September
I sit in my chair here in my room and stare at my calendar. I am, again, like so many times before, swamped.
Sometimes I wish there was more of me to go around: someone to do read up on my intensive Statistics lessons, someone to read up on Calculus, someone to do my stuff for the English group project, someone to go to CFA (for a good two hours) and photocopy hundreds of pages of scores for the Choir, someone to be Bass SL for KR Choir and fix the pitching and timing of the rest of the bassos.
And it's supposed to be mid-term break.
Anyway, it's supposed to be a happy September because, well, it's unofficially Christmas season already in the Philippines, and the going-home part will be soon! But yeah, before the going-home comes the crazy-mugging and taking-tests-and-exams part, so it's... well, like that lor. Sigh.
In other news, I got Dad his stylus already! He lost the stylus for his PDA, so finally I found a replacement. Our Managerial Econs homework is spankin' good! Great teammates I have. There's considerable progress in my Linguistics group project, and yep it's looking very nice. Ivy's Mom and a few relatives are here, and since they'll mostly be eating out, she gave me her other matric card for hall meals! Coolness.. double the food, double the fun (or fat)!
There's this thought hovering in my head actually. Something's got to give. I know I have to give up something soon.. by next sem or next year maybe? My plans of taking two minors (in Business and English Studies) is rather ambitious to the point of well, suicide, but I know it can be done. Then again, I hadn't anticipated ST2132 to be too much of a killer too.. what more the higher-level modules?
Anyway, I'm glad I'm still alive and awake and up and running. I am a happy guy, I like to think, and as long as I have good friends and a lurrrving family, I can't ask for much else. And oh yeah, thanks to Ferron and Nestor for the nice shirt they bought me from Thailand! Nice! Now to corner Karen and ask what treats she brought me from Indonesia haha..
OK, back to dork mode. Maybe I should follow Nirorn who has made a home out of the Hon Sui Sen Library, or Korinna to Nerdsville.
Studying is fun. Studying is fun. Studying is fun. Hopefully if we say it long enough, it will be true. But really, studying is fun.
Don't Look Back in Anger
Don't Look Back in Anger
Ahh it's a nice Sunday in Singapore, and especially because the NUS VPN connection is finally up! That means I can surf the internet again. Yesterday afternoon and last night it was down, and all i had access to was the IVLE (the Student Workspace essentially), and NUS sites (email excluded), and surprisingly Yahoo Messenger. And nothing else! I was almost tempted to clean my room (again) and study. Hehe.
* * *
I must comment on my eventful Thursday night, as it was a confrontation session I've never had (with a Singaporean at least). The first time I was fuming mad, and in front of people I respect and work with (thank God it was just the few members of the EXCO.. although I think a few choir members who were slow to leave Function Room 5 caught my preliminary mini-outburst). I don't know how many from the Choir read this space (maybe I should remove the link to this blog in the choir forum), but in the end, although I still feel I had every reason to justify my outburst ("paroxysm" as my new fellow basso Joel tells me.. thanks btw), I eventually think I ended up being the "sorer" one. I think I just blew away what dignity I had, by appearing like a whiney and reactive and insecure and unprofessional troublemaker. At least that's what I think, although my friends tell me it's okay, it happens, and people still love me just the way I am, and all. Thanks, you all. But yeah, it's a blow to the ego. Self-propelled ego-buster.
I am still disturbed. Because, as far as I was concerned, it was an isolated incident that launched me into this. But no, for this person tells me I have always been working counter to her. What?! Now where did that come from? No justification to support the claim too. I can hardly feel my own self getting a real say in the EXCO stuff, and now this? As far as I'm concerned, I can be substituted for a photocopier, and perhaps a messenger with an IQ of 80.
Last thing: mean what you say. Don't apologize if you don't mean it. An apology that comes only because it seems like the natural and expected thing to do is worthless. And if you aren't open to being at least a notch higher than civil the next occasion we meet, forget it.
* * *
Thanks for all the concern everybody. My dad says anger clouds judgment, and yeah that's true. I'll also try to be less reactive next time. But just don't send me inflammatory SMSes that hit below the belt. SMS miscommunication may have been a factor, yes, partly, but since you brought up that bit about me "always being" against you, now I can see this goes much deeper than it seems.
Okay, I'm letting this issue drop. Don't look back in anger, goes the Oasis song. It's just people, and this happens when work has to be done and there are too many supposedly "in-charge".
Be who you are and say what you feel; those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Thanks, Dr Seuss.
Ahh it's a nice Sunday in Singapore, and especially because the NUS VPN connection is finally up! That means I can surf the internet again. Yesterday afternoon and last night it was down, and all i had access to was the IVLE (the Student Workspace essentially), and NUS sites (email excluded), and surprisingly Yahoo Messenger. And nothing else! I was almost tempted to clean my room (again) and study. Hehe.
