my wallet in order to watch a movie with Xiao Ting yesterday. I managed not to touch that money. Wee! So I also decided to clear out some receipts which have been accumulating inside my wallet.

I saw a very faded receipt which I couldn't see anything on it at all, except for the logo, Marche. Hmm. That was last year...? When we went there to celebrate Chia Yee's birthday I think. And an old receipt of me going to Sakae Sushi with Hui Min at Northpoint last year. 28th of July 2009. Wow. Really old receipt.

And I can't find a NTUC Fairprice receipt which I bought my external harddisk. I am supposed to save it in case I have to send it for repairs within 5 years! Shucks.

Sorry, Lee Min Ho

2010-07-13T03:26:00.002+08:00

Hmm. I think I'll take back my views on Lee Min Ho's latest drama, "Personal Taste".

Seriously, it's not as bad as I made it sounded to be on my previous post. Just that the preceding drama was soooooooooo good, you can't shine much more than it.

Ah. The more I try to explain, the worse it becomes.

Anyway, I'm starting to get caught up with the plot, so I'm beginning to like the drama. =D And I just finished episode 5 just now!

My mum was asking, "How long is each episode of "Personal Taste"?"
Me: 1 hour, just like "You're Beautiful".

My Mum: Then how come this drama seems to be so long?

Me: Maybe it's a bit more slow-paced and it's not as funny as You're Beautiful.

Oh well. But I still like Lee Min Ho. How he looks like when he's stressed out. Ok, I sound like a weird stalker. Haha. And him in general too. That was why, one day, while walking towards the MRT station, I took a LG mobile phone promotion leaflet from the girl giving it out when initially I didn't plan to... Because I saw Lee Min Ho on the leaflet. Heh heh.

Christy, you're hopeless.

What Do You Do When You're Bored?

2010-07-12T02:18:00.002+08:00

I totally have nothing to do at home since my attachment ended. Well, not exactly. I do have stuff to do, like compiling the answers to the assignments I did during my attachment, but I just can't get down to do it. Come on, it's THE holidays! The last of my 3-month holidays before I graduate and start slogging for life.

So, I started to catch up with notable dramas. I watched a Korean drama called "You're Beautiful" starring Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, Lee Hong Ki (of FT Island) and Jung Yong Hwa (of C.N. Blue). Oh my God. It's a REALLY good drama, such that my mum got caught up with it in the first episode itself. When I finished it and moved on to Lee Min Ho's "Personal Taste" which everyone around me told me to watch, the latter appeared average. I was totally engrossed into "You're Beautiful" and oh man, it's a must watch for all drama freaks like me. Oh. I'm not a drama freak anymore. =(

Anyway, Park Shin Hye's acting was fresh, Lee Hong Ki was good (he's so cute!) and Jang Geun Suk was totally amazing. I love him! (Oops.) Or, maybe I like his role in the drama. He brought the character to life. But one thing for sure, I fell in love with his voice. Haha. And a lot of fans out there love his voice too. Haha. Anyway, I so regret not watching "You're Beautiful" last year, such that when he came to Singapore, I didn't really care. Ah, such immense regret! He's one actor I'm gonna look out for. Maybe I should watch "Beethoven's Virus" just for him. But after I finish Lee Min Ho's drama first. But I don't exactly wanna finish it. As in, no urge to. The only thing that keeps me going is because I've started on it already.

Next, I started to watch the World Cup. Yeah, I actually kinda got hit by the soccer wave. But I only watched, like 2 or 3 matches. I was amazed at Germany's performance, and I was really sad when they didn't manage to get into the finals. Anyway, they've gotten 3rd place! So that's a consolation for me.

Ok, here's the latest, most dumb thing I did because I was bored. Super Junior has 13 members, right? All along, I could only recognise 3 members. I then decided that it was too unacceptable for me to only know 3 out of 13 members when I'm so into Korean pop. So I looked up the pictures and names of the remaining members and viola! Excluding Ki Bum who's mysteriously disappeared (Ok, he didn't really disappear from Earth, but I just couldn't come to a conclusion after searching Wikipedia. It was just said that he didn't participate in the 4th album. So I don't really care about Ki Bum now...), Kang In who's just entered the army (but hey I can recognise him) and Han Geng (who withdrew from Super Junior with reasons similar to DBSK? Or was it that he was too tired? Whatever.), I can proudly say that I can recognise all of the remaining members! Oh my. It took me 2 nights to remember them. And at times, I mix up Sung Min with Ye Sung.

What other dumb stuff will I do with the remaining days? Oh well. Someone do something with me! I'm really bored.... *cries*

Feeling Unwell

2010-07-07T01:56:00.003+08:00

I fell sick. I was very tired on Sunday afternoon, so I took a nap before starting tuition. I woke up with a sore throat, but since sore throat happens to me quite often, I just took some Danzen tablets and gave a very slack tuition. My tutee was lucky that she didn't have to hear me nag for a session. I also sneezed a lot of times at night.

Then on Monday morning... I woke up nauseous, cold with a more severe sore throat and ultra-sleepiness. My sister actually vomited again at 3 a.m., so after I cleared up her mess, I had to bring her to the doctor in the morning. So I went along to see a doctor myself.

We waited at the clinic for an hour before it was our turn to see the doctor. And she said my sister had food poisoning and that I perhaps had it too. I then gently reminded the doctor that I had flu symptoms, while my sister doesn't. So in the end, she simply diagnosed me with flu. And she told me, "I think I won't have to give you any medicine for your nausea then." I rolled my eyes but I didn't protest.

Anyway, my sister, despite feeling nauseous, was hungry, so I brought her to Mega Food Mall next to the clinic and bought her Yong Tau Foo. I didn't feel like eating and upon reaching home, my sister was happily eating while I went off to sleep without lunch or breakfast.

I woke up in the afternoon and felt a little hungry, so I ate 2 slices of plain white bread and 2 pieces of peanut crackers. Then I went back to sleep again. -_-"

I woke up for dinner, and I ate very little (like, 10% of my normal appetite?) at my mum's insistence. Whoa. I felt so healthy that day. I mean, at least I kind of went on a diet. =P

At 10 p.m., I had a craving for some soft drink, so I sipped half a can of coke. Oh my God. I was energized almost immediately. Sweet soft drinks do help, huh. I guess I was low on sugar. I remember feeling dizzy one day during term time. Pepsi made me more alert. Haha. So I started watching "You're Beautiful" with my mum. LOL.

The New Public Transport Fare Structure

2010-07-04T22:22:00.002+08:00

Ok, the title of this blog post is very misleading... Haha. I'm not gonna critique the new Distance Fares structure, but am just gonna talk about how it would affect me when I go to school in the coming academic year.

Actually, I really love the old fare structure of giving me rebates when I make transfers... I transfer from bus to MRT to bus just to go to NUS, so I really save a lot on the old fare structure. I didn't even have to buy concession anymore! Then came the new fare structure, and I heard about how 1 out of 3 people would experience an increase in public transport fares, I kinda got worried. Good thing was that there's the Distance Fares Calculator by LTA, I calculated that it would cost me around $1.79 for a single trip to school. So there's still no need for me to buy concession. I was happy for that. I wonder if I save more on this new fare structure, but I can't remember how much my old fare was. I guess the difference wouldn't be significant.

So I'm actually happy!

Then I saw this feature called Journey Planner I think. So I decided to find out if the route which I've been using for the past 3 years to go to NUS is really the best route. Seems like it is so! =D I can't be more happier.

And it's just one more year to go... Soon, the journey to school which sucks all the life out of me would be over. Ha ha ha ha ha...

Vending Machine For Bananas

2010-07-02T02:10:00.005+08:00

A new vending machine for bananas has been placed in Shibuya, Tokyo. This machine is made by Dole, and is targeting students and business people who have less chances to go to the supermarket.

According to the article, the machine is set to 13℃ which is the best temperature to keep bananas at, and a belt conveyor is used so the bananas don’t get bruised when purchased.

Source: Shibuya Keizai Shinbun

Haha isn't it just cute? How clever of them to use a conveyor belt to transport the bananas! I think Dole might as well start selling the Dole range of fruits in vending machines. Haha.

Ultimate Frustration

2010-07-01T01:07:00.001+08:00

Stupid organisation la

Stupid bank la

I don’t want the thing anymore la

Crap you la

Don’t want give me the money then don’t give la

Why give me so many problems lei?

Stupid la

Not like I don’t have money to pay for my tuition fees

Not like I want your money

Not like your money is a lot anyway

Not like your money is enough to let me run away what

Why would I want to run away with a few k?

I might as well borrow a few hundred millions from a loan shark and run away

So dumb.

So stupid.

I've had enough!!!

A Very Tired Christy

2010-06-28T01:59:00.004+08:00

I don't know why, I'm perpetually tired out everyday, especially during preceptorship (attachment).

Of course, in the past one month, many things have happened to me, but I am too tired to blog everyday. I told myself, I must blog in order to make learning at preceptorship meaningful, but I never did blog once throughout the 6 weeks I told myself to. Oh well. Guess you could sense how tired I am. I really wonder how Hui Min has the energy to blog during her attachment.

Yes, numerous things have happened, which I would have been happy to blog about, but now, I can't recall a thing. -_-"

Ok, let me blog about a recent event then. Haha. I gotta find back my love for blogging.

On Saturday (26/6/2010), I wanted to go to Malaysia with my mum and dad, but they decided not to go although they agreed to bring me to Malaysia on Friday night! That's because my 2 sisters didn't finish their holiday homework despite me nagging at them to do their work whenever I can remember (haha). Anyway, we decided to go to Sembawang Shopping Centre.

We took 962 to Sembawang MRT and I think the NTUC Foodfare there underwent a renovation... So my dad dragged my mum in and we had to follow. I looked at the Korean stall and knew that it was what I wanted for lunch. My parents bought Yong Tau Foo and I couldn't believe how miserly the amount was. My mum was like, "I didn't want it... Your dad lor." I brought my sister to the Korean stall and I had Bibimbap while my sister had Chicken Jiggae I think. Whatever. I thought of the Bibimbap I used to have for lunch during attachment to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) at Novena Square. It tasted much better there! But here is quite acceptable too. And the kimchi is ok too. My mum knew how hungry my dad was, so she told him to get a Char Kway Teow. The Char Kway Teow was good, just that it wouldn't be filling for any one of us if we were to only have that for a meal. I was craving for an Ice Kacang, and surprisingly, my mum allowed. Woots!

We then went to Challenger at Sembawang Shopping Centre and I bought another Wii Motion Plus. That one attachment costs $45 just like that! I really didn't want to buy it. But anyway, I've already bought it, and now 2 people can simultaneously play against each other on my Wii now.

I am not a member of Challenger, so the original price was $45. I asked the cashier if there was any promotions for the Wii Motion Plus, and she said no. She then asked me to become a member, which I think was unnecessary since I would rarely buy stuff from Challenger. Then someone poked my shoulder and a man suddenly stood beside me. I glanced at him and he said, "Charge it to my IC then." Then he read out his IC number really fast, then smiled at me and walked off. I was still in confusion before I realised that he was the guy paying before me and he gave the cashier his IC number because he is a member and I could enjoy the discounted member price. Wow. I saved $3 this way. Haha.

I persuaded my parents to take a walk around Sembawang Shopping Centre although it had very little variety. While walking around, I realised that we had walked around before, and it really was pathetic. Anyway, we saw a travel agency while going down the escalator and we went back to the level above by running up the escalator. So dumb! But it was something I hadn't done in ages (like since I was young) and it felt so fun! We saw a villa package in Bintan island and seriously, I was very tempted to go. I would have signed up if I had the money! But I know the financial situation my family has always been in, so I kinda had to abolish the thought. Anyway, I would be going to Sentosa this Sunday, so I guess it would make up! It's gonna be Family Day on Sunday! Whee!

There's also the Wet Play Park in Sembawang Shopping Centre, and I so have the urge to play in the water. But I was wearing white, so I couldn't go play in the water. Hmm. Speaking of playing in the water, I haven't played in water for... more than 5 years already? Haiz. If my little cousin was to come in the near future, I think I would want to bring him there to play! To me, he's quite a deprived kid, so I really want to shower him with all the love he doesn't have.

We took the shuttle bus back to Sembawang MRT and went to Sun Plaza's NTUC. I think it's my mum's favourite grocery store already. Haha. Anyway, I saw Mr Bean the soya milk drink stall and I bought a Mr Bean ice-cream. I started thinking about how I would have ice-cream with Yee Wen and Alvin after lunch during preceptorship. It felt so much like a preceptorship typical lunch cum snack. Haha. I really miss preceptorship. It's the first time I miss working life!

I ate a lot of food ever since holidays started. And I've been spending a lot of money. How am I gonna lose all these extra weight?

Troubled

2010-05-28T13:21:00.001+08:00

I hate making decisions.

Or, rather, I hate having to choose the reasons that lead me to make a certain decision.

And also, I hate having to face the consequences of making a certain decision.

Oh, someone please help me.

Exams Are Over!

2010-05-07T01:21:00.002+08:00

Wow. I haven't been blogging since 17th April huh... And the recent blog posts of mine are kinda... unrelated to my life. LOL.

Exams have never been tougher. I admit I didn't study much during the one week study break (instead, I don't know how I spent it, but I call it the "holidays"), and it was really hellish to go through the lecture notes for the exams. I practically went through a lot of suffering during the exams period. Imagine having to prepare for 3 modules which you have never paid much attention to during the entire semester. I recall the legendary Year 3 Sem 1, which everyone in the faculty rumoured to be the toughest of all the 4 years. I totally disagree. Year 3 Sem 2 is the hardest of them all. Oh wait; Year 4 Sem 1 might be even more hellish. Anyway, Year 3 Sem 1, I could understand what I was learning.

Anyway, after the exams, I went out for dinner at New York with Seoh Thin, Pei Pei and James. I had baked rice because the one I had at Swensons years ago was fantastic. At New York, they were only okay, and there was more cheese than rice, so I was practically very full because of the cheese, not rice. Haha. We chit-chatted till 9.30 p.m., and I reached home at 10.30 p.m. IT was relaxing. Haha.

I didn't have much sleep on Monday night in order to prepare for 2 exams on Tuesday. And on Sunday night, I didn't have much sleep either to prepare for the exam on Monday night. So, I actually lacked A LOT of sleep. I went back home, but I went on Facebook and didn't sleep till it was 3 a.m. And guess what? I have to return to school on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. for a briefing. I ended up lazing around in bed and woke up at 9 a.m. I freaked out and rushed out of the house, and ended up only being 15 minutes late. Whoa. Oh, and on the way, I met Daphne. She's easy to talk to! Haha.

Alvin the class rep wanted to take a class picture (I was just wondering why he didn't mention anything this semester) but the turnout for the briefing was like, half the class? So he decided that he couldn't carry out his plan. Aww. So sad. He's such a perfect class rep - he brought the tripod stand and camera and paraphernalia. Who can bear to disappoint him?

I went home and resumed tuition with my tutee. Seriously, she didn't do much of the homework I set for her because I stopped tuition for the one week I had exams. To think I had my hopes up high when she told me she wanted to keep the Primary Science Guide with her for a longer time because a lot of the stuff inside are tested for her SA1. I thought she had decided to work hard. Oh no, no, no. My dreams were dashed. But there was no way I could scold her! Her mum says she's rebellious at home. Headache.

Because of my selfishness for my exams, and because her exams were coming up, I scheduled tuition slots on Wednesday (the immediate day after my exams although I desperately needed sleep), Friday, Saturday, Sunday (I needed both weekends for shopping for my preceptorship clothes!) and the Monday I have to start working (I'll have to rush home and give her tuition). I seriously hope she can sense all my effort. I don't think I am cut out to be a teacher, because after every tuition session, I feel so drained of energy. If I have to give classes, I think I'll knockout everyday in the staffroom.

Finally, I'm gonna watch "Ice Kacang Puppy Love"! With Seoh Thin. Yay! But I have to starve her 'cos we can only catch the 1030 slot as I have tuition at 4. Oh well. My dear tutee ah, can you see the sacrifices I'm making? Can you glorify me by just passing your SA1 and CA2, and then score for your prelims and PSLE? I don't believe there's a student that I can't teach to score. PSLE - if you study, you CAN score! I wonder why I didn't realise that when I was at that age.

I still have lotsa things to blog about. But it's late - I should go sleep! And I cheered up myself a little bit by changing my MSN display pic to another of Seung Gi's picture. Ah, this is pure happiness. =P

Full Of Yunho Hotness

2010-04-17T00:38:00.002+08:00

Erm. 1 week has passed by. No progress in studying still. Went around looking for songs and playing Facebook. I totally screwed.

Anyway, found out a piece of news that Yunho of Dong Bang Shin Ki acted in a MV for the debut song of a new group called J.Rich. Yunho has a friend in J.Rich, so he acted in their MV. Oh my God.

Of course, I would check out the MV once it's released. I'm still waiting for the translated lyrics, and so here I'll just briefly explain the storyline if you aren't interested in watching the video:

In the MV, Yunho is a professional photographer and discovers one day that he's going blind soon. So he purposely tries to ditch his girlfriend and leave the country on his own, but the girl finds out and goes to the airport to look for him. Ta-da.

I believe the storyline is cliche, but it would help so much if there were translations! But one thing that I wanna mention here: Fans are saying that although Yunho photographs models in the MV, he dresses and looks so much more like a model and all the models look... pretty average. HAHA. I'm not biased, but this I totally agree. But they also said his acting has improved... That I don't know, because I didn't watch his drama "Heading To The Ground" and so I have no grounds for comparison. But I feel that he could have more feelings in the scenes when he was out on a date with the girl. When it comes to parts of his frustration and sadness, OH MY GOD, his hotness oozes out like the volcanic ash in Iceland's volcanic eruption that halted many flights. Those parts, he's a natural. Haha.

And yup, this song sounds pretty sad to me. Finally, I've found another satisfactory song for my greedy ears. And another reason why I haven't studied much is because I keep re-watching the MV to get more Yunho hotness. LOL. And so, this song is officially entering my blog playlist.

People have been anticipating for Lee Hyori's comeback, at least for months already. She's supposedly some hot K-Pop queen. Well... Her MV, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is something so not my type... I completely have no vocab to describe it. But KBS, a broadcasting station in Korea, has banned her MV because it has her violating traffic rules such as not fastening her seat drive while she drives a truck and dancing on the road. Like, WTH? And similarly, Rain's MV is also banned from broadcast on KBS because he was crazily running on the road in his MV. Isn't KBS so dumb? Does that mean they're gonna ban dramas from having scenes that violate traffic rules from being screened on TV?

Wow. I feel so happy blogging all these nonsense stuff. I seriously think, maybe I should take up some part time job (?) or attachment in the entertainment industry. Haha. I would enjoy working so much more! =P

Now I'm signing off to see how Seung Gi looks like during his Sunkist fan signing event! =P

Out Of Control

2010-04-12T00:46:00.003+08:00

Out of control is when you do something uncontrolled and perhaps with a pinch of insanity.

Like... How I would right-click "Save image as..." whenever I see Seung Gi's picture on Soompi Forums. Then at the end of the day, I try to look for a perfectly taken picture to put into my phone, I narrowed down my choice to only a couple of them... I save pictures for the sake of saving them.

Like... How I only wanted to google for Dong Bang Shin Ki's "With All My Heart" to have a listen at how it sounds like, but Google Images give me tons of DBSK pictures and I crazily went through every single one of them and saved like, half the number of photos that turned up till I reached the last page. Isn't it just so amazing? When I do research, I don't even go beyond 5 pages of search results before I start with another new search term, but here I am, going through every single page of images! OMG.

Like... How I just wanted to have a glimpse of how the "Shopaholic's" series would feel like to read, I took up my sister's storybook and I spent 2 days reading it non-stop.

Like... How you don't feel like doing something when you're supposed to be doing/have done something.

