Noise :2nd Round

The second Music Club performance thing Noise was held last Thusday and Friday. We had the band up again for a couple of songs.


First was Ash Like Snow, with Jade on vocals. I'm rather happy with this one despite the imperfections (rhythm can barely be heard, ditto my two backup vocal lines lol), since it's a song I've always wanted to perform as a band. :)


Then there was David Cook's Don't Say A Word, Kor Woi on vocals. It's not a very famous David Cook song, but still good. Apologies for the sound quality, which mostly can be attributed to my dying digicam. Mostly. XD

A gazillion thanks to my band, the music club peeps and seniors, and all those involved who made made my dream of performing in a band --however noob I am-- possible. Our lead- Matthew, bassist Alex, drummer Leon, and respective vocalists; Josh for organizing the whole thing (and making me a badge mascot XD), Kay Mun for setting up and teaching me the ropes, Joel for generously lending out his instruments, Jade and Rudy for all the design and publicity work, batchmates and all those who turned up to watch, a certain llama, and anyone else I happened to forget. Lol. You guys are awesome. :)

(And I still think it's a bad idea to call such events 'Noise'. The Atrium doesn't exactly have the best acoustics, and we don't need more reinforcement for a band's greatest fear-- sounding like well, noise. Lulz.)

Code Geass R2 END

What? It ended already? :(

What a terrific way to end. No sarcasm.

The past pre-final buildup episodes were such a muddle I even lost interest in it for a while. Part of it was my fault, for not bothering so get clear with the ever-changing sides. One minute these characters were on this camp the next minute they were on the other. I even had a Code Geass backlog, something that never ever happened.

Then I saw spoilers. Holy shit.

So I marathoned the last two episodes (if you can call it marathoning) and am pleased to say I was impressed with how they wrapped things up. I didn't expect Zero Requiem to be like that, but in all fairness I wasn't expecting anything anyway.

But rather it's the way the ending was directed. How everyone, including the audience , were duped into thinking Lelouch was the Ultimate Bad Guy till the very end, then turn around and reveal something completely different. It was rather ingenuis, though feels like I've heard it somewhere *coughjesuscough* The whole process was a bit too long-winded, a bit too over-the-top, a bit too surreal, a bit too drama, a bit too gay, but what the heck. I'm very happy with the way it ended, despite numerous plot holes and all that wtf.



It's like riding an hour-long roller coaster that rises to the sky and dips underwater. Halfway through you get sien, but when you're done you'll say it was the best ride of your life. That's Geass. It was a good experience.

Now, to make way for Fall 08!!! :D studies and EOS2 woot :/

Think about it

Wow.

A dentistry batchmate Paige here had an interesting experience. It had me thinking-- what would I have done?



I couldn't answer that. And I'm not proud of it.

Gone

Cheesecake.

Ingrediants.

Shops.

Walk.

Dog. Follow.

Highway.

Car.

Accident.

Vet.

Spinal injury.

Suffering.

Euthanasia.

Death.

It took 2 hours for a shit-happens accident to claim my dog's life.


You never appreciate what you've got till it's gone.

Bandits cheerleading video

The cheerleading video's finally up!!! :DD Thanks to Wei Jin for recording and Esther for compressing & upping!!!!

It's at a less-than-optimal angle so some of the formations may be not so clear, but it's the best I have so far, and it's still watchable. I'll link up a better version if I see one.

Happyness

I slept too much last night, still wondering why
I got out of bed at all
Got stuff to read, exams are coming soon
And I can't think at all
Even if I could it'll all be blurred
But you came into my mind
It reminds me that it's not so bad
It's not so bad

I want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life

At least, one of the best days. :)

Dinner

Soba noodles, beans and egg, cherry tomatoes.

I'm going home for raya this weekend~~~ :D

IMU Cup 08

So, IMU Cup ended last night, with the cheerleading competition being the last event. I only joined three events-- darts, swimming and cheerleading-- which isn't much compared to the people who joined a dozen events and getting fistfuls of medals in return.

