Still Standing, Optimistically Or Not.

Deserted

2009-03-20T22:28:00.004+08:00

I know that I have been neglecting this blog of mine for one too many ~~days~~ weeks now. Just a few quotes to... Bring my blog back from its hibernation.

Aunt: Does the desert have sunrise and sunset?
Me: Yeah! Of course.
Aunt: CORRECT! Do you know who told me 'no'? Your mum!
Mum: What?!
Aunt: Last time, when we were on a trip in Vegas, your mum waited to see the sunrise and sunset but she after such a long time, she couldn't see any difference so she thought it was like that in the desert.
Mum: *semi-argues and mumbles about her theory on the desert's horizon*

This was by my cousin, Patrick:
One day, he went jungle trekking with his friends. It was pitch black, they couldn't see anything. He only had a small penlight and it was quite dim in the dark. All of them went to brush our teeth and stuff at a river, you see. So, he brought his toiletries bag, of course.

Suddenly, he heard someone whispering to him, turned out to be his friend.
Friend: Eh, Patrick, Patrick... Could you lend me some toothpaste?
Patrick: Oh! Sure, of course.
*Fishes out item and passes it to his friend who rushes off*

After that, he pulled out another similar tube and checks it with his penlight.
Eh, how come my toothpaste is here?
OH MY GOD! I GAVE HIM THE DEEP HEAT!

Friend: What the hell!? Patrick, why is this toothpaste so bloody hot? *curses off in the distance*

And that is supposed to last till... Priority to my English Blog cos I need to fill up ze weekly quota. Whoopdedoo...

*edit* I MUST SHARE THIS WITH ALL THE OURAN & VAMPIRE KNIGHT FANS. JUST READ IT! XD
A Super "KYAA~..." Cross-over.
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8

Just Listen

2009-02-24T23:28:00.002+08:00

I read an e-book last weekend and it was not too bad... I was expecting a little more from Sarah Dessen in Just Listen but it was not as great as the other two books (This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever). The couple from This Lullaby, Remy and Dexter made a special appearance in the book, which to me, is kind of cool! XD I like Remy and Dexter's relationship and how they balance out each other better than the couple in Just Listen - Annabel and Owen. I find Owen's character to be less interesting than Dexter and Wes (The Truth About Forever). What I did enjoy, however, was how the author brought out Annabel's sisters. She illustrated their change in personalities and life experiences very nicely. All in all, I somehow guessed the mystery of Annabel halfway through the book, so the story was kind of predictable and I felt that it was a little draggy. :/ 6 out of 10 for this book here:

The couple's development was not too interesting, with only different aspects to them. I am currently updating my English blog more often... maybe I should move my banner as well. XD Too lazy to do so though.

I also watched Wall-E on Sunday. Since there was not much dialogue, everything was focused upon the graphics and characters to bring out the story. And since when has Pixar ever disappointed?I have been a loyal fan since Toy Story, A Bug's Life (watched it over and over again) and Monsters Inc. (repeat) to Ratatouille etc. Call me a childish person for enjoying cartoons and animation but it appeals to all, especially Pixar. I like Wall-E's storyline. It is adorable and meaningful, giving us a wake-up call (the immobile obese humans and rubbish skyscrapers) and having that Disney touch (typical love and hope). 10 out of 10! I loved it. :D

Happenings

2009-01-21T21:35:00.003+08:00

Just when I was about to load the page on Youtube regarding how to draw Zero... Youtube goes haywire yet somehow I am able to post this blog entry. -_-" Speaking of blogs, my blog maintenance is terrible. To add more work to our already humongous pile of homework, we MUST update our English blogs with at least 3 entries per week. Being the lazy sloth I am, I neglected said English blog and by far, I have to update 4 more posts to complete the quota for this week and last week. Indeed.

During the two weeks of school, I have learned that Chemistry is by far, the only Science class which I have not slept in. But I am trying my best to not sleep in all my classes. Onward with this determined effort of mine. On the other hand, I have managed to yawn more than a million times without getting caught. Mr. Sheat can actually detect people who try to not yawn and people who yawn. Next week we have a whole week off for Chinese New Year! Yippee... :D I have a bad feeling that I will be procrastinating the homework to the very last minute. Four periods of Chemistry tomorrow! Let's hope not to go 'downstairs', shall we? -_-" Cempaka Voices this Friday... Being in the front row is. NOT. FUN. Especially when you get influenced easily by the other voices and go off-tune. Bleh.

Wahaha... My new obsession is Count Cain from the intriguing horror and murder-mystery manga series. Yeah, Shu Fei... I am blaming you on this one. Especially when I push aside my Add Maths homework to read said manga. Off to homework, then CAIN....!

A Happier New Year To You

2009-01-01T00:43:00.003+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Since Maxis is officially malfunctioning or rather, over crowded and that other thing which leads to my failed SMSes... I am in Genting, aren't I? Plain great. Speaking of great, I am currently addicted to Great DJ by The Ting Tings. I like the simplicity of the song and the way it plays out quite nicely.

I went for the Leo Ku concert just now. That dude can sing quite well, I DID NOT SLEEP! Yeah, it was that good. Maybe it was also due to the fact that I was busy snapping photos and recording videos (this person came over with the warning sign just when I finished recording, BOO to you, sign-personnel!) of him throughout the concert. I have been to Sammi Cheng, Alan Tam and Aaron Kwok's concerts before, all in which I had some shut-eye and did not enjoy much. -_-" Canto-pop has never really been my cup of tea. Then came Leo Ku's concert. We were seated up front and I could take as many satisfying photos (no one was there to block my view, thank goodness) and a few *ahem ahem* ~~filming is strictly prohibited~~ videos. Jolene che che and Ah Wei koko could not make it at the very last minute because Cassandra was unwell and they had to take care of her in the hospital. Poor kiddo woke up to vomit a few times last night and threw up whatever that was given to her. :( Oh well... I did manage to record Jolene che che's favourite song for her: 愛與誠 (Oi Yu Seng) Love and Honesty. I remember a few years ago, when this song first came out and she sang along to it in the car. XD Haha! Personally, I think he sings quite well and he performed very nicely. I wouldn't mind his songs. :P Somehow, he has that innocent baby face.

I trying to tolerate the fact that both Yuurisan Subs and Hatsuyuki Fansubs' websites are DOWN. Subbed VKG 12, when will we meet?! Undoubtedly, patience is of essence while waiting.

I leave you with the video of 愛與誠 Love and Honesty by Leo Ku, one of the only 2 Leo Ku songs which I know of. XD

Once again, Happy New Year 2009!

Satisfied or Plain Glad

2008-12-31T01:05:00.006+08:00

Ah... So we did get our PMR results. I reached school a little late and all, but I am happy that I missed the earlier part. Somehow, I felt this tinge of nervousness as I was entering the school gates. Then again, 7 A's and a B for Chinese. Yippee! Glad. Glad. Glad. Thank god, I got a 'B' for Chinese and not for the other subjects! XD I await my present in form of a subbed VKG 13. Speaking of presents...

WAHAHHAHA! An original Spongebob t-shirt! :D I am super thankful for this shirt. Yes, the photo's quality is not great, but IT'S MY SHIRT NOW and I love it so much already. :P My brother bought it from Bali. :) Yippee! Till next year... And beyond! Congratulations to all the Form 3's! :) I have read Sarah Dessen's "This Lullaby" and it is such a nice book. Not too chic lit-ish, ideal for some light reading and some heart-warming moments. :) Sarah Dessen is definitely the way to go if you feel fed up of those cliche teen books. There is a certain zest to her stories yet the charm and appeal to teen books is still there. READ!

Currently reading:

Am I on the Dessen band wagon? I think I am. Props to Giuleta for lending these two awesome books to me. They cured my unwillingness to read all in all. Just in time for school, eh? Happy New Year!

Wrapping Havoc

2008-12-23T22:59:00.002+08:00

I have quite a fair bit on my to-do list, but I simply had to squeeze in these two videos. The original Paradise Kiss' opening song by Tommyfebruary6 and the same song in... SPANISH. Try comparing them. I prefer the Japanese version, but the Spanish one has a quirk to it. Interesting stuff. Well, that might be due to the fact that I ~~never~~ rarely listen to Spanish songs.

Español version:

Original ParaKiss Opening:

Now, I have to continue wrapping presents. :) It might be a tad bit early, but all the same... Merry Christmas! :D

Hanging On

2008-12-21T11:03:00.000+08:00

Before I announce theI just watched VKG Ep. 11, so you should understand what a fragile (crazy) state I am in as of now. Either the twincest was doing my head in, or I just cannot wait for the darn anime to come to an END. I bet you there will be another cliffhanger ending and then maybe... Vampire Knight Season 3? XD Since I am only listening to Ep. 11 as I type now, I noticed that Zero's scream is horrible (emo because, duh... his twin died) and Kaname's voice is sometimes followed with an echo (to give him that 'effect'). Apart from that, I am fawning over the fact that I have the ultimate ZERO & ICHIRU screenshot. XD

KYAAAAAAAA~! And just for references, Zero is the one in green. XD They were too adorable to resist. The anime is ending in 3 episodes... :/ At least I will have the manga! 24 DECEMBER... then CHRISTMAS time! :D Yippeeee!

In other news, I just came back from the Gold Expedition on Tuesday. The mountains were nice, hard on the legs, but interesting nonetheless. I learned that rocks can become your enemies (mine, at least) and you must have good climbing partners. From Timpohon Gate to Laban Rata, it was fun to talk with Alexis about anime and stuff. She even translated what the Japanese tourists were saying! I was practically shouting for subtitles when a Japanese lady said something to me. I guess fansubbers should NEVER be taken for granted in any way. :) Priyangkha, Alvin and Audrey just went full speed ahead of us. Andrea ran uphill. 0.0

Woke up around 1.30AM for the Summit Attack. Low's Peak is a trick name. If it was not for Audrey, Alvin and VK, I would be stumbling around the rocks, or even worse, sleeping on them. :S Sounds just like me, eh? At some point, I DID feel like sleeping on those nice, cool, flat rocks. Meanwhile, Alexis decided to go on WITHOUT ANY REST (I was drowsy but she was like a rocket). When I finally made it up to the peak (after seeing a few other misleading peaks), I missed the sunrise but managed to chomp down some KitKat. The chocolate felt like it had been refrigerated and had never tasted so good. I was laughing at the people making their way up the rocky path. After taking photos, I adjourned to Laban Rata with Giuleta, who was lucky enough to have a porter/guide show her the easier (safer and smarter) routes. :)

Coming down was another story. Since I was in group 6 (quite behind as there are about 9 groups), I trudged down the rocks in my uncomfortable pair of sandals (STUPID ME) which made me risk several slips (I did not fall down, thank goodness). I even killed time killing Alexis and Priyangkha with my unpleasant grumbling, groaning and constant complaints. We made it despite everything (or not I would not be here typing) though! :) Poring Hot Springs helped soothe our muscles (count out the stairs) and then... PULAU SAPI! Paradise! XD Makes me think of Paradise Kiss. The water was crystal clear and we could snorkel by the beach, which was amazing! I also went on the Banana Boat and FlyFish. Both were fun, but I prefer the Flyfish more. I was screaming like a madwoman, trying to con Priyangkha and Alexis, but it did not work out so well. Oh well. We all laughed till our stomachs hurt. :D Later on, we went snorkelling. I even kicked a rock in the water. Interesting.

Our last night at the Kinabalu Daya hotel was sheer bliss. Clean rooms + HOT WATER + smooth, tiled floors + TV = heaven. :) I watched a movie called Full Time Killer (I think) and one of the main characters, portrayed by Andy Lau was called Tok. XD Hahahaha! The next day, we bought some things at the Phillipino market before leaving KK for good. All was fine at the airport till I had to board the plane. I SAW THE RED STAIRS and started laughing spontaneously until we were up in the air. :S Hmm... It is still a mystery to me. Listened to jokes and played cards with Pryangkha and Alia on board the plane. Lots of jokes and plenty of laughs, so much that a woman from behind Priyangkha's seat was giving me evil stares. She called us 'pasar malam'. Haha! XD I will never forget the bus journey from LCCT to Cempaka Damansara. :) The entire trip was a fantastic experience, excluding the leg pain, of course.

To Love More Than One

2008-12-08T13:20:00.006+08:00

Thanks to the wonderful world of anime, I finally gave in and watched Paradise Kiss. XD To think that 3 years ago I was whining on how bugging their advertisements were when Animax was first introduced. I LOVE GEORGE!! Haha... More affectionately known as Georgee! XD No need to fear, Zero will still remain in my heart as number ONE. But for now, I present George (GEORGEE!!). :D The super suave, blue-haired and blue-eyed guy who doubles as a model and designer.

I read the manga as well after completing the anime, because I was dissatisfied with the ending. But reality sucks and Yukari thought that she and George couldn't click because they had different priorities apart from the love. Ahem. Ahem. Eesh. Fine, there were 'those' moments. At the very end, I became even more upset with the manga's ending. Why would you choose boring Tokumori over the amazing George?! WHY, oh, WHY?? But other than that, Georgee was so hot! Ahahaha. Wow. I have yet another anime love. :D Other than that, I am considering more SHOUJO. Then again, I have Vampire Knight, House, Heroes and Grey's to keep up with. :S Maybe I need to reschedule? Most probably after the Kinabalu trip. The bad thing about me is, if I watch the anime, I will read the manga, vice versa.

Speaking of Kinabalu, I am still packing for the trip. I still need to buy long-sleeved t-shirts because I own about... One, I think. Apart from that, I have to buy my windbreaker and await the chocolates (which I specifically asked my brother to buy from London). Whee... Kit Kat and Cadbury at the peak of Mt. Kinabalu, with clattering teeth as well. The weather up there is freezing cold, mix in the steady pour of rain and I might just come back with a nose as red as Rudolph's. Christmas... I have yet to go gift shopping. I did attend the Heartbeat concert last Friday at DUMC though. It was an eye-opener to what Christmas really is and the performances were really well done. They had people from Ghana performing and even a Japanese church-goer sing a carol in Japanese! Not to mention the other countries we 'visited' throughout the concert. The message was clear and simple, yet it held a wonderful meaning. Christmas is not all about presents, Christmas trees and turkey, but the spirit and joy to last all year round. :) Despite everything, I am still proud of my Christmas tree and I cannot wait for the big day itself. :D Searching up some paper snowflakes to make. Curbly is good. And Instructables is killing me.

Alexandra's Weekly TV Schedule:
MON:
- Check VK website for new episodes

TUES:
- Download Heroes
- Check VK

WED:
- Download House
- Check VK

THURS:
- Check VK

FRI:
- Download Grey's
- Check VK

SAT:
- Get PO-d if VK is not up

SUN:
- Re-check VK or try to stay patient if VK is not up

Yes, I am a crazy Vampire Knight fan. I check Vampire Knight Heaven almost everyday. -_-" But House and Heroes and maybe even, Grey's Anatomy make me happy while I wait patiently. Haha. I just saw a funny scene from a Hokkien drama ('Ai' not 'Yi Nan Wang'). The man kicked the coffee table angrily and the impact knocked him back onto the sofa. HAHAHAHA. Proves how cheesy these shows are. Even if I stopped watching the never-ending Yi Nan Wang for about 2 months, I can pretty much understand where's the story getting at because these shows are long-winded and slow. Indeed. I want to try making gift wrap. :) The keyword being 'try'.

Of Twins & Twilight

2008-12-03T21:24:00.005+08:00

I am searching high and low for the perfect wallpaper of Zero & Ichiru. -_-" Today, I went to watch Twilight with Audrey and Tiara. Twilight, the much anticipated and awaited box-office hit. Mind you, not due to its ratings and reviews, but more due to devoted fans. :S My thoughts on the movie:

* long Twilight rant ahead *

Fine. I am guilty of fake silent squealing and beating up Audrey because she did the same. Yes, I was closing my mouth to prevent muffled laughter when the acting was a little too stiff. When Edward was getting to know Bella, it was torture for me. I am truly sorry, Robert Pattinson, but my imaginary Edward Cullen does a far better job than you. :'( Imaginary Edward disappeared because of my frenzied Youtube searches for sneek peaks and trailers. I did enjoy the decent looking Charlie compared to the older, beer-bellied dad who I was expecting. Carlisle looked blonde, young and well, he looked like the head honcho of the Cullen clan all right. :) His appearances were rare, if you count out the transformation processes. Ahem. Ahem. Jacob Black was a turn-off. Seriously. The female cast was not too bad either. Rosalie was... The anti-Bella she was supposed to be. Sheesh. The way she treaded around in those platforms after smashing the poor bowl, portrayed very well. I could feel the intense dislike coming from her, so it worked. Alice, with her pixie looks also got the A-Okay. Once again, rare appearances. Jasper, I quote Shu Fei, looked CONSTIPATED. Ahahahaha. That guy was as stiff as a wooden plank. XD Bella, despite the problem of her I-MIGHT-sorta-die-if-Edward-left-me and awkwardness, was the book's Bella all right. Edward. Wahahaha. His lips were dark-red and his shining moment in the sun reminded me of super sparkly glitter which comes in tubes.

Back to the movie itself. From a reader's point of view, the story was too fast at some points and slow at some unnecessary times. Yeah. They made couple time (some lip-to-lip action was censored) over time. I have mutual feelings towards the tree-climbing and Edward's skin in the sun. I was disappointed with the SFX. I did enjoy Charlie's presence in between though. :) The baseball game was interesting, showcasing the Cullens and actually allowing us to see the rest of the vamps in action. The action sequences in the ballet studio, where Edward does his 'Matrix somersault', bouncing from the mirror into James. Oo-kay. -_-" So, it was a little low on the stunts. I get that. I did enjoy the last part though, where Edward and Bella go to prom. Aww... How sweet. XD Yeah. I am a sucker for couples and the little romance in between. Despite the movie being filled with awkward moments, it was 5/10. Am I a Twilight buff? Where is my slightly-better-than-none impartiality? My brain imagined moments in the book while I took in the movie at the same time. Double dose, I tell you. @.@ I had set my expectations to the lowest, but it was not that bad. All I can say is, the book ~~almost~~ ALWAYS beats the movie, a rule set in stone since ever. Oh right. To Edward, you look much better with the sunglasses. Seriously. I did enjoy the background music somehow, Bella'sLullaby was not that great. Video below provides another version of said lullaby.

Looking Familiar:

Esme Cullen (Twilight)

Ava (Grey's Anatomy)

Her appearance was a surprise because 1) she used to be on Grey's (OMG... It's Ava the Jane Doe!) and 2) she does not depict Esme that well because my imaginary Esme has better hair. XD Weird, it was. Yoda-speak. VKG Ep. 9 RAW is OUT!! Awaiting the subbed version.

Clogged Up

2008-12-03T18:27:00.003+08:00

I just took a big bite out of my near and dear hard drive. After successfully downloading House Ep. 9 and Heroes Ep. 10 for keeps, I ventured into the crazy world of internet for MORE VAMPIRE KNIGHT stuff. Mainly wallpapers and other images that were unnecessary yet simply too beautiful to let up. T_T Poor hard drive. Alas, indulge in this magnificent wallpaper, vectored to perfection. Credits to the ever so talented Sinever of Minitokyo.net (which I absolutely recommend for getting an amazing selection of anime/manga wallpapers and images). Feast your eyes. ZERO & YUUKI. XD Insert "KYA (x3)". Oo-kay... XD Fangirl-ing moment.

If you thought that you could act cool all the time, think again, Kaname. My dearest Kiriyuu Zero is the epitome of cool and he too, has his fair share of Yuuki and her blood. KYAAAA...! X)

Yesterday's training was at Cheras. I followed Priyangkha there and had a talk with her about Taekwando. Despite getting back from a Taekwando competition in Penang just the night before, she was all geared up, jogging and sprinting while I lagged behind lazily with Giuleta due to my soaked shoes and socks. The thing about jogging there around the field, you don't really know when it ends, whereas around Bkt. Damansara, you have a finish-line. Something like that. I like limitations sometimes. The sun was another turn-down, but who really cares?

Last Saturday, I helped my mummy decorate the Christmas tree and boy, am I proud of the tree-topper. MY tree-topper. After fixing the tree, I went along to decorate ol' Douglas, who was once a sensor-activated, singing, mini Christmas tree. He looks cute, especially with my tartan, Christmas-coloured bow to top him off. What can I say, cross-dressing pays off after all. My mother and I then decided to go to Ikea for a few pick-me-ups. No, I did not get the square grill pan which costs RM 79 because according to my mother, "we have too many pots and pans at home". :( Aww... Shucks. However, we did manage to get two more baubles and two back-up Christmas lights. Phew. Now, all we need are the presents to fill up the empty space beneath the tree.

Today, I followed Jolene che che around. I did some jogging to tone down my guilt and fear of giving up at Kinabalu. I had to practically drag the mother of two along with me while she yakked away on the phone. That woman. I do have to give her credit for accompanying me and liking my orange cake though. Haha. I had late lunch at Yi Qi with my mother, Ama and Dua Yee (mother's eldest sis). The fried tunghoon was the best dish there. Other than that, -_______-. All I can say is: beggars can't be choosers.

I completed watching the last part of Heroes Ep. 10. It ended (in usual Heroes fashion) with Mr. Bennet aiming his sniper at Sylar who was making out with Elle. I prefer Peter Petrelli and Hiro Nakamura the way they are now. Hiro, with his 10 year old mind, a better wardrobe (has it changed or not? Like it anyway XD) and a slightly-modified version of his Season 1 hairstyle. Peter, who is powerless as of now due to his loving father, has gone back to basics and is forced to face that his brother, Nathan, takes him for granted. As of now, the eclipse is forcing everyone to be powerless. :D Yeah, Claire gets to feel her pain after dodging the bullet for her father. They are human after all. Downloading the next episode now, I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT. :)

VKG anime brought us back to Yuuki's forgotten past and her connection with Kaname. Somehow, it ended with Zero aiming the Bloody Rose at the door, with Yuuki behind it. Wow. Since I was looking for some screenshot worthy scenes, I scanned VK (Season 1) and ended up loving the old Zero and missing the old Yuuki a little bit. XD We still have the loyalty going on though.

House Episode 9 titled Last Resort. OMG! I watched the entire episode again just now and I tell you, it was still so interesting and AMAZING. House having to deal with a patient with a gun, complete with hostages and a SWAT team too. The entire situation had Cuddy on the edge and the ending was perfect. XD House exiting Cuddy's office (blood-stained crime scene) in his usual demeanor. I aspire to become a doctor not only because of him, but still... He's my IDOL! :D A great doctor but with that i-don't-give-a-damn attitude. You cannot really be like that in real life, because you might risk getting sued and I hate stupid court hearings. Oh well.

Patient With A Gun: What about and X-Ray or something?
House: Good idea. Oh. Damn. I left my CT machine in my other pants.

Haha. I had to try out my blockquote. And that was House in a room with six other hostages, plus the crazy patient with the gun.

Hitting A Hundred

2008-11-28T21:30:00.002+08:00

Wow. I have officially yet barely skimmed the surface of blogging. :) My hundredth post. I spent the whole of yesterday at home, from waking up to horrible news of the attacks at Mumbai to this very moment. I even made an initiative to clear up my books. Yes, I broke my own promise and that is despicable in every way. I also discovered that we actually have to pay next year's school fees before or on next Monday and my go-to person for cheques is overseas till this Sunday. -_-" Thanks to my irresponsibility, I have to suffer the consequences. For now, I am quite worried. Geez. HOUSE EPISODE 9 WAS AMAZING! I even dreamt of meeting my favourite actor / idol, Hugh Laurie (idol = Dr. Gregory House) in person last night. Not only was I incredibly shocked, I even quivered as I took a picture with him using my phone. XD Just when I was about to hug him to see for real (darn was he tall), I woke up and was a little miffed. Oh well, it was a good dream nonetheless. :/ Bleh. I didn't even get to keep the picture.

Today, I followed my mother to a demonstration for a kitchen appliance at her friends' house. While having lunch and waiting for the demonstrator, they chatted. A lot. Being the only young 'un there, not too bad, it was interesting to listen to grown-up talk. From politics to social to education to news to stocks to health, they certainly covered nearly all aspects. Then the real stuff, the Magimix demonstration. The machine is basically a great food processor, your little kitchen helper. :) I sound like I am selling the machine itself. But seriously, it can slice your shallots or any other vegetable (carrot, cucumber, radish etc.) into these perfect slices or thin shreds which are better than enduring a fresh bout of tears or having your maid slice them unevenly and at a slow pace too. It is also a juicer and mixer. A GREAT machine! Apparently, my mother asked my uncle to buy it for us from London and ours is the LIMITED EDITION compact size. :D Yippee! Mine even has a chip-cutter. Yes. To cut out potato chips just by a button. I can just imagine them sizzling. Thick-cut french fries coming out golden, crispy on the outside and heavenly inside. XD Did I mention that I am quite a fan of kitchen appliances and other kitchenware, such as frying pans, whisks, containers and small kitchen gadgetry which make life easier. :P What can I say? They interest me. I once bought this food-scraping tool which is like a baking spatula, but more compact and flexible. Now, we use it while making kaya and it works wonders. That day at Ikea's kitchen section, I was wondering around and their new range of non-stick frying pans are really nice but with the price to match. Aww... I wanted to buy that square, grill pan but it was a little pricey. :( I also buy the unnecessary, but that is for another day. Haha.

I just wanted to share this interesting video. Edward Cullen, you don't need to be that smug.

Somersaults of Restlessness

2008-11-27T00:21:00.006+08:00

YAY! I finally have found a NEW layout for my once overly red blog. Apart from that, I am as pleased as punch to be able to fit in the amazing Zero in my banner. Apparently, if you linger too long on blogskins.com, you become tend to become more indecisive due to the shortage of Kiriyuu Zero layouts. At least that was what which happened in my case. If anyone notices the *new* banner, comments would be appreciated. My creation through... Keynote. Hahaha. That is truly a pathetic and lousy and sad excuse for not having Photoshop. Macintosh HD, you'd better listen up. I will clean you up and whack all that junk out of your puny capicity to make space for Photoshop, you heard me?!

I really wanted to put up Zero in his Day Class uniform but this image was easier to edit. :( Personally, I think that Zero looks better in the black, Day Class uniform than the white, Night Class one. XD Please check previous post for a nice shot of him in said uniform. Cropping out Yuuki was not too fun, but what's done is done. ZERO DESERVES THE GLORY!! Though I really love that one picture of them together with the Bloody Rose. I will never venture into the deep waters of editing banners anymore. It is one thing to edit banners and another to edit the stupid size. I also found out that despite my TLC and a keyboard protector, the white part of my MacBook was scratched. WHY O WHY? Oh well. Thus, I rest my case.

On a happier note, I have downloaded Heroes Season 3 Episode 10. :D Chapter 45 of the VK Manga enlightened the situation at hand despite the entire chapter being a little Heroes-like, jumping from one character's scene to another and then another. It also ended in a Heroes fashion, with a cliffhanger. Hmm... We also have a new addition to the already complicated scene where Zero and Yuuki are supposed to be... Fighting?! But due to emotions, loyalty and indecisiveness, they hit a pause. Kaname joins in the pause party. -_-" MATSURI HINO, how cruel can you get?!

Now, if only I could complete downloading House and Ep. 8 of Vampire Knight Guilty would be subbed. :) Did I mention that this week's episode of House (I could not resist watching some of it on Megavideo while waiting for my Heroes to download) is simply AMAZING? The case is interesting and the situation makes it even better. Yippee... My Eclipse as well, Heroes - The Eclipse: Part 1, that is.

