Lazy Day

Lazy Day

Lazy day today. Did virtually nothing! Nothing productive at least. Haha. Went to church at Clementi, had lunch at KFC, did a bit of grocery, went back to hall after dropping by Karen's room, watched the OC, cheered for the KR Volleyball team at the EH courts, then back here.

I'd have to thank someone though, for sharing something with me over MSN. I can't stop laughing, really. Impossible people. XP

Tomorrow I get to go for Lee Kuan Yew's ministerial forum, where he'll talk about what of the past is relevant in a fast-changing world. I was late for the online sign-up, but since I queued for the ticket collection, they let me register and gave me a ticket. Cool. I was always interested in hearing people of power or position or achievement talk. Always interesting to know what's in their heads. (Or anyone's head too, for that matter.)

I actually had two free tickets as of last Saturday: one for the the Chingay Parade and one for LKY's forum. I told my friends over lunch that I would gladly swap both of them for just one MTV Asia Awards ticket! It's gonna be on Thursday, in Thailand. I could be earning now, dammit. Why should I be broke?

But it's impossible too, that MTV thing, because it's in Thailand, and on a schoolday! Wanted it as one of those birthday gifts that are so good they're impossible to get. Oh well. I wanted to keep my birthday a secret, but walau, people have a terrific memory and the bridging kids apparently will surprise me again at midnight, so I told them I'd be going away that day. Birthdays always have me stumped as to what I'll do.

Argh.. I feel so lethargic. It gets tiring doing nothing, really. And you know what you do when you're tired, you beg for more rest. Vicious cycle. Better drag myself out of my bed and do some happy mugging. Ciao!



Music of the moment: Red Hot Chili Pepper's Scar Tissue
Currently feeling sleepy.

Flamed!

Flamed!

I finally got flamed! Yey.

Flame, by the way, is one of my Words of the Year 2003 (blame my less than amazing vocabulary). Not the typical flame = fire sense, of course. Merriam-Webster tells us that flame, as a transitive verb, means to send an angry, hostile, or abusive electronic message. Still unclear? Click the comments link in my previous post to see the perfect example. And of course, I must thank fake plastic tree, for I can never take the credit from him/her.

_____

fake plastic tree @ 01/29/2005 16:32:
what a pathetic blog. and your article for ridge is even more pathetic. Do us all a faovr [sic] and stop blogging.

joseph @ 01/29/2005 22:29:
fake plastic tree: why thank you for visiting! this blog is meant for me, you know, not for you or anybody else. so think whatever you want. i couldn't care less. here's the door, thanks for the visit.


_____


Hehe, I guess that reply speaks for itself. Although for a while there I entertained thoughts about the validity of that claim, nah, I'm so thick-skinned and calloused now. And I know better.

* * *

God I am so freakin' exhausted. Had less than enough sleep last night once again, and that corresponds to a new zit and bigger eyebags. Woke up early to Google stuff for my sister, slept again, googled again when I woke up, had lunch and attempted to read Pride and Prejudice for my Lit class, to no avail. Had lunch, and later killed more braincells (hopefully it pays off).

Rushed to room to email Kai, then ran to bus stop at 5pm to go to the Singapore Chinese Orchestra building in Shenton Way. Sang with NUS Choir till 10pm with the orchestra, and I must admit it was way cool to see and hear those unique Chinese instruments! There was this violin-like thing (no English term for it apparently?), this wind instrument made of large bamboos(?), and some string instrument that reminded me of the Philippines' banduria. And of course there were the usual orchestra stuff. We didn't sing quite well, since it was tough blending with the Orchestra and finding our cues. But Maestro Tsung Yeh seemed quite pleased and considerate, so that's okay.

What was sad was that I was starving! Cheese sandwiches + banana at 4pm didn't seem to do the trick. And practice ended at 10pm too! Walau. Rushed to bus stop, reached KR past 11pm, turned on my laptop and began preparing Quaker Oats for dinner/supper. Then Chicken messaged me through MSN, Have you read the comment on your blog?

Haha. As much as I'm drained and exhausted and stressed(and loads of work coming up too), I'm perfectly fine. I have John Mayer and Jason Mraz playing in my head, and God by my side of course, so what could possibly go wrong?



Music of the moment: Jason Mraz's 1000 Things
Currently feeling hungry.

Last Song Syndrome

Last Song Syndrome

Sometimes I wish that I was the weather
You’d bring me up in conversation forever
And when it rains
I’d be the talk of the day

...

And there could be no other way
‘Cause you're so, you're so lame
Your tired words are all, they're all the same
And I would walk, I’d surely walk away
If I wasn’t such a sucker for you

-John Mayer, Sucker


Lately I've been stuck with John Mayer ringing in my head. Not that I'm complaining, actually. I'm enjoying it, in fact, because for some weird reason, it ties up with my EN1101E (Intro to Literary Studies) class quite nicely! Bloody brilliant lyrics! Hah. If only to prove to Dr Yeo that not all pop songs aren't quite poetry in the truest sense. Hehe. I'd like to have Jason Mraz and John Mayer be exceptions. ;) And Alanis and Vanessa Carlton too, perhaps.

