Monday, December 31, 2007

Looking back at 2007 (Part III)



不变的感情


在这个世界里生存着的意义是什么
相遇 分离 喜悦 悲伤 在不断地重复上演
想着不是独自一人 却又感到孤独
就想日夜交替一样 不断迷茫
现在还不能够完全理解
因为我们不是大人 YEAH
但是我们也没有打算要放弃梦想

如果你在我面前哭了
我只想陪在你的身边
不变的事情 即使都没有了
不变的感情 也不想失去
LOVE 从心里溢出
LOVE 向你起誓

凝视那流动的云 感觉豁然开朗
丢掉那令讨厌的自己 重新起跑出发

如果你在我面前笑了
我只想拥抱你
这份珍贵的回忆
这份珍贵的感情
都不想失去
不管未来如何

LOVE 从心中溢出
LOVE 向你起誓
LOVE 从心中溢出
LOVE 向你起誓


翻译:炎鸟字幕组

I think this song pretty much sums up what I'm more or less feeling now. I'm 16, going on 17 next year, yet I still feel like a small kid at times. But as I grew older, I came to notice that the world is actually a sad, sad place, and not the utopia as I saw it when I was young. I'm never alone physically, but yet, at times, I do feel lonely. I have no idea what my future holds, and moving on to tomorrow scares me. But I still have dreams, BIG ones at that, and I do not intend to give them up at the moment. I know the bonds I form with the people around me; with my family, friends, have kept me going thus far. Will these relationships remain unchanged, forever?

Happy new year, everyone =)

The letters reached their recepients safely! Many thanks to Hui Jun and Bao Hui for providing 2 of the addresses!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Looking back at 2007 (Part II)

Once upon a time, in Year 1, Class A, of a certain girls' school, 3 girls found out that they were the only ones in the class of 40 who got into the school band, even though nearly 10 (or perhaps, more) from the class turned up for the audition. Thus began a close friendship which grew and matured as time passed.

These 3 girls had different personalities, kinds of handwriting, heights, academic abilities, interests, dress sense; different preferences for most things, but shared several similarities-- all 3 had piano backgrounds, not exactly very outspoken, and in a certain sense, appreciative of the Japanese pop culture. All in all, they could always find topics to talk about whenever they're together, whether it is complaining about certain school-related issues, discussing current affairs, sharing about the random, random fact they found about about something in Japan, ie. just about everything under the sky. On the rare occasion when all 3 of them somehow didn't feel like talking, the silence was not heavy with awkwardness, but with that of comfort. Such was their level of trust, acceptance, belief and dependence on each other-- many things among them were not stated aloud, but easily understood without any words or actions.

From that fateful day in Year 1, they had lunch together every time they had to stay back for something together, be it extra lessons or band practices. They walked out of school together wherever possible, meaning they headed to the bus stop together almost every day after school or band practices. They 'helped' each other out with homework or projects with nary a complaint. They went for SYF together, not once, but twice, with different conductors, slightly different bandmates, but through the same, trying process. Even though, after Streaming, in Year 3, when they were separated into 3 different classes, they still hung out together as much as possible, and things more or less remained the same.

After 4 unforgettable years together, these 3 girls are finally, for real, going their separate ways-- they have been assigned to 3 different JCs, different streams. Even though the current arrangement may not be permanent, the odds are big that they won't be in the same school together again.

This shortest/smallest girl of the 3 just wants to say that she's had fun with the other two and will forever have fond memories of their times together. She will be more lost without them and their little quirks, especially in a new environment, but will definitely keep in contact with them. And lastly, she wishes them all the best in all that they do, no matter where they are, and wants them to remember that she will always be supporting them, but morally, of course x)

This one's for Hui Min and Wanyan, my 2 best buddies of 4 years, and still counting~

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Looking back at 2007 (Part I)

きのう日本語のクラスは終わりました!(T。T) But E-2 course will be starting on 22 Jan!! Whoo!

Anyway, we had a class gathering at Mind Cafe somewhere near the National Library and played board games for a few hours. It's quite a unique concept (though I think I've heard it somewhere before) to set up a cafe for customers to play board/card games. But the food/drinks there sure are expensive~ (--)''' But it was just the place for the class meet up again! It was fun while it lasted, and it was kinda reassuring to see most of 4C again before going to our various new schools... THANK YOU, SWITCH, FOR ORGANISING THIS!!

Oh, and I made XD wait for nearly half an hour for a box of 绿豆糕 on Wednesday... SORRY!! The poor guy even missed the beginning portion of the movie~ But thanks for the soft toy!

