Homework!

The following is a brief summary on how my Chinese homework looks like (before it was given a rough translation to Chinese, duh, and became really boring and un-witty- it’s very hard to be sarcastic in Mandarin!)

December 25^th. The day that children all round the world covets and eagerly waits for. Everywhere you go, you can hear strains of those irritating, repetitive Christmas jingles, and Christmas sales are chock-full with a variety of products. Also, this is probably the only time where children are on their best behaviour. Ever heard the line, “He knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.” Yep. It’s firmly rooted into tradition. Be good or else!

I, personally, do not believe in the existence of Santa Claus. Perhaps, if I were born in the West, then I might still believe in him. But when you live in a country that no such customs like the westerners; for example hanging stockings beside your chimney (Sorry, no chimneys. Perhaps Santa would like to crawl up the rubbish chute?), or leaving out milk and cookies for him, as well as carrots for the reindeer (Can’t fit through the grilles on the window). Presents are placed under a fir tree (fake, obviously) laden with decorations and blinding fluorescent lights by the parents passing themselves as a pseudo-Santa. Honestly. How is Christmas spirit going to work here in Singapore?

In this country, many children have the misconception that Christmas is all about getting presents, leaving long lists of ‘wants’ for Santa to pick up. Some of the cleverer ones already know that ‘Santa’ comes in the form of their parents, after a night of careful observation of the goings-on beside the Christmas tree. I decided to find out for myself, how many people actually believed in Santa Claus?

After interviewing some of the folks around my block, I compiled the results into a series of tables and charts, and found that mostly those who believed in Santa Claus were the younger children. The disbelievers were mostly young adults and teens over the age of fifteen.

If there were more activities for children to get to understand the true meaning and origin of Christmas, perhaps more people would believe in the existence of this jolly old man. Start from young, as they say.

Dear Diary...

Dear Diary,
We will be flying off to Brunei tomorrow. Kind of excited- really can't wait to see all my cousins again! :D

I went kayaking with my family yesterday! Two guides accompanied us into the mangrove swamp across the resort so we wouldn't get lost- the first guide in front with Yong Yong and the other with Mummy, at the back.

Di Di was really annoyed throughout the whole half-hour trip. I sat in front of him and managed to get his shorts totally drenched in water before trip was over. And we kept getting stuck. I guess it wasn't a total coincidence that it happened whenever I slapped a mosquito. Okay, so I did drop the paddle and it 'accidentally' hit him on the head... And it wasn't totally my fault that we got stranded on the roots of the mangroves. We had to be lifted out of the kayak, but, hey! At least we didn't get wet ~^-^~

Third Day At Gayana

Second day of swimming- arrived at Gaya island at night.
Following is a few quick notes I scribbled on the precious little paper they have around here.

~First Night~
Cut on right hand, not from coral but because I hit a towel rack while throwing towels around in the bathroom. Why, you ask? There was no water supply ONLY after everyone else had taken their baths. Why can't the @#%* pipe wait till I was done showering before bursting? In the end I took eight bottles of water- ([Courtesy of Gayana Eco Resort]- the label said) and heated it with the kettle so I could at least wash up.

Can't believe it's 1000 Ringit just for a night and they can't even promise proper piped water. *grumbles*

~Second Day~
Forehead kena.
Ears slightly singed in sun.
RIP-OFFs!!! A dish of pasta was 48 Malaysia dollars (24 Sing dollars)

~Third Day~
Sunburned face- I look like I'm blushing 24/7
Nose hurts.
Arms horribly burnt.
Legs too.
Ears painful to the touch- they're all red and I look like some elf.
Cut on left hand from coral.
As well as numerous mosquito bites- I lost track from 13 bites onwards.

I'm also complaining that there are no baked beans.

On the upside, service is great. 'Cept the hearing aids they so desperately need, it's nice. Yesterday I ordered fried rice and they served me french fries. We ordered TWO omlettes, and ended up with ONE. Also, I said LESS cheese, not NO cheese.

At least they have Disney channel so I'm not missing any of my programs. :D

I am never going to bring Yong Yong out again

Had a horrible day yesterday. Actually, not until 5pm when mummy asked us to help her buy sugarcane and oranges... Yong Yong insisted on going, so he brought his recently-bought bicycle. *sigh*

Just as we were about to cross a traffic light, Yong Yong complained that his bicycle wheel "有问题". Irritated, I bent down to inspect it and found that one of the screws holding the wheel had dropped out. We were pretty annoyed by then, so Di Di then grabbed the bicycle and ran across the road, Joy took the spare parts that dropped off, pulling Yong Yong with her; which left me to heave the scooter she was riding across the road.

Who would have known the wheel would fall off in the middle of the road... o.O

Luckily it didn't bounce away or anything... -.- lll Cos the tyre is fake rubber. (what do you expect from a cheap kiddy bicycle like this?!) We kind of froze in shock for awhile. The situation was so hilarious and yet so exasperating... I ran back across the road, retrieved the wheel just before the light turned red. The drivers on the road were all laughing so hard, they didn't leave immediately, luckily.

