Rainbow of Emotions

I really love this song 'cos of John Mayer, eager to hear the original by Jimi Hendrix, but anyway, the guitar is excellent and the lyrics are so poetically beautiful. I wanted to sing actual words rather than mumble along, and i really like what i found:

Bold As Love

Anger he smiles, towering in shiny metallic purple armour
Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground

Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted,
They quietly understand
Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready,
But wonder why the fight is on

But they're all bold as love, yes, they're all bold as love
Yeah, they're all bold as love
Just ask the axis

My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war and
Ribbons of euphoria
Orange is young, full of daring,
But very unsteady for the first go round
My yellow in this case is not so mellow
In fact I'm trying to say its frightened like me
And all these emotions of mine keep holding me from, eh,
Giving my life to a rainbow like you
But, I'm eh , yeah, Im bold as love
Yeah, yeah
Well I'm bold, bold as love (hear me talking, girl)
I'm bold as love
Just ask the axis (he knows everything)
Yeah, yeah, yeah

rainbow of emotions =) sing along here....

Conflict is Mind-Numbing

I really don't understand the Israel-Palestine conflict.
I really really really don't.
I don't know who i side
I don't know who is right.
I don't think there's a right. Right is what the winners call their own actions - but there's no winner in this war.
Rights are what make people believe that they can claim land for themselves.
Our holy right. Our birth right. Meh.
I suppose territory is biological, I suppose its welded into the testosterone, or adrenaline, or whatever hormones cause us to be aggressive.
It's just.....
I don't understand conflict.
Maybe it's a middle-class syndrome. You don't see the need for something you don't need.
For all the forgotten deaths in the Israel-Palestine conflict, because we don't think enough of the mothers, fathers, children and friends dying everyday.

Israel. Palestine. Essay. Dunno.

I'm roughly 500 words/2000. yay. 25%.
Writing is kinda difficult. I keep getting distracted. haha.. spent most of the last hour converting videos for my ipod. Blame Kai for asking me to get more John Mayer videos. It's becoming an obsession! Anyway, for people who have net quota to burn ( or no net quota at all ), go check out the John Mayer VH1 videos. He's CRAAAAZY one man on a (guitar) mission.
I just realised i haven't done any proper physical activity for about a month. Not even playing soccer or basketball. Why? 'Cos i'm always in the library or writing my essay. GGgGGRRR!! haha.. i bet the gym instructor will freak when i go home. Haiyor. Dun wanna think of his scary face, just think of the food.
Btw, i'm really sad i won't be back home for CNY! No gambling! No family meal! No collecting angpow! No annoying CNY songs! (actually, nvm about this one) Haih... The things i do for ih. *snort*
Procrastinating.... last few thoughts:
Stitched Up by John Mayer and Herbie Hancock is awesome
Jazz and big band are forever
I want the new Liverpool jersey.

What if?

For some reason or other, the question seems to pose itself to me. Isn't it funny, how one can go about life, and at every turn, reflect and ask, What If?
How different my life would be had i taken a different IF when it mattered.
What if i had chosen not to come back from England?
What if i had started college as soon as i got back rather than waited an extra half year?
What if i had gone to SAM or A-Levels instead of CPU?
What if i had decided to move in with Nat straight away, rather than stay in IH?
What if i had chosen engineering? or Science? or Commerce? or even Psych?
What if he wasn't so far away?
What if there was a chance, maybe?
Too many What Ifs... Yet the only way you can dispel them is by asking Why Not?
so.. Why Not take the chance?
haha.. i just might.

Big *SiGh*

Just been thinking about being alone...

10 hours in the library...

and i'm not even studying. WHAT THE HECK!?!?
anyway, i was actually working. reading up and taking notes about the Palestinian Intifada for my next essay due Tuesday. I wonder if it was wise choosing a subject i know absolutely nothing about.
Anyway, i've been trying to read up more of the Palestinian's point of view so maybe i've formed a bias opinion, but does the whole Israel marching in and imposing martial law thing sound a little undemocratic to you at all? i mean, isn't that really a dictatorship, or bullying?
They've only got tanks and an army as opposed to the stones and families of the Palestinians.
*sigh*
the world's unfair. so some people have bigger things to worry about than essays.
but i can't do anything about it right now... except write an essay.
and keep going to the library so i can read their 2 hour loan books. frustrating.

the limbo between essays...

