*143 - really really bad throat

And you thought making 6 butterflies was considered 'mass production' (by the way I had to make another 2 within a day of posting that picture up) - now look at this!



18 pairs of Goldilocks, for an RG Dance item! Thank goodness they gave us ample time to get all the earrings done (:


I think I'm going back to the doctor in a while, when the parents come home from church. My sore throat is so bad that it's been waking me up at unearthly hours like 4.30 am last night and 3 am the night before, and I've had to crawl downstairs in the middle of the night to get medication and mentholated sweets.

The mentholated sweet was actually a bad idea, and I crunched it up and gulped it down in the end, because eating a sweet meant having to swallow periodically, which was just too painful to bear. Right now I'm just surviving by not swallowing at all, which seems to be working fine because for some reason, I'm not producing much saliva.

I know drinking lots and lots of water and keeping my throat hydrated is the best cure, and that sort of worked yesterday when it wasn't as bad as it is now (that got me running off to pee every half an hour though), but I've tried sipping water for a painful 5 minutes and it isn't working.

Tummy's rumbling, but eating would be hell. So. -twiddles thumbs and thinks of other things-

*142 - hibernation

I think my body's going into hibernation mode. Storing up the fats, sending me to sleep after ever hour or so of being awake.

But somehow every time I wake up, my condition seems to worsen. Now, my slight runny nose has become a perpetual blocked nose, I've completely lost my voice, and my itchy throat has developed into a phlegmy cough and a stabbing sore throat. But at least I'm not feverish anymore.

Back to hibernating.

See y'all in spring.

*141 - cottage industry

Indeed! Cottage industry it is, xY!

We have a new necklace.



I think my sister is pretty, in a not-so-conventional way. I also think the necklace is pretty, in a very-not-conventional way.

(:

*140 - mass production

Yesterday, the sky turned so gloomy that it looked as though a tornado was about to hit.



See what I mean?

And, I feel like a factory mass producing wire butterflies, because 3 different people ordered a pair each.



How's this for an absolutely random and pointless blog entry? (:

*139 - sick

Actually, I could sense it coming. Stress + lack of sleep happen to be the instant mix formula to getting sick for me. Am down with a fever, but I should be up and about by tomorrow, I hope.

Found out today that Joel was actually one of the top students in Cornell. Perhaps they'd remember him and his marvellous contributions and assume that his sister is as brilliant as he is.


Just one of the gardens in Cornell. Gorgeous, isn't it? Looks like a fairytale (:

Something tells me I shouldn't set my heart on one single objective at the moment, although a sense of purpose is always good. Is it terribly wrong, though, to leave a less prestigious option (which I think I will enjoy a great deal) as a last resort, simply because of personal pride? Hm hm.

So I just woke up from an hour's nap, ate some apricots and a chocolate mint and had a cup of juice, and I think I shall go back to sleep now.

PS: The bunny isn't fat, really, it's just an illusion the fur creates (: Actually, I have yet to meet a truly fat rabbit, they mostly tend to be rather bony. But I do agree that fat-looking rabbits are CUTE (:


[edit: 7.30 pm]

Perhaps I am sicker than I thought. Panadol worked for a couple of hours, but now the fever's coming back. We'll see if I'm fit for school tomorrow after I see the doctor later. I don't want to miss school, really - It means a lot of catching up, and I'm already so behind.

And then there's that PSC psychometric test thing on Saturday, and if I'm unwell I doubt I'll do very well. Not that I'm too keen on getting a PSC scholarship, but it's good to keep my options open, right?

Sigh. Being the brat I am, when I'm sick I like people to sayang over me, but right now it's just me and my tutorials and books.

[/edit]


[edit: 9 pm]

So, I went to my doctor and he spent 2 minutes diagnosing me, and then we spent another happy 15 minutes chatting about my career options, while the queues outside grew and grew. Strange to say, he adviced me against becoming a GP, because it's very hard work with pay that isn't always that great. Which is funny because in my opinion he's earning a heck of a lot of money owning that clinic of his!

He suggested doctor, accountant, lawyer, teacher, to which I said no, no, no and no, and then he was surprised to hear of my seemingly not-so-lofty aspirations, and urged me to think of a profession which pays well. But then, I realised that to him, anything apart from owning landed property and having a large car means "not well off".

I don't know. Enjoyment/fulfilment seems to outweigh high pay at the moment, but maybe when I'm a pauper staying in a squatter settlement riding a rusty bicycle to work, I might live to regret this.

[/edit]

*138 - winfrey

We have a temporary pet bunny! (: Someone asked us to help take care of it for a few days while she went away on holiday.

