Jailhouse rock

I chanced upon Donovan's blog to check if there are any more cool photos. And I saw this.

I don't know how he managed to find an angle to portray the college like this, but well, nice work.

A new friend in E402

Say that I'm wasting money if you like, but this new friend in my room made things more convenient for me.

Greetings from Mr. Water "Penguin" Dispenser

So I don't have to keep going to the pantry for water. Cost me $24.95. But there are places that sell for lower prices.

Transgenic Zebrafish

Looked at guppies and transgenic zebrafish for bio lab last week.


The transgenic (ie has foreign genes) zebrafish has genes extracted from a jellyfish which gives them the fluorescent colours of red, green, etc. Usually zebrafish is black and grey.

Of Love & Rocher

For the many of you who were slacking and had your eyes glued to the telly, I'm sure you saw the advertisement by Ferroro Rocher where this woman had roses folded out of the gold chocolate wrappers from the other guy.

Awww. What a pretty rose

And my dad followed suit.

For Mum!

叹

其实，我不知道我在怕什么。

喂，编辑！你要懂得放手！

Birthday Calculator

Someone introduced me this site to tell you more about the significance of your birthday.

~~~

This is mine -

Your date of conception was on or about 30 September 1986 which was a Tuesday.

You were born on a Tuesday
under the astrological sign Cancer.
Your Life path number is 9.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 1 & 5.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 7 & 11.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 4, 8 & 22.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2446969.5.
The golden number for 1987 is 12.
The epact number for 1987 is 0.
The year 1987 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/29/1987 and ending 2/16/1988.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Rabbit.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Woodpecker; your plant is Wild Rose.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Mesore, the fourth month of the season of Shomu (Harvest).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 26 Sivan 5747.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.14.2.5 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 14 tun 2 uinal 5 kin

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 19 April 1987.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 19 April 1987.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 4 March 1987.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 7 June 1987.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 14 June 1987.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Thursday, 24 September 1987.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 14 April 1987.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 3 March 1987.

As of 10/22/2006 11:15:23 AM EDT
You are 19 years old.
You are 232 months old.
You are 1,009 weeks old.
You are 7,061 days old.
You are 169,475 hours old.
You are 10,168,515 minutes old.
You are 610,110,923 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
Jason Mraz (1977) Selma Blair (1972) Frances McDormand (1957)
June Carter (1929) Bob Fosse (1927) Alan Turing (1912)
Edward VIII, King of England (1894) Alfred Kinsey (1894) Johannes Gutenberg (1400)

Top songs of 1987
Faith by George Michael
Livin' On a Prayer by Bon Jovi
Alone by Heart
With or Without You by U2
La Bamba by Los Lobos
I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2
Didn't We Almost Have It All by Whitney Houston
I Knew You Were Waiting by Aretha Franklin & George Michael

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 2.76360078277887 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)

There are 244 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 20 candles.

Those 20 candles produce 20 BTUs,
or 5,040 calories of heat (that's only 5.0400 food Calories!) .
You can boil 2.29 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1987 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1987 the US population was approximately 226,545,805 people, 64.0 persons per square mile.
In 1987 in the US there were 2,421,000 marriages (9.9%) and 1,157,000 divorces (4.8%)
In 1987 in the US there were approximately 1,990,000 deaths (8.8 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1987 the population of Australia was approximately 16,394,641.
In 1987 there were approximately 243,959 births in Australia.
In 1987 in Australia there were approximately 114,113 marriages and 39,725 divorces.
In 1987 in Australia there were approximately 117,321 deaths.


Your birthstone is Alexandrite

The Mystical properties of Alexandrite

Alexandrite can assist one in centering the self, reinforcing self-esteem, and augmenting ones ability to experience joy.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Pearl, Moonstone, Opal


Your birth tree is

Fig Tree, the Sensibility

Very strong, a bit self-willed, independent, does not allow contradiction or arguments, loves life, its family, children and animals, a bit of a butterfly, good sense of humour, likes idleness and laziness, of practical talent and intelligence.


There are 64 days till Christmas 2006!
There are 77 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waning crescent.

