While watching Hans Rosling deliver a stunning new set of data on TED...

"Singapore, now the healthiest country on this Earth. It bypassed Sweden about two to three years ago, with better child survival. But they're very small, you know. They're so close to the hospital we can never beat them out in these forests. (Laughter) But homage to Singapore."

Maybe I like this island more than I know (:



Oh and Hans Rosling is hilarious!!!
"We have to know a little more about the world. I have a neighbor who knows 200 types of wine. He knows everything. He knows the name of the grape, the temperature and everything. I only know two types of wine -- red and white. (Laughter) But my neighbor only knows two types of countries -- industrialized and developing. And I know 200, I know about the small data."
PLUS HE DOES A SWORD SWALLOWING ACT AT THE END OF HIS PRESENTATION!


Urgh so maybe I'll get a D or a C for econs (sorry refuting this gloomy possibility isn't going to make me feel better) but hey at least I speak OK English and have enough common sense to get by so.. I can work part time while paying off school fees? MDIS not cheap you know..

* Korean tearjerker/melodrama

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Gotcha!

Daisy (the 2006 Korean film directed by Andrew Lau) is my first Korean film.
Erm... Wiki calls it an "urban melodrama" (Yeah.. like huh? You mean melodramas usually happen in rural areas?? But whatever, we all know Wiki has its wonky moments..)

Even if you're adverse to romance or allergic to tears, watch it for the cinematography!! Andrew Lau directed Infernal Affairs.. you can't go wrong with that kind of credentials! And if "I lapse into anaphylactic shock whenever I hear Korean" is your excuse.. THEN CHANGE THE AUDIO LAH!


I KNOW I SHOULD BE MUGGING!! But imagine if I didn't watch the film! I would stil be a Korean melodrama virgin!
.
.
...... and I wouldn't be as stressed out as I am now? Crap. NEVERMIND. FAIL As BUT DON'T FAIL IN LIFE!!
.
.
(omg omg omg who am I kidding D: D: D: *insert crying emoticon*)

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

I can't decide if I think it's premature (Helloooo has the committee clean forgotten about American troops STILL in Afghanistan and Iraq? They can't bear to wait another year?? By the way chances of closing Guantanamo Bay by January next year now seem remote.. oh....... is that it? Give him a prize before he has the oportunity to look bad?)
or a...*gasp* political move!
(You know the whole "world without nuclear weapons" thing.. Nobel Committee: "We would hope this will enhance what he is trying to do." They think a Nobel Peace Prize will give Obama political leverage?? HUH?? Oh and the UN Security Council meeting he chaired? Historic, yeah.. Effective, no?? China and France are sticking with their nukes, thank you for your time.)

I know I got really excited about Obama during the elections and all. I was sincerely elated when he became President! He is undoubtedly more eloquent compared to his predecessor.. also, when it comes to wielding hegemonic power and peacekeeping efforts, way more progressive!! But I must say.. Obamamania overload? I mean... how much more recognition does Obama need? There are other people out there who deserve credit too?

Like euh... JACQUELINE NOVOGRATZ? HANS ROSLING? ANDREW MWENDA? Have you even heard of these people?? D:



Edit: Some people online are saying the prize is "pathetic way of getting Obama to visit Norway" ok that's just mean.. "Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize. I am wondering what for? Replacing Bush? So far he has accomplished virtually nothing!" o_O while THAT is harsh.

Tout d'un coup, j'ai compris la sagesse de cette phrase.

Et comme le premier atterrisage n'a pas me tuer.. la deuxiéme chute a commencé.
J'espère que j'apprendrai comment quantifier le bonheur par autres choses que notes.

I just watched the WORST remake ever. EVER.

I couldn't find the 1974 Robert Redford one.. so I thought I'd settle for the lastest version, you know?
Whoever recommended our library to stock this should do some serious soul searching. (ooh alliteration)

It was worse than sitting through 3 hours of pure math (which left me kind of delirious)

I need to stick a warning sign on the DVD that goes CAUTION: MAY INDUCE EXTREME INDIGNATION!

waste my time ):

I woke up at 7.30am this morning. My instincts told me it's too late to go jogging: by the time I trudge back the sun would roast me alive, the roads would be jammed with cars and I'd feel like exhibit 190291.

