after playing some yahoo games and deciding that it's too late to carry on studying econs, i shall post some pics before retiring to bed!

here are pictures from one of my absolute favourite movies, which are based on one of my favourite books of ALL time! i've decided that right after As, the first thing i'm gonna do is reread the trilogy! then rewatch the movies for like the kamillionth time!

sighh, i'm avoiding the dreaded Monetary Policy notes, so i'm here to bore my ardent readers with another spate of miscellaneous ramblings. i was just blog-hopping, and i noticed that teenagers nowadays are either really screwed or really melodramatic. ten out of ten of the blogs i read had posts that were either always complaining about the people around them, or complaining about their life, or complaining about their friends or school or WHATEVER. i mean, don't they ever feel happy or appreciate ANYTHING at all??!

i'm grateful for my existence on this Earth, for without it, i wouldn't even be typing on this computer, i wouldn't be learning things about myself and the world around me every minute, every day, i wouldn't experience breath-taking sights, beautiful music, delicious aromas and glorious tastes everywhere.

i'm grateful for what my parents have done to raise me, i'm grateful for my family and friends for moulding me into the person i am, grateful that i have a relatively comfortable life. grateful that i can read my favourite books, watch my favourite movies.

i think most importantly, i'm grateful for the fact that i can feel grateful at all! unlike many out there who are probably too consumed by their own myopia and self-indulgence to appreciate the greatest gift they can get. what's the use of having a life if you don't use it well?

is it really all that fun to be moaning and angsting about some problem you have, when you can just get over it and move on? so what if you think people are gossiping about you, so what if you think your friends don't understand you, so what if you think it's YOU against the WORLD? are these perspectives really valid or are you just blowing a lot of hot air?

think about it. you only have one life. after your time here ends, that's it. you're gone. erased off the face of this earth. you just cease to exist. no chance to regret what you've done. your time here on earth has ABSOLUTELY NO CONSEQUENCE at all! whatever you do here only matters to you as long as you live. so if you insist on making life miserable for yourself and others around you, you're just wasting the time you have here.

why not try something different for a change? instead of whining about things, try a little positive thinking. i'm sure you'll find your time more well-spent than incessant complaints. think about all the good things in life that you have and be thankful that you can enjoy these privileges while you're here.

seriously, the world has really gone astray. i admit that it might be hard for some to GROW UP in this hard world, but learn to do it fast and learn to do it now, because as you get older, things will not get better for you. there's no point in angsting and ruining your life as well as the lives of those who care for you. so to all ANGSTY, EMO, OR WHATEVER, TEENAGERS (although i doubt they will be reading this blog), heed this:

"In the time of your life, live — so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it." ~ William Saroyan

oh ya! the whole stretch of new cafes and bistros and restaurants outside my house was in the news yesterday! the ST Money section called it an up-and-coming hotspot for foodies and yuppies, with MUCH lower rentals. like $5 psf instead of $15psf in Holland V or something like that, can't really remember the figures.

it also says that sunset way might upstart Dempsey Road and Holland Village! woohoo!! next time i can just run out there for breakfast, lunch, dinner AND supper! satisfy all my gastronomical needs at a perfectly easy distance!

something interesting/weird/random/mystifying occurred to me while i was going home from Ratatouille today, which by the way was a super cute and hilarious movie!

i was getting off at the coro bus-stop to change to another bus, so as i got off the bus, i turned towards the left to check if there were any buses behind the 156 i was getting off. as my eyes swivelled to the left, for some reason unbeknownst to mankind, they just got stuck somewhere along the way. i happened to meet the eyes of a guy at the bus-stop, and i really really couldn't tear my eyes off his! i swear i don't know why! for like 5 seconds i was just staring into his eyes, and i tried to turn my head further left to look out for any buses but i couldn't! finally, after that, i turned to look right instead, and he looked away, then i could check out whether any buses were coming.

and i admit, i felt a tad embarrassed after that, he probably thought i was trying to DIAN him with my ELECTRIFYING gaze or something... :S

has that ever happened to you before? like for some supremely befuzzling moment you just can't seem to tear your gaze away from someone or something?? maybe it's a sign! haha... or maybe not. maybe it was just a minor malfunction of my ocular tools.

