t s u b a s a reservoir chronicle

Monday, December 26, 2005

"It is 16 hours till my mastery test!

Maybe I should blog about camp now.

21 Dec

We went to Sentosa, baby! Some officer at AMK station came up to us and told us we could only wait either at the platform or outside the ticketing machines, and at the same time not so subtly told us to shut up. He's paranoid lah, I didn't even notice a difference in noise level. Us netball girls are EXTREMELY well-behaved, ok =)

Hmm, can I say I suspect The Amazing Race was really planned with the sole intention to torture us?"

The above was written on 26th December and this on 8th Jan because I was too lazy in the period in between to continue =) I shall update about my mastery too, don't fret.

Lingga says @#%$! at 3:54 PM

Sunday, December 25, 2005

I KNOW I HAVEN'T BEEN ONLINE IN AGES!

And there's a reason why I know.. I'm signed out of Blogger! OMFG! Never has that happened (in what little I can remember anyway) before!

So yes, we had a great camp from 21st to 23rd December =) I'm wayy too lazy (yes, as usual) to describe those 3 long days (WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? In the past I used to blog about every single damned detail of my life, and my entries were like 1500 words long or something), so that shall be left till after my mastery test.

By the way, I went through the stupid A Math EOY paper today and I realised that my brains are completely redundant/useless. I say thus because that is the only explanation I can come up with for me getting 38/80 instead of 53/80 for the bloody exam. WHY?! WHY?! Why was I so careless? Why did I go and fail it and end up with this lame A Math retest weighing down on me when I can be like finishing my homework and blogging to re-elevate my elite blogging status?

Oh yeah, and there was this question which I'd solved right down to the last step, then for some unfathomable reason I drew a huge slash across it, left it and went on to the next question. It's as if I purposely WANTED to fail the paper, or something. Moral of the story: leave your working all over the paper. LET THE TEACHER SEARCH FOR METHOD MARKS TO GIVE.

Yesterday was Christmas Eve =) I think I enjoy Eves better than the day itself. Grace, Bert, Bin, Mei Xuan, Liangjie, Ben, Yuan Zi (who still owes me 2 VCDs, or something like that, since the chalet in June) and I had dinner at Northpoint's Swensens'. Lok was supposed to turn up too, but at dinnertime he was at Beach Road, and then all the way till midnight, mysteriously, he seemed to be STILL travelling on the MRT, so he didn't turn up at all. Anyway, we agreed we should all just go squat at a hawker centre next time, because Grace got thoroughly ripped off by a mug of Lipton Mint Tea (they were even evil enough to leave the label on the teabag for her to see) that cost an obscene $3.30. I thought the baked rice was quite average lah. Shall just go for the ice cream next time.

So Grace gave everyone heart-shaped chocolate which she'd made herself (read: melted and re-shaped, haha), and Bert distributed Christmas cards. Bin was acting her usual loony self. When we were done with dinner, we deliberated and went to Bert's house in the end. On the way, we passed by Christmas floats outside of Northpoint, and also some dismal Yishun Christmas Concert thing going on near it. Yishun is so not the place to celebrate Christmas or any other major events. The mood is completely dead.

At Bert's house, we disturbed her chihuahua Yes for the first 20 minutes (Yuan Zi was acting quite the obsessed Daddy, causing Yes to look rather stressed), and then we played Snakes and Ladders =D I love Snakes and Ladders okay. It is a perfectly fun and exciting game. Because there were 8 of us, Yuan Zi was in charge of moving everyone's, erm, whatdoyoucallthosethingsyoumoveontheboard, ok, I have no idea, tiny round game pieces. He kept moving us backward instead of forward though. Fang xiang gan bu hao. Bert was the first one to reach 100, and then barely 5 minutes later Mei Xuan upset the board accidentally and ~~ruined my ambitious goals to reach 100~~ then we all decided to play Bridge.

We all paired up and Grace and I kept ending up with Ben and Bert as partners. -.- For like 3 consecutive games. Yuan Zi kept gloating because he kept winning. And then after quite some time we all played Heart Attack instead. Yet another pack of cards injured as we cheerfully squashed em and slid them on the floor in the 0.1 second it took for us to pass the cards...

Oh oh, then Grace Ben and Yuan Zi wanted to teach us how to play Poker. They thought of Strip Poker first, but then we realised if so the guys would all be naked in 2 games. So we bet Truths and Dares instead of money. Haha. Everyone teamed up with Grace Ben and Yuan Zi as the group leaders. Poor Ben kept losing and both he and Liangjie ended up having various Truths and Dares forced out of them. People were forced to dial the numbers of their ex-6A-crushes and wish a Merry Christmas, but they adamantly refused. Aww. BERT CALLED MINGFUI AND HE PICKED UP!