Looking back at 2007...
  • Lost

  • This year, I 'lost' mainly 2 things-- myself (literally so), and sleep. I went out alone more so this year, and am more or less convinced that I have no sense of direction, no ability to recognise landmarks, and have an affinity for overshooting or getting off too early when I travelling about (--)''' Well, I've somewhat gotten used to it *gasps* but I'll try to do something about it x) This year, I also created a personal record on surviving on least amount of sleep gotten so far~ Like sleeping at midnight and waking up at 4+ to finish up my homework/revise etc. I'm not proud of this, and I hope next year won't be a hellish repeat of this...

  • Band

  • One of the reasons for getting much less sleep that I should was homework; the other was band, simply because of SYF. Practising for SYF was extremely stressful, and all that on top of the workload to prepare us for O levels. I won't forget the freezing band practices, the personal endurance races we had to undertake, SYF and whatever happened after that. We didn't managed to obtain a Gold for ourselves yet again, we felt really horrid for days after the result was announced, BUT I really treasure the time we spent together, especially with my section, my Euphos. Even though it was my 2nd SYF, I really don't think I would be able to go through all that without you. Even though the section shrunk to a mere 5 members this year, I'm still glad to be able to belong in the same section as you people, whether or not you played at SYF. To my bandmates too, having gone through SYF twice with some of you, I'm honoured to have played with you. It's kinda ironic how I can feel so much for band, yet missed Farewell, or not really wanting to be band again in JC. But then, can I bear the thought of not having performed on a proper stage in a proper concert after being in the band for 4 years already? Like I said some time ago, we'll see...

  • GCE O Level

  • However much I enjoyed band, my days in the band room eventually came to a stop because of O levels. To put it another way, most of what happened this year was directly or indirectly affected by Os. The stress, mountains of homework, tests and exams, long nights spent alone burning midnight oil for one reason or another, ending of CCAs, graduation and so on. Like it or not, it was one of the major things that happened this year.

  • 4C/07

  • As we can all see, this year hadn't exactly been a relaxing year. Another group of people who helped me a lot, other than my bandmates, are my fabulous classmates =) Class of 4C/07, I really cannot imagine being in another class other than you. I had fun with all of you last year, but I never expected this much this year. It feels as if the bonds we formed last year got even stronger this year with everything we did: making a fool of ourselves onstage in front of the whole school during the CNY performance, running around the MPH in a human train after the official National Day Celebrations in school, the many rowdy meals and loud conversations we had in various places, running together during 50laps@cedar, the climax, Grad Nite, and after that, that crazy 4D incident, and lots more. Special thanks to the class comm, 'classroom morning gang' and the people who sat around me, for making this year a memorable one for me. All the best to every one of my classmates in your new schools =) It's still hard to say goodbye now, huh...

  • Teachers

  • I've mentioned my bandmates, I've mentioned my classmates, now it's time to thank the older ones, the teachers-- especially Mr Sng, Miss Begam, Mrs Chia and Mrs Chaiw. I won't elaborate, but thank you for having faith in me.

  • Plays

  • OOookay, enough thanking~ Moving on to the plays I saw this year: Titoudao and Macbeth. Because I took Literature, I had the chance to go and watch these 2 plays, for the first time in my life. Yep, I've never even stepped into a theater before. All I can say is that both left quite an impression on me and I want to watch some more plays ^^ Somehow, they feel different from a movie or TV episode--

  • Weddings

  • I was lucky to be able to attend 2 weddings this year, Mr Sng's and my cousin's. My mother often tells me that a woman looks her most beautiful on her wedding day, but I've never really noticed it. However, after attending those 2 weddings, especially my cousin's, I can't help but agree =)

  • Trip to Taiwan

  • And for the first time in like a hundred years, I finally went abroad for a holiday!! Taiwan was the destination, and I went with my sister and 2 aunts. It was really an eye-opener to kinda see the difference in cultures of here and Taiwan. It helped that we had an experienced local guide who wasn't afraid to voice his displeasure on the state of politics there (somehow, to hilarious effects) and a caring guide who went with us there. I want to go for another holiday!! But this time, with my family, or friends x) And hopefully, further!! Haha~

  • Japanese

  • Finally, the last bit of this post: I've walked down the path of no return-- sunk too deep into the Japanese pop-culture?!! This year, I watched even more anime and j-doramas, fell in love with Tenimyu and Burimyu, got all obsessed over Kimeru (!!) and Nagayan (!!), and even went to learn Japanese! As for the short course, it wasn't exactly very easy, but I really enjoyed the whole process. Now, when I watch/ attempt to read something in Japanese, and hear/read something that I understand, I get this 'oh cool!' feeling that just makes me want to learn more. Haha. Now, if only I was that motivated to learn Chinese as well~
And that's it for part I!

