just a little something that made me happy today :)
(free wallpaper from the HP Mini by Studio Tord Boontje. very sleek B)

AH uni life. Who hasn't blogged about it? If uni life is any indication of what it has done to me so far (my last post says: updated 21 weeks ago.), ok Sem 2, at least was shocking. Anyway I just didnt want to bore myself with the nitty gritty details and ramblings of Sem 2 life. Think three 8am days (ok I know other people might have it worse-)- shakeups to realise what I've done to myself. My dear body clock hasn't adjusted itself. So much for slacking in 2008. That's functionalism for you- you'll never know stability till you've got instability. Human nature? we just never learn.. tsk.

I should set my goals and announce it here since I'm quite reliant on the computer now. (Maybe that's why I don't feel any more intelligent- but is that another indication of what sem 2 has done to me? I really, don't feel any smarter. I'd expected myself to really enjoy what I'm learning- perhaps it's just the modules this sem- Methods of Social Research (longgg story. Pray I dont get any lower than a B). Or should I reconsider my major? Why don't I dare to take that leap forward and major in Lit? Or is Geog THE major for me? (I feel quite out of touch with geog now sigh) Ultimately links back to passion. I realise I'd never been bold enough. I have lots of interests (but yeah, jack of "all" trades master of none?). But I do like soci la. It made me feel quite good about myself actually. Like I can expose society for what it is. GAH. enough academic talk)

I'll be off to Korea in July. I shall get all fired up after exams.

AYE. Ok on to goal-setting. I shouldn't let my brain languish the way it is now.

1. READ. i so need more fiction.
2. WORK. $$$
3. Get immersed in graphic design and the aesthetics- Photoshop!!
4. MUSIC. my playlist is quite pathetic now.
5. Get a grip on my life and find out what it is I really want
6. PLAN well and choose better modules.

ah thanks to everyone who wished me well on the ninth of april. which was the first time i happened to spend the entire day rushing assignments rar.

in the meantime, 8am lecture tmr (the only lect for the day! and yet I have to wait (waiting has been very annoying this sem) for a meeting to rehearse our korean role play script. trust me my pronunciation and intonation still sound weird and foreign and honestly, I've had quite enough of korean this sem- time to focus on other subjects- but argh i have a tut on fri and have to keep practising oral!)

it's amazing if any trace of coherence is left in me :\

http://yellowgreen.tumblr.com/post/76032342/a-story-for-the-ages

whoaaa. tumblr's just amazing.

It's the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, marking the Marxist overthrow of the Russian government. Karl Marx once wrote that "religion is the opium of the people." What is the new opium of the people?- LJ Writer's Block, Nov 7 2008.

This is precious... I spot a potential exam question here! YIKES.

LJ's Writer's Block rocks. It spurs people to THINK.

What is seriously lacking in our society is room for imagination. And i mean REAL imagination. letting ideas, however absurd they may be, gain acceptance instead of sticking to the confines of a box. hello, thinking outside the box is not the solution. it's thinking outside the universe.

I quote: 'Putting the laws of time and plausiblity aside, picture a battle between the megalodon (a prehistoric shark with a six-foot jaw span) and a giant squid (reported to be the size of a school bus). Who would win?'

It's so poignant that I can't think of a reason, but first, I can't even decide who should win. I am undoubtedly a product of the system. I am now exercising the sociological imagination, viewing my historical biography in terms of latent societal forces which in turn shape me. I hope I'm not guilty of plagiarism, '저 학생이에요. 좀 깎아주세요!'

Aye, rationalist modes of thinking, really.. -wags finger-

we should revisit our childhood tales, shouldn't we? I quote again: 'A lot of characters in kids' books have it pretty good, from calling the start of the wild rumpus to ordering room service from their hotel suite. If you could be any character from children's literature, who would you be?'