Surreal moment of nothing-to-do-ness.
I've spent most of the day unnaturally awake. Chose to finish reading my book, The Harmony Silk Factory, rather than catch precious moments of sleep. Choose the wrong times to get addicted to books, and contemplating whether to start reading a new one. Anyway, I quite enjoyed the book. It was a quick and easy read. Written by Tash Aw, the first Malaysian to win the Whitbread award, and not bad for his first novel. Based in the Kinta Valley, it was nice to read the familiar sights and objects, but sometimes a little annoying in that it tries to squeeze in too much local flavour. Felt a bit forced. And also i'm biased because i read somewhere he moved from Malaysia when he was really young, so it's sort of an outsider's take on locality. Still, I was impressed by how the book was presented, and, either my storyline guessing is really bad or he just knew where to put the unexpected turn. I don't read enough to do star ratings, so I won't. But if you want to read about Malaysia in a non-sastera context, try this one out for size.in other news, i'm halfway done with my subjects. 2 down and 1 to go i say! Chose to celebrate by taking a 5 hour nap and missing dinner. But homemade pasta and a nice cold Corona were good too.... with lemon of course. Now i have this urge to bake but nothing to bake and am really feeling like i don't want to do anything. Kinda wanna watch a movie too, but i shouldn't distract izy by reminding him the latest Prisonbreak is out today...
The apartment allocations are out too. anticlimax of it all i haven't seen it myself because i was sleeping like a pig.. (jeannie pig!) anyway, i got my AV8... just above pat, same layout, not complaining, and i think i'm neighbours with aaron, kenny and eddie. i guess taboo's just a door away. But cc and ken didn't get their apartment, which is really quite saddening. The legacy of 301 will be taken over by 'yucky boys' and only i am staying behind. Feels kind of lonely. Especially in the last week, i've been such an anti-social person because it's been essays, go down for food, no mood to talk, back up for essays, and the cycle repeats itself. Been kept sane by the only exposure to civilisation from my apartment and the Greycourt non-kalou kalous. And they're all leaving. *sigh*
As always, at the end of the year, I speculate how it's the end of an era. But i guess everyone feels that way when you're in 3rd year. So now i'm scared that i'm going to be even more distanced than ever from these people. But only time will tell, and i'm sure some things can't ever change. Please?

When the Moon Starts Spying on you...

i think it's a sign of lack of sleep when...

1) it's 5.30 am and you're wide awake doing your essay
2) you feel hungry although you've already eaten dinner... and supper
3) suddenly the full moon catches your eye and it freaks you out 'cos it seems to be spying on you
4) you finish said essay and there's noone around to tell =(
5) you can go to bed but rather type in your blog
6) you start taking pictures of said moon just to prove that it's big and round and it WAS spying.
i KNOW my photo-taking is terrible but i just want you to see.. ROUND. PERFECT CIRCLE. imagine that bright luminescent spot peering through the iridescent blinds as you sit alone in a big living room typing on a laptop. it's EERIE i tell you. EEEeEEERRriIiIEEEEee.....
and here's one with the landscape that's a bit clearer. just because. see, the sky's turning blue. but the moon, STILL SPYING! (even as i type this)

Oh dear, i just had this sudden compulsion to use Harvard citation on my blog entry. *@!!^#% darn Sustainable Development lecturer. i'll get you for this! i'll teach you to play with my brain! Make me an essay-writing lunatic! i'll... i'll probably go to bed now.

i'm sure lunacy is temporary, but beware the moon... it stares at you

OMG... JUST AFTER I POSTED THIS A LINE IN THE SONG I WAS LISTENING TO WAS YOU LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW, YOU LOOKED AT THE MOON! OMG! THE MOON'S INFILTRATED MY MUSIC! SUBVERSIVE CONTROL METHODS! DAMN YOU! CURSES!

I Type Because I Must (essays that is)

I feel rather calm for someone who has just rewritten her essay due in about half a day's time. And did i mention that i haven't quite started on that other one due the next day? I don't know. Somehow it's come together a bit for me. I guess the pressure's a bit off because it's essentially written but just not written well. Hhmm.... actually that's not a consolation.
Murphy's Law states that you will wear a skirt on a cold day. Just because it looked bright. Naturally.
Murphy's Law also states that you will become addicted to a card game when you have the least time to indulge in it.
Damn Bang! You'll see, I'll beat Ken one day.
Procrastination makes one a compulsive blogger.

p.s: Yay to Izy for cooking either the 2nd or 3rd time this year.. all by himself this time!

Gosh. 3.30 am. 1 essay down. Attempted writing a bit of the next one but really cannot do it. Scratch previous feeling of calm. Imagine writing your essay then rereading and then realising that the question in your head was What are the World Affairs of Today rather than Whose World Affairs are These World Affairs. Subtle difference but still, the difference between answering the question or not. Oops. I think i've had enough of world affairs. Maybe it'll look better in the morning.
i blame Bang! CSI and Aussie Idol.
*sigh*

Hypocritical Marxist

I realise in most of my essays i always talk about how things would be perfect if the upper class would stop their overconsumption and we could then share out the wealth of the world and there would be no more rich-poor disparity. World peace, really.
But I enjoy my Nikes, and cheap supermarket foods, and my wardrobe, and my tourist trips around the world.
Hypocritical Marxist.
There's no better term.

What have you done to make the world a better place?

