i feel sad for many different reasons and on many different levels.
1. 姑姑 and wei liang are going back on wed night. they are my family. i miss home.
2. my brother vs parents. i digress here.
3. my results.
4. homesickness.
5. myself.

my brain is a mess. i have to re-evaluate and resort myself.
i have gone into "i don't feel like talking to random people mode", but i want to talk to random people! :(

台湾。一叶餐厅。阿妈。阿公。维良，维微，维恩，维杰，维佳。舅舅舅妈。101跨年。嘉义。台北。台南。小吃。鼎太丰。阿妈家。sogo。
新加坡阿妈。阿公。二伯。他们家。orchard。汉欣。汉升。阿姨。godpa. godma. st.nicks people. nice food 二伯buys...and all the nice things we do together.
:(((
guess what i want to say next.

Johansson's tissue wipes up £3,580 at auction

1 hour 47 mins ago

WENN

• Print Story

A tissue used by sniffling actress Scarlett Johansson has wiped up £3,580 at auction. Skip related content

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Johansson claimed she caught a cold from her The Spirit co-star Samuel L. Jackson during an appearance on America's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday.

The valiant host handed the shameless actress a tissue, who gave it a good blow before joking the snotty cloth could have some value.

And Johansson proved she wasn't kidding when she put it on the auction block via eBay.com the next day, with proceeds benefiting food-gathering charity USA Harvest.

The online bidder who coughed up the sum will be announced on Leno's show on Tuesday.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20081224/ten-johansson-s-tissue-wipes-up-3-580-at-c60bd6d.html

hahaha. anyway

YESTERDAY we went shopping! my aunt and little cousin wei liang arrived on monday night!! my aunt is like "mrs. santa". both brought very very minimal clothing, while the 80kg of luggage was filled with food and presents. Thanks!(for the zara leather jacket <3) and thanks to my UNCLE who bought half the stuff, including nike shoes for dad, justin and i.

so we went shopping at DFO, the duty free place near the airport, and then in brisbane city - essentially queen street. 收获不少！ 但是逛到很累！！

I was sleeping most of today :( and then joined justin and wei liang on the trampoline (!) for dinner, John, aunty Grace and their daughter Irene came over for dad's hainanese chicken rice.

weiliang drew us! he doesnt talk much so i 'forced' him into it. about my sketch...no comments. i said something which distracted him so i ended up with a warped nose as a result of his giggles.

JOHN wanted to do something indespicable with my photos and i never found out what because he didnt do it! my curiosity.........

its so hot i dont think i can fall asleep

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! and a HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! <333

THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR THIS LOVELY, EVENTFUL, FRUITFUL 2008 (: I WISH EVERYONE ALL THE BEST FOR 2009, AND GOD BLESS YOU (:

TALK ABOUT CHRISTMAS AND IM HAPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYY!! :D

Work experience

My left eye is driving me crazy. I think its just dry, but i can survive a post while stabbing it out.
Regarding work attachment/experience at the dental clinic.
Lovely Amanda Loo recommended me to the dentist, Stiina, and I was attached there for a week!
Here goes my notes...
15 Dec Mon (day1)
Approx 20 patients (including the 3 after I left at 6pm)
They were pretty busy that day...opening up till 8.30pm (they're closing time is 6.30, but this dentist doesn't care)
Lots and LOTS of FILLINGS. i think i might have gone crazy. I didnt know the job was so repetitious and routine-like.
Almost all patients were female (ranging from middle-aged to elderly), except 2 elderly men (1 last-minute appt: toothache)

Staff present: Stiina (dentist), Shoma (dental assistant = d.a.), Leanne (mostly administration = front desk)

Clinic has 4 surgeries: 2 old, 2 new
They just started using 2 new last week; still unorganised re: equipment wise. The new dental chairs are great, with the exception of lots of water produced while using hand pieces.

Annoying problem: They only have 5 sets of handpieces (the 'drills'), so shortage during rotation occurs often (because sterilization takes time).

Procedure of sterilisation: In the Sterile Room
Place used trays near door -> put in the wet machine called Biosonic (i forgot what they called it) -> put in the dry machine which takes ages called the Autoclave (i think) -> repack dental trays which are in 2 categories, filling (big) trays or cleaning (small) trays.

16 Dec Tues (day2):
filling capsules are "activated", then put into a mixer..........
not all filling material is the same though........very confusing
10-6pm again. I think there were 14 patients.
saw 2 root canal treatments. gosh....so many needles.
99% of fillings she's done have needles preceding. i didn't know...

17 Dec Wed (day3):
10-3pm
9 patients.
no appts after 2pm, the dentist was meant to leave at 2.
but on the day there was a filling at 2. so i left at 3. this dentist likes to overbook herself.
Saw an extraction! :( must dig the woman's mouth really hard, using this screwdriver like instrument. and blood. but im ok with blood.
Staff present: dentist, same front desk, and different d.a. called Gary
Both d.a.s are waiting for registration so they can work as dentists in aus. (they are already dentists, Shoma for 2 years in Fiji and Gary for 7 years in India)
Everyone complains that Gary is very last minute etc etc and its true.

18 Dec Thurs (day4):
For fillings --> Estelite(pink screw-tube)
A2, A3, A3.5 are used (standard shades)
For different shades of teeth
A2 is for people with lighter shades = the lucky people with pearly whites ----- A3.5 is the yellow teeth :(
Shoma's here today. For got how many patients....maybe 14? The dentist double booked 2 slots. Apparently she always does this and makes her patients wait. and apparently she always runs late, like 30mins-1hr behind schedule. I dont know how she manages because sometimes at 6.30 she has to go off and pick up her little daughter from prepschool
Ive also noticed that when she numbs a patient, she runs off to do the other patient (since she's always running late, usually there's two patients at the same time), and the first patient has to wait like crazy until she comes back (usually from numbing the other patient or finishing their cleaning...which takes 15-45mins) and while she's away from the first patient, she can go have her afternoon tea and take her own sweet time sometimes........
I told mum about it and she said most dentists tend to do that, and as a patient you think that's how long it takes for the anesthetic to sink in!

19 Dec Fri (day5):
18 patients

I asked about the injections, needles, different cartridges used, and this is what I got from it:
Cartridges (dental block or infiltration)
3 types used there:
#1) Scandonest 3% - Mepivacaine hydrochloride - 66mg

#2) Lignospan special (Lignocaine & Adrenaline Injection) --> For people without high blood pressure, asthma etc. People with those health problems (listed on their dental card - their administration thing) get one of the other 2 types listed. Adrenaline is used to contrict blood vessels, anesthetic holds in place longer.
- Lignocaine hydrochloride - 44mg
- Adrenaline - 27.5 microg

#3) 3% Citanest Dental
with Octapressin
- Prilocaine - 46.3mg/1.8mL
-Felypressin - 0.054IU/1.8mL
(for Dental Injection) -> doesn't last as long as the other two)

and also working on little kids...
cleaning teeth: 8 year old girl.
polishing with propy paste -> "tooth tickle"
---------------------------------

Now my nose is making me crazy. And i have to take the responsibility of cleaning up the house before my aunt and little cousin, William, arrive from singapore tomorrow night. Because justin grabbed the harddrive (probably to watch heroes or sth) when i asked him to vacuum....then i have to mop!

---------------------------------
It'd be nice if all who visit here can tag me? Its can be a little creepy talking randomly about my blog. Its nice but just a little creepy. (like bringing up things on my facebook account haha) No offense intended! and if you dont talk about my blog anyway, it'd be nice to hear from you too!

recently...

Haven't updated for a while, have i?
Fri 5Dec: woke up at 5.30am (!!!) to go play golf (!!!!) with my younger brother. super tiring, i played 7 out of 9 holes...kept hitting and making holes in the turf. I might just go again! It was kinda fun! But I certainly didn't have fun waking up, I didn't eat much breakfast before we had to leave the house, and halfway down our street, I spilt my mug of hot tea on my lap. So we rushed back for me to change into another pair of slacks. I think I only saw one woman on the course, there were some middle-aged posh guys. I'd been the worst player on the entire course.

Sat 6Dec: I turn SEVENTEEN!! classmates came over for a party (food, then sing-star party) from 3.30 - 10.15pm (the last group of people left at 10.15) fun, fun, fun.

