I am so weird

I am only into the first sentence of Glare's article and I already catch myself asking, rhetorically, 'Why on earth am I attempting translation with my current standard of japanese?' And to think that my drive for Bunka has been expiring lately. Goodness, there is the I3 final exam tomorrow. I did horribly for the mid term and here I am blogging about it instead of studying for it! There goes.

What a paradox. This tiredness I have for Bunka is absolutely contrary to my desire to finish up the translation, move over to livejournal, start my first post with it, and join the Deluhi community, among others. I fear that this may be the start, though God forbid, to the metamorphoses into a fangurl. The kind that in all honesty I have always disliked - those with the inflated dream of 'mastering' japanese when all they really want to say is 'kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii', 'sugooooooooooooooooi, 'aiishiiiteeiiiruuu' and working in japan (read: PS Company only).

Or maybe my lack of enthusiasm for serious japanese studying could be due to this weird sense of organization I have that leans dangerously towards an OCD. Here goes: I generally try to tailor my schedule toward two extremes, either a very packed one or one that is totally slack. I find that I thrive on the adrenaline of a packed schedule, and the haste actually releases tremendous amounts of endorphins that in turn trigger a flustered demeanour. But, when it is time to relax, I want to do nothing but that either. Hence, I find it hard to maintain a holiday diet of slacking and reading, key word being 'and'. Yet, I somehow cannot resist squeezing some reading time, for my own books, during those working/schooling days! Hence, I am strangely looking forward to cramming next week onwards with:

1.Teaching (goodness my official working hours are from 7:30am to 5:00pm, and I am well aware that the hours in print always undercut what really happens)
2. Translating and setting up a livejournal account
3. Reading Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita (I already want to read Moby Dick after this)
4. Finishing up I4 (yes, what a paradox! I somehow have this compulsion to finish up the intermediate series before I leave for...)
5. Korea and hence the need to settle my exchange matters.

Woohoo!

A Time to Reflect!

One only needs a furtive glance at the history log of blog posts here at real random ramble to deduce that there has been a degeneration of sorts going on here. Tags have disappeared, but the most blatant change is the absence of photographs! So what if I have lost grasp of the ability to categorise my thoughts (I have an excuse! My thoughts are too diverse to ever be fit into a box), what other excuse can I give for pictureless walls of text except for the fact that my phone refuses to connect with my laptop!

Every attempt on my part to establish a 'paired connection' between my laptop and phone has resulted in rather catastrophic outcomes. Not only do I 'fail to establish a network with User1-PC', I end up screwing my (previously) automatic connection to the home wireless lan such that I get swamped with 'unable to connect to NTU wireless lan' boxes at 5 minute intervals of using the internet at home. It has now become a game, deleting those boxes before more appear. Yesterday, I lost. 40 boxes popped at a shot. I took to ignoring them.

So, I wanted to put up the pictures of a tree snake that I took yesterday when i encountered the creature at school. But alas, its not possible! I have since taken the liberty to manually displaying the pictures (read: showing others the photo right from my phone - Mum asked me if I'm sure it wasn't a large worm).

That aside, I am only into the 3rd week of school but yet I feel pressed for time. My to-do list has gotten a little blurry - perhaps I've forgotten what I need to write down on my to-do list to do? - but GOD FORBID!

And today I encountered a senior who has driven me to a zen-like reaction! Double major, CCA, exchange programme, 7 modules this semester - First. Class. Honours. GPA.

I know, I know. I should take advantage of the fact that as bogged down as I may be, I am blessed enough to be pressed with things that I can safely say I enjoy doing. So! No more complains, ride on the passion and Work. Hard. At. All.

Ok, so I'm off to completing my readings now. It'd be a matter of 30mins before I meet Lionel and Phil for lunch at the quad. Speaking of the quad, I keep telling myself to head for the attractive dishes at the caifan stall. But the queue always throws me off, and I end up satisfying myself with a tasty, but boring, udon soup with roasted chicken as I steal quick and envious glances at bowls of rice and steaming vegetables and my favourite mapotofu sailing by.

