2.0.1.0

Oh my oh my shit! It’s the second last day of 2010 and I seriously doubt I can finish blogging about 2010 in two days.

But in a sentence: “2010 has been the best year EVER“.

January

Doing ‘industrial’ (the irony) attachment in school for KG. Though the work wasn’t exactly all blood-pumping or whatnot, the best things I got off from it:

1. Spending more quality time with my classmates Ahjumma and Eric

2. Getting to know KG and Isaiah better

3. Having the time and place to start learning my violin (and a very ‘supportive’ audience i.e. see above two points)

4. Kinda like got a headstart for my FYP (?)

5. Got to eat pudding made by Ahjumma (albeit a shocking poisonous-looking green)

February

Still doing attachment, so the previous four points are repeatable (I stopped the pudding-eating).

Oh ya, got a $500 ang pao from school from being slave to KG and the highest amount of angpao money during Chinese new year ever (not including the $500).

March

Bought my beloved violin! It’s a Walter Mahr (German) violin bought from Synwin for a…. bombastic price. Kinda way too bombastic for a noob but I think I am starting to do the violin justice nowadays xD She is called Hikari (光り) hoho!

And of course, March, the start of all things evil. Advanced food technology, food product development and food process and design. Who could ever forget?!

March-June

Busy as hell days.

So much work to do, never ending… Broke my record of sleeping overnight in school – think it was 6D5N or something. They should open Massey ‘Hougang’ Chalet.

Sank in and out of depression several times but floated most of the time, thankfully :)

Lots of troubles were bubbling, but nevertheless they served as a good souce of gossip…. hahaha! The true meaning of 患难见真情 manifested, and so did ‘Tough Times Don’t Last Tough Men Do’. I wonder if personalities which evolved under pressure are the real ones or just warped ones? I guess not only can pressure make diamonds it can also grind stones to powder.

Amidst the busy-ness, people who were on the edge of insanity can really provide comic relief to one another.

I was also happy with the groupings I got for all assignments (albeit one but I can’t really complain since there were worse)!

AFT Assignment 1 – With Eric, Siewy, High Class, Shirley

AFT Assignment 2 – With Wenying, Wensheng, Xiu Hua, Meifang and Hazel

PD – With Shirley, Yi Le and Samuel

Oh man so lucky! Got to know Shirley much better because we were in the same group for two assignments. Thank God for her in the PD group because I totally clammed up when it comes to asking strangers to try our Jelly. Ali, you should really be a PR manager or something, or go pursue your air stewardess dream! Also grouped with Blackie for the first time in Massey.

I never fail to ask myself “How did I survive?” whenever I think of those 3 fateful months.

I’m glad I did!

June-September

Start of FYP!!!!

Though I didn’t go NZ, I’m still glad I stayed behind in SG with the other half of the class ! :D

So much more relaxing as compared to the previous three months. Individual work FTW!

The idea of ending school in a few months time just drives one mad crazy happy. 17 years of schooling, studying, exams – coming to an end! ‘What should I do after graduation?’ was constantly hovering over my guar gum-saturated brain.

Loads of nua-ing, report and pre-assessment chionging and tete-a-tete talks. And that’s basically the essence of the Class of 2010. I still miss the FYP days every now and then..

1. Bui sitting right in front of my ‘throne’ and falling asleep between 3-4 p.m. everyday without fail.

2. Ahjumma on my left and always watching Glee and Korean Dramas… continuing to sleep on my mattress even though her supervisor was waiting to discuss something with her (TSK! How daring!)

3. High class and her ‘boil-water-in-beakers-on-magnetic-stirrer’ act. Always the first to come and the last to leave.

4. Ah Jing and Siewy travelling to and from the common room and T11A with the precious lactic acid bacteria… Oh… and the pungent radish smell Ah Jing bombs the lab with!

5. Bee Tin and her “JIALAT AH!’s /slap forehead

6. Eric always hidden from view by the lockers, but always sian that equipment (centrifuge) cannot use

7. Rousong and his chia seeds… extracting and extracting and extracting… never lies or zhng his result to KG despite all my bad influence :X

8. Amina always staring at her capillary viscometer until cross-eyed and her “VRAAHH” outbursts on seeing Flory and Huggins’ not-so-straight lines

9. The travellers Sai and Pong Pong, one always at Shimadzu and the other at W10. Always not in common room with us so can forget about them HAHA~

10. Blackie reaches at 10 plus-ish everyday and leaves at 10 plus-ish everyday. Never washes his water bottle, his plastic containers, owes us Aiyu Jelly which he promised to make years ago and eats Mac for dinner almost everyday.