I also managed to bake an orange cake at my grandparents' house today with the guidance of my grandmother. :D I am quite satisfied with the outcome. It tasted quite good despite its slightly burnt outer appearance. My Popo (my father's mother) also showed me her collection of recipes from old magazines. They managed to remain in a good condition despite being 37 years old. Those old-fashioned advertisements have that simple charm about them as well. I like! :)

Dream On

2008-11-24T21:33:00.007+08:00

I am sick today.

A breakdown of my illness. Woke up around 5.30AM to puke and puke I did. Before venturing to the clinic around 9.30AM, another moment of vomiting. I am feeling fear and immense hate towards the cempedak fruit and its stupid seeds, even imagining it makes me feel disgust and distraught in my throat. Yuck. I missed today's Kinabalu training too. Other than the sick and disgusting, Whoopdedoo. I had a great dream last night about... Wait for it... VAMPIRE KNIGHT... Starring... You guessed it, KIRIYUU ZERO.

Seriously, if you put your mind to it, anything is possible. Before drifting away to Dreamland, I recollected the numerous pictures, wallpapers and avatars of Zero that I had downloaded. I guess that did the trick! Hahaha... I am going nuts with this white-haired Vampire/Vampire Hunter @.@

Meme from my only Meme source (el dynamic blogger, Shu Fei. Random much.) Speaking of Shu Fei, I dreamt of you and Jac Lyn being able to drive and it was totally "WTH?!". Hahaha... Both of you were acting like it was nothing while I basically freaked out. -_-" I guess I don't change much even in my dreams.

Moving on with the Meme:
Top 5 Fictional Weapons
1.
Bloody Rose. A special gun specially for destroying Vampires which eventually becomes Zero's power specialty. Go on, click on the manga... You know you want to! ZERO LOOKS HOT!! Gawd. What is wrong with me?! All anime characters are posers and excellent models if you ask me. XD

2.Honey-senpai. My 2nd weapon of choice. :) Technically, he is not a weapon, but he has amazing martial art skills and that innocent face which is misleading sometimes, especially when he had that toothache.

3.Artemis's Rod. Yuuki's weapon which is used during night rounds. It transformed into this scythe which looks like the Grim Reaper's weapon after Yuuki became a vampire. Basically, it is a simple rod which transforms into an amazing upgraded weapon.

4.
Kyouya's infamous Pineapple Computer. He uses it for so many tasks and usually gets away with almost everything. *grins evilly* I would like that kind of power. :D Kyouya and his Pineapple computer is a pair which I would not want to mess with.

5.
Tadashi's bungee jump torture. LOL! OK. I was out of weapon ideas. So sue me. But I happen to like this picture. Haha.

Promising Myself

2008-11-22T17:32:00.005+08:00

XD Another Meme from Shu Fei:

Why five characters you have a crush on/find attractive would be a bad boyfriend or girlfriend in real life.
1) Kiriyuu Zero from Vampire Knight. Despite him looking rather attractive, cool and collected. Sucking my blood every once in a while, I would not mind... But, for health reasons, NO. If he would just stop hunting vampires and settle down instead, maybe he would be boyfriend material. Him randomly pointing the Bloody Rose gun (used for killing vampires) at people would not help either.
Quote: " Come on vampires. I've been pissed off lately. "

2) Karino Tadashi from Special A. He is together with Akira who loves to throws things at him. He is also afraid of the bungee jump and his mother who punishes him by making him bungee jump. -_-" Besides that, he would be a good boyfriend. :D He's no vampire/vampire hunter anyway. Or I maybe I could steal him. Hmm... Luring him with some baked goodies, that should be easy.

3) Ootori Kyouya from Ouran. Perfect in every way but he tends to be more serious and quiet at some times. HAHAHA. That's why I like him. No complaints here. But he might put work ahead of me... Hmm... Maybe not so perfect afterall, eh? Oh, there he goes with that sinister smile, plotting something ahead of everyone else. He is a mastermind after all. And that PINEAPPLE COMPUTER... He has to put me FIRST. -_-"

4) Tsuji Ryuu from Special A. He has a thing for animals. A REALLY BIG THING. Besides that, Megumi and Jun would kill me. Those two cling onto him whenever and however they can. Twins who murder, check. Animals of every single kind, check. Potential boyfriend material minus the extras, check. Ryuu is some kind of animal charmer and a human charmer as well.

5) Kyou Sohma from Fruits Basket. If I remember clearly, his attitude (freaking out very often) made me like him because I detested Yuki for being overly calm. As for being a normal boyfriend, him freaking out in public would be a big problem. An interesting problem. XD But I am currently too pre-occupied with my dear Zero. Therefore, Tohru, you can have him. :P What kind of girlfriend am I, offering out crushes? LOL.

Just to make things clear, KIRIYUU ZERO is still MINE. :D The rest of them are for temporary rental.

Quoting Zero (once again):
" Listen up, brats! Get the hell back to your dorms! Why do I have to deal with you running around screaming "Kya!!Kya!!" every damn day?! Why?! "

And it's back to real life, where I am required to clear out my PMR books. (evil looks) Burn, baby, burn. TEXTBOOKS, say hello to the paper shredder! Or to the old newspaper dude.

Literature Diet

2008-11-21T15:10:00.002+08:00

For days now, I have been starving myself of literature. Therefore, I decided to go on a book buffet. Chomping down classics, modern fiction, magazines, books and more books. I need to spruce up my life with more fiction. Those were the good ol' days, when I would even risk falling down due to reading while walking. I have to complete 21: Bringing Down The House and The Time Traveler's Wife, both found to be abandoned in schoolbags and crushed by other kinds of rubbish.

I need to stop stalking the Vampire Knight Heaven website to check whether the subbed Episode 7 of Vampire Knight Guilty is out and (cue drum rolls)... CHAPTER 22 of the VAMPIRE KNIGHT MANGA WILL BE OUT TOMORROW! YAY! I started punching my fist into thin air when I last checked my calendar, simply barbaric and nonsensical, but I felt like it. :D I am currently downloading my beloved House Episode 8. Grr... If Firefox ditches me on this one, I swear I will torchure it by clicking the 'refresh' button 20 times in a row. But that would backfire my own plans and hopes of downloading other shows... Oh, forget it already. Due to Firefox ditching me, I am forced to watch Grey's online. I should be getting them downloaded episodes from Giuleta, the one with the incredible hard drive and disk space. My mother did not oppose of me migrating some of my beloved series to her computer, so I will be getting to that soon.

Today's training was a little different. For one, we had more people. Wait a minute. On Wednesday, the school football team joined in with the jogging part (grins evilly). But today, Shi Fen, Audrey, Judah and Alia made it as well. Priyangkha and I were not alone in the tiring routine anymore! We did take a different route though. Starting from the front gate, past SKBD, up the hill and enroute to the front gate instead. Phew. No suicide training for me just yet! :D That is something to smile about. Next Wednesday and Friday, we will be having training in Cheras. Monday's training will be held back in Damansara. GIULETA, ARE YOU GETTING THIS? I sure hope that you do.

Among the many other things on my To-Do List is to clean up my room. Old school books and the many incomplete activity books should be cleared out before my mother gives me another round of nagging and threatens to give away my prized 'possessions'. These 'possessions' are usually trash, old magazines, old books and more rubbish that I like to keep. My legs are worn out and my calves ache whenever I walk down the stairs to get to the kitchen and back up again if I have to go out. Hmm... I will be relocating my lazeout (a word I created which means a place to laze about) soon, strategically next to the fridge in the TV room if possible. Did I mention that McDonalds is truly pathetic when it comes to the McFlurry. I had an Oreo McFlurry and the Oreo bits are practically in powder-form already! First, they reduce the amount of ice-cream, now they even skimp on the nice Oreo pieces that you sometimes find in the McFlurry. Oh well, the economical crisis is taking its toll. Even the Golden Arches of fastfood cannot make it through without some penny-pinching methods. Despite it being so, I STILL WANT MY OLD MCFLURRY BACK! You heard me, McD?! Did you know that '?!' is improper punctuation, yet I use it all the time. :)

Still On A High

2008-11-21T00:25:00.004+08:00

My Firefox browser tricked me into thinking that my latest episode of Heroes had been downloaded so, I clicked the file with a happy smile. And then...

CURSES! It was not complete, or even close to being complete. -_-" I only got a whim of the real thing before VLC whisked it away from me like an adult taking away a child's only toy. I still remain loving Vampire Knight as much as ever and ended up downloading the OST from the website. All the music were not too shabby, some with gloomy, gothic undertones and a few quirky jingles. The song which I did not enjoy that much was Kaname's Theme. It featured opera-like voices and carried a soft, but sinister tune. It suits Kuran Kaname alright! The guy who HAS to touch either his chin or another other part of his face. Either it is a way to relieve stress, or he is simply a poser. I prefer the latter much better. Poser Kuran Kaname. It has a nice ring to it.

After collecting my new spectacles yesterday, my mother and I saw three cars carting these large plastic boxes. I have no idea what do you call them, but they looked like vending machines.

My mother and I were kind of shocked to see something so weird and random. I like random, but my mother thought that the mannequin inside the moving box was a real person. Now, THAT WOULD BE COMPLETELY FREAKY, not to mention inhuman. Anyway, I was wondering whether to call up the number on the moving box to find out what was this "FED UP OF LIVING IN A BOX?" all about but my mother advised against it. And I complied with her, I don't want some freaky company sending me messages on insanity. :) Hey... Should I send this to The Star? I just did. -_-" All in weird nonsense and fun and false hope.

And does this song title make sense? A Little Too Not Over You by David Archuleta. He just killed the title. First, A LITTLE, then TOO... NOT over you. WHAT?! I guess it means... I don't know, it is confusing! Call me a slowpoke or an idiot, but it is making me go bananas in my puny little brain. You cannot mix 'a little' with 'too', it makes no sense. Is it some kind of American jargon? Always trying to make you go nuts with improper phrases. Or at least I like to think of it that way. :D Tell me about it once you have figured it out. David A, you need a better title-creator. But, the song is not too bad. Eh, eh, eh (cue Cross Kaein in Ep. 6 of VKG), I GET IT! Holy macaroni, it means that, the person is basically a confused person with mixed feelings and who is lousy at expressing himself. AHHA! I feel smarter now. I told you I was still on a high. HEROES FINISHED DOWNLOADING! Whoopdedoo! XD

P.S.
If I really do get my big break, please support me. -_-" Now, that was totally random and uncalled for. I JUST SUBMITTED THE STAR PHOTO THINGAMAJIG. Well, ho-hum. Shoot me for copyright infringement then!

Me, Meme & Kiriyuu Zero

2008-11-18T17:10:00.003+08:00

What is wrong with me? I am falling for this anime character so badly, it is not funny at all. Oh well. I am known for being overly random and crazy, so... S' okay. Oh and that sibling love, is DISGUSTING.

Thanks to Shu Fei for this Meme. I can write more on Zero and that makes me happy. :D

Take a character you love, and list 5 flaws. (And they should be real flaws - not things that you think in an abstract sort of way are "bad", but that you don't really have a problem with.)

Kiriyuu Zero from Vampire Knight:
1. Liking Yuuki. I have mixed feelings on this but anyhow, Yuuki is so... Oh, she and Kaname can go have their love and romance. IT IS DISGUSTING. But Vampire Knight is interesting. Go figure.

2. He is too personal. He keeps to himself and it is tragic, to be alone. Then along came Yuuki, WTH... Yuuki is trouble in form of some kind of weakling-becoming-powerful. Enduring all that pain during his transformation, keeping it to himself for so long.

3. Protects Yuuki no matter what. Oh geez... I cannot really say much. Yuuki is just this one person who is so much like Bella Swan. A tool, I would call her.

4. He is loyal. Too loyal towards Yuuki. Yuuki is loyal towards Kaname. Triangle of loyalty.

5. Bloodlust. Always gives in to temptation. That makes the story tragic and somewhat more interesting. Zero rules anyhow.

Yeap. I killed the meme. My first one too. :P

Training tomorrow and Giuleta is clinging onto her inhaler due to asthma. Priyangkha is truly a lifesaver. :) Now, I am off to download Heroes and play Spore.

Reality And Fantasy

2008-11-17T17:18:00.005+08:00

This morning, I went for Kinabalu training while some others (ahem ahem Giuleta Cheryl Sherena bt. Jamsari) skipped for reasonable/not so reasonable reasons. I was the first one to arrive and what I see through half-shut eyes is the school's football team. Oh. So we are not the only ones being pulled away from some more shut-eye. I revel in other people's misery. Nope, not a sadist though. Paradox.

Anyhow, Priyangkha was the only other person to join me in the suffering this morning. Otherwise known as training. Jogging, we did the jogging alright. The other route, the LONGER route. Instead of jogging from the back gate to the front gate and back again, we went past SKBD and up the darn hill. All the time, my mind was thinking of Zero and Vampire Knight. Motivation much. Three quarters up the hill, my lungs gave way and I walked back. Saw Audrey (not Limmy Yen who was at home asleep), Alia, Mei Jing and Judah when we went downhill by the mosque. Some more training and I went back with a large dose of lethargy. My secret motto, the force which kept me from dropping dead while jogging, was: Zero. Zero. Zero. Kiriyuu Zero. Vampire Knight. Anime flashback. Zero. Zero. All the way till the worst was over. It works wonders. On Wednesday, I am mentally switching to Heroes but Zero is a simple and easy catchphrase which takes up not too much mental capacity. I am having mixed feelings now.

TV rant ahead. Heroes. House. Grey's. Vampire Knight.

Heroes was cool with Hiro's spirit walk but the African future-painter was beheaded by Arthur Petrelli. WHAT THE HELL! Hate that old power-murderer. Please don't let Hiro Nakamura die. Please don't let him die. Please. Cross my fingers and toes on this.

House had the usual interesting medical case but with a twist. House and Cuddy's issue. Wilson the matchmaker as well. All I can say is that House is a coward, but he is House. It would be awkward but nice to get Cuddy and House together somehow, maybe for an affair? I like certain kinds of affairs between certain lovers in the world of fiction, but in real life, I would be raving mad. House is inspiring. I want to become a doctor. Haha.

Since I was unable to download Season 5 Episode 8 of Grey's Anatomy, I went to the now revamped Megavideo. It is much nicer now. Izzy is seeing Danny Duquette (the ghost) and I feel pity for the interns who have to cut and fix themselves up for practice. Sad. Hopefully, that does not happen in real life. Hahn left and Callie breaks down post-op. Dr. Hunt eventually gives in to Christina and you get your typical Grey's episode.

Vampire Knight on Youtube was great even if it was done by a personal amateur group. Depite that, I would prefer to have my own copy on my computer. Yuurisan Subs are slowing down due to their exams and such... Oh well. I cannot blame them. Patience. Zero is SUPER COOL. I love him! XD Yuuki is getting on my nerves and there is a new Shiki. OMG! What if... Shiki and Yuuki are blood-related?!? A twisted hypothesis but one to ponder about anyhow. I wonder. I'm off to the manga!

Zero

2008-11-16T23:40:00.003+08:00

Hmm... It is just fate. When I was typing (shouting and scolding) Audrey about Kaname Kuran, my MSN Messenger jammed up and did an auto quit before she could reply. MUAHAHA... The world of computers and internet are on my side! Or my com is just that revved up on Zero as well. Whatever. Kaname is the knight in shining armour, protecting Yuuki and all, even allowing Zero to suck his blood, being pureblood and oh-so-superior. Then Yuuki professes her love towards him and there we go again. Personally, I only care about Zero.

And KIRIYUU ZERO only.

Oh and Audrey thinks that Kaname is like Edward Cullen. Ugh. That makes me want to pretend to puke. Ew.

In reality, I have watched Vampire Knight anime and started on the 2nd season, titled Vampire Knight Guilty. And West Side Story as well. :) It was something totally new in context to last year's theme. I did not really enjoy the storyline in general but the performers did very well. Singing and dancing at the same time, there were only a few back-up singers, without a choir as well. All of it takes up so much energy and all that practice beforehand. KUDOS! :D

I'm off to Youtube on my iPod for Episode 6 of Vampire Knight Guilty now. Downloading the manga as well. S' long. Kaname still pisses me off. Ugh. Linking him up with Edward Cullen is even worse. Yeesh. Overrated, the two of them.

Jumping Down

2008-11-13T22:58:00.004+08:00

I nearly lost my blogging momentum. Depressing. Why do people call it blogging mojo?

After watching Agent 007 a.k.a. James Bond in action for the second time round, I felt like a dead crow (refer to Form 1 English Literature). Daniel Craig is more rugged and he definitely has the tough guy, super suave look. But Quantum of Solace was not a movie you could watch again and again. Like tasteless chewing gum in your mouth, you chew it anyway. The action sequences were well done, stunt double or not. I have to say though, they were trying to make it more Bourne than Bond. Yeap. No cool gadgets other than his phone and the sleek, black Aston Martin which did not manage to last in its pristine glory for even 10 minutes. Bond cars have short lives, despite their good looks. Oh well. Despite Quantum's amazing action and explosions, the storyline was not too interesting. I prefer Casino Royale which played the signature Bond card with a little twist in its story (Bond falls in love with Vesper. WHAT?!), which was something relatively new. 6 out of 10 for Quantum.

Yesterday's Skytrexx was cool. Using pulleys and caribiners to overcome obstacles in the forest's canopy, it was exhilarating but tiring at some parts. Tugging onto rough rope for your dear life, not too fun and strains your palms. But the adrenalin rush from the Tarzan swing and flying fox was definitely worth it. A great experience nonetheless. :D Despite dreading the RAG class at first, it was a wake up call to tradition which I enjoyed. I had fun playing traditional games such as Congkak and Teng Teng (Malaysian version of hopscotch) and weaving strings.

I hate these stupid XVOD decoder and DOM player shows. Total waste of time! Argh! Geez... Back to downloading.

Long 007 rant ahead. Bond is blond. Random.

Oh rightttt... Alicia Keys and Jack White (coincidence much, my grand uncle's name!!) sang the theme for the animation intro part of Quantum. It sounds Bond-ish, I feel attached. So watching it the second time round was not too bad, I guess. I learnt something new about it. Ah ha! Olga Kurylenko is pretty but... Eva Green has that gothic and you-don't-want-to-mess-with-my-brains look. Or was all that black eyeliner getting to me? Right... I don't want to talk makeup now. At least they showed us that high heels are impossible in the desert by shooting Camille's bare feet, no fake stuff going on there. Where in the world was that big gun Bond was posing with in the posters?!? Oh well. Pistols are choice weapons. At long last, the recipe for his shakened-not-stirred martini was included as a bonus to the real world. How do you take care of your dead friend who helped you out? By disposing of his dead body in the dumpster, of course. If you had a great physique and baby blue eyes to die for and the identity of a renowned MI6 agent, maybe you could pull it off. Or not. I also learned that it is MI6 not M16. MI6 is the Brit's Secret Service whereas the pretty gun that Bond posed with but did not use, was a M16 rifle, I think. That's M-sixteen the gun and M-I-six the secret service. I got it mixed up and curiosity made me Google it. Yes, I have a Google complex, obsession, whatever. :P

School Can Be Fun

2008-11-02T00:39:00.005+08:00

Went on school trip to Sg. Pisang on Thursday. Firstly, a long journey in the bus. Audrey and I decided not to risk dunking our bag into the water and killing our iPods as well. Yeap. It is all very logical and practical. Maybe even paranoia plays a role. We went to visit the Orang Asli Museum in Gombak. It was all pictures and facts of the tribes, their tools. A BELIUNG IS NOT A PICK-AXE FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. Blame it on the sign outside the museum. Their translator is horribly off. It was a little boring, I usually enjoy shows on Discovery. Their tools were fascinating though. Ms. Tok brought up the subject of a Penan girl being raped by a lumberjack in Sarawak because she was wearing 'limited' clothing (only the bottom). The person-in-charge then told us that their Orang Asli and Peninsular Malaysia's Orang Asli are under different authorities. Wow. It sounded as though they were in another country already. So much for unity in the government departments.

We then ventured further into the jungle area for some jungle-trekking and river-crossing. Ironically, there was a pool beside the river at a so-called chalet. Thank God for my Crocs. Despite the sand and stones, they did not drift away nor did I have to endure slips that often. When crossing slightly deeper waters, I blamed my height for wetting my shorts. Irritating at first, but couldn't care much later on. We had to cross through a dark tunnel along the way, I call it The Longkang. No one dared to go through the other tunnel as the teachers had not checked it. Instinct. After dodging more branches and walking through some more heavy vegetation, we had a well deserved picnic at the waterfall. The water was nice and cooling, Audrey and I finally gave in and went into the water all the same. It was fun! :) But all good things have to come to an end, we had to climb up a steep slope on our way back. It was steep all right! Walking at the side of the highway to Genting was a first for me, some lorries even honked at us.

*bus honks*

Me: Was that a bus?

Audrey: Tour bus.

Me: And to the left, you can see the typical activity of Malaysian students walking along highways.

We ended up jumping down steps to The Longkang. After reaching the bus which was near the chalet, I ran quickly to the toilets. I fought back my bladder due to the conditions of the toilet and managed to change in the dark, musty bathroom. Knowingly, I slept on the way back.

FRIDAY was BAKE DAY. Ovens, flour, electric whisks, flour, chocolate chips etc. Baking was in the air. Good things don't come first. I had to persevere some Gold Expedition training in the morning. Some mild jogging around Bukit Damansara made me gasp for air like a fish out of water. Indeed I am not fit. My stamina was nil and all I had was some will to get it over with. I don't plan on dying at Mount Kinabalu. My brain drew a blank as we passed people and the Mamak stall by the mosque. I guess we sort of sent them the message about health. "Dude, throw away your roti canai and come jog already." As if. Malaysians love to steal looks and peeps, that's all I am saying.

After cooling down, Priyangkha and I went down to the Physics Lab for some baking fun. I went along speculating people at work, filling in cupcake batter and such. The cupcakes were tasty, fresh from the oven. Mmm... Those smells from the ovens were simply irresistible, I tell you! Later on, Audrey and I had our first-hand baking experience. WE BAKED COOKIES! It was a little tiring as there was no mixer so both of us took turns with the electric whisks. Nevertheless, we did most of the cookie work. Lots of people helped with distributing the batter onto the trays. We baked in total, 9 trays, I think. And each tray had around 12 cookies. It was fun. Much responsibility was held as Audrey and I watched the cookies cook in the ovens. Cookies were munched away whenever a tray was left alone for a while. It is trial and error when it comes to baking, not cooked, burnt, too much batter etc. If we cut down the sugar by half, they would taste exactly perfect. But who's complaining? XD Whee... More baking, more munching. Leave it up to the teachers to prepare all the equipment and ingredients, we are going to have another Cooking Day coming Monday. :D

I watched High School Musical 3 today. The choreography was not too bad. The songs start to sound the same after 3 movies. Sharpay's high-pitched voice and Troy & Gabriella's duets, voices that are already too familiar. Watching HSM3 in the cinema was something new and a little awkward. HSM graduated from the small screen to the big screen. Finally, I have Grey's Season 5 Episode 1 & 2 which I took from Shez. Yippeeee! HOUSE. Please download faster and don't go "timed out". James Bond in a week's time! 007. But I think I like Jason Bourne better. :) Bourne is less of a hot-shot and more on hands-on action. Bond is all about class and glamour, suits and cars. Still love 'em both anyway.

Nothing Doing

2008-10-29T23:57:00.002+08:00

I winded up getting my eye swollen in the afternoon. Looked as though someone punched in my eye, but focusing on the bottom eyelid maybe. Went out with Jolene che che yesterday. Basically, we walked from Liang Xin to Pavilion and before that we ate nonsense at my house. The food was unhealthy, unnecessary and not that great of a lunch. But it was fun, if you count her laughing at my lousy 'recipe' and praising herself instead. Well, you could give her some credit for trying to act as though she had nailed Ama's recipe. Something called 'egg rice'. Super simple food, but hers was definitely better. After that, we went to Shell for petrol.

I wanted to buy the one of the James Bond miniature cars but both of us had no cash on us. So it was a no-go. Then the petrol attendant offered to lend me money as my father usually pumps most of our cars' petrol there. It was a funny situation and I rejected politely of course. Walked around in Pavilion, window-shopped and she bought a black dress which was quite nice. Ended up having a snack at Island Bistro and met up with my mummy there. Hi-tea.

I have finished watching the latest episode of Heroes - Eris Quod Sum. I hate Arthur Petrelli, the IDIOT WHO STOLE PETER'S POWERS! He is one sneaky villain. Anyway, Gabriel (who is Sylar resisting the dark side) looks like a double agent to me. He seems like a good guy and I like him. He was the villain I hated, his character, his motives, his powers. He was the ultimate villain until along came Papa Petrelli, risen from the dead due to his power-stealing ability. Hiro is milky-eyed now, after that drug concoction of dung and plant root. Nathan is a stubborn ass, refusing to listen to Peter and involved in a love triangle consisting of his ex, Meredith the fire maker and Tracy, the ice woman. Fire versus ice, what a coincidence. And most of the women on Heroes are blondes. Claire, Elle, Tracy, Meredith. Interesting stuff.

House is fantastically insane and interesting. Trust me, I have no idea what I am typing. You just have to watch it to understand. House is all about watching and understanding. The one doctor you would love so much despite the fact that he is one to be disliked. The show is getting more interesting as I type. Downloading episode 6 now. Till then.

Not Dead Yet

2008-10-25T01:29:00.002+08:00

Hmm... I am resisting the urge to double-post but I simply CANNOT! Wow. Just did some blog-hopping and it was cool. Then I tried to look for a new blog layout. I cannot bear with the narrow post space on this one. And I suck at HTML. Once, I tried to edit my HTML and it came out looking like a mad clown's murder list. Bright colours popping out of nowhere and the font completely haywire. Anyhow, I just decided that I should plan down what to do for the next 4-5 days before getting back to school. Write it down on a piece of paper.

*Eco-rant ahead. Yeap, that's your carbon footprint behind you. As big as the hole in the ozone?

At least, that's the plan. Oh. Right. The confession of an idiot. Now, I had prepared two bags to keep what I bought in. Went into MPH, picked books, searched high and low for Revolutionary Road but turned out negative and then my father paid for them. And I did not put the books in the bags which I brought along. WHAT?! I fail at being eco-friendly. Or at least TRYING to be eco-friendly. Bad habits are hard to break. And plastic bags are really unnecessary for books. Sheesh. Anyhow, I also made a simple conclusion why Malaysians cannot practise the bring-my-own-shopping-bag routine. WE BUY TOO MUCH! Each time my family and I go grocery shopping, we either fill up the entire trolley or my mother pops along with an extra basket of stuff. I tell you, I try to nag out the compulsive buying, but it is like the pot calling the kettle black. Sometimes, that shiny cardboard of the latest Colgate plays tricks on my eyes. And I pop into the cart like a total idiot. I try not to over-buy. Actually, I don't over buy anything nowadays other than books. Which is just as BAD.

Me: Don't take another plastic bag!

Mum: But this might leak. And we don't want to dirty the car!

Me: Place it with the other stuff then.

Mum: And the bag will break!

And cue for me to sigh and roll my eyes. She does have a few points there. Oh well.

