Murphy's Law or Plain Bad Luck

The title sums up everything about this film module I'm taking. Shoot me.

Time is EVIL

Not enough time. As usual. Who films and edits in one week? Considering we actually have absolutely no experience whatsoever with the editing programme, some really mysterious pixels and whatever other stuff that can't be put here for the sake of diplomacy. I'm supposed to be doing the immensely boring accompanying report and I hope my draft of it doesn't kill us all though if it sucks it is our fault for procrastinating. Huh. No time to yak more - here's a lovely orchre [I hate yellow] space for me to hide in, if only for a few minutes. I might even go for lunch after I leave. Hah!
Hey. Someone wanted an update. I'm ruined. But at least it's more than 2 sentences long. Only one person will get that line before this line, fortunately.

Pick Me!

These are my Lit paper questions. Pick one for me and tell me why you chose it. I think they're all horrible. That said, I still have to do them. I think I ought to watch Sympathy for Lady Vengeance for the first question. That said... I don't like Korean films...
The winner doesn't win anything obviously. Though if you like candy I'll get some for you. =D

1. Ibsen's Hedda Gabler forces us to see domestic frustration, disappointment, and fiasco as forms of violence against women in society. Discuss.

2. The title of Duras' film script, Hiroshima mon Amour [Hiroshima My Love], is equivocal about its proper subject: the address to "my love" can refer equally to an unnamed lover as well as to the proper noun 'Hiroshima', the city itself. Reflect on this ambiguity.

3. Discuss the language and attitude to the subject of love in any one of the following three poems:

Jonathan Swift's 'A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed'
T. S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'
Leong Liew Geok's 'Love Songs'

An observation and commentary (unrelated)

Today, it started raining at approximately 12.30pm. Terrible smell of smoke accompanied the rain. Everything was grey(more than usual)and if you looked clearly, you could see tendrils of smoke with the rain. Must be the first time that I saw such nasty pollution. Eyes are itching too, possibly as a reaction to the smoke which is currently also clogging up my respiratory system.

I went to the library yesterday. With the opening of the Bishan Library (YES!) a significant number of books have been left on the shelf for the newer facilities down the road. Hence, I had a field day picking my way through full shelves. Execellent if not for the fact that I have several papers to write, a number of non paper projects and no time to spare for some of the really good finds (in a damn long time I tell you) that have mysteriously turned up despite the abject mess of the shelves. What is Tom Holt (HOL) doing on an M shelf I ask?
In any case must put that list of books to be read/reread/completed somewhere and it might as well be here. The holidays never seemed so far away. Actually, it isn't, just that I'm procrastinating quite successfully and feel that while i require more time to get assignments done, I also don't want to be kept away from a nice long break.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (or is the other way round?)
The Prestige, which popped up from nowhere like Magic!
I am a Cat
Anansi Boys
Ender's series (don't remember exact title)
Onion Girl, which makes the list not because I'm dying to read it but because in all my time at that library, it's the first time I've seen it - and it's not new.
(The list seemed longer yesterday)

In retrospection

A few days ago, I went to return VCDs which I had borrowed for schoolwork. I was in one of those on-the-go moods, feeling as if nothing could disturb my sense of finaly broken through procrastinating and getting down to work at last. With such determination to get SOMETHING right for once, I walked into the one VCD shop that I frequent in the jolly, bustling heartland.

Looking back from where I am now, i.e. in the present, it was all some absurd nightmare. I happily breezed into the shop, saw that no one was at the counter for me to return my VCD to and decided I'll browse around. It was really a half-hearted attempt to waste time, because I had somewhere else to go, and better things to do than browse around. So, in boredom, I puttered around the shelves wondering why no one was appearing at the cashier.

