charm: i'm jealous!!!
helloo you two! it's been such a long time since we had so much activity going on our blog! bah. while you two are having post-exam fun, am still stuck with mugging for my two papers. and i only end on dec 8th! -wails-
oh well, guess the only consolation about ending late, is that i have more time to mug and cram... my first paper's this saturday... hopefully things won't go too badly... it's an open book exam (i know, don't you two protest about how it's not fair that law papers are open book), but that doesn't make it any less challenging. it's a race for time, seriously. but well, frankly speaking, when done under stress-free circumstances, the hypothetical questions we get in our tutorials can be rather amusing. our tutors are an innovative bunch -- they can think up the most incredulous of situations, like how some guy queueing behind a lady wearing stilletto heels gets his toe stepped on when lady accidentally moves back, and it happens that he's haemophilic, so when lady steps on his toe, it bleeds, and the bleeding doesn't stop. so off to the hospital they go, in this ambulance driven by a driver who decides he's going to speed through traffic lights, and in the process, causes an accident, knocking into this car driven by a lady who happens to be transporting a 5million dollar painting, and well, painting gets destroyed in the accident. nada nada nada. that's tort law tutorial for you. :D
hmmmph, am still very annoyed that i'm having my exams during the holiday period! and it doesn't help that my parents are scuttling off to town (like they've been to *vivo city twice already, and i'm still new to the whole vivo thing) every other day, and the commercials on tv are all christmassy and holiday-ish. and it doesn't help that when i walk along roads, i see secondary school teens in groups, hanging out at the shopping malls; my juniors exclaiming through their msn nicks that their As/Os are over and it's the period of liberation...
poos.
* btw, in case you two haven't found out yet, vivo city is like THE current IN-PLACE to hang out; it's this HUGE and GIGANTIC shopping mall situated at harbour front which just opened a couple of months back. it boosts a TANGS store, (apparently) huge GV cinema theatres, a GAP store, and well, from what i've heard, it's hell possible to get lost in there. :)
well fern, nice to know you're having fun with Sophia, and thanks for giving me credit for my on-the-spot attempt with a simile on being happy. :) -does chipmunk dance-
and weng lock, thanks for the email. :) am eating well, do not fret. it's impossible for me to starve. :) and yes, (for the nth time) we will be meeting up for makan one day, rest assured.
all right guys! that's all i have for you two! (mugging life isn't all that interesting, so pardon me for the painful lack of interesting content)
see ya guys soon!
Frond Ferny - Sophia aka Stradiferny
That's the name of my new violin which I bought today at Synwin. Goodness me, it just felt RIGHT. =) I had been to Gramercy before that and tried the Czech violins. The first one I tried was really not too bad but I didn't feel as right as I did with Sophia. At Synwin, I had narrowed my choices to 3 violins. Sophia was $1200, the other 2 violins, which were mellower in sound were about $800+. I told my teacher that I liked the sound from this violin. It wasn't too shrill nor was it too mellow. It was brilliant enough for me. Haha. The salesman took down a couple before that but I didn't like them. Then he slowly got these 3 for me. He tried them himself and described the characteristics to me. I then tried them myself and had my teacher try the higher positions since I wasn't comfortable in shifting beyond 3rd. Heeh. After trying the 3rd one, I put it down and told the guy, "I definitely don't want that." Heeh. It was down to Sophia and the other violin, which was slightly darker in colour. I played a short except from Bach's Minuet in G then I said I preferred Sophia. So Mum and Dad said ok. I think they thought the price was slightly high but they could tell I loved the violin and the brilliant tone from the violin was very obvious compared to the rest. They liked it too! =) The salesman told me that getting that violin would help when I would be experimenting with different tone colours later and different bow strokes as well because the violin had 'potential'. That's what I felt too. I then enquired about the shoulder rests and I eventually found out why I tensed my shoulder previously. BAH.
The violin came with a matching bow, which is pretty light and has a rather thin stick. I quite like it. Sent my teacher to the music conservatory for his music rehearsal then we went home. Transferred my tuner, cloth, rosin and old bow from my old case to my new one. Tuned my new one slightly then started playing. Played till dinner. We had veg. curry with laksa noodle. Nice! Hehe. Mum steamed the scallops too and she made prawns with some nice sauce I don't know how to describe. After dinner, practiced somemore. Towards the end, I was just playing scales to get the violin seasoned. Haha.