Oh man. I need to study. Can't start.

iPad

2010-04-01T21:46:00.003+08:00

I was surfing around on Facebook when I saw Zhao Han post a flowchart on his wall:

Haha. The conclusion is, if you can, don't buy an iPad. LOL!

Immense Anger and Frustration

2010-04-01T00:52:00.002+08:00

Pretend that you didn't see this post.

I am fucking-ly irritated with this fucking assignment and this fucked-up chinese module.

End of story.

KGSP

2010-03-26T00:10:00.003+08:00

KGSP stands for Korean Government Scholarship Program.

I just checked my NUS Mail, and when I saw the title, "Dongguk University-Full Scholarship", I literally went berserk! It became the first mail I read.

So there's this program for international students to study there like, almost totally free! Masters or Doctoral program! They give you free one year Korean language studies and air tickets (round trip) and monthly allowance! OMG! This is almost like whatever I can wish for.

Actually, the thing that caught my eye was Dongguk University itself. I would go crazy too if the program was offered at Seoul National University or Korea University. Anyway, Dongguk University is where Seung Gi had his undergraduate studies and where he's taking his current Masters too! OMG! Imagine studying at the same university as him! I can lurk around the school and get his autograph (LOL)! Erm, I mean, don't you think it's cool to be able to study in the same university campus as your idol, and your favourite country with almost everything paid for?

I got so excited, I went on Facebook and updated my status to "I hope, hope, hope the KGSP for Dongguk University will have Pharmacy as one of their programs in 2011!".

But then, I realised one thing. Their graduate schools have nothing related to Medicine or Pharmacy. My heart sank deeper than Titanic did.

So to save my face, I changed my status to "I hope, hope, hope KGSP will have Pharmacy as one of their programs in 2011!".

I do wish there will be another KGSP when I graduate next year, and of course, I would love Dongguk University, but any Korean university will do, as long as there's Pharmacy!

I love Korea, I love Seung Gi! =P

Happy Events

2010-03-24T01:06:00.003+08:00

Since there's no school tomorrow, so I shall blog a little today.

Recently, I've been meeting too many people. Well, not exactly many, but compared to not seeing them for years, and then suddenly you see them one after another over days... Well, it's just a great change.

I went to Cold Storage hoping to find a small bottle of conditioner for my dry hair when I saw Mr Chow. Mr Chow, my GP teacher who made it possible for me to get A2 for my GP without having to put in tremendous effort and who did away with crappy stuff like reading/cutting newspaper articles. Mr Chow, the miraculous man. Haha. Anyway, I had a little chat with him (it took me some courage to go up to him, 'cos given my character, I would have shrunk away into the background and slipped off without anyone knowing) and it was such a pity that there would be no chance of him taking my sister's class next year. Before I left, he called my name in a doubtful voice. LOL. When I said "Yeah", he said, "See? I still remember." Oh man, Mr Chow! You cannot forget me, for I am the ONLY person in the whole class who finishes your homework on time. Anyway, he looked much younger than when he taught my (kinda disrespectful) class, and certainly more radiant. Haha. I wish him all the best!

Today, on my way to school, I met Mr Wong, my secondary school Sec 4 English and Form teacher. The guy who brought me back to reality that my A2 during prelims was a miracle, that my standard stands at B3. Well, I don't deny that, 'cos I really got a B3 in 'O' Levels. And it didn't matter. And he looked taller and fairer (his face's complexion is really fantastic now, compared to the past when I could see pimples and some craters) and fitter (we would call him the yellow duck when he wore our yellow class T-shirt) and accomplished. I can't validate whether or not he's accomplished, but he looked like he was doing well. Hmm. And he said "I can still recognise you!" What's wrong with being able to recognise me? I know a lot of people have changed since secondary school, and Ruo Ying called me "Ten Years Never Change" when I saw her last year. What kind of change do you guys wanna see? Me thinner? Or putting on makeup?

I managed to survive through 6 hours of lecture with only 4 hours of sleep the night before, and that's like a miracle. People were buying KOI milk-tea again, and I was tempted to buy too. But I thought of the irritation to my throat before I even finished one-third of the cup, so I gave up the thought. I guess it would save me some money. LOL.

I went to collect my CD tonight, and it was an arduous journey to Seng Kang from NUS and an equally arduous journey from Seng Kang back home. I stood all the way on the MRT, and any minute longer on the train, my shoulder would break from my bag's weight!

Coming back to the CD, I thought I would be collecting Lee Seung Gi's album number 4 original version. Last night, I was still fidgeting over whether I should have bought the repackaged album over the original version. Contrary to expectations, the person had bought the repackaged version instead of the original version. I didn't correct her, and I was actually a bit happy over the mistake. So happily, I went home and I carefully opened the plastic covering and took a look at the lyrics booklet that came along. Hmm, what should I say? I'm a little disappointed? Because the photos were a little simple. But Seung Gi still looks good, so I guess I shouldn't complain? At that point of time, I thought to myself, maybe I shouldn't buy CDs anymore, since there aren't much surprises (I bought a 5566 CD years ago and I wasn't very amused by the contents and the DBSK DVD I bought... Yeah, I was almost equally unamused) and I just keep them in the drawer at the end of the day. One good thing was that the poster came in a cardboard-like tube and my mum didn't ask what it was. LOL.

And one more thing came today! The Popcorn Pens I bought with Sok Hiang. It was really cool, and I couldn't wait to try it when I received it in school. I was successful in making the popcorns appear, but when I went back home, I kinda failed. Too much ink, it smudged on contact with the hot air from the hair dryer. Too little ink, the popcorns don't appear much. Sok Hiang ah, how was it with you?

I showed my mum the Samsung Zipel fridge advertisement. I really love the fridge! I searched for the model number and then the price and it costs a whooping SGD 3500 ++! Don't tell me there are really diamonds on the fridge... Luckily I'm not moving to a new apartment yet, or I might really have bought it and have it imported into Singapore. And if I did that, the total cost would be more than $3500!!!

Ah, it's late already. I shall go sleep! =)

New Songs!

2010-03-23T02:27:00.007+08:00

Since I'm waiting for my songs to be uploaded, I shall blog a little today.

This evening, I'll be collecting my Lee Seung Gi album! Like finally... I ordered the poster too. I wonder how I'll be able to smuggle it home, given the fact that my bag is so small and I don't wanna crease my darling Seung Gi. LOL. Anyway, because the album is only delivered after so long, I start to wonder if it was right of me to have bought his original album. Or I should have ordered the repackaged one. Haiz. And a little part of me started heaving a sigh of relief that luckily, I didn't order the repackage one on top of the original one! Double the cost. I guess that's how CD shops earn money from fans? You need to have ready stock in your shop, fans come in hot-headed and buy it without hesitation. That'd be what will happen to me if Singapore ever imports Seung Gi's albums.

I don't know what happened, but a few days ago, my group B lab counterpart left me a long message on my Facebook wall, saying how she was thankful to me for washing the apparatus super clean for her and how she's one of the guilty ones who always don't wash them properly. I saw the message and my heart started thumping like crazy. How did she know? Although she said she wanted to leave me that message a long time ago but she kept forgetting, but I just can't rest my heart at ease... How I was kinda bitching here, and some sort of an apology came. Seriously, I never really blamed anyone for the cut on my finger. It was an accident and to me, it was a cool experience. I mean, it's really funny and all, and the part about "blaming" was just a joke. Really.

Then one thought started coming to my mind... You know how people can blog-hop from one classmate's blog to another. What if... Some classmate was blog-hopping around and found my blog? What if that person started telling someone about my blog? Oh my gosh. I can't imagine. In any case, my blog URL is simple enough to remember... Argh!

Ok, my songs are uploaded already. I've added two new songs because I'm so out of songs to get addicted to. Yeah, I'm a bit bored with songs now, and sheepishly, a little bored with K-Pop. This is not good news. Music is my life. Without music, I might as well die.

Back to the 2 new songs. First up is titled "Gift" (some people translate it as "Present") by K. Will. He's quite OK a singer, and the collaborating artist is Eun Ji Won! Haha. Eun Ji Won is the rapper. Eun Ji Won's got quite a kiddish personality, and I knew him from the variety show, "1 Night 2 Days". My current love is this song! It's about a guy who realises that his current girlfriend is the greatest gift in his life.

The other song is by MC Mong, a duet "Bubble Love" with Seo In Young. MC Mong is also from "1 Night 2 Days". [And Seung Gi is on that show too! =P] You should watch the show if you have the time. Oops. I sidetracked again. It's an upbeat song, sounds cute, so I got it here too. MC Mong has quite a few songs that I like too, and yes, basically he's a rapper like Eun Ji Won.

Ah, one important thing I wanna blog about:

I went to AMK Hub with my family on Saturday, and I heard someone singing "Will You Marry Me", Seung Gi's song! But obviously, it wasn't Seung Gi who was singing it. If it was, I would have dashed to where the stage was and ~~screamed!~~ gone crazy there. Haha. My mum heard it too, and she could recognise that song! Haha. I guess it means I've been playing it way too often. Anyway, the singer was Korean, but I didn't catch his name. I hope Mediacorp buys "Brilliant Legacy" and broadcasts it on TV. Make Seung Gi famous, then he can come to Singapore and so I won't have to go to Korea anymore. Hee hee.

Wow. So late already. Good night!

Samsung Zipel

2010-03-21T02:06:00.004+08:00

Ah...! I can't believe I'm blogging about this. I just went crazy over a product I so wanna buy! But I can't afford one, and there's really not much of a need for me to have it, but it'll be so cool if I have it! =P

Watch the product commericial:

Yes! It's a refrigerator! And Lee Seung Gi's the spokesperson for it! =P Isn't the fridge so pretty and high class? Although I don't like bling bling stuff, but somehow this refrigerator's bling bling is to my liking! Hee hee.

And of course, I don't deny that partly, I love this fridge because Lee Seung Gi's the spokesperson... But seriously, don't you think it's elegant? And it has some sort of a mini bar where you can put your champagne and you open that mini bar by pressing the door of the mini bar. It comes in white and blue, but I love the blue one. Brings out the sparkles of the diamonds more. And it's designed by Massimo Zucchi, whom I think is an European designer somehow related to jewelery. And the music of the commercial is just so nice, right? He's as tall as the fridge! OMG!

Seung Gi ya! Buy me that fridge and I'll cook (for you) everyday! =P

Pharm Law Pract Is Finally Over~! Well, Almost.

2010-03-10T21:43:00.005+08:00

I miss blogging, but I can't blog because I have no energy to. Oh well, another excuse.

Anyway, I just finished my Pharm Law practical test today. No one wants to go back. Me too. But I haven't signed in to my NUS Email for so long, (which I did just a few minutes ago) I just found out that I still have to go to school early for a debrief... Boo hoo hoo... I was thinking of sleeping in!

As usual, we have to wash our apparatus before our test to ensure that they are squeaky clean. I mean, so you won't have blue stuff contaminating your white product, etc.. I went to wash on Monday. Because my Group B counterpart doesn't do a good job of washing, I scrubbed the beakers really hard. Imagine a glass beaker appearing opaque! I sometimes even have to wash the glass slab myself again during the middle of a practical class because I couldn't stand the remnants.

Back to Monday. I was scrubbing the beaker when I felt some sort of a scratch across my right index finger. I thought it was just a scratch, but when I put the beaker down, I realised I actually broke the beaker and the broken piece cut my finger. I didn't think it was deep, but blood kept flowing out under the tap water and I knew I needed help.

The person nearest to me was James but he was a few benches away. I decided not to shout for him (I wonder why I had the time to make so many considerations) and ran towards him instead.

"James, James, James! Quick quick! Tissue, tissue!" James was studying and he was like, "Huh?" He opened his bag halfway and realised that he didn't have tissue, so I told him to get it from my bag instead. He saw blood and told me to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. How can I forget about applying pressure? Anyway, he reached for his specs and ran off looking for some teaching assistant.

I think it must have caused such a commotion that even Naren and Hui Si knew about it. Haha. Naren was like, "Reminds me of preceptorship times." During our preceptorship, there was a cook in the food court who cut his finger while preparing food. Naren and I decided not to eat from that stall for some time. LOL. Anyway, he was the one who performed first aid for the cook. Hui Si was like, OMG. Even Jamie came and found out what happened.

So Perry Ang (or Perry Png, I can't remember his last name, but he's the guy who helped out during Pharmacostatistics lab) came with James and took a look at my cut. He got some first aid bandages, etc and even an alcohol swab. I didn't want alcohol to sting my finger, so I pretended not to see it. James then tried to wrap up the cut with some gauze and the lab aunty came. She said it's normal and that a plaster would suffice. Everyone asked me if it was painful. Not painful, really. It's just some dull pain. Perry even told me to sit down. Seriously, it was OK; just lost some blood, that's all.

James insisted that all accidents in the lab have to be reported, so he looked for a teaching assistant and she took down some details. She asked how deep the cut was, and I said, I think it's superficial but James kept insisting that I sliced my finger. LOL. Jamie was like, "That sounded so gruesome and scary." Anyway, my mum thought that it was deep enough that flesh could be seen, 'cos towards the end of the day, the cut still bled occasionally. Oh ya, you remember I was washing my apparatus halfway? The aunty told me not to wash the remaining anymore and leave it to James to do it. She cleared up for me 'cos I shouldn't be touching water and then we left the lab.

I knew James wouldn't do it - either he forgot, or he would be busy mugging, so I decided to go wash them myself than rely on him after Pharm Law lecture on Tuesday. I was the second one to dash out of the LT! Haha. Usually I'm one the the last few.

Just as I entered the lab, I met the lab aunty and she told me she just finished washing them for me. I felt so embarrassed and grateful at the same time. Aunty's so so so nice!!! Aunty then continued, "I was waiting for the Boi Boi to come the whole day, but he didn't come wash for you, so I did it." This is seriously funny! I related what the aunty said to James, and he said he would be embarrassed to step into the Dispensing Lab for the test on Wednesday. Haha.

Anyway, today's test was not as stressful as I thought 'cos there wasn't a need to make suppositories. Lucky us! Anyway, I made Cod Liver Oil Emulsion (like Scott's) and Yee Wen and I both agreed that our hands smell fishy! Haha.

And one stupid thing happened during pract test today. I was weighing my capsules and I found something weird. The maximum weight of a capsule is like 200++mg, so I exceeded the 200mg limit and removed some powder. In the end, the weight increased! I tried again, and it happened again! I called for someone and she gave me a look like I was too paranoid. Come on, I'm not that paranoid OK? She tested it too and concluded that all the grinding by the students nearby on the same bench affected it. She would change a new weighing balance for me. LOL. I felt... A little awkward. She told me to do my other preparations first, but without a weighing balance to weight stuff out, how can I even start? So the lab aunty brought me a new weighing balance. Haha. I feel so sorry for troubling the lab aunty.

As usual, we had to clean up after the test, so I took one finger cot to put over my injured finger to avoid contact with water. It worked! Haha. So I was washing up halfway when Kah Mun told me that my Group B counterpart wanted me to wash the apparatus extra clean for her because she has a test and wouldn't be in to pre-wash the apparatus herself. I said OK, and Yee Wen overheard. Yee Wen was like, "I thought she herself always never wash very clean for you one?" I'm like, "Yeah..." What an apt thought by Yee Wen! I was thinking the exact same thing! The only reason why I have been putting up with the dirty apparatus the past few weeks was because I don't know my Group B counterpart well, so if I requested that she wash the stuff more properly, we probably wouldn't ever talk again? Although we rarely talk... Anyway, I still made my apparatus squeaky clean for her lor. Thinking back, if she washed them properly after she used them, I wouldn't have to scrub my beaker so hard till it broke and cut my finger.

When the pract test was drawing to an end, the teaching assistant who took my details on Tuesday came looking for me with a form which I was supposed to fill in. Know what? I just realised that I forgot to fill in the date of accident! Haha. After filling in the form, she told me that it's part of the procedures that we two sit down and go through whatever that had happened. I said OK and will be doing that after lecture tomorrow... I told Jamie about the post-accident reporting that I have to do, and she was like, "It's as if you were involved in a car accident!" Precisely! But I'm not gonna say I broke the beaker 'cos I scrubbed too hard.

Anyway, Pharm Law pract's almost OOOOOOOOOOOVER! Yay!

Now I Can Save Money

2010-02-21T04:14:00.002+08:00

Ah-ha. If there's a will, there's a way. After many attempts at searching, I've finally found a place where I can get my Wife's Temptation Special OST... Although it's now a freaking 4.15 a.m. and I'm only halfway done, I think it should be worth it. Really, all thanks to my sister who restrained me. Now I'm not so tight on cash anymore. Hmm. I think this means I should buy the Primary 5 Maths assessment book for my tutee.

If I have time... I'll post one or two songs that I like from the special OST. But the weird thing is, a song that is clearly sang by a female, is said to have been sung by a guy instead. And although several of the songs sound different to me, they have the same name. Hmm. Weird weird weird. Nevermind, I'll figure that out much later. Now I just have to finish getting the whole album and go sleep. Haha.

One Of The Few Updates Before I Go On A Hiatus

2010-02-20T19:42:00.002+08:00

I don't wanna go on a hiatus, but I can't not go on one because schoolwork is gonna swallow me up. I shan't elaborate any further.

I went to Popular today and bought some more assessment books for my tutee. She takes foundation level, so what they sell isn't at a level appropriate for her. I mean, I've looked at the questions in the foundation level books, they're much easier than the normal Primary 5 assessment books. And she doesn't even know how to do some of them! After much deliberation, I bought Primary 4 English and Maths assessment books. I'm so damn worried la. What if she thinks I'm belittling her? The worst blow a student can ever suffer is a teacher's lack of confidence in him. I don't know what to do, man. I've thought of buying one Primary 5 book as well, so she wouldn't get the wrong idea too much, but I'm really short of cash. =(

And CD Rama is only next to Popular. ARGH! I had to try very very very very hard to suppress my urge to buy Wife's Temptation Special OST! I can't imagine going back to Popular. I'll definitely buy the CD and come out regretting a few minutes later. And the reason why I didn't act rashly today was because my sister was restraining me. Saying that I wouldn't listen to the CD for over a week. That's so true, but I can't stand not having a complete OST collection! I always have a complete OST collection.

My parents went to Malaysia and bought KFC Zinger burger for me and my sisters. Yummy! Down side? I'm still super hungry after only having one burger!

So Sian

2010-02-20T02:23:00.002+08:00

I've been searching around for new songs to listen to, but none has really caught my ear. So sian. I don't even know what new songs to put up on my blog. I don't just want my idols to monopolise my player. =P

Speaking of which, I put in Seung Gi's latest track in his repackage album on my blog player. It's "Love Taught Me To Drink", about some guy who drowns his sorrow in alcohol after a break up, and has been so addicted to it that he can't stop drinking. It's got a few good lines as well, but what I love most is Seung Gi's vocals in this song. People have commented that he has put in a lot of feelings into this song, which is difficult given the fact that he has never been in love before. In any case, I (and many fans out there) have been waiting for him to promote this song, and also to sing this song live for once. Just to see how he would charm the audience. Oh well. Maybe he's busy with schoolwork.

I changed my blog player from the stick form to this circular form, because I want to be able to scroll through songs in the playlist. I really adored the stick form, but this circular form is the only one that can meet my needs.

I finally received my pay for tuition, but I bought 1kg of Bak Kwa for my family 'cos it's Chinese New Year and it's a form of appreciation for my parents. Meaning $42 bucks gone just like that. Leaves me to wonder if I should buy Seung Gi's repackage album given the fact that it's only got 2 more new songs (which I already have, oops) and better cover design than the first version which I have already ordered but not paid (And another reason is because I thought I would be going to Korea during the holidays, so I can buy all of Seung Gi's CDs available including the repackage album much later but it seems like I wouldn't be). And I so so so so so so so want to buy the special version of Wife's Temptation OST which I can't find by hook or by crook online, but it's available in Popular CD Rama (isn't it just so weird?). And I really wanna buy new assessment books for my tutee and I don't want her to pay for it 'cos I really want to help her family. But there's only so much money I have (my pay is like $100 per month) yet so much I wanna/have to spend. I haven't even paid my mum for the Wii I bought!

