Tuesday, September 30, 2003
k, this might be a stretch, because it's almost 8 o'clock at night, but seeing that you're probably not going to read this in the morning anyway it doesn't matter...coz this is an inspired piece, i was walking to campus early this morning, and was suddenly inspired by how beautiful it all was...so here's my rhapsody of morning.
i love the morning...it might sound crazy and difficult to drag yourself out of bed when the rest of the world is still deep in slumber, but once you do...there's nothing more beautiful about enjoying the morning while it lasts. i love the sounds of morning, the muted conversations, the clinking of metal spoons against porcelain coffee cups, the chirping of birds as they sing their wake-up songs, the soft, gentle rustling of tree leaves in the morning breeze, all play a symphony only morning can pull-off. i love the smell of morning, the air not yet musty from smog, car exhaust and 60-day-old tobacco smoke. the smell of coffee brewing, bitter yet aromatic, and the contrasting smell of orange juice, tart and sweet, screaming "time to wake up!". i love the feel of morning, clean air on my face, the cold biting my skin in a refreshing way, the knowledge that the day is new and a whole world of possibilities lie in front of me...as if in a dream, i reach out and touch. i love the taste of morning, breakfast still on my lips...pancakes or waffles drenched in maple syrup (on a good day) or breakfast cereal drowned in sugar (on a regular one), sweet as the day yet to come. finally, i see morning and it sees me...i want to wave but there's no need to, because it has already taken me into its arms. i walk into the morning, and am glad. i soak it up, it absorbs me, and i start a new day with a glow that does not come from the sun just bidding its cloudy bed goodbye.
~~~
k...obviously i was in a good mood. it's been a long long day since then though! won't go into the details coz i've already done that in one of my previous blogs, and it'll just bore everyone to spell it out again. oh, except i took part in an interesting experiment (yes, i was the guinea pig), had to watch this slideshow of gross pictures (a severed hand, cow corpses, baby with a bloody growth on its eye, you get the pic) that were laced with small, neutral objects (ball, pen, hammer etc), and after that i was asked to recall as many of the gross pictures and neutral objects as i could. they were conducting an experiment to test how emotional experiences affect memory...pretty cool huh. alright, got to get studying before morning arrives again!
i love the morning...it might sound crazy and difficult to drag yourself out of bed when the rest of the world is still deep in slumber, but once you do...there's nothing more beautiful about enjoying the morning while it lasts. i love the sounds of morning, the muted conversations, the clinking of metal spoons against porcelain coffee cups, the chirping of birds as they sing their wake-up songs, the soft, gentle rustling of tree leaves in the morning breeze, all play a symphony only morning can pull-off. i love the smell of morning, the air not yet musty from smog, car exhaust and 60-day-old tobacco smoke. the smell of coffee brewing, bitter yet aromatic, and the contrasting smell of orange juice, tart and sweet, screaming "time to wake up!". i love the feel of morning, clean air on my face, the cold biting my skin in a refreshing way, the knowledge that the day is new and a whole world of possibilities lie in front of me...as if in a dream, i reach out and touch. i love the taste of morning, breakfast still on my lips...pancakes or waffles drenched in maple syrup (on a good day) or breakfast cereal drowned in sugar (on a regular one), sweet as the day yet to come. finally, i see morning and it sees me...i want to wave but there's no need to, because it has already taken me into its arms. i walk into the morning, and am glad. i soak it up, it absorbs me, and i start a new day with a glow that does not come from the sun just bidding its cloudy bed goodbye.
~~~
k...obviously i was in a good mood. it's been a long long day since then though! won't go into the details coz i've already done that in one of my previous blogs, and it'll just bore everyone to spell it out again. oh, except i took part in an interesting experiment (yes, i was the guinea pig), had to watch this slideshow of gross pictures (a severed hand, cow corpses, baby with a bloody growth on its eye, you get the pic) that were laced with small, neutral objects (ball, pen, hammer etc), and after that i was asked to recall as many of the gross pictures and neutral objects as i could. they were conducting an experiment to test how emotional experiences affect memory...pretty cool huh. alright, got to get studying before morning arrives again!
Monday, September 29, 2003
just finished bible study...whew, day 1 of crazy week is over...on to day 2 now. pretty tired already, don't think i'll do anymore studying tonight, although TS Eliot's Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock is sitting open in front of me right now...hey, a girl can always pretend to try right?
my friends just got me into friendster...bad, another thing that is going to suck up time. but yeah...since i'm going to do this, might as well do this right. who's on friendster? add me! eirelav_conundrum@yahoo.com
right...now to bed, tomorrow's my early day.
my friends just got me into friendster...bad, another thing that is going to suck up time. but yeah...since i'm going to do this, might as well do this right. who's on friendster? add me! eirelav_conundrum@yahoo.com
right...now to bed, tomorrow's my early day.
monday again, ain't it crazy...time is not flying past me, it's more like rolling past, coz while it lasts, things go slow, but when i look back on the week just past, i wonder when it slipped by me without my noticing, if that even makes any sense. this week is going to be super busy, just so i can keep things straight in my head, i'm going to list out what i have to do...feel free to ignore this...
monday after class have to attend a psych internship panel from 5 to 6 (? gosh...realized i don't know what time time it ends), then i have small group bible study at night...that'll take till almost 10
tuesday have to attend an rpp (research participation program) experiment from 1-2 in between classes, have to go print stuff out for my psych study group also in between classes, have to go make noise and demand to know why i've been charged for paying my fees late when i haven't, then i have a rescomp appointment...got to see the computer people so they can do a maintenance checkup on my comp...that's at 5.30, kickboxing at 6.30? if i still have energy
wednesday i have another tutoring job interview straight after class...10 mins after in fact, i'll have to run down...and there's some free sushi-cum meet the alumni meeting (note which part of the event comes first in my mind), then there's some casino cum dance night at 9, which i'm thinking of not going for, coz honestly it does not sound like a meaningful use of time.
thursday i'll finally be able to breathe (?), oh...maybe not. got a paper due on friday...so will have to finalize that, go down to OCF and print it out...thurs night navigators large group meeting, that will last till 10.
friday...and the week's almost over. scary. got to study for midterms in the following week. go for psych advising to declare myself a psych major and make sure i'm on the right track, got to check out books and start reading them for the american institutions exam i'm taking in november (got to start now coz i'll be swamped by midterms and papers nearer the date).
man...i'm tired already, just projecting my week. ha, think i might be just compounding the stress thinking about it...fine, i'll take this one day at a time. i can do this...i know i can, i know i can...ha, the little engine that could will be my role model of the week.
monday after class have to attend a psych internship panel from 5 to 6 (? gosh...realized i don't know what time time it ends), then i have small group bible study at night...that'll take till almost 10
tuesday have to attend an rpp (research participation program) experiment from 1-2 in between classes, have to go print stuff out for my psych study group also in between classes, have to go make noise and demand to know why i've been charged for paying my fees late when i haven't, then i have a rescomp appointment...got to see the computer people so they can do a maintenance checkup on my comp...that's at 5.30, kickboxing at 6.30? if i still have energy
wednesday i have another tutoring job interview straight after class...10 mins after in fact, i'll have to run down...and there's some free sushi-cum meet the alumni meeting (note which part of the event comes first in my mind), then there's some casino cum dance night at 9, which i'm thinking of not going for, coz honestly it does not sound like a meaningful use of time.
thursday i'll finally be able to breathe (?), oh...maybe not. got a paper due on friday...so will have to finalize that, go down to OCF and print it out...thurs night navigators large group meeting, that will last till 10.
friday...and the week's almost over. scary. got to study for midterms in the following week. go for psych advising to declare myself a psych major and make sure i'm on the right track, got to check out books and start reading them for the american institutions exam i'm taking in november (got to start now coz i'll be swamped by midterms and papers nearer the date).
man...i'm tired already, just projecting my week. ha, think i might be just compounding the stress thinking about it...fine, i'll take this one day at a time. i can do this...i know i can, i know i can...ha, the little engine that could will be my role model of the week.
Sunday, September 28, 2003
just got back from my church's first outdoor service, at least that's what they called it, was more like a picnic. invited my roommate along and she agreed to go. it was pretty good...had short worship, short sermon (about peter walking on the water, and how when he lost sight of Jesus he started to sink, but once he called for help Jesus was there to rescue him, tied that in to our lives, sometimes we feel like we're going down because we leave Jesus out of the picture or don't put him in the center, but if we cry out he'll be right there to rescue us), then had good korean bbq and kimchi, although i'm not much of a kimchi person. played frisbee and soccer after that, so now i'm pretty tired. but got to stay awake to study! which i will begin to do once i finish blogging. promise.
went to danny and milton's apartment last night (they're on staff with navigators) to watch when harry met sally, that's one awesome movie...meg ryan looks so young there! it was funny, we were watching that movie coz this guy (my floormate actually), ezra, had suggested it, and when the other guys there found out, they were groaning away. they sat through the entire movie but claimed to hate it when it was over (why? i simply don't understand...ha, not very empathetic am i). i just think they've been socialized into thinking they're not supposed to enjoy romantic comedies because they are guys. and how sad is that? i mean...they probably think it'll be bad for their reputations if they admit they enjoy romantic comedies, so they've fooled themselves into thinking they hate them. sigh, what society can do to people. i like a guy who's not afraid to admit he likes to watch a romantic comedy once in a while. i'm not saying all guys have to love them, every guy has the perfect right to hate them, but only if it's really because there's something he finds unenjoyable about them, not because he's afraid of what other people will think. k, shall not rant and rave anymore, got to get to studying...the three factor theory of hans j. eysenck, sigh...sounds exciting.
went to danny and milton's apartment last night (they're on staff with navigators) to watch when harry met sally, that's one awesome movie...meg ryan looks so young there! it was funny, we were watching that movie coz this guy (my floormate actually), ezra, had suggested it, and when the other guys there found out, they were groaning away. they sat through the entire movie but claimed to hate it when it was over (why? i simply don't understand...ha, not very empathetic am i). i just think they've been socialized into thinking they're not supposed to enjoy romantic comedies because they are guys. and how sad is that? i mean...they probably think it'll be bad for their reputations if they admit they enjoy romantic comedies, so they've fooled themselves into thinking they hate them. sigh, what society can do to people. i like a guy who's not afraid to admit he likes to watch a romantic comedy once in a while. i'm not saying all guys have to love them, every guy has the perfect right to hate them, but only if it's really because there's something he finds unenjoyable about them, not because he's afraid of what other people will think. k, shall not rant and rave anymore, got to get to studying...the three factor theory of hans j. eysenck, sigh...sounds exciting.
Saturday, September 27, 2003
ok...just got to announce this...we won! we kicked butt...USC's gone down! they were the 3rd ranked in the nation, let me stress were. was an amazing game, went into 3rd overtime, and we scored by a 2 point conversion...american football is a complicated game to explain, but all you need to know is Cal won...yeah, go bears!
just got back from my first football game, we were playing against USC, which is a pretty strong team. left at half time, we were in the lead 21-7, but my floormate just reported that the game is now tied at 21-21...nerve-wrecking. there's something savage and animal about footgames...i can understand why psychologists and anthropologists would study football games...we spent the entire time standing on the bench, cheering for Cal and booing USC...and i'm super dark now, coz the sun was pretty strong, i have such an obvious tan line from my spaghetti-strap top it's scary. but yeah...it's like part of a big rite, the way everyone knows how to cheer and boo at the right times. was fun though, pity we had to leave, coz it sounds like the 2nd half of the game is going to get exciting. but i have work to do, and i'm going out tonight...but, just have to say this, go bears! ha...
here's some pics we took at the game, using my friend's phone, so not very clear...
football game
again...email add is eirelav_conundrum@yahoo.com
password valerie
here's some pics we took at the game, using my friend's phone, so not very clear...
football game
again...email add is eirelav_conundrum@yahoo.com
password valerie
had a mini-movie marathon last night in my floormate liz's room. watched fantasia 2000 then lilo and stitch, was really sleepy after that. fantasia 2000 was wonderful (love rhapsody in blue!), but it was also perfect bedtime music. was really planning to use friday night to study, but after we finished with the movies it was 11 pm already, stayed up another hour to finish reading king richard II for my shakespeare class, then gladly fell into bed. this morning i got up and made sure i finished my essay before logging on to trillian...i can never get any work done when i'm chatting, so i decided to discipline myself...self-control girl! of course i turned trillian on as soon as i finished my essay...and learnt a new bahasa phrase courtesy of li-en...saya tidak ada punya pacar...i do not have a boyfriend, ha, useful phrase to know.