How I ended up in swimming and darts is the classic case of people begging me to join/take their places because they suddenly couldn't make it/just needed people/were mistaken that I could actually do those things well. I must admit I was reluctant at first, due to lack of confidence, but now I'm glad I joined-- I've learnt so much. How to play a game of darts, how frustrating it is to try getting a double checkout for half and hour, how to dive, the vast difference between competitive and recreational swimming @_@ etc. I regret not trying harder during pool and squash tryouts, but I guess there's always next year.


Darts team, Swin team + supporters

About cheerleading, well it was something I signed up for on a whim, after being edged on by a friend. In my mind I was thinking 'I'm doing it for teh lulz!!!!' but one thing led to another, I found myself attending practices, being measured up for the uniform, and next thing I knew I was prancing around in a short skirt with makeup and my hair up in ribbons.



In the past I know I narrow-mindedly stereotyped cheerleading as the girly bimboistic activity that I would never bring myself to do. I'm not sure what changed that perception, or what motivated me to attend practice after practice, but somehow I stuck on till the end and boy I'm glad I did. Perhaps it was the thrill of performing in a relatively large group after hours of gruelling practice, which brought me back to the marching band days. Perhaps it was the latent ambition in me to try out something new before I became too old or busy. Perhaps it was the fact that nearly all of us were newbies with zero experience in cheerleading and dancing, thus I didn't feel so out of place. All the dance moves, stunts, cheer techniques were learnt from scratch. The few days before the competition were filled with intensive practices, prep talks, prayers, uniforms hanging by the side, flaring spirit, excitement and nerves. It was like any band competition-- minus the instruments and sun. It was awesome, not to mention nostalgic.


Video will be up as soon as Youtube allows it. >.<

We came in 3rd for cheerleading. It was a shock, it was a surprise, whatever it was it made us words-can't-express happy. For a bunch of first-timers to the world of cheerleading, I believe it was a great achievement and I am so supremely proud of the team.



My batch- MEDT108 (the first and currently, only batch with medicine and dentistry combined) also known as the Bandits, came in 4th place for IMU Cup overall. I can't remember the details of each event, but I think we managed to secure golds in pool, snooker and scrabble, and a load of silvers and bronzes in everything else. Darts scored a bronze, even though I only won one match in my catergory haha. ^^U



IMU Cup posed as a glimpse of the world of competitive sports, which I was severely underexposed to. It was educational, it built batch spirit faster and stronger than ever before, and was all in all a wonderful experience. I take my hat off to the organizers and people who made this happen-- I never dreamt that I would be learning so much about sports values from, of all places, med school. For that I am eternally grateful, and hell yeah I'm looking forward to next year's IMU Cup, which hopefully will still be batch-based.



Oh yes and before I forget.


YES I'M WEARING A SKIRT ARE YOU ALL HAPPY NOW RAWR

IMU Cup: The aftermath

...and all was jolly good. As for the pom poms and cheerleading outfit, I'll explain myself later. :)

There and back again

It's been a busy week, Nursing Week being the root of it all. And of course that lil performance thing we'll be doing for the IMU cup closing tomorrow. I've not touched any anime for nearly a week-- a record of sorts.

Anyway nursing week is basically us Sem2 noobs going out to Port Dickson Hospital and Tunku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban for a day each to get some exposure to clinical settings, how nurses work, organization of a hospital etc. The nurses would bring us around the hospital, but for the most part we were left to our own devices. We were also assigned wards (I got paeds both times argh) but everyone ended up lurking around all the wards. Apart from making small talk with patients and following nurses around acting like you're familiar with what they're doing, there wasn't much we could do expect try not to look blur and lost. I noticed a vast majority of patients were Malay or Indian--an interesting demographic. Many of them did not speak English so we had to communicate using Malay.

