Hermit's refuge

Random updates

2007-02-26T00:57:00.000+08:00

Ok, to avoid not blogging for the whole term (although it would be quite amusing to see the next post titled 'Holidays!' again), I shall just write some crap here.

Been really really busy with school and work. But finally there should be someone working Wednesdays in a few weeks' time, yay! I'll have one more night to do work, hopefully I'll be less busy la.

I just went to watch Verdi's Aida on Friday with the rest of my classmates taking the Verdi module and our lecturer. It was not bad in terms of the singing and playing etc. But the acting was a bit wooden leh, and the dancers were so amateurish (uncoordinated, super untidy etc). Everyone were commenting about all these la, so it's not just me being picky. It was quite fun actually, and interesting to finally watch an opera live.

I had some fun accompanying two singers on the harpsichord at the beginning of this term. It's great experience! Die la, I'm starting to like the harpsichord more than piano... I will miss playing the harpsichord when I leave uni! The early small ensemble I'm playing in is not very good, it's quite sloppy, and I'm so glad I'm just an unaccessed member. But it's also good experience to play with more than one other person lor. Will play for one of the singers again in March, and I need to decide whether I'm going to accompany the recorder player from my ensemble. I want to, but because it's only three weeks away and she just passed me the score on Friday, I'm scared that I'll screw up! Will try it on the harpsichord tomorrow morning before I decide.

Holidays!

2006-12-16T11:16:00.000+08:00

Glad to have a nice break.

But I should be quite busy working, because some of the staff working in the cafe will be going for holidays. So the restaurant people will be helping to cover since we are closed for three weeks. And then when we open again the week before next term starts, the head chef will try to arrange it such that I don't end up working from 8am to 11pm.

And then of course, I will try my best not to procrastinate and slack so that I don't end up with a pile of work to do last-minute before next term.

Merry Christmas in advance everyone!

-5°C on the first day of November

2006-11-05T22:50:00.000+08:00

It suddenly turned cold on Wednesday; I don't seem to recall it happened so early last year. But anyway, the sky was breath-taking when I stepped out of the house that morning. Sometimes I wish I bring my camera with me wherever I go, but I think some things are often missing from photos anyway (especially since I won't capture the whole experience as well as a professional photographer would be able to). And I'd rather not do an even worse job of describing it in words... the clouds were amazing. I don't know why, but either cold weather makes the sky more beautiful or I particularly remember beautiful skies on cold days because it's like a little ray of light shining through the grey moodiness of going out into the cold. It just makes me so much more optimistic about the rest of the day.

On this cheerful Wednesday I decided to give job-seeking another try. I always try for a short time, then stop, then start again, and so on. Really bad, but normally I begin to be convinced that I should just concentrate super hard on my studies and forget about working totally (ya right, if only I could be so hardworking!). So anyway, I went to the Jobzone and got the contact details for some job vacancies advertised there, and decided to call the one I preferred the most - cafe assistant, experience not required as full training provided - great, suits me perfectly!

'Sorry, the vacancy has been filled. But I'll just take down your details anyway, if there are other vacancies I will give you a call, is that alright?'

'Oh, ok.' (Downcast that this happens far too often)

But after taking down my name and phone number, the lady asked whether I was an international student, where I was from, etc, and suddenly, 'Would you consider working as a waitress in the restaurant at night? You do know we are a Japanese restaurant at night, don't you?'

Oops, I didn't even do any research on this place before calling! 'Oh, um, so sorry, I didn't know. But I'm interested in waitressing work...' (Cross fingers)

'Ok, would you be free to come down to the cafe tomorrow afternoon for an interview?'

Yes! Yay! (But reminds myself that interviews are usually the broken link between my looking for jobs and actually getting a job.)

I got the job, no big deal, cos obviously I was her only candidate anyway. The cafe-by-day-restaurant-by-night is small, during the interview she only asked a few questions, I got to meet her husband (the chef), and that was it. She asked me to give it a try on Friday evening. It wasn't that hard; keep all the stuff from the cafe and bring out the stuff for the restaurant and set up the place (most of which I've forgotten by now, but it's ok, cos both the chef and the other waitress teaching me were blur also), and then the usual waitressing work. I think the only hard part was not knowing the menu very well, but luckily most customers have the same problem so they will point to the menu when ordering.

I was lucky to have the other waitress teaching me; she was very friendly and helpful, trying to teach me everything cos she's going home at the end of this month anyway (she has finished her masters in I-forgot-what). I was also lucky that the other two chefs (uni students like me) have a great sense of humour and despite working really hard to get the orders out as quickly as possible, they try to have fun at the same time. And no one tried to slack off at closing time; we all helped to clean up the place and re-set up the cafe for the next day. Hmm... so the people working in the cafe have a good life huh, they don't have to set up the cafe or un-set up the cafe cos it's the restaurant people's job.

I'm also most fortunate that they didn't throw me right into the deep end by asking me to try out on a Saturday, which I've heard from the rest are very busy and I'll need to try to stagger taking customers' orders so that the chefs don't have too much to cook at once. And the customers won't be waiting too long for their food (but I wonder... they'll be waiting too long for their orders to be taken instead, isn't it still bad service?). Only after work when one of the other chefs was giving all of us students a lift home that he said last Saturday two waitresses were fired cos they kept rushing the chefs with lots of orders at the same time, and more importantly, they kept giving all sorts of excuses when the chefs told them to slow down the orders. I guess it's not just about doing things right or wrong; like any other thing we do, what's most important is the attitude. I will always remember that.

Exciting year ahead

2006-10-13T22:17:00.000+08:00

First week of school's over and so much has happened since last week that I sort of don't really know where to start. That, plus the fact that I've seldom been home (other than to eat and sleep) since last week, are quite solid reasons for not blogging I guess.