11. Ruthoo always sitting on the other half of the common room (see la almost forgot about you!). Gets bombarded by greedy SP students who wants to eat her you tiaos.

And I also developed a fear for Golden Pagodas during FYP.. everytime I’m running the rheometer a skinny whitish Golden Pagoda will stand behind me and breath extra loudly whenever I handled the equipment in a chor-lor manner.

Those were the days :)

September

End of FYP, only the touching up of the final report remains.

Start of days of nua-ing and outings (Sizzler lunch buffet once again fulfilled)!

Job-hunting was still smoky thing to be thought about in the future without form yet.

October

TIOMAN TRIP!

Was supposed to have been Krabi instead, but couldn’t get tickets in the end.

It’s the company that matters! (Lim, 2010)

Had quite alot of fun playing polar bear, watching lightning and running like a banshee when a terrible storm strike one night.

It was Redang trip once again :)

Another good thing about October – my mother came back to live with us! Er, but still that’s because her rent elsewhere sort of expired and she had no choice HAHA. But at least I get to see her everyday and not like thrice a year anymore. And FOOD. Oh boy. Loads and loads of Yakult, Kinder Buenos, Redondo, cakes, and whatever makes you fat.

November

Graduation!!! The day has come to don the furry robes of Massey and the squarish board of Mortar. But all in all it was just a formal ceremony to mark graduation. I’ve not graduated from learning, my friends, my teachers, and life!

Also started working in MOE after a frenzy  of job hunts and job rejections. I don’t think anyone can have luck as sheer and weird as mine. Getting rejected job after jobs for unbeknownst reasons (like what are the chances of someone forgetting to meet  you to sign a contract?!), I ended up in the Elite Force of MOE (Zhao, 2010). Best job ever! Really many thanks to Ahbuji and Bui from the bottom of my heart. I’ve never for one day taken this job for granted!

December

God was saving the best for the last.

1. Enjoying my work life in MOE to the fullest. Made many new friends i.e. Tracy, Desmond, Eugene, and all the teabreaks with Bui, Ahbuji and Shin.

2. Birthday! Dearest PZ and Ali, thanks for collaborating on the surprise… and everyone else who turned up and waited till the cows come home (in this case quite apt, with PZ being the cow). And Universal Studios! Awesome fun. I’m a sucker for theme park rides even though I’m a wussy who won’t open her eyes on a rollercoaster.

3. Scholarship approved. /Already on the brink of death – autopsy: over-excitement

xxxxxxx

2010 I love you big time. Never can I say my whole life’s BORING anymore. At least there will always be a 2010 when everything was different. I’m sorry you’ll be gone, but even 2011 will not be able to replace you.

ドキドキ Sheep & Honey!

For those whom I haven’t got the chance to tell the good news – my application for doctoral scholarship has been approved!!!

OMG I am just dead happy. At least it is set in stone and not just a whimsical fantasy anymore.

Yes, it is not a three year-long holiday (if only it was!), but work aside, I’m finally going to be starting a new life! Research work is really not my cup of tea… but I can compromise with that in exchange for living conditions fit for humans.

No more sweaty humid heat, no more crowded packed like luncheon meat trains/buses, no more 菜饭 with oily vegetables, no more seeing my parents’ son, no more Singaporean guys who run far away from me because I’m smarter than them (ok la I know that’s probably not the main factor), no more foreigners (because I’m going to be one :X), no more rude Aunties, no more mad competition, no more boring sceneries, no more ‘nothing-to-do-weekends’, NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If all goes well, May will be gone in May… Yipeedee yabadoo!

Almost done with my autumn and winter clothings, hoping to get sponsorship for SQ air ticket from father, have yet to scout for accommodation, and I am already on a d0wnl0ad1ng rampage of dramas, movies and books to keep myself occupied for three years.

So excited I could literally die from heart stoppage.

Palmy Here I Come!!!!!!

Graphs for Laughs

The Brain and the Heart

Kopped this picture from PZ’s Tumblr because I like it alot!

It’s funny how we have two organs in our body which are in constant conflict and yet we have not internally exploded into bar chor.

Goodbye 2010

“It looks like you have multiple celebratons this year – no more written exams, graduation, 1st class honours, scholarship, birthday, Christmas… WOW!!!“ – KG

Well, that pretty much sums up the highlights of 2010!

FYP days were undoubtedly the best. Just miss the days of nua-ing in common room, acting hardworking in the lab, staying overnight to chiong reports/experiments, and the nonsense we did in the common room. Missing school all over again :)

Today was a Fairytale

16.12.10　「木」　雲　幸せ

Today, I feel loved.

Loved by my friends, and loved by family, and loved by a someone up there.