I LOVE BUNNIES and it's been a long time since there's been one in our house! Winfrey (the rabbit) has the sweetest, most docile personality ever, and she's settles down immediately when petted on the head. SO CUTE LAH she reminds me of Tubby (the rabbit).


Winfrey on my shoulder, peering cutely into the camera (: Look at her eyelashes!


1. Winfrey perking up
2. Winfrey settled, looking fat and sleepy (post-petting)
3. The ultimate soporific position for rabbits: flip them over! Cool eh?
4. Sniff sniff what's up there?

Look, she has a 'collar' of fur around her neck!

Isn't she lovely (:

*137 - one of those days

You know how some days start off pleasantly (or as pleasantly as waking up to the alarm can get) and everything seems fine and dandy, and then one little itty bitty thing happens and makes you slightly upset but it's gone in a second, but then another itty bitty thing happens, and another, and another and another and another, until every itty bitty thing that wouldn't normally affect you seems like a MASSIVE catastrophe, until you completely lose it and feel as though the entire world is against you and KABOOM you overreact and slump out of school by yourself just so you can spend some alone time away from anything and everything that could potentially hurt you, when actually the only thing that's harming you is yourself, yes, your own stubborn selfish silly self.

Yeah. Today seemed like one of those days.

But at least it's all okay now. (: And everything shall be a-okay.

The one thing that has scared me into studying was my sister who mentioned, in passing, "Are you studying? It's about time you went into Panic Mode, you know." And since the sister knows best,

asdfjkl;*@#PANICa;oghapw!!!111!!

*136 - turnturnturn

First time dancing in a very very long while today. (That doesn't include the silly dancing in the shower.) Today's dance routine was like a turns sequence sprinkled with dance steps.

Step step pose, step step right turn. 4 chaines turns with change of direction each time (toughie!). Turn, reach, turn, pose. Step step step kick, attitude turn, soutenue turn. 2 pique turns, single turn, pose. Turn, pose. Shoulder/butt sway thing, turn. Run forward, reach, run backward, pose.

And all the turns were different turns, only that they don't have specific names.

Good stuff (: Overly turny ( = very difficult!), but nice choreography nonetheless. Lyrical jazz is great.

Realised today that I'm still flexible and all, but my core stability and control and sense of balance are waaay off. Oh dear.

Had a nice time with Maddy, who promised to be my dancing buddy until we're grannies. Dancing grannies, that would be cool (:


Also, Elisa & I have revamped the main page! (Click!)



Spot the differences! (I insist the "News!" that I drew is obviously a torn piece of newspaper, but Elisa doesn't think it's very evident.)

And, we have necklaces now! Cool innit?



New earring designs too! (: I'm quite pleased with my "Giselle", which I made up as I went along, and it looks completely different from what I originally had in mind. They look so much like little cygnets in black tutus and shiny pointes! -beams- And someone bought it within an hour of us putting it up on the web (wah so pro)! Perhaps more aspiring ballerinas will be smitten (:


(And I have a question! I shouldn't be asking this, I know, but I've always pronounced "Giselle" with the G sounding like the J in "jeans", but Elisa says it's pronounced like the G in "goat". Which is it?)

Does anyone think it's time I stop fiddling about with wire and beads and start doing my work for once?

*135 - bimbotism

Sister: "Try to look dao!"



"That was a bit too dao. A bit more fire in the eyes, please."



(I think I look jaundiced. It is either the lighting, or my computer.)


[edit] To my-longagojunior: It must be the smirk! (; And who are youuu? [/edit]

*134 - not medicine, please ):

Email reply from 7-Eleven:

Dear Ms Evelyn

Thank you for your patience whilst we carried out our investigations.

We would like to thank you for taking your time to share the invaluable feedback with us. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused when you and your friend visited our 7-Eleven outlet at Citylink Mall recently.

Following our investigations, the staff concerned has been reprimanded for his tactless behaviour and reminded to always offer immediate assistance to our customers when required. Please be assured that providing good customer service is our primary concern and we will not hesitate to take stern actions against any staff who tarnishes our image.

Once again, our sincere appreciation for your feedback and your support. We will continue to provide more training for our team members and certainly look forward to providing you with a better shopping experience on your next visit.

I feel slightly guilty for being such a typically Singaporean Complain Queen and actually writing in, but it certainly quenches my exasperation whenever I encounter disgraceful customer service. Friendly, helpful salespeople who don't cling unnecessarily are the best – despicable ones, beware. Muaha!

Singapore's service sector leaves much to be desired, but at least they've been trying hard to improve.


Today has been a mighty embarrassingly leaky day (twice, I can't believe it), scooting around school and dodging behind pillars, not daring to sit down or move unnecessarily. Thank God for powerful hand driers.