Thanks to his fantastic bicycle, we took a whole hour before we returned home. And we missed dinner. Fantastic. Thanks a lot, Yong Yong.

Mummy didn't sympathise with our plight. She was annoyed we took so long. Pa Pa didn't praise us for being so nice either. He was laughing too hard.

Sleepless

Does anyone remember the ICAS English test in Sec 1? Or was it Primary 6 (New south wales)? There was a passage in which it described the common problem for teenagers- sleeplessness. If I remember correctly, to quote from the passage itself, it stated something about 'changing hormones', which prepares us to withstand less sleep like most adults. Perhaps they overdose us on this hormone and we end up lying awake in bed, 'watching the hour hand move slowly, past one, two... three...' (direct quote)

Well, I've been waking up at odd hours and drift off to sleep at, say, 1 am. Yesterday my mum woke up at 4 am to find me sleeping on the floor outside her room. And I had no idea how I got there. Shoot I hope I'm not one of those crazy people who sleepwalk and accidentally walk out of an open window...

Dear Diary...

Sometimes I wonder who really IS the older sister in the family. To prove it, Di Di is more *ehm* mature than me. Though I rather not admit it.

By the way: Xu Ke brought up a sensitive topic for many women (not girls)- how old does one look? 'Course, we don't have to care much now, but when we grow up, will we look more or less the same? Does height have to do with it?

Today a totally random guy started talking to her on the bus and asked her if she was Sec 4 or 5. Slightly put out, she told him that she was Sec 2. (she had a similar incident with her ballet classmates, they thought she was Sec 3 or 4, and then asked if I was Sec 1) We spent some time looking at our reflections in the glass door of the dance room, and asked around for other opinions. Turns out she does look fifteen or sixteen- mature look. Whereas for me... My dance juniors happily told me I looked their age or younger. Oh boy.

A few days before end of school, I met an overly-friendly old uncle on the MRT. What he said shocked me-

"Your uniform is very unique, what primary school is this?" (loosely translated from mandarin) I stammered a vague reply, my head reeling.

#1- What? Primary school?! Don't I look at least mature enough to pull off a Sec 1 look?

#2- RV should be well-known enough, right?

He was probably deaf, despite my further (but unfortunately poor mandarin) elaborations, so he continued rambling on about how they were going too far, having to make little kids wake up first thing in the morning to make them go to school. Immediately after that he contradicted himself by saying how lucky us kids were, we didn't need to wake up at 4 am to walk to school. I was saved from a lengthy lecture by getting off at Jurong. I was so glad he wasn't getting off, because I was sorely tempted to sit all the way to Joo Khoon and then head back to Jurong to avoid listening to him for another torturous minute. Phew.

Do you think I should go around with a label saying- "Secondary 2- River Valley High" ? The idea is tempting but I think I'll save myself the embarrassment and pass.

Warmth

Elena hunched over the book she was reading, ignoring her mother’s repeated attempts to tell her to get out of the house. Her boyfriend, Eric, had left for America to further his studies a month ago, and would only be back in three years time.

“Stop pining for that boy, Elena, and do something constructive for once!” Elena pursed up her mouth in disdain.

She could feel his breath; his hand, slipping into hers…

Her mother sighed. Holding up a shiny, plastic card, she waved it in front of her daughter’s face to catch her attention.

“Here. Go the mall. Anywhere. Shop all you want.” Elena brightened up.

“Really?” Grabbing the card, she bounded out of the house before her mother could reply. Her mother smiled knowingly, immediately regretting her decision.

“Shoes, half-price… dresses… ooh! 60% off on skirts!”

Elena was lost in a shopping frenzy, a magical land, with admittance only on the flash of a card or a purse full of crisp notes. Squeezing through the crowd, laden down with her numerous purchases, a warm, comforting hand brushed past hers, making her stop.

The warmth… His hand… Pressed close to hers… Reassuring her that…

She dropped the bags she was carrying. No! It couldn’t be! Eric…

“He only went there to withdraw from that horrid school…” she exclaimed with a lengthy breath. “He wanted to surprise me, the darling…”

She spun around. “Eric!”

His hand, clasped in hers…

“Eric?”

Giving warmth to hers, keeping her safe…

Past caring, she bolted for the entrance of the mall, leaving her pricey luxuries on the cold marble floor for the next mall-rat to pick up.

“Mrs Olsen, is Eric back?”

The plump, jolly woman looked down at the petite girl panting on her front door, looking quite winded.

“No, dearie. Bless you, you would have been the first to know if he did.”

The warmth seemed stuffy and hot…

“Sorry to trouble you…”

“It’s no problem, do stay for tea!”

“I must go, my mother is expecting me back for tea…”

The girl turned, confused and lost, her head hanging, past the veranda.

It no longer gave her comfort… only false hope, false courage…

She stopped, her jet-black hair swaying like the willows in the wind. Fumbling for the thin piece of plastic in her back pocket, her fingers closed in on empty air.

That hand…

“…?”

Her security blanket…

“Where is it? No, no, no!”

Was it still…?

“Where did you get this?”

“I’ll sell it to you for a hundred,”

“Fifty. You must have taken it from a baby!”