Another thing you would notice about government hospitals is the apparent lack of temperature-lowering devices. For us students who had to wear formal (neckties for guys) plus a labcoat, the stiffling heat easily put out whatever enthuiasm was left from an already skeptical crowd. I say skeptical because it seemed some people expected to walk into a posh hotel-esque setting with cool rooms and happy people, what with comments on gloomy wards etc. First off ill people usually have less reasons to be cheery and government-owned buildings rarely get upgraded with the lastest interior designs anyway. Then there's the more um, fun-loving people who head off to the beach at Port Dickson before noon. Yeah. Met some sem6 seniors--they're only 2 weeks into the semester but they look a lot more serious and subdued as compared to us chirpy Phase 1 folks. Them Seremban Clinical School lecturers really chew the poor guys out.

So that was Nursing Week, now all that's left to work on is tomorrow's thing (will get to that later) and Noise which is coming up next week. Then, summative and EOS. Whooppie. :/ At least there's no more waking up at 5am.

*groan*

First off I woke up thinking it was Sunday, then realized it was Tuesday but I had nothing to do till CALLAB at 2.45pm. I finally got my ass up at 10am and started reading up Virology.

Then I was at some place, a school or shopping centre, with my older brother and I can't really remember what we were doing but it involved a slide, a robot and a senior. My brother said 'let's go to Hopoh' so we went.

Then I was in my apartment and I found some chocolate and gave it to my older brother. Then I went out to the living room and gave some to my younger brother, but the chocolate had turned into erasers. I thought it was strange because I swore it was chocolate earlier on. But my younger brother didn't mind because he was eating some really colourful looking kuih raya but I couldn't have any because they weren't mine, but I ate the cheesecake anyway.

I went back to my room where I found a batchmate telling me if I had any food because he was hungry. I said no I had no food (which is true). I told him to go to sleep instead, which he did. Outside my window I saw an old friend from secondary school asking if I had any softener for his laundry. I said no, but invited him in anyway.

I went to the kitchen, to find out it had been turned into a study for one of my uncles. The was no table, but there was a chair, where a monitor was set, and a keyboard and a bunch of files. The floor was parquet. There were also those mini-waterfall ornament things that older people like so much. So I had no food because my kitchen was a study.

Then I went out to the balcony and saw another batchmate learning a dance with a calculator around her neck. I asked her why there was a calculator around her neck. She said it was solar powered and a lot of people have been copying her. I joined her in learning the dance, and more and more people kept joining in.

Then I was at a big open hall where a rally was being held. I was with my older brother, who sat one row in front of me despite the fact there were a lot of empty seats around. From where I sat I could see the front row along the stage, people were jumping in their seats.

Then I got a message from a friend asking if I was at school because I needed to pass him something. I replied saying I just woke up. He said 'piglol'. I've got CALLAB in less than an hour and I haven't had nor decided what to get for lunch and I can't remember which ward I've been posted to for nursing week and the only thing I remember about virology is a few DNA viruses.

Moral of the story: never study in bed.

Slippery down the slide we go

The ISA had a field day.

Raja Petra Kamarudin, blogger. ISA (Detention without trial).

Tan Hoon Cheng, Sin Chew journalist. ISA (Detention without trial).

Teresa Kok, Politician, 3-term Member of Parliament and State Exco. ISA (Detention without trial).

From what I gather at various information sites:
RPK as we all know is the guy who digs the dirt on the present regime and isn't afraid to throw it back at them in the face, that's why the leaders don't like him. The ISA have been on his tail since forever. They know they probably can't win a court case, so they resort to cowardly tactics- an archaic law now used to suppress political opponents.

Tan Hoon Cheng was a reporter whose only crime was to report racist comments from a bigot politician with anti-Semitic sentiments. Somehow to author of said comments got off with only a 3 year suspension. And I thought reporters only got oppressed in dystopian sci-fi fiction and countries like Myanmar. Guess we're headed that path too.

If I remember correctly Teresa Kok was the MP who first brought forth the nude squat video, prompting a huge national dorama. Even then some asshat slammed her for 'bringing porn into Parliment'. Now she's under arrest for asking mosques to lower the decibels of its broadcasts. So much for religious tolerance huh.