Oh Christy.

Dong Bang Shin Ki - Break Out MV/PV

2010-02-19T02:22:00.005+08:00

I don't know the difference between a PV and a MV, but to me, both have motion pictures, so they're the same to me. Anyway, this song came out a long time ago (like January) but I found it too noisy for my liking. But I don't know what happened... I was sleeping in the car when this song came on the radio when I was half-awake and it sounded nice all of a sudden.

So what I'm gonna do is post the MV/PV here via YouTube and paste the lyrics here. As usual. But the different thing is that the lyrics will be translated into Chinese ('cos that's what I found on YouTube) and the Chinese lyrics are simply beautiful. Haha.

I do agree that the song is noisy (that's why it didn't catch on me immediately) and the MV is really dark, but the vocals are still strong and good (especially Chang Min's voice! He had more parts in this song). Get back together soon, Dong Bang Shin Ki!

This is a Japanese song, the title track for a Japanese drama. What I have are the Chinese lyrics, but the MV I found has English translation. Anyway, the translations differ a little... How I wish I knew Japanese and translated the whole song myself!

Chinese:

东方神起 – Break out

I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally
I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

凝视着现在远方正要破晓的天空
就像是要确认被照亮的那条路的前端
太阳总会升起没有终点没有眼泪
抱着这个信念生存下去

Break Out Break Out 开启明日之门的钥匙一定握在你的手中
Break Out Break Out 抓住未来命运这回事一定是
Make it yourself 全看你自己

I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

即使总在追赶着这蓝天彼端流失的每一天
只要想起挂着笑容的你总有一天我会回到你身边
像是要填满新月一般我们终将会重逢
把心合二为一闪闪发光

Break Out Break Out 眼泪并不一定是悲伤而是梦想的足迹
Break Out Break Out 没有你做不到的事情
Believe yourself 相信你自己

I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally
I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

一直祈祷着这个愿望总有一天能够实现

Break Out Break Out 眼泪并不一定是悲伤而是梦想的足迹
Break Out Break Out 没有你做不到的事情
Believe yourself 相信你自己

Break Out Break Out 开启明日之门的钥匙一定握在你的手中
Break Out Break Out 抓住未来命运这回事一定是
Make it yourself 全看你自己

I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally
I keep praying don’t forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

Credits: yuulinajae @ YouTube

Romanised:

Break out - DBSK

I keep praying don't forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

Mitsumeteru yoru wa ima
yoakemae no tooi sora
Tashikameru youni terashi dasu yo
ano michinori to sono saki wo

Higaa nobori kurikeashi owari no nai manida wa nai
Itsuka wa sou omoeru kara ikiru yo

Break out Break out ashita he no doa
aku kagi wa kitto kimi no te no naka
Break out break out tsukamitore mirai
unmei nante kitto make it yourself kimi shidai

I keep praying don't forget it, Baby we keep the faith eternally

Kakenukeru kono hibi ga
sora no mukuo ni nagaretemo
Waratta kimi wo omoidaseba
itsu datte toki wa modoru kara

Kaketa tsuki no katachi wo umeru youni hito wa deai
Kokoro hitotsu ni awasete kagayaku

Break out break out kitto namida wa
kanashimi janakute yume no ashiato
Break out break out kimi dake ni shika
dekinai koto ga aru believe yourself shinjite

I keep praying don't forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally
I keep praying don't forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

Sono negai ga kanau youni
inori tsuzukeru kara itsu no hi mo oh

Break out break out kitto namida wa
kanashimi janakute yume no ashiato
Break out break out kimi dake ni shika
dekinai koto ga aru believe yourself shinjite
Break out Break out ashita he no doa
aku kagi wa kitto kimi no te no naka
Break out break out tsukamitore mirai
unmei nante kitto make it yourself kimi shidai

I keep praying don't forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally
I keep Praying don't forget it
Baby we keep the faith eternally

Break out Break Out!

English:

I keep praying
Don't forget it
Baby, we keep the faith eternally

I watched the distant night sky before dawn today
Lighting up the road ahead to make sure of my way
The sun will keep on rising, the tears are not endless
Because I remember this, someday, I can live on

Break out! Break out!
For the door to tomorrow, the key is safe in your hands
Break out! Break out!
Grab hold of your future, there is no destiny
Make yourself! It's up to you

I keep praying. Don't forget it. Baby, we keep the faith eternally

Even when the passing days seem to fill the sky overhead
When I remember your smile, time will always return
Like the waxing of a cresent moon, people meet
Our hearts shining together brighter as one

Break out! Break out!
Tears are surely not sadness, They are the footprints of dreams
Break out! Break out!
There are things that only you can do
Believe yourself! Believe

I keep praying. Don't forget it. Baby, we keep the faith eternally

In order for these wishes to come true
I continue to pray each day, as long as I must

Break out! Break out!
Tears are surely not sadness, They are the footprints of dreams
Break out! Break out!
There are things that only you can do
Believe yourself! Believe

Break out! Break out!
For the door to tomorrow, the key is safe in your hands
Break out! Break out!
Grab hold of your future, there is no destiny
Make yourself! It's up to you

I keep praying. Don't forget it. Baby, we keep the faith eternally

(Japanese lyrics from cossiopiainiran @ wp
Translation by BlueTuesday @ miroticdbsk.blogspot)

What's Up?

2010-02-19T00:40:00.003+08:00

I haven't blogged in here for weeks! Since week 2 of school...? Many things have happened, and I don't think I can even remember them, even less to finish talking about all those happenings.

Let's start with something constructive and recent. I went to Malaysia for Chinese New Year, and I had lots of mosquito love bites. Wonder if it's got anything to do with the fact that Valentine's Day falls on the same day as the first day of Lunar New Year. I saw all the little nieces and nephews of mine, and I feel so old! I held my nephew who was only a few months old and took a photo with him. My sister commented that I look like a mum. Drats! And I had a closer look at my niece, Si En. She looks really pretty! I had some leftover Sour Mix Mentos in my pocket and gave Zai Zai, Si En and my favourite cousin Fu Fu a piece each. I told them it was sour and not to chew it. Of course, being boys, Zai Zai and Fu Fu chewed the sweet and put up a strong front. LOL. So cute.

I helped to prepare dinner and my aunts decided to let the kids have a table to themselves. I pretended to accede to Fu Fu's request to sit with him for dinner and sat with the kids. Now I won't have to fight for food with the adults! I can have the whole table to myself. LOL. The down side was that the kids' table didn't have pig's trotters in vinegar. Hmm. Nevermind. Haha.

For the night, after dinner, we visited Third Uncle. I missed having them around. I had a bath in their luxurious house and felt sticky a few hours later. I then took another bath back at Ah Ma's house. Hmm. Cold water never felt this refreshing. Haha.

We played card games so as not to fall asleep before dawn comes, although I'm not sure if we fulfilled the purpose 'cos we all went to sleep at 6 a.m.. Juan was kind enough to be the dealer throughout because it'd be tiring to keep shuffling the deck, etc for the entire night. Fu Fu was deemed the God of Bad Luck for the night, 'cos when he was standing between Juan and Me, we both lost the game. Fu Fu understood it and kept massaging Juan all over. In the end, I didn't lose as much as Juan did. LOL.

The First Day of Lunar New Year came and I had to drag myself out of bed. Being guests, Juan and Nelson could sleep till noon. In fact, they refused to wake up for lunch, till Ah Ma insisted that they should wake up for lunch, or we cannot have lunch. LOL. They ate and went back to sleep. For the whole afternoon, Ah Ma played card games with us. She complained of how tough it is to earn money by gambling. We played like 10 sen per game and after sitting at the table for the whole afternoon, she only won RM 2.40. Haha. And for RM 2.40, you get butt-ache. LOL. She then distributed her winnings amongst us.

During the game, we brought in this grass called Mutt Cao. It's believed to wash away your bad luck. I took a bath during the middle of the game, and came back, hoping to win some money. I didn't. My sister took a bath with Mutt Cao in the water and came back and successfully won some money. Juan woke up in the afternoon and played card games with us and upon seeing how we treat Mutt Cao like it's a lucky item to win money, he stole one of our Mutt Cao and put it on his head. LOL. We all laughed like crazy. Nelson woke up shortly after and saw Juan putting Mutt Cao into his wallet. Nelson gave a weird look at Juan and said, "神经病". LOL.

We went to Third Uncle's place for dinner 'cos he said he would have 盆菜 for us. I saw how expensive 盆菜 costs at the kopitiam behind my house and so was quite looking forward to it. However, because everything was kinda like, stewed, so the colour of 盆菜 wasn't that appealing. But it had Bai Cai in it. And on the table was Kai Lan. You can't imagine how happy I was when I saw veggies on the table. People who know me would know that I can't exactly live well without veggies. Haha. So although the table had chicken, duck, etc, I went for the veggies and ate lots of veggies. I felt so satisfied. Haha.

Cousin Kiat sells fireworks during the New Year, so he lighted 3 boxes of fireworks for us to admire. It's the kind that sells for RM 400 to RM 600 per box and gives the kind of effect that is equivalent to what you see during National Day. The loud sound wasn't a bother to us, but the distance is. It's so damn near to us, felt like it exploded only a few metres above us! The sky was dark, really dark, and the contrast made everything so beautiful. The funny thing was that with each explosion, there would be pieces of cardboard falling down on us. So we were hiding under the roof, yet had to go out to be able to see the fireworks. However, Juan and Nelson were sitting exposed in the backyard while all the cardboard pieces fell from the sky. They didn't even move while we all were running away! Nelson had a head full of curly hair, so my mum joked that he should check if his head caught fire if anything fell on it. So throughout the remaining 2 boxes of fireworks, he brushed his head quite frequently. LOL.

I had a brilliant idea. I told my sister that we shall go to their main gate to watch the fireworks since the pieces only fall into the backyard (where the fireworks were lighted). So we positioned ourselves at the gate and waited. The fireworks came, but this time round, the pieces fell on us and the fireworks were exploding above us! So I hugged my sister real tight and my sister was screaming. We never felt this exposed for so long. Of course, the fireworks was really beautiful, and I thought of how male leads in dramas would light fireworks for his girlfriend to impress her and how the audience would comment that it's beautiful, romantic, etc. No way, man! It ain't that romantic. Was a bit scary though. Haha. Everyone complained of the cardboard pieces and Cousin Kiat decided not to sell that brand anymore next year. Haha.

Oh ya, everyone in the family commented how everyone lit 孔明灯 this year... Like, in the past few years, I don't remember seeing any 孔明灯 in the sky lor. Anyway, while watching fireworks, we watched how one 孔明灯 kena caught on fire (perhaps got affected by the fireworks exploding in the sky) and then subsequently got put out and fell down across the sky. I guess I was half blind - I couldn't see it till before it fell out of sight a few seconds later. Cousin Yen couldn't see it too. I was rejoicing over how I wasn't the most blind person in the house when she commented that she didn't have her specs on. =_=" So I'm still the most blind person lor.

Anyway, people far away, from all over Third Uncle's house started lighting fireworks... So it's like, some faraway house up North would light fireworks, then the Northeast would have another one shortly after... It's like everyone's competing with each other to see who can outlast each other's stock of fireworks. So we had fun watching. LOL. Cousin Yen was like, "A few hundred RM gone in seconds..."

The dog beside Third Uncle's house (it belonged to a neighbour) kept barking. It barked on Saturday night, and on Sunday night too whenever someone lighted fireworks. Poor dog. It barked till its voice went hoarse. Third Uncle's dog didn't even care and when to sleep in its kennel. My relatives say that it's because it's the dog's first time celebrating Chinese New Year, that it'll get used to it when next year comes. Oh well.

On the way back to Ah Ma's home, Dad bought satays. I was so full, satays didn't even taste delightful anymore. I mean, food tastes most delicious when you're hungry, right? But the satay sauce was good. We played more card games, till I couldn't take it anymore. I went to sleep.

Morning came and it was time to bid goodbye to Ah Ma. I had fun, 'cos I almost forgot how fun it was to be back in Malaysia. But then, the lack of internet access really drove me crazy. The way back to Singapore was "arduous" because the public bus to Larkin Terminal was packed like crazy. But coming back a day earlier was a wise choice 'cos the customs wasn't even half full.

Yawnz. I've only briefly blogged about Lunar New Year and I feel so sleepy already. Anyway, I just wanna briefly mention that Juan and Nelson were room mates of my cousin, Kin in Taiwan and they're from Latin-America. So cool, right? They followed Kin back for a holiday in Singapore and Malaysia and so they kinda know nothing about our tradition. Which makes everything all the more funnier.

Happy CNY 2010!

2010-02-17T01:29:00.002+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year, my friends! Time flies, and I'm already 23! In terms of my lunar age I mean. I feel so old. Haha. In any case, I hope I'll have the strength, determination and courage comparable to that of a tiger although I'm already 23! =)

Erm...

2010-02-01T01:17:00.001+08:00

I almost got adversely influenced. How could I? Anyway, thanks to all my friends and family members who care for me, I now am sure what I should do.

....?

2010-01-24T02:20:00.002+08:00

Life's like that. When I have stuff that I wanna blog about, I'm not online. When I'm online, I'm so tired out that I don't feel like blogging, or I've forgotten what to blog about.

Anyway, I got super pissed at my sister for hogging my laptop. I was out the whole day of Saturday, and she had the whole afternoon to have the laptop to herself, and when I was back at night, she still hogged. I blew up.

Week 2 passed by just like that. I don't even know what happened. Learnt a hell lot of stuff, but can't seem to digest them. I wonder how my friends managed to keep studying. I go home, I sleep. I wake up, I go to school. Life repeats.

Eli Chan's lecture on Friday was the hell of my life. We were laughing at him as usual, but Seoh Thin made me feel bad for doing so. I then felt so guilty I didn't laugh anymore. And partly because I totally had no idea what the hell he was trying to put across to me. I think some people felt the same as me, but when I look at James and Seoh Thin, I couldn't fathom why they could understand what Eli wanted to say. I sat in the corner and tears welled up in my eyes. I haven't felt such strong emotions for so long. I wished I had a twin sister to share my irritation with. In any case, I'm thankful to James for explaining stuff to me while walking to the bus stop. I was trying to keep my cool and listen to him and digest information at the same time. I wonder how I would be if I didn't have studious friends by my side.

Seoh Thin went off to watch a concert after lecture. Seriously, I was so tired I wouldn't be in the mood for it after that horrendous lecture. Then I realised that it's because she likes instrumental music. Well, I would go for a karaoke when I'm tired and sing my lungs out. The difference? She'd come back to reality and study while I'll be hanging in mid-air.

And I don't understand my sister. She was upset (my mum said so) for me having new shoes for lab and new earrings. Well, she was the one who didn't want to go out shopping whenever we asked her to, and she'd cry for home when we're out. So she doesn't get to buy anything. I mean, stuff like shoes - you have to go out of the house to try them on, right?

There are just so many things I can't control. And I'm so damn lazy. I sound so incoherent.

I watched TV today, and Ella and Jerry Yan's new drama looks so interesting. I haven't been interested in Taiwanese dramas for so long.

I have so many feelings and thoughts in my head, I feel so heavy. And tuition makes me so tired each day. I don't think I wanna be a lecturer anymore. I wonder where everyone gets so much energy from. Give some to me, please.

Kim Jong Kook's Back!

2010-01-18T00:50:00.003+08:00

Kim Jong Kook is back with a new album, and it's not officially released yet. That doesn't mean anything, ok? Why am I getting all self-defensive here?

Anyway, I'm not a crazy fan of Kim Jong Kook, but I liked him when he was on variety shows and he's got a really unique voice. The Korea media call his voice the Mosquito Voice. Haha. It's not the irritating kind, though. He's a super muscular man, and looks manly, but why he has a mosquito-like voice is something I don't know how to answer. If you knew his previous songs like Sarang Surowo (the actual pronunciation is Sarang Serowo, but I don't know why people romanise it as Surowo. That's not the main point.) and Today More Than Yesterday, you'd see his biceps and chest muscles bulging out of his T-shirt. And he's got really small eyes and doesn't really know how to dance. Haha.

And oh, both Sarang Surowo and Today More Than Yesterday are good songs too. I still like Sarang Surowo because it's so catchy. Haha. And if you watched The Golden Age of Daughter-In-Law, I think Sarang Surowo appeared in the drama too. Yes, although I love Seung Gi, I've decided to post both Sarang Surowo and Today More Than Yesterday on my media player. Share the love of K-Pop! I hope you'll like Kim Jong Kook too.

Enough of his old songs, it's time for the new song! Sarang Surowo and Today More Than Yesterday are sweet love songs, with fairly fast tempo, but his new song is a sad ballad, titled "Don't Be Good To Me". The lyrics are average, but the melody and his voice is still great. Yes, it'll be in my media player too.

p.s. Seung Gi's repackage album has been delayed again. From last year till 26th January. I guess that gives me more time to save up.

Lyrics time!

