Three screen names you have had:

1. sZes
2. Narcissus
3. sze
[not very imaginative, I know]

Three things you like about yourself:

1. I am a good bargain hunter
2. Like SY, I can hold down more alcohol than I dare to admit
3. I genuinely love kids hehe.

Three things you hate about yourself:

1. I talk before I think
2. It's too easy to see through me
3. I can be pretty indecisive

Three things I am wearing right now:

1. Stussy baby tee
2. Seed jeans
3. Contacts. Ha.

Three things you have bought recently:

1. Fake Birkenstocks.
2. 2 books from MPH for my reading list next semester
3. My first ever face moisturiser and eye cream!

Three things that scare you:

1. My CAP
2. Cramped spaces
3. Working

Three things on your desk:

1. Books
2. Photos
3. Laptop and printer

Three things you can't live without

1. Contact lenses
2. A good pair of shoes
3. The Internet

Three good ways to describe your personality:

1. Smiley
2. Overly talkative
3. Indecisive

Three parts of your heritage:

1. 1/2 Teochew
2. 1/2 Cantonese
3. And lots of reminders to carry the family name proudly (?!!???!)

Three of your favourite books at the moment:

1. Anne of Green Gables
2. The Bell Jar
3. Astro Guide as well?

Three of your current favourite songs:

1. Crazy - Beyonce
2. My Boo - who?
3. Meng Nin Gum Yat - Eason Chan

Three new things you want to try in the next 12 months:

1. Bangkok and possibly New Zealand
2. Lose weight(oh all right - exercise, I meant)
3. Do something other than teaching for May 2005

Three things you want in a relationship:

1. Laughter
2. Unspoken understanding (y'know, like looking at each other and knowing what he/she is thinking about)
3. Assurance

Two truths and a lie:

1. I wanted to be a model before puberty struck a cruel fate on me.
2. I actually have a pair of pink UCB jeans in my wardrobe.
3. I started wearing glasses at the age of 9.

Three physical things about the opposite sex (or the same) that appeal to you: (Stupid question)

1. Smile
2. Posture
3. Smile

Three things you just can't do:

1. A split.
2. Drive over 100km/h.
3. Write poetry.

Three things you say the most:

1. "Har?"
2. "What la you."
3. "Ish"

Three places you want to go:

1. Bermuda
2. Nashville for postgrad?
3. My room at home.

Three of your favourite hobbies:

1. Reading in my room (in hall, at home).
2. Slumped over my couch watching Astro/DVDs/VCDs
3. Food marathons (heh)

Three things you really want to do really badly right now:

1. Be in Europe with someone
2. Shower
3. Get new shoes?

Three careers you're considering:

1. Teacher. Guess I already am one.
2. Personal shopper! I never really shop just for myself. I just like shopping.
3. Book cafe lao-ban (yes I am the boss, therefore I am not lao-ban-niang)


Three kids' names:

1. Emily (but there is this irritating kid in class now who is called Emily)
2. Tristan
3. Raspawunza (no, I am not serious)

Three things you want to do before you die:

1. Actually finishing the Bible
2. Written something worth reading.
3. Travel. Lots of it.

Three people who have to take this quiz now or die painfully:

1. Lee Wye Meng
2. Alvin Tey (threats from both SY and I)
3. Serene (cos I have a feeling she will)

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I received a phonecall from my mom's friend on Tuesday night "Eh can come over and help out at my daycare centre from Wednesday to Friday?"

And so I did. My sister is working there until June anyway.

I was put charge of the UPSR class, Standard 4-6. About 12 kids. Which is significantly less than the classes I had to handle when I was relief teaching. However, I realised that they are just the summarised version of the big classes I used to teach. There is still that one short, cute and shy little boy. There is the Mr.Know-it-all. There is the Miss Tattle-tale complete with squirmy limbs. There is the Ms. Kaypohchee who demands to know whether I have a boyfriend and how old I am. There is the boy who never pays attention though he seems to. There is the delight of the class: The boy who understands completely and the girl who is just so hardworking and attentive.

But I had planned to do nothing but to watch DVDs these 3 days. Have rented Raising Helen, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Stepford Wives. Have only managed the first one. Argh.

Jan Siew Yee and I have a lovely night planned for New Year's Eve. Can't wait!!

I am glad I have another week left at home. Not quite ready to go back to hall yet...

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..but there was absolutely no need for you to demonstrate your familiarity with The Phantom of the Opera by SINGING ALONG whenever the lyrics were on the screen!! It is not a karaoke session!

