ICE.COLD.COFFEE

I watched "The Legend of Zorro" with my Mum this evening. I got a pair of preview tickets from some lucky draw. The movie will only be released on Thursday so I was quite excited too. My first time watching a preview.

Being a housewife, my Mum doesn't watch many movies. The last one she watched was "The Day after Tomorrow" when my Dad brought the whole family out. I think it was almost a year ago.

So of course, she was really happy that I wanted her to go with me.

The movie was fine. It was an action movie. Not really my type but since the tickets are free, don't waste mah... My favourite type of movie is the romance type. Especially the type with the handsome bad guy that every woman loves. And not forgetting gorgeous babes. Haha.

So far my favourite ones are Spiderman, Spiderman 2, Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throtle (no handsome bad guys in these movies though, but lots of pretty girls!)

After watching the movie, I totally fell in love with Catherine Zeta-Jones. What a babe! There's no need for me to tell you more, just look at the picture!

Overall, I felt the main part of this evening wasn't the movie. I was just glad that I spent time with my Mum. It's been a long time since only the 2 of us went out together. We talked a lot and it was fun getting so much of her attention since she's always caught up with nagging at my brother at home. Sometimes that makes me feel neglected.

Hopefully I can win more movie tickets in future then we can keep having these mother-daughter sessions. =)

To: A particular someone I met today

I think you're reading my blog.

I don't know how you've come to know about it. Maybe someone told you about it, or maybe you just found it accidentally.

Either way, I don't like the way you read my blog and not tell me, then pretend to know what I'm thinking when you actually find out by reading my posts.

I HATE THAT!

I thought long and hard about what you said to me today. What you guessed about what I felt is so exact such that I wonder...

The words you used to describe my feelings bear so much resemblance to those that I used to make me wonder even more...

I know I don't have the right to stop you from reading.

But if you are reading this, at least tell me.

Don't pretend like you know me so well when it's actually all fake!

I received a sms from 8 days just now to tell me that I won 2 tickets for the preview of "The Legend of Zorro" tomorrow!

I wanted to call a friend to go along with me but decided to take my Mum instead. Since she wants to go, everyone else will have to wait for next time.

Haha. I'm so happy! Hope we'll have a good time then!

Today is a nice day. Nice weather too. Maybe that explains why I was in a super good mood the entire day.

Didn't go out in the morning because my parents were feeling tired. We went out in the evening for dinner though.

We went to Joo Chiat for Bak Kut Teh. It's really really nice! I don't eat the meat, only drink the soup. But it has this really rich taste, with some herbal smell too. Just heavenly. Everytime my Dad brings us there, we'll finish the whole pot of soup and ask for refill. Of course, the refill is free lah. The auntie is very nice. Besides, we're regular customers. The meal was so satisfying.

After dinner, we went to East Coast beach for a walk. It's so nice! We saw the sunset at the jetty and sat there watching the sea and enjoying the sea breeze.

After the sun set, everywhere was so dark, the foot path too, since the street lights were at the bicycle path.

It was such an enjoyable day! Hope I can go to the beach again another day. I absolutely love it!

All the year 1s had to go for some talk about university admission today. There were speakers form NTU, NUS and SMU. It was mostly quite boring since most of the stuff that was presented were the same.

I could feel that somehow, the speakers from the 3 universites were trying to outshine one another. I guess that's inevitable since they're trying to persuade more students to go to their respective universities.

After the talk, I was supposed to have swimming training. There was also a class outing. But, instead of going for either one, I had to have a PW meeting with my group.

We went to the McDonald's at Marine Parade. And guess what? We finished discussing only after half an hour. I was expecting it to take quite long since we still had lots to improve on for OP.

Instead, it's like we just switched on the laptop, took a look at the powerpoint slides we did yesterday and split up the work to go back to do. What the hell! We could have done that yesterday. Waste my time. In the end, I didn't go for training or the class outing. Didn't have the mood.

I went home and after resting for quite a while, my Dad brought my family out to IMM. We went to Daiso --- a shop where they sell lots of stuff, everything at $2. It was nice to just look look although I only bought a packet of snacks.

Other people were buying like trolley-full of stuff. It's not as if it's free what. You still have to pay $2 for each item. When you come to think of it, some things are quite expensive actually. Maybe it's the concept that everything is $2 that makes it seem cheap. Haha.