But it's not just one John Mayer song that's replaying over and over in my head. There's another, and it's this cool song about, of all things, daughters.


I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
She's just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change

And I've done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands
Now I'm starting to see
Maybe it's got nothing to do with me

Fathers be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters too

...

Boys, you can break
You'll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without warmth from
A woman's good, good heart

- J Mayer, Daughters

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's one of those "Aww.." songs. Hehe. The melody's the typical J Mayer lazy, laid-back tunes, and the lyrics are the usual feel-good, insightful ramblings. Yey, just nice. The songs are poetic-looking enough for me, but if they don't look quite the part yet (at least based on my Lit module's standards), then maybe they should be sung and heard. Soft yet powerful melodies, with that unmistakable sincerity and feeling in his voice. Quite the songs that would make you feel good about the world.

Daughters is such a nice song! (Nominated for Song of the Year too, in next month's Grammys!) And, even if I've never done this sort of mushy-mushy thing before on her, I dedicate it to... tada, my sister! Yey. My pretty laughing sister Kai is graduating from High School in March, see. And unfortunately good big bro Joseph can't make it because he's being enslaved by schoolwork in SG during that time. But you do get your grad gift though, courtesy of Dad, which I shall search for at Funan sometime soon. ;)

I've read in some forum that Daughters has quite a sad meaning, about Dads leaving their families and neglecting their daughters, but walau, of course I don't mean that! It's just a simple moving song about daughters and parents and the L word. Or something. The thing about poems, anyway, as I've learned from today's class, is that they can be interpreted in every which way (as long as you can tell how you arrived at that interpretation of course), and that makes them all the more interesting.

Anyway, I'll try to find Kai a nice grad gift of my own (if I manage to save up), but for now, I'm granting one of her requests. Haha, to surf the net for the perfect prom dress! Fit for prom queen! Hah. It's a gruelling task, trust me, but what the heck. Well at least I can say I didn't maximize the free internet at NUS.

***

Tomorrow NUS Choir's going to practice with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra! I'm quite excited. I mean, singing is one thing, singing in public is another, and singing with an orchestra is yet another. I try not to be overwhelmed, too much though. Hehe, lest they discover I'm not exactly one of the "strongest links" in the Choir. But I'm not too lousy and I blend quite fine! I think. :)

Okay, that's about it! Mighty glad to have survived another day.


P.S.
And oh yeah, The Ridge finally came out today! Yey, and my article finally sees the light of day! Hehe. And it's about you, blogster, of all things. So.. now that you have your birthday gift, what about mine? =P



Music of the Moment: Go figure!
Currently feeling contemplative.

Speed blogging

Speed Blogging

Five minutes.

Long day today. My God, virtually from 12-12 of intense work.
Probability lecture, Chinese cooked food with ex-hallmate Zhou Yang, Robs and Arthur, back to hall to email and THINK, then back for sleep-inducing Calculus lecture. Rushed to bus stop, ran to dining hall for dinner, ran to room to get scores, then ran to bus stop to catch A2 bus.

Missed the hired bus going to Singapore Chinese Orchestra place at Tanjong Pagar. Thank God there was another hired van. Was panting like crazy. Cool place, soooo "professional"-looking? Met the orchestra conductor, who'll conduct us NUS Choir + Victoria Chorale during the Lei Yu performance for Chinese Arts Festival. Worried a bit since we were told he once walked out after 30 minutes of hearing a choir, and that was the end of it. He turned out to be extra friendly and witty, and phew, we got past thirty minutes. Safe. Waited for bus 10 bus, 10:pm. The other choir from KR was calling me on my handphone, walau, the tenors severely lacked manpower. I arrived at 10:30pm, running to the KR music room. Walau, no tenors! Benny was waiting for me outside. I called everyone on their handphone to come, but only Johni, who had an aching back, came (thanks a lot Johni).

Paiseh, I screwed up my singing. Haha, we lost our notes many times. Good thing we did much better when the real conductor arrived at 11:15pm. And only three tenors! Yey, thanks Benny and Johni. Sorry I'm learning to be a tenor still! (I should be bass!)

1:07am now, and I have an 8am class! I. am. beat. Good night!

7 minutes overtime! Tsk.



Music of the moment: John Mayer's Sucker
Currently feeling like hibernating.

A little motivation

A little motivation

Yey, I have a new top score in Triple Pop! It's this game in my handphone that basically requires the player to pop differently-colored bubbles as they hit a user-controlled rotating stone at the center of a circular playing area. If at least three bubbles of the same color are adjacent to each other, they "pop", and points are awarded. Aim is to pop as many bubbles as long as bubbles don't go out-of-bounds of the playing area.

My score's at 1435 now, and I'm glad because it was the first time I played it in months! And first (and only) try too this session. Well, trust on handphone games to keep you busy while waiting for the 9:00PM bus. I'm especially surprised with myself, for keeping the playing area clear around the score of 900, when usually (at least in my triple-pop playing history), this is the time when all the bubbles fly from nowhere, and threaten to (and eventually) go out of bounds.

