We suck.

Leap year post.

Doing Chem e-learning right now (even though e-learning day was last week) 'cause it's due tomorrow. It's possible because we have to watch this video where this lady talks, and I can listen and type at the same time 'cause I'm great like that. Besides, all I need is to copy out her diagrams.

Missing two hours of Chem two Mondays ago totally did not help with my current cluelessness. Just putting that out there.

Had a regular Tuesday yesterday, where we had mentoring, then Math, then English. Discussed some questions concerning the environment during English. I like to believe that we're not doomed, but I won't be alive to see what'll happen a hundred years down the road so it probably doesn't matter.

Sometimes I think I want to become supreme dictator extraordinaire so I can rule the world and control everything and tell assholes to go away so we can finally fix all our problems. Well, most of them.

Had our cluster steamboat at night, which was quite amazing. Ms Kong can cook. And so we ate and ate and ate. Goodness. First satisfactory meal in the hostel this year. So good.

Math was awesome today 'cause Mr Ku said the most epic thing. "Please stop making that noise. I'd rather you sleep instead." Best thing.

Finished off Chapter 4, so now we're done for the semester because we only have four chapters this module. So strange. I've never had Math so slack before. It's quite scary, because there will be a moment when it pounces on you from behind and bites your head off when you've grown complacent.

Hung around the music room for a while with Nikki and Jia Hong, then went off to play pool for the first time in weeks. Now we're down to two cue sticks from four, and there isn't a teeny bit of chalk in sight. It's funny how our cohort comes in and destroys everything.

Went to the Audi for ACE for this talk by our school counsellor. He is screwed in the head, I swear.

Learnt that our goals need to be quantifiable, and that we have to know where we're going to get to where we want to go. Sound advice.

Okay, long day tomorrow, so will go to bed now.

Good night.

P.S. Physics lab test tomorrow. Too bad those ancient civilisations never came up with a god of circuits or something. Oh help me.

Moriarty.

Finally found the time (and guts) to watch the latest (although I'm quite late at this) episode of Sherlock. Man.

I'm like, halfway through now, and I sort of don't want it to end, because it is that good. I love how Moriarty is so smooth and sure of himself. That is a top class villain, man. All top class villains are cool, detached sociopaths.

Spent my weekend writing article reviews for English. Seems as if I can't write full, coherent sentences in one go. It's horrible. My ability to be coherent seems to be fading to a mindless babble of random, ephemeral thoughts. Which means I will probably most definitely do terribly in English this year.

Finally finished quite late last night, because I honestly did spend two whole days just sitting at my computer being completely antisocial and begging myself to finish my work. I don't remember doing anything else, really.

Also tried to get some cash over at WCP, but the ATM wasn't working, so now I'm quite cashless at the moment. Will have to either starve, or start borrowing money.

Woke up relatively earlier today 'cause I had to pass Eliot a camera his group is borrowing for their trailer project. And since I hardly wake up before seven nowadays, I thought it was totally normal for the sky to be that dark. Turns out I was wrong, 'cause it started raining soon after. Haven't had rainy school mornings in what seems like a forever, so it was a fresh start. I love starting school days with a little bit of rain and thunder. Makes me feel all refreshed and ready to start the day.

I really love rain.

Classroom flooded, but that was the least of our problems because none of our classes were actually held in our classroom today (except, of course, Math Honours, but I don't take that).

Went up to the synthetic lab for our first Chem prac of the school year. Grouped with Jia Hong and Deborah, and totally owned it 'cause we ended up only using eight test tubes of the thirteen allowed for our distinguishing tests. But then Mrs Chong made us fill in a few more rows just for the sake of it.

Felt pretty cool 'cause we also got to wear our lab coats (officially) for the first time. Everyone looked all professional. So that's what lab coats do to you. No wonder doctors wear them.