Wed 10Dec: Karaoke afternoon in the city with Du, Amanda Chu and Amanda Tang, Jenny, my brother and me.

Thur 11Dec: Kutz and Melissa came over to our place for lunch and we walked all the way back across horse manure to the creek! I hadn't done that in a long, long time.

Fri 12Dec: Barbeque at Southbank with classmates. Very oily and unhealthy

Sun 14 Dec: Unichurch carols! At church from International morning bible study at 8.30am to 8.30 at night! woooooo. tired, but super fun playing cello on stage for the carols (: love the little last minute "band". and of course, love asking people to eat the cake dad made for supper after the carols, and talking to people!! <33 love, love, love, it!

Mon 15Dec: Work experience starts at Dr Stiina Leinonen's dental clinic at Carina Heights. Lovely, tired standing the whole day observing, but learnt to sterilize instruments and all that. Got to hold the suction pipe once! (Im tempted to call it the sucker) Dental Assistant Shoma is really nice, so is Leanne, the lady in charge of administration. Quite touched by their kindness. I saw 17 patients from 10am - 6pm. Then there were 3 more after I left, Shoma said she worked till 8.30!! Considered a busy day for them, but almost all patients were doing tooth fillings!! I saw lots and lots of cavities....quite large O_O

When I got home, previous-church friends were at our place for dinner

Tue 16Dec: Work attachment...

will update in more detail! (because everytime i get home from work i just want to lie on the couch/bed and fall asleep!)

im happy!
will blog when im in blogging mood.

the international party on sat was great though,
met lots of new people then (:
hope we have something like that again.

INTERVIEW!

Thank God, I have a interview with Griffith University dental faculty at Gold Coast tomorrow!!
Ok, I never imagined I'd possibly end of at Griffith, but can you believe it? I got an interview on friday 5+pm!
I have lots of nerves right now and Im sure it'll be lots worse tomorrow 2pm. I hope it goes fine, please pray for me ok??!

<3
thanks everyone for your endless support and encouragement

Yet another

This just made me so sad. Why are they doing this? What is the point? How did it come about?

This does not make the world go round.

'Boy' attackers shot Aussies in India

November 27, 2008, 3:24 pm

AAP © [Enlarge photo]

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An Australian student has told how rampaging gunmen shot his girlfriend during a series of coordinated terrorist strikes in India's financial capital, Mumbai.

Townsville student David Coker, 23, and his Sydney partner Katie Anstee, 24, were eating at Mumbai's Cafe Leopold when the gunmen opened fire, shooting Ms Anstee through the leg.

The bullet broke her femur and exited through the front of her thigh.

Mr Coker, a law graduate and son of Federal Magistrate John Coker, suffered a bullet graze to his leg.

"We had literally just ordered and then it seemed like firecrackers - people were screaming," he told The Courier-Mail.

He said they tried to flee but he quickly realised Ms Anstee was not following him.

"I turned around and she was crawling out the door because she couldn't walk," he said.

"I grabbed her and got out of there as soon as possible. We got into a taxi. No one knew what was going on. We were I think the first people at the Bombay hospital, which is where we are now.

"A bullet has torn a graze in my jeans and taken a groove out of my thigh and I have a few shrapnel marks including one on my left calf muscle."

He said the attackers appeared to be very young.

"They looked just like boys. They are on a rampage - it's full-on."

The couple, who met at Australian National University in Canberra, were on their first day of an overseas trip to celebrate their graduation, and had only been in Mumbai for a few hours.

Ms Anstee's father Chris says David Coker's quick thinking probably saved Katie's life.

The Sydney woman's parents say they plan to fly to the Indian city on Friday to airlift her back to Australia as soon as possible after surgery on a bullet wound to her thigh.

"They put their bags down in the hotel in Mumbai and went out to the Leopold coffee shop, which is apparently listed in Lonely Planet as a cool place to hang out, and they were just sitting there and a whole lot of guys, four or five guys ... just opened fire with machine guns," Mr Anstee told AAP.

"Dave has been very quick-witted and level-headed ... grabbed Kate and picked her up."

Ms Anstee was in intensive care in a stable condition, he said.

"It basically sounds like, as unpleasant as it has been, that it will be fine, and they're going to be airlifted back as soon as she has been allowed to be moved out of the hospital," Mr Anstee said.

"She is actually undergoing surgery, exploratory surgery and stabilisation surgery."

Mr Anstee said he and his wife Candy, from Greenwich in Sydney's north, plan to take the first Qantas flight to India on Friday to be with their daughter.

He praised Mr Coker, who is from Townsville, saying if it wasn't for his quick thinking his daughter may have been killed in the attack.

"The two of them were going on their dream trip of a lifetime. They had just graduated ... they'd worked hard and saved and done all that stuff."

Candy Anstee said she was in a state of shock over what had happened.

"They were going for 11 weeks - to India, then Europe then the US where Katie was at uni for a year," she told Fairfax.

"They were so excited about this trip, saving up for ages. We're in a state of shock."

Ms Anstee had just completed a commerce law degree in Canberra and planned to move back to Sydney after a seven-week holiday, her father said.

Up to 100 people were killed and about 100 more wounded in co-ordinated attacks by gunmen on luxury hotels, restaurants and a train station in Mumbai, Indian media said.

Maharashtra Director General of Police A N Roy was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying that about 100 people were dead.

The NDTV news channel put the death toll at 100, with 110 injured in the ongoing violence. The IBN Live channel said at least 87 people were dead.

Survivors said the attacks appeared to be aimed at Westerners, with the attackers demanding people reveal their nationalities.

An undetermined number of Western hostages are still being held.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in emails to several media outlets, Indian media reported.

An Australian bride caught up in the terror blasts in Mumbai says the city is in chaos.

Chloe Papazahariakis told the Nine Network that Mumbai was in "total lockdown".

"I've just moved to this beautiful city to marry my husband in four days and I've got about 20 friends here for the wedding in the midst of all this chaos," Ms Papazahariakis said.

"We just can't believe it."

Ms Papazahariakis was speaking from the restaurant where her reception is to be held.

She said a nearby hospital had been bombed by terrorists and the death toll had reached 75.

"They are targeting every suburb in this city but the most tragic thing is that for the first time ever they are targeting big time foreigners and five star hotels," she said.

"There have been a lot of bombs in India and they normally target marketplaces and the poorer society but where we are at the Taj Mahal Hotel, an historical hotel, they have eight foreign hostages.

"They've got hand grenades and police are very worried they are suicide bombers.

"They are on a rampage - it's full-on and they are not stopping."

Meanwhile, father-of-the-bride Nick Papazahariakis had a lucky escape after he dined at the groom's family restaurant in central Mumbai instead of a popular tourist spot where explosions have been heard.

Speaking from the restaurant with nine other Australians about 300 metres from a hotel where hostages are being held, he said friends had suggested the alternative.

"We've been very busy organising things for the wedding and some of our friends... they said we might as well go to this other restaurant, Indian restaurant with some great food, instead of going to a popular tourist restaurant and that was the decision," he told Sky News.

He said the city is under siege and the diners are unable to move from the restaurant.

"We're very close to where everything is happening," he said.

"They killed somebody around 15 metres from where we are.

"We can't go anywhere because the roads are all closed, so we're waiting and listening to news...

"You don't know what to believe at the moment, who is on which side," he said.

Mr Papazahariakis' daughter's wedding is scheduled for December 3 and 22 Australians have been invited to the official ceremony.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5175139/boy-attackers-shot-aussies-india/

so this is how i spend my holidays

1) the last person who tagged you is:
audrey

2) your relationship with him/her is:
fantastic, couldn't be better except I don't get to see her. In other words, lovely long-distance relationship!

3) your impressions on him/her is:
super adorable, a little aunty, crazy about the same things as me (and as crazy as me i think)!

4) the most memorable thing he/she had done for you:
talk about recently, when i was back in singapore last year, she rushed over to wheelock place where I had a contact lens appt to meet me! and then she treated me to starbucks! and we went shopping! and we have matching necklaces! <33333>

5) the most memorable thing he/she said to you:
usually really funny stuff along the lines of ..."hurry get into dentistry so you can come back" or "darling i miss you!"

6) if he/she becomes your lover you will:
spew. reject her. moan about it

7) if he/she becomes your lover, thing he/she has to improve on will be:
take on the role of the male, ok just kidding eww.