Anyways, mel ho, i know what ratatouille is already! it's a vegetable stew, a rustic French peasant dish that originated from around Nice. It's made from fresh summer veggies like tomatoes, red and green peppers, onions etc, and usually served for lunch with bread or a potato dish. Yum.

Lol, the creators of the short feature film before that are pure genius!! super hilarious la!!!!!!! totally totally side-splittingly!!! meifen, you should go watch!

whooooooo, i had a DAAAAAMN delicious lunch today man.
it was outside my house, off sunset way, some European cafe called Peaberry and Pretzel. remember this name dudes, 'cos the food ROCKS.

let me share my awesome lunch experience with you.

First, steaming hot goulash soup with freshly baked walnut bread. nice, no? ok actually this dish wasn't that good, lol. the goulash probably didn't even contain paprika, and was a bit too watery and flat.

Second, veal and mushroom pan with creme fraiche and rosti. this time, the dish was near perfect! the sauce coupled with creme fraiche was daaaamn creamy and tasty! the veal was tender and the mushrooms tasted like they were freshly plucked from the back garden, maybe there was a garden in their kitchen!

PENULTIMATELY (yeah i learnt that word in chem lecture!), munich sandwich which contains grilled chicken, parmesan, rocket in a special sauce, tomatoes, onions and egg all in foccacia bread. the fried egg was ULTRA nice, never tasted eggs like that before, i swear! and the chicken was suuuuuper tender too. only problem was the special sauce was a bit too herby and funky smelling, like smelly socks.

Last, but most definitely NOT least, valrhona chocolate pudding with rum. wahhhhhhh. i don't know where to start. the pudding was like crispy on the outside, soft and gooey and oozing chocolate inside. served with vanilla ice cream, and not those cheapo white-colour kind, but it was yellowish and flecked with ground vanilla pods and really REAL-tasting. and it came with vanilla rum, strawberry, blueberries, gooseberry, a piece of chocolate, toasted almonds and some biscuit thingy.

whoooooooo. i'm speechless, ok actually not la, i just rambled off an entire post. the only gripe is that the food wasn't exactly worth the price, plus the cafe is like damn puny, only had 5 tables or so. and the waiter was super blur.

so gluttons!! get your expandable-waistline pants ready! we shall go attack the foodie haven at clementi street after As ok?! set ah?!

yo! GP IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!! oh yeah!!! 2 papers down, 11 more to go! Yay.... Er, woohoo........ erm...... Aww shucks, 11 papers are a lot.

and i dug up more photos!

this one's from outside my house. super cool right? are you experiencing an epiphany? it's truly the work of a greater being!

and this one's from outside my house again. it was around 7 plus i think. you sould seriously do some sky-watching at sunrise, early morning, evening and sunset. can witness beeee-yooouuuu-teeeeee-ful scenery like these!

and i took this one like just now. lol kidding! i doubt you can see this in singapore ever! i found this off the internet, and it's WAY cool. imagine getting struck by one of these! you musta offended the gods real badly to deserve such a shocking punishment. haha.


and so, may these photos serve as inspiration for you to carry on working hard and mugging your butt off. don't ask me how.

rightio. here i am again, taking a break from the tedium of mugging for gp prelims. and i'll up some photos AGAIN! oh boy, seeing photos reminds me of the gp essay questions on mass media.. ARGHHHHH. of course, i shall post pics of happy things to make me forget about the looming exams.

here's one from my vacation in 2005:

and this happens to be an English toilet found smack in the middle of nowhere! it's damn cool la, all you have to do is pop in some coins (as you will in a vending machine) and the toilet door unlocks. then you can eagerly rush in to unload your bladder!

lol. sorry, i just had to post that.

and of course, something that excites everyone, especially us gluttons... FOOD!

and here's a one-legged pigeon!! ...oooh! ahhhh! .... until it put down its other foot.

and, saving the best for last, pics of Atlas! woohoo.

here he is, looking ri-donk-ulously CUTE.

that's him trying to be a war-horse. lol, i honestly don't ill-treat my dog!

him trying to find a comfortable head-rest. and obviously succeeding. i wonder whether he got a neck-ache when he woke up...

then he sleeps curling up into a tight ball. like a cat. he has some serious identity issues.

and then he daos me, preferring instead to face the christmas tree. bad choice dude! i look so much better. LOL. and of course, he's emo-ing, staring out into the distant lands, pondering on the meaning of life and existence.

right, i've decided to be kind on thine eyes again and post a nice vision-friendly picture. isn't the tree cool?!

i saw it on vacation last year.