~~~

This is about the Lifepath Number 9 -

9 (9, 18/9, 27/9, 36/9)

The Life Path 9 suggests that you entered this plane with an abundance of dramatic feelings coupled with a strong sense of compassion and generosity. The key to the nature of a Life Path number 9 person is found in their humanitarian attitude. Even the very average of those with life path 9 possess extremely compassionate tendencies.

Usually this number produces an individual that is very trustworthy and honorable, and one unlikely to harbor any sort of prejudice. Obviously, this is a rather tall order, but you are, in fact, a person that feels very deeply for individuals less fortunate than yourself, and if you are in a position to help, you certainly will. The 9, being the highest of the single digit numbers, holds an elevated position in terms of responsibilities to mankind.

Material gains are not overly important, although the quality of some life path 9 people is such that they are materially rewarded in very significant ways. In this, however, the 9 Life Path is not apt to get rich since they are very generous, sometimes to a fault, and usually have an easy come, easy go attitude about money. The rare 9 life path has a totally selfless attitude, giving up of material possessions for the common good.

The 9 Life Path indicates you have a commanding presence. You have the ability to make friends very easily, as people are attracted to your magnetic, open personality. The term "hail-fellow" may have been coined to describe a 9 Life Path, as you may indeed be one of those who is generally upbeat and heartily friendly and congenial. You meet people easily and are quickly befriended because of your openness and amiable demeanor. Your genial ways often put you in the lead in whatever field of endeavor you pursue.

Relationships can be difficult for you because it is hard to strike a balance that will work effectively. If your partner is one sharing your giving attitudes, the relationship will be happy and lasting. On the other hand, if you choose a partner whose focus is on material issues, problems will arise quickly.

You tend to be quite sensitive, as you see the world with much feeling. The number 9's very deep understanding of life is sometimes manifested in the artistic and literary fields. If drama and acting is not your forte, it will surely be an area of great interest and potential. Likewise, you may be able to express your deep emotional feelings through painting, writing, music, or other art forms.

The purpose of life for those with a 9 life path is often of a philosophical nature. Judges, spiritual leaders, healers and educators frequently have much 9 energy. The number is less inclined to the competitive business environment and may find this a struggle.

