Jog For Hope 2013! :D

I love collages <3

SO. This deserves a post because I actually woke up at 7AM to participate. Yes it's hard to get me up at that time except for classes. Being purely a Penangite, I go to every single class not because I really think each and every class is extremely useful and I would lose out on information if I don't go, (okay that's a reason but only 30%), but mainly because of feeling like I'm wasting my money if I don't go to the class that I have paid for. HAHA. (even though my parents didn't exactly pay)

(cause according to my Econs teacher, Penang people don't waste and try to find the cheapest stuff with the most worth. So true. My mom is a math teacher and you should see her comparing prices and the weights of the items.)
(So imagine, taking one extra HL, which is like 1 extra hour of class time every week, cost RM2500)
*the horror*

IB-mates rock! HAHA. We're all in it together in all sorts of activities.

Anyway. I actually woke up at 7.15am and both Abby and I ran all the way to school. Which is really unnecessary because even though flag-off is at 7.30am, we should remember that this is Malaysian time (HAHA) and we only started running at 7.45am.

Completed 3km in like 25minutes? Very lame la. I'm not a runner. I get all sorts of weird side effects after running. Like stomachache. For no apparent reason. Every time.
My walking partner of the day is Mar. We're awesome because we don't run, we walk and we talk about how kangaroo is the basis of life, how running can cause your liver to get dislodged, how hopping is easier than running, and how we've solved the entire universe that has got a glitch.
Exactly, I know you're thinking "lame". But a true Penangite laughs at jokes because they are lame. No that doesn't make us lame, that makes us very funny, bubbly people to be with because we never turn down any joke. (more on that next post)

Mar being hyper when she sees the 3km sign hahaahha.
*she looks so different from usual!! More human hahahhaha.
Cause she always look very fashionable and attractive like a "female vampire on the hunt" (in her own words) LOL*

I love the hype and the atmosphere there! TCSH is organising the event so lots of people from all the corners of KL flock here to run (registration fees go to charity) so this is like the first time I see so many people around here. (usually it's quiet and peaceful because it's an affluent part of the neighbourhood so not so many people and everything super posh here la.
(which means you get too many of expensive restaurants and not enough kopitiams.)

Oh ya, I forgot to mention the Milo van. :D It's something I always look forward to after every school sports day and cross-country run. Imagine my delight when I saw it haha. Since it's free flow I took like three times since it's free and I love it. :P Yes I memang Penangite. xD

So we got a goodie bag as well which I think is full of assorted sponsored drinks.
The campus is especially warm today because there are way too many people than usual. They just flooded the whole ground floor to get to the air-conditioning LOL.
My friend got a medal for 10km under 1 hour which is like SO SO SO awesome O.O I can barely finish 5km in an hour I swear.

I don't really enjoy running that much but I enjoy the atmosphere and being a part of one of college's biggest annual activities!

Love,

The Definition of No Life

Don't feel like doing any more homework for tonight. Since Monday is a public holiday, I decided to give myself some leeway about homework.
Life has been so so so hectic since IB. I love being busy over things that I enjoy doing, and as this time I get to choose my own subjects, it hasn't been nearly as gruelling as the past. The PAST, trust me, was way horrible because I was forced to study stuff that I don't understand and don't care about.

So I was chatting to my friend the other day about what I've been doing, and I was sort of "complaining" about how busy I am, and after hearing about my detailed list about what I have done and what I am going to do, she's like "oh God, you have no life."
(she's studying a 1-year foundation at a certain college. Apparently the foundation only has four main subjects based on presentations and minor exams marked by college teachers. She goes home after 3pm everyday and all college-related stuff ends at 3pm.)

My friend, you must define the meaning of "no life". What does life means to you? Would life be alive if it is only all about going to classes, watching TV, surfing Facebook, shopping, updating Instagram, eating, sleeping, rinse and repeat? Or would life be much better by organising campaigns and college events, participating in community service, being a part of many college and outside activities, going to classes that you actually care about, doing homework that interests you, surfing online to research and read up on many interesting nuggets of facts that you didn't know, and collecting lots of awesome memories with friends in a jar labelled "College Pre-U Life"?

As much as I complain of IB taking up ALL of my free time to the point that I haven't had time to read the new novels that I have bought, I'm glad that my free time is spent on meaningful and interesting activities. And yes, even my academic interests me. I love all of my subjects. (except Maths, but it is tolerable at that level)

To me, no life doesn't equate to "no free time". No life is actually too much free time that you spend it by doing nothing, being aimless or doing meaningless things.
I have way too much on my plate and am barely managing it all together, but I secretly enjoy being busy. It gives me life and there is something that needs to be done everyday, so I have to keep looking forward. I wallow in nothingness when I have too much free time. :)

Participated/-ing in MUN as admin, Debate class, IB Newsletter, Year End Ball Committee, Turtle Recycling Campaign, Project ADOPT, etc etc.