* * *
I must comment on my eventful Thursday night, as it was a confrontation session I've never had (with a Singaporean at least). The first time I was fuming mad, and in front of people I respect and work with (thank God it was just the few members of the EXCO.. although I think a few choir members who were slow to leave Function Room 5 caught my preliminary mini-outburst). I don't know how many from the Choir read this space (maybe I should remove the link to this blog in the choir forum), but in the end, although I still feel I had every reason to justify my outburst ("paroxysm" as my new fellow basso Joel tells me.. thanks btw), I eventually think I ended up being the "sorer" one. I think I just blew away what dignity I had, by appearing like a whiney and reactive and insecure and unprofessional troublemaker. At least that's what I think, although my friends tell me it's okay, it happens, and people still love me just the way I am, and all. Thanks, you all. But yeah, it's a blow to the ego. Self-propelled ego-buster.
I am still disturbed. Because, as far as I was concerned, it was an isolated incident that launched me into this. But no, for this person tells me I have always been working counter to her. What?! Now where did that come from? No justification to support the claim too. I can hardly feel my own self getting a real say in the EXCO stuff, and now this? As far as I'm concerned, I can be substituted for a photocopier, and perhaps a messenger with an IQ of 80.
Last thing: mean what you say. Don't apologize if you don't mean it. An apology that comes only because it seems like the natural and expected thing to do is worthless. And if you aren't open to being at least a notch higher than civil the next occasion we meet, forget it.
* * *
Thanks for all the concern everybody. My dad says anger clouds judgment, and yeah that's true. I'll also try to be less reactive next time. But just don't send me inflammatory SMSes that hit below the belt. SMS miscommunication may have been a factor, yes, partly, but since you brought up that bit about me "always being" against you, now I can see this goes much deeper than it seems.
Okay, I'm letting this issue drop. Don't look back in anger, goes the Oasis song. It's just people, and this happens when work has to be done and there are too many supposedly "in-charge".
Be who you are and say what you feel; those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Thanks, Dr Seuss.
@#$%#$%*!
@#$%#$%*!
It's not ffffing fun anymore. You, you should get your act together and not make me feel fucking useless. I know my job scope, you know, so stop blurring the edges because here I take control. And don't give me this don't-tell-me-what-i-should-or-shouldn't-do-because-my-own-father-doesn't-do-that crap. That's a low blow, and I'll make sure I speak my mind to you tonight, since you're not open to discussing whatever SMS miscommunication problems nor answering any of my well-intentioned questions.
Now to print my notes, skip a learning strategies seminar and get mugging for my linguistics test tomorrow. I am royally pissed.
Breathe in Jose. Now breathe the fuck out. And no I shall not apologize for any vulgarity in this post.
It's not ffffing fun anymore. You, you should get your act together and not make me feel fucking useless. I know my job scope, you know, so stop blurring the edges because here I take control. And don't give me this don't-tell-me-what-i-should-or-shouldn't-do-because-my-own-father-doesn't-do-that crap. That's a low blow, and I'll make sure I speak my mind to you tonight, since you're not open to discussing whatever SMS miscommunication problems nor answering any of my well-intentioned questions.
Now to print my notes, skip a learning strategies seminar and get mugging for my linguistics test tomorrow. I am royally pissed.
Breathe in Jose. Now breathe the fuck out. And no I shall not apologize for any vulgarity in this post.
Peace of mind
Peace of mind
It's amazing what a good afternoon nap can do. And a good supper too after a good sectional session with the basses of KR Choir. And that after a productive time at my EL1101E tutorial and BSP1005 case discussion tutorial (yeah Team Vernon Smith rocks!).
Lots coming up next week, and I'm really swamped, but I think I've managed to condition myself to well, delay worrying about them, and relax once in a while.
I've got up-to-date information about the grisly chop-chop murder of a Filipina maid by a Filipina maid here in Singapore, and still I cringe whenever I read about it, but yeah, happy thoughts happy thoughts.
Speaking of happy thoughts, sometimes I just think of Czech Republic.
And yep, that's my current wallpaper too.
I wanna go to Europe again! And this time, definitely with a Schengen Visa. Hahaha. Those who know me would remember my brush with the Italian Embassy, but yeah that's over, and that doesn't make me like Europe less.
Oh yeah, belated happy birthday to one of my closest friends, Jacques. This guy's terrific, really, and he's the closest thing I have to a little bro. Happy 16th birthday again, Jacko, and I hope you settle all the issues you're currently dealing with. All my good vibes too you.
Coolness.. Emoticons in my blog! Now on to my ST2137 programming assignment and my Calculus tutorial! Midterm break soon!
Music of the moment: Jack Johnson's Better Together
Currently feeling calm.
