blah blah...

me, the shit, and the brownie

2007-09-18T16:03:00.000+08:00

so yesh, obviously i'm still stuck here in melbourne, wearing between 1-3 layers of clothes daily (depending on the extremely unpredictable weather), and in general, continuing to freeze my ass (and legs - they feel numb!!) off in the ice block i call my room (apparently the temperature in my room is always a few degrees lower than the outside temperature).

after months of holidaying and basically being the lazy piggy that i am, it has finally come to my attention that i'm running out of time and am on a tight schedule. hmm... why does this scenario sound so familiar?? *deja vu-ed for a while* oooo!! cos it's the same scenario that has been playing over and over again throughout my academic life of 17 years!!

*note to self: if i added my years of informal preschool education into my
academic lifespan, i will have reached a grand old age of 20 years by now!!
gasp!!!*

so yesh, here i am panicking myself to death again and regretting my early days of gluttony, procrastination, couch potato-ing and general inactivity. of cos panicking doesn't help the situation much, and is not constructive at all. hence, i decided to start blogging again, in the hope of venting my panics through writing rubbish. hmm... and it seems to work!! wahahahaha... though of course the more time i spend on blogging will mean less time spent on work... which will then lead to even greater levels of panic... thus forcing me to blog even more... omg, the vicious vicious cycle. pui.

p.s. the brownie is for anyone who is currently in deep shit due to his/her own actions and is wallowing in self-pity. anyone is allowed to contest for the right to the brownie, but must provide empirical evidence of his/her actions of stupidity which led to the current 'shit' situation.

i soooo deserve the brownie now. yum!

boo!!

2007-09-18T15:37:00.001+08:00

and yesh, once again i've risen out of my laziness and extended period of blogophobia in yet another attempt to blog regularly. wahahaha... *gives meself a pat on the back*

i have no idea how long this sudden whim to blog again will last and for those peeps who have given up waiting for new posts... surprise~!!! ahahaha.... then again, if u've given up waiting for new posts, u'll most likely not read this as this blog will probably have been filed in your brain under "dead blogs". haa~ so yesh, i shall just carry on my own ramblings for my own pleasure.

i can't figure out why i chose the previous skin of bright orange. it seems so disgustingly n irritatingly cheerful!!! wahahaha... makes me wanna slap myself for being so bright n cheery. so yeah!!! new skin!! i seem to change a skin whenever i emerge from my self-imposed blogophobia... haa~

p.s. my bday is coming sooon~!!! hehehehe... it's nice to remind myself tt
i'll be a year closer to death. morbid, but kinda nice... =P

2007-04-10T21:27:00.000+08:00

heh. i've decided to post random stuff.

i love crimson seedless grapes!! especially the grapes here! so sweet n cheap!
ahaha... i'm sooo not a fruity person, so to be able to find a fruit tt i like
is like miraculous!! wahaha... i feel so healthy everytime i eat them... the
brain keeps chanting over n over again: "anti-oxidants... anti-oxidants...
anti-oxidants..." hee... as such, i shall make it my official fruit!!! lalala...

the dynamics of alone time and social time is so amazing... interesting how i switch modes fr personal to public... hm... and it's good to know that i enjoy both! ahaha... though it's still difficult to include others in how i feel and my inner thoughts... somehow i seem to show only my "shallow" thought processes with others... n how can i hope for others to understand when i don't make an effort to try and make them understand? but then again, i like to keep my thoughts to myself. ahaha...

everyone around me seems to be going through some rough patches in their life... is this the difficult 20s transition period? it's so difficult to maintain a good balance in life... especially between the work and love lives... there seem to be so much to be sad and disappointed about. where did all the happiness go? is life full of disappointment or hope? though i always advocate hope, but i've never really thought about it. guess i don't really care!! ahaha... just live each day as it is and take things as they come! go with the flow...

matsomoto jun is soooo cuteee!!!! wahaha... my new idol~ heh... i also want a pet like him!!! then again... i want other pple to take care of me n feed me leh... heh. anyone wants a pet?? *wink*

hmm, people seem to be struggling with adulthood and politics of life... why are humans so devious and scheming? isn't life better when everyone is sincere and not hurting each other? isn't it weird how pple can't stand each other and all the personality quirks inherent in each individual? how difficult it is to maintain peace and yet have your desires fulfilled at the same time. life may not be a fairytale, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare as well. but why do some pple get stuck in depressing situations and not have the strength to pull themselves out of it? will i be able to pull myself out if something depressing happens and threaten to engulf me too? so much to think about when u become an adult... makes me kinda miss the days when we were carefree children without a care in the world (except maybe passing exams)

i want to layer my hair again~!!!

the ego is a difficult thing to maintain. too big and u're arrogant. too small and u're inferior. how troublesome.

i put my first nose mask today! which was supposed to remove blackheads n impurities, but was really like the liquid version of biore porepack. n my first full face mask!! ahaha... after several inspirations fr zinc... it's supposed to be an ultra-microscopic pore and hydrating moisturiser thingy... which was quite refreshing (cos it's v v wet and the cool weather made my face v v cold... ahaha). unfortunately i happily got into a frying fish situation, which totally cancelled off the effects of my revitalising face mask. well done jojo!

macbeth n pancake on the rocks tmr~!! wooHoo~!!

2007-03-21T18:08:00.000+08:00

i've never really understood the extent of my handicap in directions till these coupla days. i always knew that there was something wrong with my sense of direction, but i never knew that it had progressed to such a state of utter confusion. WOW. i actually feel amazed at my own "accomplishments".

of course, i've known that i was different from the rest of the world since i was in secondary school. initially, i put down the fact that i was unable to navigate the streets of orchard road to mere forgetfulness and lack of familiarity (since i was an infrequent visitor to that corner of singapore during my teenage years). then it started to show up more clearly when i would still find myself lost in orchard when i reached jc and have been frequenting far east plaza for quite some time. still, i hid my handicap as i figured i'll just have to walk longer distances than my fellow peers (after many wrong turns) before reaching the final destination. of course, it didn't help either that i can never get off on the right bus stop at unfamiliar places. it requires at least 3 journeys before i can accurately pin point the exact bus stop that i have to get off at. still, i figured i shall just walk more than others would have done (i reassured myself that walking is rumoured to be quite efficient in toning up my butt). then came the realization that even with clear directions, i still took a longer time than normal to arrive at a destination.

of course my handicap has since become more prominent and visible upon my move to melbourne. amazingly, it was my tourist friend (living in the US) who directed me around melbourne, even though i was the one who held the map! simple things like catching the right buses also proved to be a feat as i constantly mixed up the direction of buses. this is evident from the fact that i've got on the bus that was on the wrong side of the road twice these past two days, along the same bus route no less! this is good cause for shame and i really think i should get some help for my condition. an increase in recognition, memory, learning ability and topographical orientation is vital. i should start giving myself therapy.

there! i've admitted that i have a problem. according to psychiatrists, awareness and acknowledgement of problems are good starting points in a therapeutic relationship. well done jojo! there's definitely been a breakthrough today. i shall see you again at our usual time next week. in the meantime, try not to get too lost? prepare a map for all eventualities. goodbye.

p.s. amazingly, i have no problems navigating in a car!! apparently, i'm quite adequate in reading maps and giving the driver directions. hmm... interesting...

2007-03-14T17:27:00.000+08:00

this has GOT to be the most idiotic conversation i've EVER had in my entire life. n it doesn't help that the other parties have extremely thick accents (countries of origin shall not be disclosed for fear of political uproar).

Legend: Me = Me
DA = Dumb Ass
DAE = Dumbest Ass Ever

Me: Hi, i'm calling to do a transfer of ownership for my internet line.

DA: Can I have you username please?

Me: Username?

DA: The same one you use to log in to your email?

Me: Erm, unfortunately I don't remember my username (shit). Is there any other way I can access my account?

DA: I'll need your address then.

Me: (regurgitated my old address)

DA: Can I have the name that the account is under?

Me: Joanna Lim.

DA: Nope.

Me: (what the?) Erm, Lim Wanni Joanna?

DA: Nope. Is there another name?

Me: (who the hell is my account under?) *whispers in the background* Erm, XXXX (the name of the new tenants currently staying @ my old place)?

DA: Nope.

Me: (what the hell leh?) Can I give you my account number then? Will you be able to check using that?

DA: What's your account number?

Me: (*roll eyes* why couldn't you have asked for my account no. in the first place? dumb ass.) 12345678.

DA: Right, Joanna? I'll have to transfer you to our internet department, you'll have to re-introduce yourself again.

Me: (what the???!!!! then you ask for so many details for what?! DUMB ASS!) Oh. Fineeee......

----------- Call transferred ------------

DAE: Hello, how may I help you?

Me: Hi, I'm calling for a transfer of ownership for my internet line?

DAE: Can I have your account number please?

Me: (FINALLY!! an operator that seems to have a brain) 12345678.

DAE: Right, do you have a contract with us?

Me: (Isn't that supposed to show up on your computer screen?) Yes.

DAE: And is that cable broadband or ADSL?

Me: (Isn't that ALSO supposed to show up on your computer screen?) It's a cable.

DAE: Ok, I'm going to have to transfer you to our CABLE internet department and you'll have to re-introduce yourself there ok?

Me: (whaaat thheee??!!! best liao lor. i'm speechless.) oh, fiinneeee...

DAE: Why don't I give you their direct line in case you have to call them later?

Me: That'll be great *copying down number*, thanks!

DAE: Ok, so you'll have to call them one and a half hours later.

Me: (huh? Didn't you just say you're gonna transfer me over?) Erm, why do I have to wait for one and a half hours?

DAE: Because their operating hours are from 8am to 7pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and they don't work on Sundays.

Me: (You're totally not making sense dude.) But today is Tuesday, and it's 12pm now. Why do I have to wait for one and a half hours?

DAE: Because their operating hours are from 8am to 7pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and they don't work on Sundays.

Me: (DUMBEST ASS EVER!!) Yeeaahhh, and it's Tuesday afternoon, so they should be working??!!! What? You mean it's lunch hour now or what?

DAE: Their operating hours are from 8am to 7pm on Mondays to Saturdays, and they don't work on Sundays.

Me: (Did I say I was speechless just now? Now I'm totally MUTE.) FINE. I'll just call them myself.

DAE: *silence*

Me: Hello??

DAE: *silence*

Me: Heeellllooooo???!!!!!

DAE: *silence*

Me: (ASS!!!! @#$%^&*@#$%^&*~!!!!!!!) *slam down phone*

What's more to be said? I give you the Aussie telephone customer service.

2007-03-12T19:12:00.000+08:00

not been very happy, but what's there to be unhappy about? not very satisfied, but what's there to be dissatisfied about? feeling lethargic, but what's there to be tired about? not smiling as much, but what's there to frown about? feeling irritated frequently, but what's there to be irritated about?

if i were to look back at this 10 years from now, it would probably be my greatest learning experience ever. to be able to delve into your true self, past the emotions on the surface is probably the best knowledge in the world. throughout this journey, i probably won't even know why i'm feeling what i'm feeling till the adventure ends and i emerge stronger than before. knowing the self is probably the greatest gift that i can bestow upon me. so many things flashes through the mind as i take long walks to and from school. i can't even begin to put these thoughts into words. maybe i'm thinking too much, but this is definitely a self-reflective period of my life. although i'm pretty much consistent in my own being, deviations from this ideal self occurs now and again. learning when and why these deviations take place will probably make me a more cemented and grounded person.

already there are certain breakthroughs that have occurred, though i am finding out each day that i may not be what i always think i am. there are always certain decisions to be made, certain risks to be undertaken. can i guarantee 100% success? the answer is obviously no. but why take these risks then? so that i can learn from my mistakes even when i fail and when these risks surface again, may they turn into exciting challenges instead. projects that i embark on eagerly, instead of scary dilemmas that increase my self-consciousness. i can feel my self-consciousness decreasing as the years go by, but it still lurks behind the corner, waiting to jump out when i least expect it.

what the hell did i just type? i have no idea. and i'm pretty sure that you have no idea too. like i said, it's impossible to put down in the words my thoughts and feelings. how can anyone understand me when i don't even understand myself at times?

in the shoes of ms piggy

2007-03-11T10:40:00.000+08:00

yay!!! i'm back on the keyboard~!! ahaha... damn sian lor... just come back aussieland n me falls sick... so dumb! like who ever falls sick in summer?! i blame it all on the aussie weather... HATE the weather here. hai. but, u guys will be glad to know tt jojo is currently on the mend and besides some residual coughing, am as strong as an ox!! ahaha... k la, ox is a bit exaggerating.

nway, how's life been since i came back? boring boring boring... am totally slacking my ass off lor... i can't believe how slack i am. summary of the activities on an average day:

11-12pm: good afternoon jojo!
12-1pm: brunch
1-7pm: unless i go out, it's pretty much watching dramas, movies, msning, sleeping, snacking, internet surfing (basically anything i can do on my lappie la)
7-8pm: dinner maybe, unless i'm too full from snacking. ahaha...
8-3am: look @ 1-7pm time slot

omg!!! i soooo sound like a pig! wahaha... oinnk~!! k la... i still go to sch ah... but not my fault tt sch only takes up 3 mornings rite!! ahaha... oh ya! steven dropped by over the past week (yesh xj, OUR steven. ahaha...) n cos of him, i finally got to see cheryl~!!! wooHoo~!! ahaha... had fun bringing him ard to the aquarium n zoo... n realising wat a lousy tour guide i am. unsurprisingly, i kept getting us lost!! even with a map in my hands. hai. fortunately steven was there to save the day~!! ahaha... he gets us UN-lost every single time. n he's supposed to be the tourist!!! hai... can2 kui4 lor... i shall start reading more maps.

n last night was the moomba waterfest~!! this annual event tt features a huge funfair, starlight cinema, food n fireeeeeworks~!! omg i LOVE their fireworks lor... much nicer than sg one... oh n did i mention tt i sat in a ride, with a full stomach? kids, pls never ever try this @ home. i almost wanted to puke by the end of the ride, plus i was dizzying away~!! hai, shld work on my vestibular system more.

n finally, to all the shi1 lian4 pple out there... pls dun be too sad... guys are not worth it!! i know this sounds crappy coming fr someone who hasn't shi lian-ed before la, but still, seeing u all hurt makes me hurt too!! no more hurting k!! must continue to be my happy jie meis!! altho i'm not there physically, but i'm always there electronically!! i will lend you my eyes!! jiayou~!!

2007-03-01T19:31:00.000+08:00

n yay!!! revamped again!!! ahaha... obviously i shall start my periodic blogging once again before slacking off halfway... heh. welcome back again jojo!! =D

2006-09-12T20:55:00.000+08:00

i feel sooooooo bored!!!!!!!!!!!! argh!!!! y am i doing the same repetitive things over n over n over again EVERY SINGLE DAY???!!! i think i shall just die from boredom. the thing is: IF i DO die from boredom, prob no one will ever find out la. except maybe nikki. but the thing is we're BOTH dying from boredom. if we do, probably no one will ever find us till we're half eaten by wild (i'm tempted to say DOGS, but realistically speaking, POSSUMS are a greater possibility) possums n our "dear" aussie neighbours start to notice a strange n pungent smell start drifting out of our house. then the police will come n the CSI team will probably find the crime scene unlike anything they've ever seen before. we'll prob be slouched over our couch, with our lappies on our laps, fingers still on the keyboard, cobwebs all over our bones, eyes still open, staring at the eerie glare of our lappie screens. cause of death will most likely be chronic shutdown episodes of our central nervous system activity, resulting in shortness of breath, which then led to us aspirating on our own saliva on a long term basis. this inadvertently led to pneumonia and thus our sad deaths. wat a great plot. i shld send it to CSI / CSI Miami / CSI New York to see if they'll actually do an episode on it. R-I-G-H-T......

wth am i typing?? omg... if you have ANY doubts as to the degree of boredom i'm finding myself in, this post shld clarify the severity of my boredom clearly. as clear as a crystal. pui.

2006-09-08T11:16:00.000+08:00

How to lose a brain by SLAPPING YOUR FOREHEAD TOO MANY TIMES in 10 days

1. Use lightbulbs that fuse once every 2 weeks or so.
2. Choose a landlady who does not have extra lightbulbs, so that you have to rotate ONE lightbulb between your kitchen and your living room.
3. Choose a lightbulb which is soooooo DIM that you cannot see wth you are writing, and discourages you from doing ANY work at all.
4. Choose a school that keeps its OT assessment kits in the library, which can be borrowed out for 3 hours only.
5. Make your school library has a really sucky librarian system, in which the librarians do NOT know each other and have no idea whatsoever where each other is.
6. Make sure the librarian who attends to you has LIMITED spelling skills, leading to the inability to do a keyword search properly.
7. Make sure the librarian who attends to you has postage stamps stuck all over his/her eyes so that he/she is unable to find the assessment kit you are looking for in the assessment kit storage room.
8. Make sure the library refuses to loan you an assessment kit with the stupid reason being: "the assessment kit box is tooooo BIG, so it's NOT for loan"
9. Choose to live in a house with minimal security so that potential housebreakers can enter just by throwing a stone through the glass.
10. Make sure you stay next door to a couple of idiotic Aussie guys so that they can get drunk every now and then and scare you shitless by banging and yelling: "OPEN THE F**KING DOOR!!!" @ 3am in the morning.

2006-09-01T15:44:00.000+08:00

as promised... here's the 2nd instalment... heh. as all of ya can see, really enjoying life down here ah... slacking, watching hk dramas and downloaded movies/cartoons (and korean dramas soon!! when my parcel gets here..hee.), knitting scarves (i finished my first scarf ever!! it's GREEN!!! ahaha...), eating, sleeping, discovering my hidden talent for drawing cartoons, and of cos my NOT so hidden talent for changing blogskins... wahaha... this is life man!! heh... of cos a little studying here n there neva did anyone any harm... heh. hope y'all enjoy this!!

Princess Ep. 2

2006-08-29T15:49:00.000+08:00

hee... *hugz miself in joy n does n jiggly dance* i finished my 1st comic strip!!! wahaha... so damn proud of myself la!! omg!! i love me!!! n me loves i!!! ahaha... senseless, i noe, but the most senseless stuff can sometimes mean the world to me... hai... so here it is: MY MASTERPIECE.

Princess Ep. 1

ahaha... shall go n draw somemore...hopefully the next installment will be funnier... hee.

2006-08-27T14:12:00.000+08:00

my new blogskin!!! ahaha... yay!!! btw, there r 2 SECRET compartments within this blog... go figure!!

CAUTION: THIS POST IS NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED

2006-08-25T15:17:00.000+08:00

OMG!!!! my phone bill has amounted to $200+ (AND IT'S NOT EVEN BEEN ONE MONTH)!!!!! WTHWTHWTHWTHWTHWTHWTHWTHWTHWTH!!!! AARRRGGGHHHH!!!! from this point forth, the rest of this post shall be in upper caps in order for me to express my angst n rage!!! SIAO PHONE COMPANY LA!!! GGRRRR.... N OUR PLAN IS A $19 PLAN!!!!! DUH!!! 19 AS IN N-I-N-E-T-E-E-N!!!!! THAT MEANS $19.00!!!! WTH???!!! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE 18CENTS PER 30SECS OF TALKTIME LOR!!! BUT THEY'RE CHARGING ME 50CENTS PER 30SECS INSTEAD!!!! WHAT??!!! *SLAP* *KICK* *BISH* IDIOTS!!! N CHARGE US $87 FOR A CHANGE PLAN FEE SUMMORE!!! WHAT CHANGE PLAN??!! WE ONLY STARTED A PLAN!!! DUH!!! CHEATERS!!! LIARS!!! MERCENARY BASTARDS!! I'M GONNA COMPLAIN N I'M NOT GONNA PAY!! SO SUE ME!!

erhmm... sorry for that outburst... i dun do that very often... hee. just indulge me for a bit la...

Transmission

2006-08-23T19:41:00.000+08:00

*Start of Transmission*

Dear all, who have been waiting patiently for Jojo to get her internet. Jojo is pleased to inform all related personnel that she is finally connected to the world wide web as of yesterday (22/8/06). *applause and whistles* Thank you. *waves audience into silence* Thus, Jojo will like to declare that she is now fully available online and will respond to all emails promptly, as well as resume her participation in the multiplayer online game: Maplestory. Unfortunately, due to installing the latest updates of Zone Alarm, Jojo is currently barred from MSN Messenger and she has absolutely NO idea WHY. What the *beep*???!!!! The *beep*ing firewall system is *beep*ing crazy!! *Beep* the *beep*ing firewall settings!!! *Beep* Erhmm... Please excuse her language. As such, Jojo is unsure when her MSN will start working again and her length of absence on the MSN shall be indefinite. During this dark period of her life, all supporters are welcome to drop her messages via her email or blog, and any suggestions or advice as to why she cannot log on to the MSN will be most handsomely rewarded. Thank you and all hail Jojo.

*End of Transmission*

Majullah Singapura~~!!!!

2006-08-23T18:19:00.000+08:00

Altho it's been so long since national day, but as a fellow patriot, i'd like to dedicate this blog entry to my beloved island: Singapore.

How did we choose to celebrate our first national day away from home?? By having a pot luck with all la trobe s'poreans!!!

If anyone realised... nikki n i are wearing opposite combis of our national colours!!! lalala...

"We, the citizens of Singapore
Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of race, language or religion
To build a democratic society,
Based on justice and equality
So as to achieve happiness, prosperity
And progress for our nation."

Graduate House (home to sara, lip chin, michelle n fifi) kitchens... where we gathered for our potluck dinner...

pre-dinner shots...

the pledge once again...

chefs fifi n michelle starting dinner!!

while i slacked away n surfed the internet... hee. hee. hee.

getting into the spirit by drawing the s'pore flag!! many thanks to sara who added the colours to my flag...

the best is of course saved for the last!!! n it's time for chefs jojo n nikki to exhibit our wonderful culinery skills... heh.

Presenting...... frozen mixed vegetables!!! the best ingredient to brighten up your dishes!!! Call 1900-113 8888 to buy one now @ the amazing price of $2.99!! And get a second bag for FREE!!! Hurry!! Grab one now!! *Whilst stocks last.*

Mutiny on board ship!!! First mate Lip Chin is attempting to strangle her captain!! AAARRRRRR....

AND... the captain prevails!!! All hail captain jojo!!

Left to right: stewed potatoes by me n nikki; chicken rice chilli by fifi n michelle; and taa-daaa!!! the main course: CHICKEN RICE by fifi n michelle!!!! YUM!!!

Let's take a picture before eating!!! oops!! someone's started eating already... *whistles innocently*

sara: i'm so full i wanna puke...

me: what a wonderful meal!! i'm totally contented... *burp* oops!!

prize presentation to the award-winning chefs!!! *applause*

*End note: This is actually only the first part of our national day celebration... after grad house, nik n i departed for uni lodge (our old accommodations) n met up for a 2nd round of national day dinner wif our frens there!!! ahaha... n of cos we watched NDP 2006 online... hee... wat a wonderful way to celebrate our country's 41st bday... ha.

Healesville Sanctuary

2006-08-14T15:49:00.000+08:00

Went to Healesville Sanctuary recently, which obviously is a sanctuary by name, but in actual fact looked more like a zoo... it only houses Aussie animals (obviously.) and usually has only a couple of animals on exhibit per specie... except for kangaroos of cos... they're always aplenty...

on our way there... on the 1 hour bus ride tt made most of us feel like puking...

@ the entrance of the sanctuary... don't be fooled by our careless smiles... we were really feeling quite sick from the winding bus journey... *bleaaarrrgghh*

map of the sanctuary n the furry aussie animals that r featured here... ONLY aussie animals are featured in the sanctuary...

Emu!!!!! they're like smaller versions of ostriches...