The secret, I'd like to think, is a little motivation. I tried a different mindset as I was starting the game, and it worked.

I guess that's also why we Cheer Team are being constantly told that we are important in the games of KR in the ongoing IHG. We were told that "we have to ra-ra the crowd during every match," and this means a lot to the sweaty players playing their hearts out for our dear KR.

That's the reason, btw, that I was outside at around 9pm still. We were at the SRC courts for the very exciting handball (male) semis. KR came in full force, like the other day, to cheer on the players as they tackled Sheares Hall on Monday, and Raffles Hall yesterday. I left a few minutes after halftime during yesterday's match, since I had to rush for tenor sectionals for KR choir (yes, I'm surely losing my voice).

I arrived at 9:05pm at the lobby, and wa lau, no tenors! We were supposed to meet at 9pm punctually. I waited till almost 10pm, and only Johni, who had earlier told me he was gonna be late, and Adrian, who was also late because of Bible study/cell group, were there. A few other told me they couldn't come for valid reasons, but I PLEASE wish the others will tell me beforehand if they couldn't come. I scheduled the sectionals, by the way. It's tough being tenor SL, I now realize.

The handball supporters came at around 10pm, and, I didn't need to ask if they won or lost that very important match. It was a very close fight, and we lost. Keith, the cheerleading head, even told me the handball captain had been in tears, apologizing to the crowd for not bringing Kent Ridge to the finals. I missed all the drama! Hehe. KR's hall spirit is something I appreciate quite a lot.

So I went to my room and finished making the tenor scores of All Things Bright and Beautiful using this program Noteworthy Composer (a must-use in any choir). Just as I was finishing at 11:45pm, Kevin, the Logistics guy from NUS choir, whom I am under for the coming Varsity Voices Concert, requested me to make the scores for the tenor parts of this really difficult but beautiful song, The Continental. I hesitated a bit, but since I was in NWC file-making mode, and with a little motivation too, I finished it in another hour or so. Proud of myself.

Thank you Lord for getting me through another day. And yey, here's another one! Good morning!



Music of the moment: Barbie's Cradle's Every day
Currently feeling like taking a shower!

Thoughts

Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot lately, and by golly, thinking really took me for a ride! I've been relishing my thoughts thoroughly, though, as they were thoughts of substance (as far as I know), things that are yet to be resolved, yet worth repeatedly pondering over nonetheless.

And what a whirlwind of emotions it was. I don't want to blog about depressing stuff, you know, because.. because. Maybe I'm not sure I'm willing to grant full access into my head. Be my friend, for real, and then I'll gladly open up.

Anyway, I've been quite "off" the past few days, but I still manage (I hope) to put on a genuine enough face when the situation calls for it.

Don't worry, I'm not depressed. I'm just thinking too much! Blame the thought-provoking stimuli around me.

* * *

I wasn't supposed to tell, but since Wayne has shocked me by opening up his side through what else, his blog, I'm gonna let you in on the Wayne file in my brain.

I hate being lied to when I ask a direct (harmless) question (that's only for those Survivor folk). I do not appreciate getting no reaction when I talk to you. Once, twice, how many times? No reaction when I thanked you even. Wa lau. And when I asked you to sign Korinna's card, I never expected nor requested you to come to me to sign it. I knew it was my task to have you sign it. And I did go to KE, but unfortunately you weren't there. Surely you don't want me to go back at 11pm? And btw, some "confrontation" it was. It was more of a polite question from me, and a short two-liner for you. I didn't even think you were paying full attention. End of story.

* * *

Whew. I'm glad to have that out. As much as I hate writing that sort of stuff.

And there's more stuff too inside my head, some happy, some horrible, which I shall not disclose anymore. There's stuff to do of course, schoolwork mostly + choir, which must be attended to more than anything else. My thoughts shall linger on for the next days, weeks, God-knows-when, but they stay in the backseat.


P.S.
Today was an especially fun choir session for NUS Choir. I don't know what, but we were just laughing and singing happily and all like good friends. Later, though, the Student Conductor (and the one who did my audition) Josephine Kang, announced, misty-eyed yet still trying to joke around, that she was quitting the choir. I suddenly felt sad. She is in her final semester as a Law Student, and one of her lectures (with 8 modular credits too) clashes with choir practices, and Mr Lecturer doesn't seem pleased with her skipping class. And, she's been falling sick lately too. Sigh, four years in choir. We were even talking in Sentosa during the Choir Camp about her of course going for the overseas competition in Czech.

She told us to enjoy and love the music. Love the choir in the process.

Now that's another thought for me to digest.



Music of the moment: Third Eye Blind's How's It Gonna Be?
Currently feeling sunburnt.

I'm okay

I'm okay

Of course I'm okay. I'm not one to wallow, with or without reason, so ignore the last post because I'm feeling *quite* fine now. That, or maybe I've mastered the art of denial. Hmm..