It's amazing what a good afternoon nap can do. And a good supper too after a good sectional session with the basses of KR Choir. And that after a productive time at my EL1101E tutorial and BSP1005 case discussion tutorial (yeah Team Vernon Smith rocks!).
Lots coming up next week, and I'm really swamped, but I think I've managed to condition myself to well, delay worrying about them, and relax once in a while.
I've got up-to-date information about the grisly chop-chop murder of a Filipina maid by a Filipina maid here in Singapore, and still I cringe whenever I read about it, but yeah, happy thoughts happy thoughts.
Speaking of happy thoughts, sometimes I just think of Czech Republic.
And yep, that's my current wallpaper too.
I wanna go to Europe again! And this time, definitely with a Schengen Visa. Hahaha. Those who know me would remember my brush with the Italian Embassy, but yeah that's over, and that doesn't make me like Europe less.
Oh yeah, belated happy birthday to one of my closest friends, Jacques. This guy's terrific, really, and he's the closest thing I have to a little bro. Happy 16th birthday again, Jacko, and I hope you settle all the issues you're currently dealing with. All my good vibes too you.
Coolness.. Emoticons in my blog! Now on to my ST2137 programming assignment and my Calculus tutorial! Midterm break soon!
Music of the moment: Jack Johnson's Better Together
Currently feeling calm.
Keep it together
A lot of things are threatening to break me apart: dissolve my sanity, try my patience and resolve, test my mental and emotional limits, and push my stamina and strength to the edge.
Thank God for my family, friends, my blog, MSN, the internet, church (happy silver jubilee to the Church of the Holy Cross) and music.
Thanks to Swiss Miss too, this yummy cocoa milk chocolate drink. I hope it has caffeine, as Karen says it does. I've recently (and unknowingly) been a coffee-holic, and I think I'm hooked.
Ahh life is good and I am loved by the people who matter to me. Thanks, you all.
* * *
I don't know why I'm feeling this stressed. Sure I have a test at 8am later, and waking up in time is gonna be a challenge, but hmm.. something tells me my worry-meter is working overtime. Prolly another case of "much ado about nothing".
But then again, I really should feel stressed. I have LOTS up ahead, and I'm barely prepared. Being in the university is a tough job, man.
Alrighty, time to hit the sack. Goodnight world.
A lot of things are threatening to break me apart: dissolve my sanity, try my patience and resolve, test my mental and emotional limits, and push my stamina and strength to the edge.
Thank God for my family, friends, my blog, MSN, the internet, church (happy silver jubilee to the Church of the Holy Cross) and music.
Thanks to Swiss Miss too, this yummy cocoa milk chocolate drink. I hope it has caffeine, as Karen says it does. I've recently (and unknowingly) been a coffee-holic, and I think I'm hooked.
Ahh life is good and I am loved by the people who matter to me. Thanks, you all.
* * *
I don't know why I'm feeling this stressed. Sure I have a test at 8am later, and waking up in time is gonna be a challenge, but hmm.. something tells me my worry-meter is working overtime. Prolly another case of "much ado about nothing".
But then again, I really should feel stressed. I have LOTS up ahead, and I'm barely prepared. Being in the university is a tough job, man.
Alrighty, time to hit the sack. Goodnight world.
All right
All right
Aww.. to get an encouraging email from my mom is one thing, but to get TWO encouraging emails (the second asking me to seek medical help), a message from Dad who even tried to call me (not enough credits right now to answer it sorry) to ask how I am, and some nice comments from sister Kai in a span of two days is a bit strange. Oh no. Is it what I fear it is?
Hehe thanks a lot, you family. :D Big hug! BUT really, I'm okay. Hehe, I'm beginning to think the previous post led you to think I was severely ill or mentally distressed (but actually..haha).
Anyway, I thought I'd clear the whole thing before my family shows up at my doorstep to see how I am. But that wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it? XD
Ahh.. turns out this post is also the perfect excuse to use Blogger's image service. Aha! It actually works quite nicely. Hmm.. is this gonna give my usual provider Photobucket a run for its money? Then again, what usual provider? Hehe yep the posts have been devoid of photos for the longest time, but still, the design and all the nice-looking stuff are still powered by Photobucket. :)
This photo of the four of us was taken (using the now-spoilt webcam) more than two years ago, before I ever set foot on Singapore soil (or pavement, for that matter). Nice! Next time I'll upload more photos (oh yeah including those from Czech!) to make this a more visually-friendly blog.
Thanks again Ma, Dad and Kai. Miss you all.
Aww.. to get an encouraging email from my mom is one thing, but to get TWO encouraging emails (the second asking me to seek medical help), a message from Dad who even tried to call me (not enough credits right now to answer it sorry) to ask how I am, and some nice comments from sister Kai in a span of two days is a bit strange. Oh no. Is it what I fear it is?