Then its Forensic Science lecture before I meet up with Jie and Gabriel for 'Up' (no worries Mum. I promise to take the family to a movie after John's prelims. I promise to organize it. I promise not to bother you about it. I promise to just do it.)

Jie needs a break from wading knee-deep under the predatory eyes of scaly devils in mock-human+tail form. And poor Gabe with his honours project. Time to enjoy for tonight!

Turning out Quite as Expected

I had been waiting in keen anticipation for Elementary 2 to commence and amidst looking through my verb sheets and character charts, came up with several things which I was expecting would occur during the duration of this class.

1. We would be facing off with a much more well-informed and studious bunch.

That was definitely the case. In fact, I should not even have guessed that this would happen. It was practically given by the fact that here we are sitting amongst individuals who are like-minded enough to part with another $200 for an external course which requires more than just 3 hours of your time a week, on top of school/work etc. Point to note: This scenario could only get more intense as the levels progress.

2. ドラマ 2 would unfold.

A sequel to ドラマ 2, with the same protagonist headlining each scene. But what surprised me was the fact that the female lead was cast so soon, having bewitched the protagonist with her curled brown locks and look-alike features. Would she have a look-alike personality to boot? The ドラマ is unfolding bit by bit.

3. (OK, this one I did not anticipate to encounter in class itself) Someone doesn't want to talk to me anymore

Not that we flocked together to begin with, but a certain individual who has been heralded as an elite, pruned and trimmed and fed lovingly by the government, through us mere mortals' coffers, to groom more of his kind, has given me a distinctly colder shoulder.

And what's the reason for his increasingly disenchanted conversation (or rather, snippets of thought exchange)? Simply because I deal with a discipline that does not involve something that he would die without. This 'something' has a rather fat bottom and streamlined top and is caressed every so often by his scholarly hands. It would be an inconceivable, horrifying thought that someone like me does not hold it close to my eye to read the tattoos that curve around its physique or place it in a heated environemtn and wait for its juices within to boil over. Blasphemy! How could I not love a beaker the way he does! So yes, even the common interest in 日本語 and goodness, a common profession (for now at least), cannot make up for the lack of beaker love, and that explains the unwillingness to even meet his brilliant eyes with mine, even for a second!

The only reason I did not anticipate this to encounter in class itself was simply because I was not expecting to meet this pruned elite in this class, thinking that his bookworm driven instincts would have propelled him to sign up for an earlier class which would all the more quickly enhance his almighty brain.

Oh how I love this class, now, to sort out the administrative matters for the exam.

The Emo Cycle

Several things I realized/have been reiterated to me, much to my utmost chagrin!

1. Prolonged bouts of Emoness are equivalent to narcissism.

2. Sometimes, stereotypes - in particular those pertaining to schools in SG - become stereotypes only because they are so true that there is no other way to call them!

3. 2's a company, 3's a crowd. This is yet another stereotype, which hey!, is so darn true.

4. One of the most subtle, yet strongest ways, to put someone down, is to attribute everything they've worked for to 'luck'.

So, since emoness is way more contagious than SARS or any H1N1 strain of sorts, we need stronger antidotes!

(And I know it'd make an abrupt ending to close this entry like this. And I do know what else I can write, but I have no impulse to start typing about them. So this is it)

The Obligatory Post-Exam Catch Up

Ok, as can be inferred from the title, the exams are over. Practically every student's blog I read is pasted with a large 'hiatus' symbol during the exam periods (though this hiatus symbol sometimes gives in to short posts titled 'i gave up' or 'i cheated' or 'i got bored'), and this post is thereby followed up with 'ITS OVER!' once it really is done.

So yes, this is the obligatory post-exam evaluation/planner etc. basically anything you use to name THAT post after the exams where you write about how the papers went, how you think you would do, and what you plan to do now, more often that not promising to no one but yourself or your blog that you would study harder next semester.

