The Journey Home... a very thankful narrative.

Thank you, God, that You still love us and take good care of us, even when we're two bumbling blur people who can't even read the time of our flight correctly... Amen!

Yay! I'm finally home, (and finally blogging again) after a long time. And as mentioned above, I nearly didn't make it home... like, 5 minutes short of not making it home.

It starts, with the long week of horrendous topic tests. Physics and Bio... grk. And they love to torture us by placing the tests on the most convenient days... the Monday sandwiched between the long weekend, and the afternoon of our last day of class before the two week break. And they just have to make the exams so fast-paced and hard...

These tests don't just test how much you know... they also test how fast you can think, how fast you can write, and how long before you give up and just start laughing manically to yourself about the hopelessness of the task. There's no time to second guess answers, no time to go, 'Hmmmm... I wonder what is the best way to answer this?'. It's all 'Arrrghhhh!! Write faster! Write faster!! Don't know the answer? Doesn't matter!! Just write something! And fast!! *pant pant pant*'

So, the last day of class was the Bio test. And gosh, it felt so good when it ended. The weight was finally off our shoulders and it was holiday time. So what if we screwed up the paper? We have a whole 2 weeks to ignore the problem and pretend the test never happened.

Soon, everyone is rushing off in all directions, with their packed bags. Bus station, taxi, mummy and daddy etc. etc.

Tricia and me had the taxi booked for 7.20pm. So we headed back (around 4pm) and started packing. Everything was smooth and steady, fun and happy, la-la-la and wheeee for those 3 hours. Our increased heart rates from the Bio test were finally coming back down to normal.

And then, we headed down to the bus stand to wait for our taxi. 7.25pm. He still wasn't there. I said to call him to ask if he was on the way.

Tricia called him, and a few seconds into the conversation, she looked at me and did the universal sign of 'we're in deep trouble'... the action of the finger slicing the throat. My already tender heart rate went up a few beats.

Our taxi driver forgot our booking. He was at least half an hour away.

Then a number of things happened in sequence.

It hit Tricia that our flight booking paper, which we need to get the actual tickets, was still upstairs. And for those of you who haven't read my previous post, we live on the FIFTH FLOOR (ominous capital letters). Uh-oh.

Then it hit me that the paper stated that departure was at 8.20pm. It was now 7.30 pm. We had to check in at least 45 minutes or so before the flight. Double uh-oh.

Basically, we were both under the assumption that 8.20 was the check-in time, not the actual flight.

And um, yeah...... the paper with the flight details was posted on our notice board, which was basically right in front of our faces whenever we sat at our study tables. (which was a lot due to studying for the Bio test). The paper has been there for about a month.

So yes, despite that, we still got it wrong.

In my defence, it was the BIO TEST!!!!! (everyone around go 'yeah, yeah, yeah... excuses, excuses...')

So there it goes, like the cascade of events in blood clotting, we were off in full adrenaline and panic mode. (told ya' it was the Bio test.... XD)

Tricia sprinted up the stairs for the paper. And lugging our heavy suitcases and backpacks, we raced to find a cabbie. This isn't usually a problem... but whoops, it's 'buka puasa' time. Thankfully, we managed to catch one guy who just pulled up as we ran up.Talk about Godsend!

And he was a pretty nice guy. He actually changed his radio channel to a Chinese radio station, just because he had Chinese passengers. Cool or what? Too bad we didn't understand Chinese... Ahahahaha...

We made it to the airport at about 8.10pm. The check-in counter for Penang was already closed. We ran to the guy at the counter and started begging for dear life. Thank God for this guy too, as he argued with the people on the other end to let us on... 'Kesian juga mereka ini... boleh kah?'

The people on the other end kept saying through the walkie-talkie 'Tak boleh, tak boleh', which of course totally freaked us out. I don't think I stopped praying since we stepped into the taxi...

But finally, he printed out tickets and told us to run for it, with our check-in bags. So there we sprinted, ala The Amazing Race, with our big heavy bags. And geez... airport terminals are long and far...

We finally managed to get into our seats, red-faced, oxygen-deprived, dehydrated, sweaty and panting like crazy. The plane took off 5 minutes later.

So yeah, in conclusion... Phew.

Praise God!

>>>

>> One week of classes already
=)

>> Two hours straight of lecture for every subject is often too much for the brain
=(

>> Most of my lecturers are pretty nice and good
=)

>> But that still doesn't prevent me from nearly falling asleep in the 2 hour lectures...
XD

>> We have 6 hours of English classes a week, same amount of time as our Science subjects
O.o

>> Buying lunch when everyone has the same lunchtime, at the same cafeteria, requires lots of patience and strategizing
=P

>> Lining up for the bus at the correct time to prevent being late for class requires even more patience and strategizing
=D

>> Campus is huge... and the labs happen to be the furthest away from the classroom...
+_+

>> Met several dead cockroaches. And one dead lizard in the bathroom with ants devouring it's body...
XP

>> Melina Kanakaredes has left CSI NY. Stella has already appeared on the show for the last time.
=( =( =( =( =( =( =( =( =(

>> Carmine Giovinazzo has married Vanessa Marcil, who has been married before, and has an 8 year old son, who is NOT the son of her first husband, but yet ANOTHER man...
-_-"

>> First Topic Test in a week's time. And it's Physics. And Topic Tests count for our sem exam marks.
X_X

>> Taking a short trip home for Speech Day in 2 1/2 weeks time!
=D

>> Missing Stella Bonasera already... *sigh*

=(

One Week In

Voila! I have finally managed to appear back to the online world after one week of absence. The Orientation Week here at Intec was long and tiring. It was informative and pretty fun at times, and the facilitators were nice people. But each day lasted from 6.30 am til 11+ pm. And the facilitators adhered to the timing very accurately. There's no such thing as starting late, nor ending early, nor much periods of rest in between. There was of course, plenty of 'ending late's. But anyway, even if we still had that wee bit of energy left to go online after ending the day, there is no decent internet anywhere... I finally managed to get my hands on Digi Broadband. It's not as good as home, obviously, but it'll have to do.