<--- fake koala...

real koala!!! but it was ---> zzzzzzzzzing.... so cannot really see... heh.

kangaroos!!! the pride n joy of australia...

small wooden bridge across a bubbly winding stream... coniferous trees all around us... adorable furry marsupials right around the corner... paired with the delightful twitterings of majestic birds... what more can u ask for?? ...... an extra layer of clothing. we were freezing our asses off!!!

aaaahhh... finally found a fireplace to thaw ourselves off... WWHHHAAAA???!!!! there's NO fire!!!!! gggrrrrrr.....

left: Welcome to the Wheel of Fortune!! Today's winner get's to take home this elegant cardborad mannequin!! Extra clothing sets, accessories and batteries not included.

right: Lip Chin giving up her first kiss... don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me...

Q: What are these 3 freaks doing with hands over their mouths??

A: Trying to make a platypus face by compressing their lips horizontally with their fingers! duh.

Saga of the Mighty Egg Thieves (Part 1):
the mighty egg thieves has struck again!!! heh heh heh. this giant ostrich egg can last us for 3 months!! wahahaha....... WWHHAAA??!!! the egg is hatching!! wait a minute! that's no ostrich!! that's Lip Chin!!! huh?!

Saga of the Mighty Egg Thieves (Part 2):
so after hatching baby Lip Chin from the ostrich egg they stole 22 years ago... the mighty egg thieves decided to return to the pugilistic world of egg-stealing and further refine their skills in the art of stealing eggs... in tow with them is their protege: the young and malleable Lip Chin!!! egg layers BEWARE!!

after walking for a whole morning... our heroines are starting to feel a nagging feeling of............

HUNGER!!!!! we're starving!!!!! H-E-L-P!!!!!!!

oh my god!! is that a mirage??!! NO!!! it's a real oasis!!! an oasis of barbeques!!!!! we're saved by our sausage grilling heros!!!! aaawww.... nothing like a good ol' bbq to melt a girl's heart...

Get set........................................................

Readdyyyy...................................................

GO!!!!!!

and the feast begins.......

Going to the City + Melbourne Train Network

2006-08-09T14:25:00.000+08:00

finally!!! photos!!! this does NOT imply that i've already gotten my internet. it merely suggests that i've degenerated to the extent of posting photos using the sch com lab services... pui.

Photos of Me n Nikki BEFORE our Weekly Trip to the City!!

after making up n wearing chio chio, we step out every sunday like glam queens!!! wahahaha... pple dress much nicer here... of cos it helps tt all the winter wear look really nice... lalala...

moi in all my glory!!! wahaha...

On the train after enjoying our wonderful DIM SUM in Chinatown...

crazy pple doing boh liao things... btw, there ARE other commuters on board around us... wahaha... but then, NO ONE really cares wat u do in melbourne...

"0..."

"1..."

"2..."

"5..."

AND "7!!!!"

obviously we're really REALLY boh liao la.... ahaha... but it helps us to pass time... heh.

2006-08-08T10:03:00.000+08:00

has been some time since my last post, cos once again, i've grown lazy n procrastinated posting... ahaha... duh. it's soooooo like me to procrastinate doing stuff... even the stuff i enjoy. oh well. so life goes on... after many timetable clashes n module changes, haf finally gotten my timetable sorted out. actually, now my timetable got new probs again. hai. cos my honours class has been changed to another timeslot which clashes with yet another module. pui. y is the timetable so disorganized???

can't believe how much i've spent since i came here. ahaha... the winter sale is like never-ending la!! n i keep buying nice tops @ cheap prices!! n now tt i finally decided tt it's abt time to STOP shopping, a new realization dawned upon me: winter is going to be over soon = sale is going to be over soon = i shld buy as much summer wear i can now @ cheap cheap prices so that i can wear them in summer!!! = i HAVE to spend $$$ once again = *deep deep sigh* = secret glee within my heart + pervading sense of guilt. n therefore, i've decided to continue dedicating the rest of my sundays (till winter's over) to the city n shop somemore!!! wahahaha...

nway, our s'porean n m'sian frens here intro'ed us to this nice chinese restaurant in the city chinatown to yum cha last sun!!! yay!!!! n i must say, the dim sum is really really not bad!!!! plus it's relatively cheap too!!! we ate dunno how many plates n it amounted to only $13.50 per pax. which is really cheap, considering we once ate a bowl of beehoon soup for $9.80!!!!!!! omg. btw, i think i look quite nice in blue eyeshadow. *note to self: wear blue eyeshadow more often in future*

am blogging now, cos my 2 hour lecture just got cut off after the lecturer started coughing non-stop 20mins into the lecture. apparently she has laryngitis, n her throat seems extremely irritated. n her ending statement was: "Most of the lecture material came from the literature provided to you anyway, so let's just cut this lecture now." WAH. no make-up lects, no nothing leh!! wah again. makes u kinda wonder if there's any point gg to her lects @ all since we can read EVERYTHING fr the lit she's provided us with. ahaha... n they really really spoonfeed their students here... not tt i'm complaining much, now i shall FINALLY understand the different research designs n methodologies, n go thr the whole research process properly... cos they really take u step-by-step thr the whole process. which is great, since i really dun rmr how i managed to muddle thr my fyp when i was in nyp. ahaha... we like just jump into fyp without understanding the proper steps n procedures necessary for the research to be sound. hence, am starting to think tt my prev research may have certain major flaws here n there... ahaha... oh dear. n we're still thinking of publishing it. wait. are we still publishing it?? i wonder if sid reads my blog. nway, SID!!! IF YOU'RE READIING THIS, SEND ME A SIGN SO THAT I KNOW IF WE'RE STILL PUBLISHING OUR RESEARCH!!!!

p.s. xq!!!!! sooooooo touched to get ur email!!!! ahaha.... i'm gg back dis dec!!! meet up den k!!!! make sure u reserve all ur hols for me and ONLY ME ah!!!

2006-07-26T14:11:00.002+08:00

The landlady was out when they lugged the final batch of their belongings up the tiny stone path and through the rickety wooden fence which hid their house from public view. Locked out of their new home, they glanced around and realized how unkempt the shrubbery surrounding the house was. In an attempt to make their accommodations more homely and aesthetically pleasing, they tugged hard at the weeds and withered plant matter that had twined themselves firmly with the greenery and swept away the pile of dead leaves that had found their way onto the courtyard in front of the house. She walked around to the back of the house, wondering what lay behind it, and was surprised to find a deserted mannequin dressed in a brown frock in the middle of the open backyard. It was then that she remembered that the landlady proclaimed herself to be a fashion designer. She wondered when exactly the creation was made, for it seemed quite worse for the wear, and had undoubtedly weathered many a downpour since, for even now, it was drenched in what she could only assume as afternoon dew.

"Look! An orange tree!", her housemate exclaimed.

Amazing how it was growing just behind the house, she thought. Tiny oranges beckoned at her through the wind, and she wondered for the briefest of moments if they were poisonous. A noise in the front yard caught her attention and brought her to investigate what it could be. The landlady was back.

As she stepped into the dark and dilapidated looking house, she wonders what made her decide to take it when she first saw it. The house smelled musty, had dirty green carpets and was lacking a bedroom door. The cheery old lady turned on the living room light, which was just a light bulb really, the lampshades long forgotten high up on the kitchen cabinets. Yellow light flooded the room, but only for a brief second, as darkness swooped down upon the trio again. The light bulb had fused.

Left alone after the customary greetings, hugs and a solemn promise from their landlady that a new light bulb will be provided in the near future, the two girls gave their new quarters a cusory glance, and commenced on their new chores with a sigh very much lacking in gusto.

Carpets were vacuumed while beds were made. She thought that the vaccum cleaner emitted a peculiar and rather nauseating smell, which was accentuated by the gas heating in the house. It was then decided that the house door should be left open so as to air it up a little. The kitchen was next, as the duo busied themselves with cleaning cabinets and drawers which looked like they originated from the previous century, an assumption backed up by the evidence of smell.

Amazement filled her eyes when she saw how dirty the cups provided by the landlady were. Never in her life has she ever seen cups that had spider webs and dead leaves in them. Never up this close anyway.

Exhausted after all the cleaning the afternoon held for them, they finally had the time to take a breather, as well as their dinners over an episode of "The Simpsons". It was ten at night by the time she could drag her weary self into the miniscule bathroom for her bath, where further surprises awaited her. She sighed at the absences of hooks for her clothes and locks for the bathroom door.

By the time she lay her tired body onto not-so-comfortable the bed, she was totally wiped out, yet unable to fall asleep. Her MP3 player chose to forsake her at this moment. Great, she thought, home sweet home.

technological backwaters

2006-07-25T11:32:00.000+08:00

the wireless here suck!! after receiving our userid and password, we were happily going FINALLY!! we dun hafta queue up and wait for school computers in the library!! n guess wat happens??? we can't log onto the network!! wth!!!!! can't it just be a normal secure network where we just type in our userids and passwords?? NOOOOO!!! it has to be configured! n even AFTER configuration, we STILL can't get on!!! WTH!!!!! n apparently the IT tech doesn't know wat's gg on either!! WOW. simply CAN'T wait to get my own internet. DUH. wanted to finally upload my picts today la. now totally cannot make it. I MISS S'PORE!!!! WE HAVE LOTS OF WIRELESS!!!!!

timetable

2006-07-24T11:31:00.000+08:00

it's the 1st day of school. i just discovered i haf my elective lecture today. heng it's @ 2pm. i'm not supposed to start lessons so soon. i'm supposed to start on friday. damn. picked the wrong elective. still in the holiday mood. don't want to start studying so soon. argh. the timetable sucks. i can't get a head or tail out of it. y do i seem to haf overlapping lessons? means i hafta alternate skipping lessons ah? and the online timetable doesn't match with the hard copy they gave us. it's not reader-friendly either. only four words to describe this: it's weird, it sucks.

????????????????

2006-07-19T15:38:00.000+08:00

what? this.
who? me.
where? here.
when? now.
why? because.
how? guess.
get it? no.
ask? don't.
forget it? yes.
better? soon.
nonsense? absolutely.
ignore? entirely.
stop? immediately.

2006-07-18T10:24:00.000+08:00

pple @ uni lodge r really nice!! the guys from india invited us over for an indian meal last nite... yum!! the chicken was great!!! i think the recipe was something like red onions, curry powder (maybe) chilli powder, tomato puree and according to sudi (the master chef), some SECRET ingredient of his... which is nonsense la!! ahaha... so had a wonderful indian experience, followed by ice cream!!!! ahaha... n xiuli (our fellow s'porean hostel mate) generously offered us her tvbi series downloads... ah. how nice to haf something to rely on till my korean dramas get shipped over... *hugs self in joy and does a jiggly dance*

varun (our spiritual chef, who wasn't there physically during the cooking of the meal but contributed to the meal's success with his spiritual powers, or so he claimed) came over to help us with the download and we managed to give him an introductory lecture on MAHJONG!!! ahaha... many thanks to nikki's frens who gave her the tiny mahjong set... hee. so we've managed to convert another innocent into the joys of gambling and the intricate and complex manoevers and techniques we call mahjong. of cos, packaging was extremely important and we also gave a brief rundown on how mahjong can help keep the brain active so that u get delayed senile dementia. ah. so now we got another kaki to jio for mahjong. how lovely.

nway, hugz to all the housemates @ uni lodge for making our stay so wonderful n making us feel right at home. gonna miss all of them when we move next mon. sobz. BUT! will definitely drop by for visits n invite them over for s'porean food next time!! (wanted to make our famous hainanese chicken rice, but heard tt xiuli made it for them before!! so menu will be confirmed again @ later date!!) as well as mahjong!!!! when varun gets addicted to it and brings sudi along for conversion as well?? heh. heh. heh.

meanwhile, cream of brocoli rules!!! so looking forward to starting my experiment on this lovely soup, the start of our three-course meal. oh joy!

Note to Self

2006-07-16T16:36:00.000+08:00

just realised i've been la-ing shamelessly in my previous post. note to self: must STOP la-ing. cos melbournites dun "la". they say "it's all right" or "no worries". also, articulate more accurately n talk slowly.

jojo @ fren's fren's apartment...

2006-07-16T15:52:00.000+08:00

am currently blogging out fr the terminal @ one of my fren's fren's house. ahaha. in melbourne. obviously. rather amazing how many s'poreans u meet here. hmm. i've made like 4 new acquaintances originating fr our fair island since arriving here. which was 5 days ago? waaahhhhh.

nway, had fun bumming ard the melbourne city area for the whole weekend and went to inspect houses, flea markets, casinos (shall go back crown casino to try my hand next week!! heh.), other pple's houses (which on retrospect seems much much nicer than the one we got la!! but oh well! it's cheap n furnished, so not much to complain abt either), supermarkets and factory outlet stores!!!! yay!! but i heard tt tt's pretty much all there's is to see in melbourne city... prob hafta travel ard more places to see more stuff!!

OK!! hafta make an official announcement. i've found my perm accommodations!!!! *scream* yay!!! @ least for 6 mths... den i shall see if i wanna extend it. basically it was the 1st house we inspected la. but we were so desperate cos of our temp accom dateline n the house n conditions were like damn good la. it's a little far away fr campus, but got bus stop rite in front of the house, in case we dun wanna walk (actually it's within walking dist la... EVERYWHERE in melbourne is within walking dist... cos transport damn ex la). it's only 200 bucks per wk including utilities, fully furnished n we get to use the washing n drying machines for free! it's a cozy little guest house thingy behind the main house (where the landlady stays alone) and consists of a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a built-in kitchen. we get a fridge, stove n oven!!! lalala. but no microwave. haiz. a bit sad la. i LOVE microwaves and the wonderful radiation they emit. oh well, @ least now we're definitely not gonna end up homeless on the streets. heh.

nway, got one more week to kill before sch starts n really like got nothing to do la. haiz. shall try popping over to a cinema on tues to catch pirates!! tues is supposed to be concession day for movies. so it's only 7 bucks!! k la, abt the same as s'pore bah. act the melbourne pricing system quite weird one la. very very luan. alot of different prices for different routes n stuff, n the transport itself also very very luan. haiz. so many different trams, buses n trains gg different directions. esp trams. hafta know which tram stops @ which tram stop specifically la. plus the tram line network map is like in tagalog la. totally cannot make head or tail of it. ahaha. maybe it's just me. me n my poor topographical orientation.

2006-07-14T13:11:00.000+08:00

i LOVE the library. it's the ONLY place i can log on to the internet. that's y i shall officially make it my 2nd home till i get internet connection. lalala.

nway!! we cooked our FIRST nice dinner in melbourne last nite!! hurrah for us!! ahaha... it was pasta (fusilli) with tomato sauce with champignons (button mushrooms), capsicum, onions and of cos garlic... woohoo!! so proud of ourselves... n it didn't tastes too bad either! considering the fact that we don't have any cooking oil, salt, sugar etc. ahaha... got all our groceries from our trip to preston market yesterday afternoon, and got enough groceries to last us through the weekend. oh! we also made a side dish of potatoes... but their potatoes very weird leh, maybe it's cos we cooked it in the mivrowave n it got overcooked or something, it was actually CHEWY. has anyone eva eaten chewy potatoes? n i really mean chewy. oh, well! @ least it was a good hot meal which left us satisfied. aaahhh.... n i realized that aus AA batteries like not compatible with our digicams leh. dunno y the batteries "flatted" before we can even take ONE picture. weird. n we put the correct poles in lor. haiz.

oh yar, our hostel got lotsa international students as well, so got cute jap girls, n cute caucasian guys. ahahaha... n indians n chinese also la. n everyone seems quite friendly, so will take photos wif some of them before we leave our temp accommods. now i finally understand y caucasians think that asians look all alike. cos i think that the ang mohs look all alike here!!! ahaha... cannot tell them apart la. or maybe it's just a cognitive impairment (poor facial recognition or something) on my part. oops.

a bit of side news: while we were house hunting yesterday, this van came down the road n the driver (a caucasian uncle) poked his head out n shouted "ni hao ni hao!" (add in the foreign accent) @ us... ahaha... so cute la! we shld have shouted back "aniohasayo!!" back @ him n pretended to be koreans. ahaha... oh well. proves how friendly the aussies are... =)

tomorrow is the start of the weekends!!! so we'll be exploring the melbourne city area n go look look abit. hee. i hope the movies are quite updated here la! cos i wanna watch pirates of the carribean 2!!!! haiz. so tt's it la! hafta continue our house hunting!!! aza aza fighting!! ahaha... duh.

The Land of "Good Day Mates"!!

2006-07-13T10:53:00.000+08:00

Good Morning Melbourne!! heh. reached melbourne safe n sound @ ard 10am yesterday, after a slight delay @ adelaide: the plane captain happily said no need to bring hand carry luggage down de plane during transit @ adelaide la, but in the end we heard this announcement in the waiting lounge - "Passengers of flight QF82, due to miscommunication of information, passengers are required to bring down their luggages during transit at Adelaide. Passengers who still have their luggages on board the flight please proceed to remove them through gate 20. Sorry for the delay and thank you." haiz. so much for efficiency ah... den bring luggage down still must scan luggage... so act we were all quite tired by the time we went up the plane again... plus i couldn't sleep the whole nite!!! haiz... next time CANNOT take qantas... de seats quite narrow lor... wonder how those super super fat pple can sit la... n the corridors r damn narrow too... my pulley luggage got stuck several times down the row!! n v difficult to put up n take down cos both my luggages r sooo heavy... haiz. oh yar!! my nail scissors got confiscated at the departure gate @ changi airport!!! haiz... i dunno how to cut wif nail cutters la, sure cut until damn ugly... oh well, besides these little incidents, the journey was quite well n uneventful.... n my maggi mee n milo made it thr the customs!!! so did my medicines!!! oh yay!!!!! haha...

Weather: cold, but can tahan... sky really changes from clear to dark grey quite frequently, but no rain as yet.... hopefully it stays this way... usual wear is 3 layers of clothes outdoors (2 layers if indoors) wif hat n gloves (optional la, i figured tt if i pulled my wool sweater sleeves over my hands, its quite warm... hee). sun sets @ ard 6pm.

School grounds: looks quite bleak n boring really... or maybe cos it's still winter, so everything looks grey n the trees are leafless la... maybe it'll be in all it's splendour in spring or summer!!

Temp accommodations: pillow n bed is quite comfy, room is really quite small n squeezy (well, "cosy" if u like), toilets r quite lovely (lovely in the sense of CLEAN), kitchen is quite cluttered n LOOKS dirty la... but dunno if it's really diry... fridge has a bit of a funny smell tho, n the fridge shelf allocated for us to put our stuff has some crusts of milk or dunno wat on the surface (yeurgh...). can't wait to find permanents apartments so tt we can cook n experiment our own NICE FOOD!!! oh ya, our heater a bit like shit la. open the highest strength still not warm la... but we wear 2 layers of clothes plus gloves n woollen socks to sleep with the blanket, so it's still quite warm la...

k la... gg to look @ some houses by ourselves now... shall blog again soon!! miss ya guys! *hugz*

Last Words in Singapore

2006-07-10T14:51:00.000+08:00

omg. i'm leaving tmr. haiz. am having mixed emotions. excitement @ finally having the chance to explore the great unknown by myself (you go girl!!), nostalgia (i wun say it's really sadness, juz a tugging feeling in my heart) @ having to leave my family, frens n the mundane (i AM a boring person @ heart... ahaha...) but peaceful life in s'pore, resignation @ having to commence yet another battle wif assignments n exams, anxiety @ flunking these assignments n exams (n thus sabo my sureties into coughing out monetary compensation for breaking my bond...XP), joyful hope tt i'll find cute guys there so i can grow fat on eye candy (yum!!) n maybe dismiss the "look but don't touch" rule set by my grandma (ahaha...), insecurity @ having to do (i juz burned this pot of porridge i was cooking... omg. i hope i dun burn my apartment down in melbourne. never underestimate jojo's powers of destruction.) n think abt everything (e.g. wat groceries n daily necessities to buy) myself, but heng got my lovely frens wif me to both share n minimise this insecurity, the exhilirating rush @ finally realizing tt i'm about to embark on a new chapter of my life as an independent entity n will have the freedom to do whatever i want!! woohoo!! (eh, no la, i'm a guai1 person, not a party girl... *wink* heh. heh. heh.), and finally, the old paranoia tt i may get into accidents, get sick or DIE in a foreign country (sob!!)... oh well, i'm morbid n paranoid by nature... ahaha...

oh my. what a mixture of feelings. but the most important thing in my brain now is: HOW TO PACK MY LUGGAGE SO THAT IT'S NOT TT OVERWEIGHT!!! (this brings me to ANOTHER emotion: frustration)GOD knows how much overweight my luggage is lor. actually i also know la. but am trying to practice denial n avoidance. hee. dun understand y it's so damn heavy la. shoot. will hafta repack again n pack stuff OUT instead of IN.

I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUYS!!!

I'm leaving my peaceful and stable existence here
For a stint in the abyss of the great unknown
What will I find there?

I'm leaving my house with it's creature comforts
For a long stay in places that I cannot call my own
Where will I settle there?

I'm leaving my country, my family and friends
For a foreign land devoid of these persons
Who will I meet there?

I'm leaving everything that is familiar to me
For something that is strange and new
How will I react there?

I'm leaving for a total of five hundred and forty days
For the pursuit of three academic semesters
When will I return from there?

I'm leaving all who took care of ME all my life
For the promise to take care of THEM for the rest of their lives
That is Why I'm going there.

~jojo~

P.S. i think i shld try being a poet or writer... ahaha... i suspect that i do have a great store of literary talent just waiting to be tapped... lalala...

Revamped!!

2006-06-28T21:33:00.000+08:00

FINALLY!! have managed to revamp my blog!! omg. really feel like puking blood now... pui! nevertheless, muz say tt am feeling rather accomplished n proud of miself... cos i almost created the whole blogskin!! wah!!! ok la... maybe it's more like i edited chunks from de templates n all de picts r found n hosted by yours truly!!!! omg. still feeling utterly exhausted yet radiant!!! aaahhh...... despite my aching back n neck... it was worth it. yeah.

HIGH HIGH HIGH!!!!

2006-06-10T00:58:00.000+08:00

updates!! wonder of wonders!! miracle of miracles!! i act managed to get my moh scholarship!!!! omg. ahaha... am totally amazed n still a bit confused over how i did it. not tt de terms are entirely satisfactory (6 yr bond for sponsoring my 1.5 yr degree conversion wif honours!! pple serve 6 yr bond for 4 yrs of overseas edu la...). but still, if it means tt i wun be a shithole of debts when i return (otherwise i wld hafta borrow $$ fr my granny n very slowly pay her back when i start work) n haf a guaranteed job in a hospital for 6 yrs (i really can't stand community settings, where de work pace is so damn slow... oops), i dun mind lugi-ing a bit la... ahaha... @ least i'll be debt-free n can start saving $$ once i start work... heh. n if i save a bit on my allowance there, i can possibly do a short tour of aus in de hols!! oh joy!! ahaha... but means i can't realise my plans of working in different countries every year... oh well! can't haf my cake n eat it too... shall look on de bright side n tink abt being able to tour foreign countries in de near future (since my financial status will be much better w/o outstanding debts..) ahaha... still feeling damn happy n quite high.... lalala...

nway, am also so proud of my feet!! ahaha... managed to walk from bugis to chijmes to boat quay to clarke quay and finally to tanjong pagar wif my dear queen... where we met de rest of de gang for korean food!!! found dis great korean restaurant wif quite gd food n we got a little room/cubicle all to ourselves!!! ahaha... was tinking we were too rowdy, tt's y de staff din dare to put other customers in tt same room wif us (each room has 2 tables)... heh. i LOVE korean food!!! yum!!! k la... am really gettin too high when i shld really be sleeping... ahaha... shall try to lower my arousal levels... shall try to start lowering by terminating dis entry... but before signing off, gotta squeeze in some last words... ok, WORD: *SCREAM*

holiday blues!!

