Cause it hurts me so just to see you

Anyway, the first week of school has passed by without much incident. Most of it was sleepy sleepy... I can't believe I'm in Sec 4 already.. how fast does time want to fly?

Anyway, I aim to be really dilligent this year.. but the obstacles in my way include a very vaguely-understandable A math teacher, my inability to get use to the 7 hour school days and the 8 hour sleep nights, a new meaning of 'cannot concentrate', and of course, the fact that I can't study. Which last year's finals proved.

Anyway, I have a new seat, and hopefully, it will help me in achieving my goal, which inevitably will lead to a hopeful scholarship overseas to get a degree in research in neuropsychology.

Right now, the 10/11pm bedtime clock embedded in my system for the school year seems to be experiencing life again. That means I am feeling very bleary now.

So, off to the world of dreams, I head!

Cheerio!

Should old aquaintance be forgot

Happy New Year to everyone! That's right, it's time to rally in the new year with merry-making and celebrations!

Screw that. I feel the same as I did a day ago and I sure as hell don't want to be celebrating that fact.

Anyway, this year's new years' eve was quite fun! Anne and I went to Joan's for games and movies. Firstly, in my excitement, me and Joan decided to play Game of Life first, while waiting for Anne to join us. Then when she came, we restarted the game. I don't know why, but I like going to college first! (:

Halfway playing, Joan played Good Year.. however, we couldn't really understand it because our minds were half concentrating on the game, half watching. In the end, we changed it to Epic movie. It was better (in terms of understanding), but playing the game halfway, we abandoned it.

After the movie, it was time to head downstairs for Joan's mum's delicious brownies with fudge and ice-cream. And we went to watch 5 mins of the countdown with glasses of Sparkling Juice in hand.

Games of Cluedo followed.. 3 games ended so fast because of sheer luck.
Someone: I suspect... Mr. Green in the Library with the Candlestick.
Other two: No.. don't have..
First someone: Hah?! Really? Then I accuse lor.

Then the Daidi games.. in tandem with Scary Movie 4. In the middle of it, we decided to grab the other sparkling juice bottle. It took us 3 minutes to realise we needed a cork screw, 7 minutes to realise the cork couldn't be removed, 5 minutes to carve the top of the cork out with a knife, 6 minutes to realise that it wasn't working and the cork screw was.. screwed, and 9 minutes to figure out how to actually use a cork screw. So when we finally trugged up the stairs again, Scary Movie 4 was over.

Next was the Pursuit of Happiness.. which I hadn't seen yet.. halfway through, Joan and Anne fell asleep with promises of watching House of Wax next. And then.. the dvd screwed up. I tried rewinding.. restarting chapters.. nothing worked! In my frustration, and the realisation that they were already very deep in sleep, I dozed off. (This was at 4am.)

The next morning, we awoke at 8.30 and watched House of Wax.. which is totally gruesome.. and had breakfast after that..Joan's mum made toast with lettuce, cheese, eggs and ham.. ((:

And then, Anne's mum sent me home.

For New Years', we had the usual gathering at our house.. everyone came, I played with Vanessa's PSP, laughed at TJ's every move..

I have school tomorrow! I haven't said that in a while. hopefully.. this stays up and updated, however, I WILL try to do a blog closing if anything should happen.

I'm gonna be in Secondary 4.

My gosh, 6 words I never wanna say..

And to think I didn't even touch a book this holiday.. O'levels, here I come! ):

In the Spirit of giving..

I was supposed to post this pictures up a long time ago, but the last time I tried, blogger screwed up. After that, I had absolutely no time.

I usually stop being all crazy over stuff after a certain period of time.. I blame it on my inability to be easily impressed. So, basically, I have pretty much gotten over the Japan Hana Kimi Show.

But, I haven't really gotten over HanaKimi, because I just finished 23 volumes of it. That's right, my first intrusion into the world of drawn japanese characters also known as Manga. (pronounced Mah-ng-ga and not Meh-ng-ger, okay Tia?) Anyway, I only downloaded it because I read somewhere that there was an additional special ending. So I figured, why not just read the whole thing? It really is a very cute comic, so I'm glad I started off with this.. However, hopefully this phase will go away soon, because I have 2 years worth of studying to catch up with.