Spent our half an hour break studying for our weekly Mol Gen quiz. Ugh, going to do worse than most of the class (because I hardly studied, and I deserve it, and most of the class is probably going to score full marks because our quizzes are based on plain memorising). But as long as I pass, it doesn't really matter.

Turns out we had another prac that day, so we went up (once again) to the life science lab. Dr Ahn wasn't there, so we had Dr Tang administer the quiz and brief us and stuff. I like him.

Paired up with Jia Hong (again), and we had the prac in two parts. First part was trying to obtain some E. coli DNA for future pracs, then the second part was some strange thing I still don't understand. We learnt that it's really hard working with ridiculously insignificant amounts of liquids. 0.2µl is a complete chore to transfer, because you don't know when it leaves the micropipette tip because you can't see it.

Then went for a house meeting (didn't really do anything), then cleaned my room, then had dinner, and then that was it.

Back to Sherlock now.

P.S. Thankfully didn't blow anything up today. Go us.

Everything with rice.

Oh my goodness. I've just realised something and now I'm freaked out.

Listening to Maroon 5 at the moment, and then it hit me. The first line of 'She Will Be Loved' is "Beauty queen of only eighteen", and I was sitting here cutting my nails when I suddenly flashback-ed to many years ago, when I thought to myself, "Eighteen years is such a distant age."

And boom, I realise I'm eighteen. Eighteen. Eight-freaking-teen. Oh Lord. Maroon 5 songs refer to people my age now. Heck.

What seemed so far off back then is now now. And I'm freaked, man.

Anyway, sort of struggled to wake up for school today. On days like this I feel so thankful I have a roommate, because then there's always someone to ensure you get to school on time. It's a good relationship we have. Sometimes you hear stories about people having asshole roommates, and then you fervently thank God (and the hostel staff) for letting you have a decent one.

It takes a lot of trust to become roommates with someone, you know. Because if they wanted to, they'd be able to kill you in your sleep. How scary is that?

So had mentoring, where we sat around looking drowsy. Then continued with English. Ms Dass gave us the entire lesson to do our e-learning podcast thing, so I paired up with Jia Hong and we went over to the library to record our thoughts on the matter.

You can find our video here. One and a half hours of work, and I end up ripping the wrong sheet of paper on the final take. Brilliant me. But overall I think we did a pretty decent job. And I'm glad we could inject a bit of humour in there, too.

Back in class, Pin had to go and embarrass me by introducing me to a few of the British exchange students and telling them I would like a boyfriend. I'll probably never be able to look any of them in the eye again, although I think if I ever dated a British boy I'd just listen to him talk all day because of the accent. You know.

Stupid-people-Math (which is now what we use to refer to the Math majors class we take, because we have extremely low self-esteems) was all right. Went through the first few pages of Chapter 4, and then Mr Ku let us off half an hour early (again) because he is that awesome. Epic thing happened when he asked us to do a few examples and I said, "This is so un-fun," and then he came up to me and said in a super serious voice, "Ya Wen, sometimes Math is like that. It isn't fun." Like whoa.

Went to the music room with Nikki, Aisyah and MJ afterwards. Song selection is hard. I could be cheap and use a song I already know, but I don't like the thought of that.

CCA was a bit messy because it's really not easy to manage a bunch of people who are actually working but look as if they're doing nothing. It's horrible, but we get by.

Dinner-ed afterwards with Kelvin and Wee Thean at this place called 'Everything With Fries'. Good stuff, yeah.

Loads of pubs around, and there's this funny feeling you get when you haven't had alcohol for a long time and you smell it in the air around you. You suddenly become really thirsty and crave. Oh the craving.

Alcohol is bad for you and I'm cutting down (I hardly drink when I go home) but I still find it hard to resist. It calls to me.

Okay, going off now. It's super warm tonight, and I can't stand it.

Night.

P.S. Will be so productive tomorrow, it'll blow your mind.

Hari Kebangsaan kali ke-28

Feeling super bloated right now, but that's sort of become the norm for National Days celebrated here.