Romanization

Jakku jalhae juji mayo
Deoneun jalhae juji mayo

Chalali chagaoon gae
Oheeryeo naeul tendae
Anim mugwanshim han gae
Oheeryeo naeul tendae

Otjarak geutae moodeun
Meonjireul ddaejuneun il
Mooshimko ooseumyeonseo
Eokkaeae gidaeneun il

Geunyang beoreut il kkeoya jiweobogo
Bappeugae harul bonaebwado
Noonae jjikhin sajincheoreom
Ddo saenggaknago saenggakna

Jakku jalhae juji mayo
Deoneun jalhae juji mayo ddo dashi
Sarang apae mooreup ggeulgo
Apahal jashin eopnaeyo

Hokshi dareun mamiramyeon
Nawan dareun mamiramyeon nugoonga
Mooleobomyeon sogaehaeyo
Geunyang aneun saram irago damdamhagae

Myeochil jeon naegae haetdeon
Neujeun bam geu jeonhwaneun
Mot badeun gae anira
Badeul su eopseosseoyo

Hokshi soolae chwihaeseo saenggak eopsi
Waero.oon mamae bogo shipda
Malhalkka bwa achimimyeon
Da anin ili dwaelkka bwa

Jakku jalhae juji mayo
Deoneun jalhae juji mayo ddo dashi
Sarang apae mooreup ggeulgo
Apahal jashin eopnaeyo

Sarang geu hanamaneuro
Saesang modeun geol gajyeotdeon geuddaero
Geuriweodo dolaganeun
Gileul chajeul suga eopseoseo

Hokshi gateun mam ilkka bwa
Nawa gateun mam ilkka bwa
Ddo dashi gidaehago ddo gidarijyo
Sarang apaeseo na oneuldo
Babocheoreom

Geudae apae ddo seosungijyo
Babocheoreom

Translation

Stop being good to me
Don't be good to me anymore

Being cold would be better instead
Or being unconcerned would be better instead

Taking off the dust stuck on the hem of your dress
Leaning on my shoulder without a thought as you laughed

It's just a habit, but even though I erase it and spend my day busily
I think and think about it again, like a picture taken with my eyes

Stop being good to me
Don't ever be good to me again
I get on my knees in front of love
I don't have the confidence to be hurt

If your feelings are different
If your feelings are different from mine
When someone asks
I'll introduce you calmly
As just a person I know

It wasn't that I wasn't able to answer
That late night call you gave me several days ago
I couldn't answer it

Because I was drunk and from my lonely heart
I might have thoughtlessly told you that I missed you
Because I thought that by the morning, it would be nothing

Stop being good to me
Don't ever be good to me again
I get on my knees in front of love
I don't have the confidence to be hurt

Because even though I miss you
I can't find the path that leads me back
To when I thought I had the entire world
Through that love alone

Because your feelings might be the same
Because your feelings might be the same as mine
I anticipate and I wait once again
In front of love today as well
Like a fool

I hesitate in front of you again
Like a fool

Korean

자꾸 잘해 주지 마요
더는 잘해 주지 마요

차라리 차가운 게
오히려 나을 텐데
아님 무관심 한 게
오히려 나을 텐데

옷자락 끝에 묻은
먼지를 떼주는 일
무심코 웃으면서
어깨에 기대는 일

그냥 버릇 일 꺼야 지워보고
바쁘게 하룰 보내봐도
눈에 찍힌 사진처럼
또 생각나고 생각나

자꾸 잘해 주지 마요
더는 잘해 주지 마요 또 다시
사랑 앞에 무릎 꿇고
아파할 자신 없네요

혹시 다른 맘이라면
나완 다른 맘이라면 누군가
물어보면 소개해요
그냥 아는 사람 이라고 담담하게

며칠 전 내게 했던
늦은 밤 그 전화는
못 받은 게 아니라
받을 수 없었어요

혹시 술에 취해서 생각 없이
외로운 맘에 보고 싶다
말할까 봐 아침이면
다 아닌 일이 될까 봐

자꾸 잘해 주지 마요
더는 잘해 주지 마요 또 다시
사랑 앞에 무릎 꿇고
아파할 자신 없네요

사랑 그 하나만으로
세상 모든 걸 가졌던 그때로
그리워도 돌아가는
길을 찾을 수가 없어서

혹시 같은 맘 일까 봐
나와 같은 맘 일까 봐
또 다시 기대하고 또 기다리죠
사랑 앞에서 나 오늘도
바보처럼

그대 앞에 또 서성이죠
바보처럼

Credit: kimchi hana @ Soompi

The Continuation Of School

2010-01-18T00:26:00.002+08:00

Erm... I stopped at Wednesday last post. And to people who are wondering if I liked Tuesdays... Now the answer is no. Haha. The main factor in my decision was the drama... =P

I don't have much to say about Thursday and Fridays, because they are repeats of Mondays and Tuesdays. But one thing I hated about Thursdays is that I have to rush from practical lab to Chinese lecture at Arts and then rush back for lecture at Science. This week, we had no labs, so we made our way to Arts leisurely. But rushing back was hell. I almost couldn't get off the bus - it was damn packed. I forgot my principle of not getting a middle seat in the bus. Next time, I shall get a seat that's near the doors. Anyway, by the time we rushed back to the lecture, we were already late. Oh well. So we've decided to end Chinese lecture on our own before the lecturer releases us and rush back to Science on time. Core modules, are, more important than breadths although I can't afford to S/U any more modules.

Friday was the first day I got a seat on the MRT on the way back home. I was so tired, I slept on the train, although I had lots of readings to do. I was swaying to one side again, and into the lady on my left. Luckily she herself was sleeping too. Haha.

On Saturday, I went to Popular and while looking around, a Caucasian woman asked me if I could read Chinese. I then helped her choose some red-letterings which you stick on surfaces like walls, etc. by explaining the meaning of those words to her. She wanted to buy those stuff for her friends. I made a promise with my mum to go look at the pasar malam which is beside Causeway Point. In the end, I forgot about it. How could I?! I think my mum was secretly glad that I forgot, because I'll encourage her to buy useless stuff. That's what she always says when I go out with her.

I had planned to finish my readings in the weekend, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm already lagging behind. =( All Facebook's fault.

Groups on Facebook are getting interesting. I wish I could join groups like, Why is Monday so bloody far away from Friday and Friday so near to Monday? I TOTALLY agree. And Sherman made a new group again. I wonder what's with him. Maybe he studied too much and needs some attention. Anyway, he made a group called NaBear the Friendly Pharm Bear or something like that, and I already noticed it when the group had only 6 members. I thought it was a clique-thing like the Hello Ah Boon World Tour and so didn't join. I joined when Alvin Chua invited me to, and there already was 60+ members. Sherman then wrote on the wall that they better sit down and discuss this properly because 51++ people's support is a serious matter. What was he thinking? We joined because it's a Pharmacy thing, and yes, although I kinda agree that the idea was refreshing, to have a mascot for Pharmacy, but NaBear is already an awkward name to start with. Sounds like, Na-Beh right? A Hokkien vulgarity although I don't know the meaning.

I don't think it was suitable for me to voice out my thoughts on their wall, so I would just rant a little here. They seriously should change the name if they really wanna make a mascot. NaBear isn't appropriate enough. Imagine a mascot walking around during open-houses and shouting, "NaBear! NaBear! Come meet NaBear the friendly Pharm bear!"

Ok, back to sleep.

How's School So Far?

2010-01-14T01:29:00.002+08:00

That's the question.

Monday was good, because I slept at 3 am on Sunday (ahem, Monday morning actually) and it gave me enough time to have some proper sleep as lecture starts at 2 pm. And it's only one lecture because practicals won't start till week 3!

I don't know if I should say I like Tuesday. School starts at 12 pm, and lasts all the way till 6 pm. Initially, on my way to school, the MRT towards Jurong East was almost empty. Meant that I had a seat on the train. I even had a seat on the train after transferring over to the train towards Pasir Ris. I didn't have anything to do, and with no new songs on my handphone, I took out my Pharmacokinetics notes to read. Just as I was getting absorbed in the notes, a middle-aged lady beside me started asked me if I was studying Pharmaceutical Science in NUS. I know the name of my degree isn't Pharmaceutical Science, but I decided to agree with her anyway. So she started asking me if you needed to work in a field related to the degree before applying, etc. I told her no (because I myself worked as a cashier and I got into Pharmacy) and told her that entry requirements are A in Chemistry and Biology. How about third subject? I replied "Mathematics" because I was reading PK. PK's all about Math, you see. Just then, the question came. "What would you work as when you graduate?" @.@" Deng! I patiently replied, "Pharmacist" and explained to her the various routes you have after graduation. She finally explained to me that she wanted to know so much because her son is in Sec 4 this year and would like to go into Pharmacy. Both her and her son didn't know anyone in Pharmacy, and so had no one to talk to.

Oh well. What should I do? You've kinda approached the wrong person. Pharmacy has never ever crossed my mind, and the first time it did, it was during the submission of my application form. And I never foresaw (is there past tense for "forsee"?) myself in this major. Anyway, I've been through 2.5 years, and I hope I kinda helped her son. And young lad, work hard, ya? All the best for your 'O' and 'A' levels.

As I was walking towards the bus stop, I starting going through our conversation and I was kinda glad that we're gonna have successors. Although everyone, like me, will have to go through a lot of hell and shit, and continue to do so after graduation perhaps, but at least there are people interested in Pharmacy wanting to do Pharmacy. I didn't have an initial interest, and I kinda sparkled an interest for it (I have to, 'cos it's my job for life) and I hope the spark goes on till the day I die.

At lunch, I met Chee Hoe, the great busy doctor. He's not a doctor yet, but I know he will be one. Anyway, I deliberated over if I should walk over to his table, and I did in the end. Such a busy man. He was practically wolfing down his lunch not out of hunger, but in a rush for time. And he looked like he aged a lot. Oh well. Should I be, once again, glad that I'm not in Medicine?

James was kinda irritating. LOL. I think he expected us to celebrate his birthday for him, and that we would pass a card around to sign our well-wishes for him, so he kept looking at Lan and me and even followed us to the toilet. Such a creep! LOL.

As for lectures, Pharmacotherapy was like, oh no. I couldn't concentrate because Dr. Sklar's head is kinda distractive. It's not his fault, really. He's balding, but I knew he existed in Pharmacy since my first year in NUS, but I never really dared look at him and his head. So my eyes kinda "surveyed" all 360 degrees view of his head. And I started wondering, how can a head have a brain with such large capacity to contain everything it contained? I wish I had his brain.

Pharmacy Law was boring. Lan had to disappoint me with the fact that Kelvin Tan was gonna take us through 80% of the module. I am sure Pharma Law lectures are my nap times. Oh well. Law is so confusing. Legislature, schedule, order, acts, judiciary, etc. I wonder what's more to come. I missed Tan Mui Ling too. But somehow, when she was giving her briefing, I couldn't get anything into my head.

PK was the killer. Mathematics. Integration. Differentiation. I thought I had bid them goodbye when I stepped out of the 'A' level examination hall? But Dr. Eric Chan is currently the lecturer and I love Dr. Eric Chan because his lecture pace is good, and he's so friendly and even knows when we are blur and when he has to repeat. If I am lucky enough to get First Class Honours (which is almost impossible, given my current CAP, *cries*) and become a lecturer, I wanna be like him too.

Since lecture ended at 6, I was thinking to myself how good Tuesdays would be when I looked at my handphone and realised that I would never be able to make it home by 7 pm. And that's a huge implication. I would miss the first quarter of "Wife's Temptation"! I don't wanna miss any part of it! So what I did after tapping my CEPAS (aka, new version of eZ-link) card was to decide to walk home. And I didn't actually walk. I ran half the way home. My legs couldn't carry me as fast as I wanted to, and I momentarily thought I was losing control of my legs. I reached home, panting, and within seconds, I was facing the TV on my sofa. I think I'm gonna ask my mum to record the drama till I reach home on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Today's Wednesday and I have no lab for the first week, so there's no school. But I didn't do any productive academic work and I even missed James' birthday celebration. Oh well. And that's not all. Today's Seung Gi's birthday too! Happy 23rd birthday, Seung Gi! I couldn't do anything for you like what fellow fans did, but in my little way, I wished you happy birthday.

Ta-da. End of report. It's 2.27 am. Gotta sleep!

The Day Is Here

2010-01-11T02:48:00.001+08:00

No!!!!!! School's starting. It's freaking 2.48 am in the morning and I'm still here. No! I don't want school to start.

If I become delusional enough, I won't have to go to school, right?

Last Few Days Of Holidays!

2010-01-08T01:50:00.004+08:00

Where shall I start blogging?

I went out for a movie with Mary and met up with Grace on Wednesday. Grace's complexion is so good, she looks like she has makeup on, but she says that she didn't. Anyway, I watched Avatar with Mary at Causeway Point. It's a pity Causeway Point didn't have 3D. Mary didn't like 3D, nor the genre, science fiction. It was hard to persuade her to watch Avatar, so watching it in 2D was already good enough a compromise from both of us. Anyway, she (and me too) came out of the cinema totally awed. Avatar is such a great movie, I'm so glad I watched it. Now I've got complicated feelings. I really wanna experience how 3D would be like, but then again, I don't wanna waste money on watching Avatar all over again. But if I don't do it, when would another great 3D movie like Avatar come out again? In 2 decades' time? I would have been so old. But, having watched Avatar is better than not having watched it at all. Should I psycho my mum to watch Avatar in 3D? But I would rather her spend money on new clothes for me and my external hard disk! Argh!!!! So many avenues for me to spend money on, but I don't have enough money.

I think this holiday period is the first in my life to have watched so many movies at one go. I've watched 4 movies, although 4 is like, the standard number of movies people watch during holidays. I've watched 2012, Couple Retreat, Old Dogs and Avatar. Avatar is the best, Couple Retreat was funny, Old Dogs was sweet and 2012 was likeable too.

Anyway, I went out with Mary and Grace to have dinner at Thai Express. I had Fire Noodles. Last Sunday, I went out with Hui Min and Angeline and I had mango smoothie and Fire Noodles. When I first went out for dinner with my exchange student, I had Fire Noodles too. I think their Fire Noodles is the best in terms of colour combination and ingredient combination. I love it. I love it so much, I don't wanna try the other stuff on their menu. That is, if you love veggies as much as I do. Lots of veggie in their Fire Noodles; I'm loving it.

I met up with Grace after so long, and I felt apologetic for not being able to spend more time with her. But going out with friends means spending money, and I don't wanna spend a lot. I don't even know what to wear! This holiday has been quite fruitful for me already. I went out with Hui Min twice, went on a holiday, went out with the MOE gang, went out with my clique, went out with Mary and Grace...

And a couple of days ago, I acted like a total brat and cried. After that, I felt so ashamed of myself. But I cried because I figured it would make me feel better. And I already had enough with everything. I don't know what went wrong with me, but that night, it didn't feel like me. And after crying, I was so tired I fell asleep on the sofa. When I woke up 30 minutes later, I had urticaria. My right eye was totally swollen, my eye was smaller by half. It was so swollen, it didn't feel like it was after-swelling due to crying. I didn't cry a lot anyway. I was supposed to go out the next day, and there's no way I'm gonna allow the swelling to continue. It has to go down fast. Out of desperation, I didn't even try Cetrizine. I took Prednisolone, and realised that it probably wouldn't help much if I take it only once. Oh well. Stupid me.

I don't want school to start so soon... And stupid music player wouldn't play some songs on the playlist. Haiz.

Full Of Love

2010-01-05T03:10:00.003+08:00

Hmm. I've planned to add lyrics to this post, but before I do so, I just logged on to Facebook - yes, just a couple of minutes ago, at 3 plus a.m... And found out that a couple of my friends changed their status from "single" to "is in a relationship". And their friends congratulating them. But I can't "like" their post nor congratulate them on Facebook because they aren't my close friends, nor do I talk to them very often. Maybe less than once a month. So, in my little corner here, where it wouldn't be so awkward, I congratulate them.

I just realised that recently, I kinda speak in a semi-formal manner. I wonder why. I never used to be like this. Even my posts have become a little too formal.

And yes, the main reason for this post. I recently like a not-so-new song, and it was the theme song of Brilliant Legacy. Yes, you guys are gonna gag again - Lee Seung Gi's drama in 2009. I liked the song a little, but when fellow fans all said how much the original singer's voice sounded a bit like Seung Gi and how Seung Gi would be performing the song at an award ceremony, I watched Seung Gi's rendition of the song and grew to like it more. Han Hyo Joo sang a little too, although she didn't sing very well (she's not a professional singer, more of a professional actor and I really think she acts quite well), but I liked the performance because the other actors in the drama were enjoying the song too.

Oops. I forgot to include the song's name. It's titled, "The Person Living In My Heart", originally by Isu (MC The MAX).

Ok, so here's the video: Seung Gi's rendition.

And Seung Gi's live performances are just so charming.

And here's the lyrics:

Romanised:

nae nunmul dakka jul saram

nae soneul jaba jul dan hansaram
geuge neoraneun ireum
dan hanain geol moreuni
nae gaseume saneun saram
nae sarangira bureul han saram
sangcheoe apahaedo utge hae jul
nae insaengui han saram
neomaneul saranghae
kkeuchi eomneun teoneol sogedo
hanjulgi bicheuro wajun
niga itgie naneun
haengbokhal suga inneungeol
gakkeumeun geotgijocha
himdeulttaedo itjiman
nal mideojun neol wihae
dasi ireona ttwieo gal su isseo
nae nunmul dakka jul saram
nae soneul jaba jul dan han saram
geuge neoraneun ireum
dan hanain geol moreuni
nae gaseume saneun saram
nae sarangira bureul han saram
sangcheoe apahaedo utge hae jul
nae insaengui han saram
neomaneul saranghae

eonjena hamkke hae jul
niga gyeote itgie
keun sani nal magado geomnaji anha
neowa hamkkeramyeon
nae nunmul dakka jul saram
nae soneul jaba jul dan han saram
geuge neoraneun ireum
dan hanain geol moreuni
nae gaseume saneun saram
nae sarangira bureul han saram
sangcheoe apahaedo utge hae jul
nae insaengui han saram
nae pume angyeo jul sarang
nae apeum gamssajul dan han saram
sesange hanappunin
sarangiran geol moreuni
neol wihae saraganikka
oneuldo saneun iyuga neonikka
igeotman gieokhaejwo nigaisseo
sarangeul baeun saram naega itdaneun geol
(Credits to kangym1029 @ Melon)

English translation:

The person who wipes away my tears
The one person who holds on to my hand
That’s your name
And the only thing I don’t know..

The person who lives in my heart
The one person who sings that she loves me
Even when she’s hurting, she smiles at me
The only person in my life
I love only you…

In a tunnel that has no end
You are a ray of light to me
Because you are here, I can be happy
Even though there are times I’m so tired that I cannot continue walking
Because behind me, I have you who believes in me
I’m able to get up again and run..

The person who wipes away my tears
The one person who holds on to my hand
That’s your name
And the only thing I don’t know..

The person who lives in my heart
The one person who sings that she loves me
Even when she’s hurting, she smiles at me
The only person in my life
I love only you…

You’re always together with me
Because you are here beside me
Even if there’s a huge mountain blocking my way, I’m not afraid
If you are with me..

The person who wipes away my tears
The one person who holds onto my hands
That’s your name
And the only thing I don’t know..

The person who lives in my heart
The only person who sings that she loves me
Even when she’s hurting, she smiles at me
The only one person in my world
I love only you..

The person who holds me close
The only person who will soothe my pain
The only one in the world
I don’t know what’s love..

I’m living because of you
The reason why I’m living too today is because of you
Please remember just this. Because you are here
The person who’s learnt to love
Is here..

Lyrics translated by sarangaia@soompi.com

Hangeul:

내 눈물 닦아 줄 사람
내 손을 잡아 줄 단 사람
그게 너라는 이름
단 하나인 걸 모르니..

내 가슴에 사는 사람
내 사랑이라 부른 한 사람
상처에 아파해도 웃게 해 줄
내 인생의 한 사람
너만을 사랑해..

끝이 없는 터널 속에도
한줄기 빛으로 와준
니가 있기에 나는 행복할 수가 있는걸
가끔은 걷기조차 힘들때도 있지만
날 믿어준 널 위해
다시 일어나 뛰어 갈 수 있어..

내 눈물 닦아 줄 사람
내 손을 잡아 줄 단 사람
그게 너라는 이름
단 하나인 걸 모르니..

내 가슴에 사는 사람
내 사랑이라 부른 한 사람
상처에 아파해도 웃게 해 줄
내 인생의 한 사람
너만을 사랑해..

언제나 함께 해 줄
니가 곁에 있기에
큰 산이 날 막아도 겁나지 않아
너와 함께라면..

내 눈물 닦아 줄 사람
내 손을 잡아 줄 단 사람
그게 너라는 이름
단 하나인 걸 모르니..

내 가슴에 사는 사람
내 사랑이라 부른 한 사람
상처에 아파해도 웃게 해 줄
내 인생의 한 사람
너만을 사랑해..

내 품에 안겨 줄 사랑
내 아픔 감싸줄 단 한 사람
세상에 하나뿐이
사랑이란 걸 모르니..

널 위해 살아가니까
오늘도 살아가는 이유가 너니까
이것만 기억해줘 니가있어
사랑을 배운 사람
내가 있다는 걸...

So who's the person living in your heart?

I'm Running Out Of Space!

2010-01-02T03:57:00.003+08:00

These few days have been full of entertainment for me. The 3 TV stations in Korea, namely KBS, SBS and MBC have held their annual Gayo Daejun-s (music festival) and award ceremonies. And Seung Gi performed in each and every one of them! Some people have provided links for crazy K-Pop fans like me to DL and watch, and yet my laptop has no space left!

I think for the time being, I'll buy some re-writable DVDs to make some space. Yes, that's how desperate I am.

And it's 2010 already! How fast! My friend made a comment on Facebook. She hasn't made new year resolutions for eons and will not do so this year too, because she never fulfills any of the resolutions she made in the past. Sounds so true, huh? So, I shan't make any this year too! (Oops. How can I sound so proud to not make any resolutions? =P)

I hope many, many, many good things and no bad things happen in 2010. May everyone's 2010 be filled with happiness, enjoyment, health and wealth. =)

My Makan-Kaki Trip Part 2

2009-12-26T03:33:00.006+08:00

Last time... I stopped at the part where I saw the 3 patches of reddish-brown stuff on the ceiling, right? Hmm. I woke up early (without my mum's help) and the room was super cold. I had a hard time waking my sisters up and I couldn't wait to enjoy the hotel's breakfast downstairs.

