#473: It's Realizations Like These That Make Monotony Exciting

OMG ARGH ANOTHER WEEK END ANOTHER WEEK CLOSER TO CTS ANOTHER WEEK CLOSER TO A'S.

A Shortcoming:
Failing to recognize the significance of an instant, or the implications of an action immediately. Only after the deed is done, and only on hindsight do the realizations sink it. Very slowly. Too slowly, in fact. I wish I could have more Instant-Awareneness, and learn to that living for the moment could kill you even before you feel the pain.

#472: CNY IN RETROSPECT (B&W Edition)

Sequence of events for DAY ONE:
Doll up, Gran's house, Back home to rest, Little India (Mustafa), Tua Kor's house, Home to bed

#472.5: CNY IN RETROSPECT (Colored In)

When everyone's happy, all else is well, and hence, so am I. That's how family celebrations ought to be.

CNY is no grand affair in my family. We do traditional stuff, and go through the motions of wishing/gettingangpows and minor visitation. But it was alright, and my monetary takings were more than decent (relative to the number of angpows and visitations, that is).

#471: LOST BUT FOUND

Yesterday the unthinkable happened.

Upon reaching home from school, I emptied my entire school bag and went through its contents thrice, and went down to check the car just in case. But it could not change the fact that I, Abigail, had lost my hard-earned, self-bought 4GB (RED) ipod nano.

OMAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH,
was my initial reaction.

But today I found it at the Lost & Found at the Student Affairs Centre. My deepest and most sincere gratitude goes out to Andrew and oneotherguywhosenamestartswith"I" for being so honest and integral and returning my baby.

As I told the receptionist at the Student Affairs Centre this morning, "OMG THANK GOD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK GOD OMG YAY I LOVE YOU." pretty summed up my elation.

Life is good.

#470: Abi's Art of Selfownage

I almost forgot to tell you about how I totally owned myself last week, and it was so epic I have to tell you now (even though the one-week plus lapse has made it a little lacklustre but heck).

(+1 kenaowned pt)
It was a chilly Tuesday night, and I was running late for Care Group at Yishun Building. So I popped my contact lenses in and dashed out of the house. On route to Yishun Building, I realised that my vision seemed more blurry than usual, and so after stopping now and then to tilt my head to one side and squint shortsightedly in a distance and looking like a complete idiot, I arrived at a conclusion that: I must have put my contact lenses into the wrong eyes (i.e. Right Lens into Left Eye, Left Lens into Right Eye).

(+2 kenaowned pts)
So I hurried to Yishun Building, praying fervently that I wouldn't get knocked down by some wayward car that I would be unable to spot until it was too late (okay, I was being mellodramatic - my eyesight ain't that bad), and blinking my eyes at superhighfrequency because the contact lenses were damn uncomfortable. When I arrived at the building (to find everyone loitering outside because the person who was supposed to unlock the main rooms WAS VERY LATE ahemdaddyderekahem), and burst into the toilet. Desperate to mitigate my squinty-and-uncomfortable eye situation, I practically scratched the lenses out of my eyes, and just as I was about to put the second lens back into its rightful place, I realised, it was torn. Great, so I had one torn contact lens, which made the situation a hell lot easier for me and I decided to !#$%screwitmanz and throw both lenses away (daily disposables mah).

(+3 kenaowned pts)
After the meeting, we trooped out to Northpoint, chattering in high spirits. Just at the traffic junction before Northpoint, I realized I could not see the bus numbers - they were all 8*blur**blurs*, and so I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to catch the right ride home, unless I flagged down every single 8-blurblur that passed my way.

(+4 kenaowned pts)
So I turned to Lester and went,
Me: Eh, I can't see the bus numbers. Can you tell me if that bus in front of us is 811?
Lester: HAHAHA. No, 811 is THAT bus *points to a bus that is about to reach my bus stop, which was across the road*
Me: ARRRGGGHHHHH
Lester: HAHAHA
Me: OKAY THE GREEN MAN IS ON OKAY BYE GUYS!!!
and I sprinted across the road, narrowly missing a few pedestrians, all the way to the bus stop.