In any case, the past two days were interesting. It's Korinna's birthday today! And in true bridging-babies '03 tradition, we wanted to greet her at midnight. Ivy and I were stumped as to what to do, because we have ALWAYS been knocking at the doors of suppposedly unsuspecting bridging-mates at midnight to give them a "surprise" treat or cake or something. After we greeted most everyone throughout last year, the "surprise" became, well, not too much of a surprise. On my birthday last year, I was in fact semi-waiting for them to come, and, in preparation, I already ordered a cake and plates and spoons and forks! (Hehe, but I still was a bit surprised and extremely happy just the same ;) )

Yesterday at noon, Ivy and I still didn't have any concrete plans. My digicam is still at Konica, and so that left us with less ideas. We thought that buying a cake and "surprising" Kor at midnight was "so last year" and so we were stumped again for the most part. Ivy and I were to meet at lunch with some friends to discuss, and she came up the last-minute idea of making a butterfly-themed card for Kor, who apparently has been fond of butterflies lately as evidenced by her blog. Ivy had to go to a despedida (send-off) party in the afternoon, so I took on the task of having people to sign the card, even going to King Edward VII after dinner and going back and forth to Kor's studymate/lunchmate Sundeep and Kor's dinner date Woen Ping's rooms.

Ivy and the rest went ice skating too, and they were to come home late, so she decided that the greeting will be done in the afternoon today instead, and not at midnight as per tradition. I messaged Wayne, and he repeatedly told me he had no plans for Kor's birthday at all (although he came up with something eventually). I finally caught up with bridging-mates Navuth and Tuk, and together we agreed that we wouldn't do nothing at midnight (same sentiment I felt also last year during Kor's birthday which coincided with CNY). I mean, after all, we were there, and it was most sensible that gather and greet her right?

So having let everyone I know Korinna knows sign the card, I packed some of my dried mangoes (the only decent edible stuff I have), a small keychain-like accessory in the shape of a starfish (my tiny gift for Kor), and told Diana, Navuth, Tuk, Nirorn and Rotana to meet up at five to twelve. Everyone was game. We went to Kor and Ivy's block, and before knocking at Kor's room, went to Ivy's room to check if she had arrived yet. She was there already, and after some discussion (whether to give the card now or not since it was still unfinished, whether to even greet Korinna that time or wait for the next day for more people), we decided to knock at Kor's door. No answer. And the door was locked from the outside (most residents usually leave it open and lock it from the inside) We initially thought she was asleep, but could she have gone elsewhere? She wasn't picking up the phone, too.

So we bridging kids had to think of something to do! We couldn't post the card yet, since it was unfinished, so after thinking it through, we decided to record a birthday video and email it to her! Haha, I thought it was brilliant. We did an extended Happy Birthday song, with "happy birthday" spoken in 7 languages! I did the "Maligayang bati" Tagalog part, Diana said something in Hokkien, Laotian Tuk did a Thai greeting, Navuth spoke in Khmer, Rotana spoke in French (some speak French in Cambodia, see), Nirorn had his greeting in Mandarin (fresh from Mandarin lessons last sem too), and Ivy the photographer did it in English. Then we did one long happy birthday at the end, with Diana adding a Tagalog twist. ;)

Hehe, that, plus music videos of sorts. Diana, Ivy and I sang a number of OPM songs (music from Filipino artists), while Cambodians Navuth, Nirorn and Rotana did a Khmer song with clapping, while Tuk clapped along. And oh, Navuth recognized the theme song of the Philippine soap, Pangako Sa'yo (Diana suggested this since Kor is a fan of Jericho, the male lead). It's cool to learn that they showed the soap in Cambodia! How cool is that for a Pinoy soap! It really was a well-crafted teleserye anyway, so I'm mighty glad that it was "exported". =P

We left the video-shoot area i.e. Ivy's room at almost 2am, while Ivy fixed up the videos and finished the card. They had another birthday-greeting session at 2pm, and I'm sure it was fun. Wasn't able to attend though, since I was at Siglap South Community Centre for NUS Choir's practice of the Chinese song Lei Yu with Victoria Chorale.

Over dinner at McDonald's with this year's new bridging kids + Ferron + Jeunesse + Gelo, Jayson gave me a crash course on Mandarin 101! Now the Lei Yu scores make a lot more sense (hehe it's written in hardcore poetic Chinese language some stuff even Jayson and some Singaporeans can't understand), and I learned a lot of useful tips regarding pronunciation of Chinese words written in Pin Yin! I suddenly realized that I was singing wrongly in terms of the pronunciation of words! Tunewise, I still can manage.. somehow. Hehe.

It's the end of a day and the start of a new one soon. I'm seriously swamped again, as usual, my room's a mess once more and I still have mind monsters to vanquish. I'm tired now, but I'm switching to OC mode, and I'll have all of these stuff settled soon.


P.S.
Pardon the incoherence.


Music of the Moment: Nirotanavutuk Jodivy's Happy Birthday
Currently feeling blank.