After some more shopping, we went to Burger King for dinner. It was quite a nice dinner and we went back after that.

After going back, I watched lots of television and went to sleep at 1am. It was a relatively relaxing day today, except for that 30 minutes PW meeting!

Today is the last day of lessons. But even though it was, my class only went for maths and GP tutorial since we already finished most of the syllabus.

After lessons, my group went to work on our oral presentation (OP) for PW. We finished the powerpoint presentation in an hour since it was just copying and pasting from the WR. It's a rough one though. Still have lots to improve on.

I'm already in play mood since the promos ended and I've been really happy this week. Can't wait for PW to end. Then the real fun can begin! Woohoo! =)

After PW, I went to donate blood at HSA at Outram Park MRT. It's just a 2 minute walk from the MRT station so it's really convenient.

This is the second time I'm donating blood. The last time, they came to VJ.

The criteria to be a blood donor is that your weight must be at least 45kg and of course, you must not have any diseases or illnesses. You can donate blood every 12 weeks. For those who are 16 and 17 years old, you need a parent consent form that's available at the HSA website.

My Mum allows me to donate only once every 6 months because she thinks that it has adverse effects on my health. It's not true though, but I still have to listen to her since I still need parental consent.

There, I had to register and fill in a form. It's really efficient because after I handed in my form, I went to the washroom and on the way back, the doctor called for me.

I went into a room with a doctor where he took my blood pressure and asked a few routine questions. Then, I proceeded to a counter where a nurse pricked my finger and some blood was dropped into a beaker of blue liquid. I think it's some kind of blood test. It wasn't pain actually. If you want to know what it was like, pinch your finger.

After that, I went into this room where there were others sitting in chairs and donating blood. There was even this guy at the door who opened it for me and showed me to a seat.

In a short while, a nurse attended to me. She took out a packet from the drawer and prepared for the donation.

At first, she used a cotton bud to rub some green liquid on the inside of my elbow. It's to make your vein more visible.

Then, she had to inject anesthetic there, followed by another needle connected to the bag where the blood would be collected.

I was quite afraid then. The last time, I was also afraid before everything happened. But after it ended, I felt it was nothing much actually. Although I knew it wasn't going to be very painful or anything, I just felt scared today. Maybe it's just a mind thing.

I'm not very comfortable with needles so I didn't look when the nurse injected. I could only feel the first jab. It's like a pinch on the inside of your elbow. Just that this time you may have to pinch a little harder. After the anesthetic took effect, I couldn't feel the second needle at all. The nurse covered the needle site with a piece of cotton gauze so that you wouldn't feel scared looking at it.

That was almost all. I just had to sit there and squeeze a stress ball to get the blood flowing. There wasn't even any feeling of blood being drawn out. I didn't feel anything weird at all.

Most of the donors there were guys. There were only one or two ladies. And I was the youngest one there. But it felt good to be the youngest because the nurses would come over occasionally to see how I was doing. Somehow, I felt proud of myself being a donor and I could tell that they were glad to have me there too.

After the bag was full, the nurse removed the needle. There wasn't any feeling either. She let me feel the bag of blood and it was warm. It's a unique experience, I don't know how to describe it. After that, I had to press a cotton wool on the needle site and rest for about 10 minutes before I could leave.

I was given some iron tablets (to replenish the blood that my body lost) and a coupon for refreshments. I had a milo and curry puff. There was also coffee, tea, cupcakes, sweets and other stuff to choose from.

When your're a donor, you really receive VIP treatment. It's like they really hope you'll come back 12 weeks later. And I felt so good there. I'll surely come back again.

I strongly think that everyone who is capable of donating blood should do so. It's a blessing to be able to give blood. It means that you're healthy.

Like it says on the HSA websits, "giving blood is one of the greatest gifts a human being can give to one another because blood cannot be manufactured". That's so true.

Imagine if you or someone close to you needs blood one day (touch wood!) you would be so glad that someone stepped up to donate blood so that you or your close ones could be saved.

We should not take it for granted that the bloodbank is always full of blood. It takes regular donors to contribute to its supply and if people only think of taking but not giving, there may come a day where there's not enough blood.