I'll try as much as possible to turn this post into something interesting. But remember, its about the exams after all. As much as a module may be exciting and challenging, how much could an exam get? Challenging for sure, but exciting? Nah.

So anyway, here's the evaluation:

Comms - Here's to the first time in my life that I mistook my seat number. While I initially felt horribly guilty for making the rightful owner of seat number 233 run up and down twice just to ensure it was me, and not her, that got it wrong, this guilty was quickly dispelled by the horribly tricky MCQ and cloze passages. Ah well, a 'tricky' paper is about the closest resemblance you could get in an exam to a real life situation anyway, so maybe we students have shot ourselves in the foot for complaining that exams are 'nothing like what you get in real life anyway'. Here we get it. The tricky paper. Mimicking real life scenarios where everything is uncertain.

Survey Part 2 - I'm still in disbelief that this paper turned out to be the easiest exam I've sat for since I entered university. But the fact that this easily translates into stricter marking guidelines and steeper bell curve is not making me anymore hopeful.

Cyber Security - Here's a toast to learning the hard way that, as much as globalization calls for us Singaporeans to embrace 2 gigantic growing nations, for now I should endeavour to avoid modules where the general locus around me in the exam hall features nary another Singaporean (oh wait! The rest of my kind have learned!) So you can just imagine my pain as I chewed through the MCQs and was going to work on the 6 structured questions when people from those nations and a couple from other lands that sported the same crew cut + spectacles + bermudas + sandals + tshirt ensemble began to leave the exam hall. Surely it didn't help that I was struck by this unexplainable and horrible headache that left me stoning at some junctures when I should have been writing?

Victorian - This course has served not only as a killer, but also as a warning for me. And was it a mistake to veer over unseen poetry for a recollection of narrative twists in some mystery sensational detective and potentially racist novel instead? Science Fiction for next sem? At least I know the formula for dealing with her classes now, but would I execute it correctly?

Singapore - So Singaporean, everything was 'up to you'. Now I just hope my angle was right. Sighs, if only the next step was headed by another one ( inside joke, can't name names here).

And my overal say on the exams would actually be that this semester was tough, and its only going to get worse, so I'd better step up the game. Try as I might to avoid saying this, cliches are often the truth (and that is a cliche too). I've also made a mental note to try to go for courses which are not so final exam heavy, and oh the woes of having 2 exam papers in a day. I cannot complain too much on this since some of my friends are having to deal with 3 today, but I inevitably found myself repeating the same phrases for the essays in my 2 papers today.

OK enough of this evaluation, let's move on to the 2nd part where we talk about what we are going to do this holidays.

But nonetheless, while quite a significant chunk of my 3 month break would be taken up by an internship, I do have to get other things accomplished during this holiday, some of which I actually do not have the mood to do, but have to kick myself to do it anyway.

And the list goes on:

1. Going back to exercise! Yes, I can't wait to scale the structures @ West Coast Park.
2. Driving. Enough Said.
3. 日本語not forgetting my test on Thursday!
4. I can finally read a book which is not on some list of mandatory (techincally only) readings.
5. I'm really looking forward to my birthday celebration this year. I finally have a barbecue pit and, freed from exams, I will have the liberty to prepare my own feast for the guests. Right now I have a vague menu in mind, but its definitely going to involve a pasta salad, succulent meat cuts, roasted vegetable skewers and barbecued bananas and sweet potatoes for dessert.
6. The inevitable - Housework.
7. The want - Visiting grandma, picking up the recipes!

And yes it goes on and on, but right now I've since been interrupted by the urge for a run. I have also made it a point to spend less time on my laptop, though not to the point where I would actually lock it up as planned, since I tend to get horribly distracted by the likes of youtube and msn when I do attempt to do something productive online. So I'd probably be blogging about my hoilday exploits from a stool in front of the desktop, which is perched on top of cardboard boxes.

And the obligatory post comes to an end!

