cover this shit
sabato, agosto 27, 2005
today i'm now a proud owner of a class 3 driving license. woot! =D
i'm feeling extremely thankful and grateful actually, just checked the passing rates of the driving centers, and realized tht bbdc has the lowest passing rates for first-timers amongst all 3 centers.
after the end of everything, i half expected the tester to fail me. i accumulated a grand total of 18 demerit points! is tht close or what. *phew* but the tester was nice, albeit being firm and all. he was like, " don't be nervous, just pretend that i'm your instructor." i guess that little bit of reassuarance did help...i was very calm throughout my test, and the warm-up before that went pretty well. it also helped that he was very clear when giving instructions, so i knew exactly where he wanted me to go in the circuit.
needless to say,i made qte alota boo-boos. which was pretty amusing, thinking back abt it. for one, I COULDN'T FIND MY CAR !!!!! like, i walked past it without realizing, and my warm-up instructor was laughing at me. "xiao mei ni yao qu na li??? ni de che zai zhe bian!!! bu shi zai malaysia " or something or the other. the circuit courses went quite okay, cept at no. 9, my most dreaded directional change lot. the lot is located right aftr the bend so it's quite difficult to turn in. well, i had the feeling i was gg to hit the kerb, so i reversed out a little before turning in again. heh, i was silently congratulating myself for not hitting the kerb. *sheepish look* and.. i forgot to confirm safety before reversing. my vertical parking was also... erm really close to the right, and i had a little trouble with the handbrake whilst moving off the slope.
during the test route something mildly amusing/annoying happened depending on how you look at it... 1 part along my test route, there was this indian worker pushing a huge cupboard on a trolley on the road!!!! okay, i admit that his appearance took me by surprise. like, wth!!! him, plus the cupboard took up half the road-space can?!! warh. there was no way my car cld crawl behind him all the way. so, after trailing him for a little while, i did my best to maintain clearance, checked for oncoming cars in the opp. direction, thn signalled right cos i had to cut into the oncoming
lane and overtook him near the hump.
otherwise, just imagine an L plate car with a "traffic police road test" sign following at a snail's pace behind this guy pushing a cupboard on a trolley !!! so not the thing u want to happen to you when you're being tested. however, the road conditions were really smooth today, considering... i didn't have to avoid any roadwrks or inconsiderate vehicles parked alongside the road.
at the end of everything, after i had completed my test route and turned into the driving centre, i relaxed and let my guard down. the effect was disatrous!!! i forgot to check my blind-spot and horror of horrors, signal before i parked the car nxt to the lobby. that cost me alota demerit points, and the tester was very unhappy with me abt that. haix. thn there was the 1-on-1 session with the tester, where i was all meek and repentant looking(i hope). warh , it was really quite scary and stressful, considering how many faults of mine he pointed out and the killer question " how to let you pass like that?" and he was actually expecting me to answer that. what was i supposed to say? thn he tallied the demerit points
and i was like "wan2 dan4 le4, confirm cmi one" inside. in a very stern manner,
his concluding statement was " make sure tht you'll never be the cause of any accidents due to your carelessness, you don't ever want that to happen." the momment i heard that i saw a glimmer of hope. heh! and yay, he passed me !
well. tht's it. the story of my hard-earned license.
Gemstar blogged on 8/27/2005 10:24:00 PM
domenica, agosto 21, 2005
SCHOOL'S IN
aaaah. the day has come.
Gemstar blogged on 8/21/2005 11:54:00 PM
sabato, agosto 20, 2005
seems just like yesterday
back from my og chalet... i sorta learnt how to play mahjong! and abit of pool too. but i seriously suck. aha. this chalet was... amusing. for one, we didn't get to do alota stuff we really wanted to do, which was a pity, but we ended up just making do.
haha. meaning... *gasp* we acty played in the playground in pasir ris park!!! wahaha... infantile us. blast from the past manz.
