Kaki bola

I pulled an all-nighter with a few friends from OCF at Lee's place.

Three soccer matches in a row.

No more... this is the last time I'm ever doing this... *groan*... It's overkill, I tell you! There was an hour's break between each match, and we tried to squeeze in a little nap time. Not that I can sleep anyway. Lol. Sleep an hour, get up, watch, sleep an hour, get up, watch... I think we've just joined the legion of crazy soccer fans around the world. It's truly a soccer lifestyle now.

S. Korea 2 - Togo 1: Great match (or second half - I only caught the second half, lol!) S. Korea fought back from 0-1 to 2-1 to win the game at full time. Ahn Jung Hwan, the hero of the 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup, scored the winning goal.

France 0 - Switzerland 0: First half was exciting and fast-paced, but the game just dwindled into frustration and disappointment as neither side managed to score a goal at full time. And oh my gosh - what is wrong with that block-headed referee??? He must really, really like giving out yellow cards - Zidane got a yellow card from him for not waiting for his whistle before he took the free kick. (There were countless of undeserved yellow cards as well.) I was like, Whaaaat??! Kick out the referee already!! He's probably a huge factor in why the game's atmosphere was just ruined. You can obviously see the players' (from both sides) frustration at this nincompoop.

Brazil 1 - Croatia 0: If I thought the previous match was fast, this match seemed like you were watching it at a fast-forward speed! Very, very quick and overall, a very good match. Brazil, for all its "invincibility", was matched almost equal-for-equal by the Croatian team. Kaka scored the winning goal, and there were many great shots from both sides. That said, I have to mention the Croatian fans sitting in the stadium, who were simply cheering on their team and still full of enthusiasm and energy even till full-time (and after!). Towards the end, the match was even disrupted by a Croatian fan running onto the pitch... (Okay, maybe that's too much lah.) Haha, first time I catch this live on TV.

The match ended with a lot of handshakes all around. Great sportsmanship. Excellent game!!



The Australian fans have to learn from those Croatian fans. I didn't comment on this, but now that I'm on this topic, watching yesterday's match, did any of you catch how dejected and subdued the Australian fans towards the end of the match? I've never seen such a 'give-up' attitude. Come on, where's your spirit?! Don't tell me you flew all the way to Germany just to sit and watch. Cheer on your team! A little encouragement goes a long way. Only when Cahill scored the first Australian goal in the last 8 minutes of the game, then the Australian fans were 'awakened'. Oh, for crying out loud.

No offense to all Australian fans, but I can't imagine when the Australia-Brazil match rolls around. They better show more spirit, even till the end. I'm not really supporting Australia, but it'll be nice to see them put up a good fight, and not just go down. Anyone hopeful for an upset?


I'm truly turning nocturnal... this is really a makan bola, tidur bola lifestyle now.

But no more crazy all-nighters!

Astounded, flabbergasted, speechless...

OMG, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT:

AUSTRALIA 3 1 JAPAN

I cannot believe it, I cannot believe it!!!

Distant sounds of cars honking are all over the place. The Australians are really celebrating tonight! There's no rest for the soccer fans tonight, who are exulting over the totally amazing win. Amazing!! I probably can't sleep properly tonight either, due to the perpetual honking noises.

That was one of the most spectacular matches I've ever seen - amazing comeback by Australia!!! Looking at my MSN contacts, there's apparently mixed feelings - on one friend's personal message: Brazil shall take revenge for the Japanese! i promise to support socceroos if they beat BRAZIL. :D good luck with that :p

Another not-so-updated-with-soccer-fan: did Aussie win the match?cuz i hear loads of screamings everywhere..

One 'sceptical' friend has this to comment: Lucky Australian win...

Strong sentiments: uwaaa.. I hate you Australia I hate you

A happy fan: OZZIE OZZIE!!! 3-1!!! dam good game

Anyway! What made this an amazing game was the fact that Australia scored the equalizer, and the subsequent two goals in less than 10 minutes!!! 10 MINUTES!!! I was left flabbergasted, astounded, and speechless. Did you guys catch it?! That was simply shocking. It is definitely one of the best soccer matches I've seen!! Action-packed all the way, and not without tension as well! The Japanese goal, for one, was a controversial one.

I was totally expecting the Japanese to win, especially after the first half of the match which saw better skills and better tactics from the Japanese side. I really admire their defense; the Japan defense was rock solid, and the Australians couldn't seem to get through it. The Japanese were playing a man-on-man marking, and making it almost impossible for the Australians to have any scoring opportunities at all.

My support went from Japan to Australia, and I'm mixed now; LOL. When Japan dominated the whole of the first half, it was good - and then I started feeling sympathy for the Australian team (the Socceroos, as they are called here). It's the first time in 30+ years that Australia has qualified for the World Cup, and it will be disappointing for them to lose, especially since the nation has been hyped up about soccer recently (considering that Australia is more of a cricket and footie nation).

The game was well-played by both sides. The Japanese and Australians both worked hard, and one of my friends whom I was watching with commented that the ball seemed to fall so easily to the Japanese players, and it was true; the Australians were almost fighting constantly to get the ball back into their possession. There was considerable tension in the air after the Japanese scored the first goal by Nakamura, and you can just sense this determination in the air; a lot was at stake for this game.

The tension went all the way into the 2nd half; my friends and I agreed that the Japanese team definitely had more skills than the Australians showed. The Japanese was very strong on their defense in the second half (if not, tighter than it had been in the first half), and the atmosphere and in the playing, was tinged with this desperation as the Australians fought to find a way through the Japanese defense. I thought that Japan would just end this with their win, and I started supporting the Socceroos.

Marianne and Lee Yung started joking: What if you had an Australian man with a Japanese wife? They probably watch the game on separate TV sets, and will probably sleep on different beds after the game! Hahaha!

Anyway; the turning point came when the Australian coach started substituting his players. Lee Yung was quite familiar with the Australian players, and was constantly supporting the Australians the whole way, while Marianne and her housemate, Jean, were supporting the Japanese team. My support swayed from side to side, and I'm still flabbergasted at this stage.

The equalizer was just wow.

(The car honking is still going on outside! Man, I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight!)

Even so, you can tell that both sides were just NOT going to settle for an equalizer - the tension went up a notch (if not, more!) in the atmosphere after that. The Japanese stopped 'relaxing', and started to push with their attack as well, and just minutes later, when Cahill scored the second goal (he scored the first one as well!), emotions were running high. It was just heart-pounding - there was just less than 10 minutes left of the game, and it was nerve-wrecking!! I honestly can't remember such a high-tension game (that I've watched myself, anyway! =P).

The 3rd goal was stunning - the Japanese players were practically all down on the other end of the field, bent on attacking, and wow, wow, wow... I am just left without words.

If you didn't watch the game, then you definitely missed one amazing game! I feel sad and disappointed for the Japan team, though; they fought hard, but the Australians finally got their act together in the final 10 minutes. That said, they had absolutely no tactics at all before that, and seemed to find the teamwork and balance in the final desperate moments. And despite the win, the Japanese are obviously more skilled - and the Australians can certainly learn from the Japanese's defense (and their own mistakes as well)! The Japanese are quick to act, and hopefully will still make it to the next round.

Tomorrow night: Brazil vs. Croatia! (early morning, actually; 5 a.m. here). That'll be another game I think soccer fans have been looking forward to.

At least tonight's game was a REAL soccer match; power and tension all the way, unlike the England vs. Paraguay one (which was just boring, as you put it, Sherissa!). England didn't score a goal, but they won - thanks to an own goal from the Paraguayan side. Hopefully we can see more high-quality matches in the upcoming weeks!

On another note, I finally understand what an offside means on the soccer field! LOL. I may just turn into a soccer fan, even after World Cup ends. ;p

Honking still going on! No rest for Australia tonight, who apparently seems to be celebrating till morning and the rest of the week (probably till the next game!)