It is Santa’s Christmas present 9 days early, and Lady Luck is finally smiling in my direction.

Thank you cowseatsushi for the fun day at Universal Studios,

all the screaming, queuing, waiting, eating, gossiping, laughing, present and conspiracy with my classmates.

Thank you sshirleyy, rockkstar09, jiashinny, jiaxin_pongpong, wehttam86, vunnyeang, w3nsh3ng, saiyulee, ppbing, ruisong_rousong and goh_hello for the surprise and dinner,

all the organising, surprise-keeping, training-skipping, waiting and presents.

Thank you shiminaminah, ruthyappie, timothy’s mother, lizazatan, yetanothertracy and oddkinsons for the wishes,

wish you were here!

—–

Today was indeed a fairytale. It was so unbelievable that going to sleep felt more like returning back to reality.

First of all, I was already half-expecting the day’s plans to fall apart since we were at the mercy of the weather. The weather forecast was “afternoon showers with thunders” in the south and what were the chances of escaping rain in December? Behold, it did not rain at all (slight drizzle at 5+ but it just so happen that we were already wearing our ponchos for the Jurassic park ride)! Cloudy day, no glaring and sizzling sunlight, just perfect. Mr. Weather is ever so kind to me :)

Then came the unexpected surprise dinner with my classmates at NBG Korean restaurant in Orchard.

Did I not look surprised? Don’t even let my slightly shocked face (though I still don’t believe I only looked mildly surprised) deceive you. I was stunned speechless for the first 3 seconds, then went into shock mode and my thoughts were as incoherent as answering a phone call while I am asleep. Pz said that she wouldn’t even have the time to scream for the most hair-raising rides. The same for surprises – if I still had reaction time to laugh or cry then I wasn’t really 100% caught unprepared I suppose.

It’s really kinda hard to get surprised without even that little bit of spoiler beforehand!

Looks like my bimboness has caught onto me and I had very unsuspectingly thought dinner would be just me and Pz. Being bimbo is useful for once! The most plausible scenario I thought of was that Pz left a cake at the restaurant so that’s why she has to go that particular restaurant. ‘Classmates waiting there’ was under my ‘out of the world’ scenario which had only occurred to me once and I never bothered thinking about it the 2nd time. Hahaha! Hence, the ultimate shock. I really thought my classmates would just celebrate it on Saturday since there’s already a gathering and only two days from my birthday. WELL PLAYED (Cooper, 2010)!

Still, I am mad happy.

In my previous birthday-related post I said:

Haha ok nonsense aside, I do have something very realistic on that wishlist.

But at the look of things, I pronounce it dead.

The wish was actually a very simple one – nice dinner with close friends, not on Saturday because people may be there for Christmas and my birthday would seem very extra or something. I ‘pronounced it dead’ because everyone seemed to have loads of things on for this week and there didn’t just seem to have a common day when everyone was free (‘cept for Saturday).

Both my father and mother also remembered this year (God knows why), despite having missed it for almost the past 10 years or so.  No presents (er, ok la my mum gave me an $88 angpao), but good enough :D

Even KG too! Hahaha but that’s cause he sent me work to do on my birthday and I replied him with “you have given me the ‘best’ birthday present of all – work!“.

Guess everything happens for a reason!

2010 has been such a crazy lovely year I would never forget it.

With this I think I can leave for NZ with no regrets… SMILE! :)

Manslater

LAUGH OUT LOUD!

If there were really such a device every man on Earth should own one. Minus the gays and trans.

Books like ‘Why Women Are From Venus and Men Are From Mars’ would be useless. Why bother to read and try to understand women when you would still have a good 70% chance of interpreting it wrongly.

The phrase ‘Men just don’t get it‘ will change to ‘Men always gets it’.

Channel Kapuchu

I must have been really, really deprived of movies and dramas during school days.

My eyes are now glued to the tube (not exactly the teevo per se) and clocking hours of mad drama/sitcom-chasing.

“If God can’t make me slim, make my friends fat!”

Same theory – if friends don’t understand why you’re so hung up over a certain show, force them to watch it! Mind you, watching the same shows as your friends can come as handy conversation starters. Say goodbye to awkward silences!

Channel Kapuchu’s TV Guide:

(I do not necessarily recommend the latest shows, but I’m sure they not all that outdated fresh on everyone’s minds?)

1. Rapunzel (aka Tangled)

GIRLS – do not believe whatever shit your male counterparts tell you about this show. Heck, I don’t even know why guys would say they don’t like this show. Maybe because the lead ‘actor’ is more handsome than them? (Ooo especially the part where Flynn Rider was unconscious in the tower after getting whacked by Rapunzel’s fry pan *fan-girl squeal*).