Discussions about scholarships, testimonials, university courses etc. brought me into a state of despair yet again over the fact that I haven't got much inclination towards anything academic. The thought that a large aspect of my future hinges on my decision now is pretty daunting.

I think I have a vague idea of what I might enjoy doing, but it sounds rather silly when everyone around me is aspiring to do medicine. But ultimately, I think I'll go where my interests and talents lead me, as whimsical as that sounds, because I'll rather be happy with a lower-paying job than be miserable living as a gazillionaire.

*133 - unnecessary

Unwanted. Not exactly despised, but just a general feeling of being superfluous (I know that's the wrong way to use the word), like if I vanished, no one would notice and no one would really honestly truly deeply care very much, not for long at least. Everybody's lives would just keep on functioning perfectly normally without me, I'm not the gear that keeps you ticking, I'm not that little jigsaw piece, I'm unnecessary.

Sometimes it's not enough to be the essential of that one person's life. Although I am very thankful for him and I don't know how I would cope without. But it's not everything. The feeling of being in a crowd and feeling alone, but worse yet, the feeling of being in a crowd of people you know and still feeling utterly, helplessly alone.

*132 - don't play with my heart

So, I know that Bio prac occurred weeks ago, but I forgot about it until now.

Meet Mr Heart perched on my finger via the aorta, looking disturbingly like a puppet of some sort. (Do you see his mouth?)



Pulling on your heartstrings. (aka chordae tendinae, but that doesn't sound half as romantic.)




She scares me because she reminds me of myself some years back. I don't want her to endure what I once went through. It's deceiving; you think you are strong but it only makes you weaker. Please stop?

*131 - feet!

I was turning off the lights and opening the door with my feet, the way I usually do when my hands are full or dirty, and didn't realise that it was slightly unusual until Mummy commented.

Flexibility has some use after all.

*130 - perfect for me

Played badminton today after school for a short while today with the most powerfully stinky badminton rackets ever! It took 2 rounds of scrubbing with soap and 1 antibacterial wet tissue to remove all traces of stink. Haha!

Mich and Marcus on 1 side, Jon and myself on the other - the guys were nice and gentlemanly and even used their left hands to play (admittedly still more forceful and pro than Michelle and I, but hush). Jon and I came up with a foolproof tactic - aim for the spot right between Michelle and Marcus, and neither of them would even try hitting the shuttlecock (: Yay!

After Math S, walked to J8 with Liru Michelle Yiling & Justin to eat chicken. Hehehe. Due to a sudden craving of mine last night. And after that, we discovered that all 5 of us could take the MRT to Ang Mo Kio and take buses home from there. And so we did (:

What got me into the super cheery and bubbly mood that I am in now was a phonecall from NY gym! Inviting Melissa and I to perform Nightmare for their concert! Because they watched it and enjoyed it most! This is the 2nd time we've been invited to perform our item! Which makes me happy because it means people like us! (:

Heeheehee.


Realised that I've been talking to quite a handful of people about relationship problems lately. (If you think I'm referring to you, it's not only you, haha!) I realise that lots of people think Justin and I cruise along smoothly without any problems whatsoever, but that's not really true. It's just that I don't confide in anybody about our problems, rarely at least, because the best way to solve our problems isn't to tell other people about them but it's to talk to each other and work things out.

Sadistic and heartless as this may sound, I also realise that hearing about relationship problems and trying to give good advice actually reminds me time and again how privileged I am to have somebody like Justin (: He's the sweetest ever, he'll always be there loving me no matter what terrible things I bombard him with (insults, tantrums, PMS, ...), he understands me like noone else does, I can tell him anything and everything ... basically, he's not a perfect person (who is?), but right here right now he's perfect for me.

End of mush, you may open your eyes now. (:


Anyway, I shall be off to make earrings, because there has been a recent onslaught of orders. And I have to grapple with my schoolwork at the same time. We all know how long I take to make my notes - Liru & Gabrielle, who were laughing at me today for taking 15 minutes to write out "agricultural biotechnology" in 3 different shades of pink/purple & silver, can surely attest to that.

*129 - i want!

I realise this is the third time I am blogging today, but I have to release some bimbotic-ness here.

THREE POUNDS ONLY LEH for a lovely set of hoop earrings, it's just too bad they don't ship overseas.



-weeps-

Okay, bimbotic moment over (:

*128 - best seller

I think it's faintly odd that our "best seller" is probably Cindy:



I can't really count how many pairs we've sold, but if I were to buy something from the site, it'll definitely be something bigger and bolder. I suppose that's just me!

