Excuses.

Doing a teeny slice of research at the moment (which here means typing phrases into the Google search bar on the top right corner of my browser window) for my English advocacy speech project thing, and it turns out our region of the world is still keeping really hush-hush about all this homosexuality stuff.

They don't talk about discrimination cases, hate crimes or senseless assaults. It's so clean. It's like they don't acknowledge gays at all. It's like a problem they don't want to address, and hence keeping it quiet, very much like this advocacy speech project thing we have to do.

Honestly, I don't really mind this advocacy speech project thing (I'm unsure what to call it because it appears to be not just a simple, heavily-graded six-minute speech anymore) because my ego is large enough for me to enjoy being heard, but one of the main reasons why I procrastinate so much is because I don't want to do a crap job. Which is super ironic, because the later I leave my work, the more likely I'll end up doing a crap job. Subconsciously, I'm giving myself an excuse to submit subpar work. Bad subconscious.

Had this short hostel talk in the theatrette during mentoring, so spent twenty minutes or so listening to Ms Queenie tell people about what it's like in the hostel, what to expect, how to behave, and all the essential life skills they'll pick up during their stay. Fun stuff, yeah, but I still can't help but feel a bit violated 'cause it's like tonnes of new people are invading your house.

Lounged around during Malay and discussed some peribahasa questions, then had our first GCT of the week during Math, followed by Chem, followed by nothingness and card-playing, followed by Econs.

Ah, Econs.

I still enjoy Humanities.

P.S. Haze has improved, skies are clearer and it rained. Overall, the weather is looking up and I'm thankful.

P.P.S. I love my Tweeple.

Horny umbrella.

Listening to Snow Patrol right now, and I really like their sound. There's something about Gary Lightbody's voice that's so pleasantly pleasant and makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.

I generally dislike many female singers because I don't like the way their voices become screechy and unnecessarily painful to the ears and it annoys me. And maybe because I'm sexist, too (well, slightly).

First day of school today. Had trouble waking up because I had trouble sleeping because the haze has gotten absolutely terrible and made everything hot and stuffy and humid. Touched down yesterday and instantly missed cleaner Brunei air. It's bad stuff we're inhaling, but we've no choice, because if we shut the windows we'd die from inner-room stuffiness.

Thankfully survived, and even had time to nap in class because Evo Bio got cancelled, which resulted in a three hour break before our house meeting.

Math first thing of the day went by slower than usual. It's like we all needed time to remember what on earth happened last term even though it's only been a week. But yeah, Mr Chia has successfully managed to re-introduce Math into my life once again.

Had Physics afterwards, and finished off our magnetism notes with much slacking and procrastinating and lame joke-making.

Nothingness was spent having lunch, watching people play cards, playing Freecell on my phone, sleeping, wandering around aimlessly, and reading off Yos' umbrella (which had phrases like "Thinking of you makes me feel so excited").

Had hostel dinner again, which really is yet another sad reminder of being back at school. But the company was good. The company is always good.

Okay, going off now.

Night.

P.S. Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon has been blocked by the haze and that's really sad.

Monza 2011.

Let's see if I can rush this post in a few minutes, because my workload has piled up like magic and now I don't want to like, die.

Went to a sort-of party for middle-aged people yesterday, and saw old people sing terribly. The experience will scar me for life, but at least now I know I can still have shameless fun when I'm seventy.

Then magically woke up before noon today to head out for breakfast before catching my flight back here, the place where my school is situated because I need an education to make a better living in the future, and because my country sent me here because they didn't really want me back home.

Caught the race, and was sad I couldn't watch it on television, but that's all right. Will catch highlights eventually.

Vettel won, again, and Button got second place, again, and Alonso managed a place on the podium, which was brilliant for Ferrari.

At this rate, Vettel and Red Bull are going to clinch both championships before long, and all we can do is sit back and watch and congratulate them. Good going, really. They've dominated all season. Ferrari are third in the standings after McLaren, and Alonso's in second in the Driver's standings with Massa in sixth.

Webber crashed out early in the race trying to take on Massa, and then Massa spun and ended up in tenth place. Poor guy made it back up to sixth though.

Apparently the Schumacher-Hamilton battling was uber epic awesome and brilliant, but I couldn't watch it and that only reinforced the sadness when Hamilton managed to overtake my childhood hero with his better-performing car.

Nine cars retired, which is quite a large number. Liuzzi and his first turn fiasco (or perhaps not, race stewards think there were other causes of the tangle) wiped out Rosberg, Petrov, D'Ambrosio and himself in one go, and various other failures ended it for other drivers.

Okay, okay, going off now.

Night.

P.S. Last term of Year 4 coming right up. Holy shit that was fast.

Mastering Physics.

Feeling so horribly unproductive at the moment, and it makes me sad. What on earth have I been doing?

Nothing much. Sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating, dreaming of doing work and then waking up realising I haven't yet. My mind obsesses yet my body does nothing.

Read 'Little Vampire Women' yesterday, and although there were plenty of really amusing facts as little side notes and a tonne of eyebrow-raising moments, it honestly wasn't as well written as 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' (and its prequel and sequel). I think that's because P&P&Z is one of the first of its kind, and so exceptionally good that other parody books don't seem as good anymore.

Desperate holiday reading has reduced the number of unread books I've got at home, and I think this might somehow clear my conscience and let me get more when I see ones I want. Honestly, there's so much to read yet so little time to do so.

Okay, last true day of the holidays tomorrow. Does work resume when I get back? Will it not resume? Am I doomed to last-minute work everything? Am I going to fail all my subjects and get my ass booted back here?

Tune in next time to find out!

P.S. The hardest part of filming things is finding actors to do it.

P.P.S. We have to learn to see further than the work involved and be able to visualise the finished project, and then that will keep us going.