On my way in, I recalled having seen a couple of slackers smoking at the door. Assuming these were the staff taking a break, I civilly decided to wait, being empathetic about work dissatisfaction. Looking up from browsing, I saw that one of the fellows that worked there staring at me. Since I possess a natural dislike for being stared at, I huffily wondered why the slacker was staring at customers while obviously slacking. It wasn't any business of his to examine what I was looking at. It didn't matter if I'll gone to the shop 3 days consecutively. I had to borrow the discs on my 1st day, returned one that I'll watched on the second and was now back on the 3rd to the same. In the end, glancing at my handphone which I'll fished out of my bag to look at the time, I decided to approach the cashier who was standing outside the shop.
I held out the VCD and said "I want to return this." He took it back, and said, "Where's the other one?" Thinking that he had an amazingly short memory, I reminded him that I had returned it the day before. Looking back, it was ridiculous.
He said I had another in my bag. Amazingly, I who had frequented this shop had been accused of being a petty thief! Insulted, I threw him my bag for him to look through. He clearly believed in the existence of 'The Invisble VCD' because he made me remove my jacket as well, so that no large objects would be obstructing his view. (I dimly wondered how I could be accused of stealing anything when I'll asked him 2 days before if they had a VCD I had wanted, but they didn't have.) He couldn't find anything (duh), and gave me back my bag and went to get my real VCD which I was returning, scanned. When he was done, I icily retorted if I could leave, and left fuming silently to myself.

Looking back, it was funny. I was browsing half-heartedly (I've been there 3 times), fidgety (hey I was bored) and possibly must look guilty-stricken to smog covered eyes. There it was, a polite customer here to return borrowed goods, and an over eager sales assistant. Thinking about it now, I can't seem to find it funny. Isn't it strange that one can have dual feelings about something that has happened? I find it strange that while I can review that unfortunate episode with a good deal of bemusement, I can't help but feel angry the instant I pass the shop, while cursing it smugly- Ha! Not only has competition just opened across the road, your once valued customer is GOING there too!

Interlude: The Jumbled Mind of Me

Just had lunch in school. Will be going for second lunch in half an hour's time. Whoopee! While waiting, I decided to go print notes in the library, but there was a long queue, so decided to read notes using laptop instead, with notes magnified to 120% for easy reading. I intend to maintain my 6/6 vision (though it could be 9/9 by now).

I've made a discovery: someone has been keeping secrets from Me! The fact is: it's a conspiracy that no one has informed me that Marmite n Cream Cheese Toast is an absolute and fabulous gourmet creation. Perks include: cheap. easy to make. tastes heavenly. I'm obessed by it.

Apart from that, I'm reading Kafka as my Lit text. Bureaucracy? It's all a conspiracy too - of a cosmic size in this case. My Marmite n Cheese Toast pales in comparison with this delectable text. You should read it - it's brilliant. Why is it brilliant? I don't exactly know yet, but it appears to deal with Life, the Universe and Everything, in particular, bureaucracies, which we all have dealt with now and then.
Ok. Time's up. Lunch is beckoning enticingly.

Blogging from the Far Side

Far and away!! Every morning, it takes me approximately one and a half hrs to get to school. I know, I know, quit complaining, yadda yadda, in other countries, it's a blessing if u can make it to sch in 2hrs, that sort of thing. Unfair comparisons aside, I can't help but be just a little envious of those who live near university. Two years of walking to school must have softened me. Shopping sprees do not count. I used to wonder what it felt like getting up really early to get to school. Well, now I know it. Not really, I just wonder how they wake up early and have no complains, unlike whiny old me.

As it is, shall we go on to lighter matters then? The food is nice in NUS. As in, what I've tried so far anyway. There are also many stairs in NUS. Some of the stairwells are dark. The place can get creepy at night. My bus has no aircon. The stuff in NUS are cheap. Isn't the last one cool?? Campus is huge though. I've been spacing out lots during lectures. Why is that? During lectures, when I'm not paying attention, my head feels really buoyant and happy, like it's about to float away on fluffy white clouds if I forget to hold on to it...

Life at the edge.

First Day Blues

School started proper today, meaning lectures. Woke up early, caught the bus early, and made good time to school. Upon reaching NUS, I decided to drop at the library, which seemed to be closer to the lt that I was headed for. At least, I recalled that it had appeared closer on the map.

Since it was the first day of school and all, there were lots of people walking around, and most of them were moving at a sort of half-jog, half-walk hybrid pace. The woes of rushing from lecture to lecture. To prevent myself from being squashed by incoming students, I had to walk at that odd pace too, and got to the lt with 20 minutes to spare. Sat around then, and did a little people watching. Then, it when it was about time, I went in to lecture. Sat around somemore, while waiting for p.y. to appear.