Video Procrastination... to a new level

Haroe... More Procrastination!
Well, this time ... i've been led to downloading videos.. *gosh*
First of all it started with Kai telling me to watch John Mayer's performance with Pete Murray.. They sang Pete's song Opportunity. 2 observations about that video, 1) Pete Murray's kinda hot!
2) I lurve the song and John Mayer sounds as good as a calafair as he does as the lead singer *swoon*
Next video i downloaded was John Mayer playing on Rove Live. His first single from the Continuum album, 'Waiting on the World to Change'. Although he sounds a bit strained in it, he still pulls off all the notes and there's a better view of his awesome awesome guitar - the white one with the cool tattoo-like drawings all over... I want! (of course i would put it to use *roll eyes*)
Final video for the day got me really excited. I decided to check up on local (Malaysian) artist Reza Salleh to see if there were any new songs on. I don't think there were but i downloaded 'For Her' which i THINK i heard live when i went to watch him all the way back in December last year. Or maybe that was January.
Anyhoo... was reading updates and he'll be performing in Rock the World VII on December 14th! Gosh... i'm even more restless to go back now. Back to hitting the local music scene! Any partners in crime? Please tell me so that we can terrorise No Black Tie and wherever good music lurks together.
I really love the Reza Salleh song a lot so i'm putting the video here... watch it and love it. and then follow me when i stalk his concerts...

retire for the day

i didn't think that it was possible.
but i thought that i could do it.
there is a limit to the number of essays you can write.
i'm really so sick of it already. yeah. nauseating. headache. i just want to curl up in a ball and sleep kind of sick. which is why. i think i'll go to bed now. midnight! too early!
But maybe it would help if i didn't procrastinate so much.
Stupid card games. Spent half the day playing Bang! So much banging here and there.. How crude.
Anyway, hopefully to wake up early and rev right through that essay!
Gambate!

i'm sorry... i gave into it

Regular visitors to my blog may realise there has been a significant addition.
I'm sorry. I gave into it. Procrastination is at it's worst. And i finally decided I had to do something to keep my O-week enthusiasm up. Welcome the arrival of Jeannie Pig! Naturally, a very bright pink.
I'm sorry my site is no longer halal, but i never wanted you to eat it anyway.

p.s: i didn't realise there was actually a point to the water-spraying thingy! If you click on it enough, jeannie pig will roll around in the mud and become one big ball of mud. So KeWt!! heehee... Hippie lesson from the piggy: Sometimes some things involve getting down and dirty, but there's always something to clear it all up when you need to.

John Mayer at last

Last night was finally the night of the John Mayer concert. Admittedly, i wasn't as hyped as i had been in the days before - a combination of too much sleep and too much reading (darn you essays) but still, how exciting was it to see this sign?
Grabbed a quick dinner at McDonald's before proceeding into the theatre and falling prey to the menacing jaws of commercialism. Yes, i bought a John Mayer concert t-shirt (which incidentally i'm wearing now; half to gloat and half because it was just too comfy to take off when i tried it on this morning)
The concert was pretty good. I still find it kind of weird to be sitting in theatre-style seats (which was kind of redundant given that everyone was standing so we had to too - all 2 hours of it) but still, the stage was only 12 rows away! John Mayer in real life. *swoon*? Not me, but a lot of the screaming girls behind me.
I have to say the new album, as much as i love it, is not the concert type. It's more a chill out in your pjs at home with a mug of hot chocolate and an awesome sound system and just curl up under the covers type of album. Either that or in an intimate little bar where there are tables surrounding a small stage and lots of audience interaction. It is a jazz and blues oriented album anyway. Nevertheless, it sounded great live and I'm so amazed that his vocals were so smooth cos there's just so much for him to concentrate on doing all at once!
Anyway, i've got a whole bunch of videos and hardly any pix of Johnny M himself, so here's some i scammed off Kai's blog.
The long hair? Hawt... Gives him more of a i'm-a-singer-and-i-don't-give-a-damn sort of look. Disagree with me? Post a comment!
At the end of the night i was left wanting more. The snippets of his old songs (better concert material) like Why Georgia, No Such Thing, Bigger than my Body and Daughters wasn't quite satisfying enough. Of course there was little hope that he would play my faves Victoria and Sucker. I did wish he played Bold as Love (Hendrix cover off the new album) and Comfortable 'cos those seemed pretty probable.
The verdict: John Mayer's still an awesome musician but i wish i'd been even more into it last night. I still enjoyed the experience immensely, thanks to the wonderful (and sometimes foul-mouthed) company of Dhivia, Kai, Dan Lim and newly-met Michelle.
Yes, i am somewhat a music whore 'cos now i've completely U2-ified my playlist. Hey, I've gotta psyche myself up for their concert in 18 days time!!!
~Sometimes you can't make it on your own~ =)

p.s: for more info and piccies of the John Mayer concert, take a look at Dan Lim's blog

Full Full Day

Ello.. Today's a full full day.. From the 35 dollar all you can eat dimsum at Southbank (yes, our table looked something like that picture... extremely extremely stuffed after that!) to the 10 dollar tub of gelati from trampoline (yum yum... looked something like this picture too!) to the medium cup of Boost juice.. (healthiness! or so i like to think...) right to the 6 hour stint at Melbourne uni Brownless library (not worth a picture, but worth the mention that when we got back from dinner and just sat down the announcement that the library was closing in 15 mins came on *dush*)
It was quite a full day. Goodlah... Finally did work for a solid stretch of time. John Mayer in less than a day! =D

Yea i'm Procrastinating... so what?