8 ) if he/she becomes your enemy , the reason will be:
i snapped her violin/gut string...can't think of anything else cruel :( which is a good thing!

9) the most desired thing you wanna do for him/her now is:
fly back to singapore and go shopping till we drop and eating xiaolongbao at dingtaifeng and going for a pedicure together, then fly to the USA together or something

10) your overall impression on him/her is:
super sweet and nice and caring about other people but also depressed over her own life and desperate to be slimmer for no reason (you're not fat)!

11) how you think people around you feel about you:
ok, bored, laugh till die, tired of me

12) the character you love about yourself is:
nice and funny i hope, relatively crazy when necessary

13) on the contrary, the character you hate about yourself is:
lazy, breakout-prone......impatient

14) the most ideal person you wanna be is:
i don't know, partly victoria beckham?

15) pass this quiz to 10 people that you wish to know how they feel about you :
(Just cause everything fits so nicely) (I probably won't even end up tagging them)
1) back to audrey!!
2) xinyun
3) xue ting
4) xue min
5) amanda
6) siyi
7) olly
8) kaile
9) geraldine
10) noonling

16) who is no. 6 having a relationship with?
her hockey stick (jk ok)

17) is no. 9 a male or a female?
female

18) if no. 7 and no. 10 are together, will it be a good thing?
not really!

19) how about no. 8 and 5 ?
extremely weird!

20) what is no. 2 studying about?

french poetry and classical music. I don't know how she could be interested in both at the same time, how does that work!?

21) when was the last time you had a chat with no. 3 ?
face-to-face? 4 years ago, on facebook? few months ago :(

22) what music band does no. 8 like?
no clue!

23) does no. 1 have any siblings?
yea, sister!

24) will you woo no. 3 ?
that's possible! but i think she's more interested in her guy than me :/ so I wouldn't because I wouldn't be too successful.

25) how bout no. 7?

ok probably not

26) Is no. 10 single?

i think so, i don't think so?

27) whats the surname of no. 5?
chuchu the train!

28) whats the hobby of no. 4?
no idea, getting along with fuzzy animals?

29) do no. 5 and 9 get along?
they dont know each other at all!

30) where is no. 2 studying at?
TJC aka talking-all-about jessica class

31) talk something casually about no.1?
toodles! i want to see you in a dress!

32) have you tried to develop feelings for no.8?

how about nostalgia

33) where does no. 9 live at?

don't know...sengkang?

34) what colour does no. 4 like?

don't know at all...random guess is black?

35) are no. 1 and 5 best friends?

no....they live on different planes of earth. can imagine them being ok friends, or not.

36) does no. 7 like no. 2?

probably not, bad match i'd think. both really crazy in different ways, and mad about all different thinks im guessing.

37) how do you get to know no. 2?

through no.1! through lord of the rings! NOT THROUGH IAN THORPE!

38) does no. 1 have any pets?
yessss! i haven't met the Lim's dog! must be as weird as the owner! (i'll probably see it with a pedicure and orange toenails or something)

39) is no. 7 the sexiest person in the world?
im probably way sexier. hoot!

lots of things

Dad randomly asked me to apply for James Cook University today. I really dont like the idea of going to Cairns to study dentistry if I get in there, also because the university's health faculty focuses on tropical health and rural areas. The application's closed a long time ago and he told me to pay the late fee for application etc. He says if I go there it's better than staying and doing bachelor of science in UQ and trying for dentistry again. I don't know if its a good idea. He said to apply then reject them if I don't want to later on. Personally I think they'll make me go there if I got in anyway. Im quite frustrated because dad put on his annoying angry dad voice for no reason, thinking that it would convince me. Frankly, Im really confused. I quite scared I have to work in some rural area if I go there. Mum and Dad are making me apply today. Justin doesn't let me download the application form on his computer although I can't download it on the computer I'm using, so I can't do anything about it now. My parents keep discussing my life and death regarding uni applications to other people :( I told mum and she said it's really my life and death.

Yesterday Adrian (my uncle) called and asked me when I wanted to go back to Singapore. Then mum said I cannot go back because of results and air ticket and etc. So sad. She keeps asking me to find a job:(

I have a lot of other things to blog about but Im really not in a great mood now, will do that later.
Notice how I sound like a mortified little kid.
Im just so out of it, please, please, God please let my IB results be fine. But I know they'll probably never reach my expectations.

There are a lot of times I wish I could just be cheerful as usual. I'd still like to have a great time even when the sky's crashing on me. After all, everyone's going to die right?
Im not being morbid, it really is true. I'll go on about this after I finish this novel related to this topic. I mean, when you're in heaven or hell etc. what's the point of worrying about what your stomach looked like, or something along those lines?

Tag reply to Noon:
I think I've answered your question. Looks like I can't go back :( I miss you a lot.

all i can say is...ITS OVER!

so, so glad all my ib exams are now over! have been slacking around since 10.30 this morning after the final biology paper3.
was and am kinda worried about how i did, the whole 2.5 weeks were just like a dream! ahhh, i dont think i did that well, just average you know.
I'll definitely start going out with friends etc. it didn't feel too good to turn down amanda & co.'s offer today...they were waiting for us biology students to finish our final exam! - but i have to be a nice daughter, since my parents were expecting me and had also been waiting for me since they dropped me off in the morning!
hmmmmmmmm, i dont know what i plan to do this holidays, and i haven't applied for a summer job yet!
any suggestions for exciting things to do over the holidays?

魔术先生

魔术先生
歌手:周杰伦 专辑:魔杰座 (网络流传版)

你举手一抬头 你说选我选我
手上索又挣脱 你那一脸迷惑
吹个风稍一扫 那硬币坚实重
一鞠躬 那掌声拍的凶

手将串轻轻握 接着换手移动
给短暂一个梦 压抑中有笑容
手中牌不缺不拿汉堡
放了那就拿牛仔帽
你永远都猜不着

每当我在他成眼中淡定漂浮
你就在底下偷偷指我的包袱
等待白咖啡熟 再将爱说清楚 喔
阿 ding i ding 心想傻事 让鼓点把爱放释
我手法静止iern不知 累一百分的支持
谁说恋爱别找魔术师 我不需要解释
所以他小丑 我是大师

你举手一抬头 你说选我选我
我将牌换颜色 变出你的选择
将自由的mission 变不见 不稀奇
101变不见才惊喜

手摊开 帽子里 总能空手出牌 （啊屁啦）
不管接不上牌 总能窃瓢回来（怎么可能）
手中牌不缺不拿汉堡
放了那就拿牛仔帽
你永远都猜不着

不要问我什么到底才是真的
我变给你看你看清才是真的
以为我是为何 我只想你快乐
啊 ding i ding 心想傻事 让鼓点把爱放释
我手法静止iern不知 累一百分的支持
谁说恋爱别找魔术师 我不需要解释
所以他小丑 我是大师

du i du 心想傻事 让鼓点把爱放释
我手法静止iern不知 累一百分的支持
谁说恋爱别找魔术师 我不需要解释
所以 不用麻烦了 不用麻烦了 不用麻烦了

ding i ding 心想傻事 让鼓点把爱放释
我手法静止iern不知 累一百分的知识
谁说恋爱别找魔术师 我不需要解释
所以他小丑 我是大师

Lyrics to the youtube vid below. Can't stop singing...guess how bored I am?
If I were a magician I'd make the last 3 ib biology papers disappear :)

hanging in there

3 bio papers, monday, tuesday...then done!
so far...not so good. not fantastic. i hope i dont get any 5's.
mandarin: ok, i hope 7
maths sl: paper1 horrible, paper 2 fine
chem hl: paper 1 fine, paper 2 and 3 terrible
english: paper 1 bad questions!, paper 2 average

i spent quite a while fiddling with the blog templates and searching for new ones because the upgraded version "blogger layouts" will not accept any of them! so i degraded to my original template again. what about biology study? hmhm. im not in the mood already. most people have finished their exams! yesterday!

to cheer everyone up:

US Election

Barack Obama to be America's first black president

John McCain praises rival in concession speech as record numbers turn out to vote in historic election

Image from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm

Americans placed their faith in Barack Obama today, overcoming a past of slavery and segregation, and electing the first African-American to the US presidency.

At Obama's election party in Chicago, there were raucous celebration and tears of joy as the US TV networks just after 11pm ET (4am GMT) declared that the Democratic candidate had been voted America's 44th president.