No rest for me tonight, either! (Who can sleep with the ruckus going on?!)

WORLD CUP 2006 GERMANY!!!

GERMANY 4 2 COSTA RICA

Oh my gosh!!! Did you guys catch the last goal by Frings?? That was a spectacular goal!!! Straight kick from quite a distance, past the heads of the Costa Rica players, flew right over the hand of the Costa Rican goalkeeper, straight into the net!! Two goals by Klose (and it's his birthday, apparently!) , and the first goal by Lahm. (Not that I actually know these players - but I do recognize Klose.)


Just came back from Adrill's place (a fellow brother in OCF - Overseas Christian Fellowship). A bunch of us gathered at his place to catch the first match of the World Cup, and I left feeling much more enlightened on the technicalities of soccer. Lol.

I was watching soccer with these soccer fans, who really knew their stuff. I learnt that Costa Rica isn't a very good team to start with (no offense to Costa Rica supporters), and the fact that they managed to get 2 goals was due to bad defense on Germany's part. But anyhow, it was fun - I was, a-hem, quite enthusiastic, at the fast-paced moments.

I'm not technically a soccer buff - you can call me (and a few other people who were present as well) those soccer fans who only exist during the World Cup fever. LOL. (Yes, I can feel the cynical scorns of the real fans now.)

Having said that, I discovered that I am still as gullible as ever as I was tricked, not once, but twice. (Deceived is more like it -_-" )

I was just wondering about Oliver Kahn's absence as Lehmann was playing as goalkeeper instead (for Germany), so I asked it out loud. I was first told about some match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United some time back (I think; when you're a super-gullible person, some things just fly over your head), and apparently Man U won, and Oliver Kahn withdrew into depression, and that's why he's not playing in the World Cup, and for the same reason, the captain of the German team is now Michael Ballack.

"Really?? He was depressed so he retired??"

...

Okay, okay, so that's a really lame story, and I can't believe I believed it.

So then I was told that he had simply retired lah, I mean, he is getting old after all.

Halfway through the match, the cameras panned to the sidelines, and I saw Oliver Kahn sitting on the bench, looking as relaxed as his stony face can allow.

"Hey, isn't that Oliver Kahn?? You told me he retired!!"

NOOOOO, I can't believe I am tricked again.

But my friend insisted that he really thought that Kahn had retired, and then he speculated that perhaps he'll be playing when Germany enters the knockout phase. There was some soccer technical talk from a few other people at this point, and they lost me.


Anyhoooo~

That was quite good, albeit rather slow at certain times. I still think the last goal by Frings was spectacular, and it's a good start to the World Cup - I mean, come on, a total of 6 goals!! I found out that it's usually common to have only one or even nil goals in the first match (that was how it was for the past few years, I think?)

Tomorrow: England against Paraguay!! There's supposed to be another match as well, after Germany and Costa Rica, and that's between Poland and Ecuador (but I'm told that they're quite 'rubbish' teams this year - again, no offense to Poland or Ecuador supporters, although I did find out that Poland was quite decent in the 1980s, reaching 4th place at one of the World Cups).

Anyhow, I'll definitely be catching the "big" games. And right now I need to sleep. It's almost 5 a.m. and I'll probably get up late again tomorrow. Haha. I think my sleeping patterns will be totally disrupted due to World Cup now (seeing that most matches are late at night).

World Cup!!!!

Lalala

Just one more exam to go - and that's my practical tomorrow afternoon.

(Repeatedly chants to self, "I shall not stress, I shall not stress, I shall not stress!")

Funny, isn't it? You'd think that after YEARS of sitting for exams or going through it, we'd be "used" to it by now. And yet we still feel stressed/anxious/nervous before AND after an exam. We stress and worry over the questions that would come out, and we fret over the results that would be released after.

Too bad we can't "immunise" ourselves against exams.

Personally, I think practicals are more nerve-wrecking than written papers. Simply because practicals are ... practicals. I don't know, is it to do with preparation? With written or theory papers, you can study and memorize, and at least feel a bit confident if you've done your preparation well, but with practicals (for music, especially), you can practice for hours, days, weeks, months beforehand, and when it comes to the real thing, you sit at the piano, and you can just break from all the stress and pressure emanating from the atmosphere (and the examiner's stern/friendly look). Once you place your fingers on the keyboard and play, you may panic halfway through and slip up a few notes, or even just forget what you're doing entirely halfway through and stop (it happens!) - you know, those sudden moments of brain blocks, where you suddenly forget what's the next note, and that's it.

Anyway... the exam tomorrow would constitute 50% (if I recall correctly) of this subject, so it's not that bad. Still, I hate having to face the nervousness and anxiety. And with the cold weather, it doesn't help to have almost-stiff frozen fingers. Anyway, all I can do now is commit it all into God's hands and trust that He'll be with me throughout the ordeal. =)

I can't believe you're back in Brunei, Jerry!!! Argh. How long is your holiday for? I probably won't see you in YEARS (you're not coming back in December, are you?) since our holidays don't really correspond. (That, and the fact that, yes, my mom wouldn't let me go back these holidays. =P Laugh if you must. >=/)


(Continues chanting "I won't stress" mantra...)

Stress (or not)

Blogging from the Music computer labs now (yes, we have computers in the Music building - all Macs, for that matter). It took some time getting used to using Macintosh, but it's actually not too bad. Its user-friendly capabilities are NOT that rigid, as I initially thought it to be.


I finally finished my MIDI assignment!! Argh, spending hours in front of the computer is seriously mind-numbing. It may seem 'fun' to create MIDI tracks, but nevertheless - I shall never ever take another computer-related subject again! I thought I saw the last of computers back in Form 5 (with that major Computer project), and to think that I was practically thrown into this subject called Computing for Musicians. To sum it up, it's basically just learning how to use music programs like Finale and Logic.

Computers to me are good as long as it's NOT study-related.


Guess everyone's been busy stressing over exams and such... I don't know if I should be worried. I finally finished this assignment today (it's dued tomorrow, and guess what - I did it all in one afternoon - *heaves a great sigh of relief*). I've got a major research essay dued on Monday (which is also the first day of exams) and I've barely started. And I still have to revise my Music Techniques.

But anyway, no big deal... right! Right? Right...?



I can't wait for this period to be over... I tend to feel quite homesick around this time of the year, and that feeling's especially augmented around exam period. My mom used to make chicken soup or some other healthy meal at the start (for brain power! =P) Sigh.

I confirm won't be back until December... half a year more to go.

Okay, I see this post going into the "Danger - Depression mode" zone... stop!


On a lighter note, World Cup 2006 Germany!! One good thing is that I'll be done with all my exams on the 8th (World Cup begins on 9th!) Need to unwind and relax with something - but Sherissa can probably tell you that my football-watching antics are.... very amusing. (Remember when you showed me the clips of goals by Paul Scholes? LOL.) I get quite ... "excited".

A-hem.

Anyway, must get started on my research essay... But I'm destressing tonight! I'm watching a Bell Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet later at the Arts Centre with a friend!! One great thing I LOVE about Melbourne is the endless concerts, theatre productions, musicals, etc. that goes on around the city. It's just so HAPPENING with art-related activities. Back in Brunei, I used to rue about the lack of musical concerts and the likes. But I can just indulge myself totally here! It's ENDLESS!!! (Okay, Connie, chill it...!)

Romeo and Juliet may be "over-done" in some ways, but it's still an amazing play, especially the language. I'm looking forward to it.

Perfect way to de-stress after spending the entire afternoon with a computer.

The Blue Bird of Happiness

Alamby (one of my new friends) shared with me this conversation she had with Lily (another friend). Apparently, Lily told her that she was very happy, and of course, Alamby was inclined to enquire the reason behind this state of happiness (curiosity is human nature, after all!). Lily gave her this answer:

"Because I can play the piano everyday. That's why I am very happy."