I can feel a storm brewing. You don't need to be a Mongolian-bombing political analyst to know there's something wrong going on in this country. I haven't been hanging around related blogs and forums enough to know the instrinsic details of these happenings but my moral sense lets me know who's right who's not. I know which side I'm on.

These people need to be set free.

Still I wonder, is this going to be the shit that hits the fan? How much more can we take? As an ignorant bystander I watch by the sidelines with bated breath, wondering if I am really witnessing history in the making. I fume at the racist remarks, definitely, but there's a part of me that's abashedly fused with trepid excitement. I should have asked for a Malaysiakini subscription for my birthday.

Or I could resume my listless political apathy and focus on trying to remember microbiology facts for more than a week. Which I think I'll do.

Tag

Tagged by Esther.

Rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog SCREW THIS

Name : Faye
Sister : -
Brother(s) : 2

Shoe size : 6
Height : 166cm
Where do you live: Currently, Bukit Jalil

Fav drinks: Water
Fav breakfast: Soft-boiled Eggs
Hav you ever been on a plane: Yes
SwimSwum in an ocean: Went quite far out on a beach once.
Fallen asleep in school: Hell yeah
Broken someone's heart: None that I know of
FellFALLEN (past participle, people!!:S) off your chair: No
Saved emails: All emails are automatically saved in your inbox, noob.
How is your room like: White tiles, yellow walls.
What's right beside you: Phone, modem
What is the last thing you ate: McVities digestive biscuit

Ever Had:
Chicken pox: Yeap
Sore throat: Yeap
Stitches: Nope
Broken nose: Nope

Do you believe in
Love at first sight: No
Love picnics: Wth is that

Who was the last person you danced with: The おうえん団 =_=
Last made you smile: あの人:)

Today did you
Talk to someone you like : Yeap
Kissed anyone : No
Get sick: Not yet.
Talk to an ex: Nope
Miss someone: Yeap
Eat: Yeap

Best feeling in the world: Apathy
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: No
What's under your bed: Monsters
Who do you hate: Cool people don't hate ;)
What time is it now: Late.

A few nights ago I had this dream, where I was in a buffet and there was grilled rhinoceros. While its upper torso was hung up being cooked, it was talking to me, telling me the best way to eat it. Should I be disturbed? :/

Code Lulz 22

I've never verbally uttered 'wtf' so many times in a single episode of anime. Seriously.


Now we know Lelouch has a closet meido fetish.


If my leader wore something as ridiculous as that I'd rebel too.


Wtf Cambodia!??!!? They even took care with the stereotypes- palm trees, wooden buildings, ceiling fan. And a 25' plasma in the middle of it all. Wonder if Schenizel & co. got their necessary vaccinations.


What did you expect-- knighthood, sainthood and a Nobel Prize?


Oh plugsuit, why are you so gay?


BREATH TEST
Kallen: 'Your breath's fine..you may now proceed and talk to the other world leaders.'


Do UN agreements get signed in high school auditoriums?


At this point I nearly burst out in maniacal laughter. Fucking win, as they call it.


Hey I want my school to have automated mecha bunkers too, in case some leader wants to use my school hall to sign an international agreement and gets attacked by a mass army. You can never be too prepared.


This scene alone, has caused Lelouch to lose all forms of support from lolicon fanboys. If they supported him in the first place. Remember, THE LOLI IS SACRED NOT SCARED.



EMO FACIAL DISTORTION
Yay more to add to my collection.

This is only half of all the wtfs. I've stopped taking Code Geass seriously now, I could treat it as a comedy for all I care.

I probably have better things to do.

Eel is awesome stuff

I had a couple of fillets of precooked unagi which I froze and kept, so I took it out, chucked it into the rice cooker and let it heat up. It's extremely simple to prepare and god unagi is one of the single most best things I have ever tasted. It's really my first time eating it-- I bought it on recommendation of a friend. I would really stock up on unagi if it weren't so freaking expensive. The two fillets I bought were about RM26, which I understand is quite value for money already as Japanese restaurants serve up the weight of half of one fillet plus rice for about RM13. That bit in the rice cooker is about 1/6 of the whole thing and it's enough for two meals for me.