Hehe thanks a lot, you family. :D Big hug! BUT really, I'm okay. Hehe, I'm beginning to think the previous post led you to think I was severely ill or mentally distressed (but actually..haha).
Anyway, I thought I'd clear the whole thing before my family shows up at my doorstep to see how I am. But that wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it? XDAhh.. turns out this post is also the perfect excuse to use Blogger's image service. Aha! It actually works quite nicely. Hmm.. is this gonna give my usual provider Photobucket a run for its money? Then again, what usual provider? Hehe yep the posts have been devoid of photos for the longest time, but still, the design and all the nice-looking stuff are still powered by Photobucket. :)
This photo of the four of us was taken (using the now-spoilt webcam) more than two years ago, before I ever set foot on Singapore soil (or pavement, for that matter). Nice! Next time I'll upload more photos (oh yeah including those from Czech!) to make this a more visually-friendly blog.
Thanks again Ma, Dad and Kai. Miss you all.
Chest Pains
Chest Pains
Don't worry, Ma, I'm okay.:D Physically at least.
Lately my chest pains have been more and more frequent. They usually occur during lectures and tutorials.
Dr Lim of my Mathematical Statistics class, for example, goes on and on with his lecture, and, as I scribble down his complex and rather abstract derivations of statistical distributions, I feel a tightening in my chest. He later hands out a take-home assignment due on Wednesday, and as I stare at the paper, I realize I am stumped.. and there go the chest pains again. Dr Wu of my Advanced Calculus class and his French teaching assistant Jelena give me a similar sensation, especially when they say, in both the lecture and tutorial, very easy.. very basic elementary stuff. Dr Biman of my Computer Aided Data Analysis class requires us to learn two statistical softwares, SAS and R, and once remarked to the class (who mistakenly thought we were to do the tutorial in class and not beforehand), How can you do the difficult stuff if you can't do the simple questions? Again, that funny feeling.
I am so behind already. Lord please give me the strength and patience and perseverance to plow through the notes and readings I am supposed to clear.
God helps those who help themselves.
Don't worry, Ma, I'm okay.:D Physically at least.
Lately my chest pains have been more and more frequent. They usually occur during lectures and tutorials.
Dr Lim of my Mathematical Statistics class, for example, goes on and on with his lecture, and, as I scribble down his complex and rather abstract derivations of statistical distributions, I feel a tightening in my chest. He later hands out a take-home assignment due on Wednesday, and as I stare at the paper, I realize I am stumped.. and there go the chest pains again. Dr Wu of my Advanced Calculus class and his French teaching assistant Jelena give me a similar sensation, especially when they say, in both the lecture and tutorial, very easy.. very basic elementary stuff. Dr Biman of my Computer Aided Data Analysis class requires us to learn two statistical softwares, SAS and R, and once remarked to the class (who mistakenly thought we were to do the tutorial in class and not beforehand), How can you do the difficult stuff if you can't do the simple questions? Again, that funny feeling.
I am so behind already. Lord please give me the strength and patience and perseverance to plow through the notes and readings I am supposed to clear.
God helps those who help themselves.
Stressful times.
But come on, you kick ass, Joseph. So stop whining and continue mugging.
Yeah.
Now hopefully my handphone wakes me up on time tomorrow.. so I can catch my Managerial Econs groupmates at Far East Plaza at 10AM for case discussion..
:S
But come on, you kick ass, Joseph. So stop whining and continue mugging.
Yeah.
Now hopefully my handphone wakes me up on time tomorrow.. so I can catch my Managerial Econs groupmates at Far East Plaza at 10AM for case discussion..
:S
Lalala
Lalala
I wanted to post this entry, however blah it is, sooner, if only to get rid of that blah-er post from being the banner post of sorts. Then again, this is another of those blah posts, so yeah, nothing too groundbreaking has happened lately.
Ooh.. but actually there is something blogworthy. And that is the prospect of having my first job ever! Nestor had kindly referred me to this professor teaching Professional Communication from the English Language department, Dr. Sadorra, and I met up with her yesterday afternoon. Tada! An offer to become a student assistant. Basically we'll just have to go for her classes and observe her students while they examine cases related to the workplace, and how they come up with some written response to their boss or colleague or whoever, before the studes actually proceed to the writing activity. It's not an amazing super job, but it sounds good to me actually. Plus, the classes might be in the global classroom, a place I've never been into before, but it promises to be cool, since it's going to have sound recorders and video cameras all over the place. Dr. Sadorra apparently believes in pushing her subject to the next level, as she really wants a detailed documentation of how the students do their tasks, even their facial expressions and the flow of their discussion, as she seeks to deviate from the usual imagine-you-were-a-boss kind of individual tasks. And oh yeah, Dr. Sadorra is a Filipino as well. Let's see how my job (if it pushes through at all) goes in a few weeks.
