Liv ur Life

The story of a socially awkward underdog

I'm still working on the Mega Blog Post! I'm trying my best to get it done soon. :)

A new school year is just around the corner! How do you feel? Anxious? Excited?

Well, I'm sure we're all looking forward to many things, like hanging out with friends, and... and... other stuff. 

But unfortunately there's a lot more to dread about school. Reading textbooks till you go cross-eyed, doing one worksheet after another, and basically all the mugging and slogging that must be done. And what about having to see people you don't like? When one school year ends, you think, "YES! Now I won't have to see him/her anymore! Until next year, at least..." And now that 'next year' is only a few days away, you're start to get the jitters and shivers about having to see them again.

Even while our minds are in the midst of chaos due to the new year closing in on us, part of us longs to go to school. Just to break the suspense and get some pesky questions answered. Who are my new teachers? Who's going to be in my class? Will I get the fierce P.E. teacher or the fun one who'll let us play games? Has anyone drastically changed in appearance?

Well, this is it. My last day at cozy, comfy home. Tomorrow I'm off to explore the other side of the world! (uh, well, just the U.S.A.). 

I'm having mixed emotions, as usual. Excited to be going to the United States for the very first time, anxious about getting motion sickness, and a little sad since there's a 3-week separation from home and the Internet (although it's always nice to come home to a Gmail account with a big accumulation of new emails and Buzz).

Oh yes, and don't forget about the Mega Blog Post that I'll be working on once I get home! It'll be all about my trip and it'll include lots of pictures of The Grand Canyon, Vegas, and much much more!

30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

The Barney Theme Song. Whenever I hear it I'm overcome with grief that I used to like a show about kids imagining a stuffed purple dinosaur coming to life and teaching them morals and bringing them to the grocery store and... oh, it's just... so tragic. Nahh I'm just kidding.

See you when I come back on Christmas Eve! Wish me luck! (we're going there in the dead of winter).

This was my sister and I's first attempt at cooking a Japanese meal (with no adult supervision or assistance whatsoever).

First of all, we whisked our mom out of the kitchen, telling her we'd prepare lunch all by ourselves. We practically banned her from the kitchen, and wouldn't let her get even the tiniest glimpse of what we were doing. But that was... kinda difficult....

(I spot mom coming towards the kitchen at full speed. I race towards her, and block her view of the kitchen).

Me: No Mom, you're not supposed to go in, remember??

Mom: Oh, then put this in the washing machine for me. (throws my dad's briefs at me).

Anyway, after lots of intense chopping, slicing, stirring, searing, boiling, steaming and plating, it was finished. This was the result:




The main dish was steamed sweet carrot, green 'soba' noodles with seaweed, and seared teriyaki chicken with some mushrooms. It turned out so well and it was really flavourful and satisfying.


We made steamed egg with mushroom as a side dish. Steamed egg looks unappealing, but it tastes great (it's an acquired taste which might take awhile to acquire. I myself used to dislike it).






Our personal favourite was the teriyaki chicken. It had a smokey, sweet taste to it and the meat was really filled with flavour from the inside out as we had soaked the chicken in the homemade teriyaki sauce for one whole hour before cooking it.






And our mom was thrilled, to say the least. She didn't know we were capable of such things. We proved her wrong, in a nice way!

30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 15 — A fanfic

Unfortunately, I can't say much for today's blog challenge because I've never read a fanfic before. I've heard that they can be really weird and far-fetched, so I'm not sure whether they're worth a read. What do you think?

This whole week is going to be one full of madness, chaos and craziness. We're going to be stepping up our preparations for our 3-week trip to the U.S. next month (leaving next Friday and coming back to do a MEGA BLOG ENTRY about the whole trip)!

As we all know, there are tons of preparations to be made before big vacations overseas. You gotta buy lots of stuff, pack lots of stuff, and constantly worry that you've missed out on something. Then you have to somehow compress and squeeze everything into your restrictive luggage. And the whole time you're in a frenzy doing all of these things, your parents are calling out, "Did you bring ____? What about your ____? Make sure you pack it properly!" You just want to yell back, "I know what I'm doing, I'm not a little kid!" It's just so very stressful.