You probably know about the plot already – what? You’ve never read about this fairytale before? Urh. Alright, typical ingredients to a princess-lives-happily-ever-after story. (As with all princess stories, same instant noodle but different seasonings, that’s all). Rapunzel is a princess who got locked up by an evil witch in a tower since young, because she had the powers to keep the witch eternally youthful.

Her hair was goddamnit long, and I mean LONG (look at poster if you don’t already get the idea of scale). Nobody could climb up the tall tower Rapunzel lived in, unless they climbed using her hair. Here comes the most famous line of all -

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair”.

But I suspect the movie version is kinda of a twist to the original fairytale, since the ‘Prince’ i.e. Flynn Rider, who wasn’t a prince but a commoner/thief (sorry to disappoint you) entered the tower using two spears and not a golden pigtail. The duo got to know each other better as they went through ordeals and come near to facing death while on the quest to watch the magical lanterns.

Alright, shall not reveal too much of the show’s essence here… In any case, the songs are awesome (since Mandy Moore’s the dubbing actress for Rapunzel)!

If you liked Shrek as much as I did then I believe Rapunzel’s the cup of movie popcorn for you. Princess finds true love + Old witch defeated in the end. What else can one ask for? Happily Ever After still sells. People pay to watch that Happily Every After.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Have you been listening?!

Read here if you don’t already know why Harry Potter is awesome.

Ok, I know I should be a bit more objective in recommending shows to people.

I suppose you could watch the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you don’t mind a creepy eerie fugly Voldemort. Or an endingless movie.

But I think it’s all just Warner Bros’ gimmick, a final attempt at milking the Harry Potter cash cow since it’s the final movie. Seriously, did it need two parts?! And a good six months apart! Blimey! I’ll bet 10 Galleons that there’ll be HP 7 Part 1 and 2 bloody-cheat-our-money Movie Marathons. Then we’ll be watching Part 1 on the big screens again.

Yes the movie itself’s good (but I worry for mere Muggles, having to be kept on suspense for a good six months), but is it worth watching it now? That’s up for you to decide!

3. The Big Bang Theory

Revive that geek in you! This. show. is. real. FUNNEH. If you love sarcasm, all things geek and a physics/general facts-non-stop spewer aka Sheldon Cooper, WATCH IT.

Neither the title nor poster attracted me enough to watch this show in the first place, but I WAS WRONG!!! Thanks to @cowseatsushi’s recommendation, I am now guaranteed at least 1000 minutes of laughter and woebegone-be-gone!

A typical dialogue between the geek (Leonard), geekest (Sheldon) and the always catching-no-ball Penny.

Leonard: How did you know my birthday’s Saturday?
Penny: I did your horoscope, remember? I was going to do everybody’s until Sheldon went on one of his typical psychotic rants.
Sheldon: For the record, that psychotic rant was a concise summation of the research of Bertram Forer, who, in 1948, proved conclusively through meticulously designed experiments that astrology is nothing but pseudoscientific hokum.
Penny: Blah, blah, a typical Taurus

Source: http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/shows/the-big-bang-theory/season-1/

Dr. Sheldon Cooper

The mad scientist (Theoretical Physicist), if you will. Has an IQ of around 180 and took his PhD at an age of 14 (and now has two doctorates and a degree – mental). Has, however, an EQ of probably 200 – 180 = 20. Dr. Sarcastic but never realises he is one. “Just when I thought I got the hang of sarcasm!“. He stays with his roommate, Leonard, who both drives their normal girl-next-door (literally) neighbour, Penny, crazy. If he wasn’t breathing you would think he was a robot.

Then again, he could have been programed to breath.

…….

Dr. Leonard Hofstadter

Not as mental as Sheldon, in fact probably the most normal of the F4 (Frankenstein 4). Still, a doctorate in (experimental) Physics. He’s quite a nice person actually, but watch him lust after Penny (and the occasional Leslie Winkle) hopelessly.

Mr. Howard Wolowitz

A Jew, a mummy’s boy, and the only one without a doctorate (a Masters from MIT and he is constantly mocked by Sheldon). Also the wolf of the pack, with 95% of his brain consisting of sex and girls.

…. See what I mean…?

Dr. Rajesh Koothra-something (Raj, if you will)

He can’t talk to women. He can’t talk when there’s one around. So in 50% of the show he doesn’t talk. The other 50% is when he talking to guys or has drunk alcohol (the green grasshopper!).

Poor, poor, guy.

But without him, Howard is incomplete.

Penny

“Penny for your thoughts” (overused joke by Howard)

“How does it feel to be surrounded by 4 geeks everyday who spend their time playing Halo, visiting comic book stores, discussing quantum physics theory and dressing up at Star Wars characters?”