Another thing I noticed is that most of the people in my neighbourhood are truly disgusting (including yours truly). We actually drive down the road to the market when it is a walking distance. Stupid. Then comes the problem of buying too many things that make it inconvenient to carry back home. Especially when you have an 86 year old grandmother. And you make her walk back up the stairs?! I call it being inconsiderate. My other grandmother who is touching 70 years also drives to the market and she just finished her chemo two months ago. But who wants to make old people do so much work? Another problem I face.

OMG. As I was typing, a frog was climbing up my bathroom door. Hmm... Gonna call my father. Yes. I am somehow scared that it would hop onto me. Indeed. It's getting closer and I am getting more worried. I hate this. Now, to the frog! -_-"

Lovin' The Net

2008-10-24T23:04:00.002+08:00

There are probably one hundred thousand gazillion reasons why I love the internet. But just these two websites are making me go click-click-read-click-read-search-click. You get the picture.

Curbly & Instructables

I just think that these two websites, alongside the infamous YouTube! AWESOME. Learning how to make stuff, such as a super cool melon brain. It looks so real and it is edible. Well, not too creepy till you'll puke instead. But creepy anyhow. I am not a big Halloween fan, but all these fun projects are just A CLICK AWAY. Almost anything you want to do is on the net. No need to go hunting for those insert-here-For-Dummies books which are irritating to read and difficult to follow if there is a lack of interest. Just saw a recipe for super simple chocolate cake in a mug. And I do not need an OVEN! Finally. Despite the fact that my house has a wet kitchen and dry kitchen, there is NO OVEN. Geez. Well, if there was, no one would be baking anyway. I could probably pop over to my grandparents' place to use theirs' anytime anyhow. Well, just check it out if you are interested. And I NEED TO MAKE SOME NEW AMENDMENTS TO MY DRAWERS! Organising stationary and other kinds of rubbish is a never-ending chore for me. Especially since I love to keep stuff (otherwise known as trash).

This morning, my Ama, mummy and I went to the Tmn. Tun park. There are NO FISHES in the pond anymore. Idiotic Malaysians might have been catching them for sale. Stupid park management cannot even protect the fishes! Truly useless. Ama and I were throwing pieces of bread into the water and all of it would simply float upon the surface idly. Not even a single bite from the fish. It was depressing. There were fishes at the 'mini waterfall' though. Dumb humans sold nearly all the pretty and big fishes. Only managed to see ONE orange-coloured fish at the mini waterfall. We feed the fish >> The fish grows >> The fish reproduces >> The idiots ILLEGALLY catch the fish. Once again, darn those idiots who have no better way to earn money.

Went to KL in the afternoon after my haircut. Watched Mega Builders for a short while. I like the last part because you can finally see everything looking so perfect despite the construction work being delayed and technical problems etc. Humans are incredible after all. At least some of us are. This episode was on the Ice Hotel. Really amazing, the deco, the interior, furniture and ALMOST EVERYTHING was made out of ice. Ice sculptures adorning the hallways, snow packed upon plywood to create walls, supporting columns made out of ice. Wow. To think it would all melt one day and they would have to rebuild all of it from scratch once again. That part sucks.

Followed Jolene che che and Ah Wei koko to Sg. Wang later in the afternoon. Bought Cayden's new milk bottle because he's a picky baby when it comes to the baby bottle. First-time parents, but what can I say? Your own kid, deserves the best, yes? Especially when he is rejecting nutritious yet tasteless baby formula. And it's due to the darn bottle. So you get a new one, of course! I cannot believe that the blue bundle of smiles and big eyes rejected Avent bottles. Those are like the Gucci of milk bottles! Well, the brand is rather popular. Whatever to please lil' baby boy. Cross my fingers he likes the new bottle.

Bought books just now. WHEE...! Four books. One Sherlock Holmes classic, which from what I heard, is the best detective to read about. Dewey, a book about a library cat, and I dislike cats, but this is supposedly a tear-jerker, like Marley & Me. I cannot resist the combination of cuddly animals and Kleenex. Weird, but yes. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle which looks like and has a price about the same as Gone With The Wind. An American read which looks interesting. I am a person who judges books by their cover, but not chic lit. That's another story entirely which I learned the hard way. Pretty chic lit covers don't exactly mean good read. It might be full of cheating men and some Sex And The City wannabes. I did not read SATC. Too scandalous for my taste. And that's coming from a reader of Gone With The Wind, a classic scandal. Scarlett O' Hara married her lover's brother-in-law for the sake of it, married her sister's husband-to-be and then ended up with another scandalous man who had a track record which could very well compete with hers. The one and only, Rhett Butler. Love 'em, hate 'em. Don't give a damn. For now. And to top it all off, Dorothy Koomson's Goodnight, Beautiful. This new book has been on my wanted-list for quite some time now!

And I might be getting a new bicycle, which puts me in a megawatt smile mood. :D YIPEE!!!

Through Old Eyes

2008-10-23T00:54:00.005+08:00

Today I experienced something truly fascinating and it might be the most interesting day for my eyes. Yesterday, my Ama had her cataract surgery. Basically, it's like popping out the lens which has protein deposits and inserting a brand new plastic one which gives you 20/20 or 20/40 vision. Coincidentally, my mother found this article on cataract surgery while we were waiting for my Ama's surgery to be over. Interesting. Anyhow, it made me WANT to have cataract surgery, I mean, touch wood because I am young. But, 20/20 VISION?! Geez. That is incredible. My 84 year old grandmother has better eyesight than yours truly. My Ama said that it felt like someone pricking your eyeball lightly, no pain, just some discomfort post-op?

COINCIDENTALLY, again, I was reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Yeap. With that pretty EYE on top.

The book beats the Twilight saga by a mile. Amazing stuff. The whole concept of The Host is interesting and... Cool. If you think that Twilight is overrated, read this book. Proves that there is definitely more in that brain of the genius Stephanie Meyer other than Edward-Cullen-Bella-Swan-love. This book has indefinitely more depth and insight. A book to not be missed.

My Ama had red vision for the rest of the day. Must be kind of cool, yet creepy at the same time. Today, she went for her follow-up and my mummy and I had our eye check-ups. My mother has good vision, other than the usual visual deterioration gained through age. In my case, I had my pupils dilated to get a full check on my eyes. The eye drops to dilate pupils stung a little, felt like rubbing your eyes after you touch some not-too-spicy chilli. Had to go through it twice as I had neglected the entire process the first time round, I was reading The Host instead of shutting my eyes. My myopia has increased and my parents are somewhat anxious for me to get LASIK surgery before leaving for university, so... 3 more years to a world without glasses for me, maybe. The chance of getting blindness is 0.05% and well, I MIGHT BE BLIND WITHOUT IT ANYWAY. Nearly touching 600 which is dangerous territory. I hate it. I hate it. I used to say that 600 was almost blind anyway and here I am, getting there sooner than I thought.

So dilation of my pupils meant that my eyes would be insensitive to light, my eyes sometimes had these moments when the light was too intense, most of my vision would be whited-out. All in all, everything light and bright (including sunlight) was thought to be extremely glaring. Sunlight was punching my vision. Not very nice. On the other hand, I experienced hyperopia which made me feel old. You know when older people hold their mobile phones a certain distance away from them to type text messages? I had those moments. And it gave me a new perspective towards long-sightedness. Irritating. Especially when a person wants to read a book that is not too light thus having to hold it close but due to HYPEROPIA, I could NOT read The Host. Sheesh. What a blunker. But an interesting experience anyway. :)

HEROES CANNOT BE DOWNLOADED!! NO NO NO NO NO NO...... I hate Streamyx. Backfiring streaming content and downloads! Stupid internet connection. Giving me false hope by letting my download go perfectly well and when I come back from somewhere, "timed out". I hate that. Hate is a strong word. But to take away Heroes?! Even House. And Grey's. Confound that stupid thing called a modem! Argh! Well, at least I have my wallpaper. Heroes has never looked this nice. Especially Peter Petrelli. I think that his storyline is the best. Hiro's is not too great. Shall have to see in the coming episodes.

* HEROES CAN BE DOWNLOADED NOW! YES! :D :D :D The internet is a little forgiving. Now, to make sure it doesn't pull that "timed out" trick on me. It is taking quite a long time. But who cares?! Will be back in time to WATCH HEROES! Yay! Cross my fingers it doesn't stop in the middle. Please please please. The last time I pleaded like this was when I was for my PMR Chinese. Reminiscence. I would die without spell-check. Literally. And Audrey *ahem* sort of went emo while reading Breaking Dawn. Wow. Dude, it's just Twilight! Haha. Tears don't come easily while reading. Nonetheless, she is still a Cullen swooner. XD

Nippon-GO!

2008-10-18T23:24:00.007+08:00

Weird title today, or shall I say, tonight. Just came back from watching Gamarjobat at Actors Studio. This Japanese duo is comedic, humorous, entertaining and simply good fun! XD Since words cannot describe humour. Lo' behold, the video below:

Two short segments of their amazing mime-work. Audrey sat beside me and boy, was she a loud laugher. She wasn't the only one bursting out laughing actually. My second time watching them but I still cannot contain the urge to laugh like an idiot. LOL! Haha.

Anyhow, for the very first time in my life. I AM CURRENTLY DISLIKING HIRO NAKAMURA. Yeap. My all-time favourite Japanese geek is making me want to give him double-slaps continuously for at the very least, an entire minute. I will not say why, just what. Episode 4, Angels and Monsters says it all. At least for now. Geez. His actions were UNACCEPTABLE! You blinking-blunking-stupid-ding-bum! Phew. Peter Petrelli's character is getting more interesting by the episode. And everything in Heroes is coming along like the way it used to be in Season 1, always keeping you at the edge of your seat! Truly great.

Now it is time to CELEBRATE! Pop the balloons, break out the music, turn on your MacBooks, read as many storybooks as you want, do any kind of decoupage, ENJOY FREEDOM! Mmhmm... PMR is OVER! And my announcement is a day late. But, still. The point is...

Whoopdedoo! The days of entering the freezing examination hall and coming out with a brain to match are OVER!

OMG! I just finished downloading the latest episode of HOUSE... my favourite doctor on drugs. XD For some reason, I like that line. And I finally get to catch up on Grey's. I need to watch so many TV shows. It's killing me!! Audrey is reading Eclipse now. Spreading the Cullen love. =)

For One More Day (Or 13 Hours)

2008-10-16T19:41:00.006+08:00

And then it's FREEDOM.

The word itself makes my mouth twitch at the sides, the whole scenario painted right before my eyes, that gust of happiness filling the air outside the exam hall. Relief rushing through my veins, most importantly, my brain. A simple monosyllable, that would describe what everyone is feeling, JOY. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

If only that could be said for today's Mandarin paper. It was the exact opposite. Well, 50% anyway. Basically, mixed feelings. I feel glad that it is OVER. Gone with the wind. Never to be back again. Phew. Then again, I ruined my chances. Hopefully, it will not turn out that badly. Mandarin is the ONE subject which sends me into a short relapse, the UPSR effect. The 'B' at the bottom, the rotten egg which I hated. But now that I think about it, heck, it was not that bad a thing. Just a UPSR grade, s' all. As they say, why fret over spilt milk?

Cross my fingers and toes until they go numb. No butterfly effect for me. I hope not.

(Watch Heroes for more on the Butterfly Effect, Episode 2)

This season's Heroes is by far, the best season ever. So far, a few of the old cast's actor's roles have dimmed down a little, eg. Micah Sanders T.T and his cousin, Monica. But you will definitely get to see Peter Petrelli, Claire Bennett, Hiro Nakamura and Sylar. Yup. Love it better than ever. That adrenaline rush from watching Heroes, YOU MUST PICK SEASON 3. A lot of improvement from the second season as they were rushing due to the Writer's Strike (which also shook many other shows).

Quoting Angela Petrelli: "You don't screw with time. It's called the butterfly effect. Step on a butterfly today, three years from now a million people are wiped out."

The Butterfly Effect is actually something real in scientific chaos theory. A theoretical thing. Wow.

Am I Dead?

2008-10-14T21:17:00.003+08:00

Mmhmmm... My dear title says it all.

Why does it feel like tomorrow is Friday?!

I am turning off my MacBook right after this. Geez. Resisting the temptation to play Text Twist.

SEJARAH. Yes! Must study! As what Audrey said. She is either a true source of encourgement or just ol' Limmy. Lum, OK, I am gonna go study because of that guilty conscience.

BM was not good. English was on the verge of good. Science was along the borderline of not great. Aren't I pessimistic? Really and truly. Trying to keep up with the optimism of the world.

Me & Guilt. Guilt & I. Truly a great team.

Last Resort

2008-10-11T11:36:00.004+08:00

In exactly 2 more days, PMR will be knocking on my door with a false smile plastered onto its face.

PMR: You are on the list. I see... You nearly got 7 A's for UPSR, but with that 'B' for Chinese? You.

Me: I want 8 A's. I need 8 A's. But worst of the worst, I would settle for 7 as well. Just don't kill my Chinese! At the very least, a 'B', please. But the preferred grade would be an 'A'.

PMR: Geez. You are long winded. A nut too.

With a spring in its steps, PMR walks away from me, waving its walking stick at my face. Oh, you are so gonna die cos you were fantasising about your grades instead of studying.

Proof of your idiocy on the worldwide web.

Wish me luck, cross my fingers and toes, God bless everyone. Jumping out of the window is not the answer. Even if you break your bones, you have to sit for the exam in the hospital. Totally bad Feng Shui. Everyone knows that! I was pulling an 'Audrey Lim' just now. :S Haha.

My cue to go study. I guess. 6 more sets of Mandarin to (hopefully) an 'A'.

Multi-language good luck, anyone? On a French note, Bonne chance! 祝你好运！

And that's in Japanese. Well, cross my fingers and toes, cram-study till the very last resort. And face the music. If only that wasn't just a metaphor. Best of luck!

Coming Soon

2008-10-03T12:37:00.002+08:00

Whee... Instead of studying religiously, my mother, father and I were glued to the television early in the morning, watching the Vice Presidential Debate. Since last night, I have been watching CNN and CNN only. Even stayed up for the special report on some ice-drilling in Greenland. What can I say? The environment is interesting. My eyes were especially peeled when Palin and Biden were talking about energy, which is Palin's forte. 'Clean coal' versus offshore oil drilling, it was all in the name of energy. I felt that Palin sort of beated around the bush, not really giving proper answers on the military problems. My eyes were mostly trailing the graph at the bottom of the screen which shows how the audience rate the VPs while I listened to them. I disliked the look of mockery on McCain's face during the 1st Presidential Debate. Now I am watching weird comments about Palin's hair and sexiness on CNN, here: "lots of Chinese men will like her". Now that's something! Haha.

Watched Mamma Mia and 21 on Wednesday. Mamma Mia was not too bad for a cheesy musical, but to watch Pierce Brosnan sing?!? It was awkward and I felt that he was straining his voice a little, popping a weird accent occasionally. Clearly, James Bond was never cut out to sing ABBA songs. Speaking of 007, I can't wait for Quantum of Solace! 21 was fun to watch. I was envious of Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) because he is truly genius, save the few moments when he acted like a fool. And the way they played Blackjack! How I wish... Counting cards, MIT, Vegas! After PMR, I might consider getting the book Bringing Down The House.

On a last note, a hybrid is one of my lifelong wants, but an electric vehicle would be graciously accepted as well. The brand new Mercedes hybrid is truly amazing! All this talk about the economy crisis is worrying and well, it's time to face the music.

One week to PMR, Two weeks to Freedom.

Spending Time Like An Idiot

2008-09-20T22:39:00.004+08:00

Basically, today consisted of three important components. Which reminds me of my dumb, idiotic mess-up for Bahagian D in BM, but I will let it pass for now.

Went to a clinic around 2AM because of slight food poisoning/over-eating/indigestion problem. Having your stomach cramp up for a long period of time does not feel great. I usually bear the pain and try to sleep it off, this time it did not work. Pain is not good, so very painful. Hated it.

We sent my brother off to the airport around 6.30AM. Breakfast at McDonalds and then it was 'See you back in December! Study hard! Don't be lazy!' etc. from my mother, Ama and I. Not to mention, 'Skype us! You don't have internet at the new place? We'll call you then!'. Ama's words were in Hokkien, of course. My brother and I made shocking discoveries at McDonalds, according to an informative pamphlet, the Breakfast set has more calories than a Big Mac. And the Chicken McDeluxe has about the equal amount of calories to a Big Mac, so what about the DOUBLE Chicken McDeluxe, eh? Not that we're counting. McDonalds supposedly uses these 'fresh ingredients' instead of frozen products too. It was a nice touch to the pamphlet. Well, a while back I played this nice 'McDonalds' game. It was entertaining! Well, I like it.

And then... The Wii Sports! Whoopdeedoo... Only thing missing was my brother who defeated me game after game last night when we played Billards on the Wii for about 20 times in a row. He did not win every game, but I won only two rounds and yes, I am that lousy. My wrong technique of using the controller and the constant fouls I made contributed to his wins. Anyway, Aunty Bah Lee finally brought over the Wii Sports game CD! All the games were fun, my mother competing against my mother in bowling while I had Chinese tuition upstairs. Played boxing until my arms ached, I was swinging the controller too hard, I guess. Baseball was interesting. I just have to figure out how to turn tennis into a singles game. It's always in the doubles mode. Bowling was fun too. Golf was not that interesting. I simply cannot putt at the last part, always end up with a tee. Tried out pitching and batting for Baseball, it was cool, excluding all those fouls. I have this thing with fouls. It's weird but true.

I dislike packing up the Wii though. Taking off all the wires and keeping it back into the box as it does NOT belong to us. Oh well. I think I want to get one at the end of the year or so! Depends. As of now, I will make the most out of my aunty's. I'm not complaining though. :D

So Late Now

2008-09-18T23:35:00.003+08:00

Haha. Just heard this weird mix of Korean and English songs mashed up into some kind of weird but pleasant way. Thanks to Giuleta's blog! One side was all so emo-Korean whereas Taylor Swift was singing pop/country on the other hand. I want to read. So badly. And I don't mean KH or Geo.

Concentration's not even up to 50% now! I am typing so it's actually zero but you get it. I still love the small Geo book which is a quick and easy route out from studying the BIG BOOKS. Last day tomorrow...

LAST DAY OF TRIALS. Yes. Study! Study! Indeed I am burning the midnight oil. Wii tomorrow. Geez. I sure hope that Aunty Bah Lee brings over the Wii Sports! :D Back to studying now, I guess?

God's Nightgown

2008-09-13T16:58:00.005+08:00

Pardon the title but I have COMPLETED Gone With The Wind. The first thing which came to my mind after I had finished the book was:

"I don't give a damn." And I said it out loud too. Courtesy of Rhett Butler's last words to Scarlett O' Hara. In a way, I was anticipating the cliff hanger ending but when the book came to an end, it finally hit me right in the face. So by not giving a damn, I am cheating myself. I shall not hunt down the two sequels. I will leave it alone. I NEED A BETTER ENDING! Fiddle-dee-dee. But how so very Scarlett and Rhett to be like that, it fits their characters perfectly. Actually, the story finished off with one of Scarlett's significant "I'll think of it all tomorrow". The lady procrastinates, the man apparently doesn't give a damn. Still the perfect couple to me. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh are not my ideal Scarlett and Rhett. I want to watch the movie though. Exactly how does a person get hold of a 1930s film?

Our Trial Exams are next week! God's Nightgown. Anyway, I learnt a lot about the Civil War from Gone With The Wind but the book is fiction after all. The Democrats were the Confederates/Southerners and the Republicans were the Yankees. At least I know that! No wonder McCain is still a pain. Even though I don't really like Joe Biden, I wonder... Sarah Palin the Republican. The whole pig-wearing-lipstick thing. This whole political race is so SCANDALOUS! First, Palin's pregnant daughter and then the whole Sex Ed being taught to kindergarteners issue. But who said politics was not scandalous? I rest my case. CNN is killing me, I tell you. To think that I pronounced "Ike" as "Ee-kay". Geez. My father was casting me these weird looks while I lamented about this mysterious "Ee-kay". Oh, it's the Hurricane Ike you're meaning to say? Indeed. -_-"

Gone With The Wind is scandalous and totally out of this world yet it happened in this world. Well, fictionally speaking that is. I HAVE TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO GET THE TWO AUTHORISED SEQUELS >> Rhett Butler's People and Scarlett. Both have their pros and cons, but I cannot leave the couple like that! Fan fiction is sanctuary as of now. Malaysia's bookstores. MPH. I could go on and on. But I won't.

Headache

2008-09-06T23:33:00.006+08:00

Today I got my first headache caused by selecting books. Utterly weird but yes, it happened to me. My aunty decided to bring me to 1U to get me a present. After getting some disposable contact lens (YES. FINALLY! I hate monthlies, now that sounds kind of wrong), we went to MPH. I was looking for Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, so I checked for it on the computer there. There was only one left, so I went to look for it in the Fiction section. Nothing turns up. I went to the 'Gift Wrapping Counter' because there was a worker there and since she was busy with wrapping her books, she gave lousy advice, "Oh it's that section there to the right." and then she went back to her task. Geez. Fine. Patience. I want the book, that's all. I went to the Information Counter, note 'INFORMATION'. This Indian man did the usual routine by checking the stock on the computer and when he rang for another worker to bring me to that particular section, NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE. I swear I could hear the phone at the Gift Wrapping Counter ringing! Remember the one where the woman replied me which proved to be somewhat useless? Yeap. That's the one. No one answers, the guy tells me that it might be reserved which, DARN IT, I THINK IT WASN'T RESERVED and that the book might be under Classic Literature. Geez. I went back to the Gift Wrapping Counter, the woman answered the phone at last, gave me directions that led me to the Classics section. STILL NO REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. Asked some workers who passed by me, they pointed towards the Gift Wrapping Counter. I rest my case. Lousy service which made me feel so disappointed and irritated. At least when I went to get Gone With The Wind, they were very helpful, searching everywhere for it, MAKING AN EFFORT TO BE OF SOME KIND OF ASSISTANCE at the very least. I think I saw it myself, but anyway, they were a helpful bunch unlike today's bums. Sheesh. I hate to make a scene but if I could, I think I would, now that I think back about it. It would just be a waste of breath and time anyway. Forget those dumb people, I want the book!

Never mind, Gone With The Wind is great! Rhett ButleR, Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett ButleR, Scarlett O' Hara, Rhett ButleR, Scarlett O' Hara, Rhett ButleR, Scarlett O' Hara. Love it to bits! I was even tempted to open the copy at MPH just to read it. Nevertheless, I bought some home design magazines to rewind. Yes, I like reading those kind of magazines but my room still looks as though Hurricane Gustav took a trip half way around the world to mess it up. Not that I would need a hurricane to mess it up any further. I plan to do a complete 'clean and give-away' after PMR. Just give away all those PMR BOOKS! AHAHAHA... Evil smiles abound.

Anyhow, my thoughts about the future is worrying me. Wow. College applications and university admissions are about 2 years away but all the same, time at school passes so fast. With a blink of the eye, there will be the PMR exams. Alas, I have finally felt the pressure. Emphasising on the MANDARIN TRIAL EXAMINATION MARKS FOR THE JABATAN PENDIDIKAN! Geez. I want a 'B'... or an 'A', maybe I might stoop so low as to a 'C' too. Just don't want to push my luck. :S

House is All About Learning Science

2008-09-05T23:48:00.006+08:00

When we read books, there's always that nice cursive font pacing in my mind, The End. Not exactly cursive, but I'm too lazy to HTML, especially in Safari. Today marked the end of our 2nd Pre-Trials. It seemed like just yesterday I was celebrating the ending of my first pre-trials. Yeah. So two down, five more to go. Got me a 95 for Maths and 85 for KH. Quite satisfied but I feel super duper irritated because I was jealous of Audrey Lim Mei Yen. My very best friend who I call Lim all the time. Sheesh. I cannot even call you Lim because you are lame but smart. Dude. I hate you and KH. Seriously. Personal. Grudge. Ah Lum (because I don't want to use Lim as of now), in a way I am happy for you but I am also cringing at the sidelines. Yeap. Just like that. But congrats anyhow because I have better sleeping skills than you. Wow. I have to stop the self-praising.

During the KH exam, I got the rare chance of reading a BM magazine, offered by Pn. Zainab. I learned that eating ice helps stimulate your memory power or something like that and eating ice helps to concentrate because it is cold. So Giuleta, your secret is out. I will become a genius soon. But my teeth aches when I eat ice sometimes, too cold you know. I prefer to stay the same and sleep more. And during any exam, you should try to sit in the same posture which you were in while studying. For example, if you sat up straight while studying, do so in the exam instead of sprawling half of your body onto the table like the undead (namely what I did). Apparently, if you change your position (not that you need to stay put like a statue) you are risking the chance of going blank. Yes. The myth of 'going blank' is all due to sitting posture and because you didn't study (that's my excuse anyway). But if you say that 'your mind went blank', it is more comforting, I guess. That is only for me, I think. It sounds better than 'I felt so stupid and dumb that the questions were taunting my temporal lobe'. The temporal lobe... A part of your brain which has something to do with memory. Yes, I have been watching House. I just re-watched episode 15 of season 4 because episode 16 is taking almost an eternity to download. I love House. One more week till another Pre-Trials, and also to the beginning of the new TV SEASON!! I'm that mad.

Where in the world am I going to get my PMR Chinese marks for the Jabatan Pendidikan??! I ate the New York Crust Beef Pepperoni Pizza from Dominoes today. Yum.

Gone With The Wind

2008-08-31T18:39:00.004+08:00

Gone With The Wind is a MUST-READ. That's all I can say because I have just started and the story is really interesting, based around the 1930s or rather, the Civil War era, simply intriguing. Now I know who is Scarlett O' Hara! I will leave the book alone for a while, just to go finish my homework and study. I can just hear Giuleta's voice in my head telling me off right as I type this. "Alex, exams are next week you know! And you can still read? It's the Jabatan Pendidikan marks!" Seriously, Giuleta, you are like my studying conscience. Sheesh. It's good in a way, but annoying at some times. I cannot seem to find my book's cover, which is considerably more presentable than the somewhat cheap-looking, typical romance novel book cover which turned up when I Google-d it. Eesh.. This vintage book poster does look more fancy though.

If that woman in the poster is Scarlett O' Hara, she isn't as perfect as my imaginary Scarlett. I am itching for the appearance of Rhett. I simply cannot stand the cliche pose of Scarlett in Rhett's arms. ~~CHEAP. CHEAP ROMANCE NOVEL. CHEAP.~~ I think I am beginning to sound like a bird. And it isn't all romance and lust, there is some historic information and the story is definitely not one of those romance paperbacks that old women read. The winner of The Pulitzer Prize, okay? What trashy romance novel gets a Pulitzer? I couldn't find it in the fiction section of MPH because it was under Award Winners. Now that's something. Answering Giuleta's tag now:

(Part One)
1. Are you allowed to have a bf/gf?
I have not asked. Though my family members create some imaginary ones at certain times. That day it was Tom, and then Matthew. Wait a second, where is James?

2. Describe yourself in one word.
Blur.

3. Who would you pick, someone who really loves you, or the one you love?
Someone who really loves me!

4. Have you ever loved someone before but never had the courage to tell him/her?
Yes and no. I don't confess my love to David Archuleta or Edward Cullen! Maybe I secretly do. Nope.

5. Does it feel good to love?
Yes. It was this super happy feeling when I watch American Idol or when I first read Twilight.

6. What do you like to eat?
Weird but yes, SOUP. Not really those thick, cream-based Western soup though.

7. What's the last thing you'll do before you die?
Spend time with my family.

8. Was there ever a time that you tried to learn to love someone?
Yes. It was someone I hated, so I tried to be nice. Hating wastes energy.