Classes are okay, at least for now I guess. And hopefully for the whole year, of course. I think I have to work really hard, and I will! I just haven't actually done any serious studying yet... only been practising more than doing anything else. Paper composition's going to be interesting, especially with all the different assignments ahead. At least they provide some sort of topic to get us going (i.e. this week's assignment was to write an invention, atonal one of course), unlike last year when they just told us to write 'something'. I'm going to be looking forward to Verdi too, although the thought of having to present a seminar (with another person) on someone I don't even know a single thing about (Meyerbeer) is quite scary.

But I'll definitely put in more effort soon. Right now I just have to concentrate on finishing my composition assignment, hopefully by Sunday, so that I can have some time to practise it before the play-through on Tuesday. And hopefully finish reading one of the recommended books on analysis for my Form and Syntax in Post Tonal Music module by the next lesson on Monday. Enough to get me going for now.

Something great that has happened is that I got one of the piano teachers I requested to have this year! And he is really good... constructive comments, suggestions and explanations on how to improve, demonstrations, not too laid-back (the most important, so that I won't start slacking again like last year because my teacher wasn't demanding enough).

Another thing is that I'll be playing the harpsichord in an early small ensemble this year. I can't wait! Really enthusiastic about it cos I don't think I'll ever have a chance to play in another such ensemble in future. Two people asked to have a harpsichord player but I guess I can't split myself into two during the module's sessions, so I can only play in one even though I was so excited at first that I could play in two!

And lastly, both Poot and I were asked by our lecturer to join the rehearsals for St. John Passion as continuo players. There would be a group of keyboardists being coached how to play the continuo, but only one person will get to perform. The point was that at least the rest of the keyboardists would have a great opportunity to learn something. I'm really glad I have chances like this and the early small ensemble.

Looking forward to the exciting (and no doubt busy) year ahead!

3 long days

2006-09-21T23:42:00.000+08:00

It's been quite busy these few days since I moved into my new house on Sunday. Warning, extremely long post!

Read the whole post, or read about: my moving and unpacking fiesta, getting fined 20 pounds, or spending 30 pounds on a T-shirt.

On Sunday Vicki helped me move my luggage to my house, and we were hungry so I wanted to treat her to lunch. Deciding on Adam's Place (a fish and chips shop near the university), we walked back to Selly Oak only to find it was closed. So we decided to go to Aldi's to get some groceries and cook at Vicki's place. Since we were really lazy, we bought instant noodles. I didn't unpack on Sunday, since I didn't have hangers to hang the clothes with, and I thought it might be more convenient to pack everything at the same time anyway. That night I slept for about 5 hours, waking up almost every hour because I was cold sleeping on the uncovered mattress without a duvet. I kept willing myself to sleep and willing dawn to come more quickly.

On Monday Vicki helped again, this time moving my stuff from Access Storage to my house. We went to Harborne High Street after that for some shopping (via Vicki's place, because we haven't yet figured out how to get there from mine. It was about 20 minutes to Vicki's place and another 20 to Harborne High Street, tiring after two days of moving!). I didn't really buy much groceries but instead bought quite a lot of essentials like shower foam, shampoo etc. I was glad to stop over at Vicki's place for a late lunch (at 3pm) of instant noodles and broccoli.

I generally unpacked everything on Monday evening and night, until everything was out of the boxes and luggages and I couldn't find anywhere to put them except stacked haphazardly on the table (there is absolutely no shelving in any of the rooms! The only furniture in my room are: a bed, table, chair, chest of drawers, and cupboard). Exhausted, sleepy and cold (the flooring is a worse insulator than the more commonly-used carpet), I went to sleep (this time on with bedsheets and duvet, fortunately).

I went back to Harborne on Tuesday (this time not via Vicki's place; I just walked in the general direction and managed to find my way there) to enquire at a stationery shop about a vacancy we saw on Monday, and got a form to fill in. I bought lots of groceries, essential stuff like a clock, rubbish bin for my room and food storage boxes, and a set of 'home office stackable cubes'. Dumping most of the groceries in my bag, carrying the stackable cubes in one hand and carrying everything else in the other, I had a tiring walk home. Basically it was only the hand carrying the cubes that ached, because I had put it in a plastic bag but since the bag was too small for me to carry it like people normally carry plastic bags, I had to carry it under my arm. The problem was that the plastic bag around the box made carrying it so much more slippery and my left hand was struggling to keep a firm grip on it. Stupidly, I only thought to take it out of the bag when I was left with the last quarter of the journey, of course. By Tuesday night all my things were packed neatly into the cubes.

On Wednesday I went with Lanx to Grace's house to collect things she didn't want any more (she's finished her masters' and will be leaving.) At first we went for some bookshelves, a vacuum cleaner and kitchen utensils (and oil, sauces etc), but she ended up giving us lots more, including an iron, a fan, her Play Station, indoor airing rack (I already have one of my own), laundry 'container' (?), extension plugs, and sold us her TV. After one trip to the train station with all six of our hands full, we still had to make another to get the TV. Fortunately, Felix agreed to wait for us at the University Station.

Unfortunately though, both Lanx and I got fined 20 pounds each on the train. It's a long story; when we bought tickets to get to Grace's house, we used the ticketing machine and bought return tickets that said 'Birmingham Stns' and 'University Birm', but we were going to Chester Road Station. So when we boarded the train at Chester Road with all the barang barang, we very unluckily ran into a group of three train conductors, standing right at the door where we boarded!

Once we had put all the stuff down, one of them commented, 'Should have got a cab, with all these things,' and proceeded to ask for our tickets. When he saw Lanx's and my tickets, he told us that it should have said 'Chester Road' instead of 'Birmingham Stns', which we honestly didn't know (I really thought 'Birmingham Stns' meant stations in Birmingham, stupid me), so Lanx tried to talk our way out of it by saying the machine made a mistake. The ticket conductor didn't have anything to say in argument against Lanx's explanation, but he spotted that our tickets were concession tickets and wanted to see our Young Person's Railcards. So just when we thought we'd be let off, he pointed out that both our railcards had expired. (Oh man, why oh why did I not check the date?! If I saw that it had expired I would never have bought concession tickets.) Conclusion: 20 pounds fine each. Sigh...