And I thought, Wow.

She simply felt happy to have the chance to be studying at the Uni. of Melbourne, to be able to play the piano everyday, and just to enjoy Music, in all its essence. That was contentment enough for her.

Alamby felt the same as I did; we were simply struck speechless by the simplicity of her statement. I mean, I wouldn't know how to give a reply to such a statement. Here we are, all of us Music students, yet each of us share different ideals and thoughts about being able to play an instrument or sing, or the fact that we have this opportunity to experience it everyday.

I still can't (or maybe I dare not) completely fathom Lily's statement. It's so simple, yet powerful. Maybe sometimes we just search too hard in life for the things which would keep us 'happy' and 'satisfied'... yet what we yearn for may just have been right in front of our eyes all along.

And maybe then we'll be able to finally be content with ourselves (and our lives) for once; and simply enjoy and cherish what we already have.


~~~
The title of the post actually refers to a French play by Maurice Maeterlinck, L'Oiseau Bleu (The Blue Bird). The play, in short, is about two children who embark on a journey to search for The Blue Bird of Happiness, only to return home to discover that the Blue Bird has been in their bird cage all along.

This blog is...

... dead.

For one thing, I have absolutely nothing interesting to post about, unless you want to listen to boring details about my course and assignments, and the fact that semester exams are coming up in June - and the fact that I have only one paper to sit for (Music Techniques 1-1), a Listening Test, and a practical exam - is just not right, when everyone else is suffering through 4-5 papers. (Not that I'm complaining.)

Melbourne may be a city, and there ARE many happening things around, but the most I've been to are music concerts (classical ones, for that matter), which I HAVE to go as a requirement of one of my units (which dictate that I MUST attend 5 concerts per semester, otherwise I fail the course =/ ). That's not to say that going to those concerts are a drag - I enjoy classical music, and I enjoy the concerts. (That does NOT make me a boring person - I just happen to be a person whose interests lie in Literature and Arts =D). I have to fill in Concert Report forms (basically I have to write a review on each of these concerts), and the "purpose" of forcing, oops, I mean, making us attend concerts around Melbourne is basically:

"To broaden the perspective of students by stimulating their learning experience and faculties of reflection and criticism in a variety of musical contexts of international standard."

That's quoted from the coursebook.


And I told myself not to do this, but anyway - (for the lack of better 'blog'-worthy material to post about) - JERRY, where's your updates??

Movies

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot."

I went to watch 'V for Vendetta' with my CG on Thursday night, and ... it was the first time I stepped into a cinema ever since I came to Melbourne. I know that my life here isn't terribly exciting, but still, to have gone without cinema trips for two months is just bad (for a cinema lover like me). I realized how much I enjoy the cinema experience then, and just the comfort of sitting in front of a huge screen, the surround sound system...

I digress.

Anyway, for all its political content, the movie was surprisingly enjoyable and captivating for someone like me who walked into it without any high expectations... Is it shown in Brunei at all? Somehow I doubt it, since all I hear from there is 'Ice Age 2', etc.! Lol. I mean, V for Vendetta is a movie with strong political themes (to quote: "People should not be afraid of their goverments; goverments should be afraid of their people"), themes bordering on homosexuality, Islam and paedophilia, including modern-day references like terrorism, war, epidemics, biological weapons (lots of post 9/11 themes, in all) - so I don't think the Brunei cinemas would show it. The story is set in a dystopian future, depicting the regime of a totalitarian state.

I won't go into details, but a few remarkable scenes include Natalie Portman's character, Evey, having her head all shaved (and what's amazing is that Natalie Portman really had her head shaved bald completely); never seeing Hugo Weaving's face (who is hidden behind the Guy Fawkes' mask the entire time); and my favourite scenes included the fireworks (never mind the fact that the fireworks and explosions were during the destruction of government buildings), and the most amazing one: the domino scene, where Hugo Weaving's character, V, tips over red and black dominoes to form the letter 'V'. There's something about watching the domino effect which I enjoy immensely - it's just fascinating. Apparently, 22, 000 dominoes were procured, assembled by 4 professional domino assemblers, and took 200 hours to set up... and it was all over in less than 3 minutes.

The Wachowski brothers (directors of 'Matrix') wrote the script, and there were some 'Matrix' moments in the final scenes of the movie - and throughout the movie, there were a couple of times where I kept thinking, "Agent Smith" whenever V appears (even though we never see Hugo Weaving's face). I think it's the costume. It's almost the same as in 'Lord of the Rings', when you just can't stop associating Hugo Weaving's elf character, Elrond, with his Matrix character, Agent Smith. Haha.

Story-wise, I found it highly enjoyable, and the dialogue, though very philosophical at times, does get you thinking and it's more easily understood than the Matrix trilogy, where certain themes simply flew over my head, and which I'm still trying to understand the ending! But an appreciation of a film is never completed without mention of the score - the music is by Dario Marianelli, who has entered the list of my favourite film composers. He did the music for Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 film version) as well. Themes from Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture and Beethoven's 5th Symphony were included extensively in the film's score - more pluses. =D Again, I found myself being distracted by the background music at times during the film, and the dialogue became the background instead. I had to force myself to focus on the film and not get carried away by the music. Lol.

Okay, this might be turning boring for you guys who probably have no idea what I'm rambling on about.


Semester exams are in June, and I've already received my practical exam details... it's not something I'm looking forward to, especially not when my examiner happens to be the Head of Keyboard, and when your piano teacher goes, "Ooooh", it simply confirms your worst fears. It's not that the Head of Keyboard is an evil man - he also happens to be the chairman of the AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board - the Australian equivalent of the ABRSM), and it's just - "pressure, pressure, pressure"... I'll probably faint from the stress on 8th of June even before I step into the room!

Temperatures have been ranging from the low '-teens' to high '-teens', but it feels like it's perpetually in the low '-teens'. Come winter, it will be single-digit temperatures.

I don't want to be paler... I'm serious! I can't get darker (been there, done that, failed miserably); so at the very least, don't let me become some weird translucent being..

Workload is getting heavier lately, as the end of the semeste draws near... I have to juggle my time now, and really learn to stop procrastinating. The proverb 'once bitten, twice shy' certainly doesn't apply to us procrastinators - I never learn from past experiences, and I think I'm setting myself up for another familiar roller-coaster ride of last-minute fiascos. Ahh!

Btw, Jerry's last post was, a-hem, interesting... Haha. It's always interesting to hear from a guy's point of view for us girls, don't you think? But sometimes, we tend to get distracted by the fairy-tale romances we read about in books and see in movies, and forget that reality is always a different story. "And they lived happily ever after" endings just don't happen in real life (except maybe a small percentage out there). And because of that little voice which says, "Just maybe, you never know!", I guess that's why we hope to be "different" and continue dreaming about being swept off our feet, and enjoy a happily-ever-after bliss ending. And that's why, even though I know that those kind of movies are 'unreal', I still enjoy the happy endings. At least someone gets a happy ending (fictional or not). =P

Okay, I have to get back to doing my weekly music assignment now... And then I have a 25% essay to finish up (dued on Thursday), another music assignement dued at the end of May (30%) AND a research essay (50%) dued in June (and I have to start my research now, or I'll never get it finished on time).

On top of that, I have yet to attend 5 concerts, which is a compulsory requirement for me to pass my Ensemble subject.