Fast becoming a next best seller is Michelle, and speaking of which, I think it's about time I tell Michelle personally that I named those after her, because I don't think I have! (:


[So, if you're intuitive enough, you might have noticed that this quick and rather pointless entry mostly serves to push that nasty picture of the geoduck down because I simply cannot stand having it as the first thing I see when I check my blog. Haha!]

*127 - gooey duck?

Dinner at Crystal Jade with Justin and the family last night was disappointing. It didn't really feel worth the price ($300). I don't think we'll be eating there again. (Except for the xiao long baos, but they didn't have those last night!)

On the way out of the restaurant Justin and I spotted live geoducks in a tank! In my opinion, they are the strangest-looking creatures alive. So I went home to research on them, and here's what I discovered:

I've been pronouncing "geoduck" wrong all my life! It's actually pronounced GOOEYduck. Ok, that only makes it sound even grosser.



To be honest I had a frightful time looking for a photo. To quote Wikipedia, the siphon has a "phallic shape" (heh heh), but that's not really the problem for me. The fact that it looks like a giant evil monster slug bursting out of a tiny shell scares me. I can't look at the photo very closely -cringe-

Apparently they use the long thing to burrow and eat plankton. It bursts out of its shell so much that sometimes the 2 clam shells aren't even connected anymore. Ridiculous, really!

*126 - sweeping the medals away!

Gym competitions yesterday - so proud of the juniors for sweeping away all but one medal (:

Remember the days where the RGS team consisted of more than 20 people? Well for RJC, here's the entire rhythmic team, J1s and J2s included:



Tiring day yesterday, from helping the J1s prepare to watching, what, 6 hours of competitions, to a crazy dinner at Seoul Gardens where I felt I was entertaining a bunch of 4 babies (the J1s) ... but it was fun, and Amy and I kinda realised we missed all that.

The glory of winning trophies galore for yourself and for your school,
the thrill of walking onto the mat and hearing people screaming your name and seeing all the videocams suddenly pointing in your direction,
the special bonds you forge as a team training and sweating and crying together,
the way we fear laoshi and get pissed off at her but we then love laoshi so much,
all the little things like the exchange of gifts and goodluck notes, the rush to take photos with the piles of medals after every competition, the celebratory dinners,

I guess ever since we 'retired' last year, we'll never have such an experience again in our lives. This is pretty much it, for us J2s, all those years of gym finally coming to a halt.

*125 - little black book

Thank you Angie (and Wanjun)! (:

Go check out their site - The Little Black Book - a fashion blog by the fashion gurus (:

*124 - misconception

Desperately need to clear up a misconception but it's a little too late at the moment for a phone call, so. Just want to say I'm sincerely sorry for any misunderstandings, and to clear things up -

In entry #121, I am not referring to Joel. I do not and have never felt that he is either obtuse or evil.

Realised that to an outsider, that entry can be easily misinterpreted. Thanks to the tip-offs from all the people who told me about it. Sorry sorry sorry.

Rather ironic and mildly amusing that the person it was directed at most definitely read it as well and almost definitely didn't think it was referring to himself.

And, to preserve the tagboard comment forever because it's so cool -

Bernie "Botak Jones": "Told ya! Don't so hard on yourself, you're gorgeous. Thanks for the review."

Mr Botak Jones found me!!! :D

*123 - new designs up at last!

New designs up at Elisa & Evelyn!

Check it out now (:

*122 - DVD

Evil intent, we concluded. Yup.


Anyway. Just received the gym concert DVD today, and it was quite fun to watch! (: A lot of items which felt horrible kinda looks nicer from afar, hehe. Like the classroom item was actually rather cute and funny! It wasn't a perfect concert of course, but I'm still really really proud of us! Love all my fellow gymnasts (:

I still remember the pre-concert days, all the stress and screaming and crying, all the problems building up in quick succession (people pulling out, injuries, no time, etc), even up to the final (literarily) few minutes, we had to change choreography and pray for the best. But it was well worth the tears (which is what we always say on retrospect when the stress and the trauma has subsided). Hehehe.



All my items! (:


So.

It's all been a facade, really. It's hard to stay strong and pretend to be happy, or at least, not sad, all the time. Only she really knows how I feel. I don't know what to do anymore. I just feel like giving up on myself, like it's no use, like I'm no use. Trudging around school everyday, feigning enthusiasm and cheeriness. Pretending to brush it off as something not so important, when it's actually eating away at me. Superficial and shallow moments of sunny happiness. Laughing when I can, trying to bluff myself into thinking I'm perfectly alright. Trying to tell myself I can do it, telling myself I can't. Trying my best to be optimistic, trying my best to focus on what's before me, trying to push that little mocking voice away. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what I can accomplish. I don't know if I'm capable.