On the plus side, we now have 4 days off to recover from MMS (Minggu Mesra Siswa). Classes only begin on Wednesday. Immediately after the last session last Friday, most of the new students could be seen scuttling across the hostel grounds with their bags, eager to go home and get back to civilisation. Tricia and I stuck around and spent our day exploring Shah Alam, and of course, saying 'hi' to good ol' Sunway Pyramid.

I thank God for the strength He has given me. 6 months ago, I would have cried every time I realized that I'll be away from home for 2 weeks, 1 month etc. But now, even with 2 months until my next long holiday, I'm actually feeling okay and happy with where I am. God heals!

So, what's home for the next two years? Kolej Akasia in Shah Alam. Yes, it's a hostel, but it's called a college... *shrug*. While there are some definite adjustments and changes in lifestyle that we have to adapt to, it's not a bad place to be in.

For example, anytime we want to leave our rooms, even if it's just to make a one minute trip downstairs to the water cooler, we have to begin the process of taking off our shorts and T-shirts... change into our long pants... put on our jackets... and put on proper shoes. Oh, and we're 'fortunate' enough to be on the 5th floor, which is the top most floor. It's no wonder my parents keep saying I get thinner and thinner every time I go home...

Then, of course there's the misbehaving piping. As a church friend puts it, there's either too little water or too much. The tap at the sink has not worked since we arrived, and the toilet stopped being able to flush for a few days. Meanwhile, some other block had a burst pipe. XD

There's also of course the little critters sharing the apartment with us. Ants which appear in the manner of minutes if there's a tiny crumb on the floor, mosquitoes every night, spiders and a big lizard which is currently hiding from Tricia and her rubberband. So yeah, it is a pretty crowded house.

Also, we're in an area where there really isn't anything to do. Which is the point, I suppose. They keep us in a place where there is nothing for us to occupy our time with, except to study. :P

As Esther also mentions in her blog about her Kolej Terlampau Talented, it's the same here. There are 675 JPA scholars here! And maybe a hundred more from other sponsors like MARA, BN etc. The ALM group (A-Level Medicine) is the largest. Lots of doctors and pharmacists coming up... Other programmes include ADFP, A-Level German, Russian, AUSMAT, etc. Classes have yet to start yet, but uh-huh... we're obviously in a community of smarty-pants, which is quite intimidating and pressuring at times, haha.

The A-Levels we're taking is different in the sense that we don't take the AS and A Level exam separately. We sit for everything at the end of two years. So basically, we just have to keep downloading information into our brains and pray our heads don't explode with the overload of facts. Also, it would be good if someone invents an external hard drive for human brains sometime in the next month or so.

The campus itself is a bus ride away. Commuting on the bus back and forth the campus and hostel is of course another part of Intec life which requires skill and strategizing. The campus grounds are big and hopefully we won't feel so lost walking around in circles soon.

So yeah, that's my first week at a glance. Let the journey begin!

Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast today with the past three weeks. [10 marks]
Bandingkan hari ini dengan hari-hari tiga minggu yang lalu. [10 markah]

1. Last 3 weeks: Woke up either at 7.30 am to clear overloaded studying pile, or at 4, 5, 6 am, to cram last minute and/or freak out about the day's exam.
Today: Woke up at 6 am, laughed to oneself in the dark like a mad man and went back to sleep.

2. Last 3 weeks: Study, study, lunch, study, dinner, study, freak out, study some more.
Today: Housekeeping. Update laptop, throw out books and papers, internet, walked around room aimlessly but not caring the slightest.

3. Last 3 weeks: Been no where except home and school. (I'm such a pathetic prude...)
Today: First stop; Mall. (P/S: 2012 is pretty good! XD)

4. Last 3 weeks: Pale. Blood shot eyes. Constantly sleepy.
Today: Alive. No other words to describe it.

5. Last 3 weeks: Goals: Finish this whole form by 1 am...
Today: Goals: Do nothing academically productive and let my brain rot into a mouldy pile of gloop.

Total marks: WHO CARES??

SPM is over.

Nuff' said.

The Case of the Elusive Pendrive

One week ago:
Mum: Hey you. You left your pendrive in your shirt pocket lah... I didn't see it, so it got a thorough washing from the washing machine.

Me: What? *completely surprised, having not even noticed the pendrive was missing in the first place*

Mum: Yalah. I always check your skirt pockets, but not your shirt pockets. Mana tau you keep things inside there and forget to take them out... *hands me the pendrive* Anything important inside or not?? When I shook it, water droplets were still coming out from it... Scared later spoil ledi...

Me: Oh, uh. Nevermind... I have the files saved in my computer.

Mum: Aiyah. Go and dry it and try and see if it can still be used or not... *shoots me a look that seems to say '17 years old nya, forget things so easily ledi... haih...'*

After plugging it into the computer, I found it to be perfectly fine, thank goodness. Plus, it's really clean now.

Today:

Me: *searching high and low* Oh noo... *goes downstairs* Ma, did you by any chance see my pendrive? I think I left it in my shirt pocket again... *sheepish grin*

Mum: Really? Go and check. I didn't wash the clothes yet.

Me: *searches* Don't have wor......

Mum: Where did you last have it?

Me: I KNOW it's not in my KRS shirt pocket because I didn't bring it to school yesterday. So it must be in the white shirt...

Mum: Maybe it dropped somewhere?

Me: Maybe ar.... but I KNOW I didn't bring it to school yesterday... so it must be somewhere around... it's DEFINITELY not in my KRS shirt loh........

*after mum and dad help search around for a while*
Me: Oh well... nevermind. It'll turn up....

Later:
Mum: Oi! I found your pendrive!!

Me: Really?? Great! Where was it??

Mum: In your KRS shirt pocket.