All that by June!

*faints*

Ern and I were just chatting online just now, and from talking about our "new" glasses, the conversation somehow veered to English lessons with Mrs. Manik. We both agreed that our spelling and vocabulary have gotten worse after graduating from SAS. I remember one particular lesson, where we had to "fill in the blanks" with whatever. Anyway, one statement went:

"Let us be _____, Frank."

Or something like that, anyway. Ern and I were sitting beside each other, as usual. Mrs. Manik was making her rounds around the class. So Ern and I were figuring out what to put in that blank, and Ern suggested...

"Let us be frank, Frank."

Okay, that's like so retarded, I know! Anyway, we proposed it to Mrs. Manik.

Needless to say, she was not... very amused. But Ern and I really think that we did "tickle" her, it's just that she didn't want to give us the satisfaction of knowing that we succeeded in making her smile or laugh. Ern said that if she wasn't in one of her PMS-y days, she would have laughed.

Thinking about it, most of our female teachers were always going through those PMS moods - (suddenly I'm struck with the thought that a teacher might just stumble upon this blog. Scary!! Lol). Okay, maybe I shouldn't name names, but a certain teacher who dealt in the field of figures and graphs was always PMS-ing. But she was still fun! When she's not in her moods lah.

Anyway, the conversation led to the English compositions we used to write in class... one incident stands out in mind.

One of the topics we had on that particular Compo day was to make a story from the sentence "...and all that was left were footprints in the sand."

We all did our compos, handed in, and it was marked and returned. Anyway, Zakhir had always been notoriously protective of his compositions, and for that particular composition, Mrs. Manik made a really interesting remark, I think, so that got all of us curious. During recess time, we managed to "steal" his exercise book.

Oh man... it was the funniest composition we've ever read.

It was also the composition which made the least sense. I mean, there was no head or tail to it!

I can't really remember (someone correct me if they remember!) I think the essence of his composition was basically about this necklace with a curse on it... and there were a few paragraphs of this long-winded fantasy plot involving the necklace. And later on, for some reason, this girl found the cursed on the beach. She put it on, and -

She exploded.

Or was it the necklace which exploded?

But it was just hilarious!! She exploded, and "all that were left were footprints in the sand."

We have never laughed so hard before. I mean, it just didn't make sense at all!!

But to quote what Ern said: The funniest part was that Zakhir was convinced he deserved a high mark for it.

Jonathan Kok's compos were always revolving around the same theme: romance, and he always, ALWAYS kills off his main character at the end, usually by suicide. It led to Mrs. Manik labelling him as a romantic person, or something. Haha. I guess we all had our characteristics in our compositions.

Mr. AJ's Physics classes were funny as well... Ern lah! Always get me into trouble =P I remember one incident where we were sitting together (again), and we were doing absolutely nothing, but Mr. AJ gave us this really mean glare. Scaaary, okay! I didn't know what I did - maybe Ern did something. Lol. The "silence, class" and the "bang-bang-bang" with the palm of his hand on whatever surface he can find.

But I think Ern and I kind of created a "name" for ourselves, especially in Mr. AJ's classes. I remembered when Ms. Mary told Ern and I that Mrs. Manik (or some other teacher) thought we were a couple or something? That was in Form 3 or something? Lol.

But Ern and I do go quite a long way back... I remember we used to wait for each other everyday in Primary 4, and walk together to the bench to wait for our cars. Even when we were "split up" in Form 1, he always came to bother us in Form 1B. Lol. Yeah, Ern, I know you're drawn to me. =P But we were reunited in Form 4! Haha.

Okay, I should end this before I sound any more mushier. But anyway, bottom line is... I miss everyone back in Brunei! And the dream I had last night doesn't make it any better either. And to answer Ern's comment - no, it's not real! It's just a dream!! Just a dream.

But all that aside, I don't feel as homesick as I did last year (which was the whole year round, actually). I'm enjoying Melbourne, and already settling into life here... But I still can't wait to move out of this stupid apartment next year, and find my own place!! I need to find someone to share with, as well, and then I can rent my own piano from the Music Faculty instead of walking down to the practice rooms everyday.

It's ANZAC Day tomorrow, and it's a university holiday, so no school again! The classes I'll be missing tomorrow are replaced on Wednesday, though. Which is supposed to be my free day, but never mind!

Anyway, must go to sleep now... btw.. I want to see more pictures from Jerry. =P I've got no camera with me, so you can't exactly force me to put up pictures.


"So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodnight!"

Random

Easter break's over, and Easter camp was just amazing. Shall post more about it next time.

It's already autumn, and the weather's already chilling me to the bones - it feels like winter in Perth!! I can't imagine how I will be able to cope when winter really arrives later on. It's been raining/drizzling intermittently for the past few days (although it didn't today). I kind of miss the rains we had back in Brunei - the heavy, several-hours-long kind of rain. On those kind of rainy days, it's just lovely to stay home and do what I love best - either eat or sleep. =D

Speaking of sleep... wonder if any of you ever had a dream... where you're with all your friends, but for some reason, they're all denying you, and sever all ties with you. They pretend not to know you anymore, and whisper about things behind your back, and you just keep walking on, trying not to show that it's affecting you really badly. And when you try to find out what happened, no one wants to tell you anything, and for some reason, it's all your fault that you are no longer friends.

It's scary... I woke up from a dream like that this morning. A few of my closest and good friends were just being really mean... one or two were neutral, but I felt so alone and hurt. And it really did felt as if I had done something wrong. But I didn't know what.


Anyway!

Let's cast away that air of gloominess and depression and come back to happier things - like Jerry! You look different! Post more pictures of yourself =D

Speaking of that... I don't think any of you have actually seen me with my "not-so-new" glasses anymore... I was web-camming with my sister a few weeks back, and my brother saw me. Well, my sister as well. And my youngest brother said that I look really weird... Eeargh... brothers! My sister didn't really say anything, except that, "You have new glasses!"

I guess I really do look different, in terms of looks now! I mean, if you just compare how I looked the year before and now, it makes me wonder how I decided to have a perm, and at the same time, chop my hair off to have a fringe. And knowing me, it's quite a radical change, since I don't usually just go "all out". I mean, just before I had my hair permed back in M'sia, I even SMS-ed Ern just to get his opinion, so that I won't end up with weird octopus hair or something!

He never replied me, and the next minute I know, I was already seated on the chair with the curlers attached to my hair. =( I was seriously, seriously nervous - I didn't even know what I was doing, okay! It took a long time getting used to it - I remember after everything was done, I was regretting it, and complaining to my aunt (who probably can't be bothered putting up with my whining, since I wanted a radical change in the beginning). After a few weeks or so, it became part of "me".

Even my new glasses were just weird - I mean, I had worn my frameless glasses for three years, and though my prescription didn't change much when I had it checked at the beginning of the year, my astigmatism increased (again), which wasn't much, but my mom and I thought that I should have spare glasses, just in case. The spare, being my old glasses... And because thick-framed glasses are "in", I thought, heck, might as well be different.

And even after my new glasses were made, and even though my world was so much brighter and clearer, I couldn't, I just could NOT get used to seeing my face in the mirror with these thick-rimmed purplish-blue and metallic red glasses. I instantly went back to my old glasses after that, and once again, complained to my aunt and mom who were with me in S'pore. I wore the new pair on and off, and slowly got used to it. Now I can't wear my old glasses, because they feel weird!