I've been too proud to admit it. All the pretence for a semblance of strength.

There, I said it.


[edit] Thank you Just. Sometimes you just need someone to rattle you around and plop you back on the right path (: [/edit]

*121 - take away the pain

Exhausting day today. Very dramatic. It completely drained me and we're all just so scared for her. Like I said, Mummies know best so at least we know she's in good hands now. Everybody, trust your Mummies - It's not as if they've never had relationship problems before. They understand.

And I have to say, Ms Lim is the best. Rushing down to school from a medical appointment to help a student in trouble, wow. Very sweet. And she made things better instantly (: Yay Ms Lim <3 <3 <3

Got extremely fired up at as well, was itching for a confrontation but I suppose, what use would that be except to aggravate the hatred between him and all of us girls? There's no point of a confrontation apart from satisfying my burning curiosity as to whether he is truly obtuse or truly evil. Not to say that things aren't already looking bad already. I wonder if he knows just how despised he is. Maybe some of the girls, unlike me, bother to put up a front and treat him in a friendly manner. If only he knew the truth.

I don't know if it's plain stupidity (do you actually think telling someone hurtful falsehoods to push her completely over the edge and cause a massive nervous breakdown is beneficial in any way?), or a purely evil intent. Either way, it only made things so, so much worse and it was just so painful for me to even see her in that state. I only wished I could take away some of the pain, but we just couldn't seem to do so.

I was just so freaking pissed off when I heard what he told her. Why? Why why why the hell did you do that? Do you realise we're already fearing for her life? Do you realise how much hurt and doubt and blame you put into her heart? Do you realise how much it affected her, how close she was to completely losing it? Do you understand how painful it is to think that all you have lived for and everything you depended on for the past year was all a farce? And that's a lie.


As I watched her, I could only pray for God to touch her and heal her. I didn't know what else I could say, what else I could do.


[Note: I'm not taking any sides on the issue. I'm not going to conclude whether it was his fault or whether she brought it upon herself. I'm not in a position to do so. I don't want to take sides, I only want her to be okay.]


So that was rather blunt, I'm tempted to say the usual "don't read if you don't want to see" but I think in today's case, if anyone thinks I shouldn't blog about things like that in open, I'll take this down.


Our class happenings might actually make a better soap opera than Days Of Our Lives. There's always one thing or another that shakes us up, but the only problem is that they are never very good things.


The air is crisp and cold and it isn't raining, so perhaps I should go for a run. Running buddy Liru sprained her ankle today in a most hilarious way (I think I acted it out about 10 times today, to her chagrin/amusement) so I didn't run after PE as intended. A long, slow jog suddenly seems to be the perfect way to get rid of all these thoughts from my head. (Unfortunately, there is laziness to battle with as well.)

*120 - sunday snapshots

Twister fries in my mouth, twisty eyes, twisty arms, twisty fingers. (:



Spotted this very cheap VCD on sale at HMV! "Evelyn"! Does anyone know what it's about? (:



Pastor Prince is back in town, which explains the crazy crazy queues to get into New Creation today. Can you see all the little people spiralling around Suntec? And that's only part of the queue! Oh boy.





Needless to say, we didn't get a seat in the main auditorium, however, we also didn't get a seat in BOTH overflow rooms, and thus had to sit at the back of the auditorium on cushions, blocked entirely by the chairs in front of us. There were even people sitting along the aisles!

My brilliant view during service today:



Let's zoom in into the little shiny thing in between the chairs - Oh lookie, it's Pastor Prince!



They are very considerate though! Everyone who was wearing a short skirt who had to sit on the cushions received a nice black cloth to cover up. Haha. This brings to mind Huiwen and I struggling to sit down at the fountain with our skirts :D

The orange thing on the left is my leg, covered by the black cloth, with my bag and shoes in front of me (:



And after service, we paid our customary visit to Carrefour, and spotted this! Now that is what you call a true blue junk food addict. Wah.



So. All these pictures are not representative of my day at all because so many things happened before and after and in between. Started off the day on a bad note, because. And we had an Unpleasant Incident At 7-Eleven which got me so pissed off that I lodged a complaint via email. I'm fine if, say, a waiter spills orange juice down my neck by accident and apologises profusely, but I'm not so fine if staff are rude and make wholly ludicrous demands. Lousy shopkeepers, beware of Evelyn please. Rawr.