9. What can you say about playboys/playgirls?
Some people have their own lives, let them do whatever they want.

10. Are you still a virgin?

YES.

(Part Two)
1. Best place to cry?
Bedroom? In the toilet (clean, of course)?

2. Who's the person who stands on top of your heart?
There is more than one person. Family, friends and pets.

3. Tell us your dream last night.
Nothing doing. Or I have forgotten about it.

4. Ever hated someone so bad?
Maybe. What a waste of energy and time it was!

5. The biggest and most hurtful lie you heard?
Well, I wouldn't know it if it was a lie, right??

6. The last person you had a beer with?

No one. I played the beer game on my brother's iPod touch and you tilt the iPod to drink the beer. Tasted like nothing.

7. The last person you went to the movies with?
My mother, father and brother.

8. The last person you talked on the cellphone with?
Jolene che che.

9. The last person you hugged?
My mother.

10. The last person who made you cry?
Myself. I was thinking too hard. Call me a nut already!

11. In the last week you kissed someone?
Yes. My mother.

12. Danced crazy?
Have yet to do that this week.

13. Think of the last time you were angry, why were you angry?
Day before yesterday because I was thinking about something.

14. If you could do anything or wish anything, what would it be?
Grow taller!

15. If you could have an all expense paid trip, where will you go?
EUROPE!!

16. Would you or have you ever blackmailed someone?
Yes, but my plans always fail because of guilt or something.

17. Are you old fashioned?
Mmhmm.

18. What would be harder for you, to tell someone you love them or that you do not love them back?
To tell someone that I love them.

19. What things would be the hardest thing for you to give up on?
Sleeping in class, wasting time.

20. Five facts about me
I am lazy, I am blur, I am quite the lousy liar, I can stay quiet for a long time to just think about things, I procrastinate too often.

21. Seven songs in my head now.
Pink - So What

Avril Lavigne - Complicated

Avril Lavigne - I'm With You

Avril Lavigne - When You're Gone

Avril Lavigne - My Happy Ending

David Archuleta - Crush

Justice - D.A.N.C.E

22. Two of your favourite TV shows.
HOUSE! Heroes! (Grey's too!!)

23. Five things I treasure in my life.

My family. My friends. My books. My home. My dogs.

24. Four "First Time" in my life.

For the first time in my life, I realise that books are just fiction.

For the first time in my life, I realise that you have to be tall if you want to get a good view while standing in a concert.

For the first time in my life, I want to finish my homework and not at the very last minute.

For the first time in my life, I realise that some people are just like that.

25. Seven words I always use

Whatever.

Huh?

Stupid.

Shit.

Arse.

Lame.

Dumb.

Finito.

I LOVE BREAKING DAWN & Renesmee. Jacob. Edward. Bella. Twilight love.

Breaking 3 Quarters of Dawn

2008-08-26T18:40:00.003+08:00

It is all love and smiles for Breaking Dawn. I am on my way to completing the entire book, by tonight latest, even if I have to withstand dark circles and overdue homework! The book shall not be left alone, my fluorescent light and its strenuous white glare shall accompany me till the very end. I will indulge in Breaking Dawn and Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Blame it on a truly lovely fan fiction author, she introduced the story within her plot and I think I have fell for it. :) Sheer bliss can be found in books and you shall not doubt that.

My absence from the computer is due to the Olympics. I feel a sudden emptiness after it ended, with such a flair and its beautiful human formations. Michael Phelps who achieved his goal of 8 gold medals is aiming for 9 more to add to his collection the next Olympics come round. Liu Xiang shall be 25 years old when he focuses on charging over the hurdles in London to claim the gold medal he missed this time round. Usain Bolt who amazed the world with such incredible speed made his mark in the history of sprinting. I do hope that Lee Chong Wei will ~~not disappoint~~ make his debut of winning the first ever gold medal in the Olympics. It was rather disappointing to watch his match against Lin Dan (ling dan means ZERO in mandarin, so you cannot blame me for letting go of my sportsmanship while I was watching the match) but after reading a few articles and imagining myself if I was put in his place, I guess the pressure might make me burst into a million pieces, let alone regaining agility and all the skills required to ace a sport. The rhythmic gymnastics were such a treat to watch, all the creativity and skill mashed into the ever-so-flexible body of the gymnast. Kudos to the Eastern Europeans who reigned the Individual All-Around Finals! Not to forget the Chinese who managed to snatch a few medals in synchronized swimming and group rhythmic gymnastics too. Diving was spectacular per se. Just by watching all the divers, gymnasts and synchro-swimmers perform with such skill and poise, I was overwhelmed already. :) Ooh... The 1st ever Youth Olympics will be held in Singapore, 2010. I can't wait as it is! Winter Olympics too! SKATING and SKIING, I love you too. XD

Ahaha. Enough of this blabbering over the Olympics, which is about the only time when I would gladly switch to a sports channel. Homework and Breaking Dawn... I will have to get to both of those tasks now. And we have another set of trial exams next week. Wonderful. Just a beaut. 48 more days to go till PMR but the true essence of fear has yet to kick in, what is wrong with me?!?!

Summer Fun

2008-08-14T21:34:00.001+08:00

Last weekend at Penang was kind of fun, despite Gurney Drive. Never go there for food, seriously. Just look at Henry Gurney, got killed on the way to Frasers Hill or something like that. His namesake says it all, tastes like it too. Not nice. Cheap though. I wasted RM5 on this Mua Chee (sticky glutinous rice paste mixed with peanuts) and it was soft and unappetizing. I don't think that I have ever really felt depressed after eating, but last Friday was the first, at least I think so anyway. DISCONTENTMENT. DISSATISFACTION. Two factors of the depression. Holiday Inn wasn't so bad, just that there were quite a number of Arabic dudes hogging the ping-pong table. DUMBDUMBDUMB. Unfair. Each time I wanted to have a go, they are there. :( The beach was nothing short of fun, I have a tan from waddling in the pool. Very tan, but I don't mind. :) The fun was worth it all. Haha! We got two large floats on the last day and there was a plump Arab guy which sort of jumped onto the float when my brother fell off it. WTH man.. -_-" The appropriate word is 'hijack' but I don't want to create a controversy across the internet. It's all in good fun and no harm. I did not get to eat CHAR KOAY TEOW... And I was very unhappy, but lunch was great. Fish and food that was amazing compared to Mr. Henry Gurney's tourist trap. I even missed part of the Olympics Opening Ceremony for it! Forget it. We remember the good and try to forget the bad.

Pre-Trials are ending TOMORROW! I guess it's my cue to run off to hit the books. Lest there is one thing I have to mention. THE 2008 BEIJING SUMMER OLYMPICS!!! How I love it just so! Winter or Summer, both are always so incredibly fascinating! I have a sudden interest in watching sports. SWIMMING, badminton, GYMNASTICS, diving (I have yet to watch the proper show, just caught bits off the daily highlights), equastrian and even weight-lifting. It is all SO COOL! Michael Phelps is incredible. China is doing great, scoring the highest number of medals so far! Once again, everything is being pushed to its limits and I'm just glad that I have the opportunity to spectate it all! Finito. I might be catching more Olympics, or maybe not. It's late and here I am posting my time away. I couldn't help myself! :P Dire weakness or something like that. Hope that Malaysia gets the gold for badminton or anything else! :D

As Of Now

2008-08-05T18:09:00.001+08:00

The homework we get is horrible, sets and sets of PMR questions, yes, till you could practically puke them out. I am still unable to get good marks though, so I think it's better for me to just keep it down and bear with it. Slept during Moral class today, for about 1/2 an hour, I dozed off on the comfortable lab table. Classmates were chatting everywhere but I managed to fall asleep anyway. I sleep in class, not really sleeping but I have got the whole eyes-open-close-nod-off routine going on since standard 3. Somehow, I always get caught. It's my cue to act innocent now. :P

Homework and studying. A cocktail of stress and sleep deprivation, I tell you. Heroes and so many more incredible TV shows are returning coming September, my birthday month too! Kudos to the television networks for granting me such great gifts. XD House, Grey's, Chuck... I have been wanting to watch Gossip Girl but haven't really got round to do so. Maybe after the PMR. Geez... studying is like smelling durian. I don't like the smell, but after I eat one or two, I can say that it tastes nice. But I dislike the smell anyhow. Studying is a durian. My dashboard is a haven. 6.00PM! Hokkien drama time, Yi Nan Wang. If interested, it's channel 311, AEC. X) I read the Chinese subtitles too.

We Were There

2008-08-04T23:34:00.005+08:00

The weekend has passed and this year's MAA too. Well, took a few photos which are making me feel smack dab incredible and greatly star-struck. You have got to love 'em celebs, they make me feel all tingly and tangly. Haha! I think it's just the background research which has made those golden stars appear right in the middle of my pupils.

JARED LETO and KYLE PATRICK, you guys made my day an even better one (if it could get any better than that, I would have gone to stay with the Jolie-Pitts for a period of time)! Hmm... So I admit not knowing who in the world they were at first. In the beginning, Jared Leto, was to me, the host of the MAA who appeared on multiple advertisements which made an imprint in my mind that he was the lead vocalist of 30 Seconds To Mars (yeap, I'm not much of a rock fan). Gothic looks, nice hair, quite good-looking compared to some other punks I have seen. I have a horrible image of rockers to look like Gene Simmons, the old dude has a show on Channel V which I watched once and promised to never watch unless required direly. Did I mention that I was watching the episode where he went for plastic surgery? Ee-yuck. Jared Leto anytime!

And then we have Kyle Patrick, lead singer of The Click Five. I didn't know about him, I just knew The Click Five in general, s'all. All I know is that he is really thin and tall, making me look up to him like some kind of an idol. Especially the part where he is tall, just makes me want to lengthen me limbs. That was speaking figuratively, but there is a surgery to do something like that, putting in these devices that are internally attached to your bones and adjusted every once in a while to stretch them. I watched it on television once, that time I was thinking: "Who in the world would be so desperate and dumb to do something like that?" Me, now: "Maybe I would. Then again, the ultimate factor of pain makes it a stupid way to grow taller, not to mention to grow unnaturally too, as in FORCING your bones to grow. Ouch." Nah, I'd rather stick to a glass of milk and lots of calcium anytime sooner.

Much love to my mummy who made most of this possible. It was fun to go star-hunting with my brother. Yay, all in all. I have a weekend to Penang ahead of me. How in the world am I going to be able to study and finish my homework is beyond my mind. Sometimes, all we can do is wonder. I seem to do a lot of that nowadays. While everyone else is touching a milestone in their number of posts, I lag behind with a measly amount of 57... -_-" Disappointment within me is behaving like air particles in the Brownian movement. Wow, random science fact. Duty calls, home work comes second, don't you think so?

By the way, my household is trying to conserve energy as our electricity bill is sky-rocketing. One great blog which I found through Blogs of Note is Crunchy Chicken's blog. This blog is all about going green, being eco-friendly, the works. Or maybe, I could just go out and tamper with the electricity meter. Either way, a visit wouldn't hurt anyhow.

I WANT A HYBRID CAR!!! Can't drive yet though. :(

Over The Moon or Sun

2008-07-23T21:39:00.006+08:00

The three days of agony have passed, books to be shut and opened in a few more days or so. Depends on my studying guilt and the pressure which is coming right up to my nose. Then I push it to the back of my mind by falling asleep, how so very simple. Science and Maths, two subjects which I do not dislike (only at times) but they made me feel like I just fell into some kind of a hell-hole for two hours of my precious life. Awaiting the results, that's the no-fun part of exams. From there, it's either uphill or downhill or just, "Whatever man, it's just monthly test, so, chill!" as told by Rhinaa. Or you could get a reassuring "Don't worry, we all did." from Shu Fei when I told her that I thought that I had failed.

But, I always get this thrill when an exam or test is over. It feels like heaven. Nah, just like a leap over the moon. One hurdle down, a million more to go. Including PMR. WADDEHELL? Say it like Pn. Zainab, I dare you to. Since I just got this new blockquote thingamajig up my arm, I must as well make use of it.

Father: Did you know that the movie to gross the highest last weekend was Batman?
Me: Oh. Of course! All superhero movies do well, like Spiderman.
Father: But Spiderman was a stupid show. This movie was much better. The Dark Adventure!
Brother: Yeah, he watched the movie. (sarcastically)
Me: Ohmigod. It's The Dark Knight, smart!
Father: Oh yeah, I sort of forgot. Why do they call it that anyway?
Me: Cos he's Batman and you don't think we could call him The White Knight, right?

I finished one Nancy Drew book for some light reading. I can't wait till Wall-E comes out here! I want to watch Wanted, Get Smart and The Incredible Hulk too. Movies make me happy. :) HTML and me make an unhappy couple. SOMEONE, help? The blockquote just isn't working out at all. Time for a new layout, maybe? But this one is too near and dear. Oh well.

Quickie

2008-07-20T22:10:00.001+08:00

I am resisting the urge to post photos and stuff for now as I am supposed to be studying. So, just a quick update for now.

Watched The Dark Knight at GSC Signature, The Gardens. My mother and father fell asleep, me and my brother kept our eyes peeled in contrast. Heath Ledger as The Joker was a little frightening. If no one told me, I would never think that he was acting. It was all so real and intense, great acting if you ask me. Christian Bale was amazing but I don't really like Maggie Gyllenhal as Rachel Dawes, don't know why. It's just awkward to watch Katie Holmes in one movie and then they make a switcheroo for the sequel. The Dark Knight was 8 out of 10. Great special effects and cool actors. Make-up and costume design, I like. :)

Very satisfied after bargain-hunting today. Kudos to Elaine che che for bringing me around since Jolene che che is pregnant and might be due... whenever. You never know with things like these. Tristan is such a nice name for a baby boy.

Back Up

2008-07-04T15:16:00.006+08:00

I feel a little frustrated. Blogger in Draft hung up on me just when I had carefully linked up everything which I sought to be interesting and worth a visit (or maybe more). Yesterday we took our class photo, a nice one with all the 3 Cempaka students grinning, showing off our pearly whites and caffeine-yellow (mine, that is). I don't drink coffee, not even decaf. Once I tried to drink coffee, my brother went into this awkward lecturing mode: "Oh. Not even 20 and you need coffee, huh?! You think you're so great now, is it? Drinking coffee? Must as well just drive the car then." (sar-cas-m) Or maybe I am overdoing it, but he was lecturing alright. Just thinking of having 'black holes' in my molars simply puts me off, making me a reliable buyer of toothpaste. Who doesn't buy toothpaste?! Other than grinning and bearing the awkwardness in front of the camera, our class's boys had their hair parted and slicked-down. Way to go! Looking either weird or just plain funny, it was fun nevertheless. Who would guess that it was the boys who would rush off to the toilet to get ready while a number of girls lingered in the class. :/

I have finished The Pact! It was an amazing journey nonetheless. My heart went out to Chris during the trail. It is no fun to hear awful things about yourself ("beneath that fancy jacket and that nice blue tie - a cold-blooded murderer.") from the Attorney General and all you can do is sit and bear it all. It is about a suicide pact and the boyfriend, Chris Harte, lived while the girl, Emily Gold, died. Or is there more to what it seems to be? The American cover (mine is the Brit one):

In other news on books, here is the cover of Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment in the Twilight series. Don't you love it? I do. :) Giuleta beat me to posting. Here is the cover anyhow, and *CLICK* it! I know you want to. A surprise awaits ye, if ye have some faith in me, a gift of the Twilight series it shall be.

Ever heard of Midnight Sun? If no, just click the cover of Breaking Dawn already! *hint hint* Edward Cullen's POV of Twilight (click again). Thinking of reading The Host. :) Links tomorrow, that is if Blogger does not betray me.

Two Days

2008-06-29T21:38:00.002+08:00

Hmm... I am just getting used to blogging on my Dashboard. It is fun! Don't stare at me, I am a fool. Anyway, Friday was Beauty and the Beast day, and also Sejarah-test-results-are-bad day. But let's overlook the tests, the musical was by far, one of the more interesting Broadway musicals I have ever watched. Or maybe I have only watched one Broadway musical to be specific. Cats (which I watched a long time ago and fell asleep while doing so), Priscilla: The Musical (don't get me started on the Aussie musical which had so much crude slang that I did not understand -_-") and My Fair Lady (I prefer Audrey Hepburn, but it was nice). Beauty and The Beast was amazing. I seem to describe many things to be amazing nowadays, but they are! Back to the B&B musical, the costumes were breathtaking, the cast was sensational and who doesn't love the good ol' tune, Tale as Old as Time? Mrs. Pott's singing combined with Belle's tiered yellow dress and the Beast dancing with her, it was an 'Aww...' moment for me. At some parts, I was actually startled when the Beast growled out of the blue. Call me a coward, I will tell you that I was practically sucked into the musical. I just love it that much! And the sets were more interesting than My Fair Lady. When the Beast changed back into the Prince, he was doing multiple standing cartwheels mid-air, and POOF! He turned into a Prince, the makeup of the Beast vanished without a trace! I was in awe, I tell you! My brother and cousin told me that he was wearing a mask, but after scrutinizing my programme book (which right corner I bent during the show upsetted me immensely), it was facial makeup, I tell you! Absolutely incredible! I tend to get overexcited over small matters. All in all, I loved this musical!

And Carol che che's wedding yesterday? Went for the traditional tea ceremony at 11 in the morning, went to Ama's house to collect her clothes, came back home around 4PM. Another 2 hours spent watching The Seventh Day with my brother (we got disc 2 from my aunty :D) and getting ready for the wedding dinner. Came back from the wedding dinner around 12AM. Phew. And today, I woke up late and spent the morning helping my Ama and experimenting frying omelettes in a small pan. MY KH PROJECT'S PAINT CRACKED! Noooo... -_-" It's so late now. Just came back from my Popo's house after having dinner with my grandparents. It's late and I have to paint. This is a rushed post. :S

Something New

2008-06-25T21:41:00.001+08:00

Oh yes. I am supposed to be studying my Sejarah, but no... I decided to play with my new widget. The Blogger widget which allows me to post straight from the comfort of my Dashboard, where the Dictionary/Thesaurus is right beside me to question my grammatical or vocabulary mistakes. Sheer bliss. What else is new? I am midway considering a new layout, maybe, yet I am not ready to let go of ol' Red here. Through the long and longer of my posts, ol' Red has sustained the boldness of my text and made people's eyes feel sore. So, I might trash it for an eclectic mix of red and white, if possible.

Yesterday, I tasted Ski's Mango and Peach flavoured yoghurt and I loved it. Yummy-O! Today I had the Berry Mix flavour and it is still tastes heavenly. I have gone back to my old ways, I am afraid to admit. I have once again started to watch Yi Nan Wang a little more often. Me and my brother can sing the theme song, that's how bad it is. I hum it sometimes. Who hums a Hokkien drama's theme song?! I do. -_-" I also experienced for the very first time last night or shall I say, this morning, INSOMNIA. Sleeping at 3AM, yet I woke up quite well, better than usual, and I am quite a heavy sleeper. No, I wake up and run somewhere else to sleep again. How awful, I have been doing that for six years now and still going on strong. How in the world did Rhinaa manage to stay awake, kudos to her. I am not the lost Japanese taxi driver who falls asleep while driving slash gangster at night! Or am I? Whee... Gotta go hit the books now.

Sniffing Weed

2008-06-16T23:19:00.003+08:00

Today, I give you the chance to send me to jail as I just sniffed weed. No, I did not smoke weed, I sniffed it instead. Before I get onto that, first what happened before the weed sniffing. I ate one big bowl of Asam Kai Choi. I savoured its sour and yummy taste as I read Nancy Drew. Those yellow books just make you eat without thinking, and the Asam was clearly of no assistance at all! Asam makes you want to eat it more, or an effect thereof. A bad habit of mine, reading while eating. With Nancy Drew as my meal companion, my mouth just opens and closes like an automatic rubbish incinerator. Not good. Constant chomping without thinking. Exactly what was I thinking? After finishing the large amount of Asam Kai Choi, I was bloated to the brim. I actually felt like puking. It was just that bad. And as I made my way to my room, my nose started to bleed. I spoke to my Popo (my father's mother) for a while on the phone and then went to the kitchen to look for my Ama (my mummy's mother) who was a little busy. Conversation in Hokkien is as follows:

Me: Ama.... My nose is bleeding.

Ama: Oh. Your body is heaty!

Me: Ohh..

Ama: Thump your head a few times and put an ice pack on your forehead. Tilt your head upwards.

Me: Okay. (thumps head) How many times must I thump my head again?

Ama: Whatever you want. Just get the ice pack.

Me: Mmhmm. (gets ice pack and puts it against forehead)

Ama: Oh yea... Get some grass and sniff it.

Me: Oh. Eww... My dogs pee on the grass!

Ama: Not like you are going to eat it, just sniff it!

Me: Okay. (plucks leaf and washes it, tearing it into shreds and sniffing the leaf) Is this ok?

Ama: Yeap. It works.

And there you have it. My second weed sniffing experience. Anyway, the smell of leaves is quite nice and refreshing. It just smells so green and photosynthesis-ish. Must be the chlorophyll. It has a distinct fresh scent to it. Of course, wash the leaf before you begin the sniffing. And it worked for me! After sniffing the leaf for a short while, my nose bleed stopped. I resumed the ice pack treatment until my forehead felt numb. I cheated by shifting the ice pack onto different positions on my forehead.

Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus

2008-06-15T20:56:00.004+08:00

What about my Ah Mah? Nope, that sounded so unlike me (that is San San che che's spelling). Ama. Yeap. It's better, more me, simple and short. My Ama is simply AMAZING because she cooked this amazing Asam Kai Choi. It is just stewed vegetable which tastes spicy and sour. The soup is simply ADDICTIVE. Darn it. I am bloated with the soup. Sheesh. One of my weaknesses is soup. My Ama is one of the GREATEST and BEST cooks EVER! Truly. We just don't give her enough credit. She can stay up till the wee hours of the morning, waiting for someone to come back and then heat up food for that person to eat. She just smiles and is ever so nice. Despite being over 80 years old, she can cook 5 dishes all at once. All the stoves warm with food, her hard work yet she smiles like it was something simple. :) One million kudos to my Ama! The world's most awesome Ama! :D My grandma, nope, she's my AMA!

Oh, it's Father's Day. And wouldn't you like to know? My father thinks that Father's Day is just a commercialised day of nothing but spending money. Yet the man accepts gifts and cards. Typical. :) If only there was such thing as Grandparents' Day. Hmm... Whee. My Popo is also so incredible. My Kong Kong is another person to look up to. He is a penny-pincher, organised extraordinaire and he may grumble a lot, but we just love 'em all. Our grandparents, that is. And my Popo? She is so super nice and polite, she smiles all the time despite everything. A true light shining through the darkness, that's what I would describe her to be!

Today me and my brother scooped our way through half a watermelon. Yes. HALF. A. WATERMELON. All of it is in our stomachs now. I was just about to get my dessert when I saw him with half of a watermelon, giving me a "What?!" smile too. The nerve. I took a few spoons and rushed off after him. Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus. We came, we saw, we conquered. You have to love Julius Caeser for those beautiful Latin quotes of his.

I seriously have to get back to my homework. Technical drawings which map out my future as a possible architect. Nah. I will stick to that dream of becoming a doctor who also screen writes.

Bag It In

2008-06-15T01:48:00.003+08:00

Well, I have been slacking in the blogging but don't blame me (as always) as school is truly piling the stones up onto our backs. Anti-kudos to our Sejarah and KH teachers, they make PMR a more sufferable year for us students. With all the technical drawings of silly plans to chop up some wood and piece it into a product, not all hope is at loss if we have lost a job, for we could make out to work at a woodworking factory. Not to mention exactly how useful redoing Elemen 3, an essay on patriotism and throwing in some points regarding traditional games and sports. Perhaps the World Summit would be out of topics and maybe one of us would grow up to give a speech on that particular topic regarding traditional games and whatnot. You just never know. Alas, I have to complete the work that is given anyway. So now is a good time to start.

Let's begin with that beautiful day called Friday, a day that I was supposed to be in school, feeling drowsy while voices of wisdom try to enter my brain, putting on my retainers after eating, leaving the back gate with a lighter heart after five days of homework. My mummy got my report card and unsatisfactory of my results made its round in my brother's room as we discussed my results, my brother who was half-asleep giving a sleepy smile at the sound of my mummy chanting out the B's which I was not supposed to get. I have gotten quite used to it, but I was playing the rebellious card all the same. And contrary to what I had done to secure my 80, borderline-safe "A" for English, an aptly printed "B" appeared to taunt me on my report card (if you can call a few pieces of paper a report card). Not that I had enough B's to pass around the room, Geography, Sejarah, BM and that one sane subject which I had supposedly bagged a safe "A", English, take your pick. Hmm... What happened next was not a blur, but me taking out my English exam paper and scrunching and dumping it into the bin before feeling fed up, then putting it under my bed's mattress to flatten it out. My poor Spongebob and Patrick Starfish soft toys got a few punches here and there too. They pack a good punch, those two.

Later on, me, my brother and my mother went on a shopping quest in hopes to look for my mummy's new purse. Pavilion was the venue of choice. Scurrying through the boutiques, we even saw a Paris Hilton booth. Burberry's latest design is quite the bore, simply diamond cutouts to reveal their signature print. What a bore. It was interesting to see the Gucci employees decked out in dark brown Gucci uniforms. Well, not Gucci suits and dresses, but the guys had dark brown Gucci monogrammed ties while the women had a scarf kind of necklace with golden charms danging from it. Nice. Yes, I am a nut, or a neat freak, or whatever it is. Not to mention me feeling a little Jakoon-ish as we went up and down the staircases of those boutiques (one of the reasons why I like Pavilion). We had lunch with Jolene che che and Ah Wei koko at Madam Kwan's before getting back to our shopping search. We finally ventured across the street to Starhill Gallery. Up we went to the highest floor (I think) to get to Valentino, where we had to go back yet another time from Pavilion to get my mummy's purse. Wallet. Whatever it is. It is matte gold with a small Valentino clasp with tiny Swarovski crystals in it. And it has a coin compartment and only one paper money compartment (what do you call it?). My mummy liked it so, yeap. We got it. The perfect purse. We also saw this range of really nice Fendi bags and wallets while purse-hunting. They are part of the Spring/Summer collection and are available in seven colours if I am not mistaken. VERY PRETTY! Fine. The colours are just so tempting and colourful, truly eye candy. Imagine, having all those bags. Using them, each per day. Wow. Did I mention that it costs a bomb per bag, about RM2000-3000 each. So forget it. I personally love the chain wallet one. XD Oh the apple green shade of it! The designs are quite simple, but the colours are simply a beaut. Lovely colour palette.

And Valentino rules. They had this bow-on-top kind of bag and another bow-tied-at-the-side bag. Yes, my description sucks, so here. O.O I love these bags too X ), not that I could carry them. But just look at them! So pretty. The prices are truly astounding all the same, about 4500 and above (depending on material and colour).

Those two Valentino bags are actually quite large. I am afraid they do not have a photo of the bow-on-the-bag design. It must be part of the older collection, I guess. It was nice anyway.