And you guys know that I've worn my dolphin necklace for seven years now, right? Well, I'm not wearing it anymore - and that was a "painful" choice for me too. My mom bought me this new necklace in S'pore, with a really beautiful treble-clef pendant. Sort of a "present" for passing my Diploma... my dolphin necklace was ironically bought in S'pore as well, from my dad, for passing my Grade 5 exam with a distinction. I miss my old necklace! =(

=( Obviously, I have a complexity about letting go of the "past".

This is so random.

Er...

I need sleep now! School tomorrow, Easter break is over (and by the way, the first time in my entire schooling life that I had an Easter break). Haha, sakai of me, I know. =P

Night!

Dislike #1: Chain-Letters (grrr)

I received yet another one of "those" chain letters - sheesh, don't people just get tired of reading the same things over and over again?? I usually sort through my inbox email by email, starting from the top, and sometimes even the most innocent subjects can be the worst chain-letters. And you just seriously wonder why do people keep falling for it?! Especially when there are glaringly obvious flaws in the contents of the chain letter (email, I should say), itself.

Anyway, chain letters tend to follow a pattern; it's usually "if-you-don't-send-this-out-your-love-life-will-suffer" or "you-will-die-in-16-hours-if-you-do-not-follow-the-instructions". Or it might be "suffer-bad-luck-for-the-rest-of-your-life". Otherwise, it's always something related to love lives (makes you wonder about the people who aren't even in relationships) - "if-you-do-not-send-this-your-loved-one-will-dump-you".

Let's use the one I received today as an example. I won't reproduce the whole thing - it's just sheer idiocy, but let me have my fun of dissecting and lambasting it. *evil grin*

"This chain letter is real so follow the instructions and something good will happen!!"

*Huge, exaggerated yawn* Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before. And how can you PROVE that it's real?? How is it real? Stop making all these ludicrous statements.

And as if they know you aren't convinced, they have to add an extra statement:

"Listen to this letter and good luck!!"

I won't even bother.

"Sorry, but this chain letter is for real. When Anne Wichert got it for the first time, she ignored it and a week later the love of her life jumped her for no good reason so BEWARE, and just send the stupid letter!!!!!!"

Okay, who the heck is Anne Wichert?! And why do we even care?! If you have like, an article with her photo, with details of her failed relationship, right down to proof of identification, and whatever nonsense, maybe we just might care a little. And why are you apologizing, anyway?! And anyway, millions of rational people probably ignore chain letters, and every day, someone probably gets dumped for "no good reason". And if this letter is "stupid", why are you even creating it?? (I assume that all chain letters must have originated from some smart wiseguy who has nothing better to do than to mess with the lives of innocent people.)

And then, after all this "declarations" and "statements", you have the usual contents - it's either some sort of retarded quiz, or just a really lo-so article on love and in my case, an article describing the rules of kissing and what-nots. (Tet~) Nonsense lar!!

Let's move on to the funniest (and lamest) joke I've ever seen -

"This chain started in 1887."

1887?! You've got to be kidding me. I almost fell off my chair. Wah-lau eh, I don't think technology was so advanced lor. And yeah, you may have the traditional "snail mail", but still!! I'm just thinking that it's extremely retarded that let's say, one person received this letter by snail mail in maybe 1995? (Computers becoming quite household already.) And let's say this person freaks out and goes, "Hey, look, e-mail! Fast, right? And can spread to even more people! Muahaha. I'm saved from the bad luck! (And I save tons on postage and envelopes as well~)."

Or whatever.

Never mind. Basically, it just sounds ridiculous to make a statement like that - for all you know, it might have started in 1500s or the Middle Ages~

Anyway.

"It is a love chain letter."

Like, duh, we know that.

"In an hour you are supposed to send it to 25 people. It is easy, just look into chat rooms and find them."

-___-"

I don't even go to chatrooms anymore (except when I want to download something, and we have MSN now~ maybe this chain letter was created in the late 1990s after all. And hey, what do you know, another major flaw - chatrooms in 1887!! You've got to be kidding me, right. And in 1887, can any ordinary person be able to replicate this letter and send it out to 25 people in only one hour??

Let's imagine:

A woman living in 1887 receives this in her mailbox outside her pristine country home. "Oh no," she exclaims. "If I don't send this to 25 people in 1 hour, I'll have bad luck in my love life! (What are chatrooms, anyway?) Never mind - must quickly get some pen and paper now, and envelopes and stamps!" (By the way, was the postal system already in effect by the late 1880s?)

I estimate that to replicate one letter will probably take 10 min or more - in cursive writing some more. (Since people tend to write in cursive in those times.)

Forget it.

"Anyway, send it to 25 people in 1 hour."

Yes, we've already got that in our heads.

"Now here comes the fun part."

Ooooh, what's that?? (/sarcasm)

"You then say the name of the person you like or love and then the person will say 'I love you,' or 'will you go out with me?'"

You know, if things can happen this easily, just by simply following some dumb instructions in a dodgy chain letter... And anyway, that's supposed to be "fun"?

And as if knowing that we doubt the authenticity of the letter -

"NO JOKE!!!!!"

In caps some more - plus 5 exclamation marks to augment the "seriousness" of the situation. -_-"

And as with every chain letter, you have the "consequences":

"If you break the chain letter, you will have bad luck in future relationships. If you don't break the chain, then you will be a happy camper!!!"

This ridiculous statement speaks for itself. Moving on~

"CONgRatULaTioNs! !"

Congratulations? Read on...

"You have been chosen to participate in the LONGEST and the LUCKIEST chain letter on the Internet! Once you read, this letter you must IMMEDIATELY (meaning within the hour) be sent to 25 people. After you send it, make a wish and it will come TRUE"

Oooh, don't you just feel honoured to have been "chosen"? It's not like we had a choice lor! (And again - 1887 = Internet??) They just keep reiterating the "1-hour, 25 people" thing.

Make a wish and it will come true? That belongs in the fairytales. And because these doubts are creeping into your head, and in case you're one of those people who decide to "send it later on, just in case", the chain letter warns you in a really loud voice (because it's typed in CAPS)

"YOU MAY NOT WAIT FOR A CERTAIN TIME TO SEND IT......"

Okay, okay, don't need to shout!!

"....REMEMBER, IT MUST BE SENT TO 25 PEOPLE WITHIN 1 HOUR, OR YOUR WISH WILL NOT COME TRUE!"

I think the numbers 25 and 1 hour will be floating around in my head for the next hour or so.

The climax is really at in this statement:

"If THIS CHAIN LETTER IS CONTINUED UNTIL THE YEAR 2004, IT WILL BE PLACED IN THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS!"

LOL. I won't even try to tear this statement apart. I think the absurdity of it pretty much brought it down already.

And because you still won't believe it, the letter begs you not to listen to the logic in your brain which tells you to just press the "Delete" button on top of the screen and watch it sit in your Trash folder:

"PLEASE CONTINUE IT NOW!!!"

x_x

And as usual, after the "consequences", you have the familiar "warning":

"IF YOU DO NOT PASS THIS ON, SOMETHING BAD OR WORSE WILL HAPPEN TO YOU:"

I think we already got that idea from the very beginning of the letter when we read about Anne-what's-her-name who got dumped.

"NOTE: THE MORE PEOPLE YOU SEND THIS TO THE MORE LUCK YOU WILL HAVE IN YOUR LOVE LIFE."

I think we'll get more bad luck considering the irritation of our friends who receive childish chain letters like this.

*Whack*
"What was that for?!"
"Flood my inbox with such nonsense lah!"

"IF YOU BREAK THE CHAIN LETTER (IT HAS BEEN GOING SINCE 1887) YOU WILL HAVE BAD LUCK WITH YOUR LOVE LIFE FOR SEVEN YEARS."

Sheesh, enough with the 1887 thing already! And that whole bad luck thing! Life itself is full of ups and downs - if we can make our lives stress-free, bad-luck-free, and everything else free, then what's the point? There's no excitement and "life" in cruising along smoothly. We need bumps now and then to help us learn and get us through our journey.

The funniest part of all:

"THIS IS NO JOKE".

LOL.

And hey, what do you know, it's already an hour *huge grin*. Does that mean I will be plummeted with bad luck from now on for the next seven years?

