its hols. hmm.. feelg quite sianz now. tired. slpt alot leh, till nn...
well.. let's see.
friday.last day of sch.
cld hv gone hm super early. but i didnt feel like it. got sand n pam to hang ard for awhile. went j8. walked ard den sat at kfc to eat n talk.
i took alot of time b4 saying out one of my really mean thoughts abt wrong answers.
found out dey didnt really like weiqi n i dont uds.
talked abt the class. pam said she can just dont care. she rather go ard alone than go ard wif a grp of ppl who ignores her presence. n its really obivous she has been doing tt which is quite saddeng. her parents told her when she 1st came jc to get to noe the guys better coz guys r not as complicated as girls. sigh. we r distancing. mayb its my fault tt i changed the seats in class.
we also talked abt ppl being preoccupied.
den i went 2 play badminton wif mom n her colleagues. n got home exhausted.
yest. kdf flag day.
our class was supposed 2 meet at 7.15. n only terrence was dere b4 me. walked ard wif yiyun b4 gg back n the rest of them gradually turned up. by the time we went up to the tin collection booth, so many ppl were already dere we had to wait so long..
den we went delifrance 4 breakfast b4 gg 2 sengkang 2 sell flags. we split up into pairs (some guys did it alone) n met back at 12. didnt noe dere wld b so much difficulty to finish sellg the 160 flags. sand n i tried 2 look 4 a mkt but cldnt find n went back to opp the station 2 sell. she was super friendly n was done b4 12 n had 2 help me coz i wanted to finish sellg. n we ended up gg back the latest. wei qi was also in the region n 'snatch' some of our 'business'. lolz.
i realised tt ppl who just left their home r more likely to donate than ppl who just got off the bus. n ppl with little children r more likely to donate too. n they always give the kids coins n tell them to put into the tin even when the kids dont noe what is gg on. some ppl only donate after u ask, otherwise, they just walk off. n actually, quite a no. of ppl donate bcoz they wanna get the sticker n stop more ppl from bugging them to donate.
after we returned the tins, we went cine burger king for lunch b4 the guys left. n i was super thickskin 2 ask a stranger for a coupon.
thru out, the guys n girls were always in 2 separate grps.. which is quite a sad prob tt our class has..
den cher,sand,jus,pam n i went hereen 2 shop 4 pam's wallet n hung ard hmv b4 xin joined us to go to wheelock coz cher n pam wanted to eat cake at dis ex place where we saw pris chan the actress. the rest of us went borders (n i think its the 1st time i'm dere..) to read. baby blues was quite funny.
den they went home, xin had a nite appt, n i got mom to come down 2 town. bought 2 pairs of pants! yay. (really wanted the orange bag but she complained dere's no place 2 put my bottle so i didnt insist). den we had dinner at marche. got bro to join us too. ended up super bloated n exhausted.
whoa. today's band prac's cancelled. 1st time sia.
monday (24/5).
sand n xin gave me a cookie for etude! thanks!
was very surprised coz out of the whole class, only est n rard came to watch.
phy spa. forgot to clip string.. only realised tt after 3 readgs.. plotted the graph n it was fluctuatg like mad.. den i realised i calculated wrongly.. n had to replot everything.. ended up not even done wif the grad when time was up. but i cheated n cont to finish the grad n constants.. haiz... tt's another of my degrading values... nvr wld hv cheated in the past... n i didnt get the mass of the bung..
i've gotta improve on my pronunciation. realised the more i speak, the more mispronunciations there r.
i dont noe if its coz i m really being oversensitive or its true tt i cant fit into the class. i m beginning to feel more strongly tt if not bcoz of sch wk, no one will really wanna b friends wif me. like wat nic bluntly put it: wat r friens for, to copy wk. n i do believe tt's wat some ppl see me as (esp since i m so weirdly diff n mean). n i dont like being treated this way. but its still my fault tt i m diff n mean...
i noe i get too straightforward n hurt ppl... haiz.. tt's y its better for me to shut up...
i just noe it... i m always lidda... the better i noe ppl, the worst i get... i hate it. n out of all the friends i hv, only huiling uds... but now we r not close anymore... how pathetic...
n now, i m really confused abt the type of friendship i m hvg wif the ppl ard me... who's truly treating me as a friend? i dont uds. its so scary.
