"I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. " -Henry David Thoreau

#357: PISHED

last year:
i intended to go, but i didn't make it in the end. so i vowed to GET THAT FREE CONE the next year.

this year:
i intended to go, but i didn't make it in the end. so i vow to GET THAT FREE CONE the next year.

thankfully, Shakespeare 24 is Over, and as expected, i pine for more rehearsal sessions (because 90% of the cast is awesome), yet i am relieved beyond words.

i am in desperate need of God's grace right now, because as i list out the tasks at hand, i realise: Oh. My. Shit. I. Am. Dead.

well, i did bring this upon myself, seeing as i'm doing what people say 'spreading myself too thinly', aka getting involved in Everything :/ - this all bores down to my lousy secondary school track record which i am intent on making up for. so if you are in/have yet to enter Secondary School, Please, i beg of you, Carpe Diem!

by the way, i'm back from Class Camp at Ubin, and i'm completely pished. i came straight home, with the intention of relacking, reading and going to bed before 9. but most regrettably, i have come to realise that a bedtime before 9 is no more yielding but a dream.

oh, and in response to questions about my previous msn dp, it comes from this photo:

prior to The Pillowman, it's me, abbykang and wenqi in the toilet, which was deemed 'artsy' for its minimalist interior. it was a girls' night out, it was at the DBS Arts House, and we were all dolled up. needless to say, we were obliged to camwhore.

Term Paper

we're at it again.

yes, it's us.

the HISTORY kids.

the wicked shall have no rest.

#356.5: Home, Truly.

unbelievable! i am back home in the daytime!

back to school in an hour.

p.s. international history term paper is due on monday. fast&fresh rehearsal is on saturday morning. my plans to repay my sleep debt this weekend have to be delayed. Bugger.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

my most beloved

PRISCILLA!!!

(i am dead tired.)

ding-a-ling!

HAPPY (2-hr belated) BIRTHDAY CHRIS FANG & JAPPY!!!

Have A WhateverS-adjectiveyouwant Seventeeth!

now,

HAPPY 444th BIRTHDAY, SHAKESPEARE.

Mayst thou turneth in thy grave many times o'er.

(i.e. "May you turn in your grave many times over.")

(i.e. People are going to continue desecrating your works for many centuries to come)

#356: MIDSUMMER MADNESS

PI Progress: down to 560 words, without the use of Footnotes (which, in my opinion, though brilliant, is equivalent to cheating)

Chem A-level SPA is tomorrow and thank goodness it's Titration, which i am adept at. oh, unlike QA (Qualitative Analysis), where the substance always turns out to be unidentifiable Solid X: White Powder (which can be anything under the sun), where the variety of tests render your testtube useless (i.e. the bottom gets melted out), and where i can't for the life of me remember what does it mean when Barium Nitrate causes the solution to go murky.

#355: kids say the darndest things

Mr Faizad: So, Jonathan, what is an oxymoron?
Jon: It's like an irony, you know, sir... Like a straight circle.
Class: *collapses*

***

Mr Faizad: Is 'bitch' only used in reference to females?
Yuwen: *shakes head vigorously*
Mr Faizad: So are there male bitches?
Yuwen: *immediately points at Jonneo*
Mr Faizad: Ah, Yuwen, tell us why do you so readily point Jonneo out as a 'male bitch'?
Jon: Sir, it's because I'm an oxymoron.
Christian: Aiya, you moron.

***

and my father makes the weirdest comments on my physical appeance.

Papa: *grabs my arm* Why is there hair here? Why so hairy one?
Me: ...
Papa: Aiyo, you must have been eating too much beef.

***

Papa: Ooh, let me see your teeth.
Me: *flashes megawatt grin*
Papa: It's whiter now arh!
Me: *nods enthusiastically*
Papa: I'm so proud of you.