Gaurghh I was going to jog but then I realised that I am a cripple (see below entry for explanation) and the impact would kill my toes and wearing heels today obviously didn't help, and it just rained and knowing me I would slip and fall numerous times along the way, and I would possibly get raped since it's so dark outside. What am I to do. Oh no. ):

This brings to mind a funny incident the last time I jogged (a fortnight ago?) ... I was holding my keys and decided to put them into the little pocket inside my fbts (girls should know what I'm referring to). I fumbled around inside my shorts (I've never used that pocket thing before) and ended up dropping my keys into the underwear-ish lining of my fbts. Whoops! So I was rummaging around inside, before I realised there were a group of old men sitting at a shelter nearby staring at me jogging and feeling around in my shorts at the same time. Ahaha. I didn't know anyone would be around ... Usually it's really quiet and lonely at night mah ... Heh heh.

*119 - botak jones

Today's dinner with the family (sans Daddy because he's in France, lucky thing) was hilarious! We went to eat at Botak Jones, and when my brother first said that we'ld have to queue for maybe up to 45 minutes, I was wondering what kind of restaurant it was. Then he said it was actually at a hawker center at Ang Mo Kio, which sold real American food for really cheap prices!

The portions were huge and each dish only cost between $7 to $10! Rather salty though, let's pray I don't get kidney failure.



1. Botak Jones' van (great big food in this itty bitty van, damn good food at a damn good price)
2. Joel's 12" hot dog!
3. Breaded jalapenos stuffed with cheese. Powerfully spicy!
4. Elisa with our food (lamb chops for me, Cajun chicken for her)


The funniest part came after dinner. We spotted Mr Jones Himself sitting on a bench a distance away from where we were. Joel & Elisa convinced me that this was The Chance Of My Lifetime and persuaded me to go ask him for a photo!! Of course I chickened out a few times successively, summed up my courage and walked towards him, stopped a few meters away and started giggling and acting like a complete nutcase, while my siblings laughed at me and Mummy stood far away wondering what was happening, and finally figured I would make his day if I asked him for a photo, so I did!

Hoorah I am brave!!

So I sat down next to him and we all had a little chat. He asked if this was going to be on my blog and my sister answered right away "Of course!" Haha. He said he would find this blog somehow by next week but I'm having my doubts. Hehehe.



I know I look idiotic in the photo with my crazy hair and squinty eyes and toothy grin but oh well! Mr Jones looks so cute don't you think? :D

Hello Mr Botak Jones! :D


In other news, I was enthusiastically doing ballet in the shower today but accidentally kicked the faucet and stubbed my toe so hard that I had to sit down & grab my toes in pain for about 5 minutes.

[edit: the next morning] Alas, I am a cripple today. -limps off- [/edit]

Also, my sister & I have been practising a crazily difficult piano duet for weeks, and today we finally made it to the end of the 14-paged song in half an hour! (Which pretty much means we were crawling along at a snail's pace.) Four flats, no joke okay! (:

My heart just twanged when I saw that. I don't think you'll ever know how much it means to me. Because I'll never let you know, I'll never let anyone know.

I wonder.

Why?

*118 - earrings

Elisa & Evelyn
[Haven't updated the website though, it takes a great deal of effort and time to do so. Not for sale YET I suppose! (:]

Instead of studying like I should be, I've been making earrings again (: Sudden inspiration from looking at my swirly doodles which decorate my worksheets whenever I'm bored!

They're all asymmetrical and each design is unique, cool right? (: Gold Rush is made of twisted gold wire which makes it look exceptionally glittery. And Blueberry shall be one-piece-only simply because I've run out of those beads, ahaha. Haven't decided about the rest.

Am thinking of making some "mini"s (shorter) for the less adventurous. Hmm!


You know, this hobby of mine isn't exactly a money making venture. I mean sure, we have profits, but the main thrill is no longer watching the piggy bank grow but it's the whole unleash-your-creativity thing and the satisfaction of making earrings that people actually want. It just makes me happy inside knowing that I can design pretty things!

It was quite a gamble starting up this little business - imagine how scary it would have been if we purchased all the materials and found out we suck at making earrings after all! Thank goodness our little cottage industry worked out. (:


If you're creative and you ever want to custom make earrings you can always let me know and I'll try my best! That would be fun! (:

*117 - west to east

3rd July (Youth day holiday on Monday) - Justin & I intended to go to West Coast to rollerblade/cycle.

What really happened in the end was that Justin & his siblings & I were sent there by his daddy, went to play in the giant playground for a few hours, met his parents for lunch, couldn't find anywhere to rent rollerblades from, were driven all the way from West Coast to East Coast, rented rollerblades, rollerbladed (with his daddy too!) and were sent home after that.

Really really fun. (:



We climbed to the top of the big ropey dome thingy, and it was kind of scary but somehow pleasantly so, just sitting there feeling the breeze, getting cooked by the hot hot sun, watching little kids climb up and down fearlessly and wondering what a big oaf like me was doing up there.