He was carried across the threshold by epic voter turnout across the country, giving him a wider margin over John McCain than any other president in the last two decades.

Obama, accompanied to the podium in his home town of Chicago by his wife Michelle and his two daughters, alluded to the historic nature of his victory.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," he said.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

The Illinois senator spoke moments after McCain made a gracious concession speech in front of his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, bringing the election to a close after nearly two tumultuous years.

"We have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly," McCain said.

The defeated Republican said America had come a long way from the racial injustices that were a stain on the country's history, and called for the country to unite behind Obama.

He said he deeply admired and commended Obama for winning a "historic election".

The scale of Obama's victory exceeded Democratic expectations, as Obama was projected to win 338 electoral votes to McCain's 129.

[...]

Fears that many white voters would fail, in the privacy of the polling booth, to vote for a black candidate appeared to be unfounded, suggesting that race is becoming less of an issue in the US.

Americans voted in record numbers throughout the day as they finally got the chance to turn their backs on George Bush's disastrous presidency and choose a new leader after America's longest and costliest election campaign.

[...]

But McCain managed to hold his own until mid-September, when the Wall Street crash saw Obama open up a commanding lead.

The next president will inherit horrendous economic problems that will limit the scope of his ambitions. Obama, in his final rallies, was already tempering his early promise of change with warnings about how he would have to curb some of his more ambitious plans, trying to lower expectations that he would be able to move quickly on healthcare and education reform.

[...]

US Election 08 news, www.gardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/05/uselections20084
----------------------------------------

Barack Obama said he didn't "look like other Presidents on the dollar bill".

Although that was a reference to his colour, he was different in so many ways to the established political aristocracy, that in a year when Americans were craving something new, his differences turned out to be his part of his strength.

BBC News, Americas, US Elections 2008, Why Barack Obama Won
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7704360.stm
-----------------------------------------

Image from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7700298.stm

I read heaps of articles other than those I posted, but I'll just keep it to these haha! Over-excitement (: I feel sorry for John McCain, but he did well in his concession speech, urging his supporters to back up Obama. He even said that the failure was his, not theirs. Quite touching. I mean, usually people dont accept their failures. He should'nt be disappointed, at his age, its already a superhuman acheivement!
Congratulations to 47-year old Senator Barack Obama, who is now the 44th President of the
United States of America. 72-year old John McCain was indeed very gracious in his speech, very respectable, while from the tv screen, Sarah Palin looked a little disappointed. However, their huge, huge efforts in this election campaign have been recognized by all.
Go Barack Obama, Joe Biden!!! I pray they have wisdom to guide America, and the rest of the world (:
I liked the victory speech he gave, he makes you feel proud of America. I thought it was really sweet that he thanked his wife lots, and she gave him a cute peck. Hmm...wonder what his 2 daughters are feeling right now..their dad must be a hero in their eyes! (they're getting a puppy as a promise from their dad)
Im very happy for them, for the U.S.A, and for the world (:
Can't wait for 20 January 2009!! PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/nov/05/uselections2008-barackobama
Link to Barack Obama's Victory Speech

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710079.stm
Victory Speech in Full

rainy day

im quite sad and quite lost. in the middle of all this.
ddoi and pascal's shots and sketches cheer me up.
links are on RHS of page if you need to cheer up too

1 short post

First day of exams, it was fine. 10 papers left! Thanks all staff and people for their support (:
I have that power-charged feel now, ready for prepping my other subjects! (:
Hope the american presidential election goes well.

these days

These days are not working as I had hoped. So comes the need for the hiatus again.


How challenging it is for me to put my head down & focus.


Hard work will take its toll, if any hard work is put in at all.


Can I promise myself not to falter these days? It worries me when I do other things.

Oh, I pledge to be alive and motivated! Where is my determination?

Can I say I dislike the mood of this post......its all thoughts into words

Shall resume posting when I allow myself to. that is after exams! :DD

last week of lessons

went to school 7.30-10am today. english appt with mcgrath and chem lesson. went fine. sort of sleepy now...some things that have happened lately:
Dad cut his finger while trying to make dinner for us, 3 stitches, stitched quite badly too - last thursday
family friends from the church we used to go to in singapore came here on business trip, going to stay for 3 years.
friday lunchtime - part of the year 12 grade was involved in a water fight. mr gorman and jones gave lectures to them after that.
friday lunch - cheesecake with alcorn and my(townend's) instep year12s
biology lesson after lunch - chocolate freddo cake from dr. guppy
drank mum's chicken soup today. im surprised one chicken only came out to less than half a bowl of soup. and she cooked it yesterday morning-night. really concentrated stuff.
every week when i go to church someone will ask me when my exams are...this week im saying 'one more week'. makes me realize a hell lot of things. or maybe not.
i wish my chemistry papers would just do themselves.
i sound like a dead fish right now. audrey's blog is more interesting.
some pictures to brighten the mood!

coronation drive jam in thunderstorm on the way home last week

Ms. Alcorn "fighting" with Kevin during instep. watch the stunned year 10s sitting and looking. (ross later used a year 10 as a weapon against her) N.B. this was totally for the fun of it, a non-contact stand-off.

Everyone was being sad and nostalgic on the last full day of class on friday. this was taken on 'the bridge', the out of nowhere path to the lift.

biology frog cake

biology class! spot the 1 and only guy. the other guy in our class wasnt there that day.

wheeeee

wake up

i woke up at 8am though i slept at 1.30 last night. super tired now...10.26am and ive only been reading my english notes, havent started writing my commentary. I just want to crawl back in bed....

short post :D

Regarding yesterday's post: Loggie cleared up the little confusion from award's night yesterday. Mrs Edwards and Mr Grant actually got the mentor awards while Mrs West and Mr Baker were meant to get the teaching awards. I was thinking, Mrs Edwards doesn't teach students...haha
Well, now its Mrs West's second year getting this award! She is really a professional teacher, very straightforward, funny, organised. I actually voted for Ms Alcorn, the English teacher this year. Last year I voted for Mrs West seeing her tireless efforts to get us ready for our anticipated business exams. The psychology teacher Dr. Daly also received this award last year (2 receipients to this award). She prepared psychology students for their anticipated exams, but unfortunately she is no longer teaching since the end of last year.

My brother and I received our honours prog candidate awards today(: He also acheived a high distinction in the australian maths competitions.
Yesterday was my brother's FOURTEENTH BIRTHDAY! I forgot to mention because we actually celebrated the previous day. Dad baked a fabulous mango cake (new creation) and we celebrated his birthday while a family friend just happened to be at our place. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Audrey was asking me: am I attached? No, haha. The guy who was in quite a few of my formal photos, is my "study buddy", along with the girl in the big pink dress. and no, I really am not in a relationship. That was kind of a funny comment, although I was feeling like "WHAT??!" when I read it :D
I strive to be highly motivated, at least for tonight and tomorrow. Study leave tomorrow again, means no school (has been this way for all wednesdays since this term). wheee

Awards Night 08

you know, I've changed my mind about this staying away from blogger thing. I do have lots of things to talk about all the time, and I'd say I prefer blogging to facebook or msn for now.