2006-06-01T14:42:00.000+08:00

omg. y izzit soooo troublesome to plan for studying in aus?? haiz... so damn sian wif all de air ticket bookings n accommodation hassles. n i tink i'm gettin sick! gggrrrrr... still hafta go for medical checkup for visa. can i go if i'm sick?? haiz. in de meantime, am being bored out of my wits cos of my empty hols... damn sian. totally got nothin to do. besides the relentless discussions over air tickets n acommodations... which OBVIOUSLY must be discussed. duh. feel like tearing my hair out!!! argh.

still, am looking fwd to ktv tmr... heh... plus my qun zhong la mian n xiao long bao... *drooling* slurps!! heh. on 2nd tot, wonder if i can still sing wif a sore throat n an upcoming runny nose. *rolls eyes* HAIZ.

i'm a CERTIFIED occupational therapist!! wow...

2006-05-23T10:00:00.000+08:00

got my results today!!! which basically means tt am now a certified OT!!! woohoo! after 3 long yrs... haiz... dunno whether to laugh (finally it's over) or cry (leaving for aus soon n other classmates r starting work soon)... oh well! i tink laughing is more in order... esp since i managed to squeeze past de 3.5 threshold!! yay! means i can go for degree wif honours in la trobe! yeah baby! ahaha... how amazing... expected my results to be damn sucky dis sem, but lo n behold! they turned out to be even betta than last sem!! wah... once again... feeling v amazed... still can't believe tt i'm officially no longer a NYP student. Ahaha... tink wat really hit the news home is NOT the announcement of results, NOT the hols, NOT the debriefing n conclusion by lecturers (in our case, LECTURER - i.e. hb), BUT the realization tt MY LANYARD NO LONGER WORKS!!!!!! Omg. Means i'm barred fr all nyp facilities... so sad!! The sports hall, my BELOVED swimming pool, tennis court, LIBRARY!!!! Wanted to go borrow like my LAST bk EVER fr nyp lib today lor... n realized tt i'm no longer authorized to borrow anything... SO SAD!!! All the COMICS n FICTION bks I not yet read in the lib!!! (oops! Haf thus revealed the secret motive behind my frequent visits to the lib... NOT for research, but for leisure reading... ahaha...)

went for the trial OT qualifying exam (note to ser: we got the same WRITTEN paper wor, NOT the practical viva. Bleah...) for foreign OTs working in s'pore today... we're de trial batch, meaning our results will set the standard for foreign OTs... ahaha... tink the standard set by ME quite low wor... ahaha... abt one-third of de ques tikam one lor... ahaha... feel so guilty twds param... returned all my physio back to him... ahaha... was act feeling v amused throut de whole paper... ahaha... wat PNR D1/D2 flexion/extension??? i only rmr de "saturday night fever" position lor... which is dunno D1 or D2 n dunno flexion or extension... wahaha... so sad... hb muz be knocking his head on de wall when he looks @ our ans n sees the grades we get... ahaha... sekali i fail! omg... ahaha... den i'll be CERTIFIED, but NOT QUALIFIED! how ironic. duh.

nway, so happy tt queen, dor n xj r back fr japan... once again, u lucky pigs!!! *sulk* n am feverishly anticipating de arrival of my jap postcard... heard tt u all sent it on de 3rd day in japan ah?? like u all come back after de 10-day trip n my postcard not yet arrive lor... ahaha... see, slow mail is really SLOW mail... next time use fed-ex of dhl la! ahaha... ok, tink u all wanna kok me le. shall keep my mouth shut. but hafta say, so touched tt u guys really sent me a postcard!! *aawww... sniffle sniffle* tot u all wld haf lost my address b4 u all even reach japan!! oops. dun kok me. hee. Nway!! We muz seriously go ktv next wk k!! maybe can squeeze in lunch @ qun zhong (the la mian n xiao long bao place i've been wanting to intro to u all) b4 ktv... hee. The 2 r located quite close... heh. *NOTE: PLS BRING UR JAP PHOTOS!!!*

n my dear deb. it is too tiring n troublesome (both physically n psychologically) for me to email u. so can we juz communicate via blogging?? or ur occasional gracing of msn is gd too. heh. u really working ur head off hor... dunno if i shld sympathize wif u (no rest, poor thing) or envy u (so much pay, so NOT poor thing)... blog more leh. wait! u're online now!! oooh!! we got telepathy!! u're came on msn juz when i'm blogging abt u!! heh. shall tok to u online den... makes more sense than continuing on wif my soliloquy.

like a teacher... touched for the very first time...

2006-05-19T17:26:00.001+08:00

my tuition kid juz told me tt he prefers me to his current tuition teacher!!! so touched!!! aawwww... really made my day. i hope he wasn't juz trying to fu1 yan3 me... hmm.

mindless ramblings...

2006-05-15T22:09:00.000+08:00

aaahhh... has been 1+ wk into my hols... n haf been happily slacking away... woohoo!!! hmm... channel u is showing jang geum rite now... seriously tink i prefer de korean version... chinese voiceover juz sounds so weird... but min jio ho still looks as gd as eva!!! *whistle* heh. but i got new idol after watching sam soon!!! hyun bin!!! woohoo!! heh. so juai3, but still juai3 until so charming... *sigh* daniel is not bad too... heh.

nway, i'm deviating... am seriously tinking of working in aus for 1 or 2 yrs before returning to s'pore... or, can go work ard de globe wif nikki while i'm still young b4 settling down when i get older... hmm... will be super fun to journey to different countries to work for 1 yr each... hmm... can't wait to go aus!!!

n once again... manage to do stupid things today. tink i'm gettin more n more scatterbrained leh... act forgot to bring my lanyard to sch today!! which in itself, is no big deal really, except tt i'm supposed to play badminton wif ser today! n de stupid security guard refused to let me in wif my bus pass. hmph. ok la, not de guard's fault la, she's only following de rules. stupid sch rules. n of cos, stupid me. duh.

home @ last!!!! woohoo!!

2006-05-07T22:49:00.000+08:00

well well well... @ long last, i've managed to survive de gruelling 6-week technological isolation!!! hooray to me!! ahaha... so wat parting gifts did our gracious hosts impart to us during our departure? ONE big bite fr one of my little girls there (she happily threw a big tantrum during de last session wif me n gave me a huge bruise on my left arm... her mouth can open damn big la... haiyoh... de bruise has turned fr purple to yellow now... heng she neva break my skin lor, otherwise hafta go for injection... haiz... but her father more suay... she bit her father TWO times... oops!), one great dance (they danced aaron kwok's "para para" for us!!! aaawwww... sooooooo sweet...) fr de kids @ centre hu danced really well n shaked their butts... ahaha... n a great potluck dinner fr de kids' parents!! de food was great man!! homemade pizza, spaghetti, porridge (china style), otak rice, fried chicken (de parent managed to make it look EXACTLY like kfc chicken lor... amazing!!!), curry puffs, soon kueh... n loads more!!! it was heavenly.... haiz... unfortunately, de electricity decided to quit halfway during de farewell party... so needless to say, all of us were plunged into darkness... n de children started to pretend being ghosts n tried to scare us... was quite hilarious really.. heh... but sad la, de party had to end early due to de blackout... haiz... well, @ least our dear host n frens took us out after tt for some late night supper n kopi... heh... where our dear queen had a minor accident with her plastic chair (let's just say de chair outlived its lifespan)... n dear nikki had a teensy weensy bit too much to eat AND drink... frankly, it was quite an amazing scene... am quite sure tt i'll rmr it for de rest of my life... oops! ahaha... after a long evening, we adjourned back to our house, where we had a 2nd bout of drinking (many tanks to nikki for her vodka... *note to future batch of students gg to penang: one SMALL bottle of vodka is not enough to share between FOUR girls... bring BIGGER bottles in future*) n cards!!!

i gotta pause here for a short commercial break: pls rmr to take KONSORTIUM buses when any of ya wanna go m'sia in future. not only does it haf an in-flight... no, IN-BUS individual entertainment system (meaning ur own tv screen behind each seat playing both movies, cartoons and music), it's an 18-seater bus... meaning de seats r huge n u get control buttons for ur footrest, legrest n back... so u can nearly sleep horizontally @ night... n de MOST IMPORTANT thing is: de AIRCON is NOT so COLD!!! like omg... do u guys noe how difficult it is to get a bus with NOT so cold aircon @ night???!!!! it's a miracle!!! hallelujah!!! so rmr folks!! it's KONSORTIUM. spelled K-O-N-S-O-R-T-I-U-M. u can find it @ de 1st level of de building next to golden mile... n de prices r quite reasonable!!! 70RM fr penang to s'pore... S$70 fr s'pore to penang... of cos they go other places in m'sia also la... GO GO GO!!!

k! back to our programme... so managed to reach s'pore in time for election day... happily went for my FIRST vote!!! wheee...not tt it's very exciting... but it's another one of my firsts after passing de 21 year benchmark... heh... n guess wat?? happily voted for a party, only to realize tt u're supposed to put a CROSS on de voting ticket... n wat did aunty jojo do?? of cos i HAD to be blur n put a TICK in de box instead... wow!!! three cheers n three cheers n three cheers for jojo! hip hip HURRAY! so my first vote became a dud... despite my attempts to exercise my right as a singapore citizen to choose my own govt... haiz... oh well... i WAS technologically n media-ly isolated for SIX weeks!!! OBVIOUSLY i'm gonna be blur abt some things rite? all things considered, i tink my ignorance ought to be forgiven, don'tcha tink?? heh.

Wk 4 n counting!!!

2006-04-22T16:41:00.000+08:00

yoz! am back @ starbucks again, which obviously signifies tt it's de beginning of wkends once again!!!! lalala... so happy!! cos only got TWO more wks before we'll return to the folds of our beloved country!!!! aawww...*sudden surge of patriotism* majullah~~~~ singapura~~~~~

not much happening here... just de usual psychos running about, kicking, hitting n scratching... but tink i've managed to increase rapport between quite a few of the children under me... *sniff* so touching... ahaha... am happy to announce tt we've managed to reach de LAST dvd of jang guem!!! woohoo!! where de rivalry btwn de king n min jio ho is gg strong! woooh! sir min is sooo cute!! heh... haf dis feeling tt i'm gonna feel aimless after we finish jang guem... haiz... she's been our psychological support for so long!! muz go batu feringghi to buy more dvds to watch!! heh...

ooohh!!! muz blog abt our LATE-NIGHT ADVENTURE here!! we're having group therapy every night, so there was dis one fine night, when we had grp therapy, n we happily locked our kitchen (which is our office as well) door to keep de kids out. n lo n behold! we forgot to bring de keys to de door out!!! how smart of us... ahaha... here's de timeline of wat happened:

9.30pm discovery of our "locked out" predicament
9.35pm attempted to pick lock of kitchen door using a hairpin
9.45pm attempt 1 was declared a failure
9.50pm attempted to break in through side door (using hairpin once
again)
10.00pm attempt 2 was declared a failure too
10.05pm discussed possibility of banging down side door wif our
combined strengths
10.10pm decided against suggestion as we had a nagging suspicion tt
our hosts wouldn't appreciate our efforts
10.15pm decided to call host-in-charge
10.20pm realized tt de m'sian telecommunication network system is
not working. damn! wth???!!!!
10.25pm decided to call operator to ask for locksmith number
10.30pm realized tt the phone network is really not working. wat's
wrong with de m'sian network???!!!
10.35pm decided to embark on PLAN B: to construct a long pole wif a
hook @ de end to "fish" out our key
10.40pm official commencement of PLAN B
10.55pm SUCCESS!!! managed to fish out a key
11.00pm realized tt we fished out de wrong key!!!!!! WTH??!!!!
11.05pm tried to fish for other key, which was in de keyhole of another
door connected to kitchen
11.10pm key dropped to de floor
11.15pm unable to reach key on floor cos kitchen sink and table were
blocking de pole
11.20pm we're NEARLY reaching de key!!! push de pole down
somemore towards de floor!!!
11.25pm *CRACK!!!!!* omg! we cracked de glass window pane!!! shit.
11.30pm rescue efforts were declared a failure n operation was
terminated
11.35pm called host-in-charge using S'PORE line... n got thr at last
11.40pm host-in-charge agreed to come down de next morning to open
door for us. PHEW!
11.45pm made a silent pact tt no one is to inform host-in-charge of
cracked window. SILENCE IS TO BE OBSERVED AT ALL
COST.
11.50pm bathe, debriefing of operation n zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

@ home n happy to be home!!!!

2006-04-16T00:00:00.000+08:00

am currently happily slacking on de sofa wif my trusty notebook... enjoying life as i blog... aaaahhhh..... FINALLY i'm home in our beloved lion city! BUT only for de wkend... haiz... guess dis is wat they call shoot in and out - arrive in s'pore at 7+am dis morn n departing for penang once again at 9.30pm tmr... so happy tt i can finally sleep on my wonderful bed again! complete wif my fluffy pillow n soft comforter... aaahhhh... am sure tt i'll haf a great sleep tonite... compared to de hard bed, flat pillow n thin + porous blanket i haf in penang... dis is simply heaven!!! wheee..... altho i'm still a little pissed @ having to spend 190RM to travel to n fro s'pore juz to meet my lecturers for 3 hrs... duh. well, @ least i get to meet my family, sleep on my bed (for ONE night only!!! boohoo...) n watch my tv (we only got jang guem - da chang jing -for accompany in penang...)

so! how shall i sum up my past 2 wks in penang? hmm... can only say tt i got hit by kids (in de face), got my hairband pulled out by kids, got my knee bruised by kids, got screamed @ by kids n got more than a dozen mosquito stings on my legs (10 on my left n 3 on my right leg). other than tt, everything's been great! gd food + gd company + gd hosts. has been a gd choice to come to penang. altho, sometimes i get quite sick of having to socialize wif so many pple... haiz... of cos being such gd hosts, they often bring us out during de wkends n treat us to meals... which is wonderful!!! but extremely tiring as well... i can be quite unsocial @ times n i really need my personal space!!! no time for me to slack, wake up late n stone... activities which i deem as extremely therapeutic n relaxing... so instead to resting during de wkends, de programs planned for us throut de wkend often makes me UNrefreshed @ de start of a new wk... haiz... guess my body's not built for de "work hard n play hard" motto... tink it's more suited for "work little, play some n slack hard"... oh well...

tink i'm feeling a little more lost now tt treatment has begun... not sure if wat i've done is appropriate n beneficial for de children. i definitely HOPE it is. really feel abit like being thrown into deep water to drown... ahaha... wif NO lifeguards to save me! haiz... guess i shld really learn how to swim before time runs out.

Wk 1 in Penang: Waah??????!!

2006-04-01T13:20:00.000+08:00

Caution: This is going to be a very very long post.

yo pple! finally i'm blogging again! wahaha... muz understand tt me canNOT blog under stress, n de last few wks haf been hell. haiz... n straight after de stupid conference, had to rush over to penang de next day. *suffocated* nway, sid dear, if u're reading dis, sara may haf told u by now our horrible q&a session.. haiz... in short: our research was skewed n not representative - which was exactly wat we wrote in our limitations! duh. but de CDU person HAD to harp on tt fact OVER THE MICROPHONE!! ggrrr... so we're like left to defend ourselves wif paper plates while they hurled knives n spears at us. haiz... (obviously i'm juz being figurative, but de actual situation wasn't much far off). so OBVIOUSLY, we din get de best paper prize... let's observe one minute's silence to mourn de horrible experience. hopefully i'll not develop some phobia of conferences (conferencophobia??!!!)

nway, moving on to happier topics. am now happily ensconced in a chair at starbucks!! where it's de ONLY place we can get wireless connection. apparently our bungalow was too "ulu" for pple to have wireless tt we can "steal"... heh... have decided tt i shall blog on ms word 1st, den copy n paste to blogger when i get connection. tink we're really isolated fr de rest of de world!! wah...

Departure:
being de aunties tt we r, we all got so excited on de prospect of taking SIA flight to penang. so was happily chit chatting away while walking to our airport gate, which was gate 33. so there goes four chiobus (puke? it's de truth wad! heh...) waddling happily to our gates. "wat's our gate no. ah?" "gate 33 lor" "oh..." *looks up n sees gate 50* "so not yet reach la... shld be further down rite?" happily walk n talk summore. *looks up n sees gate 53* "it's right at de end la hor?" "hmm.... tink so la. shld be lor." happily walk summore. *looks up n sees gate 57, 58, 59 n 60... n den DEAD END* "eh? where's gate 33??" "shit! we walk wrong direction izzit?" "har? not juz walk straight den reach le meh?" "shit! 20 mins to take off!" *starts running back fr where we came fr* *Airport PA system: Last call for SQ198 going to Penang. Passengers please proceed to boarding gate NOW." *frantic rushing n scampering* LACTIC ACID ATTACK + decrease PULMONARY function commences. finally discovers tt gate 33 is located around a right turn from the main corridor. phew. Lesson learnt: Don't just talk n walk straight. Look out for signboards!

Arrival: yay!! we've reached Penang!! was a wonderful flight! but regretful tt it was too short a flight (50mins) for me to completely navigate their in-flight entertainment system (so many movies to watch! but no time... sad.). out from de airplane n someone says, "i need to go toilet!" okie! wait lor. everyone present already? let's go! our hosts r waiting for us at de arrival hall. eh, which way to go ah? hmm... dunno. juz walk STRAIGHT lor! (obviously, we haf impaired learning abilities. duh.) wah.. actually de penang airport not bad also wor! quite a lot of shops ah... aiyah... where to go? all de passenger crowd disappear liao... anyhow walk la... *10mins later* yay! we found de baggage collection point! collect luggage n see everyone gg to security checkpoint. let's follow de crowd! wait! how come after security checkpoint is the arrival gates already ah? no need to chop passport meh? *security guard signals us to put luggage on x-ray machine* "erm... sorry ah... no need to go thr customs ah?" "customs is THERE la!!" *guard points to a row of counters on our far left* "oops!!" am sooooo amazed tt we nearly became ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!! omg. cld haf juz entered m'sia w/o chopping our passports lor....

Last words: Food is damn gd here. BUT we're working an average of 15hrs/day!! wth?! cos got so much paperwork n documentation to do!!! argh! n de autistic children get damn weird n scary at times! abit afraid of having babies in future... ahaha... hope we can get more free time next wk!!

Single Subject Study on Stupidity

2006-01-09T22:50:00.000+08:00

Based on the study done on 9 January 2006, the following is the statistical values of how people rate their own stupidity. 1 respondent was invited to participate in this single subject study. Informed consent was obtained from the respondent and respondent confidentiality was assured before carrying out the following study . This study is a quantitative research done over a duration of 10 minutes. It was conducted in the home of the respondent, in the morning before the respondent left for school. The study consists of the respondent making two sandwiches using bread, cheese and a rectangular tin of luncheon meat. The results are as follows:

No. of slices of bread: 3
No. of slices of cheese: 1
No. of tins of luncheon meat: 1
No. of times respondent tried to open tin of luncheon meat: 1/2
(Researcher's note: tin was of the "turning key" kind and the metal broke halfway during the opening of the tin due to respondent's incompetence.)
No. of times respondent thought of using can opener to finish opening tin: 2
(Researcher's note: But respondent decided that can opener CANNOT open RECTANGULAR tins.)
No. of times respondent thought of using BARE HANDS to try to pry tin open: 5
No. of times respondent ACTUALLY DID try to pry tin open using BARE HANDS: 5
No. of times respondent got "TINY PAPER CUTS" by the tin in BOTH hands: 8
No. of times respondent attacked tin with a KNIFE: 3
No. of times respondent attacked tin with a RICE LADLE: 1
No. of times respondent decided to scoop luncheon meat out of tin with spoon: 1
No. of scoops required to empty tin of luncheon meat: 6
No. of times respondent thought scooped luncheon meat looked like DOG FOOD: 9
No. of sandwiches made FINALLY: 2
No. of times respondent felt UTTERLY STUPID, IDIOTIC and MORONIC all at the same time: 1 billion

This study has concluded that the average human being thinks that he/she is stupid for more then 1 billion times a day. Research has shown that excessive thoughts of stupidity has detrimental effects on an individual's overall mental and physical well-being, and may eventually result in negative effects in long-term. However, this study has a small sample size of only 1 subject, and further studies involving larger sample sizes are necessary in order to support generalization of the above results to the global population.

Searching for Ego

2006-01-09T14:47:00.000+08:00

am currently in NYP com lab, Superego is attempting bravely to reassert its authority n get some work done in 2 hrs by researching on some online journals. despite de perservering efforts of Superego n de promise of nice wedges n bubble tea fr south cateen in 10mins time as a reward for my hard work, stupid things tt i did while saving de online journals (saved de BRIEF citations instead of de full PDF files... gggrrrrr...) has resulted in Id rearing its ugly (yet Id can be beautiful at times... heh... )head again. as u readers can witness de fact tt i've given up researching n am happily blogging now. oh no! y am i not feeling de stress of dis sem yet??? so many of my classmates seem to be researching n meeting up for fyp n borrowing lib books n reserving lib books (except u n me ser... ahaha), but wat am i doing? happily slacking away... totally have no sense of worry over my assignments n fyp!! wow! is dis normal? somehow i dun tink so. but den again, my brain was neva really normal... heh... for some reason, Ego seems to be MIA... de odds r weighing heavily against Superego.

Blah 84 FM Transmission

2006-01-08T12:53:00.000+08:00

Thank you for tuning in to the Blah 84 FM Jojo Personality League (JPL) Updates. Following an eventful and exhiliarating 1st wk of the "Return to School" season, let's take a look at how the JPL has been faring! And here are the latest scores:
Round 1: Shoppinmania
Superego vs Id - 0 : 1
Round 2: Cafe Rendevous
Superego vs Id - 0 : 1
Round 3: Dim Sum Bliss
Superego vs Id: 0 : 1
Id is in the leading position for now with 3 wins over Superego! But the battle is only beginning! Stay tuned for further updates of the clash of the personalities! Will Id continue in its victory spree and strengthen its claim to this season's championship? Or will Superego, the underdog, learn from its mistakes and make a spectacular comeback? All these and more when we return to the JPL Updates on Blah 84 FM!

rantings

2006-01-03T22:01:00.000+08:00

Found out about my astrological personality inclinations on ser's website (http://my8s.astrology.com/scripts/runisa.dll?AO.18088246:FREEPERSONAL:766274487.994) n here's my personal profile!

"Section 1: How You Approach Life and How You Appear To Others
You are a gentle, sensitive person with a deep understanding of people and a very tolerant, accepting, nonjudgmental approach towards life. In a noisy, competitive atmosphere you are often receding and withdrawn for you are not an aggressive, forceful person, and you intensely dislike conflict. In fact you tend to be somewhat passive, to wait, watch, observe, feel and know much - but to act little. Letting things resolve or work themselves out in their own way, rather than directing or forcing your will upon them, is often your way of dealing with problems.

Section 2: The Inner You: Your Real Motivation
Quiet, deep, emotionally complex and intensely private, you are not a person who is easy to get to know and understand. You are extremely sensitive but disinclined to show it, and you allow only a special few into your inner world. Like a wary animal, you are cautious and mistrustful of those you do not know until you "sniff them out". You are very, very instinctive and intuitive. You usually have a strong, immediate gut reaction to people, even though you may be unable to clearly articulate why you feel as you do. Your feelings and perceptions go deeper than words."

