*657 - icing

Maybe I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to make a living out of decorating cookies ...

*656 - home sweet home

Arduous 36 hours of non-stop travelling: 1 am bus to NYC, shuttle to JFK, flight to Narita, flight to Singapore.

Nothing beats being home! :) I'm so happy.

Day 1 of being home:

Making snowflakes


And baking cinnamon swirlies






Day 2 of being home:

- Rollerblading at ECP
- Infecting my eyes very seriously
- Eating frog's legs and kangkong and tau hua and butterfly buns at Geylang

Day 3 of being home, ie. today:

- Wrapping presents to put under the Christmas tree
- Massive photoshoot with aspiring professional photographer, ie. the sister, which yielded cool shots like the one below (more to come)
- Possibly a nap now before heading out (too tired to Jitterbugs and to go shopping as planned)

Extreme mohawk


The days have been packed a bit too full for my jetlagged body to handle, but with only 1 month here, I'm packing 'em in as tight as possible. Friends, let's meet up!

*655 - the countdown begins

In the past 3 days or so, apart from tearing my hair out over final exams, I've watched about 5 entire cycles (14ish episodes each!) of America's Next Top Model. The show has come a long way since cycle 1. But Elyse is still my true love because she is probably the most intelligent and hilariously witty model out there and I'm mildly miffed that they kicked her out of the top 3 because of arrogance and not wanting badly enough to be a model (both indictments being rather true, but still).

I now wish I could get a makeover ala ANTM, where I would hypothetically chop all my hair off pixie-style, dye it bright red, and look stunningly modelesque! Alas - my chubby cheeks would not allow for such a look and I'll have to be content with my boring, cookie cutter hair.

I usually go to hair salons back in Singapore and tell them calmly (while bubbling over with hidden excitement/fear) to "do whatever you want!" and the result is always nothing much more exciting than a two-inch trim.

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Only Tina can take a picture of a teeny little jump and make it look spectacular!

(I like how Mouleena looks as though she has 3 pairs of arms and legs.)

-

Obviously, I'm procrastinating. ONE MORE PAPER. Come on.

*654 - 321

From the world's cutest Mum:

"yes, I remember Tubby, the one who doesn't eat cheese." (For some reason, this amuses me ... a lot.)

"God be with you for the next 2 papers. Take care. Thinking of all the food I'm going to cook for you when you come home."

:')

2 papers down. I'm halfway through. Thank You God for carrying me through.

*653 - exams

Gurgle.

I am not prepared.

*652 - 2 days to finals

I've been listening to jazzy Christmas songs on pandora.com (best music site ever, for use in the US only, I think). They make me feel like cavorting around the room. At the same time, Christmas songs actually make me rather homesick. Allen's occasional dramatic piano renditions of Christmas songs during dance technique classes had the same effect. Except, perhaps, for that one time we were doing plie's and ronde de jambe's to a very evil-sounding minor version of Jingle Bells.

-

Why Hotelies are better than you: we have complimentary hot chocolate, marshmallows, and huge platters of 5 different cookies (sugar, snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, double chocolate) in the student lounge every day, just because it's the exam period.

We have been sitting at the table right next to the food for the past few days, which means that all of us have been eating at least 5 cookies a day. Omg gross please.

-

Why? Why not?
Why not? Why?
It's funny how the little things affect me.
I like to pretend to be nonchalant.

-

Finals begin in less than 2 days. I just finished all my projects and homework today and started studying (punctuated heavily with online shopping, emailing, blog-hopping, general needless web-surfing, etc) a grand total of 2 hours ago. It seems to be the trend that by the time the most crucial period arrives, I will be burnt out and obstinately not studying.

-

Just one for now.



Happy Chinkos outside a Chinese bakery in Chinatown in Boston, where we bought an egg tart (toxic yellow but very good) and bubble tea.