Me: Oh. Oops.

Mum: Keep insisting it's not there summore. Haiyah you...

-----------
Moral of the story?
When your daughter tells you she 'DEFINITELY didn't put it there', ALWAYS check 'there' FIRST!

:P

Which CSI NY character are you?

Which CSI: NY Character Are You?

More on CSI: NY. Created by BuddyTV

Can't say I'm surprised... after reading the description. Pretty accurate. XD I'm such a boring dud. Rofl. I knew it was a 'no go' on getting Danny Messer, based on my answers and the answers I knew a Danny-like person would give... :P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARMINE GIOVINAZZO!!!

Just for fun, I manipulated my answers just to see if I could get Danny. If anyone needed any more proof on how freakishly well I know the guy, I got him on my first attempt. ;-)

Which CSI: NY Character Are You?

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Freedom

EEEYAAAAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!
SPM TRIALS ARE FINALLY OVER!

Excerpts from two really tough weeks... partly our own fault for our usual procrastinating habits, partly because our school was one of the few who took the State Trial papers, so our trial was one month earlier then we expected...

Day before a certain paper;
Me : Faktor-faktor tercetusnya nasionalisme... uhhh... -stares at page until all words become blurry-
-phone rings-
Tricia: Fern ah! I dunno what to do ledi arrrrrr!!!
Me: Me also lah....
Tricia: There's so much to study arrrrr!!!
Me: I know lahh... cannot sleep tonight ledi lahhh...
Tricia: *Whines* I wanna cry ledi lahh....
Me: So do I lahhh... Die ledi lah...
Tricia: Yalohhh... how ah????
Me: I dunno lahhhhh....
- The rest of the conversation is pretty much along the same lines, along with strategising on what we can afford to skip so we could sleep earlier than 2 am that night...-

Lesson learnt/Not learnt:

Form Three
Tricia: Aiyoh... next year Form Four ledi... must not study til' last minute... must study consistently.
Fern: Yeah, yeah. True.

Form Four Midyear Exam
Tricia: HOW TO FINISH STUDYING!!! We were supposed to start studying consistently! Where did all the time go??!!!
Fern: Nevermind... we have learnt our lesson. We must start studying early for the final exams.

Form Four Finals
Trica: -See above-
Fern: Yeah, yeah... we all very teruk wan hor. Haih.... Nevermind. Next year, Form Five, must really really work hard from the start.

Form Five Midyear
Tricia: HOWWWWWW?????!
Fern: I know, I know. *sob*
Tricia: How come we never seem to learn our lesson wan!!??? Trials must seriously start studying early....
Fern: Yeah, at least we have the August holidays to study more.

Before trials:
Teacher: Exams have been brought forward by three weeks.

Cue, Ms Chow:

'Ok, this is the concept of half-life. Like you all lah! Trials brought forward, you all look PUA-SI (Hokkien for 'half dead') like that! Haih.... poor, poor, little girls... -shakes her head- Everything also mong-cha-cha...

Trials:
-Refer above-

And that is the story of our exam life. It's a miracle we actually get through the actual papers well enough. I for one, am very thankful. Yes, guys, first in class doesn't mean the most disciplined when it comes to studying okay... In my case, far from it...

SPM in about 3 months. And one final event to worry about, PROM 2009 (bleh :P). Here goes nothing.

Fellow Form Fives, enjoy this week's holiday, alright? It's way overdue... XD

Maths Homework

Jonie: -walks in- Class! Ms. Ho isn't here today.

5 Airf: YAY!!!!!! (No offence to all teachers, it's just a normal reaction... XD)

Jonie: But, she left us homework. Take out your Maths textbook!

5 Arif: WHAT???!! Awwwww...
A: Whatlah... got h'work summore...
B: Yeeer... cannot finish Physics report.
C: Aiyah... thought got free period....
-general grumbling-

Jonie: Oi! Fasterlah! Take out your Maths textbook! I read to you.

D: Write on the boardlah!.

Jonie: No marker pen. Take out Maths textbook!!

-the few who didn't grudgingly walk to their bags to take the book-

D: Nah. Marker pen.

Jonie: Ok. -Proceeds to write on the board-

'MATHS TEXTBOOK'

5 Arif: -Sighhhhhhh....-

'PAGE: APRIL FOOL!!'

5 Arif: -dumbfounded silence-

"JONIE!!!!!!!"

Jonie: -collapses laughing-

5 Arif: -goes beserk laughing and yelling at Jonie for the next 10 minutes-


Kudos to our class monitor for successfully fooling the entire class in one shot. XD

And for the rest of the day:
Jonie: Class, Pn Chang isn't here. Bio in class.
5 Arif: Sure wan ah not?! You tipu us ah, Jonie?! We don't trust you anymore Jonie!
Jonie: AIYAH! I'm not lying lah this time!!! -laughs again-

Happy April Fool's Day. :-)

Getting 'Retricked'

So, who knew for sure that 'retricked' is not an actual word? All of you did? Good! Why didn't you tell me a week ago?!
Of course, you needn't tell me that if I was not so blur as to think it was an actual word... it cost me about 82 friggin' points! Bleh... Sthooopid (re: Post on Prefects Camp)!!

I'm talking about the Scrabble competition last week. All in all, it was seriously fun -geek-. Although by the end of the day, we were all pretty knocked out. Who wouldn't be after 6 games?

We were matched according to our spreads. I did pretty good for the first 3 games, got trashed on my fourth game and everything pretty much went downhill from there. XD My fourth game was against Ms. Retricked. 'Dang it, girl, I gotta shake your hand. You re-tricked me!' -curses stupidity- I went from a positive spread to negative in that one game. Trust me, you don't want to know anymore than that. My opponent meanwhile, went on to win first place. Haha. I hope she remembers my contribution to her. She owes me biiiiiiiiiig time.

But anyway, Xin Fang placed no. 5, which is awesome because she will get to represent Penang at national level later on. The others also did great. It was indeed an interesting experience, as we got to meet and play against all kinds of people with different habits when it comes to playing.