30 DBC
Day 14 - A non-fictional book

The dictionary. One of the most vital non-fictional books known to man. And yet some people think the dictionary is a big joke! (literally). My dad told us this joke while in the car the other day:

"Where can you find success before work? (Insert all of our sensible, philosophical answers here). Very good answers, but the answer is... in a DICTIONARY!"

My parents went shopping for about 6 hours yesterday and when they came back, revealed to us their purchases. There had bought...

- A 40'' LCD TV for their bedroom (which will be delivered in a few days).

- A Blu-ray DVD player to go with their 40" LCD TV.

- A brand new shiny sleek light-weight laptop for my sister when she goes to Junior College next year.

There was nothing for me, but I'm alright with that. My dad said that he'll get me a light-weight laptop when I get to Junior College as well because apparently a laptop is a "need" in Junior College.

"It's all about need," Dad proclaimed. "If you need it, we'll buy it. If you don't, we won't."

I was quite confused by that statement. Does that mean he and Mom absolutely NEED a 40-inch screen TV in their room? Along with a Blu-ray player? Ah, never mind. It's alright for parents to indulge sometimes. They deserve it.

Oh, but that's not all! Guess what came along with the Blu-ray player? Two free movies!







The Karate Kid and 2012!!! =D









 
30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 13 - A fictional book

When I was a little kid I had an obsession with The Berenstain Bears, from 3 years of age all the way until I was 9. I read all of the books and stared at them for hours at a time. I just loved those books, and I read them over and over again. Until one day, my mom decided to donate our entire collection of Berenstain Bear books to the school library before we moved back to Singapore. I had a hard time letting go, but after awhile I even stopped obsessing over the Berenstain Bears. So all's well that ends well.

30 DBC
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy


Hmm. I fancy doing chores that don't involve the handling of raw meat. 

I'm fine with ironing, doing the dishes, hanging up the laundry, but I've always drawn the line at tasks that involve coming into physical contact with raw meat.

Well, things changed today. 

My mom wanted to go swimming for awhile so she instructed my sister and I to do some dinner prep. I ended up getting the job of... slicing the raw chicken cutlets. 

Of course I didn't want to, but somehow I gave in, with much reluctance.

Actually, it wasn't so bad. Except that I nearly got frostbite. The chicken was still freezing cold. And it was slimy and smelly and all. And a little tough to cut. Other than that, I think I managed alright. 

Before seasoning 


It was a tedious and painful process, but I finally got the job done! Looks pretty gross huh.








After seasoning


But then came my favourite part - the seasoning! I sprinkled the chicken with ground black peppercorn, basil, rosemary, some sort of flavoured salt my mom told me to use, a little bit of soy sauce and some turmeric powder. Then it was seared in the pan until golden brown. Deeelicious.

It amazes me how those doctors in the family clinics can always keep their calm, no matter how seriously sick someone is, or if they have to examine a huge ugly wart on someone's foot. And they talk in that soft, mild tone that makes it seem like nothing's wrong. They seem to be those kind of people who are soft-spoken and never lose their cool. I think I'd be pretty grumpy and snappy if I had a day full of sniffly kids, overly-concerned adults, etc. But those doctors somehow maintain their amiable, calm composure throughout the whole day. Simply admirable.

30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently

The most recent photo taken of me was in a dream last week. Now, we've all had those dreams in which we're some sort of secret agents, right? I've had a few of those before, and they were ACTION-PACKED.  Once, I was busting some cool kung fu moves while fighting the bad guys and another time, I even got shot (I felt the impact, but no pain). So anyway, I was going to have another 'secret agent' dream, but the frustrating thing was, the agency was taking forever to make me an official agent. They interviewed me and made me put on this stiff black suit with a helmet. Then, they took a photo of me in that ugly garb for my agent ID card. My full name was written across the helmet so I remember trying to tell them that I wouldn't be so 'secret' if my name was so visible. Then, the dream ended. :-/


My life's pretty uneventful right now. Just getting rid of junk and old books, and trying to find things to do. Next month, though, we'll be going to the U.S. for 3 weeks! It'll be my first time in the States, so I'm pretty excited. I'll tell you everything about the trip when I get back, and hopefully include some pictures too. =)

The Series of Teen Misfortunes - Episode 3: The YOUNGER One Speaks Out

Caution: Melodramatic style comes out quite a lot in this episode.

