The music of thoughts!

Tuesday, June 02, 2009 ; 5:57 PM

so it's near the end of 2nd day of my internship @ tembusu, and strangely enough i dont feel the usual eagerness to pack up and get out of office as soon as the clock strikes 6
maybe its the OT-culture that has implanted slight guilt in me as i waved goodbye to colleagues still buried deep in work
maybe it's the fact that there's reso pracs almost everyday after work, diminishing the excitement i usually feel at the end of work

its a little too early to say, but i'd like to think that im not that anxious to bail because i like it here
not so much for the office politics and workload but my colleagues, who've made time pass alot faster each day
also, although this is a short internship, i feel like im actually learning, instead of hunched over the computer typing ctrl-v repeatedly, trying to master data-entry efficiency

work, however, has a high opportunity cost, extinguishing zirca plans this wed entirely
in its redemption, i finally went to butterfactory last week, and it was just as good as i was told
we had free flow drinks till 1am that were alot better than any housepours i've had
the really mainstream music helped alot too

i also managed to watch terminator salvation over the weekend! (:
it was, in all honesty, a little stupid, aside from its special effects and action moves
i've never watched the previous terminators either so i didnt manage to catch the inferences made to the last few movies, while the boys nodded or pointed it out
but i did find really amusing the recurring biblical allusions made in the movie, like how john connor shares the same initials as jesus christ, being the legendary savior and all, or *spoiler alert* how he seemingly 'resurrects' after being stabbed in the heart because a halfman-halfrobot gave up his heart for john connor.

-

in the days preceding work, we had another wii midnight party at mac's place with victor and melvin, another time where boys show off their prowess at games, while i struggled to survive the game
so while the guys were hooting and throwing fists into the air to celebrate wins (which they took turns to attain), i divided their scores by about 4 and realized that it was my score
i was really consistent in my performance at that, the only time i'm ever consistent
the late night timing did not make it any better. OHWELL.

verbal diarrhea, end.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 ; 12:28 AM

so.. although the swine flu has altered my summer plans, i find myself dwelling in the unplanned and thoroughly enjoying the unpredictable
i've always thought the come-what-may mentality was an excuse to escape the need for plans and direction, but living each day for what it had to offer and just enjoying that doesnt seem so bad, really.
its funny; many a times i have this beautiful & flawless plan that i come up with as my direction, but it almost always gets crushed by some unforeseen circumstance
and then God comes into the picture, and showers me with this planless direction, that always somehow fits nicely in place and completes the puzzle
and so, now my summer seems to smile even more brightly than i ever thought it will, with my internship secured (and a rly valuable one at that), acapella championships, summer school, and piano duets.

on the same line of unpredictability, lide and i drove aimlessly ytd night after having dinner & drinks @ liquid kitchen, for a night nice drive

we somehow ended up in tampines IKEA, the unintended intention
i got quite a few ideas for my new room @ greenridge, and also quite a few photos from aimless mindless jumpshots that got us more than a few raised eyebrows from passerbys

to complete the story of unplannedness, isaac's ability to buy meat @ a highly discounted price evolved into an impromptu bbq session @ my place on sunday

there we wolfed down $100 worth of beef, chicken, potato, corn & others, deliciously marinated and barbequed by our chef-to-be

it was the first time in my life, i actually enjoyed a barbequed dinner (:

Friday, May 22, 2009 ; 12:24 AM

am back from an urban hiatus, took a trip back to tioman after a decade
the place's still as beautiful and serene, people still as friendly, food still as good

blue seas and skies; the water's a little murkier than i remembered, but it's still blue and filled with marine life; we took loads of photos with the underwater cam, which i still need to develop

ramly burger! i heard sooo much about this magical burger i tried it the first day we were there. and it was DEFINITELY worth the hype, ignoring all the oil and unhealthy ingredients that went into its making. i've never been so excited about eating burgers in my life before this ramlicious burger

drinks @ bakau cafe, which is actually a beach bar in the far (dark) end of the beach, with beating rock music. the locals there were just so friendly, we talked with them feeling like we've known them for a while; and they waved us on whenever they saw us on the lil island - it was a nice feeling (:

maggie goreng lunch by the beach; paya beach is famous for its maggie goreng, and its a sure-hit meal. they really make maggie taste yums

trekking up to the rockfall, past kampong houses and primitive living; its spring/rain water was so cold it was quite a shocking contrast against the weather, which was anything but cold.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 ; 11:48 PM

so... its the summer HOLIDAYS!!! (:
although there wasnt as glorious a finish line as i would have hoped so, the break is definitely a welcome change to the incessant note-taking and studying
the first few days of post-exam happiness was relished in dreamland; i was prolly more tired than i thought myself to be, esp towards the end
thankfully i still made it for kayaking @ bedok reservoir on saturday with the church pple, cuz that was a refreshing blast of morning air and...reservoir water