And of course, there's that adrenaline rush whenever one tries to play nonsense words, whether intentionally or otherwise.

There is a certain air of vindication whenever one gets challenged on a word that one knows exist.
A: -places word 'Lavalava'-
B: -eyes you suspiciously- Challenge.
A: Sure. No problem... -Struts confidently to computer and hides a smirk when word is accepted-
B: -completely baffled- 'Lavalava?????'

Of course, it sucks when you think it exists, when it actually doesn't...
B: Challenge.
A: Sure. No problem.
B: -types word into computer- Not accepted.
A: WHAT??!! But... but... I thought... but... WHAT?!!! -sigh- -walks over and removes letters from the board dejectedly-

But sometimes one doesn't get challenged at all.
A: -Places 'ac' on the board- -stares at opponent, ready to be challenged-
B: -Goes on with his turn-
A: -Heaves a very silent, but very big sigh of relief- 'Sucker... -snicker-'

Then there's that obligation on ethics when it comes to being fair when using the clock.
-B doesn't press the clock eventhough it's A's turn-
A: 'Hmmm. Tell or don't tell? It's his own fault for not realising it... Hmmm... I'll just wait a moment more... Ladeedadeda' -takes own sweet time shuffling tiles-

At the end of the day, our minds were so 'scrabbled' that nothing but Scrabble tiles and Scrabble boards loomed in front of our eyes.

"Time to go home."
"Home... H-O-M-E. Home. 9 points..."

But heck, I wouldn't mind doing this all over again. :-)

Scrabble-d

Oh, lookey here... two posts in one day. I'm on a roll, baybeh.

I just stumbled upon the official Scrabble website and found the history of Scrabble on it.

Scrabble-Mania just started in me this year ever since I signed up for the Scrabble team, which I'm still not confirmed to be in yet or otherwise yet, fyi. but I'll know that for sure tomorrow.

One of my most vivid memories of Scrabble would be playing it with my mum and dad when I was much younger. I kept wondering why my dad could score so high marks and I was so pathetic. Sometimes, I even played it by myself... yeah, against myself. :P I always gave up halfway because it got too boring.

Back then, I played the game in the simplest way possible. Just place words on the board and count the points. I usually placed the first word I could think of and that was that.

But this year, I'm suddenly exposed to the world of Scrabble with heavy strategies. New terms were introduced to me by the school Scrabble Gurus like Xin Fang and seniors Yi Lyn and Audelia.

Front hooks, back hooks, stacking, and lists of 2 and 3 letter words, lists of Bingo words, etc. etc. Whoa... is this Scrabble? And dang, I'm having a blast. There's something really fascinating about watching these Scrabble Gurus tossing around tiles and explaining strategies. Who knew there were people who could make shifting tiles on the rack and tossing tiles on the board seem so intimidating and cool at the same time?

Anyway Jess, you asked you wondered what the history of Scrabble was, and whether it was designed by someone named S.C. Rabble.

Allow me to correct that sentiment. XD

Scrabble was started by this architect in Poughkeepsie in New York State named Alfred Mosher Butts. (I'm pretty thankful the game isn't called Buttler or Buttable...) And I quote the official Scrabble website;

Mild-mannered, bespectacled Butts disliked dice games. They were all down to luck. On the other hand, he felt that all-skill games, like chess, were too highbrow for the general public.

Yep. I don't know how to play chess... and have no intention on learning. XD

Anyway, during 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression, he developed the initial idea for the game, which he called Lexico.

'Lexico was played without a board and players scored on the basis of the lengths of the words formed. There were additional scores for words employing 'minor honours' (B, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y) and a higher additional score for major honours (J, K, Q, X, Z).

Butts calculated the letter frequency and value of each letter of the alphabet by meticulously combing the front page of the New York Times.

He reasoned that too many S's made the game too easy. So he reduced them to 4.'

However, the patent board did not like his idea much. He did a little more tinkering here and there, changing to names like New Anagrams, Alph, Criss-Cross then Criss-Crosswords.But all were still unsuccessful with the patent board.

'Then came the big breakthrough in the shape of James Brunot, an owner of one of the first Criss-Crosswords games.

The Brunots decided that the game needed a few finishing touches.

They rearranged the premium squares and simplified the rules, which were overly long and reconsidered the name of the game. Then they lodged a Copyright application, which was granted on 1 December, 1948.

Soon after, came the all important name change ! After much searching, they decided upon the name Scrabble for the game and managed to register the trademark on 16 December, 1948.'

The popularity of the game grew and never stopped growing. Ta-dah! And that's the history of Scrabble. Oh gee, is that the word 'Geek' written across my forehead? Oh, no. It's been there for a long time already. XD. Gonna go explore more of the Scrabble website now.

Fan Girl-ly Moment

CSI NY SPOILER ALERT

Not that it really matters... those who don't care for CSI NY can just turn away from now. Those who do care already know about this... :P

-Throws all dignity aside and starts squeeing and flailing- Yes, for those who don't know, I am actually extremely capable of that.

If I wasn't clear the first time, SPOILER ALERT.

For the first time ever, we have a CSI wedding. Yeah, I suppose it's still called a wedding if the wife-to-be is already 7 months pregnant, the couple tied the knot in jeans, and their two bosses are their only guests (One of which is dressed even more smartly than the groom, by the way...).

The Danny/Lindsay relationship has long been a hate-it-completely or OMG-I-love-them with the fans of the show. It's only one of the two extremes. And in case you haven't picked up already, I'm a die hard fan. As in, the kind who remembers all the dialogues and has all the videos.

CSI's got the bug-man, Grissom, recently featured in Star Two. CSI Miami's got the H-Man and his Mighty Black Frames, Horatio, who has also been recently featured (and mocked) in Star Two as well... Remember the CSI Miami movie featuring Horatio's glasses? XD And now CSI NY's got a shot gun wedding between the show's Drama King and country girl. Geez. Gotta love the franchise. XD

Check out the promo, it made me almost get teary-eyed. Almost...




