frog dissection

it was the last lesson for Know Your Body options today. i felt a bit sad, mrs prama was quite a good teacher actually ): her lessons were rather fun and interesting.

oh well im still glad one options down and gone. two more to go by this week. and then hcl o levels on the 31st, then FAM on 12th nov, then zoom to 5th dec delf. yikes

yeah and orionids star party to look forward to. scitare farewell and bye bye to all the juniors and stuff. i'll MISS YOU PPL!

sniff.

anw back to the main point. i dissected a frog today. what's more, it was ALIVE! that was the freaky bit. we had to pull the skin up and slowly cut it out carefully without piercing any blood vessels, and then we pinned the skin to both sides. then we had to cut some slits and tie knots to cut off the blood flow so that we can minimise the blood. then we had to cut the cartilage through to the pelvic girdle and stuff, and then pin here, pin there, and then all the innards will spill out.

literally.

we had to add water too, so the gooey weirdy fat tissues and whatever crap started floating around. oh and we found out our frog was somewhat dead. its heart wasn't beating. we were rather relieved.

much to my amusement horror, the bench behind us had a frog that's super alive. btw the frogs were supposed to be cholorofoamed, so they are unconscious, but with the hearts still beating. guess what?

the super alive frog jerked every once in a while! it's like they were cutting its skin and then it would totally move its arms which were pinned down and the whole bench would scream. it was really, really freaky. who ever heard of moving frogs who were unconscious in the middle of dissection???

and it would move every once in a while too. imagine how scary it must be to be cutting something like that. lucky our frog was pretty much dead.

THEN chelsea was trying to resuscitate our frog by doing cpr on it. the heart pumping thingy u know, she being red cross and all. she was going one and two and three and four and five while pressing its heart -u think: "EEW GROSSS" but i was pretty much immune to it after a while-

and then the heart started pumping.

boom-boom. boom-boom.

once every 10 seconds or so, which was way too slow and abnormal. then the heart stopped beating altogether. so was this frog alive or dead? with all its innards splayed out across the tray and stuff we would rather it safely dead but...

i realised when u add water, the heart starts pumping again.

we brought the frog back to life. after torturing it so much, cutting it up and digging around its kidneys and ovaries (oh yeah it was a female. not pregnant at least. phew.) just can't imagine how much pain it endured.

yet somehow, some way, it just held on with its strong will to life. it lived on no matter what. no matter it was being poked at by our scapels and scissors, no matter it was being pinned down, no matter it was dying. the heart went on pumping.

we were then supposed to dispose of it in a dustbin. it's still ALIVE! we were sorely tempted to sew it together and set it free back into the wild, but i guess it's totally impossible. im quite sure we punctured its organs or something when cutting it open. also we didn't have needles, and im sure we'll make an even worse mess out of it. her i mean. ok i just can't think of it as a HER. >.<

and oddly, it wasn't breathing actually. how could the heart survive without oxygen? hmm. maybe it was breathing so shallowly we couldn't see. hmm. maybe we should have cut up its head and looked at its brains.

anw this was an experience of a lifetime. it's super disgusting and gross and freaky, not just that it's got clammy cold skin, blackish gall bladder and has loads of fat tissues (yes it was a fat frog! ^^), but more of bcos it was alive. it made ALL THE DIFFERENCE. seeing a heart pump was really more than enough experience to last me a lifetime.

im so not going to be a surgeon. i don't really want to be a doctor anw. eurgh. the poor frog doesn't even have anesthesia!

btw. female frogs are "fatter" bcos they have extra organs (ovaries and stuff for pregnancy). not fair. ):

type 2 diabetes

i think i'm going to have type 2 diabetes. not now, not yet i hope, but later on in my life. perhaps when i get pregnant, or perhaps around my thirties to fourties.

i have a family history of diabetes.

i have a family member with Type 2 diabetes. let's call her Z.

Research has shown that people are more at risk if there is a history of diabetes in close family members. The closer the relative, the greater your risk of diabetes.

Z, she's got diabetes sometime when she got pregnant. That would be gestational diabetes. it occurs in some women who get pregnant, but it's usually temporary and disappears when pregnancy is over. however, they have greater risks of developing type 2 diabetes in their later life. that's what happened to her i suppose, not only that, she gave birth to a large baby (>4 kg), which also increases the risks of getting diabetes. she's got type 2 diabetes now and she's on medication and everything.

i nv realised what it really means until now. i had to research on diabetes for options and to think i nv even bothered to find out more about diabetes when someone so close to me has it. and others, too, who have it too. now i know so much more about it, everything just fits. whoa.

oh well it's not really a big deal having diabetes. it's just whether u can find out u have it early enough or not. if not...

you can have vision problems, kidney failure, high blood pressure, heart attack, circulation problems, nerve and blood vessel damage, infections and stuff. u can die.

but it's not really a big deal if you have diabetes, u just need to watch your diet and exercise and take medication on time. at least i would be getting type 2, not type 1. type 1 diabetes is more severe, and u need injections daily. no cure yet, kindof more serious than type 2.

still, look at these facts. they call diabetes an "epidemic". more and more ppl are developing diabetes, thanks to lifestyle changes.

Did You Know?

The epidemic nature of diabetes continues to affect ever-increasing numbers of people around the world while public awareness remains low.
- Diabetes currently affects 246 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 380 million by 2025.
- Each year a further 7 million people develop diabetes.
- Each year 3.8 million deaths are attributable to diabetes. An even greater number die from cardiovascular disease made worse by diabetes-related lipid disorders and hypertension.
- Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes. (LOOK AT THATT!!!!)
- Every 10 seconds two people develop diabetes.
- Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of global death by disease.
- At least 50% of all people with diabetes are unaware of their condition. In some countries this figure may reach 80%. (THAT'S THE PROBLEM ISN'T IT! >.<)
- Up to 80% of type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity. (YES GOOD TO HEAR THAT)
- Diabetes is the largest cause of kidney failure in developed countries and is responsible for huge dialysis costs.
- Type 2 diabetes has become the most frequent condition in people with kidney failure in countries of the Western world. The reported incidence varies between 30% and 40% in countries such as Germany and the USA.
- 10% to 20% of people with diabetes die of renal failure.
- On average, people with type 2 diabetes will die 5-10 years before people without diabetes, mostly due to cardiovascular disease. (I DON'T WANT TO DIE EARLY)
- Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in diabetes, accounting for some 50% of all diabetes fatalities, and much disability.
- People with type 2 diabetes are over twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as people who do not have diabetes. Indeed, people with type 2 diabetes are as likely to suffer a heart attack as people without diabetes who have already had a heart attack.

Sigh but healthy diet, exercise and all won't work so well all the time. T.T

it's kindof weird to know you may be getting some chronic disease, but just not knowing when or whether you really will get it. life can just be so full of surprises.

i kindof feel sad for both boo and Z. especially boo. she's been living with it since 6, i think. sigh. -hugs for boo-

p.s. i still can't believe i've been so apathetic about it when so many i know have diabetes. to think i thought i knew a lot about it. at least i knew more than what some people did, so that's not too bad...still. no wonder they say there's low public awareness

p.s.s. i feel awful about it. i've been taking things for granted and being overconfident about myself.

p.s.s.s. to think i would nv have found out more about diabetes and nv would have bothered to without this options homework! gosh.

interesting excuses

Excuse Notes from Parents ...

These are actual excuse notes from parents (including original spelling) collected by Nisheeth Parekh, University Texas Medical Branch @ Galveston...

My son is under a doctor’s care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.

Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.

Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan.
28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.

Please excuse Pedro from being absent yesterday. He had diahre dyrea direathe the shits.

Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.

Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father’s fault.

Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday.
We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.

Sally won’t be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend her funeral.

My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired.
She spent a weekend with the Marines.

Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.

Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover.

Please excuse Burma, she has been sick and under the doctor.

Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn’t the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.

^^"

apple pluto?

just watched gattaca, im really amused by the "don't eat that! it's pluto!" thing haha...it's just the boy, vincent, was so in love with astro that he was laying out the solar system using fruits and stuff. and the apple that was supposed to be pluto got grabbed and eaten by his bro. poor vincent -patpat-

it's super sad and touching, loads of memorable quotes, and the extent of vincent's passion for astro and space is indisputable. he's really made loads of sacrifices and he displayed amazing amounts of determination and stuff. he's a bit good looking at times yet looks childish due to his weird teeth. uma thurman looks interestingly prim and proper, and totally not like kill bill.

i think i prefer uma in kill bill. much more appealing and all. ^^"

and jerome! he's totally shuai4! i liked him the very moment he appeared, just that he's so stupid to believe that getting second is the worst thing to happen in the world. who goes and commits suicide just bcos you were SECOND best? i personally would be so happy that i would jump over the moon. he's way too selfish thinking all about himself lor...