(+5000 kenaowned pts)
I know you're probably expecting some cliched ending where I'd miss the bus, or I'd board the wrong bus but HARH YOURE WRONG. Okay, so I ran for my life and actually managed to flag the correct bus down. And that's when I realised, OMGGXX I DIDN'T BRING MY WALLET OUT WITH ME.

And the sun came out, the flowers bloomed, and the spring larks burst into song.

The wrong way of asking a simple question:

"What time are we going
Dong Qiang tomorrow?"

Have a Happy Chinese New Year, Chinese folks. And have a Happy Long Weekend, non-Chinese folks. May we all be back at school on Wednesday safe, sound, and a good deal richer (and heavier).

#469: Update

Sorry if I sound washed out and haphazard in this long-overdue post, because my Current State of Mind is as such. ARGH. This week, my school days basically looked like this:

SCHOOL (= cramming your cranium)
SAT Practice Paper (= a bloody waste of 3+ hours)
Chiong Homework (= bye bye sleepy time)
Crash

After completing each SAT paper (most of them quite shoddily), I realized how much school work could have been done in those precious 200 minutes. Hm, so does this now imply that I am going to be more task-oriented and manage my time better? (NO! BECAUSE I AM A LAZY SOD!) We'll see.

So anyways this post serves as a brief update and a reminder to you that Hey! I'm Still Here! Below is a photograph, courtesy of Timothy Tan (yes I didn't forget!), that captures the inspiration behind my blog title:

found nowhere else, but in the great Asiatic Kingdom of Malaya. (Yeah, it's a Collon imitation, methinks) When Kim and I first found it early last year, we LOLLERed like hell at it. So I hope you'll LOLLER more this year as you continually support my blog by reading and tagging (I am like, sending subtle hints in YOUR DIRECTION).

And just for those who haven't seen me recently, or haven't been able to recognize me upon first glance, THESE ARE MY WEEK-OLD (almost) STRAIGHT & (almost completely) SELF-CUT BANGS! They aren't very straight, but they are quite if I sweep them up at a strategic angle.
Okay, I was feeling tired and lousy this afternoon after SATs so I came home, flipped open my newly-repaired laptop (some whachamacallit-board problem, apparently) and indulged in therapeutic (& shameless) camwhoring.

So week two (Week Three on paper) took alot out of me, but I must say I'm finally getting reaccustomed to RIJC life (despite the whole canteen-table displacement going on). And I am hoping next week will be easier on me (and I pray for megaangpows).

Peace out.

PLEASE LET THESE COME UP TOMORROW

TEMERITY
OSTENSIBLE
INTRANSIGENT
PREDILECTION
PARSIMONY
ASCETIC
EGREGRIOUS // FLAGRANT
MENDACITY
PROSAIC
DIDACTIC
PERNICIOUS // MALIGNANT
POSIT // POSTULATE // PREDICATE
RECALCITRANT
TRANSIENT
GARRULOUS
PERSPICUOUS
PEDANTIC
PROPITUOUS
PAUCITY // DEARTH
SANGUINE
MAUDLIN
LUGUBRIOUS
OBSEQUIOUS
OBEISANCE
INSOUCIANCE

SAT I, 24 JANUARY, 0800HRS

SAT FEVER HAS SWEPT THE SCHOOL AND I AM ONE OF THE MANY VICTIMS. I WILL BE MIAING TILL IT CLEARS UP THIS SATURDAY. SORRY FOLKS.

#468: this makes sense

I CUT STRAIGHT BANGS BECAUSE MY GLASSES BROKE

(1) Because one of my spectacles lenses cracked right down the centre, my glasses are quite uncomfortable vision-wise.
(2) So I can't wear them, and I will be in contact lenses for a week.
I have always been bursting with curiosity as to how I'd look like with a severely straight fringe.
(3) However, I figured straight fringes with spectacle frames just don't go.
(4) Since I'll be glasses-less this week, I flopped out of bed on Saturday morning, took a shower, pinched my mother's hair scissors and chopped my fringe into as straight a line as I could.
(5) It wasn't too good, so to salvage it I popped by the hairdresser's to get it fixed.
(6) Somewhat.
(7) And everytime I look at my fringe at the mirror I still snip at it.
(8) Dear friends, please don't laugh at me tomorrow.

