New Year’s Resolutions.

For some reason, there’s a growing trend of not having resolutions this year. Some nonsense about not needing a new year to be a better person.

Psft!

Yeah, it’s kiiiiinda true. You don’t NEED a new year to have resolutions but come on!

This year is absolutely perfect for them! Look, this year, the new year begins on a Sunday! That’s the exact first day of the month for the first day of the year.

When better to resolve to resolute?

Sure, the goals don’t always work out and by November, we’re all looking forward to next January to make new resolutions, but at least for January we’re all wonderful individuals?

So, here’s to a January of great people!

Here’s to resolutions!

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Edit: In hindsight, this was a terrible New Year post! Shall write a better one in the morning! Have a great 2012, everyone!

Time, where art thou?

I have one question.

WHO THE HECK STOLE MY DECEMBER!?!?!?

The year ends tomorrow and I barely feel as though I’ve had any holiday! I’m heading to HELP Academy for A-Levels for their amazingly early intake on 3 January which is coming much too soon! I haven’t had time to bid my farewells to those heading overseas or to sit down and read a book, let alone attempt to write a story!

My losing weight plan will also have to be put on hold for a while whilst my brain attempts to argue with my mouth and stomach. The latter two seem to think that more food is good for me.. whilst my rational mind doesn’t have much of a fighting spirit when it comes to resisting food.

Speaking of food, I recently headed to the much-talked-about Candylicious in One Utama! It really does feel as though you’re in a foreign country in the store. They have practically EVERYTHING sugary!


Makes you spend like you’re overseas too!

Gluttony aside, there was a touch of glamour in my life for Prom.

With my mother.


And my sister.

I truly got my high school Prom experience, complete with a corsage and a dance. Unlike the movies however, I danced barefoot & he was much much taller than me. Still, it was such a wonderful experience.


My Cina-man date.


With the flower stolen from the table by Aaron and put into my hair. Oh, yes. There’s Zheng Xi too.


And pretty Wen Wen!

Hands down, the best thing about Prom isn’t the food or the dancing or anything else for that matter, but being able to see everyone dressed up! I honestly wish there’s a part of Prom where everyone will have to go on stage and twirl for about two seconds so we all can look at their clothes.

 

OH OH, they should have red carpet stuff too with cameramen so that people can be interviewed as they walk in and talk about their clothes and all the other things those celebrities on red carpets do!

I’m a genius, I know!

Unfortunately, despite how wonderfully I danced the Bollywood dance that night (which all the King & Queen nominees had to do), the Prom Queen title deservingly went to Yong Pei Shin, one of the nicest & friendliest people I’ve ever had the fortune to meet!

The nominees! (Aliesha, Tiffany, Sarah, and Pei Shin)

When Prom ended, there was a lapse in activity for a while.. till as usual, Jocelyn barraged into my life and forced me on an outing with her where we took ridiculous photos and ate like cows!

There was Chinese New Year clothes shopping with my mom. Yeah, I know, a little early, huh? But the early bird catches the worm!

Been playing around with my new lens a lot too!  

It’s such fun to play with it and see the pretty bokeh in the background!

To give my holiday a semblance of a holiday, I headed to Bukit Tinggi with some of my family for an overnight trip, filled with lots of pictures and oxygen-infused air! (Which I will blog about in detail later!)

OKAY, DONE!

Merry Christmas!

As Christmas draws to a close, it is with a sincere heart that I hope all of you readers have had a wonderful celebration with your family, friends, or even yourself. After all, who says you need another person to have a great time?

My Christmas wish came true in the form of a new lens for my camera. More specifically, the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G.

The best part? As I learnt how to use it today, I captured moments with my friends & family in church and at dinner where we collectively remembered the reason for the season (Jesus Christ) and felt the joy of giving & receiving.

Here are my Christmas-sy photographs!

#1 Home decorations!

#2 Church today!


#3 The bento set my sister made for all of us for Christmas!


#4 Went all the way to Ijok for our Christmas feast!