Ohmygoodnessidon'twanttoreadanymore.

25 days to go

Everyday i'm more and more struck by the fact that in less than a month i will be flying home.
Yes, it means i'm back to the good food and the family.
But it means the end of 301 as I know it.
It means a different double bed (haha.. yes lah.. double bed at home too) with a different feeling.
It means different walls with different pictures.
It means the end of apartment-sharing, at least for a year.
I don't know if it'll be weird living alone.
I guess company's just a door away.
But still, it'll be lonely without the crosswords, the card games, the shared noodles and the idol obsessions.
Most of all it'll be different between us - and i won't pretend that i don't know it.

Jeannie Pigs!

*Haroe?*

Today I went to visit Jo's guinea pig. I never knew little rat-like creatures were that cute. Hamsters are okay, but i still remember that time a cute dwarf panda hamster bit me when i picked it up in the shopping mall. (*#@%^!!*&#) Anyway, she just got little Asterix for her birthday (Sat 28th) from the Kalou gang. Ironically the guinea pig cost a fraction of all the maintenance bits (cage, food, pellets, water dispenser, play stuff...)

Fluffy fluffy - oh so fluffy! Like a... feather duster?

Anyway, i didn't realise that guinea pigs were so small and came in so many different types. However, they all seem to have that same Huh? Me? kind of look to them. Kewt!Maybe i should try to take on that persona during the coming Zoo O-week. Seeing as I am supposed to coordinate everyone and know what I am doing. It would be funny if Jeannie Pig kept going Huh? Me? (well, maybe not that funny when everything falls apart)
A day of feeling hungover and waking up early for O week. I'm sorry to say this but i never realised how white Australia was 'til I stepped out of iH.

Essay Marking Gripe

I finished my last class of my second year in uni today. As usual, there's only essays and exams to do now. And then holiday!
Anyway, with great anticipation, I collected my 60% 4000 word essay previously complained about in my blog. With equally great surprise, and joy it must be added, I flipped to the marking sheet to reveal the glorious number - H ... 2 ... A! Haha.. A year ago i would've been disappointed, but this is now and this is second year and this is rare.
So i was happily strolling home thinking that my grades are going up even though I wrote that essay in 4 days right after an uber relaxing stint at the houseboat. =) Then I get home and actually read the comments on my essay.
My sentence: The era of unhindered reproduction (it's about overpopulation) is fast fading as we confront the reality of a planet ...
Anything wrong with the sentence? Actually yes, a big red circle around the we and the comment Don't use the personal. Oh, i'm really sorry i bundled all of humanity together and referred to us as we. I mean, geez, forgetting all the aliens in the universe, and the plants and animals, how insensitive of me. Bringing things to a personal level definitely.
Other comments were really a matter of personal style, i felt. The use of questions in my essay, explaining how I would tackle it with an 'I' rather than 'This essay will'. The use of the Cambridge system of referencing rather than the Harvard system. (especially distressing as they did not SPECIFY that you had to use a certain system!)
Sometimes Arts is frustrating in its subjectivity. And it sucks worse when they mark you down for small things that detract from the important things - i.e. the argument! Really believe that either the reasons for marking down were stupid or my shortcomings weren't discussed at all.
*snort*
But other than that i can't complain if i have a good mark. It's still something to be happy about! Okay, justifies drinking tonight. =) (gosh, i make myself sound like an alcoholic. it's a celebration, okay?)

Better days...

Actually a good day. i haven't quite deciphered how or what i answered my test with, but i guess it's over. Then had good chats with a few people i hardly chat with. And i feel like there's a bit more spring in my step.
Either the weather's changing, the semester is over, the tests are over, the problems have been sorted out, or dressing nicely just makes you feel good.
A blue day - but in a good way.
And to top it off?Nice cold Corona - with lemon of course.

i know the picture has a lime in it but it's close enough, ok?