So, presenting a couple of HanaKimi-late pictures.

From left: Nanba Minami, Ashiya Mizuki, Sano Izumi, Nakatsu Shuichi.

I think Ikuta Toma (guy who plays Nakatsu) is very cute!

Oh mann... I forgot the guy who plays Sano! But he's also in Hana Yuri Dango..

Pretty nice show (:

OKAY! And we are moving along to other topics...

Yesterday was the church feast day. Went to church early for carolling practice with Genesis II choir.. Me n belle were in Soprano because they have mostly melodic parts.. but I tried Alto for Silent Night.. didn't really work.. oh well. Had the feast day dinner. Was so bloody bored!! Went early, so I KNEW I was gonna be bored.. so I brought my earphones.. even music didn't help... anyway, saw Joanne, Manny, Na na, Jason, Bernie, Andrew and Peter. When it started, I ate a bit, fiddled around as my table talked old people things.. and finally decided to stop moping about. First, I went to ask Joanne if she needed help, but it seemed she didn't. Then, I went to disturb Peter (he is so fun to talk to!) after which, I went to the staircase where I found Joshua Lee sitting with other small boys (don't ask me why.) Called belle and practically begged her to come.. (I say practically because I don't beg. period.) and in the end.. The lucky draw (in which Eugene got a vase and $20 taka vouchers.) was very fun! The 2nd prize was 0815.. and peter had the ticket numbers of 0814, 0816 n 0817, so he was so pissed!! Haha.. I think he's really funny. And Andrew was confirming that he liked girls although he liked shopping as well.. which I thought was funny.

It's really too bad that I can't make the AGM of the YC on the 1st.. what a date to choose.. but I love all of them soo much!! They're all great people!

Anyway, tonight is Joan's house time! We're gonna party the night away! By playing cluedo. Chao till then!

Hikkuri kaeru ai no maaku (WARNING, HANA KIMI SPOILERS AHEAD. MAY BE BORING TO NON-DRAMA-WATCHING PEOPLE.)

I spent Christmas doing the annual usual christmas stuff I do at christmas... With a new twist! This year, instead of rotting my jolly season away with endless gift-exchanging, carol-singing and merry-making, I managed to SQUEEZE in a little extra something... Drama-watching!

That's right.. On an impulse started from some Friends trivia (don't ask. Long story.) I went onto Crunchy Roll the day before christmas (Christmas Eve, for those still racking brain cells.) signed up and typed in Hana Kimi. The Japanese Version, of course, because it was highly recommended by Dione.

Of course, I've had many many recommendations, including ones by Dione, Ping, Anne and even Mel.. but somehow, I just figured that since I already know the basic plot of Hanazakarino Kimitachihe, it wouldn't be very heavy watching.

Of course, by strange, crazy luck of questionable nature, the show turned out to be quite unexpected, ABSOLUTELY fantastic, and lastly, addicting. Now I watch to watch it again... And again. And again. And again.

Then there's also the other dramas I want to try, like Hana Yuri Dango, which I was suppose to watch AGES ago... Devil Beside You (recommended by many, so I'm thinking it should be quite nice.)... then there's the ones Ping swears by like the Why Why Love one..(how do they come up with THESE titles?! A hat?!) The Lamb with the Stars... (Fang Yang De Xing Xing) The Bean Cow one.. (whose chinese title I forget.. I just remember something about basketball..) And many many more...

The thing is, with my graduating year approaching at 100mph, I will have absolutely no time to enjoy these little nuggets of pleasure... until after OCTOBER... Probably then, I'll restart my blog (which would undoubtly collapse sometime within the next year.. I say that because this year ends in 5 days anyway.) and become a Drama Fanatic!

I can't believe I'm going to become a Drama Fanatic... And in less than a year... Oh the torture of the anticipating period.. how it mocks me so!