I expected a spread for breakfast and boy, that came true. Haha. There are cooks who ask you if you want a sunny-side-up or omelette. I had both. Haha. My mum loved the omelette. Me too. There were lots of stuff that you can have for breakfast - buffet style! I had some of almost everything. My sisters were the most delighted for being able to choose what they want for breakfast. I mean, we had almost the same stuff for as long as we lived. Now, a breakfast spread when you can choose what you want without having to think about what to have and to do the dishes was simply a luxury to me too. I now understand the pleasure of bringing your loved ones to places where you enjoyed going to and doing things you enjoyed doing. Especially when they enjoy it as much as you did too. One sad thing was that there was no streaky pork bacon. Only turkey bacon. And turkey never ever tastes like pork. But Malaysia is an Islamic country, so we can only respect that.

Anyway, we have some time left to before assembling at the lobby after breakfast, so we went back to our rooms. I decided to put on the purple nail polish we bought yesterday because my mum commented that my shoes would look nicer on my feet if I had nail polish on. Indeed, my toes looked prettier! Haha. Whilst paining my nails, my mum came into the room. She painted her nails too. Haha. Just then, she saw the 3 reddish-brown patches and started getting a bit nervous. I told her I never thought much of it, and that it probably was dirt... But of course, she thought it was blood. I have thought of the patches as blood before, but I didn't want to scare myself, so I dismissed that thought. The more my mum talked about it, the more goosebumps I got. We finally decided not to think too much about it since nothing disturbed me and my sisters the night before and we're checking out anyway.

The beautiful porcelain carved statue at Prince Hotel. It's got really intricate details. It doesn't look nice here because of the christmas lights and ceiling lights, lol.

We had time to spare, so we took some pictures.

Throughout the trip, we went to several local produce shops and my mum bought her all time favourite, the chicken biscuits (geh zai biang). There was even Tongkat Ali for sale. LOL! Ah Hong revealed that this local produce shop was owned by the boss of 5 Star Travel Agency. Ha. Smart boss.

Yes, this is one of the local products shop we went to, and this is the one that's owned by the boss of Five Stars Travel Agency.

I think now will be the first time I'm gonna talk about a pair of siblings who was on the same tour as me. The first day me and my mum saw them, we even thought they were lovers! They are actually an elder brother and younger sister pair. But you would have gotten the wrong signals too if you see them hugging each other and locking their arms in public. They stayed together almost every minute of the day. Research showed that humans are good at guessing relationships between a male and a female. That humans are almost never wrong and a conclusion can be made within 10 seconds. My mum and I observed for soooooooo long, and we couldn't figure it out. They looked too young to come on a holiday as a couple. So on the second day, we found out that they were siblings. But which brother and sister would behave like this?! Even the tour guide, Ah Hong was surprised to know that they are siblings.

And after such a long introduction, what I wanted to say was that as our tour group was leaving the hotel though the main entrance, the uncle who drank beer at every meal let me pass first. So he walked behind me, and was just next to this couple-like siblings (yes, from now on, I shall refer them as the couple-like siblings). Do you have any idea what he said? "You two are very close. Very good, very good." OMG LOL! I had to try to hard to contain my laughter.

Now, back to the attractions. We went to the Thean Hou Temple, and it was said that the Ma Zu Niang Niang is super accurate. So my family went in to gave our prayers and we took turns to draw lots. The lots this time round was not the small kind which you have to shake till one lot drops out. You basically just hold the bunch of huge lots up (they are so huge, they are taller than my waist!) and then draw the one that pops up higher as compared to the rest. I didn't know, you know. I simply chose one lot anyhow from the rest. I ended up worrying if the lot I drew was the one meant for me. And I still don't know yet.

We explored around the temple and they had all 12 statues of the animals in the Chinese calendar. We tried to take a photo with each and every statue - we were very rushed because there wasn't much time left. But all the statues were very pretty! Especially the Dragon. Hee hee.

Next, we had Pahang Bak Kut Teh. I think the restaurant we went to was called Yeo's or something like that. There was a little unhappiness there because the restaurant was very popular among the locals. So just because we were a few minutes late, the restaurant gave up the tables reserved for us to the locals. We all felt that the restaurant was at fault and that Ah Hong should have called the restaurant when we were about to reach the restaurant. Anyway, we stood around and waited for some tables to clear before we had our lunch. The Bak Kut Teh was not bad - I don't really know how to appreciate great-tasting food - and there was even pork knuckles in vinegar and veggie and pig organ soup. If not for the fact that we were travelling down to Malacca from KL, I would have drank all the soup!

We passed by a mountain... I forgot the name. >.< Anyway this mountain has a long story. It houses 2 Indian gods, and one's an elephant and the other's a human figure. The elephant god is the elder brother (he has an an elephant head but a human body because his father was a War god. The war god goes out to war and was away from home for many years. The wife of the war god begged heaven to give her a child, and so when the war god came back when the elephant god was a few years old, the war god thought his wife had cheated on him and without finding out who the child belonged to, the war god beheaded his son. So, when he found out the truth, he asked heaven what he should do. Heaven told him to behead another child and use that child's head, but news leaked out and everyone hid their child. So, he had no child to behead and heaven then told him to go into a jungle and behead the first animal he sees. Yes, the first animal he saw was an elephant.

Then, the war god had a second son. He loved both sons and one day, the war god grew old. He needed a successor and told both his sons that the one who finished one round around the world/earth fastest would be his successor. So, the second son wanted to win and immediately rushed off to make his round around the world/earth. The elephant god then kinda cheated by telling the war god that his father is his world (and his everything, I think). The war god was so flattered and pleased that he made this son his successor. So, when the second son who diligently finished his round and returned and came back and found out that his elder brother was already crowned the successor, the second son got furious and went into the mountains (to do what, I forgot) and never came back. The elephant god knew he was wrong and then waited everyday outside the cave to ask for his brother's forgiveness. So years went by, (Ah Hong didn't say whether or not the second son forgave his elder brother) and if you wanna pay your respects to the second brother, you have to pray to the elephant god first. Yup. That's all.

This is the Indian temple. We only passed by it, but the golden statue there should be the younger brother I think.

We reached Malacca and I saw the Eye On Malaysia. It's actually a ferris wheel. Ah Hong says that it was moved to Malacca from some other state because it wasn't popular anymore. Made me think of the Singapore Flyer. Haha. We checked into a hotel and because we had 1.5 hours of rest before gathering for dinner, my mum was troubled over whether or not we should change our clothes before gathering for dinner. My mum's always worried about such stuff. Her reasoning was that if you didn't change your clothes, you'd be seen as the smelly one; if you changed clothes, you have bathe super fast and she would have more washing to do (yeah 'cos my sister and I take around 45 minutes to bathe usually). We decided to shake the die in our Samsung phone. Odd number means to bathe and even number means not to. There were 2 votes to bathe and 2 not to bathe, so the deciding vote was on my turn. LOL. It said to bathe. Even so, my mum was still debating with herself. She's like this. She never decides on something by flipping coins or shaking die or whatsoever.

Eye on Malaysia! Looks nice from afar too. Reminded me of the trip I went on with Yin Yin to our Singapore Flyer.

In the end, when my family came down to the lobby to assemble, no one changed their clothes except for the uncle who drinks beer at every meal and his wife. My mum said that we didn't have to bathe too. Oh well. Maybe she thinks too much. I wouldn't have bothered thinking about such stuff if I came on a holiday alone.

Maybe I should talk about the hotel a little bit. It's the Hotel Equatorial, and it looks really simple and mature. (I can't use the word 'old', you see.) It wasn't as high class as Prince Hotel, but it was quite spacious for my room. Ah Hong said that the lifts are slow, and yes, they really ARE slow. But it's not an issue to me. In addition, the toilet was very small, and I was so not used to it. Prince Hotel had a bath tub and and separate shower room, but Hotel Equatorial had the shower head and bath tub in the same area! But the design on the furniture and everything had a touch of age on them. So I kinda had the feeling that it was home. Haha.

Hotel Equatorial.

I think Hotel Equatorial is the place where many people who come to Malacca for conventions stay...

Anyway, we had Nyonya dinner and IT'S NOT THE SAME RESTAURANT I WENT TO!!!! I was quite disappointed because the restaurant I went to had superb chendol. My dad adores chendol. Ah Hong said that he didn't go to the one I went because their food wasn't as good as this one, although the Nyonya dishes filmed in Channel 8's "The Little Nyonya" was cooked by the restaurant I went to. Anyway, as usual, we had chicken and fish, but now there's otah (it was nice) and sotong (it was fantastic, I wish I could finish the whole thing but I didn't want to be a disgrace to the NTU student and his family) and there are crabs too. OMG. Who was the one who decided on the menu? So dumb to have crabs la. My mum and my sisters and me didn't want to dirty our fingers, so we didn't have the crabs. My dad had as much as he wanted. LOL. And dessert, was chendol of course. It wasn't as good as the restaurant I went to before. But still above average anyway.

Next, we went to Jonker Street. The street's like 1 km long only, but 1 hour is certainly not enough if you want to look at most stuff or try the food there. It's something like one whole stretch of pasar malam. My sister took a long time trying to get something for her friend, and we weren't even halfway through the 1 km street when we saw Ah Hong the tour guide making his way back to the gathering spot. So we kinda rushed through the street and rushed back. I wish we had more time! I can easily spend a couple of hours at Jonker Street. Anyway, I bought some earrings. But there's one that's so loud that it doesn't really suit me, and I probably won't wear it anyway. LOL.

The stage where you can sing all you want, as long as you pay RM 2 to go on stage. If I knew the complete lyrics of SHINee's Ring Ding Dong, I think I would have gone on stage and drive the audience/passer-bys/stall holders crazy. LOL. And why would Hu Jing Tao and his wife wanna visit Malacca?!

We went back to Hotel Equatorial and I was SOOOOOOO hungry! I ate half of the packet of fish crackers we brought into Malaysia from Singapore. I wanted to try ordering food into the room, but one cup of coffee already costs like RM 14 bucks, I decided not to try.

This time round, my sisters and I decided to soak ourselves in the bath tub. But it was already 10 plus pm when we went back into our rooms, I set a rule that each person can only soak herself for 20 minutes max. LOL. I need to bathe too!!! But because of some stupid problem, I didn't even get to enjoy soaking in the bath tub for as long as I wanted.

Ah. Just realised I forgot to add in the Thean Hou Temple photos. Oh well. I'll do it in another blog post. =)

Merry Belated Christmas

2009-12-26T02:52:00.002+08:00

Ah, it was only so not-long-ago that I just ended my exams, and now it's Christmas already. Merry belated Christmas to everyone!!!

I had a great Christmas although there were no presents and party or whatsoever. Although I only had mixed vegetable rice for dinner. But I ordered a Christmas cake from NTUC Fairprice. It was super cheap, only $19.80 for a 1 kg log cake. Thus, it was simple, and it was a whole straight log with no stump on the log. I was a little disappointed, but nonetheless, I had a feast too because of my neighbour who gave us 50++ sticks of satay. I can't be more grateful.

Channel U showed a Zettai Kareshi Special at 11.30 pm. I was so looking forward to it because Night would "come back to life" again. He loved Riiko a lot, and she loved him too. I was totally a Riiko-Night-shipper during the whole of the series, and yes, I harboured the hope of Riiko being with Night forever while waiting for 11.30 pm to come.

But I know reality is always cruel. We experience reality everyday, don't we? Not necessarily in a cruel manner, but this time round, I cried my tears dry, I cried my heart out when approaching the near of the Special. I know Night will die once again, but I couldn't hold back my tears. My tears became warmer and warmer as more were shed. Night should not be with Riiko, and will never be with Riiko. Yeah, that's the cruel truth because Night is a robot. "Why am I a robot?" Night asked Mr. Namikiri. Because you are a robot, Riiko had to choose Soushi over you. Because you are a robot, you chose to leave Riiko to grant her happiness. Because you are a robot, the scriptwriter had you choose to scrap yourself.

Stupid drama. Why did you make me cry more?

Lee Seung Gi's Vol. 4 Repackage Album

2009-12-23T01:08:00.010+08:00

Let me tell you what's fast. When you love something, you do it fast. Haha.

So here I am, in the middle of the night, doing something really fast - sharing with you Lee Seung Gi's latest single, which is the new track that he will add into his Volume 4 Repackage Album. Hmm. The title of this track is called "처음처럼 그때처럼", which means "Like The Beginning, Just Like Then". The 'then' means "the past". The female voice which you will hear is Kang Min Kyeong of Davichi.

Fellow fans have already translated the lyrics and romanized the lyrics too. I guess if I credit them, I can post the lyrics here? And I loved the song the first time I heard it, and got so crazy over it, but now I think it's kinda normal. Oops. Don't kill me, Seung Gi! I simply don't like the center part of the music where there's the " ze-ze-ze ze-ze-ze" part. But I missed his long notes. Haha.

Since Seung Gi's latest single is top of the list, all other songs will be pushed down the tracklist. I'm thinking, since there are so many links on the "navigations" part of my blog, I might as well change them to links where I can share the tracklist and lyrics and videos. Such that the links won't go to waste. Haha. But there's only so much time that I have. My sister hogs my laptop so much that I can only go Facebook-ing and blogging and online in the middle of the night, like now. Boo.

Translated lyrics:

credit: Sarangaia of Soompi

너를 다시 만나러 가는

I'm on my way to see you once again
이순간이 믿기지 않아

I can't believe this very instant

가는 내내 가슴이 벅차서 눈물이 나

My heart is full with every step I take, my tears fall

내 사랑인데 내 반쪽인데 그땐 널 왜 보냈을까

You are my love, you are my other half, so why did I leave you then

정말 미안해 이젠 놓지 않을게 너의 손 꼭 잡을게

I'm really sorry, I won't let you go now, I'll hold on tightly to your hands

사랑만 하자 우리 그러자

Let's only love, let's do that

다시 아프지 않게 만나자

Let's see each other again without the pain

사랑이라 인연이라 너를 잊을 수 없나봐

This is love, this is fate, I think I just can't forget you

다시 만나자 처음 사랑했던 날처럼

Let's see each other again, just like how we loved right at the beginning

그런 예쁜 사랑하자 오랜 연인 같지 않게 처음처럼

Let's love beautifully like that, unlike lovers who have been together for a long time, just like how we were in the beginning

우리 다시 만나자

Let's see each other again

힘들게 다시 잡은 두 손 내가 더 꼭 잡을게

I'll grab on even tighter to the pair of hands I'm holding on to after so much difficulty

어렵게 다시 내게 와준 네가 정말 고마워

It was arduous and I'm really grateful that you came back to me

네 옆엔 내가 (내 옆엔 네가)

Me beside you (You beside me)

서로가 그림자 되어

We'll become each other's shadow

함께한 날들 다짐했던 약속들

The promises we made during the days we were together

너와 나누고 싶어

I want to share them with you

사랑만 하자 우리 그러자

Let's only love, let's do that

다시 아프지 않게 만나자

Let's see each other again without the pain

사랑이라 인연이라 너를 잊을 수 없나봐

This is love, this is fate, I think I just can't forget you

다시 만나자 처음 사랑했던 날처럼

Let's see each other again, just like how we loved right at the beginning

그런 예쁜 사랑하자 오랜 연인 같지 않게 처음처럼

Let's love beautifully like that, unlike lovers who have been together for a long time, just like how we were in the beginning

우리 다시 만나자

Let's see each other again

처음처럼 그때처럼 날 보며 웃어줘

Like the beginning, just like then, you would smile when you look at me

나 때문에 흘린 네 눈물을 사랑으로 채워줄게

I'll make up for the tears you cried for me with my love

사랑만 하자 우리 그러자

Let's only love, let's do that

다시 아프지 않게 만나자

Let's see each other again without the pain

사랑이라 인연이라 너를 잊을 수 없나봐

This is love, this is fate, I think I just can't forget you

다시 만나자 처음 사랑했던 날처럼

Let's see each other again, just like how we loved right at the beginning

그런 예쁜 사랑하자 오랜 연인 같지 않게 처음처럼

Let's love beautifully like that, unlike lovers who have been together for a long time, just like how we were in the beginning

우리 다시 만나자

Let's see each other again

사랑해(사랑해) 사랑해(사랑해)

I love you (I love you) I love you (I love you)

사랑해(사랑해) 사랑해(사랑해) 사랑해~

I love you (I love you) I love you (I love you) I love you ~

Romanised lyrics:

credit: wannabefob @ wannabefob.wordpress.com

neo-leul da-shi man-na-leo ga-neun
ee soon-gan-ee mid-gi-jil anh-ah

ga-neun nae-nae ga-seum-ee beok-cha-seo
noon-mool-ee na~

nae sa-lang-in-de nae ban-jjok-in-deh
geu-ddaen neol wae bo-nae-sseul-ga
jeong-mal mi-an-hae ee-jen noh-ji anh-eul-ggeh
neo-eui sohn ggok jab-eujl-ggeh

sa-lang-man ha-ja oo-li geu-leo-ja
da-shin ah-peu-ji anh-ge man-na-ja
sa-lang-ee-la in-yeon ee-la
neo-leul ij-eul soon eob-na-bwa

da-shi man-na-ja
cheo-eum sa-lang-haet-deon nal-cheo-leom

geu-leon ye-ppeun sa-lang ha-ja
oh-laen yeon-in gat-ji anh-ge cheo-eum-cheo-leom
oo-li da-shi man-na-ja
him-deul-geh da-shi jab-eun doo sohn nae-ga deo ggok jab-eul-ge
eo-lyeob-ge da-shi nae-ge wae noon ne-ga jeong-mal go-ma-weo

ne yeop-en nae-ga nae yeop-en ne-ga
seo-lo-ga geu-lim-ja dwi-eo

ham-ggeo-han nal-deul da-jim-haet-deon yak-sok-deul
neo-wa na-noo-go ship-eo

sa-lang-man ha-ja oo-li geu-leo-ja
da-shin a-peu-ji anh-ge man-na-ja

sa-lang-ee-la in-yeon-ee-la
neo-leul ij-eul soon eob-na-bwa

da-shi man-na-ja
cheo-eum sa-lang-haet-deon nal-cheo-leom

geu-leon ye-ppeun sa-lang ha-ja
oh-laen yeon-in gat-ji anh-ge cheo-eum-cheo-leom

oo-li da-shi man-na-ja

cheo-eum-cheo-leom geu-ddae-cheo-leom nal bo-myeo oot-eo-jweo
na dae-moon-eh heu-lin ne noon-mool-eul sa-lang-eu-loh chae-weo-jool-ge

sa-lang-man ha-ja oo-li geu-leo-ja da-shin a-peu-ji anh-ge man-na-ja

sa-lang-ee-la in-yeon-ee-la
neo-leul ij-eul soon eob-na-bwa

da-shi man-na-ja
cheo-eum sa-lang-haet-deon nal-cheo-leom

geu-leon ye-ppeun sa-lang ha-ja
oh-laen yeon-in gat-ji anh-geh cheo-eum-cheo-leom

oo-li da-shi man-na-ja
sa-lang-hae (*5)

Shucks. I don't know what I did but my formatting got screwed up. Oh well. Last but not least, below is Seung Gi's Repackage Album cover. I like this cover much more than the original album's cover.

Changmin 2010 Calendar!

2009-12-20T02:54:00.009+08:00

Yup! Calendar of year 2010 of Changmin only!!!! I heard that it's from IMAX (a company I suppose), and that pre-orders are already over! Hmm. Not that I die die must have it (although it's nice to have), I think I would only keep it locked away in my drawers if I have it. Who would bear to use it (unless I have 2, haha)?!