"If at first you don't succeed... try, try again" maybe it wasn't so good he wanted so succeed that way -SOBS- it's super saddddd lahhhh

this is really funny:

Det. Hugo: Hello everyone, nice to see you. I am your detective for the evening. Please don't leave the premises.
[people start scattering]
Det. Hugo: I said please don't leave the premises. Am I speaking in some kind of strange foreign language?

haha.

most memorable last words ever:

Vincent: [voiceover] For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess I'm suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I'm not leaving... maybe I'm going home

it's really kindof sad that discrimination ends up all down to a science, to eugenics. will biotech really lead us there? if it ever does, i will kindly remind the ppl that ppl born out of chance can be smart too, like einstein and richard feynman and loads of wonderful artists and musicians. there are loads of geniuses born out of luck and destiny.

although it's really quite logical that you want to get the best ppl, get those who were genetically engineered in-vitro. sigh but it's so not fair to those who were normal! then again it's sad for the g.e ppl who expect that they should be chosen instead. T.T arrgh just don't do eugenics alrd lahh!

science and ethics are just so controversial.

kill bill is cool. though it's really gory and everything and i wonder if cutting off limbs and heads really results in spurting of fountains of blood like that. i believe it should be like M-18 if it's ever in singapore lor. haha...but the storyline is cool. the first of its kind i've ever seen, and it's really good.

once upon a december

i really like ice princess in that there is no bad character really. even the supposedly bimboish popular girls aren't really bad. they're nice...interesting. different from cliché storylines...

Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December

Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory

Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Once upon a December

Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory

Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart
Used to know
Things it yearns to remember

And a song
Someone sings
Once upon a December

i love the song once upon a december..it's so beautiful and graceful and gives me goosebumps when i listen to it...one of the best disney films i've ever seen, anastasia is.

haha yoda speech. maybe i'll name my daughter anastasia next time. it's such a beautiful name.

inspired by kb's childhood memories, i recalled some as well.

- i had a kindergarten teacher called 朱老师. i always thought it was pig lao shi. zhu1 u know? haha...i found out later it wasn't and i felt so proud that i know such a pro surname =P (yeah i know that's stupid). love her though. she's got curly wurly hair. ^^"

- she once told us that when we sing the national anthem, we should stand straight and sing with NO distraction at all. she gave an amusing example that i rmb to this day: "even when a mosquito flies by and tries to bite you, you don't move!" -imagines mozzie flying by with flag in background- (:

- used to take ballet as eca in kindergarten. fun running around flapping our hands pretending to be butterflies. i still have the ballet costume. uh huh. back then there were only two ppl in the class who could do splits. bernice and bernina. bernina was nicknamed banana, and she didn't like it. i pinched her once, she cried and the teacher scolded me, then i cried. from then on i realised the prowess of my pinching. heh just jk

anw bernice does splits in front, while bernina does splits horizontally. i couldn't do splits ):

- once, i wondered what i would wish for if i had three wishes. i wanted

1. to become the proest gymnast ever to live. then i can do all those pro stunts.
2. to become the proest pianist ever to live. then i will always ace my piano exams.
3. to become the proest in my academic studies ever to live. then i will always get 100 for my exams.
-then i had more than 3 wishes, so i made it 5. now i have five wishes. =P-
4. to become the proest ballet dancer ever to live. then i can do all the splits i want.
5. to become the proest ice-skater ever to live. then i can do such beautiful stuff on ice, and i will be able to get first in olympics, and get perfect 10 for ALL my competitions, not just olympics. i would be better than nadia comeneci ^^

wishful thinking.

- i always watched tv with my family, and everytime i see a kissing scene, i'll feel really embarrassed and i'll cover my eyes or look away and go eewwww. i was in p1? and i was always thinking, why isit my parents don't get embarrassed? why don't they cover my eyes and say not for children! they just look amused and continue watching with eyes glued to telly. i was totally pissed last time lahh. shouldn't they be CONCERNED about what their children are watching at such a YOUNG and IMPRESSIONABLE age?

of course now im fine with kissing scenes. after all im all used to it on movies and shows. haha...

- i really loved singing in kindergarten. i rmb all those songs i learnt and i really went and memorised every single one of them. even now, i still love singing, and music. ahh once upon a december is just proof of that...your heart full of music, voice soaring in melodious tunes...

seriously, singing is an ESSENTIAL skill they have to teach in kindergarten! teaches you how to pronounce chinese words, how they look like, teaches you new vocab. like i learnt "以免" in p1 from 茉莉花. P1 and i still rmb it today. i have nv written it wrong. ever. (and it's been more than half of my lifetime)

- i first learnt the pledge in kindergarten. i learnt based on hearing, so i imitated the sounds made. but it wasn't until i came to singapore in p1 and SAW the words of the pledge, that i realised i've totally been reciting rubbish. it was all wrong! HAHAHA and i felt so embarrassed and worried that somehow i will get punished for being so disrespectful to such a "holy" pledge. eg. democracy was pronounced as eh-mou-ka-si b4 that. >.<

- i used to love donuts last time. every saturday when i go home from piano lesson, my mum buys me donuts from this bakery shop that's super biggg and greyy and cool. i just rmb the donuts. ^^

- and then we will go to mcdonald's and i'll always get a cheeseburger without pickles (i couldn't stand it last time. now im okay with it lah), while my mum would get a sausage mcmuffin for my bro and herself. we get nuggets and sometimes hamburgers too! we always take sweet and sour sauce. that was the only sauce i ever knew...then we would takeaway. i totally love the smell of mcdonald paper bags! <3

guess what? i didn't know the existence of mcchicken nor fillet-o-fish. i wonder if they even existed back then? 9 years ago?

isn't hongkong wonderful? they ACTUALLY sell sausage mcmuffins in the AFTERNOON! unlike singapore ): i miss sausage mcmuffins...

- ah much later on i found out that cheeseburgers and hamburgers are really beef. i was so shocked bcos i didn't like the taste of beef. the steely iron-ey taste is eurghh. that's y now i hardly ever eat them now. i eat mcchicken and filet-o-fish.

- used to go to my dad's office on saturdays/sundays in hongkong. it was above a crocodile shop. i mean the clothes brand. ^^" i would play pretend and grab markers and write stuff on the whiteboard in the meeting room. miss those fun times...

- i used to imagine and make up stories in my childhood. loads and loads of it. like at leas 50 over. can't quite rmb all, but they are all somewhat cliché, all with me as the main girl and some handsome guy. i don't do that any more ):

it just seems like once i grew up and became busy i had no more creative juices to churn up more stories.

eg. i used to imagine im a princess and i was kidnapped, then there would be one kidnapper guy who is very handsome and wonderful, and he would fall in love with me. he would protect me from the other kidnappers and stop me from being abused or tortured. then we elope together. happily ever after.

another story is that im a princess who was locked up in a tower, then i managed to escape and meet some handsome guy. then i will return to my palace with the guy. however, the guy is a commoner without a penny, so the king does not want us to get married. we despair and all, then one day we found out that he is the longlost son of some other king, and now he's royalty! and we get to be married. happily ever after.

uh huh. i will totally act out these scenes, and make up lines as i go along. i don't always complete the stories though. hmm...

- i wrote my first film script in p4. i nv finished it. i was inspired by my random stories -above- and so one day i decided i should sit down and write it out. after the first two pages, i got distracted and i gave up on it. well, i guess children are like that. T.T

- i wrote my first novel in p4 too. after that script failure thingy, i decided i should write out a nice story. i sat down and really wrote. finished it that day in hours and hours. it was about 7 pages long. the story is SO crappy and not logical, but i still like it. it shows how creative i was last time.

- i have much more happy memories. they are all of sis and hongkong. the above are all in sis except for those after p1. seems like i kindof had less of my childhood when i came to singapore. what happened?

sigh, now im totally not creative anymore? what happened to the child in me?

tagged.