*651 - comments on my piece

Most interesting comment tonight directed to me from the post-show discussion with the audience went something like this:

"I don't mean to offend you" (my heart sinks at this point) "but I really liked your piece" (I cheer up considerably) "because it reminded me of a movie about aliens where their legs bent in the wrong direction which gave them the illusion of being able to run very fast."

Which I take as a compliment because that imagery is just ... groovy.

Which, also, makes me wonder in which direction those aliens sit down and what their chairs look like.

*650 - waltz of the snowflakes

My final project for my composition class: inspiration by Eiko. We performed it outside by College Avenue while the audience watched from a full-length window on the 2nd floor of the Schwartz center. I feel like the choreography was a tad weak, but feedback from the class & Joyce was excellent, so I guess I'm happy enough :)

Practising in the Schwartz lobby before heading out.


Spot the Evelyn in white and the Moujaes in black.


And this is a shot of Meredith and I waiting to perform my piece in ZigZag, the fall concert! (Mark's idea of an artistic shot: slanty, subject unprepared.)


Yes, this actually sort of happens in the dance. I know my choreography is odd.


This is what dancers do while waiting for the bus.

*649 - the usual ramblings

It's a funny sort of nostalgia when you check the weather and think gleefully to yourself, "It's above zero today, hurrah, which dress shall I wear with my lightest winter coat?"

I think Winter got up a little too early, hit the snooze button, and will be up and about very soon, but not just yet.

Meanwhile, I'm relishing the relative warmth.

*648 - bag man

It's the last week of school before finals. While most people are burying their noses in books (I assume), I've been running around like a crazy lab rat (reference to Meredith's piece) dancing non-stop after classes. 3 days of rehearsals from 6.30 to 11 down, and 5 crazy days left to go.

Tomorrow: Jim's technique class, perform final piece for composition class, and then the Schwartz show at 8.
Friday: Schwartz show at 8, sprint for Kristen's practice at 10 (if I can make it).
Saturday: Michelle's practice, Kristen's practice, Pandora dress rehearsal, Schwartz show at 8.
Sunday: Pandora rehearsal, Pandora show at 8.
Monday: Jim's rehearsal, informal showing at 7.

That's what's on my dance calendar. Let's not even get started with classes and homework and final projects and final exams which start 2 days after my dance madness is over. The past week has been pretty harsh because I've been literally double- or triple-booked every single day, and each time I have to make a decision to cancel out on something, I feel intensely irresponsible, but there's nothing I can do.

-

I'm really happy about my piece in the show, though. I've certainly never choreographed anything quite as provoking as this piece. How often does a dance make an audience have to suppress their laughter and eventually force them to laugh out loud?

It was even funnier when I showed my piece in composition class, actually, because Meredith accidentally drooled just because it's physically difficult to keep your mouth wide open for such a long time. Mr Stage Manager specifically forbid us to drool, though, so that the dancers in the next piece wouldn't slip ...

The only problem is for me to keep my deadpan face going. I nearly cracked up today because I caught Jim grinning in the audience and everyone in the back row was tittering.

Anyway. Next challenge: to bring a tear to someone's eye through dance. Hm hm hm ...

*647 - christmas party

Guys, I give up facebooking all of you one by one.

Christmas Eve party at my place (in Singapore)!!

Mummy organized it so it will be very cute indeed. We're going to have good food, gift exchange, a Christmas skit (Mummy has taken out my Cabbage Patch doll and assures me that she will wrap it up so noone can tell it is a girl), and probably something like an atas wine-and-cheese chillout session on the roof after that.

Friends, I would love to see you there! Let me know :D

*646 - Can't sleep?

Count sheep!



Elisa and Evelyn

*645 - this is how we rock

So this is how we rock down Collegetown in sub-zero temperature: in awkwardly hand-stitched tops & little shorts to match, with (Jacob's) hairy legs and mismatched socks proudly on display.



(It was more funny at that moment; I guess we look sort of normal from afar.)