E-learning today, so no school either, which made it feel even more like National Day back home. Except this isn't home, and we don't get to sleep in in air-conditioned rooms and then hang out with our families.

Woke up earlier than I'd liked to go for that combined Physio quiz we were supposed to do today. Wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, so hopefully I won't do badly. Need to keep up with Bio Honours expectations.

Speaking of honours expectations to keep up with, I think I'm going to totally flunk that for Chem. Like, oh God. So insecure. And doomed.

Then spent the rest of my morning doing God-knows-what and looking for a new layout for the blog because somehow the old one just like, disintegrated. Sometimes change is good. I quite like the new colour scheme.

Also managed to pseudo-finish Math Ass 3, then left for the Hyatt at four.

This year's celebration started off with a little exhibition about Bruneian culture, so a few of us had to stand around as living mannequins modelling the clothes people don't really wear anymore. Itchy stuff.

Ate tonnes, and took loads of pictures. I have footage, but my iPod battery died on me just when things were getting good. I really want a specialised vlog camera.

Okay, have to go and read up on backside attack (whatever that is) and think about what to say when we record our podcasts for English tomorrow.

Good night.

P.S. 22 new science/math pickup lines tonight. Totally on a roll. Sometimes you just need a good, new pickup line to pick you up and make your day. Also, it sort of motivates me to go and study all that pickup line content.

P.P.S. I love how the main reason I love being in a nerd school is that I understand these pickup lines now.

P.P.P.S. Favourite two of the night: You're an acid and I'm like litmus; every time I meet you I turn bright red. And Hey baby, would a little more alcohol catalyse this reaction?

Forever is over.

I don't post for a few days, and my blog layout sort of dies. How sad.

Missed two hours of Chem and half of Mol Gen on Monday, but it was totally worth it. Went to the airport to send the exchange people off. Last time in the bus together, last time eating together (breakfasted at Mac's and made lame jokes), last time taking photos together. And there were plenty of tears, too. Those who didn't cry felt pretty heartless, but like, we couldn't deny we felt so down afterwards. Heck. Didn't think I'd miss them that much, but I do.

And now the UK exchange people have taken over the media resource room. Every time I look in I feel a pang of longing for the hectic week that's passed and the people we've made friends with. So sad.

It's crazy how fast it passed. Must learn to appreciate the moment and carpe diem my way through life.

Slept away my sorrows (and fatigue) all afternoon on Monday, which meant I hardly got work done. I've fallen into this terrible habit of napping all my time away. I sort of feel perpetually tired. How is that even possible?

Tuesday was research congress day, so those who weren't involved (myself included) could kind of slack our way through it. Had to go for flag raising normal school time though, which was a bummer. And then ended up doing video duty, so just kinda hung around the control room and audi until the event started. I've missed filming events, actually. Even though we had to stand for more than two hours straight with minimal fidgeting, I quite enjoyed it. And if I were sitting in the audience, I'd have fallen asleep and missed out on it ('cause some of the presentations were pretty interesting and worthy of attention).

Walked around the hall for a while with Aisyah to look at posters and say hi to friends who were presenting that day. Felt so dumb because I found I couldn't understand a thing, and everything on the posters was all complete gibberish only smart people could comprehend. Terrible feeling, that.

So afraid of ARP now. Going to be the first person to flunk it, or something. Urgh.

Attempted to write article reviews for English yesterday afternoon, but totally failed and ended up with one 80% done (thankfully Ms Dass extended the deadline to Monday instead). So many things due, so little time. Stupid me.

And since I need a life, I also updated myself with How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory over the past week. HIMYM just gave me emotions, man. Oh the feelings. I really, really hope Barney and Robin end up together. I love how it's supposed to be a comedy, yet we become so emotionally attached to all our characters. I ship them so bad.

And today's Tuesday too, 'cause we had a timetable swap. Oh the complications.