P.P.P.S. Oh no.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Still listening to Snow Patrol's 'Called Out In The Dark' (I say so because it's been on repeat for a few days now, ever since I realised it existed).

Also talking to Baoxin about a scholarship interview she's got tomorrow. It's interesting, because I think I might know how horribly nerve-wracking it is to sit in a room in front of several strangers and have to "present" yourself to them in a nice little package they'd see fit to have in their institution.

Yeah, it's scary business. I remember literally trembling, because I was so terrible nervous. I thought it'd be fine, because whether I got in or not, I'd be fine with whatever outcome (although I must say I am so glad I got in).

And now I wonder, changed so much as I have (in terms of confidence and shamelessness; I still think and talk pretty much the same), would they have passed me? Maybe they look at me now and totally regret letting me into their school. Whoops. I still don't know how I got in. I thought I failed the entrance paper, and when I found out I passed, I thought I botched up the interview really badly, too.

Sometimes when things are meant to happen, it doesn't matter how, because what matters is that it did. And I'm ever thankful for it.

Speaking of being thankful, I found my phone earlier on after losing it yesterday. Turned the house inside out looking for it, then they found it at my uncle's house.

Went out for dinner with Kevin, Feyra, Feyra's sister, Fatinn and Faiz at our beloved Mall to celebrate Kevin's birthday. Sooner or later, all of us are going to be able to legally drink and drive (man that's just ironic. Drinking and driving are a terrible combination). Was relatively quiet, because it's a weeknight and all the other Bruneians have school to attend tomorrow, or jobs to turn up at, so therefore less people and my beloved poklenz.

Sometimes it's like Bruneians in Singapore in Brunei are different. It's like we've seen more, and we've been through more, and we emerge all war-torn and bitter and with our eyes opened to the outside world. Whoa.

Also finished reading 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon, which is as brilliant as they've said it would be. Such an amazing read. I love books that kind of open your eyes to different perspectives and open your mind up even further after you're done with them. So, so good. It's never mentioned that the boy in the book has any form of autism or Asperger's though, so we assume. I thought it was quite convincing.

I feel enlightened.

All right, I have the rest of my holidays to enjoy.

Adieu.

P.S. So many good books, so little time.

P.P.S. Tried to convince my brother I actually go to Hogwarts, but failed miserably.

Les Schtroumpfs.

Whoops, been away from the Internet since my flight back on Friday, and haven't posted for too many days.

During my brief period of abstinence, Irsyad kindly tweeted me this terrible piece of news, where MCR fires their temporary drummer Mike Pedicone for stealing stuff from them, which is really sad. I was kind of getting used to him replacing Bob and stuff. Oh God, I miss Bob Bryar.

Anyway, not that anybody cares, but I'll run through the last few days just in case they get lost in history forever.

Thursday was our school teacher's day celebration, which was disappointingly un-entertaining (although it was a definite improvement from our national day celebration). Appreciated teachers and stuff. I totally appreciate my teachers. In fact, one of the reasons why I didn't post on Thursday was because if I did, I'd be writing another huge cliché post on why we should appreciate our teachers and how to appreciate our teachers and stuff, so no.

Friday was my flight back, so spent the morning packing and the afternoon transiting between countries.

Watched The Smurfs (movie) yesterday with my mum, brother and cousins. It was better than I expected, and I'd totally learnt to keep my expectations low now, so I can still enjoy myself and be entertained. I liked it because it was full of ridiculous familiarity. Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Hank Azaria. I was in television series junkie heaven, man. And the references, oh the references.

But yeah the Smurfs were kinda cute and it was kinda funny so good going for a holiday "nothing-better-to-do" movie.

Also started reading 'Merde Actually', sequel to the wonderful 'A Year In The Merde' by Stephen Clarke, who is as funny as he is an awesome writer. Finished it earlier today, and I have to say it made a highly amusing read. Loved it loved it loved it.

The reason why I got 'A Year In The Merde' around a year or so ago was because I saw 'Merde Happens' out in stores but didn't want to buy it because my strange compulsive disorders prevent me from buying books out of order. Was totally impressed with the title, and the Merde books are so so brilliant.

Also had fun carrying around a book which blatantly spells out the word "shit" in French and having nobody mind because they didn't know what it meant.

So yeah, need to get some work done soon, but it doesn't hurt to be able to chillax to the fullest for a few days before getting back in the game again.

Adieu.

P.S. Smurfin' smurfity smurfin' smurfs.

Spirit.

Ended out cluster outing dinner four hours ago, and yet I still feel full beyond words. I am definitely not cut out for buffets. My stomach capacity is only that large.

Anyway, Sports Day was today, and so we didn't have any lessons whatsoever, which was great. Also glad it didn't rain today so we could finish all the intended events (with the exception of the novelty teachers' tug-of-war, because the field was still squishy from previous rainfall).

Our Fibo spirit was really dead today. Hardly anyone cheered, or clapped, or made any kind of enthusiastic noise while our runners ran or received prizes. That's kinda sad.

Congratulations to Fleming for winning today, because they totally deserve it. As far as anyone can remember, Fleming never does well for these events, and therefore they've worked especially hard and now have earned the right to be winners of Sports Day.

Yeah.

Our school really lacks spirit sometimes.

I remember back in MS (I sound old saying this), we'd sing the school song with so much heart, and we'd cheer and have march-pasts and stuff. Now that was school spirit. Then you come here and a lot of people are too proud to admit they want to cheer and yell and scream their lungs out for the sake of their houses. Sad.

Okay short post for tonight.

Adieu.

P.S. Epic LotR music was played during one of the prize presentations today, and it was epic.

P.P.S. Nope, still don't have a sense of direction.