Actually find tt quite accurate! haha... altho it seems a direct contrast to wat other pple usually see in me, it's actually quite true! realised tt i'm quite a good "actor" in covering up my inner feelings. heh! dun tink anyone really saw me angry b4... hmm... maybe i shld start throwing tempers now n den... hiakz... oh well! i always tink it's no point showing pple tt u're angry, as if it's gonna help make matters better. luckily my grps of frens haf always been sweet n supportive!! feel really blessed to haf such gd frens! shall use dis opportunity to thank all of ya! muackz!

it's also true tt i'm quite wary n mistrustful twds strangers. heh... my private matters r MY private matters thank you very much! as such, i seldom divulge anything tt i dun want others to know. hmm... i'm quite good at keeping secrets actually! heh... an example wld be today! when xj, eliz n ser finally managed to pry de identity of my ex-crush fr my lips! after 1 whole year of dunno-who-he-is! wahaha... tt shows tt i quote " allow only a special few into your inner world" unquote. oh no! sounds like i haf problems with the "intimacy vs isolation" stage of Erikson's psychosocial stages! wonder how i shall EVER marry. ahaha...

anyway, am feeling exhilarated today cos start of sch = seeing all my frens again n had a fun time during HB's class! ahaha... despite his attempts to "drive fear into us" by giving us tt 3-page 45-minute test, all he did was make us laugh n go "high" trying to GUESS de ans to his ques... wat a riot it was! tink we giggled like nobody's biz wor! tink de best was "Define TACHYPNEA." our ans? we broke up de word to derive it's medical definition: tachy=fast; pnea=stop breathing. hence, ans= breathe v fast n den stop breathing! ahaha... tink tt was de best ans man! in de end, was fel hu was so smart to guess tt it means "shallow and fast breathing" u go girl! n joy of joys!! i finally bought my shoes!! woohoo! de receipt describes it as "peep toe black pumps"! go figure! n it looks quite retro... ahaha... playing badminton tmr! can't wait! Superego vs Id: Round 1 - Id WINS!!!

Last words: btw, anyone wanna watch any movie jio me k... so long since i indulged in big-screen delights!!

Soap Opera: Internal Turmoil or Split Personality? - Episode 1: Return to School

2006-01-02T23:08:00.000+08:00

SUPEREGO "I'm always RIGHT." (highest moral centre of my brain):
This is an important announcement. School will start precisely at 14 00 tomorrow, 3 January 2006. I am to stop pursuing my current decadent and idle lifestyle, and focus all my attention and energy on schoolwork. That means no more late night tv and online espionage, no more wasting precious minutes of my worthless and insignificant existence on trivial issues such as socializing, retail therapy and brainless leisure pursuits. In other words, the words "social life" will not be found in my dictionary. My whole world will revolve around school and schoolwork only. All available time will be dedicated to the greater glory of my academical endeavours. That means I shall gradually, but surely venture into the world of NERDISSISM, and woe befall on those who try to tempt me off the path to intellectual enlightenment! Evildoers and partyers bewarned!

ID "i wanna play!" (highest play centre of my brain):
AAAHHH.... SHUDDUP! party pooper! *hic* i shall play all i want n there's nothin u can do 2 stop me! neh neh neh neh neh... :P wahaha... *hic* hu cares abt sch?? life is short! so we shld all PLAY while we still can! woohoo!! *hic* i'm gonna party! i'm gonna party! lalalalala.... *hic* 'tis de season 2 be jolly! falalalalalalalala!!!! studying is for nerds n geeks!! NOT ME!! *hic* hu's de king (oops! my mean QUEEN) of de world??!!! *hic* ME!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!! *hic* YEAH BABY!!!!!! *sinks into oblivion*

EGO "Superego vs Id = Equilibrium" (balance and control centre of my brain):
Now, now, children. If you want to play together, you must learn to SHARE...

Interesting n some weird facts...

2005-12-28T13:22:00.000+08:00

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

The yo-yo was originally a weapon used in the Philippine jungles.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching T.V

The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. The only other word with the same amount of letters is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, its plural.

On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year.

Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them.

Coca-cola was originally green.

The most popular first name in the world is Muhammad!

Most lipstick contains fish scales!

You use more calories eating celery than there are in the celery itself.

13 people each year are killed by Vending Machine's falling on them.

More than 2500 left handed people are killed every year from using right handed products.

At - 40 degrees Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by breathing.

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

Newborn babies are given to the wrong mother in the hospital 12 times a day worldwide.

In 1998, more fast-food employees were murdered on the job than police officers.

If you know a millionaire who happens to be married, what is the most likely profession of his wife? She's probably a teacher.

A baby is born without kneecaps. They appear between age 2 and 6.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

The Olympic flag's colors are always red, black, blue, green and yellow rings on a field of white. This is because at least one of those colors appears on the flag of every nation on the planet.

Brushing your teeth regularly has been shown to prevent heart disease.

85% of the guys who cheat on their wives die while having sex.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

Over 1000 birds a year die from smashing into windows.

Hewlett Packard's first product was an automatic urinal flusher.

In comic strips, the person on the left always speaks first.

If the entire population of earth was reduced to exactly 100 people, 51% would be female, 49% male; 50% of the world's currency would be held by 6 people, one person would be nearly dead, one nearly born.

A perfect SAT score is 1600 combined. Bill Gates scored 1590 on his SAT. Paul Allen, Bill's partner in Microsoft, scored a perfect 1600. Bill Cosby scored less than 500 combined.

There are 2,000,000 millionaires in the United States.

A ten year old mattress weighs double what it did when it was new, because of the -ahem- debris which is absorbed through the years. That debris includes dust mites (their droppings and their decaying bodies), mold, millions of dead skin cells, dandruff, animal and human hair, secretions, excretions, lint, pollen, dust, soil, sand and a lot of perspiration, of which the average person loses a quart per day. Good night!

Each year, more people are killed by teddy bears than by grizzly bears.

Al Gore's roommate in college (Harvard, class of 1969) was Tommy Lee Jones.

If you hook Jell-O up to an EEG, it registers movements almost identical to a human adult's brain waves.

71% of office workers stopped on the street for a survey agreed to give up their computer passwords in exchange for a chocolate bar.

A Massachusetts surgeon left a patient with an open incision for 35 minutes while he went to deposit a check.

Every year, 2700 surgical patients go home from the hospital with metal tools, sponges, and other objects left inside them. In 2000, 57 people died as a result of these mistakes.

We forget 80 percent of what we learn everyday.

The chance that you will die on the way to buy your lottery ticket is greater than the chance of you winning the big prize in most lotteries.

MY BELOVED HAIR!!!

2005-12-21T17:36:00.000+08:00

well! once again, i cldn't suppress de temptation of cutting my hair YET AGAIN! omg! it already looked like a mushroom b4. now de after is worse! argh!!! i juz wanted 2 layer n make my fringe a little shorter... n de auntie came n ask "u wanna cut like $#^$ (some actress's name which i din't catch)?? her fringe VERY short!" n i'm like "er... no need TOO short la. just shorter a bit can le" n i dunno she CLDN'T hear? or REFUSED 2 hear. now my fringe is 3cm long. OMG!!! luckily it's cut slanted so only de shortest part is 3cm long. but it's worse enuff! now i totally feel like a moronic idiot reincarnated. great. i shld juz hibernate @ home 4 de rest of dec until my hair grows back. but no! i got so many things n appointments left 2 do! argh again! i guess it all boils down to my OWN fault again. i deserve it. NEVERMIND. HAIR WILL GROW.

mindless chatter

2005-12-19T17:19:00.000+08:00

hbo's doing "matrix revolutions" outside n here i am blogging instead of watching... y?? haiz... juz went 4 de tree top walk at macritchie once again. din't walk so far dis time tho... took de short-cut fr s'pore island country club instead of hiking up fr macritchie reservoir. even tho it was windy n cool when we started de hike, i still managed 2 end up with a headache... was actually a pulsating headache, tt kind tt seems like i'm gonna have a stroke soon. hmm... i wonder if u can actually feel it when u haf a stroke. can u actually feel de vessel rupturing if it's hemorragic? oh well, i guess i'll noe it in future, when it happens 2 me. ahaha... always haf dis morbid premonition tt i'll have either stroke or cancer in future (maybe both! omg.)

nway, had dis horrible nightmare dis morn tt de indoor stadium was collapsing n i was trying 2 escape fr being buried alive. it was actually so real tt i tot it really did happen when i woke up. tink i ate too much last night. or maybe it was de sour cream tt did it. ahaha... anyone else got nightmares after de sour cream yesterday?

congratulations to my gums! de swelling n pain r definitely gg down n i tink it'll be completely gone in a coupla more days. am soooo relieved tt i wun hafta take de wisdom tooth out! tink it sounds quite horrible, what dentists do 2 wisdom teeth, according to my fren, hu happily insisted tt i visit de dentist AFTER she told me de horrific extraction methods tt will be employed on my poor, innocent n unsuspecting tooth!

so sad! i still haven't ktved since hols started! haiz... shall chio pple out b4 de hols r over. my mom's nagging me 2 clear my table again! :( am totally burned out fr my walk dis morn... my energy store is really quite slow in replenishing... shall try 2 procrastinate for another day.. hee...

deb, xq n yr: we're NOT gg for de cco thing on xmas eve right? dun tink we'll be able 2 make it in time nway (we'll prob sleep till noon). r we gonna DIY dinner on fri? wat's on de menu? (besides yr's chocolate banna mousse. yr, pls perfect it b4 making for us? tanks! heh... :P)

A Legacy

2005-12-17T15:16:00.000+08:00

Yo pple! ahaha... yes, my little readers out there, u haf spurred me into moving my fingers once more tippity tap over the keyboard to blog again! ahaha... today shall be known as "JOJO's BLOG RESURRECTION DAY"! wahahaha... well, since it's been sooooo long since i last left off, let me update a little on wat i've been up to...

i've just ended my 8-week placement at SOME acute hospital (which i'm not supposed to divulge due to privacy purposes) n am currently holidaying @ home... slacking like de slacker tt i am..heh.. i guess i can only sum up my clinical placement in 2 words: "Jojo's Legacy". yep! n here's how i got my name into the hall of fame (or shld i say "infame").

Incident #1:
Scene 1
Was an abnormal day at de hands dept, cos my supervisor n i had an unprecedented large number of clients! (heh... usually i'm quite slack there la..). n so, being de kind n helpful student tt i am, i volunteered to change de wound dressing for a client. mind u, i've only SEEN my sup doing dressing TWICE, but i tot tt smart n adaptable me can do de job. no prob, it's only wound dressing rite?? DEH!! WRONG!! so there i was trying to change de wound dressing, wif my sup breathing down my neck n i forgot de all impt P-word u haf to do b4 u start doing anything. P.R.E.P.A.R.A.T.I.O.N. so NO preparation watsoeva n i started 2 take off de wound dressing. u hafta do everything using STERILE gloves (which r thicker n more ex than norm gloves), so there i was wearing gloves, changing de dressing, n suddenly i rmred! OH! i need de bandage! took bandage from shelf using GLOVED hands, n discovered OH NO! my gloves r no longer STERILE! change gloves. did some more dressing. suddenly rmred again! OH! i need saline lotion! took saline lotion from shelf using GLOVED hands, n discovered OH NO! my gloves r no longer STERILE! change gloves AGAIN. did some more dressing. suddenly rmred again! OH! i need sterile scissors! took sterile scissors from shelf using GLOVED hands, n discovered OH NO! my gloves r no longer STERILE! change gloves YET AGAIN. so dis carried on by before i knew it, i used abt 4 gloves in 1 single wound dressing. wow!! applause for jojo!!! wat a great performance! n there goes my sup telling another OT: "i got expensive student leh. she used 4 - 5 gloves doing 1 dressing!"

Scene 2
all of us went 4 dinner wif de hands n ortho team (sort of a farewell dinner for us *aaww.. so sweet!*) n de OT hu heard abt wat happened earlier happily decided tt she shld spread de joy around... JOY over my STUPIDITY tt is... n suddenly, i became an intradepartmental overnight sensation!! headlines: "THE EXPENSIVE STUDENT!" i am SOOOO proud of myself.

Incident #2:
i'm supposed 2 do ultrasound for dis client of mine. tt's when u apply a conductive gel over de client's skin n do ultrasound treatment via a flat-surfaced probe. we usually do it for a few mins n there's a timer on de machine. so i was happily chatting 2 my client while doing de treatment, when my client suddenly tells me tt de timer is not jumping. lo n behold! de timer has stopped! how curious! let us try again. nope still not working. let's try yet AGAIN! hmm... still not working. i think de machine is spoilt. so i trotted off, like de good ol' student i am, to tell de OT (de same one who propagandaed my stupidity earlier on) tt i tink de machine is spoilt. so she came along n checked. wanna know de ans to de mystery? apparently de culprit is a stupid student called JOANNA. u see, joanna had stupidly forgotten tt de machine has 2 probes. 1 big probe n 1 small probe, but there's only 1 plug point. so while joanna was happily using de BIG probe, de SMALL probe was de one tt was plugged in. wow! mystery solved! i din't remove de small probe n plug in de big one! how smart joanna! n i had to do de ultrasound all over again! n of cos de OT din't fail 2 dig in summore abt wasting de conduction gel n brand me as "expensive" once again. neither did she fail to inform de whole hands dept of my stupidity.... ah well... de stupid things i do in life. a toast. a toast to me n my stupidity.

the early bird gets the BLUES

2005-07-26T07:49:00.000+08:00

it's currently 7.46am n i'm act blogging... wow. wat am i doin blogging @ such an unearthly hour u ask? well... juz forgot tt my sch's having their graduation ceremony n lessons start @ 10 instead of 9... hence my early awakening... sigh. it's pouring outside... how gloomy... hopefully it'll stop by de time i step outta de house? as u can see... i've been tokin lotsa crap, even commenting on de weather???!! duh. obviously, i got blogger's block. so y de hell am i blogging den when i got no inspiration 2 blog? cos i'm so damn sian. maybe i shld go sch early n haf a nice breakfast! sounds nice. hmm... now i'm reminded of some day last mth when it was also raining n i slipped n fell straight on my butt... wearing my UNIFORM! wif a security guard rite in front of me (i was outside a condo) n a guy in an orange shirt right behind me! humiliation!! haiz... hopefully history shall not repeat itself today. y am i still toking crap? argh. shall go n play com games. goodbye.

Midway Evals!

2005-06-22T23:08:00.000+08:00

today was midway eval... *scream* but all was well... considering my previous premonitions... my sup turned out 2 be v nice indeed n was quite generous in her ratings... but, apparently de rehab manager @ my placement centre seems 2 tink tt we're not managing our time effectively n sorta "hinted" tt my sup has been TOO generous wif de marks... fine! not tt i disagree totally... there's ALWAYS room 4 improvement n i oso feel tt my performance can be further improved... but he seems 2 tink tt we've not been doin anything!!

hellooo!! i beg 2 differ!! we've act been doin quite a lot of stuff! but juz so happens tt he ALWAYS pops by when we've oredi finished de activities n so of cos he cldn't observe us doin anything!! duh. am quite pissed abt it. shld make it a point 2 inform him everytime we wanna do an act... so he can "pop in" @ de rite time... but den again, he's not our immediate sup wad! duh again. our sup quite boh hius us while he likes 2 follow our every movement like a hawk... hai. de irony of it all. shld hone up on my "looking busy" skills. anyone can impart me some skills? pls be my shifu.

Confessions of a Procrastinator

2005-06-12T21:12:00.000+08:00

y do i haf a nagging premonition tt i'll die in dis placement? tink i'm v subjective towards de env i'm in... once i formed de impression tt i dun like my placement n my sup, it's likely tt i wun do well in it... wat de hell... i dun even feel like trying 4 dis placement lor... YYY??? sibei sian...

argh... n i hate it most when i dunno wat de hell i'm expected 2 do... i'm de kind tt can't work w/o guidelines n proper allocation of work... duh... feel so useless n extra in my placement centre... n some of de cases really dunno wat 2 do lor... like wat can u do 4 a SCI tetraplegic who's definitely under maintenance therapy? de most i can tink of is leisure exploration lor, which is obviously limited as well... arrgghhh!!! feel like tearing my hair out (n it's not like i got a lot of hair 2 begin wif lor...) wat de hell... shall juz rot till i die... hopefully i'll juz pass dis clinicals...

see!! i'm so damn pessimistic nowadays! wat's de matter wif me?! duh. like 5 more wks 2 go n i'm oredi taking it like de ending's fixed le n can't be changed... i definitely tink it's cos of de 1st impression of de placement... heaven forbid tt i work in dis kinda setting in future. i'd rather marry a rich man. ahahahaha... duh. let me change my wordings... i'd marry a rich man anytime. ahaha... provided of cos tt he fulfills all de other criterias necessary 2 be my hubby... =P on 2nd tot, i'll prob juz not marry... heh... anyone wanna join de spinster's club??

Hospital please... thank you very much

2005-06-09T23:17:00.000+08:00

well... here i am starting clinical attachments once again... horror of horrors!!! despite my predictions of hands or mental health, got posted 2 community physical dysfunction instead... rmr those of ya whom i said i tink i'm more suited 2 physical dysfunction than mental health n paeds?? well! i juz discovered another component 2 my overall well being in clinicals besides being in de field tt i enjoy: TYPE OF SETTING. am extremely hospital-sick rite now... tt's rite! u heard me! dis placement has further confirmed de fact tt i'm indeed NOT at all suited 4 community placement... not only do i find community placements slack (which is a joy to my 2 classmates @ de same placement), i also find it quite boring n unstimulating... sigh! n i wonder y tt is... how i miss de quick efficiency of hospitals n de daily turnover rate of patients!! guess i'm not a "strong practitioner-patient relationship" therapist... haha... i act like my clients 2 CHANGE frequently instead of forming long lasting relationships wif them...

is dis due 2 my innate need 2 be alone?? hmm... maybe it cums wif being an only child? i like small networks... not BIG ones... n i rather small groups of close frens than large nos. of acquaintances... somehow, i always pair acquaintances wif hypocrisy... maybe tt's y i hate networking... or izzit juz tt i have a low eq?? hmm... tink i haf no probs making frens, it's retaining de relationship tt i find tiring n arduous... haf always been a lazy person at heart, maybe tt's y i dun like putting too much energy into relationship maintenance... i rather keep de energy 2 my own reflections n feelings... hmm... guess tt makes me someone whose world revolves ard myself?? indeed, many a time i've fu1 yan3 pple when i really din feel like toking... surprise! i DO act feel like NOT toking... contrary 2 de beliefs of many frens... ahaha... dun tink any of my frens have seen me in a foul mood b4... sian n pek chek maybe, but neva angry or fuming... hmm... am i so gd at hiding my feelings? realised i've been using tiredness n sianness as an excuse wheneva i feel lousy... lousy=sad, angry, frustrated etc... is tt healthy?? u're supposed 2 vent ur feelings instead of penting them up... but i realised tt i dun really vent my feelings... de most is juz being cranky n irritable 2 my family, n i usually cum out of it in less than an hr... maybe i shld focus more on my emotional health... haven been feeling as happy as i shld recently...

juz got news tt hb's coming down next tues 2 observe us... shit. die.

2005-05-13T23:28:00.000+08:00

popped over 2 ttsh yesterday while accompanying my mom for her eye checkup (she got mild cataract... n i mean really MILD)... decided 2 take a peek at de geri ward, where i did my last placement n was delighted 2 find my ex-sup there!! heh... was banking on catching her 4 a little chat! met other therapists as well n was really glad tt they still rmr me!! *feels warm n fuzzy all over* aawww... at least i noe tt i left an impression! haha... so was gossiping as usual when i realised tt my ex-sup always tot of me as a 3A student throut my placement! omg! ggrrrr.... ahahahaha... best! heh... oh well! still had a great time trading news n ba1 gua4... haha... n lo n behold! de TA also rmr me!! waaahhh... suddenly feel so touched n loved.... ahahahaha.... shall catch my ex-sup n other ots if possible 4 lunch some day... heh...

Me? A novelist? HA!

2005-05-09T20:22:00.000+08:00

haf been bowled over by dis new author whom i bumped across in bedok lib while searching 4 remotely interesting bks! now she's like totally my new idol!! *screams* haha... k lar, tt was a bit extreme... heh... juz read 2 of her masterpieces, n hafta admit, altho short, they were de most impressionable ones i've read 4 a v long time! i seriously recommend amelie nothomb (she's belgian by nationality... cool!) n her following 2 bks: "The Character of Rain" n "Fear and Trembling". dun worry!! they're NOT mysteries or thrillers! surprising rite? cos as a general rule, i dunn touch other bks besides those 2 genres... hahaha... am by nature a dark, evil n morbid person.... wahahahahaha...

nway, it's really a refreshing read compared 2 all de other romance or xxx-rated bks out there... n hafta admit wat she writes is really weird sometimes... weird, but funny!! haha... is supposed 2 be her real-life experiences, but i suspect tt she exaggerated some parts quite a bit... anyway, it's sorta like her autobiography n de 1st bk mentioned is abt her life btwn 2 1/2 to 3 yrs old (told ya it's damn interesting!) n de 2nd bk is abt her life at 22 yrs old, when she signed on a 1-yr contract wif dis japan mnc... heh... really get hooked 2 de bk man... totally laugh n cry at de same time... cool!!!

hai... reading de books has really inspired me 2 develop de notion of writing a bk myself!! ahahaha... yesh! me! a writer!! ahahaha.... i like 2 tink of it as sorta a developmental delay?? haha... tt i'm meant 2 be a writer, but somehow can't find de nrg, determination n will 2 get 2 it?? ahahaha.... tink if i eva publish a bk, it'll be de stupidest one eva.... which, in itself, may not be such a bad thing afterall... after reading so much intellectual works out there, surely SOME readers crave 4 some shallow n boh liao literary works rite??? ahahaha... yeshyesh, dream on jojo!! cont deluding urself in dis out-of-the-world fantasy.... lalalala... am enjoying my fantasy tho... ahahaha... Publisher: Blackwell Publishers. Author: Joanna Lim. oh yeah baby!!

Your's Truly... Moi!

2005-05-07T22:07:00.000+08:00

yo peeps!! am really sorry 4 not updating my blog, despite de desperate pleas of a certain x*uj*an... ahahaha... yeshyesh, i noe tt u're secretly my most devoted worshipper... ahahahaha... during dis period of abstinance fr blogging, i noe de world lamented de temporary loss of a literary genius... yeshyesh... i'm aware of all de anguish my loyal readers felt. well! not to fear! joanna is here!! ahahaha.... once again, i shall triumph over de forces of universal mundaneness n rise up to de challenge of scaling greater heights!! woohoo!! *author's note to self: it''ll be a terrible waste if i dun cum up wif a book one day... such great literary talent should be shared wif pple all over de world!!* erhmm... as i was saying, i'm back! n am feeling greater than eva!! hurrah to moi!!!! moi n my dynasty!! muahahahaha.... *if anyone was tinking (is STILL tinking) tt i'm slightly drunk, let me juz assure u tt i'm 100% alcohol-free! it's a fact tt i tend 2 get high on oxygen alone, n de 20% oxygen present in de earth's atmosphere is more than enough 2 fuel de engines of my wonderful brain. wheeeeee!!!!!*

so. on to more serious topics. i can be serious u noe. damn serious. in fact, i can be so serious tt u wun even believe tt it's de same me hu is blogging rite now. i'm serious. serious is my middle name. wait a minute. no it's not. my middle name's wanni. yes. tt's rite. my name is lim wanni joanna. ha. ha. ha. oops. am supposed 2 be serious. no laughter. sshhh. i tink i'm crazy. i'm serious. i seriously tink i'm seriously crazy. serious.

ok! stop being a nutcase! *whacks brain* !*&^#*&^$&(&#? wahahahahaha... *whacks brain again* yep! i'm back on de rite frequency. wat i really wanted 2 say, is a big THANK YOU 2 all of ya hu've been supporting me during tt period of darkness when i felt tt everything was bleak n hopeless... u've all been a great help n am proud 2 say tt i've bounded rite back n am now most happy once again! yay! okok, cos it's de hols la! one's supposed 2 be happy during de hols... esp when one's got 6 wks of clinical placement once again after dis 4 wks of hols. haiz... excuse me for 5 mins to wallow in self pity.... *wallow wallow* *sniff* BUT! figured there r gd things tt r happening too! am looking very fwd 2 trip 2 msia wif my bunch of funny little frens... woohoo!! hopefully will be able 2 do a gd shopping spree in kl.... lalala... will rmr tt we're ambassadors of s'pore n will strive hard 2 leave a gd impression on our neighbours... terima kasih!! saya canteh ya?? ahahhaha.... *translation: i pretty ya??* ahahhaha again... n am looking fwd 2 several great sessions of mahjong!!! here cums de queen, no wait, queen is too old, PRINCESS of gambling!!! amateurs, move one side!! ahahaha... so will be gd fun! plus, am open 2 dates n invitations! ask me out!!! not next wk tho... quite busy 4 de next wk... act quite busy 4 de next next wk too! hmm... oh well, juz feel free 2 chio me out k!