As do all the life path numbers, the 9 has its negative side. Because of the demanding nature of the truly positive 9, many tend to fail in this category. It is not uncommon for persons with the 9 life path to fight the realities and challenges of purpose imposed here because selflessness is not an easy trait. You may have difficulty believing that giving and a lack of personal ambition can be satisfying. It must be realized and accepted that little long-term satisfaction and happiness is to be gained by rejecting the natural humanitarian inclinations of this path.

~~~

You just don't feel like reading the whole chunk right. Same here.

Whatever

Chanced upon this site on Wikipedia about NUS.

First on the list of the Notable Alumni part is...

The 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir.

What the hell. Educated here! And made things difficult for us while he was PM.

Fate brought us together

No, I'm not talking about any boyfriends. It's my hall mates that I'm talking about.

It's a small small world.

Well you meet people due to fate...and during the two months going three that I've been staying here, I spoke to people and got to know that we're connected in many many ways.

The other time I was at the lounge with Amy who lives four doors down and we were talking to her about my vacation job for StarHub. And so I calmly told her I was the i-mode promoter at Compass Point. And she jumped and I followed because she lives in Hougang and she must've seen me there before since she reacted that way! And I was like, 'DON'T TELL ME?!' Yes, I promoted to her and her friend before. I don't exactly remember how they looked like but I remembered because they were the few JC people going university people that I talked to.

And Amy said she was in the same class as Jia Qi before for a year! Though Jia Qi can't remember. Crazy girl. How come you don't remember your classmates. JQ was my MJC classmate.

During Science Orientation Week we had this Secret Pal game (further elaboration on the SOW post, but alas, I don't have the time) and the OG that we got our pals were from Sylvester. And guess what, Amy was in that OG! Just that she left the orientation after a day for Sheares Orientation.

And then Juli was from Xin Min Sec too and she played the clarinet then. So she knew Daniel Kiang too, who was a tuba player from there and he's a friend/acquaintance of mine. So there are the links.

Then I was looking at Edelina's Friendster photos, who was my colleague at Cartel last time, with Amy in my room. Then I saw a photo of Edelina and Juli together! Then I was like, how did they know each other?? Because they have been to different schools ma. Amy commented they looked alike but I don't really see the similarity. After that I thought for a while....and then recalled that Juli's full name is Juliana Phang and Edelina's surname is also Phang!!! So means they're sisters!!!! Haha.

And then Pin Ting, my primary school friend was telling me that her friend is in Sheares Hall too. And of all five blocks and about 500 people, her friend had to be Kai Juan living upstairs. They are ex-colleagues.

What many coincidences.

I'm waiting for more.

Oh, and something to crack you up. This is the maximum, really.



I'd have loved this lecturer too.

Cousin Yu Hui's Wedding

Yu Hui's wedding! Happily wedded with this guy who was courting her for almost ten years. Ever since their JC days. So nice right. Showed that JC first three months class photo during the presentation of their photo montage. But my cousin still didn't accept him till a few years ago.

The pairs of bears given out to guests

Competition

Competition is the hardest thing.

Especially with the people you love.

Since I understood how intensive competition can be, I've been irking it.

Tests and exams, assignments, band competitions, physical looks....etc. There are too many to name.

Things can become quite a dilemma when the contests start, you don't know how you should react if he or she did better than you, and you don't know how you should feel if he did better than you. Happy? Or what?

Why do some people like to compete against their own friends? Thrilling? To prove themselves that they're the better half? Why do people just want to compete? Why do people you don't want to compete against just have to compete with you? I don't mean that I only want to compete against people who are less smart than me, I mean that I don't want to spoil feelings with people!

The competition is too intensive here and I hate it. I loathe it to the maximum. Just give me a break.

Sometimes you just don't know what to say to these things.

To the world, just stop comparing for a little while please. I'm at my wits' end. And it's not making me happy in any way and it's making my life worse.

I realised quite long ago that I have a high ego. Probably that's why I'm unhappy.

No matter what

No matter what others tell me that they regret choosing their majors, or doubting themselves about their choice..

I have no qualms about choosing applied mathematics as my major.

I may not entirely like what I'm doing, with the programming soaking up the first semester of my university life, but I don't regret my choice. Even when I don't do well majoring in math.

All because I have nowhere else to go. I don't like arts and engineering and business and computing (why, of course) and those very occupational kind of courses, like real estate etc. Guess I'm a more science-y person.

But I am satisfied with my choice and so far not regretting. Yet. Maybe.

Brain juices maximised

Verdict: Erina is far from smart and far from hard-working.

There's more and more work for me to do and even more to catch up on.

Days to semester exams: I don't feel like counting.

Thank you

Thank you to the washing machine at home which has been serving us for the past 15 years.

It finally broke down today. Repaired a few times throughout these years, but well it's time to let go.

Dear washing machine, thank you. Even though you spoilt some of my clothes.

I'm alright

Probably I was just very tired and stressed up la.

I'm feeling better after an 8-hour sleep.

Just that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and now I'm aching in the neck.

But I'm OK, really.

And I saw this really nice video on Daniel's blog.

In Sydney, Australia

Almost wept when I saw it la..it's unbelievable that such campaigns exist and really, hugging a stranger who's down will make them feel better.

Spread the love, everyone needs it.

Add ons:
A news report about Juan Mann

Free Hugs Campaign goes to Venezuela

Barcelona

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Toronto

Makes me wanna give free hugs too.

Down

Sometimes when I just thought of some stuff I get really really down..and it just happened again.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm supposed to sleep.

I just cried. For some reason. For many reasons.

I'm not sure but I think I'm scared. It's like...things aren't as happy as they should be.

