sophiatai :)

Our perfect little graduation ceremony

2012-11-01T09:38:00.001-07:00

It started yesterday.

It was as if the latch had come undone, the flood gates set wide open, the stream (or rather torrent) of tweets came flooding the timeline. It was not that everyone suddenly realised that the last day of school has arrived; everyone had been waiting for it with bated breathe, wishing it that it wouldn't come. Now that it had, there's no running away any more. One, being that there's no where to run, second being that... It's the sodding last day of school.

Today, everyone took photos enough to last for a lifetime. Everyone ate, everyone laughed. Today, we even had 2 periods of Chinese. We watched Robert walked out of our classroom for the last time (but never out of our lives) and wrote more of those 纪念册. We laughed even more when we saw Marcus's pants drawn with inappropriate sexual innuendos. We smiled for the camera until our facial muscles had spasms. We saluted to our SC2SCA plate on top of the door. Our class teacher was even more motherly if that was possible and gave us pencil boxes so that everyone could take matching pencil boxes to take the final exam of our high school lives. According to her, if you're ever stuck on maths, touch it and the answer will come.

But the highlight was during the last 30 minutes of the last school day: we had our own graduation ceremony. Graduation ceremony was something that we, the Form 5 drop outs will never ever come to experience. It may seem fickle for wanting something like that, but a graduation ceremony signifies the end of an amazing journey as well as the starting of another. So, for weeks, photos of another people's graduation plagued us endlessly.

For our graduation, we had a cake. We had a camera preaching dangerously on top of a stack of books (couldnt stop laughing when kim yip kept stacking book after book). We had the entire Senior 2 Science A sitting on the floor, some on the chair. We had 30 minutes. 30 minutes wasn't too long or too short, but it was the exact length of this graduation ceremony of ours.

First, Ah Boon went up and spoke. He even had the speech written out hahhahha. He thanked everyone - I was actually picking on my shoelaces when he said my name. Lol thank you. When he thanked the guys, he said 'the guys' which earned jeers. Ahhahhaa.

Then Yan Lum went up and gave a speech. She is our class monitor, kindda like our another mummy! When she said she didn't do her job well, I was like: 'pssh, if you cannot, who else can?' Ahhahah. Then J-Sern. Then Zheng Yi. Then Min Rong. He obviously has to speak because he's the valedictorian. Finally Yiwen.

And then we watched the last minute slipped past, heard the bell rang but not really registering anything, took a final photo and left. Some people stayed back for the cake.

But the point was, it was simple. It was simple and humble. There was no robes, no hotels, no prom, no cert. It was just ALL of us SR2SCA people together, in the same room for one last time.

It was perfect in a sense that the entire thing was us. In KC, we had to fight tooth and nail for every opportunity we had, we craved for acknowledgement. Back in junior high, while I watched people go to Leo charity dinners and all that, I had to stay at home and study Chinese Geography class test for the next day. While another schools had a plethora of information regarding college and various scholarships, we had no idea because the school wanted us to stay for Senior 3. We had it much more tougher than anybody else especially during Junior High because of UEC.

Right until now, when we are in Form 5, we couldn't have a proper prom. These are just the tip of the iceberg. But that's just the way it is. And because of all that, every single adversity that has been flung in our way, we are actually tougher, if maths homework is any indication.

And so, we threw our own graduation ceremony because we always do our own thing. And it was perfect in that sense. Because it represented us, all that is going to be and all that we can be.

SR2SCA 2012.

Pre SPM

2012-10-12T02:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the Friday of the one week study break our school has graciously given us.

I'm afraid.

At times, I'm confident - only to have the paper back, ridden with errors. A slew of careless mistakes, errors that are not supposed to be made, marks that are not supposed to be lost. To think that I was so confident, only to lose to all these type of mistakes. It's like you're on top of the world, the next you're in ma li an na hai gou. (Heh, my Chinese geo is still hanging on.)

At times, I'm not confident. And God knows how much I hate that feeling. I extremely dislike looking at a question that I don't know how to do. But then again, I love that feeling of facing a challenge and sitting down with a cup of tea and solving it. I love the thrill of searching for an answer, even more when I emerge triumphant with an answer, any answer.

Of course, these situation are best when not met in the exam hall.

I think the only thing keeping me on, egging me forward is the thought of attending my White Coat ceremony. In Cornell, I hope. I even got my whole business plan mapped out. I shall have my own vet clinic, but not just your normal vet clinic. I don't want the usual green, blue, dark, damp looking clinic. For one, my clinic would have better tiles. Non slippery yet not too awful looking. Second, I would have a small room for grooming services, hopefully employ someone. I would also have a mini pet shop, selling pet food, leashes, collars, toys etc except for living animals. I'm against pet shops selling animals because these animals come from mostly illegal/backyard breeders and inhumane puppy mills. Considering the boom of pet shops selling puppies here in KL, I'll say... puppy mill owners, go to hell.

Most kids my age don't even know what they want to do, yet here I am, sure and decided. Sometimes I wonder that is it possible that because I'm so sure and determined, confident, that I might be blind. What if my passion for veterinary science can only last this long? So I reviewed it again. Why do I want to be a vet? Because animals need a voice and I volunteer mine. Because I understand animals.Because animals are surprisingly a lot more humane than you would believe.Because I want to do good everyday and what better way to do that than through my job.

Because I would be happy.

Alright, I'll go study now seeing that's Friday already. Off to spend my Friday night with Sejarah text book because Sejarah is happening on the first week.

The Strange Familiarity

2012-04-30T03:01:00.000-07:00

Between school, keeping a watchful eye at my curfew (set it at 10 plus. Never happened. Keeping a watchful eye means watching the clock hands move until 12am and say: 'Screw it. Bed!' Then go on a rampant homework copying the next morning. Story of my life.) and everything else in between, I'm beat. Everyone has been living off graph paper and the trepidation of our Chinese teacher who got very pissed at us because we failed to deliver what she wanted. 2 Chinese essays within 3 days - school hours only and it's all very factual. We survived.

Our school's forum team won first place in the Zon C category of the Chinese Independent High School Forum Competition. I left lengthy letters for Yiwen, because that's what I do best. She's at this thing, pronouncing all her r's meticulously like a champion letter pronouncer could because that's she does best. (But apparently, keeping her tie straight is the thing she does worst. *rolls eyes*) Li Teng was also at this thing, winning all the judges over with her sweet voice because that's what she does second best. The best is kicking ass in Chemistry and all the other subjects. Joelle is out in the sun, sleeping, eating and breathing volleyball because that's what she does best. Jess still has the best handwriting which is amazing to keep up with.

J-Sern is still him but with a shiny new phone. Min Rong still has got his lunch packed out for him. Saw Boon has yet to reach a conclusion on how the new video is going to be. Yung Wai still gives beautiful birthday present to Wan Rong.

So you see there, some things never change.

***

At every assembly, a class is chosen to perform - normally the senior classes. As we're the oldest, our class started first. Our theme for that week was something along the lines of 'Be green. Save The Earth.' Thus, the whole 2012 cross The Day After Tomorrow that was the product of our class performance. I wonder how much George Lucas would rate on our Darth Vader. All in all, it was fun to do despite all the hard work behind (or at least the hard work I see people pouring into it. I just painted the words 'bathtub' on the cardbox boxes with 1+ and Hui Xian's help :) )

In the morning, I met Li Teng at the lift, both equally nervous and excited. When we got to class, I saw people moving all the props to the hall and at that moment, I was touched. People who said all A class students are selfish, look at this now. Joelle held the door of the lifts while Li Teng and I dumped our bags in class and I tore my bag apart, searching for my contacts.

The scriptwriters.

Everyone went to the hall early and helped set up. Jess just went to the hall straight and thank god for her pencil box because half way, Chong Jun's beak fell apart and we stapled it back. When assembly started, only a few students were left backstage - the rest had to go to sit in the hall. Although being told to be quiet, we spoke in nervous chatter. Damon Sr hung around my neck heavily - I tried my hand at shooting videos, just consider it as a practise for Science Camp lol. When the play was executed perfectly, I yelped in joy. Everyone else looked at me like I was crazy but the happiness is incorrigible.

But then, we found out that the video that was originally taken during assembly was crooked! The boy (from photography club too may I add!) didn't put it properly on the tripod but it's okay because we.... Just know that we saved it.

The video is up on facebook! So go and help yourselves :) Ah boon edited it in a way that the ending was so hauntingly beautiful.

Our last ever interclass sports competition :) It wasn't all roses and play, in fact it was a little Anna Nicole Smith. Because when you're standing there, in that neat little court, you back people up and people back you up. It's a simple give and take. Betraying that simple balance is like a blackhole, it grows bigger as it feeds on your discontentment.

Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun. I nearly died laughing when the boys were cheering us on. During PE, teacher told us to chant 'Li A Wei Wei' because 'it rhymes.' So when we were playing, they were all 'Li A Wei Wei' AHHAHAHHAHAH. Died.

(Looks good enough to be on their pamphlet. Speaking of which, Taylor's has one of the best uni/college pamphlets around.)