There were lots of obstacle-course-like things to play with, haha, and there's Christine sitting in a giant rope ball, and us jumping on a bouncy wooden platform.

And wow, I actually had a ride on those suspended rubber seat things that you hop on to and zoom from one end to another (something like a sitting down version of a flying fox, I'm not sure what it's called)! I got stuck halfway though so Christine had to drag me to the end by my feet (last picture). Reliving the childhood days, which were terrifically fun, and it was terrifically fun as well (:



Me, Justin and Joshua in the top 2 photos playing with random playground things.

Then we went to East Coast! Rented rollerblades and I rollerbladed for the first time in 5 years I think! It took me a while to get the hang of it but then I got better and now I can sort of rollerblade backwards wah so pro! :D Hahaha. But I still can't stop properly, or do anything cooler than that. Now I have the urge to go rollerblading again or iceskating some time soon, somebody please volunteer go with me (:

Last photo: Justin and I in the car, discovering that Slurpees turn your tongue blue/green! I didn't know. Ew.


I got terribly sunburnt (as mentioned) but I think slathering myself with moisturiser the moment I got home prevented peeling! Yay. (: Such a nice kiddy day! If you ever feel like being a kid again, go to West Coast's playground, it's the hugest I've ever seen. Kiddy kiddy kiddy, I like (:


No school for me tomorrow (: (: (: , because I have a dental appointment, and if I go to school it'll only be for PE and break. (I'll actually be missing the 2 lectures.) I whined to Ms Lim about it and she agreed to let me off (: Whee! She's getting so much nicer (: She even gives us goodies to eat sometimes. To think we used to abhor her last year! Marriage does wonders. Hehe (:

*116 - plans to prosper

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

Perhaps one of the most frequently repeated Bible verses, but certainly not stale.

I believe God has a plan for all His children. We might not understand everything that happens in our lives, why such and such occurred, why this or that didn't work out the way we wanted. But no matter what happens, it is for our good, whether we realise it or not.

If I pray and pray to get into RJC but end up in poly, for example, it may seem as though God just abandoned me but no, He put me there for a reason - it could be anything - to realise my potential, to discover my passion, to touch someone's life ...

If a relationship didn't work out, it may seem like the end of the world, it may seem as though God just wrenched away everything you had from you. It's okay and natural to cry, but learn to give thanks and put your faith in Him instead, because He knows that there is someone else out there who will make you happy again and He will bring the two you together in His love.

He just wants the best for us, because He loves us.


So maybe this is really direct but ... I've had friends who turned from happy to depressed and masochistic - cutting, starving, suicide attempts, turning to vices like smoking. I don't want to see that happen to another friend, but I just don't know what to say or do anymore.

Please don't be selfish, you aren't the only one who's upset, you know? All of us are, because we're so worried about you.

I wonder if you'll ever see this.

*115 - off the scale

(Not drawn to scale. Accuracy questionable.)

So you see, ever since primary school, Justin used to score so much lower than me.

Until we got together - he started working harder and barely made it into RJ.

He continued improving until some time in J1 when I started getting stupid, and surpassed me during last year's promos by quite a lot!

Currently, looking at his grades, if he were in my class he'll probably be one of the top. (One of because we have Yiling The Invincible.) Whereas I, on the other hand, am plummeting right off the graph.


Now you see why Mr Koh, who saw the both of us today, told Justin: "See lah, her studies are affected. You better help her!"

Ahaha.


And precisely because Wenloong instructed me not to blog about it: Wenloong hurt my feelings deep deep today, and so I bished him up with my pretty pink file, aided by Justin and Minghan who willingly thumped him as well, with his entire class looking on in bewilderment, or was it amusement. (I didn't notice the whole crowd of them due to my intense anguish caused by Wenloong.) :P

*114 - path of perfect grades

Boys in shirts are hot, yes? (:


Okay, maybe I should say, Justin in shirt is hot (:

That was Sunday before church, where we got to sit right smack in the middle, in the 2nd row, for the first time ever! Usually no matter how early we begin queuing up, we always sit near the back or in the overflow rooms. But WOW we sat right behind all the pastors and got to see the worship leaders and pastors up close and it was so cool. Hehehe.


On a gloomier note.

Got back Chem today - I've never done so badly in my entire JC life. I'm not even sure if Mr Koh is going to let me keep my Chem S or whether he's going to dump me into Chem R. Yeah, it's that bad. Please don't ask.

She went to talk to Mr Koh after the lesson - I didn't, not because I'm trying to avoid a scolding or avoid embarrassing myself by bursting into tears or something, but because he currently probably just thinks I'm lazy & inattentive & didn't study hard. I think I'll rather not let him know the truth: I'm just a brainless twit trying to pretend I'm smart.