.........

err.

.....

ok that picture was totally random, and now i have nothing else to comment about.

erm.

well let's see, today, was a typical rating-3 type of day. except that someone sorta pissed me off. my conscience tells me i shouldn't continue this strand of discussion, but obviously the temptation to WAY overrides it.

i'm sure you guys are all too acquainted with this particular culprit. he's like hongyi's "favourite" person, and mel also has a "great" impression of him. dunno what meifen thinks though.

ANYWAYS, every time he (ahem ahem, censorship enforcement) , he'll give this damn QIAN BIAN smirk which i have a tremendous urge to wipe off immediately by brute force.

ok i think only tsai and ahmeng will get it.. anyway i was annoyed at how some people are so immature that they think it's a humongous joke to make fun of people about these kind of things. it truly isn't even entertaining in the least bit.

ok la, i shall stop whining la. whining serves no purpose except to take up space in this already very long post.

soooo, changing topics, i was just thinking. ( "SHOULD I.....?" lol, the weird 98.7 morning show segment. i remember some freaky dude called in to complete the sentence with ".. go crazy and kill everyone?" (or smt along those lines). what the hell la! i'm sure you call in to a national radio station and say that! what is the world coming to?!

it's quite sad really. that some people become like this. OKAY i know i'm saying it quite unsympathetically, MAYBE they have some underlying problems with their family or friends or whatever, MAYBE they had a bad experience, MAYBE they're just born this way and they can't help it. but i think there's no need to get so melodramatic as though the whole world revolved around you, and if you sneezed, everyone should catch the cold.

i mean, just because you have a problem doesn't mean you have the right or justification to act oh-so disturbed and twisted and tormented. face it, humans aren't meant to feel so many emotions at once, neither are they capable of emotions at such great magnitude. yeah that's right. what you see here is MELODRAMA, poking you right in the ribs, so take note of it.

some people should just learn to get a life. and i don't mean it in a dismissive way (of course not! i can feel sympathy too y'know!). i mean, REALLY REALLY get a life, or rather LIVE life. like just take a step back and think," woah, i'm actually a living being in this place called Earth. i'm breathing, walking, talking, existing. hmm, i wonder what happens when i press this butto.... ARGGGHHHH!!!" lol, JUST KIDDING.

what i wanted to say is that, really, there are much MUCH better things in life to do than emo away your time, and angst yourself to death. indulging youself in self-pity only irritates others at best, and destroys yourself at worst. there's so much more to life.

i decided that i should pity siqian's eyes for having to sieve through the slews of letters on this blog, and post some random photos. so i dug up these 2 photos from deep in my computer's folders. heh

ok i have a confession to make. but first, here's a bit of background.

today we had gp lesson see, and i got back my AQ. i took a look at the top of the page, and whaddya know?

a beeeg 3 stared back at me from the page. SIGH, another major blow to my ego. so here's the confession: i am VERY SORRY to say that i felt a flash of irritation when meng yuan and siqian burst out laughing after looking at my dismal grade. i apologise and promise that it will NOT happen again ok! i don't know why it happened too, i swear! i honestly and solemnly vow that i shall immediately deflate my ego to a normal size and not get annoyed when someone deals me an insult, such as a beeeeeg big 3.

ok, now i'm starting to panic for gp prelims. after the bout of bad essays and totally off answers, i am determined to prove, once and for all, that i MAY be some good at gp. oh shucks, i'm supposed to have a deflated ego.
oh well.

anyways, i'm sad that school's coming to an end. i know some people who are absolutely overcome with joy that school's ending, and i can't see why. of course i love taking breaks from school and having school holidays, but the permanent relief from schooling sorta gets me down. it will feel weird not waking up at 6.30am every morning, scoffing down breakfast, sitting at the parade square waiting for the announcement that assembly will be cancelled due to the overcast skies. it will feel weird that i won't get to hang out with ah meng, siqian, mf (who doesn't ROX), melho, hongyi, and all me other chums in school, weird to not rush to classes after breaks, or go to the toilet after every lesson.