Like this:

Oh man, just watch the show already. Your sarcasm skill is guaranteed to level up.

4. Three Idiots

Last show on Kapuchu’s channel guide for today.

Three idiots is the second Bollywood film I’ve watched after Slumdog Millionaire and I have new found respect for Indian movies. Gone were the days of the couple-plays-hide-and-seek-behind-coconut-trees era. Either that, or they have upgraded to lamp posts, cars, or building walls. Oh, but you can’t escape from their dances and whacked songs in the show for sure.

Anyhow, I’m too tired to type out the synopsis so here comes a blogger’s best friend – Wikipedia.

3 Idiots is a comedy of ideas that is as provocative as funny, as wildly entertaining as insightful. A laugh-riot that talks about the most important of human pursuits: self-actualization.

Two friends (Madhavan and Sharman Joshi) embark on a quest for a lost buddy. On this journey, they encounter a long forgotten bet, a wedding they must crash and a funeral that goes impossibly out of control. As they make their way through the perilous landscape, another journey begins: their inner journey through memory lane and the story of their friend – the irrepressible free thinker Rancho (Aamir Khan), who in his unique way, touched and changed their lives. It’s a story of their hostel days that swings between Rancho’s romance with the spirited Pia (Kareena Kapoor), and his clash with an oppressive mentor, Viru Sahastrabudhhe (Boman Irani). And then one day, suddenly, Rancho vanishes….

Who was he? Where did he come from? Why did he leave?

The friend who influenced and inspired them to think creatively and independently, even as the conformist world called them three idiots. Where is the original idiot now?

Finally in misty mountains of unparalleled beauty, the friends find the key to the secret.

What is education? Is it mere securing of good grades and mugging up books? Are those who swot day and night and follow the study curriculum mechanically the ideal pupils? Does the entire burden of education leave any room for original thought? Rajkumar Hirani’s film 3 Idiots attempts to tackle and answer these questions.

Source: http://movies.apunkachoice.com/titles/3id/3-idiots/mid_25393/synopsis/

(Wikipedia’s synopsis was way too long)

I’d recommend this show to all those still studying (especially in tertiary education).

Especially if you are wondering “Why am I studying this“, “Why am I here” or “Is this what I really am going to do for the rest of my life?” more than half the time in school.

Of course, a lot of things are easier said than done.

The society is shaped this way because of a fundamental fault in the education system since I-don’t-know, the Tang Dynasty?

And the problem is definitely worsening on an exponential scale in Singapore. Those parents trying to churn out the next top student or ‘the youngest pianist in Singapore to obtain an ABRSM Grade 8′.

Every other day the headlines would alternate between “4 Year Old Dicky, Youngest to Obtain Distinction in Maths Olympiad” and “Graduate Student, 15, found dead in bedroom”.

Watch the movie and you may find yourself ashamed of your motivation to succeed.

The Last Candle

Wondering where’s my wishlist this year?

I realise I’m one of the shameless few who actually has a wishlist for their birthday (but hey! That’s cause I have a blog! That’s what blogs are for right? No?)

When people ask you what you want for your birthday, you’re suppose to act humble and generous by saying “It’s ok! Don’t have to get me anything” or, “Anything also can la” or, “It’s the company that matters”. COME ON. You know you’re lying when you say that. Don’t grumble when somebody ends up giving you your 23rd photo frame or another dust-collector. I believe in practicality above all things. Give me a teddy bear and I’ll rip the cotton wool from inside out right in front of your eyes. HAHA okok that was really just a joke (hides swiss knife back).

Gosh. I hate birthdays. I don’t actually hate people’s birthdays, just my own. But not the hate-to-celebrate-it kind. Every year as it nears my birthday I find my split personality condition worsen. A part of me wants to celebrate my birthday with a wallakazham! and wallakabam! because I’ve never done it before in my life. A bigass party, with shitloads of people and mountains of presents (sorry, fantasy overload). But another part of me does not want to acknowledge the fact that Armageddon’s drawing near and I’d find a hole as soon as I can and wait for that fateful day to go by. I like to watch my friends blow their birthday candles. But I really really hate being the one watched.  Birthday show at the zoo much?

I’ve done the hiding last year, this year I’d settle for the in-between. I didn’t dare get a Snoopy’s “Happy Birthday” sticker in Universal Studios Japan a year ago and still painfully regret it till this date (/thumps chest). This year, I’m sure @cowseatsushi would help me snatch/steal/beg one for me right? xD Yipeeee! I’m praying it wouldn’t rain on Thursday! Yay to $2 Daiso raincoats.