but it really felt as though we were doing communal living, like a sneak preview of what it'd be like if i were staying in a hostel with these guys. heh. kinda like circleX part 2, seriously, climbing both spiderweb structures, plus our night jaunt back to the chalet aftr a long dinner--- we were walking ard in pasir ris park in the middle of the nite on the 15th of the 7mnth no less (when apparently netherworldly activity is supposedly the highest). haha. we were scaring ourselves silly, jumping at the slightest sound, screaming and what not, thx to jy's ghostly story abt the maze. *shudders* spoooky~
dinner at fisherman's village was food heaven!!!! haha.. we really had a huge variety of food! didn't seem like alot when the guys went round ordering, but when all the food arrived, it really filled the whole 2 tables. pizza, orh lua, stingray, calamari, hokkien udon, fried mee, satay, chicken wings and gdness knows what else... had qte alot of leftovers, so we played a few rounds of those silly games zong ji mi ma, 7-up and 8-up. warh, and i had to eat like 3-4 chicken wings extra. -_-
thn we went back to the chalet and caught superstar semi-finals tog. hahaa. kelly got thru, yay! so funny cos i personally felt she did the 3rd song better thn xinhui... and afew of the guys thought so as well, so they were like "referee kayuu!!", and making a ruckus when the judges gave her lower marks. haha. i bet they're just being superficial cos she's chio. i just like kelly cos i feel she has that X-factor on stage, and her improvisations with the songs are pretty neat! although vocal wise i've got to admit, xinhui's THE powerhse, and i thought she'd be the one to emerge the winner amongst the girls. watched summore tv, LOST, the OC, then THE results show for superstar. haha.. thurdays , la. of course the girls had this minor upset when we heard tht junyang didn't get thru...!! the poor guy, my heart went out to him. but i think its mean for the public to lambast weilian abt not being superstar material cos of him being visually impaired. oh well. the world's a cruel place, huh.
we headed out for supper at ard 1. and you know wad, CHEERS was closed!!!!!!!! so much for being 24hrs. =/ so we walked dwn all the way to drive 6 outside and i had yutou mifen. thn back to the chalet for our mahjong session, where i had my very first mahjong lesson, lol. but i KO-ed ard 3... whilst the rest played till 5am. heh, tht's the life.
Gemstar blogged on 8/20/2005 12:36:00 AM
mercoledì, agosto 17, 2005
In the SummerTime~ Mungo Jerry
In the summertime when the weather is fine
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather's fine
You got women, you got women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
Go out and see what you can find
If her daddy's rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor just do what you feel
Speed along the lane
Do a ton or a ton an' twenty-five
When the sun goes down
You can make it, make it good in a lay-by
We're no threat, people
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we do as we please
When the weather's fine
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for livin' yeah, that's our philosophy
Sing along with us
Dee dee dee-dee dee
Dah dah dah-dah dah
Yeah we're hap-happy
Dah dah-dah
Dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
Dah-do-dah-dah-dah
Dah-dah-dah do-dah-dah
Alright ah
Chh chh-chh, uh Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh Chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh Chh chh-chh
When the winter's here, yeah it's party time
Bring your bottle, wear your bright clothes
It'll soon be summertime
And we'll sing again
We'll go drivin' or maybe we'll settle down
If she's rich, if she's nice
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town
=================================================
this is an ANNOYINGLY CHEERY song. but i like it. =) will change it when it finally gets on my nerves. heh. like tht really old-school 80s feel to it too. very hakuna matata. it means no worries~
sometimes, i really wonder... is happiness that elusive? it really shld be as simple as a baby's smile. it's like... aww, the lil bugger is smiling at me, how sweet. i'm thinking funny agn. do they smile cos they're happy???? but they dun even know/understand wad happiness is. so why do they smile and laugh when adults make silly faces and funny noises at them? but i like seeing tht joy, cos its genuine right to the tips of their tiny toes.
these days i'm happy 40% of the time, maybe cos i don't really like transitions. right now, i happen to be real comfy in my comfort zone, and i am absolutely positively clinging on to what's familiar. and feeling pretty alone too, you kinda discover tht the pple ard who have pretty much been a big part of your life are just not ard anymore. heh. bear with me while i adjust pple . sure, i'm excited, antipating schl to start even... i just am craving for something real. the whole smu experience seems surreal so far, it just hasn't hit me tht i'm gg to be there the nxt 4yrs.
and i suspect i'm blabbering on without an inkling of what i mean. *pauses* for your benefit, let me summarize. i have mixed feelings abt starting schl. fullstop.