Of course, there's also the choice of what types of dramas I want to have 'expertise' in.. Taiwanese seems like the best bet, although I wouldn't be able to stand the same plots over and over again.. (The main plot is of course different, the basic, uncoloured one is the same.) Right now, the Japanese ones seem good because of the varying plots, and their ability to keep the romance interest sparked while still focused on the main point of the story as well.

Of course, I can't say that to every drama, but this is the analysis I have collected from both verions of Hana Kimi. The only drama I have ever watched, hence might be a little biased. Or a lot.

(SPOILERS AHEAD. STOP IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING THIS.)

In the Taiwan one, the main point (Sano Izumi/Zuo Yi Quan high jumping again.) is only stretched till the 4th or 5th episode. After that, the rest of the show is not really based on high-jumping anymore, which would confuse the people who expect so. The Japan one lays almost the entire show with High-Jump bits, whether it's what viewers want or not, that's still the main focus of the show. The final is only shown in the 11th Episode, the second last one.

(NO MORE SPOILERS (: )

Anyway, both versions are great in their own right, and even though I prefer the old one, I say, watch both!

To all my readers, a joyful christmas and a fantastic new year be upon you! (:

When the world seems to spin away

The long non-updating was due to Blogger being a bitch. Either that or my laptop being an asshole. Either way, I couldn't.

Anyway, I'm feeling tired (the ONLY time I can sign in, and it's almost midnight.) and due to a previous mounting headache I managed to wrangle after 2 hours spent in my room clearing out drawers, my energy has also seriously depleted.

Hence, instead of giving the 411 of what I did previously, I shall provide details of what remains of my holiday period before the year of the big ONE SIX dawns upon my existence.

23rd Dec, Sunday (tomorrow) - Church. The completion of christmas presents.
24th Dec, Monday - Christmas Eve. Morning spent moaning in laziness, evening spent in church.
25th Dec, Tuesday - Christmas day. Spent at Aunty Rita's. Expect dizzy laughter.
26th Dec, Wednesday - My gosh. I'm free. I'm actually free! Can you believe that??! Okay... I'm sure something will come up anyway.
27th Dec, Thursday - BAND. roar. And dinner at the Kwa's. Not sure of the dress code though.
28th Dec, Friday - Tuition in the wee hours of the morning (Tentative.) and then the MJ concert.
29th Dec, Saturday - Con class BBQ! Can't wait to do stupid things with the gangQ
30th Dec, Sunday - Church Feast day. Dinner and MAYBE carolling.
31th Dec, Monday - New Year's Eve. Morning spent sloth-like. Evening with my darlings.
1st Jan, Tuesday - New Year's. Morning spent grumpy after lack of sleep. Day spent at...crap, I don't know.

Anyone wants to book an appointment? I'll see how I can fit you in.. Till then.

If I just spread my wings..

I went to brush my teeth 15 mins ago and went to grab the toothpaste off the sink counter. After which I glanced at the toothbrush holder and realised my brush was not among those present. At a double-take, I (being the paranoid one.) panicked and started looking everywhere from the bottom of the holder (God knows why.) to the laundry basket where it might have dropped. In the end, I found it in my cup. Where I had left it right before I even thought of brushing. What an adventure..

Anyway, it's about 12 midnight now so I shall not go into any heavy, indept material, but simply write down today's happenings.

I woke up at around 12pm, finishing my latest book conquest then and there. Spent 3 hours on the laptop for the primary reason of sending Belle the finished version of our testimony. Then, it came to me that she was gone for the day and there was no way she would be able to receive the mail in time for mass. So, as a substitute, I logged on to facebook and played card games till 2 plus.

That was when I received a call from darling belle to meet at HFC at 3.30 for the speech practice. Quickly getting ready (okay, not SO quickly, I remember taking my time, actually.) for church, I decided to wear my slip-on sandals; the worse decision of the day ever.