School is becoming a torture for me. I'm no longer the busy Erina I used to be back in my heydays. In Yumin Primary I joined the Girls' Brigade then. 29th COY, I remember. That was where I learnt drills, I learnt discipline, and where I learnt about other religions and where I started out to be a dare-to-speak person with all those leadership training camps and all. I don't go back already, I don't even recognise the newly revamped school anymore. Memories stay with me. I was some Junior Leader and I went all the way and got a Best Girl Brigader during my last primary school Speech Day. I was also a prefect. I don't know how I managed to juggle all those things...I even had art lessons and tuition outside. In Hai Sing, though I was reluctant, being a Sports Leader VP other than a band member fulfilled my life in another way. It took me out further to experience leadership in another way, and learnt and grew a lot from there. I was vice-chairman in class, I was like one of the trusted students of the teachers, I was the responsible kid..These seem to be something I achieved and I won't forget. In MJ I thought I won't be able to juggle my work with band, so I pulled myself out of the elections for the band committee. I thought, what have I missed out? How would life be now if I got elected? Will I be a happier and fulfilled person? Would I learn to juggle things better and do well in both studies and commitments? I can't catch up with my work. All five modules I'm lagging behind and I don't do well and I freak out sometimes...but when I want to study I just can't concentrate. I don't know why. I hate to be this way. I really really hate this I'm hating myself for who I am. I want my life back. By getting it back, I probably would do better in several areas.

I miss my family sometimes. It has been so long since we last sat down to have dinner together. When I reach home on Fridays, most of the time my brother will be out with his friends, mum will be at work and dad will be sleeping. Going home to an empty house isn't a good idea. It made me wonder if I made the family even emptier. This makes me feel very bad. I just called home at midnight, thinking if I can catch my mum on the line. Chatted with my mum for a while and at some point I don't know what to say. But I miss her. I miss my dad too. His crappings and his irritations and him forever comparing 4D slips with the Teletext and myself telling him that he won't win. I miss my brother being always oh-so-nice to me and paying for my stuff whenever I need. I miss my sister living in my room and I could just talk to her and have fun. I miss my entire family. On weekends sometimes they have other places to go to and won't be home for dinner. Last Saturday it was only mum and me. But she cooked great food...it has been so long since she cooked for me...I was either not around or there just wasn't enough people at home to whip up a meal for.

I miss my friends. The friends I made before coming to NUS. I miss the gatherings the 7 of us used to have when we were less occupied. I miss the meals I had with my MJCSB friends. Those after band practices supper with MJCSB mates, especially going to Pasir Ris Central for tze char with Hong Wei. It's just those endless chatting and catching up with each other that can make you feel like you're loved. I miss going out with Felix, Kai Yan and Hong Wei and occasionally Jie Ying etc...I miss going out with the alumni to have supper with Miss Sia...I miss her! How I wish I can just run to IMM tomorrow and chat with her over lunch but I have programming to do...I do miss a lot a lot of people...sometimes I miss Wee Juay too. I don't deny that I still think of him. I still wonder how things will be like if we didn't break up at that point, how many days we'd been together, I know nothing really will last forever but I still wonder how he thinks of me. Really..all these things coloured my MJCSB life.

Back in HSCCB...I treasured my juniors and seniors so dearly. Daniel was always the nice guy, he still is, I'm so glad I'm back to the same section as him in NUSWS come December. I am really thankful that he was the one who taught me well that's how I can become who I am today. He's ever so patient and I don't remember him blowing his top at me or at all. That made my tuba learning process so much better, even though I could've disappointed him by wanting to quit the band. I used to call him 'Kang kor kor!' and his best buddy Cedric 'Daddio!'. Now of course I call them Daniel and Cedric...age is crawling up to me. Ee Yan showed a moody face most of the time, but she can get very fun when she warms up. And all my juniors! I remember how they respected me and really looked up to me and co-operated with me that I call them my kids. Those days. I miss Mai being my good friend in HSCCB even though I left her out sometimes. I think. And all those crapping with Yi Xin and Pearlyn and co...I miss the enthusiasm about music I had in HSCCB. I had the initiative to do things, I learnt the scales and all myself but I forgot them when I went to JC. Things were so basic then.

I am not contributing to hall and I'm feeling awful about it. It's not that I don't want to...sometimes I just think, no point. I joined softball but because of bands' commitments I quit. I feel really bad about it because I thought I could do something for the hall...now I feel like I'm just some leech. I chose not to join much of the CCAs in hall because I could be depriving a chance for those who want to stay but can't find any committee to take them in. I look at my friends in hall and I know I don't know them well enough. Sometimes I feel so close to them, sometimes I feel so distant and far away. Sometimes I just don't know how to react to still be myself and still be not offensive. Sometimes I just think I am not funny anymore.

I often wonder why my life is like this, when others seem to have the most perfect of lives..they go home to a lot of noise, they have good results, they have companions, they seem to have everything even though I know no one will be satisfied with their lives.

Sometimes I wonder if there are really people who understand me completely...I need attention most of the time, but if the attention are negative, I'll feel even worse. I know I can be at fault or whatsoever, I just..I don't know..I guess I just need someone who knows how to treat me as and when the situation is like. I'm not asking for a boyfriend, not all boyfriends can be like that...I don't know who or what I want. But I feel empty like I'm missing something.

There are a lot of times when people whom are thought to understand you best don't know what you're asking for and what you need...I can just feel the pang and I don't know why I still continue to act happy and pretend nothing happened when I just want to forget about things and move on with life. But move on to where? I seem to be stuck here with no navigations not knowing what to do or what to say and I don't even know who to talk to. You don't tell every single detail to a person and sometimes you just need to talk to another person. It could be a problem with me, but I don't know why I'm like that...and I get very very impatient with people who turns me off, even though they didn't do things on purpose to piss me. I try hard to not be a mean person when people are just being nice. But sometimes you just cannot accept a person for who they are.

I don't know what I need now...but I think I need attention again. This always happen to me when I'm down and stressed up but I don't know why...I seem to get left out sometimes. On purpose or not I'm not sure...

I think on the whole, I also need to have good guy friends in school. Like those I had in HSC and especially MJCSB. Felix etc can get very irritating but sometimes, I'm thankful that the guy up there brought them to me. And everyone else of course.

And probably I need a break.

LOL

Laugh Out Loud.

That's what many use to exclaim instead of the 'hahaha'.

But well...

In Dutch, lol means fun.

So the acronym and the definition sort of have similar meanings.

Tsk.

I'm so pissed la. It's always her. That Mrs Lau.

I went for MJ alumni pract today to see the college's gate locked. Peeked inside and the security guard wasn't sitting at his usual table.

I turned to my right and saw Benny walking towards me and I saw a number of alumni were sitting at the bus stop. He said that apparently the school didn't know we're having alumni today so the guard locked the school and left already!

So this means we went to school for nothing la. What a waste of time, transport fares, and energy.

Tons of work to do already. Don't ever let a stubborn pregnant woman do much to your life. You'll just get pissed.