My Dad used to donate blood every 3 months in the past. But since he underwent an operation a few years back, he's not eligible to be a donor. However, he's already donated 40+ times and this takes 10 years! I hope I can also set such a record for myself. I'm aiming for 50 times in 15 years time!

Today is Mr. Chad's (our Physics tutor) last lesson with us. He's been transferred to teach the IP students so we'll have a new tutor next year.

It's sad to see him go. He's a nice teacher because he always thinks of ways to make lessons more interesting and helps us to learn more. Also, he's a good person morally because he has told us lots of stories about himself.

He treated us to ice cream. Some of the guys were more greedy so they took the more expensive cone type. Most of the girls took the cheaper stick ice creams. We took pictures too and it was really sad having to leave him. We'll still see him around in school but it just won't be the same having him not teaching us.

To Mr. Chad: All the best!

Got my results yesterday and today. To sum it all up, I got AABC, C5 for GP.

Econs - A. Really happy with this! For promos, I got 69.4%. If it was rounded off, I wouldn't be able to get 70%, an A. But luckily, my mid year exam pulled me up and I got an overall A.

Maths - A. I got 66%! What?! I got 82% for mid years and I thought it would be a definite A. After calculation, I got 69.4%. Still short of an A (by 0.1%!!!). My teacher said it would be rounded off to 69. But in the end, it was rounded up. Phew... Luckily.

Physics - B. This paper was more difficult than mid year so a lot of people didn't get their As. Initially, I got a C but mid year pulled me up by a little and I got an overall B.

Chemistry - C. I was quite sad with this because I wanted to get good results. At first, it was a D, but like the other subjects, mid years pulled me up to an overall D.

I'm so lucky that I did well for mid year. If not, instead of a AABC, I would have gotten BBCD! I'm thinking of taking S papers for Maths and Econs.

GP - C5. That's sad because I got exactly the same marks for mid year. Didn't improve at all. I think it's partly because I wrote a little off point for my essay. I just needed one more mark to get B4.

Anyways, I think I'm lucky this time round because all my grades were borderline. Half a mark less and I would have dropped a grade.

Some of my friends who didn't do well as expected say that they want to study during the hols. Me too, but I can't see myself studying away when I can be playing. Especially after PW. I can't wait to play! Whahaha.

It's VJ's open house today.

I was mostly at the horticulture booth because I had to be in charge of it. There wasn't a lot to do there. Just had to introduce our society to people who walked past. Since we haven't started recruiting members yet, there wasn't that much pressure.

There were mass dances and we joined in for the first one. So we got the guy at the photographic society booth next to ours to look after our stuff. Poor guy, he couldn't join in because he had to take care of all those expensive cameras and all.

It was fun. I'm still not really sure with the moves yet but it was great trying to catch up anyway.

In between my horti shifts, I went to help out at the Bizclub booth where they sold fried hotdogs and fishballs. Business was quite slow at first but at the end of the day, we finished selling everything.

At the swimming booth, there wasn't really much, because unlike the horti booth where we displayed plants, and the Biz booth where we sold food, there was nothing to do at the swimming one. Except for the occasional questions that we had. There was a sign up form and 3 girls signed up! Hope they can join. Then Li Ling and I won't be the only girls and hopefully we can take part in relay!

However, it's a little useless to sign up now because it's not even confirmed that they're coming to VJ. Maybe it can help us to secure a few teammates after they officially come next year.

I also went to see the art exhibition. It was nice! Don't think I can ever create art like that.

Overall, the entire open house was a success. However, I felt that last year's was more happening. Maybe it's because I was in secondary 4 last year so I didn't have to do anything. Haha. Sure miss those days though...

After school today, Kaijun and I planned to go out. The last time we went out was before promos and went to Marina Square to bowl and play pool. That was quite a long time ago.

VJ's open house was the next day so we had some preparation to do. After moving the canteen table to our booth and carrying the super heavy plants, we finally went out.

Melissa was with us because she was helping to set up the booth. In the end, all 3 of us took bus to Bedok interchange. I didn't tell Melissa that I was going out with Kaijun though so I guess she didn't know. She left for home while we went to the MRT station.