Lots of gossip was confirmed that night xD

Then we started this extremely lame countdown till Christmas. Ok lah, you can't call it a countdown since all I did was to check my handphone and go, eh, midnight liao leh. Christmas le. Then everyone cheered half-heartedly and started passing greetings around. Haha. We dispersed at 12.02am, or something. Oh, by the way Lok never did turn up at all. The poor overworked PM-wannabe...

The guys were gentlemanly enough to accompany the girls. Grace and Bin shared a cab, Yuan Zi went off with Mei Xuan while Liangjie and Ben waited with me for my mom to arrive. So sweet. I think it's been my best Christmas so far. Fine lah, I have no social life and everything, but last year I spent it in front of the computer on IRC with people I don't know so I could wrangle something out of them in neopets (people there would start getting high and giving away presents). Completely pathetic. 6A is the best man =D

I love you guys, and Merry Christmas everyone!

PS: Ruru, WENDY TALKS TO HERSELF, THE WEIRDO! Remember last episode she was mumbling to herself and pacing the ground floor? She sot diao le lah! Hahaha!

Lingga says @#%$! at 7:13 PM

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Xue Ling is the impetus behind this post!

Anyway. I know I said I would blog about my trip. And all the pretty things about China far, far away from the hideous toilets. But I'll be frank. I'm bloody hell too lazy -.- Thinking about the mastery test depresses me. It drains all the happiness in me until I have no wish to do anything but slack!

I DON'T WANT TO DROP A MATH.

Ok, I do want to drop A Math.

So much more time to concentrate on E Math, which is, actually mind-numbingly easy compared to A Math but what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-me. However, I want to take Math in JC. And you can't do that if you fail A Math/don't take A Math. Therefore I don't want to drop A Math.

Story of my life.

I'm not going to attempt homework till after 28th Dec, which is Mastery Test Day. Actually, it is simply an excuse so I won't feel so guilty whenever I look at my Chem Commonwealth Sec exam paper and theory workbook and the 3 P and C worksheets Mr Wong gave out before the hols and the additional 5 or so he posted on the net like 2 days ago along with the instructions to complete learning Binominal Theorem. Ho-hum. I'll have about 5 days to finish all my homework. I'm thinking of simply blowing off the chinese comic strip essay thingy Eric Tay assigned. Yongyuan claims there is also zuo ye.

Enough about the insignificance of my schooling! Let us take a look at what is important, that is, me and my life of course. I am drinking tea everyday now. Tea which cost $S180 that was bought in China. Apparently, it has a lot of medical benefits (lots of things in China have medical benefits, even the blankets and pillows) which sounded really attrative when Mei gu niang (not xiao jie, because it's rude in Hangzhou where people call girls xiao jie only when they're bar hostesses) introduced the Longjing Tea to us at their HQ. Unfortunately for some reason I can't really remember them now... Everywhere we went they offered us tea! By the way, China people are all very slim. Therefore I shall do like the (China)Chinese do, that is, to drink tea like water! And let all those benefits happen to me and wait to become slim and healthy, or something.

I can't believe it's 2006 next year. I can't believe I'm going to be a goddamned SEC FOUR. Where I can bully everyone in the Sec 1 - 3 cohort because I'm the SENIOREST HAHA. Ok, this life is moving a little too soon to me. Next year is my last year in Anderson. I DON'T WANNA LEAVE!

Oh yeah, still must take O Levels. Pooh. Insignifcant, insignificant! Not worth mentioning.

Aiya bu xiang blog le =/

Lingga says @#%$! at 11:08 PM

Thursday, December 15, 2005

While waiting for my questions on surds (who gives a flying f- I mean, damn about surds when you have a blocked and dripping nose) to be solved, I might as well blog.

China was quite fun lah. Dynasty Travel isn't bad (apart from their crappy english, but of course they're not me) because they gave us 10 dishes on the table for every meal =) Although China food, my God, drowns in oil. I know it's winter there (and do I know it, ha. ha. ha), but don't they care about the old people getting heart attacks? No? What about the tourists getting heart attacks? Their prawns are tiny (because they don't have big prawns like we do) and they dump them into the soup/fry em alive with the black beady eyes still staring accusingly at you. I completely lost my appetite after I fished such a prawn out of my soup...

Anyway, winter. Lucky us, first day of the winter solstice when we touched down in Shanghai. We froze our butts off and my skin cracked. Thankfully never peel. Also, nose felt like it was in a perpetual state of numbness and in danger of falling off. I've never been so thankful of Singapore and its sweltering heat. You don't sweat at all in China. SWEAT ROCKS.