Leonard: I don’t celebrate my birthday.
Penny: Shut up. Yeah, you do.
Leonard: It’s no big deal. It’s just the way I was raised. My parents focused on celebrating achievements and being expelled from a birth canal was not considered one of them.

(Source: http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/shows/the-big-bang-theory/season-1/)

Right. Back to wishlist.

1. Approval for that scholarship. I don’t foresee myself living past my 23rd birthday (which would be in 2011) if I’m still living in Singapore by then.
2. Ticket to BoA’s concert at Budoukan (or heck, any concert of hers and I’d die without regrets)
3. Visit from a Greek God

Er yah, that’s all.

“What?! That didn’t give any clues as to what to what to get you!”

First of all, I thank whoever’s intending to get me anything at all. Anyhow, you would know what to get me if you have been paying attention. Worst come to worst, there’s always a fail-proof gift that starts with ‘K’. Mind you, it’s not “Kinky Panties” nor “Kinder Bueno“.

Haha ok nonsense aside, I do have something very realistic on that wishlist.

But at the look of things, I pronounce it dead.

Sleepy Kitty

超可愛い！！！＜３

Bizzare Google Searches

Stuck in a Ruddy Rut

0630: Rise but not shining yet
0715: Leave house
0736: Board train and head for Buona Vista
0835: Reach office and eat breakfast
1200: Lunch
1300 – 1600: ALSS (After-Lunch Sleepy Syndrome)
1600: Teabreak @ L5
1800: End work
1800 – 2200: Outings (if any at all), or stuck in a crowded train smelling people’s smelly armpits
2300: Sleep

There you have it, my entire repeatable schedule for Mondays to Fridays without fail, except public holidays (oh I assure you it’s just as predictable too).

Just as monotonous a routine life like yours truly can be boring and brain-degenerating, it is surprisingly comfortable as well.

It sucks you into that deep hole called the comfort zone. Some people love their comfort zone, some are risk-hugging, and some just don’t want to face the fact that they are enjoying their comfort zone when they really want to be trying something out of the world at some point of time in their lives. I am the third type – an escapist. Slowly but surely, morphing into the first.

Routine, stability, security.

Now I can finally understand why people can live being cubicle rats day in and out, hungry only for that pay check at the end of every month.

It really feels good (?) to know that a check will come your way at a fixed time every month and a fixed amount at that.

…. But is that how one should really live?

My 10 years with Harry Potter

*** I don’t think there are any spoilers in this post. But still, read it at your own risk!

Harry Potter grew up with me, literally. This year marks my 10th anniversary with Harry Potter, having known him since 2000 in Primary 6. I know, you must think I’m mental. But 10 years is a very long time. I have only known my Massey classmates for at best 3 years, Poly classmates for 5 years. So tell me why Harry Potter doesn’t deserve to be in my best-friend list’? (Oh, just cause he’s fictional?!)

But of course, it is not just Harry Potter per se, but also Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, even Draco Malfoy and the rest of magical community.

I just caught the first instalment of the final Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows on the big screen. It really feels like everything is coming to the end - the final, final chapter. For books 1-6, even if it was the last chapter, there was a ‘next book’ to look forward to. For book 7, there was still the remaining movies to be watched even if the book days reached a dead end. Now? One last movie to catch and that’s it. Noooooooo!! (Engulfed in the flames of self-denial)

Will there be a sequel? I long to ‘see’ Dumbledore once again… but then again, the thought of reading about Harry Potter’s kids doesn’t thrill me the least bit. Imagine: Draco Malfoy taking over Voldemort and thus finally killing Harry Potter. His daughter, the girl who lived – with a star-shaped scar on her kneecaps. Ugh. Or. Worst of the lot, Voldemort and Bellatrix giving birth to an ugly baby with slits for his/her nose ala Voldemort, with scaly skin and an maniacal evil laughter. Plot:  Kids of Harry Potter/Hermione/Ron VS Serpent Boy.

…….

Ok no sequels please. Harry Potter 1-7 are as good as it is.

One thing I’m really proud to be, is a Harry Potter fan (I might otherwise die of shame if I admitted I was a crazy fangirl of Shinee or Super Junior).

I have the entire collection of Harry Potter books! (First and most important prerequisite to being a full-fledged Harry Potter fan). Published by Bloomsbury, hardcover 1st edition for books 4-7, and bought off the shelves on first day of release (in Singapore)! I remember finishing book 7 within 3 days – I could hardly stop. Childish guys competed who could finish reading the book faster so that they can drop spoiler bombs on others.

MyHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book:

Where else can you find another Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book (now) which only has “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” listed under ‘Also available‘?!