I suffer from childhood amnesia (don't know if I'm using the term correctly, pardon me, I'm not a Psychology major). I can remember Matilda and Totto-chan. Dr Doolittle and a monkey from the omnibus thing. I'd even be the BFG (to answer the question), HO.

i've crapped way too much. [add 'crap'] may the professors read this and award me bonus marks for applying all my theories and knowledge to my personal life [/end 'crap'] HEHHHH.

AMAZING.

it's amazing how the right music at the right time never fails to stir up some vestige of.. long lost sentiment in me?

hahaha. my dear ol' brother, all of fifteen, is into taylor swift. so, are his music tastes converging with mine? i really hope. i copied some songs from his psp into this laptop, while i pray i win an ipod nano or something. heh. 30+ mb left in my 2gb zen neeon. too lazy (and not much time) to clear songs and organise things. and hoping for a reason to persuade myself to go down to an apple retailer to get a nano.

ANYWAY. it's been a long absence, right.. 3 months of SEM 1 have come to this. exam bells are ringing..

WHEW.

somewhere from soci (or cnm?!): our identities are in a constant flux

it's hard to tell all here.

and i HAVE to get up for church.

zzang. maybe i'll post more of my thoughts on today next time. i feel sad and regretful that i couldnt find the time in the past 3 months to update my own paper journal. oooooo.(l-uh yo! 울어요! ;

onward (oh man.. some of my old issues have been dug up once more. yes i have LOADS of issues to settle, j.) to 'MUGGING V. AY 2008-2009'. and beyond-

chin up!!!

Thanks, SU for commenting. A reminder again for me to figure REASONS WHY I SHOULD CONTINUE AN ONLINE JOURNAL. When I clearly prefer writing, physically, on paper. It's not environmentally friendly, I know, but consider the electricity we guzzle while charging our laptops.

My 'internship' has come to a close. Phew. It was exasperating at times, but on the whole, really amusing. I think I never fail to amuse myself. Ha sounds like self-gratification, but it's actually more humbling. I find myself "so car-toon" in many ways.. You know, sometimes you can't help the way you are.

Yesterday's meeting was quite comedic. I gave an excuse that I was 'dazed and drained' with uni admin matters on top of work, to make up for the moments my boss and I stared at each other blankly. Because really, sometimes you can look right through a person and when in a state of lazy calm, you can't and don't bother to think of ways to make conversation. And attempts at "humour" (it's clearly not dry humour because I would've at least felt it) fall completely flat. Thank goodness it didn't come from me, but it made the situation worse in a way, cos I didnt get the "joke" and gave weak smiles.

Is there a module which examines humour? Philosophy?

Nutello was good, but the glass was toooo tiny. And thanks to that small shot of expresso, I got a bit high thinking of the things I have to do today. PLAN TIMETABLE. catch up on my shows, quote and review. Have lots to catch up for Pushing Daisies.

Yeah maybe a reason to continue journalling here- to introduce the korean/ tvb shows I watch to my friends. But I really wouldn't want blogging to take up a chunk of my life.

On to planning timetable now.

When will I find the time to catch the Dark Knight?

Anyway, I've finally managed to catch wenyi online. When wanjoo returns, the four of us could meet up for the last time before the two fly off.

It really takes effort to catch up with friends. With some people, it doesn't take much, it just seems so effortless. I msg-ed sophia yesterday (OH. have to msg sy now) HMM. The dynamics of interpersonal relationships are so complex.

WHO'S GOING FOR O-WEEK??

rhetorical question. GAAAH.

What's the big deal with blogs?!

I've been a search engine for the past few weeks (actually it'll be a month soon) and honestly I'm getting quite sick of the hype. YesyesYES, social media's important, blogs are effective marketing strategies which reach out to individuals rather than mass marketing which will inevitably leave out niche audiences, BLAHBLAHBLAH. correct me if i'm wrong.

OK, I admit I have been quite cranky and got a screw/ wire loose somewhere.