#5 We had so so so much food! Truly a Christmas feast. Beggar’s Chicken, of course. Ijok’s famous delicacy. Shall blog about that later on.


#6 With and of the cousins!


#7 Random pictures I took while experimenting with my new lens! Heehee.

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas!

How To: Detect & Survive Appendicitis (one week before SPM)

One week before I was to sit for SPM, I was hospitalized for appendicitis. Not only did I lose out on three days of planned study time, but I couldn’t attend Performance & Awards Nite either despite all those practices I had to attend in preparation for it too! Thankfully enough, I have reliable multi-talented friends like Zheng Xi who was able to replace me at the last minute.
Before I begin on this How To post, here’s a little information on appendicitis

Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to peritonitis and shock.
More here.

Thank God I got treatment in time.. Or I wouldn’t be blogging here today!

*moment of grave silence for what could have been*

Things you need

• Mode of transport
• Loud moans of pain

Steps

1. Contrary to popular belief, appendicitis doesn’t only occur after someone has jumped around a lot after eating. When I told my friends I was hospitalized for appendicitis, so many of them chided me for moving around so much after eating! In actuality, there are many reasons for appendicitis. Dehydration could be one of them, so drink up folks!


2. The pain for appendicitis usually starts in the middle. At the beginning, it doesn’t hurt much. This was why I initially assumed I had some weird early period cramps or something of the sort. Over time, the pain will increase and you will have urges to vomit.


3. For me, the vomit became uncontrollable and on the way home from Lit class, my mom had to constantly stop the car by the side of the road so I could stick my head out and puke. By then, the pain was almost unbearable.


4. Do NOT under any circumstance massage your stomach or apply a lot of pressure to it. I got my stomach rubbed and it almost proved to be fatal because I later found out that the tip of my appendix had burst. Had it burst entirely, I definitely would not have been able to take SPM in school.


5. Do not try home remedies. When your stomach pain starts to move to the right side, or even before, when you’re vomiting, head to the hospital immediately! Head to the Emergency department. Occasionally, these symptoms may be accompanied by a fever.


6. Try to remain coherent above your moans of pain as your doctor asks for more information. They’ll pump you with painkillers first then send you for scans & take your blood.


7. If you have appendicitis, then good luck for your surgery! If possible (and if your doctor is skilled), ask for a scope surgery, not the cut one. This will significantly reduce the pain after surgery and shorten healing time. It may cost a fair bit more so you may want to find out if insurance covers it. If you do not have appendicitis, thank the heavens and apologize to your parents for the false alarm.

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Surviving the surgery a week before the most important exam of your entire high school life on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.

Things You Need

• Patience
• Phone
• Books
• Stuffed animal
• Great friends

Steps

1. Once you’re checked in, prepare to be fitted with needles and prodded all around. An appendectomy is done on the day itself as it’s an emergency operation. Cancel all your appointments for the week because moving around will DEFINITELY be a problem.


2. As they wheel you into the operating theatre, take in the rare sights and sounds only a patient can witness. Embrace the moving bed and fantasize of being able to be transported to school in one. And admire their strange rubber doughnut-like pillows.
   
   
3. Inside the operating theatre, men and women in surgical equipment will be all around you, touching you and prodding you and pulling you here and there. The pain killers would have made you numb but be prepared for the sting of the huge anesthetic needle as you go downn.. down.. down..


4. When you wake up, don’t be surprised to feel absolutely horrible. You will find it almost impossible to move without pain and your lips will be horrible dry.
   
   
   
   Be sure to cuddle your stuffed animal as the nurse injects antibiotics at painfully high pressure into your blood stream.


5. If you’re unfortunate like me, and discover that the IV that was connected to your left hand over the night slipped out of your hand, PANIC!!
   
   
   
   No, not really. If your hand looks like mine above, all swollen and fat, call a doctor or a nurse immediately. They switched my IV over to the left hand but it was too late for a month after my surgery, my hand was still suffering from the after effects.
   
   
   
   Sad, eh?


6. Seek assistance when you need help getting up.
   
   
   
   Firstly, call for help. Watch helplessly as your sister remains asleep.
   