But silly me decided, hell, I need to exercise before my ass turns into lard. So I went jogging. On my way to Botanic Gardens - the residential area with charming little houses and cute dogs... I got knocked down by a taxi.

RELAX. I'm alive and kicking!

At first I was ?? Something hit my back (on a scale of 1 to 10, it hurt about 4?) and the next thing I knew I was staring at my legs oustretched in a sitting position. I swear it took several split seconds before I realised I nearly got run down. WHAT A CLOSE SHAVE?!! (9 - 1 = 8 lives left!)

My next reactions was WTF? WHICH ASSHOLE?? One of those family sized taxis. I looked up and saw this pilot (white uniform, and cap somemore. Old and wrinkly. NOT CUTE.) grinning at me. The passenger was GRINNING. Double WTF? Then the driver got out and the pasenger wound down the window and asked if I was ok. I felt fine. I mean, no bones fractured or visible bleeding so I went yeah I'm fine, just disorientated.

Then I went on with my jog.

I had to stop after only 5 mins because I started sweating and my butt started stinging like MOTHER (on a scale of 1 to 10, definitely around 8. That's comparable to threading your upperlip. )That's when I realised my ass got scraped pretty badly (FBTs are way too short for safety!) oh and my wrist too (left wrist, phew! for a righthander.) Thank heavens not my face! (Eh no nasty remarks. I had an... arguably harrowing experience ok?!)

Ya, so I had to wince all the way home from Botanic Gardens. Shower. Went back to sleep.
Just woke up, filled with inertia for the day. No thanks to the taxi driver who made SITTING DOWN such a pain in the ass! CHEEDANBAI. Hope it heals by monday.. 5 hours of econs paper is NOT FUNNY when my ass stings like MOTHER.


When I told my mom she freaked out (!) and started flapping her arms like a duck.
Well... guess that's why I don't tell her all about my other escapades ;)

Uh oh.. Ever since I removed Facebook from my bookmark/shortcut bar for easy access... I've been feeling kind of lost..
Not only do I have to get used to NOT having that blue F logo to glance at every once in a while.. I have nothing handy to click for a quick distraction.. This reminds me of some quote that begins with "where you used to be, there is a hole in the world"... ... the rest of it is too mushy.

OMG what a trivial self-indulgent thing to post about! I just wasted 10 minutues of my life better spent feeling indignant about... buying bread with gold in Zimbabwe!! It's a real problem ok? The old (without filial children) and  disabled (without generous relatives) are just waiting to die because they are physically incapable of mining for gold. (Yes, they mine for gold. What, you think they can BUY gold with those worthless pieces of ultra-inflated money??) And here I am leaving food unfinished on the table ):

Ugh, I sound so shallow I disgust myself. I suppose a wiser person would ruminate on the consequences of reverting to a "gold as currency" system or the injustice of life.. but not me! Hahaha! What's the point of thinking anyway? Will I be able to influence anything? Why do I feel disenfranchised? Is this pessimism justified? ... ... woah. Ok. I have issues..

Today I was REALLY looking forward to trying out my new pull buoy.
Apparently with a pull buoy, I can swim without kicking my legs. (YAY NO MORE THUNDER THIGHS!)
But it rained. THE WHOLE DAY.
#%$^@&* D:

So I went shopping for Teachers' Day gifts instead :D

I said no to clubbing on a friday night!!! Unbelievable!!? I don't know why.. I felt too depressed to have a fun time. You don't want a party pooper, do you?? And clubbing has lost its appeal. I used to club for the cute guys.. or the 'get high'.. But I've realised it's all too fleeting. and self-consuming to do on a weekly/monthly basis. Besides, I'd rather meet cute guys at the library!! Right now, I just really want to sit somewhere and chill, listen to good music (that is not overwhelmingly loud) and catch up with friends.. you know, talk about anything and everything under the sun/stars.. Nothing quite like an engaging, heartfelt conversation to reminisce!
Maybe it's PMS rearing it's ugly head..(such a handy excuse?) My Saturdays and Sundays are so packed D: Tuition, tuition, tuition..  At least I have SingDollar and Gaga to look forward to!! :D

GAH. I want to watch Public Enemies.

According to fomer Scretary of Education of the USA, Richard Riley, the top ten in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are currently preparing children for jobs that don't exist yet.. using technologies that haven't been invented.. in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.