Tonight was the inaugral Awards Night, officially the 2nd Awards Night ever for my school. I remember last year I had to pull off a piano solo, phew! But it is sad that I've stopped my piano lessons etc. since the end of last year due to all the crazy academic stuff. I actually havent't touched my piano + other instruments for a few months in a row now... :'(
only 2 weeks to go from tomorrow till the start of my finals! Im disappointed at my determination to study this long weekend. I digress...
To summarise the awards: (I speak mainly for the year 12's)
Honours program (those who consistently score very good grades) congrats!
Subject awards:
Both Jake and Keri-Anne swept 5 awards each...mann this is like the oscars! Congrats, congrats. Maths, Physics, Chemistry, German Language B and the honours prog awards for him and English, Spanish Ab Initio, Psychology anticipated, TOK and the honours prog awards for her.
French ab initio - Sarah, French lang B - Rory, German Ab Initio - Nikita, Mandarin Ab Initio - Du, Psychology - Danielle, Business&mngmt - Kevin, Biology - Joanna, CAS - Dilshad, EE - Justin (Biology), Rizwan (English), Josh (Physics). I managed to get the Mandarin Lang B and Business& Mngmt Anticipated subject awards.
Jake was also awarded the ADP Long Tan Leadership and Teamwork Award for the Most Effective Year 12 Leader in 2008. By the way, this is the guy who represented our school and Australia in this year's Physics Olympiad in Vietnam, claiming a silver medal. This was the highest achievement of all the participants from Australia, meaning that he is possibly the best Physics student in aus!! Congrats dude.
The IB all rounder award for year 12 went to Lindon, great job. The guy oozes confidence all the time.
The Spirit of the Academy Award for outstanding service to the Academy went to Tim from year 12. This guy is an awesome classical and jazz piano player. He also sings beautifully.
The QASMT educator award for outstanding contribution to the academy in teaching went to Mrs Edwards and Mr Grant. Mrs Edwards is our school's director of e-learning, I've never had her as a teacher really, so maybe it was the year 10s' votes for her...On the other hand, Mr Grant is a lovely Biology and Chemistry teacher. He's not my teacher for Chemistry but he's taught me the first semester of Bio at the start of last year, and now gives bio tutorials to year 12s once a week after school. He puts lots and lots of effort into prepping these tutorials, and I always feel that the toughest concepts of our course are explained so well through his teaching. Congrats both of you(:
The QASMT educator award for outstanding contribution to the academy through mentoring are Mrs West and Mr Baker. Mrs West was my business&mngmt teacher last year for our anticipated (2 year in 1) course. She was also my supervisor for EE (extended essay) which I did in B&M. She is excellent, excellent, excellent! Im not in her instep group, but she's really good at encouraging, getting students focused. She's also a wonderful role model of responsiblity, being the Director of Studies. Mr Baker takes my maths tutorial class (during school time period). I dont' really know him and the way he teaches since that period is more of supervision than teaching. Im sure the year 10s/11s will know him better because he doesnt teach yr 12 maths/physics.
the educator award (ditto above) for the University level (referring to the University of Queensland, whom our school has a partnership with) went to Dr Bahr and Professor Keniger. Both of them, as I learnt tonight, were the people who set up the EE external tutor program, where UQ students would guide nominated EE students with their essay. I was lucky to have a tutor, and he was able to guide me a great deal.
Finally, the year 12 dux of the school went to Joanna, meaning she had the best grades in year 12. I thought it would've been Jake but turned out to be Joanna.

I'll definitely have to congratulate the above mentioned people in person(:
Probably missed other points there but, thats about it in essence!

To blog:

I have to break the hiatus just once.

Today is just those once-in-a-blue-moon days…

Talk about lately, parents been cooking chicken broth for me and I've been taking ginseng powder in the mornings, they're doing heaps to make sure Im feeling on top! The ginseng's really really good, it keeps me from feeling too tired. I don’t really feel collapsing type tired now, I feel a lot better and can concentrate better in school.

This morning during instep we had assembly instead. Mr Gorman had asked me to speak about my study plan in this session earlier in the week, fortunately or unfortunately, turns out the plan was only for 2 of those group of people dubbed in to 'present'. That didn't bother me really. What bothered me was how the session ended. It was only Mr. Loggie handling our grade. Keri spoke up after the mini presentation that she felt that study plans at this stage was not the issue, and she hoped that the school could plan something more beneficial. She wasn't alone, in fact, I felt the same once Mr Gorman told me I was dubbed to speak about study plans. Someone else (whom I shall not mention the name)thought that was a cue to get everyone out of this 'boring' session by saying something like "I propose everyone should go to morning tea now…hands up for that." And then, Keri and lots of other people started putting their hands up. Evidently this upset Loggie a lot. As our principal, I thought the students had too less respect for him! To cut my little narration short, he carried on by talking about having respect for staff and their unseen efforts in trying to prep us to our best for the final exams, then said something like "I will keep all of you in for morning tea" after someone else provoked. The impatience of the cohort I can understand; their impoliteness, I cannot. He didn't end up keeping us in for the entire morning tea though.

When I got to class after morning tea, I immediately typed an email to him, which he still hasn't replied to.

Hi Mr Loggie,

I think that what you mentioned on assembly just then, about the fine line between staff and students, is absolutely correct. I'm rather surprised that almost all students would be thinking of disrespect as acceptable. I think its fine for you to have kept students in at lunch to get that point of respect across, but I did not realise so many students thought it totally unreasonable. Such a concept of respect is most frequently reinforced in schools in Singapore, and having known it as a part of Chinese culture, I am pleased that the school and yourself would be taking on similar concepts. Thank you for your patience with our cohort and I appreciate all efforts which the staff and yourself have undertaken to prepare us for the final exams. On another note, I do agree with Keri-anne about spending time on study plans at this stage. I feel that it may be a little late to be just starting, perhaps staff checking in with students to see if they've been on top of their study plans could be more beneficial. I find that creating a study plan is not the problem, rather the sticking to the plan is more important.

Regards,

Jessica

Mr McGrath did come in and talk to our Maths class about the issue since he saw and spoke students striding unhappily from the lecture theatre to morning tea. Only half the class was there, the others were "rebelling" against the lost morning tea time. Mr McGrath, an english teacher had been working with our principal rather closely this year, and had a lot of opinions about the man. I was surprised that he started talking earnestly about how Loggie was one of the brightest minds around and he had all the long term issues covered which most don't see the immediate effects of...and many other things he said to that same effect. I had never realised that, or looked at Loggie in that perspective. A lot of times, we students are so blinded by 'people relationships'. And then Mr McGrath said that he personally felt Loggie wasn't too fluent in expressing himself well, and with people to people social skills...etc. So that was quite an eye-opener for me too.

And I was rather "unnerved" about the entire incident, if that's the right word for it, until after lunch.

I had my Chemistry practice paper 3 from may 2008 timezone1, at the end of the day, it went all right. The paper 2 yesterday was horrendous though. I had a stiff neck yesterday and had to take 3 practice exams yesterday! The 2.25 hours in the lecture theatre was bad!! Yesterday I turned up to biology tutorial after school, and it was only me and Mr Grant. Thank you so much for the tutorials on these particularly complex concepts (e.g. aerobic cellular respiration yesterday)! Then there was parent-teacher interviews….hmm I've sidetracked to yesterday's events.

I received an email from this brilliant artist and animator, Pascal Campion, and oh I'm overjoyed at the compliments and kind words. Really touching, noone's ever said anything like that before! Do check out his blog, www.pascalcampion.blogspot.com, it’s the most inspiring blog ever!

Just a while ago, watching the satellite tv: Taiwanese news channel (my mum watches this everyday, being very concerned about her home country). Taiwan's first richest man, Wang Yong Qing (92 yrs old), passed away yesterday in New York. I think it was something like phlegm stuck in his throat in his sleep, I don’t know the other details. I just watched the news report, picturing his younger brother (I think its Wang Yong Zhen, 87 yrs old) with puffy eyes and bursting out in tears as the coffin passed him at the funeral. It was really emotional to see brothers live to such an old age and having such a strong bond. Wang Yong Qing is this really smart guy, very efficient in business, knows where and how to save costs and monitor staff etc. which made him so successful. I think he's 4th richest in Taiwan to date. Its just … shocking to think that a couple of days ago there was a documentary on him, and mum was telling his story briefly to me…and today……

And the stock markets just crashing and crashing everywhere in the world. My extended family and my own family have been affected by the terrible economic crisis, as have many many other people worldwide. I pray that they will remain positive through hard times, and not give up!

After unloading my thoughts for the day, I think I should be able to continue with Chemistry practice papers.

RESOLUTION AT LAST

JESSICA IS AWAY ON HIATUS TILL THE END OF 18 NOV 2008.
WISHING ALL IB NOVEMBER CANDIDATES THE BEST OF LUCK!
<3 SEE ALL OF YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE :D
THIS APPLIES FOR JESSICA'S MESSENGER & FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS AS WELL.

how much longer?