Mentoring, Math, then English. Did tutorial 3 during Math. Have an assignment due Friday, but I haven't touched that yet. Goodness. Feel so clueless.

Talked about the environment during English. Everybody is a hypocrite. Let us all shut up and do things.

Went to the majlis doa kesyukuran today at the High Comm, 'cause Brunei's national day is tomorrow.

Mm, good food. Warming up for tomorrow's buffet (we're so greedy it's quite disgusting sometimes. But then again we live with hostel food, so it's excused).

No school tomorrow either, so we can at least feel like the other Bruneians. Hooray for e-learning.

Good night.

P.S. I love late night pantry discussions.

Again.

I'm so addicted to these right now, and I love having to listen to songs that pop up. Also I like to show off my extremely good taste in music (eww, me).

1. Which song describes the mood you are in right now?
You Keep Me Hangin' On -Glee version (Somehow I'm quite ashamed to have Glee versions of songs in my iTunes right now.)

2. Which song describes the mood you are usually in?
Stay The Night -James Blunt (Not really, no.)

3. Which song describes one of your favorites things to do?
Hallelujah -Paramore (I am thankful.)

4. Which song describes something else you like to do?
Wounded -Good Charlotte (Obviously nobody likes to get hurt.)

5. Which song explains the way you think about love?
Rock You Like A Hurricane -Scorpions (Yes baby, that is totally the way.)

6. What would you sing to your soulmate right now?
Sleeping With The Light On -Busted (Obviously non-existent, so I have to sleep with the light on, according to them.)

7. Which song best represents you?
Starcrossed -Ash (Goodness, I hope not.)

8. Which song describes your sexual preference?
I Can't Tell You Why -Eagles (This is wrong. I can in fact tell you why I don't like girls.)

9. Which song describes what would occur between you and a prostitute?
Now I'm Here -Queen (I guess if it were paid for I don't see why not...)*

10. Your lover on the side?
This Is the Best Day Ever -My Chemical Romance (I guess yes, if I had a lover with me it would be the best day ever.)

11. How about your wife or husband?
Paranoid Android -Radiohead (Wait, excuse me, what? Hmm I will marry a suspicious person.)

12. Which song would be played at your wedding?
Crazy Little Thing Called Love -Queen (Oh my goodness yes, iTunes, you smart thing you. I would definitely play this at my wedding. And if the groom doesn't like Queen, I'll bloody call it off.)

13. Which song would be played at your wedding reception?
Skipping this because it's basically the same question as above.

14. Which song describes yourself in the future?
A Loaded Smile -Adam Lambert (I find this hard to interpret.)

15. Which song describes yourself in the past?
Violet Hill -Coldplay (Ooh, mysterious. Love it.)

16. Which song would be appropriate for a one night stand?
It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's A Deathwish -My Chemical Romance (I will remember you forever, then avenge you when you die.)

17. Which song would best describe your first time kissing?
Higher -Creed (No. Kissing disgusts me.)

18. Your first time having sex?
The Scientist -Coldplay (Meaning it will be terrible. Ugh let's not think about things like this.)

19. Which song would best describe your fashion sense?
Love Lockdown -Boyce Avenue (I don't know.)

20. Which song would describe your taste in the opposite or same sex?
Hotel California -Eagles (acoustic live version) (This song is so amazing this way it can only mean I love dudes who play the guitar impeccably, and stop by in strange hotels in the middle of the night.)

21. Which song best describes your parents?
The Swordfight -The Phantom of the Opera (soundtrack) (Whoa my parents are badass.)

22. Which song best describes your family in general?
Broken -Lifehouse (Bullsh*t.)

23. Which song best describes your friends?
Smooth Criminal -Michael Jackson (Yes, we commit crime together.)

24. Which song best describes your school?
The Point Of No Return -The Phantom of the Opera (Once it's forced you to reach a certain point of insanity, you crack and there's no going back. Pretty accurate.)

