Day 35

Feeling quite exhilarated now, think i'm going to have a late night tonight.

Firstly, Mum & Dad bought me this gold necklace for my birthday (which is not here yet). Yes, gold is a bit tacky but what really mattered was their effort. It's my 21st birthday and they bothered. They made the trip down together and bought me something they think I'll like. Something of value that I can keep as a momento and look back on this day 50 years down the road. Mum says if I feel down next time and they're not around, I can still feel their love for me. Gawd, I can't imagine life without them, I hope that day never comes. I love you all Mum & Dad!! I really appreciate the gift and the sentimental value that comes with it!

Secondly, I went out with the 02s43 group this evening to celebrate my birthday. We went to Curry Flavour at cityhall for dinner then proceeded to Haagen Dazs at the Esplanade for desserts. They got me this very exquisite colourful umbrella ornament that doubles as a box. Very nice.

Then we went to Esplanade and took many crazy photos!! Jumping poses, fighting poses and all. We jumped so many times to the camera timer that we were all panting after that. Not to mention I got wacked my YLynn in the chin during the first take. Lol. It was super funny and I think we all had a good time! We're all 'photowhores', everytime we meet we take LOADS of CRAZY photos!

Day 34

Last night Leng & I went to watch the play by the Necessary Stage called "Fundamentally Happy". It was the best play I have ever watched. It had a brilliant cast. They portrayed the characters with such conviction. 'Alin''s character showed so much steeliness in her. Her trademark laughter was filled so much mirth yet with a cynical/sacastic undertone, I think she must have practiced in front of the mirror at least a hundred times else she's a natural actress. "Enjoyed myself" is an understatement. I think everyone in the audience was "in awe", "inspired". I told Leng that if the cast had not exited the stage after they bowed, I'd have ran up to hug the female lead. I was so ready and set to do that just before the play ended.

In the words of Chun Enlai, the male lead in the play featured in today's newspaper, "plays are so organic", every moment and facial expression is so valuable, so real. They have to emote correctly at every second throughout the play, using their facial expressions and body language. I feel there's really a lot of hard work and practice behind that 100 mins or so stagetime. Kit Chan said the same thing of musicals, "There's no cheating there".

I wish to discuss abt the audience who turned up for the plays, but i'm running out of time. Will come back to it later.

Day 33

Swooped my long "tresses" for short hair. As Mum says, need less shampoo now.

Nina says she wants tuition too....I'm so popular lol

Week 16

It's mid-sem break this week but my schedule is fully packed so much so I wished there was no mid-sem break.

Went to watch Spore Idol live at the indoor stadium on Sunday as well as the results show live on Monday. It's a really different atmosphere there, watching with thousands of people instead of sitting on the couch at home watching alone. When the performance starts, it's electrifying. Not to mention deafening as you feel the seats vibrate because the sound is SO loud!! haha. Besides that, you also get to see how the crowd is managed so that they get good angles on TV, in other words, you get to know how they cheat.

Someone keeps chasing me to go for the retreat....I don't wanna go!! I feel so pressured as I look at my timetable. Everyday I have sth on....and in view of all the tests when sch starts, I'm fried.

Day 32- Miami Vice

I totally do not recommend watching Miami Vice. Last night, our whole family took a London cab to Great World to watch the movie. It was a sponsored event so we had a buffet reception waiting for us. I was quite embarrassed standing in the crowd cos I drank a glass of red wine and my face was the colour of the huge prawn we ate. Then the boys got chased out cos the show was NC16 and Meng's bdae was 1.5 wks away... A pity. But maybe not cos they got to watch no-brainer comedy Chris Tucker instead. Miami Vice on the other hand was B.oring. It one of those 'FBI agents going undercover' shows but mightily boring, even the fighting scenes were just a audio dollop of crossfire and on screen, you just see cops+thieves rolling on the ground or taking cover. But there were many undercurrents in the show, romantic tango b/w Colin Farrell and Gong Li. I think only Gong Li's acting deserves applause. De other leads acting didn't stand out, not a bit. But after the whole show, I felt that it deserved a M18 rating instead of NC16 cos there were quite a lot of sexual scenes. Luckily the boys were 'caught' and chased out=p

Day 31

Just finished the GEK project proposal. Wonder what's happening to my group, the group leader's sleeping-_- Weird guy, I don't think he even knows my name. Doesn't even bother to talk to me. *Sack him* (Dustbin swinging/ housefly swat sound)

Met YLynn, WLiat and SYing for lunch today. Got 'suan' by WLiat again... Think it's going to be a every Wed thing since SYing and I are very free after M&B. Was late today by 20 min! I drove very quickly already but the jam on the PIE was soooo loooonnnng....