Older siblings often... 'overrate' themselves. Sometimes, I think they have some sort of microchip in their brain sending out messages to them that they're neglected and never get their way, while their 'innocent, doted-upon' younger sibling always does. They think that we younger siblings are pampered and spoiled and get the best of all worlds!

Well, on behalf of all younger siblings out there, I'm here to set the record straight with all older siblings. 

I do not own this image
We don't get all the attention and we're not liked more because we're younger. Here's some evidence I found lurking around my house. 

Number one: there's at least one thick photo album dedicated just to my older sister's baby pictures. You would think she was shooting commercials for baby apparel. And when I finally found an album with some of my baby pictures, I was only in about half the album, and was never alone in a picture! I was either in someone's lap or on the bed with my sister squishing up next to me.

Number two: My parents wrote a journal all about my sister. Stuff like "Today, our little girl pulled herself up by clenching her precious fists round the bars of the crib and pulling with all her baby might!" The picture on the left depicts the scene exactly(though of course those aren't my parents and sister).

And why all the fuss over the baby you? Because you were the first born, aka the oldest. And by the time we 'second ones' come along, our parents couldn't be bothered to take photoshoots of us or document our growing process. They only did that for you because they did it out of the sheer excitement of being first time parents! (and they were also too busy looking after the both of us, I suppose). The main point is, you've been doted upon since babyhood.

Which leads me to the conclusion that you think you are deprived of attention because you were too used to attention until we 'little monsters' came along. You got so much attention and suddenly, a small portion of that attention was taken away by us. But still, can't you see that being the oldest, you get a special kind of attention that we younger ones will never be able to get? Being the oldest, you're subtly treated like a breadwinner and successor. 

And about that terrible misconception of 'not getting what you want', why do you think we younger ones often get what we want? It's not because of our age. It's because we possess the ability to persuade. And yes, some of us do use our cuteness as a secret weapon, but that isn't a crime. By all means, you can use it too.

I think I'll do today's 30 Day Blog Challenge right here, since it's somewhat relevant.

Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago

As much as I'd like to show you my baby picture, it'll take me ages to find a snapshot of me all by myself. And if I do, it'll probably be me pouting or crying because being a baby, your older sibling likes to bully you out of jealousy. =D

I spent a good chunk of time today just going through my Secondary 1 textbooks, workbooks and worksheets. I organised them into two piles: the 'keep' pile and the 'chuck' pile. Then I got a nice, fat plastic bag and tossed the 'chuck' pile inside for recycling. After which I proceeded to chuck the whole bag into the recycling bin downstairs.

Don't you just love it when it's the end of the school year, and you can just get rid of all the unwanted stuff from the year's work? Ah, that feeling of victory as you toss worn-out, crinkled worksheets and books inside a recycling bag, thinking, 'Adios! See you in... NEVER!' And when that's all done, you look around at your almost-empty desk and school bag, and you're suddenly filled with a readiness to start anew. It's a great feeling, isn't it? We can never go back in time and do things over again, but we can always 'start anew' every year. 

It's not even New Year's Day yet but I started making a mental list of New School Year's resolutions:

I have to be more...
- Disciplined and focused (no matter how dry the textbooks may be)
- Organised (jeepers, I realised how dreadful I am at organising as I went through my school files today)
- Attentive in class (especially in math)
- Goal-orientated (keep my goals in mind and work hard to achieve them)

30 DBC
Day 09 — A photo you took
Well, I don't have the photograph on this computer at the moment, but I once took a picture of myself while making a weird face in a restaurant. The lady sitting behind me had her hair in a rather frizzy bun which happened to stick out above my head when I took the picture, so in the picture I looked like I had a fuzzball growing at the back of my head.