haiz... seems like intensive rehearsals arent tt bad; at least i dont get to think so much...
argh. i hv lotsa pimples popping up..
today..
just read kaiyun's reply to me saying tt i hate jc life:
"i think it's up to you to make the fullest out of school life and take challenges to make it more meaningful. :D it sux only cos you let yourself get bogged down by upsetting stuff and you don't see that there are many other aspects which you can concentrate on to feel a sense of achievement and worth. "
haiz.. now i hv even more reasons to hate jc life (wif all my rebutting)...
initially, i hate coz of the complicated ppl ard.
now its worse since i dont hv any other aspect to feel any sense of achievement or worth. i m seriously lagging in sch wk, my values hv worsened, i m the lousiest player amongst the other clarinetists...
and amazingly, i m still able to go ard lookg happy.
oh, n i forgot to mention tt i was so lucky tt at the linkway, some bird flew past n landed some droppings on me... n my shirt, file n arm all kana...
yay!!! etude is finally over!! :) *sense of relaxation* ah...
every single wkday for the past 2wks, i hvnt reached home b4 7++pm at all. mostly 9+/10 in fact. finally, dis has come to a stop. or at least a pause until syf/nxt etude.
n its been 2 over wks since i last blogged. n now dey tell us how many posts dere r so far. 140. whoa. anyway, dis is out-of-pt.
etude was a success :) accordg to many ppl. nostradamus was impressive, coz the trumpets blasted their fanfare as usual. makes the initial impact. i like nostradamus. its has cool parts (fanfare n rhythm) n nice melodies. in the 1st few wks, i didnt like the songs, n though songs we play in jc arent as nice as those in sec, but now i think all the songs r very nice. though they r really much longer...
but personally, i wasnt very satisfied with myself coz i played lotsa wrong notes n came in too early a few times... but i suppose though some ppl may notice, its doesnt affect much
hm.. back to last monday (10/5)..
i was accused of being an ang mo kia! by qingyang, who even laughed at my chi. was quite shocked.
wow. 4+mths in a class dominated by english-speakg ppl has made ppl think i m 1 too.
we had bread for dinner. when i was young, i used to disagree wif mom tt when u r hungry n u hv no choice, anything tastes gd n u will eat it. i finally realised its true. when we were 1st told tt we wld b hvg bread for dinner, i had my old mentality bread is so borg but durg the nite prac, i actually found its delicious coz i was really hungry.
tues (11/5).
1st spa (sci prac assessment). chem. totally screwed.
hey wait, feels kinda weird blogging abt sth tt happened so long ago. the feeling isnt even dere anymore. nvm. shall just type from wat i wrote.
ya, i flouted safety measures of wearg goggles n pourg soln below eye lvl. as if things werent bad enuf, i realised tt the mass of solid i measured out actually doesnt rnd off to the reqd mass only after the 1st titration. wanted to redo but there wasnt enuf time n ppl r already startg to do calculations. after doing 2nd titration, i was wonderg whether to leave the mistake as it is or to manipulate (ie change) everything. if i leave it, i will get 0 for skill b coz i cant even follow basic instructn. if i change, i may change wrongly n furthermore, i had the feelg the examiner already knew i got the mass value wrong so i will get 0 for cheating. wasted quite some time tryg to decide... finally settled on changing...
then since i had to copy out everything again so tt it wldnt b so totally obvious tt i cheated, there was so little time left for all the calculations tt i freaked out n didnt finish. n later in the nite, i tried 2 do the qns again n realised i had made calculatn errors for the 1st part...
wed (12/5).
i realised tt 4+ mths of jc life has made me age alot. i look comparatively so much older n haggard now. b4 tt, ppl used to guess i m lower sec or even p6 (which is really absurd). now ppl guess i m jc or uni. even jc, its j2. haiz. dis is bad.
i think over the past 4+mths, i've really changed alot. like now, i dont do hw by the deadline; talk when not supposed to; cant b bothered abt lookg untidy; dare to talk to tchrs like start to ask/ans qns (the only +ve change in dis list); unable to withstand hunger.