Once upon a time, long long ago, I was intelligent. Today, I'm not so sure.

Guess I have to stop being complacent about the path of perfect grades I've left behind me and mug my ass off from now.

Let the teachers worry and scold now, I'll prove them wrong.


Like Sunday's sermon mentioned: ...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Thank You for the wake up call, I realise I cannot rely on my strength alone to produce good results. Please God, take away my pride ... help me to depend on Your wisdom ...

... I know I shouldn't be, but I'm scared.


-rubs hands- Let the mugging begin!! Bwahaha.

Um.

Okay, tomorrow lah. Or maybe next week. (: Next month?

Teehee just kidding.

*113 - prawning

By looking at the way my photos are automatically named (DSC_ _ _ _ _) I realised today that I've taken more than 10000 photos with my camera because it's back to DSC00001! Wow.

Went to West Coast and East Coast today - And got severely sunburnt.

Before today I had:
1. T-shirt/blouse tanline (sleeves and neckline)
2. Swimming costume tanline (straps that cross behind and dip down to my lower back)
3. Bikini tanline (thin halter straps)

And today, I added one more:
4. A very distinct tank top tanline.

The worst part is that number 1 to 3 aren't noticeable at all unless I wear a tube or something, but today's tanline is oh so obvious and oh so ugly. Boo. I think to even myself out, the only cure is nude sun bathing, ehehe, which means I'm going to be tanline-ful forever I suppose.

Ok more about prawning, as promised (:


Step One

Slice up cockles to use as bait. Poke the bloody mess into the hook.


(Clockwise: Tubby, Justin, Marcus, Justin's fingers)


Step Two

Look into the pond and find a spot with an abundance of prawns. Swish the bait around and pray that therein lies a hungry prawn. Take lots of photos.


(Clockwise: Spot the 2 prawns, Joel & Mattheus, me, Justin & me)


Step Three

Get frustrated that the prawns are not hungry and scrabble in the pond with nets in an effort to scrape them into your nets. (The nets are actually meant for you to keep your prawns in.) Feel guilty (it isn't the "right" way to catch a prawn!) and try with your rod again and again until you finally catch one!


(Clockwise: Tubby & I catch our first prawn the illegal way,
Justin & I catch our first prawn the correct way,
Mingchuan catches a Giant Prawn and breaks the rod in the process,
The Giant Prawn!)


Step Four

At the end of one hour ($12 an hour leh), pour all caught prawns in one net to make it look slightly more satisfying. Rejoice at our grand total of six (or was it less?) prawns!!


(Clockwise: the prawns, Joel Jon Marcus Tubby Mingchuan Mattheus, the prawns again)


I"m not sure what happened to the prawns in the end (Tubby? Jon? MC? Did you eat them up?) but yeah despite not exactly catching many, it was quite an experience!! :D Whee very fun. Many thanks to Michelle for introducing us to this and teaching us the art of prawning (:


Went to Justin's aunt's house after that - they have family gatherings once a fortnight at different relatives' houses. It was just so homely and comfy and one-big-happy-family-ish! 5 little kids plus 1 big me squished onto a bed, everybody pummelling me with stuffed toys and screaming ridiculous things like "Evelyn is a pineapple!" "Evelyn the caterpillar!" - well, it's a nice feeling.

My family is the only one in Singapore. Everyone else related is in Malaysia and um maybe some in China. I've never had the chance to enjoy myself at family reunions. Besides, when I do get the chance to meet them, they're mostly fat and loud and hardly speak English and are way older than me, so they feel like strangers to me.

So count yourself lucky if you have a nice big bunch of loving relatives ... appreciate them! (: It might seem extremely ordinary to meet up regularly with all of them and have fun, but to someone like me, that's never quite happened before.

*112 - chippy

Chippy is cuter in photos than in real life, I think. [Justin don't let Christine see this or she may cry.]



My day in a nutshell: Justin's house, homecooked lunch, Naruto, nap (look at my eyebags in the photos!!), off to Marina Bay for prawning omg very cool, Justin's aunt's house for a family gathering/dinner thingy (3 families with loads of kids), chauffeured home by Justin's mom, and finally the much awaited BATH after getting bloody and fishy from prawning (:

More about today another time, because I'm sleepy and Naruto has killed my eyes so I mustn't look at the computer much longer. Toodles.

xY: the earrings are readdyyy (: Hoorah!
Sandhya: did your sharp eyes notice which earrings I'm wearing again? (: Hehe! They're my favourite!
Sinhui: YAY Chia-fan!! YAY Naruto!! Hahaha :D