There are 31 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, the number was 2.7 billion.
To whom were these questions addressed to B.G. (Before Google)??

I have good reason to be freaking out about the Future.

i want reality to be this bittersweet (:

today i got home late after MP attachment at Kampong Glam.. i was so emotionally and physically drained i just wanted to SLEEP. but i had to drag my carcass to the toilet to shower, brush teeth and well.. hmmm... change something.
then i was smelling all fresh, and blissfully lying on my bed when...

a sudden series of rhythmic drumming snapped me out of my shut-eye.
like lion dance rehearsal sort of drumming. except extremely far away and incredibly loud (haha) i had to drag all of my weight to the window to check out the source of that insane drumming.

turned out to be DRILLING.
for the circle line.
at 11pm PLUS.
HUH?!! LTA overworking employees, much??

ARGH and i can't switch on aircon because i feel sick. like fever and chills sort of sick. so.. i have to call upon my boyfriend.
music is my boyfriend ;D


yarh lah yarh lah blogs are self-indulgent.

damn, i want the transcripts to speeches on TED!!
i'll write my own (transcripts, not speeches) when i finally have the time, hmmph!

yesterday i scalded my tongue.
now everything is tasteless and i have no appetite.
sometimes i like to scald my tongue on purpose so i would not eat.
but this time it was an accident.
like how thinking about you is an accident. that repeats itself on a daily basis.
i think about you a lot. but it's not love.

today i take a long nap, put too much sugar in my coffee and wish i were in some cold place.
i also have a sudden attack of wanderlust. and a slight craving for colourful macaroons.
then i remember i couldn't taste them even if i wanted to.
like how i can't bring myself to run to your door even if i wanted to.
it's a matter of pride, darling.
i never called you darling. except when speaking to you in my head.
it's too mushy in person and i don't want to ruin things by saying them out loud.

tomorrow i will wake up before my alarm clock rings, pretend to fumble in the dark for my uniform,
take a shower absent-mindedly and struggle to conceal my puffy eyelids behind frameless spectacles.
i can already foresee the futility in hiding. from myself.
hate this helpless feeling i get while waiting!
for the bus to arrive. for the queues to get shorter. for the great big clouds of dust to settle.
and for the wounds to heal so i can pick at the scabs so i will have to wait for them to heal again.
like how the world is, once again, segmented into things that remind me of you and things that don't.

(yuck! so contrived D:  it sounds like friggin morose prose/self-indulgent crap..do you think it'll be good enough for YAWP if i work on it though???)


when i grow up, i want to live in a place with big empty spaces and a parquet floor like this:





except, plus a floor to ceiling mirror somewhere, fresh flowers on the table, more comfortable chairs, a tv console so i don't strain my neck, and no yellow leather bean bag.

i like to reserve an hour each day to comtemplate life and daydream about the future.
but i always exceed the allocated time.

there's no need for words to explain.

math is important because math gives you AWESOME FANTASTIC MINDBLOWING graphs!
i was hyperventilating at all the animation hahaha!

the lecturer actually has a sense of humour! (51% entertainment, 49% meaty content!)
and the knowledge you'll gain is definitely worth 20 mins of your time (:
YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT!!!!! it's like the best statistic lesson EVER!
not that we've had one yet.. but NOTHING will beat this!!! NOTHING.
I WANT HIS DATA!! (but more importantly, I WANT THAT GRAPHING SOFTWARE HE HAS!!!!!!!!!!!)


here's looking at you, world!  (takes forever to load.. but statistical heaven awaits!!)
so maybe i'll fail math tomorrow.. but at least i can't wait to delve into statistics??

OMG i'm a closet nerd!

 

( for when you don't feel like doing math )

hmm i seem to be attracted to sombre colours





Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle
Everything I do is stitched with its colour.

- W. S. Merwin

 

VII
Dark house, by which once more I stand
Here in the long unlovely street,
Doors, where my heart was used to beat
So quickly, waiting for a hand,

A hand that can be clasp'd no more—
Behold me, for I cannot sleep,
And like a guilty thing I creep
At earliest morning to the door.

He is not here; but far away
The noise of life begins again,
And ghastly thro' the drizzling rain
On the bald street breaks the blank day.


A.E. Housman