Alwin's able to come back! His visa's been approved! That's great hehe! Enjoy the photos you guys. They don't do justice to Sophia. You have to see her for y
ourself to know haha.
Lock Gor Gor: Life After Exams
Wow... it was like TWO months (and a few weeks) since Lock Gor Gor actually updated this thing... He sends his apologies ladies. :P
ANYWAY, EXAMS ARE OVER!!! But you know, the feeling of liberation can be a good or bad thing. It's a bit like, I wake up on Monday morning and I know not what to do. Haha... while Mers MORRRK is back in Singapore. That is absolutely smashing! Wish I could say the same... I saw my friend off at the airport on Sunday afternoon for his flight back to Singapore. He will be there for two weeks and then flying back to Sydney again for summer semester.
What has been happening in Lock Gor Gor's life? Hmm... well, he went to Brisbane and came back. Queensland is a pretty fun and nice place. People there seem to be less uptight about things (although it is a bit sparse as compared to Sydney). It seems to be less polluted there, and I can actually take DEEP breaths on the street (try doing that here on George Street and your lungs will most likely complain bitterly). Gold Coast was nice, but you know, it's a little bit like in lala-land. Everything seems so unreal, somehow.
I then had David over for a week in Sydney. That was fun too... and when he finally had to leave, I felt really sad. I think he really had fun while he was here... oh well, I will be going back to Brissy to visit him in April I guess cuz it's his last semester there. Following that, my life was pretty tumultous... as Vernon left for Singapore for 10 days. And then the weekend after he came back, Casper was here from Singapore. That was another fun week, albeit I had tests and assignments to complete since it was SO close to end of semester. We originally rented a midsize car from Hertz but it turned out they didn't have the model we wanted and gave us a Falcon XR6 instead. Wow, the power of that car is amazing (I mean, it is 4L inline 6). The drive is pretty good too, kinda liked it. I think if i were to get a car here, this may be it. And it's cheap too.
After that was kinda hellish week, since I had THREE assignments due that week. Somehow, I managed to finish all of them (and pretty well for the COMP2121 I might add), and then it was on to studying (or cramming) for exams. My maths is just not good... I am not a math person and it is intrinsically hard for me to know how to do those calculus problems BUT thankfully, I made it through and well, at least I did not feel SO Bad after the exam. Psyc was difficult (again, because it is so not my subject)... and the computing paper was a shocker. I shall reserve comments until I've received my results back (preliminarily, should be this Friday). Cross my fingers real tight man...
Well, as for my life outside of school... I have actually travelled out of Sydney the past few weeks. Just the previous Saturday, me and Vernon travelled all the way up to Palm Beach (the northern-most tip of the South Coast) on Sydney Buses L90, the longest route on the Sydney Buses network. The whole bus ride took like 1h 40mins. Slept on the bus of course and thank goodness they use like brand new buses on this route. It was a comfortable ride, pretty much.
Then, just this past Saturday, I followed Vernon on CityRail to Miranda, which is a Suburb at the edge of the street directory for Sydney. (It says that beneath this area, you need the Wollongong street directory) Amazingly, there is a really huge Westfield shopping mall near the train station. And they use these new (well, not THAT new but...) Tangara trains on the route. Pretty comfy ride again... I realise I am so spoilt on these new city buses, because when I was taking a suburb bus from Kingsford (my school) to Bondi Junction the other day, it really stank and it was totally defaced at the back. Yeah... it is so not like the buses we are used to in the city, which are probably polished a thousand times a day (ok... i'm exaggerating of course but you get the idea). My friend tells me - "uhh... this is normal" and of course, I didn't know what to say... haha oh well...
Oh, I also got on the prepay-only service 333 from Bondi Junction to city just the previous Thursday. Boarding is snappy for this service since it only accepts prepaid bus cards (i.e. your TravelTen or TravelPass). No cash is accepted on this service. I got from Bondi to the city in less than 15 minutes. That must be a record.
Okay... I am going to head to Bondi Junction for a round of shopping (and heat-escaping) since it is SO hot today. I heard it is going to hit 35degC so I am not taking any chances... slap on the sunscreen and head INTO the airconditioned malls. I just wonder how long can I wander around there. And maybe later on, go and catch the A380 at Sydney airport hahaha...
Later!