2005-04-12T16:20:00.000+08:00

wat inspiration do i haf to blog? none!! i can only tink of the splint prac test tmr, de behavioural science ICA on thur, de health promo seminar on fri, n de hands ICA next mon! AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!! wat is de world coming to??? y is my whole life revolving ard nyp n ot?? might as well overnite n adopt dis as my home till de end of time.... XP

am being bogged down by tonnes of work n had 2 get pissed again by someone else... duh. tokin like u're "superior" 2 us... i'm not saying tt i'm not open 2 ideas, but u can put it in a nicer, "friend cum colleague" way rite? instead of cuming down upon us as if u're a lect or sup... duh... n really pissed when u say things like "cos i tink it really reflects badly on us and if i neva go n see for two wkends leh? it's been there since last wed, so like thur, fri n de whole wkend u all juz left it there" hello!! so we DID leave it there, guilty as charged. do we deserve a death sentence den?? u can juz say nicely like "i tink we can keep de stuff rite, dun put it there all over de table" sounds nicer rite? really felt like u called us in 2 reprimand us, n wat right do u haf 2 do tt? duh. we totally "deserved to be scolded" rite. c'mon lor, we're supposed 2 be working tog in COLLABORATION, not under a HIERARCHY. say nicely, we GET THE PIC! is there a need 2 fling ur weight abt n indirectly point out tt we're irresponsible? cos tt's really de pic i get... u wan us 2 keep? juz say de word. we'll do it! y all de big hoo-haa as if we burned down de whole lab? as a leader, u're supposed 2 RESOLVE issues n differences, not EXACERBATE them.

am pissed n i still got de whole of socio 2 study by tonight. wat de hell.

complaints... yada yada yada...

2005-04-06T12:35:00.000+08:00

haiz... wun be gg 2 london afterall... haha... which is act 4 de best? haha... den i can go straight 2 aus to finish my degree after i graduate here... heh... n wif de amt of $$ saved, maybe i can get a new laptop??? ahahahaha... *evil tots start forming in my head* made de decision last nite, but still tink it was quite funny cos my tap started leaking when my parents chu1 er3 fan3 er3 n started tellin me NOT 2 go london... haiz... act i'm juz pissed cos u encouraged me 2 go 4 it n when i got it, cum n tell me to NOT go... duh... tanks ah, so nurturing rite... n summore i'm having my monthly thing mah... so emotions definitely run higher n so i decided 2 hide in front of my comp n leak while typing my report at de same time (see! hardworking me! ahahha... but v hard 2 type cos de words keep getting blurred on de screen by my tears... haha) n my mom decided 2 cum n "console" me... duh... can like stop toking abt it? make me cry all over again... not i wan 2 cry mah, but my lacrimal glands wan 2 work overtime i can't help it rite? i'm really ok le. can stop reminding me n making me leak again? duh. n she act bargained tt i dun go london now, den i save de $$ n go straight 2 aus 4 degree after graduation... duh, wat can i say?? of cos i choose my degree over london rite.... ahaha... so am quite happy afterall... juz a bit ke3 xi1 abt london... i wanna go 2 their countryside!!!! n play!!!! am act sad over de "play" part n not de clinical attachment part... haha... so i told my parents tt n my mom's like: "u're only interested in de play part?! haiyah, u might as well fly over n tour there, even cheaper than ur attachment costs!" ahaha... which is also true, but i'm really pissed abt de chu1 er3 fan3 er3 part n i so i juz sorta gave de "play" reason 2 stop my mom fr consoling me... duh. stop it. i'm fine. leave me alone. n den guess wat? my DAD saw me leaking as well n came in later 2 "sayang" me... omg... i din my family so supportive one... can u all juz stop n go away? i'm really fine! n made up another excuse: "I'm fine really! juz tt now period mah! once i start crying, v hard 2 stop le! it's pms lar! I'M FINE!!!!" n finally, they leave me alone... haiz... i'm thankful 4 ur concern... but pls dun OVER-concern... tank u v much.

hmm... seem 2 haf alot 2 complain abt today... haha... was supposed 2 learn aquatherapy fr Confusious today, but guess wat? she's sick! n tt's really fine too... i can understand it's hard 2 teach when sick... but u dun hafta make US (de non-swimmers) teach de swimmers rite?? duh... den y we need u as a lecturer? might as well we teach ourselves rite. summore we've NEVER done aquatherapy b4 lor... n ur notes soooo helpful rite? all words n no pics... u noe how hard it is 2 convert words into actions?? best... n u juz lay there on de reclining chair beside de pool n enjoyed de shade while de rest of us were roasting in de sun?? best. i take my hat off to u.

The Amazing Little Ootts

2005-04-04T21:06:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, in the dense forests of Nany Angpo Lyte Chnic, there was a tiny village called Ototot. It was populated by a rare tribe, who called themselves Otians. Now, in truth, they were not Otians, but really Ootts, baby Otians. Whenever an Oott was born, it has to undergo 3 years of formal brainwashing before it can become a full fledged Otian. The Otians were powerful creatures who, in their generosity and kindness, dedicated their lives to helping all the small creatures of the magical forest. Hence, it was every Oott's dream to get their brain properly washed with spells and potions so that they could, one day, fulfill their wonderful destinies. And so, every Oott was sent to Ototot right after birth and put in the care of their guardians, the 4 OTTERS (Iams Mart, Confusious, Stresses and Newm Om). Such was the fate of our heroines, who like all others before them, arrived at Ototot right after birth, bawling their heads off.

Now, the story begins in the second spring of our heroines' lives. They had enjoyed the first year of their brainwashing thoroughly, as all babies do and were looking forward to another year of fun and brainwashing. However, this was not to be. Soon after the New Year, the OTTERS announced that now the Ootts were 2 years old, they must start to learn the ways of the Otians and follow the PATH. Now, the Ootts were unsure of what the PATH was and how they were expected to follow it, since the PATH was supposed to be invisible to their senses. However, the OTTERS assured them that they would find the PATH if they succumbed to intense sessions of brainwashing and followed the wise words of the OTTERS. Convinced and passionate, the Ootts agreed happily.

As the months passed, the Ootts were shown flashes of the PATH now and then by the OTTERS. Iams Mart tried hard to stamp his own brand on the Ootts and never failed to display his wonderful magical powers to the initially amazed, later amused Ootts. It was good entertainment to the young and naive Ootts, who didn't know any better and they enjoyed the free magic show thoroughly. Confusious, on the other hand, was another story. The Ootts tried hard to learn from Confusious, but Confusious had been blessed since young with a sleeping spell, and all the Ootts could do nothing but fall prey to the sleeping spell whenever Confusious started to talk. Of those precious few who were immune to Confusious' sleeping spell, they perked up their ears n tried hard to listen, but Confusious was named so for a reason and before long, the remaining Ootts were trapped in confusion over what she was trying to say, and in good time, learned to sleep with their eyes open. As confusing as Confusious already was, she still continued to periodically change the potions and spells which she had set for the Ootts to do, making them more confused than ever. Potions and spells are already difficult to master in their own right, and Confusious wasn't making it any easier.

Stresses, on the other hand, was often bogged down by her guardianship work and always looked tired. She was helpful and very nurturing to the Ootts, always giving them positive feedback and encouragement. Although, the Ootts also tried to learn from the nice Stresses, it was also difficult as Stresses liked to talk in riddles and sometimes the riddles just didn't make sense to the inexperienced Ootts. Also, Stresses liked to test the Ootts' reflexes by giving them last minute potions and spells to do, often throwing the poor Ootts into panic and anxiety attacks. The Ootts tried to predict what new spell or potion Stresses would test them on next, but Stresses always managed to surprise, or should I say shock, them with new, never-seen-before spells and potions. As time wore on, the Ootts learned to give up predicting and simply accepted whatever was thrown at them. Lastly, there was Newm Om, who was the newest OTTER and was also expecting a new Oott herself. The Ootts liked her, for here, at last, was a nice and reasonable OTTER who made sense and showed them the PATH clearly. The Ootts were also quite excited over Newm Om's new Oott and couldn't wait to see the new baby.

As more and more of the PATH was shown to the Ootts, more and more spells and potions were thrown at them too. In addition, all the Ootts had to go on regular journeys out of Ototot and into the deep forest, where they followed full fledged Otians around, helping the creatures of the forest. These journeys were tests of the Ootts knowledge and skills in spells and potions. The journeys were stressful events as sometimes Ootts could hurt the creatures of the forest instead of helping them if they said the wrong spells or gave the wrong potions. All the Ootts were tired and drained, yet spells and potions kept coming! Some even lost the PATH which they must follow and struggled to find the PATH again. It was a dark time for our poor little Ootts, who were really babies still. And so, they supported each other and guided one another along the invisible PATH, towards the tiny shaft of light at the end of the PATH............... (to be continued)

1st day of hols... Aaahhh...

2005-03-28T15:36:00.000+08:00

woohoo!! finally de one wk hols' here!! "joy to de world! n blah blah blah..." forgot lyrics... heh... am totally having fun now dling songs, chatting wif frens, playing games n blogging... ahahahaha... tho i'm act supposed 2 be doin my reports n presentations... ooopps!!! oh well, a LITTLE fun neva hurt anyone... ahahaha...

was reading xiu's blog juz now... de one regarding ur grp thingy?? i TOTALLY agree!!! haiz... getting a little pissed myself... unlike ur boh hiu prob, mine's more of a clash of priorities... n frankly, i'm really getting quite sick of excuses (of cos, it's legitimate reasons in other's pt. of view)... but it's almost EVERY meeting leh... no matter how understanding i am, there's still a limit rite? it's like, i noe wat u're doin is impt 2 U, but projects r impt to ME too ah!! like can u forsake ur commitments once in a while for US instead of de other way round? which is wat's always happening... really dun recall a meeting when u were present throut... i noe tt u feel bad abt not contributing enuff, but for me, de solution wld be 4 u 2 join us lar... tt's y it's grpwork, not indiv work rite... haiz... i get de feeling tt ur commitment is more impt then schwork... maybe u really feel tt it is? no matter wat, i still tink a gd balance btwn commitment n schwork is vital... nvm, maybe i shld haf a tok wif u sometime...

nway, muz announce tt i finally got my creative muvo v200!!!! woohoo!! muz tank me n my money, ks n her help, teck n his efforts... FINALLY!! i get my wish!!! ahahhahaha.... "i feel good, diao x 7, i'm feeling so good now, diao x 7" *dances ard mentally* ahahahhaa.... oh no... getting a bit high... "lalalalalalalalala x 1000"... oh no... shuddup idiot! hu's tt stupid idiot laaing in my head?? shuddup shuddup! shit! am having auditory hallucinations.. ahahahahha.... "hallucinations... u're having hallucinations.... lalalalalalalalalala x 10 000" aarrggghhhh!! get outta my head! u foreign entity!! it must be an alien!!!! aaarrrgghhh!! damn you! DIE ALIEN! DIEEE!!!! *hits brain repetitively wif hammer* wahahahahahaha.... *sinks into maniacal laughter*

*Author's note: THE Jojo was neva seen again on the face of the Earth until 1 millisec later... when she miraculously returned. Till this date, she firmly believes that she had been abducted by aliens for de 1 millisec........ "The truth is out there........"

The Last Dinner

2005-03-23T16:33:00.000+08:00

In the flash of eye, it's already de end of my clinicals... i noe tt all de ardent readers out there have been waiting for my latest blog entry in vain... (heh... bhb!!) so here it is!! Since my last entry was on de first few days of clinicals, this one shall be abt de last few days of clinicals....

First of all, let me introduce to all of ya de new PT in my wards!!! ahahahhaa... as u all can "see" fr de tone of my voice, he's quite CUTE!!!! ahahaha... (me n my flower idiot again) *oops~!! my fren juz said tt her bro quite shuai4 n is on frontpage of straits time today... heh! can go check it out!* nway, as i was saying... he's fr hong kong, n is really quite shuai4, except tt he's very WHITE!! haiz... dun really like white guys... fine! i'm shallow! but i always maintain tt guy shld be darker than ger... den compatible mah... tink those guys hu very white, tan le, becum white again in less than 2 wks damn suay! ahahaha... but he's quite blur n buay zi dong oso... do PT wif clients in gym, take out bike pedal, take out therabands, take out weights, take out foot rest, lower gym gate, bring wheelchair in... prepare sooooo many things, den after PT, dunno how to keep them back! juz leave everything on de floor n go do other cases le... DUH!! HELLLOOOO!!! mom neva teach u 2 put back ur toys after playing wif them ah? need nanny (in dis case, ME!) to clean up after u ah? like some rich little brat... hmph!! hello! i'm jin1 zhi1 yu4 ye4 lor!! (yesyes... puke... =P) so in de end i juz boh hiu n left everything as it was... until my group volunteers came n cleaned it all up for him... DAMN! shld haf asked them 2 leave it n let him see his handiwork! hmph! really tink he got problem, even tho he's shuai4... documentation neva write plan one.... best! got one time only write wat treatments he did... wat abt all de observations n assessments?? u say i did this, this this and this, so can de patient do anot? need assistance? or independent? how well did de patient perform in de treatment? neva write oso... best x 100!

Conversation b/w patient's husband, shuai4 PT n me:
Husband (in Hokkien): Sorry ah, my wife going Ang Mo Kio later hor... discharging lar... so got "car" to push her out anot?

PT: Sorry ah... I dun understand, I can only speak Cantonese.

Me (was in de near vicinity, so decided to be nice n help out): Orh.. he says tt he needs a wheelchair to bring his wife out.

PT (blurly): So??

ME *rolls my eyes mentally*: So u ask a nurse to bring de wheelchair lar!

PT (like some great mystery's been solved): OH!!!!

DUH!!! like i'm a student leh!! u're a full-fledged PT!! summore heard somewhere he got MBA lor!! duh... simple stuff liddat oso dunno... n his been here for like over 2 wks le!! WAKE UP!

Nway, will be gg for my LAST DINNER wif my TTSH team later @ 6.15... yum!! hope got some hao3 liao4 to eat!! =)

The 1st Coupla Days...

2005-03-07T22:10:00.000+08:00

*Note: Due to author's laziness n busyness (yes! i'm a v busy person u noe!!), the following is an excerpt out of my cms regarding my clinical experience. NYP mates: My deepest apologies for succumbing to my overwhelming temptation of simply cutting n paste... heh... =P.*

"Hi all!! Was quite exciting at TTSH for this last couple of days as I consider this to be my "first" placement at an acute hospital setting (my first placement was at NUH, but being 1st years, couldn't do any hands-on at all, and then had a community placement for 2A). So as I was saying, it's really quite different from community setting and everything's quite fast-paced there, unlike community, where you can spend up to an hour for therapy. Here, it's really "chop chop" finish and go!

Felt an overwhelming sense of incompetence on my first day, but that's normal, cause I ALWAYS feel incompetent at first. Ha ha... Am settling in more nicely now. One thing bad would be that we were given no orientations unless needed, so I had a great time this couple of days running around the mazes of all 4 wards on 1 level (my supervisor covers all 4 wards of 1 level). Kept getting confused about where all the stuff (e.g. linen, w/c, BP machine, therapy equipment) were kept and kept running in circles when my sup sends me on errands (which is like for EVERY case)... and quite sad when my sup asked me to be faster. No matter! I shall strive hard to improve my poor topograhical orientation! =)

Well, mainly we do initial assessments, dressing, shower assessments, caregiver training and home visits there. Was quite happy when I was allowed to do initial ax, but that quickly turned into frustration when I realised that my pt was speaking in dialect and my dialect "cannot make it"!! spent a long time saying "you... you... er... you... (in dialect)" when i tried to ask if she's staying on a lift landing floor! argh! Brushing up of dialect and Malay is duly noted by this student. But all the "ah mas" and "ah gongs" there are quite nice and cute, with only a precious few who tend to scold or get agitated and requires restraints.

Witnessed a pt's son - doctor fight yesterday, which displayed the inadequacy of S'pore's healthcare services. Apparently doc wants to d/c pt day before yesterday, but only told son yesterday! ???!! Pt is a max assist. (personally, I feel it's nearer total dependence) tall male and doc only referred him to OT day before yesterday!!!! So yesterday, when son was told, apparently doc said something like if he wants pt to continue staying in TTSH, they will have to go A class ward, cause there are not enough beds in TTSH. Son got angry and felt that doc was throwing pts out cause of lack of beds, like his father was not important enough as a pt (and I totally feel the same way too!). Son then requested for maid to be able to do bed - chair transfers independently for min. 6 times a day cause son doesn't want pt to go nursing home. He wanted rehab from AMKCH, but it was rejected and pt will have to be cared for at home by maid alone. OT only got 1st transfer session with maid yesterday and maid was clearly not competent in transfer since she was new and it was her first time in transfers. Son got angrier and pointed at doc. Doc felt insulted by finger pointing and left after telling son that he'll talk to him on another day. And so, my poor sup was left to placate son until case manager came and finally managed to placate him. *Sigh* How realistic can the healthcare system get? And there seem to be limited things that we can do for cases like this within such a short time in an acute setting... Any suggestions or comments for this pt who's son doesn't want nursing home, doesn't have enough rehab potential to go TTSH rehab, got rejected by AMKCH maid is not competent enough to take care of him at home and is supposed to be d/c asap (docs are not really noting OT's input that he's not safe to be d/c)??"

my house is HAUNTED~!!! SCARY......

2005-02-27T15:44:00.000+08:00

2.03am 24.02.2005

juz finished my report... whew!! FINALLY i can rest after 3 nights of OT... *climb into my warm and soft bed, head hits de pillow* AAAHHHH... *closes eyes gratefully*

2.10am

y am i still awake?? argh!! i'm damn tired... sleep! dammit! SLEEP!! *another adrenaline rush to brain* argh!! shit! i gotta wake up at 7am n my brain's not responding to my urgent calls for sleep... haiz... wat 2 do wat 2 do... *hums along wif music in de radio* hmm... wat shld i wear tmr? gg 4 dinner wif gang... shld wear nicer, last chance b4 attachment starts next wk... lessee... black kitted top over black spag wif jeans? sounds gd... shoes, hmm... shoes... black wedges? can, but not v nice... black boots? great! oh shit! de heel juz came off de right boot... shld i go repair it? angel: NO! SLEEP! devil: but i CAN'T get 2 sleep... how hard can glueing a heelbe nway? it'll be done in 5 mins n i can sleep all i wan den... angel: but u haf classes at 9 tmr! u hafta wake up at 7! tt's less than 5 hrs fr now! devil: ah SHUDDUP! *conks angel on de head, angel sinks into oblivion...*

2.12am

stupid shoe... stick!! argh... i can't get to de front of de shoe where de split is... *pulls shoe a bit 2 reach in wif superglue* *RRIIIIPPPPP!!!!!!!* SHIT! now de split's even bigger... GREAT! Well done joanna!! *rolls eyes as sweat starts 2 form on my upper lip and de back of my neck* damn, i feel like cutting off my hair! so damn hot!

2.20am
THERE! FINALLY it's done! *returns glue to cupboard* *SLAM* ooopps! closed de drawer too hard... *switches lights of living room off* *enters room, switches room light off, sits on bed* *CREAK* *stares at de door, horrified as it swings open slowly n a black figure creeps in* AARRGGH!! GHOST!!!!!! MY HOUSE IS HAUNTED!!! PLS DUN KILL ME!! wait a minute! de ghost looks familiar... "aarrggh! MUMMY!! y u suddenly open de door!! i tot u're a ghost!! scare me!" "wah! u scared me too!! y u sit on de bed liddat? i tot y got person sitting on ur bed at 2am!" "aiyah! i juz cum in mah... was going 2 lie down n sleep le... y u suddenly cum in??" "i was in de toilet juz now... got stomachache lar... den suddenly heard a "bong" in de living room... i tot got robber or something, so cum out n check lor... den no one in living room, so i juz decided 2 cum in ur room n see see lor... hu knows suddenly see a person sitting on ur bed?! scare me oso..." *huge laughter breaks out* whew! *a delightful conversation thus ensued, topics covered include my mom's new nightmare b4 she had 2 go toilet; y i slept so late, i shldn't sleep so late... see! ur black rings cum out le!; my mom trying to learn eng. thr some quote"stupid n useless"unquote phonics vcd, y u sleep so late, see! ur black rings cum out le!; wat time u waking up tmr? 7 ah?! aiyoh! hurry up sleep!; y ur report muz type so long; sunday go up auntie's house ah; y u sleep so late, see! ur black rings cum out le; n finally, u're gg ttsh next wk rite? u ask them ah... if i wanna remove my wrinkles ah, go skin dept or plastic surgery? of cos plastic surgery lar!! y? u wanna go 4 botox ah? it's poisonous leh!! haiyoh, how can u poison urself... aiyah... u see my wrinkles so many... it's natural wad!! it's de natural process of GROWING OLD... aiyah u juz help me ask lar! told u plastic surg le... not necessary hor... skin dept sometimes oso got do wrinkles one......................................

3.00am

*opens eyes* eh!! where's mummy?? she left le? wah... how cum i din even noe she left? really move like ghost leh... *eerie feeling* SLEEP!! *gratefully closes eyes n drifts into oblivion* SNOREZZZZZZZZ...........

To go or Not to go? That is the question...

2005-02-20T17:04:00.000+08:00

hai... look at de time!!! it's 17.05 n i'm still stuck typing my stupid home n comm report... totally DUNNO wat 2 write... n dis time it's cos there's too much stuff 2 write abt! definitely gonna exceed word limit once again... hai...

nway, having overseas placement interview dis comin tues... get a little nervous thinkin bout it... tink i suck at interviews... hai... nway, i'm not even sure if i wanna go london now... looking at how my poor little serser is doin, i got an overwhelming premonition tt i'll be betta off not gg uk after all... hai... 3 of us "vying" for 2 placements at uk... definitely 1 will get striked out... queen!! i wanna go uk wif u!! haiz... i hate competing wif pple... hmph.

...................................................................

18.30 n i'm STILL stuck at my report!!! aaarrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!! tink i'm juz gonna puke blood n die... *gags*

...................................................................

19.20 i give up... i'll juz hafta procrastinate again... haha... gonna watch de wedding singer!!

My Valentine 2005

2005-02-14T23:21:00.000+08:00

i am devastated. i feel like a chunk of flesh has been cut off fr my body (which wld haf been wonderful under other circumstances...). how can u just leave me like tt?? how COULD you?! after all we've gone thr tog, all our escapades, u just left me, cold n alone in dis world, on Valentine's Day, w/o so much as warning... only a "piak!" to indicate your demise... wat will i do w/o u?? u're irreplaceable in my heart, oh my dear dear hot pink bra strap...

had a great time wif u today during groupwork... when we were playing de outdoor telematch, did i stretch u too hard? or was it becos i twisted ur hook too many times when ur hook refused to detach itself fr my bra? did u make ur last struggle 4 survival during de 2nd part of groupwork, while we were doing de relaxation exercises? or did u simply want 2 leave in peace, while i was at my most relaxed state? u gave me a shock n left me in terror when u abandoned me all of a sudden... leaving me to deal wif de awful consequence of having to manually keep u in place under my racer top while de group was doing feedback...

how cruel of u to leave me when i needed u... to break ur promise of keeping my bra fr slipping down at all times... i counted on you, but u broke my trust... n yet, tinking of all de wonderful moments we had tog, i can't bring myself to hate u either, despite ur betrayal... so long hot pink bra strap... other bra straps will cum n go... but u will always be my one and only true love...

