Random ponder: Hmm...Amidst the insane exam stress and studying schedule, I have the strangest sudden urge to perform CPR on the home to my rants and raves.
Entry 83 Wednesday marked the last piano lesson for my student, M. I've taught her for almost 2 years now, and it's been an interesting experience indeed. The only reason I'm giving it up is because I'll be away for the summer and embarking on a new phase in life next year, giving me no time to continue teaching. As a token of the blossomed friendship between her family and I, I was presented with a lovely bouquet of flowers accompanied by a very cute handwritten card, and a bar of pomegranate soap (yes, she remembered I go crazy over anything with pomegranate scent in it). I'm not going to deny that it felt a little awkward carrying the bouquet onto the bus and walking around town. It just would not fit into my handbag.
I discovered I really enjoy teaching piano and perhaps one day, if auditors/accountants suffer redundancy from recessions or what-nots (God forbid), I will head down the alternative route of becoming a full-time piano teacher instead.
Just demonstrating to M for the last time what her favourite song sounded like made me realise how much I miss piano. Since I started University about 4 years ago, I have barely touched a piano as CBD apartments really don't permit space for even a keyboard comfortably. I completed Grade 8 just before I headed into college, so once college came into the picture, I stopped at that - didn't pursue a higher level such as a performance or teacher's diploma. So, perhaps one day; one day after the next phase in life and when I can get my hands on a piano again, I will do just that. One day.
Entry 82 This year marked the end of great legacies such as Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and yesterday, Yasmin Ahmad. It was deeply saddening to read about Yasmin Ahmad's early passing. Ever since I watched one of her commercials - my favourite: The famousTan Hong Ming, I have become a great fan of her work. Even from her blog, one can witness her humility despite her tremendous success. Also, her strong religious faith and OneMalaysia vision is highly respectable.
A quote from her blog, Yasmin: "I am optimistic and sentimental to the point of being annoying, especially to people who think that being cynical and cold is cool. Everyday, I thank Allah for everyday things like the ability to breathe, the ability to love, the ability to laugh, and the ability to eat and drink."
Am in anticipation to watch her two latest films - Muallaf and Talentime, when there is some free time.
Random ponder: Favourite flashback quote - Rewind to two years ago, dancing in a club next to Opahs. Canto dude: 'Hor yi bei ngo lei geh din wah hou ma?' Reply: 'Ngo mou din wah'. O.o
Entry 81 I knew they were big. I liked their music. I wasn't a die-hard, must-see fan. But I am so glad I went. It was so worth it. The Coldwave - Chris Martin's genius idea of making everyone do the Mexican wave with cellphones instead. Genius. Witness it make history here.
The last picture shows you just how close they came to us. They left the stage and walked all the way to the back of the audience, very near to where we were sitting and performed on a ledge nearby.
Coldplay were just legen-wait-for-it-dary performers! The music, interaction with the crowd, concert effects made it unbelievably stunning. I'd rank it on par with Westlife as my third favourite concert. Of course, my ranking of JT's concert at number one is undoubtedly biased. As for number two, I was a die-hard Linkin Park fan, and it would be unjustified not to keep them at number two. Hence, you have Coldplay - my third favourite concert.
And now, for Nickelback in November! Which, I foresee myself not attending, sadly. The tickets are a bit too pricey for their standard and my friends who are music snobs think Nickelback is undeserving of their NZD100 and above. In my comfort, the songs that they intend to sing at the November concert are not to my liking. Yay.
So let me rant and rave about how the Associate Dean managed to screw up my 10 seconds of fame as I walked onto the stage to be capped and have my degree conferred upon me by the Chancellor in my ceremony.
I was so afraid she would pronounce my Chinese name wrongly when calling out my name, but kudos to her for getting it right - 'Lee Sien', and not 'Lee Zhian'. But, to my utmost horror, she got my English name wrong. Which one? Natalie or Jean? You would probably think Natalie, since it's the longer name, and Jean is fairly straight forward right? Like, I mean, you wear jeans practically every day, right?
No.
By calling me 'Zhaun' as in Jean Claude Van Damme style, not only did she assume that I was French, but that I was indeed a Male.
If 'Wong' ain't big enough a giveaway to one's approximate ethnicity, I don't know what is. Had she perhaps lifted her head for a second to observe my appearance whilst I was standing at the edge of the stage, she might actually have realised that I was very the cina-looking, a femalewithlong hair, wearing a dress. Thus, even if she thought I was of some strange European descent, that being a female does not warrant the masculine pronunciation of that name.
Anyhow, my capping photo turned out well, courtesy of Ying Swee Ong. And I present to you the circus: Bree, Tigress-Dugong, Clown and Sotong conquering our first, all the way to our last Accounting paper together.
Big congratulations to all the other graduates! And thank you for all the wishes and to all who came despite their busy schedules. Much much appreciated! :) And of course, D, for being 'caddy' of the day.
Random ponder: So, maybe G was right when she warnied me that it's quite the challenge to prepare for a 40 minute presentation yourself just two days before.
Entry 79 Since when did "Eh! Free for coffee tomorrow?" become the new "Hey, available to give me free tuition for a few hours, because that's what 'friends' do?"
Would you really define a 'friend' as someone you just happened to meet at a salon while you were waiting to cut your hair? Someone who was a 50+ year old woman who should really know better than a 21 year old. Someone who happened to discover that you were an English-speaking Malaysian postgraduate student in accounting, whom they could befriend so their poor English-speaking niece who I haven't a clue how she got into University, thankfully not mine, (I apologise for my non-biased judgmental-like conclusion that was deduced from first-hand experience in conversation and written communication) could pick off your brains? It wasn't like I didn't warn her there was really nothing much to pick off anyway.