CAS hours: Completed 50.5 hours of Creativity! Target reached! Poor Service of only 1.5 hours, you're next. :D

I have a life. A busy one with a purpose.
Love,

First-Time: A Digital Perm

I've gotten really, really fed up with my hair.
It's unmanageable.
Like a wild lion's mane.
The hair ends curls outward and upward as they pleased.
They have no respect for me, who desperately tried to comb them straight, blow-dry them with various products, with little or no success.
I can't get them to frame my big face without resulting in a haggard, I've-not-been-sleeping-or-combing-my-hair look.
Ponytails make my face huge, and I really don't need people to see every kind of stress etched across my face.
Ugh.

BEFORE. Can't even stand this picture.
Look at the ends!!! No self-respecting hair would do that!!

I guess that's just me. People say hair reflects personality. If so, this just gave my direct, I-really-don't-care-shit-you-in-the-face attitude some concrete proof. (only applies to useless maggots in the world)
But I am boss of my own hair, so this attitude cannot be tolerated anymore. Waiting for it to grow past my shoulders has cost me nine months of frustration. And while mothers have endured enough suffering and gave birth in relief, this poor girl here still struggles with her untamed hair, with no sign of the end, since the bloody hair takes forever to grow, probably trying to torture its mistress as long as possible.

Yes, I have on many occasions have had the temptation to just pick up a pair of sharp scissors and chop off my hair until it is well above my ear. Then there would be no problem. But no. I have made a promise to keep it long. I shall have to endure this through!

No more! Shit hair and bad hair days, begone!

Excuse my look, but this is right before the perm.
It looks neat now, but trust me it's not.

Having suffered so many months, I decided today that this embarrassment must be put to an immediate stop. I need to get it over and done with! With steely resolve I walked into a hair salon and demanded my hair be chop off done something about it. I ended up with three choices:

1. Cut it short.
2. Force my hair to be straight through rebonding.
3. Let my hair be as it wants and curl it even more through a perm.

First of all I don't wanna cut it short. Nine months is an extremely long time, and I'm proud that I've come this far with it. Cutting it would make all those suffering in vain.
To do a rebonding would mean stick straight, super flat hair with an ironed look. Okay, this looks great on people (like my friends), but I'm not so sure my face has an affinity with flat straight hair. I have a feeling this would make my face bigger than Jupiter. :/

Hoping the results would be something like this. :D

So I decided on a perm. Not a cold perm (the scary one that old ladies do so that they have tight little curls all over their head), but a digital perm. I have virgin hair (never-processed-before hair) so yeah, this is my first chemical process which is super damaging especially if proper care is not taken. To hair: I wouldn't have had to make you deal with chemicals if you had not been so naughty. So there.

So I was really, really nervous because what if I end up with a head of bad perm? I'd have to curl up and just die right? (no pun intended) Even picture examples did not satisfy me: one good look on a model does not guarantee an awesome look on me. But I guess anything is better than the current shitty look, so...okay.

Looking retarded after the hairwash.

Had a hair trim, then a hair wash. I always like a hairwash at the salon. A hair wash by another person felt so...royalty. Like people washing your feet for you. Lol. Then the naughty hair was divided into many parts and curling rollers were put on with some chemical cream. Ended up with a head of blue rollers.

Apparently this is the sort of hot perm that requires a machine that looks a lot like EEG (you know where they stick electrodes all over your head), with each wire connected to each roller. It looked intimidating enough, then my hairstylist accidentally tripped over something and pulled against the wires, and I was like OH SHIT I'M GONNA BE ELECTROCUTED.

In my mind, of course.

This looks like EEG. Or octopus.

With this machine you can set the heat to the specific degree you want, resulting in better curls as you can control how you want it to be. I sat there for 40mins while my new-curls-in-the-making sizzle over the heat, skin protected by sponges so that I won't get burnt. After that some liquid was applied into each roller, and I sat there for another 20mins. So bored I zoned out until an alarm went off and I was ushered to another hairwash.

Treatment to the rescue! :D

Rollers taken off and a keratin heat treatment applied to limit the damage the machine fried my hair. Sat for another 20mins and then another royal hairwash. Then my extremely patient hairstylist applied curling cream and blow-dried my hair for half an hour so that we can all see the best effect of the perm.

Ta-daa! Ok well, pictures were taken at home but anyway.

(I don't look like me!!)