My First Tag

2008-06-09T23:05:00.002+08:00

To be honest, I do not like tags. Why am I doing this then, you ask? Because I am one of the laziest on the surface of planet Earth and also because I am halfway through making my mini Wau but I just want to leave it aside for a while. Signs of a procrastinator? Indeed, I am one. Today I finally solved two problems which I had dreaded during the holidays. One which was my LATE school fees cheque. I found it in blazer pocket and was crazy mad at myself. Not to mention me loathing my own absentmindedness to the point of being absolutely pathetic. Does that make any sense? I passed it up with my fingers and toes crossed, and the accounts lady gave me the receipt which had "RM37: late school fees charge" scribbled in the bottom right corner in blue pen. I practically leaped over the moon, overjoyed with the fact that I had to fork out RM37 from my own pocket in cash or cheque (who would want to waste a cheque on that feeble amount of money?) instead of paying that shocking penalty of 5%. Thus causing me to wave the receipt in Tiara's face before I started copying Audrey's KH workbook. Miss Tok passed by, caught me in the act and gave me one of her smiles (bad but mixed with pity, I hope), not a good sign. Never mind all that, before I resume my mini Wau project (Mrs. Chelva wants it by tomorrow... Sheesh! -_-"), without further ado, my first tag:

1)What do you want the most now?
Finish all my homework, especially the Wau.

2)Who is the person you trust the most?
Quite a few people. I feel impelled to tell them. :S My cousins, brother, Helena, Shean Yen, Giuleta (a tricky person who tricks me all the time), Audrey, Tiara (who I tell nonsense to irritate) etc.

3)Are you in love?
Nope. I do like David Archuleta and Skandar Keynes though. :)

4)If you could have a dream come true. What is it?
Get a hybrid car and attend the American Idol Tour 2008.

5)Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?
Yes. It's science, and I have seen one before, so... My eyes don't lie, at least for now.

6)What's your goal for this year?
Score 7 A's in PMR including at the very least, a C for Chinese.

7)Do you believe in eternity?
Some things yes and things like life, sadly, no.

8)Have you ever broken a person's heart that he/she wanna commit suicide?
No. I wish that would never happen in any case.

9)What feelings do you love most?
Being glad, satisfied and feeling at ease.

10)What are the requirements from your other half?
Still unsure, we shall have to wait and see.

11)What kinds of feelings you hate the most?
Irritated and suddenly being so annoyed till I am implied to be grumpy and acting like a pain in the arse.

12)Do you cherish every friendship of yours?
Yes. :)

13)What do you want to do in the future?
A doctor (neurologist or paediatrician) who also screen writes. Or maybe another international best seller.

14)What is the most important thing in your life?
My family, friends and pet dogs.

15)What did you feel last night?
I was worried about my school fees and started beating myself up mentally.

16)Who do you hope to always be there for you?
My family and my pet dogs.

17)When do you think the world will end?
One of my bets is according to the Mayan Calendar, 21st of December, 2012. I hope not though.

18)The world ends tomorrow. What will you do?
Try to contact everyone I know and tell them whatever that is important. Treasure my last moments with my family and pet dogs, recording every single detail into my mind.

19)What do you think of the person who tagged you?
Hmm... Giuleta, eh? A person who can tell lies with a straight face, she is also smart and could become the mastermind behind a mafia gang in the future. Probably a gang which sells extra body parts required for cheaper plastic surgery.

20)What do you want to know right now?
Why are the oil prices soaring while that Angkasawan guy smiles ever so falsely on the cover of his darned book?!

Hello

2008-06-07T01:06:00.003+08:00

For the past week, I have been up to lots of things. Mainly, movies. And I have finally completed Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. A must-read, patience is required for the court scenes. Picoult is truly astounding as she crafts this story into something so incredibly accurate and tender. The insight on each character's point of view, and in the end, in classic Picoult style, you might just exclaim "What?!" in that puzzled tone. Unpredictable and beautiful. It may seem as though everything has been set in stone, but as I flicked the pages, I just kept wanting to know more and more. And all was paid off when I finished the book smugly. The story is based on a school shooting, think Columbine or the recent Virginia Tech. At some moments in the book, I felt like giving the characters a punch or two. But that is reality, which sucks at some point. The book has this special thrill. Give it a try. As per usual, cover view. This time, I took the liberty to include a short excerpt just for fun.

In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five....In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.

I watched David Cook and David Archuleta on MTV's TRL online. It was entertaining and hilarious nonetheless. :) Before I spoil the BEST part of it (maybe I'm only that obsessed to think that :P), I put up Part 1 below. Part 2 and 3 is not necessary. Is it me or David Cook has the same answers in nearly all the interviews? Trust me, I have watched enough interviews to know well enough. He is a good answerer though. :D But you cannot change your answer from interview to interview anyway. Here:

Ahahaha... The phonebook singing has to be the most fun part of it all. Just because of that, I love TRL. :) More original questions. Whatever, I still cannot get over the fan thing. I still wish of the American Idol Tour 2008. They should come over here. XD

I am proud to announce that after 4 days straight of watching movies in the cinema, I am still going to watch Kungfu Panda (Cantonese) tomorrow evening.

Wednesday - Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Iron Man (again :D)

Prince Caspian was a little long-winded but the actors are not too shabby if I say so myself. They have grown and their acting skills are more polished now. Prince Caspian is good-looking. I like King Edmund (Skandar Keynes), he is cute. XD Oh and the mouse! Visuals were nice too. I give it a 7 out of 10. Iron Man... Refer to past post. I did not stay back for after the credits because of my mummy. There is a short clip. Yeap, I just spoiled it for you. But I missed it too. Sigh. :(

Thursday - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

What I thought was going to be an action-packed and super interesting Indy flick was just not the perfect film I expected. I had set my expectations too high. It was an alien-based story. -_-" Leave it to ~~Star Wars~~ George Lucas and ~~E.T.~~ Steven Spielberg to spoil it all. Cate Blanchett made a pretty good villain, Indy himself is already a trademark. Harrison Ford was great! Tarzan Shia?!? Fine. 5 out of 10 it is. I felt a little drowsy when it was near to the end. :S

Friday - Kungfu Panda (English version)

I could not miss this version because of Jack Black. XD His voice suits Po the panda so well! The animation was cool, because they had to sequence the fast kungfu moves and all. :) And it was worth the many laughs, from the finger to the tail. I am truly the sucker for animated films. Loved it! Po, you rock my socks! XD An 8.5 out of 10. I may be a hypocrite but I reserve the other 0.5 for the 'prettier' animations like Finding Nemo or Ratatouille or A Bug's Life or Monsters Inc or Toy's Story. Dreamworks just cannot beat Pixar in that sector. I'm waiting for Wall-E! X)

That is all. Good night!

World No Tobacco Day

2008-06-01T12:44:00.003+08:00

I forgot to mention World No Tobacco Day yesterday but it is still the 31st of May in Los Angeles so I still have the right to commemorate this day. :) I mean, I hate the smell of smoke, the pungent stink which lingers in the room even when the smoker has left. The imprint has already been made, the people in that room have just inhaled YOUR carcinogens, might as well just stab their lungs, yes? Fine. I don't want to go overboard in my soapbox, but if you really and truly love your loved ones, why do you even smoke around them, let alone leave the smoke for them to breathe in? Yes, we love you so much, we sniff it all in just to be around you. Smokey, we love you too you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah... We are all going to die one day, is that what you say? Because even if you wanted to die with the luxury of puffing that stick of tobacco, why would you want to harm someone who has NEVER smoked yet still has to face the consequences all the same.

The flicker of a flame brings it alive,
Bring it to your lips,
For it you strive,
The smoke travels around in many trips.
People you love inhale it too,
Their lungs torn apart by you,
The guilt you feel,
Will the pain ever heal?
- by Alexandra

Whatever you say, cigars, cigarettes, your 'stress-relievers' are the silent killers, or maybe they are not that silent anymore. They simple reek into your lungs and corrode them, like alluring women who take away an old man's millions and kill him without a heart. You get your pleasure while it lasts, and then when the time comes to shut down, will you be the one to cry for help? Really and truly, it reeks of depression. But it comes down to you, you know. It is your life. You either kill or heal.

It Is Here

2008-05-31T16:29:00.004+08:00

Whoop-de-doo! If you have been missing Edward Cullen and Bella Swan so much, I have a little tidbit for you. The Breaking Dawn preview! Enjoy. I have got to go fetch my brother from KLIA now.

Link-ie from Entertainment Weekly (where I hunt for American Idol tidbits and such):
Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn: Exclusive Preview

I found it while looking for David Archuleta interviews by the way. Appreciate and adorn that Twilight apple on your heart like a proud peach. Sorry, random saying once again.

My edit after the jump:
Well, I feel that David Cook is truly David Archuleta's "big brother". I have watched multiple interviews and they have this wonderful chemistry which makes it seem as though they are actually best friends or brothers in a way. David Archuleta would smile or laugh or grin in agreement to whatever David Cook says and David Cook calls him 'Archie'. It's just that, they are the Davids and to me, it is so nice to see Cookie act so nice while Archie stays loyal and when they both laugh, grin or smile together, it's just so cute. XD Haha... I just cannot leave the Idol '08 bandwagon just yet. If only I could attend one of their concerts... Oh well, we have the internet videos nowadays. Something is bound to turn up on the net. :) There was this one interview in which Cookie was doing the talking and Archie was swinging his legs, it was so child-like and innocent, making it extra cute. X) Sorry for that fan girl moment, I just had to mention that anyhow.

Speaking of celebrities, I would like to burst a bubble surrounding a piece of rumoured news published in today's The Star. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins have NOT been born! They are due in August (same as Jolene che che's baby... Whee!). According to PEOPLE magazine (really and truly a reliable celeb news source), they are in France and living the usual celeb life of fun and joy with their family-sized brood of kids. Hey, don't blame me for getting over excited over a small thing like this. I was itching to look at the pics of the twins! I mean, Angelina Jolie + Brad Pitt = perfect babies who are ready to be casted as one of the perfect creatures in Twilight, remember the evil Jane? I like the thought of Shiloh casting out as Jane since she has the looks (my imagination agrees). Then again, Twilight has been made and Shiloh is too young. Never mind that, let's not fret and enjoy this photo of our perfect creature hopeful, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt who has recently turned 2. :) She looks like the Gerber baby. Trademark hair and eyes from Brad Pitt while the lips are courtesy of Angelina Jolie.

My niece Cassandra does not lose out either! :)

Output

2008-05-31T01:44:00.000+08:00

Argh... I might be posting at some inhumanly hour but it is a teeny-weeny bit frustrating to know that I have made a really cool shirt but it looks funny. In the video tutorial, it looked really cool and since no sewing was required (two thumbs up!), I grabbed a shirt and started snipping around with my scissors. It was fun, but the results failed to be up to par. I then took out another shirt and repeated the steps, and I did the pattern on the wrong side of the shirt. Oh never mind, I needed a few more table cloths anyway.

At least I created a nice macrame. That's fancy knot-tying to people like me, or rather, Chinese knot-tying. I only managed to create a Good-Luck knot. Its instructions are the easiest to follow, the Flower knot is a little advanced if you ask me. But I am feeling a little adventurous after my long and ever-so-perfect afternoon nap (due to the rain), so I'll Google it up and get a few more nice patterns. I need more string. I feel a tad bit lifeless. The holidays do that to me. And my brother is coming back tomorrow so... YEAY~~!! Just a few posts back, I mentioned him coming back and he's back again. We're going to eating everywhere and I will have my chance to say "Why is it that he can wake up later?!" in the morning with a grumpy tone.

Yesterday was a fun day, Giuleta, Audrey, Tiara and I ate at Dome before advancing to Cineleisure to watch What Happens in Vegas. The second time round and I still could not resist the need to laugh at the last joke. I was a little unhappy that we could not watch Iron Man. Giuleta took the chance to trick me whenever she saw 'Iron Man' posters which were clearly not Iron Man posters and I just bought it all in. I am making sure that either San San che che or my mummy will bring me to watch it again. On the upside, I bought two books from Borders (wrong move, I tell you) and I ate Baskin Robbin's Strawberry Cheesecake ice-cream which I finally chose after tasting about 5 flavours. I think that it is just a combination of cream cheese with vanilla ice-cream, strawberry jam ripples and a few crumbles which are similar in texture to the base of the cake.

We went back to Giuleta's house after that. I sat in the room, we chit-chatted and her little brother came in to dance, clap and smile. He's a really cute toddler who can look as scary (the serious look) as Giuleta if he wanted to. It's in their blood! I took two photos of him and he had his hands ready to cover the lens so it has some sort of effect. He did not cover face though, so it's fine with me. :) I then directed my mummy to Giuleta's house for 15 minutes (I think) on the phone. She and Dua Yee were driving in circles and they missed the signboards because my mummy did not have her "driving spectacles" with her. Oh. Did I mention that one of the tyres punctured along the way to Dua Yee's house and thankfully we made it to a garage just in time. I also left my school shoes at Giuleta's place. Nice move. I think that Dua Yee is the coolest house wife ever, next to Ama of course. She can cook instant noodles, serve it and clean up in 10 minutes. She even spilt some of the chili oil into one of her eyes while doing so yet she washed it off swiftly without the teeniest bit of panic and just went about with the cooking. That is so cool, to me at least. Oh well, I am amazed by things like these. I went to sleep rather early, without finishing my homework too. Wrong move, but I finished it in school anyway. In school, I was mentally counting down to the time when I would get home.

It's finally and officially, the MID-YEAR HOLIDAYS. Whee! Here's my Good Luck knot to wish you good luck in whatever you do. :D Virtually available.

And Tiara, it's just a small thing. You are the burnt toast which people will eat with kaya (or marmalade or peanut butter or topping of choice) so that it will taste nice again. People might just eat it anyway. WHAT?! Hmm... How should I put it to sound right? ~~You are acting like an alien at the moment. It's a phase.~~ Alien is a mean word. You are not an alien. You are my best friend anyway. I can be the alien if you prefer. Ha! I might have a shot at becoming a psychologist/neurologist who also screen-writes. At least I think I can. :)

Not Here

2008-05-29T15:45:00.000+08:00

There is practically nothing going on at the moment. Well, I guess it is the perfect time to mark my fourth pair of Crocs shoes. Call me nuts but I have four pairs, four different styles which I like to wear, depending on my mood. My feet are uneven and they mock me all the time, so Crocs basically shut them up temporarily. It works fine, I am happy. Unfortunately, I could not get a pair of the new Crocs Santa Cruz due to my in-between shoe size. 6 is a perfect fit but my feet will grow, and 7 is loose for my right foot. It's the darn toes, I tell you. All that wall-kicking during my kindergarten days to escape the mosquitoes truly took their toll (just kidding, I don't remember kicking any walls).

The first pair I got was a pair of pink ones. Not light pink, but striking fuchsia to be exact to the point of colour blindness (no offense to those with said vision problem). Let us pause to ponder for a moment why in the world did I choose a colour which I opposed and disliked just so? For starters, I disliked their shade of 'coral' orange. I have an obsession with the perfect shade of orange (my favourite colour, including red), you see. Secondly, the purple and blue shade were just not me. I called my brother and took his advice by getting the 'purple' Crocs which I felt a little uncomfortable in, but struggled anyhow. My problem is, I cannot make my own decisions, I end up looking up someone, or anyone rather to just get it sorted out. The worst part of it was that I had bought the wrong colour, as in 'pinkish purple' (fuchsia) instead of 'Barney purple'. Hey, confusion plus indecision can cause making the wrong choice, that was it in my case. Hey, it wasn't my fault (anak bongsu -ahem- youngest child moment) because my brother told me to get 'Barney purple' (the colour I was supposed to get). My mental image of Barney was fuchsia coloured, his image was apparently grape purple. Or maybe we could blame the toymakers of Barney toys which somehow gave us the wrong mental image of 'Barney purple'.

I have a pair of the fuchsia ones (cue to the LEFT). I once used to detest it, yet it grew onto me and after decorating it with a few buttons, it ain't that bad after all. I also bought a pair of light blue Sasaris (high heeled wedges). That pair followed me through my makeshift journey of Atonement, trudging through the muddy roads of Jln. Bukit Bintang to my mummy's office in the rain. They gave me a wedge each time I tried to run in them, like a pair of duck's feet turning inwards. Later on, my father got me a pair of silver-gray coloured Prima (ballet pumps) because he did not want me to wear the light blue wedges as they were deemed unsafe in case you need to run away when there is an emergency. And just about yesterday, my mummy bought me a pair of Mary Janes. The colour of these Crocs make me feel so glad because it is in the nicest combination of red and orange, creating a rather aptly named colour called 'pulse'. It is basically the colour of a grapefruit's flesh. My mummy wanted to get it too, but ended up with a pair of dark blue ones because she shares hers with my Ama. 'Mango' was also another nice colour but, it is more yellowish and there goes the saying, 'yellow, yellow, dirty fellow'. Stupid pictures online make the 'pulse' colour look so false. Never mind that. Crocs are most probably the most comfortable foot gear I own other than my pair of light blue and silver Nike Free shoes which have gone through wear and tear yet I love them just so.

HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY! I interrupt this post to announce that I have bought a new Stephanie Meyer book: The Host. A-w-e-s-o-m-e. After hearing Shi Fen talk about it to Athira in class, I made a mental note to get a copy. I seemed to have forgotten about it due to my ride aboard the Jodi Picoult bandwagon, it is interesting to read about real life problems and life itself. Hmm... I shall complete Nineteen Minutes and begin The Host or should I go for Ian McEwan's The Child In Time? Ohmigoodness. BOOKS rule. Psst... Shu Fei and Giuleta: maybe I might lend you The Host. If you are lucky! Muahahaha. Fine. I'm not that evil, just a good kid who is high on BOOKS. Great books with beautiful adventures awaiting me. Whee! My bookshelves are officially full, once again. I must get going with the classics, their covers are a pain I tell you, the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" is clearly not coming through. It's just all green and... more light green. Just look (I tried but failed to resist the watermark):

For the record, I took this photograph with my phone, which I love with all my heart. Bluetooth is probably the best thing ever since the ancient Infrared. And yes, I arranged those books solely for the purpose of photography. As you can see, the teeny-weeny bunch of text on practically every single page of those 10 books will not help in any way at all. It all started with Pride and Prejudice, so witty and sweet, I could not resist the need to buy more of Miss Austen's beautiful creations. My father simply took the chance to get me into the 'classic' mode, he bought me the other 5 books, e.g. Three Men in A Boat. Ahaha. I still have Giuleta's last year birthday gift of RM50 to spend at Borders. Hopefully I will be able to resist the temptation buy another book.

I might probably be out at Cineleisure with Giuleta, Audrey and Tiara now watching What Happens In Vegas. The scheduled post thing sure comes in handy. Basically, I am not here. Yup. Bye for now!

Making Spree

2008-05-27T22:14:00.005+08:00

I just caught the D.I.Y. bug, for a few days or so at least. Pictures speak louder than words at some times and I couldn't help but put up a number of them. XD Enjoy!

This flower is from Mother's Day, I made a altogether 4 of them, but only managed to photograph only one because I made the others at the very last minute in the car. Nevertheless, I am proud of this 'professional' photo of my origami paper flower.

Next up, we have the RED chest of drawers. Initially, I had completed it halfway a few months ago and I then finished up the drawers last Sunday after the Wicker Man incident. The Wicker Man incident in a nutshell: my kakak found a beehive on a tree in my house near the outdoor staircase and my mother, being a heroine once again, called the fire department. She has called them before, earlier this month, when a house beneath mine whose residents had left the stove on while they were out. The Wicker Man operation began at 10PM, the firemen burnt the beehive while I watched the whole spectacle safely behind the glass windows. It was a cool experience. Photo of beehive will be provided soon. By the way, this chest of drawers just required assembling and pasting the paper on it, my mummy bought it for me from Isetan. I love their stationary section! :)

My last and most favourite project of them all, my first ever sewing project. I call it LE JEANNE. Why? Because it was crafted from a pair of old jeans (not mine, thankfully) and it took two days to complete. I started yesterday and put the finishing touches today. I am rather proud of it as my thumb and pointer finger feel a little sore from hand-sewing the entire project. The stupid needle even bent a little before I had completed this project. Anyway, I just made it according to video instructions on ThreadBanger. I subscribe to their podcast but was looking for an easy project to make without using a sewing machine and here I am, with sore fingers and an end product.

So, there you have it. Three things, three days of fun. Oops... I have yet to watch Grey's. The internet connection is horrendous. Till then :P

Spewing Out Reviews

2008-05-24T00:26:00.005+08:00

Technically, it is already past 12 midnight so it is actually tomorrow already. Slash that. I am following the time in London. TODAY is still Review Blog Day. Yeah. I shall begin to pour out my thoughts on stuff, giving them reviews. Looks like a long post.

First and foremost, the topic revolves around movies. No spoilers, just the movie posters, comments and my ratings on the movie.

IRON MAN.

I would have to say that it is one of the best summer 2008 Marvel comic flicks ever! A definite 10 out of 10 in my books. :D Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts created a mature yet believable cast. I mean, Iron Man is not your average I-got-my-super-powers-by-getting-bites superhero. He is human after all. The special effects are simply astounding and the FX is really suitable. You wouldn't want to be the person who missed one of 2008's nicest summer flicks, wouldn't you? So, spend 10 bucks on a ticket and get the full frontal experience of this movie A.S.A.P. Even if you hate comics and super heroes, there is a balance for everyone. Good funny bits which are not too cheesy, good actors who do not look overly young (they suit their roles very well if you ask me :D) and action sequences which will simply blow your socks off! How should I put it... Transformers' was a good movie, but if you prefer a more human-based story, Iron Man is more realistic. Robert Downey Jr. actually looks younger and good-looking in this movie, unlike his real 45 year old self. I mean, he has the looks, it's his HAIR! I don't usually agree with the moustache but what the hey, it's Iron Man, yo.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.

This movie is truly a piece of comedic art. It proves that life is always wacky despite how normal (or maybe not) things are. You have your average American family and a classic yellow minibus. Abigail Breslin is Olive and you are cordially invited to join her imperfect family (including her uncle, Steve Carell) for an hour and a half worth of laughs, ups and downs and some classic American crude humour. If you mind the f-word, maybe you could stuff cotton into your ears when they say it. But, overall, the movie has a great message. I give it 9 out of 10. I had doubted its simple pirated-DVD cover until the day I watched the movie itself. A nice movie. You may laugh or cry or end up doing both, it's that realistic.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS.

This one is a good romantic comedy. With Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as the funny stars of the show, you simply cannot stay quiet throughout the movie. At least one laugh is compulsary. It has a nice plot line, funny jokes and the naturally funny girl & guy. Truly, if you are in for romance maybe you won't be too satisfied. The common baseline was used, if you know what I'm saying. Well, I saw the poster at GSC while me and my mummy were getting our Iron Man tickets and I was like: "Ohmigoodness, we have to watch this!". I like the poster, simple and you get your typical couple shot. It has been quite some time since I have seen Cameron Diaz in movies other than voicing Princess Fiona on Shrek. The duo might be a little older, but you never lose your funny bone anyway. Ah Wei koko went to watch this movie on Mother's Day, left us at Yi Qi for dinner while he walked off to Pavilion by himself, the hero. What the hey, Jolene che che (a.k.a. pregnant woman) does not like watching movies at the cinema! Back to the movie, I give it a 7 out of 10 because the romance was OK and once the comedy toned down, it was not that great anymore. Predictable ending too. At the end of the day, chick flicks spell the words "simple storyline". So, yeah.

Sorry for not posting this at midnight. My Safari shut down unexpectedly on me and I fell asleep while waiting for my downloads. I have yet to watch Grey's and I am loving the Idols on Larry King Live the second time round. They get to be themselves, natural and no cue cards. OMG. I was about to join the Larry King Live contest to win a pair of his suspenders with the TOP 10 IDOLS' SIGNATURES on it!! I would pass for the suspenders but, the signatures are incredibly tempting. I am not in U.S. anyway. David Cook is a total TV natural, he answered Larry like a professional. David Archuleta was a little more caught with the laughs, smiles and his cute awkwardness. All of the the Top 10 were awesome! I am definitely missing American Idol already. Thank goodness, Star World will be playing reruns for Season 7. It is my favourite season so far, as I just started watching Idol more consistently this year. Last time, it was always just the auditions and then the finale at the very end. If I am not mistaken, it would be my brother's first time watching nearly the whole season too, he has the internet speed in London to watch almost any streaming content online for free, including Idol. Lucky punk! Oh, we disliked Castro too. After watching the interview and downloading his version of Over The Rainbow, I have changed my perspective on him. It sounds pleasant and soothing, like a calming mantra. There was this part of the show where Archie said something halfway and left it hanging in the silence. Larry was like, "Thanks for leaving me hanging, Archie." And then everyone laughed. Haha. XD Archie was super cute when he called Carly his 'mama'. Oh right, I am NOT ALONE in this world anymore, :P Larry King also pronounced Chickeze's name as Chick-a-zee the first time! Michael Johns was not there, but they will all be back on Monday. I won't be able to catch the LIVE telecast due to the extra classes, but I will definitely be watching Larry King Live from 5-6PM :) I simply cannot wait for that Q&A session!

*Whoa. I have re-edited this post about 3 times now and I so hope that the third time is a charm, the movie reviews should be spoiler-free and the weird typos will have disappeared. :S Both my web browsers, Safari and Firefox shut on me when I was typing and surfing the net. I must have opened too many tabs, a very bad habit of mine. Yesterday, I had a sudden font frenzy and went to download fonts. I also visited Rotten Tomatoes to look up a few movies. Iron Man is 93% on the Tomatometer. It's THAT good. :D And I like it a lot. I certainly cannot wait to watch Iron Man 2 in 2010 and the many other summer flicks. Indiana Jones, Batman: The Dark Knight, Kungfu Panda, Wall E, Get Smart, Prince Caspian (the way Audrey says it), The Incredible Hulk, Tropic Thunder etc. Now, if you would excuse me, I have an irritating mosquito to catch. Book reviews should be on by either tomorrow or today.*

Sing. Maths. Sleep.

2008-05-23T23:17:00.007+08:00

Today is officially Review Blog Day, on my blog at least. In a side post, I shall be introducing stuff which have been on my mind for what it seems to me, like... AGES. By the way, pay Cindy's blog a visit if you want some advice on photography. It might seem like you'd have to buy an SLR camera to get into the groove, but a little reading won't hurt. I tried out them tips with my ~~black magnesium clunk of a~~ Nikon camera and I guess I need at least a hundred more pointers. Anyway, I like to just read stuff for the sake of it, hence the Blogs of Note feed. I tell you, there are tons of awesome blogs out there. From personal lives to the ABCs of sewing patterns, I read them all. It is so intriguing to explore the blogosphere once in a while, leaving random comments and staring at the computer screen in awe.

This morning started off with a bump. Our PA Concert was not bad, I was the bad egg who spoiled it by doing the wrong movements. The pink shirt and flowery skirt was a combination of pain at first, but as time went on, the "pink phase" passed.

