so, we finally come to the end of what has been a very tiresome holiday week, and tmr is the start of a new term and another day at school. whoopee. homework, exams, and more homework, what's not to love? anyway, onto my lengthy and mostly boring description of how this week went. truthfully it's actually quite short, my complaints on the other hand... basically this week has been just drill drill drill. and i'm really tired. i suppose drill was kind of alright, and it was all pretty worth it in the end, cause we ACTUALLY GOT A GOLD AND THE CHALLENGE SHIELD FOR DRILL COMPETITION!!!! YAY!!!! but eventhough we won, my pride has kind of been trampled a bit after all the negativity i showed during our drill practice sessions, and for that i humbly offer my apologies. i'm sorry, i know everyone probably doesn't care about the drill com that we have practiced so hard for, so i'll move on.

on wednesday, i think, was the strings/guitar concert and christines concert. the former i went, but for the latter the tickets were all sold out. the strings/guitar concert was really good and for those of you who didn't go, shame on you. i don't know about christine's concert, but i'm sure it was just as great.

WARNING, RANT STARTS NOW (skip this if you want, nothing i say here is of any consequence whatsoever)
first of all, i am really upset cause i didn't get to read or relax this whole holiday, well apart from that whole outing on monday, though i really don't consider sitting in a room full of screaming fans is very relaxing (fyi, i'm refering to campus superstar). back to the topic, i had this whole pile of books i was going to read during the holidays, and i didn't get to read one, though i did finally finish fragile things by neil gaimen so i'm pretty happy about that. but still, i was going to read the jane austen collection i have, and the books that i've started and stopped half way. AND, i didn't even have time to file the things in my file, which means i am so dead when they ask for a file check.

oh gosh, i sound like a nerd.
RANT OVER

hope everyones holiday was better than mine to say the least, and i look forward to seeing you all again in school tmr. bye.

lots of love,
mun

i have no idea what to write about, so i think i'll start with the generic i got my results back, blah blah blah, some were good, some were bad, blah blah blah.
anyway, seriously, i think i did fine. i think i only did below average for subjects like english, and maybe life sciences if we take into account the project marks which kind of ruined my day, but that's a totally different story. anyway, back to english, mind you i am very disappointed with it. and to think i always thought that i would always pass my english. boy, what a slap in the face this was. the rest of my subjects were actually pretty average, which was quite a blow to my overly inflated ego. just joking. overall i am quite happy, which might just change all over again after we get lit back.
i am such a boring person, i haven't posted in three months and all i can write about is school and tests.
well, on a brighter note, tmr is the class party, whoopee. i don't understand what the big deal is about class parties. u show up and stuff ur face. wow how fun. ok, maybe it will be fun. i'm only writing that cause i don't want to bite my tongue tmr if i do actually end up having fun, though that is highly unlikely. everyone knows i'm not exactly the most enthusiastic person around, hope i don't dampen everyone's spirits though. a zombie class isn't exactly what i expect when i think of a bonded class. i'm pretty sure that that last line made no sense at all, but forgive me if some of those sentences seem like one of those rap songs (you know making no sense at all, hahaha.) by the way, forgive my lame humour too. i am currently pretty close to zonking out so i am going to stop here. gd night!

lots of love,
mun

p.s. i will try to update sooner. maybe if i'm feeling generous, i might even post my unfinished poem that i was going to submit for the i have a dream contest!

disclaimer: i do not own the article the excerpt below is from neither do i own twilight or any other movie/book mentioned here

just as a warning here. for all those who are deeply in love with the twilight franchise be it the books, movies or characters, should not continue for i fear the excerpt below might just break your hearts.

so anyway, i stumbled across an article the other day, which i found deeply amusing. it was called The 5 Things You Need To Know About Twilight. below is the excerpt containing the important bits (practically the whole thing, but still not all of it, basically just missing the intro and pics.)

