the Dawn of Dusk

So the 21st of May came and went, or more like whooshed by, and your much loved author here took the inevitable step into the Teenage Twilight Zone. With lesser fanfare than she had fantasied all her hormones-raging years.

You know, I had always imagined my 19th to be, not huge, but wild. Perhaps leaning towards impromptu-rendezvous-to-exotic places, karaoke...with the added spices of being entertained by a certain kNarnian...hints: Umbrella >:) + slumber party (without the slumber), or even picnic accompanied by loads of cam-whoring while getting caffeinated with Starbucks. Of course, what with the unexpected piles of assignments, heavy schedule and other shits of being a Degree student, I couldn't possibly believe things would turn out how I wished it could have been, no?

Nevertheless, the back-to-back celebrations were fawesome. Sumptous meals. Plentiful of cam-whoring sessions. Had a stitch in the stomach for L.O.L. Best of all, amazing and lovely company. And so, from the soles of my feet, I thank you for extracting a couple of hours of your time to celebrate and thus mark the end of my 18th, and the beginning of my 19th, year of life. Merci :)

21st May '09

Ha. Trust my luck to land my birthday on the most gruelling and dreaded day of the entire week. It was, and still is, that one day of the week when all accursed assignments of the past week are due. By the end of the day, you are either half-dozing with exhaustion or seething with annoyance and pent up frustration from the new assignments given throughout the day (mind you, our assignments are not just about keying 5000+ word essays, though I won't be ranting about that till another post).

So yesh, I hereby dedicate an extra THANK YOU to those who went for the dinner after choir, and before that, MIDI, Popular Music History, Music Tech and sectional practices (and some even had band practices) :

Wen Dee (See? I put your name first!)

Jia Wen

Huay May

Eunice

Irene

Phyllis (+ Pierz)

Stephen

Rachel

Kevin

I had been requested to add this: A special thank you to Wan Wen Dee for choosing and buying the chocolate cake with a hard icing surface that saved my face from being coated with chocolate after being smashed by Eunice. Twice.

(To Wen Dee) Hmm...just a fleeting thought: I know I sometimes sound like an old record player gone hair-wired when I think nobody's listening to me, but did I tell you how much I love chocolate cakes? Especially those that are filled with nothing but chocolate? If yes, thank you for listening...multiple times. If no, well done on the good guess :) Me LOVED the cake a lot.

Anyway, voila! Photos!

HA. I was in the process of sticking in my toothpick-Wolverine-claws (or whatever you call them).

Stephen

Kevin and Rachel

Irene and Eunice

I WAS surprised when Eunice brought out the cake, even if I got suspicious seeing Wen Dee's hand snuck around the doorway to shut off the lights.

Pweetty :)

Excuse me for bombarding this post with my self-potraits

No comments on what Kevin and Stephen were doing

It was supposed to look as if they were kissing...

Don't look at me for the embarrassing video. Ask the person who was sitting on my right.

Seriously, you can clearly point out where my nose and chin landed

Me and Wen Dee

We were dining at Wen Dee's mom's restaurant, by the way

Phyllis and Eunice

Irene and Wen Dee

Huay May, Jia Wen, Wen Dee, Stephen and Irene

This group pic's nicer than the one taken with my camera

22nd May '09

Met up with the sluts at the Curve for dinner after Modern Band Ensemble (well, it actually started with Coffee Bean, aka Cocaine Binge at 1U, but let's skip that part, shall we?) And because of the unique circumstance, we decided to break our freshly set budget and SPLURGED the night away!

Dinner venue: The Apartment

I love the ambiance there. Reminds me of Fun OK cafe near my college. But a sleeker version. It is like a shrunk house-turn-cafe. And there are real books too, at the 'library' sitting area. FOOD and BOOKS, tasty combination :)

Anyway, of all the places, we were seated at...the 'bathroom'. Partially literally, if you get my drift, since only a single wall was tiled and planted with toilet, erm, gadgets (you know, the shower, mirror, towel bar with a towel slung on it, toilet rolls, that sort of stuff). I would have preferred the 'balcony', or more to me like the 'porch', but I didn't think either of us would enjoy gasping for air everytime we wanted to talk or eat. One smoker was enough to deter us.

Moi

Lootsie

A Man, Duh

Hojo

Eu-know-who

Squeal in elation, for there are books!

Old books for old people?

The library :)

Us and CineLeisure

Strolling on the Street

Wandered around for a bit to digest off the food before our thirst made it impossible to ignore. And since I couldn't name a place to have our drinks, and desserts, they made me close my eyes and point to a cafe on the map. Blah. My finger landed only on non-coherent locations.