Taylor's invited us to their Science Discovery Day. We were neatly separated into groups which I was apprehensive about. I was paired off with Ah Boon for the day. He wasn't that bad of a company :D. The day was also neatly separated into 3 sections: Pharmacy, Medicine and Biotech. Our first stop was Pharmacy and we learnt about the hardness of each tablet. How hard it has to be, how fragile it is, used a machine that calculates the sugar content.

Then, we made our own laxative with acacia powder and butanol. Or was it propanol. I couldn't remember now. We had to mix the thing continuously to obtain a homogeneous solution, hhahaha sore hands.

Next, we went for Medicine. A 2nd year medical student explained and showed us a video on the endocrine system. He asked questions and we actually got some of it right. Then he said: 'We're going to do an experiment. With a mouse. One normal, one with the thyroid gland removed....'

Wtf. I was like 'omg what. That is just too cruel. I would never allow it. I would never participate in this atrocity. I will walk out this instan...'

A screen popped out and showed 3 mouses. It was an interactive experiment. AHAHHAHHAA.

I understood what he was getting at. Even though his question were more directed to the A-level students, Ah boon and I still answered his question - raised our hands and what not. Then when it came to picking somebody to do the experiment, the guy picked me. 'The girl at the back.' He looked expectantly in my direction. I looked around. People were looking at me. I was confused. 'Me?' I asked. 'Yes, you. Please.' He held out a hand towards the keyboard and mouse. So I jumped off the high chair and went to press on the mouse. Later, in true A class fashion, Johannah, Pui Xin, Keng Sang, Ah Boon and I were googling about it on my phone.

This room smelled funny, probably because it was dark and not exposed to sunlight nor aired for a long time I think. We learnt about a machine that can calculate red blood cell, white blood cell etc. I thought it was the dullest session in the entire day. I heard that last year, they got to see a dead body. But this year, we had artificial blood. The guy held a vial of blood, that thing was in no way, real blood. But still, somebody went: 'Real blood!' In the end, we confirmed it was artificial blood.

Finding out blood type.

After this, we went for lunch. I had Nasi Briyani :)

It was Biotech after lunch. We had to isolate our DNA. It was pretty funny because we were late and rushed around. Ah Boon, J-Sern, Chun Hong and I were running to the lab. Then we entered the wrong lab. 'Eh no. You here. I there.' 'Okay! okay!' *runs past each other to the other lab beside*

This is me with the micro pipette.

As it happened, I lost track of where I placed the soy. We came up with 2 browns so we did it again. It was quite messy. In the end, all the other groups couldn't get the correct reading except... DUM DUM DUM, our group! So proud of this experiment. Hahaha.

That was our last experiment.

This is Sam.

This is J-Sern's fancy ass DNA.

The last part of the day was to split into groups and form the longest line. We (most of the Form 5s) didn't bother much about the groups and united to be one big group. We placed everything - belts, socks, paper, bags, shoelaces, shirts, human - on the floor. Needless to say, we won! Best part of the day!

Thank you Taylor's for organizing this :)

A drop in the ocean

2012-02-21T03:45:00.001-08:00

Between juggling school, work, co-curricular, a lot of me-time, The Vampire Diaries on Fridays, there is hardly any time left for anything else. Thus is the life of a Form 5 student. But we still had time for these.

This was last year. We went to GIS's Mufti Day, an invitation extended by Rachel, whom I finally got to meet (officially) that day. Junee was there too, I missed that dude.

Such a classic - the princess and the frog. Ahhahaahahhaa. Happy birthday, Lee Min Rong! :)

My family and I went to a fishing village on the way to Sasaran International Arts Festival 2011. My dad who found a sudden appreciation for all things abstract, drove us there and I spent a good 5 minutes on every painting, laughing.

We went to Li Teng's house during CNY, we weren't gambling. We were helping Li Teng's mum put money into the red packets and then do an experiment determining which is better paperweight - an Anglia can or an orange?

I really appreciated it. Putting us all in one house means that there's going to be spilled drinks, dirty floor, noisy Saturday night and constant supervising (in case someone creeps off). So, thank you Li Teng's parents for having us over.

The next day, we went to teacher's place. Thank you too :)

This was last year. A year just passed by like that, we changed a lot in terms of personality and appearance. But that's what Time does to you, it changes and shapes you. Okay bye. No lengthy blogpost today because I have a Chemistry tuition in approximately 20 minutes. Bye. :)

Damon Sr.

2011-12-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today (yesterday) is the day I bid my 550D goodbye. I was quite heavy-hearted to let it go, it has served me well after all. I took it everywhere I went even though it wasn't exactly convenient, that camera was pretty much my 3rd eye. Plus, it was my first DSLR. They say to never name things because then you will grow affectionate towards said item. I named the camera Damon, after Vampire Diaries' Damon Salvatore. (Mid season break now! Killing me!) So, bye :'(

OKAY, I sound kindda psycho. But c'mon, look at me in the eye and tell me you don't have a thing that you are terribly affectionate about.

But in Damon's place, I have a new toy - a 60D. Thanks Snowflakes! 60D is heavier, it's very heavy. And I have small hands so when I hold the 550D it's just right but with the 60D, I have to stretch my fingers a bit ( fingers, grow!)

The good thing that I cannot get enough is the in-camera processing! So pro. Toy camera, B&W, miniature effect and then you can edit the white balance and save it as a JPEG. Love max. Other thing is the white balance, you can set whichever temperature that fits your situation when the settings that are already in the camera doesn't suit. LOVE. 550D didn't have that and I had to use custom white balance but then the color is really white when I preferred it to be a little warm.

Not to mention, the tilty swivelly screen. Now I can shoot from the waist and people wouldn't even notice. :) Nice feature. I bought the LCD screen protector in Bangkok cheap so I just stick it on. The lens pen is sold for 150 baht which was cheap considering for how much I paid for my first lens pen. Of course, the quality differ so I am probably not going to use the cheap one on the lens but instead on the build.

AHHH. Can't wait. My dad got excited too so he said he would take me to some fishing village. I didn't even know. My mum sat on the edge of my bed, looking forlornly at the 60D when she said: 'Your dad is bringing you to somewhere tomorrow right?' And I was like huh. What? How? When? Why? Then Dad came marching into my room and said: 'That's because she doesn't even know. I haven't told her yet.'

Wherever that is, I'm going even with my broken leg. (Inflammed tendon, long story.) And maybe I should stop gushing like a teenage girl and go to sleep. Jeez, I gush when I'm excited.

Ending this blogpost with the introduction of my new toy, Damon Sr. (You're so uncreative with names!) I thought it was only appropriate that he's (it's a he now, not it) called Damon Sr. because the 60D is an upgrade from the 550D. Besides I didn't have any names left. The other name I contemplated was Tyler but Tyler is such a kiss ass right now. My camera's namesake will not be someone who is easily controlled. (But a 160 year old vampire who is in love with his brother's girlfriend is okay.)

Lillian & Cherming

2011-12-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

Weddings are beautiful things, I witnessed one (strictly speaking, two) recently. At my aunt's wedding,she was like: 'How many professional photographers did I hire? Why so many cameras!' So, I figured out that since all the 'ordinary' shots were pretty much covered, then I should just cover the same little details that nobody notices. I like details. :)

And, no writing today. All pictures. Moo Yiwen has been complaining non-stop about my usual lengthy blogposts for the past few days! >:(

Bridesmaid of honour helping bride's mum with fake eyelashes.

The 'delight' we prepared for the groom and company. ;)

They smuggled a bunny!

I didn't take much photos after this because I was on bridesmaid duty. I did much of the negotiating thus earning the title 'The Negotiator'. But I think it's partially because I shoved the measly 2 dollars back to the groom and yelled: '2 dollars?! Who do you think I am? Housekeeping?' Ahahaha. Everyone who was standing behind me went 'ooooooo' and clapped. hahhah :)

In the evening, everyone wore cheongsam. Photos soon? :)

Comeback! (Where's my stage?)

2011-12-10T10:11:00.001-08:00

Hi! Finally blogging after a long while.So what could possibly explain my sudden urge to blog again? It's actually a product of good music, holidays and a tiny hint of regret. I thought I might regret it one day when we're all old and wrinkly, someone would say: 'Remember that time....? Nope, sorry. I don't remember any time.'

Yesterday, it was the last day of school. So far, some people said that they were quite heavy hearted to leave school. Please. I couldn't be more glad to be on holiday. :) And to celebrate, we went to watch an above-18 movie! >:) How devilish!

Yiwen freaked out so much, it was funny. She Whatsapp me photos of bags lined properly in a row and asked me to choose one. Hhahaa, now I know how people feel when I do that to them. It's normally me who's asking for fashion advice. Over at the another side. J-Sern lamented: 'walao, prom meh?' Ahahahahhaha.

On the very last day of school, we said goodbye to Miss Anita and Junee Kok. Miss Anita was one of the most compassionate teachers ever. I am pretty heavy hearted to let her go. :(

Photo credits to Joelle.

After receiving money (going up the stage twice and giving this awkward bow twice), we went to Mid Valley to watch Na Xie Nian. It's a movie based on the book of the same name. I'm personally a fan of the book but I will never be as big as a fan as my best friend Yiwen is. Flashback to when we were 13, she pestered me to read this book and at that time, I couldn't be asked to read an entire book with horizontal Chinese books for the whole world. So, she painstakingly read out the interesting parts and I kindda have the gist and where this story is going.

