10 Random Notes

1. I'm blogging using my new MacBook! =) The reason behind the switch? I simply wanted a change from the usual laptop and so far, I'm liking it. I do have a few gripes about it though. For one, I can't install my Nokia PC suite due to its incompatibility. The same goes for my (fake) Photoshop CD. This means I have to fork out big bucks to buy Adobe Creative Suite 3. Sigh. And unlike the prevalent Vista run laptops, Mac does not come with Microsoft Office. I don't know whether I should get iWork (Mac's version of Office) or Microsoft Office Student Edition. I lean towards iWork because it seems cooler. Mac's equivalent to powerpoint is so much more sleeker (Think: Al Gore's presentations in The Incovenient Truth) and the general feedback has been really good. I'm just scared that most school files will be in Office form and that I'll end up with compatibility issues. iWork is also way cheaper. Then again, I can probably get the latter for even cheaper thanks to my mother's connections. =) I shall do more research before I buy anything. But if there are any Mac users who read my blog, your opinion please? (I don't expect much response. Hehe.)

My new baby. And yes I got the white one of course.

2. I'm impressed by the CS FOC organizers. Instead of just sending in another brochure along with the dozens of other FOC brochures that came with the NTU FOC package, they personally delivered it to us.  Yes. They actually drove around Singapore delivering the packages. It's rather gimmicky but I'm sure each of us Freshmen (I feel weird calling addressing myself as a Freshman. I'm still in denial) appreciate the sincere effort. Thanks for making us feel *extra* special. Hehe. In fact, that may be one of the deciding factors as to why I actually want to go. I could have gone back to Philippines for that week but I figured, Philippines will always be there but this comes only once and it might actually be fun. And to be perfectly honest, I have a phobia of camps based on personal experience in JC. If it weren't for that few lasting friends I made, I would have gladly skipped the whole thing if given the chance. It's not that I'm anti social, quite the contrary actually as everyone who knows me would say. I guess the whole thing came off as very fake for me. We had OGL's writing different permutations of "friends forever" which you realize is complete BS once school starts. And the cheering was just painful. I quote what I wrote post-orientation 2 years ago.

Oh I don't mind cheering. In fact cheering is pretty fun at times. It makes you feel like part of them and it gives you an excuse to scream your lungs out. But...cheering every 5 fucking minutes is a whole lot different story. We probably cheered a hundred times a day...or maybe more! It affected me so much that I couldn't really sleep on the first night because I kept hearing the cheers in my mind and expected them to just suddenly break out cheering. Freaky nonsense I tell you. And having cheers about chihuahas and even batman makes it a whole lot worse.

And one more word: SQUEEZE. Need I say more?

After 3 years in SFMS, JJ orientation was a severe culture shock.

3. There's a gigantic bruise on my mid-thigh. It's diameter measures approximately 3.5 cm. This unfortunate accident happened last night. Here's the tragic tale. I alighted the bus, lost my balance, wobbled a few steps forward and hit my thigh against the corner of the concrete waiting seats. As to how that's even possible, only Kami-sama knows. My clumsiness is tragic. I half-trip when I'm walking (either I miss a step or for some inexplicable reason I lose my balance. Inexplicable because I'm short and I should be theoretically very stable). I bump into corners of bed posts, tables and any furniture with a sharp corner... again and again. I even bumped my elbow against the door while walking out of my room just 2 minutes ago. =S

4. Two weeks ago I was happily unemployed and now, I'm happily employed. Either way I'm happy. I'm currently tutoring 3 Korean kids English. They are just too cute. The youngest is 6 and is the toughest to teach. His attention span is about 5 seconds and he barely understands much less speaks English. He is obsessed with cars and anything with wheels and that is the weakness I tap on during lessons. I have to bribe him with car stickers to get him to read. I think it's working and I've seen progress. In the beginning, I felt very frustrated, because nothing I said or did seemed to work. And then I realized that I was expecting and forcing too much on him. I have to keep reminding myself that English to him is like Chinese to me:something totally alien and must be approached slowly and with caution. His name is Hyung Jun which sounds eerily like Yong Jun. His sister, 9 years old is really cute too. She redefines motormouth. She's not only talkative in Korean, in fact, she's more talkative in English. Every time I stay back to talk to them, she dominates the conversation. Either repeatedly exclaiming that spicy Korean ramen is very delicious or telling me a story about a funny incident in school. The childlike enthusiasm and innocence is refreshing and inspiring. It helps me relax and be a kid again, something I'm starting to forget as I become older and more cynical. So I made a promise to myself that I will be more optimistic and positive about my life. =) The oldest kid, 10 years old, is chubby cute! He's the most well behaved and is relatively the easiest to teach. He's a sweet kid and you can see that he really tries even if he finds it so difficult. It was his birthday on Monday and I was actually very happy they liked me enough to let me join in the celebration. I got to eat the nice tiramisu cake, cherries, and ferrero roche. =) I'm really lucky because they treat me really well. The sweet and very cute grandma always offers me food! Every conversation with her is an episode of Lost in Translation. She'll talk to me in Korean and I'll talk to her in English. When all else fails, we communicate in what would looks like charades. Then we laugh. I desperately need to learn Korean properly. 

5. I ended up hastily submitting an ugly picture for the Matriculation Card. Sigh. Procrastination got the better of me. O well. I had to tie up my hair (and reveal my chubby cheeks) because my hair chose to rebel on that fateful day. That card will be under high security for the next four next years, carefully kept away from privy eyes. I've also had my Medical Checkup last Wednesday and I found out that the weighing machine at home has been a such a liar, deceitfully adding an extra 3 kg to my actual weight. And all this while I've been rather depressed about the supposedly huge amount of Holiday weight I gained when in fact I only gained about 2 kg. Humph. But the fact remains that I desperately need to lose this unsightly blubber. I always become fatter at all the wrong places anyway. So the goal now is to tone down at the right places, if you know what I mean. =)

6. The other night's dream rattled me. Why him? I admit, I've wondered how he's been doing since we last talked more than a year ago. It's not that I feel anything for him now. When I look back on it, it was all just a case of wrong timing. Then I wondered, even if the timing was right, would I have said yes to him? Would I have faced all that judgment for him? I really don't know. In the dream I was at my most vulnerable yet I was accepted, all my faults and weaknesses and I was happy. The absence of a love life must be causing these strange dreams. I'd like to keep the past in the past. 

7. I'm in love with the song Taiyou no Uta and I've been practicing it on guitar. I'm still not there yet, but it sounds decent enough. Here's the youtube video. 

 

 

Here's a nice duet. I love the way they harmonize.

8.  I really don't want to think too much on it because I believe our friendship should rise above such pettiness. But sometimes I can't help but doubt, not because I don't trust you but because I don't trust myself. I should stop thinking so much and just go with the flow. 

9. As mentioned in Amanda's blog, it is rather paradoxical that we end up blogging less now that we have more time. I'm very guilty of that. I had grand plans of updating regularly but it somehow doesn't just happen. Reasons vary from lack of inspiration to sheer laziness to having absolutely nothing interesting to say. 

10. I'm scared I'm slowly becoming an apathetic person. My growing indifference is disturbing (note the contradiction). I may have all these idealistic thoughts but they remain just that, thoughts. Have I really become one of those self-centered youths the media always portray us to be? Is it wrong to try to figure out what I want first before caring about other people? Where do I draw the line?