Recently, there has been plenty of reports about gangs causing trouble around Singapore. First, the Downtown East murder (two gangs are currently being investigated in connection with the murder) and now, a parang-slashing spree in Bukit Panjang by yours truly, a gang.

Now, I'm not going to start rattling on about how the Singapore government should try harder to nab gangs, tighten security (especially during Halloween) and all.

Instead, I've cooked up a handy (and daft) guide called 'How to Defend Oneself Against Gangsters'. Here it is:

How to Defend Oneself Against Gangsters
by Qweeb

You'll need:

- Brains,
- Alertness,
- Friends/family/pets with you,
- And a self-defense kit.

Prevention is better than... A THROWDOWN WITH GANGSTAS. So how does one avoid encounters with a gang? Simple.

Never thought I'd actually have to quote PCK but... 'use your brain', and be alert. Don't you go wanderin' around with your head in the clouds, sister. Think about where you are. What you are doing. Who is around you. Look out for anything or anyone suspicious (especially bunnies with gray noses, don't ask me why). Ensure that you are constantly near crowded areas. Don't go out by yourself, but with family or friends or a big ferocious bulldog.

If you can help it, don't make yourself stand out too much when in pubic, e.g. wearing a neon pink jumpsuit, huge croc skin cloak or a bright green wig. In case you need to run away from something suspicious, you can easily blend in with the crowd by not wearing anything too bulky or flashy. Argh, just wear camouflage, would ya? Borrow your dad's old army uniform or something.

Okay, here comes the fun bit.

If you somehow still run into a gang and need to defend yourself, here's what you need to do.

Do not scream and run if there's no one else around, because your efforts will be in vain and will aggravate the gang even more. Keep cool and quiet. Summon your inner Kung Fu (or should I say Qweeb Fu).

When they come near enough, grab pepper spray (or strong instant-kill bug spray or any other spray that'll sting) from your self-defense kit and spray away. Aim for the eyes. Their sight is the only thing they've got to know where they are. Humans don't have super-smell or super-hearing, so once they can't see, they haven't got much of a chance.

Ran out of pepper spray? Get out your cans of whipped cream (or any other thick, opaque liquidy substance like paint) and bombs away! Cream their faces! Then... run for it.

To learn more methods of self-defense against gangsters, order the full hard copy of 'How to Defend Oneself Against Gangsters'. Call 333-This-Is-A-Fake-Number to order your copy now, for only $79.99 plus shipping!


And that's Qweeb's Perspective!



Okie so now it's time for the 30 Day Blog Challenge!

Day 08 - A photo that makes you angry/sad

I do not own this image
This picture makes me terribly angry and sad. It's a picture of a starving child in Africa. And that awful bird in the background is just waiting for the child to die so that it can eat him! :'(

That's all I can say about today's events. Pure fun. 

Today was Keets' big birthday bash (Happy 13th Keets!), so Alicia, Fiona, Rach, Ru and I went over to her house and spent 8 hours there!! 

First, Keets couldn't wait to open all her presents so we had the gift-opening session first. After that we watched the first quarter of House of Wax, but it got too scary for Fi and Rach so we switched the movie to a comedy. 

Half way through the movie, the pizza delivery came so then we savoured delicious pizza, garlic bread and chicken drumsticks while watching the movie. There was curry chicken pizza, Hawaiian pizza and vegetarian pizza. Mmmm.

After that movie was over, we all needed a break from the television so we went down to the condo park. We swung around on the bars and played a game of Hide and Seek. Then it was back upstairs to laze around in Keet's room. Fi played the piano (and sightread an entire grade 7 piano piece!) while I was busy defending myself from Ru who was trying to latch onto my arm using Keet's plastic claw thing she uses to open the high cupboards. Heehee. 