my mom mailed me while she was waiting to take my grandma to the hospital. grandma's been having a fever for the past few days and a doctor friend of my uncle took a look at her and said the prognosis is not good...the infection has entered her bloodstream. she seems to be breathless, gasping away, and moaning...does this mean the end is near? grown so used to the idea that she'll always be around, ever since i was young she was the "presence" in the house, someone who was there but i never really knew. we even always joke that grandma will outlive us all, till we almost believe it. at some points of my life i resented her because she took so much of my mom's time and attention, because she prevented my mom from grabbing on to many opportunities to further herself, get away, have a little bit of fun. think this period must be really tough for my mom...it's hard to let go of your mother, even when she hasn't been around in spirit for the last almost 20 years anyway. i look at my grandma and see only an old lady lost in her own world. mom looks at grandma, and sees the woman she used to be, the fierce, feisty woman who was never daunted by the challenges of the world. what the outside world wasn't strong enough to do, grandma's internal world finally succeeded in...getting her down, rendering her out of action. sometimes deep inside of me i think maybe grandma is better off gone, because what kind of life is she living now anyway? and then i feel guilty, because what kind of respectable person wants her grandma dead? and because i feel that isn't what my mom would want...even now, i think i am grieved by grandma's sickness not because she is suffering, but because my mom is. does that make me unfeeling?
old age, sickness, ugly things we cannot run away from...is everything really a chasing after the wind? better take seriously the teacher's words to "remember your Creator in the days of your youth".
i hear all these stories about grandma and the wonderful things she used to do, she could cook the most amazing dishes, do cross-stitch without a pattern book, raise 8 kids who all turned out wonderfully intelligent and well-adjusted. she sounds like someone i would have liked to know, if i were given the chance. all she is to me now is the lady who grew younger and younger, even as she grew older. as i grew up, she lost the ability to walk, to feed herself, to talk...in a sense we've been watching her die day by day...painful, long, drawn-out way to go.
Grandma can't talk
She just stares into space
But I wonder what's hiding
Behind that blank gaze
My mother and aunts
Pass down stories of old
But I wonder if something's changed
In the way they are told
I wonder if Grandma
Still had a say
Would she have told things
In a different way?
I can only imagine
The way things would be
If I had heard those stories
At my grandmother's knee
my mom mailed me while she was waiting to take my grandma to the hospital. grandma's been having a fever for the past few days and a doctor friend of my uncle took a look at her and said the prognosis is not good...the infection has entered her bloodstream. she seems to be breathless, gasping away, and moaning...does this mean the end is near? grown so used to the idea that she'll always be around, ever since i was young she was the "presence" in the house, someone who was there but i never really knew. we even always joke that grandma will outlive us all, till we almost believe it. at some points of my life i resented her because she took so much of my mom's time and attention, because she prevented my mom from grabbing on to many opportunities to further herself, get away, have a little bit of fun. think this period must be really tough for my mom...it's hard to let go of your mother, even when she hasn't been around in spirit for the last almost 20 years anyway. i look at my grandma and see only an old lady lost in her own world. mom looks at grandma, and sees the woman she used to be, the fierce, feisty woman who was never daunted by the challenges of the world. what the outside world wasn't strong enough to do, grandma's internal world finally succeeded in...getting her down, rendering her out of action. sometimes deep inside of me i think maybe grandma is better off gone, because what kind of life is she living now anyway? and then i feel guilty, because what kind of respectable person wants her grandma dead? and because i feel that isn't what my mom would want...even now, i think i am grieved by grandma's sickness not because she is suffering, but because my mom is. does that make me unfeeling?
old age, sickness, ugly things we cannot run away from...is everything really a chasing after the wind? better take seriously the teacher's words to "remember your Creator in the days of your youth".
i hear all these stories about grandma and the wonderful things she used to do, she could cook the most amazing dishes, do cross-stitch without a pattern book, raise 8 kids who all turned out wonderfully intelligent and well-adjusted. she sounds like someone i would have liked to know, if i were given the chance. all she is to me now is the lady who grew younger and younger, even as she grew older. as i grew up, she lost the ability to walk, to feed herself, to talk...in a sense we've been watching her die day by day...painful, long, drawn-out way to go.
Grandma can't talk
She just stares into space
But I wonder what's hiding
Behind that blank gaze
My mother and aunts
Pass down stories of old
But I wonder if something's changed
In the way they are told
I wonder if Grandma
Still had a say
Would she have told things
In a different way?
I can only imagine
The way things would be
If I had heard those stories
At my grandmother's knee
Friday, September 26, 2003
whew...it's hot now. just got back from class, which i was almost late for, due to no fault of mine. then again, it's never one's fault is it. but this time it really wasn't (ha)...i was at the OCF (open computing facility) printing stuff, and some people were printing what seemed like whole textbooks! how inconsiderate...so anyway, my print job was queued behind all those people taking advantage of free printing to print beyond what was necessary...by the time i got my one page printed...(one page! compared to whole textbooks! ha...can tell i was annoyed)...i practically had to run to class, made it just on time. so anyway, class was pretty interesting, we were talking about whitman and dickinson, but most of you probably aren't too interested so i won't go on...oh, but must share this very important fact i learnt. oscar wilde hated yellow! know that probably doesn't mean very much to anyone else out there, but it's nice to know that such a creative genius shared the same taste I have...that guy was a hard-core aestheticist too, he loved color, but hated yellow...guess that says a lot about yellow huh? ha...i should change the name of this blog to "down with yellow" or something, seeing i spend an inordinate amount of time griping about it.
went to the gym in the morning...well, not really. left my room at 12 plus, so it was more like the afternoon, although it felt like morning for me coz that was before my first class (only have class at 3 on fridays). so yeah...had a good workout, that's kind of a good time to go too...coz it's not extremely crowded but it's not super empty either. it's not very fun working out in a ghost gym, and of course not too thrilling waiting in line forever.
going for dinner in 5 mins, meeting a different group of people tonight (ie. not the s'poreans) so i probably actually have to be on time. when i meet the s'poreans, it's understood that everyone turns up 15 mins after the designated time, ha...bad habit.
it was really cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon...now it's getting cold again. crazy weather!
went to the gym in the morning...well, not really. left my room at 12 plus, so it was more like the afternoon, although it felt like morning for me coz that was before my first class (only have class at 3 on fridays). so yeah...had a good workout, that's kind of a good time to go too...coz it's not extremely crowded but it's not super empty either. it's not very fun working out in a ghost gym, and of course not too thrilling waiting in line forever.
going for dinner in 5 mins, meeting a different group of people tonight (ie. not the s'poreans) so i probably actually have to be on time. when i meet the s'poreans, it's understood that everyone turns up 15 mins after the designated time, ha...bad habit.
it was really cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon...now it's getting cold again. crazy weather!
Thursday, September 25, 2003
man...it's been another tiring day. went from class to an APU (association of psychology undergraduates, no wonder they go by the acronym!) meeting, then after that went for navigators...so this is the first chance i'm getting to sit and rest, and breathe. i have a pile of work to complete, 2 papers, got to finish reading a dozen books...term is really starting to get busy now, at least this weekend i don't have too many activities lined up, so i can catch up on my work.
navigators was great as usual, the word was on running for the prize...got to run keeping 2 things in mind - run with purpose and with discipline. the purpose being of course to win the prize, which comes in 2 forms - salvation, and a crown of reward when we finally meet God face to face. and discipline is just having self-control, choosing to assert God-given authority over the desires of the flesh. heard this story about bill bright, the founder of campus crusade for Christ. he was giving an interview and someone asked him how he coped with his "down" moments, his answer was really amazing...said he usually goes out and evangelizes when he feels depressed, because in doing so and sharing the love of Jesus with others it helps reminds him of how much has been done for him on the cross. isn't that amazing? great man of God...
oh, twin discovery of the day. one of my navigators staff, danny, is a twin...chris: pity all the twins i've met so far are either too young, too old or female, sad! but it's strange, the number of twins i'm coming across in berkeley.
found a computer lab that allows me to print for free...just in time too, coz i've got a paper due tomorrow, which i really should go proofread now. and i should also start writing the paper due next week. argh, schoolwork! i'm having a blast...ha, no, honestly, i am. why does that sound like i'm trying to convince myself? but seriously, i'm the kind of person who doesn't mind studying...much rather do that than work in the real world. i'll enjoy school while it lasts...which won't be long enough for my liking.
navigators was great as usual, the word was on running for the prize...got to run keeping 2 things in mind - run with purpose and with discipline. the purpose being of course to win the prize, which comes in 2 forms - salvation, and a crown of reward when we finally meet God face to face. and discipline is just having self-control, choosing to assert God-given authority over the desires of the flesh. heard this story about bill bright, the founder of campus crusade for Christ. he was giving an interview and someone asked him how he coped with his "down" moments, his answer was really amazing...said he usually goes out and evangelizes when he feels depressed, because in doing so and sharing the love of Jesus with others it helps reminds him of how much has been done for him on the cross. isn't that amazing? great man of God...
oh, twin discovery of the day. one of my navigators staff, danny, is a twin...chris: pity all the twins i've met so far are either too young, too old or female, sad! but it's strange, the number of twins i'm coming across in berkeley.
found a computer lab that allows me to print for free...just in time too, coz i've got a paper due tomorrow, which i really should go proofread now. and i should also start writing the paper due next week. argh, schoolwork! i'm having a blast...ha, no, honestly, i am. why does that sound like i'm trying to convince myself? but seriously, i'm the kind of person who doesn't mind studying...much rather do that than work in the real world. i'll enjoy school while it lasts...which won't be long enough for my liking.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
here's more pics...this time of my floormates, some of them at least.
freeborn 2nd floor
been brought to my attention that you need my user name and password to view the pics.
user name is my email add: eirelav_conundrum@yahoo.com
password is simply: valerie
hope this works...
freeborn 2nd floor
been brought to my attention that you need my user name and password to view the pics.
user name is my email add: eirelav_conundrum@yahoo.com
password is simply: valerie
hope this works...
had another pretty busy day today, went to sit in on a psych de-cal class (these classes run by students) coz they had invited a professor to talk about how to go about getting letters of recommendation for graduate school...i'm seriously worried now, competition is tight for graduate school, and i don't really have that much time to cultivate relationships with the professors here, since i only have 2 years as a transfer student, while most people have 4. the best way to get to know a professor is to be involved in research projects, and i applied for one but didn't get it...again because i'm a transfer student and have no track record, so they can't really tell if i'll be a good person to let into the project or not. guess i shall have to try again next semester...but it's tough, all these extra obstacles. i'll make it, just have to exert a little more effort.
went to talk to my english GSI (graduate student instructor) about my paper due friday, and realized during the course of it that he has a twin brother who writes for time magazine...how cool is that? says his twin brother looks exactly like him too, and sometimes they have pictures of his brother in the magazine, so it's kind of weird, looking at himself, or sort of.
today must be twin day or something, coz i had lunch with this girl i met last night at IV (another transfer student), christina...she was there with her twin sister laurie. they weren't that identical or anything, though you could tell they are twins. turns out laurie's roommate during her first year here was a s'porean i know! what a small world.
very full now, just got back from dinner...the chicken wasn't bad for once, and they had sweet corn...yummy.
had a guest lecturer during my english class today, she teaches a creative writing class that runs parallel to mine. today we were doing emily dickinson, and i guess my teacher felt that as a woman, this other teacher could bring an additional dimension to the lecture. she turned out to be totally boring! was trying to stay awake during her monotone speech...plus it was afternoon time, aka nap time too...my teacher might be hard to understand, but at least he has lots of insightful things to say. i think he himself didn't quite like her lecture, coz towards the end he kept interjecting his own thoughts...which were far more interesting than what she had been talking about. think i appreciate my lecturer a bit more now.
got an email from another tutoring position i had applied for. they want to interview me, but even if they take me i'll only be able to start in the spring, so no difference from the other tutoring spot i've got held for me for then.
on an abrupt change of subject, verse of the day...