In other news, two of my very dear friends aren't feeling too good lately. Hope you both are better now, Jack and Dea. I wish I could do something.
Back in Kent Ridge Hall in Singapore, it's Kevin My Neighbor's birthday today! Happy happy birthday! Seriously, he's one of the nicest guys around, very pleasant and cool. And he does rock climbing! The new head of the NUS Climbing team for this schoolyear in fact. And aww.. Grace threw him a good party at midnight awhile ago. Such a cute couple! Thanks for the yummy chocolate cake (tasted like chocolate ice cream cake!) and the pizza! And cool, for the first time in all my take-out pizza history in Singapore, it wasn't Canadian pizza! But Pizza Hut! Hehe. Well, not that Canadian pizza is bad (I love it in fact), but yeah, here's something new! (Well, only because Canadian pizza wasn't available too, I learned.. haha) It was a small party with close friends and neighbors (first-floor guys), and it was one big laughtrip.
Oh yeah, Kent Ridge Road Race yesterday! I joined last year, and seriously, it was the most exhausting time of my entire life. :D Physically, at least. The route is from the SRC carpark, down the slope of Clementi road, back towards SDE, up the slope passing the Central Library and Yusof Ishak House, and back to the carpark. A good 2.2K too. Last year, I stupidly exhausted all my energy in the downward part, and when it came to the steep upward slope, I thought I was gonna pass out and die. But yeah, I managed to keep a, well, fairly decent (in terms of my physical fitness status) rank. Anyway, this year I didn't run as I had a long day and I came from Clementi to buy a Statistics book. I decided to drop by the race at 6:30PM to cheer them on and help out the Sports Management Unit. Coolness, D block won BOTH guys and girls category! Woohooo go D-block! That, considering many of last year's fastest runners were not present. This new guy ZR (I can't make out his Chinese name), set a new record for KR ever, finishing the course in about 7 minutes. To finish it in 9 minutes is already amazlingly fast already, and this guy was supposedly sick yesterday! Many of the Top 11 slots were from D-block too, including 2nd and 3rd places grabbed by Nepalese brothers Nara and Block Head Basu. Cool cool.
Back to my favorite subject (me of course), I'm tired already from schoolwork, and I'm getting lost in lectures and tutorials already. Time to switch on Dork mode!
Really, this time I mean it. :)
Music of the moment: Texas' When We Are Together
Currently feeling high on coffee.
I wanted to post this entry, however blah it is, sooner, if only to get rid of that blah-er post from being the banner post of sorts. Then again, this is another of those blah posts, so yeah, nothing too groundbreaking has happened lately.
Ooh.. but actually there is something blogworthy. And that is the prospect of having my first job ever! Nestor had kindly referred me to this professor teaching Professional Communication from the English Language department, Dr. Sadorra, and I met up with her yesterday afternoon. Tada! An offer to become a student assistant. Basically we'll just have to go for her classes and observe her students while they examine cases related to the workplace, and how they come up with some written response to their boss or colleague or whoever, before the studes actually proceed to the writing activity. It's not an amazing super job, but it sounds good to me actually. Plus, the classes might be in the global classroom, a place I've never been into before, but it promises to be cool, since it's going to have sound recorders and video cameras all over the place. Dr. Sadorra apparently believes in pushing her subject to the next level, as she really wants a detailed documentation of how the students do their tasks, even their facial expressions and the flow of their discussion, as she seeks to deviate from the usual imagine-you-were-a-boss kind of individual tasks. And oh yeah, Dr. Sadorra is a Filipino as well. Let's see how my job (if it pushes through at all) goes in a few weeks.
In other news, two of my very dear friends aren't feeling too good lately. Hope you both are better now, Jack and Dea. I wish I could do something.
Back in Kent Ridge Hall in Singapore, it's Kevin My Neighbor's birthday today! Happy happy birthday! Seriously, he's one of the nicest guys around, very pleasant and cool. And he does rock climbing! The new head of the NUS Climbing team for this schoolyear in fact. And aww.. Grace threw him a good party at midnight awhile ago. Such a cute couple! Thanks for the yummy chocolate cake (tasted like chocolate ice cream cake!) and the pizza! And cool, for the first time in all my take-out pizza history in Singapore, it wasn't Canadian pizza! But Pizza Hut! Hehe. Well, not that Canadian pizza is bad (I love it in fact), but yeah, here's something new! (Well, only because Canadian pizza wasn't available too, I learned.. haha) It was a small party with close friends and neighbors (first-floor guys), and it was one big laughtrip.