Short post

Short post

One of those times again. I'm not feeling too super, I've been totally unproductive the whole day (even if it was a public holiday), and I just want to... I don't even know what to do. Heck, I don't even know why I'm feeling a bit.. off.

Even American Idol didn't cheer me up. (And I missed 2 episodes of The Amazing Race already too).

Must be the weather. Always a terrific excuse.

I need an upper, quick.



Music of the moment: Mariah Carey + Bone Thugs' Breakdown (remix)
Currently feeling blue.

Not bad

Not bad

Hey blogster. Lalalilala. Free time now, sleep time supposedly. But since I have to get used to sleeping late and new zits and eyebags (that's University life for you), I'm gonna update a bit. It's not gonna be long, since I fully realize too that sleep will be getting scarcer in the next few days so I might as well maximize whatever I can.

So tenors had sectionals with me leading. Haha. And since the music room was occupieed by the A cappella group, good little first-time SL yours truly led the pack to surprise, my room! (Haha, good SL's clean their rooms early in the morning of sectionals day in case something happens, you know) And even Johni, who sometimes passes by my room, was surprised that my room was not in its usual state, if you know what I mean. So we used the musical scores in my PC to practice, and my good ol' Yamaha PortaSound! My PortaSound, ladies and gents, is probably one of my favorite oldest and still functional toys. It's a mini organ for kids, and I've had it since I was in Montessori, I think. It's light and small, only the length of one Joseph shoulder to the other, has two and a half octaves, and a host of buttons for rhythm, and another set for instrument types. And although the keys are yellowing and becoming too small for my fingers, I like it a lot! I use it for practising choir stuff on my own, and now the tenors are using it! Cool. I wanna buy a good keyboard sometime too, so I can finally be persuaded to brush up on my piano skills, but for now I'm not complaining with my little musical toy. ;) Sectionals went okay, I guess. Not bad. I should save my voice though, since I can't hit the high notes anymore.

Before tenor sectionals for KR Choir, we had NUS Choir sessions. The Chinese song is getting more manageable, and I'm enjoying singing lines I don't understand one bit. Apparently it's so hardcore Chinese that even Singaporean Chinese fellas in Choir don't even understand some characters. Lei yu, I learned, from this PRC guy from basses, is the story of a seriously dysfunctional family with incest (mom to son!), seduction, rape, relations with a maid, lightning which kills them second generation, and suicide too. Something like that. And it's gonna be performed at the Esplanade for the Chinese Festival of the Arts on February 18th! I was excited it's currently in the Esplanade's brochure of events! We're just hitching on the performance of some acclaimed orchestra and some musical geniuses, actually, but it's with the Victoria Chorale and the Singapore Youth Orchestra so it promises to be cooooool.

I went for GEM1008: Evaluating Academic Arguments early this afternoon. Terrific module with a great instructor, Ms Peggie Chan. Ms Chan is this fortyish outspoken lady who is altogether witty and engaging and funny. It's a small class of twenty or so too, my group, and it's FINALLY just wonderful to engage in small classes once more where we students and teachers can freely exchange thoughts, in contrast to large lecture groups in lecture theatres.

It was the IHG Opening Ceremony too this afternoon, and of course the cheering team had to be there. I was screaming my lungs out for KR, and the crowd of Kent Ridgeans seemed to be reciprocating with much fervor and energy as well. And why not? By golly, we swept the track and field games! ALL of them, 200m 400m 800m relay or whatever, both male and female. It was one booming cheer after another, and it was a terrific morale booster for our hall, who usually ends up next to Eusoff and Temasek Halls in the IHG. Ahhh.. hall unity! Quite proud of the Cheer team as well! Other halls' cheers were rather lacking in energy or too screechy? Hehe. I try not to be biased.

Okay, so that was a long post. Sheesh. I should try shorter entries sometime. Brevity, Joseph!

So today wasn't so bad. Not bad at all, really. Especially when I expected to explode or implode or burn out or faint. Well, maybe another day. And maybe sooner than I think.

But so far, it's been good, never mind if I'm exhausted. I just hope this will be the beginning of an infinite streak of damn good stuff. ;)



Music of the Moment: Jamie Cullum's All at Sea
Currently feeling hungry for ham and cheese croissants!

Suddenly swamped

Suddenly swamped

Guess who KR Choir's new Tenor Sectional Leader is? Yes, that's the one who makes sure the tenors know their notes right so they wouldn't get lost during the combined practice with the basses and altos and sopranos. Sigh. Unfortunately, Kelvyn, the previous SL, has to leave the choir this year for personal reasons, and tada, the task is passed on to yours truly. I tried my best to let him stay, or to at least give the job to someone else since I don't feel capable and I'm busy with other stuff and that little fact that I'm more comfortable with singing bass (in the NUS choir) than tenor. Apparently, I am left with no choice but to reluctantly accept. I bargained with Kelvyn though, that I'll be SL for a week and see what happens.