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." - 2 Corinthians 1: 1-11
read that this morning for QT, thought it was really beautiful...when we go through any tough situation, all we have to do is remember that God's comfort flows into us...so that it may overflow through us into the lives of others. wonderful thought that he can use us just as we are.
went to talk to my english GSI (graduate student instructor) about my paper due friday, and realized during the course of it that he has a twin brother who writes for time magazine...how cool is that? says his twin brother looks exactly like him too, and sometimes they have pictures of his brother in the magazine, so it's kind of weird, looking at himself, or sort of.
today must be twin day or something, coz i had lunch with this girl i met last night at IV (another transfer student), christina...she was there with her twin sister laurie. they weren't that identical or anything, though you could tell they are twins. turns out laurie's roommate during her first year here was a s'porean i know! what a small world.
very full now, just got back from dinner...the chicken wasn't bad for once, and they had sweet corn...yummy.
had a guest lecturer during my english class today, she teaches a creative writing class that runs parallel to mine. today we were doing emily dickinson, and i guess my teacher felt that as a woman, this other teacher could bring an additional dimension to the lecture. she turned out to be totally boring! was trying to stay awake during her monotone speech...plus it was afternoon time, aka nap time too...my teacher might be hard to understand, but at least he has lots of insightful things to say. i think he himself didn't quite like her lecture, coz towards the end he kept interjecting his own thoughts...which were far more interesting than what she had been talking about. think i appreciate my lecturer a bit more now.
got an email from another tutoring position i had applied for. they want to interview me, but even if they take me i'll only be able to start in the spring, so no difference from the other tutoring spot i've got held for me for then.
on an abrupt change of subject, verse of the day...
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." - 2 Corinthians 1: 1-11
read that this morning for QT, thought it was really beautiful...when we go through any tough situation, all we have to do is remember that God's comfort flows into us...so that it may overflow through us into the lives of others. wonderful thought that he can use us just as we are.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
wow...finally have time to sit down and blog. it's been one busy day. tuesday, so i start early, didn't have time to blog in the morning before leaving for class...not that i would have had anything much to say then anyway. my psych section in the morning was interesting as usual, we had to analyze ads to see how they work to change people's attitudes. my small group analyzed an ad persuading people to eat eggs that i had found in time magazine. amazing how much you can read into an egg ad...we had to answer all these questions about which kind of attitude it targeted, which kind of strategy it used blah blah blah...i'm sure you don't want to know about all the technical psych stuff, but it was pretty fun.
decided i should go swimming after class ended, so i packed all my stuff and went for class. after class was over walked over to the hearst pool coz it's nearer to my dorm, and found out it only opened for recreational swimming at 4.15 (it was 3 plus then). didn't want to go back and come out again, so i decided to walk over to the haas pool (all these confusing names) which is a bit further away but bigger...so i went all the way there, actually got changed into my swimming stuff then walked out to the pool, where...horror of horrors...i discovered that the pool was actually closed coz the guys' water polo team was training. apparently i had missed the yellow tape that screamed "pool closed"...don't ask me how i managed to do that! i'm still amazed myself...so there i was standing around with a bunch of guys training in the pool, feeling totally and literally like a duck out of water. it gets worse...the door i came through was one of those one-way doors...you can go out through them, but you can't go back in. so i was locked out at the pool! finally managed to find another door that led to some obscure place which (fortunately) finally led back to the locker room. after that totally embarrassing experience, i decided that since i had already changed into my stuff, i had to swim, and by then it was almost 4.15, so i walked back to the hearst pool, waited awhile before it opened, and finally got to a pool that i could use! ha...swam 20+ laps, which doesn't sound like a lot, but was plenty enough. realized i didn't bring sunblock only when i got there...so i'm pretty black now. after the swim, i went to shower and discovered that the shower room was communal style, like communal. it's totally open, the only cubicles there are, are for handicapped people, but i used those anyway, because...well, it may be the 21st century, but that doesn't mean i'm obligated to look at everyone completely naked, or let everyone look at me completely naked for that matter. call me old fashioned, conversative, not enlightened, whatever...remind me this is berkeley, yes...i still regard my body as a sacred temple, ha.
anyway...that wasn't the end of my exciting day. went for intervarsity's fellowship group tonight, played that blanket name game, and charades, then i had to leave halfway for my hall's "iron chef" competition. it was really insane...we were supposed to make the campanile (this tall bell tower in my school), oski (the sch mascot, a bear) and the hall association president out of skittles, hershey's kisses, oreos, graham crackers, peanuts, red vines, whipped cream and peanut butter. it was a total mess...cream and peanut butter everywhere. our team's oski looked like a dog! ha. at the end they offered 2 bonus points to the team that cleaned up the fastest, so one of my team mates grabbed everything off the table, and promptly dropped it on the floor! that was a total mess! cf that whole list of food i just told you about, on the floor, on the carpeted floor! so then we had to clean that up...that last part wasn't fun, ha...but overall i had a good time.
there was some firedrill in my building that lasted 40 mins...we weren't supposed to know about it but of course word got out. was supposed to be at 6.30, i was going out at 7...so i packed all my stuff and prepared to leave when the alarm went off, but it never did until 7.10, while i was at the IV meeting, which was a good thing, coz otherwise i would have had to stand around in the cold and do nothing while the drill lasted.
my roommate just commented that i always seem to be typing something...ha, guess i am. either blogging, or checking mail, or chatting, or (just sometimes) working on a paper.
oh, talking of which, had another pop quiz in my shakespeare class today. guess i got to start reading really closely. i was kinda late for class too, coz the class before was really far away and i only had 10 mins to get there, so i was panting and had to quickly take out a piece of paper. at least i could do all the questions so that's good. got to start writing my shakespeare paper! i promise to do it tomorrow, ha...someone hold me accountable.
This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your Holy presence, living in me
This is my daily bread,
This is my daily bread,
Your very word spoken to me
And I...I'm desperate for you
And I...I'm lost without you
Beautiful words to a beautiful Lord.
decided i should go swimming after class ended, so i packed all my stuff and went for class. after class was over walked over to the hearst pool coz it's nearer to my dorm, and found out it only opened for recreational swimming at 4.15 (it was 3 plus then). didn't want to go back and come out again, so i decided to walk over to the haas pool (all these confusing names) which is a bit further away but bigger...so i went all the way there, actually got changed into my swimming stuff then walked out to the pool, where...horror of horrors...i discovered that the pool was actually closed coz the guys' water polo team was training. apparently i had missed the yellow tape that screamed "pool closed"...don't ask me how i managed to do that! i'm still amazed myself...so there i was standing around with a bunch of guys training in the pool, feeling totally and literally like a duck out of water. it gets worse...the door i came through was one of those one-way doors...you can go out through them, but you can't go back in. so i was locked out at the pool! finally managed to find another door that led to some obscure place which (fortunately) finally led back to the locker room. after that totally embarrassing experience, i decided that since i had already changed into my stuff, i had to swim, and by then it was almost 4.15, so i walked back to the hearst pool, waited awhile before it opened, and finally got to a pool that i could use! ha...swam 20+ laps, which doesn't sound like a lot, but was plenty enough. realized i didn't bring sunblock only when i got there...so i'm pretty black now. after the swim, i went to shower and discovered that the shower room was communal style, like communal. it's totally open, the only cubicles there are, are for handicapped people, but i used those anyway, because...well, it may be the 21st century, but that doesn't mean i'm obligated to look at everyone completely naked, or let everyone look at me completely naked for that matter. call me old fashioned, conversative, not enlightened, whatever...remind me this is berkeley, yes...i still regard my body as a sacred temple, ha.
anyway...that wasn't the end of my exciting day. went for intervarsity's fellowship group tonight, played that blanket name game, and charades, then i had to leave halfway for my hall's "iron chef" competition. it was really insane...we were supposed to make the campanile (this tall bell tower in my school), oski (the sch mascot, a bear) and the hall association president out of skittles, hershey's kisses, oreos, graham crackers, peanuts, red vines, whipped cream and peanut butter. it was a total mess...cream and peanut butter everywhere. our team's oski looked like a dog! ha. at the end they offered 2 bonus points to the team that cleaned up the fastest, so one of my team mates grabbed everything off the table, and promptly dropped it on the floor! that was a total mess! cf that whole list of food i just told you about, on the floor, on the carpeted floor! so then we had to clean that up...that last part wasn't fun, ha...but overall i had a good time.
there was some firedrill in my building that lasted 40 mins...we weren't supposed to know about it but of course word got out. was supposed to be at 6.30, i was going out at 7...so i packed all my stuff and prepared to leave when the alarm went off, but it never did until 7.10, while i was at the IV meeting, which was a good thing, coz otherwise i would have had to stand around in the cold and do nothing while the drill lasted.
my roommate just commented that i always seem to be typing something...ha, guess i am. either blogging, or checking mail, or chatting, or (just sometimes) working on a paper.
oh, talking of which, had another pop quiz in my shakespeare class today. guess i got to start reading really closely. i was kinda late for class too, coz the class before was really far away and i only had 10 mins to get there, so i was panting and had to quickly take out a piece of paper. at least i could do all the questions so that's good. got to start writing my shakespeare paper! i promise to do it tomorrow, ha...someone hold me accountable.
This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your Holy presence, living in me
This is my daily bread,
This is my daily bread,
Your very word spoken to me
And I...I'm desperate for you
And I...I'm lost without you
Beautiful words to a beautiful Lord.
Monday, September 22, 2003
spent the whole afternoon walking around looking for a printer cartridge, to no avail...there weren't many stores selling computer stuff, one that i went into had it for not a very nice price, the other one was closed by the time i got there...so it was a pretty unsuccessful trip. but it was kinda fun walking around, even though i should have been studying...just realized my shakespeare paper is due next friday. that's quite some time away...but i thought it was due end of october, so i guess i have to start working on it soon. won't have time tomorrow, going for an intervarsity fellowship meeting tomorrow night. i'm probably not going to join them, coz i like navigators better, but the intervarsity people keep coming by to visit me and give me things. if it sounds awfully like they're bribing me, i guess they are, ha...but i promised them a while ago that i'll go drop by one more time, and i haven't kept that promise yet, so i'll just go by one more time and stop. there's some "iron chef" competition in my dorm tomorrow night, each floor is going to compete and see who can whip up the best dishes, ha...sounds fun, hope i can come back in time for it...see, won't be able to do work again.
oh, i've changed the link to the freshmen bbq pics...hopefully the new link has bigger pics that are easier to see...so you people don't have to strain your eyes. don't want to make life difficult for anyone, ha.
oh, i've changed the link to the freshmen bbq pics...hopefully the new link has bigger pics that are easier to see...so you people don't have to strain your eyes. don't want to make life difficult for anyone, ha.
my english teacher said a very insightful thing today (actually he says insightful things all the time, it's just that usually no one understands them). we find it hard to rejoice at social happiness...why? after all, if you open a poetry anthology, most of the poems read something like "woe am i...death is me", not too many go "i sing myself and celebrate myself" as whitman does. yet, when whitman smiles himself silly it works fine...but that's besides the point. my teacher was trying to say that in the face of misery, we have a role to play...we give advice, we comfort, we condole...misfortune creates an identity for us. but when people are happy and doing perfectly well, we are lost, because what is left for us to do? interesting and true...i can totally see that playing out in my life. i am happy to talk with those who aren't feeling good...if one day all the world should turn happy (impossible as that may be), would i be left with a feeling of loss? i'm almost sure i will.
going to walk down to shattuck (a bit like the orchard road of berkeley) to look for my printer cartridge, it's freaking hot though! wish i had put on shorts before leaving the dorm (i'm with a friend in the computing center now)...was too lazy to go for the internship panel, and they're doing it again next week, so i shall just go for it then.
oh, and i just confirmed my ticket back to s'pore...so i guess i am going home in december after all. leaving here on the 13th but then i'm flying off to perth, so might not be celebrating christmas in s'pore anyway...we'll see how.
alrighty...melting, melting...see, i'm giving all you ppl jobs, can comfort me when i complain! ha.
oh by the way vic...got your present, thanks! good to know that i'm your favorite sister...=)
going to walk down to shattuck (a bit like the orchard road of berkeley) to look for my printer cartridge, it's freaking hot though! wish i had put on shorts before leaving the dorm (i'm with a friend in the computing center now)...was too lazy to go for the internship panel, and they're doing it again next week, so i shall just go for it then.
oh, and i just confirmed my ticket back to s'pore...so i guess i am going home in december after all. leaving here on the 13th but then i'm flying off to perth, so might not be celebrating christmas in s'pore anyway...we'll see how.
alrighty...melting, melting...see, i'm giving all you ppl jobs, can comfort me when i complain! ha.
oh by the way vic...got your present, thanks! good to know that i'm your favorite sister...=)
another really hot day, burning up...my friend just told me it's supposed to be like that till october. at this point of time, that seems like an eternity away! can't believe it's monday again, week after week...time rolls on. just got back from lunch, nothing really interesting has happened today, but i'm going for an internship panel at 5 to learn about internship opportunities in the area, that should be pretty cool...if i can stay awake till then. doing the crossword now, strangely addictive that thing is. k, now i sound like yoda. it's really too hot to really think (see, just used the word "really" twice in the same sentence)...will be back when i have more to say. oh, just thought of something. today's cal newspaper had a picture of naked women on the front page, coz apparently yesterday was the 12th annual nude and breast freedom parade, only in berkeley...ha, i am disgusted. the women in that front page picture don't exactly have supermodel figures...k, shall not gross out the whole world along with me. need to go buy a new printer cartridge, and my usb cable is acting up...sigh, computer woes never end.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
church was really empty today coz a large portion of the members go to this fellowship called asian american christian fellowship (aacf) and they were away at a retreat, another group were away at a member's wedding...so we met in this tiny room...but it was actually kind of nice, coz the pastor could talk to us on a more personal level. his sermon was really good, as usual, about how in order to rise beyond a mediocre life we have to surrender our human crutches, and once we do that we'll definitely experience brokenness, but if we're willing to take the risk we'll move towards healing. spoke from exodus 4, which is when God called moses to lead the israelites out of egypt. God told moses to drop his staff...just like we have to surrender what we lean on for day to day survival, whatever that may be. when moses obeyed, the staff turned into a snake and scared the life out of moses (he ran, despite having lived in the wilderness for the past 40 years where there is snakes in abundance)...just like once we surrender ourselves we will feel broken, lame and scared at times. finally God asked moses to put his hand into his cloak, and it came out leprous, but was healed again when he put his hand in a second time. we need to come to the realization that God can do what we cannot...but he'll only work in our lives if we allow him to, he'll only heal us if he sees something broken.
sang a beautiful song in church too...