Got tagged! Results:

1. the person who tagged you is:
Gillian, Stacey

2. the relation w him/her is:
juniors.

3. 5 impressions you have of him/her:
Smart, pro, intelligent, clever, pro pro pro pro pro.
haha okay gillian - above + friendly and miss know-everything
stacey - above + not-so-friendly and miss always-hit-ppl and very ck-like. literaturish.

4. the most memorable thing he/she has done for you:

gillian - um always give me a lift home?
stacey - always hit me? -ouch not again- BUT THAT'S BAD. something good is stacey baked cake for me/blaws. chocolate cake. thanks!

5. the most memorable words he/she has said to you:
gillian - i'm going to study astro everyday and make sure that rgs gets champion next yr at nyp! -GO GILLIAN YOU ROCK MANN- ah and one more!
- i study astro today, and then chem tmr, then physics the next. then back to astro and chem and... -she's one crazy girl.-
stacey - ok i'll bake some fudge cake for your farewell. -yum yum yummy!- ^^"

6. if he/she becomes your lover, you will:
splutter and die. if you understand me, im heterosexual. to put it crudely, I LOVE MEN! and handsome guys. and hanazawa rui from hana yori dango. hoho.

7. if he/she becomes your lover, things he/she has to improve on will be:
she will have to be a man. make sure she looks exactly like hanazawa rui and acts all cool and such that i totally can't tell that she's a girl at all and so i can still fall in love without going against my natural instincts yeah.

8. if he/she becomes your enemy, you will:
miss that fudge cake. and the lifts home. and still wish that they get champions next yr and make me proud.

9. if he/she becomes your enemy, the reason will be:
that there's a misunderstanding. u know, psychological matters that arise from growing up troubles in teens.

10.the most desirable thing you want to do for him/her now is:
uh wish them luck for scitaré next yr and hope they get champions? hugs maybe.

11. your overall impression of him/her is:
very pro and very bright and clever and POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS! yes both of you -patpat-

12. how you think people around you will feel about you:
nerdy. pro at math or science. girly. -my, my, doesn't that contradict? i like it.- mugger. -tell you all the truth ah. i don't mug till it's the day b4 the test. so THERE-

13. the characteristic you love about yourself is:
nothing and everything. -is that ego or philosophical?- AH THE FACT THAT I LOVE ME BEING A BUNDLE OF CONTRADICTION!

14. the characteristic you hate about yourself is:
not sensitive enough sometimes, yet oversensitive at times. eurgh that's y i hate being a bundle of contradiction.

15. the most ideal person you want to be is:
not me.

16. for people that care and like you, say something to them:
im sorry i nv noticed you care. -patpat- HUGS for you anw. ^^ -actually i know you care but no WAY i can respond to that without being overmushy. except for the occasional hug with ppl like blaws. so lucky you, blaws.-

17. pass this quiz to 11 people that you wish to know how they feel about you
1. Anyone who sees this x 11

see im so nice?

who is no.6 having a relationship with?
maybe a guy.

Is no.9 a male or female?
i hope it's a female.

If no.7 and 10 are together, will it be a good thing?
only if they are of opposite gender. nah just jk haha..

What is no.2 studying?
the mysteries of life and the universe. (ans = 42)

When was the last time you had a chat with no.3?
anytime

What kind of music does no.8 like?
nothing goth or punk or metal or rock i hope.

Does no.1 have any siblings?
i hope so. it's lonely being an only child.

Will you woo no.3?
no way. im SO not going to woo anyone. ppl will have to woo ME. im too eurgh for stuff like that.

How about no.7?
same same.

Is no.4 single?
like i know.

What's the surname of no.5?
ask the hitchhiker's guide computer Deep Thought.

What's the hobby of no.4?
discovering the mysteries of life and universe.

Do no.5 and 9 get along well?
i hope so, it's better to have friends than enemies.

Where is no.2 studying at?
RGS i suppose?

Say something casual about no.1.
something casual about no.1

Have you tried developing feelings for no.8?
nope, nope, and i never will find out.


Where does no.9 live?
dunno.…

What colour does no.4 like?
eurgh dunno lah.

Are no.5 and 1 best friends?
the chances of that isn't very high.

Does no.7 like no.2?
are things so coincidental in life?

How did you get to know no.2?
i hope through school. don't really want random ppl reading my blog.

Does no.1 have any pets?
mites in the bed? bacteria on the hand? HOW WOULD I KNOW!

Is no.7 the sexiest person in the world?
no. bcos it's not up to me to judge who's sexiest in the world. it would be hasty generalization since the sample size is too small (i've nv really seen many sexy ppl in the world yet).

FINALLY OVER! yay.

the girly argument

nsc is over finally WELL DONE RGS i love you ppl, really! even though you all clinched a second im really proud of you to have come this far! and yeah it's a close fight! yeah RI first as usual and scgs 3rd! scgs reminds me of us, bcos they just stoned and didn't get to press the buzzer at all, while ri and rgs were spamming.

SERIOUSLY, sufen and co. you ppl are so pro to be spamming buzzers! -unlike erhem certain ppl like us- so three cheers for you! hip hip hurray!

nsc is kindof screwed anyway, it's a really small scale tv competition and everything's over in like 5 minutes? a bit too fast for my liking, but yeah i must admit that those RISC juniors are pro. perhaps not as pro as the sec 4s now but they have potential.

ah...stacey if you're reading this, CHEER UP! no point wallowing around in misery all right? it's a pity really, and sometimes it's just that not everyone gets the opportunity. but i believe that everyone is a leader in rgs, and you can definitely play your part in scitaré. i trust you and believe in you, and you'll always be my beloved junior <3 -hugs- help out the others all right? scitaré definitely needs every single one of you to succeed, and DON'T fulfill what that teacher says, even though he seems like a pro seer (u know with a turban?).

don't you ever let scitaré's flame die out

or we'll kill you. -smiles sweetly-

this applies to everyone else too, not just stacey, but also siyi, and ruchi -nods-

yepp and congrats to the rest of you! to gillian and jovina my wonderful juniors, and sufen and haiyan who are real pros, and michelle as well. sufen! get going in astro arena and im sure you'll OWN those ri guys! ^^" together with the pro sec 2s and siyi definitely you must come out champs OKAYYY!

haiyan u must gain more confidence in yourself and take charge, and make full use of your opportunity. it's not easy to get hold of it, so don't ever waste it. you have the potential to lead as well!

ok now i'll finally get down to the subject heading. just found out that certain guys (2 of them) felt that i was girly. GIRLY.

nope im not denying that. i'll take it as a compliment so thanks guys! that's really nice of you. well if girls aren't girly then who are to be girly? guys? seriously! u can't expect a girl to be guyly can u?!

The Naturalist [27] says:
should be neutral
The Naturalist [27] says:
:P

as blaws says.

personally, im pretty pleased that im seen as someone who's befitting of my gender, and next time i'll try and judge to see if HE'S guyish or girly. it will be odd if im like a guy and all manly and stuff isn't it? this is just me.

The Naturalist [27] says:
you sound quite pissed
cherica says:
that's the point
cherica says:
kindof fun to get pissed too ^^
hmph
The Naturalist [27] says:
i think it was a compliment


heh sounds likely. hmm.

me:
IM PROUD TO BE GIRLY!
IM PROUD TO BE A GIRL!
IM A GIRL WHO'S GIRL-EYYY
IM NOT A GIRL WHO'S ODD AND ODDISH AND NOT GIRLY AND GUYISH INSTEAD

(above are excerpts from my msn convo with blaws)

so hey that's my girly argument. it's really not fair to girls. why can't girls be girly? aren't girls SUPPOSED to be girly? isn't that SUPPOSED to be good? so yes im going to say it's a COMPLIMENT.

on a more personal note, you aren't exactly my idea of manly either.

no offence intended. -not much of it anyway-

from what i learnt from philo, i should learn to reject offences and turn it into something humourous...so...woohoo im girly! HAHAHA! yay (:

don't worry about it, im not that offended. just that i hardly get any chances to act pissed and offended u see? it's fun acting all pissed and angry and cool. ^^

oh whatever. im a girl after all.

private series

recently im into kate brian books thanks to the plenty amounts of free blocks lying around in my mornings (like at least 3 hours a DAY. usually more!!) so yah im pretty much bored all the time. so i've been reading loads of books these days (like just this week about 5?) so yah. private series not too bad...although the storyline is a bit cliché BUT it's got interesting twists and nice writing... nice creative ideas lying around yepp.

i kindof like ariana so not too bad. her name isn't too bad either ^^"

Which BILLINGS GIRL Are YOU?