#354:

Alack!
Blast it,
Confound it,
Dash it all,
Egad.

i love redundancy, like

"the attractive forces of attraction"

- RJC J1 H2 Chem Notes on The Gaseous State

or,

"self-reliance on themselves"

(if you are sleepy, or just plain imbecilic, you may not understand what comes next)
because i was reliving a Pratchett moment, when an exchange between 2 characters went as such:

"All for one!"
"... all for one what?"

or

"Let's kick some butt!"
"... some but what?"

and hence i envisioned a conversation:

"Teach them self-reliance."
"... reliance on who?"
"Self-reliance."
"Yeah, but... self-reliance on who?"

which distilled into "self-reliance on themselves".

after much contemplation, we removed it from our Pre-U Sem script.

#353: CSR FTW!

see what a shameless camwhore Junior College has made of me!

last night, i received an sms from Abbykang

"Marry, our play is preferred!"

thinking it was a reference to to S24 rehearsals today (it's a quote from AMND), i ignored it.

as it turned out, it was a reference to our Fast & Fresh script, which apparently has been chosen, along with 29 others, to be showcased ... somewhere somewhen in May.

to give you an analogy, as Abbykay metaphorised,

To see our Fast & Fresh script chosen and actually staged successfully at the competition was like the baby we always wanted to have. Only, now that we've actually gotten the news of its impending arrival, it's come out more like an unplanned pregnancy that's come as a complete surprise. We're over the moon of course, but couldn't it have come at a more convenient time that didn't clash with bloody EVERYTHING?

yes, we were in Extreme Shock because writing Dual//Duel was a hit-and-run affair. in other words, "we anyhow whack"-ed, and didn't expect anything to come out of it; oh, of course we were optimistic, but it was the Obligatory sort that comes when you are hoping to death for something to come true, but know in your heart of hearts that No Way José was it going to become reality. but the point is, WE HAVE BEEN SELECTED and have to get a cast/crew together by mid-may, and somehow, EVERYTHING just has to fall in May.

so today we scrambled to get people and we're down to the Usual Suspects (LMHMKMN folks), plus 3 male additions. Brilliant.

there's still Preusem, S24 and alot of other crap.

oh yes, alot of other crap.

***

this is the conclusion the Abigails have written and submitted for our script. somehow, abbykay seems to think that it won't make the cut. i, on the otherhand, am Optimistic (see above).

"We want embed a sense of self-directed reliance in the minds of Singaporeans, instill compassion in their little, cold, mercenary Singaporeans hearts, and fill their spirit till it overflows with entrepreneurship, peppered with CSR ftw!

We encourage social responsibility to grow the spirit of social enterprise, thus paving the way for a thriving corporate world that is socially conscious and proactive in bringing about positive change in our society. This way, it will create more opportunities for the people who need it the most, to heave them onto the straight and narrow righteous path of self-reliance. As such, the forgotten will be forgotten no more, and all strata of the Singaporean society will ascend together as one. Hand in hand, together we stand, with money to spend, PEACE AND PROSPERITY throughout our land!"

#352: forgivable frivolity

Alack! i have h1 physics tutorial test tomorrow.
h1 I DETEST THE SUBJECT AND WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH ENGINEERING AND SO I'M TAKING IT ONLY BECAUSE YOU ASKED ME TO AND I LOVE YOU DADDY DEAREST physics.

i am tired, i need a break. i need to sleep, i need to have fun (i am having fun now, but i need Fun), i need an empty schedule. i also need to stop my mind from straying, from wandering off.

the feeling i usually get, after logging off a long internet session, is one that i loathe - a sense of underachievement, like i've spent a bloody long time doing nothing but wasting my life away, when i could have done something out of the many things that have yet to be done. in other words: I HAVE TO STOP WASTING INTERNET TIME. IT MAKES ME SICK.


now, do come. please. (we beseech you)
pete quince and hermia awaiteth thee.