Soon we found ourselves sitting round the television once again and we watched Home Alone while munching on some buttered popcorn Keets popped for us. We had a really good laugh, and as Ru said many times, the little boy's sooo cute!

We wrapped up the party with a couple of games of Uno. I forgot how fun Uno could be until today. We could've easily played for another hour but we had to go home. 

Ah well, we all had a wonderful and memorable time. A big thank you to Keets and her mom for letting us come over and for all the food and drinks and movies!

30 DBC
Day 07 - A photo that makes you happy
I do not own this image
Of course, a cute picture of running puppies could make anyone happy! Just look at them, with their fluffy tails and furry ears flying in the air. =D

30 Day Blog Challenge
Day 06 - Whatever tickles your fancy

I could rattle off a whole list of stuff that 'tickles my fancy': Tablet PCs, scooters, Jap bentos, watching movies with friends, sitting on a porch swing with a good book, non-handmedown clothing, bungee jumping off the Eiffel Tower, having the liberty to control the TV remote, flipping through Nat Geo magazines and cutting out the best pictures, dining at a revolving restaurant... okie let's just stop here for now. =D

But you know what doesn't tickle my fancy? Posh idioms like 'tickle my fancy'. They remind me of those aristocratic women with long, powdered noses who excessively use sophisticated phrases to sound high class.

Quick update now... Keet's birthday bash is tomorrow! Happy Birthday Keets! It'll be the first time ever that I'm going to my friend's party without my sis or parents. I-I'm having one of those moments where I'm actually starting to feel grown-up. (wipes tears of joy with the baby bib around my neck). Heh. I know that it doesn't necessarily mean I'm grown-up. Besides, if Keets didn't live so extremely near to us, one of my parents would've wanted to tag along for whatever safety reasons. To whoever's going to Keet's party, cya soon!

30 DBC
Day 05 - Your favourite quote

I rather like this quote: 
"A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed." -Henrik Ibson
The meaning of this quote and why I like it is quite self-explanatory, so I shall not ramble. 


Instead, I will carry on to talk about... parents! 

Parents. They lecture. They discipline. They scold. They punish. However, sometimes, out of the blue, they do something MAGNIFICENTLY wonderful for you, and you just can't believe it. You're brimming over with joy, with ecstasy. Maybe you even wonder, 'what's gotten into them?' or 'are they really my parents?'

Well, my reaction wasn't quite as dramatic, but close. 

You see, my dad just came back from San Jose, Cali yesterday. Lo and behold, he had bought presents for all of us! He was in a jolly good Santa Claus mood.

And what did he get me? Two whole presents! =D

I was already freaking out and squealing 'Thank you thank you thank you!" before he even got them out.

The first present was...

My first purse ever. Sniff. I was just... so touched. I thought this day would never come. Nah, I knew it would come but I just wasn't expecting it so early.

Anyways my mom was like "WHAT? A designer brand at her age?" But then my dad got out two purses for her and she was mollified (or maybe just distracted).


And the second present was... wait for it... WAIT FOR IT...

A book of puzzles from the ancient times... Anticlimax much? xD

It's actually quite interesting though, there's a few mind-boggling riddles and paradoxes in there. Anyhow, it was soo nice of him to take the time to find presents for us.

Parents can really give you pleasant surprises sometimes, and the fact that they don't happen very often makes them all the more sweet and memorable when they do.

I'm quite tied up today, so just a quick entry for today's 30 Day Blog Challenge...

Day 04 - Your Favourite Book

One of my favourite books is The Tale of Despereaux, a story about the adventures of Despereaux, a tiny mouse born in a castle. He has unusually big ears and eyes, and to his family he is a disappointment. He isn't just different in terms of physical appearance - he isn't afraid of humans and reads books instead of eating them, unlike other mice. His admirable courage and resilience is shown throughout the book as he meets other interesting characters and one misfortune after another. We studied this book back in Grade 4 but it'll always remain one of my all-time favourites.

I WILL NOT give up on the 30 Day Blog Challenge. Because I'm taking it as a test of my diligence. My stamina. My will to finish things I've started!!! So let's get right to it!

