Tuesday, April 6, 2004 10:58 p.m.

i ate a 150 grams of chocolate today.
quite literally.

the cocoa trees shop has been selling chocolate in school since last week, and boy are they making money.
i absolutely love the white chocolate + hazelnut and dairy chocolate + butter biscuit ritters chocolate chunks. :)

day in day out, we've been guzzling chocolate like nobody's business.
the reality of eating so much sets in only much later...
after the serotonin wears off in its make-me-happy campaign, and the glucose converts to its territorial glycogen and fatty acid state.

we got really high on chocolate...
and i, surprisingly, didn't feel any of the lethargic aftereffects from eating bountiful amounts chocolate.

maybe, just maybe, my body can actually take in more chocolate. :)
yummy.

Sunday, April 4, 2004 08:12 p.m.

friday was as friday always is...
unremarkably routine in all its little details.
there's a new phrase i learnt to describe a very standard lifestyle...
métro, boulot, dodo.
literally meaning the subway, work, sleep. :)

school was fine.
i was just ecstatic over the very fact that my week-of-5-tests was finally over. :)
geography.elit.math.biology.chinese
all killers.

ld was the slackiest ever.
sarah, sab and i went to the library where i napped for a little while...
haha.
terrible.
after ld, i took 136 down to church and happened to meet andrew on the bus.
the whole group of us post-con members were to meet up in church for a little prayer session, followed by the passion of christ at cassandra's place.

about 30 of us caught the film...
and i really don't think the mc-18 rating was necessary.
the resplendent graphic depiction was deeply moving, as were the few lines Jesus spoke throughout the film.
i didn't cry over the compelling visual display; i cried over the simplictic and altruistic words of Jesus.
yes, i do recommend it. :)

got home at 12.30am that night...
and woke early on saturday morning to catch my girl at 10.55am.
sab and i cancelled tuition that day, so we met up with mitch, sarah and tanny at plaza singapura.
i met (uncle) colin there too! :)



cute! :)



i absolutely loved my girl because it reminded me so much of thailand.
everything from the dusty roads to the dingy classrooms got me tearing...
haha.
towards the end of the movie, i was crying like in thailand...
only much milder.
haha...
i want to go back there so badly!
see how things go at the end of this year...

anyhow, i left for french...
then met up with chow, swei, charm, jan and tanny for dinner and bridge. :)
we spent the entire evening irritating each other...
and as always, playing lots of bridge.
we had prata, chicken rice, apple struddel, eclairs...
basically, we just got ourselves awfully stuffed.
with good food. :)
also, i must mention this.
dear janice sprained her wrist while eating prata!
haha...
love that girl.

we met ms oh at thomson too...
all she told us was to have fun and go home early. :)
very nice of her.
we went home soon after anyway, before we could irritate each other any further. :)

had palm sunday mass this morning...
kim took so long to choose her palm!
tsk tsk...
i think mine was the best pick.
it doubled as a marvelous satay-seller-type fan. :)
very handy.

had breakfast in the church canteen (i dropped my darlingest little kueh pie tee on the floor, only to get suaned by brendan)...
then youthcharge, which went pretty well.
great music, great food, great session. :)
there was a talk on where we go after we die...
and though a little chunky, it cleared doubts nonetheless. :)
i loved the durian puffs! :)

after that, a big group of us went to kovan centre for lunch.
talked and talked and talked and talked...
u could say i'm newly-enlightened. :)

okae, i've just come back from the jogging session with church people...
i ran a pathetic 2 rounds because i was late (and lazy).

i had better go attack my math homework now...
charlene just called to say it's really difficult and everyone's stuck!
egads.
i predict a very busy morning in class tomorrow.

Thursday, April 1, 2004 11:37 p.m.

happy april fool's!

i got badly punk'd today...
janice, u spoiler!
haha.

today was the class' ne trip...
and oh gosh, what an experience.
our tour guide was funny beyond comprehension...
his speech and actions were hilarious!
but i think he looked really cute when he smiled.
haha...

anyway, we had a bus drive us down to the port...
afterwhich we took a chartered ferry around the jurong islands.
the waters were choppy and we were riding the waves (boatmen jargon for rough waters; learnt today).
:)
most of us were sleeping, but somehow only janice got picked on by mrs soh.
haha...
the poor girl got pinched and twisted on the arm!
poor thing lah. :)

after lots of hello panda sponsored by the nice and very kind charlene (and her mum), we finally reached school again.
jan, charm and i went down to the korean stall after that to have our dinner...
and we sat there talking till late evening, afterwhich charm dropped me home in her cab. :)

anyway, the shop i reserved for my birthday called to say they're going to go under renovations for one month, and so i can't have the party held there.
jinxed, i say.
no more gelato buffet.