***

& i just felt like doing something brainless, something the complete opposite of PI (Preliminary Ideas, to you, jifei) and Pre-U Sem. 50 first (skip if you can't be bothered),

01. (X) I did ballet
02. (X) I did gymnastics
03. (X) I paint my fingernails/toenails
04. (X) I have worn flip flops as anything other than beach wear
05. (X) I own clothes that are pink
06. ( ) I watch Dr Who because I fancy the Doctor -wth is Dr Who.
07. ( ) I own hair straighteners -i like my hair as it is
08. ( ) I drink alco pops (i.e. grape Smirnoffs ice, etc.) -wossat
09. (X) I enjoy clothes shopping -unless i'm particularly broke or lazy, or in a bad mood
10. ( ) I keep a teddy bear on my bed -they're all stashed in a box
11. ( ) I prefer high heels to flats -i'm relatively tall. if i'm too tall, i cannot find a boyfriend. besides, flats are comfier.
12. ( ) I don’t know the “offside rule” -i do! i do! it took a week but now i know it's something about the player entering the penalty box before the ball = BAD.
13. ( ) I prefer diet drinks to full calories -i like diet coke. but nothing beats the Real Deal.
14. (X) I love bubble baths -i take them twice a year: at church camp, and whenever there is a tub (and time) at my disposal
15. (?) I read lifestyle magazines -i used to read the RGS Library's copies of SEVENTEEN. now, no.
16. (?) Valentine’s day is a good thing -er, it's a matter of perspective.
17. ( ) I would love to have a photo shoot -i am terribly unphotogenic.
18. (X) I love to get dressed up -yep, unless i'm lazy or pissed or can't seem to match my clothes that day
19. ( ) I use a hair dryer -i hate using hairdryers
20. (X) I am scared of spiders (and of lizards and creepy crawlings, plus snakes)
21. ( ) I use fake tanning products
22. (X) I can’t change a tyre -never tried. but i can pump tyres
23. () I can’t change a plug -wth, in hightek singapore, you will die if you can't!
24. (X) I have thought about names for my as yet unconceived children -i.e. Measles, Mumps and Rubella 25. ( ) I go to the gym in preference to doing sport-i like games.
26. ( ) I see myself as fatter than I am -i think the way i see my body is quite accurate.
27. (X) I like to receive flowers
28. (X) I like things that are pretty for pretty’s sake -hello, i'm a girl.
29. (X) I enjoy talking on the phone -depending on with whom
30. (X) Cushions have a point
31. (X) I accessorize -DUH.
32. (X) I ‘coo’ over babies -only select ones
33. (X) I keep a diary -a real, non-online one
34. ( ) I eat salads in restaurants -waste money, i can make my own
35. (X) I am on/have been on a diet
36. ( ) I like chick flicks -good ones, like The Devil Wears Prada, Mean Girls, etc. face it, boys like them too.
37. ( ) I won’t leave the house without make up -i don't do makeup, simply because i suck at it
38. (X) I enjoyed/would enjoy being a bridesmaid -i think it will be fun. and i will FIGHT for the bouquet at all costs.
39. (X) Weddings are romantic -heeheex? courtship is romanticker, i think.
40. ( ) I exfoliate my skin -i ought to soon, i'm still flaking
41. (?) I have a skincare routine and stick to it religiously -er, i tone, moisturise and apply copious amounts of pimple cream when i feel particularly female.
42. ( ) I sunbathe
43. ( ) Camping is wrong
44. (?) I like to read books that involve romance -it's sweet, and i don't mean the *Perilous Passions* sort. romance as a sidedish = ideal, not as a main plot. romance as main course should be reserved for Fanfiction.
45. (X) I have more female friends than male -it only makes sense, seeing as i've spent 10 years in a girls' school
46. ( ) I don’t like football
47. ( ) I don’t like to do any activities that may break my nails -i just don't like breaking my nails, because it hurts!
48. ( ) I go to beauty salons
49. (X) I have matching underwear -doesn't mean i match my underwear all the time, though
50. (X) I don’t drink pints -wossat. if i don't know what it is, highly likely i don't do it.

it's One Week closer

to everything ahead.

Shit.