After we had brought all the things home, I embarked on a task I think nobody would have ever thought I'd do, especially if they knew me quite well. Basically, last year I signed up as a service checker with a certain company over the internet, and this was the first time they ever assigned a check to me. I was to check a shop in Selfridges in the Bullring. At first when I got the call on Monday I was really reluctant to go, because I've really not got the right personality for this kind of job! And the caller was quite incomprehensible, I didn't get the shop name and tasks I needed to do. Furthermore, I had to do the check within Tuesday and Wednesday. Such short notice.

However, after I checked my email on Tuesday and determined the shop name and task details, I thought, why not? It's a good chance to do something out of my comfort zone and I'd be earning money (or a piece of clothing) for it. The company was willing to pay up to 30 pounds for any item I buy, and I had to buy a minimum of 15 pounds worth of things. The difference will be paid to me in cash, of course. I thought it was quite worth it; I could buy something I like (hopefully) which was not more than 15 pounds, and get 15 pounds!

I was supposed to check the display/cleanliness, staff's friendliness/helpfulness etc, the usual, but more specifically, I was supposed to go in, browse around, and take note of how long it takes to be approached by someone (if it was more than 5 minutes then I have to approach them). After that, I'm supposed to describe/specify what I was looking for so that they can assist me, and try on the item. And here comes the hard part: I was supposed to ask about the price and act shocked at the high price, then seem undecided, then ask about a discount, then decide not to buy the item. All these were to test their reaction. I think it's quite weird, how many people nowadays actually ask for discount in shops where they actually know they wouldn't be given one?

I was really looking forward to buying a pair of jeans, but the pair I tried on (and liked very much; it was really comfortable), was 85 pounds (SGD 255)!!!! Actually, while waiting for the sales associate to get the pair of jeans for me to try on, I was browsing and saw other pairs up to 120 pounds. Most expensive pairs of jeans I've ever seen... or am I so un-shopaholic that I don't know the price of jeans anymore? But anyway, I came out of the fitting room and said it was comfortable but too expensive (I found it stupid to ask for the price when it was obviously printed on the price tag), so the sales associate offered to show me cheaper pairs. But he realised the cheapest pair was 80 pounds, just 5 pounds less then this one. So I declined.

I didn't ask for a discount because I just couldn't bring myself to say it; I felt stupid just thinking about it. After pretending to browse around the shop again, I finally picked up the T-shirt and asked for my size, then paid for it. I was already eyeing the T-shirt while waiting for my pair of jeans, after realising how highly their jeans were priced. I had sort of decided I'd buy the T-shirt instead, if it was cheap enough (or expensive enough, if you prefer... SGD 90 for a T-shirt, my god!)

I've already submitted the report, now it's just waiting for them to send me the reimbursement.

Back in Birmingham

2006-09-09T16:22:00.000+08:00

[*10/9/06: Backdated entry. Using the wireless connection outside the library.]

I'm now staying at Vicki's/Ruth's place, cos my house is currently under renovation. The landlord thought nobody would be moving in during this week so he decided to convert the existing bathroom and toilet into two bathrooms and toilets. I guess this is actually the best time for him to do it cos any later and we'll all start moving in.

So, after I took a taxi from the airport to my house and found out that I had to find somewhere else to stay, I had to take another taxi to Vicki's place. Actually the landlord did invite me to stay with his family but I thought it was better to stay with a friend, and also I didn't want to trouble him. At first I was going to sleep in a sleeping bag in Vicki's room but Ruth came around last night and offered me her room.

This place is so resort-like, peaceful and beautiful that I'm going to miss it when I move into my house! Other side effects include procrastination (haven't gone to the practice block yet), not feeling like going out to get groceries even though I feel bad about imposing on Vicki (eventually I did this afternoon), and basically just slacking/sleeping most of the time.

Or maybe I'm just a bit tired after having quite little sleep for the past week since I was busy ripping all the CDs. I guess I have nothing much to do too cos I don't have an internet connection here. And I can't watch or listening to any of the things in my external hard disk cos I don't have an adapter that its two-pin plug will fit into. I have one, but it's in one of the boxes in storage. I might buy one soon though, so that at least I can do something.

Anyway, this place has been great, especially waking up in the morning and seeing the sunlight spilling into the room. And then lazing around staring out of the window or trying to get warm by sitting where the sun beams fall on the ground (like a cat). More photos when I buy an adapter and get my camera's batteries charged.

Assorted ramblings

2006-08-30T22:34:00.000+08:00

"Hopefully one day I will find a special place that, with some imagination on my part, will be able to evoke in me that same feeling of serenity." [9/8/06]

This might be the place! Maybe I'll go there when I come back next August, if it's not too expensive.

On a side note, my left arm is now aching from the flu vaccine I got after work just now. Last year I actually thought this was a weird phenomenon until another friend who also got the shot confirmed she was feeling the same.

And today a colleague asked me when I'd be flying and then asked, 'Ey, so do you feel as if we're tying you down?' (Referring to me getting less than a week's time to rest and pack up before I fly next Friday.) Aww so sweet, how could I have the heart to say yes? Haha hmm... it's a bit weird to read the previous sentence cos the person asking me is probably older or as old as my mum! Using sweet in her case is a bit odd. But you know what I mean la.

Topic: daily

Discrimination

2006-08-29T22:15:00.000+08:00

Recently the residents in my block, and in the three blocks sharing the same number as mine, have been complaining about flats in the lower floors being leased, mostly to foreign workers. Somehow I can't help but feel that they're making a mountain out of a molehill.

They say it's unsafe, but instead I feel it's unfair of them to accuse the tenants based solely on the fact that they're foreign. Or, more accurately, that they're foreigners from asian countries. I doubt they'll be complaining if the tenants were from other countries. That's blatant discrimination! Coming from educated people, no less. What a disappointment that Singapore is said to be a progressive, multi-racial, multi-cultural, cosmopolitan country, and yet there are still Singaporeans who stereotype asian foreign workers as inferior beings, capable of crime.