 

 

(excerpt begins here)

1: The Books Are Popular. Very Popular.
Sure, we're not talking Harry Potter levels yet - despite the many comparisons that Twilight has drawn to the wizarding series, mostly because it's a popular young adult series of novels that's transcended its target audience - but 17 million book sales in the three years since the release of the first book is still nothing to be sneezed at, and the books have collectively topped the New York Times bestseller list for close to a year. Face it; more people have read this than anything that inspired Iron Man.

Not to put to much pressure on the movie, but people are already writing about the way in which Twilight The Movie unites women of all ages in their lust for the franchise:

Let me introduce you to one of the most powerful new groups in Hollywood. It's not a group of actors, producers or directors. It's the rather interesting hybrid demographic who are getting their knickers in a twist over Twilight, due to be released in the UK next month... Teenage girls, young female adults and their mums converged at the Twilight conference at Comic-Con back in July, filling Hall H to capacity and rupturing tonsils at the appearance of their hunkalicious hero.

Believe me, this demographic is out there. They just don't have a name yet.

They're naming themselves, however; there are fansites called Twilight Moms (and its related site, Twilight Teens - and also Twilight20Somethings, just in case you don't fit into either of the previous two) as well as Team Jacob, Team Edward, Team Switzerland and even Team Twilightist amongst many others out there, each one a demonstration of obsession with the novels' familiar tale of a boy, a girl and the unspoken love that dare not speak its name.

2: The Books Aren't Very Good.
Critical reception to Twilight, the first book in the series was marginally positive (Booklist's "There are some flaws here—a plot that could have been tightened, an overreliance on adjectives and adverbs to bolster dialogue—but this dark romance seeps into the soul" being essentially the tenor of most mainstream reviews), but each successive book received poorer reviews, with Breaking Dawn, the final book getting drubbings from the LA Times ("The problem is Stephenie Meyer is no J.K. Rowling... We would have much preferred the whole thing to end in book three, "Eclipse," with yes, some happiness for Bella, but also some angst, some heartbreak, and a dark, ominous future looming"), Publisher's Weekly ("[G]randeur is out. This isn't about happy endings; it's about gratification") and Entertainment Weekly ("[You'll] abruptly lose all patience when... Meyer takes her supernatural love story several bizarre steps too far"). We may be biased, but sister site Jezebel came up with our favorite review:

It's 754 pages long, its heroine's dominant personality trait is low self-esteem, and, as Amazon reviewer Eventide points out, nobody really has to give up anything. Even the tedium of immortality is glossed over — these vampires just keep busy with their hobbies. If I had an eternity to read, I still might never pick up this book again.

3: The Writer Can Be A Bit Of A Prima Donna.
Although the Twilight series officially finished with the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, there was a fifth book planned, Midnight Sun, that would've retold the events of the first book from the hero's perspective. But then a first draft of the book's opening appeared online, and author Stephenie Meyer posted this response on her website:

I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being... So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.

(She's since recanted slightly, telling Entertainment Weekly that "[t]he funny thing about that statement is I didn't actually write the majority of it... in the end only the one or two sentences written by me seem really jarring [compared with everything else], and people didn't get that there was sort of a joke in there." Midnight Sun, however, is still on hold.)

Nonetheless, she's kept a tight hold on the movie, only agreeing to the project in the first place when teeth size met her approval, and having final say on casting and the length and passion of final clinches. "It's been good for me just in general to have to speak up because I am so invested in this," she's explained.

4: VINOs: Vampires In Name Only.
The vampires in the Twilight books don't have elongated teeth, and they have no problem going out in daytime in their Pacific Northwest hometown, because it's so foggy (I can't tell if that's actually funny or just a kind of crappy dodge). They also, as almost every example of vampire fiction since, what, Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire (or maybe Marilyn Ross' Barnabas Collins?), are tragic souls afflicted by a curse that don't really want to sink their teeth into humanity - and so, they eat animals and go on "hunting trips" to take care of their bloodlust. Yes, it's the Pacific Northwest Hipster Rural Lifestyle turned goth. Whatever happened to the good old days of Nosferatu and vampires who were unafraid to be vampires? I mean, if they have his pallor, why can't they have his mannerisms?