#351: OrhX

i'm back in Bloggerland, and i've managed to coax Blogger into uploading photos one-by-one. Go Me.

this week has led me to appreciate RJ from a new perspective. that is, i've started to hang around school till Late, all thanks to Pre-U Seminar and Shakespeare24. oh, and sporadic Players activities (i.e. College play casting) as well.

this week has also led me to realise er, Who My Friends Are. i think. or at least, Who Will Join My Support Group, or Who Will Spill All To The Most Inappropiate Person In The Most Inappropriate Manner, or Who Is Interested In My (Lack Of) Love Life. and i have to admit that Gossip is a universal language and is a very strong social glue, though i dislike dabbling in such... frivolous and slanderous activity (oh, but of course, it is very Cathartic, as i mentioned earlier).

i had a crazy saturday, and when i finally got home i discovered this, addressed to my father, in the mail today. i was so amused i couldn't stop giggling, and just had to document the moment:

behold, 09S07A's first SUNSHINE SLIP, a testament of my "exemplary conduct". it's rather juvenile, but it makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.

oh yes, and i shall pimp the play:

Shakespeare 24
23rd & 24th April
7pm
RJC PAC
$8 (for 3 plays!)

RI: Macbeth
HCJC: Twelth Night
RJC: A Midsummer Night's Dream

come see me act, I'm a boy. (the following picture is totally unrelated to my role. i just put it there because it caught my attention for a full minute.)

HALLELUJAH

Background Information: I have always scraped past 2.4km with an E, since RGPS.

TODAY, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, IN MY ENTIRE LIFE,

I RAN 6 ROUNDS STRAIGHT FOR 2.4KM

AND MOST PROBABLY CLINCHED AN A.

NEVER, IN MY HUMBLE EXISTENCE, HAVE I EVER MANAGED TO ACHIEVE SUCH HIGH LEVELS OF FITNESS.

Damn JC PE, it forces the sloth out of you.
(and damn JC canteen food, it's laden with fried things)

#350: INSANITY

my wednesday turned out to be crazier than I expected (as seen in the previous post), because thre was Players GM and Bridge too (which I didn't go for).

but it really started off CRAZY when the ALPsian met in the middle of the canteen before school and chris fang was having contacts (like, CONTACT LENSES) trouble. first, oceana hit him on the head, and almost knocked his contacts out of his eyes. then it was revealed then whenever he swivelled his head to the side, his contacts moved as well. so it was decided that he should get to the root of the problem, and just re-insert his contacts anyway. kim tan, being all nice and domesticatedy, leaned it to remove the offending lens from his eyeball, and pulled out TWO CONTACT LENSES. :O

background information: apparently chris had a little bit of trouble removing his lenses last night.

a good laugh early in the day does help, especially after some crap later on today. i shan't elaborate here, but i was rather traumatised (even though it didn't show). but i did spend some lovely quality time with yona and lihua, who accosted me (ok, i actually stopped to say hi) whilst i was on route to muggerland (i.e. the library). we spent some time solving some brainteaser that was stuck on the floor, then failed at treasure-hunting and ended up playing a game of 3-person contact/floating bridge at the parade square. before heading for our respective classes, we acquired some sludge from the milo truck.

during economics i spent, what i shall term, "Cathartic Time" with zhefei, where we discussed about the lemons life gives us. our support group grew to three when abbykay decided to join in during the assembly block.

for gp-quiz preliminaries today, abbykay, sam and i just ZOOMED throughout the entire 40-question long paper, and dashed off giggling. truth be told, i didn't contribute much. :/ nevermind, i shall be the trio's eyecandy (i hope we get into final 4).

then more extra-curricula activity Madness.

2.4 tmr, i need your prayers.

#349: Munday, today,

i spent exactly 13 hours out of the house, in full school uniform.

i realised that the 8.45am train at Khatib is blessedly empty.

Happy GP week, Rafflesians (RJ).

i got myself a SUNSHINE SLIP (or at least, as promised by the teacher) because i showed up for duty at the GP booth today.

i sold $88 worth of KS Bull copies, which apparently stands for "Knowledge & Skills Bulletin", and not "Kiasu Bullshit".

i manned the booth with angie, and we were 20 minutes late for math lecture.

i signed up for interclass GP quiz because of the $200 Kino book voucher (even though i hardly visit bookstores).

i went for a casting session which consisted of the teacher matching my name to my face, and after which i could leave.

i had S24 rehearsal once again, and er, erm.

i played Charades and Taboo with my P6 English tuition class because we got bored.

i discovered my amazing wednesday schedule.