I think if they're really so fond of complaining, the time could be better spent complaining about the students from the school right next to our blocks who often loiter in the corridors after school, hanging around and smoking, littering the floor with cigarette stubs. When some shoes belonging to my family (including a pair of mine) placed outside our flat were stolen last year, they were high on my suspect list. Or should I say they were the only ones on my suspect list? Now we only put footwear unworthy of their attention outside the flat. Anyway, enough digression...

Another thing the residents complained about was that by leasing flats to these tenants, the value of the flats in these blocks will surely fall. I don't disagree; this is a fact. And I only agree that the value will fall because the empty flats in the blocks are being leased (as opposed to sold), not because there are foreigners now living in the flats. I'm disgruntled that Singaporeans are so 爱面子 [literally: 'love face'] that they are actually bothered that their flat values will fall. I mean, ok, if they are looking to sell their flat, then they are really affected by this and it's just too bad I guess. But how many people actually bought flats in this area as a form of investment, as opposed to as a place to stay?

I think most people who bought flats here meant to be staying here for some time to come. People in the property market would know better than to invest in flats in such an 'unwanted' estate like mine. In any case, the value of the flats in this area has always been low low low, because nobody was ever interested in this area anyway. Which is why so many of the flats have been empty, leading to some newly (or, used-to-be-newly a few years ago) built flats nearby to remain closed to the public and not-for-sale. Finally, it's led to the flats in the lower floors of our blocks being leased in an attempt to fill up more flats.

Just my random thoughts on the complaining residents, I just thought it's not such a big deal that some tenants are now living in our blocks. Accusing others based on their nationality is plain disgraceful and surely some flats being leased is not going to cause the value of the flats to drop that much lower? (I must highlight that I have absolutely no idea of property values and what not.)

Topic: singapore, hdb flat, complaints

Last week of work

2006-08-28T23:07:00.000+08:00

It's my last week at work, and I'm not going to say it feels like I just started work yesterday because it really doesn't. In fact, I've had quite enough and I'm sick of going to work only to be doing almost nothing for half of the day. At times I wish I had chosen to slack for the whole holidays, like some friend who said, 'It's my holidays, I should relax and do whatever I want.' Hmm ya... but that would mean I would probably be using money out of my savings and not adding a single cent to it.

Actually, I was quite surprised that my teacher could identify with and supported the idea of slacking during holidays, when we met up two weeks ago. She felt that most people think that studying music is a soft option, because to them music is a form of recreation. They don't realise that when we are really absorbed in our work or practices, it gets intense.

Ugh... ok, I must say that sometimes I'm don't concentrate enough during practices. But I admit that my mind tends to wander off quite often when I'm with friends, and I'll be thinking about some passage in a piece, or what some author wrote about something. Not that I find my friends boring, but the brain just wanders off by itself. Once, a person I had just known for a few weeks observed, 'You can really just sit there listening to us for the whole day and not need to say a single word, right?' Haha I think she was mildly surprised, maybe because she's more talkative. But people who know me get used to it anyway.

I think I've spent this holiday quite unproductively slacking- and practising-wise. I haven't spent enough time doing both! Guess I still have September in Birmingham, where I'll probably have less distractions, to get more practising in. That's if I'm not too busy unpacking/moving into the house and looking for a job. Actually I'm wondering if the practice block will be inaccessible until nearer the start of term. Or maybe I'll be able to get in if I register my card with the department secretary, hopefully.

Topic: daily

Gripes and Respect

2006-08-22T22:44:00.000+08:00

I was thinking of resigning earlier than the agreed period of service, but was hesitant cos they do seem quite busy nowadays. But the problem is, there is only this amount of work that they give me. I can't help feeling irritated that I'm wasting time sitting in the office doing nothing when maybe, I could have worked a few packed days a week and spent the rest of the days doing things I'd rather be doing instead.

Now that I finally made up my mind, hardened my heart and asked to resign, they asked me whether I can stay longer and what could I say? I agreed. I guess I should have stood firm. Sigh. Well, I could say it's because she just pointed out that there are some things I haven't completed, but I can swear she never told me to do those things in the first place! I may be a great procrastinator when it comes to my own stuff, but I never procrastinate at work, I've always been doing whatever I'm told to do right after I'm told to do it. I mean, what else can you do at work that will make you procrastinate? She just told me to do something else in addition to what I've already done, but conveniently used it as an excuse to imply that I haven't tied up the ends.

I think I will only ever take up another administration job if it's just a temporary job during my holidays, or if I'm really jobless and desperate to earn money. Er, the previous sentence shall not apply to Birmingham, because I'll only be too happy to find a job there. Hmm, ok so it does apply since this falls under the last category I guess.

Ok, rant over.

Not all is bad about this job, really. The people have all been really nice and they are helpful when I dunno where to get stuff. They are really neck-deep in their work; quite a lot of them stay in the office till later than 10pm, and come into the office some two hours earlier than starting time, to get their work done. Yet they remain dedicated and hardworking, albeit complaining once in a while. But hey, they're entitled to it after all the time they've sacrificed for the company. I respect those people who are so devoted to their job. Hmm yeah, I guess sometimes I get very irritated with that certain her, who will claim I haven't done what she's told me to even though she didn't tell me to do it in the first place. But at other times she's perfectly friendly and cheerful; most people I've gotten to know in the office says it all depends on her mood, so I try not to be too bothered by her anyway.

To think that I've been dreaming of slacking, relaxing, bumming around (as my piano teacher put it) for the remainder of my holidays... oh well. I'll be looking forward to the next summer holidays! Hehe a bit too early for that ya, I should be looking forward to the December holidays. But I'm looking forward to next August (cos I'm only planning to be back for a month), when I'm just going to sit around, go out, do nothing, for the whole month. Yeah! Feeling just a tad more cheerful again...