Finally, I got around to read the book and fell in love with it. In fact, when the author came to Malaysia during BookFest 2011, we thronged the crowd just catch a glimpse of him. We were told that all of Na Xie Nian were sold out. However, he let slipped that there will be an extra 100 books going on sale at 4pm, during the author's speech. I made stupid jokes about how the whole world couldn't stop two Hakka girls who's damn determined. (No, you really couldn't.)

This book was sold at RM16.90. We just grabbed the book out of the lady's hands. It was the first and last batch to come out. We were lucky, even luckier to be sitting on the front row. With great power comes great responsibility, so we had to hold up the book and smile at the camera. Haha :)

But after hearing him talk, I was pretty bummed. In love, there's no such thing as 'you reap what you sow'. I am a firm believer that if there's a will, there's a way (provided you have a passport). I thought that everything was possible if you could just put the mind to it. Right there, walking at the underpass,I was dumbfounded. How different his life could be if he made a different choice? How many things were not meant to be? How many things... I hugged the book close to my chest. Then, I also realised that want and need are two totally different things.

I had a basket full of books. I wanted those thick, colourful encyclopaedias on wild life and travel. But when, in that long underpass to KLCC, the one book in my arms was enough. I was satisfied. Until now, I still cannot comprehend what I was feeling then. I couldn't put it down on paper even if I tried my best.

But more satisfying was finishing the KL Towerthon.

I went to Yiwen's house first and we called the guys. J-Sern said Min Rong was cutting his hair. Nothing in the vast spectrum of English vocabulary at my disposal can fully describe 'za dao'.

When I had finally caught a glimpse of KL tower, it was already sunset. The cloud bleached a dull blue-grey with streaks of red. At first I was intimidated. People were wearing track pants and those tight fitting shirts. Macam yes! Yiwen and I met up with everybody and put on the tracker, laced onto our shoes. Side note: as I was getting out of the car, I nearly lost it if it weren't for that kind person with sharp eyes who pointed it to me. It was behind the car. o.o Thank you and I love you, random citizen!

We warmed up at dawn. There was an aura enveloping us, bringing us into tight embrace and led us into the night. Everything was electrifying, look at the picture. It was dark, we weren't afraid. JLo's On The Floor which has got to be the theme song of the night was blasting on full volume.* The orange street lights and neon lights on the billboard illuminated the dark sky. Overhead, the KL tower stood majestically in it's full lighted grandeur yet comforting at the same time. KL tower is a trademark, it's the epitome of this little city called Kuala Lumpur, the capital of this little country called Malaysia in South East Asia. She's like a mother to all Malaysians. The sea of people were endless but we all shared the same fate: that we could all make it to the finish line, triumphant and proud. That night, the possibilities were endless. Just 9 friends who got each other's backs.

*Sorry about the divorce with Marc Anthony. No idea what you see in that guy anyway. He looks creepy, kindda like dracula

Personally liked this one better. I was trying so hard not to sneeze ahahaahaa.

The boys were to run first. We cheered them on from the sidelines. OH OH OH! I can't believe I nearly forgot about this. Hehehehhhe. The man pulled the trigger and the shot rang across the still very alive city. I leaned gingerly on the barricade with my phone in my hands, ready to snap a quick photo of them. Saw Boon and Yung Wai dashed past me before I even recognized them. Then. THEN. 'I love you Jess!' It was J-Sern. He flung at us a love declaration that threw all of us off guard. Min Rong saw our bewildered faces, lowered his head, gave a small satisfied smile and ran forward. I distinctively remember because I stared from J-Sern to Min Rong, wildly trying to decipher what had just happened for that millisecond. Yes, sorry J-Sern. I didn't think you had the balls ahhahaaa.

I screamed and somebody else screamed. The details were hazy. Joelle was already hugging Jess. Right there and then, all we felt was something akin to 'awwwwwww. Our baby boy grew up already. Fly baby bird. Fly!' *sheds a tear* With that, the night fasten it's pace. Then, it got messy - unease, excitement, eager, doubt, pride. Everything just before the starting line. We had our pep talk again, for the umpteen time. We wouldn't give up no matter what, no matter how hard it got; we would crawl up if that's what it takes; we would help each other; and most importantly, we had each other's backs.

This was the starting line.

This was behind the starting line.

That 1km was quite okay although by the end of it, I saw Saw Boon standing at the side with his medal dangling from his wrists and was once again, taken off guard. You had a propeller hat? But as it turns out, the guys took about 20 minutes to finish.

I took this off Tumblr. That place is brilliant. Hhaha joking, you guys were great!

The 2000 steps weren't pleasant. The hold rail were coated with a layer of sweat, and there was a puddle of a vomit somewhere. Yiwen and I needed telepathy now more than ever. The stairs were so humid that if I felt my shirt shift slightly that I know that Yiwen wants to rest. Targets were set. Rest at the 12th floor. Emergency stop at 10th floor. Omg, I didn't know what I signed up for. 11th floor. Two minutes. Jesus Christ. How long is this thing?

The volunteers handed out water at alternate floors. I couldn't manage more than one gulp. Also, quite annoyingly, they kept out shouting: '5 floors more! 5 floors more!' That helped the first time. That extra boost of energy ceased when I heard that the second time, and then the third. One of the contestants even snapped. Hhaha, all I wanted to do was to laugh. But in a way, I suppose he was right. 1 floor consists of about 12 flights of stairs, in oppose of the 2 flights per floor as norm. At one point, I was dragging my knee up mechanically.

You know how some people say that you must see the sunset over New York City at least once in your entire life? Seeing that finish sign on that bleak grey wall... that's my New York sunset. Everyone must experience that sense of overwhelming joy, relief, disbelief and pride before they die. Because suddenly, the sense of achievement comes tumbling and crashing over, washing away all the doubts you had of yourself. I'm not going to lie. Being around people that are so good at everything and capable and ___ (whatever the word I used to say when I sob into phone, saying I was useless and weak), all you need is that one tiny moment where you feel like you're on top of the world and that you're for once, not useless and weak. So here we are, on top of the entire KL, undefeated, invincible.

This victory photo that took 3 minutes to take. =.= Completely drenched, oh you didn't know, I bathe when I was running up. They have portable shower heads.

Here it is:

Results:
D4341 LeeMinRong. 83 (22.31)
D4343 SawYeeBoon 103 (23.47)
D4340 WooJ.Sern. 111 (24.14)
D4342 OngYungWai 145 (26.11)
[ /310]
G6613 JoelleTeoh. 18 (31.07)
G6612 SophiaTai. 39 (37.38)
G6609 MooYiwen. 40 (37.39)
G6610 LaiSiuKhei. 65 (46.49)
G6611 KokLiTeng. 66 (46.50)
[ /102]

Wall of fame.

So, would I go through it one more time?

Hell yeah I would.

*Initially planned to lug my DSLR up but thank god someone talked me out of it.

Actually I hadn't thought about blogging about this but ahh, it deserves a mention. Our school helped out Tian Hou Gong with the Mazu Ceremony by providing them manpower, dressed in outfits that came straight out of Hong Kong drama sets.

Cousin.

It's not fair. The dragon can have water spewing out and his own personal pond but the pig has to lurk at the back with his head lowered as if did something terribly wrong. I protest at this outrageous double standards! I don't accept 'pigs can't spew water' bullshit. Since when dragon can spew water, genius? It even has a little ring of flowers around him! I'm born in the year of the pig and very proud! You can keep your recycled water that runs on motor while I prove your pampered ass that pigs are born to shine and not some wallflower. That's right.

We even stayed back for a couple of days to rehearse.

So basically we are the scholars. Yes, being a nerd isn't enough, we now have to dress the part too. Our job is to serve those who are praying. First, we take the incense and give it to them in a bunch of three. Then we put all the incense in the front. Then we give them a plate of fruits, put them in the front. Repeat with noodles and (was there a book?). Finally, we give them a souvenir.

First time trying on the costumes. Laughed my ass off.

On that day, we reached school at noon. We were told to wear white shirt and shorts so that our clothes inside wouldn't show outside.

The event went well and by the time, we packed into the bus and went back to school around 10pm, all of us were dead tired. But it was a once in a lifetime and we had fun.

But that's not the only night we had fun. The Confucian private chinese school (henceforward referred to 'Confucian') holds an annual concert every year. This year, I'm very proud to say that Kuen Cheng turned the stage into their personal backyard.

Orgasm face! Hehehhe!

Quite frankly, I don't remember much from that night. I was busy.

Yeah. Don't remember much. But for 2 whole weeks, Yiwen and I served as a messenger. I giggle a little inside watching how Min Rong and J-Sern think of ways to invite the girls to the concert after the big fall-out. >:) It was evil... But it was funny.

... I'm sorry. I'm supposed to blog about the day we went out to watch Na Xie Nian! I strayed so far away off topic! *shrugs*

Because it was an 18 and above movie, we tried to dress as mature as possible. It was funny, the girl's toilet was full so Yiwen and I went to change at the handicapped toilet. (Sorry.) I even wore my mum's 4 inch heels! I am a T-shirt and sneakers girl so strictly speaking, that should be my first time wearing heels that high. :)

We had lunch at Garden's. At the ticketing counter, the dude let us in! Given for granted, I walked up to the receptionist at Gardens and asked her sheepishly, 'how old do you think I am?' She said: '21?' I look like I'm legal!