wed n thurs
full dressed rehearsals for college day. on wed, the ceremony rehearsal was very disorganised. quite surprised since its so impt n the high-rnkg ppl r in-charge. for concert rehearsal, everything was quite screwed so we had to repeat on thurs. very disgusting, had 2 wear the unwashed blouse n stockg again... the stage crew screwed our seats, placed chairs at 2nd row instead of 3rd, so we ended up sitting dere.. n had to stay back after every1 left to arrange the chairs to the correct positions again. haiz, but den again, its hard wk on dem... so nvm.
fri.
dismissed at 12.20pm to prepare for college day foodfair. supposedly, i was to go home n really catch up on slp n wk. but i ended up wif the mash potato team though i was in yakitori team n hv been the middleperson btw uncle sam n the class n the guys were arranged to help grill on sat so i had nothin else 2 do. didnt wanna b so zuo bo when every1's supposed to do their part coz tt's the type of ppl i dislike so i went to jus's hse wif pam, sand, xin n jieyu, tianen, zhinvee who were doing the banner after hvg lunch at coro(prince, for dis yr, 1st time dere sia). but i didnt help much anyway. spent most of my time stong ard.
sat. (15/5) college day
got to sch at 3pm. ppl fr all the j1 classes were at their stalls. i looked over to our class's stall n saw them playg cards. so 'them'.
5pm. band sat thru the whole ceremony coz we had to play njc march at the start n end... n sch song too..
6pm. finally cld go for foodfair. it was so crowded n i perspired all over... so tempted to eat everything, esp the fried snacks. but had to support our class. mash potato was hot but yakitori n beehoon were cold n not veri nice. stole nachos from mom. hahax. n bargained for tart n brownie. cheapo manz.
final item for concert. the hall had quite a number of empty seats liao.
mom said band received the loudest applause, guess its coz of marcus's solo. syo member sia. alot of ppl admire his skills. mom n ruiling were laughing over mr ho's 'qiao4' butt... hahahahz. den on mon, karen said her mom said the same thing... so funny.
guess dances appeals every1 the most, n not every1 appreciates instrumental music.
mon(17/5).
etude full dressed cum technical rehearsal in hall. ended at 9.40pm w/o dinner. super hungry. snatch a bun (supposed 2 hv bread 4 dinner but didnt hv time) b4 rushg out wif sweepeng to catch a cab home. haiz... wat life is dis. can camp in sch liaoz lorz. waste 2h travelling time back n forth for less den 8h at home.. just to do more hw (stupid zuo wen) n end up not slpg on my bed at all.. slpt on comp table... kaoz... 2nd/3rd time i didnt slp on my bed... how i wish i can b more productive n can stop hvg to spend so much extra time n end up forever slpg on tables instead of doing wk.
tues.
got really breathless. i think its coz i'm not used to playg so instensively n oso coz i dont hv enuf slp..
was fallg asleep standg in the train lorz... actually durg all these nite pracs, i hv been dozing off whenever mr ho's takg other sectns..
den i really had to squeeze out the chi ppt (out of nothin) since it had been wks since we were 1st assigned the task n today was already the due date n we r already lucky enuf to present tmr instead.
wed.
when i finally finished the ppt, n intended to rush 2 sch on taxi, i was still late coz the driver didnt noe the way n took a long route n got caught in jam. waste money sia. haiz. kinda stupid to b late for sch not coz i overslept but coz i was doing hw...
dere's sports day which the sch so 'highly encourages' every1 to attend tt they closed the gates.. dere's really sth wrong wif students nowadays man. cant u just go. i mean its like one of basic responsibilities of a student to attend school activities lorz... n u need the sch to do such an absurd thing...
but i didnt get to attend even though i want to. had a final rehearsal in the hall. i really wanted to see the pros at wk. n the cheerleading too. dey hv been stayg back like almost everyday for the past wks to practise. i really wanted to see the result. luckily we had a break n i managed to see aerius, aqua n bit of ignis after waitg for the safety mats to b set. if only dey started earlier or our break was later.
thurs.
met laura n mich on the bus. laura said for hcso concert, tix sales was 50% the day b4 concert but turnout almost fullhouse n assured tt it will b the same for njcsb. hmm... is this what jc concerts r supposed to b like?
felt abit sick in the morn but was soon back to normal. phew. i thought my body really cant take it liaoz. but guess my willpower of not fallg sick works? haha. crap.