#467: Start

Term One, Week One. The first two days were utter bliss, because for once the canteen was blessedly empty, and the queues unbelievably short. Then Wednesday brought Open House madness, and the Raffles J1s. Hi. So now school is... burgeoning with life and energy.

Picture above is a surprisingly well-captured shot of "Yay J2s Let's Write Well-Wishes For The New Year On Balloons And Let Them Go Together!!!" at assembly on Wednesday morning. Being the socially active and knowledgeable students we are (aka Smartassedalecks), practically everyone was mouthing, "ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION".

#1: House Captains 2009, in house colors.

#2: We localised our posters.

#3: View from the HISSOC booth.

#4: Anish Hazra knocked my tower down minutes after this was taken.

#5: Obseena with her adorable birthday present I got her from Shanghai

#466: Remember Forty-One

Or you could hold on to something you really want (that could be... destructive), make it into something good (or so you'll have yourself believe), and still hold on.

Good things are hard to come by; good things that bring you net happiness are harder still.

So either way, I know; I'm not letting go.

RIJC OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW

I PIMP MY CCA.
(poster done by HISSOC's two very enthusiastic and efficient Directors of Welfare and Events kthxbye)

#465: Day One

"Now, where were we? Read me back the last line."
" 'Read me back the last line,' " read back the corporal who could take shorthand.
"Not my last line, stupid!" the colonel shouted. "Somebody else's."
" 'Read me back the last line.' " read back the corporal.
"That's my last line again!" shrieked the colonel, turning purple with anger.
"Oh, no, sir," corrected the corporal. "That's my last line, I read it to you just a moment ago. Don't you remember, sir? It was only a moment ago."

- Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

This made me laugh aloud when I reached page 89/90 of Catch-22. I was sitting outside C71 (i.e. the HISSOC room), facing the buildings across the street from RIJC, with my feet propped up on the railings, (I might have been flashing, but no one was below so it was alright) with Ben Lau and Abby Kang for company.

As JC2s this year, we get *HOMEROOMS*, and 09S07A's is at lovely A73. This meaning 7th floor, 3rd classroom from the end (we are the 3rd closest classroom to RI (Secondary), and I've actually considered the possibility of sprinting down the corridor, leaping off the edge of Block A and right into the neighbouring Raja Block. The possibility is fatal.)

But I like the 7th floor, despite it being a little more inaccessible (we kinda wanna take the -damncrowded- lifts, unless we're in a let's-get-fit kinda mood) and far from the canteen, because (a) IT IS FABULOUSLY BREEZY (though it's dangerous for skirt-wearing kids like me) and (b) THE TOILETS ARE FABULOUSLY CLEAN (as pointed out by kywthegreat).

So now, even though the library is under renovation and reeking of glue, I now have somewhere safe (meaning: Away From Food) to camp out. Awesome.

#464: PALINDROMIC POST TO BRING US BACK TO THE PAPER CHASE

As we embark on brand new school term, let's resolve to the make the most of it. This does not necessarily mean trying to burn yourself out like I did last year by taking on 120941 things at a go, but more of a "Let's Make This A Year of No Regrets".

Because, a day just before my A-levels, I don't want to be thinking "OMAOICSNOAICN I WISH I HAD BLEEDING PAID MORE BLEEDING ATTENTION IN CLASS!!!"

And life's too short (schooling life, for that matter) to waste time. Hell yeah, school seems to last a life time, but now that I am on the brink of leaving the academic life, I realise: SCHOOL TAKES DAMN LONG. BUT WORKING IS DAMNDER LONGER.

So, I head back to a (not a Brand New School, but a) Newly-Branded School tomorrow - yes, I (and only 300 or so more people) can proudly boast to have attended all three Raffles schools at some point of my life - and I will force and coerce myself into loving every nanosecond of it.

BRING. IT. ON.

#463: lastweekoftheholidays

#1: Corporate Sunday, where we carry on the sacred tradition of choping a gross number of seats (that we end up not using at all) by emptying our bags.

#2: Monday in school with Yikai.

#3: Gloomy sky, roller blades, relatively empty campus, good company.

#4: Three cats in my room.

#5: FYI, it's the week of prayer and fasting, and this was put in front of me and duly consumed by my brother. Needless to say, I'm exceptionally proud of my self-control.