Zebra Cakes and Candy Floss

Thanks to a mid term and late night driving lesson contained within my longest day of the week (a friday at that!), I decided to begin my Saturday with a leisurely morning swim. And it was serendipitous that I found Saturday mornings, specifically 9a.m., to be the optimum time for swimming. The pool was empty, the water was sufficiently cool, and somehow, swimming alone gives me the motivation to do continuous laps. Now, this is how I should start every Saturday.Nevertheless, the increased number of forays into the pool has resulted in me enjoying swimming as much as treadmill-pounding. My knees are going to thank me for this.

Though my stomach certainly would not, considering the amount of sugar I consumed after swimming.

I taste-tested the Zebra Cake my sis, grand aunt and I baked at my grand aunt's place.

It was really a simple cake to make, yet the first attempt was no good (I do have a good excuse for this, but its an insider thing!), second one got better. This is the 2nd batch.

Unassuming crispy brown crust which deceives all into thinking this is a run-off-the-mill marble cake. actually conceals.

A moist, soft mix of black and yellow swirls.

I could not resist an entire piece.

And my sugar consumption went into the 'danger zone' with Mum's purchase of a childhood favourite.

Mouthfuls of saccharine that send your carbohydrate intake sky high for SGD$1.50. Not to mention the smiles and waves of nostalgia of those days where Mum would take you to candy floss booths at shopping centre counters and watch it churned out fresh for you.

There were 2 bags. The right one, banana flavoured. The left one, splashed with the colouring mimicking a type of berry that is not the blueberry. Food science has failed!

This sugar overload has since sentenced me to a longer time in the gym. Not the pool though, since technology allows me to tweak the treadmill and other apparatus, to force my body into a better sugar-incinerating rate.

I need motivation.

Thanks レダ. I shall endeavour to have abs like you. And everytime I feel like hitting the sack rather than pounding the pavement, I shall look at you - you who has everything every girl wants to have - and allow your flat and taut stomach to drive me to an insane state of jealousy and also to the gym, where I would listen to your band as I whack the treadmill.

Before this post comes to an end:

A mini list:

1. The blue candy floss was flavoured raspberry.

2. Leda is a man.

And so it Rained

Today, the West fell victim yet again to the type of rainfall that can only be termed 'oxymoron'. You know, the kind where it sprinkles for a while, and when the clouds dry up, the remnants from the sprinkle remain hanging in the atmosphere such that it gets even more humid after that. Imagine sweating at an intensity which rivals the frequency of the preceeding rainfall. But that was not the worse that the rain brought about anyway.

For some strange reason, I remembered to run out to the balcony to bring in the rack of towels, have in the clothes stand and shut the sliding door, but it totally slipped my mind to check on lilbro john's room. So, it was only some 10minutes into the downpour when I went over to his room to get some plain paper, that I noticed that the rain had drenched anything within the vicinity of his open window.

Bed Inclusive.

What followed next was a series of helter skelter that begin with me shutting the windows tight, Jie mopping up the puddles which had formed on the surface of his books, boxes, helmet, football, and me rushing back from our room with a fan and hairdryer for the bed.

A couple of hours, 2 extension plugs for the fan, and a broken down hairdryer, and the room was back in shape. And since lilbro john, if I may quote him, 'don't care even if you have a blog or whatever you write on it'. He probably would never find out anyway. This episode shall just be filed under 'perspectives'.

I can almost hear the chorus of 'what a horrible sister' and 'how could you forget about your brother's room'. Yes plaintiffs, in my defence, may I propose that, on the basis of my background as a musician who actually studied that subject for my damn O and A levels and went through 3 instruments and numerous concerts, I am qualified enough to say that this:



Is simply too engaging for me to prise the headsets out of my ears and peel my butt of the chair, come rain or shine, flood or hurricane, tornado, etc. Case Closed. That aside, I blame Benedryl for plunging me into a 12 hour slumber the night before. That half a day long comatose just means half a day less of time to complete this:

One of the things written under the last section (MISC) is actually 'gym + swim everyday' (so long as other commitments do not interfere!). And while I would gladly rise at 730am, or earlier, everyday throughout a holiday week just to hit the gym and pool while still being able to start work at 10am, I can foresee being potentially hindered by something, (no I'm not swearing I mean it literally) bloody.