[*Edit: It's settled, I'll be stopping work next Friday instead of my intended this Friday. Well, not too bad, I'll still get to relax for a week before I leave.]

Topic: gripe, job, daily

It's been a long while

2006-08-20T23:42:00.000+08:00

Wow time really flies. It feels like I've only been back for a short while but I only have two posts since I got back. Blame it on the job, haha. I just feel like slacking for the rest of the day when I get home, and it's the same for weekends.

But despite the work, I'm happy to be back. Really! Although I didn't miss home or have any cravings while I was in Birmingham, now that I'm back I start to crave all the food and sometimes I get tiny bouts of nostalgia when I think of going back to Birmingham in September. But at the same time I'm so excited about living in a new place with new people, having new modules and classmates next year! Oh ya, and worrying about getting a job... that's the important thing. It's very weird to have conflicted feelings...

Other than working and slacking, I've been trying to exercise (aka lose the weight I put on in Birmingham!!!)... I've been swimming on Saturdays and Sundays, and running once a week (most weeks :P). Quite hardworking, right? But I still haven't exactly reduced myself into what I used to be. Well, nevermind. Just a little improvement is still a small step forward.

Now I just have to make sure I finish ripping all the CDs into the external hard disk before I leave, or I'd have lugged them back for nothing. Why was I so stupid to have even lugged them there in the first place? Sigh...

Topic: daily

Sounds familiar...

2006-08-09T22:54:00.000+08:00

[*21/08/06: Back-dated entry. Wrote this some time ago but 'never found time' to post it.]

After watching the first video during the national day parade, I didn't know whether to be sad that we actually have to write variations on the soundtrack from Lord of the Rings, or happy that we are actually brave enough to so blatantly use the movie's soundtrack.

I know it's really hard to write cliche, cheesy, 'grand/majestic/herioc' music like that without feeling disgusted by your own work, so it might have been easier to use someone else's work and still feel disgusted that you actually did that.
But it still feels wrong somehow. What happened to telling us to be creative and original? And telling us to use our own words when answering comprehension questions instead of copying from the passage itself? Er... ok, I guess we just end up paraphrasing the passages anyway.

I think I could accept something that sounds somewhat similar or familiar, but not something like this where the tune and harmony of the original soundtrack are almost completely preserved, other than a countermelody (which is then played as the foreground and hence becoming the melody) written above them.

Topic: singapore, ndp, nationaldayparade

I am Singaporean

2006-08-09T21:18:00.000+08:00

[*21/08/06: Back-dated entry. I am Singaporean meme started by mrbrown. After my brother suggested I could do one too I've been thinking about it on and off... and even when I finally wrote it I never posted it.]

I love 'classical' music, dating back to the middle ages, by composers all over the world.

My nickname in junior college was Debussy, after the French composer whose music I was madly in love with then.

I'm studying music in England, something I most wanted to do since I was 17. I am really grateful to my parents and aunt, without whom I would never have had the opportunity to do so.

I love the wide open spaces in England, and I hope I can make use of this opportunity to do some rambling in the countryside someday.

I wish there were such landscapes in Singapore, but I understand that she's just too small. Hopefully one day I will find a special place that, with some imagination on my part, will be able to evoke in me that same feeling of serenity. And if that fails, I can still make short trips to scenic spots in the region (when I have money).

I'd love to live in a little cottage in the countryside, or even just a house in the suburbs or city. But I wouldn't be able to afford either. Neither will I stay in England after I graduate, because I plan to return to Singapore and start working to repay the huge sums of money I'd have spent by then.

I dream of living in my own house (ok, flat), where I can have some space to myself and set up a studio where I can lock myself in with the piano, and perhaps teach. But I know I wouldn't be able to afford a private apartment, no matter how small it is. Maybe, just hopefully, I might be able to purchase a 2 or 3-room HDB flat when I turn 35.

I once entertained thoughts of staying in England after I graduate, not concerned about whatever kind of jobs I might have to take on to eke a living there. But I no longer hold on to this idea. I think it will be much easier for me to find a job in Singapore, after having tried so hard to find one during my first year in Birmingham, although there might be a wider range of jobs in the music field abroad.

In the end, it's my family, friends, memories, and maybe the future, that keep me here in Singapore.

My name is Jessica.

And I am Singaporean.

Topic: iamsingaporean

Got a job at last

2006-07-14T08:32:00.000+08:00

Seems like all employers don't think I can take up a sales or customer-related position. I originally applied for a customer service job but the job agency called and suggested this admin job instead. But the dates are really quite good la, this job ends just four days before I leave.

However I can't help but feel lazy to get up every morning and go to work. And I keep catching myself thinking that I had accepted this job too hastily for someone who's been so intent on getting a sales/customer-related job. Sighs but if I keep waiting around I might just end up slacking the whole holiday! Not like I'm not slacking now, I haven't touched the piano for even a second since I started work on Wednesday. Not surprising that this makes me think that this job is such a bad idea. But anyway... whatever.

The first day was actually quite busy until late afternoon, but yesterday I didn't have too many things to do since the 'Little Boss (LB)' was away. And 'Tiny Boss (TB)' didn't seem to have lots of things she wanted to let me do hehehehe so happy. Weird nicknames haha. Hmm it goes something like this. 'Big Boss (BB)' is the person whom I reported to on the first day, but LB and TB are the people who'll be giving me work to do.

YAY it's Friday! Can leave half an hour early! And LB is away today too! Why is it that when you're at home you try to find a job but when you find one you feel like quitting?!

Topic: daily

Back...

2006-06-30T23:15:00.000+08:00

Yep been back for some time but I haven't felt like blogging or doing anything much (including practicing). Blame it on the weather, I think. AND the construction work going on somewhere in the lower levels of my block. The drilling seems to go right into my head.