surprise gp compre test. dozing off durg the 1st hour. if i dont fail horribly, it wld b a miracle.
pe was cancelled coz the tchr wasnt ard. so rubbish manz. so slack. nj seriously lacks pe tchrs.
ran 2 rnds on my own coz i m getting fat wif all the slackness n titbits. i wanna b heavier but in a fitter way, not coz of more fats lorz. n i cant resist the temptation of unhealthy food.
self-prac. quite shiok coz i managed to play stuff tt usually durg rehearsals i cldnt play. but it was too last min, too late. cldnt master well enuf to play correctly under concert circumstances.
the snrs were stressing out over tix sales. 2days ago it was only 50%. though within 2 days it shot up to 80+%, its only 1 day b4 concert. in njcsb history, it had usually been 100%. let me blame it on the sch. y do dey hv to let choir prac, harmonica n green link camp b on the same day as etude. such a stupid arrangement. make so many ppl who r willg to come cant come. bah.
den i was supposed to hv a gd rest for tmr's etude but i had to try to boost final tix sales n do more hw tt's due tmr.
fri. (21/5) etude went to sch in the morn though we were excused for the whole day. felt very tired but i didnt wanna miss lessons. sacrificed chem lecture for abit more slp..
spent alot of time waitg coz dey allocated alot of time for checkg of everythin. n i kept worryg tt i forgot to bring sth since for the past 4yrs, concert had been at ny where we had everything with us.
cleopas gave every1 a lettercard, chocolate n marshmallow each. tt was when i realised i forgot all abt it... haiz.
we reached vch abit past 3. n spent more time waitg while dey settled technical stuff like transportg the percussion instru. n i nearly fell asleep as usual. den finally we cld go onstage to warmup n tune up durg which yunqi was checkg the ppt slides so i managed to catch a glimpse of them. it really shows alot of effort put into finding the photos. the 'nostradamus' on fire was super cool.
den we were assigned changing rms n our sectn got 'the biggest rm', which wasnt as big as it sounded n was the only 1 tt reqd us to climb a super steep flight of stairs tt i nearly rolled down. den we got some spare time to survey the buildg while percussion was testg the vol. den mr ho came. we played for like 1+h n i was quite worried tt i wldnt hv enuf breathe for the concert... n he ate into our time to change. made us not hv enuf time. 6.10 n every1 hasnt changed or eaten.
den we were supposed to change but the alumni snr whom i was supposed past my clarinet to came n needed to find the mouthpc tt doesnt hv the mouthpc patch but it ended up tt it was in the unused clarinet so she had to use my mouthpc...
n i became the last person to change..
the dinner was delicious. cai4 fan4. 4 types of cai4 sia.
den we had to put on the sash n report backstage.
the alumni was still doing last minute rehearsal when its like 15min b4 start of concert.. n i was quite worried i didnt hv time to clean out the saliva b4 we hv to go onstage...
luckily i did.
nostradamus. jap tune. movement for rosa. puzsta.
for puzsta, haogen the compere said 'puls-ta' instead which made some of us laugh... n mr ho cut off w/o repeatg 1 entire section leavg some of us shocked. but luckily every1 knew n followed his conductg instead of repeatg the section on our own... (after the concert he even said dere's no obvious mistake. ya, luckily it wasnt obvious, or did our shocked faces give away us?)
percussion ensemble.
cleopas said mr ho was conducting in circles. hahaz. n accordg to alexis's ppt we saw the other time, it means he's confused. hahaz.
interval.
novella was in backstage like just seconds after interval began. then she was so excited. hahaz. n like jiayun expected, she cldnt recognise her from the photo. the little ones (sec2s) oso came. quite disappointg tt the sec3s n 4s didnt come though its kinda expected.
stage band. the dance was great. considerg dey only had a few wks to choreograph n practise n we r a band.
highlights from chess. persis. (alumni band)
veri nice, expect some of the running notes were quite soft.
harry potter. carioca.
trombone. hootinini(i tink wrong spellg).(encore)
my 2 worse pcs. though i played better than durg the previous rehearsals thx to yest's prac, i still played badly. haiz... my playg sux. but like i said, dont think it affected much... haiz...nvm.