The following three pictures of labels were taken whilst we were clearing some artefacts (Archiving) fromthe HISSOC room:

#6: That's a really geeky cool theme for orientation. I mean, ours was Egyptian-themed, and this year's one is [okayishouldntsay, but it is far from anything remotely factual]-themed. Gosh, these RJ dorks.

#7: Imagine joining a (check name of competition) competition, and hence winning a (check name of competition) trophy, which you leave for your juniors to find many years later.

#8: I am glad I never ever had to sell bricks for my school.

***

And does anyone want to buy these? An ipod nano, and an authentic Ralph Lauren bag that comes with a brush, hah!
Email: thirtyquid@gmail.com

#462: A CAPSLOCKY TEKNOLOJI RANT

THIS IS A NASTY WEEK FOR ABIGAIL AND TECHNOLOGY.

I SEND MY NOKIA 5610 TO GET REPAIRED BECAUSE SOME BUTTON BROKE OFF AND SO I MADE SURE I BACKED UP ALL MY CONTACTS AND MESSAGES AND FILES ON MY NEW LAPTOP SO THAT I WON'T GET OWNED WHEN NOKIA RESETS MY PHONE MEMORY.

SO I SENT IT IN AND GOT A SPARE PHONE EXCEPT I DON'T HAVE ANYONE'S NUMBERS BECAUSE I REALISED (TOO LATE) THAT ALL MY CONTACTS ARE IN THE PHONE AND NOT ON MY SIM CARD.

NOT TOO BAD, BECAUSE I REMEMBERED I WAS CLEVER AND THOUGHTFUL FOR ONCE AND HAD ALL MY CONTACTS AND STUFFZ ON MY NEW LAPTOP.

YESTERDAY I WENT TO COLLECT MY PHONE AT CAUSEWAY POINT, ONLY TO FIND THAT NOKIA CLOSES AT 8PM. I MEAN, HELLO?! IT'S A STORE IN THE HEARTLANDS AND IT CLOSES SO DAMN EARLY?! I MEAN RANDOM INDIE SHOPS AT HAJI CLOSE AT 8 OR EVEN 9PM!!!

SO MY TRIP DOWN TO WOODLANDS WAS WASTED, AND I HURRIED HOME TO USE MY NEW LAPTOP TO SKYPE AND ETC, AND LO, BEHOLD! THE SCREEN WOULD NOT GO ON. THE COMPUTER POWERS UP, BUT THE SCREEN REMAINS BLANK, BLACK AND UNCHANGED. IT DOES NOT COME ON AT ALL! AND THE HARD DRIVE IS FRIGHTENINGLY QUIET EVEN THOUGH SOME INDICATOR LIGHT THING INDICATES ITS ON BUT STILL THE BLOODY NEW LAPTOP IS NOT ON.

WHAT'S MORE, I'VE ONLY RECENTLY FINISHED TRANSFERRING ALLLLL MY FILES (I.E. WORK, PICTURES & MUSIC) INTO THAT NEW LAPTOP AND CONSEQUENTLY REMOVED THOSE FILES FROM THE OLD LAPTOPS.

SO BASICALLY IF THIS NEW LAPTOP HAS TO GET FIXED WITH A MEMORY AND SYSTEM REBOOT REWASH REHASH WHATEVER, ALL MY WORK, PICTURES AND (RECENTLY UPDATED) MUSIC LIBRARY WILL BE GONE! ALONG WITH ALL MY CONTACTS AND MESSAGES AND FILES FROM MY HANDPHONE.

AND SCHOOL STARTS NEXT WEEK. THIS COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED AT A BETTER TIME.

THE WEEK IS HURTLING PAST AND I CAN'T CATCH UP MANZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

FOR

ONE

MORE

WEEK

#461: LAST EFF EMM BLUES

Because of my new computer, I have a new iTunes.
Because of my new iTunes, my iPod got reset.
Because of my iPod reset, my Last.fm account got reset.

This implies,
MY 1.5k SWITCHFOOT SCROBBLES ARE GONE!
FALSE ALARM. SWITCHFOOT LIVES ON, AND IS UP TO 1.6K.