Tuesday, March 30, 2004 11:37 p.m.

mrs soh screamed at me twice today for dozing off in class...
but it really wasn't my fault.
i only had 3 and a half hours of sleep the previous night!

anyhow, school went on as per usual.
jan, charm and i stayed back to study for the loci test tmr...
and we even looked mrs soh up when we got stuck. :)
didn't really help though.

after our little study session, we cabbed down to thomson plaza for some haagen daz.

all i can say is, tiramisu rocks! :)

Monday, March 29, 2004 12:07 a.m.

bibiks gone broadway just ended on arts central.
u gotta love ivan heng for his spunk. :)

i've uploaded photos, finally.
bestfriend - photo 21 onwards
outdoors - photo 157 onwards

not many, but do enjoy. :)

Sunday, March 28, 2004 09:43 p.m.

wow i've been eating so much the past few days!

yesterday was the festival of french-speaking countries at alliance française.
at the fair, many countries like egypt, vietnam, belgium and switzerland were serving nibbles from their native land.
so we went around sampling stuff...
i stuffed my mouth with chocolate from switzerland, coffee and biscuits from belgium, cheese and meatballs from egypt, vanilla fudge from canada, and a whole lot of caramel biscuits from vietnam.
terrible man.
we were freeloading like crazy because the promoters kept pushing the trays in our faces...
but then again, we willingly obliged. :)
we also took home a whole stack of booklets about the respective countries.
the ambassadors at each of the stalls were extremely friendly...
especially the egyptians - i ate my entire lunch at their place. :)

anyway, we went down to the auditorium after that to attend a fashion show.
it was jam-packed...
and i saw many editors!
haha...but they were playing cheesy pop music for the models to walk to.
not very appealing.

after the fashion show was a quiz for beginners in french...
but we had to leave for lesson, so my class couldn't stay.
anyhow, cindy and i have come to the conclusion that french girls are supremely beautiful.
they're all really pretty, seriously.
the young, the middle-aged, and the old.
they age so...elegantly.
haha.

anyway, i had a lot of fun (eating) yesterday...
i even got the recipe to make canadian fudge.
hoho. :)

today was like every typical sunday.
went for mass followed by post-con.
having not seen everyone for such a long time, it felt really good seeing the usual faces again. :)

after session, the group of us went for lunch.
we just noticed today that uncle colin looks a lot like willian hung...
maybe partly because of the hawaiaan shirt he wore too. :)
anyhow, he ticked me off for calling him uncle colin...
so yes, it's just colin.
anyhow, i want to go for the indonesian mission trip in june!
but school lessons are sure to take priority over everything else.
i'll see how things go...

but as of now, i just can't wait for thursday. :)
haha, alright.
i see janice online...
shall show her websites of incriminating photos i found.
speaking of which, march photos will be uploaded once the computer miraculously heals itself.
apparently, we've left the computer alone for one full week already...
in hopes that it'll fix itself up or something.

tsk...till then.
:)

Thursday, March 25, 2004 09:42 p.m.

i can't believe i forgot to mention this.
today, charm, jan, chow and i discovered this supercalifragilisticexpialodocious korean grocery store outside our school. :)

apparently, it's been open for 2 months already...
and we noticed it only today.
but who actually browses through mayflower shopping centre?

i was taking them to visit the beautiful shetland sheepdog at the pet store...
and *poof*
the store appeared before us.
haha...

anyway, the store owner is extremely nice.
she's a very amiable litle korean lady...
and her lilt and everything is really cute. :)
also, the things there are much cheaper than the same stuff sold downtown...
and she sells spicy homemade kimchi.
what more can u ask for in a korean grocery store?
:)

anyhow, we had a small chat with her...
and i bought 2 packets of the korean noodles she recommended.
we're definitely going back there...
because as much as i find the shop a little out of place, it's the most perfect alternative to that beancurd shop we usually patronize. :)

Thursday, March 25, 2004 08:27 p.m.

i'm typing this from the other computer now...
because for some reason or other, i can't seem to connect to the wireless internet from my own computer.
argh.