I went shopping with KK on Monday... we watched She Is The Man, and in the evening we went to Esplanade to watch the performance of Emz's (& the rest of Les Six) piece for the art installation at the concourse. All the pieces made an impression in their own different ways, it was real cool! KK got me a birthday present in advance (a book, obviously...) which I just started reading today in the room furthest from the source of the drilling noise, cos I just couldn't do anything else.

Been looking for a job too but I haven't been successful. I can't blame anybody except myself, cos I'm quite specifically looking for jobs that are sales/retail-related or at the very least customer service-related. I'm convinced that it's going to make it easier for me to find a job when I return to Birmingham, since lots of employers prefer people with experience. Hope I find a job soon! =)

Topic: daily

Efficiency

2006-06-17T00:10:00.000+08:00

Met V, a friend from Hong Kong, this afternoon because I asked her if she could help me move my stuff to storage. I had lots of shopping bags full of stuff since I didn't have many boxes, so V suggested I should go to Access Self Storage to buy more boxes.

When we got to the place, there were many people waiting to be served. Quite a lot of them were there to 'open a storage space' and at least two people were moving their things in for the first time so they were waiting for staff to remove the locks on the doors of their reserved spaces. However, there was only one person at the counter. The day when I went to reserve a space there was also only one guy at the counter. I was telling V that if they knew the summer holiday period was usually quite busy due to international students storing their stuff, they should have more staff working per shift. I waited around for a rather long time and in the end we decided to go to Argos instead.

At Argos, we decided that the boxes were too unreasonably priced. So V suggested that she could loan me her boxes since she wouldn't be travelling home this summer. So in the end we went to the city centre for very much nothing. But anyway thanks V for lending me boxes and helping me bring them to my room too! And helping me squeeze my stuff in >.<

to this.

Haha ya I was that messy and pathetic, using shopping bags and cereal boxes but now I have real boxes! :)

Topic: daily

Packing

2006-06-16T00:46:00.000+08:00

I'm sort of done packing and tomorrow I'll be bringing the all the barang barang to the storage place, Access Self Storage. I'm just hoping I didn't leave anything out.

I'm feeling evil that I decided not to sing in chamber choir for the Summer Festival, cos I'm scared I can't manage packing etc plus sing for the concert. Hmm... looks like I made a mistake in choosing the date to 'start the storage thing', maybe I shouldn't have chosen the same day of the concert. But anway, don't think anyone would mind as long as I return the scores.

Now the whole room is in a mess. Bleargh

Topic: daily

2 jokers in my house next year

2006-06-14T01:36:00.000+08:00

This evening I went to pay my rent for the house I'll be moving into in September, cos I wouldn't be back in Birmingham until mid-September so I have to pay in advance. I probably haven't mentioned that due to a certain twist of events, I'll be sharing a house with four other guys next year. (If there are any cousins reading this, please hush, I'm not supposed to let my grandma know ok?) Two of them are Singaporeans, one is Russian and one is from Hong Kong.

I couldn't really remember how we got there the last time to sign the contract, so I contacted MIB, one of the Singaporeans. Ya that was his initials on his cheque book, quite cool right. Ok, anyway, when I found out that MIB was planning to pay his rent one of these days I asked him whether I could tag along. And it was good that I did, cos if I didn't I'd probably have walked in circles for dunno how long before I took the right route. At the same time I realised that I'd be staying with two jokers next year, MIB and his Russian course-mate S.

On the way to our landlord's shop, we were about to cross a road when suddenly,
MIB: ey later when we cross the road we have to bend down.
me: ...??? Huh, why? *Looks around quizzically wondering about the lack of any low obstacles over the road*
MIB: elderly, what.
me: o_O *Sees an 'elderly' road sign across the road* Oh!!!!
We both burst out in laughter. After a while, I find it a lame joke, but I sometimes wonder at the speed of MIB's brain. Do all 'computer' people think so fast? (He studies er, I forgot what, something with a computer in it la)

When we found the shop the landlord started to explain that we could write twelve cheques, one for each month, and date it for that month etc etc, and then he had to leave to help serve the customers. His shop is something like a mama shop, or like a mini ECON Mini Mart if you know what I'm referring to. It sells the usual snacks, drinks etc that mama shops sell, and then it sells canned foods, frozen food, milk, bread, magazines, newspapers, alcohol, cigarettes, birthday cards, whatever cards, and rents DVDs.

So we wrote our cheques for September's rent and waited for him to finish serving the customers. When the landlord came back and realised we had only written one cheque each, he was like, 'You can write twelve cheques blah blah blah... you understand?' This was directed at me cos I suppose the first time he mentioned that I had a quizzical look on my face so he thought I didn't understand how that worked.
MIB: I think she wants to come here and pay you every month. She wants to see you every month.
Me: ...
Landlord: *after a few seconds, realises the joke* hahaha, you naughty boy, say such things.

It was really funny LOL. That was MIB's way of stopping the continuous 'twelve cheques' thing. Nah, our landlord is a nice man, he's very sincere about touching up the paint, door etc of the house before we move in. And I know he was just trying to save us the trouble of having to go to his shop every month, or post him a cheque every month. But as MIB said later, on our way back to the university, 'Go to his shop every month also good what, every month get free drink.' Haha it's true, when we went to sign the contract he told us to grab a bottle of soft drink each on our way out, and this time he did the same thing again. But this time we didn't take any, er cos I'm trying to lose the 'winter weight', whether or not it's actually 'winter weight' is beyond me... anyway I just try.

Yep, so on the way back MIB was saying that S's jokes are even more 'cruel', as he put it. What he really meant was that S was very good at cracking jokes. And that he hasn't even cracked the more 'need to use brain' jokes yet. Alright! Bring it on man! What's better than living with two jokers who can entertain me and make my brains work at the same time. Hehe I think next year will be amusing indeed.

Topic: humour, daily

Bath

2006-06-13T00:19:00.000+08:00

As I mentioned, I went to Bath with Poot and Celine last Friday. The train ride was about one hour plus, and we had to first take a train to Bristol Temple Meads station before taking another train to Bath Spa station.