25. Which song best describes your public personality?
Won't Go Home Without You -Maroon 5 (Pretty desperate, methinks.)

26. Which song best describes your private personality?
We Are the World 25 for Haiti -Artists for Haiti (I have multiple personality disorder?)

27. The weather outside is...
Don't Know Why -Norah Jones (She waited till she saw the sun, but everything after that is a blur.)

28. I feel like...
Some Kind Of Wonderful -Michael Bublé (That's because I am wonderful.)

29. I would really love to...
Death And All His Friends -Coldplay (I see.)

30. No one can stop me from...
Smoke On The Water -Deep Purple (I doubt anybody would care if I did.)

31. Today I will...
Lost -Michael Bublé (Given my horrid sense of direction, I think so too.)

32. Love is like...
Hips Don't Lie -Shakira (I see.)

33. I would call myself...
The End Has Only Begun -Lifehouse (No I wouldn't.)

34. I've never been to...
Precious Love -James Morrison (Accurate.)

35. If I were a...
The Hardest Button To Button -The White Stripes (If I were the hardest button to button, would anyone still want to button me?)

36. Never forget...
White Shadows -Coldplay (Let's keep that in a permanent state.)

37. No one believes me when...
Bubbly -Colbie Caillat (When I say I'm in love? Not believable at all.)

38. I would never...
Viva La Gloria (Little Girl) -Green Day (Run away and let my life fall into ruin? Sweet.)

39. I could see myself as...
K9's Lament -Chameleon Circuit (A dog?)

40. I'm as fun as...
St. Jimmy -Green Day (True. Let's go get high and wasted.)

41. I wish...
Get Munk-d -Alvin and The Chipmunks (I wish I speak in a squeaky voice?)

42. He will never understand why...
My Father's Eyes -Eric Clapton (Who is he, and what does he want with my father? Gasp.)

43. I'm nearly...
Kenangan Terindah -Samsons (Whoa first Malay song.)

44. I want to see...
No Air -Glee version (Okay I admit, this cover was back when Glee was good. But yeah, perfect vacuum would be a sight, if it's see-able.)

45. At night time...
Defying Gravity -Glee version (Also when Glee was good. Gravity does not necessarily apply in my dreams.)

46. My fashion sense is...
On A Wave -Ash (Very good for water sports.)

47. I cry when...
Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough For the Two Of Us -My Chemical Romance (My ego dictates that I shall admire myself whenever I please.)

48. The moon is...
Planetary (Go!) -My Chemical Romance (A planet now.)

49. I get tired when...
You Don't Belong -Daughtry (Then go away.)

50. I lack...
I Wanna Sex You Up -Glee (Oh my goodness. Why do I even have this song?)

51. I'm so absorbing in...
Overture -The Phantom Of The Opera (Alternate realities.)

52. I should be...
Knockin' On Heaven's Door -Guns N' Roses (Perhaps not.)

53. I can't seem to forget...
Kiss Me -New Found Glory (Because it's never happened.)

54. Where in the world is...
I Shot The Sheriff -Eric Clapton (It's like I suddenly decided to confess to a crime right in the middle of looking for something.)