I want to stop mugging :(
damp, grey weather = lazing around mode
to auds: go vegan? I'd never be able to pull that off, thats like eating forests. I can't deal without a bit of meat or egg or cheese.
I want to go shopping. its the weather for it, stuck in a shopping centre I'd never notice.
I need to do a hiatus thing for facebook, messenger (thats hasnt been too bad so far), and maybe blog? after all its only...3 plus weeks left...
time to pull out my brain, sit straight, take a deep breath, think of nothing else, and MUG.

the faint-hearted

Here I am once more, splurging my time on confessing that Im out of my wits to continue mugging, that is, if you call slacking a form of mugging.
youtubing bobby mcferrin. opened my eyes to this extraodinary singing talent!!
go youtube now(:

finished pride and prejudice! and wishing for more! still feeling really lost :(
i need to start work.. lets see my overdue items
14 maths papers.........................aka i didnt do any this week
5 bio papers...still ok
6 chem papers..a bit tough
6 english papers probably not going to do
and i havent done any chinese revision!
and im supposed to complete all chapter revision of chem and bio but havent!
and havent consolidated maths formulae!
help!
i should at least finish bio in the afternoon and do maths at night.
poooo, sigghhh

Chess players at Dundas Square, Toronto

Players from Sam Javanrouh on Vimeo.

653 frames were shot within about an hour and put together to make the video. To watch the HD version check out the vimeo page
Music selected from The Photographer by Philip Glass. (Track: A Gentleman's Honor)

This video's really cool.
sifting through the collection of daily dose of imagery emails, which i received in this period, when either the internet was too slow or inexistent! NOW, i have wireless(:

ok now about my life
2nd week of the holidays now...
my mum had her operation yesterday at Mater private hospital. Their service was excellent and the anaesthetist was super gentle and nice, along with several other nurses. Seems like the cyst in the left ovary she removed yesterday is not cancerous?! hope that the tests on it which follow shows a NEGATIVE result. Now she's taken her post at home in front of the tv, on the couch, with several pillows and quilts. hahaha. she seems a lot happier despite some pain and having to walk slowly and not doing any strenuous activity for a week from yesterday, she said it feels better to know that the dangerous thing is out of the body, whereas before she couldn't sleep owing to the fact that she was about to be in surgery!
ive nearly finished pride and prejudice since i started on sunday. Sunday and Monday were pretty much full days of reading it, and i skipped it yesterday. Up to the part where Bingely has proposed to Jane Bennet. And now Im just waiting for Darcy to do so! What a charming but tempremental guy, if only he was real. Im sort of putting off finishing it, because im always sad at the end of nice novels. It had been such an easy read compared to A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, which, after a few months, I still haven't been able to finish! (still halfway through haha) but TOTC's plot is really good though. P&P is a nice smooth read and super engaging, and i like the absence of bloodshed or gothic elements(: Im glad to be doing higher level English instead of standard level, who dont get to read P&P hahaha. Now i only dread practicing writing essays, cos im too lazy!
I have been super lazy with chem, bio is still acceptable, although ive skipped all the graph qns in the papers so far haha...will have to do them soon, maths is getting there..a little behind my planned schedule, english is just reading so far..and taking notes of the books proves to be rather exciting, as my interpretation get further and further and more dreamlike ahhaa, and mandarin should be fine but i need to look through the stack of booklets Richards threw to us for the holidays.
5 more days left! Im a little sad that this holiday will be all overs soon as school time will be more hectic, what with my inability to concentrate in school therefore school time is like taking up the hours i could spend productively (and sometimes not) at home. And when school reopens its 1 month to my exams!!!!!!!
i have been fiddling with my newborn wireless since last night and have downloaded a stash of the professional photos from the formal. maybe i'll send an invite thing from the online page for auds and xinyun and more to see!

im back

Hello peeps for once im not going to blog about how my life sucks because im NOT in the mood to talk about all the depressing stuff recently.
I guess i indirectly am doing so.
I need lots of motivation and encouragement in this period of time (only 6 more weeks to finals) so im shamelessly pleading for some:(
Restricted access to internet is a good thing im experiencing now, believe me.

Im such a transparent person everyone knows my feelings, everyone knows when im down. I am suffering from a relapse of depression after reading the damned email from medentry, they should die.

Im just not good enough. but I know I will make it somehow.
what is this teen angst? hahahahahaha
Im ridiculous.
UMAT is a ludicrous entry requirement to a university course in health.
sian sian sian. im falling behind in my past paper/study schedule for these last 1.5months already. especially chemistry. what am i doing?
I wish life was easier. I wish I didn't make life so hard for myself. I wish I wasn't so dumb.

but jess, jiayou you can do it. I know I can(:

wait, is this my first emo post? hahahahahahaha xD
im hungryyyyyyyyyyyyy
that sounds more normal.
i shall be fine:D

what am i missing out on?

its spring!

I miss the ellen degeneres and tyra banks talk shows <3

rosetta stone

funnyy(:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uozYHZjzcVE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R228MSqhm8

inspiration

Ive had a fair amount of inspiration recently,
and this speech my Michelle Obama is another...
Im not into politics but I just came across Barrack Obama's page on Facebook, which had a link to his wife's speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTFsB09KhqI
I found the parts about family and what parents do for their kids, and our values quite true.
The point is to use this to motivate myself, knowing that my parents have done invaluable things for me, and working hard for my ib exams in november.
On a similar line, recently, the stunning acheivements of Michael Phelps at the Beijing Olympics, have provided me with great inspiration to acheive my best. His mother and sisters behind him since he was a kid, overcoming all sorts of roadblocks, guiding him to be such a fabulous person and athelete. Like him, I should acknowledge the fact that receiving incredible results in January will cover for all the hard work now.
Thank you a million to these public figures who have motivated me, and to my parents and brother for giving me such a wonderful oppotunity.
Whatever the outcome of the American presidential election, I am confident the Obama family will stand tall in life.
And Michael Phelps and family, to stand strong admist the media, continue training hard and Im sure Michael Phelps will make all of us proud at the London Olympics 2012!

im a mugger

hmmm im so bored of studying! cant wait for all this to be over!
focus focus! and not think so much about having fun............
its autumn...hot weather soon!

phelps

Lopez 'confused by Phelps attention'

Wednesday, August 20 2008, 14:11 BST

By Alex Fletcher, Entertainment Reporter

Rex Features

Jennifer Lopez has reportedly claimed that she is surprised by all the attention eight-time Olympic winner Michael Phelps is receiving.

According to a source at Good Morning America, the singer thought her efforts in training for triathlon were greater than Phelps's swimming gold medal haul.

After filming a TV interview, she apparently said "she couldn't understand why everyone is talking about that swimmer."

The source added: "She couldn't come up with [Michael] Phelps' name, and then she yammered on about how she was the one training for a triathlon just six months after giving birth, and how that was the big story right now, not 'the swimmer'."

Lopez's triathlon will raise funds for Los Angeles Children's Hospital.


lololol
im not even into swimming or sports
phelps is just stunning.

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment (in this case, leave a tag) with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you.

from Stephy-wephy's blog(: wheeee.

to steph: hmmmm...your blog is titled break...heart and mine's change heart haha. ok not funny.

mann i miss these st nicks peeps. i feel so old and daggy now.
-------------------cut the depression-----------------------
i was reminded today:! that Matthew Mitcham, beijing olympics gold medallist for diving (Australian Team)...was from Mansfield state high school! that means i went to school with him 2 years ago, when i was in year 10, Mitcham was in year 12.. I remember once after orchestra rehearsal on Monday morning this diver guy dressed in khaki-coloured suit (with white piping i think) gave a speech on assembly. Something like that because orchestra always misses assembly anyway. ohoh x)
---------now its chem ib papers wooot----------------------

prelims

hi and its PRELIMS in about a week! eek!
probably noone wants to read on anymore hahaha.
ok i'll be positive (: thats it. i need that for ...everything.
okokok
digress and back to bio (:

sick

i am sick >< at this time of the night cannot control lethargicness.
btw as of yesterday i think phelps is uber cool. 8 olympic gold medals at a single games, breaking Spitz's 36 yr old record of 7 medals (: *salute*
go phelps go! go phelps go! gogogogogogogogo london 2012 (:
hmmm....by then i'd be 21. rar scary haha
<3

wheee.
im going on the overnight year12 retreat tomorrow. im so glad i changed my mind and paid for it. Doesn't feel very good to be left out!
I can't believe some people still steal/copy the original author's works! Didn't they learn about academic honesty in school? If anyone doing the International Baccalaureate Program like me, plagiarises or commits any other form of academic DIShonesty, they might as well forget about all the schooling they have done since their diploma will be cancelled. thank you.
hmph. and that silly little toot is still claiming the work as his own!! what. on. earth. one of my favourite artist's work OK. NOT OK!
GAH

unexpressable

= =
o.m.g. i am so bored out of writing cas journals.
rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
someone help me write leh.
portfolio due this friday. Im currently trying to squeeze as many hours out of the badminton sessions so that i can make a 50hour total at least :/
ahhhhhhhh. so lazy then and so lazy now. writing it every time i did an activity wouldve been good...but that meant like 2-3 times a week last term....
booohoo

UMAT over

From MedEntry:
"We hope that you were able to handle the UMAT and feel that you were prepared. If you think you have not done well, remember that it is often those who think they have not done well who end up with much better scores than they expected."