#460: 9 For '09

For this new year, here's nine things I feel that we could all use a little more of, and all afford to be a little more of:

1 RETROSPECTIVE
I did quite alot of reflection in 2008, and I could do more this year. Looking back, I find, helps you make more weighted, wise and mature decisions (or at least, it seems that way to me). Retrospection makes you rational, which is something I think I'd like to be.

2 DECISIVE
I am infamously fickle, because I have an uncanny knack for listing out Proses and Conses of any scenario, and hence I end up arguing with myself as to whether I should do A or B, or even C. A lifechanging event occurred mid-2008, where Hong Xiu and I couldn't decide if we should pon Economics Lecture or not (Pros: Escape death by boredom, can do other work, and have fun with ponners Nick Yun, Jon Neo and Ajay; Con: Get caught = white slip), and so I took out a 50c coin to help us. Heads being "GO" and tails being "STAY", the coin told us to stay, and that very lecture, our favourite econs tutor decided to make a rare appearance to come and personally check our class' attendance. Thus, we escaped, and the three ponners got white slips, and hence the Coin of Destiny was born. SO, the point is, BE MORE DECISIVE, and should you run into a dilemma, FLIP A COIN. (Slightly relevant note: Oh, if you get stuck during MCQ in an exam, you can modify your eraser to be a 4-sided dice to help you pick an answer)

3 GRACIOUS
I mean this in the kind/merciful/compassionate/etc way, because we all make mistakes, and we have very dislikable traits. And so we can learn to be more forgiving and tolerant and generally nice (in a genuine-not-fake way kthxbye).

4 HONEST
Honesty is the best policy. And to top this point off, a quote from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium,

Mr. Magorium: Mahoney, why did you lie?
Mahoney: Because I had to.
Mr. Magorium: But your pants will catch fire.

5 TRUSTWORTHY
We've all had enough of snitchers and backstabbers and people coming to you telling you a secret you thought you had told only one person and had sworn that person to ultimate secrecy and etc. Of course this all increases the mellodrama and excitement in mundane school life, but seriously, I've really had enough.

6 INDEPENDENT
Because independent is totally Indie, and we all wanna become cool and hip and indie until indie becomes mainstream which is actually happening in Singapore which is the only place you can get this kind of irony but no, the point is, BEING INDEPENDENT IS GROWING UP. I've realised you can't be so reliant on things that aren't constant because that will only make you more vulnerable. Being more independent is not like, say, moving out on your own, or distancing yourself from society. It's actually more of learning to be able to hold your own, and when you are put in a foreign situation, you'll be able to survive and maybe even thrive. But of course we still should never forget to COUNT ON GOD because He is the only constant in this dynamic, ever-changing world, and I HAVE A LEVELS SO I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET.

7 LOVING
Not only because LOVE♥ makes the world go round, it's because LOVE♥ is nice. I don't really mean the Bohemian kind of free-love where you go round PDA-ing all over the place, but hugs are warranted because trees need them. But being loving is yet another very human action, and being human kinda what we humans want to do. This doesn't necessarily mean that you go round being a sappy sod, spreading mush around and irritating the general populace; but of course if that's the only way that you know how to show your love then, well, let's just hope everyone else reads this post and learns to be as gracious as you can be annoying.

8 HUMOROUS
Laugh. Laff. Lol. Lawl. Lollers. Humour is universal, and it's the best tool for building bridges (okay actually that could be cement, but in the figurative sense where I'm talking about social networking, yeah humour is the best tool). What I mean here is: HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOUR ("Lighten up. Liven up. Give us your money."), and HAVE A DECENT SENSE OF DECENT HUMOUR and I don't really want to elaborate on indecent humour.

9 MUGGER
If you are a student, I hate to break it to ya, but mugging is kind of your job, y'know. This revelation only really kicked in somewhere in the middle of 2008, and so if this is the first time you're realizing it, CONGRATULATIONS! Okay but seriously, folks, especially us J2s because it's _-_ _ _ _ _ year (no prizes for guessing what) AND THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING ELSE :O

So, nine for Two thousand and nine. I have no idea how well I'll fare trying to adhere to what I've resolved to do, but I think I'll give it my best shot.

Nappy Yew Hear! :D