anyhow, the previous few days have been really stressful.
from the lit project to our debate, everything was pretty much left undone (result of playing through the hols)...
so we had to rush through and complete the whole load of work by wednesday.
i'm just glad it's all over. :)

anyway, i've uploaded many photos taken during the march hols...
but they're in the other computer, and i've yet to categorise them into the albums.
so that'll have to wait. :)

i do have a lot to say but i'm in no mood for updating...
and this keyboard feels downright weird.
too clikky-yakitty.

i think i'll be off for some much needed surfing and chatting...
it's been terrible without the internet.
:)

Thursday, March 18, 2004 09:58 p.m.

The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does.

The Chaos Theory

elit group: i think we should start on our project.
fast.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 12:59 a.m.

ripped off the net.
for lazy people like me who rely on packaged cake mix. :)

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
1 cup melted butter
5 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch Bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in sour cream, melted butter, eggs and almond extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Blend in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

voila!
makes 12 servings...
1 for me and 11 for u.

Monday, March 15, 2004 09:17 p.m.

alright, a very quick update.
woke up early and rushed down for chinese lessons at 9am.
i went on another sugar-high during class...
did silly things and scribbled all over swei's diary.
effect of sondra's famous amos cookies and chick peas.
all of us were snacking non-stop!
i'm very much looking forward to swei's cookies tmr. :)

after lesson, chow, jan, stace, charm, swei, lynette and i went down to junction 8 for lunch.
we always seem to be eating in crystal jade, whether at shaw, takashimaya or junction 8.
tsk tsk.

i wanted to follow swei home and steal the cookie recipe...
muahahahaha.
but i'll do that another day.
why don't u just make things easier and give it to me, hmmmx swei, please?

took the train with jan after that.
i dropped off at dhoby gaut to catch a movie...
we were supposed to watch butterfly effect, but as the time slots weren't suitable, we caught acacia instead.
it's this korean horror flick...
i personally don't recommend it.
it's full of scary music though...
haha.

i met tiff at plaza singapura...
the same remarkable coincidence that led us to sit on the same pew yesterday.
the first thing she said to me when i walked over was...
"karina, u look like u're going to the market!"
haha...
i'm aware that totting plastic bags and wearing a pair of birkenstocks with my uniform isn't the most glamorous of outfits, but i'd have liked to thought of my attire as more casual than market-going!
haha.

took a bus home after that...
i slept through the entire journey.
almost drooled...
but i kept waking up before i did everytime the bus jerked and hit my head.
that's how sleepy i was...seriously.
no more late nights for me.

Sunday, March 14, 2004 11:06 p.m.

i tried to make my day meaningful.
really, i did.

first thing in the morning, i went for the meeting with other newbie lectors in church.
we did a trial run with the mike...
that went pretty fine.
i might have to go shopping for white shirts and black pants/skirts though...
don't have anything even moderately presentable enough to comply with the dress code.

i helped the church auntie sell issues of the catholic news outside church (thanks for getting a copy nick!)...
then attended mass with grandma.
tiff happened to be in the same pew with her own grandma...
remarkable coincidence. :)

made my way down to bugis after...
met up with chow, swei, jan, charm and tanny.
we had lunch at this fusion-dimsum-food-served-via-conveyor-belt kinda restaurant called idimsum.
i loved their chawanmushi and gyoza...
but the prices were exorbitant.
gratuitously blew some cash there.

anyhow, we took photos after the meal...
then grabbed smoothies/mochas/teas before heading down to patson's.
all of us were on a major sugar-high during tuition...
effect of the many goodies we were snacking on throughout class.
i had so much chocolate and rabbit sweets, they'd make a whole meal on their own.
we got restless and fidgety, and were irritating one another with stupid antics.
haha...
mr chiam got pretty mad at one point.
but not when we offered him a rabbit sweet. :)

bussed home with chow, got locked out of the house (forgot my keys again), and here i am...
pretty much happy with things.
except i think we should cut back on the snacking next sunday...
too much glucose in our systems can't be too good.