The World and its Problems

Figure out what's wrong with the world and tell me how you can fix it.
That, in a nutshell, is my test question for tomorrow. Joy! Kinda broad huh?
Anyway, i've realised after more than half my politics at uni stint that you get quite good at brainstorming the basic ideas, just 'cos they seem to be repeated at EVERY SINGLE SUBJECT.
I've been looking a lot into how we can reform the UN for this, just because i think that's the way the world should go - global governance and cooperation. Yes, Mr. Bush, it's that really long word with the 2 O's that looks kind of funny. But it's ok, you'll learn it in time. Hey, it's just as long as the word caterpillar. Yeah! That one from your favourite childhood book, The Very Hungy Caterpillar, written a year after you were out of college. Hhhmmm...
Anyway, here's some shocking things that my (provoked) brain thinks that you should know.
The UN Security Council Permanent 5 - that makes BIG decisions that affect the world (like whether we should have a war or not) has NO WOMEN on it. Naturally representative of the other 50% of the world without penises.
The G8, which has the capacity to decide if they want to address poverty or not (remember those white ID tags that were all the craze?) has ONLY ONE woman on it. And she's German. Go European countries!
What? What about a woman Secretary General? Hasn't happened as yet. Then again, it's a big role to fill - what with all this willy-jousting* to get anything done at all.
*term i borrowed from Sheila Jeffreys, uber-feminist lecturer in Melbourne Uni who is a lesbian BY CHOICE because in her view, any form of penetration is rape. (so, we'll just stop the raping that's going on to keep the human race alive huh?)
Bleah. Politics is BIG. But we should be more aware too.
So everyone, lift your arms up, embrace the love, and welcome in the NEW Secretary General of the UN - Ban Ki-moon from South Korea. Good luck trying to bring peace to the world while your closest neighbour is trying to blow half of it up.

No really. No cynicism. The world is a beautiful place. (it's just the people that are f*cked up)

Photo courtesy of NASA's Terra Earth-Obserbing Spaceship

John May(er)nia

I'm gonna go watch him live in 2 weeks!! *squeal of excitement!*
Thanks for getting me through my exam, John.. Oh, and all that other stuff too. *groan*

Nearing the end of a busy week. Hectic, just hectic. oh well...

Sun + Rain = My rainbow's coming!!

What...

The barrage of things to complicate my life doesn't seem to want to end.
There's hitches in O week
There's stuff to handle in AC
There's tests waiting for attention
There's friendships that feel like they aren't as tight as they were
I feel like i'm stuck in this cage made of bars of responsibility and personal commitment.
And everyone else is prancing around rubbing their freedom in my face.
How does it get worse?
My mum hung up on me 'cos she had to rush off for dinner.
The cage just became solitary confinement.

Waxing Lyrical about Lyrics

You know when you hear songs on the radio, you tend to just sing along, regardless of whether you know the words- and apart from the title, really don't have any idea what the song is about. Not you? Maybe just me then.
Anyway, after watching the World on Fire video, i wondered if the song had any of those connotations at all, so i decided to google the lyrics. I never realised they were so deep. Honestly, if i hadn't seen the video, i wouldn't have thought about it at all.
This is my favourite verse in the whole song:

We part the veil on our killer sun
Stray from the straight line on this short run
The more we take, the less we become
A fortune of one that means less for some

Holy cow. She summed up most of my Politics course in 4 lines. And so poetically too. I had to explain this to a friend, so maybe i'll explain it again. We part the veil on our killer sun - a much nicer way of saying the ozone layer is depleting. Stray from the straight line on this short run - our short lives are going in the wrong directions. The more we take, the less we become - the more we take material things, the less we are in touch with humanity and, scientifically actually, over consumption leads to detrimental health (cancer, diabetes, high cholestrol....) and a fortune of one that means less for some - the rich-poor disparity... one rich guy is holding the money that could feed a few families.
Maybe it's an artsy thing. Maybe noone else cares about it. But really, i wish essays were this straightforward. Screw politics, i should've gone into music. So much more straightforward. And none of these big words that don't really mean much.
Anyhow, am getting quite tuned into the actualy lyrics of songs now. Sarah Mclachlan and John Mayer - lyrical geniuses. clear and simple.

Thanks John Mayer - The Heart of Life

I hate to see you cry
Lying there in that position
There's things you need to hear
So turn off your tears and listen

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

You know it's nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
But then the circle of your friends
Will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who's misunderstood
But I know the heart of life is good

I know it's good

Kids say MoRe darndest things....

Okay okay, after reading that silly little excerpt, i continued procrastinating by searching up some of the darndest things kids say.. This site has some pretty funny ones which i took the liberty of "borrowing":

It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the
station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking,
and I saw a little boy staring in at me. "Is that a dog you got back
there?" he asked. "It sure is," I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me
and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, "What'd he do?"

While walking along the sidewalk in front of his chruch, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently,his five-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased. The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: "Glory be unto the Faaaather. .and unto the Sonnn. ...... and into the hole he gooooes."

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just
wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write -
and they won't let me talk!"

A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered
through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He
picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that
had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found", the
boy called out. "What have you got there, dear"? With astonishment in
the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!"

Oops!

this other site has pretty funny short ones, namely:

The inhabitants of Moscow are called Mosqitoes.

The general direction of the Alps is straight up.

We do not raise silk worms in the United States, because we get our silk from rayon. He is a larger worm and gives more silk.