If I add up all the chain letters I've ignored thus far, I think I should be suffering for the rest of my life. =D Otherwise, I ought to be, by right, already dead. -_-" And I'm sure a lot of people ignore chain letters as well.



P/S. I might sound a bit too condescending in this post... but it's all in jest! Just pretend I'm Jerry blogging. =P (No offense meant to you, Jerry! Lol. J/k.)

....

今日さむいですね。

The weather's turning colder and colder... if I'm already freezing now, I can't imagine the situation when June comes around. I'll probably turn into an icecube.

JERRY WONG SIA HOW, WHERE ARE THE PICTURES YOU PROMISED???? WHERE IS THE POST YOU PROMISED TO PUT UP???

Now that's over and done with... onto my usual "updates"...

....

......

..........

*mind blank*

Okay, this certainly shows how interesting my life is.

Rant

Bloody lifts...!! GRRRR.

This has to be the 3rd time this week that I have to walk up and down NINE floors of stairs.

What the heck are the maintenance people doing??!

'Poke-able'

Does that word even exist? I doubt it! But I can't think of any other word.

Today during lunch, I was sitting with Chiew Hui and Pamela.

(A conversation is carrying on between Connie, Chiew Hui and Pamela. Suddenly...)

*Poke*

Connie: (startled) What?!

(Connie turns around in her usual blur fashion, searching for the culprit. She turns to her right and sees no one, and whips to her left to see...)

Connie: ONG CHI!!

(After some random conversation - a lot of exclamations coming from Connie, as expected - Chiew Hui has to leave for her lecture. Ong Chi takes her place.)

(More random conversation. Suddenly~)

*Poke!*

(Again, Connie looks left and right to see the culprit. This time it was - )

Connie: Bell!!

(Bell goes off to sit with her friends at the next table. Conversation carries on, with more 'exclamations' from Connie before the conversation actually gets back on track.)

(Conversation resumes. Time passes. And then~)

*Poke!!*

Connie: (not again! Turns to see) Grace!!

(Connie is very sorry to say that she started 'ranting' in her very Connie-way about why everyone is 'shocking' her today by poking her from one angle and appearing at another angle. All that at Grace's surprised face. Sorry!! =P)

As lunch break nears its end, Fate and a little bit of Suay-ness decides to play with Connie for one last time -

*Poke!!!*

Connie: (immune by this time liao~ turns around and sees) Lin...



I think lor, if someone poked me one more time, I won't be surprised anymore, even if I see a real ghost. Probably just stare and be sotong.

Titleless

Hello!~

Daylight savings end today - yes, an extra hour in my day!! The time difference between Brunei and here is now 2 hours; not that it's significant in any way at all. Just felt like saying it. =P

I'm bored.

No, I'm not bored, actually. I have a presentation tomorrow, a couple of assignments dued on Thursday, a response paper dued on Thursday as well. This is my busiest week by far. I'll be tackling all that later.

What's that I hear? Music, you ask? Oh, I'm quite enjoying it, thank you very much for asking! I have to "build up the strength in my fingers", though. I have to work on my technical skills to achieve that. Gah.

I see your eyes glazing over now, your attention shifting. I know my post is boring today, but it's just to *huff* keep this *puff* blog going... *breathe*. If no one else blogs *HINTS VERY STRONGLY AT A CERTAIN SOMEONE*, then it'll just slowly die a sad and painful death again. I have to do my part to "inject" a bit of life into it.

No matter how boring my posts may be.


[edit]


By the way, if anyone wanted to know, Chiew Hui definitely was in pink that day!! (So I'm not that blur!) I've clarified that with Ong Chi, but Chiew Hui showed me her shirt the other day when I was at her place - we've come to a compromise: She was wearing an orange-shirt-turned-pink.

^_^

Broadcasting from OCW187 FM!! (One Corner of the World)

(Just something funny my friend sent to me...!)


*The awkward first phone call*

The Scene:
The Girl is a 23-year-old investment banker, working in New York.
The Boy is doing his residency in Boston and was given her number by his mother, who is a friend of the girl's aunt's brother-in-law's cousin's uncle's wife in Chicago.

Time:
Monday night, 10 p.m.

Girl: Hello?

Boy: Shit, she's home! Um, hi! Is this Pooja?

Girl: Speaking.

Boy: My name is Karan. I don't know if you know who I am. God, what if she doesn't know who I am? I don't even know why I'm doing this!

Girl: Oh, you live in Boston, right?

Boy: Yeah. Okay, so she was told about me, that's some relief. I wonder what she was told - "He's a resident, tall, and fair and he graduated from Ivy League school!" God, she probably hates me already!

Girl: Yeah, my mother mentioned you had my number. I can't believe he actually called!

Boy: So, how are you? Oh yeah, that's real original, but what the hell else I am supposed to say - Umm, hi, I don't know you, but do you want to be my wife?!

Girl: I'm fine. And you? Okay, this is off to a great start.

Boy: I'm good. Okay, think, think! So, I heard you're an investment banker? Oh, that's a real winner. Now I can be a bad conversationalist and an idiot!

Girl: Yes.

Boy: Okay, she is not helping me at all! Where do you work?

Girl: Merrill Lynch.

Boy: Hey, that's a great firm! I sound like a complete moron. I should just hang up except my mother would somehow find out and kill me!

Girl: Yeah, it's a nice place to work. God, this guy sounds like a complete loser!

Boy: So... Stall, stall!

Girl: So you're doing your residency in cardiology? Like my mom didn't tell me that 500 times already!!

Boy: Okay, I can handle this... Yeah, I'm in my second year. Alright, now say something else, but what do I say? Do you drink? 'Cause if you want to marry me, you can't be one of those goody goody Indian girls who think that if they kiss a guy, they've practically gone all the way! So what do you like to do in your free time?

Girl: Umm... get wasted... Oh, you know, hang out with my friends, go to movies...

Boy: Where do you like to hang out in NY?

Girl: Shit, what am I supposed to say? This guy could be some religious freak! I can't say bars - I'll say clubs, you can go to clubs and not drink... Oh, sometimes we go to the movies, or there's a couple of clubs that are good... That was good, I made it sound like I like clubs, but I'm not really into them...

Boy: Okay, she goes to clubs, that's a good sign. If she was really religious, she wouldn't do that. Yeah? I like to dance as well.

Girl: He likes to dance - that's a good sign. He can't be that stiff! So where do you hang out in Boston?

Boy: Should I say it? Alright, I'll say it, what the hell! Umm, the same, bars, clubs, stuff like that.

Girl: He said bars! So he probably drinks. Good sign. I should explore this further... Are there any good bars in Boston?

Boy: Yeah, there are some nice onces, I mean, I'm not a huge drinker, but I like having a good time. Okay, that gives the impression of someone who enjoys drinking but is not an alcoholic - pretty good, if I do say so myself!

Girl: That sounds really positive. This guy sounds kind of cool. But if he's so cool, why is he calling me? Shouldn't he have a girlfriend? Or not need to call random girls his mother tells him about? God, what if he's completely ugly? Yeah, me too. Although I hope my parents never find out.

Boy: Yeah. I know exacvtly what you mean.

Girl: Okay, so he didn't freak out at the living a double-life reference - another good sign! I just wish I knew what he looked like... So...

Boy: Or she could be really fat with a huge mustache. Well, there's only one way to find out! So... I know this sounds a little crazy, but I'm visiting some friends in NYC next weekend and I wonder if you'd want to get together for coffee some time.

Girl: Coffee. That's totally safe. If he's totally nasty, I can have a quick expresso and run like hell! Yeah, that sounds great.

Boy: Alright, that went pretty well. Coffee's pretty harmless. And who knows, maybe she'll be cool. Now I have to get the hell out of this conversation... So, I have your e-mail, should I just e-mail you soon and we can figure it out?

Girl: E-mail is sooo much better than the phone. Thank God for e-mail! Yeah, just e-mail. I check it all the time at work, so - God, this is getting painful.

Boy: Alright, I'll e-mail you soon. Meaning in two days, 'cause I don't want to look too desperate, but at the same time I don't want to look like I'm trying not to look too desperate.

Girl: Cool. Well, I'm glad you called. I think...

Boy: Me too. Well, I'll see you soon. Please be hot, please be hot!

Girl: Alright. Bye. I can't believe he called! Too late to back out now. Besides, maybe he's cool. He didn't sound so bad on the phone.

Boy: Bye. I did it! I am the man! I think she wants me. Yeah, she definitely wants me...