The last 10 minutes of the film. He filmed it for the last 10 minutes. I watched it for the last 10 minutes. The second the screen went blank and music swelled, I sank back into the chair. I buried myself as far as I could.

[Thought of a totally brilliant caption just here for the photo! Will tell you soon!]

Joelle hit me to ask me to get up. I didn't budge. How can someone do so much for someone else? He gave her his youth, wrote a book, shot a movie. What more can you ask from someone? Maybe on some extend, the reason this book was such a big hit was that the guy didn't get the girl. It's like Romeo and Juliet formula, if Romeo and Juliet got together and got old together, it wouldn't be as popular.

Li Teng!

We went to Snowflake to take this photo WHICH WAS THE WINNER OF WEEK 4! When I thought of this idea, this was the exact scenario in my head (minus the 'nen cao'.) Without even having to asked to, Min Rong, Yung Wai and Ken went to the back to cheer them on. Li Teng even jumped up and said: 'I will be the 'nen cao'!' I didn't even thought of that. J-Sern directed the thing. Look at Joelle's totally smug face. Everybody so cooperative. 超感动!

J-Sern was generous in the sense that he made me an offer. To tell you the truth, I was beating myself up internally when I found out the photo I thought would win did not and this won. Both were my brainchild. In the end, it was a win-win situation and for that, thank you. :)

On the 24th of November, Canon invited (okayy. 'Invited' sounds very exclusive. It's actually more of the 'be the first 150 to fill in the particulars and submit!' kind of thing) Jessica and I to a special dress rehearsal of a play called Magic Mirror. It was organized by Yayasan Guan Yin. Thank you to Canon and Yayasan Guan Yin for the chance!

This was my first Canon event. I had the most fantastic time there, met so many photographers who were really friendly and aren't stingy with tips. I found out that photography is something that brings people from all different walks of life together.

Out of the many photographers I met, one was a chef, another was a doctor (joked about how he was sent there in case someone has a heart attack while shooting photos). Another thing I noticed was even though this is a Chinese play, there were even Malay photographers present. After the play, we were still sitting there, discussing the shots and how someone 'kacau'. The mutual love of capturing a split moment for eternity crossed the racial barrier, I saw that today.

A large group of photographers came from FIP to join this event. 我很钦佩. They sat there waiting for 5 hours yet were still joking around. They were very friendly, even offering to take me around Ipoh if given the chance.

Jokes were aplenty. When the personnels didn't open the door (a total number of 11 people went up to the door but never opened it!), we planned a silent protest. 'We stick Nikon stickers on our cameras!' Rebels! >:) But that didn't happen because the 12th person who came along opened the door.

The play itself was very engaging, the choreograph was amazing. Every single emotion on the performers' faces felt so real, the pain and anguish each of the characters felt, we felt. I wasn't able to fully enjoy the play (but I enjoyed it enough!) because I was anxious to catch every single shot. When the lights dimmed, you could still hear shutters closing. But it was a really good play, great job everybody!

Canon should organize more events like this in the future. >:)

Halfway throughout it, Yiwen tapped on my shoulder and whispered: '看了这么久，你明白吗？' Hahahhaha. But one thing I do know, the monks!!!!!!! 帅死了！I was lamenting: 'Monk! If they were really monks, wasted lor!'

Photo with the cast!

I think that that night the most beneficial thing was to make friends with photographers. I made acquaintances with photographers from FIP, they were from Perak who purposely made the trip down for this event! I admire their determination. They have a FB page where they post constructive comments about each other photos and have outings every now and then. I was very very impressed. (Btw, if I want to travel to Ipoh, I know where to eat! :P)

Since then, I was searching about one club in KL which does the same. And guess what? I did. I know that I'm not exactly the person with the best photographers. I take horrid portraits and is just another kid with a DSLR. But guess what? I'm learning. I know I have a long way more but what matters is, I'm willing to learn.

So, next blogpost will be about Garden International School's Mufti Day and my outing with the photographers from Photographic Society of Petaling Jaya (PSPJ) which I will be part of come January 2012. :)

Halfway across the world.

2011-07-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hey. It really has been a while. The other day, Jessica commented that we don't really blog anymore and I thought that was such a waste because we are young once and someone must document the things we have done. A lot has happened since the last time I properly blogged. Currently, I'm sitting on bed that feels alien with a tiny netbook propped on a cushion. I left the window behind me open, it feels like it's air-conditioned.

I'm in Canada, and given for granted, getting used to it. For starters, it feels like Hong Kong here. Everyone communicates in Cantonese or on a rare occasion, Chinese. For 3 days, I had noodles or porridge for breakfast in true Hong Kong style - complete with milk tea.

Next, the buildings are awfully short. =.= I live beside Richmond Centre which is a suburban mall. The entire mall has one and one level only. There is no escalator. There is also no underground carpark. It however is a very long building (too much land!) and a huge Apple store. That Apple store - I've never seen anything like that. On counters, various products are on display. There's an iPad beside each product that compares the pros and cons. Then, there's two stations called Personal Training where the employees in blue t-shirt help you understand your new gadget better. Dum dum dum dum! They also have this Genius bar. In Malaysia, Genius playlist is 'not available in your country'. But over here, they have a Genius bar! :)

The demographic are senior citizens with their grandchildren. There's a lot of old people in that mall. My dad said it was like a huge old folks' home. Most of them are Asian, probably brought across the sea by their children. Canadian money gives benefits or in simpler terms, money to children under 18. Kids are really a bug deal here. When you're pregnant, the doctors would give you a voucher to go to the local supermarket to get milk and eggs. So my grandma was pretty excited. "Wah. Next time, you 'shang pun da' (half a dozen in Cantonese). I take care of you.' My grandma was practically gushing.

THE. FUCK. (nicely timed pun)

I. Need. Therapy.

So, we took a train ride down to Vancouver City Centre. The first thought that ran through my mind was 'This is more like it.' :) The people from all different walks of life were bustling around. There was a group of friends talking on a bench, this high-flying businessman who was said 'that's great!' to the leggy, bronze skinned female beside him, tourists with DSLR dangling from their neck and a tourist slash new Canadian like myself.

Welcome to Vancouver.

We also visited Chinatown which was a pretty lame excuse for a chinatown. It's incredibly quiet and there is no good Chinese food. In my opinion, Richmond is more of a Chinatown.

International Village statue.

And here I was hoping for Chinese mafia shooting from cars. THERE WAS NO CARS. However, there was quite a number of homeless and drunk people around.

Honestly, it looks more appetizing than it is.

We went to Yao Han which was a huge Chinese supermarket.

Prepacked soup! You just pop all these ingredients into a pot, add water and you have a bowl of soup!

Lavender is aplenty here

We also went to Gransville Village. It is where all the creative people meet and put their talents on display. It is also the home of Emily Carrs University of Design and Art. Street musicians play and comedians joke. Children play and adults talk.

Initially, I wanted to chase a seagull. But after seeing how big they were.... That's okay. I'll just go hang out with people my size.

SEAGULL ALERT.

Oh, the flowers here are absolutely gorgeous. I've got so many photos of flowers.

This is Rick Lewis, or something of the like. He performed a skit that was so funny that I laughed until tears began to form. Oh and I love the people here. They let kids in front so that they can watch too. Kids, senior citizens and also me. Canadians are just generally very nice and chivalrous.

He pulled an audience from the crowd, did some warm up and...

... whip his shirt off. :0 He looks like Gerald Butler.

He even acted all fangirl about it. Hahahha.

He got us clapping louder and louder while the guy in front was all paranoid. Poor guy didn't even knew what hit him. hhaha. At one point, there was so many people watching that Rick asked us to squeeze closer as to not stand on the road. If not, the authorities will stop his show.

You're the closest to heaven I'll ever be.

2011-02-21T04:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm listening to Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. This song is like an old blanket, over time you may find yourself snuggling on a new hot red wrap but at the end of the day, when the red hot wrap is making your skin itch and the colour is fading, you go back running to that comfy old blanket and let the security envelope you. I'm in love with another Youtube singer, Sam Tsui. I love his version of Britney Spear's Hold It Against Me, the song almost sounded pure despite the racy lyrics. (Go listen to Just A Dream feat Cristina Grimmie) But I like Britney Spear's version all the same. Then, Alyssa Bernal is busy with her new single. Cathy Nguyen is not covering any new songs lately. Also, I'm kindda stuck to a catchy Beast song lol. Korean songs ftw.

So what have I been up to lately? I've been immersing myself in busy senior life. I'm still not used to saying Senior 1 Science A and frequently cross out the senior column on my test pad. Form 4 is nothing like the 'Honeymoon Year' they are have been talking about. In fact, it's vastly different. With a new year comes new responsibilities. And with new responsibilities, comes that feeling of triumph when you finally accomplished something no matter how small like solve a maths problem or played a small snippet from Paramore's My Heart on the piano ( taught by my cousin who played entirely by ear. It's amazing how musically talented he is.)