Cabbed to church, leaving the house at 3.15, and found out that I was the first one there. Well, first one meaning between me, belle (the one that rushed me out of the house and was later than me anyway.) and Darren. Met Joanne and Nana there in any case. Anyway, belle came 5 mins later and we practiced the script while trying to contact darren. (Apparently he was at Genesis 2 choir practice... being G2 king and all.. his words, not mine.)

Practiced it about a few million times before heading up to the canteen where the youth band was playing. Spent ard an hour there fellowship-ing with the Facil(iTAtors) and other people. Self-volunteered to become ushers! More laughs, new action songs and LOTS of comments on how poetic my script was. "Songs, new and familiar, graced our ears and lips and warmed our hearts which were already sparked from the walk before." I like cryptic! Sue me!

Praise and worship began! Belle, Fiona and I were sitting at the front row, sitting our hearts out. And then, Joan and Tiara came, only they were too scared to go in. Manny came straight to our row and told us "I think there's a bunch of your friends waiting for you.." Aiyoh. So paisei.

Mass went on smoothly, we had also volunteered for offering duty (very enthu lah, these people.) and our speech went on nicely.. except for "Faciliators." I swear.. belle.. you confused me.. aiyoh.

Anyway, after mass, the Camp Incredible video showed.. Go Iron man! And we skipped refreshments (okay.. we ate like, one muffin, okay?) instead opting for dinner. It was me, belle, joan, tia and gerard. (ermm.. i still think that was abit awkward and random, but it was fine in the end.) We chose pastamania again as our dining place for the evening. The tuna and bacon was great, but not very 'oomph' if you know what I mean. Tia almost passed out laughing at almost anything (well.. not really.. I said peanuts and she stopped.) and we did a few rounds of blonde and racist jokes.. hai.. the people of this generation ahh.. no shame wan..

Met Josh, Brian, Cedric and Darren (the boy, not the chief.) at ermm.. somewhere between KFC and BK cuz they were about to leave. Bid farewell to them and went to BK to play cards. (What else, right?) Stupid belle and her "We must find a messy table! OMG! A messy table! Score!" That was so it could look like we bought something.. but come on! A BIT too drastic right? It was dirty stuff, other people's germs on that tray! Who knows who sat there before? (Or rather.. who noticed lahh..)

Played anyway.. and after a while, Josh came to say goodbye to us. And THEN, ANOTHER while later, all 4 of them came back. Like that. A bit strange.. but they told us not to ask questions.. so we didn't.

After a few rounds of bridge.. (hilarity increased especially with Josh around.) tumpang-ed a cab with Josh, Darren and Cedric. Was supposed to get my own cab, but Brian decided to be nice and take a bus home. Being a great and smart guy, Josh managed to sing till I almost begged to be deaf and drop Cedric's phone under the front seat. And then I reached home.

I feel really bad cuz apparently, I didn't tell my parents about the speech thing.. well, I forgot! And now, mummy's feeling really sad cuz she missed it.

Sorry mummy!

Well.. I shall be off to bed as soon as I visit some things.. Till then, (:

Saviour, he can move the mountains.

My brother just stole the chocolates that Belle bought.. Not only that, he just grabbed the whole packet and stuffed the maltese in his mouth like a deranged maniac while I tried to tickle it away from him. Oh well... that was fun to watch.. 100g of chocolate sealing his big, stupid, annoying mouth.

Camp Incredible was 3 days ago, and I miss alot of things! Like.. my whacky, crazy facils, Kenneth and Crystal.. the equally crazy group of mine... I miss Carisia, my girlfriend in the group! Rooming with Jie Jac, Belle and Carisia... the less than 5 hours of sleep I got each night.. The awesome 'mission' at Sentosa... Getting nice and soaked in the water... The Praise and Worship session.. sigh.. The not sleeping for the night and ending up laughing like crazy psychos.. Bridge with Ryan, the Joshuas, Belle and Darren... Big bloody deals.. 6 boys sleeping in our room.. Communication!