Day 03 - Your favourite television program

One of my favourite television programs is Iron Chef. It's where a 'challenger' chef has a cook-off against the Iron Chef. The Iron Chef is under a lot of pressure to never lose against a challenger because he may lose his title as Iron Chef (which is very difficult to obtain).

I just love watching talented chefs in action, as they cook with flair and deftly plate beautiful dishes, working against the time limit. And then there's the judging process, where the judges taste the food and give comments about how they love the texture, and how the tastes blend together, and yada yada yada. What I really like is getting inspiration from their dishes, and trying to imitate their showy ways of cooking (lame example: cracking open an egg with one hand).

Yep so that's all for today's 30 DBC, now onto a quick update...

I got a shoutbox for the blog just a few days ago, it can be found in the sidebar. It's a guestbook, chat box and a place to give your feedback + requests, all in one!

My parents are going for this colonoscopy thing (checkup on the colon I s'ppose) so they can't eat red meat, fruits or vegetables for three days. I can smell lots of chicken soup already...

It would be too weird to have an update + the 30 Day Blog Challenge on the same post as the Series of Teen Misfortunes Ep 2 post so I made them separate. :-)

Yesterday was one of those all-afternoon choir practices. Many people didn't show up and so Sammie, April and I were the only Soprano 1's! 

It was a terrifying experience. We had to try to get by without the seniors, which is good for training but mostly bad because we totally blew it at some parts, resulting in a mini lecture from Mr T about how we have to improve our sight reading. 

But seriously, HOW can we improve? You need tons and tons of practice, especially if you don't have the natural talent (and I sure don't). And the pressure is just building up because next year we're already seniors in the choir and thus our sight reading skills must be perfect! What to do?

Okay, enough despairing and on to the 30 Day Blog Challenge. Mustn't give up!

Day 02 - Your favourite movie

As much as I like Harry Potter, the only good HP movies were the 1st and 4th ones. The books are much better. So I didn't choose Harry Potter. I chose...

The Lord of the Rings trilogy!

Anyone who likes Harry Potter will love The Lord of the Rings (the storyline of Harry Potter was rather influenced by the Lord of the Rings). It's got an extremely captivating plot, and you won't want to stop watching till you've finished all 3 films of the trilogy.

To further prove how magnificent and well-produced all 3 films were, the three films were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards, of which they won 17, a record for any movie trilogy! They won best picture, best music and best visual effects, just to name a few. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy#Academy_Awards

I strongly encourage anyone who has never seen The Lord of the Rings to WATCH IT NOW (it's the holidays after all!). I used to think it was just a boring adult movie, but NO, it's simply amazing. A great classic + great movie production = BAM! A must-see!

The Series of Teen Misfortunes - Episode 2: Alter Egos

Sometimes, we teens have no choice but to have alter egos. That's because different people have different impressions about our personalities, and we feel somehow pressurised to act according to what they think we're like when we're around them, instead of acting like ourselves.

Why? To avoid avoidable problems. Problems like them suspecting we're the multi-personality type (and no one likes those kinds of people!) or them questioning us why we're acting so 'differently' all of a sudden.

If I were to go around (in disguise) asking various people to summarise my personality, the results may look something like this:

Acquaintance Y: Oh, she's just the quiet, bookworm type.

Acquaintance X: One word: goody-two-shoes. Oh wait, that's three words...

Friend A: She's quite chatty and outspoken, with occasional bouts of mischief! =)

My parents: She's a diligent student. Quite fearless, with the exception of lizards and some insects. She likes watching open-heart surgeries on television! (breaks into a 'my daughter is going to become a doctor/surgeon when she grows up' grin).