Then we had the first ever Maths Olympiad. Whee! Darn it. It seems that I have caught up with Tiara's "Maths Olympiad. It's just like... Cool!" (or something like that). Anyway, I would be brave enough to boast that I actually found out a few of the answers to the questions open to the floor, yet being myself, I was either too slow to answer or too afraid to get it wrong. Then again, someone from Harimau had already given the wrong answer and we weren't allowed to answer, so Jac Lyn told me it was not my fault (another 'anak bongsu' moment -_-) and I felt a bit better. Along the way, we did a few questions here and there, the personal thrill when I had the correct answer kept me awake since I was feeling lethargic all the way. I stayed back in the hall during lunch for Harimau glory, to do some irritating Sudoku bonus question with Jac and Mei Jing. Ate two of the Sichuan Funds cupcakes for Lunch, outside the hall after the time was up. Being ever so wise, I donated RM10 for the first cupcake and RM1 for the second. Helang was the only house to pass up their bonus question. You know what I said? "We are too smart for silly little games like the bonus question Sudoku!" Haha. An Audrey Lim moment. Hmm... I tried selling the idea of forcing people to do the bonus Sudoku question next year. Jac just gave me a funny look. I told you I was lethargic! The cupcakes which were super sweet gave me a little boost for approximately 15 minutes or so, then I started to nod off during the prize-giving ceremony. Audrey was pinching me, giving me finger flicks and other numerous attempts to keep me awake. Audrey, either you and Tiara are slacking on your 'keeping Alex awake' skills or I was over-lethargic. Guilty as charged. I did sleep at 2AM exploring iTunes, downloading American Idol songs and searching for videos. What kind of nut does that? I do. Just now, my father asked me whether I was nuts and I tried to give him the small-evil-eye-look, no effects whatsoever. Harimau got second in Maths Olympiad, Beruang was first. The third was Seladang, followed by Helang. We ended school at 3.45PM, reached home at about 4.15PM.

I shall get back to today's point of celebration for Review Blog Day! It stinks when I use Safari to write my posts because whenever I paste some text, the text will appear at the bottom of the screen instead of inside the text box. Oh well, I have nothing to copy and paste now anyway. Guess what? Tomorrow, there will be a Larry King Live interview with the Top 9 finalists of American Idol, including Le American Idol himself and David Archuleta! XD

Savour The Bitter And Sweet

2008-05-22T18:53:00.006+08:00

Hiya! I am back from my personal ban from my MacBook and that long hiatus. WARNING! This post is going to be long. First off, I start with a tribute to my dog, Lola, which passed away after ingesting poison. It happened at midnight last Wednesday, a few days before the exams. It all happened out of the blue, both unexpected and tragic. Tears were lost and we still miss her lots. Her barking, her brown tuft of hair on the top of her hair, her natural leadership qualities (leading the other dogs and defending them) and undeniably, her presence itself. There was once a time when Lola would start barking, and naturally, a game of follow-the-leader would begin, simultaneous barks from Oscar and Honey would be heard too. Nowadays, we have quieter nights, Lola's barks lost from the present, all we have is the reminiscences of Lola the dog. I'd hate to admit that the most recent set of pictures which are decent-looking actually date back to last year, furthermore they were taken with my phone. I pieced them up into a slideshow below:

In Memory of My English Cocker Spaniel, Lola. :) She was really and truly a photogenic dog!

Please excuse the red-eye defects, I am feeling all too lazy. Oh, we miss you too, Lola.

I will skip my horrible exams (~~fail, fail, fail, I flunked it all~~) to the American Idol Finale.

And yes, I am watching it for the second time round as I type this post. Did you happen to notice that Michael Johns was the front-runner of nearly all the male acts? Oh, our American Idol producers were missing him just so. And to tell you the truth, he was the most worth watching among the other Top 12 male contestants (save David Archuleta and David Cook, of course ;D). Haha. The Love Guru part of the show was full of "LOL", "LMAO" and "ROFL" moments. I especially loved the scene where the Love Guru a.k.a. Mike Myers tried to give David Cook a shave and ol' Cookie was squirming away towards Archie. Archie caught the shaving cream right on cue! If you missed the scene, here is the entire Love Guru part:

Enjoy! Not to forget the other comedy act starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. all suited up in blue tuxedos in a vintage clip of Gladys Knight & the Pips. Jack was being his funny self, Ben was a little stiff and Robert was a bit odd. Speaking of Iron Man, either they gave him a last minute collagen jab into his face or the change in his hair is simply minus-10-years in a package. Anyhow, he looked really old. Tony Stark looks a million times cooler and better looking, no offence to Robert of course. It is himself after all, I guess he should just get a dye-job. Really and truly. Ahaha... The trio are also starring in Tropic Thunder, another comedy for the summer. I will have another post about movies in a while! :)

Back to American Idol! Ooh... David Archuleta and One Republic doing Apologize!? It was FANTASTIC!!! He should have swapped With You two weeks ago for Apologize. Seriously! His voice suits the song and it is not the usual ballad he does. It has an edge and class. "My Boo" and David Archuleta are not a good match, that I can tell you. Kudos to David Cook and ZZ Top! Syesha and Seal's duet was also another sealed deal. I enjoyed Carly Smithson and Michael Johns' duet of The Letter. The duo have powerful and significant voices and it was all balanced out nicely. It was a great show. And it all comes to El Results. And this year's American Idol for Season 7 is...

David Cook!

Congratulations, ol' Cookie. Earlier on in the afternoon, I was going to burst into pieces of anger when I found out about it. But after giving it many thoughts and not being a such a sour grape, ol' Cookie deserves it. Now, I have a new-found dislike towards David Archuleta's dad, Jeff Archuleta. Archie's dad has been always known as the stage dad in the tabloids. Forget that. Anyway, it was so sweet for ol' Cookie to make Archie tag alongside him while he sang his winning song. :D Go Davids! David Archuleta, I am still your fan nevertheless. :) Aww... We will miss the Davids in the next season, that's for sure! What the hey, I have given it a lot of thought. David Archuleta... He has the voice, minus the stage dad and he should have a good musical career. Let's get down to the point, David Cook is a good rock singer and sure, I like him too. But I just wasn't satisfied with his 3rd song last night. The first song was his best though. Oh well, I will always be satisfied with ol' Cookie's studio version of I Don't Want To Miss A Thing.

What made me change my mind from being a sour grape:

1. David Archuleta is a little too young and innocent to take on the media crowd and all the hubbub dealing around the Idol crown, I guess. Wow. Don't I sound parental?... -_-" I bet Jeff Archuleta would not mind. The stupid stage dad.

2. I can blame it on the stage dad Jeff Archuleta. :D That's me, always looking for someone to blame it on! Yes, Giuleta, it's an "anak bongsu" (youngest child) thing.

3. David Cook is a great contestant too. Cue: I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (that's one of my favourites)

4. David Cook is always so nice towards David Archuleta, like the big brother. Aww... :D

5. David Archuleta won't be able to date Miley Cyrus. This one is totally random, Audrey asked me whether he would and I told her not in a million years. Just a random reason. I don't want him to date Hannah Montana and become another Disney prototype turned bad! Ee-yuck.

And I guess that is all for now. David Archuleta will always be MY American Idol. David Cook is awesome too. Both of them are so nice and when they are together, it is so cute to see Cook acting so brotherly. Aww!! XD

I am now going to download all the American Idol songs! :D I am also getting two episodes of Grey's Anatomy tomorrow from Giuleta. Yay!

Just Facts

2008-05-10T19:44:00.008+08:00

Why. Today, I went to buy two nice Geography reference books, a BM Tatabahasa book and another one on Science. I could not find Audrey's Sasbadi Nexus Science book, so I opted for a Longman one with Swiss cheese on its cover. At the study skills camp, I learned that I was a visual learner, about 8% auditory and a mere 2% for kinaesthetic learning (my own estimates, which are somewhere around that I think).

I love pictures and diagrams. If you were to give me a book with only informative blocks of text, my eyes will droop and eventually, dreams will appear as frequent as cotton candy at a carnival. Giuleta recommended the mini Info-Didik Geo book and I like it. It has short, precise facts and diagrams which are nice and useful (eg. maps). My Sejarah text books have this sleeping-tablet-effect on me, unfortunately for me. Despite so, I have to strive ahead with my array of faithful highlighters. I tried making notes and my eyelids were clearly fighting a lost battle. If the notes are ready beforehand, I will read them. Colour definitely helps. Studying on the laptop has only a 50/50 chance of getting into my thick skull.

Once I tried tapping my fingers while memorising facts on Kesultanan Melayu Melaka and my father gave me a funny look. The sound from the taps were not helping either. I once tried doing hand gestures while studying Science, and it was... An amusing experience, I'd say. Inspired by a comic I read, I tried rapping out facts. Another boo-boo. -_-" I spent half the time thinking up how to rap the facts and the other half remembering what I rapped.

I am currently trying out Le Mirror Method. Theoretically, it is a rather systematic way to get things done. I am giving it a shot, the problem is my consistency of studying. I am restricting myself to only ONE show of American Idol, no mo

re watching both the prime time and repeat altogether. I dread to say this, but I have to limit by blog posts too. Maybe just the ones on American Idol... Short ones. Speaking of Idol, Dreadilocks a.k.a. Castro the Catastrophic a.k.a. Jason Castro has been given the boot! Whee... I never really appreciated his presence on Idol (he is slouching on his skills and talent) yet I have to give him props for leaving without disappointment but his Bob Marley-happy-as-a-hippie (it's all in the hairdo, I tell you) smile. I am crossing my fingers and toes for David Archuleta as the next American Idol. David Cook is good, but I am not a rocker fan.

Alas, my stupid keyboard has these burn marks which I

have all along mistaken to be dirt marks. It feels so nice to type on the keyboard itself. I just dread taking care of it. Never mind. I use some Kiwi Kleen spray to clean up my MacBook. It works wonders. I watched The Invasion last night. It is a GREAT movie! I give it 8 out of 10 because I love sci-fi thrillers with good actors and a decent story line. The story was quick to understand and Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig acting side-by-side? I saw them in The Golden Compass and it was not half bad either. Two polished actors with professional roles, it tends to catch some attention somehow. I was yearning to watch it and I finally got a chance to indulge in the DVD. The TV room helped a great deal too, all the sound effects were perfect. The kid was cute with his gri

ns. One thing I did not like was that the story ended too fast in a way, the plot was rushed. Never mind that, I like it anyway.

:) I finally got the last remaining Ferrari car from the Shell collection! Now, what I am missing is the stupid garage... Sheesh. Not that it looks that the plastic display case looks nice anyway. Below is a poorly taken picture of the cars.

After visiting my aunty in the hospital, my mummy and I shared a White Chocolate Molten Lava Cake at Chili's. It was yum-worthy but too rich in a way. The white chocolate centre plus the vanilla ice-cream was practically screaming sugar-high. :S I prefer the original version where the vanilla ice-cream balances out the chocolate cake. The High and Mighty Pie there is also another delicious dessert. I did not order that, instead I went for an adventurous choice of white chocolate and vanilla ice-cream. Yet sometimes, too much of a good thing is not too good. The sugar-high made me feel down, a little too sweet. At least it works its wonders while it lasts...

I have completed Eclipse. My Twilight journey had ended here for the moment, Breaking Dawn is coming out later this year on my brother's birthday, 2nd of August! :D Though I doubt that it will be in Malaysia exactly on that day. She has this other book, The Host, which I plan to get after the Mid-Year Exams. Two really pretty book covers I was itching to post:

Time to go study now. Till the next American Idol show, I shall have a quick update! (Including a photo of the makeshift waterfall in my garden which has been given a face lift, if possible)

Heart Palpitations

2008-05-07T20:30:00.001+08:00

It is official. David Archuleta was THE ONE just now on American Idol. If you still are unable to understand, I guess a run through shall be provided:

The first performer up was the resident rocker of American Idol, the one and only David Cook. This week's theme was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and everyone expected Mr. Cook to pull it off like no other (Daughtry, please pass the microphone to Cook). Chris Daughtry wasn't that shabby either on Season 5 (which I did not watch until the Top 2)! Anyway, he sang it in that husky voice of his. ~~Hmm... The word "husky" reminds me of Jacob Black.~~ Let's put Twilight aside for a while. Compared to his first Duran Duran song in which I thought he was a little nervous due to the pressure which had been automatically put onto him, the second song - Baba O'Reilly was a truly the rocker's piece of rock (pardon the awful pun)! That was when he shone like the rocker he was. Wow. I just did a Google quickie on ol' Cookie and there was this weird website showcasing art of the Hopi Indians. One thing I think which is confirmed, he's staying.

Syesha Mercado was second on the loop. She started with a Tina Turner number and ended a little teary-eyed with an emotional song. I favoured her second song - A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cook because sometimes, this girl sure can widen our eyes with those high notes. I cannot really say much about her, but there are times when you like her and in the past, I did not care for her performances. Now, she has certainly done something about it and the change is well received. Syesha DEFINITELY has a much better reason to stay than Castro, that's for sure.

I would like to recite a phrase before I start. Castro was catastrophic tonight. Seriously! Firstly, he is not putting effort into singing. Secondly, he FORGOT HIS LINES in his second song. At this point in the competition too!?! I don't mind quoting "Seriously!" from Grey's Anatomy, complete with Meredith's tone. Yes, his voice is nice (I was struggling to say that about Dreadilocks) but his attempt at Bob Marley was truly not worthy of the Top 4, if you ask me. Ha! Except for his hair which is the classic Bob Marley hairdo, Dreadilocks cannot sing Marely's songs for peanuts. Carly was in the audience and instead of clapping for him, she should have been in his place! Ugh. I just want to get straight to the point now. He. Has. To. Leave. I. Don't. Like. Him. At. All.

The best is always saved for the last and tonight was no different. David Archuleta did two sensational songs and was the BEST! For a while, let's forget that I am a fan of his. His first song was Stand By Me. It brought out the young and fun side of his, which was undoubtedly the best of the first round's performances. The second time round, he completely bowled us over with Elvis Presley's oh-so-romantic Love Me Tender. The vocals he put in, the glorious melody which felt like an circle of angels soaring above us. I remember the heart palpitations, and the over the top head-bashing-back-into-the-pillow moments (I was not hurt and thankfully I had no audience). Last week, he was good but not this mind-blowing! He stole the spotlight tonight. He worked up the audience with the entertaining Stand By Me and left us craving for more with Love Me Tender. If only iTunes had BOTH his songs... Just do me a favour, go to www.archuletafans.com and click on the Pop-Up Radio. Listen to David Archuleta's performances and you shall understand me thereafter. His performance might puncture your pulmonary vein (in a good way). I feel like studying Science now. David Archuleta is some kind of motivation now. :D

Just now. Some irritating Dreadilocks jinx made me click the wrong button just now and it was timed to perfection, right when I had no internet connection (stupid wi-fi). Darn it, just as Castro himself was performing too. Sheesh. Never mind. I rushed back to catch David Archuleta, and he cleared up the anger. Tonight's American Idol gave me a new perspective on Rock 'n' Roll. It ain't just about the thumb and pinky hand gestures while shaking your head till it drops off. There are also slow songs (David Archuleta and Syesha proved that to me) and you are not required to get your eardrums broken while listening to Rock 'n' Roll. Whoa. I feel like I am being an American Idol critic now. Gee. It is fun though. :) Well, I just hope for the best and that David Archuleta will win. Idol's back. I am going to eat dinner and watch David Archuleta's Love Me Tender at the same time. I'm out for tonight.

Twilight

2008-05-06T23:45:00.001+08:00

OKAY! OKAY... It is so darn late now... But I just saw the movie poster for Twilight *gasp gasp* and it is... Just take a look. It is so stunning. And Bella is so pretty. Edward is the same actor as Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter. They both suit their roles. :D I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE!! I even watched the trailer. It was good but not as breathtaking as this amazing movie poster. Edward's hair is a tad bit weird. I prefer my imagined hairstyle for Edward. :P I still have Eclipse to go. Tomorrow I shall resume. Now, I MUST SLEEP.

Getting Up

2008-05-06T22:28:00.004+08:00

I am truly the laziest person I have ever known or ever been. Just when the Mid-Year Exams are creeping around the corner, I decided to take up the Twilight craze and continue to strive along Bella Swan in Eclipse. If only there were questions such as:

Who is a werewolf?

A. Edward Cullen B. Charlie Swan C. Jacob Black D. Mike Newton

I could answer that with my eyes closed (just an expression, I am not that amazing), yet that is far from reality... So, the Sejarah books it is then. I just listed out all the topics of the subjects which we are required to study last night, and I hate to break the news. But we have about 93 topics for only the study subjects, which excludes the non-studying subjects such as English, BM and Maths.

Last Saturday, I followed my mummy to her friend's house. I love that house. It is a single-storey house which consists of their home and their office. The space in their home is planned very well and everything is quite organised. It is not a big house, just your average terrace house, I think.The best thing which I like about their house though, is that they managed to make it so cosy and practical at the same time. They cooked some spaghetti which they had conjured in the spur of the moment, yet it was so tasty and we ended the meal with a delicious carrot walnut cake. The best part of the dessert was that there was not a single trace of raisins in the cake, the worst part was that I tasted this hazelnut and vanilla yoghurt which was sour and the total opposite of its container's appearance. Those illustrations of the hazelnuts were clearly misleading and vanilla is my favourite flavour for ice-cream but I guess I cannot repeat the same for yoghurt. :S It was really sour and had no taste whatsoever of the vanilla and hazelnut which I imagined to be incredibly yummy in ice-cream. I followed my mummy and her friends to watch a not-very-funny comedy show (in which I took a few nods) after dinner. I ate a few Patchi chocolates during the intermission, courtesy of my mummy's friends who were ushering us to go over to their seats for the cocoa delicacies.

My house's small fountain/man-made waterfall has been given a new twist. We just changed the pot beneath and voila, behold the remodelled product. Clearly, you would not understand what I just meant unless I enclose a photo. Unfortunately, I have not taken any pictures of it. I might post it tomorrow alongside my weekly review of American Idol.

And I am wondering... Who is "Your couz =P"? My guess is Helena since she uses emoticons, but Jolene che che and Maxine che che have also visited previously... Hmm... I am imagining their voices as they phrase what that is typed in my c-box. Clearly, anyone could have typed that... Hmm... YOU. Yes. I am pointing at YOU who typed in "Your couz =P", you better reveal yourself or not...

For Helena: I will sprinkle water at you and put London's saliva on your head. (I won't really do the 2nd part cos then I would get London's saliva on my hand while doing so...)

For Jolene che che: I will be a bad influence to Ah Wei koko. Remember "loser"? -a very lame evil laugh- (Could I be any worse?)

For Maxine che che: I will not reply you on MSN forever. (As if that is really possible...)

For the others: Coming soon...

Now, all those reactions of mine are really dumb (like me). But it will scar you, "Your couz =P", I hope. My reaction to those reactions: =_="". Nah... I will probably just call you (I will MSN Maxine che che because she is in London) and bug you somehow since you are my cousin after all. :P I sounded so paranoid just now. I think that I will finally be able to get my hands on the last remaining Shell Ferrari car I am missing from my collection! Yippee! It is the FXX Model, the one in the middle. They look good. They are red. :) Watched the latest episode of Grey's! Addy was great, the elevator scene was the best though. One of the best episodes I have seen... Sloan made a piece of skin from stem cells which was very cool. They did an operation on a mother whose baby had its heart attached out of its body... The skin played a vital role in securing the heart within the tiny baby's chest. Inspired me to become a surgeon, yet I have set my eyes on a writer's seat in Hollywood. That is, for now. :D

*NEW GUESS FOR "Your couz =P" is Ka Mun che che... Yes, I am paranoid. -_-"*

Sunny Outside

2008-05-02T22:03:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I paid my tab to Labour Day by being a gardener. So, cleaning out the drain by spraying it with a hose, potting two plants, digging up dirt, piling up dirt and helping out are the tasks which I carried out. Getting into dirt is quite fun if you do it once in a while, it releases stress, you see. I strolled around and with my functional gardening gloves, I went around looking for worms and snails. Surprisingly, I found a lizard's egg and broke it by accident, causing a rather blood curling scream to escape my throat. After examining it contents, I found out that there was a lizard's embryo in it (excuse me for the disgusting description). -_-"

As a treat, I watched American Idol in the evening (not that I wouldn't have watched it anyway). Castro the Catastrophic One was the first up to be safe. SERIOUSLY?! At that moment in time, I would have taken a leaf out of Giuleta's book and go: "What the Fufu!". Instead, I opted for the classic: "What the heck." His performance last night was as dull as dish water and merely whispers of weakness. I have to say, his voice is nice to some point (David Archuleta's is much more preferable of course) but he just seems to be off in Planet Jason, not even bothering to make an effort at his singing. My mummy who was beside me rolled her eyes simultaneously when she saw Jason the Joker. David Archuleta and David Cook were safe as usual. Syesha and Brooke were down to the Bottom Two and we were finally forced to bid farewell to Brooke White, the emotional country gal from Arizona. I really enjoyed her second performance, I Am... I Said. She was on the piano, whereby the fingers did their job perfectly whilst her voice conjured the tricky melodies from her throat. No restarts this time! Yet old Dreadilocks got away with murder. So what if Syesha put her songs in the wrong sequence and did not close her act with the better of her songs? She deserved to be safe, whereas Dreadilocks should have plunked down for some punishment (elimination also accepted). Sheesh! I repeat this week after week, yet he gets away with his irritating smiles and goofy manner while the other contestants offered a shoulder for Brooke to cry on. David Cook patted her back, Syesha poured out a few tears and as for David Archuleta... he was seen to be hiding behind Syesha's back. I wonder whether nearly all of them (save Dreadilocks who was smiling away on Planet Castro) were either having sad smiles or leaking a few tears. It is exactly at this point of the show where everyone gets a little attached and it is quite heart breaking when you leave, I guess. Add the fact that Brooke is the one leaving, she has a tenderhearted person, I am quite sure.

Speak of the devil, I just came past an article in which old Castro mentioned that he was awaiting his leave from the show. Here it is, fresh from Entertainment Weekly (www.ew.com):

Idol Jason Castro: "ready to go home"?

May 1, 2008, 03:37 PM | by Mandi Bierly

Categories: American Idol, Television, TV Biz

He made it through Paulagate 2008, but is American Idol's Jason Castro ready to call it quits? EW's Jessica Shaw was on the scene as the Idols rehearsed for Neil Diamond week (read her "Why Song Selection Matters" feature here) and spoke with Castro on Monday afternoon: "I'll get around to practicing," he promised her, after noting that his brother and a friend had visited over the weekend and that his Saturday meeting with Diamond had gone "really bad" because he didn't yet know his songs. "What happens happens. I'll sing and if people like it, they like it. And if they don't, they don't. I'm kind of ready to go home."

You're kind of ready to walk off America's biggest stage???

"It's been overwhelming," Castro continued. "I got 150 balloons yesterday delivered to the studio because people heard I was sick last week. That's cool, but that's just weird."

Oh well, at least he is not so over confident. His knowledge on songs ain't that great. Natasha Bedingfield popped by and sang Pocketful of Sunshine. I like it... :D Not to mention Sara Bareilles' Love Song. The tune is so addicting! I learnt how to play the repetitive chords from YouTube. It is all quite simple, just that my fingers have very minor stretching problems when it comes to playing an octave. I can play octaves, but in the song's case, I am required to move from octave to octave so it takes a longer time for me to move around the keys properly. I am that lousy at piano -_-".

I just discovered a great new combination of stuff to do. Eating Ski strawberry yoghurt while reading New Moon in an air-conditioned room is heavenly. Add in a iPod and you have got a hit. After dinner just now, we went to a Giant hypermarket. I was jumping up and down to get a new large-sized container of Ski strawberry yoghurt... And they did not have it! What a way to kill joy! I cannot stand Dutch Lady's yoghurt... It has this powdery texture :S I could never really take yoghurt (or other thick foodstuffs because they make me feel queasy), but now that I have discovered Ski strawberry yoghurt which is the clear favourite of mine, the world of yoghurt (only the brand Ski so far) shall no longer be a stranger to me.

New Moon is a beautiful sequel so far... Jacob Black isn't half-bad. I am still waiting for the controversy of Vampires VS. Werewolves at the end of this book. School was fun today, with only 7 people in class, we did not get much homework and even if we did, most probably we would have finished it in school anyway. I just discovered iTunes store which is another heavenly place where I can preview songs before I download them illegally. Podcasts are another delight which I continue to appreciate immensely but I am afraid these Podcasts are taking a toll on my MacBook's disk space. Giuleta gave me the latest episode of Grey's which I previously downloaded to find out that it was another irritating and idiotic DomPlayer file. I hate those files! I advise those who have yet to confront this problem to just delete the file straight away. Even if it took a long time to download the darn file, a horrible black screen with text appears to tell you that the file can only be played using DomPlayer instead of playing your show/movie of choice. It is basically like a slap in your face. Just ignore it though because it is some stupid scam which a bunch of idiots started, trying to earn people's money through dumb scams like these. Sheesh.

Vampires

2008-05-01T10:33:00.000+08:00

Two days ago, I finished Twilight. Another book that I simply MUST recommend to the whole world, girls at least. The other words I can use to describe this book other than the usual 'amazing' (which I have been using quite often recently) is that this book is exhilarating. Usually, when I am reading, I picture the scenarios in my mind. This book simply had the powers to make me grin (I even do that when I watch television or movies -_-") when Bella and Edward finally got together. The journey I took with them was... so interesting that it was as though I had been sucked into this ethereal universe where vampires actually existed. Handsome and attractive vampires who make the humans in their universe look so feeble, not that I like to insult the human race. :) Twilight has this extraordinary plot which turns and twists ever so unexpectedly, one of the factors which made me just want to read it more and more. The way the author crafts her characters so perfectly is an act of boldness, yet she manages to pull it off. I mean, if you gave me a book on perfect people leading perfect lives without any complications whatsoever, I might give the book a chance. But most probably, it will be on my shelf awaiting its turn to be read and I would second-rate it after the more reality based books. Oh well, it all depends on my mood to read what kind of book I feel like reading. But in Twilight's case, let's just say I had no feelings once got hold of it. Does that even sound correct? I don't think so. :S Rephrase. It is a great book and despite how crappy, happy, nervous or angry etc. you are, it is the book ye shall seek for salvation. Oh Edward Cullen, I had this sudden fear that your movie counterpart will not be able to fill in the shoes of your image which I have ever so carefully pictured in my mind. I know how Bella feels for him, he is some beautiful creation of Stephanie Meyer which one never really goes after until he is created and described to perfection. Or maybe it's just me thinking like that. In real life, I would not like a guy who has skin which is as white as a sheet. That is just... (no offense) albino, much? And no, Edward Cullen is too breathtaking a creature to be an albino. He's a vampire who is perfect in nearly every single way. XD I am over the verge of becoming some madcap fan-girl.

Just take a look at the cover, would you? How pretty is that? Yeah... Apple in your hands. Big deal? I like it anyway :D

Advancing to New Moon and Eclipse! New Moon is currently top priority of all books. After these 2 books, I might go open that Sejarah text book. The question: "You'd rather read your storybook than study Sejarah?" The answer: "YES! (complete with the eyes wide open)" Originally wanted to post this yesterday but New Moon + American Idol + television = time away from the computer.

Dreaming Thrice

2008-04-28T22:08:00.003+08:00

This morning, I was led away from my dream in which my retainers broke into perfect halves. One half was pink and white, a perfect replica of my own teeth, while the other half was just the usual transparent plastic shell. I woke up just when the pink had sort of smashed into tiny pieces of a chipped paint-like substance. I helped Ama to make kaya and while I was beating some eggs, this worm crawled onto the rim of the container I was using. I screamed and bounced back, apparently it had crawled from the pandan leaves. -_-" I steered clear of the unwashed pandan leaves after that. When I had finished doing my part, I took a short nap. I had another short dream which I have forgotten now. And another nap later, I still felt a little drowsy. These pesky dreams make you feel tired instead of getting rejuvenated. In colour too! Making my subconscious work twice as hard.