I shall now attempt to sound more reasoned and rational. (Oh yeah, but isn't it ironic that I'm 'blogging' now? But note: this is LJ, thank goodness)

aiyaaa, methodology's just flawed.

So, since I'm not particularly excited about the whole thang, just interested, but more excited about the sociology, politics, etc underpinning it, i'm not passionate? oh yeah i think so.

:S

I have about a week left till school starts. That is the more exciting part. But till now, I haven't planned my timetable. Nor restored my emotional meter.

I feel like I need to go to the beach someday. Like maybe Chek Jawa.

See, SEE how random I am? I flit effortlessly from one topic to another.

For the sake of brevity, I have no wish to expatiate.

Tum de dum. I can't wait for Wednesday, for semi-freedom again.

before i start, hello ven! and hello to whoever's reading this.

i think i'm starting to suffer from insomnia again. thought i would've recovered after sunday!

and it was a rather queer sunday night. i actually watched charlie and the chocolate factory. uncovered some rather dark themes, imo. maybe they're not so dark after all.

i love the metaphor of crumbs. (unrelated to 'charlie')

thanks to my dear brother who'll try to catch any available match on ch22- espn? i left my interest in football way back in sec4. - i don't think i'll be able to readjust my sleep patterns. well i should strive to sleep by midnight then.

i've reverted to my old perverse hobby of blog stalking 'friends' from more than two years ago. perhaps this is the strange reason why my rather mute lj presence has been awakened..

aiyooooooo.

1.5 months left!! my alarm bells should start ringing.

anyway, this is what i need.



haha i'm not really that emotionally unstable..

aiicck! i'm getting hungry now!!

1. noodles. almost any type of noodles. preferably with toppings :P and maybe soup to go with it.
2. steamed fish. most species of fish, i don't think i'm allergic or particularly averse to any type.
3. chicken/ eggs?

i want to go on a food trail soon. and suddenly i'm craving char kway teow!! ohh, hai kee char kway teow

my stomach really is rumbling now..

we have gotten our results!

seems like a long wait, but when you're keeping yourself occupied other than merely staying at home (erhem), it doesn't seem that bad. and it feels like december again.

it's barely yesterday that we graduated.

oddly enough, i miss the track. as well as the daily sights on the way home- the balcony, gallery, ascension, the long climb up the pie bridge, and who could forget running all the way from the bus stop before morning assemblies?

of course i'll miss the library too, lt3 and 4 with lit lectures...

lit was a shocker. so we all really didn't screw it up and ms k was proud!

--

it's ironic that technology, technically helps us store our memories, but gradually i find myself losing my 'visual snapshot'. perhaps there're just too many moments to recall..

we survived jc life!

here's a toast.

( + )


{ SINGAPORE: Shakespeare classics are now available in a new art form Japanese manga.

UK—based book publisher, SelfMadeHero, decided to combine Shakespeare with Japanese manga to attract more young people to gain knowledge on the classics.

Emma Hayley, publisher at SelfMadeHero, said: "We thought manga was a perfect medium to portray Shakespeare’s plays because it’s a very cinematic medium. It’s more akin to performance than any other sort of graphic novel, and we felt that it’s a really dramatic medium as well.

"When you read a manga, the stories lift off the page and you can almost see the animated version. We thought this was an excellent way to get kids engaged."

And engaging them involves some hands—on coaching.

Harold Cheng, 3rd Year Digital Media Design student at Nanyang Polytechnic, said: "Usually, manga is quite Japanese orientated but now there is a sort of fusion with the European style, so it’s quite nice to look at."

But when it comes to drawing the characters, it is actually quite a challenge.

Paul Duffield, the manga artist behind "The Tempest", said Shakespeare’s plays have many characters that enter and exit any one scene.

"In order to turn that into manga, you’ve got to think a lot about positions of the characters, make sure that you keep continuity. You don’t break filming rules like the 180—degree rule, or things can really start to get confusing for the readers," he said.