The head sits on the top and you sit on the bottom.

The four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Syntax is all the money collected at the church from sinners.

In the middle of the 18th century, all the morons moved to Utah.
(I think they meant Mormons...)

Gosh.. So cute!
Heehee... see lah, with my brother now contemplating engagement, may not be too long before I have nieces and nephews to play with. (haha. and be the cool aunty who gives presents all the time, or at least hugs them all the time)

Kids say the darndest things...

I was bored so i decided to randomly click on a blog. Found this at the top and i think it's awesome.
I don't claim to understand the Bible, but some people who do don't understand it either.

Stingrays Strike Back!

Something's going on with the stingrays. This article talks about an 81-year-old man who got stung by a stingray that jumped out of the water and stung him. Let me repeat that, a stingray JUMPED out of the water. Strangely enough, people called it a freak accident. Fortunately, the man didn't die but he IS in critical condition after surgery to remove bits of the ray's barb.
What the heck?
Stingrays are out to conquer the world! First Steve Irwin, then EVERYONE ELSE!
The stingray in the latest article died on the boat.
Gosh. Suicide terrorism has reached a new level.On a different note, stingrays have been getting really bad press. They're actually quite pretty and are threatened in the wild. Previously, their venom was used by dentists as anaesthetic, haha, although i hope they didn't use the barb to administer it. They can be as long as 2 metres (that's about a 6 and a half foot man's height... dream guy!) and live from 15 to 25 years old. And, when cooked in the style of panggang, they taste yummy! No no... seriously, it's not their fault the terrorists have learned how to control their minds, leading them to suicide sting for the terrorist cause....
Random stungray facts from National Geographic. Thanks!

Music, Guns and Booze...

Sounds like a recipe for drugged out psycho-kids to go kill some shit. really, that was my night though.
Music night went a blast with loads of awesome singing.. Goosebumps from Liz, Tahireh, Steph and Dharen...bet i missed ppl out, but hey.
Anyway, after music night was a phone convo with parents basically telling them they'll be paying a lot for my next year's accommodation. Oh well, i'll be pretty gutted if i don't get the avenue apartment. I guess it's hard to picture myself living somewhere other than 301. How aptly named Troy is - it shall be conquested and its citizens abandon it at the end of the year.
So anyway, i haven't got to the booze and guns part of the story. After the phone convo, went over to celebrate Little Buddha's birthday (as sweet as shaving cream and mayo?!?!?) and then to Fang's 'cos it was his birthday too. Came a bit too late though cos most of the booze was gone and i'd miss Chris Hales' stunning (or not so actually, according to observers) performance around the JCR. Got to talking with Stacey and her Texan friend and somehow it drifted to pepper spray (naturally), which drifted to taser guns (Stacey has one!) and then to guns themselves... Apparently, at least where they live, it's quite common to have guns and they actually go to the gunnery (omg... you'd think a nunnery would be more common) and can fire handguns and rifles.. And apparently Stacey's a really good marksman.
What the Heck. Guns are normal? That's not really something i understand.
I guess Malaysia's kind of unsafe too, but pepper spray is where i draw the line - and maybe a good kick in the balls.
In the US, some families have guns in every room, just for safety. One logic behind it is that if there is a gun lying around, at least you have the knowledge of how to make it safe. Which sort of works - don't be a hypocrite, right? At least if you bitch about it, you know what you're talking about. But it really made me think a lot about Bowling for Columbine.
Yes, some people still hate him, but his documentaries are eye-openers, despite the criticism.
So anyway, the US culture, at the moment beyond me. But i'm really happy i sat there and had that long talk, because i haven't connected with people for a long time. I wanna collect a large number of addresses and numbers during my time in ih, and one day the world will never feel unwelcoming. =)

it must be love...

You know, i never realised that this place gets readership. [thinks aloud] maybe if there was some noise to indicate some activity. *hint* *hint*
no but seriously, i guess this works as an emotional vent.
In hindsight, things look a lot better. The worst came and went, the people have been kind. Mostly. It was a tough lesson to learn, but the best medicine is bitter (yeah, the kind mum boils for the whole day and looks thick and black and smells like bile... you know what i'm talking about)
I guess i have to say that now it seems petty. But at the time, i wasn't in the right frame of mind. It really was a blow 'cos stuff was just feeling bad. And i guess, like many things, timing's never perfect.

When will you know when the timing's perfect? Emotions are fragile - we hope the timing's always perfect. But, like i said, timing's never perfect.Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory

The man is a genius.

Inspiring...