when etude finally ended, i saw stella from cedar pri! hey, she's actually in the same class as andrew now in acjc. so coincidental.
den we took band photos b4 rushg to clear up n out coz dey had to lock up. i nearly forgot to take my shoes n flowers... n oso forgot to bring extra plastic bag to hold everythin so i had to grab on to everythin...
waited rather long for the bus... n the snrs wanted to give us a speech but ended up just giving advices. den we took sectn photos.
on the bus my eyelids was veri heavy but jiayun was talkg 2 me so i didnt fall asleep.
when i got back to band rm, i had the feeling like i just came home from a holiday.
ok... finally done with etude.
den after waitg for the percussion instrument to b transported back, we went yixin's hse for etude nite. on the bus, some of them were super hyper, singing at the top of their voices the pcs we played.
only abt half the band went. from our sectn only edo, adeline n me. mr ho, ms loh n mrs lim oso went. by the time we reached dere, it was 11+pm. her hse was very unique. very traditional. chinese stuff all ard, alot of woodwk n artwk equipment. n the stairs r spiral n hidden behind a door. n the partly like an attic, with a hammock. n dere a window tt leads to part of the roof of the 1st floor, where dere's a bench too (some snrs said dey saw 3 shootg stars while on the roof sia).
we had catered food for supper. fried rice, beehoon, veg, curry veg, curry puff, punch. all tasted great. except the chicken wing coz the skin had turned soggy n it was super oily. oh, n its a well-known fact tt shuhui can really eat alot (1plateful n she says she can each 5 times tt). every1 sat on the road to eat. look like coolies. hahaz. not very fun though coz its so rough n its a slope n once in awhile, a car came along so we had to move. after eatg, the tchrs n some ppl gradually left. adeline, mabel, jasmine n i played bridge on the road for awhile b4 we got to go to the 2nd floor which was a much better environment.
after continuing bridge for sometime, sean called us into a rm to play mafia wif shuhui, pk, eileen, thomas (who kept sayg lame stuff). i didnt really uds the game initially. gradually, the snrs started fallg asleep coz i think we were playg the game in the correct way. so we went out. den yixin suggested watchg rise of hitler n some ppl were quite enthu abt it. but i was already dozg off right from the start. usually durg chalets n stuff i can stay awake but this time, i cldnt. proves how exhausted my body was. tt was abt 3+/4 i think. den i decided to lie down n slp. my slpg posture was very awkward.. back on the floor n knees bend (like doing sit-up..) coz dere wasnt space ard me for me to stretch my legs n i was too tired to move to another place so i just slpt w/o mattresses.
i suddenly feel very tired of such a long post.
shall stop crappg. k. so i kept wakg up coz i was quite cold (fan was blowg directly at me. hm, y didnt i turn it away?) hai, i m crapg again. watever. finally really got up at 8+, tt was when every1 started wakg up. expect for some who were already up for breakfast. den every1 started talkg abt how ppl slp. n marcus was the only 1 still slpg n dey said isit his attitude prob (whoa, didnt noe he's such an attitude person) or is he really slpy. n he doesnt even produce any sound. while youzhi was the loudest snorer.
den we went down n ate the leftovers from the early morng tt yixin's mom heated up b4 gg to kap for macs breakfast. benson ate really slow. while we were still at yixin's, yunqi told him to go half an hour b4 us. cld feel tt every1 was still veri tired coz everythin was gg quite slowly. den when we were leaving kap, i met mich.
n i hvnt mention tt quite a few of us didnt even change out of etude costume.
n i was told tt alexis was takg pics of ppl's slpg postures. hahaz, didnt noe she wld do such stuff. hiya, i shld hv sat up to look ard one of those times when i woke up. must b quite interestg to see the postures.
n junhao n youzhi actually did mass dance on the roof early morng.
so gg for etude nite despite being super exhausted isnt tt bad, since i got to find out more abt ppl, though i didnt really get to noe more ppl, esp those 2nd intakers
kz, so tt's another super long post. i m damn tired now. bah. luckily dis wkend no gp hw. or chi essay/ppt. but dere's alot of catchg up to do. sigh
i m really sick of all the sch wk. sick of feeling tired everyday. sick of all the complications n problems. sick of noise. sick of myself for everything.
oh no. dere's still gp essay, tons of qn in econs wkbk, phy assign, math n chem tutorial, chi research. what m i doin here. argh.
anyway, i m supposed to say i officially ate beef for the 1st time yest! except the other time in sec3/4 (i cant rmb) when i accidentally ate it w/o knowing. went to sizzler with my parents n tried teriyaki grd beef! it was so yummy! n everythin was so nice i kept eating.
k. tt's it.
oh ya, n we just had pw meeting at my hse. joyce, jus, sand n tianen. n i spent most the time stong such tt even mom noticed. hahaz. bah. i need 2 get trained in stong less.