Chinese New Year came and left, a bit too fast for my taste. On the eve of Chinese New year, we went over to my grandmother's place. I saw my favourite uncle. He is a Chinese doctor (tabib) and is the most selfless man I've ever known. Then, I met my baby cousin for the first time ever. When I was small, I thought I was the baby of the Tai family. Then, my sister came along. Now this little bundle of joy came and I'm so proud. She's so tiny but not at all fragile. She has that Tai fire within her lol.

On Sunday, I had lunch with my favourite uncle. Then I went over to Li Teng's house. We were there to ...

Oh boy :)

Henry: 'Money is bursting out of your pocket Sophia!' lol much. Happy birthday Lee Min Rong :)

Yeobos. Hhahaa, next time people would really think that their called yeobo. :)

My cards. ;) I was still hesitating when I looked at my cards and turned them warily to J-Sern. He nodded so I threw my cards down. TRIPLE!

Banker who is known for his generosity ;)

Henry is convinced that him playing the piano will bring us luck. lol.

;))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Joelle's 3100 damn cute. Hhahha I love it.

We had so much fun. Thank you, Li Teng and Li Teng's mum and dad! And Uncle Simon and another uncle whose name I cannot remember :S

There was this little incident. Li Teng's dog Samantha didn't bark at me, which was strange. She wasn't the least wary of me at all. As I carefully crouch beside her cage carefully gauging her reaction, she started wagging her tail! SHE LIKES ME! :) I put my hand into the cage to get her to familiarise with my smell, she sniffed it and immediately started licking me. Lol :) Aunty was so amazed that she went in and told Uncle. Haha.

My mum says I have a way with animals, even my dad has to admit it no matter how begrudgingly. :)

Okay. Exam's next Thursday and I have to get pumped up. After exam is the much awaited, exciting TAIWAN TRIP! :D Omg I cannot wait. Who cares if I have to sludge to school looking like shit after not having any sleep the day before if you have something like THAT to look forward to?

Bye. :) Take care guys.

The air never tasted this fresh.

2010-11-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

We pulled it through. During the start of the year, it seemed quite far away like some point in life that was inevitable but you were constantly in denial. It happened, dragging itself slowly and painfully. Sometimes, it seemed impossible, too little time, too many things. You're split between two choices: a) study the textbook, the things half registered into your brain and skip the worksheets; b) do the model questions without studying beforehand and lose hope in humanity upon looking at the results. Tough choice huh?

Honestly, I didn't think I could make it through. Some subjects like History and Science and Geography (JUEC, mind you), you cannot finish studying it. You study, the grainy bits of information gets lost in your brain somewhere, you look at question, you go 'shit. I studied this before', and then you flip a coin/roll an eraser. No dice, sorry. Then you spend your entire time pondering over that question and run out of the exam hall, panting and flipping the books in mute anguish. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Repeat process 100 times.

But, thank God I did. I don't really know how well or bad I'm going to do. I just think that I'm going to be okay. Maybe no straight As (omgwtfbbq NO!)... yeah I couldn't quite deal with that, let's skip that thought. Let me indulge in ignorance until after Christmas, ingnorance is bliss. The minute the clock's hand reached 12.45pm, we hollered. Someone was whooping and everyone laughed even though we still had the paper in hand.

After that, J-Sern, Saw Boon, Ting Fang, Joelle, Yan Lum, Pei Yan, Jess, Li Teng, Yiwen and I went to Mid Valley to catch a movie. It's called The Child's Eye. Hhaha, I have no idea why we went to scare ourselves silly after exams. Shouldn't it be before exams? It sounded like fun, we wanted to go to Scream Park but due to our minuscule student pocket money we have to survive on, we're tight around the waist, maybe next time. :D Okay I'm joking, these people are millionaires, they have wads of cash stuffed around their shoes or something!

This is a happy photo :) We are (and still are, let's keep it that way) free people! Chilling out at McD's before the movie is going to start, walking around aimlessly in the mall, laughing at the guys for being slower than the girls, dragging Yiwen to a pet shop, her complaining it stinks and whatnot, sigh, that is the life. Like Zoe Wyn, said the panda's way of living life - taking it slow and all that. Btw, look at hairband :)))

Hehe, this two pretty 18 year old girls :) Hi. I'm the younger sister, I'm 12. Yiwen is 10. muhahahahhaahahhha.

We were there very early. See? So quiet. Later, the entire place was flooded with secondary school students from KL.

The ghost movie was okay. I pulled my 3D glasses away whenever something big isn't going to fly into your face. I know, what's the point right? Watch 3D movie don't put on glasses during the 3D parts. The storyline was predictable, I've watched enough Hong Kong dramas to know that the girl is going to be pregnant. Throughout the entire show, they build the audience's fear through scary, spine-chilling background music and suspense upon looking at the pure horror on the lead actress's face. I didn't know Rainie Yang was venturing into ghost movies.

I screamed at one bit and the guy sitting behind me chuckled. What's so funny? >:( The cinema was quite cold because it was quite a small one and there wasn't many people. Yiwen was grabbing my hand and refusing to watch. I had to pull her hands away from her face. And she missed a huge chunk of the movie and I had to fill her in because I was watching even though I was a little scared. I'm a masochist like that, kindda stubborn too. You know you're afraid yet you wouldn't close your eyes. So I understood the entire movie, yeah, but slept with the lights on at night. ==

The ending was one of those 'wtf, that's not an ending. It was left hanging!' endings that I absolutely despise. I want an answer. :( But never mind, I've gotten used to those. I am a huge fan of Vampire Diaries and every episode ends unevenly. It's almost against Kevin and Julie's religion to end an episode without somebody coming out and killing someone/ someone plotting against someone. Maybe I'll write a review on that series one day :)

So, cheers to after exams. That basically translates to playing Twister and Mastermind all day long, watching Piranha at D class, get in trouble for playing UNO =.= and all that in between. We're getting graduated tomorrow. Cheers to that too. :D

Wang Leehom 18 Martial Arts Showcase

2010-09-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Technically I haven't finished my trials, yet I'm sitting here blogging. It's English tomorrow, nobody cares. SO, ehheehehhee. Fan girl mode on, we're talking about Wang Leehom, people here! I never had a celebrity crush this serious before. The last time I had it was when I was 8, over Chad Michael Murray in The Cinderella Story.

My list of Hottest Guy Alive (in no particular order):

1. Wang Leehom - no explaination needed

2. Chace Crawford - Even his mugshot looked good. What is wrong with him?

3. Aaron Johnson - Before he knocked up his director and adopted the whole Abraham Lincoln hairdo. Not attractive from then on.

4. Jake Gyllenhaal - hehehehe *giggles*

5. My future husband - I certainly hope so.

I can tell you about how the place was overflowing with people, I can tell you how the air was charged with electricity, I can tell you how smug I was when the security guard found me among the crowd and gestured me in, I can tell you how we lined up for ages, I can tell you how I met one of the nicest people ever there, I can tell you how heartbreakingly handsome Leehom looks close up (hell yeah I'm gonna tell you that) but it all leads down to one simple yet prominent fact: he stared into my eyes.

That Thursday, Yiwen called me and dropped the bomb - You want to see Wang Leehom? Sure, get his album. His album is the pass to his showcase. And guess what? Today is the last day to get the pre-booked version. What is the time now? 7.39 at night. After a few flurried phone calls, I managed to secure 2 of those coveted albums thus proving the age old saying 'when there's a will, there's a way.' Super shiok okay?

Yiwen came over to my place first. She actually called me outside my gate because she was afraid of my dogs. Wait, it was only one dog. I can totally understand if she's afraid of Buddy because Buddy is the crazy, over friendly Labrador but Mika is the tame Dalmatian. Oh yeah, and she's nuts. She wore heels and a vest to a showcase. Heels and vest. To a place where there's no air ventilation. Nuts, I tell you. I just threw on a T-shirt, shorts and my trusty tennis shoe.

The crowd was large. We went at 5 and already there was a lot of people. Not forgetting that it's hot, not hot as in that warm tingling sensation on nice Sunday afternoons but hot as in those full blown, unforgiving heat waves that burns.

The Good, The Bad and the Downright Ugly: I had finally gotten myself a seat. The girl beside me who was very very very nice scooted over to make space for me. I like her a lot. She even offered me a hand when I was climbing up and there isn't any railing to hold onto.

But the woman to my right had this big umbrella open that took a lot of space. I peeked from underneath her umbrella and asked her politely if she could shift her umbrella to a more convenient position so that my friend could at least sit down, please. She just gave me a crappy glare at me and went: "Sorry but it's very hot." I was gaping when she said those words. Excuse me? You are at a showcase, it's supposed to be hot. That was so utterly selfish. How can you just barbarically take up sitting space just for your own personal comfort? Showcases like this aren't specifically tailored for your own solace. My deepest apology, I didn't know you were that huge and important that your ease and comfort must be taken into consideration at an international star's showcase.

Well then, pardon me when my friend and I plopped down without a care for your apparent need for a larger territory to breath and subsequently, invited 3 more girls to stand together with us. You must have had such a traumatic experience, having to share your prized space with 5 more girls. In your face man, bitch.