Status of letters: written, sealed, stamp stuck on, posted this morning --> I stayed up until 3:45 this morning to finish up everything, so they better reach the recepients before next year (Y.Y)

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!

So I've just returned home from my cousin's wedding banquet (congrats, JR!). She's prettier than ever today =)

I've washed my hair and am waiting for it to dry at least a little bit before I blow-dry it. I'm dead tired, since my mother dragged me out of bed this morning at 5:30am sharp so that I could see my cousin get married, but boy, was it fun-- the bargaining, forfeits, mayhem, tension and everything else I saw today was more or less my first actual experience of a traditional Chinese wedding. And I get to be the unofficial photographer 'cos my aunt gave me her digital camera and told me to snap away x)

Bet I won't wake up before 10:30am tomorrow~ Sleep time-!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Here's some photos I (my sister too) took in Taiwan!

http://public.fotki.com/mykibi/taiwan-2007-/

And tomorrow's my cousin's wedding!! Not very sure why, but I'm feeling excited! Haha~

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Saturday, December 22, 2007

I finally finished watching the english-subbed version of Bankai 001!! Having watched the chinese-subbed version as well, I found quite a few discrepancies though~ The verdict? The chinese-subbed one seems more reliable, and some things just sound more correct in Chinese. Mind you, I'm saying this as someone who can't even string together a sentence in Japanese properly.

Speaking of which, the beginner's course I'm currently attending will be ending the coming Friday! It's 3 hours of Japanese from Monday onwards. Whoo~ I want to continue learning!! We'll see-- ^^ Friday's the class gathering to celebrate our teacher's birthdays too, so I guess it's inevitable that I'll be late, since the test itself takes up 1.5 hours--> yes, I need to sit for a test before graduating from the course! @@

I'm fumbling, totally screwing up my scales. UGH. My piano teacher looked ready to strangle me, both last week and just now. Well, that's the last piano lesson of the year (Christmas holiday next Saturday) so hopefully I'll improve drastically by then (meaning I need to practise, practise and practise).

School's starting in a little more than 10 days, and I'm not really looking forward to it. *sigh* Kinda expected, huh? New campus, new people, lotsa awkward self-introductions, trying to build up friendships that may/may not last a month etc... I'm probably gonna feel like I've just landed on Jupiter over again~

Oh yeah, Kimeru's new single is coming out on January 23!!!!!! Heard the demo and can't wait for the complete song!! I'm just a teeny bit worried about how the PV will turn out to be like

It's:
1 day to my cousin's wedding
2 days to Christmas
5 days to end of Japanese course 4C07 class gathering

dammit. I'm still short of one address~

Monday, December 17, 2007

Monday, December 17, 2007

If anyone noticed, my posts have been picture-less ever since I came back from Taiwan. Why? 'Cos I stupidly left my data cable in one of the hotels I stayed there (TT)

And I've got a hundred and one photos in my mobile phone that I want to upload and I can't do anything about it.

BBBLLLLLLAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH o(--)''o

Been lazing around mostly~ But I've changed my old blogskins to a キラキラ new one!

Ja-ne!

I just saw (and read) the powerpoint presentation (sent to my email weeks ago) that was shown during band farewell (which I missed). Oh my gosh. I think I'm gonna cry..

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Thursday, December 13, 2007

I've kinda memorised the hiragana chart.
I've kinda memorised the katakana chart too.
'Thing is, I've kinda mixed them all up as well.

Argh.

I just need to write them out more often, I suppose (HOPEFULLY). We're learning how to string up random verbs and sorts together into a sentence now... In other words, I'm getting a bit lost already (TT) *sigh*

Anyway, I got into my first choice JC!! I just hope that I won't regret my choice...

And time really is zooming past-- I mean, its only 12 days to Christmas! Which, of course, means that school will be starting soon, again... (==)

P.S. I had lunch (last?) with my dear juniors at Pizza Hut (mmhmmm) on Tuesday. It's been ages since we sat together and chitchat~ ^^

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I'm finding it hard to memorise the hiragana chart-- keep forgetting or messing/mixing them up. And don't even get me started on katakana~ @.@

がんばります!

Oh yeah, take a look at this news article--> http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/19/style/fslim.php

Kinda hard not to agree with the first part if you'd kindly look at most of the j-artistes. But the second part about relationship thing-- um... (?.?)

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Sunday, December 02, 2007

First Japanese lesson tomorrow! Wonder what it'll turn out to be like?

And gosh, it's already December...