Frond Ferny - I'M HOME!!!! =D
I'm home!!! I'm home!!! Oh my god. I'm soooo happy to be back home. I can eat nice nice food and do everything I like except I hate the weather haha. It was ok today cuz it was windy. Mum hated it, Dad and I loved it. Mum was in tee and shorts and shivering slightly. I was in sleeveless and short shorts *grin* and I was as happy as a umm...chipmunk with a truckload of nuts (SBFF, 2006). Hahaha. =D
Anyway, I saw HSM DVD Encore Edition at Poh Kim at Novena Square (finally some Singapore places instead of WA hahaha) and it's $21.90 for the DVD. That's pretty cheap! I'm definitely getting it. Went out today to Suntec to reset my damn phone which locked. Pfft. All my contacts and photos are gone. Bah. Had to retype everything in. Lucky I have a contact list but my Aussie contacts are all gone. Technology IS A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD. Sounds familiar? GP essay topic. Muha. After that, went to Novena Square. Went for a cuppa. Mum and Dad drank coffee whilst I drank tea (so English =p). Saw the construction workers outside and thought of Aust. In Aust, the construction workers are Aussie blokes, unlike here, where they hire workers from Bangladesh, India, China (developing countries) etc. to work just because Singaporeans don't want the jobs. We ARE really picky about our jobs. Then again, can't blame Singaporeans. The Singapore weather is so darn humid. I don't know what the maximum temperature was today and I don't care because I know I can never be as cold as I was in Aust. Hehe. Dad went upstairs to his office for his Carom (sp?) competition. He lost but his team won because they won the last game (after my dad left). Mum and I went into Baleno. I got a pair of 3/4 pants and a pair of shorts. It stated Grand Opening, 20% off STOREWIDE. Note the word "Storewide". Utter bull. My 3/4 pants cost $29. Effectively, taking 20% off, it should be $5.80 less. (Sorry, didn't calculate final cost, Mum and I calculated discount hehe) The shorts are $25 and 20% off makes it $20 so that was right. BUTTTT, the 3/4 pants had no discount so Mum was staring at the NETS receipt and was doing some calculation. The cashier then told us that the pants was fixed price. NO DISCOUNT. WTH!!! You say storewide and now at the counter you tell me it's fixed price. What crap are you trying to pull on me?! Mum and I both weren't very happy of course. If this happened before I went to Aust, I would have told Mum to forget it and go but today, muahaha, they messed with the wrong me. I said, "If they say 20% storewide, it should be for every item." The 2 girls at the counter were adamant at first. You could tell they were pissed at us but Mum was quite angry and well, let's just say no one likes to mess with my angry mum. =) One of them eventually said, "Ok Mam, we'll refund you the discount." Mum got back $5.80. So for all people who want to put marketing signs up for advertisement in your shops, please make sure your message is clear and NOT misleading or contains falsehoods in ANY WAY. Brrr. We then went to Bata to get me some slippers for home because my Pooh slippers are like almost all torn. Then we walked around Novena Square waiting for Dad. Eventually we went to Chummeez Restaurant to get a seat and wait for Dad because I was hungry. We ordered Ha Gao, Pan-Fried Carrot Cake and Siew Mai first. I attacked the carrot cake when it came because I had been yearning to eat it(a good one at least) ALL SEMESTER. Dad came and we ordered more food. Was full after we were done. Went to collect my phone and realised that everything was gone. Bah. So angry.
Went home and played piano. *grin* The touch is SOOO different from Aunty Laura's house. This one's bouncier and the sound is more like a high-class piano. *grin* Aunty Laura's piano is German. It has kinda harsh sound, like German violins (apparently hehe). Was angry, so I played Kuhlau's Sonatina Op.55 #1 first because it has a few banging chords. So I banged my anger out. Then I played Clementi's Sonatina Op.36 #3 from memory as usual. Then Chopin's Nocturne Op.9 #2 from memory though I got one of the chords wrong. Then I tried Clementi's Sonatina Op.36 #6 which is a rather lively tune. For sight-reading that piece, I'd say I did pretty darn well for my grade standard. Then I played Chopin's Waltz Op.69 #2 which I started in Aust but haven't mastered. Haha. Then dinner. Had bee hoon, cod fish and veggie was broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and dunno what. Mum also cooked the runner beans from Aunty Laura's garden.