Where is everyone????

2005-02-12T14:23:00.000+08:00

haiz.... my wonderful day started off wif me SUPPOSING to wake up at *2 guilty laughters... to be explained later...* 7am to try n do some stuff b4 meeting my project mates for socio project... but! tu-ed until 8.15 b4 i finally woke up... so, changed fast fast, went downstairs fast fast n caught a bus fast fast, to go bedok interchange fast fast, to pick up my frens fast fast... interruption no. 1 at 8.35am when i was opening door to go downstairs: "sorry ah, juz left my house, will reach ard 9.30" ok! interruption no. 2 at 9am when i was on 229 , 1 more stop to interchange: "sorry! i broke your trust in me! juz woke up! will reach ard 10.30!" OK! take SAME bus back to home upon immed arrival at interchange... ahahaha... ok! no.3 SUPPOSED to reach by 1pm, but can't find her fabric dye stripper... hmm... *look at clock* 2.32pm!! no.4 has church! for de WHOLE DAY!! oh where, oh where, has everybody gone?? We're here!!!! *hears someone's voice!!* no.3 arrives as well!! yay! 4 out of 5... pass lar!

Strangulation??

2005-02-11T11:17:00.001+08:00

i feel like STRANGLING someone!!! argh!! y r all my plans thwarted by stupid events??!! " Ahaha I'm the guest blogger for the for the day. Oh anyway, Joanna is sitting next to me and uh, saying weird things like, " I got nothing more to say.". Turns out that she has writer's block. Oh no I'm so boh-liao. Can't believe that I'm doing this. Suffering from a case of existential angst and hence must make everybody around me miserable. Me! Me! Me! Me! MEEEEEEE!! Think about me! Me! I'm the the only one who exists! Evryone around me are telling horrible lies! Those liars. Ok done with vandalising." finally!! me again!! lemme introduce de delusioned paranoid schizophrenic u juz met or read about: XIU JUAN fr NYP OY Yr 2... lives in amk n was fr st nick's, den vjc... 4 ur info xj, i was NOT having writer's block... just wanted 2 do charity n let u haf some fun on de comp... "no, no, no!" says xj... ahahahaha...

nway, as i was trying 2 say juz now... i feel like STRANGLING someone!! n it juz so happens tt SOMEONE is sitting NEXT TO ME!! heh heh... *whines emits fr paranoid schizophrenic's mouth* "i shall attack u..." xj says... wif ur fingers???? ahahahaha... xj recommends a bk called THE MOTH DIARIES... she says it's v nice... which i believe... so everyone go n read!! synopsis: dis ger had a bit of personality disorder n tinks tt her classmate is a vampire... so dun really noe if de diary entries r a figment of her imagination or real!! sounds diabolical... wat's de author's name?? "Rachel Klein." ok!! go read!!

as i was still trying 2 say.... after multiple INTERRUPTIONS... i REALLY REALLY wanna STRANGLE someone... how can i express my present feelings of hopelessness, dejection, frustration and pissation adequately?? AARRRGGHHH!!! i hate de world. de world hates me. go to hell.

London???

2005-02-08T09:27:00.000+08:00

Yo pple!! shall first wish all of ya a very happy chinese new year!!! ahahaha... mei tiao da jie xiao xiang, mei ge ren de zui li, jian mian di yi ju hua, jiu shi gong xi gongxi... GONG XI GONG XI GONG XI NI YAH! GONG XI GONG XI GONG XI NI!!!!

k!! now tt tt's over n done wif, it's time 2 catch up wif my blog, since it's been sooooooooo long since i last made an entry!! heh... well... shall start fr last fri, when me, xj, dor, queen, serene n gerald went 4 sid's play!!! ahahaha.... went cartel b4 tt n totally loaded ourselves wif carbos... shit... haf a bad feeling tt my kilos gonna shoot to a record-breaking high!! oh well... not like it's neva happened b4... ahahaha... as i was saying, had a wonderful dinner!! once again, i renewed my high regards 4 their baked pasta... yum!!! =P so we went 2 his play after tt... ahahahahaha... was de most hilarious play i eva went to!!! not tt it was meant 2 be hilarious, it's supposed to be vvvvv depressing... unfortunately, de ushers made de fatal mistake of seating me n serene next to each other!!! omg... everytime sid cums out, either serene will start giggling, or i will! n we'll turn into vibrators cos u can't laugh when de play supposed to be sad, can u?? so we were stuck in silent laughter... wah!! internal injuries man!! tink my abs cramped till they went into spasms!! ahahaha... n poor dor on my other side was getting vibrated every 30 secs... ahahaha... sorry dor! but it was really quite funny ah... cos sid act rehearsed his lines monotously 2 us b4 n when he was speaking de same lines (wif expressions this time...) it was juz too funny 4 us!! oh oh!! but there was dis guy hu was acting as de bro of de main lead in de play... damn cute!! k lar... as i confessed 2 serene, his JAW was de part i liked especially! u seldom find a guy wif a strong/determined jaw rite? n i tink he's jaw really fits de description lor!!! aaaahhhh!!!! *swoon* haha... so i kept "jawing" to serene throut his scenes... ahahaha... den he had dis slightly husky voice summore... haha... tok abt sex appeal!! i found mine!!! ahahahahaha.... but nway, de play was quite nice lar... in MY opinion... but obviously hb had OTHER things 2 say abt it... ahahaha... he was really quite funny abt his comments... wat " they keep talking abt de birch trees ard de house... my friend was asking me why they kept talking about de trees... he was saying he can climb up coconut tree n shoot catapults at them..." ????????!!!! ahahahahhahahaha..... i got nothin 2 say.

n so wkend passed amid a flurry of tuition n spring cleaning... yet again!! haiz... n so finally it's new yr's eve now n i'm sitting contentedly in front of my comp... heh... after a satisfying breakfast of prata... heh again... oh yar! my pa juz bought a new flat screen tv 4 like 6k plus lor!! like omg!! they're putting it up on de wall rite now in de living rm... so i was trying 2 tell him... how cum u can spend 6k on a tv, but u're so reluctant 2 sponsor me 4 overseas placement? n he's like, "can pay by instalments ah? can den no prob lor!" *roll my eyes* money, money, money, always money... money in a POOR man's world...

Triangle by Jeffery Deaver (Part Two)

2005-01-30T23:59:00.000+08:00

On Saturday Mo drove him to the airport.

“You two’re going to have fun together?”

“You bet,” Pete said. He sounded cheerful because he was cheerful. “We’re gonna have a fine time.”

On the day of the murder, while his wife and her lover were sipping wine in a room at the Mountain View Lodge, Roy had lunch with a business associate. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, reported that Roy was in unusually good spirits. It seemed his depression had lifted and he was happy once more.

Fine, fine, fine…

Mo kissed him and then hugged him hard. He didn’t kiss her back, though he did give her a hug, reminding himself that he had to be a good actor.

“You’re looking forward to going aren’t you?” she asked.

“I sure am,” he answered. This was true.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” he responded. This was not true. He hated her. He hoped the plane left on time. He didn’t want to wait here with her any longer than he had to.

The flight attendant, a pretty blonde woman, kept stopping at his seat. This wasn’t unusual for Pete. Women liked him. He’d heard a million times that he was cute, he was handsome, he was charming. Women were always leaning close and telling him that. Touching his arm, squeezing his shoulder. But today he answered her questions with a a simple yes or no. and kept reading Triangle. Reading the passages he’d underlined. Memorizing them.

Learning about fingerprints, about interviewing witnesses, about footprints and trace evidence. There was a lot he didn’t understand but he did figure out how smart the cops were and that he’d have to be very careful if he was going to kill Doug and get away with it.

“We’re about to land,” the flight attendant said. “Could you put your seat belt on, please?” She smiled at him.

He clicked the belt on and went back to his book.

Hank Gibson’s body had fallen one hundred and twelve feet. He’d landed on his right side and of the more than two hundred bones in the human body, he’d broken seventy-seven of them. His ribs had pierced all his major internal organs and his skull was flattened on one side.

“Welcome to Baltimore, where the local time in twelve twenty-five,” the flight attendant said. “Please remain in your seat with the seat belt fastned until the plane has come to a complete stop and the pilot has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign. Thank you.”

The medical examiner estimated that Hank was traveling 80 mph when he struck the ground and that death was virtually instantaneous.

Welcome to Baltimore…

……………………………….

Doug met him at the airport. Shook his hand.

“How you doing?” Doug asked.

“Okay.”

This was so weird. Spending the weekend with a man that Mo knew so well and that Pete hardly knew at all.

Going hiking with somebody he hardly knew at all.

Going to kill somebody he hardly knew at all…

He walked along beside Doug.

“I need a beer and some crabs,” Doug said as they got into his car. “You hungry?”

“Sure am.”

They stopped at the waterfront and went into an old dive. The place stunk. It smelled like the cleanser Mo used on the floor when Randolf, their Labrador retriever puppy, made a mess on the carpet.

Doug whistled at the waitress before they’d even sat down. “Hey, honey, think you can handle two real men?” He gave her the sort of grin he’d seen Doug give Mo a couple of times. Pete looked away, a little embarrassed but plenty disgusted.

When they started to eat, Doug calmed down, though that was probably the beers more than the food. Like Mo got after her third glass of Gallo in the evenings.

Pete wasn’t saying much. Doug tried to be cheerful. He talked and talked but it was just garbage. Pete didn’t pay any attention.

“Maybe I’ll give my girlfriend a call,” Doug said suddenly. “See if she wants to join us.”

“You have a girlfriend? What’s her name?”

“Uhm. Cathy,” he said.

The waitress’s name tag said, Hi, I’m Cathleen.

“That’d be fun,” Pete said.

“She might be going out of town this weekend.” He avoided Pete’s eyes. “But I’ll call her later.”

Pete’s only smart when it comes to computers and sports. He’s stupid about everything else…

Finally Doug looked at his watch and said, “So what do you feel like doing now?”

Pete pretended to think for a minute and asked, “Anyplace we can go hiking around here?”

“Hiking?”

“Like any mountain trails?”

Doug finished his beer, shook his head. “Naw, nothing like that I know of.”

Pete felt rage again – his hands were shaking, the blood roaring in his ears – but he covered it up pretty well and tried to think. Now, what was he going to do? He’d counted on Doug agreeing to whatever he wanted. He’d counted on a nice high cliff.

Hank was traveling 80 mph when he struck the ground….

But then Doug continued. “But if you want to be outside, one thing we could do maybe is go hunting.”

“Hunting?”

“Nothing good’s in season now,” Doug said. “But there’s always rabbits and squirrels.”

“Well - ”

“I’ve got a couple of guns we can use.”

Pete debated for only a moment and then said, “Okay. Let’s go hunting.”

…………………………………….

“You shoot much?” Doug asked him.

“Some.”

In fact, Pete was a good shot. His father had taught him how to load and clean guns and how to handle them. (“Never point it at anything unless you’re prepared to shoot it.”)

But Pete didn’t want Doug to know he knew anything about guns so he let the man show him how to load the little twenty-two and how to pull the slide to cock it and where the safety was.

I’m a much better actor than Mo.

They were in Doug’s house, which was pretty nice. It was in the woods and it was a big place, full of stone walls and glass. The furniture wasn’t like the cheap things Mo and Pete had. It was mostly antiques.

Which depressed Pete even more, made him angrier, because he knew that Mo liked money and she liked people who had money even if they were idiots, like Doug. When Pete looked at Doug’s beautiful house he knew that if Mo ever saw it then she’d want Doug even more. Then he wondered if she had seen it. Pete had gone to Wisconsin a few months ago, to see his father and cousins. Maybe Mo had come down here to spend the night with Doug.

“So,” Doug said. “Ready?”

“Where’re we going?” Pete asked.

“There’s a good field about a mile from here. It’s not posted. Anything we can hit, we can take.”

“Sounds good to me,” Pete said.

They got into the car and Doug pulled onto the road.

“Better put that seat belt on,” Doug warned. “I drive like a crazy man.”

…………………………………….

Pete was looking around the big, empty field.

Not a soul.

“What?” Doug asked, and Pete realized that the man was staring at him.

“I said it’s pretty quiet.”

And deserted. No witnesses. Like the ones who screwed up Roy’s plans in Triangle.

“Nobody knows about this place. I found it by my little old lonesome.” Doug said this real proud, as if he’d discovered a cure for cancer. “Lessee.” He lifted his rifle and squeezed off a round.

Crack…

He missed a can sitting about thirty feet away.

“Little rusty,” he said. “But, hey, aren’t we having fun?”

“Sure are,” Pete answered.

Doug fired again, three times, and hit the can on the last shot. It leapt into the sir. “There we go!”

Doug reloaded and they started through the tall grass and brush.

They walked for five minutes.

“There,” Doug said. “Can you hit that rock over there?”

He was pointing at a white rock about twenty feet from them. Pete thought he could have hit it but he missed on purpose. He emptied the clip.

“Not bad,” Doug said. “Came close the last few shots.” Pete knew he was being sarcastic.

Pete reloaded and they continued through the grass.

“So,” Doug said. “How’s she doing?”

“Fine. She’s fine.”

Whenever Mo was upset and Pete’d ask her how she was she’d say, “Fine. I’m fine.”

Which didn’t mean fine at all. It meant, I don’t feel like telling you anything. I’m keeping secrets from you.

I don’t love you anymore.

They stepped over a few fallen logs and started down a hill. The grass was mixed with blue flowers and daisies. Mo liked to garden and was always driving up to the nursery to buy plants. Sometimes she’d come back without any and Pete began to wonder if, on those trips, she was really seeing Doug instead. He got angry again. Hands sweaty, teeth grinding together.

“She get her car fixed?” Doug asked. “She was saying that there was something wrong with the transmission.”

How’d he know that? The car broke down only four days ago. Had Doug been there and Pete didn’t know it?

Doug glanced at Pete and repeated the question.

Pete blinked. “Oh, her car? Yeah, it’s okay. She took it in and they fixed it.”

But then he felt better because that meant they hadn’t talked yesterday or otherwise she would have told him about getting the car fixed.

On the other hand, maybe Doug was lying to him now. Making it look as if she hadn’t told him about the car when they really had talked.

Pete looked at Doug’s pudgy face and couldn’t decide whether to believe him or not. He looked sort of innocent but Pete had learned that people who seemed innocent were sometimes the most guilty. Roy, the husband in Triangle, had been a church choir director. From the smiling picture in the book, you’d never guess he’d kill somebody.

Thinking about the book, thinking about the murder.

Pete was scanning the field. Yes, there… about fifty feet away. A fence. Five feet high. It would work just fine.

Fine…

As fine as Mo.

Who wanted Doug more than she wanted Pete.

“What’re you looking for?” Doug asked.

“Something to shoot.”

And thought: Witnesses. That’s what I’m looking for.

“Let’s go that way,” Pete said and walked toward the fence.

Doug shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

Pete studied it as they approached. Wood posts about eight feet apart, five strands of rusting wire.

Not too easy to climb over but it wasn’t barbed wire like some of the fences they’d passed. Besides, Pete didn’t want it too easy to climb. He’d been thinking. He had a plan.

Roy had thought about the murder for weeks. It had obsessed his every waking moment. He’d drawn charts and diagrams and planned every detail down to the nth degree. In his mind, at least, it was the perfect crime….

Pete now asked, “So what’s your girlfriend do?”

“Uhm, my girlfriend? She works in Baltimore.”

“Oh. Doing what?”

“In an office. Big company.”

“Oh.”

They got closer to the fence. Pete asked, “You’re divorced? Mo was saying you’re divorced.”

“Right. Betty and I split up two years ago.”

“You still see her?”

“Who? Betty? Naw. We went our separate ways.”

“You have any kids?”

“Nope.”

Of course not. When you had kids you had to think about somebody else. You couldn’t think about yourself all the time.

Like Doug did.

Like Mo.

Pete was looking around again. For squirrels, for rabbits, for witnesses.

Then Doug stopped and he looked around too. Pete wondered why but then Doug took a bottle of beer from his knapsack and drank the whole bottle down and tossed it on the ground. “You want something to drink?” Doug asked.

“No,” Pete answered. It was good that Doug’d be slightly drunk when they found him. They’d check his blood. They did that. That’s how they knew Hank’d been drinking when they got what was left of the body (80 mph, after all) to the Colorado Springs hospital – they checked the alcohol in the blood.

The fence was only twenty feet away.

“Oh, hey,” Pete said. “Over there. Look.”

He pointed to the grass on the other side of the fence.

“What?” Dpug asked.

“I saw a couple of rabbits.”

“You did? Where?”

“I’ll show you. Come on.”

“Okay. Let’s do it,” Doug said.

They walked to the fence. Suddenly Doug reached out and took Pete’s rifle. “I’ll hold it while you climb over. Safer that way.”

Jesus… Pete froze with terror. He realized now that Doug was going to do exactly what Pete had in mind. He’d been planning on holding Doug’s gun for him. And then when Doug was at the top of the fence he was going to shoot him. Making it look like Doug had tried to carry his gun as he climbed the fence but he’d dropped it and it went off.

Roy bet on the old law enforcement rule that what looks like an accident probably is an accident…

Pete didn’t move. He thought he saw something odd in Doug’s eyes, something mean and sarcastic. It reminded him of Mo’s expression. Pete took one look at those eyes and he could see how much Doug hated him and how much he loved Mo.

“You want me to go first?” Pete asked. Not moving, wondering if he should just run.

“Sure,” Doug said. “You go first. Then I’ll hand the guns over to you.” His eyes said, You’re not afraid of climbing over the fence are you? You’re not afraid to turn your back on me, are you?

Then Doug was looking around too.

Looking for witnesses, just like Pete had been.

“Go on,” Doug encouraged.

Pete – his hands shaking now from fear – started to climb. Thinking: This is it. He’s going to shoot me. Last month I left the motel too early! Doug and Mo had kept talking and planned out how he was going to ask me down here and pretend to be all nice then he’d shoot me.

Remembering it was Doug who’d suggested hunting.

But if I run, Pete thought, he’ll chase me down and shoot me. Even if he shoots me in the back he’ll just claim it’s an accident.

Roy’s lawyer argued to the jury that, yes, the men had met on the path and struggled, nut that Hank had fallen accidentally. He urged the jury to find that, at worst, Roy was guilty of negligent homicide….

He put his foot on the first rung of wire. Started up.

Second rung of wire…

Pete’s heart was beating a million times a minute. He had to pause to wipe his palms.

He thought he heard a whisper, as if Doug were talking to himself.

He swung his leg over the top wire.

Then he heard the sound of a gun cocking.

And Doug said in a hoarse whisper, “You’re dead.”

Pete gasped.

Crack!

The short, snappy sound of the twenty-two filled the field.

Pete choked a cry and looked around, nearly falling off the fence.

“Damn,” Doug muttered. He was aiming away from the fence. Nodding toward a tree line. “Squirrel. Missed him by two inches.”

“Squirrel,” Pete repeated manically. “And you missed him.”

“Two goddamn inches.”

Hands shaking, Pete continued over the fence and climbed to the ground.

“You okay?” Doug asked. “You look a little funny.”

“I’m fine,” he said.

Fine, fine, fine…

Doug handed Pete the guns and started over the fence. Pete debated. Then he put his rifle on the ground and gripped Doug’s gun tight. He walked to the fence so that he was right below Doug.

“Look,” Doug said as he got to the top. He was straddling it, his right leg on one side of the fence, his left on the other. “Over there.” He pointed nearby.

There was a big gray lop-eared rabbit on his haunches only twenty feet away.

“There you go!” Doug whispered. “You’ve got a great shot.”

Pete shouldered the gun. It was pointing at the ground, halfway between the rabbit and Doug.

“Go ahead. What’re you waiting for?”

Roy was convicted of premeditated murder in the first degree and sentenced to life in prison. Yet he came very close to committing the perfect murder. If not for a simple twist of fate he would have gotten away with it….

Pete looked at the rabbit, looked at Doug.

“Aren’t you going to shoot?”

Uhm, okay, he thought.

Pete raised the gun and pulled the trigger once.

Doug gasped, pressed at the tiny bullethole in his chest. “But… but… No!”

He fell backward off the fence and lay on a patch of dried mud, completely still. The rabbit bounded through the grass, panicked by the sound of the shot, and disappeared in a tangle of bushes that Pete recognized as blackberries. Mo had planted tons of them in the backyard.

………………………………………………

The plane descended from cruising altitude and slowly floated toward the airport.

Pete watched the billowy clouds and his fellow passengers, read the in=flight magazine and the “Sky Mall” catalog. He was bored. He didn’t have his book to read. Before he’d talked to the Maryland state troopers about Doug’s death he’d thrown Triangle into a trash bin.

One of the reasons the jury convicted Roy was that, upon examining his house, the police found several books about disposing of evidence. Roy had no satisfactory explanation for them….

The small plane glided out of the skies and landed at White Plains airport. Pete pulled his knapsack out from underneath the seat in front of him and climbed out of the plane. He walked down the ramp, beside the flight attendant, a tall black woman, talking with her about the flight.

Pete saw Mo at the gate. She looked numb. She wore sunglasses and Pete supposed she’d been crying. She was clutching a Kleenex in her fingers.

Her nails weren’t bright red anymore, he noticed.

They weren’t peach either.

They were just plain fingernail color.

The flight attendant came up to Mo. “You’re Mrs. Jill Anderson?”

Mo nodded.

The woman held up a sheet of paper. “Here. Could you sign this, please?”

Numbly, Mo took the pen the woman offered and signed the paper.

It was an unaccompanied-minor form, which adults had to sign to allow their children to get on planes by themselves. The parent picking up the child also had to sign it. After his parents were divorced Pete flew back and forth between his dad in Wisconsin and his mother, Mo, in White Plains so often he knew all about airlines’ procedures for kids who flew alone.

“I have to say,” she said to Mo, smiling down at Pete, “he’s the best behaved youngster I’ve ever had on one of my flights. How old are you, Pete?”

“I’m ten,” he answered. “But I’m going to be eleven next week.”

She squeezed his shoulder. Then looked at Mo. “I’m so sorry about what happened,” she said in a soft voice. “The trooper who put Pete on the plane told me your boyfriend was killed in a hunting accident.”

“No,” Mo said, struggling to say the words, “he wasn’t my boyfriend.”

Though Pete was thinking: Of course he was your boyfriend. Except you didn’t want the court to find that out because then Dad wouldn’t have to pay you alimony anymore. Which is why she and Doug had been working so hard to convince Pete that Doug was “just a friend.”

Can’t I have friends? Aren’t I allowed?

No, you’re not, Pete thought. You’re not going to get away with dumping your son the way you dumped Dad.

“Can we go home, Mo?” he asked, looking as sad as he could. “I feel real funny about what happened.”

“Sure, honey.”

“Mo?” the flight attendant asked.

Mo, staring out the window, said, “My name’s Jill. But when he was five Pete tried to write mother on my birthday card. He just wrote M-O and didn’t know how to spell the rest. It became my nickname.”

“What a sweet story,” the woman said and looked like she was going to cry. “Pete, you come back and fly with us real soon.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, what’re you going to do for your birthday?”

“I don’t know,” he said. Then he looked up at his mother. “I was thinking about maybe going hiking. In Colorado. Just the two of us.”

2005-01-22T23:25:00.000+08:00

TRIANGLE by Jeffery Deaver (Part 1)

"Maybe I'll go to Baltimore."

"You mean..." She looked over at him.

"Next weekend. When you're having the shower for Christie."

"To see..."

"Doug," he answered.