Then, the problem came. We had to decide where to go. I suggested going to Bugis or Orchard because I kinda wanted to watch a movie. I didn't tell him that I wanted to watch movie though.

I seriously didn't want to go to Suntec City and Marina Square again. It was quite boring since we went there the last time. I think my hint was quite obvious. When we were walking out of school, I told him that we should go to Bedok interchange. That meant that I didn't want to take the direct bus to Suntec. Then when we decided where to go, I didn't suggest going to Suntec. Instead, I insisted on going elsewhere twice! Maybe my "hints" weren't obvious enough to him.

In the end, he said "let's do our usual stuff". In order words, go bowling at Suntec City and Marina Square! What?! We go bowling every single time we go out together and we went to Suntec City for like how many times already?! Ahh... I didn't know what to say because I wasn't sure what we could do somewhere else either.

So, we went to Long John Silver's to have lunch. It was nice because I was just craving for it. Then, like our usual routine, we went bowling, 3 games each.

The funny thing is, I met my senior class at the bowling alley! Why so coincidental? The last time we went to Suntec, we almost bumped into my parents. Now it's my senior class. They were having a class outing.

The game didn't go quite well. I didn't play well and was bored. Always go bowling... Haiz.

After the 3 games, we didn't know what else to do. I bet if we weren't in our uniforms, we would have gone to play pool. So, luckily for us, we were in uniforms.

The thing is, everytime we go out, we have to do something. We can't just walk around or eat and have a long talk. We always have to doing something, like bowling, playing pool, bowling, and bowling! And that means spending lots of money too... Usually, I spend about $20 whenever we go out. If that's the case, I think we can only go out once a month since I need time to save up, only to blow all of it on some boring bowling game!

Actually I know I can't really blame Kaijun. After all, I'm the first girl he's gone out with, and it's the same with me. So maybe we're both not that experienced yet. It may be partly my fault too.

But, the important thing is, I feel like I don't miss him or anything although the last time we met was almost 1 month ago. Life goes on as normal for me. I'm beginning to realise that I don't really like him. Not dislike him as a friend, but in the other way. Maybe I was just excited at the possibility of having a boyfriend when we first started, that's why I didn't turn him down when he asked me out initially. I don't know.

Actually, he's not really the type that I can see myself having a relationship with. I don't ever refer to him as my boyfriend yet! He's nice and funny and a great friend, so maybe we should just remain as friends. Besides, he's going off to army next year so we'll be seeing less of one another.

Seriously, if he didn't give me the ring for my birthday, I wouldn't be sure if he was interested or not! I think I sorta made up my mind already. Unless he does something that really touches me or changes my mind, I'll tell him that we should just be friends. But I'll tell him after his A levels. Don't wanna distract him or anything.

Haiz. All this stuff is getting me confused. Maybe I'm just not ready. I'll just take my time and wait till I feel I'm better prepared.

It's my Mum's birthday today. I don't have to go to school because I already finished my exams while others are still having theirs. My brother's having his exam too.

After my brother's exam, we went to school to fetch him, then went to Tampines Mall's Seoul Garden for lunch.

I didn't eat much because I wasn't that hungry. The thing I was looking forward to was the chocolate ice cream. But guess what? They ran out of it! Ahh...

In the end, a lady told the waitress to refill the ice cream because I guess she wanted the chocolate flavour one too...

But anyways, I had my chocolate ice cream and was satisfied. Didn't eat too much although I really loved it. I didn't want to feel bloated after buffets like I usually do.

Buffets are not about being kiasu and eating as much as you can so as to eat your money's worth, but about having a satisfying lunch. I'm glad that I ate just the right amount.

After the lunch, we went back since my brother had to study for his exam tomorrow. I watched television the whole day and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Haven't had such a good break since before promos!

Physics is the last paper. So before the exam, a lot of us were already planning how to "celebrate". I didn't know what to do because I didn't feel like joining my class for the class outing. I might go home and waste my time playing computer games and watching television.

Anyways, the paper was alright. I thought it was quite easy. Hopefully I can get an A.

After the paper, I decided not to go for the class outing. Just didn't feel like it. So Li Yue and I went to Bedok interchange to have lunch at the hawker centre then we went home.

I watched television and played computer games. I played "The Sims". Haven't played that for a long time already. I can just sit there and play and play and play. I started at about 3pm and only stopped when at 7.30pm when it was time for dinner. Haha.

