hello! i havent blogged since my rant on the calculators.

so i've been working from 830 till 615 mon to fri, doing powerpoint stuff and growing a fat butt. i cant wait for this to end. i cant go online or surf the internet cos i dont have a stupid login name and password! :( :( so i'm stuck on the microsoft powerpoint screen for 9 hours, and it doesnt help that the air conditioning is so freaking cold. i need to like wear 3 layers in the office! but the cafeteria has pretty nice food like PANDAN CAKE, black pepper chicken, very very very very nice curry puffs, tauhu goreng and other stuff. lunch break is always the highlight of the day. haah this sounds alot like what sarabird would say ;)

so i took leave yesterday and today cos of interviews. yesterday's one was not so bad, at least i liked the surroundings. today's one was like the ultimate killer. the worst interview i've ever had. i bet that woman was placed there just to make me feel like a total idiot. she made me feel so stupid and sad and lousy that i am now scarred for life. i dont like astar. not just because of how the interview went but the people were unfriendly and scary. unlike the friendly guy yesterday who kept trying to persuade me to do electrical engineering. (eek i think no thanks.)

so tmr i'll be back at my empty table in the office doing my powerpoints.

i agree with bird: strange things are afoot in the 3k forum. a peculiar business it is.

anyway despite what i said in my previous post, my family decided to go for another buffet on sunday night. at orchard hotel. $44! damn ex! and it's not even that posh. haha we only went cos we had a 1-for-1 voucher. but it was pretty good. they had a seafood bar :D :D and sushi :D :D chilli crab :D :D roast beef :D :D chocolate fondue :D :D :D a lot of nice chinese malay indian food. i was quite happy! but then......... they didn't have anymore marshmallows by the time i got to the fondue. can you believe it? a nice restaurant like that running out of marshmallows at only 8 o'clock in the evening. was quite peeved. hurhur my dad wanted to drive me to 7-11 to buy marshmallows.

this morning i went to the CID headquarters. no i didn't do anything wrong. just went to apply for my *ahem* certificate of no criminal conviction. i thought the fingerprint machine was cool! i was mentally prepared to leave the place with ink-stained fingers but i guess i'm living in the last decade cos it's all computerised now! i just felt a bit grossed out imagining all the oils and dirt on the glass of the scanner.

ooh last night we went for the buffet at the straits kitchen (hyatt hotel). mmmm yummyyyy! it costs slightly less than $40 i think. we usually don't indulge in such extravagance but it was a birthday meal! all local food. char kway teow, prawn mee, laksa, roti prata, rojak, popiah, o lua, murtabak, satay, nasi lemak, chicken rice, char siew, siew nga (duck), gado gado, naan with dunno how many different curries, muah chee (!!!!! i love muah chee!!!!), ice kachang, honeydew sago, pandan cake (hah bird!), pineapple tarts, ching teng, bo bo char char, chin chow, goreng pisang, ice cream in all sorts of local flavours like durian, soursop.... and the ice cream came with nice pieces of colourful bread like they have at those road side ice cream stands. oh the fruit corner was very different from a typical buffet cos they had all the local fruits like mangosteen and longan etc etc. i likeee! only gripe was that since it's a local food buffet, they didn't have an appetiser corner with mussels and oysters and the like. i always like to start my buffet with a generous round of seafood! hmmm but i think i'm going to avoid buffets for a while now. cos my appetite has seriously diminished and it just doesn't make it hua suan :(

anyway in preparation for my (likely) overseas education, my sister happily suggested i get a feel of what living independently is like and do a load of laundry by myself at least once a week. much to the delight of the mum. :*( the washing bit is easy. just turn on the washing machine. after that... if it's rainy/cloudy, i'm lucky and can use the dryer. if it's not, then i have to hang out all the clothes to dry. then iron. then fold. then distribute. hmph this (likely) overseas education can be a bit of a drag cos then my parents keep telling me "you better eat more of this ah... uk don't have you know" which most times i'll be quite content to oblige but they usually only say this when i'm so full i feel sick. or [when they see me diligently peeling skin and fat off chicken pieces] "how can you be so picky with food? how are you going to survive overseas?" and to that i just grin and say, "well ang moh people always eat breast meat so i don't have to worry!"

ooh and my sister got her new drum set. what fun! unfortunately my coordination needs quite a bit of work. and the neighbours haven't complained. yet.