You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with you
And I'll stand in awe of you
Yes I'll stand in awe of you
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with you
The simplest of all love songs
I long to bring to you
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with you
simple, but meaningful...and sometimes i think the best gift we can give to God is to just come into his presence and sit in silence, and savor him fully, letting nothing get in the way...not even words, letting him know that He is all you need. I am too fond of italics, but certain truths don't bear enough punch until you italicize them, ha.
it's another insanely hot day! in fact it's hotter here than in s'pore, at least that's what my yahoo weather report says. it's 93F here, while it's only 87F in s'pore...probably coz it's thunderstorming where you guys are now. but even then, in late september...california being hotter than an island sitting on the equator! what's going on with the world. can't even sing the old kiddie song "it's a happy day, and i thank God for the weather" wholeheartedly anymore. now we have to go sheryl crow..."i'm....going to soak up the sun!" ha...Lord please send a breeze!
sang a beautiful song in church too...
You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with you
And I'll stand in awe of you
Yes I'll stand in awe of you
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with you
The simplest of all love songs
I long to bring to you
So I'll let my words be few
Jesus I am so in love with you
simple, but meaningful...and sometimes i think the best gift we can give to God is to just come into his presence and sit in silence, and savor him fully, letting nothing get in the way...not even words, letting him know that He is all you need. I am too fond of italics, but certain truths don't bear enough punch until you italicize them, ha.
it's another insanely hot day! in fact it's hotter here than in s'pore, at least that's what my yahoo weather report says. it's 93F here, while it's only 87F in s'pore...probably coz it's thunderstorming where you guys are now. but even then, in late september...california being hotter than an island sitting on the equator! what's going on with the world. can't even sing the old kiddie song "it's a happy day, and i thank God for the weather" wholeheartedly anymore. now we have to go sheryl crow..."i'm....going to soak up the sun!" ha...Lord please send a breeze!
finally got around to organizing my pics...here's some pics of the bbq i talked about 2 weeks ago:
freshmen bbq pics
freshmen bbq pics
Saturday, September 20, 2003
played frisbee for 2 hours in the hot sun...can barely walk right now, am really pooped. can tell, can't even type in complete sentences. anyway, went for boba (bubble tea) with my roommate coz we were both too full from lunch to eat dinner (that birthday cake did us in...it was super rich), and it's amazing how even boba can make you feel full.
while i was at the boba place, delia, faith and kev called to wish me happy birthday. everyone's so sweet i can hardly take it...ha. but i appreciate all you lovely people!
got to watch a shakespeare film for my class...and write a paper on it, so i think i'm going to do that now.
i'm so tired i keep making silly typos. wanted to msg my friend that i "feel very full right now" and i typed "fell very fool right now", think i need bed.
while i was at the boba place, delia, faith and kev called to wish me happy birthday. everyone's so sweet i can hardly take it...ha. but i appreciate all you lovely people!
got to watch a shakespeare film for my class...and write a paper on it, so i think i'm going to do that now.
i'm so tired i keep making silly typos. wanted to msg my friend that i "feel very full right now" and i typed "fell very fool right now", think i need bed.
19 years, 1 journey, a dozen roads. overlapping, crisscrossing, detouring, getting lost, being found, wandering, hitchhiking, turning left, turning right, turning off the beaten path, uphill, downhill, zigzagging, meandering, where does it all lead?
the view keeps changing, i ride by sky and field and grass and highrise building, trying to find out where i belong. i think of getting on a plane and rising higher than the clouds; even in my imagination the airyness in my heart cannot be explained by the altitude...i'm alive but am i living? the plane lands, my feet are shaky and i can't really feel the earth below me. i wobble off the landing strip, onto sounder ground.
19 years, 1 journey, a story far from complete, yet not quite at the very beginning. the destination is still far away in the distance, though the general direction is more clear than not. the sun sets as the ride goes on but rises again in the morning to shine anew. and each day i just keep going, keep walking, keep trudging on, hoping that one day i will walk fast enough to gain momentum, take off and fly away. to where my home is.
...........................
i just love the one year bible reading passage every 20th of september...
"Even youths grow tired and
weary,
and young men stumble
and fall;
but those who hope in the
Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like
eagles;
they will run and not grow
weary,
they will walk and not be
faint."
-Isaiah 40: 30-31
............................
went to el cerrito with my roommate this morning to look for a refrigerator and a nice chair to put in our dorm room. waited really really long for the bus, we were going to take this bus that was supposed to be super fast, but when we got to the bus stop we realized the bus doesn't run on saturdays, so we had to take the regular slow bus. after that, we got off at the wrong stop, it was too far away to walk to the shopping place, so we had to wait for another bus to arrive. we left at 10.30, by the time we got there it was almost 12. i was supposed to be back at 1 to meet my friends for lunch at the cafeteria so we had to speed shop...ended up not buying very much. the refrigerator was too big for us to lug back anyway. thought i was going to be late coz at 1 i was still waiting for the bus to get me back to sch...called to let my friends know i'll be late then rushed down.
the cafeteria was a total mess...something exploded so the place was flooded, they had to shift the salad bar somewhere else. think it was the dishwasher, coz instead of the ceramic dishes we usually eat out from everyone was using paper plates and cups, and using plastic utensils. anyway...had my lunch at the cafeteria, then one of my friends asked me to walk to the dessert section with her, i was kinda full but i went anyway...she took an awfully long time, looking at the dessert and not getting anything, then going to the drinks place to get apple juice (with lots of ice, so she says)...then another of our friends came to look for us, and when we went back to the table there was a birthday cake there! ha...i was playing dumb, kind of knew they had something planned when she dragged me off to get dessert...but it was still really sweet of them. some of the guys got up in the morning to go buy the cake (and we all went to bed at 3 plus in the morning, ha) at 1, which was when i called to tell them i would be late, bet they were relieved.
came back from lunch really stuffed of cake, and there was a huge poster on the wall outside my room from all my floormates, some of them wrote the weirdest stuff...but most of it was kind. the day's only been half over but it's been a fantastic birthday already!
received rachel's birthday present...girl, you're probably never going to find time to read this, but it's really creative! love the most eligible husband contest part, ha...and it reached me just on the right day too. thank you with lots of love!
of course, cannot leave out one of the greatest parts of the day...a surprise phone call...you know who you are, thanks a bunch. we made 30 mins! =)
i think i like being 19...but i really couldn't give you an honest report till the next september 20th...things look optimistic though!
the view keeps changing, i ride by sky and field and grass and highrise building, trying to find out where i belong. i think of getting on a plane and rising higher than the clouds; even in my imagination the airyness in my heart cannot be explained by the altitude...i'm alive but am i living? the plane lands, my feet are shaky and i can't really feel the earth below me. i wobble off the landing strip, onto sounder ground.
19 years, 1 journey, a story far from complete, yet not quite at the very beginning. the destination is still far away in the distance, though the general direction is more clear than not. the sun sets as the ride goes on but rises again in the morning to shine anew. and each day i just keep going, keep walking, keep trudging on, hoping that one day i will walk fast enough to gain momentum, take off and fly away. to where my home is.
...........................
i just love the one year bible reading passage every 20th of september...
"Even youths grow tired and
weary,
and young men stumble
and fall;
but those who hope in the
Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like
eagles;
they will run and not grow
weary,
they will walk and not be
faint."
-Isaiah 40: 30-31
............................
went to el cerrito with my roommate this morning to look for a refrigerator and a nice chair to put in our dorm room. waited really really long for the bus, we were going to take this bus that was supposed to be super fast, but when we got to the bus stop we realized the bus doesn't run on saturdays, so we had to take the regular slow bus. after that, we got off at the wrong stop, it was too far away to walk to the shopping place, so we had to wait for another bus to arrive. we left at 10.30, by the time we got there it was almost 12. i was supposed to be back at 1 to meet my friends for lunch at the cafeteria so we had to speed shop...ended up not buying very much. the refrigerator was too big for us to lug back anyway. thought i was going to be late coz at 1 i was still waiting for the bus to get me back to sch...called to let my friends know i'll be late then rushed down.
the cafeteria was a total mess...something exploded so the place was flooded, they had to shift the salad bar somewhere else. think it was the dishwasher, coz instead of the ceramic dishes we usually eat out from everyone was using paper plates and cups, and using plastic utensils. anyway...had my lunch at the cafeteria, then one of my friends asked me to walk to the dessert section with her, i was kinda full but i went anyway...she took an awfully long time, looking at the dessert and not getting anything, then going to the drinks place to get apple juice (with lots of ice, so she says)...then another of our friends came to look for us, and when we went back to the table there was a birthday cake there! ha...i was playing dumb, kind of knew they had something planned when she dragged me off to get dessert...but it was still really sweet of them. some of the guys got up in the morning to go buy the cake (and we all went to bed at 3 plus in the morning, ha) at 1, which was when i called to tell them i would be late, bet they were relieved.
came back from lunch really stuffed of cake, and there was a huge poster on the wall outside my room from all my floormates, some of them wrote the weirdest stuff...but most of it was kind. the day's only been half over but it's been a fantastic birthday already!
received rachel's birthday present...girl, you're probably never going to find time to read this, but it's really creative! love the most eligible husband contest part, ha...and it reached me just on the right day too. thank you with lots of love!
of course, cannot leave out one of the greatest parts of the day...a surprise phone call...you know who you are, thanks a bunch. we made 30 mins! =)
i think i like being 19...but i really couldn't give you an honest report till the next september 20th...things look optimistic though!
it just struck 12, i'm 19! getting old, getting old...
just got back from oakland, my friends bought me bday dinner...was pretty good, had steamed fish, hainanese chicken, and kang kong etc...good stuff. everyone's been super nice, calling to wish me happy birthday and all. and you s'pore ppl have been really swell too...sending me happy birthday greetings (and my wonderful bf sending me my present on time, chris you're the best! wahey...pugo). but yeah...how is turning 19 supposed to feel anyway? the night's not over, going to my friend's room to watch the shawshank redemption (which is one fantastic movie), and do my favorite activity...play bridge! ha...what's a birthday for if not to do one's favorite things?
my roommate is super sweet, got me a really pretty card with a very delicious looking cupcake on the front...with a mountain's high worth of icing and a cherry on top. of course it's just a picture (actually it's a magnet) but it still looks very yummy. and she got me a box of see's candies too! talk about sweet...actually, my floormates have been dropping in to wish me happy birthday too.
got to go watch the movie now...will continue some other time.
decided since no one has probably read this yet i should just add on instead of starting a new post. just played bridge...really funny, one of my friends kept losing and losing. he was an absolute jinx...everyone didn't want to partner him after a while. the last game we played (we kept playing and playing so he could win at least one game but he just couldn't) he had 4 jacks and he bid no trump...was a short lived game to say the least.
k, laptop battery low (in my friend's room now)...be back later today!
just got back from oakland, my friends bought me bday dinner...was pretty good, had steamed fish, hainanese chicken, and kang kong etc...good stuff. everyone's been super nice, calling to wish me happy birthday and all. and you s'pore ppl have been really swell too...sending me happy birthday greetings (and my wonderful bf sending me my present on time, chris you're the best! wahey...pugo). but yeah...how is turning 19 supposed to feel anyway? the night's not over, going to my friend's room to watch the shawshank redemption (which is one fantastic movie), and do my favorite activity...play bridge! ha...what's a birthday for if not to do one's favorite things?
my roommate is super sweet, got me a really pretty card with a very delicious looking cupcake on the front...with a mountain's high worth of icing and a cherry on top. of course it's just a picture (actually it's a magnet) but it still looks very yummy. and she got me a box of see's candies too! talk about sweet...actually, my floormates have been dropping in to wish me happy birthday too.
got to go watch the movie now...will continue some other time.
decided since no one has probably read this yet i should just add on instead of starting a new post. just played bridge...really funny, one of my friends kept losing and losing. he was an absolute jinx...everyone didn't want to partner him after a while. the last game we played (we kept playing and playing so he could win at least one game but he just couldn't) he had 4 jacks and he bid no trump...was a short lived game to say the least.
k, laptop battery low (in my friend's room now)...be back later today!