Then I went for another lunch session with WPing and PYi at 2pm after Intro to Comp. Those girls really tickle me, every time I see them they're so hilarious, "mo qi shi zhu". Then as usual, it's mugging time at the Central Forum...At least this week's tutorial ain't that difficult.

(Oh man, what am i writing??! Everything has no link at all!!?)

Day 30- Little Miss Sunshine

Despite the stack of assignments on my table waiting for me, I went to watch the sneak preview of Little Miss Sunshine at Prince. A humourous, true-blue America movie about family troubles, sucide, drugs, death, gay issues, emotional issues etc. It was on a certain Hoovers family, every member of the family had a unique personality and their banter is so clever and witty, I laughed so much that tears came rolling down. A good example was when Steve Carell (Frank) said when pushing the broken-down van, "Did I tell you that I'm the no. 1 eminent Proust scholar of the United States?" I like it when his character so unabashedly declares himself as a genius.

This guy is hilarious as he digs at his bro-in-law with sarcastic remarks, as he breaks into a "stiff" run and as he copes with his sexual identify makes him my all-time-favourite character.

Grandpa (Alan Arkin) told grandson Dwayne (coolest name of the year!), "Son, trust me, F*** as many women as you can, not just one....As many women as you can....."

Meng and I were doubled over in laughter for at least 5 mins. He sprouts so much F-letter words I think it got the movie a NC16 rating (can't think of other valid reasons). My goodness, this funky grandad makes all pubescent teenage boys and maybe girls wish our grandads were like that!

Of all the family-centred shows around, this one breaks the mould. Instead of the usual tearjerkers, this one manages to touch on many social issues and simultaneously bring out the essence of family though comic relief. In a particularly touching scene, Dwaye writes a note to his sister that says "Go Hug Mom" just after their grandpa died. And in a good display of sibling love, Olive manages to get her brother out of his despodency by just hugging him! Sometimes, a simple hug says much more than words.

I think the scripwriter's a genius. I thoughly recommend it as "whole family entertainment"

http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/littlemisssunshine/

Day 29

Been to the elections. i'm now volunteer mgt manager. having mixed feelings.

CF received a complaint letter in the ST Forum. i feel the things mentioned are quite true. Shld i stay true to my Chiro dreams? Actually i've not wavered. But i feel tt they shld be more responsible and ethical.

Day 28

Project S meeting yesterday. I'm gg to Cambodia in December! Woo hoo! Although it's the first mtg but it got me quite excited cos suddenly it seems so real... and I met a junior fr Cedar who's going too. But i didn't get to talk to her.... nx time 'terrorize' her a bit. Haha I'm mean. I think I used to have this effect on my juniors back in those days. No? It's a 'first child' syndrome. But then after a while I think they get used to my wkg style and get to see the fun side of me too=)

I also went to WHan's party last night at this very chic bristo cafe along Bencoleen Street called Secret Garden (it's really Secret). Think it was the best party I went this yr. The food and ambience were extremely tasteful. WHan's a hopeless romantic, but romantics hv their gd pts, they get to appreciate the simple joys of life and once in a while indulge in romantic things that remain etched in their minds like having a fairy-tale theme party at a hidden-away nook called 'Secret Garden'.

We then went to K-Box to sing till 1pm. Meanwhile, I was super peeved by 1 ex-classmate who made many thoughtless comments and he does that every time I see him. This 'flaw' in his personality had been a widely discussed topic among the girls during our school days and to see no improvement after so many years it's appalling (and nauseating lol).

Anyway since yesterday's anti-climax, I've decided to swear of party for at least 2 wks.

Day 27

Expo is officially over, Everyone heave a sigh of relief. *Celebratory dance* We went for dinner at Ikea. Expo was a great experience, from planning to seeing it actually unfolding. The satisfaction is immense. Although we met a few setbacks like poor response fr RSPs and terrible blood-sucking creditors haha, we managed to overcome it. Through sheer determination and hard work (really hard cos we had to do everything personally due to shortage of manpower). But I'm really glad that there were many who were very forthcoming with their support and came to mend the booths during their breaks. Expo showed who were really e ones we can rely on and who we can't. I'm also glad that the team became tighter as the week bore on and I got to know several new faces in the course of the Expo.

Yep, and now we can focus more on other stuff.

Week 15

I can't believe it, this week has flown past so quickly. I don't remember sleeping much so y did it fly by so quickly??