That comes one day, too, after I accepted the offer to be part of the NUS Choir's Varsity Voices 04/05 Task Force (apparently they did some voting during the last practice, where I excused myself early to run for KR Choir session). That's the committee that puts up the choir's annual VV concert. I hesitated before I accepted secretary Keng Khoon's offer, but then I reasoned since I'm turning Year 2 after this sem, I might as well take up higher-than-member positions.

So that's Cheer Team for me all throughout the bulk of this sem (IHG runs till the midterms), an NUS Choir stint with the Chinese Orchestra (this is the one with the Leiyu song) in mid-February, Varsity Voices on February 26th, KR's own culture night in late Feb or March, and the Combined Performances of Hall Choirs sometime else. And that's on top of my killer Probability module, my Molecular Genetics module with Life Science majors, and my Introduction to Literary Studies module which promises lots of readings.

Hmm.. so unless I get my act together, I could potentially be royally screwed this sem. Intense mugging sessions up ahead!


P.S.
We watched my former hall King Edward VII's musical play, Romeo Loves Juliet, at the Victoria Theatre the other night. It's a modern take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with a twist at the end. It was the fruit of the long bloody hard work of the production team, especially by my good Vietnamese buddy and near-roommate Pacey, the director. My Pinoy seniors Nestor and Arthur also were part of the hardworking team, in the admin and ticketing departments, respectively. And my Indian friend Balaji did a very convincing portrayal as the crazy effeminate supposed groom-to-be of Juliet.

The play made me happy, seriously. Although much could be polished here and there, I thought it was a nice, feel-good performance, which, for lack of better descriptions, I'd say if I watched the play with my girlfriend (not that I have any), I'll fall in love with her all over again (I loved the play's Cosmic Love song!). Hah, some crap there. Or maybe I belong to the hopeless-romantic demographic? Hehe. But really, I enjoyed myself well enough to gloss over the few glitches. Kudos to Director Pacey, Producer Joanna (my friend Victor's GF too, whom he kissed onstage after the show ;P), and the entire team!

And oh yeah, I have to surf the net to check cool designs for my sister's prom dress. Haha, the requests I get from her because of free internet here. I'm feeling tired Kai, so hang on a bit okay?

Okay, 5:48AM and it's time to sleep! After a whole day of watching and cheering for KR's Soccer teams and getting a good sunburn. My first tenor sectionals later at 10pm, and I just finished making the Noteworthy Composer score for Beauty and the Beast. Long day today, long day tomorrow, and I. need. sleep.



Music of the Moment: John Mayer's Love Song for No One
Currently feeling sleeeeeeeeepy.

Leiyu

Leiyu

Great. I finished one of those long detailed blogs when I suddenly and unknowingly got disconnected from the NUS network. So when I clicked "Publish Post", everything went pfffffft. Good for you reader, though, since you won't have to bear with my long entries for once. Hah.

Bummer. I'm still thinking about my vivid accounts of this and that. But since I've decided to be optimistic this year (okay, I'm making it the Chinese New Year's resolution if it's too late for the Jan1 resolution! =P), I'm not gonna worry about it. I was only blabbering about my brand new modules and lectures and lecturers, my draining but exhilarating cheering for KR's "crowd" matches in the IHG, on top of NUS and KR choirs, and how bruised and battered my voice is as a result. Haha yep, my voice, my 2004 Discovery of the Year. Lalala. Long days ahead for this short and crazy sem! :D

Tomorrow is NUS Choir practice, and it promises to be interesting like last time, because we're singing a Chinese song, Leiyu (Thunderstorm). It's a major task for the few of us Chinese-challenged in the NUS Choir, but so far we've been coping quite fine.

Wu yun ah, chen chen ya zai xin tou, goes the first lines.

Jayson one of the Chinese Filipinos doing the bridging course, has kindly translated for me. Wu yun means dark cloud, chen chen means deep (or something), ya zai means nadadaganan in Filipino (or being run over, trampled?), and xin tou means heart. (Tatatee, what do you think? Please correct me if I'm wrong hehe.) So there, connect the dots.

I'd like to say Wu yun, chen chen ya zai xin tou might very well describe my life right now. But that isn't fully accurate, actually. Then again, it's not far away from the truth either. Hee.



Music of the moment: Santana's Why Don't You and I
Currently feeling full from terrrrific block supper! Yey D block!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

I was at my first practical for LSM1102: Molecular Genetics this morning, and I had a sudden surge of inferiority complex. My first thoughts as I entered the room some 45 minutes late (not my fault, the lesson plan said come at 10am, but it started at 9am): WHAT AM I DOING HERE?
(The answer to that, by the way, is that I am checking out the possibility of taking Biostatistics as my major. And to do that I must brave a module with Life Science majors. Scary.)

The lab manual seemed utterly foreign to me, and some equipment ala CSI I had never or seldom used before (I was in the Techno not the Science Stream in high school), and something about chemicals and organisms and DNA didn't seem to fit me well this morning. Thanks to my partner, a newfound friend Kathy, I survived the first practical (extracting genomic DNA from E.coli). Yey!