In the afternoon, I followed Jolene che che, Cassandra and Ah Wei koko to Pavilion. Jolene che che gave me a treat by bringing me to the supposedly renowned Fish Spa. It was a tickling experience, the little fishes felt like small feathery prickles on my feet. And another whoop of joy for me, since I was successful at my attempt to carry Cassandra today. :) She is truly a spoilt little baby girl who is too cute to be true. I talk more to Ah Wei koko nowadays, and he humours us with his silly answers. Just now we had dinner at an open air restaurant. He took Cassandra to a motorbike and both of them sat atop it while their maid fed her. That and the fact that he was talking on his mobile phone while Cassandra toyed around with the side mirror of the motorbike. A true Kodak moment, and I missed it by a mile. Though that mental snapshot will be alive, complete with colour, in my mind.

Ah... I am reading Twilight now. And if Edward Cullen was alive, I would seriously HAVE to meet him. Yet another fictional character for me to love. That is truly me to do something like that! Shu Fei, why oh why did you have to bring that book to Study Skills? I even skipped Grey's for the book. I am struggling to stop typing this now and go back to reading! And I shall do that. Now.

A Cousin & An Aunt

2008-04-27T18:23:00.005+08:00

Today we held my niece's 1st birthday party and I got to take pictures with her, eat Strawberry Shortcake from Bakerzin, eat scrumptious home-cooked food and the best part of it all, I OPENED (quite a number of) HER PRESENTS TOO!! Call me a childish fool, but I miss receiving presents. Nowadays, I usually get angpows (but who's complaining?) which I don't really mind, but presents are... so fantastically superficially childishly exciting and interesting at the same time. This afternoon, I followed Jolene che che and Ah Wei koko to 1 Utama to get Cassandra's birthday cake (Strawberry Shortcake). Ah Wei koko related his story of winning a LCD TV for some credit card spending contest. How he won: he called up the organisers to complain and they complied with him to send it to his house. -_-" We were shocked by the size of the 1.5 kg Strawberry Shortcake, it being too small, so we bought an Apple Strudel from Bakerzin too. I tasted a melt-in-your-mouth cream caramel today. Yummy. Everything, that is. :D

For the past two days, I spent lots of time with my cousin Max (with his cute British accent) and now I miss him and his smile. Yesterday, we played with a top, Uno Stacko, randomly played the piano and tried to piece up a puzzle. This morning, we sent my Yee Sook, Aunty Mey, Max, Zoe and their helper to the airport. While waiting for their departure at McDonalds, I managed to take a few slurps of Vanilla Milkshake and have a McFlurry (for breakfast). What in the world is wrong with me, you ask, with this very unhealthy diet of mine? Well, I have not had a McFlurry this year, until this morning that is. And I have not drank McD's Vanilla Milkshake for... 2-3 years, maybe? The last time I asked, they said that the milkshake was unavailable -_-". I am not one to order pizza or McDonalds through the phone. Too lazy. Never gave it a thought. I'm just weird like that.

Last night, I went to Genting to watch Kenny G with my mummy, Aunty Christine and Dua Yee. It was a great concert, considering I didn't know quite a number of his songs. The percussionist was amazing! All in all, it was an amazing experience to watch him play the Saxophone continuously for a period of time and breathe through his nose while doing so. How I wish I could do that too :D Haha. His skills are astounding, the music being soothing and pleasant to hear at the same time. It has been two concerts this month, Celine Dion (which was another fantastic concert) and Kenny G. Both which I did not really want to watch at first, but did attend in the end. :) I have no regrets now.

And before I forget, Friday's cheerleading competition was exceptional. Damansara won first place! Well, it was a tie with Helang, but as long as we have the title of 1st place, I couldn't really mind that much. Although... Never mind that. Beruang Cheras did a second level somersault which was superb, but the judges are going to forfeit it next year. Harimau's choreography was really great and nearly all the houses did very well this year. Sometimes, it is a shame that all of them cannot be the champions. But, of course if Harimau is the champion I will not mind in any way at all. :D

I finally got my hands on Twilight. It is all too exciting to read, now that I have seen Shu Fei's quote which I am keeping my eyes peeled for! Eek... It might be another book worth reading till 4AM once again since tomorrow is a holiday issued by Datin Frieda because she enjoyed Sports Day yesterday (Whopee!). Then, my mummy will scold me and etc. Hmm... I could read behind a Sejarah book! That might work. Then again it might not. I have this habit of telling my mummy what I did because of the guilt in my gut. It is not really guilt, just this feeling that she will find out about it later on any way, so I might as well tell, I guess (isn't that guilt?! maybe not). I have both Think of Me by David Archuleta, Carly Smithson's Superstar and the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy now. Addy will be back in next week's episode. XD I hope that she'll stay in Grey's for a longer period of time. I'm off to watch Grey's now. :)

Blunder

2008-04-24T19:46:00.006+08:00

I was completely shocked with this week's American Idol's Bottom Two (they took out the real loser who was supposed to be a part of it). I was ready with my predictions of Brooke or Jason leaving the stage but tonight, America pulled yet another flub on us all. My mother was asking me what was wrong as I repeated over and over again during the show, the common phrase, "Oh My God".

David Archuleta and David Cook were up first, and as expected, were sent to safety away from the stools. This week, the two had did a sort-of switcheroo for their style of performance, David Archuleta modified "Think of Me" to a more contemporary version whilst Cook sang the song like it was. I don't like Cook singing like that, he just cannot pull off the more romantic songs, if you ask me. It was as if he was itching to rock it out, and in the end he did the classic rocker's shout to end the song, not my cup of tea.

Brooke White and Syesha Mercado had totally opposite opinions on their performances, Syesha = confident, Brooke = unsure. And the outcome was, Brooke is safe. WHAT?! Even after her poor performance, she is safe? I mean, at least send her to the Bottom Two to learn a lesson even if you don't want her to go home!

Next came the next pair which consisted of Jason Castro and Carly Smithson, Jason's nervous jitters and false smiles were signs that he was the big blunder of the show. Who in the world, at this point of the show, does NOT take the mentor's advice, and does NOT know the story behind the song he is singing, the song "Memory" from the musical CATS! I mean, there is something called Google nowadays, you know. Sheesh. And his performance was boring, yet he in a way managed to push Carly to the Bottom Two and run for the sofas. Carly's performance of "Superstar" was quite interesting, despite her shouting. I prefer her with the more fun songs, but alas, we shan't be seeing her on Idol anymore, will we? Instead, we have Jason Castro. -_-" Maybe it was the special episode of WWE where the US presidential candidates got their very own 3D-Digital Characters to have some kick-ass action. I rest my case. If Jason Castro doesn;t get the boot next week, I will give his virtual self a good crew cut to get those dreaded locks off his scalp. And what exactly prompted him to yawn on LIVE TV? He is Castro, after all.

Enough rambling on American Idol. Today, I went to help out in the props sector. It was not that bad, considering the air-conditioning and the simple tasks we were required to do. Just fold the shirts, stick stars onto the number '25's, help the teachers, make an outline of the alphabets on the shirts using cellophane tape, touch up the number '25's and paint stuff. It was not bad at all, as compared to doing Maths and BM worksheets in class. There was a preview of the Harimau cheerleading and it rocked my socks! The stunts were super cool. I cannot wait for tomorrow! Go Harimau! Whee... Tomorrow I can download the new Grey's Anatomy episode and download the studio version of David Archuleta's Think of Me (I only have the recorded version)! Right, I shall be getting a haircut too! Can't wait... :)

Retaining The Calm

2008-04-20T22:03:00.005+08:00

I like my new non-permanent retainers. I did not like them at first when the dentist placed them onto my upper row of teeth, they were tight and my teeth hurt a little when I took them off. Now, I am growing to accustom myself to wearing this piece of transparent plastic moulded to perfection as a clear, lacquer-like surface glazing my upper row of teeth. They have their good points but the inconvenience they cause is another daily task since I am supposed to wear them nearly 24/7, and I have to take them off while eating and give them a rinse before putting them on once again.

I spent the whole of last night reading Jodie Picoult's The Tenth Circle. It was not only absorbing but also I was somehow forced to stick to the plot like a piece of bub

ble gum getting stuck on the inner edge of a classroom desk. I loved the way she carved out her characters and the way they were given life as it is, not just a walkway down to happiness. Practically, it elaborated on the word "reality". Maybe it's just me being ever so corny as to hope that the main characters will get back together with trust despite the adultery going on behind them, but she managed to piece them back with a thin piece of string ye

t their scar from their problem was emphasised, as it would be in real life. Another plus for this book, there were pages of a comic book in it, supposed to be the work of a character in the book. The comic book was tied in with the plot so it played on well. A must read, in my very opinion. :) Hey, I stayed up till 4 this morning to read 80% of this book and I also skipped tea to complete it (also partially because I was so lazy as to remove my retainers, I am THAT lazy all right). Take a look at the book's cover (it's quite nice if I say so myself):

The next book I am hoping to get my hands on is Twilight, will probably borrow it from Giuleta. Currently, my mummy is lecturing me on wasting time to read storybooks instead of studying and doing my homework. I still have those numerous classics to finish! But I plan on finishing Jodie Picoult's Nineteen Minutes first. I just gave it a head start last week and after The Tenth Circle, I am motivated to complete it. Books, books, more books. I love 'em. :D

I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy today, Season 4's Episode 11. The episode I missed, just downloaded it last night and promptly, they are airing a new episode this coming Thursday and I CANNOT WAIT! Ohmigosh, Addison will be back for one episode too. :) Wish she could stay longer! Haha. Just wait till Heroes returns. I'll give you a bigger dose of fan rambling! I cannot really stand Private Practice, I mean Addison is NOT being herself, and at first I was totally happy with it. But now, I just think she suits better on Grey's, with Derek and Sloan and all... Sheesh, just cancel the crap already. We just watch for Addy's sake, the other people are OK, but they cannot and will never win over Grey's hospital drama. Oh, I want to watch Heroes & House too! XD And this year is our PMR year. What?! Oh well. :P

Brace Your Grin

2008-04-18T15:42:00.006+08:00

Alas, I have once again resorted to writing my posts on Stickies before copy and pasting it onto Blogger due to the irritating fact that my Streamyx is down. Streamyx is DOWN! I even took the liberty to get the username and password from my brother in London and call up TMnet. And this is what I get? Then again, it would not help in any way if I continue to fret.

Just the day before yesterday (Wednesday), I came down with a combination of fever, flu, sore throat and cough. The nerve of it all, I even chomped down some Thai food that evening and ended up shivering like a Jell-O at night. Diagnosis of fever came through at approximately 11.30PM after playing Sporktris on my bed and falling asleep while doing so.

The next morning, my mummy insisted on me staying in bed and taking two Panadols instead of going to school. I really didn't want to because there was going to be PA performance, but who am I to disobey? I followed my mummy, Yee Sook and Max to KL. And surprise, surprise, I took a trip to the dentist and... I have officially taken off my braces! This Saturday I shall be collecting my retainers, I chose the transparent plastic ones because I took into consideration what my Yee Sook said, "You just removed the metal from your teeth and don't tell me that you want 6 more months of a metal wire across your teeth! Of course the non-permanent ones!". Okay. Now for the moment of truth and not to brag and all, but...
I HAVE PERFECTLY STRAIGHT TEETH NOW! Whee...!! (Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!)

And it was just with the price of suffering with awkward grins after each tightening (eg. the pictures I took in Melbourne last year, I looked like I was grimacing like an idiot rather than grinning). Or it could be just due to the fact that I have no skill at grinning. Hmm... I might write a book on how to grin or smile perfectly one day... Or has someone done that already? My cousin Max shall be the test subject, his constant grins are great. :D Just to scare you people with braces, I shall be writing a short segment on how my braces removal went.

Firstly, it began with me hopping off my mummy's car to the dentist's clinic which was on the 2nd floor. I then waited patiently for my turn. I asked the dentist for a Panadol due to my fever and after taking it with a cup of water, the dentist returned to my teeth. After inspecting my teeth, she opened the metal brackets with a number of clicks and started removing the coloured elastic, followed by the removal of the wire. Next came my dentist's gloved hand armed with a dental tool relatively new to me... Le CLAMP of doom. I heard numerous crunches of the cement being removed and a strong jet of water was used to clean my teeth. No fear. When the dentist shows you the mirror, you will feel all the joy in the world.

In the evening, I realised (in between a few phone calls and watching American Idol) that fever could be described to be one word, confusion. You feel so warm on the inside whereas your skin is freezing. How confusing is that?! Ok, forget that random babble all right. This week's American Idol Results Show was spoilt by my brother sending me a SMS that Kristy Lee Cook was kicked out. I didn't really mind, but when I watched the show, I had a weird moment with warm tears in my eyes. -_-" Seriously, fever is an emotion trigger or something. Never mind that. David Archuleta was the Chosen One of the night, being the Safe one to choose either one of the two groups before they did a switcheroo between David Cook and Syesha Mercado. At first, it was quite confusing at first because the group on the left consisted of Brooke White, Kristy Lee Cook and David Cook whilst David Cook, Carly Smithson and Jason Castro formed the group on the right. After the switcheroo, it was quite clear which group was which though. David Archuleta, being the ever so humble soul he was, sat put on the floor, refusing to pick sides when Ryan Seacrest made him choose either group. Just the evening before, he sang When You Believe and it was a sensational hit with the judges and audience. Next week is Andrew Lloyd Webber week! Perhaps someone will sing a song from Phantom of The Opera... I can't wait, that's for sure!

Next Saturday is Cassandra's birthday and Jolene che che has made a request for Duplo from ME. Tomorrow is my grandfather and baby cousin Andrew's birthday. I HAVE NO CARD IDEAS just yet. Oh well. When I'm done, I'll post the pictures here for comments. :) Tomorrow I'll be collecting my non-permanent retainers! Good night.

Tired

2008-04-12T23:11:00.005+08:00

(Closes eyes and takes in a deep breath.)

Now I can start writing this post with a better frame of mind, as in with more gusto. Study skills camp is taking a toll on me. On Thursday, we went for my grandfather's pre-birthday dinner at a nearby restaurant. Earlier on, my mother, brother and I were watching Idol Gives Back. Most of the singers performed more serious and inspirational songs, also known as the not-so-well known songs. Fergie was the only one who rocked out with Heart (a band which I have don't know that well). She first performs an inspirational song, she then started rocking out her wild side and even rewarded the audience with TWO one-handed cartwheels which were so cool. :P Robin Williams and Ben Stiller did their funny acts and the TV stars performed Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats". Heroes' Greg Grunberg drummed out the beats, Desperate Housewives' Teri Hatcher sang her solo and Jesse Spencer from House played a silver violin. *Gasp* House, as in Hugh Laurie PLAYED THE KEYBOARD and I did not even see him (hey, he was wearing sunglasses! -_-" I just saw a photo of him on the Band From TV website). Sheesh. Well, that sums up a few of the members of Band From TV all right. It all sounds so incredible, the TV stars forming a band for charity causes. Hugh Laurie is an amazing pianist, not to forget Noah Gray-Cabey (Heroes' Micah Sanders) who performs astoundingly too. Ahh... David Archuleta also knows how to play the piano. :D AM I THE ONLY ONE WITH LOUSY PIANO SKILLS?! Apparently, yes. Oh well, some people have it and some people don't, that's talent. I fell asleep at 11.45PM while doing my English Take Home Test and then woke up at 2AM to complete it at 4AM. The next morning, I fell from the Dream Cloud (self-creation of mine) at 6.40AM. I am the one and only, Alexandra, who does the weirdest things at the weirdest of times.

As for American Idol news (Shu Fei, I just remembered just after a visit to your blog), the shocker was Michael Johns' departure. That Ryan Seacrest just had to prepare the salt before Michael's wound opened, "Sorry, Michael, you journey ends tonight." What in blazes was that?! I was not there to watch it because I had fallen asleep after the first day at Study Skills Camp in Cheras. At first, when my brother told me, I was just glad that it was not David Archuleta (not that he would get voted off :P). Why not Kristy Lee Cook? Sheesh.

Today, we had three talks, Science followed by Bahasa Melayu and lastly, Mathematics which was the least interesting of the three. At one point while teacher was repeating the equations during the Science talk, my eyelids felt a little heavy but I managed to sail through. I went through the same for the BM talk, but when we had the Mathematics talk, my eyes gave way and my head was positioned in a steady nod. I woke up when Shu Fei tapped me lightly and then the first person I saw was Carolynn since I had decided to turn right randomly. We prepared our group presentation while the Muslim students had their Pendidikan Islam talk somewhere else. It rained today and so we did not have the Games session, thus giving us more time to edit the presentation. Despite the password (it's really long!) and battery problem I faced with Shu Fei's MacBook just now in the bus, I am glad that I have finished my part. Shu Fei has to add in the animation and after tomorrow's presentation session, we are finished.

Wow. It is quite late already. Good night then. I have much to do tomorrow! :S I haven't even prepared my PA outfit when our PA concert is next Thursday! Thanks to Melanee for reminding me. :)

Loose

2008-04-09T19:53:00.003+08:00

I am feeling loose now. Partially because my grandfather's birthday dinner has been postponed to tomorrow and also because I am currently in a fit of O.D.D.! Obsessive David Disorder. David Archuleta has once again sang like the title of his song, an "Angel". His fingers graced the smooth keys of the piano whilst that magnificent voice of his serenaded the audience with such skill. Then came his humble smile as the judges gave him their opinions on his singing, he is practically the cutest thing next to Ramiele! :D Okay, that was sheer overdose of fanaticism.

On my way to watch American Idol in a while now, will be able to catch David Archuleta for the second time tonight. :) Ugh. Jason Castro and his ukelele has got to go. Someday he will... And Carly Smithson, oh never mind them. Cross my fingers and toes for David Archuleta! (fan girl moment) Idol Gives Back is on tomorrow, what could beat that for a perfect ending to my 2nd Monthly Tests, eh? Oh right, I have to think up another card idea for tomorrow. I HAVE TO STUDY?!? Till then!

Busy

2008-04-09T14:47:00.003+08:00

You caught me. I am in school now. We are having our 2nd Monthly Tests this week. I am supposed to be studying my KH now. Okay, I will start that at 3.00PM sharp and it is currently 2.52PM. Yesterday, I took a short trip to fanfiction.net and indulged in one fan fiction. It was nice and the length was just perfect. Later in the evening, I went to my grandparent's house after my piano lesson. Whee! Max and Zoe sure have grown. Max was hyperactive, running around with that signature smiles and grins of his. What a cheerful kid, my cousin. His eyes will be scrunched up to form two perpendicular creases, whilst his cute grin adorned his face. Not to forget that shiny, glossy, natural, ebony hair which filled his head. On the other hand, Zoe did not cry or wail. Occasionally, those small eyes of hers would be shining from the tears and her chubby cheeks were tinged pink. Nice cousins deserve good descriptions. Everyone was in quite the good mood, smiles and chatter filling the air with an eye-rolling moment or two in between. Pop was being himself all right, Yee Sook kept that mind of his open and was playing it cool. Let's just say that there were no sensitive issues last night, which was great. Cassandra dropped by the day before and we took a spin in Jolene che che's new Mini. Fun, fun, fun! Today's Performing Arts practice was good too other than the fact that I am standing in the first row. Ah, well.

I have a busy evening ahead of me later, with my grandfather's birthday and all the studying. Oh right, AMERICAN IDOL! I have to watch that television program, I will probably be catching the earlier show at 6PM. And I have yet to prepare a card too! I guess it's time to get back to reading KH Elektronik now. Study Skills is from Friday to Sunday, the worst thing is, we'll be in school from 8 in the morning up till 7 in the evening. Once again, not exactly my cup of tea.

Practice

2008-04-03T22:08:00.001+08:00

After yesterday, the Games Carnival has finally drawn to an end. Being the good student I was, I managed to go for the last day at the Cempaka Cheras campus. I actually managed to finish off a small banner for Harimau on my way there due to the pangs of my conscience. It was fun, being there to cheer on Harimau and occasionally having petty feelings of discontent towards the reigning houses. Alas, sportsmanship has to be practised and

"thou shall not be jealous or have ill feelings towards thy neighbour."

(I have achieved a quote of my own, how cheesy.) As per usual, the sun was baking everyone till the darker tone of skin was achieved.

In the evening, I watched American Idol twice. David Archuleta blew everyone's socks off with his emotional ballad which was aptly titled "Smoky Mountain Memories". Smoky was definitely not his way of pulling off this emotion-trigger, instead he wowed us once again with his touching yet crystal-clear vocals. Perhaps I am giving him too much credit, but what can you expect from a loyal fan? Dolly Parton was not a particular critique, then again how could a person insult the Top 9 contestants on American Idol (unless you are Simon Cowell)? They already have the capability to sing well, it all depends on the way the contestant delivers the performance. Poor or spectacular, the audience plays a vital part in making that decision.

Despite this morning's rush of events after I had awoken, I managed to patch up the few errors of my Geography Kerja Kursus with teacher's advice. I still have to draw that map of Canada and finish up the whole project properly. Later on, we ventured into the world of contraceptives and the reproductive system during our Science period (pardon the pun). After break, we had Performing Arts rehersal. Since I was part of the chorus for the Beach Boys Medley, I had to join the first practice session. We did recaps of Fun, Fun, Fun by the Beach Boys and Doo Wah Diddy by Manfred Mann, followed by a new song called Monkey's Uncle (the original artist unknown, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is by Manfred Mann). Why, I am wrong. The artist of this song with the old-fashioned slang as its title is... Annette Funicello. It is a queer song, with its somewhat tricky arrangement to match. The tune jumps from one verse of the song to the other, so if you have blanked out on this song, tough luck.

This evening's elimination round of American Idol was not my cup of tea. Yes, David Archuleta was safe. But looking back at the Bottom Three, I was wondering why Jason Castro was not there. It could possibly be just me being biased, nonetheless I was quite unhappy. He was looking rather satisfied to be off the hook while Ramiele had tears rolling off those cute, chubby cheeks of hers. On the other two of the Bottom Three, Brooke pulled on her classic sad smile and Kristy was, plain being Kristy with her "Kristy's Seat" note prepared. Recently, is it just me or has she been acting corny?? Never mind her. Aww. David Archuleta has an amazing grin and grin, he also makes everyone smile too. :D Yattaa... Can't wait till Micah and Hiro have the same effect on me once again when Heroes is out! I will personally hunt down the news on A.I. to find out what has happened to Ramiele and all. I wonder what I would be doing if not for Google News. All I have to do is simply type in 'American Idol' and I have got my quick fix. What about my disappearing act for the past few days, eh? I loved it. And that is all I will disclose until further notice. We have our 2nd Monthly Tests next week!

Crazy

2008-03-28T23:15:00.000+08:00

Many of my classmates were not present, either at Cheras for the house deco competition or out for the first day of the Games Carnival. Thankfully, we combined classes with Terra. And boy, was it an eventful day for me. I got Quinn, the new Tetris game. Fine, it is not new, I just didn't know the name of the game, therefore I could not download it. Tiara was my official Quinn giver, and Audrey, my Quinn advisor who advised me on how to change the background and configuration etc. Ting Ying taught me how to do my Maths home work. She's a mathematical wonder, that girl.

Finally, I shall relay the crazy event of the day. I had to transfer a document from my computer to Ting Ying's, so she forked out one of her thumb drives for me since the others were being used. I plugged in the thumb drive before I continued to edit the document I was going to pass to her. While I was editing, the automatic virus scan was taking place in the background. Then came the words in bright red, "auto.exe - infected with a slight case of...". I started laughing like the mad person I was, the same laugh as the last time this had happened to my computer with my classmate's thumb drive. But this time, it was a different story, add a pinch of oddity and an additional spoonful of craziness and you've got me. When I clicked "Eject", nothing would happen. Suddenly, when I tried to eject it on Finder, my computer just hanged. And a black window popped out of nowhere, stating that the computer was to be restarted. Ting Ying pressed the power button on my MacBook without me knowing and then we ejected the thumb drive straightaway. Ting Ying was shocked, wondering whether her MacBook had been infected by the virus. I was also in a state of shock, and here I am, scanning my computer for viruses as I type out this post. Just now, I was in the progress of virus-scanning on my computer when the troublesome black window popped out of nowhere once again. I was forced to restart my computer but thankfully, nothing of such has happened just yet.

One up for me, My mother's friend has bought me a cheaper ticket for the Celine Dion concert! RM288, that's supposed to be the "cheaper" tickets. Oh well, if we can snag those seats with a good view of the stage, that would be even better. Who knew that my mother would get those expensive ones! I mean, even the most expensive tickets for Gwen Stefani's concert were RM 347. We were there, at the RM347 area during her concert and we saw Siti Nurhaliza too. Haha! According to the organisers' website, the RM 788 - RM1000 tickets have been sold out! Wow, Malaysians sure are willing to pay for this rare indulgence, Celion Dion coming to MALAYSIA?! It is almost like a once in a million sort of chance. She can sing very well and she has ended her shows at Las Vegas, so unless one is willing to travel to another country just to watch her concert, I do not think I would get to attend her concert. I am definitely looking forward to it!

Apart from that, I watched American Idol last night and was relieved when David Archuleta stayed in the show. Yes, I know that he will not be kicked out, but he was not even in the bottom three so, it is a safe bet for now. I do hope that he will win! He is a terrific singer and his smile is contagious. :D Well, all of them are good singers but it depends on how they perform. Hopefully, he will choose a good song next week and blow our socks off like the time he performed 'The Long and Winding Road' and 'Heaven'. Brooke White is my second choice, I liked her performing 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police. And she can play the piano very wel, she learned to play by ear without any lessons or help or anyone else! Amazing. David Archuleta can play the piano too. He played 'A Thousand Miles' by Vanessa Carlton, one of my favourite songs :) Clearly, my favourite American Idol contestant is David Archuleta.

Alas, I shall not be around until next Monday, I shall think. Time to rewind and relax. That is till the next Monthly Test. American Idol (or is it my AWFUL last minute habit) is taking a toll on me! I pulled an all-nighter last night to complete my Science PEKA and may I proudly say that it is officially DONE with. Another problem on the horizon is my KH homework, exactly will it cease? After my PMR, which is the other obstacle. Thank you to Cindy che che for helping me out with the conclusion of my PEKA! XD

Double

2008-03-26T00:55:00.001+08:00

Saturday: Yiperoo! We went for a short walk at the Tmn. Tun park in the morning. I had my Chinese tuition at about 10.30AM and then we had lunch at the vegetarian restaurant behind my house because my Ama was eating vegan for the day (first day of the month in the Lunar Calender). Later on, I went to my grandparents' house (which is about 1km away from my house, or less). My popo was playing Mahjong, so I watched F1 live on the television with my grandfather. My first experience of watching F1 on the television. A great moment, I tell you. Kimi Raikkonen was great! Wow, first time watching Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in action! It was amazing! Ferrari, the red Ferrari, the great Ferrari. Too great. XD I once went to watch Formula 1 in Sepang a long time ago, all we saw were blurs and we had to buy earplugs. At least on the television, we get the watch the cars moving and all. My grandfather was telling me the drivers' names and I learned the term "P1". It was all very nice. In the evening, I cleaned up my room and gave away my Mary-Kate & Ashley books. No way will I give up my Nancy Drew collection and the others, which I took into consideration of giving away but then again, Cassandra will grow up and Jolene che che told me to keep my books for her. Mary-Kate & Ashley books are not too good, they are just like light reading for entertainment. It looks like a world of difference now.