(I meant to post the above on wednesday but I hit a key which made my keyboard weird and untypeable.)
sighhhhh. all i can do now is wait for the release of results/any early interview offers in september, then I'll find out how I did!
I shall not fret about it any more at this point in time(:

about my life. not bad i think. I was pretty relaxed this weekend. Except now I have to sort of rush my english essay which is due tomorrow. now we have to write a practice paper2 every week now. and almost all classes are self-study. how engaging and exciting. im thrilled.
I feel like im sorta missing something from my life and thats making it...or making me sigh....hmm. i shall go grab something to eat xD maybe thats it.
and and everyone, i wont pledge but i should: that I will work hard from now onwards to my IB exams because
1) my Umat was probably not all that good
2) sure thing i need to be more motivated and self disciplined, not getting distracted by the usual distractions (esp on my laptop!)
3) Dad promised me a couple of days ago, that if I get into med/dent I will get a flight ticket back to Singapore during the december holidays. (if not i wont be going back, in fact my whole family is not going back at the end of the year - flight prices are so high :( and i sort of have to wait around for my results/any university interviews etc)

wish me luck!

ITS 2 DAYS TO UMAT!!!!!!
and i am not stressed.

compared to people in my school sitting the test, i think im about the only person who's finished the online package (excluding those people who didnt go for those!)
but
compared to people from top private schools.................some of them finished practically 2 weeks before.

okok i digress. but im still worried about things like not finishing the section papers on time. esp my section 1 mark. etc etc. AHH!

this term all the classrooms have been fitted with airconditioning + reverse cycle (aka heaters!!) so everyday, the classrooms are 24-28degs while its 11-14 degs outside! brainfreeze

on the sunny side:
we're having 炸鱼片米粉 for dinner tonight O_O hungryyy!
maybe thats the only positive of my day.

i find that ive been dozing off a lot during the day..its like im living in a bubble. or maybe its just reality that classes are mostly revision/self-study, its so boring :(

so tonight. its my final preps for umat (was supposed to be last night but i was so out of it - concentration needed) and tmrw will be watch tv, play piano etc hahahhahahaha. whee(:

goodluck to everyone who has promos soon<3

short term memory loss!

ahh did i really type that 2 days ago....... hmms. i must have.
UMAT IS OFFICIALLY IN LESS THAN A WEEK! EEEEEEK. ok not officially but nearly.
rararararar. crud. still as lousy as ever but i will do my best xD

quite pissed at my predicted grade the sch gave me for UNSW med app. like give me so low omg, i will definitely score 41+ for you to swoon man. HAHAHA.

time to sleeps earlies.

my extended essay "extended" to 39pgs as of friday night, and by saturday afternoon i finished printing. binded on saturday, so can worry about other things like umat omg.
umat is so depressinggggggggg.
crap im going to fail T_T

it sucks to be foundation year. the school, teachers, students dont know anything.

TOK PRESENTATION OVERRRRRRRRRRRR!!

mannnnn....no more tok for..the rest of my life! rahahahahaha.
Dont know why im so happy. maybe its just because "no more tok ever" is now a fact! ahhaa
but i have doubts how well i actually did. when i was filling in the self-evaluation form, i dont think i really hit critera c and d well enough. I hope i did ok for criteria a and b.

and i also hope that this presentation can seriously pull up my tok essay marks! so im hoping for an A? ok maybe thats impossible. the markscheme is crazy. 18-20 A, 15-17 B, 13-14 C, 12 etc D
so i might be looking at a C. even though i ambitiously put down an A for my self-evaluation (hoping).
anyhow, extended essay is due monday. have to print out 2 copies of 35pgs(4000w ++!) I also dream of this to be a factor which enhances the 3 bonus marks i get, contributing to my overall IB score out of 45. (the other 42 marks max are 7 marks each from 6 subjects, one which i have completed(: )
<33!
and dad's cooking prawn mee tonight RAWRRRRR.

so here we go again

Im in another one of those in between moods, where I can just stare at nothing in particular and my rate of productivity FALLS.
WL is finally due (or too soon!) tmrw 9am through turnitin. and im still editing my essays! hmmms. I call this last minute.
I guess me and my life's been pretty weird these few days...
and then I always get the blame for whatever goes wrong...even if its just that mum can't find the pizza order i placed, which was supposed to appear on the screen at dominos.
Im used to that but, yesterday was twice.

however,
its the first time I took the bread and cup and church this morning.
I feel lifted.
We were a little late today and when we stepped in the little kids were singing the songs they had at the kid's club. I heard both songs on the day i helped out. Pretty cute, and made me realize that God will always be there for all of us, and there's no need to get frustrated over nagging parents bringing up things that happened yesterday.
and the sermon about God continually blessing people even though they keep deceiving others or getting deceived by others. it shows God wants us to love everyone, regardless of our sins.
the bible passage itself was quite funny in the sense that they just kept having children. Genesis chapter 29-31 and on. about Jacob, Laban and his daughters Leah and Rachel.

(: go jessicaaaaaaaa. finish wl as soon as possible (:

this little light of mine

I think badminton is getting better and better. Its actually quite fun especially when you have to play with/against funny people. I'll probably come back and play socials even after I get all my Cas Hours. Which sucks because i still need another 4 hours = 2 sessions at least, and I have to go to badminton on friday nights during the school term. Its ok...its only 2 sessions right? I can do that.
A bit aching today, because yesterday I was playing and playing. Fun leh..and im getting better i think ;)
On wed I went to help out at church's kid's club. This holiday program thing they set up for mon-fri of this week. The kids were pretty cute. I can't seem to forget this song which they sang. (I also sang it at church when i was a kid...young days haha)
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Shine the light over (place) Brisbane/Singapore/Taiwan
I'm gonna let it shine x3
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

So i should be more optimistic about Getting an IB41+ (November), Umat exam(in 3 weeks), Extended Essay deadline (2 weeks), Tok presentation (omg, in 4 days!!AHHHH), English WL essays due (in 2 days!!!) because I know God is shining the light before me.
Now, what have I been doing all day.................
er TRYING to do WL. crudd.
better get my act together these last few days of holidays. Finish off my WL essays, rehearse tok pres myself and make final changes, study for Bio option E, Finish off EE, while doing all the Umat practice papers left!!
omg, confidence and focus!
Good luck to everyone else stressing
and oh. did I forget, chem prac due first day back in 3 days!!!!!!
and the lousy new timetable, which means that I dont have instep first thing in the morning, I have a lesson first then instep. but what's the point! You DON'T DO ANYTHING in instep, and it gives students with traffic issues a chance to be late! Horrible set up.......the new bus network isnt any more efficient than the old one. hmph.
ok FOCUS!!

absolutely normal uh....day

today is one of those days where there is a serious limit to my creative ability. Without that...im sure in for some low IQ time.

Was at state library from 12-4pm. doing tok lah. what else. but lucky i told my presentation partner to bring her laptop so she did all the typing. ok since last friday it was all me. and I sacrificed my shoulder with that bulk. i could hardly think today...speaking in a monotone and being hypnotized by the city/river view outside of state library meeting room glass panels. seriously, why do all the places we work on tok have glass panels for you to stare through. on friday it was the great glass windows of starbucks and queenst.mall, where we suffered the passive smoking. (and a UMAT drill says that passive smoking --> low IQ)

talking about UMAT, last night i said i was going to do a drill, i ended up doing one qn and leaving it for the morning. what motivation.

spent most of tonight watching tv.. House was on (I haven't seen it in ages) and he spent the entire show looking for a tick on this girl...turns out it was in the most



internet is driving me crazy. SO SLOW! damn. plus mum on the phone nearly the whole night. THIS IS MY LAST STRAND.