"Really?" Mo Anderson looked carefully at her fingernails, which she was painting bright red. He didn’t like the color but he didn’t say anything about it. She continued. “A bunch of women around here – boring. You’d enjoy yourself in Maryland. It’ll be fun,” she said.

“I think so too,” Pete Anderson said. He sat across from Mo on the front porch of their split-level house in suburban Westchester County. The month was June and the air was thick with the smell of the jasmine that Mo had planted earlier in the spring. Pete used to like that smell. Now, though, it made him sick to his stomach.

Mo inspected her nails for streaks and pretended to be bored with the idea of him going to see Doug, who was her boss, an “important” guy who covered the whole East Coast territory. He’d invited both Mo and Pete to his country place but she’d planned a wedding shower for her niece. Doug had said to Pete, “Well, why don’t you come down solo?” Pete had said he’d think about it.

Oh, sure, she seemed bored with the idea of him going by himself. But she was a lousy actress; Pete could tell she was really excited at the thought and he knew why. But he just watched the lightning bugs and kept quiet. Played dumb. Unlike Mo, he could act.

They were silent and sipped their drinks, the ice clunking dully in the plastic glasses. It was the first day of summer and there must’ve been a thousand lightning bugs in their front yard.

“I know I kinda said I’d clean up the garage,” he said, wincing a little. “But – ”

“No, that can keep. I think it’s a great idea, going down there.”

I know you think it’d be a great idea, Pete thought. But he didn’t say this to her. Lately he’d been thinking a lot of things and not saying them.

Pete was sweating – more from the excitement than from the heat – and he wiped the moisture off his face and his short-cut blond hair with a napkin.

The phone rang and Mo went to answer it.

She came back and said, “It’s your father,” in that sour voice of hers. She sat down and didn’t say anything else, just picked up her drink and examined her nails again.

Pete got up and went to the kitchen. His father lived in Wisconsin, not far from Lake Michigan. He loved the man and wished they lived closer together. Mo, though, didn’t like him one bit and always raised a stink when Pete wanted to go visit. Pete was never exactly sure what the problem was between Mo and the man. But it made him mad that she treated him badly and would never talk to Pete about it.

And he was mad too that Mo seemed to put Pete in the middle of things. Sometimes Pete even felt guilty he had a father.

He enjoyed talking but hung up after only five minutes because he felt Mo didn’t want him to be on the phone.

Pete walked out onto the porch. “Saturday. I’ll go visit Doug then.”

Mo said, “I think Saturday’d be fine.”

Fine…

They went inside and watched TV for a while. Then, at eleven, Mo looked at her watch and stretched and said, “It’s getting late. Time for bed.”

And when Mo said it was time for bed, it was definitely time for bed.

……………………………………………

Later that night, when she was asleep, Pete walked downstairs into the office. He reached behind a row of books resting on the built-in bookshelves and pulled out a large, sealed envelope.

He carried it down to his workshop in the basement. He opened the envelope and took out a book. It was called Triangle and Pete had found it in the true-crime section of a local used-book shop after flipping through nearly twenty books about real-life murders. Pete had never stolen anything in his life but that day he’d looked around the store and slipped the book inside his windbreaker then strolled casually out of the store. He’d had to steal it; he was afraid that – if everything went as he’d planned – the clerk might remember him buying the book and the police would use it as evidence.

Triangle was the true story of a couple in Colorado Springs. The wife was married to a man named Roy. But she was also seeing another man – Hank, a local carpenter and a friend of the family. Roy found out and waited until Hank was out hiking on a mountain path, then he snuck up and pushed him over a cliff. Hank grabbed on to a tree root but he lost his grip – or Roy smashed his hands; it wasn’t clear – and Hank fell a hundred feet to his death on the rocks in the valley. Roy went back home and had a drink with his wife just to watch her reaction when the call came that Hank was dead.

Pete didn’t know squat about crimes. All he knew was what he’d seen on TV and in the movies. None of the criminals in those shows seemed very smart and they were always getting caught by the good guys, even though they didn’t really seem much smarter than the bad guys. But that crime in Colorado was a smart crime. Because there were no murder weapons and very few clues. The only reason Roy got caught was that he’d forgotten to look for witnesses.

If the killer had only taken the time to look around him, he would have seen the campers, who had a perfect view of Hank Gibson plummeting to his bloody death, screaming as he fell, and of Roy standing on the cliff, watching him….

Triangle became Pete’s Bible. He read it cover to cover – to see how Roy had planned the crime and to find out how the police had investigated it.

Tonight, with Mo asleep, Pete read Triangle once again. Paying particular attention to the parts he’d underlined. Then he walked back upstairs, packed the book in the bottom of his suitcase and lay in the couch in the office, looking out the window at the hazy summer stars and thinking about his trip of Maryland from every angle.

Because he wanted to make sure he got away with the crime. He didn’t want to go to jail for life – like Roy.

Oh, sure there were risks. Pete knew that. But nothing was going to stop him.

Doug had to die.

Pete realized he’d been thinking about the idea, in the back of his mind, for months, not long after Mo met Doug.

She worked for a drug company in Westchester – the same company Doug was a sales manager for, with his office in the company’s headquarters in Baltimore. They met when he came to the branch office in New York for a sales conference. Mo had told Pete that she was having dinner with “somebody” from the company but she didn’t say who. Pete didn’t think anything of it until he overheard her tell one of girlfriends on the phone about this really interesting guy she was working for. But then she realized Pete was standing near enough to hear and she changed the subject.

Over the next few months Pete noticed that Mo was getting distracted, paying less and less attention to him. And he heard her mention Doug more and more.

One night Pete asked her about him.

“Oh, Doug?” she said, sounding irritated. “Why, he’s my boss. And a friend. That’s all. Can’t I have friends? Aren’t I allowed?”

Pete noticed that Mo was starting to spend a lot of time on the phone and online. He tried to check the phone bills to see if she was calling Baltimore but she hid them or threw them out. He also tried to read her e-mails, but found she’d changed her pass code. Pete’s specialty was computers, though, and he easily broke into her account. But when he went to read her e-mails he found she’d deleted them all on the main server.

He was so furious he nearly smashed the computer.

Then, to Pete’s dismay, Mo started inviting Doug to dinner at their house when he was in Westchester on company business. He was older than Mo and sort of heavy. Slick – slimy, in Pete’s opinion. Those dinners were the worst…. They’d all three sit at the dinner table and Doug would try to charm Pete and ask him about computers and sports and the things that Mo obviously had told Doug that Pete was into. But it was awkward and you could tell he didn’t give a damn about Pete. He kept glancing at Mo when he thought Pete wasn’t looking.

By then Pete was checking up on Mo all the time. Sometimes he’d pretend to go to a game with some friends but he’d come home early and find that she was gone too. Then she’d get home at eight or nine and look all flustered, not expecting to find him, and she’d say that she’d been working late even though she was just an office manager and hardly ever worked later than five before she met Doug. Once, when she claimed she was at office, Pete called Doug’s number in Baltimore and the message said that he’d be out of town for a couple of days.

Everything was changing. Mo and Pete would have dinner together but it wasn’t the same as it used to be. They didn’t have picnics and they didn’t take walks in the evenings. And they hardly ever sat together on the porch anymore and looked out at the fireflies and made plans for trips they’d wanted to take.

“I don’t like him,” Pete said. “Doug, I mean.”

“Oh, quit being so jealous. He’s a good friend, that’s all. He likes both of us.”

“No, he doesn’t like me.”

“Of course he does. You don’t have to worry.”

But Pete did worry and he worried even more when he found a Post-It note in her purse last month. It said, D.G. – Sunday, motel 2 p.m.

Doug’s last name was Grant.

That Sunday morning Pete tried not to react when Mo said, “I’m going out for a while, honey.”

“Where?”

“Shopping. I’ll be back by five.”

He thought about asking her exactly where she was going to but he didn’t think that was a good idea. It might make her suspicious. So he said cheerfully, “Okay, see you later.”

As soon as her car had pulled out of the driveway he’d started calling motels in the area and asking for Douglas Grant.

The clerk at the Westchester Motor Inn said, “One minute, please. I’ll connect you.”

Pete hung up fast.

He was at the motel in fifteen minutes and, yep, there was Mo’s car parked in front of one of the doors. Pete snuck up close to the room. The shade was drawn and the lights were out but the window was partly open. Pete could hear bits of the conversation.

“I don’t like that.”

“That…?” she asked.

“That color. I want you to paint your nails red. It’s sexy. I don’t like that color you’re wearing. What is it?”

“Peach.”

“I like bright red,” Doug said.

“Well, okay.”

There was some laughing. Then a long silence. Pete tried to look inside but he couldn’t see anything. Finally, Mo said, “We have to talk. About Pete.”

“He knows something,” Doug was saying. “I know he does.”

“He’s been like a damn spy lately,” she said, with that edge to her voice that Pete hated. “Sometimes I’d like to strangle him.”

Pete closed his eyes when he heard Mo say this. Pressed the lids closed so hard he thought he might never open them again.

He heard the sound of a can opening. Beer, he guessed.

Doug said, “So what if he finds out?”

“So what? I told you what having an affair does to alimony in this state? It eliminates it. We have to be careful. I’ve got a lifestyle I’m accustomed to.”

“Then what should we do?” Doug asked.

“I’ve been thinking about it. I think you should do something with him,”

“Do something with him?” Doug had an edge to his voice too. “Get him a one-way ticket…”

“Come on.”

“Okay, baby, sorry. But what do you mean by do something?”

“Get to know him.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Prove to him you’re just my boss.”

Doug laughed and said in a soft, low voice, “Does that feel like I’m just a boss?”

She laughed too. “Stop it. I’m trying to have a serious talk here.”

“So what? We go to a ball game together?”

“No, it’s got to be more than that. Ask him to come visit you.”

“Oh, that’d be fun.” With that same snotty tone that Mo sometimes used.

She continued, “No, I like it. Ask both of us to come down – maybe the weekend I’m having that shower for my niece. I won’t be able to make it. Maybe he’ll come by himself. You two hang out, paint the town. Pretend you’ve got a girlfriend or something.”

“He won’t believe that.”

“Pete’s only smart when it comes to computers and sports. He’s stupid about everything else.”

Pete wrung his hands together. Nearly sprained a thumb – like the time he jammed his finger on the basketball court.

“That means I have to pretend I like him.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it means. It’s not going to kill you.”

“Pick another weekend. You come with him.”

“No,” she said. “I’d have trouble keeping my hands off you.”

A pause. Then Doug said, “Oh, hell, all right. I’ll do it.”

Pete, crouching on a strip of yellow grass beside three discarded soda cans, shook with fury. It took all his willpower not to scream.

He hurried home, threw himself down on the couch in the office and turned on the game.

When Mo came home – which wasn’t at five at all, like she promised, but at six-thirty – he pretended he’d fallen asleep.

That night, he decided what he had to do. The next day he went to the bookstore and stole the copy of Triangle.

To be continued…

………………………………………

BLOOD!!

2005-01-13T23:32:00.000+08:00

donated my blood today!!! heh... am feeling quite noble now... haa... nway, was a MUCH MUCH betta experience than 2 yrs ago... when de incompetent nurse den said, "You have a fragile vein. It's better if you don't donate again." Kau!!! how can u discourage ppl fr donating blood?? n discouraged i definitely was, for i din donate again for nearly 2 years!! hmph... n de nurse 2 yrs ago even had de cheek 2 poke de needle into me 2-3 times lor (which i din realise till i took de bandage off n discovered 2-3 holes in my arm)!! haiz... unlike de nurse hu did me today... so pro, so nice, so friendly... =) oh! n they act changed de bandage, so instead of de usual small white bandage square, we act got these flourescent coloured bandages tt goes round de whole arm, wif happy smiley face designs all over de bandage!! kawaii!!! they had 3 colours: flourescent blue, pink n green... de pink n blue ones were damn nice! wanted 2 request 4 them, unfortunately dis rather fierce-looking nurse came 2 bandage me instead of my nice nurse... n my tray only had de green bandage left, there WAS a pink one, but it was new n unopened n i din dare 2 ask de fierce-looking if i cld haf de pink one... scared kana scolded... haha... nway, now i am de proud owner of a 0.5mm puncture in my elbow region: my trophy scar for my wonderful act of courage n selflessness!!! ahahahhaha... ok, bhb again...

my dear "queen", my deepest condolences for ur bad or shld i say damn SUAY experience today... ahahahaha... guess my prophecy came true afterall, tt u wld be rejected fr donating again... well, learn fr sara lar... PERSEVERE to de end!! is v gd progress tt u managed to survive blood pressure n iron level tests unscathed (tink ur "hydrotherapy" throut de day worked!! i'm impressed!! p.s."hydrotherapy"=drinking lotsa H2O prior to donation to increase blood pressure) n is juz pure bad luck tt we lost u finally in de battle of veins!! at least u noe how u can train up ur weak veins now... exercise ur arms!!!! =)

finally found it again!!

2005-01-09T19:18:00.000+08:00

finally found dis hilarious website again!! ahahahhaha...

http://www.cybermundos.com/estaticos/mostrar.php?id=4

sobz!!

2005-01-09T15:31:00.000+08:00

was act in a v gd mood... coz juz finished helping my ma cleaning up de kitchen... de once a yr big dusting u noe... so was feelin exceptionally accomplished n proud of myself n settled in front of my comp 2 type my presentation (yet ANOTHER one) due next wed... BUT, i had 2 be stupid n start reading other ppl's blogs... BAD MISTAKE... now i feel totally n i mean TOTALLY down... sorta like admiring de rising sun on mt everest one min and jumping off it de next min? juz discovered it's been a long long time since i perused my frens' blogs and m feeling extremely guilty for not having done it sooner... many things seem 2 be happening ard me, but obviously i'm too blind 2 see them... like a horse wif blinkers... seem 2 be able 2 see wat's in front of me only...

realized tt i haf been neglecting many many great frens... busy sch life now feels like an excuse for my neglection... haven been toking 2 them n now our depth of communication seem 2 be limited 2 a baby pool instead of de great pacific ocean... neva meant 4 dis 2 happen n m sorry tt it's STARTING 2 happen... or izzit juz me hu's feelin dis way? was once told by a v v close fren tt we've known each other 4 so long n so well tt regular contact is no longer needed 4 us 2 maintain de closeness of our frenship, which i had agreed heartily den... but now, i'm not tt sure... pple change, n i HAVE changed... at least i feel tt way... i'm no longer de same jo 18mths ago b4 i joined NYP n altho others may not haf realised it, there haf been subtle changes 2 my personality n how i view de world...

used 2 show much sympathy 4 all de unfortunate or tragic events tt happened ard me, n was appalled when i was younger by myself when i realised tt i cld not "feel" for ppl whom i'm supposed 2 feel sorry for n console... of coz i knew they were feeling v upset n down, but i juz cldn't feel WITH them... told another fren once... when something bad happens 2 someone, u can't expect me 2 empathize wif u... coz i DON'T KNOW how to... despite how de sch lects tried 2 inculcate empathy in all of us, 2 me, it's only theory... how can i put myself in ur shoes when i'm not experiencing wat u r gg thr? wat happened 2 u did NOT happen 2 me!! how de hell can u expect me 2 show tt i understand? always feel like a hypocrite when i'm supposed 2 console someone n tell them tt i UNDERSTAND. i understand tt u're sad now. i understand tt u need someone 2 be wif u or help u. i understand tt i can BE the someone. but i'll never understand wat u're gg thr. unless i went thr it myself. perhaps tt's de reason i cldn't feel much when de tsunami hit. i noe de victims muz be devastated n grief-stricken, n i muz help them. i DID help them. in monetary terms... it wasn't an obligation to donate wateva i can 2 them, but somehow, they seem to be hundreds n thousands of miles away fr me n as i listen 2 ppl toking abt how sad it is n expressing their condolences, i'm sorry, but i juz can't relate to tt. if u're in any trouble, u're more than welcum to call me. i'll help u in any way i can n offer u advice if u need it, but don't expect me to UNDERSTAND wat u're gg thr. i've always tot tt i'm v emotionless n self-centred bcos of dis, but i've realised over dis past yr tt i'm built like tt, it's wat makes me "ME".

n juz realised tt dis is de most sombre n serious blog i've ever written... hmm... perhaps i've been hiding my inner feelings for too long? dun like 2 reveal my inner self 2 others much... reminds me of de johari's window we learnt in psych... dis is my hidden self u tink? haha... sch's becuming too much of a focus... need a shift of attn 2 other impt things in life.

school!!

2005-01-06T11:23:00.000+08:00

am having break rite now n decided 2 blog 2 pass de time... haha... wat a slack student i am... =) having a new lecturer for health psychology dis sem... had a wonderful surprise when i finally saw him 4 de 1st time dis morn! somehow, in my warped brain, Y K Tan sounded like an old fuddy duddy hu'll bore me 2 death, but surprisingly, yk turned out 2 be a quite young n cute lecturer!! ahahahaha... cute as in overall demeanour cute, not based on looks alone... (i'm not such a shallow person k... =P contrary 2 popular beliefs of my "gd frens") n i definitely do NOT haf a crush on him! compliments r NOT = fa1 hua1 chi1... bleah... haha... n he's quite lame n crappy at times... so am act looking fwd 2 his lessons... heh... =)

will be having cooking session in 30mins n can't wait 2 display my wonderful culinery talents 2 de rest of de class!! ahahahaha... j/k lar, will be a miracle if de food doesn't turn out burnt... ahahaha... will be cooking de before-mentioned delicacy (refer 2 last blog entry)... shld be fun, n i anticipate stupid situations 2 arise yet again!! haha... maybe i'll burn my hair on de stove or something... finally, will go on shopping trip wif fellow classmates after sch... 2 get new shoes!! woohoo!! am feeling rich again cos juz raised my tuition fees by 80 bucks... heh... $$$$$$$$$$$ of cos, i haven act got de $$ yet... but it juz feels gd 2 spend $$ when u noe u're gonna get more soon....ahaha... "cos we're living in a material world, n i am a material girl".

me, myself n stupidity

2005-01-04T22:47:00.000+08:00

had a conversation wif my classmate today which showed off my stupidity n ignorance... haiz... we're having a cooking session tmr n my grp pple were in charge of cooking instant noodles wif crabsticks n egg... one of de grp members is a muslim, so muz make sure tt all de food r halal... so here i am, wif IDIOT written all over my face... *in order to protect the privacy of the persons implicated, all names have been changed*

jojo: fifi!! so de cooking tmr how? r all instant noodles halal?

fifi: not all, but mostly lar... like maggi...

jojo: orh... kokka??

fifi: kokka shld be halal lar...

jojo: ok! den i can bring my own noodles tmr... wat abt crabsticks?

fifi: i got crabsticks at home, so i'll bring a whole pack lar, den we share...

jojo: k! den eggs how? u bring 4 eggs ah? i dunno where to get halal eggs leh... *blur like sotong lar*

fifi: *eyes big big* har?! eggs? any eggs can lar

jojo: but muz be eggs cuming fr a halal chicken rite? otherwise u cannot eat wad

fifi: eggs got no halal or non-halal one... all de same

jojo: izzit??!! *incredulous* but halal chicken den can lay halal eggs mah!

fifi: *trying hard not 2 giggle but failing* er... chickens only becum halal AFTER they die?

jojo: *i'mastupididiot.i'mastupididiot.* oh. er... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... i din noe tt... *sheepish*

(background laughter goes into a crescendo...)

n it juz so happens tt my lecturer was walking rite behind us n overheard EVERYTHING... oh well... at least i provided SOME entertainment for my lecturer... even I find myself amusing...

am wondering y i get myself into stupid scrapes all de time? was having groupwork module yesterday, n me n dor paired up 2 intro ourselves 2 each other, den we're supposed 2 tell our grp 4 things abt de opp partner... so dor's supposed 2 tell them abt me, n i tell them abt her... n so happens AGAIN tt my lecturer was in our grp... n so de discussion began... other couples intro'd abt their add, family, pets, fav food, but me n dor got some pretty stupid ideas abt intros... instead of discussing those NORMAL topics mentioned above, we started saying things like... "joanna's nail art r stick-ons, not painted" "dor's jeans r always too long for her n she hates rain cos de jeans r too long n they get wet" "joanna overnited at her fren's house on new yr's eve n was reading a storybk when de clock struck 12" "dor dyed n permed her hair rite on de last day of clinicals" etc... u get de pict... n our lecturer "conveniently" mentioned tt we remind her of BIMBOS... suddenly i feel like an airhead dumb blonde... omg, n in de short space of 30mins, we gained a new reputation 4 ourselves... wow!!! bimbos indeed... too bad i lack de LOOKS n de BOOBS. =P

7 days to release fr hell n counting

2004-12-26T15:54:00.000+08:00

well... am really squeezin my brain juices dry trying 2 tink of treatment plans 4 my clients.... sianz..... tink shld juz blow my brains out wif a shotgun n end my utter misery and incompetence... aarrrgghhhh!!! in saner terms: am currently on clinical attachment n am DYING... I M I S S S C H O O L . . . if there's some other way to let u understand how i'm feeling rite now... dis wld be it!!!!
oh well... not only do i hafta deal wif stress fr attachment, there's also de wonderful wonderful stress fr cityco performance... where in a cruel twist of fate, me n xiuqi got stuck doin ticketing... shall spare my dear readers de gory details of being a ticketing officer, but oh de horror!! de horror of it all!!! add to tt de incessant nagging of a certain ms. wang, de out of de blue n v last minute stupid decisions of our "reverent" T*K, n there u haf it my dear dear readers! de perfect recipe for us to tear out our hair n scream in frustration... woohoo! n all dis in de span of de last 3 wks... suddenly, i feel elevated to a higher level of spiritual enlightenment... *hallelujah...* S E V E N D A Y S M O R E T O G O

lalala...

2004-10-06T10:04:00.000+08:00

well... guess i'm eating snake again during project discussions to blog... hmm... starting to tink tt it's a gd strategy to implement so tt my blog remains updated!! haha...

man... been pigging out de last wkend cos my "long-lost" uncle (mom's bro) arrived fr USA (he's a PR there) for a couple of wks n my family was playing host... he left in de wee hrs of last sun n in order to wish him bon voyage, we actually had major family dinners on fri n sat to celebrate his return! so as usual, dinner became a complicated n sumptous fare consisting of dishes such as barbecue pork ribs, gong bao chicken and a wonderful asam fish head curry to mark the end of a perfect dinner cum visit (for my uncle tt is)... following de 2 fateful (or shld i say "fat"full) evenings, it was now my big aunt's (mom's sis) turn to return to de states (she's a PR there too following her marriage to my "ang moh" uncle) de following mon. so rite after my fattening dinners on fri n sat, i was further treated to a yummylicious brunch buffet at Vienna(i highly recommend Vienna, situated at basement of United Square, Novena, for great buffets), courtesy of my "ang moh" uncle n his fat wallet... heh... *slurp* =P

n so i tink i've put on like 3 whole kgs over de "horrible" wkend... but hey! i'm not complaining! haha... so guess i hafta drag myself into a thinning regime yet AGAIN!! oh well... where haf i heard tt sentence b4??

in sch n dying...

2004-09-15T17:20:00.000+08:00

see! i DO update my blog! when i haf time, tt is... so poor ol' me is in my sch com lab doing project wif my frens... trying to "eat snake" for a while... haha... *wink* so cum n crap lor... since u all miss my crapping so much... heh... =D nway, i'll juz start moaning abt how totally HELL sch is now, wif 3 presentations, 1 ICA, 3 prac exams n 4 reports to finish in 7 wks time~!!!!! omg!! how??!!! I AM SOOOOOOOO DEAD... XP

HHHHHEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP MMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEE~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. btw, i'm STILL learning open strings on my viola... i wonder y?? hmm... izzit cos i'm slow?? wateva... =P

hiya~!!