================================================
Gemstar blogged on 8/17/2005 01:13:00 AM
sabato, agosto 13, 2005
blistering sashimi!!!!!! u make my blood BOIL
damn, i so like the sound of tht. anyway, tht's one of the catchphrases in the play i watched last night, was hilarious. hahah... clara was acting in it and for some reason, she reminded me of rui-en! yup. and i absolutely loved the child actors/actresses. so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. gawd. they were all so natural on stage, it was a joy watching them. my personal favourite was this lil girl in green, wearing specs. she kept raising up her hand and gg, "teacher, i want to go toilet." wahaa.
watching the play brought back many lost memories of childhood too. aha, all the silly games, santa claus, pepsi cola, racing with the boys!! i did all that too. heh. hmm. i personally really love the magic of theater, it's like just for tht brief window in time, u're magically whisked into another time , another space. mommentary escape.
the perf venue at the arts hse was pretty small, and cosy, reminded me of the drama theatre back in rgs, it consisted just tiers of seats surrounding this stage space. the prelude to the show was really unique too, like clara and her friend were just chatting and talking on "stage" in their pyjamas, and it seemed like they were like in their own little world, oblivious to the audience arnd there. i for one, thought we were late once we stepped in. aha... the small seating capacity enabled more audience interaction too somehow, like this lil boy in the 1st row was giggling non-stop at the antics of the genie. haha. if i were 1 of the actors, i'd prob just die laughing on the spot, damn hard to maintain a straight face.
yup. anyway. BLISTERING SASHIMI. never ever make promises tht u can't keep k!!!! tht makes my blood boil, seriously. i'll just lose what respect i have for you, period. with me, it's either a yes, or a no. don't give me in betweens, i shld just stop giving pple the benefit of the doubt, when all they've done is to kp disapointing me time and agn. how, annoying. grr. =/
Gemstar blogged on 8/13/2005 04:04:00 PM
venerdì, agosto 12, 2005
Sweetest Gdbye
i essentially have 10 days left before schl starts officially and kicks my ass outta lazing abt for gd. Looking back, it's been an amazing 8 months, really. So i've created a huge collage for memoir's sake.
in retrospect. 
from left to right....
New Zealand!!!
Me and my dad on the redboat cruise, me and sis feeding the Baaa-baa sheep.
Beautiful place, it certainly was, snowcapped mountains, gorgeously sparkling rivers and lakes, just vast expanses of green and wooly sheep dotting the landscape. the various charming and not-so-charming motels/hotels we stayed at. Feeding ourselves with scrumptious pies, fish and chips! and ooh, ice-cream tht nvr melted at each pit-stop cos of the cold weather, staying at evergreen cars and experiencing hailstones, for the first time.
03s22 the class... or the clique? either way, we're one of a kind, close enough, yet not tht close. heh. tht's taken during xmas at elisa's place, tht's kel and the rest of us gals- me, becks and ching at the sentosa "class outing". oh, musn't forget the nite cycling+ watching sunrise experience we had for chalet, thx to michelia who always tirelessly organizes our outings. =)
the choir clique hahaaa. wad can i say??? shared the best-est, funniest, lous-iest of times with this grp of friends. explains why their photos take up a row and a half... hahaa. we've already had so many "last" outings, stayovers and even a holiday together! *smiles* i still miss us, really. frm L-R, xmas carolling session with the juniors as shang-ri-la, the silly basses in erm decending order of height, the guys b4 NS, grp photos taken outside swenson's, us looking like professional bodyboarders in bintan, swimwear advert!, hc's bday celebrations at brewerkz, shan and jh, at billy bombers aftr a stayover. yup, so maybe... all of us have already moved on with our lives, yet i still wanna say, thanks for the lovely memories, dears!! speaking of which, heh... we're gg to meetup agn this sun, hopefully, b4 shaun flies off for brunei. yay.