Oh yeah, Kent Ridge Road Race yesterday! I joined last year, and seriously, it was the most exhausting time of my entire life. :D Physically, at least. The route is from the SRC carpark, down the slope of Clementi road, back towards SDE, up the slope passing the Central Library and Yusof Ishak House, and back to the carpark. A good 2.2K too. Last year, I stupidly exhausted all my energy in the downward part, and when it came to the steep upward slope, I thought I was gonna pass out and die. But yeah, I managed to keep a, well, fairly decent (in terms of my physical fitness status) rank. Anyway, this year I didn't run as I had a long day and I came from Clementi to buy a Statistics book. I decided to drop by the race at 6:30PM to cheer them on and help out the Sports Management Unit. Coolness, D block won BOTH guys and girls category! Woohooo go D-block! That, considering many of last year's fastest runners were not present. This new guy ZR (I can't make out his Chinese name), set a new record for KR ever, finishing the course in about 7 minutes. To finish it in 9 minutes is already amazlingly fast already, and this guy was supposedly sick yesterday! Many of the Top 11 slots were from D-block too, including 2nd and 3rd places grabbed by Nepalese brothers Nara and Block Head Basu. Cool cool.
Back to my favorite subject (me of course), I'm tired already from schoolwork, and I'm getting lost in lectures and tutorials already. Time to switch on Dork mode!
Really, this time I mean it. :)
Music of the moment: Texas' When We Are Together
Currently feeling high on coffee.
Hmm.
HMM.
Today was a strange day. I thought it was strange in a good way, since it was a surprisingly good day to accidentally meet up with random friends. Really, I was like, hey!, hello!, how are ya!, hey you!, and on the receiving end of the same as I was walking to and from class, in the corridors, in the bus, at the bus stop, at the canteen. It's great to meet old and new friends around, really, and unexpectedly too, so that's always a nice treat. For a while there I began to wonder if this was a divine sign that indicated something. Something good to perk up my spirits for the strangeness of the day apparently.
It became stranger as the day progressed, me being stressed and sleep-deprived, getting lost in lectures, skipping dinner and consequently getting irritable in choir, and suddenly realizing I have killer tutorials the next day and a take-home calculus exam that I couldn't solve.
But yeah it was okay. I guess.
At around 11PM, after my Indonesian friend Johni (formerly from KR and now with NUS Choir) gave me a calculus crash course, I went back to hall from PGP, ready to plop onto the bed to take a small nap before I finish my calculus take-home exam. I decided to surf the net a bit first, and then it hit me.
Yeah, sometimes life sucks, and I can't blame anyone else but me. Don't ask.
Music of the moment: Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends
Currently feeling the need to relax and destress.
Today was a strange day. I thought it was strange in a good way, since it was a surprisingly good day to accidentally meet up with random friends. Really, I was like, hey!, hello!, how are ya!, hey you!, and on the receiving end of the same as I was walking to and from class, in the corridors, in the bus, at the bus stop, at the canteen. It's great to meet old and new friends around, really, and unexpectedly too, so that's always a nice treat. For a while there I began to wonder if this was a divine sign that indicated something. Something good to perk up my spirits for the strangeness of the day apparently.
It became stranger as the day progressed, me being stressed and sleep-deprived, getting lost in lectures, skipping dinner and consequently getting irritable in choir, and suddenly realizing I have killer tutorials the next day and a take-home calculus exam that I couldn't solve.
But yeah it was okay. I guess.
At around 11PM, after my Indonesian friend Johni (formerly from KR and now with NUS Choir) gave me a calculus crash course, I went back to hall from PGP, ready to plop onto the bed to take a small nap before I finish my calculus take-home exam. I decided to surf the net a bit first, and then it hit me.
Yeah, sometimes life sucks, and I can't blame anyone else but me. Don't ask.
Music of the moment: Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends
Currently feeling the need to relax and destress.
Too much, too soon
Too much, too soon
OK, so this is quite a happening semester. This early, I'm already busy and loaded! And still I wanna do a bit more! Let's just make sure I don't fall into that spread-self-too-thin trap again ya?
This weekend is blogworthy actually, but I'm just too tired to blog it. And I have 8AM class later too! But yeah, I have to mark them here so that this blog may chronicle (although incompletely, I must stress) the days and months and years of my life.
So it was the Timeless Classics performance. We at NUS Choir performed with GENUS (NUS Guitar Ensemble), NUS Piano Ensemble, NUS Wind Symphony, and NUS Symphony Orchestra. - Details to HOPEFULLY follow -
Afterwards was a small after-party with terrific food including tasty tasty salmon, tarts with cheese and tarts with strawberries and grapes and kiwi, and chocolate eclairs. The most interesting of the free food was the wine! There was yummy red wine and yummier white wine! I downed one red, then one white, and thought, "Cool these are good." I was feeling some sting in the head already, but I found myself drinking yet another glass of red wine, and another of the irresistable yummy white wine afterwards.