***

Juggling Wednesdays:

1.30pm, History Society
2.00pm - 6.00pm, Pre-u Seminar Metting
2.00pm - 4.00pm, S24 Rehearsal
2.30pm - 3.00pm, GP Quiz

BRILLIANT.

#348: hokay

my head and my heart are so swamped right now, i can't think of anything particularly gripping to say, except that i have to summarize myself in 30 words for S24 character bio.

week 4 (correct me if i'm wrong) of Term 2 is
BUSY
BUSY
BUSY.

the stupid thing is that all my commitments decide to fall on the same days: namely Monday and Wednesday.
Tuesday is still the longest academic day.
Thursday and Friday are NAPFA days.

once again, we live for the weekends.
(this weekend, the only work i did was to read up on the Korean War, and 'practice' Bridge)

oh, and by the way, THANK YOU everyone who has sent/given me birthday greetings/gifts. they are highly appreciated. i'll blog a little bit more on my "Sexy Seventeeth" (as Calyn puts it) come tuesday, because i'll be out till damn late tmr.

#347: HEIGH-HO

I'M BACK, and in case you were wondering, Nigel came up with the idea, which was supposed to elicit the following response from you:

Reader: Come come, let me go about my daily ritual of reading Abiho's blog
*types "make-it-loud.blogspot.com" into url bar thingum*
*page loads and "NIGEL'S BLOG" pops up*
Reader: OMG KNN WTH HAPPENED TO ABIGAIL'S BLOG? WHO IS THIS IMPOSTER?!!
*refreshes page*
*"NIGEL'S BLOG" persists in showing up*
Reader: OH NOOOO. WOE! WOE! WOE BETIDE ME! I hope Abigail knows about this! I must warn her!
*proceeds to call Abigail*
Reader: Abigail OH NOES do you know what happened when I tried to visit your blog today?
Abigail: ROFLMAO.
Reader: Oh no, the sadness of it all has gotten to your head! Are you quite alright?
Abigail: Yes I am, you dodo. You got punk'd! HARHARHAR. HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S!
Reader: Oh. ... HAR HAR HAR. You got me damn good.

of course that was the ideal situation. unfortunately all that came out of it was some ri boys tagging "cb" on my tagboard. how nice.

tomorrow is the day where we vote candidates into Council, and i'm getting spammered (spam + hammer, past tense) with VOTE XXX PLS! messages. i shall do you all a favour and leave my blog relatively propaganda-free (the VOTE LOW ZHENER down there remains, because she's an exception).

16.
this reminds me of a song from The Sound of Music, the Liesl-Rolfe duet.

#346: Carpe diem!

Once again, I'm misusing & mismanaging computer time designated for school work. Let me just take this opportunity to tell you (yes You, the reader) that You Are A Lazy Sod, and You SUCK; I created the "Friend Test" crap (and got scolded by mummy for spending way too long on the computer) to make the place more interesting, and NO ONE BOTHERED TO DO IT.

On monday, I suddenly realised/remembered that I have been itching to watch Dead Poets Society, so I picked up a copy from the RJ library just before S24 rehearsal.

"Carpe Diem, lads! Seize the day! Make your lives extraordinary!"

- John Keating

Sidenote: The RJ library is a very conducive place to get work done. I am pleasantly surprised (i.e. I expected to be constantly distracted).

Today, around noonish, I popped Dead Poets Society into the DVD player, which has to be the most ironic DVD player in existence: it plays VCDs, but not DVDs. I watched. I strained to listen. When Keating (Robin Williams) told his boys to 'huddle up', I found myself trying to join in (well, it was mostly because the lines weren't very audible). As the movie played, I found myself paying such close attention to the words, their sound, their content. I don't think I have ever been this earnest in movie-watching. - of course Pirates doesn't count, because witty discourse by good-looking men never goes unheeded.

One shortcoming of Dead Poets Society is that, certain scenes could cause the average trying-to-be-funny movie goer to get a twitchy feeling that tells his brain, "Why is he doing that? That is so. odd. Come, let me make a funny comment to tide over the awkwardness." But fortunately, almost everything falls into place, and you'll realise why so-and-so did that ... WEIRD thing. Somewhat.