Friday, September 19, 2003
james joyce is bad for me...incites me on to melancholy
sweet song of Night, you sing
to me
and yet, I cannot hear your
wailful melody
the sounds of Silence
beat against my heart
and though my soul, it overflows
I know not where to start
not When or How or Why or What
thoughts cannot serve me now
except to bring me back to when
You and I alike were friends
but despite of how we try to
fool ourselves
the Truth remains the same
those Golden Days we
thought we knew
were never ours
to claim
(survey of Night)
in the spirit of modernism...here's a big sigh.
sweet song of Night, you sing
to me
and yet, I cannot hear your
wailful melody
the sounds of Silence
beat against my heart
and though my soul, it overflows
I know not where to start
not When or How or Why or What
thoughts cannot serve me now
except to bring me back to when
You and I alike were friends
but despite of how we try to
fool ourselves
the Truth remains the same
those Golden Days we
thought we knew
were never ours
to claim
(survey of Night)
in the spirit of modernism...here's a big sigh.
Thursday, September 18, 2003
wow...it's the first time in a long while that i'm online at night. knew it would be a temptation to chat and not study, so i finished my reading before turning on the comp, disciplined me!
anyway...got a package from chris today that pretty much made my day. it's really exciting to get mail that's not bills or junk mail. the way it works here if you get a package is that they place a slip in your mailbox telling you to collect it, my roommate actually checked mail before i did today, so when i got home i saw that green slip sitting on my desk, and i was wondering what in the world it was. so anyway, i was pretty psyched when i saw the return address. ha, sad reflection of my life...i get a thrill out of getting mail.
anyway, just a note to digress...i've just been brutally insulted. my brother just called this blog frivolous. frivolous! if i could disown him...ha, vic...if you're reading this, i am not pleased at all...not that you care anyway.
ok, back to my life minus annoying little brothers (ha, sorry vic)...just came back from the navigators meeting, basically the bible study group i joined. they're really hard-core, gave out 60 memory verses that we're going to learn throughout the semester. and i just found out the small group meetings are going to be all-guy and all-girl (we've only been having large group meetings so far)...they're more brethren than we are! but yeah...spiritually, this is definitely going to help me grow! which is what i need after all.
we'll be starting small group (yeah, the all-girl one, i have doubts about that part of it actually, ha...kidding) in about 2 weeks and don't have a room, so i asked my roommate and she very kindly agreed that we could meet in our room. so hopefully this will end up with my roommate being dragged into the bible study and getting to know Jesus for herself! keep praying.
anyway...before my brother sends an e-punch to me for verbally abusing him, i still love you...despite your not being able to tell what's really frivolous and what's not, ha.
anyway...got a package from chris today that pretty much made my day. it's really exciting to get mail that's not bills or junk mail. the way it works here if you get a package is that they place a slip in your mailbox telling you to collect it, my roommate actually checked mail before i did today, so when i got home i saw that green slip sitting on my desk, and i was wondering what in the world it was. so anyway, i was pretty psyched when i saw the return address. ha, sad reflection of my life...i get a thrill out of getting mail.
anyway, just a note to digress...i've just been brutally insulted. my brother just called this blog frivolous. frivolous! if i could disown him...ha, vic...if you're reading this, i am not pleased at all...not that you care anyway.
ok, back to my life minus annoying little brothers (ha, sorry vic)...just came back from the navigators meeting, basically the bible study group i joined. they're really hard-core, gave out 60 memory verses that we're going to learn throughout the semester. and i just found out the small group meetings are going to be all-guy and all-girl (we've only been having large group meetings so far)...they're more brethren than we are! but yeah...spiritually, this is definitely going to help me grow! which is what i need after all.
we'll be starting small group (yeah, the all-girl one, i have doubts about that part of it actually, ha...kidding) in about 2 weeks and don't have a room, so i asked my roommate and she very kindly agreed that we could meet in our room. so hopefully this will end up with my roommate being dragged into the bible study and getting to know Jesus for herself! keep praying.
anyway...before my brother sends an e-punch to me for verbally abusing him, i still love you...despite your not being able to tell what's really frivolous and what's not, ha.
i think having my computer back in action is actually a bad thing for me, i realize that i studied way more when i couldn't come online. right now for example, i'm trying to read shakespeare's as you like it, blog and chat at the same time. no prizes for guessing which one isn't really getting done.
"A fool, a fool! I met a fool i' th' forest,
A motley fool. A miserable world!"
ha...optimistic lines aren't they...here's more
"'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven,
And so from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour, we rot and rot"
ooh...exciting. ha, reminds me of ecclesiastes somewhat..."meaningless, meaningless...everything is meaningless!"
despite my quoting all these beautifully dismal lines, i'm really in quite a good mood. guess that's why i can laugh at those lines. right, shall not bore the world anymore.
moving on from will shakespeare...got my fingers all inky and black refilling my printer's ink cartridge. there's this syringe thing which you use to pump the ink into the cartridge. it's the cheapo method of stretching your cartridge's life...coz it's way cheaper than buying a new cartridge. of course the quality isn't as good...and there's the mess to contend with (my black fingers will bear testimony of that fact). after that i had mooncake for breakfast. realized after doing the ink thing that i should have eaten first, but it was kind of late for that. but yeah...the mooncakes were my roommate's hongkong ones, think there are still 2 more to go, they are really mini-mooncakes so we can afford to eat one at a go, love mooncakes! strange thing...coz i never used to be that big a fan. guess you only really enjoy what you can't easily get hold of.
was in the computing center yesterday waiting for my in-room connection to be set up, my friend was there with me and there was still quite some time left to wait, we were seriously bored so we started doing the crossword in the daily cal newspaper. imagine, that's how sian we were! but ha...my friend felt seriously demoralized after that coz he had spent the whole morning doing half of it, and when i helped him it was over pretty fast. not like i'm super good at it or anything, but i am after all an english minor while he's a chem e. student...so our brains are naturally wired to do different things well.
got to go for class in half an hour! better get back to willy's poetry...
"O noble fool!
A Worthy fool! Motley's the only wear."
"A fool, a fool! I met a fool i' th' forest,
A motley fool. A miserable world!"
ha...optimistic lines aren't they...here's more
"'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven,
And so from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour, we rot and rot"
ooh...exciting. ha, reminds me of ecclesiastes somewhat..."meaningless, meaningless...everything is meaningless!"
despite my quoting all these beautifully dismal lines, i'm really in quite a good mood. guess that's why i can laugh at those lines. right, shall not bore the world anymore.
moving on from will shakespeare...got my fingers all inky and black refilling my printer's ink cartridge. there's this syringe thing which you use to pump the ink into the cartridge. it's the cheapo method of stretching your cartridge's life...coz it's way cheaper than buying a new cartridge. of course the quality isn't as good...and there's the mess to contend with (my black fingers will bear testimony of that fact). after that i had mooncake for breakfast. realized after doing the ink thing that i should have eaten first, but it was kind of late for that. but yeah...the mooncakes were my roommate's hongkong ones, think there are still 2 more to go, they are really mini-mooncakes so we can afford to eat one at a go, love mooncakes! strange thing...coz i never used to be that big a fan. guess you only really enjoy what you can't easily get hold of.
was in the computing center yesterday waiting for my in-room connection to be set up, my friend was there with me and there was still quite some time left to wait, we were seriously bored so we started doing the crossword in the daily cal newspaper. imagine, that's how sian we were! but ha...my friend felt seriously demoralized after that coz he had spent the whole morning doing half of it, and when i helped him it was over pretty fast. not like i'm super good at it or anything, but i am after all an english minor while he's a chem e. student...so our brains are naturally wired to do different things well.
got to go for class in half an hour! better get back to willy's poetry...
"O noble fool!
A Worthy fool! Motley's the only wear."
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
i don't know whether to be pleased or not...seriously. got the decision letter for my job interview today, the tutoring job i applied for...i apparently sort of got the job, but didn't at the same time. they said they'd like to take me on, but there are more tutors now than is need for, so they're going to keep my name on the list till a position opens up. which basically means i don't get to start work immediately (probably not until next semester), and also that i won't be getting paid anytime soon. but well...the person who conducted the interview was really nice, she emailed me pretty "unprofessionally" and asked me to call her...so i did. and she told me that basically the only reason they couldn't hire me was because i hadn't completed a writing course at berkeley (doesn't matter that i've completed a ton elsewhere! darn this discrimination against transfer students!) but she thought i was "far superior" (in her words, not mine) to the other tutors they did take on. so she's going to keep me in mind, and when something opens up (otherwise read: when i've completed a writing course in berkeley) she'll place me straight away without my having to go through another interview process. so see...i'm kind of glad coz obviously i made a good impression, but not...coz i didn't really get the job. well, tough...it's not my fault, i did my best, at least i'll be able to sleep tonight knowing that even though the world's not fair as long as i do what i can i can walk with my head up.
oh yeah...i'm online again on my own comp! (chris: whenever you do get round to reading this, i couldn't resist, pokaluka!)
oh yeah...i'm online again on my own comp! (chris: whenever you do get round to reading this, i couldn't resist, pokaluka!)
yeah...i've got my comp! now to get to fixing it up so i can get online again. only thing is the people i need to talk to in order to get that done don't start working till an hour from now...annoying, but i've waited so long, guess i can wait some more! patience is a virtue anyhow...all's right with the world again, ha.
enjoyed a good dinner at jenny, danny and milton's place last night. they're the ppl on staff with the navigators...my campus fellowship group. had pork ribs, soup, and some weird dish called pupu chicken...ha, it actually tasted pretty nice, just sounds bad that's all. then we sat around and nuah-ed...just talking, singing songs, was pretty fun...nice, lazy way to spend the night. i'm seeing so little of my roommate coz i've been gone practically the whole of the last 2 days. came back from class, went to the gym, went for dinner, came back and went to bed...feel pretty bad that i don't talk to her more, but when i am around we talk lots, so that's ok i guess. just don't want to alienate her, especially since she's been so nice about lending me her comp and all. hopefully today will be the last day i have to borrow it, coz i'm meeting up with the 2nd hand comp guy today...k, that's not his name, but you get what i mean.
the gym was super crowded when i went yesterday, guess everyone had the same idea to go before dinner. spent most of my time waiting in line for the machines and weights. i was in a rush to leave for dinner so i ended up not working out very much. think i probably expanded more energy trying to rush home in time to leave for dinner than i did at the gym! ha...but have to pay $35 for membership, so i guess that'll force me to go conscientiously.
eating a nectarine now...sweet...
going off for class in a while, so guess i'll come continue later...
the gym was super crowded when i went yesterday, guess everyone had the same idea to go before dinner. spent most of my time waiting in line for the machines and weights. i was in a rush to leave for dinner so i ended up not working out very much. think i probably expanded more energy trying to rush home in time to leave for dinner than i did at the gym! ha...but have to pay $35 for membership, so i guess that'll force me to go conscientiously.
eating a nectarine now...sweet...
going off for class in a while, so guess i'll come continue later...