For a while I thought wine was okay, since, well, it wasn't beer! If I get tipsy, see, it's almost always on beer. It's not often anyway, because it's only during my few clubbing sessions (really, what's clubbing without some beer). Kurien (or Yi Yong, I can't recall) reminded me of the alcohol percentage in wine, and then I realized that, oh yeah.. this is the faster way to "drunkenhood".
I was feeling good actually, and it's always nice to have wine to celebrate an occasion. We pulled off the Timeless Classics pretty well despite the overwhelming obstacles, and yeah, we were relieved it was finally over. And yeah, happy people just wanna celebrate and have fun. Huai Zhi asked if I was okay, and I told him I needed it anyway. I was feeling some burnout from school and other stuff already, and I needed to relax and destress.
Then I suddenly got a bit tipsy, and suddenly everyone thought I was drunk. I went to great lengths to prove I wasn't, but yeah, I think they didn't believe me. I'm naturally a bit weird sometimes, and I think my weirdness was rather sharpened that night. Hehe. Plus the fact that I was too defensive and out to prove I wasn't drunk probably didn't help.
Some of us went home already, but a good nine of us, the last to leave the yummy foodfest, suddenly decided to go for KTV. Haha karaoke baby! I've NEVER been in any KTV before, although I know for a fact that quite a number of choir people go to KTV places for fun. Walau, and so we dumped our stuff in Iris' room in Raffles Hall, then headed to Marina Square. It was 11:30PM when we arrived at K-Box, and we were singing all the way till closing time at 4AM! Cool, I can now manage to sing in KTV. It's a little known fact that singing alone with the mic scares me. Terrifies me even. :D But yeah, I was singing like I've been doing it all my life. Maybe I'm getting chummy chummy with my choir friends too much! Which is great, really. :D And oh yeah, I realized there are so many nice Chinese songs! I wish I could make sense of it all really, and learn the language. My occasional karaoke partner and fellow basso Yi Yong nearly totally lost his voice afterwards. And oh yeah, it's a bit sad he'll be "taking time off" of choir this year. He doesn't seem to be keen on talking about it, but good luck to him just the same with the Raffles Hall stuff (JCRC I heard).
At 4am, we decided to walk through the Esplanade area and the Merlion and the bayside area towards this big hawker center Lau Pa Sat. There we ate early breakfasts and joked around, while waiting for the morning bus. I reached hall at 7:30AM, took a shower, and plopped on the bed. After two hours I had to wake up to catch the bus for the 10:30 mass. Lunch at KFC, then I went ahead of the Pinoys since I desperately needed sleep.
Exciting Sepak Takraw match in the evening, and the first KR Choir meeting tonight at 9PM. Good stuff, although now it's past 1:30AM, and I have an 8AM class tomorrow!
It would be nice to drink more white wine though. Darn, come to think of it, it's embarrassing to be tipsy and *appear* drunk after only 4 wineglasses! Haha, I guess Kurien's not a good benchmark for drunkenness since I'll always pale in comparison. Hehe.
Hope I'm not late for class later! And dammit, I thought this shouldn't be a long entry!
OK, so this is quite a happening semester. This early, I'm already busy and loaded! And still I wanna do a bit more! Let's just make sure I don't fall into that spread-self-too-thin trap again ya?
This weekend is blogworthy actually, but I'm just too tired to blog it. And I have 8AM class later too! But yeah, I have to mark them here so that this blog may chronicle (although incompletely, I must stress) the days and months and years of my life.
So it was the Timeless Classics performance. We at NUS Choir performed with GENUS (NUS Guitar Ensemble), NUS Piano Ensemble, NUS Wind Symphony, and NUS Symphony Orchestra. - Details to HOPEFULLY follow -
Afterwards was a small after-party with terrific food including tasty tasty salmon, tarts with cheese and tarts with strawberries and grapes and kiwi, and chocolate eclairs. The most interesting of the free food was the wine! There was yummy red wine and yummier white wine! I downed one red, then one white, and thought, "Cool these are good." I was feeling some sting in the head already, but I found myself drinking yet another glass of red wine, and another of the irresistable yummy white wine afterwards.
For a while I thought wine was okay, since, well, it wasn't beer! If I get tipsy, see, it's almost always on beer. It's not often anyway, because it's only during my few clubbing sessions (really, what's clubbing without some beer). Kurien (or Yi Yong, I can't recall) reminded me of the alcohol percentage in wine, and then I realized that, oh yeah.. this is the faster way to "drunkenhood".
I was feeling good actually, and it's always nice to have wine to celebrate an occasion. We pulled off the Timeless Classics pretty well despite the overwhelming obstacles, and yeah, we were relieved it was finally over. And yeah, happy people just wanna celebrate and have fun. Huai Zhi asked if I was okay, and I told him I needed it anyway. I was feeling some burnout from school and other stuff already, and I needed to relax and destress.