After dinner, I washed the plates (damn habit haha) and Vita was like, "Eh! I wash!" And I told her, "It's ok. I'm almost done." Hehe. I need new excuses cuz I did that yesterday night as well. Anyway, talked to Kor online, figured out how to pair my bluetooth on lappy to phone while Mum was clearing my clothes cupboard. Cleared some tees. Applied passports online for Dad and Mum. Had to clean up their photos with photoshop haha. Don't ask how it went. I made a white background for Dad's photo which I took and Mum said, "Don't use it." And I'm like..."Mum, you're telling me this NOW. I spent a whole half an hour cleaning up the background just now!" Hahaha. Eventually the touching up was pretty easy, cropped and resized it and sent it in. That's all I guess. Then I went to practice violin, shower, eat supper and here I am. Lol. Going to get violin tomorrow. So exciting!!! =)
Have fun at the mall Kor. 35 degrees is crazy. I'm glad it doesn't get that hot in Singapore otherwise I'd be sweating like a TAP. Hehehe. SBFF, 加油 for the exams! YOU IS KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! It'll be over reaaaallly soon, then you'll be as happy as a Charmaine after exams (Me, 2006). Haha. Anyone spot the little trend here? *grin* Alright, I'm off now. Will blog soon I hope (and when I feel like it).
Tata!!! *waves*
Frond Ferny - Tomorrow's the Day!
Wheee! Tomorrow! I can't wait for tomorrow! Woohoo! Haha. Oh, here's another thing to add to my wishlist:
High School Musical DVD. *grin* Has the dance steps, songs and the movie in it! Woo!
Oh my god, I'm so excited. *grin* Aunty Laura and I just finished packing my food bag, it's tight! So it's good. Then the kueh ka pek won't move around and I won't have to eat them with a spoon. Hehe.
Post you guys!!!!
Taaaaa!
Frond Ferny - 3 more days
THREE MORE DAYS!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Three more days and I'm home! I'm feeling so so so so excited. Muahaha. I wanna do so many things when I get home - get a new violin, continue lessons, sign up for dance lessons with Jialin (maybe), spend lots of time with my family and friends, EATTTTT local food and umm...for now that's that. Here's my Christmas wishlist:
1. Libera - Angel Voices
2. The Sims 2 - Pets
3. Family members, esp. Mummy, Daddy and Kor to be happy and healthy
4. My friends to be happy and healthy
5. I wanna be happy and healthy! *grin*
I can't think of anymore! I'll add more when I remember them! I remembered I had a whole list the other day!
Jiayou for your exam tomorrow Kor! You is Kan! Since I can acquire the entire dance routine from HSM, you can do well in your exam too!
Btw, apparently, Jialin asked our foundation unit tutor for a referral because she wanted to work when we got home. Our tutor told her: Btw, you and fern did very well for the exam. Well done. Woooo!!! If I got at least 75% in the exam, I would get a HD for the unit!!! Dadddy!!!! I shall get my treat!!! Muahaha. I'm actually hoping for 2 HDs - Stats and FDN. I hope Psych is a D. PR will probably be a C muahaha but I don't care much for that unit anyway. Not bad for a semester's work. Will update the results when it comes out! 11 December!
Tata!
Frond Ferny - Exam time!
Merster is having his exams tomorrow...uh, I mean today. Maths, I'm told. Good luck dude! I told you A level people are trained very well for long exams. My maths exams were like 6 hours. 3 hours each, go imagine. Funny thing is, I could concentrate lol.
My exams start next Monday (13/11) with Stats. I'm not too frazzled about stats. I'm more worried about my foundation unit (15/11) and psych (20/11). Just did a practice paper just now and scored 57/70. That's barely a HD. I must do better man. =)
Not much updates from Aust. Snow pea plants have been cleared cuz they were dying. The runner beans are growing pretty fast. They taste like french beans. Hehe. Weather's getting hot. Mers Mork has been sleeping without her jacket and with the fan on at night. Sky gets bright at like 4am and it's broad daylight at 5am. Damn hard to sleep can! =p
Am sitting here blogging and eating cinnamon/nutmeg and malt biscuits at the same time. Haha, good life eh? Am off to uni later at about 8.50am to meet Dorothe and Sharon for another stats session. We're doing a practice paper tomorrow. I hope we all do the same paper. I've already done the '04 Sem 1 paper so hopefully it's not that one. Hahaha. I know you 2 are super stressed about exams but aren't we all? Remember A levels last year SBFF, we were both freaking out. We still did great! Don't worry about maths Merster, your professor's an idiot for setting papers everyone can't finish. That's absurd. They shouldn't be doing this.
Am off to entertain myself now. Watching videos or bla...
ALL THE BEST FOR OUR EXAMS!
Tata. =)