Towards the end of the session, as we removed our lab coats, I saw a cool shirt of a guy classmate across the lab table. It said, with a slightly fancy font and a sleek design, "I'm blogging this." I want I WANT that shirt! Or some shirt with a message to that effect. :)


Guess what it reminded me of? Hehe, it reminded me of this. That's my first blog entry one year ago. Hehe, I tried to recreate the original template, so that's roughly how moonstruck86.blogspot.com looked like one year ago (the current is version 2.2 I think). You can click here too, to dig through the complete first week archives. Ahhhh... memories! Haha. Maybe it's just me, but I somehow don't feel like that's the way I write now. Could I have.. no, it's impossible.. could I have grown? Hehe. I seriously think large chunks of memories about our own selves years back are laughable. :)

So, predictably, I wish you dear bloggie a Happy 1st Birthday! Sorry there isn't much fanfare, since I'm currently going insane handling my new modules, my almost-daily cheering for KR Hall in the IHG, and, as if my voice isn't beaten up enough, my choir practices. (Yes, my voice has officially saved me from idleness)

So what exactly do you bloggie get from me on your day? My sincerest gratitude for being my shoutbox and mind-monsters depository for the past year, and, tada, a space in the January issue for the Ridge. Yes, I wrote about blogging in my article for the school publication. Hah.

Dunno what that makes me though. A blog addict, perhaps? "A good blogger" would be just fine. ;)



Music of the Moment: Bone Thugs' Shoot 'Em Up
Currently feeling sore in the throat!

Fockerized and Hustled

Fockerized and Hustled

With the prodding of Ferron and Cecilia and Robinson and Gail, I jumpstarted the new sem with back-to-back movies.. at moviehouses! (Yep, this time it's the legal way!) I don't usually go to cinemas in Singapore since they're so pricey here compared to those in the Philippines (and yes there's that file-sharing option), but since I've always maintained I'm not a killjoy (unless I really have to for some serious reason), I decided to go watch movies with them two nights in a row. Ferron and Cecilia are still the hall-of-famers, though, with their three-night streak.

Meet the Fockers (@ Plaza Singapura) was crazy. It was a movie with enough smarts, enough plot, nice production value, and more than enough laughs to keep you entertained all throughout the movie. It was well thought out and STILL funny, and I give it an 8.5/10! And Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman, I'll never see you the same way again. Haha, that's a great compliment, actually. ;) And of course, for a comedy film with a title like Meet the Fockers, how can you go wrong?

Kung Fu Hustle (@ Jurong Point) was out of this world. My God, it blew my mind. It has no plot (according to movie seatmate Gail), but it's a tremendous laughtrip! I salute actor-director-writer Stephen Chow for coming up with those wacky ideas which I doubt will ever be churned out by my best creative juices. It's not too smart a movie, but for sheer mindless fun and creatively terrific fight scenes, I give it an 8/10. Haha, quite refreshing after watching "brainy" shows like CSI (and its Miami and NY spin-offs), Survivor, The Amazing Race, The OC. (Okay, so maybe OC isn't much of a brainy show). And I suddenly miss my old hall KE7's cooool Wushu Team too!

W a t c h people, and be fockerized and hustled!

* * *

But you know what's really Fockered up? MSN. And my modules! Argh, I'm so disappointed my American Film module just has to clash with the tutorial for my Molecular Genetics! Ugh. And of course I can't drop Molecular Genetics since I am open to the idea of taking the Statistics (with concentration in Biostatistics) major. And MSN.. sigh. Please let me send messages to my friends, will you?

And yessss, tomorrow will be total Hustle day. It's crazy, I'm stressed even just thinking about it. So I plan to sit in for Diana's Algebra class at 8am-10am, and then I bid for the Reading Visual Images module through CORS in the hope I get in, then it's a 12-2pm Probability lecture, a break, then Calculus at 4-6pm. At 615pm I'll drop by PGP for the NUS Choir practice, then I'll have to excuse myself at 730pm and go over to the Basketball match of KR and cheer with the Cheer Team (I'll call it Cheer Team instead of Cheerleading team ok? We just yell and clap anyway.. NO STUNTS), then it's back to KR Hall at 930pm with the Cheer Team to lead and teach the hall cheers for IHG (Inter-Hall Games), and at 10pm till midnight, there's still tenor sectionals for KR Choir.

Argh. But that's okay, actually. I like the hustle anyway. And I like the feeling of somehow being "fully-booked". Hah.



Music of the moment: Fatboy Slim's Kung Fu Fighting
Currently feeling anxious about tomorrow's classes!


Back!

Back!

Guess who's back. Back in Singapore. Back to unlimited internet access. Back to glorious schoolwork. Back to downloading TV shows. Back to blogging!

I miss home already, don't get me wrong. My laughing sister who forever thinks she's growing fat (she's not really, but she needs to lay off from the TV more hehe), my mom and dad and lolas and family and friends, I miss them all! But maybe I'm just so busy with stuff, POSSIBLY and strangely excited about school maybe, that I don't feel so homesick anymore. At least, not as much as some friends I know here.