You are Ariana!Mysterious and thoughtful, you prefer calm in your world . . . but you still know how to have a little fun.
Take this quiz!








Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

last day of sept hols

it's the last day of sept hols alrd?

seems like i wasted a whole week of my life. well i finished watching why why love and watched tokyo juliet and some random bleach and hana yori dango and hana kimi...explored a few nice music songs...read harry potter book 7 again, reread starthrorn tree (seriously i nv get tired of it!) and borrowed some nice books to read. HAHA maths is totally left out this whole hols!

now i have to pick up math ws and books to mug again for upcoming math test this wed...T.T

ihatetests!

on a happier note, there's options! im looking forward to it! unfortunately...they take up quite a lot of time, and i thought that they would be in the morning so we have time in the afternoon! but thanks to weird scheduling everything before recess is for lessons and after that is options, up to 6pm! super late lah! luckily i have monday free...still, there's a lot of free blocks lying around in the morning! what can i do then? SIGH

books bah, lucky i borrowed some from library. i MISS YOU BOOKS! ^^"

this is random crapping lor...i think i should go back to mugging my math...sian.

eoys are over!

hurray! for my sec 4 sch life is coming to an end! at least for the most part of it ^^ eoys are over! chem was quite bad but ok lah just that i didn't complete everything ):

i see slack-er times coming...-ihope options won't be too taxing...- mingle2 has quite a lot of cool quizzes ^^"

Mingle² - Tampa Singles

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
torture (1x)

hehe not bad eh?

$6400.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Dating Site

Mingle² - Dating Site

not bad lah im worth quite a lot, considering im supposed to be a dead body...

1,662,780How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard?

Mingle² - Dating Site
There are about 1,662,780 germs on your keyboard right now!
That's equivalent to the number of germs on 333 toilet seats.

wahh o.O haha

52%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

not too bad la hor...considering im on hiatus 99% of the time ^^"

I Scored a 100%!

Mingle²

hoho. some tricky ones but im fine!

Free Online Dating

yay

38%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

this is lame -.-"



HAHAHA SUPER FUNNY MANNN like making a mountain out of a molehill! the subs aren't true of course but it's super funny


courtesy of the UnHappy Planet Index website, go and try it!

Happy Planet Index
Your personal Happy Planet Index (HPI) is 39.3, which is similar to that of countries such as Ireland, Palestine or Poland. Sorry to say that this is below the world average of 46, and about the same as the UK average. Your score is about the same as that of your country, 40.8.

Below is a breakdown of the various components that make up your HPI score.

You: 39.3
Average: 43.3
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Life Expectancy
Congratulations. Your life expectancy is above average for your gender and country. Whether it's eating well, not smoking, getting regular exercise, or just being lucky enough to have the right genes, you're doing something right. However, nobody's perfect and we could all improve our health a little! Aside from getting all the above bits of your lifestyle right, there are some more surprising factors that can influence your life expect - for example, giving up your car, avoiding living alone, moving out of the city or shrugging off stress.

You: 85
Average: 80.6
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Ecological Footprint
Your ecological footprint is 4.64 global hectares, or 2.58 planets. This is equivalent to the average in Austria, Netherlands or Hong Kong.

Your ecological footprint is below average for the country you live in.

You are using between and one and a half and three times your share of the planet's resources (assuming no resources are put aside for other species). This is an amount typical of people in many industrialised countries, though just below the average for the UK. As such, if you are living in an industrialised country, you are probably doing some things well and some things not so well in terms of reducing your ecological impact. Seven ways that everyone can reduce their footprint include:

It's obvious, but we have to say it. Conserve energy. Turn off the lights when you leave a room, buy energy-efficient bulbs and appliances, turn off your TV completely, rather than leave it on standby.
Reduce your waste. If there are ways to recycle where you live, try and do so. If you have a garden, start a compost heap. Re-use plastic bags. Give away clothes you don't use, rather than throwing them away. There are hundreds of little things you can do.
Live with someone! Whether it be your partner, family, children or friends, sharing your living space means sharing your ecological impact. It will probably also increase your well-being!
Leave your car in the garage. Car use has a huge impact on ecological footprint. Obviously it's easier for some people than others, but where possible, try to use public transport more. Or, even better, get on a bike, or simply walk!
Go local. Why buy tomatoes from another country, if you can get home grown ones? For those living in Europe - think about all those miles travelled by wine from South Africa and Australia, when Europe produces some of the best wines in the world.
You don't have to become vegetarian, but cutting down on meat, particularly beef, and particularly from animals fed by imported soya feed, is an effective step to reducing your footprint.
It has to be said that air travel is one of the biggest contributors to many people's footprints. For example, flying direct from London to Sydney and back would add 5.44 g ha to your footprint - that's the average Briton's footprint for an entire year. Flights with a connection add even more polluting air miles.


You: 4.64
Average: 5.37
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Carbon Footprint
Your carbon footprint is 2.39 global hectares, or 1.33 planets.

You: 2.39
Average: 3.24
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Life Satisfaction
You reported a life satisfaction of 6. This is just above our estimated world average life satisfaction of 5.9. At a national level, your score matches the means for Portugal, Iran and Vietnam. In Britain, just over a quarter of respondents reported a life satisfaction of 6 or lower.

You: 6
Average: 6.76
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Well-being
The new economics foundation (nef) recognises that there's more to life than feeling good, which is why our model for well-being is based on four domains ? personal feelings, personal functionings, social feelings and social functionings. 'Feelings' refers to your attitude to the way you, your future and society are. 'Functionings' looks at whether you have the opportunities to do the things that bring you well-being. Like with life satisfaction, a score of 5 is theoretically the middle score, but, given the way most people respond to surveys, is below average.

Personal Feelings
In this online questionnaire, personal feelings are assessed with two questions ? one testing your optimism and one testing your self-esteem.

You are optimistic about the future and probably also about yourself.

You: 6.08
Average: 6.05
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Personal Functionings
In this online questionnaire personal functionings are assessed with five questions ? two evaluating your subjective opinion on your health and how activity you are, the other three testing you for feelings of autonomy, purpose and worth.

In various ways, you are unable to function in the way you would like. You may be having problems with your health, feeling unable to make your own decisions, and/or failing to find opportunities to get involved in activities that give you a sense of purpose and ability. No doubt this is affecting your overall well-being. Is there any way to take more control over life, perhaps by making some space for yourself? Once you have done this, taking up different activities (sporting, creative, political, etc.) can provide an excellent focus for your abilities and offer a purpose. Voluntary work, in particular, can provide one with a strong sense of purpose and worth.

You: 4.69
Average: 6.16
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Social Feelings
In this online questionnaire social feelings are assessed with four questions ? three assessing your opinion of your community, whilst the last looks at personal relationships.

You are unsatisfied with, or perhaps indifferent to, the community within which you live. Sense of community is an important aspect of well-being. It is often lacking simply because there is little engagement taking place, as people lead atomised lives.

Another reason for this score, may simply be that you are currently unsatisfied by your personal relationships.

You: 4.4
Average: 5.69
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

Social Functionings
In this online questionnaire social functionings are assessed with four questions ? two assessing your job / studies, one your free time, and one your community participation. If you did not respond to the work / study questions, your score is judged purely on the other two aspects.

Your job / course is really not treating you well. Somehow it is at the same time dull and stressful! Either you're just going through a bad patch, or you really should consider moving on to somewhere else.

You: 4.16
Average: 5.6
[Average is of all online responses to this survey - not the average for your country]

haha super long post with random quizzes and the HPI - influence from ss c.k. (contextual knowledge) im not exactly very happy ne? thanks to singapore's wonderful education system. ^^"

bye bye bro

Hey that’s alliteration! (look at post title)

kk this post is dedicated to my dearest bro, so bro if you ever bother to read my blog you should be GLAD that there’s even a post dedicated to you! ^^

anw here’s LOVE from all of us, me mum dad, and we will miss u –I hope I rmb to- uhh and BON VOYAGE! yepp hope you will arrive safe and sound at uiuc, and hope you have fun there!