Nahhhh, your photo :) Oh and look at that umbrella. Okay, now look behind Yiwen's back. You see plants. Hah. Later, when Leehom came out, we stood there and got a bird eye's view of everything. :)

7000 people, no joke dudeeee.

Our MC for the day, Royce from My FM. According to Yiwen, our school associates closely with My FM, organizing trips to the said radio station yearly and inviting the DJs over for talks on how to improve speaking/broadcasting skills and such.

And then, we settled in for the long wait.

At about 6.40pm, we heard: "Hi, KL."

I screamed like mad - . When he went: "Hi everyone! I'm Du Ming Han. (the character's name in his new movie, Love In Disguise)", I completely lost it.

LOOK AT HIM! It seemed quite surreal seeing him there, not more than a few feet away from me. The perfect guy, the epitome of every single girls' dreams, the guy who can do everything from acting to singing to playing 15 different types of instruments to speaking French to leading a Chinese orchestra team. Right there. In front.

He even belted his single 'Things that You Never Knew' which we all sang along to. I think I screamed more on my part. Apparently, my scream was so high-pitched that my voice practically blanketed those screaming around me. Heh. And yes, I'll hate that guy eternally.

Everyone wanted to take a lifetime's worth of pictures. You have no idea how much I wanted a DSLR there and then.

I want to work for the media. WHEN I COME OF AGE.

"There are so many people and he has a plane to catch. He won't finish signing all of us albums. What if he left without signing ours?" Yiwen got into one of her moods again. I stared at her straight in the eye. "Look, we will get his signature no matter what, okay?" So, we came up a plan. Right after he finished singing, we would jump down and slip to the front. We did and we went as far as the Homaniacs section.

Over there, I saw a girl fainted with my own eyes. I was one of the first ones to yell: "Someone fainted!" Her best friend tried to support her weight and put her onto her feet but she came crumbling down like a domino, a spineless puppet. One of her friends carried her of his shoulders like she was a bag of rice and left. A trail of people saw a golden opportunity and gleefully tailed her friend as he opened a path.

It was then when we realized that we were at the wrong side of the barrier. Our side was stuck, it wasn't moving, we need to get to the other side. "Hhaha, the only way we're going there is by getting through these bars." I laughed at the absurd ridiculousness of it all. One look at Yiwen's face. "Noooooo, you are not seriously..." She dumped me her bag and her album and proceeded to squeeze through the bars. "See. Now, your turn." She waved from the other side. You do not just go "your turn! Cmon!" at a girl with body issues.

Fine. I pursed my lips and slipped one leg into the bar. Two seconds later, I was cheering. "Woooohoooo, like yeah!"

Never felt skinner in my entire life :DDDDDDD aahahhaa. Felt sorry for the woman who stared at us longingly. We got more in front. And then, we waited.

I also met my friend Elaine there. I just went to tuition with her, ahaha. She was there with her cousin. Yiwen and I told her that we're sisters and she believed! Later when we cleared up, she went: "Noooo, I don't believe you." Lol.

After I took this picture, I yelled: "FAAAAAAAACE!" and hurriedly showed Yiwen and Elaine. Lol I'm so lame.

He was asking us for 'permission' to go to the toilet. Hhahahaa. At that time, Yiwen and I were very in front and it was getting difficult to breath. It was okay for me but Yiwen has asthma. She was looking a little uncomfortable so I thrust her one of my Sony Ericsson leaflets to fan herself. I couldn't fan her because there isn't enough space for hand movement.

Somewhere throughout it, I heard the girl behind me said to her guy friend: "You'll protect us from those behind right?" Then the guy who was big and buff replied in affirmative. Why don't we have friends like that? Hmph. Yiwen tried telling me a joke - If love is blind, then why do you need lingerie? Except she mispronounced lingerie and I thought she said 'lingering'. It took me a while to get it and when I did I was laughing loudly and exclaimed: "Oh lounge-ge-ray." People were shooting me weird looks. What does an underage girl has to do with lingerie? Lol.

See, even the way he stands is so yeng.

We got very near the stage. There was a man manning the gate. He will let a number of people in and then close the gate to let the another gate at the right side of the stage open. We were at the left. When ours open, all of us rushed forward. There was this huge buff guy beside me who wouldn't let me pass. He kept on pushing me aside. Well, I pushed back and no one got to move. In the end, the man gestured at me and pulled me in front, letting me in first. He's big and buff but he couldn't beat me in terms of strength. Lol. Thank you, tennis!

SMIRK.

As we neared the stage, the workers told us to turn off our cameras. Aww man. There was a girl asking us to turn the album the right way, another to take our lyrics books to put it in line, another to scribble on a paper before giving the pen to Leehom. The minute I got on stage, I had to convince that this is all real.

He was in front of me now. If I extend my hand just a little bit more, I can touch him. I saw how his hand skillfully signed his name. Silly me, I thought to myself. I should look at his face, I reminded myself. Because I'm just that shallow. I brought my gaze up to his face, watched how his eyebrows knitted together. The moment so life-changing came.

He looked up unexpectedly and bored his gaze into my eyes. I stared at him, transfixed. I think I dislocated my jaw, gaping at him. For 5 long seconds, I drowned myself in those grayish blue ( GRAYISH BLUE? contacts, I suppose) eyes of his. Only one thought ran through my mind: Oh god. Then, he slipped my book away and took the next one. I couldn't drag myself away. I wanted to stay but somehow, common senses prevailed and I took determined steps away from him, away from Wang Leehom before I make a complete fool out of myself.

I got off the stage and ... screamed. There wasn't any appropriate reaction but to scream out loud. All the excitement, all came pouring out. Moo Yiwen looked at me and dragged me away. I launched into a flurry, talking non-stop. He freaking looked into my eyes. The sex god stared into my eyes. The perfect guy, the epitome of every single girls' dreams, the guy who can do everything from acting to singing to playing 15 different types of instruments to speaking French to leading a Chinese orchestra team. Stared into my eyes.

Like woohoo. Afterwards, Yiwen's parents walked me back to my car. It was a nice gesture which I appreciated a lot.

I was a very happy girl when I got home. Even with hair that doesn't fall right and mismatched pyjamas, I was one heck of a happy girl. I was positively glowing. :)

Pillow Talk

2010-08-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

I spent the day talking falalala and pouring over camera magazines with Yiwen. Something about those vibrant colors and breath-taking pictures nudged a little something inside of me. All day, I pondered: What was that? It felt like something pulling my heartstrings, pressing the right buttons, hitting all the right spots. As I looked at that glossing magazine page, I realised I found something that I had lost. Passion.

The emptiness and discontentment made way for everything good like awe and incredulity. My Sony T90, though not by far a very impressive piece of gadget, but it has served me well. Do not let appearances fool you. My camera may be famous for it's sleek and slim shape, sophisticated outlook but it has captured eye-catching photographs.

Now that I am venturing into DSLR region, I need guidances. I searched my old emails and found some stored away, forgotten emails. Photo classes, Sony World Photography Organization, Young Photographer of the Year 2009. It all came pouring out like a wild storm. My enthusiasm and endless quest for everything more made me smile hapless at the screen like some love sick, deranged teenager.

I went to look for the archives. Folder and folders of photographs that I didn't take out to share because I deemed it not up to standards. Flowers, the sea, portraits, outdoor, sunset, sports. Everything, all memories, neatly organized into time-stated files that dated back to 2008. The year when everything changed and my life took a swift turn into the unknown.

It used to be 'tennis, dance, photography'. I'll slowly regain my way back on track, no need to rush. But for now, I'll just toast to my new-found passion. Young Photographer of The Year 2010, hey. :)

Add new photo in '11 to 14' category.

(If I find you snotting at certain parts, you're dead :] I did not use the word 'passion' in vain. )

My Success, My Dreams Award Ceremony

2010-08-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how busy I've been, which is mainly a reason I've left my blog hanging. I know there's no use in saying sorry again. That's why I'm not here to say sorry but instead to blog. Besides, do you really think it's so easy to squeeze a sorry out from me? (Being super egoistic right now, might be because I'm listening to Flo Rida's Club Can't Handle Me. Love that song! It's so crazily catchy.)

It's my first time entering a public blogging contest or a writing contest for that matter. So, I was fairly surprised that I got shortlisted as one of the lucky 10 finalists. When I read the email, my jaw quite literally fell to the ground. Well, you don't really have to know what I did after recovering to my senses. (I screamed like a mad woman on rampage. You had probably guessed it anyway.)

This is how it works: you send in an entry and if they like you, yay! Next, the voting period begins. Then there's the Award Ceremony where 3 winners can walk away with an iTouch and money. 1st - iTouch and RM800, 2nd - iTouch and RM500, 3rd - iTouch and RM300, the rest would just have to make do with RM100. The amount of cash is so deliciously seductive but I didn't join for the prize. I have two iTouch lying around (me and my mum's) and an iPhone (dad). We're an Apple family.