Why do I always get myself into these sticky situations?
Why can't I just to learn to say no, and not feel bad?
Why is it so difficult to reject strangers/acquaintances, yet so easy to reject close ones?
Why is it, that when I truly believed someone was being friendly and I reciprocated, ulterior motives were involved?
Random ponder: Did you know that an ox is indeed not a fox, but actually a type of cow!?
Entry 78 Thank you YS! You are the darling of darlings! The one who made me laugh the whole day, and the next day, and probably tomorrow as well. If you are my friend, do me a favour and click on the link below.
Don't tell me you didn't even crack up a little bit. Don't tell me you don't think that was some talent, and it took some balls to do that. Once again, all credit to YS for finding it. And to think, I used to wonder what you did in your free time.
I took my practical on Wednesday, and the tester believed me. He believed that 4 and a half years of driving in KL traffic was sufficient to pass me the first time. It was a close call though. Of all the potential mistakes, previous Malaysian-converted-NZ drivers had warned me, I made the stupidest one. I forgot to stop at the STOP sign.
I was approaching an intersection, and could see clearly, that there were no cars in sight coming from both sides, so I merely slowed down and turned, but did not come to a complete halt before turning. This was 5 minutes into the test. He asked me to pullover, and turned to look at me sternly.
Driving tester: "Do you know what you just did wrong?" N: "Er. Yes. I didn't stop at the stop sign just now." DT: "Correct. Why didn't you stop?" N: "Uh, I know I should have stopped properly just now, but I guess, I forgot. Because, normally, I don't stop completely if there are no cars, so it slipped my mind this time." (*screams inside my head* Damnit! You idiot! What did you go and say that for?! So honest for what?! Moron!) DT: "I see. So you realised your mistake, now didn't you?" N: "Yes, sorry, sorry." DT: "Alright then. I'll give you another chance. Let this be a warning now, and if it happens again..." *mutual nod, implying I'd fail the next time* N: "Okay, sure. It won't happen again. Thank you, thank you."
So, the first part of the test went well. So did the second, where he asked me to name the hazards I noticed every now and then. And so did the third, where he just observed general driving skills on the motorway, u-turns, and roundabouts. Then he signed off my temporary licence, and told me it should come in the mail in the next 21 days after the relatively painless process of driving him around for 25 minutes.
It feels good to not freak out every time I see a police car behind, in front, at the side, or anywhere near me now. I must say, it was more tiring than driving long-distance outstation, because I've never checked my speedometer, or turned my head to check for blind spots so frequently before.
Random ponder: I wonder where I can purchase a helium tank from, and how much it would cost?
Entry 76 For 2 lantern festivals, I had been eyeing it like a how a little kid eyes candy. The first lantern festival, my 2 best friends pursuaded me not to get it, because it wasn't worth it for that kind of ridiculous price. The second lantern festival, my boyfriend was against it, as he discovered my purpose for it. In the recent lantern festival, it was just calling out to me desperately, and I just had to get it.
The spongebob helium balloon! Actually, i didn't mind which character I got, I just wanted it for the helium. So, after allowing one day for aesthetic purposes, the process began the next day. Since I couldn't find a viable opening to carry out the procedure, I had to find alternatives. So, a straw was inserted it in his foot, where leakage would be minimal, and, well, I had my way with him. To clarify, his insides enabled me to speak like a chipmunk. Two minutes of speaking like a chipmunk cost me $15.
RIP my dear Spongebob, you served your purpose well.
Entry 75 This... ...was my Valentines gift this year. A passionfruit-fragrant bottle, filled with potpourri, 7 poetic messages rolled up, and 30 individually hand-folded stars (with the ahem help of his 'heng-dai') to represent the 30 days he was away, back in Malaysia.
Not a huge soccer fan, but I do watch when I have the chance, especially if it's a MU game. But, last Sunday morning, MU played against my other favourite team, BR. Fortunately, I am not that huge a fan, so I did not sacrifice my sleep to wake up or stay awake till 6am on a Sunday morning to watch the match. Naturally, that night, I logged in to soccernet, and saw the devastating news (refer to 'Nooooooooo!'). My consolation? They almost tied, (I beg you not to differ on this, ahem P and D), and my favourite player scored the one and only goal for his team. Everybody yay for Santa Cruz now.
Whilst reading the description of the match intensely, and trying to envision it in my head, D (whom is a loyal MU fan), walks past and glances at my screen, D: "Seeing how your team lost ah? *chuckle* Aiya, expected lah" N: "It was close okay!!" D: *snorts*
Mark my words, one day, you'll see BR not in the bottom 3 of the EPL. Hmph.
A human with a uniquely twisted mind and deranged character. Here, you have the product of boredom, itchy fingers, the need to fit in, and the urge to purge my thoughts.
Wednesday marked the last piano lesson for my student, M. I've taught her for almost 2 years now, and it's been an interesting experience indeed. The only reason I'm giving it up is because I'll be away for the summer and embarking on a new phase in life next year, giving me no time to continue teaching. As a token of the blossomed friendship between her family and I, I was presented with a lovely bouquet of flowers accompanied by a very cute handwritten card, and a bar of pomegranate soap (yes, she remembered I go crazy over anything with pomegranate scent in it). I'm not going to deny that it felt a little awkward carrying the bouquet onto the bus and walking around town. It just would not fit into my handbag. 