Right. With that enthusiam out of the way, subject shift.

The first term exams just ended and the momentum has shifted to competition season. It's time for the students to disappear regularly from class and for the respective teachers to start complaining about the fact.
It's time for students to start strategizing which lessons they can skip and get away with, and which lessons have teachers who will make students sorry they ever bothered to ask to be excused.

And then, it's also Sports Day season. So we have marching fever, banner painting mania and a whole load of running around. Ain't school life grand? (Depict that sentence in whichever tone you want.)

But seriously, I believe in living this final year of school to the fullest. And if that means I have to balance Drama, Scrabble, societies, prefect duties and studies all in one and pass out at the end of each day, then so be it. Patsy's latest post (Check the side links) on loneliness in a new place really meant something to me. While leaving Form 5 may be the start of a brand new wonderful adventure, it also means leaving behind some of the best times of your life.

So for goodness sake, just cos' it's SPM year, don't bury yourselves in books and forget to really live. For your own sake, and your high school friends. :-)

THERE! I finally posted a REAL update. Now quit bugging me about me about blog-updating. XD

Driving Round the Bend... Soon...

Wa-hayy! Only two more weeks of holidays left... then it's back to secondary school for the very last time.

The friggin' internet connection keeps going out on me. I have refreshed the 'Whose Line is it Anyway' videoclips on YouTube four times already. It's my latest addiction. If anyone passes my room and hears maniacal laughter from inside, do not fret. It's just me laughing at four dudes, occasionally three dudes, one dudette, spouting hilarious (if sometimes dirty) roll-over-on-your-stomach jokes. They're geniuses I tell you!
Ah... turns out my brother turned off the modem. :P -Refreshes for fifth time-

This has been a dead blog for a while, because nothing much happened over the holidays, except occasional SPBT work with Ms Koay (fun, fun, fun! O.0) and watching CSI DVDs and of course, Whose Line.

The most eventful thing this hols so far, is me signing up to get my driver's license. As my birthday is in January, my parents thought it easier for me to get all the tedious theory parts out of the way while I am free so I can jump straight to actual driving once I turn 17.

Tedious is right. The first step in this teenager rite of passage is to sit through 5 hours of lectures. The first guy that came in to speak went on describing various road accidents because of careless drivers etc.

-whoops! and there goes the internet connection again!-grrkkksss-refresh, refresh, refresh-

The second guy, was an ex-military man. Needless to say, he was kinda scary. XD What was worse was that he spoke pretty fast and not too clearly. So while you're straining hard to try and decipher what he was saying, he is suddenly staring at you expectantly for an answer to the question you did not hear.

After the lecture, it was time to head home and study the KPP, Kurikulum Pendidikan Pemandu. One and a half weeks later, I headed to the computer centre right opposite Pn Gwee's house to take the computer test. It was pretty late when I got there and there was a whole bunch of people waiting for their turn. So I pretty much spent the time staking-out Pn Gwee's home. :P Whoops!

It was two hours before I got to go in to take the test. I finished the test in 9 minutes (I guess I just wanted to get the heck outta there... :P). Ta-daaa... a nice Saturday morning gone just like that.

One week later, it was time for yet another lecture. Three hours this time. And I had a fit of panic because I was apparently still underage and not supposed to be there. Pfft. And it was that military man delivering the lecture again. Thank goodness I wasn't kicked outta there, and my three hours was logged in officially anyway. -phew-

The conditions for passing the computer test were pretty lenient. But the actual driving test itself sounded pretty tough to me. Or maybe it was just because of the way the lecturer talked about the ways one could fail during the testing in the circuit... :P Either way, I'm pretty nervous.

But there's nothing left to do but wait until my birthday. I can't get my license til' then and duh, I can't get into the driver's seat until then. Ergo, it's back to boredom. Interestingly, it's not from the lack of things to do, it's more of the lack of things I want to do. Yes, every one of us probably remembers our teachers' dire warnings to study during the holidays....

But hey, it's called a holiday for a reason right???

Hyuk, remember Ms Chow's conversation with us after she gave us our absymal Physics marks. I think it went something like this:

Ms Chow: 'W' equals?
-class stumped-
Ms Chow: What lah... cannot even tell me the answer! Watch TV summore lah! Watch that, what ah... Astro On Demand wan... Gem something...
Ee Vern: The Gem of Life?
Ms Chow: Hah! Yes! Gem of Life. See?? What did I tell you? -asks Ee Vern- 'W' equals what?
Ee Vern: Err...
Ms Chow: See lah! I never ask you also, you can tell me Gem of Life! Ask you 'W' equals what also dunno...
Ee Vern: Oh! Mass times gravity!
Ms Chow: Haaahhh. Good. I'm not saying cannot watch TV, but don't watch so much lah. Watch maybe one hour a day will do. Don't be like me, watch Gem of Life back to back episodes all night long wan...
-class starts laughing-

It's memories like these, and when I'm lying on my bed in a trance of pathetic boredom that make me almost wish it was time to go back to school. Almost.

On the bright side, I'll be heading to KL tomorrow to catch Mamamia! the Musical with my mum and aunt and cousin, whom I haven't spent time with in a long time. Looking forward to it!

Til' then. Buh-bye!

The Big One Zero Zero

I don't know about other shows, but the CSI franchise is big on celebrations when they hit their 100th episode. CSI's 100th delved into the world of transgenders, CSI Miami meanwhile, has, and I quote Kristine Huntly (resident reviewer of TalkCSI), 'has all hallmarks of the show: Horatio's heroics, a child in danger, meddling government agents, scheming rich people, strife among the team that ultimately gives way to cohesion and a daring final rescue.'

If we were in the US of A, the 100th episode of CSI NY will be premiering in two hours. Or rather, 12 hours, if we were to really follow their time.