Today's dinner+tomorrow's lunch in a pseudo-bento. French beans on the side.

And now, PBL.

I turn 19

I turned nineteen two days ago, on September 4th. The fact that this post is way late is perhaps a testament who how busy me, and everyone else has been. It's been a crazy week for a lot of us.

I had a modest little celebration among close friends, which spanned two days because it was difficult to coordinate everyone's schedules together. The gesture was very much appreciated, as I know just how busy everyone was this week. Topped up with all the SMSes, Facebook messages , birthday wishes and hugs from family and friends, I felt very blessed and loved. Though it happened in small bits, the celebration of my birthday was sincere, and I could have asked for nothing better.

And so went the quiet, but heartfelt passing of my nineteenth year in the world.

Thank you everyone. :)

Cooking!! つくりましょう！！

Tried out a few dishes lately. They're all first attempts so everything could be a bit better, but is was cool and kinda fun all the same. ^^

Trial #1: Pasta

Did this for last night's dinner.


Ingrediants: Linguini pasta, half an onion, half a carrot, a sausage, minced beef and some cheese for experimentation.


Boil pasta till it's soft. Some online guides recommended adding a bit of salt, which I did.


Drain in collander.


Cook everything except minced beef and cheese.


Add beef.


Add Prego and cheese.


Serve hot.

Verdict: Tasty. Prego sauce was awesome, though I could have added more. The sauce is supposed to completely cover the meat and condiments, but mine just coated it. Carrots were a bit hard, smaller chunks might have helped. Ditto linguini, should have left it to boil a bit longer. Nevertheless a satisfying meal.

Trial #2: Japanese curry

I've been wanting to try this ever since my brother brought back some kare last year and cooked it for us. Grabbed a pack off the shelves when I was at Jusco. This was dinner 5 minutes ago.


Ingrediants: Leftover carrots from yesterday's pasta, the other half of the onion, a slice of pork cut into cubes. Of course not forgetting the curry.


I thought it would be a paste, but turns out it's the watery gravy type, meaning I have to use it in one shot. No wonder it was cheaper and double the weight of the paste types. It left lumpy so I assumed there were bits of carrot and potato in it.


Cooking was simple, like frying anything else. Onions and carrots go first.


Add pork.


Add curry.


Stir it all around.


Serve with rice.

Also not in picture: some French beans I cooked on the side, because I felt like something green.

Verdict: Very easy to cook-- the hardest part was washing up, because a lot of the sauce got stuck onto my supposedly non-stick pan. Pork was also a bit tough, should have let it cook linger or cut it into smaller slices. (Just did Trichinosis in lecture today too.>.>) I'll definitely try the paste type curry next time, was hoping to make the curry last out for the next dinner and even thought of using half the pack only but in the end chucked everything in.


Tomorow's lunch- packed half the curry and what's left of the beans. Cooked too much rice again. >.> Yesterday was too little linguini, today was too much rice. I suck at estimation.

Yeap, so this is my first time cooking curry and pasta on my own. It's standard boiling and frying stuff, just need a lot of improvement on the estimation and presentation part >.> Everything tastes ok, but that's because the essential ingrediants were all pre-made and pre-packed. It's not like I prepared the curry or pasta paste from scratch or anything. The cooking steps I did are just what felt right to me, with a few tips gotten from cooking sites. I'm pretty sure there were some blunders there, so any tips and improvements are welcome. :)

I'm not the foodie type that can tell subtle differences from similiar types of food-- for most part of my life I've been an eat-to-live person with poorly developed gustatory cells. Only recently I've felt this inner joy of preparing and making food, even though I have scant general knowledge of food, barely an iota of confidence and an even poorer sense of presentation.

Whether this is a novelty or not remains to be seen, but as of now I enjoy planning what to cook and making dinner is the best part of my day. :)