If you carry out this same exercise, you may find that you can only be yourself around a select few people, perhaps your family and your really close friends. 
I do not own this image
So, keeping track of who thinks what about you and ensuring that you act that way around those certain people = STRESS!!! = another teen misfortune :-(

But you may be wondering, 'how do people get such an impression of me?'. Well, people, especially teens, tend to be judgmental. Just because you were quiet in a certain class because you were paying attention, people may immediately conclude you're the quiet, hardworking type. Just because you were feeling especially happy and you were jumping around and laughing for a few minutes, people may think you're a diva. Just because you studied hard for a certain exam and happened to get good marks, people may think you're an intellect and bookworm.

As you can see, people having misconceptions about your main personality is inevitable! Hence, having alter egos is inevitable! Hence, stress is inevitable! Hence, TEEN MISFORTUNES ARE INEVITABLE!!!

Keets blogged about this '30 Day Blog Challenge' she came across on the Web, and I think I'm going to try it out too. It may be the full content of some of my blog entries or just a segment on others. So this is how the 30 Day Blog Challenge goes. You simply gotta blog for 30 days straight about the topics on this list:

Day 01 — Your favorite song

Day 02 — Your favorite movie

Day 03 — Your favorite television program

Day 04 — Your favorite book

Day 05 — Your favorite quote

Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy

Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 09 — A photo you took

Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago

Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently

Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 13 — A fictional book

Day 14 — A non-fictional book

Day 15 — A fanfic

Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 19 — A talent of yours

Day 20 — A hobby of yours

Day 21 — A recipe

Day 22 — A website

Day 23 — A YouTube video

Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 25 — Your day, in great detail

Day 26 — Your week, in great detail

Day 27 — This month, in great detail

Day 28 — This year, in great detail

Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy


Let's get started! 

Day 1 - Your Favourite song

My favourite song?... that's a toughie. I have many favourite songs, but I'll just choose one. 

Okay, so, the song which I have chosen to talk about is a song without lyrics. But that doesn't make it any less meaningful. The song is...


Howl's Moving Castle by Joe Hisaishi ! 


Howl's Moving Castle is an animated Japanese movie and I'm not much of a fan of anime, but I love the main theme song of this movie. For a dramatic rendition of the song, listen to the concerto version (which can be found in the MixPod in the side bar), or you could just listen to the piano solo. 

Sooo, why do I like this song? It's simply an amazing work of art! As one listens to the song, one's mind seems to enter into a whole new world of fantasy and wonder. The melodies are happy and cheerful, while emitting an aura of adventure and intrigue! It makes you think that there's more to this world than what meets the eye; that there's so much more to explore and discover in life! 

And that's what real music is all about. It should be able to speak to you, without the need of words!

QP stands for Qweeb's Perspective, where I write blog entries about the trending issues/news/products of the nation/world and give my thoughts and views about them.

A lot of buzz has been going on about our Finance Minister Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam's recent comments about how most Singaporeans are content to be just above average and do not strive to be exceptional. Well, as a teenage student, these are my views about this whole 'striving for excellence' issue.

First of all, let us try to interpret what Mr Tharman was really trying to say. So, Mr Tharman most likely knows that most Singaporeans already strive to do well, whether in studies or at work. I mean, open your eyes and there are stressed bookworm students and workaholics everywhere!

He was probably trying to say that Singaporeans do strive, but not hard enough in order to attain a certain level of achievement. Here's the problem: That level of achievement is what he considers as exceptional, or excellent.

The standard of 'excellence' varies from one person to another. 'Excellent' could mean a passing grade for one student, 75% for another, and full marks for yet another, based on their academic capabilities.

And when they each meet their respective standards of excellence, should only the student who got full marks be commended for his efforts? Because only his mark meets the teacher's standard of excellence? 

So, to the cabinet ministers we may not seem to be striving to be exceptional, but in actual fact we are. They just don't see it because we aren't exceptional by their standards.

And that's Qweeb's Perspective!

Today was Methodist Heritage Day (MHD)! Hurray! In short, we went around learning about Methodist churches and schools and at the end there was this mini fun fair with food, drinks and some games. While wearing extremely oversize t-shirts and dragging along our bags and the haversack of food and drinks they gave us.