Then, I cried. Torrents of tears.

On hindsight, I think the writers were probably contemplating the script on a stormy wednesday night, and finally decided, in a fit of creative rage, to kill Neil off just to make the plot twisty and unusual, while inserting tear-jerking moments and philosophical lines along the way. (And if you really think about it, if Neil had really been all "Carpe Diem, seize the day!"-ish, he wouldnt have gone and shot himself. Wimp.)

But I liked the script, even though it seemed to be primarily some WW guy, Shakespeare and Robert Frost-inspired. (I don't know actually, my knowledge of poets is directly proportional to my haiku-writing skills.)

I shall shove in some self/co-written Haikus now, just to demonstrate,

He has a hot bod
Who’s he? – Nobody I know.
That’s why I’m single.

Squirrels like nuts
Tortoises like plastic bags
We like them scandals.

This week let me see
Haikus are therapeutic
crap. So I write them.

I am so angry
I feel like Harry Potter
Angst Angst Angst Angst GARH

Watch Dead Poets Society, anyways. Even if you don't think you'd appreciate the words and screenplay, you might like the dishy Anglo-Saxonish (they're Americans, actually) schoolboys. I mean, a well-cut suit has always done wonders the male physique.

my 3 favourite scenes
1. during one of the Dead Poets Society meetings, when they spontaneously jazzed up a poem and started rapping/dancing to it

2.
Keating: Close your eyes - closure! Close 'em! Now, describe what you see.
Todd: I... I close my eyes, and this image floats beside me.
Keating: A sweaty-toothed madman.
Todd: A sweaty-toothed madman with a stare that pounds my brain.
Keating: Oh, that's *excellent*! Now, give him action - make him do something!
Todd: His hands reach out and choke me.
Keating: That's it! Wonderful, wonderful!
Todd: And all the time he's mumbling.
Keating: What's he mumbling?
Todd: Mumbling truth... Truth's like a blanket that always leaves your feet cold.
Keating: [some of the class start to laugh] Forget them, forget them! Stay with the blanket. Tell me about that blanket!
Todd: Y-You push it, stretch it, it'll never be enough. You kick at it, beat it, it will never cover any of us. From the moment we enter crying to the moment we leave dying, it will cover just your head as you wail and cry and scream!
[silence. then class bursts into applause]
Keating: Don't you forget this.

3.
Neil: [Neil finds Todd sitting alone on the roof] Hey!
Todd: Hey.
Neil: What's going on?
Todd: Today's my birthday.
Neil: Is today your birthday? Happy birthday!
Todd: Thanks.
Neil: What'd you get?
Todd: [indicating the desk set lying beside him] My parents gave me this.
Neil: Isn't this the same desk set ...
Todd: Yeah. Yeah, they gave me the same thing as last year.
Neil: Oh... maybe they thought you needed another one.
Todd: Maybe they weren't thinking about anything at all. The funny thing is about this is, I didn't even like it the first time.
Neil: Todd, I think you're underestimating the value of this desk set.
[He picks it up]
Neil: I mean, who would want a football or a baseball...
Todd: ...or a car...
Neil: Or a car, if they could have a desk set as wonderful as this one? I mean, if I were ever going to buy a desk set... twice... I would probably buy this one. Both times! In fact, its shape... it's rather aerodynamic, isn't it?
[he walks to the edge of the roof]
Neil: You can feel it. This desk set wants to fly!
[he hands it to Todd]
Neil: Todd? The world's first unmanned flying desk set.
[Todd throws it off the roof - papers fly everywhere and things crash and clatter to the ground]
Neil: Oh my! Well, I wouldn't worry. You'll get another one next year.

and finally, Quotes, I leave you with.

John Keating: Why do we need language?
Neil: To communicate...
John Keating: No! To woo women!

Dalton: [answering phone] Welton Academy, hello.
Yes he is, hold on.
Mr. Nolan, it's for you.
It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton.

Meeks: I'll try anything once.
Dalton: Yeah, except sex.

this show reminds me that i have yet to watch History Boys.

i'll leave soon.