It's funny how sometimes you feel like you've been led somewhere.
I came home and the song 'World on Fire' by Sarah McLachlan was stuck in my head. I could swear i had it in my playlist so commence searching but it's nowhere to be found! (guess i didn't upload EVERYTHING from my cds). Anyway, i google it just to check the title of the song and I came across this site which is basically the whole music video. (At first i didn't realise and was really excited that i could hear the song. You know how it is when you think of something and you HAVE to hear it to be satisfied). So Sarah McLachlan's been nice enough to let her video go on the internet for free. But the message in the video is really inspirational. It makes you remember that not all rich people are mean and selfish and that there are still those who care out there.
In case you're too lazy to get on the site, the gist of it is that there's a home video style recording of her and her guitar, with the song playing of course. But words flash on the screen saying it cost $150 000 to make. Then it asks, what's wrong with this? Because the video only cost $15. And then it lists all the normal video costs - directors, makeup, film crew, catering, editing, etc... and their respective fees. And instead, this money has been sent to India, Africa, South East Asia, everywhere around the world where it is more desperately needed and how much more it has touched the lives of people there.
It's really something that you don't see enough of in the world, and i would urge EVERYONE to watch that video. As if Sarah McLachlan wasn't already high up in my awesomeness list, she's just jumped a few points more. =)
ooooohhh... YouTube lets you upload the whole video HERE! for your convenience!

Consolation in Consideration

The best way to cure yourself of worries is to remember that everyone else has problems too.
And if you're too embroiled in your own, how are you gonna help them see the light in theirs?
Eventually it'll seem like the world has enough troubles, don't fill it with more grievances.
More depression is created from self-imagined issues than stuff that really matters.
i.e.: religious wars. All religion is the same - it gives people something to believe in. Trying to force that on someone else is not religion, it's coercion.
Trying to show them the way is a sign you care, but people make up their own minds.
Oops... i've drifted off.
The point is - my therapy is being someone elses. or at least just lending an ear.
Maybe i should've been a counsellor...

moroseness would be mild

i thought things would feel better today.
i thought it would get better since the worst was over.
i thought people would still be sensitive to me as their friend, and not just to my position.
i guess friendship and work are separate enitities.
But why does it still feel like they're going behind my back?
don't dwell on it.
stop thinking about it.
but i can't.
and i really don't need this now.

the first step is the hardest...

Is it possible to go, in 2 hours, from sad to completely depressed and exasperated?
Yes.
A 2-hour phone conversation in the wee hours of the morning - what should have been i guess liberating; consoling at the least, actually made me feel like the whole of the last year has been just dreadful. Like i had slipped from some golden era into a dark age that i made myself.
Choices... life is a series of choices? Well, i sympathise with those who have made the wrong ones.
I'm really sure that my life is quite a bed a roses. I'm sure i just have to flick to the back pages of this blog to find testament to that. Or can i?
In tryng to find myself through everything else, did i miss what really matters?
Why do something if it only makes you cry?
Why say something if it only hurts?
Why live in something if its only a sham?
Broad questions... but i phrased them that way.
Maybe there's only so much you can blame on time. Or situations. Or moods.
Maybe there's something inherently wrong with me.
I wish the choices we made were always informed.
I wish there was always someone to show you the way.
But sometimes you just put yourself there. And sometimes you just have to get yourself out. Now it's just a question of how you choose to do it.
Thinking of it's a start.
For the people i've ignored. I miss you and i'm sorry.
For myself. I'm sorry i made you chase things and forget others.
For iH, i thought i had a problem with you. Could it be the other way?
For realism and pessimism - thanks, but we can't see each other that much anymore.

1984

Last night i went to watch a play in the Arts Centre. Personally one that is close to my heart, considering I had to read and analyse it for my English Lit in Taylors college. George Orwell's 1984. If you haven't read it and you want an insight into the world of politics (or at least the academic world of politics) then it might just be your gateway. Noone claims that it is painless of course. Most dystopic novels are pretty gruelling on the brain, but the concepts raised are relevant and thought-provoking nonetheless.

I personally like this interpretation of the concepts of the book. Constant surveillance and propoganda shape society.

The play was minimalist to say the least. It involved only 6 actors (alright, 5 actors and 1 actress) and only 1 backdrop. So i'm quite glad i paid concession price instead of the full $36. The novel actually jumps a lot and there are a lot of different scenarios, but the way they did it in the play was really brilliant. The guy was being interrogated and as he related what he did (based on entries in his diary) the other actors (who are also interrogators) have to act it out. And despite them jumping characters here and there, they did it REALLY well because you could tell when they were one character from the next.
It would take a while to give you a summary of the whole story, so i won't. But it was good remembering bits and pieces from reading it a few years ago. And it actually made the concepts a lot clearer than I remember. So, to the man who brought our attention to the system. And gave birth to that phenomenon of Big Brother. There are only three things to impart from a Big Brother world:
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

Bleah...