crap. the washing machine just beeped :(

gahhh!! after delaying for ages i find out that the jason mraz concert is sold out!!!! this is what happens when my sister and i are too stingy :(

here's good stuff from let! watch it watch it! haha it's damn funny... there was another back to the future one that i thought was pretty good too :D

anyway i am finally at stage 3 for driving! i hate circuit driving though. the circuit is like so restrictive compared to the main road. but stage 3 means i am slightly more than halfway through already!!! yayyy! on monday my instructor took me to drive at lim chu kang (where all the farms are) it was really fun cos the roads are very empty and you can drive at 80km/h! today i did the crank course and s course successfully... and did a kind of 3 point turn. i think my instructor wanted to die cos i was reversing really fast. hurhur but nothing serious happened. thank god. ohoh i also did the driving simulator which really sucks. it's not fun at all. the accelerator and brake pedal don't work properly and the video has all sorts of stupid hazards that appear out of nowhere. frankly i think the lesson is quite useless. waste $11. haha but it was quite funny cos the 2 guys in my class were looking over my shoulder while i was 'driving' and shouting out all possible hazards: "eh maybe there'll be an old lady hiding behind the bus", "don't drive so close, later the driver open his car door", "i'll bet that cyclist is purposely going to fall down in front of you" etc etc. the instructor was thoroughly amused and suggested i bring both of them for my driving test. which isn't a bad idea really.

hmmm tonight is top model again. i don't know if it's just me but don't you find this season to be exceedingly bitchy and rather dull?

calculated to help students

i was reading today's papers, and i found something which disturbed me a bit. its from the gen y section on page 40 and it's on like how graphic calculators in the A level maths curriculum will help "strengthen students' problem-solving abilities". ok i dont know how this graphic calculator thing works but from what i gather from the article and the picture printed, it doesnt sound like a good thing to me..! like, "simply key in mathematical functions and values, and a graph is plotted in seconds. it can also be used to solve mathematical inequalities and carry out statistical tests". omg?! this is for LAZY PEOPLE! isnt it very sad if you study math, and you cant even solve mathematical inequalities yourself..? seriously. well they claim tt this "gives students more time to think, investigate, reflect and make inferences about a problem. this is in line with our emphasis on thinking and knowledge application in the new A-level curriculum." i really dunno how true this is cos i'm obviously too old to experience this revamp, but i think before you encourage students to think, investigate and make inferences, you have to impart BASIC MATHEMATICAL SKILLS like graph plotting first?! this particular student said "i'm glad it saves me from wasting time and getting nervous during exams trying to recall how a particular curve looks like." HONEY, IF YOU CANT EVEN DRAW A SIN/COS/TAN/X^2/WHATEVER OTHER BASIC GRAPH, YOU SHOULDNT BE TAKING THE EXAM IN THE FIRST PLACE. anyway, i think time is not wasted during an exam if you cant recall how to draw "a particular curve". it just shows that you cant even be bothered to remember how to draw graphs. at least the other VJC girl has a more valid reason for using the graphic calculator.

ok, enough ranting.

i just had my compulsory auto lesson last friday! haha i dont want to do manual anymore......! like, the auto car DOESNT STALL! amazing! it doesnt even roll backwards when i stop on the circuit slope! cool stuff. the instructor was like "oh you learn manual one ah, dont worry la, this is like a toy car." well it's not exactly like a toy car, but much easier to handle i guess. driving is really fun.

and, i am finally EMPLOYED! come tuesday, i will be very busy doing useless stuff (harharhar. well i cant complain can i, i'm not qualified or anything!) in a bank. woohoo. this means that 1) i will not be stuck at home all day anymore 2) i will not have time to spend my whole month's allowance in a week while shopping (yay!) and 3) i will have MORE MONEY for shopping! excellent.

hurhurhur i just realised i had a most unintended pun in my last post:
but guess who's darker???? life is unfair

i think everyone is cringing at the corny-ness.

last night i watched flightplan. you know the one with jodie foster running around like a mad woman in an aeroplane? it was lousyyyy. for some reason, i had convinced myself that there would be an extremely clever twist to the whole story at the end. but noooo. it was the most predictable ending ever. *spoiler* of course it's a 'terrorist' attack. of course it's the guy whom everyone trusts. the only thing i didn't expect was that erika christensen's character was completely uninvolved. i figured since she's a bigger star compared to the other airline stewardess (who was the accomplice) she'd have a meatier role. but er no. all she did was serve drinks, look confused and fall on her face. i say, that's the way to become an a-list star. hmph well wasted another perfectly good evening.

today was the first day of src. at kallang. horrid ulu-ated place! the roads are *surprise!* still under renovation. the dug outs are still as dirty. and the pitch is still as orange. it was sooo hot! :( my tan got worse. but my mummy says i have nice rosy cheeks now :D [interesting to note: my junior uses less sunblock on her entire body than i do on my forearm. but guess who's darker???? life is unfair] anyway today b div didn't play as well as they usually do but they still won. c div lost by a run. oh wells. they'll get wayyy better. then can surprise everyone and whack them at nationals! oh shoot. won't be a surprise now that i said it.

ahhhh tell you something funny. I, the antisocial person of 3k, actually planned to go for class dinner today! but then.......... it got cancelled! haha i am destined to live my life in solitude. so tonight i'm going to ulu-ated tampines library and dig up trashy magazines to read :D :D

i have a question: why would anyone bother if kleenex facial tissues are limited edition? cos that's what it says on the new boxes my mum bought.