55. I don't want to hear...
Bang The Doldrums -Fall Out Boy

56. Don't give up on...
Ain't Gonna Cry -Bryan Adams (Makes sense.)

57. I should give up on...
The River -Good Charlotte (Give up on environmental concerns? I would never do that.)

58. I want to be...
Lady Starlight -Scorpions (Like a lady.)

59. I like a lot of...
Shipwrecked -Chameleon Circuit (No I don't.)

60. I often think about...
When The Smoke Is Going Down -Scorpions (Yeah, I do.)

61. I don't understand why...
The Remedy (I Won't Worry) -Jason Mraz (Actually I do understand.)

62. Guys are...
Forget You -Cee Lo Green (In fact, if this were the explicit version, guys are... But this is clean.)

63. Girls go to...
Paranoid Android -Radiohead (Girls are hard to understand, if they can be understood at all.)

64. I'm in trouble for...
Bell Bottom Blues -Derek & The Dominos (For having my fashion sense stuck in the 70s.)

65. Candy is for...
Just The Way You Are -Boyce Avenue cover

66. Take me to...
Take Me or Leave Me -Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka cover (Precisely.)

67. All I've ever cared about was...
Rehab -Glee version (Are you sure? Being sober is boring.)

68. Take me away from...
Don't Trust Me -3OH!3 (Trust issues.)

69. The worst possible thing is...
This Is How I Disappear -My Chemical Romance (Disappearing.)

*Just kidding.

Boarding Games 2012

Browsing pictures of today's Boarding Games 2012 on Facebook (because uploading nowadays is that fast) and wondering how on earth I ever brought myself to stick my hand into a bucket of this, which looks and smells close to vomit.

It's in fact, as Wee Thean, Mr Murali and co. claim, really edible 'cause it consists of water, flour, eggs (shells included), tofu, ketchup and pepper. Disgusting.

Anyway, went down to the track with Wai Yin right before 2.15. There was already a crowd hanging around waiting for the games to start. So like, after a short briefing in the hot sun (and now my face is quite sunburnt), we started the best Boarding Games in the four years I've been here.

Got assigned Group 11 under Angela. Knew quite a few people in our group, which was cool.

First station was the dog and bone station, except with a ridiculously nerdy twist. Had to solve the math questions they called out for our numbers. The first question was "The square root of the number of the bus you can take to Clementi from the back gate" or something (which was 14). Adrian Peh was smart enough to count and number the prime numbers before we started. Bet three sticks and won, so we earned three to add to our original fifteen.

Second station was this station where you had to pass floury ping pong balls with plastic spoons and water with plastic cups placed on your head. Bet two sticks. Totally owned it because we filled the bottle with water before time ran out, so they had to stop it early and declare us winners.

Third station was the really disgusting station, where you had to fish little laminated puzzle pieces out of a bucket of that gunk I described earlier on, then three-legged race across over to a table where you had to put the puzzles together (there were two). Mr Murali added loads of pepper to our bucket because I apparently "insulted" it, and buckets of revolting gunk apparently have feelings and all. It's a horrible sensation, feeling around in that stuff. Ugh. Anyway, bet three sticks because according to Yu Fong, it's all in or nothing (really good philosophy in this case) and owned again.

Fourth station was hurling water balloons over string in a sort of volleyball setup. Not much to say, but we owned it again by a point (so close). By then we were on a total roll. The other groups didn't stand a chance against us.

Fifth station was Captain's Ball with water balloons instead of a ball. Kept bursting, and was a huge mess. Ended up in a tie, so nobody won anything. But almost everyone got drenched. Awesome stuff.

Sixth station was some sort of human foosball thing, so we stood in lines and kicked a ball to and fro for a while. Lost, but that was okay.

The last station was the best, 'cause it was an obstacle course with spinning in circles, hula hooping, sliding across a soapy mat, crawling underneath poles between chairs, and running zigzag. Awesome stuff.

And then the accidents started. Hafiy slipped too fast and hit his head really badly. I think he's got some kind of concussion, because he blanked out for a moment and went all nauseous. Poor thing. Then we found out Kelvin was bleeding from an eye at another station around the same time. Was just a cut though, so no vision lost.

To add to the injuries, Fatin (junior) got whacked in the eye, and Fatinn somehow had a long scratch across her arm, and Victor's toe started bleeding. Like, whoa.

According to my roommate (who was on first aid duty), a whole load of people got injured today. Just goes to show we're a suicidal, violent batch.

In the end, Group 11 won second place with 23 sticks. Yeah, go us. Earned a hamper full of food and we rejoiced. Yeahey, go us.

So yes, best Boarding Games so far.

Kudos to all organisers and helpers.