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
whew...my longest day of classes today, which really isn't all that long, but it's still the most tiring. started class at 9, then had back to back classes till 12.30. and then class again from 2-3 pm, ok...typing it out that way i realize that's not that terrible, but walking from class to class ("got to hike campus in 10 mins!") is pretty tiring. in the library now ostensibly to do my homework...but it's hard to resist the temptation to come online, check mail, blog, waste time, procrastinate...you get the idea.
last night after dinner i came over to the library to write my english paper and type it up. i started typing at 9, and the comp lab closed at 9.55...so i didn't get much chance to waste time, had to write frantically...so i'm proud of myself, managed to finish 4/5 of my paper. i was going to write it on the "psychoanalysis of Dorian Gray" (nevermind if you don't get it, only weird lit cum psych students like i am would), but then i went to talk to my GSI (graduate student instructor, the one who's grading the paper) about my paper topic and i realized he wrote his honors thesis on psychoanalysis...which would make it a super bad idea for me to do my paper on that same topic, coz i wouldn't be able to crap my way through like i usually do...ha.
anyway, got back from the library at 10.30 and was going to hop straight into bed (you know me and my unhuman hours) but there was a brownie sitting on my desk. apparently, some people from the navigators...this campus fellowship group i'm probably going to join...had come by to invite me for dinner but i wasn't there, so they left the brownie and a number to call. i called back, and it turns out they were across the hallway in my floormate's room, ha...what a waste of phone minutes! but yeah...ended up talking to them for awhile, and going to bed way later than i had hoped. but i'm not complaining, at least tonight i get to eat non-dorm food. and you don't know what that means till you've tried eating dorm food 24/7. actually my dorm food is pretty decent (buffet style too, eat all you can...which for me isn't much), it's just that it gets boring after a while.
k, i have 20 mins left to finish up the homework that i'm supposed to be doing before i have to leave this place and meet my friends at the gym. horrible...never had the habit of going to work out in s'pore, but my friends here are super onz about it, so i guess i'll have to start too!
oh yeah, meeting up with the comp guy tomorrow...hopefully i'll finally be able to get a comp!
last night after dinner i came over to the library to write my english paper and type it up. i started typing at 9, and the comp lab closed at 9.55...so i didn't get much chance to waste time, had to write frantically...so i'm proud of myself, managed to finish 4/5 of my paper. i was going to write it on the "psychoanalysis of Dorian Gray" (nevermind if you don't get it, only weird lit cum psych students like i am would), but then i went to talk to my GSI (graduate student instructor, the one who's grading the paper) about my paper topic and i realized he wrote his honors thesis on psychoanalysis...which would make it a super bad idea for me to do my paper on that same topic, coz i wouldn't be able to crap my way through like i usually do...ha.
anyway, got back from the library at 10.30 and was going to hop straight into bed (you know me and my unhuman hours) but there was a brownie sitting on my desk. apparently, some people from the navigators...this campus fellowship group i'm probably going to join...had come by to invite me for dinner but i wasn't there, so they left the brownie and a number to call. i called back, and it turns out they were across the hallway in my floormate's room, ha...what a waste of phone minutes! but yeah...ended up talking to them for awhile, and going to bed way later than i had hoped. but i'm not complaining, at least tonight i get to eat non-dorm food. and you don't know what that means till you've tried eating dorm food 24/7. actually my dorm food is pretty decent (buffet style too, eat all you can...which for me isn't much), it's just that it gets boring after a while.
k, i have 20 mins left to finish up the homework that i'm supposed to be doing before i have to leave this place and meet my friends at the gym. horrible...never had the habit of going to work out in s'pore, but my friends here are super onz about it, so i guess i'll have to start too!
oh yeah, meeting up with the comp guy tomorrow...hopefully i'll finally be able to get a comp!
Monday, September 15, 2003
had a fantastic time at church yesterday. it's been awhile since i really sat in God's presence and worshipped him heart to heart...especially with a group of people around me all doing the same thing. it's wonderful having your own quiet moments with God alone and in your room, but at the same time there's something really powerful about being in his presence with other people, where you're all in the collective process of worshipping, yet at the same time enjoying individual precious moments with God. the pastor was encouraging us to surrender control of our lives over to God...and for me, that's always a struggle, so it was important to bring it to God and lay it at his feet.
on an abrupt change of note, the job interview went really well the interviewer was a really nice person who took the same lit class i'm taking now, so she started telling me about the teacher (have i mentioned he's the one who looks like bilbo baggins?). but well, i'll find out on wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed.
my roommate and i had hongkong mooncakes last night...taste pretty much the same, except it was made of white lotus, not the usual one i'm used to. but mooncake's good anytime!
still haven't got a new comp, driving me mad...
on an abrupt change of note, the job interview went really well the interviewer was a really nice person who took the same lit class i'm taking now, so she started telling me about the teacher (have i mentioned he's the one who looks like bilbo baggins?). but well, i'll find out on wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed.
my roommate and i had hongkong mooncakes last night...taste pretty much the same, except it was made of white lotus, not the usual one i'm used to. but mooncake's good anytime!
still haven't got a new comp, driving me mad...
Sunday, September 14, 2003
i got up at 8.45 this morning, isn't that amazing! tired out from nights and nights of sleeping past my bedtime (anytime past 11 is seriously a little zombified for me already, and nowadays a more realistic bedtime is past 12). not to mention that i got home at 3 coz i had been at this friend's house for the "annual s'porean bash". which was just what it sounds like...booze and loud music, both of which aren't really my kind of thing. i did dance though, and was dripping wet at the end of it coz the place was super hot, but i spent most of the time with the other "tame" (unhappening? ha) people in a room singing songs, playing cards and such. couldn't really sing coz our voices were all hoarse from talking over the loud music, or trying to at least. some ppl got themselves so drunk they puked and passed out...really don't understand where the fun in that is. but an occasion like that lets you find out who the "good people" are, those who look after their friends even though they're passed out, drooling and covered in puke. i'm glad to know there are still trustworthy people in this world.
wasn't too sure if i should go for the party, coz it isn't really my kind of thing. but it wasn't that bad since i wasn't the only one not drinking...left at 2.30 and i was already one of the earliest to go. i think something like this is ok once in a whiile, but it really beats me how people could spend weekend after weekend doing this.
read a mail from delia saying that FOR was having synchronized prayer every night from 10-11 pm, which works out to 7-8 am for me, and i realized...hey cool, that's the time i pray everyday anyway. isn't that awesome? synchronized in the spirit before we even knew it!
ooh, i'm glad church is at 1.30 today. have an interview at 5...wish me luck!
wasn't too sure if i should go for the party, coz it isn't really my kind of thing. but it wasn't that bad since i wasn't the only one not drinking...left at 2.30 and i was already one of the earliest to go. i think something like this is ok once in a whiile, but it really beats me how people could spend weekend after weekend doing this.
read a mail from delia saying that FOR was having synchronized prayer every night from 10-11 pm, which works out to 7-8 am for me, and i realized...hey cool, that's the time i pray everyday anyway. isn't that awesome? synchronized in the spirit before we even knew it!
ooh, i'm glad church is at 1.30 today. have an interview at 5...wish me luck!
Saturday, September 13, 2003
But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. John 2: 24-25
"Maybe you mean more to me
Than I'd care to admit
Maybe your presence fills a need
That I stubborn, would rather let be
Maybe your voice rings a bell
Because I've known you somewhere before
Maybe your touch opens a door
Through which I walked, and fell
Maybe your song strikes a chord
That I'm happy to hide
Maybe you see through me inside
To what I am, and what I'm not"
(Why I Run)
"Maybe you mean more to me
Than I'd care to admit
Maybe your presence fills a need
That I stubborn, would rather let be
Maybe your voice rings a bell
Because I've known you somewhere before
Maybe your touch opens a door
Through which I walked, and fell
Maybe your song strikes a chord
That I'm happy to hide
Maybe you see through me inside
To what I am, and what I'm not"
(Why I Run)
how do you know you're s'porean? when you spend one hour wondering around campus at night on a scavenger hunt. see, maybe it has something to do with us s'poreans still searching for our own unique identity or something, but we're the only people i know who are so fond of going from place to place because a piece of paper directed our footsteps there. oh, plus you add a paper lantern lit by a birthday cake candle and the picture is complete, all in the name of fun...
we were really celebrating mid-autumn festival, and the scavenger hunt was the precursor to eating the mooncakes. berkeley equation: work out minus eat yourself silly equals hopefully no net gain in weight. though somehow i don't think it works out that way.
but anyway, it was fun, despite my cynical description of it. in a juvenile, "tell me why i'm doing this again ha ha?" kind of way. at least i got to eat mooncakes! (and not cold, hard ones...my kind parents are fond of keeping mooncakes in the fridge for me to eat when i'm back in s'pore on holiday, so i'm used to eating...ahem...one year old mooncakes? ha)
it was painfully hot last night. was trying to sleep but i just couldn't coz of the heat...went through the movie-style tossing and turning and finally decided to get up and open the window (always close it at night coz otherwise it's really noisy, i'm near the road and frat houses so there's always trucks and drunks making a nuisance of themselves). finally managed to fall asleep, dreamland was no cooler...
today looks like it's going to burn again.
we were really celebrating mid-autumn festival, and the scavenger hunt was the precursor to eating the mooncakes. berkeley equation: work out minus eat yourself silly equals hopefully no net gain in weight. though somehow i don't think it works out that way.
but anyway, it was fun, despite my cynical description of it. in a juvenile, "tell me why i'm doing this again ha ha?" kind of way. at least i got to eat mooncakes! (and not cold, hard ones...my kind parents are fond of keeping mooncakes in the fridge for me to eat when i'm back in s'pore on holiday, so i'm used to eating...ahem...one year old mooncakes? ha)
it was painfully hot last night. was trying to sleep but i just couldn't coz of the heat...went through the movie-style tossing and turning and finally decided to get up and open the window (always close it at night coz otherwise it's really noisy, i'm near the road and frat houses so there's always trucks and drunks making a nuisance of themselves). finally managed to fall asleep, dreamland was no cooler...
today looks like it's going to burn again.
Friday, September 12, 2003
it's ridiculously hot today, the temp has gone up to 88 F...do the math, that works out to about 31 C, which isn't that bad compared to s'pore...but remember, summer's supposed to be over here. the weather report is marked "severe weather alert", and i have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but i know i'm suffering!
went with my friends this morning to ranch 99, which is the asian supermarket...had to take a bus ride there, which wasn't all that long, but waiting for the bus took forever. went there and had mee pok...amazing! never knew mee pok existed in america. the waiter was from s'pore too...there's something super distinguishing about our accent. we asked him where he was from and he said, "where you're from lah". no further questions.
very enticing walking through the asian supermarket, seeing all the good food there, but all super highly priced...so feasted the eyes only. one of my friends bought egg tarts and very generously shared them with the rest of us. i seem to be eating a lot of egg tarts lately.
got an interview on sunday for a tutoring job i applied for, have to give a presentation on how to write strong thesis statements...pray hard, i really need a job so i won't be so poor! ha...hate this "qiong ren" feeling.
tonight going for some mooncake festival celebration, hope they have good mooncake.
went with my friends this morning to ranch 99, which is the asian supermarket...had to take a bus ride there, which wasn't all that long, but waiting for the bus took forever. went there and had mee pok...amazing! never knew mee pok existed in america. the waiter was from s'pore too...there's something super distinguishing about our accent. we asked him where he was from and he said, "where you're from lah". no further questions.
very enticing walking through the asian supermarket, seeing all the good food there, but all super highly priced...so feasted the eyes only. one of my friends bought egg tarts and very generously shared them with the rest of us. i seem to be eating a lot of egg tarts lately.
got an interview on sunday for a tutoring job i applied for, have to give a presentation on how to write strong thesis statements...pray hard, i really need a job so i won't be so poor! ha...hate this "qiong ren" feeling.
tonight going for some mooncake festival celebration, hope they have good mooncake.
just got back from another late night stroll on campus. k, that makes it sound like i'm in the habit of touring campus at midnight, i'm really not...this is just the 2nd time i've done it. there's something eerily beautiful about the place at night, and it's surprisingly populated. the rugby team were playing on memorial glade...this really big field, despite the fact that the sprinklers were turned on in full force. it's been a terribly hot day, so the night is just nice...cool but not cold. we went for a walk just to escape the heat of our dorm rooms, and to see the moon. the only thing that played in my mind was
"by the light of the silvery moon
i want two spoons (not a fork but a spoon)"
silly i know...
there's a superstition that if you roll down faculty glade (this steep grass slope), you'll get a 4.0 GPA...which is what you really want, coz it means all As, so me and my friends all did it...rolled down the slope that is. it was really hilarious, coz after everyone got up they were dizzy and staggered around like they were drunk. was only after we all rolled down that we realized there was a couple sitting in the darkness, watching the entire affair. how's that for a romantic night out?
after that extremely grown-up activity, we sat across from memorial glade watching the ruggers murder themselves, and sang disney songs out of tune.
past my bedtime now, so i'm going to visit dreamland...norah jones will sing me to sleep.