We went to Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. Xiangyang Market is extremely over-rated. After walking like 1/4 of the place, you find everything else on repeat. They get the same goods from the same suppliers or something, huh? Go to Cheng Huang Miao better. The streets leading up to it are FABULOUS. Wahaha.

The shopkeepers (at Xiangyang) are absurd and their prices ridiculous. Of course, part of the fun is to slash the prices yourself. I was in charge of saying "Na wo men qu bie jian kan" and turning away. They're all desperate people wanting to earn 50 RMB, so it works all the time! Joy. They keep targeting the foreigners. But, what they do not know is that the FOREIGNERS ARE SHREWD BASTARDS! They're even more pro at bargaining than my mom. I keep hearing chinese-accented "OKAY! OKAY! *wild gesturning of hands back to the shop/grabbing of arms and pulling* YOUR PRICE!"

AH THE HYGIENE LEVEL. You know the toilets you always hear from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend? The ones where there's nothing but a drain, with no doors, and you step over the drain and do your business in the drain where you can see everything else floating inside it?

That's true.

Also, CHINA PEOPLE SPIT! As and when they like! Worse, this girl even grounded it into the floor. OHMAGAWD, WHY?! This renders the spit invisible and spreads it over a larger area! IT IS JUST EXTREMELY GROSS AND DISTURBING!

Loudy english. I'm sorry, but I can't excuse that. I know, I know, it's not their first/second/third/twenty-ninth language. But still. Their accent is simply atrocious! To the point of incomprehensibility! (If there's such a word. I'm not sure. Is there? There's incomprehensible. Hence there should be incomprehensibility. Well, if not then I've just invented it. So there) I barely understood a single word of english on the planes to and from China. And anywhere in China for that. Not to be mean or anything............. Ah heck, TO BE MEAN AND EVERYTHING, their english sucks. Our tour guide said GOOD MORLING! every morning to us, and it was major cringe-worthy. Also assortment of punctuation errors, captilaization errors, grammar errors, spelling errors on all the signs and shit.

HALF OF CHINA'S POPULATION SMOKES, HOLY SHIT. They smoke whether or not it's in an enclosed area with the air con on and 10 people staring disapprovingly at them. They smoke whether or not there's a No Smoking sign. They smoke like they WANT to get lung cancer! I'm like 2km closer to getting lung cancer just by inhaling secondhand smoke on a daily basis. All I can say is, thank God for Singapore, smoke-free Singapore where nobody ignores the No Smoking sign because of the FINE $5000 underneath it. Thank God.

I came home with the impression of China Chinese having extremely small feet. Cuz guess what, I saw THREE pairs of shoes I liked at the streets outside Cheng Huang Miao, and none of them had my size. Yes, a size 9 is way too huge for them! I was like dumbfounded lah. Discrimination against tall people with big feet issit? Just because you all have small and dainty feet.. T_T I know lah! Big feet easier to trip and fall mah! Gloat some more lah! Mock at me for having size 9 feet! And then rebel by not making shoes bigger than a European size 39 (mine's 40. My Nikes are 40.5). Grr.

Oops. Just realised everything I've said about China is negative so far. Well, SO FAR ONLY! It's just that the bad things are more fun to talk about mah. For me. Cuz I like to insult people. You know. If I do blog again, rest assured I shall bathe China in a positive light instead! I won't blog anymore.

Good night.

Lingga says @#%$! at 10:05 PM

Saturday, December 03, 2005

My poor blog. I'm so sorry to abandon you sweetheart. I shall be wrenched cruelly from your arms today! Seeing as how I was cheated into visiting lameass China till the 9th. Not that I have anything against China, of course, but what the hell is UP with the places we're visitng? Look at the bloody tour package. Did my parents lose their heads, and henceforth was senseless enough to book a tour with Dynasty Travel?? I generally am mistrustful towards tour agencies with as lousy a command of english as theirs.

"Welcome to an unique experience!"

(I'm sorry, but if you noticed no grammar mistake in the above tagline, you shall no longer be my friend)

So claims the bloody brochure on Dynasty Travel's travel packages to China at the start of every introductory paragraph to each tour package, and is also emblazoned across the cover page of the brochure. My God, the shame. Such a horrendous grammar atrocity.

Sure. I can overlook that seeing as how I know I am a sucker for perfect english. I am not unreasonable (not a lot anyway). BUT, upon reading the bloody itinerary, well, HOLY SHIT. My parents are INSANE.

