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1102|2011

I haven’t had a proper/punctual lunch for the past week at the usual Buona Vista kopitiams.

Been running all over places during lunch hours to get things done…. But not that I mind actually, since it’s places like Orchard or Outram Park i.e. can eat lunch with the professional force).

I’m not even in New Zealand and am already in kneechest-high debts.

• NZ Embassy in Orchard to obtain explanatory letter – $0
• Police Headquarters in Outram Park to obtain clearance record – $45
• Medical Checkup in Buona Vista – $160
• X-ray in Mount Elizabeth – $40 (Eye candy: Priceless!!!!)
• Accommodation deposit with bedpack: $410
• Visa Application: $230
• Meeting with supervisors: $0
• Total: $885

Thank god for the 2 hour+++ lunch breaks!!!

There’s just wayyy too many things to settle! But settling things convince me that I’m really leaving this god forbidden place. Hard truth: Brain drain in Singapore a result of our government’s finest policies.

Taking away CNY week and my one month absence in April, I’d say I can start counting down to my time left on this little red dot.

10 more weeks to go!

Violin for adoption!

I’m clearing out tons of stuff but I just can’t bear to chuck my first violin away.

The one which Ahjumma and Eric had to endure the crooning of. The one which I had played ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars On’.

So, anyone wants to have a go at learning violin? Please adopt my dear violin and take good care of it while I’m away! Includes case, bow, rosin, shoulder rest and Suzuki Method Book 1. It is a beginner’s model from Synwin. And it does sound a lot better than when I just bought it cause it’s slightly seasoned already.

P.S: You must be someone I know personally to be able to adopt it!

SECRET GARDEN ~시크럿가든~

Thanks to Ahjumma’s recommendation, I didn’t even know Hyun Bin (see below) starred in another typical-cliche-kdrama-plot-which-I-totally-love (–> sucker -points to self-).

Typical means:

• Main actor is (ultra) rich and (ultra) handsome
• Main actress is (super) poor but very pretty
• Wherein ‘rich’ means owning a departmental store or hotel – seriously, surely a guy who owns a NASA rocket would be hundreds of times richer than one who owns a mere hotel?!
• Rich guy falls for poor girl, first
• Then poor girl ends up liking rich guy but feels very sad because they know there is a big status difference between them
• Rich guy’s mother is an evil witch who stops the guy from marrying poor girl
• Poor girl usually has another poor (as in pitiful) guy liking her but is always one-sided

Familiar?

Heh. BUT I LIKE!!!

Because these typical shows feed the mad hunger pangs in girls like us for a pauper-to-princess fantasy. Guys like these don’t ever exist ok. In these shows they will protect the girl with all their lives, give up their fortune for them…. oh so touching.. but I seriously think the last of these guys got extinct together with the Wolly Mammoth.

Apart from the cliche-ness, it’s actually not too bad a show you know.

Synopsis:

Kim Joo-Won (Hyun-Bin) is from a wealthy family, smart and good looking. He runs the luxurious Roel Department store, which his family owns. Oska (Yoon Sang-Hyun) is a popular singer around Asia, but he doesn’t have musical talent. He is also a womanizer. Joo-Wan and Oska are also cousins and highly competitive towards each other.

On a request by Oska, Joo-Won goes to pick up actress Park Chae-Rin from a shooting set. Joo-Wan mistakes stunt woman Kil Ra-Lim (Ha Ji-Won) for Park Chae-Rim and takes stunt woman Ra-Lim to a hotel. Oska made the request in an attempt to prevent Park Chae-Rin from revealing their relationship to the press. At the hotel, Joo-Wan discovers that the woman he picked is not actress Park Chae-Rim but a stunt woman. During this time, Joo-Wan starts to experiece strong feelings for the fiesty stunt woman, even though she isn’t his type. Joo-Wan seeks out beautiful woman who comes from wealthy backgrounds so eventually she can support him. Nevertheless, Joo-Wan can’t stop thinking about Ra-Lim.

Later, Joo-Wan sneaks into an action school to watch Ra-Lim. Meanwhile, Ra-Lim tries her best to ignore Joo-Wan, because she knows Joo-Wan is on another social level from her. Nevertheless, Ra-Lim can’t help to feelings for Joo-Wan.

Yeun-Sul (Kim Sa-Rang) and Oska are ex-lovers, but they can’t forget each other. Then one day, Yeun-Sul meets Joo-Wan on a blind date. Even though Jo-Wan is clear that he doesn’t have interest in her, Yeun-Sul pursues Joo-Wan. Yeun-Sul knows Joo-Wan is Oska’s cousins and wants to use Joo-Wan to get under Oska’s skin. Yeun-Sul then manages to become the director for Oska’s next music video. The video shoot takes place on Jeju Island.

Meanwhile, stunt woman Ra-Lim is a fan of Oska’s music and wins a contest to go to Jeju Island with Oska himself. Ra-Lim also wants to take part in Oska’s music video. Joo-Won learns that Ra-Lim won the contest to spend time a romantic trip with Oska and decides to follow them to Jeju Island.