The exam week seems to pass so quickly. Compared to secondary school where we had more than a week of exams, there are just 4 papers now. Of course, there is also a lot more stuff to study.

In the past, what we had to learn was quite basic except some areas where you had to memorise. Now, it's more detailed and it's stuff you never came across before so it's much more difficult.

Anyway, I'm just glad that it's over. My brother's exams have just begun so I don't have anyone to snatch the computer from me. Haha.

It's Maths today. My favourite subject.

The paper was quite alright. There were some questions I didn't know how to do. And I totally left out one part worth 7 marks because my eyes just missed it. Haiz. But even if I saw it, I may not know how to do also. So never mind la.

Usually after the maths paper, people will be comparing how many marks they lost because either they don't know how to do or they didn't attempt at all because there was no time.

But in the end, some of them still get quite high marks, so I doubt what they say. How can you boast that you lost 20 marks and still be so happy? A bit weird... But I guess they like doing that for attention. Don't know...

For mid year, I got 82/100. Highest in class! Whahaha. But the highest in level got 95/100. So my marks not that high actually. It's been very long since I see anyone get such marks. The last time was in primary school when everyone was aiming to get full marks because the paper was super easy then. And you would be so sad just because you got 99/100. Don't know about everyone else. Maybe it's just me. Haha.

I still remember the time in primary 6, during my maths mid year exam. It was towards the end of the paper and I already finished so I was checking. Then the guy threw a staple bullet at me! It's the type that you twist 2 around each other and it becomes sharp on all sides.

Unfortunately, it dropped into my shirt and got caught at the back of my bra! That guy and the one next to him was laughing some more! I was so angry but what could I do?! I was so fed up with it that I decided to stop checking my paper. No mood.

When the paper was returned to us, I got 99/100! So I searched for the mark that I lost. It was a careless mistake in one of the questions that I was about to check! I'm certain that if I got the chance to check it, I would have gotten full marks. But that's not the end of the story yet.

At the end of the year, my teacher told me that I had done very well for my prelim Maths paper and would get the "best in Maths" prize among the whole level. I was estatic! But later, he said that there was another guy that got the same marks as me and they had to look at tht mid year results. So guess what? That guy had full marks and I lost to him be just 1%! Ahh... It was one of the most frustrating moments in my life!

Just hope that that guy doesn't show up later in my life fighting with me for the same job. Then the employer decide to take a look at our primary school results because we got the same qualifications. And because of that 1 mark, he got hired instead of me. Hope not.

Still find it such a pity. But since it's over, I'll just let it go. Just hope that guy doesn't show up at the same job interview as me years later. Haha.

Today's paper wasn't that difficult. In fact, it was quite simple. It made me really glad that I didn't choose to give up on it, otherwise I wouldn't even know how to do those basic questions.

I'm quite confident that I can get B this time. Hopefully...

This time, it's less serious, but I really don't feel like studying again. I don't have any paper today so I have the whole day to prepare for Chemistry tomorrow.

Chemistry has always been one of my worst subjects.

In secondary 3, I used to get B4s before it finally improved to B3 at the end of the year. In secondary 4, it started improving, I don't know why either. It soon became A2, and for prelims and O levels, I got A1! It's such a miracle.

Hopefully my Chemistry grade will improve this time. I got C for mid-year. Now, I'm aiming for B.

I think one of the reason why my grade is so bad now is because of my Chemistry teacher. Don't get it wrong though, he's not a bad teacher. In fact, he's really nice. I'm not blaming him. It's really my fault.

He's so nice that he doesn't care if you do tutorials or not. He asks questions during tutorials and if you didn't do, you would try not to make eye contact with the teacher. It's natural.

Of course, teachers are smart enough to guess. For other subject teachers, they purposely call those who didn't do tutorials, but my Chemistry teacher, Mr. Lim, does otherwise.

He doesn't call you if he knows you haven't done your work. Unless it's really basic and simple questions. Even then, I also don't know the answer. But, he'll give you a really obvious hint, already telling you the answer then you just kinda tell him what he hinted.

That is why, I DON'T DO MY TUTORIALS! Doing homework is one of the ways to learn and if you don't do, you don't learn. So naturally, I don't know much about Chemistry.