Then. I find out that I'm in a Soci lecture. Hahaha. Wrong place. Whoopie.
Rushed to the correct lt. Mercifully, I had not missed anything in particular. What a way to start my 3 years at NUS. Joy to me.
As a side, I realised that somehow, my wonderful module combi is such that I have a lecture EVERY SINGLE DAY of a working week. So that means that I've got to go to school everyday. Way to go miss. Must remind myself to arrange a better schedule the next time round.

Bargains!

Went to the library used book sale today. Everything is going from about $2. Reached the expo at about 0830, and there was already a sizeable crowd waiting there. Most of them had come prepared with newspapers to while the time away waiting for the sale to open at 0930... Some came even more prepared, with huge backpacks and market trolleys.

Then the sale started. At first, we could approach the carts of books with ease, but within minutes, you had to fight increasing numbers of bargain hunters that had absolutle no scruples when it came to pushing, shoving and/or scratching. Don't forget the elbowing too. If you can withstand the maniacal crowd, it's really worth a visit. Of course, we didn't stay long. Got in at about 0930 and we were out by 1100. Honestly, the crowd was unbearable by then, and most the er. hunters had by then settled down amongst the crowd to peruse their trophies. We left the place exhausted. And to think it had been less than 2hrs!

The Notebook Hunt

Got my laptop today. Yay! First of all, I really must recount [yet again] the process of getting my laptop collected and processed. Amusing actually. Sort of like a treasure hunt you know. Walked all over NUS while lugging said notebook to search for the Staff Club where it was to be processed. Map was inaccurate, even if it featured only 3 places - the IT- Co op, an overhead bridge and the opposite end of the bridge. Lost lost lost. What a fun game. Embarrassed myself walking back to the IT shop to ask for directions. lol... what a sight.

After getting the laptop, decided to take cab home. Only.
The one available cab in sight zoomed into the distance before I could stick out a hand to flag it down, being weighted down with heavy tech stuff. So took a bus back instead. Never ever do that. It's heavy, inconvenient, and the bus ride was LONG. Mercifully, both buses were quite empty, and they would have been emptier still if swarms of student fresh from a day of doing good had not chose that precise moment to enter the bus. But I guess I can't really blame them, since it's a hoilday, and they are naturally excited. I remember loving the National Day holidays. Red all round. Actually, I prefered having the whole day off. Besides. I like white better. Red on the other hand, entails a trace of bloodshed.

Now, I'm at home, waiting for the laptop to finish charging or whatever it is that it has to do. Apparently, the plug from the charger came loose, and I've wasted one perfectly good day for charging it. Huh. Well. At least I'll get to play with it tomorrow. Whee! My own laptop!

Skool's In!

School's in again. I'm not an organised person, and at times like this, really wish I were. The bulky stack of forms I received through the mail gives the illusion that I'll be signing a million forms. Actually, it's only 4 for local students, but a lot more for foreign students. Then, I go online and download this stack of instructions that is a disheartening 20 pages long. The modules list goes on forever too, not to mention the time table.... Ugh. Then, there are 3 different kinds of modules...? Not sure how this is gonna work out.

Then I still have to fit in tuition, which is frankly disastrous, and am now opting for a way out... Then, there is all those things to do...I feel kinda queasy thinking dealing with the admin, and a new, strange environment. A new beginning. Again.

Anticipation

OK. I'm sitting around at home avoiding the TV because Idol is on and I don't watch that show. Right now, I'm just fidgeting about online feeling vaguely unhappy and impatient and edgy. The neighbour who has just beaten her son because he kicked up a big fuss about not being allowed to go play badminton since he has to take care of his kid sis is making an even larger anount of noise, which is adding to my headache. I'm sad to say my neighbour is loud (which isn't doing her justice) and has contributed much headaches, present and past. Ah well.