On Jeju Island, the main participants all gather. While riding bicycles in the mountains, Ra-Lim somehow gets separated from Joo-Wan and Oska. Joo-Wan frantic over Ra-Lim’s disappearance goes back to look for her. Joo-Wan is able to eventually find Ra-Lim and they then come across a mysterious restaurant in the woods named “Secret Garden”. Even more strange, the owner of “Secret Garden” seems to know Joo-Wan and Ra-Lim. The owner gives bottles of alcohol to Joo-Wan and Ra-Lim. That night, Joo-Wan and Ra-Lim drink the bottles of alcohol separately. The next morning, Joo-Wan and Ra-Lim discover that their souls have been exchanged!

Source: http://asianmediawiki.com/Secret_Garden_(SBS-2010-Korean_Drama)

Ok, body switch, so we see Freaky Friday once again. BUT there’s a slight churros twist to the body-changing part so keep watching.

Since the main actress’ character is a stunt woman, you get to see some tomb-raider actions in the show as well if you’re a fan of that genre. And she’s really pretty! Not the typical went-under-the-knife Korean doll with ultra fair skin and a weak constitution:

WAIT – The number #1 reason why I watch Secret Garden is because of Hyun Bin (玄彬)!!

He’s really damn handsome can?!?! This is what I mean by ‘GREEK GOD’!

I wonder how can anyone even stand talking to him with their eyes opened.

Hyun Bin – my favourite K-drama actor ever since I watched ‘My Name is Kim Sam Soon’ /fangirl~~

He looks kinda different from when he was acting in ‘My Name is Kim Sam Soon’ (above) huh? Not just skinnier but the face shape just doesn’t seem the same. He was already skinny when he acted in KSS, so how much skinnier can he get? Did he get plastic surgery? Hmm….

Yes… I predict I’m going to re-watch Secret Garden for at least 3 times just like how I did with ‘My Name is Kim Sam Soon’. It’s is that awesome. PLUS, Hyun Bin lent his golden voice for one of the tracks of Secret Garden:

I never knew he could sing so well!!!! This song is just so, so sad.

The show is ending soon, with the last two episodes for this weekend. Gonna be mopping in one corner of my room dealing with the last-episode syndrome again (T^T)..

Never in 22 years of my life did I manage to resolve even 1/2 of my New Year resolutions list (but they are usually written on a 3 foot long scroll, font size 8 pt). Ah, screw the scrolls.

I need to take reality checks when making new year resolutions. Resolutions – “an act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action”.

75% of my new year resolutions are wishes (i.e. hoping something desirable would happen without needing me to put extra effort or subject myself to mindless torture),

• To win Matthew in Mahjong everytime
• To get funding enough to cover my annual school fees so I can spend a teeny bit more on shopping accommodation or something
• To get enough angpao $$ this year to cover the cost of a digital camera
• Get a handsome Greek God and Japanese and Korean and Singaporean for my housemates in NZ

15% are from my to-do list i.e. die also have to do it or will happen in the natural orbital course of the universe, whether or not I put in any bit of determination to do it.

• To bring at least 1 TB worth of movies/dramas/anime to NZ
• Vacuum pack all my winter clothes
• Travel overseas before going NZ (NZ not counted) Taiwan trip, yes?? :)
• Have $3000 in my bank before May

5% are plain out-of-world resolutions which may take me 900 years to accomplish, not possible unless I’m an 1000 year old Ginseng Spirit.

• World peace
• Stop global warming

5% are good, down-to-earth resolutions, of which 2% can be accomplished in the same year it was made,

WHICH ARE:

1. Major spring cleaning

Because of two reasons – 1) certain individuals keep harassing me to let them come my house despite it being as normal as the three little pigs’ elder brother’s concrete house; 2) nobody’s gonna clean it for the next three years x_x

Things to clear: Mainly old clothes, cds, and books.

I have got my mother’s genes of compulsive shopping disorder and my father’s genes of compulsive cleaning/throwing disorder. Not exactly good news with direct antagonistic traits running through my veins. But when I start throwing things, I don’t ever look back. Mua. ha.ha.

Rule of thumb: Whatever’s not used for the past 5 years, it will not be used for the next 50 years. So I ended up throwing away 90% of the books on the bookshelf and now my book shelf is an ‘invisible-book’ shelf.

People often end up having more junk than they can afford with the space available because they don’t throw. Everything’s either sentimental or “I’m sure I’ll use it one day“. Your first baby bottle’s sentimental, your secondary school uniform’s sentimental. Gosh, by the age of 50 you’ll need an airplane hangar to store all your stuff man.

Sure, some things are worth remembering, but if you have actually lived the moment then you can tell yourself to move on and live other waiting moments like the one you already did!

2. Be Happy!

Stress is a choice, as Tracy’s ex-PE teacher says. So is happiness :)

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.

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!!!!!!

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.