So we stoned. And stoned. And stoned. Until I came up with a name...Paddington House of Pancakes. I probably would have to stop spending for a week if we really ended up there. But fortunately, we stumbled upon California Cafe. Look what we had treated ourselves to:

Sinful indulgences

Oreo + Brownie + Haagen Dazs chocolate ice-ream + whipped cream = HEAVEN

Joanna, Amanda, Lucinda, me, Eu Chern

The course would not be complete without a 'quick' stop at the luxurious hotel to cam-whore (you should have seen this coming).

Flipped version

Us and my leather birthday throne

Damn serious

Stoning...

...On the verge of succumbing to insanity...

...Insanity struck!

The ride home in Amanda's car was wicked! Rolled down the windows and blasted Lady Gaga's Poker to max volume while screeching the song to everyone within hearing distance around us. Annoying people is what we do best, no?

Love you sluts XOXO

Doodling

Gah. Another one of my lame attempts in trying to write a short fictional passage. DO PLEASE IGNORE IT. 

The clock chimed midnight.

She lifted her delicate fingers to the back of her head and gently tugged at the ribbon. As the mask fell from her face, he drew in a sharp breath.

It was her.

The girl who danced to 80s rock music with the curtains thrown wide apart. The girl who called him in the middle of the night to vent out her frustration. The girl who debated with him on practically every single topic. The only girl who yelled at him for giving her the look-over when she was a freshman. The girl who didn't believe in fairy tales. The girl who hated dresses. 

It was her. 

"What are you staring at? Never thought I was a girl-"

The words were lost as he snaked his hand to the small of her back and pulled her to him.

"Don't you try running away. With your average shoe size, any girl could fit into that missing glass slipper."

She chuckled softly. He never stopped being himself.

All too sudden, the amused smile evaporated as his face softened and his eyes had a gleam that she never knew existed. Then, oblivious to the rest of the crowd at masquerade, he leaned in, closed his eyes and covered her lips with his. 

He had found his Cinderella.

P.S. I love masquerades. There's something magical about them. Must be the unmask-at-midnight part. And yes, I'll admit. Cinderella is the only fairy tale that I still love and believe in. 

P.P.S. I'll update on my birthday celebrations as soon as I grab the photos from the respective cameraman/lady. In the meantime, thank you, THANK YOU, to those who celebrated my 19th with me. Your presence meant much more than any gift :)  

P.P.P.S. My sis finds the glass slipper part corny. HAHA.

the Day after Tomorrow

Intended to title this post 'LAST words' regarding my last written words as an 18 year old. But that would sound a tad morbid, don't you think? And unlike someone I know who, within the span of 60 minutes before her 19th, dedicated 7 posts on how depressed and queasy she was about being a step closer to her twenties, and, ultimately, her death, I'm not exactly upset about leaving 18 behind. Of course, this isn't to say I'm thrilled about it. 

I. Just. Don't. Feel. Anything. 

Odd, you know. No tingles of excitement. No bubbles of elation. No bouts of depression. Just nothing. Void.

Then again, my mind and body's responses tend to be retard. So just spare me a couple of days and you'll see a post with the torrent of thoughts that I'll have on living the last 365 days as a TEENager. 

Anyway, this morning's MIDI was a near-death experience. Stupid flash drive broke down. The pending assignments were saved in that 1 place (Don't blame me, it crashed before I could copy the files to my hard drive). Culprit suspected: MIDI lab's computer. From the disfigured dent on the back of the wafer-thin USB port, I'm guessing the dumb equipment couldn't stand the heat and melted, though it was saved before it became deformed or turned into pulp. THANK GOD I sat with Eunice because since we could only open a file at a time, Eunice opened hers and completed whatever work there was left while I counted down the minutes to the end of class. 

Oh well. Back to slaving. 

P.S. Ignore this post. My fingers are itchy and want to type something even if there are 2 assignments due on Thursday as well as a pop quiz on a subject that is more or less physics-related. Ugh. How unappetizing. 

Meanwhile, be entertained! Though some of you have watched it after much pestering from me.

An outdated update

Am supposed to be researching on Soul Music, or more specifically, the Motown Sound. Am due to finish up my Midi assignment before Tuesday's class. Am instructed to read up a whole chapter with 33 bloody pages of written facts on, God forbid, the PHYSICS of sound (sheesh, it IS Music Technology, what did I freaking expect?). Am told to look up on prospective songs for my band to play in the following week.

But, lo and behold, I'm blogging the night away here. Surprise. 