I always feel guilty about not doing Chemistry homework because Mr. Lim is so nice. I always tell myself not to let him down. But the thing is, I always do homework from the fiercer teachers first. If not, they'll scold you. I know Mr. Lim doesn't scold so in the end, I don't do.

Now, when I have to prepare for exams, I realise that there are so much stuff I never knew.

The exam is tomorrow and I really don't know what I should do. Really feel like giving up Chemistry. But this is not an option. Even if I can get A for the other 3 subjects and end up with a C or D for Chemistry, chances that I'll be chosen for the SMU accounting course are slim. Really slim.

In the end, I decided to study all the chapters. That's the best choice available now. I'll do my best and hope I don't let Mr. Lim down.

On my last Chemistry lecture assessment, Mr. Lim wrote on my paper "Must try harder". He knows that I'm one of the weaker students but doesn't embarrass me by asking me questions during lesson.

I felt really bad and on the Teachers' Day card that my class gave him, I told him that I promise to try harder.

So, I had to keep my promise to him. I felt really, really, really bad! How can I give up now and let him down again?! I should at least try my best. Then even if I don't do well, I know that I've tried.

So, Mr. Lim, I promise that I'll try harder. I'll try harder next year too and do well for A levels. I promise!!!

Had Econs paper today. The paper was quite alright, but the part about Wages wasn't really tested. I felt so cheated since I spent a lot of time studying that.

Overall, the MCQ was relatively easy. The Data response question (DRQ) was hmm... Actually I don't know if I did it correctly because we didn't have a lot of practice and I skipped the revision lecture on DRQ. The essay was quite alright too. We had a choice of 2 out of 4 and the essay topics were given so we could prepare for it.

I don't have paper tomorrow so I can take a good rest this evening.

Instead of doing last minute revision before the exams tomorrow, I gave myself some last minute entertainment. Had to, because I wouldn't have the chance to play during exams.

I figured I had already studied hard enough the past few days not to revise too much today.

In the end, I played lots of computer games with my brother. Bomberman. Haha. Haven't played that for so long already.

Later, I had to study for Econs. After all, I had to do at least some revision to prepare myself. But it was for only 2 to 3 hours.

In the evening, I watched Charlie's Angels and went to the Pasar Malam near my house.

I absolutely love Charlie's Angels. Watched it quite a few times already. It's my favourtie movie after Spiderman.

After that, I watched The Apprentice. Absolutely love that too. Then, I went to bed. Tired from playing too much already. Haha.

Today was really different from my usual revision schedules. In the past, I would be mugging like mad but I really enjoyed myself today.

I guess I made up for all the enjoyment that I lost over the past 2 weeks. So, I'm all charged up to face the exams. Bring it on!

Oh man... I'm so tired from studying.

I wanted to study really hard for promos because I want to take S papers and get chosen for the SMU thing (only 40 year 1s from the whole of Singapore will be chosen. Ahh...).

Previously, I always thought I didn't study to the best of my ability. Since I still had time to watch television, it means I still had time to study more right?

So this time, I decided to study more and take less breaks. For the past 2 weeks, I've studied really hard.

But, I realised a made a mistake. All that studying has really drained me out. So it seems that I had really done my best in the past. All that television breaks was to recharge me before I hit the books again.

So now, the continuous studying really makes me want to take a week's break away from the revision, homework, lecture notes, tutorials etc.

But, I can't! Because I'm having my exams this week.

Haiz. In the end I couldn't really study today and played computer games for a few hours in the evening and watched television later. Had to take a rest, I really couldn't take it.

At around midnight, my mum was drinking a small cup of liquor and I decided to take a sip.

I had always wondered how it was like to be drunk and wanted to try. I ended up drinking about half a cup and felt a teeny weeny bit dizzy. It was only a little so there wasn't much to experience.

Ironically, I felt better after the drink and went to study 6 chapters of Physics. And when everyone went to bed, I went to sleep too.

Moral of the story. Always take time to rest in between revision.

*This post was written after my exams ended. Haha. When I originally wrote this, there was something wrong with my com and I couldn't finish. Later, I deleted and rewrote it. So I deleted Norman's comment in the process. Sorry sbout that!