5: Remember The Golden Compass.
Summit Pictures, the studio behind the movie may be nervous about saying that they've got a hit on their hands ahead of the movie's release, but the movie is estimated to make somewhere between $20million and $50million in its first weekend, depending on how optimistic your sources are. It's worth remembering the fate of The Golden Compass, however; last year's "The New Harry Potter" had a similar amount of buzz pre-release, and a similarly impressive opening weekend... before audiences realized that the movies didn't live up to the books. Ultimately, the movie wasn't successful enough to warrant filming the second of the three His Dark Materials novels. The same thing may happen to Twilight. The figure to keep in mind is rumored to be $150 million; if Twilight makes less than that, you can forget about seeing New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn in theaters anytime soon. We can only hope.

(http://io9.com/5080617/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-twilight)

(ends here)

 

 

so this article is basically just criticising twilight, but strange enough i loved it, not that i'm a twilight hater or anything, i really love the books, but i'm just tired of people talking about it as if it's completely flawless. if anyone has been keeping up with the movie, like i have, they would have realised that the 5th one has actually been proven wrong and twilight hasn't gotten the fate of the golden compass and we are all expecting New Moon soon (the second instalment) (yippee. plenty of sarcasm here), though it hasn't gotten terrific reviews i must say. plenty reviewers have been saying that readers would be disappointed with the movies, but we usually are when books are turned into movies, so we'll live.

right now i should apologise to anyone if they were offended by this post or something, but i just felt that some might find it interesting to say the least. hopefully i don't get sued or assassinated for posting this article that criticises twilight. but even though i did add that excerpt in, in no way do i hate twilight and am actually as in love with it as every other one of its readers.

lots of love,
mun

p.s. don't hate me

disclaimer: i do not own the poem below

poetry is a special thing. very few people are able to truly appreciate it (not saying that  i am one of them, though i do enjoy it) and even fewer are able to use it to showcase their innermost feelings.

i am more than certain that everyone has heard of and read some of shakespeares work and some may have even read (and enjoyed)  poetry by other well known poets like robert frost and emily dickinson. but don't you think it's a pity that some heartbreaking poetry by gifted individuals are never given a second glance.

i recently bought a new book (surprise surprise) which is actually a compilation of the best young writers and artists in america. its a collection of essays, stories, poetry and even artwork which are all hauntingly beautiful. all of these writers write about such original things that i have never even dreamed or dared to write myself. below is a poem i found wonderful, beautiful and unique.

 

Disclaimer

No one knows why Samson fell
for Delilah, why we stand in sandstorms
mixed warm with rising air, believing the surface
soft enough for bare steps when all I
feel is grass weed ripping through my ankles.

We don't remember why Samson slept
in Delilah's lap, why clouds kept reeling in
streams of moisture so that the static
atmosphere stung and why I awoke
with the stars gyrating, gyrating.

No one knows why Delilah didn't care
why eleven hundred shekels was
enough for desert heat to crack
ground into pieces, dust left
on our lids and granules embedded
in the walls of my throat.

We don't know how Delilah felt
when she shaved Samson's braids to the floor,
how the blackness hurt, lights
infiltrated the sky and why I exhale minutes and
sit here still, alleging I see your face

-Ashley Chow

 

i doubt i'll ever come close to understanding the true meaning hidden deep within these lines but i hope out all of you at least one of you might understand and love this poem as much as i did. still i hope you guys enjoyed it.

lots of love,
mun

p.s. so sorry that when i finally post it's about poetry hope none of you mind.