Gah im all envious alrd I want to go toooo! I mean to be rid of stress for a levels and all that is COOL and I can’t wait for my turn. –fun and play and I hope I get to go overseas too-

Ah well nothing much to say alrd, for those blurheads reading this post and not quite understanding it, it’s just bro going overseas for university. so fun righttt I wan go overseas too ): hmm b4 I forget must say that Philip sends his best regards to you. and do you want me to send you all those stupid photos on the camera? (of your macbook and crap like that)

p.s. to Gillian: the reason I have a phone in my bedroom is bcos there’s some free phone I forgot how come, so yah it’s put in my room bcos we alrd have a lot of phones around the house. also, im the “secretary/clerk/telephone operator” of the house, which means I pick up all the phones bcos everyone is lazy to get to one and they just bully me and get me to go get the phone. Yeah so a phone in my room would facilitate such picking up of phones. ^^”

my room

this is from gillian's blog.

how many windows are in your room? two windows
what color are your walls? white
hardwood floor, tile, or carpet? parquet
do you get ready for the day in your room or the bathroom? my room
what size bed do you have? single size bed
what does your comforter look like? blue and yellow coloured (current one)
is your room big? it's subjective isn't it? i would say ok, not really big but not too small either
is it clean? yeah kindof
do you have a night light? nope
do you have the following in your room:
[x] desk. yes
[ ] more than 3 sources of light. nope, only ceiling light and sunlight
[x] phone. yepp one. practically one in every room (to gillian: why of course not?)
[x] chair/dish chair. yes one
[ ] book shelf. nope my room is more for sleeping and stuff, book shelves are in study room (to gillian: why duh?)
[x] dresser. well one kindof, though nothing much is on it other than my fan and my badges and nametags etc
[ ] TV. nope, my mum don't believe in spending money putting a tv in our bedrooms and giving us free rein to become addicted to tv. esp since she insists bedroom is for SLEEPING and not for waking up middle of the night to watch stuff yeah, not that i really mind. tv is kinda boring.
[ ] CD player/stereo. nope all in the living room.
[ ] bean bag chair. doesn't seem to appeal to my parents at all, so it doesn't exist in our home.
[ ] computer/laptop. well as you should alrd know my bedroom is kinda for sleeping so com is in study room
[ ] posters. again my mum doesn't believe in vandalising the walls. haha anw i dun have any posters (a waste of money i think)
[ ] paintings. not in my bedroom, but in the living room and all around the house yeah. (those chinese paintings u know)
[x] pictures. not photograph those kindof pictures, but i have some picture of a sheep that my godmother had sewn for me when i was small. still hanging in my room.
[x] walk-in closet. walk in? well i suppose i can try walking into it...
[x] large mirror. not really that large, but large enough (about half the full length mirror)
[x] bed. HAHA yes DUH
[ ] drumset. uh. i dunno how to play drums and uh it would be a waste of money and space
[ ] bathroom. nope, that is only for the master bedroom ^^"
[x] clock. yeah it's kindof cranky and goes haywire once in a while but yeah generally accurate (i hope)
[x] clothes. of course. all the clothes i have are in my room, so no room, no clothes! (WHOA what a horrifying prospect!)
[ ] box of tissues. not a box, but i have a pack in my desk. just in case :D
[ ] guitar. no don't play guitar...
[ ] lava lamp. my mum isn't exactly a MODERN kindof person u know...
[ ] smoke detector. no...
[ ] piano/keyboard. not in my room, it's in the living room there
[ ] bongos. what's this?
[ ] a bin. nope i used to have one in my old house, but seems like my mum doesn't like dirty dustbins in bedrooms "where you SLEEEP U KNOW!" so yah
[x] locking door. well we have to lock doors once in a while right...?
[ ] can of soda. no soft drinks allowed in my room. i don't like soft drinks anw...
[ ] bottle of water. not usually, but sometimes if i am working in my room i might have one to drink from
[ ] playstation or another game source. if only. i have a deprived childhood u see
[ ] a blacklight. HUH? blacklight? i have enough radiation around thankyouverymuch.
[ ] something about your own country. -thinks hard.- i can try clearing out my desk and see?
[ ] awards. in some shelf in the living room
[ ] water polo ball. i don't play water polo
[ ] soccer ball. i don't play soccer either...
[ ] beach ball. uh i think there may be one in the storeroom
[ ] sofa. ...my room isn't THAT big.
[ ] empty liquor bottles. er hem. im underaged. anw even if i have any it would have been cleared out b4 my mum discovers them (and since she cleans my room everyday it would have to be cleared very quickly)
[ ] flag. hoho NO
[ ] stop sign. all these are weird
[ ] caution tape. weird weird weird.
[X] calendar. yepp. finally something more normal ^^

anw HAPPY NATIONAL DAY EVERYONE! BON ANNIVERSAIRE SINGAPOUR! happy birthday singapore! happy holidays everyone...

something interestingly horrible i found

Terrible mutations may turn humans into plants or animals
Herbal cells may settle down and parasitize on the organism of a human or an animal

Geneticists say that mutations seriously change the set of chromosomes, and people with mutations can thus hardly be called humans. In Yerevan in the former Soviet republic of Armenia, 18-year-old girl Narine Aivasyan shocked doctors with her unusual disease. The girl complained about an abscess on her wrist that had been hurting her for a long period already. When doctors opened the bandage on Narine's hand they saw two very thin thorns sticking out of the hand.

The girl failed to enter a higher education institution after she left school, and had to help her mother about the house and assisted her in a store where the woman worked. The girl was fond of pot plants and devoted much time to looking after her plants. Once, Narine pricked herself on a cactus while watering plants. Some thorns got stuck in her wrist. The parents immediately disinfected the wound but it still festered and even expanded. Narine was reluctant to visit a doctor. She had to go to a hospital in a month when a point of a thorn emerged on the skin right on the place of the red wound. Doctors easily removed the strange object, but more thorns turned up on the same spot soon.

Head of the immunology and virology laboratory at the Armenia research center Tigran Davtyan says the world medicine has never known before that herbal cells may settle down and parasitize on the organism of a human or an animal. Deeper study of the thorns removed out of the girl's wrist confirmed their vegetative origin. It turned out that the thorns belonged to a cactus that many people had at home.

The only way to save the girl was to perform an operation to remove the fistula to stop the cactus from parasitizing all about the organism. The wound healed up after the operation and did not trouble the girl for four years.

Narine's mother says the girl could not recover from the shock for a very long period and feared that the thorns might reappear. The tragedy made the girl reserved and unsociable. But still she kept on looking after her pot plants.

One day Narine noticed her wrist turned red once again but she would not confess to her parents that the disease reappeared. The girl felt her forearm swell and soon a thorn as thick as a match burst her skin.

This time a fistula appeared in a sinew zone. Narine clenched her fists, the muscles pushed new thorns out and doctors removed them with pincers. At that, the wound was not bleeding. Doctors removed from 70 to 100 thorns from the girl's arm every day. But they still appeared later, which suggested there were two or three parasite cells still staying in the girl's organism. Doctors from many countries stated there was not a surgical but rather a microbiological problem.

When researchers studied the bigger thorns they arrived at a conclusion that they were no longer of vegetative origin. As a result of mutation, the patient got new unknown cells, some sort of a hybrid of a human and a plant. In other words, the young girl was turning into a cactus.

Experts believe the terrible metamorphosis sounds warning for mankind. “Evolution and progress seriously damage the human immune system. People become more vulnerable to unknown parasites and viruses,” Tigran Davtyan says.

Now the girl is 26. When Narine had blood poisoning some people rumored she died. But parents of the girl told doctors Narine was alive but felt too bed. The strange disease made her extremely apathetic and pessimistic as she knows that doctors obviously cannot help her.

In Kazakhstan, a woman from a remote village gave birth to her third son who turned out to be a very unusual being. The baby was covered with hair from top to toe. Only his cry resembling that of a normal baby proved that he was a human being. Ayaulym, the mother of the unusual baby did not reject him. She took the boy to the village where her family lived. The baby suffers from hypertrichosis, an infrequent genetic disease described in medicine literature. Patients suffering from it have too much hair on the face and body. There are just few people in the world having the diagnosis. Unfortunately, there is still no treatment for the disease.