The only reason why I'm rooting about round here is because. I'm bored. Duh. Life has come to a stand still again after my Malaysian trip, and the only highlights have been eating out with friends and packing cupboards (again), which aren't much as highlights go. Umm. Been pacing about, trying to distract myself. I have all the time right now to bolt out there and watch Pirates, which I really want to, only I said I'll go with my sister who is currently having her exams, but is't putting in any effort to revise. This means going to the movies with her isn't exactly wasting her time since she is already wasting it. Someone tell me restraining my impulses for that twit's sake is worth it. I'm losing it right now.

Not Here

Will be in Malaysia from tonight till Thurs. So don't bother calling me. You can drop a message via my hp or this blog though. I'll read it when I get home Thursday night.

Skeletons in my cupboard

Finished cleaning up one of the 2 cupboards that I had planned to clean. But!
That is merely a third of the war won. You wouldn't believe the amount of junk I threw out. Actually it is believable if I describe them to you. Some of the stuff date back to the time when my age consisted of single digits.
They really had to go.
I mean, it is dead embarrassing for a 18 going on 19 girl to be caught storing pink and white party hats and a huge doll won from a lucky draw in her cupboard... not to mention all those numerous nameless thingys. So, I tidied up of course, peeled down my doll display which I had been so proud of when I was like... 12? I can't even remember when I did that, though I'm still proud of the now gone display.

Now, the upper shelf is devoted to clothes and some books. I'm considering transferring some more clothes from my 2nd cupboard over as the latter is threatening to smoulder me in a T-shirt-jeans-underwear-skirts avalanche one of these days. OK. Consider that done. haha. Eh. I'm so lame.
I think I'm never throwing out my Phy/Chem books. Though I've already disposed of my upper secondary Geog text since it is virtually useless, even as toilet paper. If you geog electives out there can still recall, that geog textbook was made of the shittiest (no pun intended) paper ever. You can't doodle on it. You most certainly can't use it for toilet paper. And most importantly, it wasn't a very good textbook. How frustrating could it get?

Certified Fun

Went back to school to eat fishball noodles. Ironically, there weren't any fishballs in my soup noodles. It was very nice though. The school is very quiet - because they are HAVING EXAMS!!! Hahahaha. Was called crazy. Well, I can't deny that it wasn't a very sane thing to do. But I have my excuses:
A) I've quit my job. So I don't have anymore pocket $$ and where better to get a cheap meal than gd ol' sch?
B) I've quit my job and it's time to do something odd.
C) I need to collect my A Level Certificate. I happen to know that many of you haven't collected it yet! Mwahaha.

In any case, it's good to be back in school. Such a lovely feeling. You should do it more often too. I've never felt like I missed school so much. And teachers turn stalkers!!!
Drama is holding elections next week, which means we actually got juniors of juniors or mini mimions! I didn't think we would get enough to hold an election... not meaning any offence of course.

Just remembered that I won't be able to go... =( Going to Malaysia next week. So if any of you out there see this, do pass on the info to all ex drama sorts.

Off Line of Duty to Customers n such

You cannot imagine what it feels like to finally leave your part-time job behind you. For instance, I decided to finally risk looking at the damage that nearly half a year's worth of washing up did to my fingers. I think I can safely say that my right finger knuckles have thickened, and it looks wider than those of my left hand, which has led a sheltered life since Fate decreed that I was going to be right-handed. Ok. Actually, I'm taking it better than what it looks here.

On the other hand, the day after I quit, my mummy descends on me with a long forgotten list of cleaning that had been pushed back due to my job. One type of cleaning up to another. Frankly I don't know which is worse. It's not that I'm dirty or like living in a hovel (as my mum likes to call the room that I and my sis share) but that I am incapable of tidying up, and more importantly, maintaining the level of neatness that my mum can tolerate. Books have a mysterious habit of spilling out by themselves. I wish I can attribute it to my neighbour who screams at her children everyday and I can hear her even when I'm sleeping in my room. It must have terrified my books seeing as they and their owner share a remarkably low level of patience for people who scream at their children be it to fetch their school things, correcting homework errors or to settle petty sibling squabbles. I actually HEAR what they are saying. Hah. I'm digressing again aren't I?

But seriously, now that I'm off work there isn't anything for me to do. One wonders if I should take up that offer from a hotel manager that I got last Sunday and pick up part-time work again. Nah. I'm hapy to bum around at home, and there is still two cupboards and a shelf to clean up, and possibly my secondary school stuff to throw out if I happen to be in the mood. I'm a sentimentalist and I can't bear to throw away that stupid Physics/Chem TYS.