Bath is a very charming little town. Even when we were in the middle of the city, most of the time I could catch glimpses of the countryside through gaps in buildings. We reached Bath at around 11 plus and were planning to catch a free walking tour at 2pm so we just took a walk around the city taking photos before having lunch and lounging about in a beautiful park where Celine and I got terribly sunburnt. The walking tour was great, we got to see the city and at the same time were educated about architecture. The guide was not exactly very interesting (he used to be a teacher and we know teachers are boring :P), but I was really interested in what he was saying cos all the talk about ornate decorations, 'the age of reason', the proportions of the buildings, the symmetry and what not paralleled what was taking place in the musical styles during the respective periods. It's one thing to look at pictures and another to see them in real life with a guide explaining at the same time. Anyway, photos!

Bath Abbey

Left of which was the Roman Bath, which regretfully we found too expensive to visit. And neither did I take any picture of it cos there wasn't anything much to see from the outside. The England flags on top of the abbey where supposedly there because of the World Cup fever, our guide later told us.

The park where we had lunch and then proceeded to get sunburnt in deck chairs

We paid 1 pound to get into this park, and it was worth it. It was not very crowded, unlike the Royal Cresent where there were lots of young people sunbathing and playing everywhere. Haha Celine deviously took that last photo just after I thought she had already taken a picture and looked down at my camera.

The Royal Cresent

According to our walking tour guide, the low 'rock wall', in the the olden days, served to separate the peasants from the more distinguished people. The grass on both the higher and lower 'tiers' would be cut such that they reached up to the same height. So the peasants would have been standing deeper in the grass.

As we were on the walking tour, we heard some music playing. It sounded like... a harp? A guitar? A mandolin? A shop playing a CD? We turned a corner to discover a very talented musician playing some cylinder-like thing with two mallets in each hand.

Some sights of the city

As you can see, it was breath-taking. And you can glimpse the countryside in the second photo. I'd rather visit Bath than London anyday.

Topic: travel, bath

Things I'll miss when I leave

2006-06-10T23:35:00.000+08:00

I've been slacking too much. Now I really have to start packing. ARGH. Wonder whether I should buy a weighing scale to see how heavy the luggages are so that I won't exceed the weight limit??? Celine left this morning... and she won't be coming back (other than to visit) cos she's a one-year exchange masters student from France. I wonder how I will feel when I leave in 2008. But for now, here are some things I will miss:

The sun + cool breeze combination in summer (uh, when there is a breeze la)
The cold winds during autumn/winter/spring (it's freezing but quite shiok too)
The sights all around me (e.g. trees/plants in full bloom, stark tree branches in winter)
The harpsichord(s)!
The blue skies (ok this can be counted in No.3, but I just suddenly thought of it)
The walking (I love to walk, especially in silence/alone)
The amazing opportunities to travel (ok I know I haven't made much use of it but student mah, must be thrifty and must study! I'll try to utilise my time well next summer)
The squirrels everywhere (even in dustbins sometimes)
The more relaxed, laid back pace (other than essay/assignment submissions of course)
Hot water taps (so efficient for washing the dishes)

But there are also things I look forward to when I go home:

Family and friends (of course)
My piano (er so-so la, but not having to walk to school to practise will be a plus)
The beach! And the sun (not so much the sun now, cos I dunno if I might be permanently lobster-coloured when I go back)
The food (? think I'm weird cos I don't really get cravings for anything except once in a long time)
Taking mrt's and buses again (instead of walking and occasionally taking buses or trains)
A job (hopefully if I can find one?)
Shopping (? maybe, but I'm not very keen on shopping unless it's CDs heh)
No more big fat hairy bees suddenly appearing when I'm walking (in summer) or smaller bees seeking warmth in my room (in autumn/winter)
Shops and stuff not closing so early (only pubs/clubs will remain open at night here)
The efficiency
Being able to still be out in the middle of the night and not worrying too much about safety (as opposed to really silent/deserted and dimly lit streets here. Even if a street in Singapore is empty at least it'll be brightly lit unless u're really in some ulu place la. Or is the night sky here darker??? Maybe there are more trees, which makes it darker.)

I'm not looking forward to:

More mosquitos (there are mozzies here that are thinner and longer, but maybe they don't like my blood or maybe they got squashed by me if they hid under my duvet before I go to bed *evil laugh* So far I've only seen and killed two ever since the start of warmer weather, ok make that 3 cos I just saw a big one.)
Cockroaches and lizards (I haven't seen any in my flat/room, not that I'm complaining, but I've only seen lizards once or twice out of rooms. Cockroach count = 0)

Topic: birmingham, singapore

Roasted

2006-06-10T00:41:00.000+08:00

I went to Bath with Poot and Celine, her flatmate, today. Had lots of fun and got really sunburnt! Yes it's really hot here now... sometimes I think it's even hotter or at least as hot as Singapore. Here's a comparison between my leg and arm to show how burnt I got.

Think the few times I ever got this red was only during camps or maybe in secondary school when we were rehearsing formations during band prac. Actually, I think I've only been so burnt once or twice before. Or maybe I forgot. Or my skin has gotten so used to autumn/winter such that I became a 白斩鸡 ('white chicken' in chicken rice terminology) and then it was very prone to becoming red. Feeling hot all over and itchy!!!! ARGH. Luckily I don't really have to go out until Monday, and hopefully by then I don't look so lobster-like anymore.

Will update with photos of Bath soon when I get more photos.

Topic: daily

London again

2006-06-07T23:13:00.000+08:00

Poot and I went to London one day after our exams. But I was very sian after that and was too lazy to blog about it. So... the highlights of our trip:

Buckingham Palace

Horses seen near Hyde Park

The guys look so small on such big horses. Their euphoniums and tubas look miniature and light too. Haha ok maybe I'm too used to seeing asians with instruments la.