Have Read
'04 year-end holidays (highest number of books read in a long time)
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (gd read)
-Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot (fun read)
-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (must read - inspirational)
-Slab Rat by Ted Heller (full of office politics and R21 stuff - not for kids)
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (makes u want to finish it)
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks (simple but meaningful)
-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (can identify with)
-The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (romantic love story with too much R21 stuff)
-Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (even more R21. ugh)
-The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
-Unstrung Heroes by Franz Lidz (autobiography about his four uncles and father)
-The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (very unique POV of an autistic boy)
-The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (love the breadth of the plot, one of my favourites)
-Wild Orchids by Jude Deveraux (alternating between two first persons' view - unique, but don't like e plot)
-Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (philosophy tb in a story; gets abit dry though plot saved)
-forgot what i read...-
-Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan (story of an urban planner)
-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (impressive intelligence with bits of great humour)
-Just between Us by Cathy Kelly (thickest bk i've ever read-600+pg, too long for me but not bad)
ha, started a few bks but didn't enjoy them enough to read more.
'06
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel (novel based on true story; a lot to learn from the book - animals, religions,
survival, appreciation of simplicity; marvelous descriptions of both the tangible and the intangible,
such that I could feel their realness; bits of very enjoyable humour; a must read)
-The Complete Analects of Confucius, Volume 1 - Asiapac Comic Series (some good teachings.
didn't read everything though)
-The Parable of the Pipeline by Burke Hedges (lent to me by Shujun; like she said, its a short version
of Rich Dad Poor Dad - good financial tips)
-The Alchemist by Paul Coelho (simple story with deep meaning)
-Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(hai, doesn't seem to be working for me - cos im not applying..)
-haven't been updating from Jun'06 to Jul'07-
'07
-Take a Chance by Sarah Webb (very interesting twist towards the end)
'08
-A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer (very saddening. made me realise how significant family is in how a child behaves)
-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden (refreshing book with many pics)
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Rui Zafon (amazing how people can think of so much plot to pack into one book, wld b a gd tv series)
-The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the story is interesting but i think the ending cld hv been better written)
-This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes (a bit thought-provoking on relationships but i didnt like e abrupt ending)
-Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (gd knowledge but partly qte repetitive)
-For One More Day by Mitch Albom
-The C Words by Mark Mason (made me keep wanting to read on. light & funny)
'09
-Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (another good read from Deveraux)
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (gosh such vivid descriptions! very well written book. i liked d theme of friendship and the realness of the story)
'10
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (a must-read!! i love the expressed thoughts of the protagonist, esp those about friendships, and the writing style - it seems like she's telling me her story specifically to me)
How to Save Your Own Life by Michael Gates Gill (an inspiring read, for emotional liberation and greater joy in life)
Reading
on hold
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Waiting for chance to get hold of
The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Gotai Fumanzoku or An Unsatisfactory Body (Translated into English as No One's Perfect) by Hirotada Otatake
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Other Recommended Readings by Marc
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes. Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s emotional and moral life. Dickens states that we must learn to go against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”
Lolita – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each. The story is as devious as it is beautiful.
Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done. Nuff said.
How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating. Pretty much the greatest cookbook ever written. Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll be a master chef by the time you’re 30.
Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful fiancée. Life was good. But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him. So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years. This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self discovery.
Self-note: Tip for my future business =D
give employees reasonably high pay to keep them- otherwise they are unlikely to stay loyal.
treat employees not according to how well they treat me but how conscientious they are at work
(of course, musn't expect them to only do work throughout the entire working hours -
give some breathing space too, we are humans, not machines) Movies watched(listing started on 6jan08)
in cinema from VCD/DVD
1Sep07: "Hairspray" w TK, GH & SH
14Sep07: "Ratatouille" w mom & extended family
28Dec07: "The Pianist" w Jus & Pam (heartbreaking but good lessons; i recommend!)