Readers can appreciate details of one of Paul’s favourite characters the magical spirit Ariel in "The Tempest".

"Ariel can change shape depending on the kind of situation he is in. And I had great fun making Ariel dissolve into these ribbon—like shapes that recombined into other forms. That was great to work with," said Mr Duffield.

These Shakespeare graphic novels are available at bookstores such as Kinokuniya and Borders. }


ahh. i see. i'd like to see antony and cleopatra. anyone making a trip to town this weekend?

(i've reaped the benefits of checking email almost everyday. news such as these :)

never thought myself as a go-getter, but waiting around for things to happen DOES NOT work.

in early feb, i was sitting, waiting, wishing, but it made me feel worse because i didn't know what i wanted.

so from now on, i'm going to be an active agent because i'll have to take on more responsibilities.. it's quite sad to know i'm growing old sigh. haha.

( just so you know )

ever since january this year, i've realised how people can really be funny. i'm laughing all the time.

sorry if that sounded sarcastic, but i'm not to be typecast.

it's a pity if actors are typecast, but an even greater shame that people are typecast.

maybe we should look more closely into ourselves before writing off people as simply who they appear to be.

but then again, can we really help it?

i'll look into pride and prejudice for more answers :)

[ i want to bake pizza tmr. that's after the int.]

AIEEEE! i'm excited!! (interesting.)

went to auntie siew siew's place and baked muffins! banana muffins. and carrot (passion fruit) cake!

for all you (and i) know, i might be a good cook/ baker. albeit one who has to rely on recipes and lots of trial-and-error. HEH.

it's a good day today! :D

and a number of KMJ updates have been posted... btw, it's valentine's day tomorrow and since i'm still happily single, i'll spend my day fantasising about KMJ. ha. my heart's been- stolen!

OMO. i sound psychotic.

ok, ignoring that, i'm glad i 'accomplished my tasks', though they were actually errands.

i'll still be waiting for answers... i guess getting all "hyped up" around the phone is part and parcel of the process. well i can't say i was "hyped up" a few days ago, but i really should keep my spirits up :)

so, i can say i took a sabbatical lah. ha what a great excuse for being erhem, "in-between jobs". euphemisms rule.

화이팅! (my goodness, it took me sooo long to find this. there's no korean input, you see. i rely on cut-and-paste!) it's 'hwaiting', aka 'fighting', like 'jiayou', not 'anger thing' as translated by babelfish ;)

that's the problem with 'groupies'.

i'm a forum lurker and a "stalker". haha. so sue me.

which makes things quite annoying. but maybe my daily visits to a certain website (and fan-dom) should 그만! or perhaps i should just 'buckle down' and type at least one comment in chinese to continue enjoying privileges. such as pics and videos? but i can get that from dcinside.

okayokay, so i'm a korean drama fan, but i'm no teenybopper. no 'coppi peu-rin-seu' shweetness for me, i go for plots. but it so happens that i'm in love with KMJ. since oct '07.

CHECK this out.

the circle game- joni mitchell

Yesterday, a child came out to wander
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then, the child moved ten times 'round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like, "When you're older", must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came,
and go round and round and round
In the circle game

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him, "Take your time. It won't be long now.
'Til you drag your feet to slow the circles down"

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through.

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and 'round and 'round
In the circle game
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle game.


i love the chorus and the extended metaphor of a circus carousel, there's something haunting about the melody and the subject matter.

ooh, was that a lit analysis? ha.

well my heart knows me better than i know myself
so i'm gonna let it do all the talking

OOHOO.

i'm having this surge of emotions right now. not 'EMO' now okay.

but there are a dozen over things i have to deal with and i'm rather overwhelmed right now. though not necessarily in the negative way.

for one, i found a photo of myself in primary three on facebook. and i was tagged. ohhhhh. it's not all that embarrassing but it's shocking to unearth such artefacts from a decade ago. i was appalled, but also pleasantly surprised. yes i'm part of our 2A/B and 3A/B alumni group now and it's hello again to all the friends from so long ago.

yay the words are coming back to me.

it's really interesting how letting all my grouses out culminated in this :D

i'm starting to sound more intellectual/ more like my 'old' self. but which stage of my 'old' self?

i need more courage. i should get rid of my former, rather irrational fears.