So I guess I don't deserve to rant about the past week. But just to let you have a gist of it, nothing HUGE happened, other than workload came pouring down like rain. The whole week had been cruh-ay-zee, with the capital C. It was like digging my own grave, waiting for the day when I would eventually drop dead, squashed by the immense weight of assignments, practices and expectations. Exams are nothing compared to these weekly tortures. I swear.

Anyway, to a lighter and much more cheerful subject: photos! I know I haven't been uploading tons of them from all those countless occasions. Heck, I just realized I haven't even posted my sexies' birthdays, especially Amanda's! *Knocks head against the wall*

Alright. Since my collection of photos aren't complete for certain occasions, I'm going to start off with Concerts. Then perhaps the next would be Birthdays, College Random Shots and whatever that I stumble upon. 

Shall we start with the less exciting one first? Lat's Window to the World & Charlie Chaplin. Fine. It wasn't NOT exciting, just the fact that it was a formal, dress-coded, instrumental concert makes it less striking. Thank God there was a 'silent movie' projecting on the screen, like the concert on Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Of course, the music was not even near to the latter. 

Let's skip the crap. 

Jing Hua, Eu Chern (with my sis' crutches) and me

Black and white

With a tinge of grey

Took my mom 3 tries before getting this (me, aunt, sis, Hau Run, Jia Wei, bro)

Ah, now for the exciting part! David A's concert! Had a blast there screeching and shrieking his name, even when I wasn't such a huge fan before then. Wicked singing, not a pitch off. He even came back onstage to sing 2 extra songs, A Thousand Miles and Angel (from his American Idol days), when JJ and Ean had us screaming his name again and again and again after he left. The best part was him playing the keyboard. Got blown away :)

Well, here he is:

An insane fan in-making?

The said fan and sis

+ bestie

:P

Leonardo Da Vinci's human diagram. The modern and clothed version, that is.

Wheeeeee...! Natalie and Ean :)

Amanda was wondering how they bred such huge swans

P.S. Angels & Demons was fucking AWESOME! Sure, a bit gory at the start where the bloody eyeball was lying on the ground about 10 feet from the body (I was about to bite into my snuck-in Kebab) and 1 part or 2 when they showed the bodies of the murdered preferetti, but all in all, the whole movie was adrenaline-rushing, with magnificent sceneries and sculptures to back it up. Loved the majestic background music too, loads of grand choral singing (reminded me of Lord of the Rings). Plus, most of the important details were in, though they missed out the scientific ones, like how they tested the very first creation of anti-matter within a lead-coated chamber. Disappointing that it didn't reveal the fact of the late Pope was actually Camerlengo's biological father >:-/ 

So, if you UCSI people plan to catch this movie, if we ever found a free time, that is, then I would definitely watch it again. Well, partially because Angels & Demons is worth watching twice, but mostly because I promised I would watch it with you guys. And I intend to keep my word :) We'll find time, ok?

Ah, May.

Monday (4/5):

I couldn't believe I went to college with no inkling whatsoever of my time table or even which classes I was to attend. Seriously. No news on our Jury results, which was THE examination that would grant us access to Degree if passed, and thus no course selection and no paying of fees. So there the whole bunch of us were, back in college but with no where to go. 

 

Monday:

2pm-3pm Band practice

4.30pm-5.30pm Sectional practice

5.30pm-6pm Band coaching

Tuesday:

10am-11am Midi 1

2pm-3pm Music technology

3pm-4.30pm Pop music history

5pm-6pm Piano class

Wednesday:

11am-12pm Band practice

1pm-1.30pm Viola class

Thursday:

10am-11am Midi 1

11am-12.30pm Pop music history

3pm-4pm Music technology

5pm-7pm Choir

Friday:

10am-12pm Master class

12pm-1.30pm Recital

2pm-4pm Modern band ensemble

Please note that this schedule was compiled over the course of 5 days. 

Tuesday (5/5):

Gah. Midi class got cancelled. But on the bright side, Wen Dee and I went fishing in the sea full of newbies (there are actually 32 Foundation I students, excluding those joining us 'old ones' in Degree I) and surprise (with the exclamation mark), someone here spotted a rare fish in the waters. Teehee! Degree didn't seem daunting anymore. At least for now. 

Had Carl's Junior for lunch. Along with Jia Wen, Rachel, Kevin, Andrew, Wen Dee and David Chiok. In Mid Valley.

HAHA. Some people take things too literally.

Andrew and his excessive intake of fries.

That burger won't stay so large and pretty for long, especially not in Wen Dee's hands

"Nothing beats Carl's Jr.'s burgers!" enthused a customer only known as Kevin.