I am not being biased when I say that CSI NY has the most interesting 100th yet. Really!!

Excuse me:

Some maniac is going around killing all the Mac Taylors' in the city.
Guest stars include: Nelly, Chris Daughtry, Rumer Willis and Scott Wolf. Like, can I get a 'woot!'?

And the guest star list on TalkCSI is just hilarious to read:

• David Haley as Macdonald Taylor
• Mark Musashi as Mackiyo Taylor
• Chris Daughtry as Machiavelli Taylor
• Scott Wolf as Mackinley Taylor
• Rumer Willis as Mackendra Taylor
• Ryan Happy as Macabee Taylor

Throw in McChicken, McFlurry and Big Mac so we can all have a party!

Check out the promo:





(Chris Daughtry) Mac Taylor: Sorry, I didn't get your name. I'm sure we'll all like to know the name of the officer who understands our frustrations...
(Gary Sinise) Mac Taylor: I am Detective....... Mac Taylor.

Hyuk!

Now we just have to wait until April next year before we actually get to watch it.

Masters of the drinks stall

I'm not really sure why we volunteered to help out in our primary school's 'Fun at CGL' fair today. Gratitude to them for the first 6 years of our schooling life perhaps? XD Ah, whatever. We're just funny that way. Lol. It was quite a lot of fun anyway, other than the usual tiredness (and constant complains as if we are being tortured :P) from standing so darn long serving drinks to people. But that was an experience within itself, where plenty of lessons were learnt. Lessons that we don't learn in the classroom. Among them are:

1. Pearls (those round chewy bits of tapioca found in 'Bubble Milk Tea') get really, really, really sticky when left out in the open air for too long a time. And two flimsy plastic spoons are definitely not the solution to that problem.

2. The reason as to why those things are called 'Pearls' is unknown to me. But there is quite extensive info on 'Bubble Milk Tea' on Wikipedia (Is there anything that isn't in there??) so check it out if you have nothing better to do... Whoops. -Siapa yang memakan cili, dialah yang rasa pedas-

3. I'm downright clumsy when it comes to filled paper/plastic cups. I managed to knock over about 5 cups in about 2 hours. All in front of dear, patient Pn Rajes.
Me: -knocks over cup- Whoopsss!!
Pn. Rajes: Nevermind, nevermind... -proceeds to wipe ice off the table patiently-

4. The drinks stall does not have enough space for 5 teens to prepare drinks.

5. Not closing the cover properly of the container used to shake the 'Bubble Milk Tea' provides an entertaining show for awaiting customers.
Jonie: -Shakes viciously, pink juice flies in every direction- ARRGGHHH!! -juice dripping from her face-
-Phaik Chern, Jo and I, who were nearest, gets splashed on our backs and hair- AAHHHHHH!!! J0-NIE!! -freezes in whatever we were doing to stare at dripping Jonie-
Customers: WAHHHHH!!!!!/OOHHHHH!!!/HAHAHAHAHAHA!
-Tricia scuttles by carrying a huge jug of crushed ice-
Tricia: -gleefully- I didn't kena! I didn't kena! Hahaha...

6. Hui Lynn is one dang -greedy- bargainer.
Hui Lynn: More pearls!
-Jo empties a spoon of pearls save for two-
Hui Lynn: Oi! Why you leave behind two wan?!
Jo: Ok, ok! -empties the rest-

7. Teachers have more energy than students do.
Long after we had collapsed onto chairs, exhausted, the teachers were still on their feet, hard at work.
Jo: Why you so active wan??
Jo's mum: Why you so half dead wan??!

8. No matter how systematically we plan things out, everything just becomes a mess later.
H2O cup! ICE! ICE!
YAM! GREEN APPLE!
HOW MANY?
Uh.... DOESN'T MATTER! JUST MAKE LAH!!

9. Quality control of products isn't very good.
Jonie: Put syrup ledi ah not?
Jolene: Uh..... dunno, dunno...
Jonie: -contemplates cup for a moment- Ah! Whatever lah! -pours in syrup-
Esther: OI! Put ledi lah! You want to give me diabetes is it??!

10. People just disappear. It just happens.
Phaik Chern: Yam, yam! Who ordered the yam?! -waves cup around-
-No one answers-
Phaik Chern: What the-???? I thought...??? Argghhhh.....

11. Many kids need a lesson in 'Correct Names To Call Elders'
Kid: Aunty! Aunty! Milo Ais one! O.o

12. We all have different reactions to the same stimulus.
Kid: Aunty! Aunty!
Me: -other than a tight smile and 'Call me 'Aunty' one more time....' running through my mind, does not react, cos' I'm just nice that way (Yes, Jess. :P)-

Kid: Aunty! Aunty!
Someone else, though I'm not sure who: I'm going to pour syrup on the next person who calls me that...

Kid: Aunty! Aunty!
Jolene: -holds back cup- I'm not giving this to you until you stop calling me 'Aunty'

Kid: Aunty! Aunty!
Shankeetha: -Serves the kid and waits until the kid leaves- BWAHAHAHA! She just called me aunty! I am so insulted!!
-Jolene's mum bursts into laughter in the background-

So, ta-daa. Many lessons learnt. So glad it's only one week left of school to go. Catch ya' later.

Exam Breeds

I see that people tag me just to see me update. Hyuk. What? It's exam season. And I have spent the last few days liberally burning jars and jars of midnight oil despite the fact that the Earth's oil supply is slowly running out...

The worst of the papers are over so now I can look back and see how humorous the whole thing was. Of course, it wasn't at all funny at the time...

EXAM BREEDS
(based on what I hear and experience myself, so I've probably missed out some other kinds)
- The disciplined, kuai-kuai, good girls
They have the sense to study early and sleep way before 1 a.m. They know how to arrange their time well, they started studying about a month ago (maybe two) and they are the most calm before the papers.
dot dot dot
-Bursts out laughing- I'm sorry... know anyone like that?