i guess i just feel weird that a MAJOR period in my life is coming to an end! horrors!! i'm terrified to face the unknown future! i'm afraid to put a single toe out of my comfort zone! i'm all a-shiver having to think of issues like further studies, career and life! reality bites!

ok i exaggerate. but really, i'm extremely sad that i have to give up being a kid (ok not a kid la, but a YOUNG ADULT) to learn to be a REAL adult dealing with consequential issues. gone are the days where i can just turn to family or friends whenever i need help. just a little while from now, i'll be forced to be self-sufficient, and be ALL BY MY LONESOME SELF.

thinking about this makes me so scared that i shall turn to one of the things i can seek solace from: MY STUDIES. you know why? bcos studying reminds me that i'm still a full-time student, with no other responsibilities, except to MUG, MUG, and then some more. also, it's hard to think of serious matters when you're staring at benzene rings or dd-ss diagrams.

PS: sorry to siqian and mengyuan again! i swear it was just a FLASH of irritation, which disappeared immediately after like 5 minutes!

ok, this is a GREAT insult to my creative and literary abilities. first, i got a big fat D for gp essay. now, i have a grand total of 2 viewers for my blog. this makes for a major dent in my already smaller-than-normal ego. but oh well, life goes on, Rome wasn't built in a day, that's the way the cookie crumbles. (i can just hear meng yuan say,"Cookie? Where? I want!") (and THAT, meng yuan, is what you get for calling my blog retarded. please stay tuned for more insults and jibes, both hidden and overt, coming your way.)

anywaaays, i should publicise my blog to the other gluttons... maybe our friendship will override the fact that my writing skills are non-existent.

wellllll, let's see....what to write about? hmmmm....

oh yeah, today was just an average Joe day, a perfect 3 rating. so i guess there isn't much to expound on. just that mengyuan has absolutely lousy stamina, run 1.6km only complain so much. the weather was TOO hot, why the canteen SO hot, i feel like fainting, wah! i'm SO exhausted! etc etc etc....

aaaand, during the long break today, me, mengyuan and jon had quite an interesting chat about US uni applications, scholarships, and...surprise surprise, religion. weird transition i know, but who am i to say. mengyuan and jon were arguing about the finer points of faith, religion and theology, while i was staring hard at the pages of my chem notes, TRYING to concentrate but obviously failing.

sigh, i don't know what's my problem but i CAN'T HELP IT CAN I?!?? i don't know why i'm so skeptical about religion or devoting my faith and belief in a higher order. i mean, i admire the staunch believers of their religion because of their stoic faith no matter what. i envy the way they can seek solace in a greater being, and draw strength from the teachings of their religion. but after all these years, i still can't bring myself to really believe that a religious authority exists. yes, i AM cynical and skeptical, pragmatic and rational, and a complete sinner for rejecting religion!

maybe one day i might convert. but now, i revel in my lack of trust and faith, choosing instead to place my fate in my own hands and no other, and accepting that, perhaps humans are NOT pieces on a chessboard in a timeless game, played out by omniscient minds. perhaps there IS no afterlife, no life after death, no otherworld. maybe humans were JUST an accident. not part of a greater order. maybe there IS no purpose in life, no higher calling.

oh boy, i don't know if i'm breaking any laws for maintaining religious peace or anything. so this is an explanation to all you religious folks out there, i AM NOT, repeat, AM NOT encouraging anyone to adopt any view, but am simply expressing my own, of course, sorely subjective and personal views. so please, i don't wanna kena flamed!

lol ok, i guess i'm making a BEEEG assumption that there are actually people who read my blog besides sq and menggy, and can actually bother to flame me.

what the hell, oh oops i meant, what the crap, i'm going off for dinner now.

right. i have just created a new rating system to rate the quality of your day, regardless of what's your age or how old you are, this rating system applies to everyone!

so this is the system. RATE YOUR DAY ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5 NOW!

(Best day of your life) - [5]
Your day was so bloody fantastic that you were blissfully unaware of the dirty looks people cast you as you 'inaudibly' hummed cheesy tunes like "Top Of The World"

[4]
"Hey, what's that on the floor?" (pick up a big fat Armani wallet.. an original one, of course)

[3]
An average Joe, "oh okay", "alright then" kind of day.