"by the light of the silvery moon
i want two spoons (not a fork but a spoon)"
silly i know...
there's a superstition that if you roll down faculty glade (this steep grass slope), you'll get a 4.0 GPA...which is what you really want, coz it means all As, so me and my friends all did it...rolled down the slope that is. it was really hilarious, coz after everyone got up they were dizzy and staggered around like they were drunk. was only after we all rolled down that we realized there was a couple sitting in the darkness, watching the entire affair. how's that for a romantic night out?
after that extremely grown-up activity, we sat across from memorial glade watching the ruggers murder themselves, and sang disney songs out of tune.
past my bedtime now, so i'm going to visit dreamland...norah jones will sing me to sleep.
Thursday, September 11, 2003
it's been 2 years since the 9/11 disaster, hard to believe time has flown by so fast. 2 years ago today, life seemed to come to a standstill while people reevaluated what was dear and important to them. suddenly family and relationships took on new importance over making money and meeting deadlines. people turned to prayer, they called each other long distance, they took time to wait for a response to the question "how are you".
time doesn't heal wounds, but it sure dulls it. time doesn't erase memories, but it sure shifts them out of focus...2 years later, what does the world look like?
there was a memorial service in sch at noontime...most people preferred to head for lunch instead of listening to commemorative speeches about the "heros of America". there was a minute's silence observed in honor of those fallen...most people preferred to continue with their gossip.
we run from place to place, often forgetting just what we are running for. events like 9/11 jar us awake, but only for awhile. and we return to living life on auto-pilot...day in, day out, not having to think is the easiest way to go.
the daily problems of life overtake us. we become consumed with the here and now, the me and mine. occasionally we pause to smile at someone, but never stop long enough to see them smiling back.
in a world where the fast-forward button is the only one that matters, it means so much when someone actually takes time to listen and care for others, when someone bothers to pray for them whether they know it or not. it takes a much bigger person to grieve over the burdens other people are feeling, than to make a big buck. a millionaire may be made in a day, but a beautiful heart takes a lifetime to sculpt.
time doesn't heal wounds, but it sure dulls it. time doesn't erase memories, but it sure shifts them out of focus...2 years later, what does the world look like?
there was a memorial service in sch at noontime...most people preferred to head for lunch instead of listening to commemorative speeches about the "heros of America". there was a minute's silence observed in honor of those fallen...most people preferred to continue with their gossip.
we run from place to place, often forgetting just what we are running for. events like 9/11 jar us awake, but only for awhile. and we return to living life on auto-pilot...day in, day out, not having to think is the easiest way to go.
the daily problems of life overtake us. we become consumed with the here and now, the me and mine. occasionally we pause to smile at someone, but never stop long enough to see them smiling back.
in a world where the fast-forward button is the only one that matters, it means so much when someone actually takes time to listen and care for others, when someone bothers to pray for them whether they know it or not. it takes a much bigger person to grieve over the burdens other people are feeling, than to make a big buck. a millionaire may be made in a day, but a beautiful heart takes a lifetime to sculpt.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Dreamt last night that I was bitten horribly by mosquitos in the weirdest places...palm, eyebrow...those places that both hurt and itch at the same time, wasn't pleasant.
Woke up this morning, relieved it was just a dream.
Realized this afternoon it wasn't a dream...I did get bitten in the weirdest places...palm, eyebrow...it's not pleasant.
Life itches.
Woke up this morning, relieved it was just a dream.
Realized this afternoon it wasn't a dream...I did get bitten in the weirdest places...palm, eyebrow...it's not pleasant.
Life itches.
my psych sections yesterday were very fun, primary school-ish but still fun. the first one was for my social psych class, and don't ask me what this has to do with social psych, but we played a game called 2 truths and a lie. basically you have to tell 3 stories, 2 of which are true and one is false, and everyone has to guess which is false. except to save time we only told 2 stories. then for my 2nd psych section for personality psych we had to act out a scene from survivor...and i was cast (very ironically for those of you who know me) as the person who didn't want to do anything but take a nap, ha...talk about out of character. but anyway, that was good.
went for the this job interview thing yesterday, and i must be the only person who's ever walked out of a job interview. ha...long story, but it goes this way. saw the job ad in a newspaper and they referred me to a website, the starting pay looked quite good, was $15.75/hour, or so i thought. so i checked up the website and there really wasn't that much info, just said it was for a marketing position, i decided to just check it up anyway, so i applied for the job. got a call yesterday asking if i could come in for an interview in the afternoon. so i said yes, had to get dressed up and all...the girl who called me said "the manager likes people to dress professionally" (turns out later that the girl i was speaking to was the manager). anyway, so i went there and there was a first round of interview, the manager said she'd like to call me back for a 2nd round but first there was this group thing i had to attend where she would tell me all about the company and my responsibilities. turns out if i took the job my duty would be to sell knives! which seriously isn't something i'm interested in doing. what's more, you have to buy a sample set to use in your demos that costs nearly $150...and they pay isn't $15.75/hour, it's per appointment you make. big scam right? and i had to sit through the whole talk coz the 2nd interview came after it. but anyway, i decided not to stay for the 2nd interview...walked out and went for dinner, a much more satisfying affair.
ha, checked out campus crusade last night. was a little too quiet for my liking. i'm spoilt by the noise you guys make! ha...k, got to run, supposed to meet my friend for breakfast.
went for the this job interview thing yesterday, and i must be the only person who's ever walked out of a job interview. ha...long story, but it goes this way. saw the job ad in a newspaper and they referred me to a website, the starting pay looked quite good, was $15.75/hour, or so i thought. so i checked up the website and there really wasn't that much info, just said it was for a marketing position, i decided to just check it up anyway, so i applied for the job. got a call yesterday asking if i could come in for an interview in the afternoon. so i said yes, had to get dressed up and all...the girl who called me said "the manager likes people to dress professionally" (turns out later that the girl i was speaking to was the manager). anyway, so i went there and there was a first round of interview, the manager said she'd like to call me back for a 2nd round but first there was this group thing i had to attend where she would tell me all about the company and my responsibilities. turns out if i took the job my duty would be to sell knives! which seriously isn't something i'm interested in doing. what's more, you have to buy a sample set to use in your demos that costs nearly $150...and they pay isn't $15.75/hour, it's per appointment you make. big scam right? and i had to sit through the whole talk coz the 2nd interview came after it. but anyway, i decided not to stay for the 2nd interview...walked out and went for dinner, a much more satisfying affair.
ha, checked out campus crusade last night. was a little too quiet for my liking. i'm spoilt by the noise you guys make! ha...k, got to run, supposed to meet my friend for breakfast.
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
got a gentle rebuke from God this morning that was somehow more refreshing than it sounds. was doing QT, reading a passage from habakkuk about how there are 3 ways to deal with our circumstances: rebellion, resignation and rejoicing. and i thought about how i've been dealing with my broken comp, and i had to admit i wasn't too proud of myself. i had gone through the first 2 stages for sure. rebellion where i felt like throwing the comp out of the window and asking God, "Why? Explain!". resignation where i thought...fine, what will be will be, tough luck. then this morning i realized what was lacking was my ability to rejoice in the face of difficulty...because isn't that what following God is all about? i mean, my situation wasn't half bad compared to habakkuk's...
"Though the fig tree does not bud
And there are no grapes on the vines
Though the olive crop fails
And the fields produce no food
Though there are no sheep in the pen
And no cattle in the stalls
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord
I will be joyful in God my Savior"
Talk about rejoicing in the face of dismal circumstances! Ain't that beautiful...guess I've got a lot to learn. It makes total sense after all, since God my Savior is on my side, what better cause do I need to rejoice? It's amazing how God speaks sometimes, if we only open ourselves up to listen.
"Though the fig tree does not bud
And there are no grapes on the vines
Though the olive crop fails
And the fields produce no food
Though there are no sheep in the pen
And no cattle in the stalls
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord
I will be joyful in God my Savior"
Talk about rejoicing in the face of dismal circumstances! Ain't that beautiful...guess I've got a lot to learn. It makes total sense after all, since God my Savior is on my side, what better cause do I need to rejoice? It's amazing how God speaks sometimes, if we only open ourselves up to listen.
Monday, September 08, 2003
as expected, the rescomp (residential computing aka guy who's supposed to know all about computers) couldn't do anything about my sad comp. which makes me sad...sigh. i either have to ship the comp to new jersey and get it fixed (new jersey! where is that?!) or i'll have to get a new one. either way, i'm going to be comp-less for at least the next 2 weeks. not an exciting state of affairs. as can be guessed...i'm not a happy camper right now. argh...scream. question: if you need to punch someone but don't quite know who deserves the punch what happens? answer: scream some more. argh...
ha, sorry...not making this very interesting reading.
so anyway, today was fine apart from the unfun computer part. lit teacher went on about astheticism and how a "floating consciousness" is what the aesthetics were after...whatever, can we get to the book already? ha...complains, complains, complains...
k, i'm supposed to meet my friends for dinner at 7. remains a possibility that after i have some food in my stomach i'll be happier (though i'm not at all hungry now, anger and frustration is just so good for the stomach). when i'm upset, i get sarcastic. righty, smile Val smile =) off to din-din, toodloo!
(perhaps when i'm upset i also start emulating big bird? ha)
ha, sorry...not making this very interesting reading.
so anyway, today was fine apart from the unfun computer part. lit teacher went on about astheticism and how a "floating consciousness" is what the aesthetics were after...whatever, can we get to the book already? ha...complains, complains, complains...
k, i'm supposed to meet my friends for dinner at 7. remains a possibility that after i have some food in my stomach i'll be happier (though i'm not at all hungry now, anger and frustration is just so good for the stomach). when i'm upset, i get sarcastic. righty, smile Val smile =) off to din-din, toodloo!
(perhaps when i'm upset i also start emulating big bird? ha)
just got a reminder that i didn't blog on sunday...me bad, this is supposed to be a live update! ha...k, here goes.
met my friends for brunch in the morning...realized that eating in a group everyday is a bad idea, coz we end up sitting around for extended periods of time just talking, which is ok if you have nothing better to do i guess, but just feel that it's somewhat unproductive, heh...
went to church at 1.30...feels odd attending afternoon service, haven't done that for ages, and i'm always super sleepy during sermon coz it's after lunch, but i try, i try to stay awake. the church i went to (living water) was celebrating its first year anniversary yesterday, so they had a big korean bbq feast after the service, which i didn't really take part in, coz i was still stuffed from yesterday's s'porean bbq. oh, talking of which, i forgot to mention...someone made excellent eggtarts! i know they're yellow and all but they still tasted really good, close eyes and eat, ha.
k, sunday was pretty boring, let me tell u bout saturday night. went to one of my senior's house to eat dinner at 11 pm. k, so that was more like supper, but we were all still so full from lunch it didn't really make a difference. anyway, him and 2 other housemates cooked for me and one other friend, was really nice of them...and it was lovely to be eating real chinese food, like kang kong. ha...who ever thought you could crave for kang kong, but it happens.
"you're in my room looking around
i'm locked out, standing in the hallway
waiting for a sound to remind me
who i am and why i'm here"
class now...new day, new week, i plod on.
met my friends for brunch in the morning...realized that eating in a group everyday is a bad idea, coz we end up sitting around for extended periods of time just talking, which is ok if you have nothing better to do i guess, but just feel that it's somewhat unproductive, heh...
went to church at 1.30...feels odd attending afternoon service, haven't done that for ages, and i'm always super sleepy during sermon coz it's after lunch, but i try, i try to stay awake. the church i went to (living water) was celebrating its first year anniversary yesterday, so they had a big korean bbq feast after the service, which i didn't really take part in, coz i was still stuffed from yesterday's s'porean bbq. oh, talking of which, i forgot to mention...someone made excellent eggtarts! i know they're yellow and all but they still tasted really good, close eyes and eat, ha.
k, sunday was pretty boring, let me tell u bout saturday night. went to one of my senior's house to eat dinner at 11 pm. k, so that was more like supper, but we were all still so full from lunch it didn't really make a difference. anyway, him and 2 other housemates cooked for me and one other friend, was really nice of them...and it was lovely to be eating real chinese food, like kang kong. ha...who ever thought you could crave for kang kong, but it happens.
"you're in my room looking around
i'm locked out, standing in the hallway
waiting for a sound to remind me
who i am and why i'm here"
class now...new day, new week, i plod on.