Saturday, March 13, 2004 08:33 p.m.

i am at my sleepiest and filthiest...
but i'm only going to bathe as soon as i finish this. :)

i've been anticipating the end of term since goodness-knows-when...
and so i'm going to make it a point to really live this week out.
haha.
but there's only so much u can do in 9 days...
at least it's started out pretty swell. :)

lessons ended punctually at 1.30pm on friday because of the retreat for all school staff.
so mitch, sab, trish, sarah and i made our way downtown as quickly as possible.
we had yummy chicken rice at far east again. :)
i don't usually eat chicken, but i especially love that shop's roasted breast meat and cucumber and chilli and black sauce and steamed rice...
so yes, that's basically the whole dish.
it's yummy. :)

after lunch, we bussed down to plaza singapura to book tickets for big fish.
muthu, elizabeth and adeline were in the same cinema too!
and i realise how old this movie already is...
but really, i must talk a little about it.

big fish got me laughing from start to finish...
there were subtle jokes all over the place!
it's fantasy-driven, melancholy-stricken, with light touches that relate to every quotidian lifestyle.
i particularly love ludicrous stories, so edward bloom's nonsensical ones really delighted me.
especially the one about a maple tree that fell and spilt syrup all over ed bloom's car, thereby attracting a whole swarm of bees that got stuck to the honey and then flew away with the car in tow.
sounds coherent?
hmmmx.

anyway, we headed back to cineleisure after the movie and caught another show.
butterfly effect. :)
i find the plot one of the best i've come across...
and the directing is flawless!
wonder how the director stayed on track...
anyhow, i cabbed down to swei's house at about 10pm.
chow, jan and tanny were there too. :)
we watched william hung!

after many rounds of bridge, loads of home-baked cookies, and constant yikky-yakkating...
we finally slept.
swei and jan were tussling over the blanket throughout the night because they were at the 2 ends.
haha...
we somehow managed to wrench ourselves out of bed by 7.30 the next morning.
swei's parents sent us down to school, afterwhich we had breakfast at macs, then bussed home. :)

the rest of the day was a blur for me...
i had tuition with sab, then french class...
everything was a haze.
but i did learn a lot today, and it's all more or less absorbed. :)

i'm fully drained now though...
so i'm just gonna slack off a bit.
bath time. :)

Thursday, March 11, 2004 04:10 p.m.

i'm in sarah's house now!
she's frying me an egg...
muahahahaha.

okae, school was the slackiest today.
total waste of time...
i have no other comments, except that i feel utterly cheated of my sleep.

we're getting back results tmr...
egad.

Thursday, March 11, 2004 12:45 a.m.

i'm up surfing the net for stuff with regard to our motion for wednesday's debate.

this house believes that reality shows are unrealistic.

sounds interesting, no?
at least i genuinely support this stance. :)

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 06:49 p.m.

just got up from a nap...
i feel so queasy.
xP
woke up feeling really sick this morning (must have been the fried food i ate in town the previous day).
so i slept in a little more and left for school at 10am.

i bought macd breakfast sets for recess!
let's see what i ordered...

1 sausage muffin
2 cups hot tea + creamer
3 hotcakes + sausage
4 egg mcmuffins
5 sausage-egg mcmuffins
7 cups orange juice
8 hashbrowns

it was no joke ordering them...
and unimaginable to carry.
the cashier got pretty confused, because i kept changing orders.
haha...
and she looked positively bewildered when i started rambling out the orders. :)

anyhow, i fumbled my way to school and made it exactly at 10.45am for recess. :)
i actually enjoy running stupid errands like these...
good practice for when i apply for an internship next time, huh. :)

Sunday, March 7, 2004 09:14 p.m.

just got home a while back...
dead beat.
but today was great. :)

met swei, jan and charm for a little study session and lunch at bugis...
we had fish and chips at fish&co.
it wasn't too bad i guess...
but the portions were humongous.
i polished off the fish really quickly, which got me quite bloated...
so i nibbled as many fries as i could with the rest of my time.
jan bought a pack of cards and we sat in coffee bean playing bridge.
had our favourites from coffee bean (my yummiest pure vanilla!) then hurried down for tuition at patson.

i really miss xiao zhang...
charm and i were flipping through her keepsake book at the reception and i got really nostalgic.
in retrospect, st nicks has changed so much since she left...
i'm not one for changes, especially when it's for the worse...
so argh, i really do miss her.

anyway, charm and i joined jan and swei's class for a trial lesson.
we did vectors and transformations.
i love diagram stuff so i had a splendid time drawing the figures.
haha...
charm and i signed up for a term afterwards. :)
so now all 4 of us are more or less going to be seeing each other about 90% of our time this year.
haha...