Instead, I joined to prove my worth. I want to see where can my words take me. I want to show myself that 'Hey, I can do this too!' But more importantly, I want to let my suppressed creative outlet go somewhere. You would be enraged to hear that the teacher in my school told us to write short, boring essays just to get an A or else risk losing marks. What type of loser teacher is this? Oh hai, Ms Kirsten. What's up? I tell you what's up. *points middle finger* She has been getting on all our nerves for publicly criticizing J-Sern for nothing and then not so subtly implied that Sha Zhou and Zhu Guang aren't good enough for JR3A.

Mum, Dad, pretend that the above paragraph didn't happen. Though that middle finger part was good though. :) Pardon my language.

Right after school today, Yiwen and I went straight to Sunway University. Btw, she just called me to tell me that the Taiwanese show that I'm after, well, the actor and actress were at Sunway Pyramid to promote their show. Someone, shoot me. So close yet so far. We went to the campus toilet to change and just mainly hung around to check out the place. This is my first taste of college life, having never stepped an inch into that period of my life and also college campus. I actually felt quite intimidated but that weird feeling soon died down after seeing my mum, dad, sister, grandfather and best friend there. :)

Say hello to college!

We followed the signs to the North Building. Mummy saw there's San Fransisco Coffee and since we have so much time and there's a Buy 1, Free 1 offer going on, she bought a large Vanilla Latte to be shared among 4 people. My dad has this uncanny sense of timing.

Woman beside us: Wah, 2 large for 16 ringgit. That means 8 for one. So cheap!

Dad: [pops out of nowhere, holding a can of Nescafe] Look what I got! 1.80 only.

San Fran girl behind the counter: [glares]

So potong right? My mum just poured the cream and gave it to me and Yiwen. We both looked at each other. "You're thinking of what I am thinking?" She nodded slowly. "Yeah, fattening." :( A recurring topic during recess and mainly any other time is body weight. Body issue is something a girl have to face at one point. One day, you look in a mirror and find flaws that didn't matter the day before. Seventeen magazine had addressed this in several issues, encouraging girls to come to terms with their body instead of feeling depressed about it and going on some binge eating habit. I've came a long way since accepting the fact that my body is not like those on Calvin Klein or Guess advertisements. Now, I'm working on toning it. By the way, next time you see a huge billboard, pay a little attention to the models on it. Their head is almost as big as their pelvis. :o

There's something I'm quite happy about. The skirt used to fit snugly on my waist but now, muahhhahahaha, I actually had to pull it up. Those tennis and hula hoop workouts worked!

My grandfather and I at Sunway University College's cafeteria. After that, we made our way up to Lecture Room 6 on Level 4. The people were extremely polite. I was to sit in front with the rest of the bloggers while everyone else made their way to the row above. Almost everyone arrived and here I thought I arrived early. I awkwardly walked across the front in my Levi ballerina flats and sat on the first seat. Nobody's sitting there which was odd. The first seat is gold.

See that? :D Now that I mentioned my shoes, I remembered. I was wearing my business-casual clothes. They are the only ones I have anyway. If you remembered, I wore the skirt in Hard Rock. I recycled my clothes, mixed and matched and then, tada. :D So for today, I wore a white tank top inside and put on a military cropped cardigan from Zara. It has two rows of gold buttons down the front and a buttons on each shoulder. The high waisted skirt is a basic from Zara too. Both are navy in color which is suitable for more solemn occasions. To complete the look, I put on a super cool necklace - a long length chain that holds a bronze color clock. It is incredibly delicate so I had to be very careful with it. I wore my Levi flats, navy so it matched. I got it from Bangkok in a sale, 70% off and the last pair was in my size. :D

My dad gave me a pep talk on the way there. He thought I was nervous but actually, not one bit. But I appreciate it though. One thing, it was incredibly funny. "So where is this place?" He asked no one in particular, well especially not the signs. "I think you left your iTouch there." Upon seeing Rachel and telling her who I am, he went: "Yeah, she's going to take that iTouch home." I kindda told him off for being so arrogant but he just waved. "You need to be confident but not too much. Positive thinking you know." DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!

I met Sofea, Hui Jan, Breena and Shan Ying for the first time. They were cool :) I think I'm the youngest there. I finally met Rachel who deal with my emails and stuff. She was so visibly nervous that I wanted to give her a pat on the back or something. She gave me this whole big bag of books, courtesy of MPH - one of the sponsors on board. There's RM200 worth of books in there and boy, it was heavy.

The ceremony soon started after I arrived. First, it was a speech by Dr Stephan Hall from the Language and Compulsory Subjects Department. His speech was very good, he started off with the importance of blogging and why is it more widespread before moving onto us. I like the way he related some stuff to us in his speech and added a pinch of humor (randomchickenrice.blogspot.com, lol and he referred himself to an old teenager!). He obviously did his homework before this because in the end, he was practically giving a vague outline of what we wrote, a nutshell. Some bits he said that I recognized that was mine (mouthful) : Some just defined success as happiness, the road to discovery and the part he talked about our ambitions. When he said: "They inspire to be creative writer, doctor, and veterinarian and blah blah blah", I practically wanted to raise my hand and yell: "MEEEEEEEEEEE!" Oh, I wanted to meet the other blogger who coincidentally, wanted to be a vet too but he didn't come :(

One thing he said really struck a nerve. He said: "You have all the words, now is it what you do with the words that matter." That was the highlight of the speech, the wise words that I shall remember all the way until I reached my dream.

Names appeared on the screen, one by one. First Aiman and then Breena. It was long, very long. I was staring up onto the screen and then occasionally, flicker onto Rachel's fingers where she very gently tapped on the 'Enter' button. One by one, the bloggers went to stand on stage. The stage was already crowded. Dr Stephan Hall's lips moved as if telling a secret as the white envelope changed hands. Oh my, there's already 6 contestants on stage. One more left. Who? I turned back my head and looked at Yiwen. She gave me the same look of disbelief. I was utterly dazed. Who is the last - ? 4 finalists sat and fidgeted uncomfortably in their seats.

Rachel gave a little tap and a picture and a row of words obediently appeared. Oh. It's my picture, me laughing as I got ready to get dunked into the water. The water slide, nice. I got up and walked to the stage. It was over but I didn't feel anything. The cameraman came around to ask for photos. I held up my envelope and smiled. Not the most convincing one but it'll do.

The 7 consolation prize winners. You can see my name at the bottom of the screen.

This is Hui Jan and she wants to be an oncologist to save cancer patients. I fully expected her to win.

Bryan here wants to be a creative writer. He walked away with 2nd prize - an iTouch and RM500.

The first prize goes to Kimberly! She won an iTouch and 800 ringgit cash! She inspires to be a jewelry designer, manicurist and make up artist despite her parent's objection.

We listened intently as she speak about her dream. Over here, she pondered over her decisions and went over her choices in front of her parents. I admire her courage to be so blatant about chasing her dreams but not her parent's (lawyer, doctor). Well, I hope she succeeds in being a designer.

But hey, everyone was a winner.

Hard Rock Hotel, Penang

2010-07-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

If you have not been to a Hard Rock Hotel, you have not lived. This may sound extreme but very undeniably true. There's 26 Hard Rock Hotels all around the world but only 2 in Asia - one of them being in Penang. Earlier this year, when Hard Rock Hotel first hit our shores and was featured on Star Two, I've been edging to go there. I even kept the newspaper cutout in hopes of going there one day. Well, I did.

Welcome to Hard Rock Hotel.

But first, the five hour drive was gruelling. Pulau Pinang - 146km, it got nearer and nearer. Before sunset, we embarked on the magnificent Penang Bridge and watched us pass the boats by. The sun glittering off the sea, the tall poles that supported the bridge, it was a pity that Sonia was asleep, boohoo.

Because we're just awesome like that :)

I stayed at the Lagoon Deluxe, the type of room where you can just jump into the pool. It's so cool! I think I dived into the pool like 9457689530 times. Lagoon Deluxe is located on the ground floor, there's a locked door that only opens when you swipe the room key on the sensor.

First thing I did? Jumped into the pool.

That's our deck :)

Then, at night, the entire hotel sinks into the night club mood. Top-charting songs would blast from speakers and everyone (ahem, I) would feel like dancing along.

And since it was World Cup season, the live matches were played outside at the lobby.

I used to think that football was the dumbest sport on earth, 22 big buff men chasing after a tiny ball on a huge field. Yeah, dumb. Then, I thought: Why hate a sport you barely know? So with that in mind, I started watching football with my dad. It is a great bonding activity! Also, Hard Rock is also one of the factors that pushed me into casting away my prejudiced assumption.

So that's where I watched how Germany lost disgracefully to Slovakia and witnessed the Greece scored their first goal. You should hear how deafening they shouted GOAL. The start of something lovely (for me)- football.

Whoa, look at my mum posing. She told me she went to posture class before but she never told me that she went to those modelling classes before. :/ This is my first time eating out at Hard Rock Cafe! They have a Hard Rock Shop in there too. :) I wanted to get this sweater but ahem, RM159. So neveeeeeeeeeeer mind, lalallalalalaa.

Did you know that they actually stuck a Gun and Roses drum set on the ceiling? I was like whoa.

New York Steak. It was a piece of heaven in the form of beef steak. :DDDD The gravy was perfection.