Pretty pleased with the results. Makes me look a lot like the Korean/Japanese short curl bobs that you always see. Framed my BIG face quite well too. I look more different, like more...bouncy or something. More awake I guess? No more lame, limp hair with no style! :D
*my dad says I look like the judge who wears a white wig. =.= what? I should recommend more Korean dramas to him.*

See my curls! My curls! :D

Rule number one to girls who need more confidence: change your hairstyle.
A good change brings a huge bucketful of confidence into your life, trust me. It increases your self-esteem. My mom is already planning to cover mirrors in the house to curb my increased narcissism. :P

Love,

Late-Night Study Hunger Pangs

So I was really, really, EXTREMELY HUNGRY just now.

Staying up late every night makes me very hungry every night. I need food to stay awake, even if I'm not that famished. I eat to keep myself active and to prove to myself that I'm still sitting there studying, and not actually dreaming about it (I wish!).

Anyway as usual I went in search of my standard late-night biscuits (I only eat them at night), but to my horror, they ran out! Feeling sure I was in deep shit this time, I rummaged around for something, anything else that I can find. No cereals. No bread. No biscuits. No FOOD.

Imagine my shock. By that time I was already way too starving to even go and sleep. Can't study, can't sleep, and it's 1am already.

Mentioned to LY on Facebook that I was super hungry and no mood to talk about anything else. (my one and only mission right now is FOOD.) She suggested instant noodles but I said we don't have gas at home. I do have some packets of instant noodles though. But it's not cup noodles so I can't boil water and pour it in.

*defeated*

But wait...there is a microwave oven. Can I use that to cook? It sounds logical. A quick search online confirmed my logic. In less than 10 minutes a steaming hot, wonderful bowl of instant noodles sat on top of my Psychology textbook.

It's still instant noodles, so it's not something absolutely delectable, but it's edible and most importantly, it fills up my crying tummy.
I AM SO GRATEFUL RIGHT NOW.
INSTANT NOODLES AND A MICROWAVE OVEN SAVE THE DAY.

I'm going to sleep now, because if hunger strikes again, I will be at its mercy.
I have totally no idea what to do next. :/

P.S: The next thing I'll be trying another night is instant noodles with egg. :D
*pity I don't have any eggs with me now.*

Hideous, Tedious Poetry Commentary

Hideous, Tedious
Poetry Commentary

No rhyme intended. ;)
So, the English A Literature in IBDP states that we have to write something called a commentary on an unseen poem/prose. We're currently doing poetry, so we have to write a commentary on a poem that we have no idea about and never seen before.

Sounds hard? Especially when you have a time limit of 2 hours to read, analyse, annotate, think and then write it all out in neat paragraphs. And since I'm in HL, apparently I have to analyse into deeper meanings, evaluate and explain in eloquent but concise sentences the "hows and whys". According to my teacher who reminds us almost everyday "SL students can get away with a lot of things and still achieve a good grade, but as HLs, you people HAVE TO EXPLAIN IN GREATER DETAIL, or else NO MARKS."

Oops.

The first one given to us by my teacher was "The Hero" by Siegfried Sassoon. It's only three stanzas with six lines each, and is very easy to understand as the themes are more obvious. She didn't want to scare us off with a challenging poem for our first try.
The problem: we have less than an hour to write, around 45 minutes in fact. My commentary was hasty especially at the end, and I could have structured it better.

I got 13/20 for it.

Many of us got 13, with the highest 14. According to my teacher, I am "on the right track", but need more polishing. Obviously. I don't even like my own work. Messy.

Anyway, this time around we got Ted Hughes' "Wind" as our poem for the holidays. I didn't know until a friend told me yesterday (3 days before school) and I was like "crap!!!"
Anyway I was too tired to do yesterday so I printed it out today and timed myself. I allowed myself up to three hours, but tried to complete it in two hours because that's the time limit for the real exam. Finished it approximately two hours (maybe a little extra).

The thing about poems to me is that themes and messages behind them never seem to jump out at me. Like "Wind", I only saw a glimmer of a possible message behind all the imagery and details of the storm halfway through the third stanza (six in all, four lines each). When I got it and used everything in the poem to support it, it became horribly evident, so I was like "why the hell have I not thought of it while I was reading through it?!"

Same goes to many of Sylvia Plath's poems. We did a lot of her poems by class presentations (among them Daddy, Lady Lazarus, Morning Song, You're, Tulips, The Bee Meeting, Nick And The Candlestick and Elm) but not commentaries. I did a presentation on Elm, and I totally can't imagine doing an unseen commentary on it. I love her style and the imagery, but it took me some time (and lots of googling) to interpret what she was trying to say.

Let's hope I get a higher mark for "Wind"! A 13, though acceptable for a first try, should and could be improved to a better mark. :) Even though commentaries for poems are really tedious, I still love writing. Writing is my life. :D

Love,