Mon was an exhausting day, I stayed in sch till like 3am to set up the Expo booths. We were doing so much last min stuff like drawing billboards, arranging tables, packing goodie bags etc. 3am!! Until they had to send me home in the NUSSU van.

Tue saw a lousy start to our Expo cos most of booths were as white as sheet "literally and figuratively". Many projects didn't show their support... But we won't let this keep us down. We'll do sth to it.

Wed-Fri it got a bit better, we managed to decorate it a bit on Tue night. Taking things easy this 4 days and waiting to make an impact nx wk.

Better concentrate on my schoolwork first. Been rushing through Financial Econs as usual. Didn't manage to grab a friend fr the class. I tried asking a China girl, apparently fr Shanghai, why I didn't get the ans for some qns and she was quite reluctant to help me. These PRCs really know their schoolwork. I think they mug very hard. They understand the stuff that the lecturer and tutor r trying to put across easily. And it's not only the PRCs, it's the foreigners in general. They amaze me. While the locals are trying to catch what the lect is abt, desperately clinging on to every word the lecturer says, and equally desperately trying to jot them down, the foreigners just sit back confidently and listen. AND ask questions!!

If you pay close attention, when locals raise their hands it's to ask "Can u pls push the slide up/ can u pls put back the previous slide?" but when our overseas counterparts ask qns it's like "So what happens when beta is -ve? / What if...." or it's to answer the qns the lecturer pose to the whole hall.

QWei says he has long given up on the PRCs who don't want to share answers cos they see us as competition, if we do well, the bell curve will wk against them etc. etc. Well, I've decided to be an optimist. I think not all PRCs are like that. The girl that I asked did answer my qns afterall in a nice manner. Maybe she thought I was those expecting her to pass me her paper and let me copy wholesale which I know many ppl in class do (which is quite sick). Pearl and I rem our Micro class test when everyone at the back of the class was copying fr one another. We were so amused because one guy just blatantly looked over my shoulder at my answer! Tck tck...We don't resort to such things, we struggle very hard for our grades especially when we only know each another in the whole Econs course... Copying is not an option for us and neither is the option we want to choose.

One day, I'll get the Shanghai girl engaged in a intellectual debate abt the topic on Portfolio Analysis, I'll get "let down her guard" and we can exchange intellectual questions and answers =D

Fri night- ended at 12 pm and took a cab home...$24.70 Sigh* We're trading money, hard work and time for it....

Week 14

Stess levels ran high this week. Was rushing through all my tutorial assignments and the stupid t-shirt design (which kept changing and changing and changing). Even when I was finally satisfied with one design, they had to change the t-shirt color!! Sigh, in the end I kept my hands off and let them decide the final design. It was Friday and i was supposed to hand in an impt assignment by 5p.m. which I only managed at ahem...5p.m. I'm feeling the heat now as it's only week 3 and I'm way behind in my readings... After expo, i must buck up

Fri night, I attended the Yellow Ribbon Concert. It was a pretty cool affair though the turn-up was not that good (I was trying to sms more of my friends to come down). There were sharing by the organisations which help in the rehabilitation of prisoners, a useful panel discussion and some simple plays and performances. I guess the success rate was fair and what really counts is the volunteer effort cos I saw them selling ribbons throughout the week at arts walkway....


Yest was Sat, I went to MWH to help them fold hearts for the President's Challenge. Nothing eventful except on the way there, I met this old man at the bus stop who asked me for directions to NUH. I kindly told him that he had to change 3 buses to get there but he was more interested in going there by cab and hinted that I pay his cab fare for him, saying that he was dropped by a cabbie at the bus stop because he had no money to pay. He was going for physiotherapy at NUH and walked on crutches but he was dressed quite nicely and though our conversation (where he asked me where I was going, where I lived, where I studied, how many siblings I had etc...so many...) he sorta doesn't seem like the down and out kind w/o any money. Seeing that he wasn't making any effort to follow my kind directions I ignored his hints. But later leaving him at the bus stop when my bus came, I felt a kind of moral conflict, maybe I shld hv just sponsored his cab fare la afterall he's a old man, gg to the hospital...er...But it was too late to turn back. Xuan later assured me that it's fine there ARE some old ppl out there who like to cheat ppl, just want freebies etc. It's a moral dilemma that happens everyday like when u see those old woman selling tissues at high prices, those blind buskers, those youngsters selling collecting donations for old folks home... You can't help them all...

Last night the gals went to celebrate SHui's bdae at Swensons Marina Sq.