Hyde Park

It gave me a very beach-like feel.

National History Museum

I like the egg-size comparison thing. The smallest is the hummingbird egg, shown with the nest also, and there's the chicken egg. The white one is the ostrich egg, but I forgot what the two biggest eggs are -__-''' Oh ya, the odd-looking egg behind the chicken egg is very special cos its conical shape prevents it from rolling off cliffs and stuff where the bird usually has its nest. I'm such a geek hor?

Tower Bridge

We were very lucky and some ship happened to want to come through. Lots of people gathered to watch. Haha ok, maybe the Londoners were not that interested but they had no choice except to wait till the bridge was lowered before they can cross.

And Poot spotted a rainbow!

Sometimes you have to slow down to notice things. The last time I saw a rainbow was on a busy street and people were just going by without noticing too. Or possibly they noticed but were not interested.

Topic: travel, london

11 days to go

2006-06-07T16:06:00.000+08:00

Will be back home in eleven days!!!

Nowadays I'm just about doing nothing... going for chamber choir rehearsals that's all. Actually really quite diao to go also, cos there are only two year ones including me plus I'm not even a singer lor. But nevermind la, there are also some non-singers so I don't feel too out of place. Otherwise I will really have nothing to do for summer festival liao. I wanted to practise a lot since I'm so free, but it feels really weird to go to the practice block now cos it's so empty. Other than small chamber groups or duet-ters practising, there isn't anyone else. And then I'll feel so extra to be there. Like, 'What?! Why is some enthu-kia still practising when all the 2nd/3rd year recitals are over?!' (assuming they dunno it's a first year). Somemore I'm like learning new pieces also, play until really CMI... so I'd rather the practice block be full and noisy. Anyway, I'm very good at sleeping in late also la, that just gives me yet another excuse not to go to school hehe.

I have to start packing my stuff also. Packed two boxes so far, one has books that I'm not planning to bring back, and the other was for all the winter coats/jackets/whatever you call them. Haha they were so thick I had to squash them into the box but it's good that they managed to fit. Can't believe it. Time flies. It feels quite odd now thinking of leaving Birmingham for Singapore, but it's almost like the same feeling I had thinking of leaving Singapore for Birmingham. I think I will never be content living in any country cos each has its own pros and cons. I just really hope I will have the opportunity of travelling round the world, even if I do it in my eighties haha.

Hmm recently I just discovered that a Hong Kong friend and I really share lots of similarities. Especially that we don't want to get married and have children. To us, married = no freedom. Married + children = even less freedom. Haha I know it's really selfish of us to think this way. But from another point of view, we get to enjoy freedom without being selfish towards our family (as in, spouse and children). And both of us would really love to travel. Er actually who wouldn't? I think tourism must be one of the richest industries around. Ya, so family = no money/time to travel.

I think the main reason for both of us was that we feel very strongly about having personal space/time. We realised this when she asked me whether I'd prefer to stay with my parents if I had a choice and I said no. It's not because we don't love or care for our parents, just that we'd really prefer to live alone. The point is, you need to have the money to be able to live alone in Singapore if you're under 35. And people change. We realise that by our mid-thirties, who knows, anything can change. Haha what a nonsensical rant, I know I will never be able to buy my own house.

Anyway the point was that we found it quite amusing that we would never have thought of each other as the sort of person who doesn't want to start a family. I always get people telling me that I look like I'd make a good mother i.e. 'you look motherly' *puke*. Not like I don't like kids, actually I'd really like to work with kids but cos of the reasons above I'd rather not have my own. Ya. And so this friend also looks like the 'motherly' type (whatever you think that looks like haha). All these 'you look like ____' are usually stereotypes anyway.

Having conversations with this friend was both quite funny yet beneficial also. Haha cos I'd be trying to speak in Cantonese, but as soon as I've spoken a sentence I'll switch back to English. My Cantonese always sounds weirdly accented. Like when I try to speak English English haha. But hearing her speak in Cantonese was good cos my brain can actually start to try to think in Cantonese also so that the brain thinks of the sound of the words before I say them. Rather than thinking in English or Chinese and then trying to say what I want to say in Cantonese. Whatever, I know I'm just crapping on a lot of non-related and irrelevant stuff in this post. Just suddenly felt like typing something just now, procrastinating the packing mah.

topic: daily

2006-05-31T22:31:00.000+08:00

It's funny how during exams or during term I really felt like blogging but now that the school year is over I can't find anything to say. Ya. I think most of the time I'm keeping this blog just for the sake of keeping it.

Looking forward to going back to Singapore though, but I really hope I can get my piano standard back up before that or maybe one week after... really want to continue lessons with my teacher.

Choosing modules now also. There are so many modules I'm interested in that it's really hard to choose one over another. I wish I had five years here to do them all or something. Dunno, I shall see. Next year's going to be something of a fresh start again I guess, new people to meet in new classes, new place to stay, new courses... and of course, getting extremely busy. Hope everything will work out in the end.

topic: daily

last minute

2006-05-21T00:13:00.000+08:00

临时抱佛脚。 [literally: hugging Buddha's leg at the last minute]

It's a bit too late to lament that I never went home after each Text lesson and re-read, re-wrote, and revised the notes I took during lesson. So now when I find I need the notes, they are disorganised scribblings in pencil all over a few pieces of paper. And my scribbling during class is... as 'bit-ty' as it can get. Some bits I have to take ages to realise what I meant when I wrote something down. Sigh.

Sort of done going through the notes. Was going to rewrite everything but I think there might not be time and in any case Poot and I discussed quite a number of the set works over the phone yesterday and this morning, so I'm going to count that as ample revision of the notes. Think I'll go sleep now, then wake up early tomorrow and write essays on each movement of the works. Maybe not every single movement of every single work la. See how... cos I dunno which movements to question-spot also!

[Apologies to anyone offended by this crude depiction of Buddha's foot. Absolutely no offense or blasphemy was intended.]

topic: daily