hello, HANABI !!! my first real job, also the most memorable one. tht's us in our kawaii red aprons and bandannas. I've really got to thank my fellow waitresses , for tht wrking stint was really one of the most fulfilling periods of my long holiday. xiao-mao who'll always reach out and serve the boiling-hot kami nabe (keke!) for me, and for kop-ing the leftover chawamushis, lol. uncle tan!!!!!! for being sucha adorable grandfather figure. my cuz who offered to cover in for me whilst i was on mc, monkey (huilin) and monster (shyan) for being such greedy creatures. it was a blast working with everyone, and now, we've all graduated fr. hanabi! heh. tht's us in a reunion dinner back at the restaurant months later, patting our very full stomachs aftr the buffet.
Beijing
shopping till we dropped. the lovely chilly weather. the Great Wall of China! Forbidden palace. mark my words, I'LL BE BACK.
old friend, new friends got to know visayon's wrk friends post beijing. was glad for the company, the tennis sessions, and vi's kind attempts to teach me how to play... there was a bbq at linus' place where we celebrated vi's bday. aha. thn we had a sentosa outing too(where i was the only girl, bleah) yup, tht's us at SiLoso. and Vi, Gin, Fel and Linus at Redang! they invited me alg for the trip too, but i declined.
a random outing with Becky, nicole, her wrk friend (the term colleague seem too impersonal), shawn/shaun zhang? and his army friends. heh. weird combi, weird story aftr, lol.
family of course, who can forget them? the people who'll be there for u, through thick and thin, come rain and shine. i love my cousin to bits, i really do. and i'm glad she's so happy staying at the hostel!!! so now i've got to find my bit of happiness in uni too, adjust well to the environement and blah. tht's us in black at the belair dinner, my aunt and lil cousin at a relative's wedding, my sis, cuz and lil cuz at my grandma's.
smu og i ain't being cynical, but i sincerely hope what we shared in tht brief 3D2N will last. at the very least, orientation was a blast because of them. the stayover at my place was a laugh cos of silly aaron. here's to many more ktv sessions (ahaa. tsk tsk, me no voice le still insist i sing, terrible ppz, lol)
and other outings ahead!!! tht's us in cine after catching Island. 1 chalet at downtown east, coming right up!
Gemstar blogged on 8/12/2005 12:22:00 AM
mercoledì, agosto 10, 2005
ndp05, sector 2A ushers!
Gemstar blogged on 8/10/2005 10:53:00 PM
心中的郁闷, 始终还是无法释怀... 好难过啊 .
您曾答应我,无论如何,都会在我身旁。这是逗着我开心的话吧？
你... 还在吗?
Gemstar blogged on 8/10/2005 10:33:00 PM
venerdì, agosto 05, 2005
i'm weak... it's true
for lack of a better title. =p shit. i fell miserably sick yesterday, was damn scary, how i was fine one momment and the next, i was down with a pounding headache and fever. so what happened was i went to the dentist in the morn to do my teeth, he said i didn't hafta pluck my wisdom teeth out afterall, yay. but he placed sealant over the 4 teeth to protect them from decay. thn he did 2 fillings for cavities. =/ sian. he gave me anaesthetic injections as well, but i cld still feel the discomfort, when he used the drill + plus air blowing gadget.. maybe it was a bad idea putting braces back thn, after the entire stint, my teeth just became damn prone to cavities, which is also why i hate gg to dentist, cos there's always some patching up to do or another. and the thing is, i brush 3 times a day, its not as though i dun take care of my teeth! and guess wad, everything cost us 500bucks plus in the end??!!! *ouch* heart pain la. tho i guess it's not tht much of a bad thing afterall, cos i don't hafta go thru the trauma of removing my wisdom teeth.( and i bet tht procedure is much more ex.) someone enlighten me, why do dentists charge so exorbitantly???