EASTER Sunday: Woke up early in the morning to go to church for Easter Sunday with Popo. It was a nice service compared to the Cantata which I cannot appreciate that well. Their singing is good but, I am the horrible one. The pastor cracked a few jokes which were funny, it was a fun service all in all. I then stayed at home to finish my homework and all. But until now, my Science PEKA remains incomplete. I MUST FINISH IT UP. Let's just say that I lazed around a lot! Let's fast forward to the afternoon. After sending my dogs for grooming, my mummy, Ama and I went to One Utama. We parked at the Old Wing to go to Popular, but they did not have the book I needed for Sejarah. So, while the two of them remained in the Old Wing, I had to walk all the way to MPH in the New Wing. I rushed over there to find that the book on "Wau" was out of stock. Such great luck. Well, I saw a new Jodie Picoult book though. I did not buy it because I still have many books to catch up on at home, especially the classics which I had bought in a Jane Austen frenzy after reading Pride & Prejudice, not to mention my father's encouragement to read them, he added a few other classics to the pile. It is going to be a long way down the road of reading classics. We had an ice-cream cone each at McDonalds before we left One Utama. Following that, we went to buy food for dinner, including satay. I got a chance to watch the prize-giving ceremony of F1 while I was in the restaurant. What a great coincidence! Go Kimi Raikonnen! Go Ferrari! In the evening, I went to pick up my dogs from the grooming parlour instead of following my father to pick up my brother from the airport. And then at night we had steamboat and satay for dinner. Wasted time lingering around my brother and we were nonsensical as usual. We waited for Xon koko till around 10.30PM, then they ate again. I just lazed around at the sofa. Completed my Temu Ramah for Sejarah at around midnight. Thank goodness I took the time to make that up, Audrey photocopied the Sivik book for me. :P I still owe her one chicken.

Phew. All that writing really loosened me up. I was itching to write about the walk in the rain for a few days now! And now, it is complete, together with my first ever F1 experience and the two unfortunate Popular experiences too. -_-" Good night! I am so darn happy now. This post is really long though.

Rain

2008-03-25T23:05:00.004+08:00

It has been quite a number of days since I last posted and the guilt within my gut was definitely not helping in any way. For the past few days, I have been busy with homework and family gatherings. I am a person who enjoys family gatherings. They are fun in their own way somehow. On the other hand, we have to prepare our PMR projects and all, so I had to finish them before the deadline. Oh blunk, I still have to finish up my Science PEKA, a scrapbook on human infertility.

Last Friday, I followed my mother to her office. We walked to Pavilion to meet Jolene che che for lunch, followed by another stroll to Sg. Wang to get a gold chain for my gold leaf pendant (both which are definitely not made of real gold). I bought a pair of shoes because my mummy and Jolene che che said they fitted me well and were suitable for formal gatherings. Sandals are not the best kind of shoes to wear to a wedding after all. Haha! Vincci is about the only shoe shop which has shoes that suit my wide feet, my toes are not slanting, so pointy shoes are a pain to wear. Then again, the problem of one of my feet being slightly larger than the other does not help at all too. I feel like the Martian Child now. Forget that. We then went around looking for hair products, finally found the shop with the lowest price (it is called JS or something like that). I wanted to get the Tigi conditioner which smelled like pineapple but after quite sometime, I decided not to. My mummy and Jolene che che were stocking up on the Nioxin Scalp Therapy instead. We then parted our ways, my mummy and I had to walk from Sg. Wang back to Jln. Raja Chulan (which is where my mummy's office is located). Halfway through, we saw a row of shops selling fake bags. And I decided to get a Le Sportsac bag, RM35! :) Apparently, the heavens were looking down at us, saying: "you are going to be punished for buying illegal fake stuff", and then it started to rain. My mummy and I went to Watson's to buy an umbrella and I used a disposable plastic coat (those which look like gigantic plastic bags). The rain was pelting, I tell you! All the water on the roads, the two of us rushing across the wet pavements and the puddle water splashing into my feet, it was truly a sight. While the smart fellows were waiting it out under a building, we decided to risk it all. We laughed and walked and frowned when the water went into our sandals (I was wearing my blue Crocs Sassari). The best thing about it was, we had to lug along with us, 4 bottles of 1 litre Nioxin shampoo and my new shoes which I had stored within my new fake bag. My hand was tired and my feet hurt, but I came up with the motivation of the army, trudging through corpses and bombs etc. and so, it was not that bad after all. When we finally arrived at the building adjoining to my mummy's office, I placed the 4 bottles of shampoo on the floor and took a deep breath before we adjourned into the air-conditioned lobby. It was freezing, I tell you! We could have just joined the fishes in the waterfall-pond and that would feel better. My legs were aching but what the hey, that was a fruitful experience! Now, I know a little bit more on how soldiers feel when they are struggling in the muddy war fields with blisters on their feet and their legs feeling as though they would drop off any moment. Think Chechnya in Russia, a war zone 24/7. Just add in the rain, and you have a beautiful wet, muddy field with bullets being fired from every direction and maybe a grenade or two. The soldiers with their snipers focused on their enemies while the rain makes the horrible situation even more unbearable. Actually, all this inspiration of soldiers and such were inspired by Atonement. I AM STILL STUCK AT BRIONY'S PART OF THE BOOK!! Arghh... I had to stop reading for the past few days due to the heavy load of homework. Sheesh.

At around five, we left the office to go home. It was not great, there were traffic jams nearly everywhere. We sought out salvation at Liang Xin. My mummy remained there and once again, I followed Jolene che che and Jack to Sg. Wang. The biggest shock I had was that the Popular bookshop there had been closed down. Then again, never mind now. My mummy and I left Liang Xin later on at around 8PM, after buying the beef noodles from the street behind. At night, after my dinner of beef noodles, I was not in the mood to do any homework so I did the impossible. I took out a black permanent marker and started colouring the colourful zips on my fake bag. Now, I really feel like pulling out my hair for wasting my precious time doing that stupid crap. But my hair is short now, and I am not one of those people who enjoy inflicting pain on themselves. No, Audrey, I will not flush my head down the toilet bowl even if it is super clean.

Day

2008-03-20T15:02:00.005+08:00

"How was your day?",

At the end of the day

that's what we say,

"It was fine" or "okay",

We might answer that way

even when we've got nothing to say.

What the hey, that was by me. Sounds like me too. -_- I actually named this post "Day" when the last post was "One Day", sure sounds like I need a kick to wake up the more imaginative side to me. Never mind.

Whee... Sunday is a few days away and then my brother will be back, so that's good! No more being alone at home, no more quietness in the house, no more getting scolded by both parents and no more being the only kid stuck in the middle between my parents (I am used to it though). Most importantly, many other stupid things to talk or most probably, quarrel about and then later on, get scolded about, usually by my mother. I truly look forward to those maybe stupid, maybe bad and most probably, good times. When my brother comes back, we can go on a food eating spree... KL, Klang, Petaling Street... Here we come! And then, Ama will cook more food like Hei Bi Huan Jio (in Hokkien) and I will be eating that with steaming white rice and... One word. Yum. Fine, we do have Hei Bi Huan Jio now, but my brother has his blunking way of making food look extra delicious and let's just say, I am truly vulnerable. Right, Hei Bi Huan Jio is just dried prawns pounded using a mortar and then fried with chilli, so it is just dried prawn chilli. What the heck, I have not eaten Hokkien Mee since my brother last came back. -_-" Geez. Whatever now. I must eat out more often with Helena, my cousin, the Hokkien Mee extraordinaire.

Today it is a public holiday, so clearly there is no school. Yesterday, there was no BM Lisan test, however we got our BM exam results and I was surprised when I found out my marks. Fine, it is a "B", 74% to be exact, but I was expecting a C. So I am a little happy, but who wouldn't want an ''A"? As for Maths, it was the classic routine every time we receive our test or exam results. The classroom would be silent and nearly everyone would have a solemn expression on their faces. Miss Tok then gives us her short talk about how awful we were in the exams, careless and all (it is true). She called me a "dreamer" and right at that moment, I predicted that I had a "B" for Maths (Ms. Tok has that talent of making you feel that you have failed your exams sometimes). She even mentioned that she was only making us feel happy first with our Paper 1, before she gave out the horrible Paper 2. After she had explained how to solve a few questions on Paper 1, she then broke the ice a little by telling us the similar errors made by three students in our class, calling them 4D, Toto and Magnum. It was funny. Subsequently, our Paper 2s were gave out to us. It turned out that our results were quite all right despite the careless mistakes we made. Giuleta and Judah even managed to get 59 out of 60! Ms. Tok will never give anyone the justice of getting 60 out of 60 for Paper 2, it's her long-term goal, she searches for even the slightest error, like a decimal placed wrongly or maybe a tiny error in the working. Then came Chin San's paper, everyone laughed and the ice was finally broken after that. Well, I got an "A", therefore I was glad.

Later on, I shall have to do my homework. And I am planning on watching the Nanny Diaries starring Scarlett Johannson when she was younger, so that should be fun. :)

One Day

2008-03-18T23:00:00.002+08:00

You want to hear something weird?

One day, we will grow up, into people we might have not expected to be.

One day, we will all change, yet that small part of you remains all the same despite it all.

One day, we will fall apart, but even a smile can piece us back together.

One day, we might forget what is happening now, and we will struggle to remember once again.

Anything can happen in just ONE day, and after that we might wish to rewind or simply plunge forward.

Well, for me, tomorrow is BM Lisan Day and also Maths Exam Results Doomsday. And when I get back home from school. I shall tell you about my day. As for now, today's Moral class was interesting in the beginning but a little boring at the end because we had to do 3 more chapters of our work book and listen about the Malaysian Economy. Apart from that, I learnt four stealth/not too stealth techniques to rejuvenate your energy in class.

NUMBER 1: Just do it. This inspirational quote from Nike says it all. If you want to sleep in class, do so as you please. No need to have any cover ups or such because in the end, those will catch more attention.

NUMBER 2: Don't fish around, there's nothing to catch. Assuming that you are feeling drowsy and you feel like having a wink or two to save those heavy eyelids of yours, do not go 'fish, fish fish', meaning do not take those frequent nods with your eyes half-closed. You will attract attention! It works like this. Would you notice one hand in a sea of hands or would you notice a hand waving about madly in a sea of hands? Yet another rhetorical question which does not make much sense. Just bear with me, please? I 'fish' all the time despite everything and today during Moral, teacher caught me all right.

NUMBER 3: Camouflage or hide at the last resort. When you feel tired, it is almost an instinct to hide yourself from the teacher (in a way). Some people do the classic, "my fringe covers my left eye while I face more to the right so that my right eye is covered by a partial shadow". Or perhaps you would like to have it lay out in the open that you are lazing but still paying attention, so you hide your face with your arms or face the wall. Just be extra careful not to move your head around.

NUMBER 4: It did not happen. Yes, it did happen, but you are obviously trying not to appear so obvious. Simply act as though nothing had happened and move back into life without attracting too much attention with actions such as yawning loudly and such. You should be able to pay more attention after you have been rejuvenated.

I have been in the business for nearly six years now, since I was in Standard 3. Take my word for it. ;) One day, if I am a doctor doing a 12-hour operation on you, do not cry if I fell asleep midway. Oh yeah, that makes me even more game to watch Awake. Hayden Christensen stars in it! That statement in the movie poster just makes the situation worse.

"Every year 21 million people go under anesthesia. One in 700 remain awake the entire time. When they planned her husband's murder, they never expected he'd be the one."

Now, I really want to watch this movie. Or maybe I would not and cannot do so because of the underage factor.

Movies

2008-03-16T18:13:00.004+08:00

My week long holiday ends today and tomorrow I shall be waking up at 6.30AM once again. So, what was the most interesting thing which I did this week? I watched THREE movies all at once together with my mother from 4PM to 11PM on .

The first movie we watched was Horton Hears A Who, a story by Dr. Seuss. It was very fun to watch and the animation was not half bad, and the tag line was "a person's a person, no matter how small". Don't ask me why, but I really like that tag line. I like cartoons and animated films as long as they don't carry somewhat weird characters like Chicken Little. I did not watch Chicken Little but, you judge an animated film by the design of its characters and Chicken Little is not appealing in any way if compared to the other animated characters such as Puss in Boots of Shrek. I give this movie a 4 out of 5, because I enjoyed it. And the voices behind the characters were funny men Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell, they did a great job if you ask me. :) The characters great appeal to the audience too with their bright colours and quirky design. Another good animated film I last seen was Ratatouille. Pixar studios never cease to amaze the audience, it's no wonder they took back the Oscars award this year once again. Last year, they won with Cars, I have not watched that yet though.

After that, we had a quick bite at Shakey's Pizza before going back to watch Jumper at 7.10PM. I like Hayden Christensen but this film was not a good movie. I give it a 2 out of 5, that one extra point for Hayden. Haha. I will not elaborate further on this film. Hiro Nakamura has cooler powers teleporting, moving through time, changing time, freezing time etc. compared to just 'jumping', he just needs more practice maybe? :D

The third and last movie we watched was Martian Child. I like this movie even though it was a little slow. The plot had a cute touch and the actor John Cusack carried out his role rather well. It had all the elements of emotions, sad, happy, confused, angry, depressed, frustrated etc. I have to admit that I was a little teary-eyed at the ending. Apparently, my mother was too and I have never seen that happen before. This movie screams out a 5 out of 5! For all the greatness of parents (single or not), you must watch this movie! And I would recommend watching it in the cinema because there is this effect which I really cannot explain somehow. Do remember that any movie can be easily spoilt if you watch it in lousy quality video, it makes the movie lose its touch and it puts you off. If you want to buy the pirated version (who wouldn't?), buy a good copy not those with people moving about in front of the screen and crackles of popcorn or such disturbances.

Yesterday, I watched 10000 BC. I like this movie despite me, my father and my mother entering the cinema late and missing 10 minutes of the show. It was a good piece of work, the costumes, the set design and all were great! The actors were dressed up very well and the story line was interesting. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 once again. Just go watch it, okay?

To sum up this post, I will conclude that I have watched all together 5 movies this week, from the disappointing Vantage Point to the interesting 10000 BC. I cannot wait to watch 27 Dresses, Kung Fu Panda, Nim's Island and Awake (I am not too sure about this show because it might be PG-18 or something, cross my fingers that it won't!). Well, it was a great week and I cannot wait for next Thursday and Friday when I will once again have two days free combined with the weekend! Good night.

Laugh

2008-03-12T22:41:00.005+08:00

This week, us lucky Malaysian students have a week's worth of holidays, our 1st Mid-Semester Break to be exact. I seem to have spent the past three days in KL, out in the morning and back home when it is dark. Today, I went to my mother's office and then met up with Chen Wei before the both of us set off to explore Pavilion. Aunty Joo dropped us off at the bridge after giving us a short lecture about crossing roads before we adjourned to Food Republic to have brunch, Korean Bibimbap. It was a nice dish but I prefer the one served at Dae Jung Gam (a Korean BBQ restaurant in Section 14, PJ) because they offer more vegetables and ingredients. But all in all, it tasted nice for its value and the stone bowl they use to serve it caused it to remain hot all the while we were eating, so it was great. The trait from my mother's side of the family has been passed down to me, where food which are supposed to be served hot must be hot, or else... XD I remember once when me, Mummy, Ama, Dua Yee, Aunty Jenny and Koko (cannot remember who else was there) were at One World's Chinese Restaurant eating Dimsum:-

Mummy: Eh, this Dimsum is not hot! Better ask the waiter to heat it up! (speaks in Hokkien)
(Dua Yee and Aunty Jenny agree in Hokkien)
Ama: Your palette/mouth is very sharp. (speaks in Hokkien)
Mummy: Waiter, please bring this back to the kitchen and heat it up. (speaks in Cantonese)
(Waiter on his way to bring the food back to the kitchen)
Mummy: Uh... Wait! Must have smoke, okay? (speaks in Cantonese)
(Koko and I pull on the -_-" face)
Me: Mummy, it's steam, not smoke.

And in the end, we were all laughing as we translated it to Ama. :) That is an example of the moments where we all just end up laughing at times as such, which are very trivial and sometimes, nonsensical. Chen Wei and I made many wrong turns, we had to walk from the Couture Pavilion (is that what it is called?) to the cheaper side many times, but we did go into Paul Frank to have a look-see. We just did window-shopping and talked most of the time. The queerest thing which happened to me both today and yesterday was that when I passed those security barcode scanners which are placed at the entrance and exits of shops, they would beep, even when I was empty-handed. I did not buy anything and so we went to meet up my mother and her friends at Crystal Jade. Chen Wei and I had just left Tangs and were on our way when we saw Crystal Jade Meal, a place which had a pub-like atmosphere about it. Our guess that they definitely would not be there was affirmed when my mother finally returned my call and told me that they were at the branch at Food Republic, therefore we had to walk back down. Fun, fun, fun. (That IRRITATING song from Performing Arts! Forget it.) We had a few munches there too. Well, looking forward to see her soon when she comes back from Singapore again.

I went to watch Vantage Point at 4.35PM with my mother. Despite its rewinds and all, I would give it a 3 out of 5 because I enjoy action films and the rewinds had their purpose. The story had its plot and was quite interesting, though one tends to get bored easily if required to watch the same thing happen over and over again. I like action flicks, so the car chase at the end was my favourite part of the movie. Guns and cars, a great combination in any action flick, if you ask me! :D That is why I love the three Bourne movies! And I also remember watching Bad Company, another nice action flick starring Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. Dennis Quaid was quite interesting to watch, since he suits the role of an agent, played his part well. I would not recommend this movie, but I would say that it beats Cloverfield and I Am Legend ANYTIME! Sorry to all you fans out there, but that is just me. I cannot stand those two films, no, I cannot appreciate them.

After being stuck in a traffic jam on Jalan Bukit Bintang, we met up Jolene che che and Ah Wei koko for dinner at Low Yat Plaza. Mummy went to Liang Xin later on while I followed Jolene che che to Sungei Wang to collect something. Ah Wei koko tagged along rather mysteriously, HAHA! And he told me about him 'borrowing' a magazine from the magazine shop.

(in Cantonese & English)
Ah Wei: Eh, both of you BOUGHT the magazines?
Jolene & I: Yeah.
Ah Wei: Aiyo. All you need to is just take the magazine and then the next day after you have finished reading it, you bring it back to the magazine shop and tell the owner that you took it by 'accident'. He will definitely praise you and he might give you a discount or something.
Me: Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. (Poking Jolene in the arm)
Jolene: Why are you poking me? He's the one who's wrong.
Me: Tsk. Tsk. This person. Cassandra's dad.
Jolene: My husband (-_-")

Later on, I still remained surprised and kept on laughing. These moments are really funny, too silly to be true at times. I have been spending quite a lot of time with Jolene che che. On Monday, my Mummy, Ama and I met up with her and Ah Wei koko for lunch at Yi Qi. Then I met her at Ama's house yesterday and we went to One Utama in the evening to get Cassandra's toy keys. I got a chance to watch The Seventh Day (Cantonese series) for a while in her car, and I was still coaxing her to wear her seat belt, my mission was accomplished when she was fetching me back. :) To Cynthia che che, Jolene che che told me that she does NOT listen to you when you ask her to put on her seat belt! Haha! Well, I guess I have to end this post before I ramble on more silly things. I accidently tore a corner from a page of my Sejarah worksheets, better tape it up now.

Cry

2008-03-08T10:43:00.000+08:00

Have you ever felt that tingling feeling of something trickling in your throat and then after a few moments, your eyes feel wet. Perhaps there is an urge to blink or the tears simply glisten in the chambers of your eyes, we are all still crying anyway.

The day before yesterday (Thursday), my first mid-semester exams were finally over. After Paper 2 of our English paper was over, a round of whoops, sighs of relief were sounded across the hall. Smiles and grins adorned the faces of nearly every student yet perhaps the results might cause the opposite. That happened to me, my marks for my KH paper was 68%, not my cup of tea, but I had to force it down my throat anyhow. Well, I did not cry and had no symptoms of crying. It is just an exam, I kept whispering to myself. I had to keep my cool and not be miserable yet I failed. My face was expressionless and occasionally I would frown internally, or if things could not get better, put on a fake smile to make myself feel better. It was really silly now that I look back at it. Then for the rest of the day, I was as dead as a piece of wood most of the time. The maths quiz made me a little glad though. Maths can be like that sometimes.

I had to stay back in school for the results of the prefect's probation. I did not become a prefect and as I stated in a post the last time round, unless a miracle happens, I cannot and would not become a prefect. Naturally, the people who go into the office earlier are usually the ones who do not make it. Then again, there are a few students who get notified of their probation unexpectedly, just when there were lining up together with a bunch of goners. It was a fun experience, to enter the room with a dark expression and receive the classic "are you feeling alright with this?" which was practically screaming "are you taking this rejection well?". I was not unhappy and was feeling rather glad to get over it. It was truly interesting. But I was not having high hopes unlike a few others who were interested in the post of becoming a prefect. On a brighter note, I managed to play the World Maths Day game in school until 5PM while waiting to go home and I had achieved about 1200 points right before the game ended at 7PM. Quite a number of people in my class are going to become probates when school opens, till then I wish them good luck in their duties and memorising the school rules!

On the other hand, I saw a few people crying and all. It could be considered like an elimination session on a reality television programme. Now I know why I do not blame them for crying, who can blame a person for crying? Crying is a wonderful thing if you look at the bright side of it. It not only relieves stress but also allows a flow of pent up emotions to be released instead of suffocating the person within. Would you like to suffocate rather than exhale? That is such a rhetorical question. Nevertheless, crying also occurs when one is touched by happiness. It is possible for us to refer to that as being sappy. XD

I might go make a few more cards and read Atonement. That book is very well written and I am enjoying it so far. Hopefully, I will be able to do some home work tomorrow! I really do not want to do my KH homework but it is the simplest. Talk about mixed emotions.

Sudden Inspiration

2008-03-08T10:31:00.000+08:00

Here, I shall showcase two pieces of my artwork, hope that they look fine =) Without further ado, my cards:

I noticed that the flower looks a little wonky and all. But with shaky hands after a day, you tend to make things a little more imperfect. I am satisfied with both of them though, more to the first one where I had more energy and had put in more concentration. Good morning, anyone? And a big thank you to Audrey Lim Mei Yen, for waiting for this post! I just HAD TO put in the watermarks, they were so... tempting! Photos were taken with my phone for a few easy Bluetooth transfers.

Voice Out

2008-02-24T20:10:00.006+08:00

Today was the Swimming Gala. My first ever being at a Swimming Gala in these 3 years of my school life at Cempaka. The swimmers were eye-openers! They swam like dolphins and some just sped past the others like torpedos, moving underwater in fluid motion and in a few seconds they just appear out of nowhere. I never thought that one could move that fast in water, especially since there is a resistance in water unlike in the open air. I have watched the Olympics on television with that stopwatch at the corner of the screen but it really makes a big difference when you watch live action. Audrey and I reached Cempaka Cheras at 10.30AM and we took a look at the charity jumble sale (it was not a bazaar after all) before going to the house stands. Helang was at the side of the swimming pool where there were no seats and no shade whereas Seladang and Beruang were beside Harimau under the shade. I screamed my lungs out for Harimau, many others did the same of course. We shouted out the signature chant, we shouted out cheers of encouragement and we also gave some moral support to a few swimmers from the other houses who were still swimming whilst the other swimmers had finished earlier. I was shouting and screaming while glugging down water in intervals, my throat now feels a little sore after being over-exerted. Even so, I am exceptionally happy that our support was not in any way a waste. The first piece of great news I heard was that Harimau was ahead of the other houses by 300 points. And then the best news of the day was that Harimau had won first place in the Swimming Gala! And for this victory, we have to thank our super awesome swimmers and everyone who helped in any way at all. Mr. Ashwin's speech which had made me feel guilty and caused me to attend this great event is a big plus in my books. Harimau has won the Swimming Gala twice in a row now! It is truly an incredible feat and I look forward to scream out my support at the great position of our Swimming Gala stand next year too. (Yay for being so semangat-ed)

I bought RM10's worth of coupons for the Charity Jumble Sale. First of all, I bought a cinnamon roll and a cupcake (made by Giuleta) from my classmates' booth. Audrey bought marshmallows dipped in chocolate and I went to buy a bottle of water. After the Swimming Gala trophy had been given to Harimau, I went back to my classmates' booth, bought their chocolate fondat and then I spent my last coupon on another bottle of mineral water. The chocolate fondant was served with ice-cream, it was exactly the same as chocolate cake except for its texture. Everything tasted great, victory was the sweetest though. :)

Audrey took a short tour of my house and saw my dogs when she followed me back to my house. She commented on the 'going down' concept of my house which I love because it makes my home different from other double-storey semi-detached houses. I went to visit my grandmother in the afternoon and met one of her distant relatives. I even got a chance to see a few ancient photos, they were in the sepia tone and there were a few faded spots on them. I saw a photo of my great-grandmother, she was wearing a traditional baju kebaya. She looked like a woman of rules and discipline and true to its word, she was quite the woman to fear according to the descriptions from my grandmother and her relative. Apparently my great-grandfather was a (true) China man with the surname of 'Tham'. There is a road in Seremban named after him and it seems that there is a 'Tham Association'. Amazingly interesting. I also saw a family picture of many of my relatives including my grandmother, my aunt, my father and all. When I look at photos of my relatives when they very young, I imagine myself in the future. Will there even be photographs by then? My mother and aunts look very pretty in this one photo of them when they were young. My father was once a thin fellow with an humungous amount of hair yet now he is quite the opposite. I wonder what will I look like in the future. I feel tired today after everything, from piano class at 8 in the morning to dinner in the evening. I will get going now because I have to study and do my homework despite my laziness to do so. Bye!

Interview

2008-02-23T22:29:00.002+08:00

Today, I had my prefect interview. I actually decided to go for it after a few people spoke to me. I guess I can be influenced pretty easily. First off, my mum told me that I should just go experience an interview, no harm done and if you pull it off, you get the position. Basically, I have nothing to lose. My father also gave me the same answer in a different fashion and my brother's answer was between 'whatever' and 'no' when I asked him whether I should become a prefect. What the hey, I decided to go for the interview at 12.30AM today.

We were required to stay still and quiet in a cold classroom while waiting for our turn. I had the privilege of sitting right under the air conditioner in the beginning, however I did manage to switch places and I spent some time reading a passage from the sports section of a newspaper in the desk drawer secretly. You could probably sum up how bored I felt at that time by now. My heart was racing when I was in the office, I was practically a bundle of nerves ready to be signed, sealed and delivered to the interviewers. The silliest thing I did during the interview was telling Dr. Rizal that I did not really want to become a prefect in a pip-squeak voice. They probably thought that I was either a nervous nut or some dumb nut which came to make a fool out of them and myself. Oh well, it was the truth and he was the one who told us to tell the truth during the interview. So I am guessing that unless they are looking for a prefect to fall asleep on the job, I have not really much of a chance at becoming a probate. Everyone kept saying that they had messed up their interview but those smart punks in my class will have their chance either way.

Audrey's birthday lunch was at the Japanese restaurant in Shangri-la. It was just the four of us so we ate and talked about random topics, a nice lunch all in all. We took a few pictures and then went back when Audrey's mum came to pick us up. It was the first time Audrey, Tiara and I went out with Giuleta! I had Chinese tuition in the afternoon later on.

The Swimming Gala is going to be held tomorrow. Audrey and I shall be going there for the very first time, I simply cannot wait to see my classmates' booth and all the other booths at the bazaar (is it called a bazaar?). Cross my fingers and toes for Harimau!

Wow, two new experiences in one day. It is fun. Despite everything, I must start studying somehow. Goodbye!