I have not been able to work my way around it despite having to deal with it for years, and more years to come. And for that, I simply salute professional swimmers, marine biologists, synchronized swimmers (basically any woman who has to enter water on a regular basis), for their resilience against bloody, messy outcomes.

Anyway, it appears that I have one more day to let the blood run dry, considering that Monday has already been packed with appoinments. I hope for a gore-free Tuesday to pound the pavement.

Edit: Those insanely good musicians are from ガルネイルス. Had to add the 'All Things Japanese' Label.

(Un)pack

Having moved house twice in my whole life, of which I am still in the midst of moving the 2nd time, I can save with some certainty that packing and transporting the goods is so tough when you get down to it, but they look like child's play once you get to unpacking.

So now, as I am typing in the new study room - a dismantled table stacked behind me and many cardboard boxes in the sofaless living room outside - I am starting to feel extreme admiration for Rachel, an ex-classmate of mine who's father's job required her to move from country to country almost every few months (though I feel nothing but envy for the fact that you attended private school in New York at the company's expense and lived smacked within Shibuya). If moving within Singapore is hard enough, let alone travelling the globe with cardboxes in tow.

Anyway, moving to this new abode has led me to display (unwittingly) several unpleasant symptoms. I have deduced, from observing myself over these 2 days, that I could possibly be:

1. Allergic to strong air-conditioning.
2. Allergic to dust.

Not that the 2nd one is anything atypical, but as for the first, that might just be a bizarre freak of medical science.

3. I do like swimming after all.
4. I have been using 'moving house' as an excuse for not making anything beyond the doorstep of the Bleak House.
5. (Not exactly a discovery related to moving house, but discovered at the same time anyway) I must learn to enjoy the comforts of hawker centre food.

3 was because I tried the pool out for the first time today. Which leads me to ask if the public pools are even cleaned at all? I was happy to not be swimming besides floating leaves, hair and whatever unknown substances that could have been inside.

Ok I've just reread point 4 and deduced that I really should be doing something else other than blogging.

Before I go: I can't wait for lessons at Bunka to start! Though I'm certainly not looking forward to the travelling back and forth at peak hours :P

Edit: I forgot to mention this. I am dying to get a radical change in hairstyle. An extremely radical one with spiked ends and all.

The Big Fat Snail

The recent disruption in my frequency of blogging daily has been due largely to a lack of blog-worthy materials, and unfortunately, to a smaller extent due to me getting back into the momentum for school. Today would have passed as yet another day of me doing nothing productive, but with it also being the last day of the holidays, I simply had to dig into every nook and cranny of my life in order to find something to blog about.

Ok so I will ramble about yesterday's movie.Jie and I went to watch 崖の上のポニョat the Tiong Bahru GV. We had intended to head down to the more lively VivoCity instead, but detoured to Tiong Bahru Plaza when we realized that the evening shows at the former were already half-full. And it was a good thing we did, since the best movie experience is none other than in a relatively empty cinema which does not compromise on screen or seat quality. Boy do i hate jostling with crowds, crowds with handphones, for the matter.

We had 40mins to spare before the movie so we trudged down to the basement for some Ajisen Ramen.

The broth had been spiced to suit the local chilli-addict standard, but it was marred by the fake 卵 plopped like a disc in the bowl .

And then we went up for ポニョ. This 宮崎tale only warmed, but didn't tug hard enough at my heartstrings and at times I got annoyed, rather than cooed over the rebellious eloping ポニョ. However, I did leave the theatre feeling sad, since every 宮崎 film inevitably reminds me of his masterpiece 千と千尋の神隠し. (I cannot believe they ended the film without letting 千尋 see ハク again.)