right aftr tht "shock", i came down with a horrible migraine, followed by feverish symptoms after i got home. had to cancel on my og-mates who wanted to go ktv-ing initally. aye, and nobody at home knew abt it can, i was pretty much alone before my mum came back. i guess the change was tht drastic cos she didn't realize i was really in pain !!! cldn't bring myself to eat either, no appetite, until the maid cooked porridge for me. it was then i realized how utterly miserable one feels when you're sick and there's no-one to take care of you??? what abt those who aren't able to afford medical treatment, they literally can't afford to fall ill!! and this was mentioned in da chang jing actually, that to the common folk, prevention from falling ill is really the best cure for them. Henceforth, i've decided, i shall be a health freak. seriously. I really hafta take better care of myself. this means no more unreasonably late nights, no more sleeping in till noon, having regular meals, minimal deep-fried food, exercising regularly, more fruit and vege, more fresh air... and whatever else i can think of. a little discipline goes a long way, i guess.
the fever eventually broke after i took panadol. i wonder if its only me, but i always try not to take panadol cos i feel it only suppresses the symptoms but does nothing to alleviate the root cause of the problem. anyway, spent the entire day in bed, had lotsa weird dreams/nightmares...think my mind always go into overdrive mode when i'm feverish. then went to see the doctor tht night, he gave me this arsenal of medicine to take. =/ apparently the fever was triggered off by throat inflammation, yep, which hurt real bad each time i swallowed. anyway, shall rest well these few days and take gd care of myself... aye what with the real national day parade coming up, plus smuX camp nxt wk...i really must get well by then!
Gemstar blogged on 8/05/2005 09:35:00 AM
martedì, agosto 02, 2005
Dae Jang Geum
i see the question marks above your head. Dae jang geum, or Da Chang Jing is this korean drama serial tht i've been following madly recently. been watching non-stop since i got back from camp... and i'm at 44/70 episodes.
i swear this one's totally different from the weepy, draggy korean series tht we're all familiar with. it's moving, and inspiring, really fascinating stuff. set in imperial korea, it records the trials and tribulations of this orphaned lil girl, whom after entering to palace to become a palace maid at the tender age of 8 , eventually overcame all odds to become an outstanding royal physician. just imagine tht, back in tht ancient paternalistic (male chauvanistic!) era, the first female doctor so capable she's allowed to treat the emperor himself! and the best part is??? the story's true. this amazing lady did exist.
before i continue... some trivia. tho i guess only those tht have watched it will share my enthusiasm.
In 1524, the chronicles wrote that "Dae (Great) Jang-geum" was better than any other medical women in the palace, so she was permitted to look after the king. That was the first time she was bestowed the name, "Dae (Great) Jang-geum". Meaning, she has had just received the honor of being the only royal physician in attendance to the king, and she was also the head of the palace internal medical group, the nation’s top post in medicine.
In 1533, the king said: "I recovered my health from several month’s sickness. Royal doctors and pharmacist deserve praise. (Omission) Jang-geum and Kye-geum, the two medical women, also will be rewarded with 15 rice bags, 15 bean sacks, and 10 bales of cloth respectively."
She was the last person to be named in this list because, unlike the male doctors, medical women have no official government positions, in fact, their title is of lower ranks thn the palace maids. They are officially “slaves” who serve the royal family. However, although she belonged to the lower-class strata of society, her excellent performance was duly recognized.
The story presented in the drama is much more complicated obviously, it's amazing how much attn they paid to detail in the show, as much of the first half revolved abt life in the palace kitchen, the imperial cuisine dishes, herbal soups and remedies presented --> they're for real!!!*droooool* and you witness just how horrible palace politics can be, the ruthlessness displayed when getting rid of one's enemies, sneaky alliances, corruption, backstabbing, the continual struggle for more wealth and power amongst the officials and palace ladies. and yeah, there are heartwarming momments too, the friendship between the palace maids, the "kinship" between Jang Geum and her mentor, as well as her and her adopted parents, tht special relationship shared between her and Min Jung Ho(who eventually fell for her). my personal favourite character is Jang Geum's adopted father, he is sooooo cartoon!!
aha... tht's Ji Jin Hee, who acts as Min Jung Ho. so handsomeee. =p
Jang Geum aka Lee Young-Ae
Italicized excerpt, and all photos taken from -> daejanggeum.blogsome.com
a fantastic site for all Dae Jang Geum lovers, check it out, it's really detailed!
Gemstar blogged on 8/02/2005 10:51:00 PM