--------------

i shall repeat my complaint-
people really need more MANNERS.

anyway i think i should be more accountable to my friends and perhaps publicise this journal, but that is if the words do flow consistently, or there'll be nothing to read! yeah and update them on what i've been up to!

yes, i've been doing telemarketing (.....) for 2 weeks now and i've just tendered my resignation, with my last day of work being next wed. i've had quite enough of it already, though the job isnt the worst of worst telemarketing jobs there can be. the product i'm selling (okay, it's magazines!) is a reliable product, not some crap like... i can't say what, cos i dont even understand the nature of telemarketing. hawhaw.

honestly, i plunged into this job without even realising what i had gotten into. i never wanted to sell stuff, like, SELL!! but it just happened that way. 이상에.


BLEARGH.

hmm i'm looking forward to chinese new year.

KT Tunstall's coming!! maybe i should win tickets or something.

'when i can't find the right words to say/
you feel it in the way'

ok at least some semblance of reflection is coming back to me. and i'm slowly gaining consciousness of my surroundings despite being a major couch potato for the past week. not to mention my irregular bedtimes and semi-addiction to in-soon is pretty. nice lit analyses i've found though, so i'd say it's worthwhile.

and i still have conflicting feelings. voices are chiding me to get my butt off and Do Something. i'm afraid yet raring to go. AIGOOOO. ok i'll start by sending all the sms-es i've failed to send. i'm quite a coward, just like sang-woo. -awwww- here's a small pic -heart!!!-

As ARE OVER!!!

i haven't been sucked into the party mood yet, though i hope to be more normal by the weekend. i need more sleep!

i dont exactly have a plan for all my activities... but for now i'll be content with being a couch potato. in-soon is starting tmr!

waiting for nz to get back from her holiday! rarr. i wish i could jet off to somewhere. maybe i'll make plans during cny.

nie's coming for christmas!

i wonder if i'll ever regain the power to express myself online. it's actually ironic that i have less to say online than in my paper journal. and when i visited the blog princess j created, i had lots to comment, even considered sending her an email to say hi, but the words didn't seem to flow.

the thing about me is that i can't keep up with efforts to stay in touch with people. but people don't seem to be able to reciprocate either.

ok maybe i'll check out some lame videos on youtube for the heck of it.

2.5 days to prelims ho.

and i won't comment further.

i'm hungry.

the more things change, the more they stay the same...

aiya i'm not trying to sound cryptic here.

mel, i'm really surprised at being quoted. i cant even remember saying "life is more than just r." thanks anyway, i'm flattered :)

i wish i could be more intelligible. moo.

it all started with friendster, bebo, wholivesnearyou, myspace, tagit (or something), several more social networking sites, now, "twitter" and "jaiku". the newest 2 have really cute names though, i think friendster's too 'commercialised', but myspace still has this rather indie element, where the next sandie thom or the arctic monkeys may be discovered and enter mainstream consciousness.

how interesting! and following youtube comes veoh, crunchyroll, etc.

then it's yahoo, msn, excite, google, wikipedia. i've just realised the true 'democratisation of knowledge' and how fortunate we are. whether you live in a developing country or not, with internet access, you are wired to the world and the world is literally at your fingertips.

wikipedia helps geepee students! : )

i've just read the brief history of sauerkraut. heh. and that it's comparable to kimchi and "manchurian suan cai".

an ad on the side says "jeevansathi.com- india's no. 1 matrimonial site".

goodnight!