I also learnt that carting those obscenely overpriced movie house goodies into the theatre serves more than the purpose of providing GV with about 90% of their revenue. It helps the viewer mask the pungent odour of the cheesy mayo(yikes) hotdog emanating from the tween in front.

Today started with breakfast at Wang Jiao with Jie, Clarise and Yong Xiang. As we made our way to our common destination, we encountered many of these:

I would have wanted to place my ruler beside those snails so that the picture could tell how remarkably huge the one on the right was. However, convinced that no amount of washing and detergent would be able to rid my ruler of snail secretions, the faithful mathematical instrument (which has seen me through countless math exams) stayed within the pencil case. That pretty much leaves me with typing out the characters 4.5inches to express how large it really was.

Fortunately, the snails did not spoil my appetite for lunch, or maybe it was just the company which helped.

And, why did KFC shrink their chickens?

On a more serious note, I am starting to feel the 'school starts tomorrow' dread I have been experiencing every 1st jan for the past 12 years of my life. But since I have promised to make every semester better than the previous one, I shall undergo a drastic change and wake up tomorrow with a grin and voracious appetite for my books - even as I sit at the computer playing the finger dash for another module which my school has robbed from me.

Yes, I must increase the intensity and quantity of time I spend on school and even C work, but several things still must go on!

Here goes another list:

1. Jogging (Pounding the pavement as ガゼットblasts in my ears is the best way to unwind.)

2. Swimming (I am no good at this, but since Dad and Mum already paid so much for it, I have to. Besides, my knees will thank me in time.)

3. Gym-out (I am no gym bunny, but this shall be my West Coast substitute when it pours.)

4. 日本語 (Yes this has to go on)

5. Anything related to Piano and Cello (I am so tempted to physically squeeze my brain for the juices to spawn some form of song/musical.)

6. Driving (Damn those haphazard instructors and the freakin difficult examination up ahead. But for the ability to control something on 4 wheels, I've already gritted my teeth.)

Boxing Day

I clearly remember rejoicing when news emerged that a Sephora outlet was going to open in Takashimaya. I was certainly looking forward to a one-stop cosmetics haven where I could grab all the products I need and adjourn for omu rice thereafter. A cosmetic haven is also on my list for the 'Corporations that every woman needs: to pamper herself!', the others being:

1. A well-equipped Gym which conducts kickboxing classes
2. Facial Clinic
3. Wax Parlour
4. Nail Parlour (though this service might be provided at 3 as well)
5. A host club.

Ok i was kidding with number 5. Back to topic!

As much as I enjoy shopping, my current cosmetic consumption routine of taking the bus to VivoCity for Make Up Store followed by taking another bus and the train to Robinsons for Shiseido simply wastes too much time. Furthermore, I was hoping to land my hands on some DDF products - a brand raved about in make up forums everywhere.

So imagine my disappointment when Sephora turned out to be a 2 unit shop which stocked little more than the average Robinsons. Sure they deserve credit for including Talika, but certainly we need more than just Clinique and Estee Lauder! In fact, the only well stocked range of 'new' products were their house brand shower gel and perfumes. As for DDF, I searched the entire store and much to my utter horror could not find it anywhere, so I proceeded to ask a random sales girl if they actually stocked it.

Me: Excuse me, do you have DDF?
Sales girl: (pauses a very long while. Enough for me to actually imagine a speech bubble appearing above her head which says : Crap. I dunno what that is.) No. Dun have.
Me: Leaves DDF and makes the long walk back to the car which has been holed up in some chicken coop slot in some grey building along Orchard road. (To the management: Seriously, majority of people are not anorexic midgets and they need to open their car doors at a larger angle than 10degrees.)