after the lesson, jan and swei went home...
so charm and i walked through the bugis flea market.
we discovered this junk food shop chockful of the yummiest stuff u can imagine...
it kinda brings back memories of all the snacks i used to eat when i was younger.
charm and i went a little crazy in that shop...
we were squealing and gasping and going "i used to love this!" at practically everything we caught sight of.
i'm going back to stock up on goods for class next week. :)

after that, we took the train down to orchard for a little window shopping.
i got a pair of miss sixty jeans...
love them. :)
charm bought a gelato and i grabbed a smoothie, then we headed home by cab.

anyhow, here's a little something i've filled up.
it's just a time-killer...
here goes. :)

first pet: a fighting fish that lived about 2 days.
first piercing/tattoo: pierced my ears at 6.
first best friend: jean?
first enemy: this boy in kindergarten who looked up our skirts and locked us in the playhouse.
first trip: gold coast, australia.
first party: i think my first birthday party.
first play/musical/performance: the 65th anniversary of my kindergarten...i was in the malay dance. :)
first musician you remember hearing in your house: my mum on the piano. :)

last big car ride: big car ride? our annual drive up to kl i guess.
last good cry: in thailand...on the night we left chiangrai.
last library book: something on pottery...i borrowed it for art.
last beverage drank: raspberry smoothie.
last food consumed: marshmallows i bought from the junk food shop.
last crush: hmmmmx...
last phone call: home.
last tv show watched: japan hour.
last time showered: last night...i'm gonna bathe after this. xP
last shoes worn: i wore slippers today...last pair of shoes worn would have to be those i wear to school.
last song played: something jason mraz.
last item bought: smoothie at paragon.
last annoyance: the crowds in town.
last disappointment: this morning.
last soda drank: a long time ago.
last ice cream eaten: the coffee solero crush i had with sab on friday.
last time wanting to die: i've ever felt like dying (4.4km jogs) but i've never actually wanted to.
last time scolded: chen laoshi scolding the class.
last shirt worn: rl polo shirt
last hair do: the usual. i need a change.
last website visited: http://www.deviantart.com
last good fun: friends, bridge and shopping today. :)
last book u've read: i'm reading john steinbeck's grapes of wrath.
last person u're thinking of: indefinite.

Saturday, March 6, 2004 11:24 p.m.

charm's amusing me on the webcam now.
haha...
my dearest bridge buddy!
we partnered each other for every single game of bridge today...
even when we weren't playing with fixed partners. :)
we're the grand winners with a total of 20 cents!
haha...whoopee. :)
i want to join bridge as one of my ccas in jc...
no kidding. :)

anyway, today started off quite early in the morning with breakfast at a christian church (great noodles), then math tuition with sab.
i started on my second term at alliance française...
and omg, what a lousy time i had.

(a) i had forgotten to do my homework.
(b) that particular exercise was especially difficult, so i couldn't complete it in time for the lesson.
(c) karen (the nicest teacher ever) was going to be away in thailand for 3 weeks, so another teacher covered for her.
(d) the substitute gave such challenging tasks and her teaching methods were just plain scary.
she wants us to memorise a french text by next week...
for role-playing. xP
(e) i dropped my favourite pen and the nib broke.
i use only that pen ink for my notes, so...
yes, i have to write all my notes in pencil until i get a new one.
i'm a fussy pot. :)
(f) we got a new, absurdly elongated classroom for this term.
i just can't get used to the different alignment of the whiteboard either...
(g) a few classmates have left...
it's just different without them.

alright, that's about all the complains i can think of at the moment...
really quite a bummerish day.

but there's a new kid in class. :)
chow, tanny and charm...
age doesn't matter, huh. :)

anyhow, i took the train with cindy after lesson and we alighted at toa payoh.
then i took a bus down to the holy spirit chruch at thomson.
went for mass with charm...
we were quite the late birds. xP

after mass, we walked over to the prata shop and met up with swei, jan, tanny and chow.
the 6 of us had our pratas, strudels, smoothies...
then settled down at ritz's apple strudels for a bridge session. :)
it's a really pleasant place to just sit back with a few friends and enjoy the breeze...
oh, and we met sarah there too. :)
small world...

after a stimulating couple of hours...
we cabbed home and *plop*
here i am. :)
okae, i'm off to play online daidee with jan, charm and swei...
and no, i'm not addicted to card playing, or anything even close to that.
:)