David the Mr. Messy

*Gasp* Jia Wen lips were swollen! So Kevin gave her some reddish antidote for them.

Rachel looked so happy =)

Yours truly

We rushed back to college and arrived at 3pm on the dot. Only to have the class cancelled. 

Wednesday (6/5):

Couldn't recall what I did that day other than lazing about since classes still hadn't started yet. Oh! Jing Hua came to meet me after her classes coz she wanted to practice piano. And guess what? She knew Rachel from their primary school days! Cool =) This is a small world, baby, a small world. 

Thursday (7/5):

Hell yeah. First class in the first week of our first semester in Degree. Midi I. All about editing, mixing, arranging and manipulating audio data, plus others that you non-musically-inclined people might not comprehend. Sounds fun? It IS, if minus the presence of the ASS factor. Shitload. An assignment is due every single week starting the week after next. So within less than 60 minutes, you can imagine my face going from :) to >:( 

To top it up, Adil gave us a shopping list: A flash drive with at least 1GB, a hard drive more than 160GB and a set of headphones WITHOUT the microphone. Consequences might be dreary if his requests are not met. And so, shopping was a must, and since Wen Dee couldn't make it on Saturday, we decided to do it right after Pop Music History. 

By 12.30pm, the number of lines of frown had multiplied doubly. The reflective questions Alex handed us to answer were next to impossible. I foresaw endless hours of eye-straining research.

 

Anyway, off to Low Yat Jia Wen, Rachel, Wen Dee, Kevin, Andrew and I went! Whee...I got to sit the college's shuttle bus for the first time, as well as my first Star-line LRT ride! Right. I sound ridiculously backward here. But my point is, it was fun! Especially the part where we kept tricking the sleepy Wen Dee into getting off the train before our stop, though, of course, we would have dragged her back in if she did. I think. 

We met up with Bi Ying, Pik Ying, Huay May, Ming and some random friend of his during lunch at KFC. 10 minutes later, the Classical people headed off to buy something (classical-related, I suppose), only to joined us at one of the shops that sold rows of headphones. Then again, most of the shops there sold rows of headphones.

Thanks to the staggering amount of 13 sets of headphones (11 Philips, 1 Sony and 2 God-knows-what brand), we had a 5-buck price deduction. But it had to be paid in cold hard cash *Eyes narrowing into slits* So poor Ming went bankrupt after lending us practically every piece of paper money in his wallet. HAHA.

Headphones were the first and last thing we bought. Time was running out: we had more or less an hour before choir started and you know how even trains in Malaysia could get. Not to mention the college's shuttle bus. 

Wen Dee and Pik Ying, whose place (in Ming's friend's car) Rachel took in order to rush back to the college in time to attend a class

Beggars on the platform of Bukit Bintang monorail station. Someone was sure feeling absurdly generous that day: Beggar 1 got a mouse, beggar 2 got a set of Philips headphones and beggar 3 was smiling away as she viewed her gift. 

Andrew's new name. HAHA. All thanks to the printing error on the Modern Band list that typed 'Andrew Chan' instead of 'Andrew Chew'.

Reached college with 2 minutes to spare before choir. Thank God the attendance was marked by me and Wen Dee. For the last time. 

Heehee. I found out his name :) Sorry, you have to be either one of my Sexy Sluts or my trusted course mates to pry the sacred secret from me. 

 
Syok sendiri with our squeaky new headphones

If you scroll between these 3 photos fast enough, mentally adding the beat box sound, it would look like we were banging our heads to some imaginary rhythm heard only through our unplugged headphones

We dropped by Fun OK to have a couple of drinks after Ms. Rachel Tan released us from choir an hour early. 

Guess what? We skyped with Jia Wen who was vacationing in Hawaii!

And we chatted with Rachel too! She hadn't return from her trip to the East Coast. 

Oh no. This was just a hologram of them. They were still at their respective holiday venue. Though I can't quite explain Kevin's presence. 

Wen Dee, Song Lin and Phyllis

Wanna know what Yong Jia was so happily gulping down?

I don't know what was that either. Alien poo perhaps?

Huay May and me

Me and Jia Wen

Friday (8/5):

Attended our first Modern Band Ensemble class. Tons of talking, voting and answering pop-quiz-style questions to book time slots for band practices. It went on way longer than I had anticipated. Took around 15 minutes just for my band to come up with a song to play in the following week. Here Without You by 3 Doors Down. Cool.

P.S. Sorry, hon', that I couldn't make it to the movie. I'll make it up to you guys. I promise, fingers crossed :)

P.P.S. Congrats to all new committee members of junior choir. Happy working!