What a bad start to Boxing Day. But I always endeavour to find the silver lining in every dark cloud. And today's silver lining was served up this way:

Finally! I fulfilled wish no. 2 on my list of 'Things to do before the Holiday Ends' with a piping hot serving of claypot laksa. Dad and I were lucky that we happened to drive by Alexandra Village on the way home from Takashimaya and we managed a proper parking lot this time, albeit parallel (then again, Dad is such a superb driver that no lot is too difficult for him). This place certainly has many gems to fill the stomach and this laksa was so good that I definitely regret not ordering the LARGE bowl. Somehow the claypot seals both the heat and the flavour in, so much that it actually seeps into every strand of beehoon as well. I was so anxious to slurp it up that I almost scalded my tongue with the first spoonful of gravy. Dad finds claypot laksa too heavy on the stomach so he settled for some beef soup instead. We also had the chance to have some succulent fruit juice from the same stall:

I chose the ABC juice for a pseudo post laksa detox, while Dad indulged in Avocado juice. And yes, I could taste the beetroot distinctly within that thick red concoction.

The ABC juice doubled up as an instant refresher for my jog later than afternoon. As expected, my generous indulging in all things fattening this christmas meted out dire consequences for my pace and I felt as if I was dragging some weights behind each foot. I was sweating like never before when I got back.

And I probably undid all the work I put in for jogging with a dish I helped to cook!

This is a quick fix solution when you have leftovers from the Christmas feast. Rice + whatever there is and fry it! For this one, Mum and I threw in the turkey, ham, sausages, siew yoke, bell peppers, carrots, long beans, and we added fresh eggs.

On closer inspection, it actually comes out all Christmassy and all:

Green, white and red. A familiar combination that occurs in all sorts of products every December, even in the humble fried rice. Amazingly, my brother and father thought it was good! And I was relieved that it did not turn out too salty despite the sodium laden ingredients we threw in.

My posts nowadays have been centered on nothing but food, food and food. I shall be back with more, after the Christmas Lunch tomorrow.

Lists

First things first:

"Trials and Tribulations are a staple of every *********'s life'

- Simon Phua

Emphasis mine.

Yes that's what it is: a staple, not just a part.

Yes, the beauty of words.

Second thing next:

I love making lists. I somehow enjoy sitting down with pen and paper - or with fingers poised over keyboard - and creating a bulleted paragraph of the things I need to do before adding the finishing touches with a title. And I get a thrill out of ticking out the boxes I have drawn next to those bullets. Of course, the best part comes when every single box has been ticked.

The latest list I made was the 'Post-Exams Activities' - an attempt at making my post Year 1 Sem 1 break as productive as possible. And it looked something like this:

Ok so i cheated on the boxes for this one, but I guess I made up for it with the addition of those vertical lines labelled with the numbers 1,2,3 circled. A list within a list. Anyway, the lines were not completely ticked cause I took this picture something like a month back. As of 14th Dec 2008, they are :)

Being the list-maker I am, completing a list warrants nothing else but making another!

So here goes the list of 'Things to squeeze into the 2.5 weeks before Year 1 Sem 2 starts"

• Get vitasoy - I've been ignoring a terrible (but unexplained) craving for this drink and I can't wait to get my hands on a packet. I'll definitely blog about drinking it and (hopefully) get some artistic shots on the way.
• Savour some good laksa - Not just those ordinary ones you get from foodcourts or hawkercentres. Something like. Katong Laksa, or the Alexandra Hill Claypot laksa would suffice.
• Memorize every single alphabet (both hiragana and katakana) of Nihon-Ji - Argh. Its so hard. Maybe characters are not my forte but that just means i have to work harder at it!
• Run at somewhere else other than the Mount Faber route - Its getting boring.

Yay! Another list done.

Now, has my fascination to lists festered into an addiction? Well, a random check in Google shows that I am not alone. Yet, it has also told me that I am in danger of becoming a victim of 'list-making dependence'. The latter's symptoms include:

1. Making lists everyday for everything in the world
2. Referring to the list more than once every hour
3. Essentially forgetting or missings tons of stuff once the list is gone

1,2,3. Eh..whoops.