The best camp so farr.. And the greatest facils and organisers ever!! Darren, Manny, Andrew, Audra, Steph!, Sharon, Kenneth, Chris, Eugene, Crystal, Angela, Alex girl, Joanne, Nat! And Many many more!!

Well.. that's pretty much what and whom I miss..

I shall post again when my brain doesn't feel drained and juiceless.

It seems I found the road to nowhere and I'm trying to escape.

It is like trying to feel around my heart for something that isn't there.

"I'm looking down now that it's over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out heaven save me
But I'm down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say"

I just can't be rid of the trepidation that something will happen. Something bad. I don't want to have tuition today because I feel that the whole world will crumple. It sure as hell doesn't make sense, but what does?

Anyway, I'm sitting against the wind, the laptop perched on the ledge of the table while I try to figure out some things. What I am trying to say here, is that, at any moment in time, life as we know it could be changed forever.

It is a sad thought, and one that under no circumstance one should think about. But, I mean, we all have our moments.

Right now? I am currently awaiting the arrival of my Chinese teacher, as well as eagerly awaiting the start of church camp. And so, my wait begins. In a parallel universe, of which is not fantasy, but very true and happening, I could be doing all these things and then, BAM!

Nothing.

Which is why I think we should all stop taking for granted the simplicities of life that come to us so easily.

What I am trying to put across, with the use of simple english, is definitely not an easy feat. It really is hard to say what is going on my mind right now, because all I can figure out is a bit here, a bit there. To question WHY I am living on earth is not based on science or any other earthly metaphor. It is really a mental, spiritual thought.

If I start now, I will never stop. Hence, I decide to leave you with these words:

If you don't start truly living now, then when? If you don't start appreciating and untucking your head out from your arse, then when? If you can't give back to God, what God gave you, isn't that just defeating your main purpose on earth?

The innocence of the situation.

I swear! At this moment, my stars are not ALIGNED!

I am CRAVING for PIZZA SOO MUCHH... AHHH..

Call me a pig, I wouldn't correct you.

I couldn't let my mother know I was ordering, so I had to wait till she went into the room. Which was at 11.05pm. When the Delivery services close at 11!! 11!! OH THE HUMANITY!

I have to CONTROL myself. NO MACS OR KFC. Tomorrow, we FEAST!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, you're only a day away!

Oh, and I would like to take this time to thank my number one loyal reader: Melissa Chia Yan Ling. For without her, this post would not have been Mel-friendly. It now is.

And I would also like to add that Facebook is annoying because notifications come every 5 minutes. Hence, I have to say that I am not addicted to it, I just need to clear those bloody notifications. Of course, being the hypocrite that I am, half those notifications were made by me.

And before I get tempted to eat the laptop, let me just say that I think Karma can be a bitch.

Hey Mel! Mel-friendly enough for you? (:

An Inadequate Excuse

I never wanted to go let of him. We had spent the entire day together, and now, I just couldn't believe it was going to end. It had to be a dream, I thought to myself. There was no way something like this could happen to me. I was not fitted, simply, not worth it.

But apparently, I was. And for those few hours, even if it was for a few hours, I felt special to him. Special. I have always thought of myself as special, but for all the wrong reasons. I was special because I wasn't like other girls. I couldn't talk about clothes, mainly because I could barely fit into any. I couldn't talk about boys because it would probably be like insulting them. But that was it, wasn't it? Maybe it was my 'unique-ness' that attracted him.

And again, my thoughts spiraled into a never-ending string of stupid. I thought of his swept up mop of hair, his soulful eyes, the way he grinned at me lopsided like we had something secret no one else knew. And then I thought of the number of girls he had openly shown affection to. I seemed to be the only one. But that was what I had seen, and I wasn't with him all the time; Whether I wanted to be or not. Maybe it's just a game, I try convincing myself. But my heart seems to rather think that every boy who talks to me has some sort of crush on me. It is really ludicrous, but what is a girl to do?