Regarding my previous post: Chiew Hui said that she was wearing orange, NOT pink, yesterday... I don't know what's right anymore! I can't believe I'm that blur!! Am I?! I have to clarify with Ong Chi... I can't believe this, if Ong Chi says "orange", I think I'll just die. My blurness would be officially confirmed.


I went for my first Ensemble class - they were cancelled for the past couple of weeks. I missed the 1st week since I hadn't transferred then; the 2nd week, the teacher was in Moscow for a music conducting conference. He came back in the 3rd week, but the weather in Russia left him feeling a "little worse for the wear" (because of the "snow and ice"), so that was another class cancelled. We finally had a lesson this week. The Ensemble I was put in is the Faculty Choir (since I joined too late to be able to get into other ensembles).

I really enjoyed it! Lol. Singing!! It may not be pop, or your cup of tea, but it's definitely mine! We're learning this choral work by Gabriel Fauré. It's called Requiem, and it's his most famous work. The text is in Latin, and it sounds absolutely beautiful (even though requiems are technically funeral masses).

Aside from the lessons (which I'm finding rather enjoyable!), I have a couple of assignments, a response paper, and a couple of presentations dued in the coming weeks. Will be quite busy!

I'll update again soon. Jerry thinks that I'm "making up" for the lack of his posts since I'm posting quite often recently.

Well, let's put it this way; one corner of the world is better than silence from all corners! (No matter how lame that may sound.)

Love it or hate it =P

Chiew Hui accompanied me on my piano practicing today, and something that came up was the topic of parents sending (read: forcing) their kids to learn piano or some other musical instrument.

Interestingly enough, my mom never forced me to take. I remember asking her before something about why she sent me for piano lessons (or something along those lines - basically, how did I get started learning the piano, anyway).

"You yourself asked for it," was the answer she gave me.

I remember staring at my mom, dumbfounded. I asked for it? Do all 4 or 5-year-olds ask stupid questions?

My mom started piano lessons while she was pregnant with me, and after she gave birth to me, she continued, until my second brother was born, and then she stopped. Apparently I must have been intrigued by the funny sounds coming from the bulky black box when you press the rectangular black and white blocks on it. I pestered my mom about wanting to learn it, and so at the age of 5, I was promptly sent off for piano lessons.

Because I wanted it.

-_-"

I can't even remember! But then, who remembers things clearly enough at that age? Probably a blur of vague memories.

But I do remember practicing hard everyday in my entire primary years (1 to 6). There was one moment I remember quite clearly; I think I was only in Primary 2 or 3 (because I remember it was in the morning that I went for a piano lesson). I was actually going through all the pieces one more time before I left the house, and I remember discovering one extra piece which I had completely forgotten to practice. I remember panicking and telling my mom, and asking her to wait. I promptly practiced the song on the piano 10 times in a row.

(Not making that up.)

I wish I'm that motivated now.

When I reached Form 1, I kind of lost my enthuasism and motivation; I was supposed to sit for my Grade 6 practical exam that year, but I absolutely hatedthe piano, I loathed practicing everyday. In the end, I had to be constantly nagged by my mother, and in the way, the exam itself kind of 'woke' me up. I almost failed it, passing by just a few marks. It was a major shock to me; I kind of regained back that enthuasiasm.

The 'I-hate-piano' phase was really bad; bad enough that I even asked my mom to let me quit. But she refused. I guess I'm really grateful now. But I believe everyone has to go through that kind of phase sometime. After all, my life was constantly revolving around the piano, and in a way, "familiarity bred contempt".

It's turned into one of those "love it or hate it" relationships. No matter what I choose, I can't leave it without feeling lots of regret and misery (like I did at the beginning of the semester, but thank God that I made the transfer to Arts/Music). And even if I do go through moments of "I hate piano!", I can't leave it anymore.

Okay, this post is sounding weird now. I shall stop. =P



On a lighter note:

I was with Ong Chi and her friend and walking to the Economics & Commerce building, when suddenly a pink figure materialized in front of us.

Being blur, as always, I kind of "saw through" the pink aura. Actually, to tell you the truth, I didn't notice anyone or anything at all!! I was just intent on getting to my destination.

Suddenly,

"Chiew Hui?!"

I blinked my eyes, and suddenly she was in front of me, materializing out of nowhere.

(Man, I hope I don't walk around looking that blur.)

But apparently I wasn't the only blur one: Ong Chi told me later that in her mind she was thinking, "Who is this pink freak staring at us?"

No offense, Chewy!!! I seriously didn't notice you!! Hehe. Hontoni gomen-nasai!

But part of the shock is just that, the uni is so big, and everyone's timetable is so different, that you're even lucky to meet up once or twice a day during the course of your day. And when you're rushing to go to your next class, you tend to just ignore everything around you.

Well, at least I do that. =p

Ciao!

Gaming... and alter-egos.

Listening to soundtracks from games and various anime on my playing list, I’m suddenly overcome with nostalgia for the past.

I remember spending at least a few hours each day, playing Final Fantasy IX on the PS in my brother’s room, and being all happy and smirking about it, because I was further ahead. Lol.

I miss the feel of the controller in my hand… okay, that just sounds a bit weird. But anyway, I just miss the good ol’ days… when there wasn’t so much worries, so much stress… and there was still enough hours in the day to play and finish your work.

Arrggh. I have a sudden desire to grab a PS and play the RPG games all over again!! Final Fantasy, of course – every gamer’s must-have and must-play! Tales of Destiny, Grandia, and other less well-known RPGs…

Yeah, I know, these games are considered old in the modern gaming world, but they’re still good! XD I remember playing Guardian’s Crusade with GameShark the whole way through, and I was basically just cruising through the game. But seriously, it’s practically impossible to even win a battle without cheating… LOL. But the graphics and storyline were lame. Thinking about it, it was the first game I actually finished. (Yes, with the help of GameShark =p) Oh well, I was just bored… and that was like… how many years ago… back when I was in primary.

Tales of Destiny! Now that is one old RPG, the graphics were in 2D in playing mode and the not really “up” there in terms of the quality and standards of today, but the FMVs were really detailed and remarkably beautiful for its time. I really enjoyed playing that, but never got round to finishing it! ToD was really long, filled with lots of puzzle-solving activities and mysteries that you have to solve in order to proceed on your journey. The storyline was really good though, but I just couldn’t crack one really confusing riddle somewhere at the end. I drove myself crazy over it, and ended up getting lost traveling here and there. I really would love to get back to it sometime; no matter how outdated I may be in doing so!

Then there was Grandia. It was another RPG I was really into. Grandia was around my upper primary/lower sec years. (I kind of gamed less and less as I slowly ‘grew’ up.) Anyway, there I was, happily leveling up my characters, getting new spells, obtaining new skills, etc.

And then I got stuck. (Again.)

Countless hours were spent wandering around that stupid forest (I remember lots of weird plants, typical fantasy games lah) and battling random enemies, which gained me even more experience, which was good I suppose… but I freakin’ just COULD NOT FIND MY WAY OUT. Because of those countless hours, I can still remember how that stupid place looks like in the game!! Yes, even like, 5 years later!

So that was another game give up in frustration. The storyline was quite good, though… sad!!

Does anyone know Star Ocean, the Second Story? Or something like that. It’s one of those RPG games with lots of endings, depending on which path you choose. So lame, and too lazy to explore the so-called “over 80 endings!” (as it said on the back cover of the pirated CD my brother bought). Who actually has that kind of time to play a game 80 miserable times over??

I gave up few minutes into the game after being defeated by the enemies… and any RPG gamer can tell you that I’m probably retarded for dying so early in the game, when the enemies aren’t suppose to be that hard!

(Actually, the same happened to me in FFVII, but I’m not going to say more about that. XP)