- The Pull-All-Nighters and Sleep-All-'Day-ers'
You know who you are. :-) I found your recap of your sleeping schedule very interesting. All night long on Sunday, all night long on Monday, slept all day long on Tuesday and studied all night long again. Lots and lots of coffee involved. I'm admire that you actually look so fresh and bouncy in the morning. But then again, you look fresh and bouncy every morning. And mostly throughout the day. Especially when Meryl Streep is around.
Now everyone knows who I am talking about. MUAKS, darling. I don't find you amusing. I find you interesting and a very fun character. I can see you giving me the death glare as you read this.
But I digress.
Despite all this, these kind of students still do perfectly well in the exams. Hence, the last-minute studying theory works for some but doesn't work for others. So choose according to your needs! :P (trying to make sure I don't get in trouble here...)

-The Doze-Off-and-On-Regularly-Through-the-Night-With-Textbooks-Covering-Their-Faces
or
-I-Will-Do-This-No-Matter-What
The name speaks for itself. Stamina not as high as the all-nighter one. I think the little naps count for small recharging times... Gotta admire your will power. Again, you know who you are.

- The To-Hell-With-It-I-Don't-Care-Anymore
Hehe. Again, you know who you are, having said those exact words to me. These kinds study well, but when a certain 'boiling point' is reached, books get thrown aside with a 'blah!' and they go online and channel out the frusrations.

- The Study-Until-the-Very-Last-Minute
Very common I would say. Books stay glued in the hand from the house (even when changing and brushing teeth perhaps...) in the car/bus and all the way to class, up to the moment the exam starts. Many discussions are held with fellow students, checking facts with one another in a frenzy. I think there's a bit of that in all of us.

Then, there's me. At least it was like this for this exam. Mid year was kind of similar but not as bad. I think this week was the worst for me. But as I said earlier, looking back, I can laugh. Although at the time I probably felt more like crying. XD

I think I'd call myself the:
'Insaf'-Procrastinator-But-It's-Too-Late-To-Be-Sorry
which results in:
'The-Exam-Strategist- (Which I see in a couple other people too)

First, I have said this to myself half a dozen times in the past week, at 1 a.m in the morning:
'Whoever is listening up there, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I will never, never, never ever (don't hold me up on that though... :P) leave revision this late again!!' -sighs and flips textbook page with an expression of utter defeat-

And then, the desperate strategist kicks in.
'Ok, if I wake up at 3 pm, I can finish 3 chapters before dinner (provided I hurry). After dinner, I have to finish another 4 chapters (starts to panic). I should be done by 1 a.m, because I wouldn't be able to last any longer. I can go to bed and wake up at 5 a.m and finish reading Chapter 9 and 10... then, I once I come home from school, I am going to sleep for an hour and begin the same cycle all over again. Alright. Let's go.' -cracks knuckles, all gung-ho-

Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that exam season also bring out the best strategists in the worst of procrastinators.

School life is great, ain't it not?

Pffft.

At the end of the day, exams? Unavoidable. Swotting hard? Inevitable. A few years off our life span? Probably. Or at least a few more white hairs.
But heck, it's school life and every moment should be taken as a blessing. Or at least, take the fun moments as the blessing and blank out after exams by writing a long post laughing about it.
How we face the papers are one thing. The results are another, but now is not the time to discuss that.
Heh, come to think of it... we suffer now, the teacher's suffer later. I mean, our papers have to end up somewhere while we celebrate, right? Kinda makes me think of 'Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be converted from one form to another'

Student stress + Exam papers --------------> Teacher stress + Exam papers

Heh. This looks like precipitation through double decomposition.

ARGHHH!! STOP! STOP! It's over for goodness sake.

And I'm not doing the tag yet btw. Gonna go eat dinner first. And sleep for at least 12 hours tonight.

Si Pemalas Finally Updates

BEFORE anyone says anything else, the Si Pemalas term I am using here is in reference to my blog updating frequency, ok. Don't you get started on that 'If you are lazy, what am I?' stuff again... :P

Ok, the latest news (or stale now, in this case) is of course, Negeri Sembilan. I will once again prove my wonderful hardworkingness by not writing about those four days spent there. Instead, here are the links to the people who have been hardworking enough to write about our time there.

(Most) Pictures courtesy of me, by the way. :-) (Since no one had been kind enough to credit me for the painstaking picture taking... hyuk! XD)

http://emotion-full.blogspot.com/2008/08/negeri-sembilan-digi-ad.html
Esther's Digi Ad... thanks a lot. Now the tune is stuck in my head. :P

http://caramelapples11.livejournal.com/75552.html
Phaik Chern's picspam.

Ah well, it was fun in some parts. The only all girl team, the only English sketch, probably the noisiest dorm... It's pretty cool that we brought a nice 3rd placing back.

Knowing me, I'll probably disappear for the next month again. Ta ta til' then.

Words you can't find anywhere else

We are creative people or rather, we are dumb and weird people. Whichever of those words you use, you'd be right. That's why a whole new different vocabulary exists in our conversations with one another. Here are the most well-used words. Expect them to be in the next edition of the Oxford Dictionary, as I will be submitting them in. Dot dot dot (see below).

1. Stuuu

As in: "Aiyah! I'm so stuuuu!" "Why so stuuu?" "Arrgghh! So stuuuu!!"

It is actually the abbreviation of the word 'stupid'. Created by our very own class monitor, Jonie, it's not actually used by anyone except herself. But she uses it so often that everyone of course knows the word. The usage of this word increased rapidly this year when she gained the post as monitor. We can only guess how much stress the poor girl goes through trying to control us. Hence, stuuu.... (Best uttered in the most 'Canto' manner possible)

2. 'O'

As in:
"I can't stand all the books arranged so messily..."
"Hahaha.... you are so 'O'..."