Apart from that little hiccup, Phantom was lovely. Lurverly. LOVELY. I was initially slightly apprehensive as I have a general distrust towards film adaptations of ANYTHING. Austen has been horribly butchered and distorted and don't even get me started on Anne. But it was superb. I liked it that they gave the Phantom a past to call his own. It added more depth to his character: was it in the original version? It has been 7 years since I read Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera (yes the translated version obviously) -- watching this has prompted me to read it again. And I got a shock when I saw Minnie Driver in it too: yes she CAN sing.

On a more bimbotic note: Gerald Butler is incredibly sexy. Heh.

I don't mind watching it again. People who are going to be in Ipoh between now and 7th January, if you want to watch it, give me a call, yea?

Here's the trailer, by the way.

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...that Malaysia is extremely lucky that we are situated within a region where no natural disasters has never and will never occur?

I used to believe that wholeheartedly and yes I have been complacent.

But when at least 53 Malaysians and counting are dead/missing in THIS natural disaster, we'd need to re-look our attitudes towards life again. Things will tear us apart at the most unexpected moments and this is as such.

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Yesterday wasn't that great as an old neighbour's kid fiddled with Phing's and my contact lens cases and we somehow lost one side of our lenses each. The culprit is this 9 year old girl who insisted that she never touched our cases. Right. After spending half an hour in our washroom, asking my sister endless questions about her contact lenses and remaining silent when we asked her.

We don't want to be harsh. But it was just irritating. My mother decided not to tell her mother about the incident, anyway.

But......the event took a turn when my sister realised this morning that the one lense that was in her case was MINE. So I now have a complete pair while Phing has to use completely new lenses. Our theory is that the kid fiddled with Phing's lenses, panicked when she lost both and decided to take one of mine to put in hers.

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the exciting adventures of a home situated in a Malaysian valley town.

Of course, the top of all adventures has got to be the call from Paris last night :)

Oh and the chances that one of my childhood best friends, Chia Hann, working in the same childcare center as my sister! It was to be his last day tomorrow and I managed to catch up with him to exchange numbers today! He is posted to teach in Sentul and it was really really good to see him again.

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Christmas:
- Christmas isn't Christmas till it happens in your heart, indeed.
- Lesson from The Three Trees: You may have dreams but God will have other plans for you.
- Looked at the people on stage and thought: I'd probably be there if this were about 6-7 years ago.
- Slightly disturbed by this Rugrats clip on Nickelodeon about Christmas/Hanukkah/Winter Solstice/something else.

Looking forward to:
- Meeting up with Puy Jean and Ling for yet another yumcha session
- Meeting up with Yuan Yuan for a dinner and movie date
- Siew Yee having the week off (promise I won't bug you much girl)
- Reading Zhang Xiao Xian again
- More reading
- More pirated DVDs

To top it all off:
- An email from Paris in my Gmail inbox today
- Followed by an SMS from Paris tonight

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After 3 weeks of long bus rides and trying to settle comfortably in seats obviously designed for petite Asian women (okay so maybe I was grumpy on the flights), I am finally back in Ipoh for some RnR.

Results were- hmm...Let's just say that there is an A somewhere in there and that I need to work my ass off next semester so that MOE will allow me to continue my Honours year. Which I really want to do.

This is the point when I truly realise what it means to choose to study what you like and not what you are 'good' at. I've been getting really good results for my English and History (specifically American Studies stuff) but mediocre to somewhat good results for literature stuff. So am I really 'cut out' for Lit? Of course, it's too late to even *think* about changing majors but I have really enjoyed each and every Lit class that I've taken. So I've been really taken in by CDA this semester but my passion for lit remains. This is where the scholarship poses a *bit* of an obstacle I suppose.

But as I've said every semester - I shall do better next sem!!

So it's Christmas Eve today, with the usual stuff of going for Candlelight Service tonight at church. Going to CGMC these days just somewhat feels different. Maybe I am not the same anymore but I don't seem to be the only person feeling that way. Ah well. Christmas never meant gifts or dinners to me -- it has always meant that it was the day Jesus was born and when our identities were thus changed. This was probably because the first Christmas I've ever celebrated was when I first accepted Christ.

Nevertheless, this break leading up to Christmas has been good so far...Kuching was fun as usual when Justin brought me around and I've finally met his friends. Singapore with my sister was total fun as Phing and I did nothing but shop and window shop and we met up with Alvin and his friend Leuk and the Christmas dinner with the girls and Zouk twice in a week. KL was more shopping, a lot of relaxing, a lot of bitching *heh*.