So here are some pictures of the calendar to keep myself happy! =P

The whole package (i.e., calendar + bonus). Bonus: photos, stickers, card case, etc.

Hmm...? What's the black calendar for?

Cool Changmin! I think this picture was taken when DBSK was performing for Korean Air (like SIA)'s 40th anniversary.

He doesn't really look good with this hairstyle...

The pictures for October seems to be quite ok... And my birthday falls on a Monday next year?! He's pouting for me. =P

His baby picture, I suppose! So 18th Feb is his birthday (I don't really care about my idols' birthdays, haha)... But the picture of him on the side is really hot! And I think the words on his baby picture mean "Prince's Birthdate".

Fanarts were included in the calendar too. I wonder why. Some were really good, others not so. The little puppy's his pet dog!

This is another fanart again. I have the real picture of him!

Nicer, right? =P

I guess I don't like May's design...

This is the month of June...

The handphone straps! "Nothing better than Min". Haha.

I think I still like June the best!

Some Updates

2009-12-19T22:22:00.002+08:00

After playing Lee Seung Gi's title track for so long (ever since before the exams), I've decided to update some songs to my blog player. It's not because I'm sick of his songs, ok? I still have half of his albums not listened to yet (so I can last till his next album's release) and I still sing along to his songs. I just feel a little outdated if I don't update my blog player.

So here are the updates:

First song on the tracklist: Tae Yang (of the group, Big Bang) - Wedding Dress. I started liking this song after listening to it a couple of times. I tried to learn his dance but it's so tough, I gave up.

Second song: Dong Bang Shin Ki - Picture of You. It's a nice song, and it's by Dong Bang Shin Ki!

Fourth song on the list, but it's the third song I added to the playlist: Dong Bang Shin Ki - Love In The Ice. Very full of emotions...

I deleted some old songs too.

During my vacation, Lee Seung Gi held his second concert. There were fancams but they all became private suddenly. =( But I watched his performance of My Ear Candy with Baek Ji Young. Originally it was by Baek Ji Young with Taecyeon (of 2PM). Boo hoo hoo! I can't wait for the TV Special to be broadcasted soon in Korea.

My Makan-Kaki Trip Part 1

2009-12-19T18:12:00.007+08:00

Now it's time for me to talk about the Makan-Kaki trip. I might wanna post some pictures, so I guess I will talk about the trip in 3 parts. Hmm.

We were supposed to arrive at Golden Mile Junction by 5.30 am to report, so I booked a Comfort Maxi cab so all 5 of us could go together. Never have more than 2 kids, unless you are rich or you have your own car. The booking fee was $16 dollars because it was a Maxi cab and because the lady who picked up the call had no idea how long it would take for the cab to travel from Woodlands to Golden Mile Junction (although she said that at that time in the morning, the traffic would be quite smooth), we decided that the cab should arrive at my place at 4.40 am. You know, in case the driver is late, or the traffic might not be smooth, etc. And thus, because it's before 5 am, there was a 50% midnight surcharge on the taxi fare.

Although there was miscommunication between the taxi driver and us, and the taxi driver waited for us at the wrong spot, we weren't late. We arrived at Golden Mile Junction a few minutes past 5 am. If I knew, I would have called the cab to arrive at 5.01 am and I could have saved on the taxi fare.

There were already some people waiting in front of the travel agency, and there were 2 aunties. I guessed that they were friends. Doesn't matter anyway. So we stood around and decided to explore Golden Mile Junction while waiting for 5.30 am.

I have never been there before, so there was this smell that almost choked me. It was mainly the smell of toilet, and we totally lost our appetite (we intended to buy some breakfast to eat while on the bus). The only food stalls in operation were 2 stalls that sold Thai food, with some Thais eating there. There was even a TV broadcasting the (latest) Thai pop song. LOL. Looking around the place, it seems like a place where Thais gather. There was even a Starhub mobile card poster in Thai. My mum said that she even saw 2 Thai transvestite. All I saw was that they had good figure. Haha.

The bad thing about the tour agency was that although it stated "report at 5.30", it only opened its doors to us at 5.45 am. Everyone was impatient and rushed in when the doors opened.

We were the 4th to board the bus (yes, my dad was quick, haha) and the 2 aunties I just mentioned were already on the bus (yes, they are even faster). There were 23 people in our tour group, so some people haven't boarded the bus yet when it was 6 am. The itinerary said to leave by 6 am, so the 2 aunties were complaining. From now on, I shall refer them as the Complain Queens so it would be easier for you to recall. They started complaining how early they arrived (who asked you to reach before 5 am?), how slow 5-Star is (this, I totally agree) and how they lagged behind the itinerary (which I didn't mind). The girl handling their complaints didn't do a good job of calming them down though. I then thought how Pharmacy taught me to handle irritated patients. Haha. Anyway, the bus departed immediately once the last family boarded the bus.

I don't have much to say about crossing the Singapore customs (except that the toilets were clean and it would be the last time in 3 days that I would seeing such clean toilets). There was a LONG queue at the Malaysia customs though, and luckily we were directed to another customs that was almost empty. We had to change bus, and the tour guide, Ah Hong, would take us on a tour on the second bus. Guess what? The bus plate number was 4141. Haha. Si Liao Si Liao. But I returned from the trip safe, or you wouldn't be reading this. Haha.

We had breakfast and it was self-paid. The food didn't taste nice enough. And 1 bowl of wanton mee costs RM 4. I was shocked. We ordered chee cheong fun too and it arrived earlier than the wanton mee. A fellow traveler asked my sister if it was nice. My sister said yes. OMG. IT wasn't nice lor. The ones my parents buy when they go into JB was much nicer. I think the uncle felt cheated. Haha.

Throughout the trip, I can't really remember what we did or where we went to. But according to the itinerary, we went to a chocolate factory called Beryl's. I liked the entrance and the exit. Haha. The displays were beautiful. I expected to actually go into the factory to see chocolate-making in process, but in the end, all we saw were 2 machines that extracts the cocoa seeds and then a video of chocolate being poured into moulds. Of course, the reason we were there was to buy chocolate from them, which my family didn't. The other families bought lots of chocolates. What I could remember was one of the products cost RM 25 and buy 3 get 1 free. I'm not gonna spend so much on them! And it's not like I can't get Beryl's in Singapore. I even remember Sheng Siong has discounted price for one of its chocolate ranges.

The entrance of the chocolate factory! Cute figurine, right?

One of the chocolate-making machines...

They sold souvenirs too! I like these coin boxes because they look so real!

The exit. They sell ice-cream at RM 5 each. I didn't buy.

We went to Ampang Yong Tau Foo for lunch. The tour group was separated into 3 tables, and we sat with a Chinese national NTU student and his family. They were nice and polite. For the food, I expected only yong tau foo, but the lunch actually consisted of fried dumplings, dumpling soup, yong tau foo (duh), one fish for everyone (which I didn't eat 'cos I'm lazy to take out the bones), veggie and fried pandan chicken wings. Oh man, the chicken wings were the best! Maybe it's because I haven't had chicken wings for a long time. Haha.

The Ampang Yong Tau Foo eatery. Weird expressions here because my sister refused to take the picture and I was trying to persuade her to.

Next, we went to a shopping complex in KL. We only bought food. Haha. It's not because we were still hungry from the yong tau foo feast, but there's really nothing you can buy in a shopping centre if you want to save. There were shops like Levi's, etc, and I saw a blouse I liked in Esprit. I didn't buy 'cos it cost RM 269. Oh well. Haha. But I enjoyed taking pictures of the decorations and I even saw the Hello Panda biscuit's Panda! It was taking pictures with anyone who wanted to take a picture with it. I wanted to take a picture with it too! But because there were too many people, I decided to walk around first. When I came back, it was gone! Boo hoo hoo.

The Christmas decorations at the shopping complex.

At Borders. Cute display!

Close-up of the robot attacking the Tower of Pisa!

The durian pancake my dad bought. It's nice!

My sister saw Etude House and went crazy over it. Pictures of Lee Min Ho were all over, and the style was exactly like the Etude House-es in Singapore. There was a 20% discount on its nail polishes, so my sister bought a purple nail polish. Oh man. Original price was RM11.90. I came back to Singapore and I checked the price of the same nail polish in Singapore's Etude House. $11.90 too. If JB had Etude House, I'd shop there!

The shopping complex we went to (the street it faces). That's all I can say.

We went to a seafood restaurant for dinner. I couldn't be bothered to count how many dishes were served, but there were prawns, fish, chicken, pork and veggies. I was quite satisfied with the fare, except that the quantity was quite miserable. However, this time round, we were split into 2 tables, so other than sitting with the NTU student's family, we sat with an old couple whose husband drinks beer at every meal (almost) and the Complain Queens. They complained about the food. The quantity, the looks and the taste. Well, to think of it, you pay $300 to enjoy 2 nights at 5-star hotels and food and travelling for 3 days... Unless you know Malaysia well enough and have your own car, it's actually quite worth it. And when you travel, you don't get 6-course and above for every meal that you eat, right?

The Petronas Twin Towers. We only passed by it on the bus.

We went to Prince's Hotel for the night. I liked the hotel's toilet. The way the room was decorated and everything. It felt simple and elegant. We went out to a shopping complex nearby, and because of the miserable quantity, we went out to buy KFC (oops!) and doughnuts! The doughnuts were cheap and good.

The Petronas Twin Towers at night. This was taken near the hotel we stayed in. I wanted to go there but my family didn't want to. But it was just so near! Just 600 metres away from me!

The hotel room.

Me and my sis!

However, while waiting for my sister to finish bathing, I lay on my bed to sing songs. I looked up the ceiling and saw 3 patches of brownish-red stuff on the ceiling. I didn't think much of it. My sisters and I did stupid stuff and laughed the night away. I shan't tell you what. =P

Woo... Holidays!

2009-12-16T01:10:00.003+08:00

Ok, I've meant to update ever since exams were over. This is almost the first time in my life when I can't wait for exams to be over. I guess this shows how tough life is for Year 3 Sem 1.

Anyway, exams are over!!!! Holidays have come and 2 weeks have passed - yes, time flies! I've lots of stuff to update. =P

First thing I wanna talk about was one of the craziest thing I ever did in my life - to go out with my clique immediately after the exams! Usually I would go back home to sleep. Lan, Seoh Thin, James and I had dinner at a chinese cuisine restaurant and together with Mandy, Chia Yee, Rachel and Madeline, we went to Marina Square to watch 2012. Because I only slept for a couple of hours for Food and Health exam, I thought I would fall asleep while watching the movie. It happened before. I was sleeping while watching a movie with a friend and I woke up when everyone was laughing. I only managed to keep awake through the movie because it was it was a funny movie. 2012 is definitely not comedy-like, so it was challenging for me. Haha. James sat beside me and made sure I didn't fall asleep - which I didn't because I didn't want the movie ticket to go to waste.

Actually, the whole outing was to celebrate Lan's birthday and it was quite rushed for us to make it from the exam venue to City Hall. We were supposed to have ample time for travelling and dinner, if not for the module lecturers who took almost 40 minutes to collect and count the exam scripts. Hello, it's only 100 plus to 200 plus students lor. Why take so long?

I still remember how dehydrated I was. The exam period was the time when I had dry lips that tend to crack - no, it's not due to lack of Vitamin C. LOL! So when I was waiting for the announcement to be released, Geraldine, who was sitting beside me, said she was hungry. Me too! Haha. Zhi Wei was sitting in the column beside Geraldine and one seat behind. We saw each other and he smiled. I smiled back and OUCH! I think I tasted blood. Haiz.

Now back to the topic of 2012. Overall, the movie was very predictable - disaster comes, people hide and run for their lives, in the end, a small group of people survives through it. I don't really know how to appreciate 3D effects, etc, but I like the fact that the US President in the movie decides to die instead. And the Italian PM too. I mean, the movie shows that it doesn't mean that if you are an authority, you survive. Even if you have money, status and whatnot, you can choose to live, or rather, like the Russian millionaire in the movie, he has no choice but to die. But he died a worthwhile death because his sons get to live. Argh, what am I talking about? Haha.

The movie ended later than expected... So by the time I got out of the cinema, it was already 11.30 pm. I almost forgot that I have to chase after the last train which was at 11.51 pm. But I needed the toilet and the shopping mall was closed! ARGH!!!!! Out of desperation, I took a cab with Lan and I told the taxi driver to drop me off at the nearest MRT station. Which turned out to be City Hall. Haha. But I haven't went for my toilet break yet, remember? So I ran all the way to the MRT station, checked that the last train would arrive in 6 minutes' time and ran all the way to the station's toilet and used only 2 minutes in the toilet - usually I take more than 2 minutes, haha. I ran back to the MRT gates and because I was in a hurry, I stopped by Passenger Service and caught my breath while the staff was looking at me.

Me: I... want to take the last train to Woodlands. (huff, puff) Which way do I go?
Staff: Red line, number 4.

I ran through the gates and down the escalator and found out that I had 2 minutes to spare. LOL!

Maybe because it was the last train, I had a seat. I looked at my file and saw my notes through the file. Suddenly, I felt sleepy but I didn't sleep because I wasn't sitting in the priority seat and have nothing to lay my head against.

Exams are finally over! Happy holidays, my friends!

P.S: While I was typing out this post, some randon person on Facebook who I added just for a free ingredient in Restaurant City was chatting with me. I felt suspicious all the time. I don't know why. Oh well. And I've lots more stuff to blog about! I wonder how many pages my updates will take. Haha.

Ah, edit. I feel like this person is God-send. Haha. He thinks deep. I'm impressed. He's a nurse and lives in Philippines and has been working for 5 years. And when I said it's amazing how he can hold out for so long, he replied, "Patients are like families who need help, think of them like as if they are your family, helping them is a therapy!" I shall keep this in mind. =)

MM Lee Says Bilingual Policy Was Wrong

2009-11-19T02:01:00.002+08:00

I was quite upset at this report when I saw the headlines in the newspapers and Internet. I didn't read the report because I have no time to, but I do have some opinions...

I survived through the bilingual policy, so I don't see why average Singaporeans out there find it tough to. Some English-speaking kids find learning Mandarin tough, and the reverse is true for kids who grow up in Mandarin-speaking families. Come on - what's wrong? I myself am a kid who grew up in a Mandarin-speaking environment, I have no elder siblings, my mum doesn't speak English and my dad speaks Singlish. I grew up fine and well, didn't I?

I know it would take me huge effort to get my English as good as those native speakers, but at the very least, I can understand a lot of stuff that I come into contact with. No one really helped me to master English except for myself. It's through constant practice in writing and reading in school that made me what I am today.

Likewise, it is the same for those who can't freaking speak Mandarin. If you put in effort, there's no language that you can't master. I don't understand why everyone is complaining that the Chinese syllabus is very tough, etc, and with all the "downgrading" of standards, I don't see the need to have a Mother Tongue anymore. Look at the Malays and Indians. Did they complain of having tough Mother Tongue lessons? No, right? They speak English and their own Mother Tongue well. So why can't we Chinese do the same?

I have always been grateful for Singapore's bilingual policy for allowing me to understand 2 of the world's most commonly used languages. If MM Lee is gonna change the syllabus to really elementary levels, I'll be very disappointed with him.

What's more, there are countries where students learn 3 languages in school. I envy them for that. Like what Benny Tan said, spend less time going online and read more books - this time round, not academic stuff but storybooks - you can then master and appreciate the beauty of language.

How I wish I can tell MM Lee this.

Good News

2009-11-16T17:43:00.005+08:00

Heh heh.

My Lee Seung Gi has recovered! That's what his agency told the papers on the 15th. He's gonna prepare extra hard for his personal concert at the end of the year! Hmm. Means I gotta save up now to buy his concert DVD when it's released!

This is great news. =P

Frustrated

2009-11-14T17:15:00.001+08:00

I don't know what's wrong but I just can't seem to get along with my sister.

She's a bitch. So am I.

I can't get down to studying. *wails*

To Make Myself Happy

2009-11-12T22:04:00.002+08:00

To make myself happy, I changed the second song in my playlist to something cheerful. One of my favourite songs from Seung Gi's latest album.

The song is "It's Love". I like the "la la la" part. Haha. I would "la la la" along every time I play this song.

Anyway, I successfully dug out my sister's antibiotics and threw them away. Feel so proud of myself. And cold war is still going on. But not because of the antibiotics. I got over that already. It's over something... And I'm even sure what! She just got pissed off with me.

Haiz. Seung Gi-ah! Let's "la la la" the night away...

My Stubborn Sister

2009-11-11T23:51:00.000+08:00

I'm not supposed to rant on my blog, because it turns people away. But I've been trying my best to tolerate it and now I can't anymore. I really have to rant and scream and shout and everything.

What happened was that my youngest sister gave my younger sister antibiotics to eat because my younger sister wasn't feeling well.

!@#%^&*^%^#^$#%&%!!@%#()^($)@*%">!@#%^&*^%^#^$#%&%!!@%#()^($)@*%@*~

I don't really care if she didn't finish her own course of antibiotics (because that's what I do too) but this is really ABSURD when she give people leftover antibiotics! And the dumb thing was that my younger sister took it, then went to see a doctor and the doctor gave her the same antibiotic and she took it immediately after returning home. So it's like, 2 doses of antibiotics within 4 hours?! Not to mention that she didn't tell me; she didn't even tell my mum!

I am really upset. What am I to them? Why have I been struggling so hard for the past 2.5 years? Do they even realise the importance of having me by their side? How can they take medications without consulting me? Even though I haven't got my licence yet, I haven't even graduated yet, but at the very least I know that you don't give people leftover antibiotics before they are even diagnosed! I am very pissed. Pissed off.

And she takes one tablet from the leftover antibiotics whenever she feels unwell. Like WTF. (I apologise for the vulgarity but I can't help it.) Seriously, I could scream my head off at my youngest sister and my not-supposed-to-be-so-dumb-younger-sister-who-takes-Biology. I really wanted to do that. How ignorant can one be? How could they not discuss anything with me? How could they treat my mum as invisible too? If you tell mummy, I wouldn't mind because you should always tell your parents if you feel unwell. I don't mind being skipped over. But skipping over my mum too - I don't know what my mum can still remain so calm, cool and collected. If I were my mum I would have given them the hell of their lives. A very serious lecture that they would remember for life.

But because my younger has Biology exam the next day, I can't scream at her. I feel like exploding. I guess I have already exploded. Seriously, do they think I've interfered with their lives too much that they don't want to tell me anything anymore?

I.... ARGH! ARGH ARGH ARGH! I've decided not to talk to my youngest sister for the next few days. Yes, it's cold war now. And I'll find a way to locate her leftover antibiotics and throw them away. She's too dangerous to have them with her.

Oh My Poor Seung Gi!

2009-11-11T23:40:00.003+08:00

Seung Gi's supposed to have a concert (I don't know the actual date) with Son Dam Bi (a Korean singer too, and she's quite pretty. I like her, but not the crazy-over-her kind of thing) in US. Yes, the United States of America. So cool, right? US fans were going crazy over Seung Gi's scheduled performance. I mean, I would too, and I WILL SKIP CLASS if he ever came to Singapore. But he doesn't have a large fan-base in Singapore and so I know he probably wouldn't ever come.

Argh, I side-tracked too much. Pai-seh.

Anyway, I was already into Stage One of my sleeping cycle when my sister woke me up. She was reading some entertainment news and found out that Seung Gi tested positive for H1N1. Yes, you are right - I woke up immediately and rushed to the computer to read the news myself.

Seung Gi felt sick after ending a recording for one of his variety shows and had a bad headache, fever and cough. He was sent to the hospital and now he's on Tamiflu. So his US concert got cancelled and fans are disappointed. But I'm not.