Saturday, September 06, 2003
Went for a bbq with the rest of the s'poreans and malaysians at berkeley today...think i'm sunburnt. ridiculous how i don't get sunburnt in s'pore, and the sun here is damaging enough to leave tan lines!
there was a pretty strong earthquake on thursday...was standing in the school plaza when the earth started shaking suddenly. there were all these tall buildings around the plaza, and the windows were shaking, pretty creepy. a lot of my friends were eating in the cafeteria at that time, and they said the tables started shaking and all. (just realized i used the word "shaking" trice in 2 sentences, bad english). man...and that was only 3 point something on the richter scale. be glad s'pore is an earthquake free zone.
my comp's irretrievably dead...kay, that's not the right word to use but in essence my computer is so dead it's probably time to cart it to mount vernon already. pls, pls pray that it will be miraculously resurrected.
ah well...life's like this, that's the way it is...ha, whatever, just feeling bummed about it. but i'm in a much better mood since blogging the 5:24:37 pm entry on thursday (don't you just love it how my life is chronicled to the second!)...sorry about that rambling piece, needed a real outlet coz i was feeling plain awful at that time. promise not to let you see the "vulnerable" part of me too often, coz well...it's just not nice.
anyway...the world would be a better place if my comp were working, but i'll survive without it.
"so what happens now...
you'll get by, you always have before...
so what happens now...
don't ask anymore"
there was a pretty strong earthquake on thursday...was standing in the school plaza when the earth started shaking suddenly. there were all these tall buildings around the plaza, and the windows were shaking, pretty creepy. a lot of my friends were eating in the cafeteria at that time, and they said the tables started shaking and all. (just realized i used the word "shaking" trice in 2 sentences, bad english). man...and that was only 3 point something on the richter scale. be glad s'pore is an earthquake free zone.
my comp's irretrievably dead...kay, that's not the right word to use but in essence my computer is so dead it's probably time to cart it to mount vernon already. pls, pls pray that it will be miraculously resurrected.
ah well...life's like this, that's the way it is...ha, whatever, just feeling bummed about it. but i'm in a much better mood since blogging the 5:24:37 pm entry on thursday (don't you just love it how my life is chronicled to the second!)...sorry about that rambling piece, needed a real outlet coz i was feeling plain awful at that time. promise not to let you see the "vulnerable" part of me too often, coz well...it's just not nice.
anyway...the world would be a better place if my comp were working, but i'll survive without it.
"so what happens now...
you'll get by, you always have before...
so what happens now...
don't ask anymore"
Friday, September 05, 2003
comp's still not working! driving me nuts... someone help!
Thursday, September 04, 2003
Why is the world such a convoluted place? We try to love, but only end up hurting. We try to give, but only end up taking. We put a smile on our faces and try to look stoic, but inside we're collapsing. No room is big enough for more than one person, because we are inherently selfish and try as we might, we just can't see beyond our own perspectives. It's almost as if the world's designed to suck good out of it as soon as any appears.
God, what would we do without you? It brings immense assurance to know that, Lord, every sear that cuts my spirit, burns you too. That Lord, my deepest fears and darkest secrets are not hidden from you. When I cry, you weep in company. And that just makes me want to cry even more...in gratitude.
I try to be strong but sometimes the world seems overwhelming. Computer woes, school fees being overcharged, people being people...it's tempting to just give up trying to brave the world. But I tell myself I'm strong enough to make it through, that I will not be cowered by whatever the world throws my way. Still I cannot help but wonder, just wonder...not how or why or what...but that the sting doesn't leave no matter how hard I try to push it aside. Maybe some unconscious part of me enjoys the pain, because that's a sign I'm still alive. And as long as there's breath in me, it's worth fighting on. Is it?
Tomorrow I will laugh that today I wanted to cry. But tomorrow is too far away to be real, today the anxiety is all that stands before me.
Lord, in my weakness you are strong. Remind me over and over again that I never walk alone.
God, what would we do without you? It brings immense assurance to know that, Lord, every sear that cuts my spirit, burns you too. That Lord, my deepest fears and darkest secrets are not hidden from you. When I cry, you weep in company. And that just makes me want to cry even more...in gratitude.
I try to be strong but sometimes the world seems overwhelming. Computer woes, school fees being overcharged, people being people...it's tempting to just give up trying to brave the world. But I tell myself I'm strong enough to make it through, that I will not be cowered by whatever the world throws my way. Still I cannot help but wonder, just wonder...not how or why or what...but that the sting doesn't leave no matter how hard I try to push it aside. Maybe some unconscious part of me enjoys the pain, because that's a sign I'm still alive. And as long as there's breath in me, it's worth fighting on. Is it?
Tomorrow I will laugh that today I wanted to cry. But tomorrow is too far away to be real, today the anxiety is all that stands before me.
Lord, in my weakness you are strong. Remind me over and over again that I never walk alone.
here's one of those "never in s'pore" stories (you know, like...never in s'pore can you walk on the streets naked). well, i was walking (fully clothed) from emeryville to oakland...which i guess is the equivalent of walking from hougang to katong, not undo-able, but a little bit crazy, took me more than an hour...but that's not the whole point of this story. k, i was walking through oakland, which is a sort of ghetto-ish city (and this was in broad daylight) when suddenly a group of black people started throwing raw eggs at me and my friend from across the street. they were yelling and laughing (goodness knows what, but nothing pleasant i'm sure) and they kept hurling those eggs...one after another, and they finally got a bit lucky coz one of them hit me on the back. not in full force, so i wasn't completely yolked, but there was gooey, yucky, yellow (!!) stuff on the back of my shirt and pants. eww...anyway, lesson is...don't ever walk down the streets of oakland unless you positively have to. and if you have to...bring an umbrella.
ah well, miss having people to laugh over things like that with. sure, me and my friends talked about it, but it was more of "no way, are you ok?" kind of talk, not "haha...how can people be so idiotic as to waste perfectly good eggs that way?". anyway, this only confirms my suspicion that yellow is a bad thing...
oh, talking of which, my roommate has got all into the spirit of tormenting me with yellow. we went to ikea together and she insisted on threatening to buy yellow stuff throughout the trip. you people would like her.
down with yellow!
ah well, miss having people to laugh over things like that with. sure, me and my friends talked about it, but it was more of "no way, are you ok?" kind of talk, not "haha...how can people be so idiotic as to waste perfectly good eggs that way?". anyway, this only confirms my suspicion that yellow is a bad thing...
oh, talking of which, my roommate has got all into the spirit of tormenting me with yellow. we went to ikea together and she insisted on threatening to buy yellow stuff throughout the trip. you people would like her.
down with yellow!
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
k, turns out that whole conflicting final exam stress was for nothing, the schedule i was referring to was outdated, on the updated version my finals work out perfectly. well, not perfectly seeing that i still have to take them, but that's besides the point...
went jogging in the afternoon around campus. berkeley is one mighty hilly place! uphill, downhill...real good exercise. it's quite a nice running environment, lots of trees and such, and the weather was pretty nice too. plus i sure needed the exercise! after running i realized how super unfit i am, it's been ages since i worked out (oh, no...actually before leaving s'pore i climbed to the 18th storey of my HDB block with my crazy brother, ha)
after dinner i went to check out the asian american association with a friend...it's this huge (and i mean HUGE!) organization and they put on this really funny skit. well, it was really quite lame and super derogatory, made fun of traditional asians and FOBs (fresh off the boats, new immigrants) as they call them, as well as j-pop, k-pop and the like. but it was still funny...cheap entertainment. ha.
on the way back some homeless guy sprayed my friend with some weird liquid...he thinks it was pee, just glad it wasn't me! oh, when i next have time i'll tell about being yolked in oakland...not a pleasant experience.
off to read my lit book now. oh, sample line...
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road..."
come to berkeley and study great literature! ha.
went jogging in the afternoon around campus. berkeley is one mighty hilly place! uphill, downhill...real good exercise. it's quite a nice running environment, lots of trees and such, and the weather was pretty nice too. plus i sure needed the exercise! after running i realized how super unfit i am, it's been ages since i worked out (oh, no...actually before leaving s'pore i climbed to the 18th storey of my HDB block with my crazy brother, ha)
after dinner i went to check out the asian american association with a friend...it's this huge (and i mean HUGE!) organization and they put on this really funny skit. well, it was really quite lame and super derogatory, made fun of traditional asians and FOBs (fresh off the boats, new immigrants) as they call them, as well as j-pop, k-pop and the like. but it was still funny...cheap entertainment. ha.
on the way back some homeless guy sprayed my friend with some weird liquid...he thinks it was pee, just glad it wasn't me! oh, when i next have time i'll tell about being yolked in oakland...not a pleasant experience.
off to read my lit book now. oh, sample line...
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road..."
come to berkeley and study great literature! ha.
Hey sweet pea! returning the favor... =)
Admonished by pea coz i never let her know i had a blog on easyjournal...well, that wasn't really a blog, more like a 2 way channel between chris and i, anyone else reading it would be hopelessly lost. so this one's for everybody, yay.
anyway, i'm at berkeley now, staring out of my dorm room. you would think in a beautiful place like this i'd have an equally beautiful view out of my window. but i all see are cranes and piles of wood...unbelievable, construction wherever i go! thought s'pore's construction was bad, at least it wasn't 2 feet in front of my face. well, to look on the bright side, if i stare hard enough i can catch a glimpse of the bay, the San Francisco bay that is.
been in this place for nearly a month now, hard to believe...today i realized that (tragedy of tragedies!) i have 2 final exams at exactly the same time, so have to go switch one of my classes. argh, can't stand all this bureaucracy, who needs it?
my comp has been haywire the last few days, according to the computer expert who checked it out i have viruses galore...i'm just grateful to be able to turn on the comp - my connection to the world.
ah well, this is supposed to be an update on my life, and not just meaningless rambling, so here goes...my roommate is pretty nice, she's from hongkong, her name is tracy...and she looks down on me whenever she sleeps. ha, that's coz her bed is lofted (sort of like the upper deck of a bunk bed) while mine is not, so she gets a really good view of me in my semi-comatose state. the rest of my floormates are really swell people too, our floor is super bonded. we go eat together, play silly games in the hallway (taught a few smart ppl bridge!), oh...and we watched pirates of the carribean together. that's a super awesome movie, though it's really ex here to watch movies, a whopping $9, and that's in USD too...all you s'poreans don't complain anymore about movie prices!
i'm taking a social psychology class, plus a class on personality, a world lit class, plus a shakespeare class. phew, lots of reading and writing to do...but so far i'm the least stressed among all my s'porean friends. they're mostly on scholarship so under pressure to maintain a certain GPA. while i'm happily chatting away everytime i see you guys online, instead of studying (you guys are bad for me! ha, kidding...love u all, kay...don't want to be "overly sentimental", ha)
right, don't want this to be too long, so i'll continue tomorrow...or later, or whenever i have time.
off to class soon.
anyway, i'm at berkeley now, staring out of my dorm room. you would think in a beautiful place like this i'd have an equally beautiful view out of my window. but i all see are cranes and piles of wood...unbelievable, construction wherever i go! thought s'pore's construction was bad, at least it wasn't 2 feet in front of my face. well, to look on the bright side, if i stare hard enough i can catch a glimpse of the bay, the San Francisco bay that is.
been in this place for nearly a month now, hard to believe...today i realized that (tragedy of tragedies!) i have 2 final exams at exactly the same time, so have to go switch one of my classes. argh, can't stand all this bureaucracy, who needs it?
my comp has been haywire the last few days, according to the computer expert who checked it out i have viruses galore...i'm just grateful to be able to turn on the comp - my connection to the world.
ah well, this is supposed to be an update on my life, and not just meaningless rambling, so here goes...my roommate is pretty nice, she's from hongkong, her name is tracy...and she looks down on me whenever she sleeps. ha, that's coz her bed is lofted (sort of like the upper deck of a bunk bed) while mine is not, so she gets a really good view of me in my semi-comatose state. the rest of my floormates are really swell people too, our floor is super bonded. we go eat together, play silly games in the hallway (taught a few smart ppl bridge!), oh...and we watched pirates of the carribean together. that's a super awesome movie, though it's really ex here to watch movies, a whopping $9, and that's in USD too...all you s'poreans don't complain anymore about movie prices!
i'm taking a social psychology class, plus a class on personality, a world lit class, plus a shakespeare class. phew, lots of reading and writing to do...but so far i'm the least stressed among all my s'porean friends. they're mostly on scholarship so under pressure to maintain a certain GPA. while i'm happily chatting away everytime i see you guys online, instead of studying (you guys are bad for me! ha, kidding...love u all, kay...don't want to be "overly sentimental", ha)
right, don't want this to be too long, so i'll continue tomorrow...or later, or whenever i have time.
off to class soon.