sleep-crediting aside, i also met up with the NYgirls, for a blast from the past
we took a virgin (for some) game of wii+pizza @ my place; the first time is always priceless
we took a video, that really looks more retarded than it really is, and i'm still trying to upload it to the other 4 who werent able to join us

other news, i watched 17again, and its just such a feel-good movie i really felt so lighthearted and happy when i exited the theater
happy-endings are always beautiful, however cliche and old, and it makes you feel so warm and fuzzy inside out
nevermind zac efron's eyes, which even seemed to make leslie mann melt
i think even lide was bought over =p
before that i also managed to meet up with jacob for dimsum hightea buffet @ anchorpoint
he picked me up from my house, and we went for a little roadtrip after hightea (:

last note, i was parked next to a car that belonged to another JOY while shopping with my sista

and.. a lazy saturday afternoon @ mac's. i like (:

Tuesday, May 05, 2009 ; 9:25 PM

this is an official declaration, that i have traipsed into love with..

BOBO CHACHA

my new found love

yes, i know it's been around for quite some time, i've missed out the past 22 years of my life
i've just never really liked sweet potato or yam particularly, nevermind them in oddly-discolored coconut milk
there was even a time, i sulked half a day because i was more than coaxed to finish some homemade bobo chacha

oh the times have changed.
i still dont quite fancy the sweet potato, never was a huge fan
the yam, it's alright, not that bad when its taste is masked by the strong coconut scent
what i really do love.. are the GELATIN cubes

i like it so much my maid's been putting one and a half packet of gelatin cubes into our homemade bobo chacha, instead of the prescribed half packet, just so there'll be some left at the end when i'm done with it, together with the pathetic pieces of sweet potato left behind

yummy, much.

-

i had my GEM2900 paper today, the first since WHO's declaration of swine flu as a pandemic threat
because of that, we were supposed to report to the exam venue an HOUR earlier to measure our temperatures before we step foot in the exam hall
talk about media-induced paranoia -.-

on the advice of friends, i left house an hour earlier today, so i could navigate clementi peak-hour traffic and reach sch half an hour after the stipulated temperature measurement, thinking i've got the better end of the deal
when i got there, i realized my expectation of long lines of irritable, germ-ridden students waiting to get an aural thermometer stuffed up their ear had been uncalled for
there were NO lines at all, other than masked & gloved staff directing us towards this metal-detector-looking frame, where all we had to do was stare at our own eyes in this mirror before our body temperatures were instantly registered on the LED screen
(woaaaa, high tech)

and then that was it.
i almost felt cheated when they ushered me along to the hall

so, i was half an hour early for my exam today, the first time in my life
what i did find at the exam hall were irritable, (germ-ridden?) students who have also been fooled by rumored long lines for temperature taking

in all redemption, the paper went fanta-frickin-tastic (:

Saturday, April 25, 2009 ; 12:53 AM

so today i had a change in study environment, albeit for a rly short while
i went to keppel club to pick up mac, who's been teaching swim classes to little kids there
i ended up studying by the seaside/poolside for a little while, thanks to an overestimation of peak-hour traffic, and rly beautiful weather

as cliche as this is gna sound, beautiful scenery does help in absorption rates
it was quiet, aside from the sounds of kids giggling in the nearby pool
and the occasional soft horns of passing cruise ships
really nice.

best thing is, this isnt even my club.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 ; 10:53 PM

i got my first taste of 'hostel life' in NUS today, as janice put it
it does sound really weird, having been in NUS for close to 3 years and never tried the infamous 'hall food' other than night suppers at sheares, or camp-packet-food
so to make up for it, i've spent quite some time in KEVII recently, camping out in this tiny cozy study lounge at janice's blog, burrowing deep in public finance notes
and.. *drumrolls* i had hall food.

yay?

ok it wasnt that bad. it was pretty decent, contrary to most of the complaints i've heard in this lifetime.
today's special was spaghetti (ooh i'm beginning to sound like a hallsian. NOT), but basically everyone had the choice between that and chinese-vegetables-rice
it wasnt bad at all, the food, it even came with soup, a drink, and a banana
we even sat in the harry-potter dining hall with janice's friends, completing my NUS hall experience =p

-

so, study week's coming to an end. and i'm beginning to feel that slight anxiety creeping up on me
i dont feel un-ready, i just dont feel ready.
at least not 'ready' enough to put everyone outta their A-listings and come up top
garh. its annoying having all this pressure to do well enough to knock myself up one level for upper honors.
garh