At this point of time, I am relishing the times I get to be at home reading brainless chick lit/next sem's books (yes I am getting a headstart)/watching films/HK drama serials... doing nothing. Until 7th January when I will be refreshed (hopefully) to go back to Singapore and start my new sem, which hopefully won't be my last.

Been giving some thought about what I really want to do after graduation, after NIE, after my bond. Talking to my cousins who did their postgrad education in the States helped too. I think I've somewhat formed what I want. But I guess the most important thing is whether these plans are what God wants.

And I am writing very choppily these days, if there is such a word. Since I am rambling, I might as well share this idea for a story that I had. Maybe I won't. It's all the postmodern stuff (NOT rambling!!) that's been getting into me that led me to that idea.

Holidays is also the time for your little projects!!

BLESSED CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!!

And by the way, I have red hair now.

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Yeah my posts these days are all those hey-i-am-here and oops-i-am-leaving kinda stuff...ah well.

This week in Singapore has been fun. Haven't been spending much time with the sister since I came to Singapore and this one week we have been indulging ourselves with a lot and a lot of window shopping.

And Phing's first clubbing experience is also courtesy of the big sister :)

I think it was a tad traumatising for her. Who wouldn't be - first clubbing experience to be at Singapore Zouk Mambo Jambo night and squeezing past about 250 thousand people in a 20 feet by 20 feet room (ok so I exaggerate) to go into Phuture and out again? I was.

Was at Zouk again tonight but only for a couple of hours....Aaron was up for some Streetstyle Award and it was the awards ceremony tonight. It was the first time that I went to a Singapore club and saw that people surrounding us were for once not NS guys or fresh uni girls. We were like among the youngest people there and yea it felt pretty good. I left with Boon before twelve. We are good girls, we are. And oh, sua-koo me watched a DJ spinning his records up close for the first time tonight. Yay.

All this travelling plus Singapore's unpredictable weather is beginning to have its effects on me. Suddenly caught the chills while shopping on Monday and went for dance with a feverish, aching body. Endured the session (which was a good workout) and a lengthy meeting while shivering. Had major fever that night. Woke up only to find that I was coughing badly. And I am still coughing. Lost my voice this two days as well. Jiahe commented that I sounded like a transvestite tonight at Zouk!!!

Hope that I'll get better by tomorrow. Wouldn't want my mother to get on my case too much for getting sick again...

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Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

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to Singapore.

Reached Senai Airport at about 1015am and was on 4 different buses before I reached D322 at about 1:30pm. I think I am quite numb with public transport by now.

Btw Lila: I forgot to take down your number before I went to Kuching! And it didn't occur to me to check my own blog- silly me. We managed to go to Soho and Grappa and even Bing! haha....

So my sister is in Singapore too *yippee*. We're gonna launch our mega shopping, more like roaming around Singapore excursion tomorrow morning. Being the geeks that we are, we'd probably spend more time combing 2nd hand book shops...

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No I have not gotten involved in any bus accident nor robbery on my way back which resulted in my absence from this blog: Just have been too busy eating/meeting people/lounging around/doing the occasional shopping.

Muahahaha.

Let's see, I've been to Jusco a tad too much. Though there is basically nothing much in Jusco, let's just say Jusco for most Ipoh-ites is a mere, how shall I put it, socialising place.

"Mou dei fong hui leh" (nowhere to go")
"hui Jusco loh!" (then let's go to Jusco!)

So so far I've been to Jusco with my sister, my mother, Siew Yee and Janice, all on separate occasions.

Anyway, damage hasn't been too bad. It was more for socialising, really.

This short trip was mainly to attend KK and Lian's wedding - it was fun for US - was like some CNY gathering haha. It was kinda *surreal* to see them getting married though. Not that it's not good...in fact, it's GREAT!!! Just that I looked around and found that amidst us there were married people (who weren't married), married people who were pregnant (who weren't pregnant) and people in serious relationships.

It seemed like just yesterday when I knew them as fresh SPM leavers.

I shouldn't be remiminiscing. I am the youngest of the lot. When they were fresh SPM leavers I was a mere kici-mayung of Form 2.

We took loadsa pics but I can't upload them for some strange reason. SD card filling up.

Anyway, it's off to Kuching in the morning. More food. Hmm.....

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