dont you think that diane kruger is the prettiest woman alive!!

my favourite pastime!

i didn't have much time today to pore over albums and choose which celebs i wanted to talk about... so these are just sort of random photos.

steve box and nick park! brilliant people with cute bow ties :D yay wallace and gromit won!

nicole kidman- how can she looks so effortlessly good??? hmmm must learn new blow drying skills

don't you think naomi watts looks A LOT like nicole kidman?

mourning for mr jolie :( :( she really should do something more interesting to her hair... like get a bad perm. then all normal women around the world won't feel so envious.

michelle williams! why didn't she or heath ledger or jake gyllenhaal win???

shang shee yee actually looks quite adorable...

uma thurman: I VANT YOUR BLAHHHD!!

amy adams: SUNLIGHT VILL NOT STOP MEEE!

haha but i've never actually heard of junebug before. first time i have absolutely no clue what a movie is about.

kevin if you still read our blog: i only talk to my sister on weekends so i'll eventually ask her about it! and anyway what is there to consider?? it's OXFORD.

i never knew msn messenger ran such adverts! interesting.

look what i found lying in the shoe rack today!



it's been 9+ years already! feeling kind of nostalgic now.. if only i hadnt given up dancing! but then again, i cant imagine myself dancing TODAY. and being the not so smart person i am, i tried to see if i could fit into those shoes. alas, MY FEET HAVE GROWN! :(:(:(:(

anyway, have you all seen those HORRID adverts for those gross dance/crap remixes of chinese songs on tv?! seriously. some songs are SO OBVIOUSLY NOT SUITABLE to be made into disgusting dance/hip hop/whatever other crappy tracks! yuck. thankfully they havent butchered any of jay chou's songs yet.

today i went out with sarabird........and we ate CHOCOLATE FONDUE at max brenner's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! totally heavenly. everyone please go there to try the fondue! and the waffle! (i didnt get to try it today but i will soon! waffle........waffle.....waffle!!!!!!!!!!!!!) its at esplanade.

before eating, we actually went to do really stupid things! like play super bishi bashi champ and daytona (!!!). haha we shall do the stupid ddr thing soon. eek i should like stop hanging out with sarabird she's such a bad influence. tsk.

heh ymw, sounds like driving isnt going very smoothly for you. dont be superstitious, funeral processions are ok la! (if you're not participating in it i guess) :)

something just occured to me

since starting my driving lessons, i have discovered a million different ways to travel in between work, home and bbdc by bus, mrt and taxi (in various permutations and combinations).

which is a bit ironic isn't it since the whole reason i'm learning how to drive is to avoid public transport.

i should have realised that yesterday's lesson was much too good to be true and mentally prepared myself for driving today. of course there were so many indicators that today was going to be a bad day that i don't understand how i managed to keep optimistic.

1st sign:
having decided to take a bus from the red house bus stop instead of the playground one (since red house has 2 buses i can take), i end up walking right smack into the middle of a funeral procession. the dearly departed one was the judge at the huang na case i think. i forget how to spell his name and shall not try to, since i have respect for the dead. i desperately try to avert my gaze from the hearse parked right next to my footpath. it is bad luck to look isn't it?

2nd sign:
i am late for driving and end up taking a cab :(

3rd sign:
my driving instructor wears round gold-rimmed glasses. there is something incredibly creepy about round gold-rimmed glasses on middle-aged men. i immediately think of mr harvey, the hum-sup rapist/murderer in 'the lovely bones' (though i'm not sure whether mr harvey was actually described as wearing such glasses. it's just something i associate with the character).

4th sign:
i get into the car and the first thing mr harvey says is: 你会讲华语吗？

oh dear.

so i say: um, 一点点. (can you imagine him asking me to change gears, filter etc in mandarin???)
mr harvey: 你是什么人？(i was so afraid he was going to preach about knowing your mother tongue)
me: 华人......可是讲英语比较好。:S

thankfully the lesson proceeds in english.

5th sign:
guess what??? we pass a funeral procession.

it could have gone a bit better.

i'm thankful that everything else was great... except. :( :( sigh haha but i found out that many brainiacs were greatly wronged like me so that's not too bad! lilian and i agree it's a smart-ppl-jinx. heh heh. must be cos horrible py never wish me good luck! that extra bit would have helped i'm sure :D but well it's over and it bears no severe consequence so
i'm happy,
my daddy is happy,
my mummy is happy,
my big sister is happy,
my small sister is happy,
my ah mah is also very happy!

yay and i got such a cryptic message from an australian line yesterday: hello fatty it's me! so how did it go?

i had a pretty (hurhur no pun intended) good idea who sent it but i also got a bit paranoid that i might be wrong. can you imagine how funny it'd be if it was a mis-sent sms and i ended up whining about imperfect score to a complete stranger somewhere in adelaide?? but turns out i was right :D