And, not forgetting Legend of Legaia!! My brother and I were playing it simultaneously, and he was ahead of me, but who cares… it’s a cool game, but I’m ashamed to say I didn’t use skills – I used the power of the GameShark (again), lol… 'cause it was hard!! *hides from stares* Anyway, most of those were played when I was in Form 1, actually.

So now you all know… this pale ghost is actually a gaming freak underneath. Heh. If it wasn’t for my brother, I wouldn’t have gotten hooked. I remember my brother persuading my mom and dad to buy the PlayStation. You know how they always have those promotions, like, buy one console and get 30 or so games free? Yep, that was how it happened. My brother and I messed around with a few dual-player games. It was enjoyable, really… Many games came and went, among them, Parasite Eve(which I watched my brother played - freaky storyline, but enjoyable, with nasty monsters), Resident Evil (I will never find the nerve to play horror games - one memorable scene from the game: main character walks down the stairs, suddenly a zombie crashes through the window. I had the shock of my life and actually screamed), Thousand Arms, Musashi, just random RPG games most of the time. Oh, yes, and there was Crash Bandicoot!! That was a nice one. It feels so long ago... The racing games were good as well.

Most of those days are gone now… playing, often with my brother beside me, watching and forever criticizing the way I play… not that I minded. I usually let him defeat the bosses for me since I often become over-excited and will die anyway! Excited, as in, when the boss attacks my characters, you can hear me squealing, “Oh no, my characters are dying!” (even when they’re not). Every time! No wonder my brother makes fun of me. (But I finished FFIX by myself, so there!!)

I know this is probably a little out of character for me to talk about games out of the blue, and I probably don’t even seem like the gaming type to most of you. Well, now you know! Lol. I actually wanted a PS2 very badly when FFX came out, and that was around after our Form 3 PMB exams finished as well. When my results came out, my brother was bugging me to ask my parents to buy for me, since I – um – did quite well.

But I didn’t. And I regret. =’(

I think I would have preferred most of the old PS RPG games though.

I haven’t touched a game in over a year… (PS game, that is!) Maybe when I go back at the end of this year or something! Lol. Just for ol’ times’ sake.

Disclaimer: What you have just read is not REALLY Connie; she's in a really weird mood now. So for the moment, just assume that this is her alter-ego in an alternate universe where only oddities exist. That’s because you know that she’s not REALLY a weirdo (as blatantly obvious in the undercurrent tones of the above post).

Right?

Live ... from One Corner of the World

I thought I better quickly type up a post before I continue on with my music assignment - and, this time, I shall not apologize anymore for lack of updates, not updating often, or whatever. Thanks to Tiong, who pointed out that almost all the beginnings of my posts start with a "sorry" or some kind of apology.

Therefore I shall not apologize anymore =P. It's my blog after all! Oops, I'm sorry; I meant, the blog which I'm supposedly sharing with a certain 18-year-old who is currently in the States. Yeah, remember him? A lanky, skinny guy whom I have not seen in over a year.

Me: The blog is called OPPOSITE CORNERS OF THE WORLD.
J: Don't wanna blog till something fun happens...if I do, I'll be wasting people's time.
Me: It's not ONE CORNER OF THE WORLD.
J: HAHAHAHAHA
J: Good one.

You dare laugh?? >=/ *glares at Jerry from her corner of the world*

To sum it up, it's like, all communications have been cut off from the other corner of the world, and the data is flowing (though not smoothly!) from only one corner of the world.

This blog might as well be renamed: Silence from All Corners of the World.

Anyway!

I totally forgot to mention! Commonwealth Games are currently going on in Melbourne. It's been one week already. I don't know if there's any news about it back in Brunei, but the newspapers and media here is so pro-Australian, it gets a bit tiring to see all the glory and credit focused on the Australian winners. The other countries who do win get little publicity. Shows how biased the media can be. Anyway, apparently Brunei is in lawn bowling and some other weird events? Lol. Not that I know.

I was actually out on the opening night of the Games, and for the first few days, the newspapers often showed pictures of the Queen and other royal and distinguished dignitaries. But opening night! Not that I actually went, but I happened to went out with Chiew Hui and her friends, and then, and then....


There were fireworks!!!


Hahaha!! I was so sakai. I think Chiew Hui was probably embarrassed by me. But it was really really beautiful, okay!! It went on for about 5 minutes, and a lot of people were on the streets in the city, so there were quite a few crowds at the various spots where you could see the fireworks clearest.

Last Sunday, there was also a marathon, but I didn't get to actually see it. The roads outside my building were blocked, but I attended church in the morning, and probably missed it altogether. By the time I walked back home, the roads were cleared already.

For all the hype over the Commonwealth Games, I actually don't see much action, apart from that first night, and the various officials and volunteers dressed in blue or wearing name tags, that you see every now and then. It still feels pretty normal, save for the increased security on the first night. Police cars patrolling the roads every few minutes, and security guards walking up and down the streets.

Well, uni life, as I said, is hectic, but it probably depends on what course you are doing. My timetable, at first glance, is actually quite relaxing, but if you calculate the number of hours you have to spend on practice and homework and self-study, it pretty much eats up all the spare time you have. In lectures, you just sit there and listen to the lecturers drone on and on, but most of the time, you have to study by yourself. No more spoon-feeding, you have to print out all your lecture notes yourself, you have to go online like, everyday.

I swear, if you do not have Internet access, you can just DIE and FAIL all your subjects. Everything is online, and one of my music units, Music Techniques, has its whole textbook on its website, so I'm basically dead if I can't access it. I think for other courses, the teachers sometime assign online tests as well.

Makes you wonder how students in the 70s, 80s, early 90s actually survived. I mean, most of the material went from books and paper to electronic media just like that.

Okay, got to stop here now. I've got a really busy morning tomorrow. I have 2 assignments dued by 9.30 a.m., a Music Techniques lecture at 10 a.m., a Concert Class at 11 a.m., a two-hour lecture of Media, Politics & Society at 12 p.m., all the way till 2 p.m. No break!! =(

I can already hear my stomach complaining. "Be patient and quiet, O dearest Stomach!"

Right, that's for your reading pleasure today, ladies & gentlemen! Will update again soon!

I'm really sorry for not updating; I finally have got my internet set up!! *does victory dance* The stupid company gave me the wrong username and password, which explains why I wasn't able to log on for the past week! Arrgh.

Anyway, this blog has become so dead that I bet no one visits here anymore.

First day of uni - I know I had promised to blog, but it's already the 4th week, and honestly, the past few weeks have been so hectic that I can barely remember. I made the internal transfer to the double degree, so thank God! I'm now doing BA/BMus. I still find it highly amusing that UWA had rejected my application for music, while Uni of Melb accepted me.

But in the process, I had to drop many units from the previous BA degree, so I'm no longer taking Japanese, I was compelled to drop Modern Lit, because it clashed with my Piano Class. I have three weeks of work to catch up on since I came in late. I always do things like this! >=/

But apart from the troublesome paperworks and tedious process of the transfer, I think I can just start to enjoy it all, once I catch up to my work. But, still: Uni - relaxing? Hah. It's far from relaxing. There's assignments to do every week, and though my timetable is actually quite relaxing, it's the amount of work that you do which takes up all your spare time.

This guy told me that if you are already dying in first year uni, then you have to get used to it - "dying". Not funny, I know! It sounds scary, man... Because the 2nd, 3rd, etc. years are much more hectic. And to think that most of us are already finding first year busy!

I suppose it's all about finding the balance, and juggling work and play properly.

I can't think of anything else to say, and I've got loads to do anyway. I'll try to blog about more interesting stuff next time. Jerry has gone AWOL on me! Blog, you donkey!! Contribute YOUR share of uni life as well!!