Back to reality. I was worried for a few minutes and then I got over it. 'Cos as a medical professional-to-be, I understand that yeah, H1N1 isn't something you wish to get, but now that everyone has it, it's like no big deal anymore. But what I am worried about is whether or not the virus has mutated or not. I think it might have. Otherwise, why are the number of deaths on the rise again? I didn't have time to follow all the reports on H1N1 (because of all the CAs) but I am very interested in H1N1. No, not because Seung Gi and many other Korean stars caught it. I'm geniunely interested in it!

Anyway, I hope he gets well soon. He has to get well soon! ~~What a coincidence that I'm now sick, and he is sick too.~~

Fangirl Dreaming Away

2009-11-10T23:13:00.000+08:00

Ooh no one can imagine my happiness today! Erm, if you look at the title, you'll probably know what I'm gonna talk about. And you can skip this post actually. LOL.

Guess what? I dreamt of my idol, Seung Gi! All these time after I've crowned him as my favorite, he has never ever appeared in my dreams. Not even for a second in the past 1+ or 2 years. Finally! My "dream" (or should I call it wish?) came true.

Shall I go on to tell what the dream was about? *blush blush* Oh well. Let me keep the details to myself... =P

Basically in my dream, I was travelling in a country. I was on a train that runs on railways (so it's not MRT-like kind of train) and Seung Gi was walking through each carriage singing! I took a picture of him singing and asked to take a picture with him. LOL. He agreed and he did.

So now you can imagine my happiness... It felt almost real. And now I wish I can see him in person. =P

Oops

2009-10-26T21:14:00.002+08:00

Wow. I haven't blogged for a month! Some would say, it's only a month, but it felt like eons to me!

Anyway, today I had Pathology CA II. I don't expect to do well.

Many things happened, and I had my 21st birthday too! I am supposed to blog about it and post the pictures on Facebook, but I am so busy with school work that I have to put it off till much later...

Let me profess my love here. I love Lee Seung Gi! I'm still going ga-ga over his "Let's Break Up".

Ok, back to normal. I couldn't hide my excitement anymore. My dad booked a 3-Day holiday in Malaysia, it's called "3D Makan-Kaki Tour". Allow me to highlight some of the features of the tour! I was attracted to the tour at first sight and I didn't expect to go on it. Yet I will be! Woo-hoo!

'Cos it's a makan-kaki tour, we'll be going on:
- Eating Ampang Yong Tau Foo
- Going to chocolate factory
- Staying in Prince Hotel (KL)
- Going to Thean Hou Temple in Malacca
- Eating Klang Bak Kut Teh
- Staying in Hotel Equatorial (Malacca)
- Dining at local Nyonya restaurant (I hope it's the restaurant I went to in Malacca Xepa Field Trip)
- Going to Jonker Street
- Visiting various Malacca tourist sites
- Shopping!!!

Wah... And only a few hundred bucks per person! Although my family is going on rationing for a few months because of this, but I hope it will be worth it!

And I got e-mail fron NUSPS IRC that I got selected to go on SEP! Heh heh. Seems like I can travel around some more... I love travelling! =P

A Fulfilling Monday

2009-09-28T23:39:00.000+08:00

Lots of things to report today!

School started (duhz) and on my way to school, I realised I forgot to bring my Med Chem tutorial! It's like one of the very few times I did my tutorial before coming to class and I actually forgot! Had to trouble Seoh Thin to come to school earlier so I could photocopy the questions from her. =\

I felt so proud of myself today! Today was YC Lim's last lecture for Pathology. At least, that's what I heard. Don't know if it's true or not, and I can't be bothered to verify anyway. I chewed 2 gums and I didn't fall asleep for her lecture! It's like the first time out of her series of lectures that I 95% followed what she said closely. Maybe it's because it's her last lecture. Or maybe it's because it's the start of school.

I was at Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange waiting for my bus 269 to take me to the tuition centre when a female commuter queueing for the same bus behind me began (in Mandarin):

She: Har-low.

Me: (I didn't care, I didn't turn my head back)

She: Har-low. Har-low.

Me: (turned back) Yeah? (I thought she might wanna ask if the queue was leading to bus 269.)

She: (pointing to the top of my head) Where did you buy this from?

Me: Huh?

She: (kept pointing) This.

Me: (it took me a LONG while before I realised she was talking about the hair clip on my head) Oh. Er... Erm... An accessory shop. I think AMK Hub upstairs has such an accessory shop. (my mind was in a whirl)

She: I couldn't find it anywhere!

Me: (knitted my eyebrows) Oh is it? (I was thinking, what does she want? So weird!)

She: Yeah! I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. It's very pretty.

Me: (meekly) Oh, er, hehe. Thanks.

And I turned back to the queue. A few moments later...

She: Har-low. [I related the incident to my mum later on, at this point of time in the story, my mum was like, is she normal?]

Me: (turned to her and look at her) ...

She: You sure upstairs might sell?

Me: Erm, yeah. Any shop selling hair clips would have it...

She immediately left the queue and took the escalator upstairs...

So weird la! Seoh Thin was commenting on the story of the baker and me, that people I meet are weird. I would say that the baker is a stubborn uncle. This female commuter, I think she's plain weird!

How would she be able to find a hair clip like the one on my head if she's never seen it before? I kept thinking about where I bought my hair clip and realised that I actually bought it from Chamelon in Causeway Point. Oh well. My mum says she'll probably figure that it was sold out. And is my hair clip so likeable that she has to buy it at once? Weird! (Now my hairs are standing up...) But in any case, I was still thinking about the incident when I boarded the bus and it occupied my mind when I was supposed to be studying Med Chem!

Nonetheless, however weird she may be, my hair clip is pretty! Hee hee. =X

My speed for going through the tuition questions was awfully slow, but I thought I did an okay job. I gave them Air and Atmosphere questions to do, and one girl asked me to go through the topic because her school skipped it. I asked if anyone wanted to listen to me, 'cos if not, I can just concentrate on her. No one opted out.

With that, I began my lecture on the composition of air, the type of calculation questions that would come out, the various types of air pollutants and real-life examples of how they harm our health. I was having such a good time lecturing them (because there's no absolute rule to emphasise for this topic) that I used 20 minutes on a topic that my sister's textbook used only 10 pages to cover! They were so impressed at my knowledge of the greenhouse effect leading to global warming and carbon monoxide fighting with oxygen for binding to haemoglobin and how people die while sleeping in cars that they looked at me intently and didn't complain that I was boring or too slow. I was impressed with myself too, because I didn't prepare any materials beforehand and whatever I lectured just flowed out of my mouth. Haha. I've rebuilt my image well this time round! I can consider being a teacher!

Yawns. I'm so sleepy. Will get up early tomorrow to do my Food and Health project. I'm so lucky school starts late tomorrow.

One Week Gone Just Like That

2009-09-27T23:03:00.002+08:00

I still can't believe it. My recess week is over, and now it's school re-opening again.

Why do I always feel like crying whenever school is about to restart?

Anyway, about the birthday cake... I almost cried. My sisters have been making a joke out of it. I went to the bakery with my mum, and I was just browsing through the first photo album out of the 5 there was, the baker came out...

Baker: Ah, what is the cake for?

Mum: Birthday.

Baker: Whose birthday? Male or female?

Mum: Female. 21st birthday.

Baker: Ah. Don't have to browse through the catalogue la. I'll design one for you.

Me: (wide-eyed) Huh?

Shop assistant: Yeah, he's designed a lot of 21st birthday cakes. His designs are always very pretty. Trust him, just let him design it.

Baker: Yah. I'll design a round one, and with "21" on it and flowers around the "21".

Me: Erm, it's quite hard to cut a round cake and give it to 30 plus people.

Baker: Aiyah, just cut it like this, like that... (Makes handsigns) Round ones nicer. More elegant.

Shop assistant: The mum will be present right? Then the mum will cut it lor.

Mum: (looking at me) Well... Yeah I'll be there...

Me: (rolled my eyes)

Baker: For girl right? Then I'll design pink flowers against white background.

Me: (strongly protesting) Erm, can't it be blue? Must it be pink?

Baker: Blue is for boys la. Girls go for pink.

Me: (trying hard to have it my way) Then purple. Purple is quite nice.

Baker: Purple? It's for Malays and Indians la. Chinese go for red. So pink will be very beautiful one.

Shop assistant: Yah yah.

Me: (looking at the floor) Ok...

And so, this is how my birthday will look like. Unknown to everyone, even me, and it is so totally not my style. Pink and round. T_T

My sisters kept laughing at me. They agreed that pink is just so-not-me. Everything they broach the subject, I feel like crying. And I don't think there will be chocolates on the cake. I had actually wanted to have chocolate balls on the cake even though I don't love eating chocolates. And I wanted kiwi and peach slices on the cake. Nah. None will be there. I'm so depressed. Sok Hiang was like, "who's the birthday girl here huh?" I totally agree. How can he not respect the wishes of the birthday girl?!

When they asked, "Do you want to have your name written on the cake?" I was like, "Does it matter anymore? It's not even my cake. It's not even what I want." I looked at my mum, and at the shop assistant.

In the end, I put down my name anyway.

A Little Thing To Be Happy About

2009-09-25T01:53:00.003+08:00

To the weird weird tutor I had weeks ago:

I haven't let you down. =)
Thanks for your faith in me!

I've No Time

2009-09-25T01:38:00.005+08:00

I am starting to panic now. Med Chem CA is in a few days, and I haven't got down to studying! How can I waste so much time? But I still prefer going to the supermarket to buy stuff for my birthday celebration. =P

I love my blog a lot now. Haha. Such that I've nothing to write, I still come on to make posts. I've found back my passion for blogging! Maybe I'll have more stuff to write about when school re-opens. Oh well. I hope it doesn't re-open so soon!

My blog's music player has been giving me weird issues. A few weeks back, I set it to shuffle the songs on the playlist, and it never did. Till 2 days ago. But it messed up what I had in mind 'cos Lee Seung Gi's "Let's Break Up" is not the first song to be played when people come to my blog! So now I've set it to "Do not shuffle". I hope it understands English. And reacts fast.

I placed an order for Lee Seung Gi's album although I have no idea how the money is going to come from. Oh well. I can worry about that later. Actually, I don't even know if I'll ever going to get the album because I was negotiating the price with the middleman and I haven't got a reply yet. And I was really disappointed with his record company. He's so popular in Korea now, how can you shabbily produce an album just like that? I saw some pictures of the album, and some of the pictures they used weren't even as good as the ones he took when endorsing for some clothing company! His album needs better designing and his stylist needs to go for re-training.

I just heard from the middleman regarding Dong Bang Shin Ki's DVD which I placed an order for. It's arrived! I'm supposed to collect from her this weekend, but how can I use my precious weekend on something so distracting? I haven't even started on my Food & Health projects! But I'm so gonna rip apart the plastic packaging once I lay my hands on it. After Thursday. Hmm.

I can just make a list of what I have to do and never be able to complete them on time. Sigh. Like my tuition assignment and Food & Health projects and DFD practical reports and Med Chem CA. They all need to be done by Sunday! I wish I had insomnia.

And not to mention, I haven't designed my birthday cake. Have to place an order by tomorrow. Hmm. Maybe I'll just pick any design out of the ones they have on the catalogue.

Diabetic Fruits

2009-09-23T00:03:00.003+08:00

I am so happy with myself for giving this post such a fantastic title.

This came about when I went to NTUC Fairprice with my parents on Saturday to compare prices for some stuff that I need to buy for my birthday celebration. The first section that we would always pass by is the fruits section. My dad loves fruits, and he would always pester my mum to buy watermelons. This time round, he didn't. Instead, he wanted to buy honeydews.

Honeydews! How long have we not had honeydews at home? It has always been dragonfruits, oranges, watermelons, apples... Finally! Something I would eat. So Dad walked over to the honeydews produced somewhere in South East Asia, which cost $2 plus each. They didn't look pretty, and my mum was dissauding my dad from buying them. I looked beside me and there was this carton full of USA-produced honeydews that cost $5.50 each. I was like, "There are honeydews over here too, and they are from USA!" thinking that my mum would never buy them because of the price. I mean, who eats such expensive honeydews on normal occasions? And the problem with me is that I would always think that imported products are of higher quality. Like how New Zealand kiwis and Taiwan king mangoes would taste better, how Korean mushrooms are worth buying...

And to my surprise, Mum allowed Dad to choose a honeydew! OMG! I decided not to remind my mum about the price.

We went back home, and while my mum was cutting the honeydew into half for easy storage, I decided to take a piece out of the cut ones and oh man, have you any idea how SWEET they are? It's like drinking sugar solution! The thing is, you can just remove a very thin layer of the skin and the flesh near the skin is sweet too! I quickly stopped myself after a few pieces. That's how sweet it is. Mum was astonished at how sweet honeydews can ever be (actually, we all were) and commented that paying $5.50 for A honeydew is actually quite worth it.

I then thought about the South African apples I ate a few days before. They were so sweet, you don't even taste the malic acid found in apples. That means, the apples didn't taste like apples! It's like biting into some fresh fibre and drinking sugar solution... And my thoughts drifted further away, to how farmers try to produce sweet fruits so consumers would buy them. Watermelons, mangoes, oranges, etc, they are all sweet. Do you still remember when you last tasted sour oranges? I know some fruits are meant to be a little sweet, like the watermelons I mentioned just now, but in the past, the sweetness was something so natural, like the sweetness of dew drops, sweetness which came with a smell of nature. Now, fruits are so sweet that they taste like sugar solutions, that they don't taste like fruits anymore. They kinda lost the fruity fragrance which was characteristic of them. Although I have to admit that somehow, I wouldn't have liked my USA-honeydew so much if it wasn't that sweet. Just what did they do during the farming process? Water the crops with sugar solution?

Oh, that led me into thinking, perhaps we should further reduce each servings of fruit because of the high sugar content. Diabetic patients should probably even abstain from fruits. Ha. I'm being nonsensical again.

I still love the USA-honeydew. I hope Mum would buy one more!

The Long-Missed Toothpaste

2009-09-22T23:49:00.003+08:00

Ah, the toothpaste I got for free at the bus-stop outside LT 27. Was supposed to show you guys this long ago! It's actually quite a big tube, given because it was dental month. I guess the dentist-wannabes at NUS couldn't be bothered to promote the dental month and just got some random guy to give out free tubes of toothpaste.

I know that Elgydium is expensive on the market, so I happily brought it back home for my mum to try. Under my insistence, she did try it on the second night, but told me how disgusted she was with the smell. Oh well, I shouldn't tell you guys too much about it, for Elgydium might just sue me. Anyway, my sister tried it too and she couldn't stand the smell either. As for me, I haven't tried it yet, and probably wouldn't.

Days after... Which is a few days back, I asked my mum if she was still using it. She is, and said the smell wasn't that bad after getting used to it. Hmm. Anyway, I don't see this "Decay Protection" product on NTUC Fairprice's shelves. Or maybe the branch I went to was too small of a market share.

I still love my phone. =P

Lee Seung Gi!

2009-09-20T02:22:00.002+08:00

I am at a loss.

My favorite singer, Lee Seung Gi, just released his fourth album on the 17th of September. I should support him because he's the first singer I've like so much. But I haven't got the money to buy another album within such a short time! (I just spent $72 on DBSK, remember? Anyway, the middleman sent an e-mail saying that it would arrive around 2 weeks later... So that means it'll just come in time as my own birthday gift!)

Ok, this post's focus shall be on my Seung Gi.

Yeah, I've been waiting ever since my fascination into him for his new album, and my wish came true. I haven't exactly listened to all the songs, but after listening to "Let's Break Up" (his main song for this album) and reading some comments, I do have to say that, yes, he's moving to other genres like mainstream pop for "Let's Break Up" and some other more cheerful pieces like "I Want You", but I am a little disappointed. I love his sunny and serious personality, but I just realised that I love his ballads more.

Some people say that "Shadow" (the name of his latest album) lacks a ballad. Yes, I definitely agree. I miss his ballads. But good effort anyway, to change his style. I'm not saying that "Let's Break Up" is not good, it's been inside my head ever since, but I would love to enjoy another ballad from him. That said, I wanna watch the MV for "Let's Break Up". He looks different, drifting away from seriousness and to someone who's weathered through love. At this thought, I feel sad, but I can't always let him stay at where he is, right? He's got to improve. I guess it'll be soon that I accept this new change.

Anyway, I've edited my playlist for the music player. Sorry to Dong Bang Shin Ki, but I'm moving "Let's Break Up" to first position! Yeah, after complaining so much, I still love his song, don't I? Do enjoy "Let's Break Up"! I wish him all the best in album sales (though I really want to contribute somehow)! Lyrics will come later.

Bad Air Conditions

2009-09-19T23:39:00.000+08:00

The air around me has been really bad recently. I wake up sneezing and I end up with a runny nose everyday. I smell smoke everywhere - from the cigarettes of people walking by my house, the incense smoke in my own home (I'm not complaining, it's just that I've been more sensitive to smoke recently), from people burning offerings to those wandering ghosts of the seventh lunar month and perhaps some forest fire smoke from Indonesia?!

I really couldn't take it anymore and I took chlorpheniramine earlier on. I feel like a drug addict, taking multi-vitamins for my nails and anti-histamines for my allergy. Although I used to feel fine with doing so, I now feel bad for my bad health status. Why isn't my body able to fend for itself?

Anyway, I just kinda finalised the menu of my birthday celebration. Even the items for barbequeing have increased from 1 to 4! Gonna shop for the food and utensils soon! I think it'll be a spread. Haha. Amidst my excitement, I feel guilty for getting my parents spend so much money on me. I think I'll go to the bank someday and draw out some money to contribute towards my birthday expenses. But I know Mum won't let me do that. The estimated costs are already more than $500.

I hope the air on 3rd October would be great. I don't wanna celebrate my birthday with red, watery and puffy eyes and look so-not-pretty in the photos. The same thing happened during the Chinese New Year Steamboat dinner with my friends and I don't want history to repeat itself!

I hope Earth improves soon. For it's sake and mine too.

I'm Bushed

2009-09-18T23:03:00.001+08:00

Today's Friday and boy, am I glad that holidays are here! Means I can finally take a break after so long! Well, it wasn't exactly that long ago when I started this semester.

I knew I would be sleeping in lecture today 'cos I slept at 1 am and woke up at 3.45 am just to complete my lab report. Actually, I deserved it because I had a week to do it, but didn't do it till Thursday night. I aimed to finish my report at 5 am so I could catch some sleep, but I obviously failed.

Anyway, I fell asleep in Dosage Form Design lecture and Seoh Thin said I kinda snored! So embarrassing! Haha. I guess that means I fell into deep sleep. Even Lan saw me sleeping! I recently am so good at dozing off without knowing that Hui Min has taken me as her idol! That's because I told her I fell asleep during Tuesday's Dosage Form Design lecture when Dr Liew was talking about allergy to peanut oil and I dreamt of Dr Liew taking a bottle of ketchup off the shelf in a supermarket aisle and pointing to the nutitional label (which has no relation at all to the lecture)! OMG, Christy. You need to stop this dozing off habit.

I was so tired I didn't feel like going back to the lab to stick my labels on the preparations I made. I even thought of sleeping in the lab after sticking them, or look for a place to sleep before going back home. Anyway, that didn't happen 'cos Seoh Thin and I kinda went home together.

I was so bushed, I went home, greeted my mum, exchanged a few words with my sister and I fell into deep sleep on the sofa within a minute. I'm not kidding; it's that fast. I woke up a couple of hours later and I thought my family had dinner already. No, they didn't. If I lived alone, I probably wouldn't wake up, nor have dinner at all. Sometimes I wonder, how disorganised my life would be if I lived alone. Would I have become more disciplined? How would my health be like?

I'm so gonna make use of this holidays to replenish my lost sleep.

Updates from a Week

2009-09-15T11:40:00.003+08:00

Ah.