It only struck me that I'm FINALLY back here to do my more serious occupation of studying when the Silkair plane finally touched down on Singapore. I've always been anxious everytime a plane lands, maybe because I feel that it's the best time (the worst time actually) for a disaster to strike. But this time, when the wheels hit the ground with a thud and a screech, accompanied by that sickening pop in the ears, not only did I feel anxious, but this feeling of "Holiday's over you bastard, get your act together because it's time for serious mugging!". Something like that.

For the first time, the 3-hour trip didn't seem long, too, mainly because I was seated beside a friendly and talkative Pinay girl who was to fly for Israel after a short layover in Singapore, and airplane food is always nice. Yummy white wine and orange juice too. Made me forget my usual plane-ride headache. And unlike my last trip back to Changi Airport, I didn't get lost anymore when claiming my baggage. Hah.

Singapore's a nice place. It's nice to see everything still normal here. The same bright city lights, the same bustling metropolis lined by trees and greenery, the same messy hostel room, the same foreigner neighbors and same Pinoy group (although Robs is sporting a new haircut now..thank God. Looks great on him, really. No more afro! Haha!)

I'm pleased at the familiarity that has greeted me when I arrived, and I hope that you Singapore will be good to me this semester. I had a funny feeling it was a little hostile to me last year. Haha, memories.

Speaking of last year, my blog's turning one year old very soon! New template? That's a thought. ;)



Music of the moment: Joss Stone's Super Duper Love
Currently feeling lazy to unpack my stuff just yet. Soon!

The right approach

The right approach

Thanks to the infamous CORS module-bidding system of NUS, I've experienced the wonders that the right approach can do in appealing for a module. The module I want to take this sem is ST2131: Probability, and strictly speaking, I'm not licensed to take it just yet.


Approach #1: The Polite I-Really-Need-It-Pleeeeease Approach

Appeal No : 200520033172
Appeal Type : Waiver of Module Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Module : ST2131 - PROBABILITY
Appeal Reason : I wish to apply for Computational Finance after my first year, and to do this I must take ST2131 (Probability) this sem. I mistakenly did not take the prerequisite, MA1102R (Calculus), in Sem 1 because I wrongly thought that ST1131 will suffice. In any case, I have already taken both MA1301 and MA1306 (in a bridging course last year), which also discuss Calculus. May I request that I take MA1102R and ST2131 concurrently then? Thank you.

Approve Authority : -
Appeal Result : APPEAL NOT APPROVED

_____


At this point I was about to give up on it, but Arthur suggested I re-appeal and try a different approach. (Angas, btw, means a bit cocky.)
_____


Approach #2: The Angas Approach

Appeal No : 200520034814
Appeal Type : Waiver of Module Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Module : ST2131 - PROBABILITY
Appeal Reason : I have taken MA1306 so i think i have the necessary knowledge to take up ST2131. I request that I be able to take MA1102R and ST2131 as co-requisites. After all, MA1306 and MA1102R preclude each other. This is also so I can read the qualifying modules to apply for Computational Finance after this semester. Thanks.

Approve Authority : Prof Chua Tin Chiu
Appeal Result : APPEAL APPROVED

***

I'm ecstatic my appeal was approved! And although this promises to be a killer module, I'm glad I still have a shot at Computational Finance as ST2131 is one of the qualifying modules. Thanks a lot to Arthur for suggesting I re-appeal and try his angas approach!

Decisions, decisions

Decisions, decisions

Yey, new year's finally here!

So there I was, in my Lola S's place, waiting for the clock to strike midnight, but oddly, I didn't feel so excited about the new year. I remember being so excited about the new year, that I repeatedly practised writing the numeral of the new year on imaginary paper, just so I wouldn't commit those silly errors in actual writing. But this time, it was more of a surprise of sorts, with me feeling, "Oh, is it New Year already?"

Must be the news. Let's pray for the tsunami victims. Depresses the hell out of me when I think about it. And must be because of too much thinking too, about stuff.

Anyway, I just came from Kidapawan, from a quick but nice visit to my Lola C's place, and now I'm back online to bid for my modules. It's a monster, this CORS system of NUS, but so far I'm not getting too lost just yet. Thanks to Arthur for helping me around.

I realize that I have some major decisions to make regarding my course in NUS. I thought the battle was between Statistics and Computational Finance, and for a while I thought Statistics had won, but now I'm seeing a whole lot of options once again. So Computational Finance MIGHT just open its doors to me (that is if the CF Department grants my request to take St2131: Probability this sem) , and of course Statistics is always an option (I've come to like it). But suddenly this minor in English Studies is coming into the picture (yey), my Dad's suggestion to take up something business-related to complement the "more academic rather than practical" Stats has made me reconsider a bit too, and with Arthur's suggestion, I might just consider jacking up my Statistics into Statistics with concentration in Biostatistics.

Lotta mumbo jumbo there. I'm still thinking about it. And as Five for Fighting say, I don't know where I'm going yet, but I sure am getting there. Precisely!



Music of the Moment: Five for Fighting's Easy Tonight
Currently feeling hungry! Must get home quick! :D