~~~

To add on, the PSI went up today! >=( Everything was blur, all over again just like last weekend.

Felt very uncomfortable while breathing and I went out in the haze to nothing!

At least I had dinner with the rest of the alumni which made me feel better. And at least I finally had mum's cooking (she cooked dishes I usually like) today.

And I still feel awkward when I have eye contact with him.

This is cute!

Another nice song

I found this song recently on Kendrick's blog. A Mandarin song though, by Harlem Yu. But it's nice la...a simple song but on the whole it's really nice.

静静的

空气里躲着什么
有点浪漫的心动
我偷偷看你
你也偷偷看我
世界上多了什么
好像变得很不同
站在你身边
这一切都好宽阔

我还在等着你
静静的爱我
只要有你陪我
静静的就足够
你也在等着我
静静的温柔
就这样手牵手
静静的看着天空

心里面藏着什么
你只想要让我懂
原来我的梦
也就是你的梦
哦
纸条上写了什么
我好想要听你说
让字字句句
充满我们的笑容

永远要记得那天彼此许下的承诺
瞬间点亮的火花
是我们的拥有

静静的手牵手
是最简单的梦

A belated birthday present

I met Sam on tonight on my way back home at Bedok to get some stuff from him. He was going to give me my belated birthday gift as well as a mini-fridge or a cooler kind of thing.

The gift was a Nautica watch. I don't know if I really liked it, because I have like three watches to use and I'm not exactly a person into watches, I use them as a necessity. But I have always been using the Fossil watch my mum bought me in Sec 4, and this year I got two other watches as presents, the other one from the rest of 7 of us.

It's not that I don't appreciate my presents, but it's like, I don't need more and I get rather irritated with deciding which one to use.

Please refrain from giving me another watch for my next birthday. That'll help me a lot.

And thanks for giving me the watches!