   
   Or when all of your visitors prefer being engrossed in their electronic devices rather than conversing with you..
   
   Then, proceed to search for the ‘moving up bed’ remote. Fiddle the buttons and feel the miraculous wonder of sitting up with zero exertion. Then, drink the soup.


7. After the surgery, you won’t be allowed solid food for a while. In fact, fibre is to be avoided. (YESS!) The hospital I was at served me pretty awesome food!
   
   
   
   I could even choose my food from a menu! There were appetizers and main course dishes and even desserts to choose from!
   
   
   
   As you can see, I was first given puree and soup, but after a while, they let me eat soft rice with codfish and icecream and pancakes!!! *melts in bliss*


8. Keep your spirits up as the lethargy of the medication is bound to make it difficult to study. Don’t get too surprised when your friends show up randomly to surprise you!
   
   
   
   
   
   Stay in high spirits and allow yourself this temporary respite from studying. Consider it a holiday of sorts with a lot of medication and a whole bunch of painkillers.


9. But most importantly, prepare yourself mentally to hit the books again when you get home!

Prom Prep.

It takes a loser of epic proportions to sit in front of the laptop an hour before prom starts.. to blog.

I am a loser of epic proportions.

Can I be honest?

Yes, of course I can.

My loser level is even higher than that because not only am I sitting here blogging, I’m sitting here because I’m waiting to put on my dress. Don’t want to sweat in it, see.

But nonetheless, like any other loser out there, I’m super super excited for prom. Tonight marks the last time I’ll be seeing most of my schoolmates. I’m certain there will be talks of ‘EH MUST KEEP IN TOUCH AH’ and the like, but in today’s age where friendships are as fleeting as Kim Kardashian’s marriage, how much trust can we put into that?

BUT ENOUGH EMO TALK!

That will commence after prom. For my last ever high school event, I spent a ridiculously unnecessary amount of money on equally unnecessary things.

For starters, I got my makeup done at Shu Uemura.

It cost RM100 for the makeup, which till now, causes my heart to bleed and my pocket to feel somewhat empty.

If you aren’t a member, it would otherwise cost RM150. They don’t ask for verification though so try and see if you can get away with it. If you do go, however, try to bring your own false eyelashes (if you have the intention of using them) for they would charge you extra for theirs.

As for my hair?

After having already spent quite a considerable amount on caking my face, I was rather reluctant to spend any more on hair. Yes, I’m cheap.

And so, tossing my plan of having a specific hairstyle out the window, I decided to go for a wash and blow for RM45.

BTW HERE’S A TIP: If you’re going to do your hair and makeup, wear a button down shirt as to not mess either of those up when you wanna wear your dress later!

Here’s the interesting part:

The guy who was washing my hair looked young, about twenty. He was continuously smiling and looked pleasant.. and SO! I decided to try my luck and retrieve said plan of specific hairstyle. Tentatively, I asked him..

“When you blow my hair ah.. Can you blow it to the side?”

He looked at me one kind of funny and replied, “What do you mean to the side?”

You see, I was trying to make my (actually very simple hairstyle) sound even more simple and less troublesome than it was. After succeeding in explaining it to him, he said a few words which dealt crushing blows to my heart: “Sorry ah.. If you want like that.. Then it’s RM65.”

“HAH!?” I blurted out. “But but.. all you need are bobby pins!”

“Bobby pins very expensive leh,” he said, smiling at me from the mirror.

After a few pleading looks, he finally said the magical phrase..

“See first.”

Of course, the reason I’m telling this story is not because I got rejected due to my cheap-ness, but because that very nice guy decided to do my hair for RM5! So all I had to do was pay him RM50!

*replace white stuffed animal with kind hairstylist guy*

Dear friends, the story I shared today is a story of human kindness. And as a reminder for me to be kind to people without expecting much in return. Like kindhairstylistguy.

As I depart to go put on my dress, I pray for luck as to not trip in my 4 inch heels and for a strong heart & waterproof makeup as I bid farewell to many.