What a relief from CAs! I studied super hard for my Pathology (only to find it manageable) and it drained me so much that I couldn't concentrate on my Pharmacology and I kinda screwed up yesterday's test. I tell myself that I can't hate Pharmaco, and that Pharmaco is something I should score since I am a Pharmacist, but well... Things just don't turn out that way.

Anyway, quite a lot of things happened since the last time I updated my blog, but it has been so much and so tiring that I forgot what I want to blog about. So let me jump a little here and there.

On Wednesday, 9/9/09, my cousin came again! Fu-fu was so cute. Although he kinda cheats me of my money, but I just couldn't resist spending money to make him happy. So dumb of me, right? I bought him a Chicky meal knowing that he wouldn't be full, and that he would grow tired of the toy in a day. And I spent the last of my energy left on walking him across the road to another kopitiam to try and see if they have the Western food he wanted. Nah. Futile effort. But as long as he loves me. Haha.

On Thursday, Cousin Kin flew back to Taiwan. I didn't have much to say to him and felt bad for that. That's why I prefer talking to him on MSN Messenger. Gives me more time to think about what to talk to him.

I spent the whole of Friday trying to come up with a speech for AGM. I even talked to Jennifer on MSN for 2 hours, and got James and Seoh Thin to look through my speech at 1 plus am. Why am I trying so hard for something I knew was impossible to get? Did I really want the position of International Relations Director so much? I don't really know. Anyway, on Saturday, I tried to give my best (it WASN'T my best, really. I could have done better.) and I didn't get it. I was disappointed and upset, perhaps a little indignant, and the more I thought about it, the more negative I felt, but I still thank all my friends who specially came down to support me. Especially when the AGM was on Saturday and Pharmaco was on Monday.

I went to Kenneth's birthday celebration on Saturday, and Serene's on Sunday. Kenneth's dad has a Japanese restaurant and so he got his chef to prepare some ramen and sushi as food. And Kenneth made his own smoked salmon. The food was not bad, but I would have been much happier if I didn't have Pharmaco bogging down on my thoughts. Anyway, I met my JC classmates that I missed, like Jasmine, Jesmine, Chee Hoe, Serene, Kenneth, Alston and Esther. All of them have changed in one way or another, and I am still the same old me. Esther drinks a lot of beer and Alston practically boozes on a daily basis. I hope he doesn't get a fatty, yellow liver when he becomes old. They had fun with bridge (which I can't seem to get the hang of it) and taking pictures (which I can't take off hand just like that, I need to prim myself first).

Serene's cake was called scoop-cake. It's really new and interesting to me, and the Hokkaido cream is just so tempting. I totally have no idea why Jasmine and Wing Sze were screaming over Lester eating the cream. I decided not to eat the cream too for fear of it looking bad on me. So I didn't eat it. But seriously, I don't see why "eating the cream would make you fat by an extra inch"... We all need some triglycerides.

I didn't even have a try of Kenneth's cake. It was so small, each group of us can only have a portion of the cake. But maybe they were trying to make their birthday celebrations look cool. Like, high class. It now puts pressure on me. I am having a celebration, but it's so gonna be primary school standard. I don't mind that, of course. I like it that way, but now I don't know who to invite. My cake is gonna be from some neighbourhood bakery, and it's only come-eat-and-leave kind of celebration. Since my friends all have become high-class-ed, then maybe I will tell them that it will be the low class and kiddish kind, so they won't have to make the trouble to come down. Then maybe all my NUS friends and I can have a happy, little gathering.

Oh yeah, we celebrated Madeline's birthday on Friday. It had a happy atmosphere to it although it was very simple. We didn't even have a formal cake. It's like, 8 slices of cake put together. But we all had fun with taking pictures and eating Megabites and the cake and all. And Madeline seemed to like the tortoise we bought from Mini Toons. That's great. I hope my birthday will turn out this way.

I gave tuition last night, and my Dad sent me to the tuition centre since he knocked off early from work. I missed riding on his motorcycle! I suddenly recalled how we sped on the highway home after my exams last semester. It was cooling then. But maybe because it was the afternoon, the air was warm, and when we turned into Upper Thomson Road, there were trees alongside the road and everything felt cool suddenly. Now I understand why there are trees on both sides of the road. And of course you won't feel it if you were in a car. I told Dad that I want to learn how to ride a motorbike. This time round, he didn't object. But I know that I have to wait till I graduate and earn my own keep and pay those fees on my own. I started daydreaming about how cool it would be if I rode to school instead! Yes, it will be super cool because everyone is driving a car and I will be the different one. Woot!

I just came to face a brutal truth. All along, I had thought that I could end my tuition in mid-October. No! Their exam dates are on 2/11, 9/11 and 11/11. And so, they requested me to stay till then! Haiz. I will never ever give tuition in a class ever again.

Ok, time for lunch. Everyone's hurrying me. I will update more tonight.

Pathology CA Aftermath

2009-09-08T22:02:00.002+08:00

Oh shit. It's already 10 pm and I haven't started on Pharmacology. If I went along with last week's pace, I would already have progressed a lot!

Anyway, Patho CA used up a lot of my energy. I literally slept the whole day on Monday! I'm still sleepy. And I haven't done my practical report yet. And my speech! Argh!

We have a fun time laughing ourselves out during lunch today. We were discussing about whether I should have a birthday celebration and if I did, how it should be held. Haha. I told my mum about how anxious everyone is regarding having a party (Yin Yin gave ideas on the possible themes and Seoh Thin was already thinking about what to wear and James already saying that he will come when there's no fixed date yet?!). She agreed to have one, on the condition that no one picks on the food. So I guess that means there'll be a party! Isn't everyone excited? =P

At Dosage Form Design lecture, Yi Hong was showing Kah Mun how she got a free sample tube of toothpaste and I overheard. I asked where to get it and they could see my excitement (when I thought I hid it so well!). Already it was already 2 pm, Prof Kurup hasn't come yet, so Seoh Thin and I rushed down the stairs.

As we were rushing down, we joked about how "auntie" we were. Just then, James followed us too. Uncle! Haha. We crossed the road to the toothpaste van and we got our sample. The guy actually knew that we wanted his samples. Haha. I felt a bit embarrassed. But I was very happy with the toothpaste anyway. It's a brand I've never tried before!

I took a picture of it, but something's wrong with blogger again, so I'll edit the post later.

Don't you just love my handphone? =P

Ah, another thing. I saw a guy with the exact same handphone as me. I was very happy! Just as I was thinking about how sophisticated his taste was, I suddenly recalled that he was the guy who was so rude and blocked my turn to board bus 95 earlier on. Hurrrmp! He doesn't deserve to have the same model as me. ~~I hope his phone spoils soon.~~

I Hate Facebook

2009-09-05T00:55:00.002+08:00

I am now trying to swear off Facebook. I shall not touch Facebook for more than an hour a day. I think I've been smitten with Facebook so much that I don't know what I am doing in real life. It's as if I'm under a curse, wasting a lot of time on it. No, I must change that.

I just went through a terrible ordeal regarding running for a post in Annual General Meeting. Now I want to do it well. And I promised Lan I won't have regrets. Whatever I will have to go through, I believe it will serve me well in the future.

I shall not touch Facebook unless absolutely necessary.

Secret Mission

2009-09-04T23:24:00.004+08:00

This sounds terrible, I did something behind my mum's back and although I felt very guilty, on the other hand, I enjoyed it.

I planned to watch a movie with Huimin today. I didn't tell my mum about it. Instead, I told her I had a project meeting and would stay back in school till very late. Bad Christy.

Anyway, I arrived late, although I should be the one to reach Jurong Point earlier than Huimin. To my disappointment, student price period ends at 5 pm, instead of 5.30 pm (which Jessica told me). We didn't really want to pay $10 for a movie ticket, so decided to go for dinner instead.

We walked around looking for this special foodcourt called Festa (if I spelt it correctly). It's actually a place with tables and chairs, and some restaurants surrounding the dining area. So, you order your food, then the restaurants cook it, then you collect your food. No service charge. So it's as if you went to a restaurant!

Festa had Ajisen Ramen, some Fatty Wong Kitchen (again, maybe wrong name), a Korean restaurant which was highly overpriced (and may not even be authentic, I'd rather eat once in Korea before trying dishes suited to the local flavour), an Indian restaurant and some Peppers restaurant. We went for Ajisen Ramen.

They had student meals, so it was a little cheaper than usual. You choose a main dish out of the 4 available, then choose a side dish and you get a free glass of cold/hot green tea! I chose the $9.80 set while Huimin chose the $7.80 set. For side dish, she chose fried tofu while I took scallop sushi. And we had cold green tea.

We sort of panicked because student meals end at 6 pm. When we were looking at the menu, it was already 5.50 pm. Haha. We had to make a fast decision and within 5 minutes, our order was sent. Phew!

They gave us a pager which they would use to call us to collect our food when they are ready. We were quite confused, because they said it's a pager, but there was no outlet for sound and there was an orange light which we didn't know if it was there originally or if it meant our food was ready. But definitely no way would our food be ready in a couple of minutes! So we continued to wait.

The pager when it's not paging you...

The pager paging you to collect your food! See the red lights? The pager actually vibrates a little!

When our food came, they looked really pretty! Haha. I snapped some pictures. We had a very long talk and laughed a lot, and I enjoyed myself A LOT. I told her how we can buy chewing gum in Singapore and how only Pharmacy students would know about it. Haha.

The ramen.

My pork-something dish. Pretty right? Huimin says it looks like fish scales. I love the design. It's actually the kind of vegetable pizza you see at Pasar Malams selling at $2.50 per piece...

The scallop sushi, which made me quite happy because I get to eat sushi! And see the huge glob of wasabi? Made me near to tearing, but nevertheless I just love that sensation! Huimin almost teared too, but refused to let me take a picture...

The tissue! =P I forgot to, and am now lazy to orientate the picture.

We remained at our seats for an hour and decided that we need to give up our seats to people who need them more than we do. I decided to demonstrate how chewing gum is bought. We were looking for Guardian but only found Watson. I walked to the Pharmacy counter and asked for Orbit. The pharmacist just gave it to me! I asked her if I needed to fill in my name and IC number, but she said there was no need to! I was very shocked. I did that all day when I was working at Guardian. How come Watson said it was unnecessary?

Anyway, we chewed gum, from going to the toilet to going to the MRT station. Just then, Huimin exclaimed that we can't chew gum on MRTs. Oh gosh, I totally forgot about it. I was planning to chew all the way home! Luckily she reminded me, or I'd have gotten a $30 summons.

We talked on the way home and I felt so happy. I don't know why. Haha. Anyway it felt sad to bid farewell. Oh well, Huimin, I missed you a lot! =D And tell me if you want the pictures. I'll send them to your e-mail because I resized the pictures when publishing them on blogger.

And Seoh Thin, I bought a bottle of Orbit chewing gum. We don't have to worry about falling asleep anymore! And I can't let my sister know, or else she'll finish everything before we even start! =P

Melting Men

2009-09-03T21:50:00.003+08:00

A thousand miniature people have slowly melted away in a Berlin square in an effort to draw attention to melting ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica. Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo carved the figures out of ice and placed them on steps in the central Gendarmenmarkt square where they begin to melt within about half an hour. Temperatures in Berlin were about 23 degres Celsius on Wednesday.

This artpiece on 2nd September was meant to spotlight the World Wildlife Fund's warning that melting ice could possibly cause levels to rise more than 3.3 feet by 2100.

What was interesting was that Azevedo is not a climate activist, but just an artist. She has been setting up Melting Men in various countries around the world since 2005, originally intended to criticise the role of monuments in cities. Unexpectedly, environmentalists around the world adopted her work as climate change art.

I saw the news report on TV and was very mesmerised by the beauty of the artpiece. I googled for some pictures and here they are:

Beautiful right? I think because of Food and Health module, I've started to appreciate art a little more. =P

News and picture credits to dailymail.co.uk.

Facebook Fortune Cookie

2009-08-25T23:27:00.000+08:00

Today was fantastic. Med Chem lab ended super early because it was only 4 or 5 pages of instructions. So Sok Hiang and I had an early lunch.

I tried not to sleep in Dosage Form Design by chewing gum. It works! I'm amazed. Now I know why Naren chews gum like 70% of the time. Haha. I thought to myself, "I would buy some more gums" but I forgot! I entered the phamacy, but after I got my Fastum gel (and upset at the fact that Melinda didn't recognise me after I helped her with the stock taking although it was many weeks ago), I forgot to ask for gum! Dumb me. Now I have no gum to last me through lectures.

Anyway, I continued with my shopping and I saw this really pretty pair of shoes. I wish I had my salary with me so I could buy it!!!! It came in colours of white, black, beige and gold. I searched for size 9 and found it, so I tried it, and it fitted! My foot looked pretty in them too. But what's the point of being so hyped up? I couldn't buy them. =(

I went back home and I tried my very best not to sleep. I didn't sleep, but I was so tired out that by 1.30 am, I couldn't continue on with my research anymore and slept. It's my first time in many weeks that I've turned in at 1.30 am. Anyway, I woke up at 3 am to shut down my laptop.

I went on to Facebook (as usual) and took my daily fortune cookie message. Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I got my reading? It said that "As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled." OMG! How did it know what I just placed an order for Dong Bang Shin Ki's latest DVD collection? And $80 is gone just like that. I wonder, till now, whether I should regret sending out the order form or not.

Oh well. Hope my heart would be filled when the DVD comes in!

Monday Again

2009-08-24T23:30:00.000+08:00

I made a lot of silly mistakes today.

First, before Pathology lecture, I went to a toilet and in a rush (ok, not really a rush, I was thinking about something), I actually forgot to flush the toilet before I came out. So, the person waiting to use my cubicle had to flush for me. So embarrassing! How could I have forgotten something which I do multiple times a day?!

After school, I was talking to Yi Hong about the confusion I caused when I asked her if we had to go to the lab to record results today. It was supposed to be James' group, not mine! So anyway, we talked along the way from LT 24 to LT 27. Suddenly, Seng Han and Kai Ye popped up behind us. There was a bazaar there and this girl tried to ask me to buy an ice-cream cone for charity. I was in a rush to go for tuition, so I told the girl I would come back tomorrow if she's still there. She said she would. Seng Han was like, "Wow, Christy is so smart." How can I allow him to think that I came up with an excuse just to not donate? So I started explaining things. Guess what Seng Han replied? "Hmm, Christy has a charitable face." LOL! I didn't know what to say.

Just then, Yi Hong suddenly disappeared without saying bye to us. Seng Han and Kai Ye were like, "Where's she?" We figured out that she probably had a lecture and so, continued walking. I needed the toilet (something I do everyday before leaving NUS) and said bye to the both of them near the toilet area. Seng Han gave a confused look while Kai Ye understood. "She's going to the toilet la!" OMG! Why is going to a toilet suddenly so weird now?

I remembered my fortune cookie on Facebook saying that today's a lucky day for people who remain cheerful and optimistic. I don't know if I was lucky, or that bus 95 missed me so much that today 3 buses stopped at the Science bus stop at almost the same time. It's like, my 3rd or 4th time taking 95 in 2 weeks! I then took 95.

Anyway, tuition was kinda horrible because they already know all about organic chemistry and they kinda felt my lecture was boring. Oh well. I gave them some work to do after teaching. When I was too bored to continue reading my Med Chem notes, I decided to go through the MCQs. And I made 2 dumb mistakes that they could point out out of 10 questions! And it's not like I did the questions during midnight. I did them on Sunday afternoon!

One student asked me, "aren't chemical property and chemical reaction two different matters?" I couldn't reply. I tried to explain that they are the same, but she couldn't understand and said it's alright. I felt so dumb. But they are the same, aren't they? Then she continued asking, "What's the reaction to change alkane to alkene?" I got dumbfounded again. I had to admit that I forgot and would get back to her later, with the other 4 students giving me a look. ARGH!

It was only after I sat down beside her that I realised she was asking about cracking reaction. Like, crack butane to ethene and ethane. I thought she meant reduce butane to butene and hydrogen gas! But then again, I didn't know if reducing butane to butene was possible. Man. I have to google it later.

And oh, I got NUSSU diary without having to travel down to Arts. But I don't want that as the lucky thing for being optimistic and cheerful! It took me such pains to be cheerful after Pathology lecture because the lecturer was speaking really fast. I have to listen to recordings again, and I might as well read my Patho textbook!

I Had Fun Today

2009-08-21T23:18:00.002+08:00

Lab for Dosage Form Design started! I hate MRTs. I had to miss 2 trains before I could get on the third one towards Pasir Ris. And I saw this stupid guy trying to squeeze onto the train by having his face facing passengers trying to get on the train and pushing his ass towards commuters already in the train. I was like, it's no use doing so because he's not even anywhere near the door. I mean, he's not even halfway through the door. That means he won't be able to get on the train anyway. Indeed, he didn't!

Anyway, lab was relaxing for this first session, but it's not going to be so later on. Haiz. I kind of expected that. We were doing moist heat and dry heat sterilisation. So we were given talcum powder and paraffin oil contaminated with bacteria (purposely) to sterilise. We filled 1 oz and 4 oz bottles with the powder and oil, and used only a spatulaful of powder and a few drops of oil for assay. Guess what? We were told to dispose of the remainder back into the stock bottles. Haha. We were shocked! It's like, contaminating the stock bottles! But they ARE contaminated... and I didn't know there was a need to wear masks while putting back the powder (powder particles suspended in the air, and I held my breath for fear of bacterial infection). I thought Hui Ning had it on for fun. So dumb of me. Anyway, I had fun chatting with Jamie while writing my labels for nutrient broths used to culture the samples. We found out that Prof Kurup had been teaching in NUS since 1970s and (he doesn't look old, really) he has even taught Prof Chan Lai Wah! Wow! I salute him. Just then, Yee Wen came along with a paper on which "Hi Ah Boon" was written and asked me to take a picture with it. LOL! Of course I agreed, 'cos I never had the chance to ever since I joined the group on Facebook. She was really excited that I already joined the group. Haha. I hope she posts the photo soon! It'll be cool to "appear" in the album. =P

Lunch was quite awkward initially, for there's only me and James. He bought his first while I looked after his laptop. I went for economic mixed vegetable rice and the queue was SO long and amazingly slow. By the time I went back to the table, James already finished his lunch. Oh well. I understand.

We started talking about IT products (there was an IT fair in Sci Fac, but kinda lousy) and he was impressed with my handphone. I felt so proud! He's like the first to truly understand why I bought my phone. (I felt like we bonded. MLIA. [LOL!]) He complimented that the camera was really too good for a phone and that it was worth buying it because it's almost similar to a smart phone (which he has, and is SUPER COOL). I then asked some questions about his phone, like whether it has motion sensor. He didn't answer me directly, but showed me a function. It's an application whereby there are 2 dice on the screen, and you can shake the phone to make the dice roll. I got really excited (because I saw the dice function on the Internet but never got the chance to see it real close) and James let me try once. AAAAAAAAAAAH! I can't get enough of it still! I hope he'll lend it to me again someday, haha.

Yin Yin joined us later and she had cookies for lunch. I tried a little of her ginger biscuit and it's actually quite good. I'm so gonna buy it someday! We had a little chat and boy, we had fun laughing it out loud. I'm serious! We talked about a lot of things and today's a really great day for me.

Dosage Form Design lecture made me really sleepy. I feel so apologetic to Prof Kurup but I can't help it! It's been a long day and the pace of the lecture was slow (but I do appreciate it, 'cos Med Chem gave me hell). We also watched a video on laboratory safety. I saw Dr Giorgia in it and some of the teaching assistants seen before in the past 2 years. I also saw Chen Yee Ju in it! She was acting to be innocent when caught eating in the lab. Her expression was so cute, I think she deserves an acting award!

I don't have to TGIF this week because today's really fun and as more Fridays come, I'll be a goner.