Until the boy turned five, his parents did not take him to doctors. Being absolutely despaired they had no notion that some treatment for the disease could actually exist. The family lived in isolation, but neighbors soon learnt that a strange being resembling a monkey but speaking the human language was living next door.

Doctors say the boy did not at all feel shy when parents took him to the hospital for the first time. Ablai, this is the name of the unusual boy, is a very active child. Other children staying on treatment at the hospital got used to the unusual boy and even played together. Now the boy is nine years old. Unfortunately, Ablai cannot go to a public school. The local administration sent the boy to a correction educational institution though his intellectual abilities are normal.

People in Kazakhstan have already got used to the fact that healthy parents may from time to time give birth to abnormal babies. They explain the phenomenon with closeness to nuclear testing areas. There are 19 nuclear testing areas in the republic.

Student Alexander Rybakov from the University of St.Petersburg usually feels hurt when strangers mistake him for an old man. Sometimes even co-students at the University think he is an old professor because the young man looks very much like an elderly. At the age of eight Alexander for the first time felt he had some cardiovascular system problems. At the age of twelve, the boy had a bald spot on the head; the face was covered with a web of wrinkles by the age of sixteen. It seemed Alexander jumped over the traditional maturing stages and turned into a pensioner right after being a teenager.

At first, doctors registered that Alexander's internal organs were wearing out too quickly. At the age of 14 the boy's height was much lower than that of other children of his age. Many of callous senior students at school mocked at the boy. But Alexander was very wise for his young age and never took the mockery very much to heart. After graduation from the university Alexander will become a programmer which will give him a chance to work at home.

Viktor Michelson from the Russian Academy of Sciences Cytology Institute says there are two varieties of the ageing syndrome. When patients suffer from Werner's disease they all of a sudden begin to grow old in the young age. When patients have progeria, they look like very old people already at the age of 12. In both cases, people have their ageing gene affected. In other words, their biological clock goes several times quicker. The only treatment that medicine offers to children who turn into elderly is cure of senile diseases typical of the syndrome.

Several months ago, a 13-year-old girl who looked like a very old woman died of a stroke in the city of Orenburg. A boy from Kazakhstan became wrinkled overnight at the age of four.

Some researchers believe that decoding the ageing gene may solve the secret of eternal youth.

It is not clear for sure why babies come to this world being invalids. Geneticists state that inheritance and parents' mode of living are the cause of babies' inborn disability just in fifty percent of instances. It is known that 90 mothers of 100 reject their babies with inborn pathologies right after childbirth.

Doctors say that today half of babies in children's homes in Russia have inborn pathologies. It is typical of modern young mothers to reject their unhealthy babies. These young mothers at the age of 15-18 as a rule smoke a lot, take drugs and suffer from anemia and consequently cannot give birth to healthy babies. Even doctors persuade young mothers to reject their abnormal babies. It is a heavy burden for parents in this country to bring up invalid and abnormal children. The government pays miserable disability pension. Children having abnormalities will not be accepted to public schools even if they have normal intellectual abilities. But if attending a correction school, these children will never have a chance to enter a higher education institution and thus will not have a proper profession and employment. It is particularly distressing that children suffering from diseases and abnormalities unknown to medicine do not have a chance to be accepted in the society even as invalids.

Parents who reject their babies because of their abnormality do not realize that they deprive them of normal life immediately after birth. Parents should remember that they are responsible for their babies' fates. Even abnormal and invalid babies need love and care to survive in the world. Today, medicine may help cure many of slight inborn pathologies to give a happy life to parents and their babies. Parents are the only people who may help children with pathologies be brave and optimistic when they are not welcomed in the society.

20.12.2005, source: http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/360/16654_mutation.html

SCARY RIGHT! gosh imagine your cells mutate and u become a CACTUS! i would have gone and killed myself T.T bcos living on would just be a waste of time and effort and money (esp for all those operations) imagine all that PAIN and TORTURE and TEASING u have to endure! scary mann...

adding on to this, i found something quite interesting too!

Helacyton gartleri

The immortal remains of Henrietta Lacks.
When human body cells are removed and put into a cell culture, they weaken and die quickly, usually within about 50 divisions. Without the rest of the support structure—a heart, blood circulating, a digestive system and so-on—body cells can't survive. Body cells also age, so even if you were to simulate the body's environment in a test tube or petri dish, the cells would eventually perish anyway. The basic mortality of the cells reflect the basic mortality of the organism they comprise, which is why there's no fountain of youth or medicinal procedure that'll give you biological immortality.

There is, however, one human being who is biologically immortal on a technicality, and her name is Henrietta Lacks. In 1951 she showed up at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, complaining of blood spotting in her underwear. Samples were taken of her cervical tissue and sent to a lab for analysis, which came back with a diagnosis of cervical cancer.

The cancer was caused by the Human papillomavirus, which is a sexually transmitted disease. Most variants of this virus are harmless, but some are known to cause cervical cancer, as in Henrietta's case. After her diagnosis and before attempts to treat the disease with radium, another sample from the tumor was sent to George Gey, who was the head of tissue culture research at Hopkins. Gey discovered that the cells from Henrietta's tumor would not only survive and multiply outside of her body, but they didn't age either. These cells were basically immortal.

And they're still alive, even though Henrietta herself died of the cancer on October 4th, 1951. Now, HeLa cells are about as common in biological research as the lab rat and the petri dish, and are still being grown in an unbroken lineage from the cells originally harvested from Mrs. Lacks in 1951. They're used in cancer research because a scientist can perform experiments on them that otherwise couldn't be done on a living human being. They were also used in the development of the Polio vaccine, making Henrietta somewhat of a posthumous hero to millions.

But say you're a scientist looking at HeLa cells under a microscope. They live independently of the body they came from. They reproduce (faster even than other cancerous cells). They consume, excrete, and do everything an independent living organism usually does. A thousand years from now there will still be HeLa cells multiplying and living, even some of the original cells sampled from Mrs. Lacks, even though Henrietta Lacks herself has long since passed away. Is this a new species?

In 1991 the scientific community decided it was, and blessed HeLa cells with its own genus and species: Helacyton gartleri, named by Van Valen & Maiorana.

That would make Helacyton gartleri an example of speciation, which is when a new species is observed developing from another. In this case, the development is from a chordate (homo sapien) to something that's more like an ameoba (a cross-phylum mutation), giving us an animal with a mostly human genotype, but which does not develop into a human-like phenotype. Since this event occurred in nature when the papillomavirus transformed Henrietta's cells, and not in the laboratory, it's a strong piece of evidence supporting Evolution (although not one that suggests you could go from an ameoba to a chordate, which would probably take more than one mutation).

the immortal remains of henrietta lacks. this is even more gross and eurgh. >.<

source: http://www.disenchanted.com/dis/lookup.html?node=1860

my birthday!

i just realised that ppl in their right mind would probably blog about such a significant event in their lives - their birthdays. hence im going to blog about my birthday, albeit one day late (since i just realised i should blog haha)

first of all, great thanks to everyone! it was indeed a special day! loads loads happened and despite all the terrible geog presentation and several scrapes and hits from floorball (more like the floorball sticks), it turned out not bad

i got loads of presents, like the most in my sec sch life, possibly even in my life. hmm i just can't rmb if i got presents in pri sch, but i know i didn't get in p6. i got loads for farewell instead hahaha...yep i must really thank kb for wanting to make my day special -and getting ppl to call and sing random birthday songs hahaha-

next yr i'll make your birthday a special one! though don't expect a telescope haha it will be way too ex mann.

yes there were a lot of ppl who made it a special birthday ne? hence you deserve special thanks for that astro book! -winks at 2 particular ppl who were simply so blur and erhem had conflicting opinions-

thanks to shekaye! the apple fudge candy thingy hahaha so funnyy; to juniors for being so nice: xinjia! harry potter book rocks man! you totally rock you actually got it in time!!!; gillian for getting the laser pointer bcos she couldn't get the green one haha and jovina for drawing such a creative and the CUTEST card i've ever seen! it's really the best card i've ever received! your drawing is so pro! ^^ -hugs to all of you-

thanks to eileen for trying to fatten me up -without avail hoho- and yuling for the nice cd with all the ff songs! and wenyi for the cute mug and blaws for that CUTEEE panda -love!!- and qw + blaws for that notebook!