soooo nervous for EOYs. everyone has all but memorised every single textbook, and what am i doing, posting on my blog. wow, i'm such a hard worker. but i am a bit annoyed though. at the beginning of the year, we had a debate on whether grades matter, and majority of the class said that it didn't (i of course was in the minority). what's ironic is the fact that right now, those people who said they don't matter are the ones working their brains out studying. i really wish that I didn't care so much about my marks, i mean it's just ONE exam, but of course my brains going into overdrive thinking about how i am going to actually make it through these exams.

though there are somethings after exams to look forward to, like the inter-house games, the shanghai trip, and for some people in class even the "don't forget the lyrics onetee style" thing. just one small, tiny detail that i'm not looking forward to after exams though.  nothing that important really, just the results. so praying that i maintain everything and just boost my history and lit by a grade or two. i know for sure that people like rohini and marian and rachel and christine and sam and practically everyone else in class is going to do well except for well, me.

ok, i think i really should go burn my brain studying now. maybe i'll get lucky and actually remember something this time. sure, and maybe pigs will fly.

lots of love,
mun

P.S. sorry its been such a long time since i've posted.

yesterday was the most emotional day in LA ever. imagine a cinema full of people watching titanic. it was a very personal discussion within our class, so i don't think i should really write about it here. but there was so many things that everyone said yesterday that after the lesson, i really needed some time away from the class to sort everything out neatly in my head. i feel that after this, mrs ng must really admire a certain person in our class. speaking of which, i  think that she really admires tanya too, judging by what tanya told me and what mrs ng said to the class. hope our classes really changes for the better after that talk, because, after all, we are gonna be in the same class till sec 3.

lots of love,
mun

so back to the present (and away from the past), today, during p.e., while every other class had swim p.e., not that i'm complaining, we played multi-sports against 1I! obviously, 1I won in the end, i mean come on, they ARE a sports DSA class, so if they hadn't had won, it would have been really embarrassing (for them i mean). but other than that really embarrassing loss, (7-4), it was actually quite fun. i only played one game but it was really fun. i do wish that we had had more time to play, so all of us could have had at least two turns to thrash 1I (we wish). next week though, there'll be no more fun and games (boo hoo). instead we will be forced to endure 8 weeks of swim p.e. truthfully, i don't quite mind the swimming bit, but i absolutely detest the fact that we have to wear a swimsuit. thankfully, i am gonna wear one of those t-shirt and shorts type of swimsuit with a regular one below. AHH!!! geog test on thurs, so worried. i really need to do well for this one, if i don't, i don't think i would be able to survive the horror.

lots of love,
mun

hi everyone! thanks for coming to the ALOUD! semi-finals to support me. i'm so grateful for such wonderful friends. oh, and thanks christina for ur tag, u're so nice. so anyway, on saturday was ALOUD! and i was soooo nervous. we were all supposed to wait in the MEP room till it was our turn, and the worst thing was that claire was first, maria was second and i was third! i thought that the both of them were really good, and maria made a bold move by singing her song acapella, and i felt that she pulled it off! WAY TO GO MARIA! ( no sarcasm here). when it was my turn, i was absolutely terrified. i walked onto the stage and my knees were shaking like mad. so when yi xin started with the intro, i almost missed it, but not quite, though i did miss it a few time during the song. the worst thing was that i was so nervous, i was practically holding onto the mike for dear life! but actually the whole thing was such a wonderful experience that i'm so glad i went through with it. and it was even more fun when maria, yi xin and i ( claire was preparing for her duet with nicole seet) were up in the gallery watching the performances. it was so much fun and everyone was really good, INCLUDING grace and esther. their harmonies were really good and i think everyone (even me) enjoyed their performance. ting and chan were quite good too, but they would have been better seperately. obviously, i didn't make it to the ALOUD! finals. but i really loved being there at the semi-finals, up on stage. who knows, maybe i'll get a second chance next year!

lots of love,
mun

P.S. sorry, i know that this is a really outdated post, but i thoght that before i write anything else, i should talk about ALOUD! first...