2004-09-14T22:08:00.000+08:00

yo! finally i'm writing something again!! haha... u all dun liddat mah... i v busy leh... suddenly got sooooooooooooo many assignments n tests cumin up in de wks ahead... tink i'm gonna die lor... n de lecturers aren't helping... cos so many things dun understand n they still fling so many things at us... haiz... esp. my manager... talk so fast, v hard 2 catch leh... i'm SO gonna DIE!!!!!

2004-07-24T23:19:00.000+08:00

er... haha... here i m at last!! miss me? well, like i've said sooooo many times before, once sch starts, social life = ZERO... okok, so maybe gg online or blogging isn't ur definition of a social life, but i just feel so tired n lazy n contented sprawling on my sofa after a gd dinner n bath, staring at de ever changing tv screen... compared to being a couch potato, gg online is definitely a more sociable activity ;)

so! wat haf i been doin? well, some updates may be necessary for my too-far-gone frens... i've left de guitar club n m currently in string ensemble now, learning how 2 play de viola (pronounced vee-oh-la, NOT vie-a-la)... it's really quite interesting, just tt my clavicle (collarbone) n mandible (lower jaw) tend to ache alot after every prac... n also! get ready for de greatest miracle u've eva heard man! i'm actually EXERCISING!!!! ME!! hu detested pe to de bone n haf NEVA EVA exercised since i got out of jc (n their "all hell breaks loose" pe sessions), m actually on a 3-day exercise regime!! aahhh... i feel soooo damn proud n yaya by just tinking bout it... haha... well, unfortunately, my exercise increased, but so did my food intake!! so basically i feel just as fat as eva... haha... just prevents me fr getting overly guilty when stuffing my face full of food... i just tink of de next exercise session, where i'll burn off de excess calories i'm be eating now n i gain a certain sense of righteousness in my decadent actions... =)

n my mom is STILL nagging at me 2 get my driver's licence... haiz... i'm gonna hafta take de final theory test again... anyone can recommend a gd driving instructor? i dun feel like gg back 2 my prev one... n it's NOT becos he has strabismus (haha... putting knowledge into application is SO fun! it means a squint btw (aka something like cockeye))... ok, maybe it contributes 2 my reluctance in gg back 2 him... i ALWAYS dunno which eye 2 look at... cos they're in quite different positions altog... so anyone know of instructors, contact me!! OR, i can simply wait 4 de sound waves my mom generates to drown n strangle me... =l

stress begins once again~!!!

2004-07-09T22:06:00.000+08:00

yoooozz~!!! for those loyal readers out there, yesh! it's me! jothegreat blogging once more! woohoo~!! =D soooooooooooo long since i last blogged... i noe all of ya haf been wondering wat de hell happened to me n have been missing my blogs... tank u 4 all ya support ya?? (heh... *takes a small bow*)

n so sch has once again started n i'm no longer slogging as cheap labour (except on some sats...) at bugis... well if u muz noe y i haven been blogging much dis coupla wks, it was due 2 a combination of alternative home entertainment, dementia, procrastination n trauma sustained by de final realisation that sch is once again de main feature n highlight of my pathetic little life...

n now, as i attempt for de 12th time to access my cms (course management system), a system i strongly believe de sch set up with the aim of inflicting de greatest mental torture on us poor pathetic students, i shall cont crapping on my blog... =P hafta say tt coupla new modules 4 dis sem r really interesting n fun n i get 2 do stuff like making paper, paper crafts, according 2 my lecturer sewing n according 2 my snrs cooking... i muz say tt de future of dis sem looks bright n cheery, we get 2 do projects tt require videotaping too, which shld be quite fun... but of cos it's hard 2 say wat will happen in de future n de assessments of de modules may turn out 2 be a total nightmare! so cross my fingers n pray hard tt dis sem will be a smooth sailing one!! =) of cos, de most disturbing tot is tt i may fail my clinicals... oh man! can't help getting de jitters tinking bout it.. hope i'll get posted 2 a nice placement wif a nice sup!!

n my cms is STILL processing... n i haven even got 2 de part where we DUN HAF elearning day dis sem!!!! aaarrrggghhhhh~!!!!! not only muz de sch torture us MENTALLY wif a stupid elearning system like dis, it must also toture us PHYSICALLY wif de chore of gg 2 sch 5D/wk, refusing 2 entitle us de right 2 a free day 4 elearning!! screw them!!! @#$%^&*~!!!

n my cms is STILL processing... HELLOOO!!! i seriously tink they oughta hire more talented com techs 2 make sure de system works efficiently?? wat's de use of elearning if it's slower than conventional lects? i could haf finished a lect in sch wif de amt of time i wasted on cms now... *scowl* @#$%^&*~ AGAIN!! amazing how a com system got me all pissed while writing my blog... i started off happy n bright! argh...i give up! i'll try again tmr... stupid system... stupid sch...

2004-06-24T23:06:00.000+08:00

juz came home fr watchin Ard de World in 80 Days wif my pa n ma... quite ok lar... typical jackie chan movie, tho now he's placing more emphasis on verbal humour rather than physical humour... it's not bad tho... love de lead actress in it... gorgeous man! so sexily french! n arnold's cameo inside is a total mistake on de producer's part! omg... he's so totally OLD n's sporting a "wa wa tou" summore... omg again! sorta like de cleopatra hairstyle wif extremely short fringe n shoulder length tresses... pukez~!! he plays an exotic indian (or izzit arabian) prince, hu's a total womanizer + narcissist hu's obsessed wif his own statue!! n his name is Prince Hapi (pronounced HAPPY) how stoopid can de cameo get?? n karen mok was great in de movie... her english no words 2 say man! cum out like "she sho she sho"... if only de makeup artist hadn't painted her face in van gogh style... de makeup made her look hideous... okok... so she's supposed 2 be de evil female chinese warlord, General Fang in de movie... which is total stupidity on de scriptwriter's part too... de time setting was just b4 de turn of de 20th century n china has a FEMALE warlord?? helloooo?! rmr some guy called CONFUSCIUS n his sayings??

nway, something really paiseh happened todae too... so i was saying in my last blog abt dis guy hu gave me his hp no? so while waiting 4 our movie 2 start, my parents n i decided 2 take a walk ard bugis... n ventured into de v8 movies shop... n so i was like browsing thr all de mp3 players they haf, which i'm currently thinkin of buying (god save my wallet!!), hu shld i suddenly see thr de glass display but tt guy?! turns out his working there behind a counter, where my glass display was against... n i really din notice him cos i was focusing on de FOREGROUND (at my mp3 player) n by de time i noticed de BACKGROUND (his face), it was too late! he'd oredi seen me! so paiseh... n my parents started dilly dallying all of a sudden looking at microphones... haiz... so i started 2 play hide n seek wif him... oh well...

wat can i say?

2004-06-23T15:19:00.000+08:00

ok pple~!! almost a wk since i last blogged... nway, it was an excruciatingly complex wk... wif many many things happening... haiz... i'm quite tired of working at ya kun oredi n can't wait 4 sch 2 start~!!

guess i shld start wif de customers... got a couple of "sensitive" customers hu made a big fuss out of small stuff, which i'm too tired to extrapolate... n de uncle hu works wif me in de morn has quite a bad temper when he doesn't like a customer n tt has led 2 more than a couple of "complainees", which i usually hafta apologise profusely to again n again n again... while de uncle promptly ignores them n they'll cont saying they wanna complain again n again n again... haiz... hao3 ren2 bu4 hao3 dang1 wor...

den there was last mon, when de raffles hospital branch had 1 worker missing n so my supervisor transferred an uncle over... i was supposed 2 finish work at 2.30 tt noon, but due 2 de stupid worker mia-ing (n it was de new worker fr jb, a 20 yr old guy sporting a pony tail yuks! called alex) i had 2 do ot (wif norm pay... cos they dun gif ot pay) n tt's not de worse part! de worse part is de noon shift uncle n auntie also dunno how 2 toast bread!! they r only coffee brewers... omg... n de supervisor happily said, "u ask de auntie n uncle help to toast lor..." DUH~!! if we KNEW how 2 toast, obviously we'll toast when customer orders rite? thing is all 3 of us dunno wad~!! of cos see other pple toast alot of times like v easy, but when u do it urself, it's not tt easy believe me... summore we've never toasted bread w/o de supervision n help of de toast uncles... n wat's more, i find de auntie quite selfish n "u die u die lor... betta than i die wif u... best if everything is none of my biz"... she had some experience in toasting b4, not alot, but definitely more than de uncle (cos de uncle only works here once in a while) but she kept pushing de uncle 2 do de toasting... sorta like "if de customer cums back 2 complain abt de toast, it's YOU toast one... none of MY biz"... den can see tt de uncle really 1st time toasting leh... n i tink is not bad oredi lor... considering no one was there 2 teach him de ropes... den de uncle quite old liao (60+) n sometimes will forget 2 remove de toast fr de grill or forget some orders... which EVERYONE does n dun forget it's his 1st try at toasting! but de auntie will juz like "wat were u doing?! juz now told u got 2 more slices of toast liao mah... u put them into de box again! hurry up remove de toast fr de grill!! afterwards they become all black liao... u see! u see! black liao!" omg~!! i sooooooo pity de uncle... n once again, i was trying 2 zuo4 hao3 ren2 n trying 2 gif de uncle advice on toasting based on wat i've seen de experts do... cos i was de cashier tt noon, when someone orders toast, de auntie will stand there n wait for de uncle 2 do, or simply push him 2 do it... only if i was still engaged wif a customer den she'll go help him... if i'm free liao she'll ask me 2 go help him lor (which i really dun mind... cos it can be quite fun at times when there's a SHORT queue) while she stands ard idly... she herself is actually a cashier, but wheneva a customer cums, she yells for me, even when she noes i'm busy helping de uncle (duh! she pushed me 2 go help him!) n she yells not once, but many many times~!! like she's a cashier oso wad... she can help me take de order 1st rite? not as if she dunno anything abt de cash machine... once again it's de "betta not help her operate de machine... later short of $ she say is I take one" attitude... obviously if there short $ during MY shift is I pay lar! duh... or if she wans 2 fen1 qing1 chu3 de accounts, she can juz help me collect de $ 1st den i key it into de machine later lor... but NO~!! she has 2 yell 4 me... i almost wanted 2 strangle her... same wif de french toasts (dip bread in egg n fry it on a hot plate) she REFUSES 2 do it... n when SOMEONE ELSE does it, she'll say things like, "hurry up! flip it over! it's black oredi! (duh! helloooo! de uncle just put it on de hot plate 3 SECONDS ago~!!)" uncle says, "not yet lar...i juz put one" auntie saes, "u flip over see how 1st! later black liao... hurry up hurry up! flip flip!" i mean like DUH~!! u so clever u fry urself lar! den y let someone else fry? once more de "u die u die urself hor... dun pull me along" mentality... summore de uncle really v nice one leh... luckily he has a mild n sweet temper... otherwise sure fight... n while i was seething wif irritation n frustration inside, i had 2 put on a cheerful demeanour... like de uncle neva say anything when de auntie scold him, it's not my place 2 say anything oso rite... omg... by de time my shift finally ended i almost puked! i was sooooo sick of tt place + i was feeling kinda disoriented after frying so many french toasts... yesh my dear frens... joanna CAN cook!! n i'm quite proud of my french toasts... they both look n smell HEAVENLY (even if i DO say so myself!) =) y i turned out 2 be de fryer? i was sooooooo sick of hearing de auntie giving de uncle instructions in tt "aiyoh! u're doing everything wrong, but i'd rather die than help u" tone, tt i told them i'll do all de french toasts fr then on... a surprising thing is tt de auntie neva bothered 2 jiang3 wo3 while i was frying de toasts... for reasons i can't fathom...

haiz... enuff of complaining... i feel tired oredi... haha... so life goes on... n my mom has been asking me de same question everyday after i cum home fr work, "so today any of de guys visit u again?" apparently, dis phenomenon started occurring after i told my mom abt de various guys hu visited me... =P btw got new guys liao... but i lazy 2 type lar... y'all wan den ask me when y'all see me lor... summary is bout 5 new guys... 2 younger than me, 1 hu's really really weird n asks crazy questions, 1 hu asked 4 my hp no. n got it in a really stupid way (not fr my mouth lar) n de last one hu gave me HIS hp no. in a funny way... haha... n asked me 2 call or msg him... (duh! which i wun... he looks gutless or izzit cos he's juz shy? i dunno... he shld at least tok 2 me a couple of times more b4 i decide whether 2 call him... haha... ;) wateva...)

n there concludes my "exciting" n frustrating wk... yawnz...

An Excerpt from the novel "42 Days of Cheap Labour", Author: Joanna Lim

2004-06-16T22:11:00.000+08:00

A quiet and peaceful morning, the water in the water heater was boiling at 110 degrees celsius and the toast grill was turned up to full power.

19 year old Joanna Lim stood with her back against the maroon cupboards of the coffestall, where she was working as a part time cashier to earn her keep during the June holidays. With cool eyes, she gazed at the earlybirds shopping for their supplies at the supermarket opposite her coffestall and registered the myraid of faces passing by her, some cool and unyielding, some filled with curiousity as their fleeting eyes rested momentarily on the signboard of the famous local coffeestall.

She offered an inviting smile to a couple of potential customers, who had slowed down and were perusing the menu. Apparently not appetized by what the menu had to offer, they gave a faint dismissing smile and carried on their way.

She noticed the distant wailing of a love ballad coming from the audio system of the mall. "Aaallll by myseeellf, Don't wanna beeee... Aaallll by myseelf, aaanymoooore..."

"My sentiments exactly." she thought to herself. She paused, cocked her head suddenly, and glanced at the supermarket opposite her. "What was that they're playing?"

The faint music wafted over and she concentrated on deciphering the tune. "Oooohhhh... My luuurrve... My daaaarrrling... I've huuungerrred fooorrr... Yourrr touch... A looooonng lonely tiiiimme... And tiiiimme... goooess by... soooooo sloooowly... And tiiiimme can dooooo sooooo much..."

Suppressing the hint of laughter on her face, she listened to the Battle of the Love Ballads between the supermarket and the mall in amusement. "So this the psychological weapon these organisations use to induce in their customers an irristible urge to splurge on their goods. Is there a scientific paper written on how love ballads changes the secretion of various neurochemicals in people's brains causing a deep psychological need for them to engage in retail therapy?" she mused.

A flicker of movement caught her eye and she spun around quickly. Ah... a customer at last.

"Yes? How may I help you?" she asked in a friendly and polite tone, plastering a welcoming smile on her face. Dutifully, she took down the customer's orders and shot a swift glance at her watch.

"Four more hours till my shift ends. I'll survive." she thought wryly.

long wait...

2004-06-14T15:44:00.000+08:00

I. Am. Bored. yepz! my only off day of de wk n i'm rotting in front of my com... speaks volumes of my life rite... so damn suay tt my off day falls on a day when most pple r not free... plus now tt debs n xiuqi r workin, it sux! n yes, yiru, ur attachment starts todae, aawww... how saddening... get over it! muz update me on ur 1st day at ttsh k?? =)

n so here i am staring at my com screen while trying 2 cum up wif something insightful 2 share wif y'all, unfortunately i'm quite a shallow person ya? so toking lotsa crap here... still crapping... oh god! something come into my brain pls~!! doesn't help tt it's like 32 degrees celsius or something outside n i'm feeling hot n lethargic... it's like i wanna sleep but DON'T wanna sleep at de same time... can't wait 4 nite 2 cum... cos i'll be changing my phone~!! at long last~!! ahahha... 2 a samsung X430... cos it's de cheapest phone ard de mkt at dis time... haha... i realised tt i'm quite broke afterall...

god! it's not even 4pm yet... dis about rivals de boredom i feel while working... haha... yesterday afternoon esp, felt tt it was de longest n most boring shift i've eva done so far... nearly wanted 2 juz cry myself 2 death... oh man... juz realised tt i dun haf any plans 4 de coming wk... horror upon horrors~!! someone pls set a date wif me~!! great! now i feel like lamenting abt my life n wallow in self pity... aarrgh~!! i shall go n eat something... eating ALWAYS helps... =)

cute game...

2004-06-11T20:04:00.000+08:00

got dis

game

fr angie's blog... cute~!!

2004-06-11T00:10:00.000+08:00

dhs r us~!!

2004-06-11T00:08:00.000+08:00

4 da4 mei3 nu3

2004-06-11T00:04:00.000+08:00

finally a pic where everyone's tog...

2004-06-11T00:02:00.000+08:00

Jo Almighty... =P

the truth is out there...

2004-06-10T22:40:00.000+08:00

well... after 3 wks of work... i noticed a strange phenomenon: customers came in herds... as in 1 herd will stampede by n we'll get smothered by them, followed by an uncanny period of no customers at all, den de next herd will flock by n threatened 2 engulf us again...

n it really doesn't help tt i usually do morning shifts n de morning shift staff includes moi n an uncle FULLSTOP. it's like dis mentality: "oh look! there's no one buying fr de shop... k, i shan't buy too..." den: "oh wow! look at de crowd~!! i hafta chup4 ji3 ka1 n get something too..."

i mean i'm not being oversensitive or anything, cos tt's really wat happens... maybe it's dis sadistic side of everyone... sorta like: "oh look! there's only 1 man doin all de toasts n kopi (i'm only de cashier n i noe ZERO abt toast n kopi)... he seems so busy... wow... i shall make him busier..." dis doesn't happen only at lunchtime u noe... it happens ALL. THE. TIME. n when we haf extra help fr another colleague hu cums by at ard lunch hour, no customers cum!! like wow~!!

i've also noticed during my afternoon shifts, which lasts till 10pm at nite, tt at ard 9.30pm, when we're closing n stop taking orders, a huge crowd will gather once more n "stop" us fr closing on time... b/w 8 - 9.15, there's virtually NO customers... but at 9.20, there will almost definitely be a herd of customers trying 2 beat our closing time... it's not as if pple get off fr their work at 9pm rite? like totally weird...

till now, dis remains de greatest mystery of dis period of my life... izzit de s'porean kiasu attitude or something else? beats me...

S'pore Idol...

2004-06-09T19:04:00.000+08:00

woohoo~!! got juicy news fr debbie todae... she said WEIXUN joined s'pore idol n got thr 2 de 2nd round~!! like WOOOOOWWWWW~!! i'm sooooooooooo utterly astounded... seems like he's gonna be like s'pore's william hung or sumting... omg...

n i've cum down wif a cold dis morn~!! waaahhh... feel feverish n sleepy de whole day... n my eyes were so bleary dis morn i tink i can pass off as my goldfish's twin...haiz... maybe shld go see a doc... *sniff*

15 Minutes of Silence

2004-06-09T18:26:00.000+08:00

Title: 15 Minutes of Silence

Synopsis: A young girl gets a taste of being the main topic of a 15 minute conversation between her colleagues (a guy and a middle aged lady), in which the girl only managed to say 3 words throughout the conversation.

Scene: Yakun Coffeestall, Seiyu, Bugis

Date: 8 Jun 2004

Time: 1505 hours

Characters: Moi, guy no.1 n my auntie colleague

Director: FATE

Screenplay: Moi

The young girl has just announced her plans for the afternoon, after work, catching Shrek 2 with her GIRL friend.

Guy no.1: Wah auntie, see pple so gd, watching movie with her boyfriend later... i shld go get myself a girlfriend too hor...

Moi: ... (BOYFRIEND? WAT boyfriend?)

Auntie: Yar lor... yesterday joann bring her 2 frens 2 intro 2 u, u dun wan, now complain lar!

Guy no.1: Aiyah dun wan lar... i scared~!! later they all stick to me n refuse 2 let go! Harharhar...

Moi: ...... *roll my eyes*

Auntie: They all stick 2 u like bees stick 2 honey rite? haha... u go n watch de movie wif joann n her friend lar!

Moi: .... (wah??)

Guy no.1: Yar hor... can watch movie tog...

Auntie: U ask ah seng(another colleague) cum here 2 cover 4 u n u go watch lar... tell him u cum back at bout 5+... we wun tell anyone... *grinz*

Guy no.1: Can rite?! Juz get my head chopped off by Susan (our supervisor) only... haha...

Auntie: U go den can treat them mah...

Guy no.1: I treat them? they treat me lar!

Auntie: So stingy, liddat oso dun wanna treat... *shakes head*

Guy no.1: I STINGY?! Can! i treat lor... they pay only... HARHARHAR...

Moi: .... *roll my eyes AGAIN* (tt's sooo NOT funny)

Guy no.1: Aiyah... watch wat movie? U're de female lead oredi wad... *grins at me*

Auntie: Den u're de male lead rite? *grins at guy no.1*

Guy no.1: Yar lor! den auntie u're de supporting actress lar... HARHARHAR...

Auntie: HARHARHAR...

Moi: .... (soooo NOT funny AGAIN)

Auntie: Eh... u dun pull me into u two's relationship hor...

Moi: Har? Wat relationship? (ps: my only 3 words in dis conversation)

Guy no.1: Yar lor auntie... wat relationship?

Auntie: Y u all so big reaction? i juz meant u all 2 go watch movie dun pull me into going oso mah... i'll be such a big lightbulb! *evil grin (k... i confess i added de "evil" part myself)*

Moi:.... (wateva...)

Guy no.1: Eh... we jokin only lar...

Auntie: Yar lor... we jokin only hor...

Moi: *smiles and nods*

THE END

Author's note: I was n am still so utterly amazed tt they can tok abt me for 15 mins w/o my participation in de conversation... OMG! minyin saes it's cos they're sooo bored n got nothin 2 tok abt... WATEVA...

guys??

2004-06-08T23:45:00.000+08:00

as majority of u all noe... i'm currently working at yakun coffeestall as de cashier... de bugis jxn branch... so feel free 2 drop by~!! (n buy something hor... muz peng2 chang3 me k...) =)

nway, tt means most of u wld haf heard bout guys nos.1 n 2 rite? those hu haven, wat kinda frens haf u been?! time 2 tok 2 me more often n catch up duncha tink?? haa... so, i was juz telling a couple of ya de other day tt 1 tink guy no.2 got fired or sumting, but lo behold~!! there he was again dis morn... i really x 2 tink he look more n more uncle todae... he din shave! tink got at least 2 days of stubble (for those hu're lost, he's got beeg beeg eyes n a receding hairline too... so use ur imagination) n once again he's asking 4 hp nos n stuff... only diff is there were quite a no. of customers there todae n so embarassing~!! n he is so NOT automatic lor... cont 2 plop his head on de the counter top (did i mention his receding hairline?) n toking mushy n disgusting things (egs shall be stated later...) n de customers can all hear our conversation n there were quite a few hu were looking n sniggering 2 themselves... giving me the "knowing" look... *roll my eyes* n de uncle working wif me was NOT helping either... ask me 2 help prepare de guy's drink even tho he usually does all de drink preparation... n when i finally delivered his drink in de hope tt he'll FINALLY be gone, he saes something like, "wah... todae's yuan yang(mixed coffee+tea) drink in de mouth, sweet in de heart (direct chinese translation)" like OMG~!! i nearly banged de wall lor... den de next customer (an uncle hu works somewhere in seiyu), hu obviously overheard EVERYTHING said, "xiao mei, tonite no need 2 sleep oredi rite?" givin me de "knowing" look again... *bang wall again* n in de afternoon de uncle came n buy stuff again n said,"xiao mei, u ate alot of sweets dis morning ah? ur smile so sweet..." N GAVE ME DE "KNOWING" LOOK for de 3RD TIME... *bang wall for de 3rd time*

haiz...

my dear xiuqi (short intro)...

2004-06-08T23:28:00.000+08:00

guess i shld dedicate dis blog 2 u mostly, since u inspired me 2 haf another shot at blogging... my last blog lasted 4 abt lessee... 3 days? b4 i gave up on it... hahaha...
n yes, i'm an extremely bhb person... which all hu profess 2 be my frens SHLD noe... hence de web address, another of my brillant ideas, tank u v much... haha... k, enuff 4 de intro yar?