Chicken salad with walnut, orange, raspberry and tons of cheese. :)

Wrap. You're supposed to wrap this, cabbage, whipped cream, avocado, tomato into a thin layer of roti canai skin. It was good, it all blends right. Best part was the avocado, I like them :)

There was this huge family sitting next to us whom watched World Cup together with us. The whole restaurant was burning in football fever, groaning and cheering together. I, armed with complete no knowledge of football whatsoever began to soak in the atmosphere and by the time the night ends, I'm interested. Also, thank you to Daddy for explaining what on Earth is an 'off-side' is.

After dinner, we went around to look at memorabilia.

The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Bon Jovi. All time favorites.

Guitar in a purple-pinkish shade. Ooh.

It's like stars has fallen down from the sky, gently guiding your way.

Good night, from the coolest hotel on Earth. They even have guitar sown on the pillow case. Heh, I want one too :) It's all these little details that count. Did you know that they attached a little note on the bathrobe saying something like 'The thing I like about you is that you keep me warm." Or something like that? It's a one liner lyrics from The Romantics.

-

MORNING PEOPLE!

After hitting the pool for 2 and a half hours, we finally retreated to King's Club for a break. Quite unwillingly on my part. I was the first person down at the pool. Look below: you'll know why I'm so reluctant to leave the pool.

What did I tell you?

It stretches all the way to the spa. If you live in the King Suite, you have your own private pool that is connected to the public pool. *melts*

Boo yeah :)

I also went to their dance class too. They have this whole list of itinerary for you, pick whichever class that tickles your fancy. They have dance classes, guitar lesson (which I went :P) , aqua aerobatics, drawing for kids and loads more. I was lounging on my deck chair, reading my selected beach read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' when I saw this guy who's clearly a staff leading a row of 4 kids into the pool. They were doing jumping jacks all the way. One, two, three! They all jumped into the kiddies pool. Lol, so cute! 'Let's go on the slide!' YEAAAH! hehhehe, kids :)

King's Club is kindda vintage. All the photos I took there is like something taken out of a family home or something.

Fishing trip.

It was 12pm. They were playing pool games outside. My mum didn't let me out. Hence tons of pics. :) But like damn, I should have gone out and play pool ball. The base of a part of the swimming pool is sand and that's where they were playing ball. They tied a net in the middle, it's like volleyball on water. :)

Sonia, proudly holding her yellow float and I with my very kick ass statement tee. Hahah, so like a picture I took at family home.

Beach buggy. One thing, do not sit at the back of this thing. My dad drove like a maniac, kind of. I screamed all the way, it was fun so that was what counts. Aand, what is with the Donald Trump hair cut? :(

Oh yeah! I drove the buggy back and yes, I can go get my driver's license. Weird thing is, I look really young here. I'm so sick of people mistaking me for being 12 or something. Aunty, I'm 15!!!

I wandered off to Teen's Club while everyone stayed on the beach. My grandfather and dad fell asleep, and you wonder where I get my ability to sleep whenever and wherever I wish. It's heredity. :) At Teen's Club, there is a couple of guitars, 2 pool tables, 2 computers, PS3 and Wii. Now, tell me which hotel provides all these facilities?

High tea. Best scones ever :)

Look at that leopard print chair! Li teng, your punya barang! :)

Aand, they might have took it a little overboard.

More swimming before dinner. I've became a psycho football fan and it had only been like what? Two days? The waitress didn't let us sit in front of the flat screen. I threw a BF, heh. I mean, the place she wanted us to sit at, you have to crane your neck to see the screen. :(

I think the waitress hates me.

I got my hairband from Siam Paragon. No, they didn't burn that down. Don't even get me started.

Look at my wrist. It's a wristband that everyone have to wear before jumping into the pool. It's to differentiate hotel guests and outsiders because Hard Rock doesn't have fences down at the public beach not like some other kiasu hotel we saw.

We went to play pool again after dinner lol.

My favorite photo by far! :) I was practicing a song I learned that day - When You Say Nothing At All by Ronan Keating. I think I mentioned I went to guitar lesson and guess what? Zuan was conducting them. I was swimming but I didn't notice how deep the guitar dug into my flesh. It was only after when Zuan asked me to stop playing then look pointedly at my fingers only I did noticed.

Speaking of which, the tips of my fingers are peeling and replaced with a harder layer of skin. (?) I know this sounds weird but I'm actually quite happy. :) My grandfather was teasing me about how can I ever play a guitar because my fingers are not rough. Speaking of guitar, who wants to go see Orianthi Live in KL? I WANT!

My dad teaching my mum how to play pool. My mum told me that when they were young, my dad would take her bowling and stuff. hehe :)

We went out to the pasar malam for a bit.

When we came back, we saw this whole row of BMWs from Singapore parking at the parking bay. Whoa. Some company trip or something. Hhaa, have I told you guys I crashed a party? There was a party and I crashed it :) Now you know.

Ok, it's not my fault. I was actually there on a good will. There was a grammar mistake on the sign and went in merely to tell the person-in-charge that it was wrong! Took some coke but that's a whole another story. Got caught too but was let off because I lied too convincingly.

That night, I feel asleep with football fans cheering in the distance. :)

-

Breakfast at King's Club was good. You get to choose what you want for breakfast, there's a menu. The spread was definitely better than the one downstairs. We ate at Pizzeria and the food ... sucks, for the lack of a better word.

More swimming. I think I practically wolfed down my breakfast and yelled: 'MUMMY, POOL!' while on the way out of the door. :)

When it was time to leave, I frantically went around snapping photos of the deco.

Heeehe.

This dude in the bathroom. I could have preferred a mirror ya know.

The Beatles.

More of the beatles.

So anyway, we left for Ipoh and we stopped by this super big shot hot spring and spa place called The Banjaran. Apparently, you need 'permission' to go inside. We went inside and they make it super exclusive. Blah blah blah. Apparently, they can't show you the rooms because they have 'in-house guests'. I saw 3 cars parked outside.

Rejuvenate. Sorry, so not my thing. Rolls eyes.

I was quite sad to leave Hard Rock. Hahah, I had so much fun that I didn't want to take off my wrist band. Apart from my ridiculously dark tan and photos, it's the one remainder I have of this amazing amazing experience. Up until the day before school starts, I didn't want to cut it off.

Bye :(

I had so much fun. It was an awesome experience for the everyone. :DDD I want to go back again, I fell in love with the place.

:) I'll go back, Elvis. That's the few things you got right.

Thanks you, for sticking with me until the end. I know this is a very long post :)

Before I go, I want to share with you guys a great great news. I got shortlisted as one of the 10 finalists of Sunway's My Sucess, My Dreams. Please vote for me! Thanks!

http://sunway.edu.my/mysuccess/story4

My dream story of success

2010-06-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Successful ah? Big house, big car lah. Like that then successful lor."Is that how people interpret success nowadays? Just add a trophy wife and a whole throng of children enough to form a football, basketball and baseball team, there, the perfect life.

That's your mum's version of you being successful.

NO.

When someone starts talking about how many awards their son won, how absolutely brilliant their daughter is in playing the piano or God forbid, the harp, my brain would automatically shut down and I would suddenly feel like singing that catchy theme song from Friends. The best d*** (and only) thing I got is a High Distinction in ICAS English and until this day, I had no idea how I got it. Heck, it's not even half as great as playing the harp. No, this is not a case of sour grapes.

I just interpret success a little differently.

Let's just say, I'm curious. I want to see the world has to offer, all the sights and taste. I want to feel, all the different cultures. I want to travel, the first thing on my to-do list. I have yet to go to a Disneyland, go scuba diving, para-sailing, bungy jumping, learn how to play the guitar, fall in love although that can wait. There are so many endless things to do in the world and I have no intention whatsoever of chaining myself to a table and a book.

However, I have a clear conscience of what I must do. After reading the paragraph above, I must definitely sound like some rebellious student who play truant and smokes in the locker room. Hah. On the contrary, I get great grades and never got in trouble with the disciplinary teachers. Just that I'm not your typical A class student, I cannot - simply cannot, spend half my life on books and not go out to bask in the sunshine. I do not spend every waking moment pouring over intensive Maths exercise and go around hounding teachers for tips. Exams are just exams, just an excuse for teachers put more pressure on us students although for a good cause. Our future. Maybe I didn’t have enough kaisu-ness in me.

Snore.

You can tell that I am a romantic, fantasist, dreamer and no-brainer when someone drops words like 'trust fund' into the conversation but one thing I am absolutely firm with: my ambition. Ever since I was 5, I wanted to be a vet except then I didn't exactly know there is an occupation like that. I just know that I'm very comfortable around animals and their menacing teeth and sharp claws. It's just a feeling, almost maternal, like you want to protect them from all the danger and would do every single thing you can just to make them feel better.

As I grew older, my views changed but one. I still want to be a vet. In fact, I am going to be an intern at a local animal hospital right after my PMR and JUEC examinations. Volunteering there is better than staying at home, lazing around, waiting for the next meal to be served.

To me, success is merely just another word like happiness and wealth. The thing that made the meaning of this word so ambiguous is how people look at it. How I see it is success means that you can not only do what you are expected of, you can also juggle your hobbies, family, friends, go see the world and at the same time, be extremely happy.

I’m on my road to self-discovery which coincidentally is the road to my meaning of success. J