This time, I knew for certain. It wasn't just a crush. And yet, I couldn't say I had fallen for him. I just wasn't that kind of person. A person who takes every single emotion as it is. I grab those emotions, tear them into pieces, and analyse each piece. A little obsessed? Yes. But that's the way I keep my emotions in check, and now, it seemed that they were losing control on their own and were slowly swirling around my heart sucking it into a vortex...

(An excerpt from a currently in-progress book, An Inadequate Excuse)

Seasons may change, Winter to Spring

It's a lazy, lazy weekend. I went for mass yesterday, so today's a totally free day for me. Been on facebook the whole day. Gosh, it does get addicting, trying to add so many applications and all. Only went on facebook to get all the pictures, but it seems that I have been sucked into its warp.

Today I post pictures, I promised myself so much. So, without further a do,

Sharan n I at the Great Wall

Cam-whoring on the plane!

Deannie and I with some Chinese pig.

Dhwani and I, on the bus, I think.

Yong and I at Beijing Int. Airport.

The Ah-lian poses of Group A. And Mr. Z. The constipated-looking one.

Claire and I, looking at banners at an angle.

The Rachels and I, CCTV station.

(from left) Kristen, Me, Yong, Mr. Z. At the China Millenium Monument.

So Artistic, ahhh.

Kris, Yong and I eating Ice-cream at 5degrees celsius.

Apparently, I am staring at Deannie's food. I don't know why..

Claire, Yong and I looking Dao for the camera. Well, not Yong.

On the plane. I think I was traumatised by air pressure.

Claire and I, location currently forgotten.

(from left) Deannie, Me, Claire, Kris, The Chinese Art Teacher, Yong and Teo. Waiting for our food at a restaurant near the school.

Chelsea(from Haising) and I. Ain't she cute?

Mr. Z looking smug because he has figured out the 'magic' of static electricity. Esther thinks he acts like a little boy sometimes. No one disagrees.

Yong, Deannie, Shuyin and I. Going Home..

The Beijing Trip people. Without Teo.

WARNING: May bore the unsuspecting and unappreciative.

Let's see what I can recount from my short-spanned, sieve-like memory.

Day One

Woke up REALLY early to get to the airport. Slept for less than 4 hours, so I felt so drained and wasted. Did the usual airport crap, check-in, chatting with the rest (this particular action repeats itself throughout the entire trip.) and group photos here and there.

The plane trip was uneventful, Yong and Teo were sickly because of air pressure. I felt a bit nauseous too but that was due to lack of sleep and the fact that I can't stand plane smells. They gag me. Anyway, the fact that she had a massive toothache apparently didn't stop Yong from cam-whoring. I don't know how many pics we took on the plane, but Teo didn't want to take anymore and since she sat in the middle, some pictures came out funny. Haha.

Shopping at WangFuJin Street! BARGAIN, BARGAIN, BARGAIN! "No, you must count the percentage!" Deannie's line that became a classic. And the run from the man who threatened Shu and pulled on her scarf! Kris's VERY ex chopsticks and my 3 sets for 50yuan. And SCREAMING for our lives when stall-holders waved LIVE scorpions at us. Haha! Poor Deannie!

That night, we met in my room where we had the nightly briefing, and then it was BRIDGE TIME. I played little though, because Claire and I had to finish the script for the next day. But apparently, Kris got addicted because they taught her. BRIDGE ROCKS. Sha slept in my room that night because Shu and Dhwani got tired and knocked out early. "So, how's band?" One example question Sha would ask me that would awake me when I had one foot in dreamland.

Day Two

GREAT WALL DAY. It was surprisingly more chilly below than on the top. And climbing it, as usual for me, was HELL. Did a bit of our segment on top though. Only managed one flight, but Yong did 4 or 5 (i think), ended up being late (miscommunication, we discussed.) and got great pics! My SUPER loose pants FELL in front of Mr. Zahari!! But before it could totally fall, I grabbed it and pulled it up. My GOSH, that was SUPER EMBARRASING. Of course, Claire was there. She always is. Before that, we went to a Jade factory, and i THINK the guide was quite hot! Bought some stamp thingy for a souvenir which ended in a mild quarrell with the Cashier. Claire. Just one word. Claire. Lunch was at some copper place. After which we could freely go around and get stuff. Which we didn't because it was super ex there and not worth getting. I was complaining to Shu about Pao which Mr Z understood somehow although I SWEAR, I tried to whisper.