[2]
"Oh @%#&*, i lost my wallet!! Together with all my money, IC, ez-link card, and POSB card!! AND the note that i wrote my card's PIN number on!!"

(Most miserable day of your life) - [1]
"O otherwordly supreme beings out there, PLEASE wipe me off the face of this planet right now! To Heaven or to Hell, i don't care! Just relieve me of my miserable existence!"
... "WHAT?! HOW THE HELL CAN THERE NOT BE ANY VACANCIES IN HELL?!!? NO, DON'T YOU PUT ME ON HOLD!!"

and so, my day today was about a 2.5 i'd say. that would be something like, "oh okay, alright then, oh, i think i lost 5 bucks, but it's cool."

anyways, today i heard something interesting. someone asked,"If your girlfriend/boyfriend cheats on you, who would you think of murdering first? The third party or your gf/bf?"

i thought it was quite intriguing that most people would immediately think of exacting revenge on the third party. their response would be something like: First, checking out the third party ("walao, this pattern also got people want!"). Second, devising diabolical plans involving that person and blood, LOTS OF BLOOD. Lastly, settling the the now-ex.

personally, i'd rather just catch them together and finish them off at the same time. more convenient isn't it? but i wouldn't know really.

TODAY.... IS THE DAY.

WHAT DAY IS IT YOU ASK?

TODAY........




is monday.




lol, i would love to see your face after reading that.





anyways, today's the day after the looong break. and it was kinda sian yet kinda fun to be back in school. (oh no, did i just say FUN?!?!?)
and i listened to The Great Escape thrice, i swear i'll never get sick of that song.
for those who've been living under a big rock, at the bottom of the deepest ocean, surrounded by towering mountains, in a planet light years away from ours, here's a little bit of the lyrics from the song:

Throw it away
Forget yesterday
We'll make the great escape
We won't hear a word they say
They don't know us anyway
Watch it burn
Let it die
Cause we are finally free tonight

Idealistic and impractical, yes, but still, one can always hope.
and the drums at the start of the song are OOH-WEEE sweeeeet!
damn nice! i feel like learning to play the drums now, although i'm not particularly gifted musically, at least i was blessed with substantial hand-eye coordination. unlike some people. (i'm not talking about you la! don't be so paranoid!)

sooo, at the end of school, i had a really weird feeling. that it was actually fun to be in school. (just shoot me, please)
but really, somehow...argh, it's hard to express oneself sometimes, i can't imagine why some are willing to die fighting for the freedom to do so.
the point is, perhaps, just perhaps...... i'm losing my mind from all the studying! horrors!!
ok i kid, the real point is, perhaps school CAN BE fun la. ok i won't elaborate anymore, students everywhere will be dying to banish me to social hell when they read this.

oh before i forget, me and siqian and ah meng were kinda mean about a particular person for whining incessantly through a particular medium. and i realised i was wrong about condemning that person. because i too, like any other human, feel the temptation to use 'the particular medium' to b*tch about things, people or miscellaneous events. as i have demonstrated in my earlier post. so i take back my words (which requires tremendous humility by the way) and repent.

anyways, today we had the vampire (a.k.a. a certain tutor we have). and i recalled a certain incident, involving a rather amusing rendition of a national song. and i'm sorry to say that, ah meng, if all vampires sang the way he did, people would be begging to be drained dry as fast as possible. so your fantasy isn't quite as romantic as you want it to be anymore. HAHA.

i shall stop misusing digital space anymore, and end this post.


but not before i say this.





TOMORROW IS.........THE DAY.


WHAT DAY IS IT YOU ASK??





TOMORROW IS.........





tuesday.

today's National Day, and pardon me, i don't feel especially patriotic today. i went for lunch at Holland village, ate Korean food, ended it with my favourite Starbucks drink, went back home in a Japanese car, and watched Mr World on TV, which obviously did NOT have Mr Singapore as one of its contestants. probably the only thing about me today that was remotely connected to my motherland was my red and brown top, and a white skirt.

but still, it's a school holiday and i'm not complaining!

another thing, I AM PISSED. i bought something from guardian and the cashier forgot to put it in the bag. dammit, even though it only cost me a few bucks, for some reason unknown to earthly beings, I AM PISSED. which is why i'm blogging, because blogging lets you vent right? but apparently it doesn't really hold true, because after typing for 15 minutes, I AM STILL PISSED. i should probably count to 6 real slowly.