*random sidenote: <3 scitaré exco! im glad elections got postponed! now i feel happy again lalala...

and to yuling & co for that russian restaurant trip that eventful day (:

and to kb and co for that harry potter trip yet another eventful day (:

a very big thank you to all of youu! you all made this day a really special and memorable one indeed. -the speciallest birthday ever- ^^

ah yes and my mum just changed all the toilet doors to some new better quality doors bcos the old doors apparently may have termite invasion or something. so ya now our toilets are dominated by the smell of wood! those woody wood wood. must get used to the smell...and the new look of the doors.

oh yah very impt thing. gillian! you are like posting random comments on my past past past blog posts i think T.T please do indicate your name! or i'll be wondering what kindof weird stranger is that anonymous person posting such random comments hahaha so just put gillian! and i'll know it's you! same to blaws too if you post comments ^^

plus i realised that everyone seem to have inanimate objects as bfs and gfs/husbands and wives(qw with her pipa, kb with his telescope, daniel with all the bio tb, chem tb, piano, guitar, good A grades etc... -.-") i should have some inanimate object as bf too. haha maybe like...-thinks-

.
.
.


um can't think of anything in particular. when i think of it shall declare it as bf! ^^" im sure blaws will have a whole list as bf (insects? math tb? bio tb? all the science tb? astro books? astro notes? dizi? -the list goes on forever-)

harry potter: order of the phoenix

today we went to watch harry potter movie 5 - order of the phoenix! thanks to kb for treating us! rich person eh ^^

anw the movie wasn't too bad, u won't exactly feel disappointed by it la, just that it was a bit screwed since it is much shorter than the book. but this happens for all the harry potter movies so yah can't be helped. plus cho chang so poor thing! she's like got so little screentime? the longest screentime was like the kissing part -.-" poor thing la

then luna lovegood so much screentime! she is like always talking to harry potter in her so called dreamy way that sounded kindof like a bimbo, what with her blonde hair and blue eyes. i expected her to be like violet in charlie and choc factory - short hair, looks weird and all, but in the end she so pretty -.-" if you nv read the book you would have thought that luna and harry will end up together. (they are like together talking even more than hermione or ron talks to harry)

yah and poor hermione and ron has pathetically little role in the movie too... a lot of emphasis on harry. yeah it's how it's supposed to be oso, bcos this movie is about him battling with his emotions and all. however they could have built more on that, by letting harry voice out his thoughts and stuff instead of just looking angry or frustrated. doesn't illustrate much to those who nv read the book. esp he should have voiced out his anger and fears about dumbledore more, and not just looking frustrated-ly at him.

dumbledore should have a bit more role too. umbridge is quite good though. esp the cough and eh hem! HAHA she's positively irritating and hatable! they should have emphasised more on the detention too, as well as the twins' grand farewell. no swamp whatsoever T.T

andddd SNAPE! WE <3 SNAPE! hahaha his younger self looks kindof quite cute too! why everyone wan to ostracise him! he's niceeeeeeeee. bahhh and i just realised that harry nv wondered about his father bullying snape. as in in the book he was very shocked that snape was right all along about how horrid his father was, and he wanted to find out whether it is true and why isit his noble and great father actually did such horrible things etc. and oso his frustration at sirius for seeing him as his father all the time. he should have expressed these key major emotions and concerns!

yepp other than that really not too bad lah. although the whole thing quite gloomy and all, with gloomy black and grey and brown colours 90% of the time. the nice pink frills and cats of umbridge were in fact nice for a change. yeah the end part was lame, im sure ppl who nv read the book would be totally confused by what's going on. esp since they skipped loads and they just wanted to show the main stuff and not elaborate and explain them for too long. and they skipped loads of the scenes and places! and ppl too! they so cheapskate! it's alrd earning so much they should have a higher budget to include the characters and places mah! i was looking forward to seeing ron grabbed by brains T.T and the baby head death-eater...

bellatrix isn't as beautiful as i thought she should be, but i guess it's to show her hysterics and stuff from azkaban lah. neville's parents look kindof weird and not authentic english or something, and i thought sirius was supposed to be stupefied and not adava kedavra-ed by her b4 he fell through the arch! oh well crapp lah. i guess it's to make things simpler for ppl, that he is killed and his body is just gone in the arch. not that he wasn't killed and yet he's not coming back. haha

yepp not too bad, you ppl should go watch if you haven't. im just trying to let the harry potter ppl earn more money so that they have a higher budget for the 6th movie and portray all the necessary and major stuff instead of being cheapskate. haha and also to power the economy!

bleh

Your Love Type: ISFJ

The Nurturer In love, you are quietly intense, devoted, and tend too hold on too long. For you, sex is a way to get closer - and a way to take care of your partner. Overall, you are altruistic and eager to please your sweetie. However, you tend to also be non-confrontational and secretly frustrated with relationship issues. Best matches: ESTP or ESFP

What's Your Love Type?

iNFj

Your Type is
INFJ
Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging
Strength of the preferences %
11 25 50 56
You are:
slightly expressed introvert
moderately expressed intuitive personality
moderately expressed feeling personality
moderately expressed judging personality

The Portrait of the Counselor Idealist (iNFj)

The Counselor Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and enterprising and attentive in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions -- good or evil -- even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others' feelings so keenly. Furthermore, the Counselor is most likely of all the types to demonstrate an ability to understand psychic phenomena and to have visions of human events, past, present, or future. What is known as ESP may well be exceptional intuitive ability-in both its forms, projection and introjection. Such supernormal intuition is found frequently in the Counselor, and can extend to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come, as well as uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance.


Mohandas Gandhi and Eleanor Roosevelt are examples of the Counselor Idealist (INFJ).

More information about INFJs here.

if you want to try and see what your personality type is, try this website!
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

I just love Astronomy!!!

D-C-B-A-F-G-E!
Tele-S-C-O-P-E!
Messier, IC, NGC!
Oh Be A Fine Guy Ki-ss Me!
86164 per spin!
I just love Astronomy!!!

interesting 7-beat rhyming Astro chant created by kb. haha now everyone is using it as their nick? not bad lah hor quite catchy...

live earth day today! 070707 so wear green and save the earth! reduce, reuse and recycle!

liar game is a really nice j-drama. you ppl should watch.

plus sleeping early is good! -advocates early sleep- don't understand why guys like to sleep late (most of them at least) even when it isn't necessary. and then they sleep during lessons and miss out all the impt stuff. it's totally warped, the sleeping cycles. it will become a habit and stick! (which is BADDD)

feeling: randomness. music: crucify my love by x-japan

ishi's dead

hey guess what? i just saw the newspaper and ishi's dead!? yes the guy from superband, in the band, soul, teaches dance and all and jes sie loves him etc etc...

he's my bro's friend too. to think my bro just talked to him last week. ishi mentioned he wanted to commit suicide and stuff but i mean, if he's talking about it surely he'll be FINE RIGHT? i totally can't believe he actually went and did it.

WHO KILLS THEMSELVES OVER RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS? totally wasted. bright future ahead, 26 years old, diploma in sound mixing-engineering, great job at dancing, plenty of fans and shuai4 enough for many girls to want to be his gf (jes sie's one) and he's got plenty of stuff to do!

sigh. so wasted?

life is so fragile? so easily gone? like that? why would one want to die just like that? i mean i thought of dying and all b4 but in the end there was always something holding me back, holding me to life. to think he actually survived 26 years just to give up like that? like WHAT THE?!^$%@@

i don't believe it!

now i know how it feels to have someone u know dead. sudden shock indeed.

p.s. i nv thought of carbon monoxide poisoning. it's rather cool and unique, but apparently quite the trend in japan for commiting suicide and stuff. well you ppl don't try it.

it's not worth killing yourselves over stuff that really can be solved. it's not worth the effort, not worth the time wasted on thinking about it, not worth your precious life. rmb, no matter what happens, there's always ppl you care about you, whether you know it or not. for one thing, i do. if you have any problems, talk about it, don't think you can solve it just by suicide. it's selfish, cowardly, useless. think of the brighter days ahead. think of me...

think of me, think of me fondly, when we say goodbye...

some quizzes

Your EQ is 147

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's" Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

wow? i totally nv expected so high? o.O

You Are In a Decent Mood

You aren't turning cartwheels, but you're having a pretty good day. Some ups, some downs, but overall you're coming out ahead. And who knows? Tomorrow could be even better!