Short for OCD, which is short for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Tricia started calling me that ever since she came over to my place and saw that I arranged my CDs in alphabetical order. (Don't you start!!)
My 'O'ness has since become a source of great fun for her. Whenever I was not in the room or when my attention was diverted, she and Jolene tried stuff like rearranging my CDs upside down, rearranging the position of my stuffed dog and cat, shifting the arm of my Snoopy Statue of Liberty so the torch was pointing towards it's butt, and worst of all, taking all my colour pens and hiding them all over my room. Bleh. Mind you, she's 'O' too. At least I don't rewrite my entire Maths homework paper because there were small smudges on it. XD
Since that day, any slight display of a tendency towards neatness will earn that person the declaration of being 'O'.

3. Du

As in: While doing Differentiation work: "I can't do this anymore! I feel so du!"

Relatively new. I just came up with it yesterday. Means 'gone blur' or something along those lines. Only applicable when one is doing Add Maths, Differentiation. Originated from the formula du/dx. Uttered when one goes completely confused with the question and starts to see du/dx and dy/dx everywhere.

4. Kabur... 'plat'

As in:
Somebody does a mistake indicating pure blurness.
"Hahaha..." (points and laughs) "Kabur... plat."

This phrase came about a long time ago. In fact, I think since primary school. Not sure who came up with it, I think Jess. Kabur is of course, 'blur' in Malay. This phrase is always accompanied by mimicking the action of scribbling the word 'kabur' on one's palm, and 'pasting' it onto the blur person, (hence, the 'plat' sound). Not so popular anymore, but I still find it funny anyway.

5. hah?

Universal. Everyone knows this. Everyone uses it, especially after a particularly confusing lesson. Means confusion. Of course. Can be used as a monosyllable word, "hah?" or can be dragged on for a long while, usually when one isn't really concentrating on what the other is saying, "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah.....?"

6. Ro

Not exactly an invented word, just the history behind how we learnt this word was funny. Ro, in Physics, is used to represent density. It's actually the 17th letter in the Greek alphabet, written like a 'p'. Here's how 'kabur... plat' we were.

Ms Chow: -writes symbol on the board- this is 'ro'. What is it?
Whole class: -dutifully- Ro.....
Ms. Chow: Haiyah! I knowlah, 'ro'! What is it??
Whole class: Hah?
Ms. Chow: Density lah!!
Whole class: Ohhhhhhh..... -starts laughing-

Priceless.

7. Dot dot dot

As in:
-random thought- "I like bananas. Do you like bananas? I like bananas."
"Dot dot dot"

Comes from chat speak, '. . .' Only, we can't type that in real conversations right, so we say it out loud. Dot dot dot. Usually used when one thinks the other has said something weird and has no reply to his/her strange statement.

Ok, better get back to my homework now. Buh-bye.

Senility

Couldn't figure out how to turn on the sound for the powerpoint during Physics...
(neither could the teacher and two lab techs btw...)
... turned out that we didn't turn on the switch for the speakers.

-----------

Worried the heck out of myself that had I passed up my Add Maths notes without underlining at the end (you know how Ms Ho gets about lines)...

... was debating how to get the book back as inconspicuously as possible...

... lifted my text book to find my notes lying right below it.

-------------

Forgot my Maths 5 ... for the second time in two weeks...
(At least I realized it this time. Last week, I didn't even know I didn't pass it up until she called out my name...)

-------------

Said 'Bye' to Jess on Google Talk when the message was actually for Phaik Chern...

fern: haha. bye

Jessica: bbs

fern: whoops.

wrong place

Jessica: ?

fern: i was saying bye to phaik chern

not you

hahaha

Jessica: sheesh

------------

Left my choral speaking script and notebook full of choral speaking reminders (not to mention a load of other school stuff...) in the school hall...

------------

Went to my room and back downstairs, forgetting what I was going down to do...

-----------

Two and a half weeks til' the mid-year exams and I am going senile.
How are you doing?

Night Before Results

T'was the night before results,
And all through Penang,
PMR students
Lie in their beds.
While results were sent to schools by JPN,
Or at least I think so, I really don't care.

The students were nestled,
All snug in their beds,
While visions of straight As,
Danced in their heads.
Dreams and nightmares
Attacked our heads,
One after another woke up drenched in cold sweat.

All over Penang, even teacher's weren't spared,
Dreams of 'Purata 2.0' gave them quite a scare,
Away to the kitchen, for some strong herbal tea,
Given on Christmas by Aunt McBee.
Fine, I'm kidding, I tend to exaggerate,
Please don't hit me, I tend to bruise real quick.
The syllables in this song are getting really wild,
It's not sounding like The Night Before Christmas anymore.

Right I better get right back on the track,
10 am tomorrow, we will gather.
Some will shout and squeal in delight,
While others will moan all through the night.
How was BM, and English and also Science and Maths?
How bout KH, and Geo and Sejarah and Islam?
From 300 word essays to 60 objective questions,
Now hurry up, hurry up, we can't wait no more.

3 am past, and an hour more,
We still lie awake, partly cos' our sisters snore.
Where did the blissful month go,
When we 'holidayed' our life away, it seemed barely a mo',
Now one week remains, and back into school,
That is if we're still alive,
Once our parents are done with us.

This is turning to be one really long song,
And I have to get going for a haircut now,
So I'll cut this short just like my hair,
And wish everyone all the luck I can spare.
See you tomorrow, early and bright,
May we all hopefully be screaming to our hearts delight.
Merry Christmas,
And good night.

*Ahem*
Yeah, someone had nothing better to do... =p
Good luck and best wishes to all, anyway. :-)

The Cute Doggy

Tricia! I finally uploaded the video!

This video that I took during the SPCA camp ought to be sent in to America's (or should I say, Malaysia's) funniest animal videos.

Note: Holly was not harmed in the making of this video.. Irritated maybe, but certainly not harmed. (Heck, who wouldn't be irritated with being disturbed while trying to sleep? I admire Holly's persistance though...)