Then I suddenly got a bit tipsy, and suddenly everyone thought I was drunk. I went to great lengths to prove I wasn't, but yeah, I think they didn't believe me. I'm naturally a bit weird sometimes, and I think my weirdness was rather sharpened that night. Hehe. Plus the fact that I was too defensive and out to prove I wasn't drunk probably didn't help.
Some of us went home already, but a good nine of us, the last to leave the yummy foodfest, suddenly decided to go for KTV. Haha karaoke baby! I've NEVER been in any KTV before, although I know for a fact that quite a number of choir people go to KTV places for fun. Walau, and so we dumped our stuff in Iris' room in Raffles Hall, then headed to Marina Square. It was 11:30PM when we arrived at K-Box, and we were singing all the way till closing time at 4AM! Cool, I can now manage to sing in KTV. It's a little known fact that singing alone with the mic scares me. Terrifies me even. :D But yeah, I was singing like I've been doing it all my life. Maybe I'm getting chummy chummy with my choir friends too much! Which is great, really. :D And oh yeah, I realized there are so many nice Chinese songs! I wish I could make sense of it all really, and learn the language. My occasional karaoke partner and fellow basso Yi Yong nearly totally lost his voice afterwards. And oh yeah, it's a bit sad he'll be "taking time off" of choir this year. He doesn't seem to be keen on talking about it, but good luck to him just the same with the Raffles Hall stuff (JCRC I heard).
At 4am, we decided to walk through the Esplanade area and the Merlion and the bayside area towards this big hawker center Lau Pa Sat. There we ate early breakfasts and joked around, while waiting for the morning bus. I reached hall at 7:30AM, took a shower, and plopped on the bed. After two hours I had to wake up to catch the bus for the 10:30 mass. Lunch at KFC, then I went ahead of the Pinoys since I desperately needed sleep.
Exciting Sepak Takraw match in the evening, and the first KR Choir meeting tonight at 9PM. Good stuff, although now it's past 1:30AM, and I have an 8AM class tomorrow!
It would be nice to drink more white wine though. Darn, come to think of it, it's embarrassing to be tipsy and *appear* drunk after only 4 wineglasses! Haha, I guess Kurien's not a good benchmark for drunkenness since I'll always pale in comparison. Hehe.
Hope I'm not late for class later! And dammit, I thought this shouldn't be a long entry!
Little Things
Little Things
I've posted this poem here a long time ago, but since it's one of my favorites I'll post it again. And perhaps yet again if I feel like it. :)
Never fails to make me smile. Like little things, really. It does not take much to make me happy. (It does not take much to sadden me too, but that's beside the point. :D )
Special thanks to my NUS Choirmates. Haha, FRIENDS I mean. I'll expound on that later. Luv ya people.
Oh, it's just the little, homey things,
The unobtrusive, friendly things,
The won't-you-let-me-help-you things
That make our pathway light.
And it's just the jolly, joking things,
The laugh-with-me-it's-funny things,
The never-mind-the-trouble things
That make our world seem bright.
For all the countless, famous things,
The wondrous, record-breaking things,
Those never-can-be-equalled things
That all the papers cite,
Can't match the little human things,
The just-because-I-like-you things,
Those oh-it's-simply-nothing things,
That make us happy quite.
So here's to all the little things,
The everyday-encountered things,
The smile-and-face-your-trouble things,
"Trust God to put it right."
The done-and-then-forgotten things,
The can't-you-see-I-love-you! things,
The hearty I-am-with-you! things
That make life worth the fight.
- Grace Haines
The unobtrusive, friendly things,
The won't-you-let-me-help-you things
That make our pathway light.
And it's just the jolly, joking things,
The laugh-with-me-it's-funny things,
The never-mind-the-trouble things
That make our world seem bright.
For all the countless, famous things,
The wondrous, record-breaking things,
Those never-can-be-equalled things
That all the papers cite,
Can't match the little human things,
The just-because-I-like-you things,
Those oh-it's-simply-nothing things,
That make us happy quite.
So here's to all the little things,
The everyday-encountered things,
The smile-and-face-your-trouble things,
"Trust God to put it right."
The done-and-then-forgotten things,
The can't-you-see-I-love-you! things,
The hearty I-am-with-you! things
That make life worth the fight.
- Grace Haines
I've posted this poem here a long time ago, but since it's one of my favorites I'll post it again. And perhaps yet again if I feel like it. :)
Never fails to make me smile. Like little things, really. It does not take much to make me happy. (It does not take much to sadden me too, but that's beside the point. :D )
Special thanks to my NUS Choirmates. Haha, FRIENDS I mean. I'll expound on that later. Luv ya people.