“Seventy. Nah, I snitched it from this girl at the mall. She didn’t even protest, just stood there and let me feel her pockets. A clean getaway.”

“Deal. Give me that card, now.”

That once comforting warmth, was no more.

Chalet

Chalet was really tiring. Been reaching home at like, 11+?

I think the only part I enjoyed was bowling. (67 points T-T) Other than that I think we were more or less separated into our various cliques (for girls). Can't stand how all the guys manage to have so much fun and stay bonded. The girls are always promising to become more bonded but... (flops as usual) In this aspect really 佩服 them.

Hopefully there will be a 2F '09 chalet for next year. :D

Facebook rules!

I just want to say to all facebook addicts out there- facebook rocks! It has kept me occupied for at least 2 weeks :D

Whiner for a Day

Dear Diary,

Pa Pa still won't let me stay overnight for class chalet! Hopefully, next year, he'll loosen up a bit and let me stay overnight if I have a chalet. I have been on my best behaviour (I think!) apart from the 'reading books at night' thing. Mummy has tried to persuade him but he still won't budge. Wonder where I got my stubbornness trait from?

So now, this is a brief schedule of my days ahead.

11th Nov-

Part I

Alternative 1: Head out to dance 1-4pm

Alternative 2: Go to chalet first, then to dance.

Part II

Rush to chalet

Come home at close to 1am. (taxi maybe)

12th Nov

Repeat.

13th Nov

Rush out early in the morning to chalet and go home when everyone else does.

Stupid huh? If only Pa Pa would let me stay overnight, all these little problems would be solved.

Dear Diary...

Dear Diary,

Of late I've been acting really strange. When I'm with my friends, I smile more or less frequently, and it's easier to act natural. But at home, I just have to turn on the computer or the NDS, and I can maintain my blank expression for the rest of the day. It feels really weird to me, but no one else notices. They don't really bother. I mean, everyone's busy with one thing or another, no one actually observes... They just find it weird that I wake up at exactly 6.30 am, no matter how late I sleep.

Pa Pa caught me reading books at 2 am yesterday morning by the light of my handphone. I didn't take a chance with my flashlight 'cuz it's too bright, but when I got up to use the toilet he asked me why was up at 2+ in the morning. I tried to ease the suspicion by saying something about Mei snoring and tossing about too much, but kids can't fool their parents. What he said really froze the blood in my veins- "If you just woke up, you wouldn't be so awake."

I cursed myself all the way back to my room. After about ten minutes, he didn't come, so I thought I was safe. Just as I opened my book, the door slammed open. It's like he had x-ray vision or something! Okay, he confiscated my book and took my handphone for charging, then promptly banned me from going to the library for three days. I'm gonna die cooped up here with only all the books in my bookshelf, computer (which Di Di is using to play AQ World), and NDS (Mei is playing Nintendogs).

The good news is, Mummy says she has an overdue book so I'm going to helpfully return it for her and spend the rest of the day at the library. :D I can't wait till Pa Pa comes back so we can leave! You know, last time we went on holiday and we didn't go to the library for a whole MONTH the librarians there were so worried, they called us to see if we were alright, if we moved house, etc.

Joke! Guess that shows how often we visit the library... Hee..

I'm going now, Diary. Pa Pa has come back (finally!) and we're leaving after an early dinner.

Bye!

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

Yayyy!

I'm going back to school today! XD So happy :)

What? You may ask. IS there a problem with me? Well, actually, no, it's because I've been so bored cooped up at home! Facebook, been there; blogging, well, shouldn't spam my wole blog just for the fun of it, plus I can't find a nice layout... This blog is seriously going to be the death of me one day.

First Post

Dear Diary...

Um.... Blogging... Okay, this is vastly different from what I had in mind of a perfect place for me to grouch about daily stuff. I didn't really intend to give out my address, to keep this place secret... Aah, I shouldn't be so selfish...

Yong Yong refuses to let me read to him (not that I want to anyway); I'm doing it only to give my mum a break. Recently I developed a new respect for my mum: I conclude that only mothers can withstand 24/7 whining and tantrums from a feisty four-going-on-five kid. The toilet nearly got clogged yesterday (yes, again?!) when he threw a a growing animal (those kinds that 'magically grow' when you put them in water) and attempted to flush it down. Obviously, it got stuck and is growing at the bottom of the toilet now; my dad tried to prod it out with a stick, used those anti-clog chemicals, and it's slowly disintegrating. To prove my point, when I flushed the toilet today there was a monkey's head floating on top of all the toiler paper. Gross.

Di Di is suffering from a foot injury (guess who left his toy car lying on the floor?) so he's staying home from school today. He's overjoyed, but not so when he found out that tomorrow is his class party. Hopefully he can hobble to school or he has to go in a baby stroller, which he swears will never sit in, even if he has to miss the party. I'm the one who has to push him there, so I'm of the same mind.

***

Anyway, I'm nursing a major headache now. Yong Yong kicked me on my temple, so I lashed out at him and now he's crying in his room. Mummy has gone to bed, complaining of a headache. I'll have to do the washing and cook lunch now, so I'll keep this brief.