1..

2..

3..

4..

5..

6..

what the hell, I AM... oh you get the idea.

soo today is the eve of national day and i'm stuck at home. honestly, J2 life is one that is seriously not worth living. ok, i kid. underaged and unsupervised children, committing suicide is a sin and you can't try again once you've got it wrong.

but really, to all J2s, think of ALLLLL the things you've missed out on because you were studying for countless tests and completing innumerable tutorials and revision exercises. let me name a few - loitering around orchard, watching weekly movies, playing tennis, shopping, and most importantly, the recommended daily dose of 8 hours of sleep by medical professionals everywhere who probably have no life. that's why they think people can afford to be unconscious 8 hours of the day.

back to the point. i think J2 life is really a period of intense suffering that scours and burnishes your character. some J2s succumb, falling into the pits of academic doom, while others somehow (not by hard work, but purely by immense luck) manage to build a bridge across these pits of doom, which incidentally contain raging infernos of inferiority complex and parental disappointment, to survive. but of course, these people emerge with terrible burns and scars, or at least, complications arising from smoke inhalation. however capable you are, or rather, however lucky you are, the point is, YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE UNSCATHED FROM THE A LEVELS.

of course, as with every problem or adversity, surely there must be a solution. in some cases, the solution comes easily. in others, you first have to tear off all your hair or watch them all turn white, suffer severe brain damage or eye damage from late-night mugging, endure health hazards like constipation (cos studying annoys you so much your butt cheeks invariably clamp shut) or malnutrition (when practising 100 intergration questions makes you lose your appetite), before you mysteriously stumble upon a solution that you realised was actually at the back of the TYS just that that page happened to be torn off by some moron who borrowed your TYS two month ago and fyi didn't return it until you hounded him for several weeks.

then taking a look at that answer page, which of course is from another's friend's TYS thanks to that idiot who for some unbeknownst reason started avoiding me after i verbally abused him, you realise that the answer to the terrible conundrum of the As is..... 42.


haha, JUST joking. what i'm really trying to say is this, whatever happens to you during this turbulent trial, the 2 most important things are that you are still a human being and that time is still passing. add these two together and you get a solution that you should be perfectly contented with. a human's life is 80 years, J2s are roughly 18 years old, father time hasn't gone AWOL and is still turning the clock. even if you screw up the As, there are still years and years for you to live out. what difference does it make if you get rock-bottom grades? does it matter if you don't get your dream job because of your atrocious results? so what if your friends outperformed you in, say, all the subjects? you are still alive and you definitely lived your life better than those muggers who are ridiculously lacking a social life. when your A levels is over, you should be thinking, I studied, of course i did, but i lived a human's life too, unlike those filthy muggers who cramp 10 hours of study a day and look all pale and unhealthy from lack of sunlight.

and so, your grades aren't everything. enjoy the other beautiful things in life (NO, not those big red letter As on your scripts) like the sky, the trees, music, movies, sports . think of the big picture, and maybe, just maybe, you might see the face of the loser who tore out the page from my TYS. (yeah, you better watch out, i'm telling you)

Beginnings of the end

ALRIGHT! this is my inaugural address to anyone foolish enough to read this blog, and if by now, your eyes are still travelling across the words on this screen, either your IQ is dangerously low or you urgently need medical help.

but for those who persist on subjecting themselves to this perturbing torture of reading about my horrendously drab and humdrum life, welcome!

.......

ok here it is. i have decided, against all odds and logical reason, to start a blog. this is considering the fact that i am fully aware that in six months (probably less), i will surrender and relieve myself of the chore of typing every single incident that has happened to me, every single hour of the day, every single day of the week. forgive me, i am human, and the inherent traits of any sentient being, including indolence and procrastination, exist within me.

But, ignore all that hogwash above, and i shall attempt to chronicle the milestones in my extraordinary life. so please, stay tuned to this plot of digital land in our cyber world for a sorely inadequate view of my life.