I shall probably think of something to do. Like read some more. Currently, Sense & Sensibility is sitting at home trying its best to catch my eye. My quest to understand why Jane Austen is so good at what she does (and what exactly it is that she is so good at) is still an ongoing one. Various people have tried to explain to me why it is so good, but I like to read more and find out for myself. There are 6 other books at home, and the only one that I've completed is 'Notes form an Even Smaller Island' by Neil Humphreys. It is quite funny. It is also the thinnest. Makes me apreciate home a little more eh? Maybe you would too if you read it... Try the libraries. They stock an astonishing number of that book.

Well. You'll probably see more of me. I mean seeing as I am bored enough oops. I mean have more time to blog from now on. Do remember to leave a message. I might actually reply.

Simple Things in life

Simple things in life are the best. Whoever came up with that notion must be under appreciated.

Simple things like laughing together over how every good eating place for miles around are closed.

Simple things like des[s]ert.

Simple things like a walk at night and looking at the pretty lights round the Esplanade and Fullerton Hotel.

Even simpler things like nearly geting lost. If it's not a desperate situation, it is funny. Really.
The company is important of course.

The simply nice cool breeze and mildly warm sunshine at work.

A smile and thanks would be nice from customers. It's a simple gesture. Really.
Please don't make things difficult for me. I'll hate you since I still have to smile.

Please don't renovate/demolish/"spruce up" any more of our nation's treasured past, if we value our identity. Clifford Pier looks awfully lost under the white glare of construction work; and the red string tied acros its wide entrance is worse. Let's just restore it and liven it up instead. Or is that too difficult?

A Simple Life. And I don't mean Paris Hilton and whats-her-name.

When reality is this ridiculous you actually start believing crap

It wasn't Friday the 13th. 06/06/06 was 2 weeks ago.
So, it was I assume, an appropriate time for all these to happen since I wasn't going to expect anything out of the blue. Was happily locked in yesterday and found out 2 minutes before I was due to leave the house for work. What happended you see was that my mum took her house keys and MINE out with her when she left earlier to meet her gal pals.

You can imagine what I did to the gate to get out. Of course, the next thing to happen would be that the bus would take an unusually LONG time to come, and then conveniently stop at every traffic light between my home and Tanglin Mall. That by the way is a lot of red lights even though part of the bus route involved an express way. Upon cursing everything there could possibly be to curse in this situation, I rushed out of the bus and to my work place. Dramatic entrance was quite ruined seeing as I was 5 mins early. Then I broke a Snapple bottle.

I decided to research on Murphy's Law which took on some interesting routes like how: what we usually refer to as Murphy's Law is actually known as Finagle's Law (whatever that is). Truly, what can go wrong will, including the fact that people will actually mistake what your Law is named for... which is bad.

BUT!
Here is an interesting sample of dear ol Murphy's Law:

When you need an item that is in a heap, it will always be the one at the bottom.

Buses take ages to arrive, but when they do they always arrive in sets of three (in Britain "you wait ages for a bus, then two come along at once!"). There actually is a logical explanation for this: the first bus is slowed down because of the time needed to let passengers get on and off. The subsequent busses are (typically) not allowed to pass the first bus, so you tend to end up with a full bus followed by a line of empty ones.

Everything takes longer than you think, or twice as long as it should. Except that which appears easy, which takes three times as long.

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.

If something simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

All small objects of value will disappear when set down.

Airline Travel Variation: The time you have to catch a flight is inversely proportional to the distance to the gate.

There is even a military variation known as Murphy's Law of Combat operations:

Friendly fire - isn't.
Interchangeable parts - aren't.
You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.

Full list is available at Wikipedia's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law
That in case u don't know, is also where I got the sample list from. Duh.

Watch with Me: an update

My aunt's taking me to watch Cabaret! And I didn't even ask her! So long as she doesn't suddenly change her mind, Yay for me!! Hahahaha

Watch with me

Is anyone interested in watching Cabaret (a musical) with me?? Please say yes!