What was really fun, though, was playing Sweet or Sour on the bus. We waved at random people on the street/cars/buses, and counted the number of people that smiled and waved back. In all, we got about 33 people!! It was cool seeing glum, straight-faced people break out into a grin and wave back at us. And some people's reactions to us were priceless! There was this one ostrich-eyed dude who just stood there, eyes popping out of their sockets, with a ridiculous grin on his face.

We were dismissed early, at 3pm instead of 4pm, so Rach, Keets, Ru and I walked over to Plaza Sing. to shop around.

After walking about aimlessly for awhile, enjoying the air conditioning and delicious aromas of all types of food, Rach and I each bought a cup of peach frozen yoghurt from Yami. Ooh that was good. 

We did more walking and going up and down escalators. Ru and Rach had a 'housewife moment' when they started pointing at kitchen blenders on display and squealing about their prices. Soon after, we went to Daiso and spent our remaining time there. I bought these mini cards with envelopes and the rest bought - er - nothing. But it was nice, just walking around together, talking, feeling relaxed and free.

Then we took the MRT and then Ru's mom gave us a lift home. Ru's mom looks so cool. And young. Her accent is nice too. She's got straight, smooth black hair. She and Ru can pass off as cousins, even sisters! As Keets put it, Ru's mom looks like a "retired model". And yes that's a compliment. (:

I just had a funny thought: Rachel doing a commercial for Yami frozen yoghurt.
(harp glissandos play, vision becomes blurry, and we slip into a daydream)...

Scene: Rachel in full skiing gear, skiing skilfully down a snowy slope. She sails over a ledge in slow-mo and lands gracefully. Coming to a stop, she takes off her skiing headgear (revealing her ponytail tied up in that hair elastic that looks like a telephone cord) and takes a bite out of a cup of Yami frozen yoghurt that somehow just popped into her hand.

Rachel (in her normal low-ish voice): Yami yoghurt helps me to ski like a pro! Yami yoghurt is what a sporty and muscular girl like ME needs. (takes another big bite, flashes a million-dollar smile at the camera). MOW!

About

Welcome to my blog! Here you'll find blog entries (and more) written by me as I discover, interact and learn as life unfolds itself.

Life's an adventure and you can read about mine here! :P

Search

Who Am I?

My photo
aka Qweeb the Dweeb. A regular teenage girl who knows she's got a lot to learn.

Translator

English French German Spain Italian Dutch Russian Portuguese Japanese Korean Arabic Chinese Simplified

What's New?

END OF YEAR BLISS

Hi, Viewer

Blogosphere friends

Health + Food Tips

Blueberries

1. Blueberries are a source of the antioxidant ellagic acid, which may prevent cancer.

2. Their skins contain resveratrol, which research associates with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and blood sugar-lowering properties.

3. Blueberries are a great source of vitamins C, E, and fibre.

 4. They are low in calories. (81 calories per cup!)

5. They're good for your heart - studies have associated blueberry consumption with improved blood-fat balances, reduced cholesterol, increased HDL cholesterol and reduced trigylcerides.

Links

YouTube
Blogger
Gmail
Yahoo!
Hotmail
Facebook
Myspace
Twitter
Wikipedia
National Geographic

The Liv ur Life Law

1) Respect one another. And spread the looove.

2) No inappropriate tweets/tags (profane language, insults, gossip, etc).

3) During polls you are only entitled to a maximum of two votes. So do vote wisely.

4) There will be absolutely no impersonation of any sort in the Shout Box and tweets. Everyone is to type in their own names/nicknames.

5) Constructive feedback and criticism is allowed.

6) No advertising allowed.

7) Spam = BANNED

8) Liv ur Life blog entries are protected under copyright and may NOT be re-posted or reproduced in any way or by any means.

Thank you for your kind attention and I seek your cooperation in abiding by these simple rules to maintain a peaceful cyber environment. :)


© Copyright 2011 by Liv ur Life. All rights reserved. Powered by Blogger.

Copyright 2009 - Liv ur Life

Blogspot Theme designed by: Ray Creations, Ray Hosting.