May this be a wonderful prom!

Happy Halloween & Goodbye, High School!

Sri KDU was a great school. It was a great place to grow up in; it was a great place to learn. I spent seven whole years of my life walking down the corridors, writing in these school notebooks, making memories amidst the blue & yellow lockers.

Unlike other schools, we have no graduation ceremony for the seniors. Instead, the last day of school is pretty much “get away with anything” day. In previous years, eggs have been thrown, paint has been splattered, water wars have erupted and flour bombs have been released. However, this year, our batch decided on something a little different.

Instead of the regular ‘harm other schoolmates by throwing random objects at them’, we celebrated Halloween early in school, with everyone dressed up in all sorts of costumes.

There was a Stormtrooper..

There was Batman..

And lo and behold, underneath that Batman mask is the Japanese version of Steve Jobs!

There was Charlie Chaplin..

And Ronald McDonald..

There was a flower girl and a construction worker (complete with donut!)..

And a drunk gypsy too!

There was a sweet fairy..

And Tony Stark..

And a very sombre looking Joker..

Of course, there was the classic bedsheet ghost..

And Minnie Mouse too!

The creativity was amazing!! Almost everyone came dressed as something.

There was Oliver Twist, Scream, Frankenstein, a jester, Captain Jack Sparrow and even Pikachu!

Heck, Yi Hong even came dressed as Spongebob!

It wasn’t just the students having fun though. Even Mr. Pang, my Physics teacher, came dressed in pajamas!

Or maybe he just walked out of bed like that.. :/

Speaking of Mr. Pang, I am so incredibly grateful to him for all his help before & as I was sitting for SPM. Even in the dead of night, he would be there to answer my never-ceasing questions, even for subjects that he didn’t teach me!

I bugged him so much I’m sure he must have somewhat regretted giving me his number.  

But the thing about teachers like him are that they want their students to excel – to do well. They go above and beyond the call of duty to do what is not expected of them. He could have told me to see him in school for explanations or dismissed my questions with a ‘check your textbook’ but he patiently answered each and every query I threw his way.

It’s not just Mr. Pang though! My Chemistry teacher (Mr. Sai Mun) answered my questions over Twitter & my Lit teacher (Ms. Lydia) gave us two extra classes for free!

That’s another thing I’ll miss about Sri KDU – the teachers who cared..

But I digress. Back to the last day of school… So, what exactly was I dressed as?

To be honest, till today, I’m still not so sure. I planned the outfit the night before with the intention of being corpse bride, but my overly tanned skin tossed the idea of looking dead & pale out the window. When asked, my answers varied from Spanish princess to vintage bride.

And yes, the scary element was there was well!

Uhm.. Rawr?

The last day of school marked the last day we walked through the corridors as students before sitting for SPM. It was also the day we, as classmates, managed to sit together with Mr. Hew and Mr. Surish for that last day heart-to-heart.

IT WAS SO EMOTIONAL! *sniffles*

When I look back upon my days in this school, I will look back and think fondly of the great memories made with this ridiculous group of people..

I will think of the time spent in class, yelling at Nicholas Teh to please, please, please shut up, or the times spent making fun of Jocelyn and Karandeep, the hours of lessons we all went through half-asleep, the substitute teachers we teased, and the friendships made as we went through all of it together.

I will think of the prefects (especially my amazing juniors and fellow committee members) for the love and care they gave me and for being my family away from home.

With all the gifts from the junior prefects.

As the new year beckons and this chapter of my life closes, I think of high school as the rite of passage I had to walk before becoming the person I am today. I made many mistakes throughout my time there and there were a couple of things I wish I could have done differently, but if I had a chance to do it all over again, I would pass.

My time as a high school student is over. It’s time for me to turn a new page, take out a pen, and start writing the new chapter of my story.

High school was fulfilling. I had so many opportunities and have been so lucky throughout it all. For that, I am eternally grateful to the school, the principal, the teachers, and my peers.

College now beckons, with real responsibilities looming ahead.

I, for one, am looking forward to it.