By itself, is a testament of time.

There are also other versions of Harry Potter series available, but it’s a dead giveaway that you’re not a hardcore fan if you have the adult version since it was only released after the fourth book. Don’t worry, nothing R21 about the adult version, it’s this:

I admit the cover’s alot more sophisticated than the children’s version which I have, but no way was I going to buy the adult version when my other three books were already the kid’s version. I bet adults all over the world were complaining about the kiddy and skittles-coloured version. Before the release of the adult versions, they probably had to disguise the covers with last year Christmas wrappers, National Geographic covers or read it behind the newspapers.

…. But Harry Potter is a children’s book! It’s the winner of the 1997 Smarties Gold Award! Blimey.

Ten Reasons Why Harry Potter Is Magical  (or why Rowling deserves to be a mi/billionaire)

One)

It’s magical. Both literally and non-literally. Who doesn’t want to be able to turn their fat ugly bullying cousins into toads? Harry Potter made millions of kids in the world wait for their letters of admittance to Hogwarts by the fireplace when they turn eleven. British kids start ramming themselves into the walls between platforms 9 and 10, hoping to fall into platform 9 & 3/4 at the London Train Station (I won’t be surprised to see medics on standby there). I used to chant “Lumos” when I went to toilets, ignoring the fact that the lights were turned on by the automatic sensor and not by my wizardry. Oh well, so what if it didn’t work?!  Maybe I’m a squib that’s all.

Two)

Everything mythical to us Muggles were commonplace for the wizarding world. Unicorns, talking snakes, Centaurs, Hippogriffs, Dragons, Werewolves, Potions, Spells, Time-travelling, Broomsticks. Is there anything which Rowling even left out? Ah yes, vampires (mentioned except for when Professor Quirrell was fighting them off  in Albania). Which explains why they managed to become such a big hit by just falling in love with Muggles.

Three)

Quidditch! 1000x way better than watching soccer even if it was an imaginary game. For starters, it has 4 ‘balls’ and not just one. I apostrophed the word ‘balls’ not because I’m thinking wryly but because it is degrading to call the Snitch, Quaffle and Bludgers as mere balls.

…. They can move on their own and the Snitch has wings .. ! How are they just balls?!

And they only need 7 people on each team to make the game interesting (1 seeker, 2 beaters, 3 chasers and 1 keeper). Soccer has 11 people on a team and the excitement level is unfortunately inversely proportional to the number of players.

Read ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’ (the green one) to find out more about this mystical game, and book four for an exciting World Quidditch Cup match between Ireland and Bulgaria.

Four)

Spells and more spells!

Ever wished you had more than just ‘Abracadabra’ and ‘Open Sesame’ in your spell vocabulary?

Want to levitate bubble gum above that bitch’s hair? Try Wingardium Leviosa, with a nice swish and flick action with your wand.

Want to be your own boss? Control everyone’s mind with the Imperius curse – “Imperio! You shall continue to read my blog everyday for the rest of your life….”

Did something embarrassing? Erase everyone’s memories with Obliviate (Warning: Spell does not selectively erase memories, it erases everything. Use with caution).

***Just to clarify, Hermione did not erase all her parents’ memories of her like what the movie depicts. She only modified it, I think. But I admit, it has a higher chance of making movie-goers cry.

I wonder why there isn’t a ‘The Standard Book of Spells’ by Miranda Goshawk (a textbook used in Hogwarts) published yet like ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’.

Anyhow, you can refer to the Muggles’ version of the textbook in the meantime here.

Five)

Hogwarts, Gringotts, Diagon Alley, Ministry of Magic. The equivalent of Universal Studio, Hello Kitty Land, Disney Land and Movie World to us Muggles. Creating places are just as important as putting life into the characters! No fun if everything was just concrete and tile. Harry Potter attending magic classes, sitting at a normal desk in a normal school building – bah. Harry Potter boiling the Living Draught of Death in a cauldron in a cold dungeon – that’s more like it!

Six)

Harry Potter comes to life in the movies.

The movies deserve some credit even though I am a book evangelist. My favourite movie is still that of book 1, where Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint were still cute/handsome – to quote Rousong, they look like drug addicts in the 7th movie. The plot in its entirety and the wizarding terms were easily understood (from a non-book reader’s point of view). … And Dumbledore was still acted by Richard Harris.

The kind, slow-speaking and ever so patient Professor Dumbledore.

My favourite Dumbledore quote from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry was doubting whether the sorting hat placed him wrongly in Gryffindor (where he could have achieved great powers in Slytherin for being able to speak Parseltongue and having Voldemort ‘qualities’ in him (ok, phew what a long explanation and I just made it even longer)):

It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

Harry chose to be in Gryffindor, and therefore he is.