2Jan08: "I Am Legend" w Sherm (scary! but good acting; thought provoking; i recommend!)
5-6Jan08: "A Good Year" alone (excellent show! i like the acting; funny; good lessons; touches my heart; i recommend!)
11Jan08: "Le Grand Chef" w WLing, JT & Irene (good! funny, very touching, :) nice; watch if like humour+meaning+food)
7Feb08 (CNY 初一): "Ah Long Pte Ltd" w parents (pretty hilarious - but u gotta understand dialects, some teary parts. wells typical of jack neo movies but with diff content)
11Mar08: "The Leap Year" w Sherm (so sweet! :) and apart from couple relationship it touches the theme of mother-daughter and best friends too)
6Jun08: "P.S. I Love You" w Sherm (don't know if its coz we watched it on laptop, coz it didn't impress me as much as it did for him in cinema)
8Jun08: "The Forbidden Kingdom" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (ums..guess i'm really not into kungfu)
8Jun08: "What Happens in Vegas" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (simple,relaxing show)
7Jul08: "我和狗狗的10个约定" w Sherm, his ma & sisters (very simple,touching but actually not my type of show)
10Jul08: "Before Sunrise" w Sherm (hmm maybe watchg on laptop really affects appreciatn of movies..)
30Sep08: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" w Sherm (i didn't like it as much as i thought i wld when i saw the ads)
31Dec08: "Yes Man" w Mom (inspiring and funny)
11Feb08: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" w Mom (not as impressive as i thought it wld be)
1Jul09: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" w Yumei, YY & Matt (the best thing was the soundtrack. heh.)
14Aug09: "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" w Joyce (it was awesome! best action movie i've ever watched)
17Aug09: "Food, Inc." w SYL & RuiQ (learnt some stuff abt the American food industry but it was a bit boring and not worth the $10)
22Sep09: "The Time Traveller's Wife" w WB, VanD, WLing, CHL, Irene, VanQ, Mf, Pg (i liked it. having read the book really helps w udsg)
21Nov09: "Gokusen" w Mf, Eva, Tony, Sarah (funny inspirational movie)
24Dec09: "十月围城" w Tony, WLing, VanQ (action action and a bit funny? tony criticised the plot. my fav scene was the running n jumping through the crowd along the five-foot ways w/o cuts)
30Dec09: "Sherlock Holmes" w Irene, Tony, Sweetee (my favourite genre of books made into a movie - what else can be more cool? acting effects humour excitement suspense all in)
12Jan10: "Avatar 3D" w Mom (didn't appreciate the digital effects which everyone wowed about. content etc was so-so. cathay's 3D glasses were too heavy for me)
8Feb10: "The Truman Show" w Ky n sis n Yuhshin (a must-watch. very thought-provoking, funny. reminder to be spontaneous and create your life the way you want, instead of falling into a typical routine
14Feb10: "New York, I Love You" w Mom (I loved it! a good couple movie with meaningful pointers to keep it going. but i think some stories could be more developed)
16Feb10: rewatched "The Pianist" (still find it good, tho i still feel first viewings are the best)
17Feb10: "Valentine's Day" w CHL n WB (laughed throughout - a feel-good movie; liked the fact that the various stories binded tog so well with the little surprises here and there, vs NY ILU in which each story was separate)
20Feb10: "赤壁二" w Addy, Karen, Sharon, SJ (should have watched the first one first cos i ended up not knowing who's who and what's happening and had to keep asking :/ and couldn't pay attn.. if not i think it should be a pretty good movie..)
4Mar10: "Alice in Wonderland 3D" w Mf (i found the 3D effects of this @ CCK Shaw SO much better than Avatar @ The Cathay =/ and the movie was much more enjoyable too! - cheered a sad me up :)) favourite quote - the Mad Hatter: “You used to be much muchier before. ... You have lost your muchness.”)