Badminton Social #2

RAWR. I realize im getting better and better! ok only a little bit better today, haha. First round was quite tense, cos there was this old china guy and this caucasian boy and us siblings. Then the caucasian boy kept tackling my brother because, for some reason my brother was hitting really softly. And noone was hitting in my direction! oh, and when we reached it was so dark because the electricity wasn't on, so they were setting up spotlights. So our court was still pretty dark and hard to see then.

I thought there was a break between switching courts but apparently not. And while I was resting when I wasn't supposed to, I noticed that there were lots of gay uni guys and old women playing. Totally different from the friday night crew. Plus the grimy lighting, how fun.

my bro's mansfield friend fergus came along. Plays pretty well. 3rd round Eugene (little 10th grader from my school) on my side. my brother and fergus on other side. Pretty fun. except eugene kept putting his raquet in between his legs, and directing people to serve and stuff.

oh wells. it feels like i played less today, but no breaks! Hope Im not aching all over tmrw, like a rerun of what happened on friday. However, I like the friday session better. Maybe just because the people are a lot nicer.
and ray is just weird. he still hasnt talked.
Im so over tonight. I want to sleep. !Do a section 1 drill! gar :/

Badminton Social #1

quite tired. my left leg is aching. shoulders are stressed from carrying laptop and bag up hills and escaping from athletics day..........but quite fun and eventful.
crazy(aggressive) little kid in the white and yellow shirt who "killed birds". Serious. The badminton court was littered with white feathers.

hello! Was going to blog about this yesterday but last night sort of ended in a family "feud".
Anyway my point is:
Thanks so much AUDREYYY<33 for being such a fabulous friend since way back p602 - sec1 - now!
and Thanks a million to NOON LING <33for being a wonderful, sweet but cool friend from sec1 days!
I was slacking around a couple of days ago and somehow ended up on friendster.. I hardly ever touched my account and i saw the only 2 comments lingering on the profile.
Here goes...

moonking
Posted 05/28/2005 1:26 am
hey dear i miss you : (

audderayyy
Posted 05/15/2005 6:03 pm
JESSICA!!!!!!!!!! we all miss ya loads y'know! when u comin back to visit us??
i can never forget.
those smiles
screams
days we laughed together.

i can never forget.
rushin' thru my mind
like water
in a clear brook.
those memories of days gone by.

i can never forget
your WEIRD laugh.
the one which almost caused me a
heart lapse.
u nazgul!

HAHAAHHAHAHAAHHAHAA. dun worry. was just joking..woot. but we miss you lots yea!

-audDIE. *drained].

gosh so cute yea? haha i didn't know/ can't rmbr you writing me a poem or poetry like thing ever hahahahaha. When i read both of those i was touched ;) like who else calls me dear lol. and hey!- i didn't know my laugh was that weird. I was probs laughing like a rooster and causing myself a heart attack. and i also rmbr the 'drained' band type we were going to form miraculously hahhahaaha. i sure fantasized quite a lot back then! some more the last time i read through my 2004-2005 posts they depicted me as a self-contented little brat and i immediately deleted all of them :O shameful!

Back to my first topic, our family "feud" was one of those tantrum unhappy types where my brother in his 13-14 year old state gets angry and chucks a fit. However unhappy it was it very clearly reminded me of my 13-14 year old days. I remember something like that happening to me, almost the same. Mum saying the same few words to reprimand...Dad vowing he'll never take me to school again but did the next day...*sigh* i guess everyone goes through that kind of stage in life. Im glad I already did, and am now on peaceful terms with my parents, its very unlikely that I'll have an argument with them nowadays. I don't even say things like idiot or stupid anymore...its quite passe already. It was those p6-sec1 short-lived rebellious days which taught me how to get on the right side of my family i guess. My brother excepted, he's a bit tough and difficult now, esp having a height advantage over me he thinks he has more authority. = = i want to grow taller. As tall as an upright burette on a table! hahahaha. jks.

My english this term isnt too bad. like 2% off an A7! omgness. that means must put in a little more effort before I can sufficiently capture that A7!! but im already there for maths! like scraped through by 1.7% according to connie who saw my mark. Only thing im worried is chem. Im scared I got a C5 this term. Hope not! Will be the only subject which deproved...how embarrassing. Have been neglecting it quite a lot. My prac reports for chem aren't good either - always silly mistakes plus aggravating ones. so Im going to put in my all (really) for the enzyme kinetics one which I got yesterday! (man...yet another assignment) But today's task is to rewrite my World Lit essay2's conclusion...put that off for so long.
I seem to have a lot to blog recently hahahahaha.

Thanks my darling friends! <3

To auds: don't believe your fat! my layer of fat is so disgusting..........:P you have the courage to go eat at Thailand Condom restaurant, means you have the courage to take a photo with the "sweet lab guy". then he'll probs even take you out! hahaha. you still go to NUS labs everyday now that school's started? Im sure your life will get better kaes! I have all this work to do everyday also sian...I want to watch dramas and go out and socialize etc :DD

haha...2 more days to a 2 week holiday! I hope the weather doesn't get colder! 10degs+ in the morning is cold enough! lol i dont know why i changed the titles at the RHS to random things :D

Life then, life nowadays

I forgot to say yesterday...
I changed my skin! rawr...Im very lousy at these things, so fortunately, it worked! hahaha. I also saw Mansfield peeps at State Library...Mareanie, Belinda and ... the Frenchies(I think), were studying for Biology. Connie and I wandered up to 3rd level to look for a meeting room but ended OUTSIDE their meeting room. huh. Greeted with usual hugs but it was kind of awkward. Firstly because when it was their turn to ask us what we were there for, answer was Theory of Knowledge presentation. That left them quite clueless but weirdly 1 of them immediately responded with "we'll just nod and don't ask questions". At that point I haven't said anything to suggest I was superior did I? lol. I don't know, maybe that's the reason why I haven't talked to Mansfield peeps for so long, since I transferred. I haven't gone back to visit my friends or had some kind of get together. I remember going back during holidays with my brother to sell his uniform prior to his school year at QA. I saw Annice and we briefly said hi. I saw Joanne but wasn't sure if she noticed me or not. Either way it's not their fault things are awkward. After all Im still a not totally sociable person haha.

Today;
I hate carrying my 'official' Targus school bag which cost $95 and can fit my tablet in super bulky case, my books, lunch everything. But thats why its so heavy and I practically can't stand straight with it most of the time. So since exam block its been smaller totes. Now, back to the normal school day schedule its totally killing my shoulder! Its all about protecting my tablet after all. Its not really mine, its rented from the school. If it crashes or is damaged, its my responsibility though. The screen's been flickering occasionally, and also quite frequently. Apparently random spasms of the screen means the harddrive/screen is going to crash and I could possibly lose all my stuff! = no computer to use = catastrophe!! Must be a result of throwing my school bag down on to the ground too many times, resulting in some form of 'shock' to the tablet, and also the fact that I use it 24/7, its life-span is considerably shortened:/ Ok tablet, i havent treated you too well but don't just die on me PLEASE!
I don't know what's wrong with my mobile number either, I always get random calls from people whom I don't have a clue. I don't usually answer calls which I don't recognize the numbers anyway. Can you believe it how many Sydney people call Queensland mobiles and get the phone number wrong? Seems like people here have these problems on almost any phone line possible. gosh.

Time to do as much UMAT drills as possible. gah. Im so determined to do dentistry I must not complain about UMAT and other academic stuff to sort out during my 2 week hols! Btw, holidays coming up next week for 2 weeks! Obviously cannot go back to Singapore though ): or anywhere else in fact --> holiday homework Mt. I.BEverest, CAS (signing for 4hrs coaching of badminton once per week for 3 weeks to deal with my CAS hours - almost once and for all), UMAT practice and helping out occasionally with the Kids Klub children's camp thing at church 2nd week. I actually don't think I'll mind the last, even though Im not particulary experienced. I think it'd be so much better/more fun then poking around a tablet just trying to eat up my homework. Well, my homework is more like whatever revision Ive piled up in a schedule for myself. Oh why am I killing myself. *personal dilemma* but the teachers don't care and it'll be my own fault for not doing anything in the end. and I say Im aiming for dentistry and an IB41+. ohmygosh *swoons*
omgomg I JUST TYPED SO MUCH?? SERIOUS! TIME TO UMAT. WAIT I SAID THAT A PARAGRAPH AGO.