What Mood Are You In?

kindof ok mood im in lah. so it's quite true ^^"

You Are Pretty Happy

You generally have a happy, fulfilling life. But things could be a little better, and deep down, you know it. Maybe you need more supportive friends or a more challenging career. Something is preventing you from being totally happy. You just need to figure out what it is!

How Happy Are You, Really?

what's bothering me? stress, life, school, the feeling of imsodead. sigh.

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

i feel flattered.

You Can Make 53% of Your Crushes Fall in Love With You

You certainly have this dating thing down - and you know how to charm most people. And when your charm seems broken, just think back to what has worked in the past. You have the tools to make almost anyone fall in love with you - you just have to put them into action.

Can You Make Anyone Fall in Love With You?

ha.ha.ha. i haven't had crushes for ages, if not i can actually go and try it out. ha.ha.

Cancer - Your Love Profile

Your positive traits: You're intuitive enough to know what's going wrong in a relationship early on A total sweetheart - you're often the most caring person anyone knows You are a generous and devoted parter to whoever you fall in love with Your negative traits: Insecurity - you tend to need a huge amount of comforting from your partner You tend to be overly sensitive and easily hurt, which make loving you difficult It's difficult to predict your moods. One minute you're up - the next you're down. Your ideal partner: Someone equally sensitive, who wants to take time to get to know you deeply Dreams of an everlasting love - complete with marriage and a family Loves to take care of you. Being a good cook and masseuse doesn't hurt! Your dating style: Slow. You enjoy dates that last all day, with plenty of time to talk and get to know one another. Your seduction style: Quite tender and loving, once you are comfortable in your relationship. Coy. You tend to play it cool to drive your lover wild. Orally talented - you're known as the best kisser in the zodiac. Tips for the future: Be a little less sensitive. Not every little mistake should hurt you. Spend time away from your partner every so often - independence is a good thing. Find ways to take care of yourself. You'll be happier if you put yourself first. Best color to attract mate: Aqua Best day for a date: Wednesday

What's Your Love Profile?

eew. "Orally talented - you're known as the best kisser in the zodiac."?!! -shakes head in disbelief-

NTU-NUS Astrochallenge 2007

actually I didn't really want to blog about astrochallenge but well, considering that it is a very impt event in my life and probably will stay as one of my unforgettable memories, I think it's significant enough to be left in the pages of this blog. (u noe, metaphorically)

ahh where do we start?

ok we'll start from Friday. day 1, it was quite ok, the mcq was really hard >.< (as compared to NYP) I had to leave 8 blank bcos I had no idea how to do them at all and im bound to get them wrong and have marks deducted yepp. the rest I think I had quite a number of wrongs. heh I was quite certain I'll get negative marks, but in the end the guy said our mcq scores were quite high (i couldn't believe it at all!) . data response ok lah there was pro gl and blaws doing all those calculations and drawing the graphs (: and so I think it was quite good. ^^ esp the 200 mark question (which hci didn't really do as I heard)

surprise round was NOT fun at all. super boring, everyone was dying with boredom and the questions are super chao1 ji2 difficult? (for lousy ppl like me lah) I was guessing all the answers bcos 50% chance of getting them right mah haha (but 50% of getting wrong too so haha whatever) it ended up quite good bcos there was this bp guy in my group and he answered like more than half the questions right. yepp so we ended up being second, just one station behind stacey's group!

project round umm...was hoping for better response from the judges but well we didn't get to finish our script and, u know, emphasise that it's an ALUMINIUM BLANKET COVERING which we very nicely wrapped for them to see in the middle as an example, and NOT glass. yeah it's just that we wanted them to see the interior so we didn't wrap the rest =P oh well kindof crappy. I wonder what the judges thought of it. not too bad I hope?

ah so on Friday we were convinced that we wouldn't get into the finals (b4 that we had a bit of hope) but since we saw the difficulty of all the qns of the first three rounds, we were freaked out and decidedly agreed that we had only 0.00000000000000001% of getting into finals (b4 that was 0.001% ^^". it would be more than a miracle. thus, all of us didn't mug at all! yeah so here comes the nasty surprise.

so I was settling myself comfortably into my seat to watch the other groups do the finals (I was really excited and hoping that both ri teams would be there to battle it out. it would be interesting mahh) and yeah talking to blaws about my balloon and random stuff when i caught "raffles girls school team 1" (literally caught, since I didn't really pay attention to the announcement). my first thought was: oh NO. we're SO DEAD.

yeah and I immediately prompted blaws to get calculator and pencil box and um waited for qw and bhu to defreeze from their shock and yeah trying to get over MY shock and disbelief and yes it was a pretty bad surprise. caught like that was not exactly nice... but at first I was really excited and thinking HEY WE GOT INTO FINALS! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! IT'S MORE THAN A MIRACLE! 0.00000000000000001% happened!!

in the end the finals got more and more boring and dreary and draggy and all. bcos we couldn't answer 99% of the questions and we didn't want points deducted. we were determined to keep our score above 0 and at least lose with a positive score =P um yeah the speed round was the worst! the music was irritating and distracting and pressurizing whatsoever and just getting on our nerves. esp the part that went BOM, BOM BOM, BOM, BOM BOM. T.T

we couldn't answer a lot of the questions and we had to guess. oh but I knew one question very well! just so happened that I studied constellations fervishly, so I knew that bootes is not part of Argo Navis ^^ that was easy. the rest was bad. a few the others knew lah, but esp the multiple answers ones we like got every one of them wrong? except for one I think... and all the calculation questions we got wrong T.T dunno what's wrong with the calculator or something but we were too nervous and stuff

luckily we still got a positive score of 13! (how unlucky)

as for buzzer round, we couldn't answer a lot of questions (or even if we could, we weren't sure so we didn't press the buzzer) the worst thing is, the questions we could answer (like 3 of them only?) we pressed but always RI or BP would have pressed first or something. I guess their fingers are glued to the buzzer T.T or their reflexes were faster or they were spamming the buzzer (this must be it). SIGH la. esp the 9 planets one it's so easy! and the speed of light thing! we could have answered those easily but for RI's reflexes T.T apparently they pressed the buzzer at the same time as the visual cue or something. the visual cue appeared at the same time as the buzzer sounding leh...

and the worst worst worst thing is that we knew the sun theory thingy! (what was the most widely accepted theory about how the sun produces energy b4 they found out it was nuclear fusion -something like that?-) qw was like isit gravity? then the answer was GRAVITATIONAL CONTRACTION. im sure if we said gravity we would have gotten a few points yikes. I think we really need to learn much more about the formulae and how to apply and stuff like that.

we were sigh so lousy. how could we even get into the finals in the first place? with third placing some more...data response must have saved us =P and since hci didn't really do the 200 mark question that must mean they are really pro in the mcq and other rounds la! not like us anyhow 混 into the finals one.

yah lah kb you're right we really did get into finals. haha so are we, rj did get into finals too! don't worry about it, RJ astro rocks! get over your disappointment soon k? you've done the best you can, and it really can't be helped. it's not really who's in the team, but more of who you're facing. it's really a lot on luck too, and not just brains. don't be too depressed over it. you guys are really pro alrd! you ppl at least put up a nice fight against the others and yeah had "keen competition"… not like us rgs. we must be the only exception that didn't put up "keen competition". we were like pass for every question, and wrong for every other. T.T

you ppl at least got a significantly high score lor! not like us 13 points only? if you are alrd so depressed then we'll have to go commit suicide alrd lah. haha yes it WAS embarrassing. BP team 2 was like laughing at us everytime we pass and when we got wrong. and they clapped and cheered everytime we got right for speed round (which made me feel really insulted, bcos we had so few right that they must cheer for us? how nice.)

oh well we have to better prepared next time. even if it is a miracle, we have to prepare for the tiniest chance…still, yay! we are pro enough to get into finals! and proer than many other teams! -hugs to bhu qw blaws gl and our juniors for supporting us!- you juniors better get into finals next year! finals ahh! I believe in you guys and you have the potential to excel and expandd! -nods-

all in all, quite a fun and interesting astrochallenge this yeah, despite all the bad feelings. it's just contradictory that you can have so much fun in the midst of boredom and embarrassment heh ^^

on a sidenote b4 I forget: CONGRATS TO CHAMPIONS OF ASTROCHALLENGE RI ONCE AGAIN! you ppl are prooo so keep on winning BP! ^^