18Mar10: "Nodame Cantabile" w Irene, Mf (i thoroughly enjoyed some of the orchestra pieces - SO impressive! the expressions of the actors were really amusing :D)
23Apr10: "Ice Kacang Puppy Love" w Mom (funny, touching and meaningful - about love between friends and family. i cried 3 tissues! cos some touching parts i could really understand the feelings of the characters involved)
Inception
Letters to God (very simple Christian movie)
22Nov10: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" w Ame, Irene (they loved it. pretty good, i guess the main problem i had was that im not familiar with HP :X)
13Dec10: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" w Sj (not bad, could follow the story unlike HP. like the meaningful teachings, too long - in a post)
2Mar11: "The King's Speech" w Ame (hilarious, inspirational, tho it doesn't impress me that much to understand why it's the Oscar winner)
Mar11: "10 Things I Hate About You" very funny. silly sweet high school romance. just right for having breaks in between doing homework
23May11: "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" w Wb Yl Ame Pg (pretty good - scenery, freakish parts, fighting scenes, dressing, humour, bits of Christianity like when the Spanish said "only God gives life")
6Jun11: "Xmen First Class" w Wb Ame Pg (i was very keen on watching it and it was really good! intellectual, makes sense, cool action, some humour)
9Jun11: "Legally Blonde 2" w Irene (seems like some dumb blonde movie but kind of meaningful too - speaking up for yourself and what you stand for)
17Jun11: "Something Borrowed" w Sandy Lisa (quite funny, somewhat meaningful wrt friendships. they didn't like the lack of sense for one part tho)
16Jul11: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" w Irene, Sweetee, Kw (not bad. i didn't understand some parts again but the humour and effects were pretty good)
Aug11 "Horrible Bosses" w Ma (she fell asleep! gosh. the movie was very crude i must say but there was the humour)
25Oct11: "The Three Musketeers" w H (i would rate it 3.5 for humour/intellectual language and 4 for action. it's by the same producer or director as Sherlock! but a bit less awesome albeit a good chill out movie)
5Nov11: "Real Steel" w Hl (action packed but not too hardcore for me. i liked that there was the father and son element and how the father eventually softened his heart and especially the part when charlie was having trouble telling max sth and max was so understanding saying "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." touching and demonstrates true fighting spirit)
12Dec11: "50/50" w L (adopting her words - a heavy topic put across in a lighthearted way, but not taking away d meaning. most of it was rather hollywood-ish trashiness but there were a couple of punch lines "u can't change ur parents, but u can change d way u respond to them.")
25Dec11: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" w KY (ultimate action packed! super tense almost throughout the movie, and interesting Tom Cruise made it such that not everything happened smoothly - he would jump and misland and get all sorts of injuries..it's really the courage to jump without hesitation even though you are not sure you'll be alive after that. KY loved d movie and said she would watch it again!)
3Jan12: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" w KY (i love mystery (: and the witty sarcastic dialogues. good level of excitement with the action. didn't understand some parts as usual. i like Holmes and Watson they depict such a true pair of buddies ;D)
23Jan12: "You are the Apple of My Eye" w mom (now i understand why guys like this movie so much - the anxiety of chasing after a girl and the acts schoolboys do to get the girl's attention and hopefully affection. the initial fluttering and the subsequent quarrelling)
22Mar12: "The Iron Lady" w KY (really love Thatcher's sharp words. inspiring and thought-provoking, tho i was still left uncertain of what to do with my life, the movie is definitely an encouraging one)
29Mar12: "Barney's Version" w SJ (a funny movie of a screwed up life of a man who had 3 wives, smoked and drank but very heartwarming at the same time, the relationships with the dad and the 3th wife - quotable quotes!)
27Apr12: "The Hunger Games" w Mom
4May12" "Avengers" w MF n PS (funny, action-packed)
7Jul12: "The Amazing Spiderman"
21Jul12: "The Dark Knight Rises" (fantastic depth, loved the twists)
20Aug12: "ParaNorman" w Mom (simple funny animated movie, heartwarming support)
Performances watched (listing started on 25Apr10)
20Jan10: Patrick Marber's Closer by outoftheBLUE, NUS Science w Pam (
13Mar10: The Rain Came Down Like Pearls the Night I Died... The New Musical - Sing & Tell by Mark Chan w Addy & Jy
21Mar10: Quintessence by NUSCO w CHL