So Valedicts is over. Last formal dinner in IH for so many people. But i didn't cry. Teared a bit (thanks kimy) but other than that.... was less sentimental. Maybe cos this time i wasn't on antibiotics so could actually drink.
Anyway, it made me realise that i think my time in ih isn't up yet.
i wanna valedict. i wanna make the touchy speech. i wanna meet another great bunch of friends to make me teary on the night. and i wanna still be able to go out to puggs in a big group without feeling left out.
Tas reckons i've found my excuse to stay.
Oh well, I've got to be making it for some good reason....
With the golden couple- Pat & Kimy... I really can't imagine ih without either of them . I think they welcomed me in my first year. Only hope i can be like that for the newbies...With Sarah Tulloch! One of the loveliest persons in the world... The Kalou gang.. i think only the 2 girls are staying behind...And of course, my dear izy valedicted too...
i think i drank his share of wine and champagne too...
Big *HuGz* to the valedicts of 2006... and all the dear people who will be leaving ih.
Miss you all already...

Blue...

Don't know why.... Just feel that way.

Questions...

yesterday's lunch conversation was about room allocations.
'Where are you gonna stay next year?"
My answer: "I'm not gonna think about until I get the form"
Well, that very day after coming home from lectures, the dreaded form is on my bed.
Guess you can only put things off for so long.
Scratch the initial worry of who to stay with (although that's a terrible conundrum in itself. All my current housemates are going their own way and none of my close friends are staying or have already got housemates and I'm not keen on the other options), iH has made life with them rather difficult. As if the annual rise of $20 per week was not already a big burn to the pocket, this year they take it a little bit further to $34 per week. Doesn't seem like that much? Think about a weekly rate of $454 and x that by 38 weeks. They're trying to charge us out of house and home. Literally.
I had no doubts about staying before, but really, this price hike is ridiculous. It'd probably be a hassle to move out, but just to prove a point. Inflation can't count for that much.
I'm just going to leave aside that dilemma. It's really depressing, and something that i need to mull over.

I've been thinking what to do over the holidays. I think my parents want me to get a job. But they also want me to travel with them. In fact they've already booked tickets for a december trip. Now who the hell would employ a temp for 1 month and a break and another month? So unreasonable.
In any case, i've been looking at openings in event management, apparently my latest career direction. Did you know they look for a degree in event management? What the heck? And you'd think the job was somewhat of a no-brainer. I really feel like i have a useless degree now.
Here's some consolation. The Uni of British Columbia's Faculty of Arts says:

Myth #1: A Bachelor of Arts degree is not enough to find a well-paying, interesting job. I need to go to graduate school, Law School, the Faculty of Education, or a technical training institute to be competitive for professional employment.

Fact #1:

Arts students should not feel they need to pursue further education simply because they do not know what else to do or feel they cannot secure a well-paying job without it. According to a survey conducted in 2001 by the University Presidents' Council of BC, BC Arts graduates are employed with an average salary of $46,000 annually within 5 years of graduating, without having any further college or university study.

...most professional careers fall outside of the mainstream or traditional jobs of 'Lawyer', 'Teacher', 'Doctor', or 'Professor'. Many are within Arts students' reach upon graduation, particularly if they have already identified their unique interests and abilities, researched occupations, networked with industry professionals, volunteered or worked in related fields, and rounded out their academic education with other activities. The following are examples of job titles held by Arts graduates, ranging from non-profit, to private business, to government:

Analyst Events Planner Advertising Executive Marketing Professional

International Developer Corporate Trainer Technical Writer Graphics/ Web Designer

Entrepreneur Program Coordinator Vocational Counselor Advisor

Facilitator Manager Director Supervisor

Although many of you may find that you desire more formal academic or specific education as you advance in your career, it is not necessary or even advisable to pursue further education immediately after graduation unless your career exploration activities have pointed you in a direction that requires further specialized education. Participating in career exploration and research activities guided by UBC Career Services and/or Arts Co-op will provide the direction, information and opportunities needed to gain experience in fields that spark your interests.

Oh joy! Thank you Uni of British Columbia! A shining beacon of light has just entered my life and i owe it all to you!

The future still looks bleak... or at least hazy.

Revelations of Laundry Folding....

1) I have an unnatural amount of.... underwear.
2) People who always lose socks should invest in a net bag.
3) If laundry fresh from the dryer is wrinkle-free, how come it doesn't stay that way the more it dries?
4) The chlorine smell never quite washes off your bikini.
5) Do people iron their underwear? What's the point?
6) Do people iron their pyjamas? What's the point?!
7) If you fold stuff inside out, how does the outside (which is now inside) get clean?
8) There are quite funny cartoons around about laundry....



*sniffle* Jon Jon will get scared of the last one... but it's all right... he's surface wash only =)

Essay Madness...

Jeannie before completing her 3000 word, 60% essay...

Jeannie after completing her 3000 word, 60% essay...okay, maybe minus the lesbo partner, and the beach, and the boob exposure, but you get the idea.

Thanks, Picasso for the visuals...
Thanks, Canvas Replicas for the images...
FYI: the top painting is called the Weeping Woman and the bottom is called Women Running on Beach. Nope, he wasn't big on creative naming. Picasso exhibition is still on at the National Gallery... go check it out!