Continue to visit Huaguang Park, featuring a combination of Jiangnan & western-style design, frequented by many world famous leaders.
Combination of Jiangnan and western-styled design? I am so lucky. To see this pretty design! Gee, it's even frequented by many world famous leaders. I bet they use it as a shortcut, or something equally not-so-nice-sounding.

Journey to Suzhou - the "Venice of the East". Here, streets and alleys extend side by side with canals. Small bridges and flowing waters, white walls and dark grey roof tiles match one another in tranquil elegance.
Look, I may not be exceptionally intelligent, but I do know that if they have to resort to playing with words in using the above as attractions, that place is seriously screwed. Not to mention that if want to see white walls, I can buy any period drama VCD and put the scene on replay till my brain rots.

Next, visit the Cold Mountain Monastery, famous for its Bell Tower as depicted in Tang Dynasty's famous poet, Zhangji's "A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge".
Oh my freaking God, like that also can use as attraction. I'm bedfuddled.

Enjoy a breathtaking Huangpu River Cruise and takes (TAKES) in the vibrant scenery along Shanghai's Bund area, as it perfectly harmonizes the classic oriental charm with the modern metropolitan fashion.
Gah! What the hell is Shanghai's "Bund area"? I seriously can't care less about how it harmonizes orinetal charm and modern fashion, or whatever. I mean, I'm paying money to go all the way to China to look at THAT? Do I care? Do YOU care?

And and and! The ridiculous hotel description (put forth by the hotel itself for everyone in the world to see).

The dining-room with high-level apartments and kinds of box can hold 600 persons the so time.The hotel also has song and dance hall.teahouse,health room. kinds of meeting room.
The hotel general manager and clerks welcome and broad guests to come hers wholeheartedly.
I know China doesn't have the best english, but STILL. People all over the world are going to see this when they think of staying in your hotel! At least type it out in Word or something right. Not to mention the fact that I totally don't get the dining room part. Why does the dining room have apartments and all kinds of boxes? What the hell is all kinds of boxes? For the last line, I'm sure they mean welcome aboard. Problem being you can't welcome anyone aboard a HOTEL. I'm also sure it applies to only vehicles like planes and ships. And isn't wholeheartedly used slightly in the wrong context? And placed at the wrong position in the sentence. Ah GOD I'm traumatized. I'm going to be spending the entire time there and on the planes wincing at the grammar mistakes I involuntarily spot, or something. It's not like I WANT it to be like this!

Anyway. Netball carnivals. Wooh baby, Anderson looks like an ant next to RGS and SCGS. For some reason, RGS looks to me like they've EXPANDED, because last time we were there for the carnival, I wasn't in so much fear of getting lost. I mean, they have a Block J.

SCGS girls. Unnerve me. The SCGS netball teams greeted us when we walked onto the courts. "Good afternoon, Anderon!" they chorused in unison. *wipes sweat from brow* The shooter I was guarding was also unbelievably friendly. Too nice. Wayy too nice. Not healthy for a mean, evil cow like me.

Oh yes, the Singapore Sports School Center fell and injured her ankle in the midst of a game. We could see the area of injury was all red and everything, but in my opinion, there is no bloody excuse for lying in the middle of the court clutching at your ankle writhing and screaming in agony. She was literally writhing ok, with dictionary definitions of the word 'scream'. I'm not exaggerating! Everyone of us just stared at her slightly open-mouthed as she wailed and writhed until someone brought her an icebag and her teammates helped her hobble off the court. I mean, usually when you injure yourself, sure you clutch at it and look stressed and gasp about how much it hurts, but THIS is way too dramatic le lah. She didn't even break anything. Or spill blood. Wail until like someone jabbing at her with a pen knife for what...

Ho yeah, Wenwen pierced her ears at 77th Street on Thursday. I went with her to the library to borrow books for China (God knows, I need them). The guy was very efficient.

"Ok, on the count of one, two, three. One-"
"KRK"

There, done in 2 minutes. The gun they use nowadays is so freaking small! Compared to the one I remember 8 years ago... Wenwen looked extremely nonchalant in the shop. I thought she didn't even mind the pain. Later she confessed there was a bit of "delayed action" going on in her mind, therefore she didn't respond. Well, she got to know what I'd suffered 8 years ago a few minutes after we left the shop, ~~weeeee~~ poor baby.

Also, I realised yesterday that my left earhole is slightly higher than my right earhole. Knnjdg person at the jewellery shop who piereced my ears. Dangling earrings don't even end at the same place -.- Ok lah, not very obvious unless you sit and scrutinize me for 30 seconds, provided I don't move at all, but still.

I'm leaving at 9.30pm or so tonight, for the 1am plane. So this shall be my last blog entry till Dec 10th. See ya when I get back.

Lingga says @#%$! at 2:06 PM