But horror of all horrors, never in my Harry Potter life had such a debacle occurred – the new actor for Dumbledore, Michael Gambon was outrageously atrocious and out of character.

That’s Dumbledore yelling at Harry and coercing him to say whether he put his name into the Goblet of Fire. First of all, Dumbledore does not and will not yell at Harry. Secondly, it seems as though the Dumbledore in the movie was thoroughly convinced that Harry cheated. Dumbledore has full trust in Harry! Not because the book explicitly says so, but based on what we know of Dumbledore and the things he has done for Harry for all 7 years!

A downright treachery to us Harry Potter cum Dumbledore fans.

I blame the change in directors for the movies as well. Why did they let him carry on if they knew the actor wasn’t in character? All of them obviously never flipped past the chapter ‘The Boy Who Lived’. In fact, the two worst movies IMO were Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, both  having new directors. Book 4 was the worst, nearly threw popcorn at the theater screen.

Who could forget the bellowing yell of “SILENCE” by the new Dumbledore? It was the most un-Dumbledorish thing ever said.

The most redundant scene in the Goblet of Fire movie - Harry Potter escaping from the Hungarian Horntail on his firebolt.

Question: Why did they spend a good 45-60 seconds of the movie touring round the castle, with the dragon hot on Harry’s heels (literally)? Impress audience with their CG? Take audience on an around-the-Hogwarts-in-80-seconds trip? They didn’t even show how the other three Triwizard champions got past their dragons! Then one wouldn’t really know whether it was a genius move by Harry Potter to defeat the dragon and capture the golden egg as compared to the rest. Nonsense! Hate it. Book 3 also, a tour of Hogwarts with Harry Potter on Buckbeak’s back, flying through the castle, over the lake, above the clouds, with Harry shouting “woooos” like Lupin on the loose.

Back to why the movies are still good.

Before the movies, the Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in my imagination were all very… ugly. Nerdy if not condescending. If there’s something I must blame, it’s the cover of the first and second Harry Potter book.

….. See what I mean?

My imagination of how Harry and Ron looked like (before Danial Radcliffe and Rupert Grint) was not far from that of the book covers’. Sad, but true.

At least the movies made imagining the scenes, characters and voices in my head x1000 better when re-reading the books.

Ok it’s been a really long post!

Think I shall stop blogging here (haha sorry for the “ten reasons”, as usual, I only managed six).

That pretty much sums up my 10th anniversary tribute for Harry Potter :)

Untranslatable Words

Came across this on the web – words (and I mean only one) in other languages which encompass a great deal of meaning, and it simply doesn’t exist in your English dictionary.

Source: http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/20-awesomely-untranslatable-words-from-around-the-world/

1. Toska

Russian – Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”

2. Mamihlapinatapei

Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) – “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start” (Altalang.com)

3. Jayus

Indonesian – “A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh” (Altalang.com)

4. Iktsuarpok

Inuit – “To go outside to check if anyone is coming.” (Altalang.com)

5. Litost

Czech – Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, remarked that “As for the meaning of this word, I have looked in vain in other languages for an equivalent, though I find it difficult to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it.” The closest definition is a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.

6. Kyoikumama

Japanese – “A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement” (Altalang.com)

7. Tartle

Scottish – The act of hestitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name. (Altalang.com)

8. Ilunga

Tshiluba (Southwest Congo) – A word famous for its untranslatability, most professional translators pinpoint it as the stature of a person “who is ready to forgive and forget any first abuse, tolerate it the second time, but never forgive nor tolerate on the third offense.” (Altalang.com)

9. Prozvonit

Czech – This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money. In Spanish, the phrase for this is “Dar un toque,” or, “To give a touch.” (Altalang.com)

10. Cafuné

Brazilian Portuguese – “The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair.” (Altalang.com)

No. 2 (Mamihlapinatapei) reminds me of a particular scene in Changi Airport, sometime in June, between two people. One leaving for NZ, and the other, heart-wrenchingly remained.

My favourite’s no. 7! Tartle! Forgetting someone’s name is nothing strange or embarrassing, but the pause which reveals you forgetting it is! Nothing in the English language can really replace this or have been invented for this action! If you forget the person’s name while introducing them, just say “I’d let you do the honours of introducing yourself” haha!

The best – no. 9, Prozvonit. Bet all the Singaporeans do this because we have free incoming and no free outgoing calls. Speaking of which, I exceeded my free outing calls for last month and have to pay about $0.50 extra! OMG. This I swear has never happened. Don’t prozvonit on me, wait for me to prozvonit on you :D. Thanks mate.