Ming Tomb was not really that commendable. We had to do filming there and I kept screwing up because I can't do that sort of thing. I'm a impromtu person, and making me memorise things SUCKED. I apologise to Claire anyway. But seriously, the ming tomb isn't that great. Where we are allowed to go to isn't very wow. Apparently, the 'guards' weren't there.. and neither were the statues of officials and animals. Or maybe in our haste, we missed them. Anyway, I think Mr. Z was a little flustered because we were taking SUPER long. Sorry Mr Z!

After that, we went for a acrobatic show which was SOO nice. You could really see the sweat of the people as they struggled to maintain focus. Kudos! A few performers even looked really young, like 13 or 14 at most. And I liked it when 10+ girls balanced on one bike. SO cool!

Dinner I couldn't really remember.. I think that was the night we got sucky food and equally suckish service. Post-Briefing was held in Mr Z's room and Yong and I finished our half-way played game of bridge there. We asked Mr Z to play with us but he didn't know Bridge (how i miss those days.) so we played Daidi. Which we won. Twice. His excuse? "A strategic approach to boost [our] complacency." Anyway, we went back to wash up and met in Yong n Teo's room for more bridge. This time, Claire was taught and SHE got addicted.

Day Three

Bridge players are split up into two groups, according to me and Deannie. High-level, and the rest. Dean, Sha and I are part of the High-level. The rest, are well, the rest. They can also be splited into a few groups. An example would be Yong who can play High-level but not long-term. But that's not important. So the split was pretty set. That was, until today. However, I'll get to that later on. Today was the CNA training. We headed for the office somewhere around (we never know where for certain we are bascially) and cam-whored in the ground floor of the building. The office was alright, I guess. Little cramped, but it was fine. Played Daidi on the bus with Mr Z. He lost a few times, again. Used the same excuse, again.

Went to the UCCA (Ullens Contemporary Centre for Art (?) ) to do the Piece-to-Camera. Was fine lah, but I was SURE it could've came out better.

Forbidden city and Tian An Men Square was great! But I shan't waste time describing it.

For Dinner, we ended up laughing alot, alot. So much till even Mr. Z laughed a little. I swear, we laughed at the stupidest things. From Kris and Yong's slow reactions to Teo's 'Piang Eh!' (The trip's main phrase.) The briefing was in Mr. Z's room again, and this time we invited him to play cards with us. And that was the day Mr Z learnt bridge. His strategy is weird but easy to figure out. If his cards suck, he bids really, really super high for some reason. To end the game quick, or to ring in a challenge or something like that. If his cards are good, he also bids really super high. So, in other words, he bids high. Every single time. And for the first few times, he screwed up here and there, but that's fine, cuz all of us screw sometime or another. But slowly, he learned. Like, REALLY fast.

And that's what made the boundaries of our bridge level shaky.

Day Four

It was quite a relaxing day for us. None of us filmed with an exception. Went to CCTV station for a tour. Actually seeing how stations like Mediacorp work similarly was quite an eye-opener. The guide (International PR) was really helpful as well. The China Millenium Monument was also pretty cool. Especially the Hall. Kris and I toured it together and gave names to certain parts of the wall. When a guy was trying to make fire, we called it 'Man making fire'. There was this part where a guy was carrying a ledge which had another guy standing on it with another ledge. It was named 'Man carrying brick carrying man carrying brick.' By me, of course. It was soo funny. We went trishaw-riding and then to visit a typical chinese family home which was awesome. Really, it was. Dinner was spent gossiping about TKG. Briefing that day was at the Rachels'. After talking about the day's events, we quickly dived into games of bridge. I was practically screaming when Dhwani made a wrong move, but that was because I hate it when people do that to me. Anyway, I went to sleep early and Dhwani ended up sleeping with the Rachels. Not because I kicked her out, but because they were playing till1 and Dhwani forgot her key. Oh yes, Dhwani actually said her name wrongly in front of the Camera. So for the rest of the trip, she was known as Dhwaning. (:

Day Five

The places of attraction were the Summer Palace and the Beijing Olympic Stadium, although we didn't stop at the latter because it was still under construction. But before seeing those places, we went to a local school. That was super fantastic! I tried out the diabolo, some game I have no idea how to describe. And art class was fun! We were supposed to paint fishes (Teo's ones were damn nice lah.) and the boy beside me couldn't paint for nuts! Like I couldn't! He painted a pregnant fish and a fat fish and other weird things! He was soo cute! And he likes the F1 guy. Michael something. I gave him my chocolates. At least I hope it went to him, because I gave it to someone else to give to him. The summer palace was also gorgeous, with Mr Z acting like a little kid because he somehow figured out static. That night, we were supposed to drink 56%, the beer we snuck back to the hotel. We named it such because it had 56% of alcohol. However, in the end, we chickened out because there was shopping to do the next day. Bought the cake for Lisa before going up and begged Mr Z to be allowed to go outside to see stuff. In the end, we bought KFC for the lot. I went to play late because I had to pack while Dhwani went up to Mr Z's. That night, we played till 2. Bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge! Still remember when Shu bid for 'Ace'. And she didn't even realise it which made us laugh. The late night players were Teo, Dhwani, Mr. Z and I. This time, Teo pulled a crazy wrong move and earned my glare. Also, Mr Z kept annoying me with his disturbances of the nice songs that were on channel V. So, I turned to him with a glare and said "Eh, I will sit on you okay!" I really forgot what happened after that, but Yong laughed so much and said she'd put that as her msn nick.

Day Six (the Last Day.)

Lisa, our local guide, is the best. She is the best because she is super fantastic. On the way to shopping, she told us that although we should bargain for the best prices, the prices are not very ex for us because we're rich. When there was no response, she smiled and said "I just make joke." To which we burst out laughing. The day before, we joked that the other guide was her husband, and that day, we asked if the cameraman from CNA was her friend. When she heard that she looked bewildered. "What? Yesterday, husband, today, friend." Over lunch we then asked if the bus driver was her brother, to which she replied candidly. "Next time I tell Agency to get all lady staff for girls' school. So you will not say everyone is my relative." Gosh, she is soo cute!

SHOPPING AND SHOPPING AND BARGAINING AND BARGAINING. And the Act Cute faces that I almost fell for. That was the life. Bought some many things, and I feel so satisfied!

At the Airport, we went to repack our stuff into the check-in luggage. Mr Z took a while, so Shu called out impatiently, "Mr. Z! Hurry!" To which she burst out laughing. When asked why, she grinned "Don't you get it? Z. hurry. Z hurry!" Well, say it fast and you might get it as well. So we stared at her for a bit before laughing ourselves. Esther sat with me on the plane. And she was being so BLUR.

Esther: What's in the UK?

Me: Britain, North Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Esther: What do marine creatures have to do with the UK?

(Esther writes down 'New Zealand' in places she would like to visit)

Me: (looking over.) What's in New Zealand?

Esther: (looking at me with a 'duh' face.) Cows?

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Here are the things I already miss.

- Rachel's 'Havoc' and the hand thing.

- Shu's 'Hamburger Slap!'

- Claire's constant laughing AT me. Like Arra, really. And somehow, she's ALWAYS there when I do something stupid.

- Kris's cute faces she does.

- Teo's 'piang eh' and Deannie's recording of it.

- Deannie's qian bian face.

-Sha's proclaimation of the great C.R.

-Dhwani's good-naturedness of her 'Dhwaning' Alter-ego

- Mr Z's laugh and ability to remind me of my BROTHER or all people.

-ZOOOOOOOOOOM (:

I LOVE THEM ALL! AND BEIJING! ((: