be happy!!

changing

2011-11-09T00:17:00.002+08:00

Circumstances are ever-changing.

I came back to my hall in NUS this morning, with no plan for the day whatsoever. But somehow things seemed to fall into place, and my day turned out quite well! Studied some notes for the Plant Growth and Development module I'm taking, sorted through my plant specimens and did some data entry for my Final Year Project, mixed around a little with the people in my lab (I went to Business canteen for lunch! Haven't been there in ages!), revised some statistics, went for dinner with my family, dug out my old statistics notes at home, made wholemeal muffins of different flavours, etc. Most of these were last-minute changes/decisions, but I've since learnt to go with the flowwww :D it's amazing what you can do with 24 hours in a day.

Hopefully, the rest of my days this year will be as productive/fulfilling as today!

---
Here's what I have for the rest of this week :p have to jot this down here, because I haven't really been keeping tabs, haha. Sorry, very mundane, please skip if you want (:

Wednesday (9/11):
- Go through statistics notes
- Marine Biology lecture (last lesson!)
- Discuss statistics with Mark
- Meet Chaoyang to collect posters for NUSBS Dharma Camp, put them up in Engineering faculty
- Sort out plant specimens
- Jogging with Louise at the track
- Study Plant Growth and Development notes
- Kelvin's birthday surprise (whoops hope he doesn't know my blog's existence, lol.)
- Hall exam welfare supper

Thursday (10/11):
- Study Plant Growth and Development notes
- Sort out plant specimens and do data entry
- Swimming with Mafer
- Study with Yunlan
- Kope some food from Block Supper? Seems I'm having too much unhealthy food, hmmm.

Friday (11/11):
- One Day on Earth video project :D
- Study
- Tsu Ching exam dinner activity?? Seems I'm really having too much food, lol.

Saturday and Sunday:
- Studyyyy
- Family time

All the way, Carmen!

On a small sidenote, I actually wrote this because I was tempted to talk to someone on Facebook (again), yet didn't want to because I had nothing substantial to say -.- argh Carmen, lol. Concentrate! Let things go with the flow, just like today's events, and don't worry so much XD

(:

2011-10-20T14:24:00.001+08:00

Hello world!

Haven't written here for the past few months already. I guess I was trying to ease back into life in Singapore after the months overseas (:

Many things have happened since I came back; a whole flurry of activity. Year 4 is fun though! I guess it's because I'm enjoying my fun but tiring final year project, plus I only have 2 modules this semester, haha. It's already week 10 of the 13 weeks of the semester, but it really doesn't feel that way.

I'm feeling quite happy today! Currently sitting in the department vehicle, sheltered from the rain and enjoying the aircon, with yummy Ikea lunch in my tummy :D

Done with my plot in the morning thanks to my mentors Kwekyan and Alex, and lab assistant Andy (who's going to leave soon T-T). They went into the swampy areas of the plot (getting the lower half of their body wet) and got bitten by ants for my sake XD all of us had lots of mosquito bites too D: well, that marks the end of my 20th plot, yayyyy! 30 more to go :p it's possible, so I'm not worrying too much about it.

I'm really grateful that I have friends and people supporting me (: I always seem to have helpers for my fieldwork, even if it's at the last minute (: even friends who are not doing Biology offered to help out, aww. So touched! I already have a group of friends who promised to help me in December woohoo~

Hm I was thinking of having a birthday party at my house this year to thank my friends who made a difference to my university life, since it's my final year and everything ;) exciting! My mother likes the idea, hahaha. She loves planning social events XD I used to have big birthday parties when I was younger and more socially awkward, lol. Let's see how it goes (:

Haha that's all for now, bye and hope I've the inspiration to write again in the near future!

Sorting Out

2011-10-16T14:05:00.001+08:00

Words make a big impact on me.
Maybe it's because of my English and Literature classes (and my mother who taught these subjects) that honed my comprehension abilities, making me see the nuances of word usage.
Maybe it's just my personality.
Maybe that's why I fall for guys so easily.
Maybe that's why I like intangible words of appreciation.

Is it wrong?
To look into things and think so much, yet keeping it inside and only telling some friends or writing it out?

I've acquaintances and friends from university who were surprised to find out that I fall for guys easily. I guess I don't show it. Or I just don't really put in the effort to impress the opposite gender. Or maybe after spending so much time and energy on it in secondary school, junior college and my first year of university, I just don't see the point. It's either non-attachment or escapism, I can't tell at the moment.

Have I given up on finding a partner for myself? Nowadays, I even joke with my parents about becoming a nun, and they seem fine with it! I'm starting to see that the normal unquestioned route of a person growing into an adult, getting married and starting a family is not the only way to live a life. There are so many possibilities. I don't have to go to the extreme of becoming a nun; I can just live my life as a strong, independent woman with love to share with everyone.

Maybe that's the problem. I'm starting to see that I don't need a guy to complete my life. I'm capable and talented on my own. Why should I, if I could lead groups of people to organise meaningful campus-wide and overseas activities while juggling heavy schoolwork, or live overseas by myself for almost half a year?

Perhaps I'm putting up walls to deal with potential disappointment. After all the countless crushes and misses, I'm starting to let go quicker each time I fall for another boy. Something nice that a guy said or did? Nah, he'll probably do that to another girl anyway. I'm not special to him. I'm just another good friend, someone to be nice to but not be serious about.

But then, there's always something that pulls me back. When I'm just about to let go completely, here comes a nice and talented guy who has similar interests as me. We did quite a number of activities together, and seem to enjoy each other's company. He cares about everyone around him, calls people by their name like they matter and looks them in the eye intently when listening to them. He does so many activities that it's hard to comprehend how he juggles everything so well. I really admire him as a person, and even if nothing happens, I'm glad to have him as a friend.

Yes, there I go preparing myself for disappointment again. But that's how it is, and at least I'm writing this out now so I can get something off my chest.

Thank you, words (:

Looking forward!

2011-06-07T19:26:00.003+08:00

Heehee so many things are going to happen, one after another, and I'm looking forward! :D (such a different mood from my previous entry, which is a great thing)

Happy things:

1. My mother and sister arrived in Bristol a few days ago, and it was wonderful having a taste of home and a break from studying (: and they brought a few pieces of clothing too! Ohyay, a nice change from wearing the same old things for the past few months XD

2. Went for a jog yesterday in 12 degC weather and it felt good! Also explored the grounds of my hall and loved walking around the vegetation, admiring the temperate plants and ladybugs (: collected some pretty seeds too (:

3. I just realised that there's free wifi in my hall's lounge, so I'm sitting on a comfy sofa now, doing non-revision stuff, heh heh. And this is after weeks of commuting to and from school just to use the campus' wifi -__- ohwell at least I get to go out and not hole myself in my room like the happy loner that I sometimes am XD

4. Last exam tomorrow morning! It's 12.30pm and I only have one lecture left to revise. Which explains why I'm blogging now :p

5. Watching X-Men First Class with my two best friends in Wills Hall, Judy and Silvia, tomorrow :D

6. Having dinner at Jamie's Italian the day after with my mother and sister, mmmm :D

7. Leaving for Venice, Italy, with my mother and sister on the 10th, after which we'll be going to:

Other cities in Italy

- Florence

- Pisa

Switzerland

- Montreux

- Interlaken

- Lucerne

France

- Paris

- Le Havre

Back to the UK

- Portsmouth

- Bristol

- Manchester

- York

And after this, my life will pick up speed again. One last week in Bristol before I return to Singapore, then plunging head-first into my special semester module (exciting - we get to go on field trips and one of them is to Pulau Tioman!) and the all-important final year project :0 I'm already getting emails from my professor and supervisor on the procedures, rules and administration, as well as some papers that I've to read! I'm going to read them during my travelling time in Europe, yes! My determined student mode is coming back on, lol.

I was talking to Judy and Leslie, and we agree that it's the right time to leave (: I feel satisfied, and grateful for everything I've experienced over here, but then there's also this growing feeling - that I want to go back to the fast-paced lifestyle that I had back in Singapore. There are times when I'm in my room, realising that I've nothing on my schedule and I don't have any idea what to do XD which is a great feeling to have, but then again I also enjoy the feeling of being productive, on the ball, and motivated.

The key is BALANCE, and I think that after this half a year here, I'm still not there yet, but at least I've a better of what this balance is (: I've learnt that sometimes it's okay to let go, but not too much as well. I've made mistakes here that I won't/can't make back in Singapore (thank goodness for the pass/fail option hahaha) and have since learnt from them :p

Speaking of balance, I've the pain of persistent cramps to balance out the happy things that are to come -____- must...tolerate. It'll be over in a few days! D:

That's all for now! Posting a happy photo of myself in the hall lounge with the free wifi, hahaha.

melancholy

2011-05-23T17:41:00.002+08:00

Hello, world. I haven't blogged for so long D: since the last entry, I've travelled around Europe (and made short videos of each day, which I'm really proud of :D), had a few more weeks of classes, and now it's the exam period in the University of Bristol.

However, I feel out of sorts today. My mind's floating around, and I'm thinking about everything else but my exams -__- hm let me try to pinpoint to source(s) of this state I'm in. Warning: long rant post! Digging into deep-seated issues XD

1. My mother has been communicating with me through Skype, Facebook, Gmail, etc. in preparation for her trip to the UK and Europe with my sister. We've lots of planning to do, and she keeps changing her mind (which is expected, since she's so excited about it, plus this is the longest she's ever been apart from me) so it could be a bit frustrating at times. She's also taking on the friends/peers tone with me, which I'm still not used to after many years of her being the mother/disciplinarian figure in the household. Like posting links on my Facebook wall, using emoticons, etc. Then I feel bad for being impatient with her ))):

2. I don't have internet in my hall room due to my thriftiness (only paid until the end of April because I didn't want to pay for an additional 3-month subscription but only using 1 month) which is a good thing in a way because I won't have anything to waste my time at night, but then again I have to make my way to the university every morning to use their wifi. And on days like today when it is cold, gloomy and windy, it's not a good start to the morning. Plus the connection is not really great, so Skype is jumpy and with lots of background noise, which is bad when you're trying to make plans with your mother, as mentioned in Point 1.

3. I'm seeing more people getting attached, including a guy whom I had/may still have feelings for before I left Singapore. And there are an increasing number of friends I know who are engaged, or even married. Omgnessss. I guess portraying myself as a busy, independent, academically-motivated person isn't getting me points in the relationship department -__- and I don't even know what I want in a relationship! Gah. I'm at the stage of life that people start thinking about these kinds of things.

4. I'm afraid that I won't be able to go back to the stressful NUS lifestyle after slacking and enjoying my life in Bristol for half a year. I'm already trying to change my mindset now so that I can adapt more easily when I return, but what if I can't cope and give up on pulling up my CAP to a First Class (even though it's a little stretch, but still possible)? But after my first two years in uni, I've since realised that there's more to life than just studies. So how?

5. 4 months of not having a proper pillow and a nice warm comforter is finally getting to me; sometimes I wake up with backaches or feel stiff all over. But I can't buy anything now, it's a waste of money! The thrifty side of me (refer to Point 2) told myself at the start of the year that it's not worth it to rent a bedding set or buy some pillows from the shops, since I'm not using them to their full lifespan. So yup, I just have a grit my teeth and bear it XD

6. My earphones are faulty, which is a pain when I need to Skype, or listen to some music. It's the little things that really get to you, like how a papercut causes the most irritation/pain. Hmm shall get a new pair soon. I can't get the earbuds kind though, because they don't fit my ears well. Maybe hook-on earphones, or even headphones? I'd rather spend some money than put up with my current wires-twiddling, lol.

7. I'm getting fatter ): not good.

Okay la should stop thinking negative thoughts. I'm having such a wonderful life, and I should be grateful (:

BE HAPPY ALWAYS :D

Travel Video!

2011-03-30T04:31:00.005+08:00

Okay I'm quite excited because I'm planning to make a travel video during my Spring break, when I've travelling around Europe!

I found some good tips and ideas, so shall be writing a list here and adding on as I go along:

- Pan across a landscape, add title

- Film self introducing the day and/or place

- Funny dance like the Visa ad: variation - make my own dance moves; spinjumps/teleportation

- Different transportation in each country

- Keys and/or locks to accommodation

- Different viewpoints (through the eyes of the pigeon/sunglasses/my toys, through a drink/ring/geometric object, etc.), angles (top, bottom, eye level, ground, table, etc.), shots (wide, mid, closeup)

- Pan from feet to sky

- Pick out a feature that stands out in the city and use it as the theme/motif throughout the video, e.g.: tulips and bicycles in Amsterdam

- Don't take generic things; find something which tells a story

- If doing 1 video/country, limit each video to 2 mins

- 5x5 (5 by 5): 5 clips, 5 secs from each clip; extra ideas - standardise theme of each of the 5 shots

- Take 5-10 mins still shots, as stable as possible

- Don't pan or zoom too quickly, take multiple shots

- http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-travel-videos-

- http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v66770-New_York_City-How_to_Make_a_Travel_Video-Video.html

Must..concentrate..

2011-03-09T21:15:00.002+08:00

Since I haven't been blogging in so long, I shall reward my dedicated readers (hello Ben and Mafer and other stalkers :D) with an unglam photo of myself in the University of Bristol Biological Sciences library, taken with my MacBookPro's Photobooth:

Haha that's me looking confused and reluctant to start on my essay due in 2 days! Surrounded by books (see, I do make an effort to study!), and backlit by the wonderful sun. Yup, Winter is definitely giving way to Spring, surely but surely. Winds are strong and cold though, so I'm still wearing 2 or 3 layers. But the locals here are already wearing lighter and/or fewer pieces of clothing! So far, I've already seen 2 guys in board shorts and flipflops :0 and the girls are wearing shorts or skirts/dresses, with stockings. Guess they're used to it by now XD

Note to self: shall limit spending from now on! After my trip to London on Saturday, I shall not travel anywhere else :p and I shall minimise my purchases as much as I can - all in the name of saving up (read: lower damage to pocket) for my travels in April!

Another note to self: must concentrate on academics before having fun! I.e.: ABOVEMENTIONED ESSAY. And now that I have Mondays and Thursdays off for the next 3 weeks, I shall start on my presentation and essay (due after the April holiday).

Yes you can do it, Carmen!

I'm finally overcoming my inertia for the essay, and feeling motivated to accomplish most of it today. Yayyy (:

hiatus

2011-03-07T07:57:00.002+08:00

Haven't been blogging here in more than 2 months! That's a new record :0

So I've been in the UK for almost 1 and a half months, and I've been loving it so far! So many new experiences :D took this photo during one of my first weekends here, before I started travelling out of Bristol every weekend, haha. These blocks are part of the old quad of the hall that I'm staying in; so pretty! It's wonderful to be able to look out of my window and see this everyday :D and it was a rare sunny day with wonderful blue skies! The white streaks were made by aeroplanes (:

Well, not sure if I'm going to blog here regularly from now on; we'll see! I've been more active on Facebook (posting so many photos omgness :p) and Tumblr (cardoorkey.tumblr.com). This blog still has sentimental value though, so I'm not going to give up on it totally! :p

Til next time, take care loads!

funky nails!

2011-01-04T17:20:00.004+08:00

I don't really go for manicures and pedicures, but when I do, I tend to choose really interesting colours, haha :D

1. metallic, shiny, red

2. NUS/M&M's/carrot orange

3. navy blue

4. (my current one) candy pink AND blue, hahaha

I meant for it to be such that I can show the peace sign, but I forgot to take a picture of that, haha (: well, this sign works too!
My darling sister, still in her uniform (: she's primary 4 this year! Time flies (:

Okay 2 more nice photos of us, the Kee sisters ^^

Tata for now! Shall start to sit down and REALLY plan for my exchange :p I'm starting a Journey Journal to chronicle my exciting adventure! And to also write down important information and helpful tips (: yayy.

greetings!

2010-12-21T01:34:00.002+08:00

Wow, it has been so long. Many things have happened over this one month plus, and there's too much to write now. Quick update about yesterday (19th) and today:

- 19th December 2010 marked my 21st birthdayyyy :D

- went on a Southern Ridges hike organised by the Vegetarian Society of Singapore, with my family (: Jasper was there too, along with Bro Shi'an and other members of the KMSPKS Pureland Fellowship (: it was nice! HortPark is so pretty too!

- had lunch at Miao Yi, an awesome vegetarian restaurant tucked away in Coronation Plaza, 3rd floor

- went home and slept til dinner time :D

- my ma cooked udon with tomatoes, carrots and mushrooms (love her cooking!)

- watched Iron Man (we recorded it from Channel 5)

- had my birthday (carrot) cake from Cedele! ^^

- my parents, bro and I played mahjong til the wee hours of the morning, while requesting nice songs which my sister will search and play on YouTube

- woke up late this morning!

- had brunch with my family at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre: porridge with dishes, very yummy (:

- we went to Queensway Shopping Centre to buy my sister a new pair of sports shoes, and we got ourselves 4 new badminton rackets

- I got my brand new MacBook Pro! :D :D :D super niceeeeee

- my family and I went to the new CC near our house to play badminton, so fun! We played doubles while my sister occupied herself with various things. My father and I won, yay. We later taught my sister, who picked it up really fast, unlike myself when I first tried to learn it XD so proud of her ((:

- my father, sister and I went on to swim at the new swimming pool at the CC, while my mother and brother went home (: it was nice! Played at the children's water playground with my sister, hahaha. Swam some laps too (:

- whole family went to Karu's (not sure if I got the spelling right) for dinner; satisfying as usual ^^

- came back home, and I checked out iMovie (SO COOL, can't wait to use it) and proceeded to take on the arduous task of replying every single birthday message that I got on Facebook thoughtfully (as in, slightly different messages for everyone)

- typing this post now, which seems longer than planned XD

Okayyy gotta sleep now! Going to climb Bukit Timah Hill tomorrow :0 yes, my family is into healthy living (: so thankful for them, and all my wonderful friends, and everything I've been through these 21 years of my life (:

May everyone be well and happy ^^

all is fine

2010-11-13T01:45:00.002+08:00

I got my acceptance from University of Bristol for my exchange programme! Yayyyyyy (:

Slacked quite a lot today; shall be more productive tomorrow - which means, I've to brush teeth and sleep NAO.

bad day bad day!

2010-11-11T17:27:00.002+08:00

I remember Jackie Chan's uncle in the Jackie Chan Adventures cartoon always saying that when some demon monster or another came after them, haha.

Well, that was what I felt today. I had wanted to type everything out, but then I remembered Ven Chuan Guan saying that we shouldn't be sharing negative things and should get rid of them as soon as we can, so I shall not.

I want to go on exchange ): hope everything turns out well.

Shall go swimming later to release some stress!

The New Semester at Sea - Short-Term Voyage, May 2011

2010-11-05T11:06:00.000+08:00

This sounds AWESOME. Was already interested in Semester at Sea when I first saw it in the NUS webmail some time back XD

introspection; interrobang!

2010-11-05T10:43:00.002+08:00

‽

This is an interrobang :D an overlay of ? and !

So cool right. From Wikipedia:

The interrobang, interabang^[1] ( /ɪnˈtɛrəbæŋ/) or quesclamation mark, ‽, is a nonstandard punctuation mark used in various written languages and intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also called the interrogative point) and the exclamation mark or exclamation point (known in printers' jargon as the bang). The glyph is a superimposition of these two marks. The Unicode code point is U+203D.

Introspection (from Dictionary.com):

–noun

observation or examination of one's own mental andemotional state, mental processes, etc.; the act of lookingwithin oneself.

the tendency or disposition to do this.

sympathetic introspection.

Example: As I had a little introspection, the only punctuation mark that could sum up my state is an interrobang. What?! Yes, an interrobang.

Observe how I used both the word and the punctuation. Yay.

Actually this post was also written because I wanted to push down the last entry; my once-in-a-blue-moon expression of the little accumulated things at the back of my mind. Haha! At least I'm still human.

Okay now back to work!

warm

2010-11-02T19:47:00.002+08:00

Hmm I'm feeling a bit weird now; can't place it. And it's not PMS, I think. My skin is warm, and I feel a bit flushed. But there's no evident stimulus leh. Maybe it's the entire course of the day. Maybe it's guys again -_-

Stop it, Carmen.

I did it!

2010-10-31T20:46:00.003+08:00

I completed the Great Eastern Women 10K (((:

It's my second 10km run - the first was this year's RUNNUS, I somehow I didn't get my timing D: so I didn't have much of a gauge or expectation when I ran today. But it's a good thing; from past experience, I realised that it's sometimes better not to have any expectations and just go for it (:

So today I just ran as much as I could; stopped at the drinks stations, and briskwalked at some points after 5 or 6km. And I came in at the time of 01:12:28 :D

I didn't really train too, so it's a really good timing, in my opinion ((: now I've more motivation to run once a week, on top of swimming once a week - set realistic goals, haha!

Not really productive academically, though. Had a headache and was quite tired so slept for awhile, and before I knew it, it was dinner time. And now I'm being distracted by YouTube, Facebook and Tumblr again. Hai. Stop it Carmen, studyyyy!

I learn something new everyday!

2010-10-30T09:10:00.004+08:00

Did you know?

Seals are different from sea lions!

- they are of different Families (Phocidae vs. Otariidae)

- sea lions have external ear flaps and can rotate their hind flippers, while seals don't

- seals swim with their rear flippers while sea lions swim with their front flippers (:

When you want to call people thick-skinned, call them a walrus! I.e.: "Woah you're such a WALRUS!"

- walruses live in cold places (polar, sub-polar, temperate waters), so require lots of insulation

- instead of having blubber, they have very thick skin! :D

Baleen whales are also called Moustachioed Sea Monsters! >:{D

- they come from the Suborder Mysticeti

- from the Greek words 'Mystax' (moustache) and 'Ketos' (sea monster)

- my professor thinks that it's the most awesome name ever; me too ((:

So cool. Must be because they live in cold waters. Hahahaha (:

evolutionnn

2010-10-28T16:25:00.002+08:00

Sorry for not writing for so long - I'm swimming in work! ): I'm now doing research on my Evolution and Comparative Genomics module - we're supposed to come up with a topic and present it in an evolutionary point of view for 5 mins, followed by having to deal with Q&A for another 5 mins. 15% of total grade just like that! XD

While research, I found that I'm getting more and more interested in giraffes and carrots! Haha, a weird combination, I know; I meant them separately!

Too much to talk here; I may post up interesting facts about them soon, though (:

And I just found out that baby carrots were simply deformed carrots that were peeled and chopped up to appear nicer XD http://www.wisebread.com/baby-carrots-the-frugal-idea-that-isnt

And I confirmed the fact that I heard in a documentary on GMOs (genetically modified organisms) that all carrots were actually not orange in the beginning! http://www.nextnature.net/2009/08/why-are-carrots-orange-it-is-political/ (cool website too; love the bg :D)

Okayy that's all for now; back to work! (:

My 120 pound journey.

2010-10-11T18:29:00.001+08:00

Inspirational.

I want to do life too - shall work towards it starting NOW. No more procrastination!

1st physical goal: Great Eastern Women's 10k run, end of this month - 31st Oct 2010. Countdown: 20 days.

get a grip.

2010-10-11T18:20:00.004+08:00

Sorry, haven't been writing for some time. I'd like to start whining about how I'm lost and blur and listless I am nowadays, but shall not. I am going to get a grip on myself, and do well in this last month or so of studies and lab reports and field trips and exams.

After 20 years, 10 months and 8 days of existence, I know that I'm the kind who won't be fully convinced even if people tell me some things repeatedly. But sometimes, somehow, things in me will just click into place and I'll do it without much effort. Like now.

I've been told countless times that exercising is good for me, and that I've to drink lots of water and sleep enough. But it just doesn't sink in. Today, I watched a video (next entry) then went for a run - my first in a long time. It was only 15 minutes long, and I felt very much out of shape. I felt very tired after that, when most people report feeling refreshed and energetic after runs -_- after the run, I did some cooling down and stretching before taking a bath. As I was bathing, it happened. Something clicked. There and then, I decided to change.

I am going to cut down on Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr and other sites that suck up my time.

I am going to exercise regularly.

I am going to drink lots of water.

I am going to sleep more.

I am going to eat healthier.

I am going to be a better person (:

Please support me as I make this transition! And best of luck to everything that you do too :D

Kenny Chesney - The Boys of Fall

2010-09-27T19:59:00.000+08:00

I usually am not really into football, but this video touched me. I guess this applies to everything we do - give it your all, and do it like it's the last time (:

XD

2010-09-27T16:58:00.001+08:00

On Facebook:

Kee Yingxin Carmen

is almost done with her lab report! Ahhhh can't wait.

Was tempted to add:

Then she can treat herself by watching Glee on xinmsn catchup. Wanted to swim and lead a healthy lifestyle, but it's raining, so what to do? Become hermit/couchpotato lor. Haha yes sad life :D

woah.

2010-09-27T12:54:00.004+08:00

Photo credit: explodingdog.com

I sat down at the table in dining hall, took a sip of nice warm soya bean milk, picked up my fork and spoon, took a deep breath, and told Mafer sitting opposite me, "It's Monday of Week 7."

In less than 3 months, I'll be away from Singapore, the furthest I've ever been from home. I'm really really looking forward to it; it's been at the back of my mind since last year. Looking forward to not studying so hard, doing what I like, wearing what I want, going where I want, etc. And of course experience the seasons, and travel to various countries (: so exciting!

So at this stage, I'm feeling sian about this semester, yet really anticipating the next XD but now, I've to study hardddd. Was telling my parents that it's quite hard to do well this semester, with the heavy module workload and the competition. I'll still do my best, though. Even if I don't pull up my CAP to 4.5 this time, I still have Year 4 :p

Okayy back to my lab report which is due tomorrow! Then it's Plant Physiology mini project at 1.45pm, then go back to hall to study for my LSM3254 CA which is on Wednesday. Who knows, maybe I'll feel like going swimming later too! Feel so lethargic and sluggish nowadays; haven't been exercising :/ oh yea, there's actually swimming training tonight (which I usually miss due to Medical Dharma Circle). Hmmmm see how!

yesssss

2010-09-25T18:33:00.003+08:00

I'm finally getting back to my mugging mode! Maybe what the Medical Dharma Circle alumni (currently doctors) said about YIH Study Room being a good and productive place to mug is really true :D it's the first time in a long long while that I've been able to sit down in one place for a few hours to study (: used to be able to do it in Year 1 and 2, lol. Now my mysterious mechanism has kicked in, and I'm very happy (: though it only happened in the middle of Year 3 Semester 1, it's better late than never!

The only thing about the YIH Study Room is that it's very cold; my nails were starting to turn purple :/ so now I'm sitting at the bench outside, thawing XD

Covered LSM3254 lectures 2 to 5 today, left with lecture 6 and practicals 1 and 2, then revision (: now I shall go through my LSM3244 lab report and try to add in a bit more. Then I'll think about dinner.

Speaking of food, my family came down to NUS today for lunch :p took advantage of the 20% discount for Subway and 15% discount for Yakun, hahaha. Was so nice to see them (: seeing them tomorrow for lunch too! Going to Crystal Jade to celebrate my parents' anniversary (:

I ate a 6-inch Veggie Patty sandwich, then still felt hungry! My father said it was because of the fruit juice he made; sour and appetising, lol. So I ate another sandwich: half of a footlong Veggie Delite :0 my brother and father shared the other half XD haha I think I won't be eating Subway for at least a week!

Okay then, shall work on my report - onward, ho! (:

:/

2010-09-24T18:52:00.003+08:00

Instead on tackling my lab report and/or studying for my LSM3254 test, I came up with numerous T-shirt designs for NUSBS Dharma Camp and KEVII OCIP.

I'm sorryyyyyy ):

My attempt to remedy the situation: hibernate laptop, leave Science library, have dinner at dining hall, tackle lab report, bathe, read through LSM3254 lectures 2 and 3, sleep.

Come on, Carmen! You can do it!

OneRepublic - All This Time (Lyrics) (Waking Up Album)

2010-09-23T19:41:00.000+08:00

The Feeling - Join With Us

2010-09-23T19:38:00.000+08:00

The Feeling - Join With Us

2010-09-23T19:34:00.001+08:00

the world is in your hands/the world belongs to those of us who still believe we can

...

'cos it's better that you've come from nothing/than nothing comes from you

(wanted to post the YouTube video, but can't D: ohwell. link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoBz54K4wzU)

I'm starting to like The Feeling! (:

Shine by Take That is nice too (:

OneRepublic - All This Time (Lyrics) (Waking Up Album)

2010-09-23T10:51:00.001+08:00

(video 2 posts up!)

I think I've posted this before, but it's so nice that I shall post it again (: one of the nicest lyrics videos that I've seen! I shall aspire to make these; maybe when I get my MacBook Pro :p I think I shall get one at the end of this year (:

In other news, it's the middle of Year 3 Sem 1! Time is zooming past and I haven't really caught my breath after stepping down from being NUSBS president and KEVII OCIP head. Plus I've 5 level 3000 modules this sem, when most of the students in my cohort is taking 3 or 4. Really content heavy :/ but I will survive!

I've been pursuing other interests too; which may have taken up quite a portion of my (studying) time XD

- NUSBS Medical Dharma Circle

- KE Swimming

- KE Vision (photography)

- KE Motion (videography)

- KE Press (yearbook designer)

- Scuba diving (got my Open Water diving license!)

Well, it's very difficult to have one's cake and eat it; you'll get stuffed. And one shouldn't put thumbs in too many pies; you'll get sick of the sickly sweet stickiness after awhile. So I've decided to put off some things for next time, and to drop some commitments to concentrate on my studies. Have to toil hard before enjoying next semester overseas! The light at the end of the tunnel.

Somehow, things don't feel the same this semester. I don't have as much motivation and perseverance as last time. When I face an obstacle in studying or doing an assignment, I'll turn to the internet (I think I'm addicted to Facebook T_T) instead of striving on :/ and because I've more energy and time to waste after stepping down, I've been thinking about things that I've put at the back of my mind for the past year - relationships, especially. Which is not good, because distractions are the last thing I want right now.

It's okay, Carmen. Things will get better. You'll get into the groove of things (: you've finally completed your Plant Physiology lab report, so now it's onto:

- Plant Physiology mini project today, 3pm

- Molecular Biotechnology lab report due Tuesday

- Ecology of Aquatic Environments CA on Wednesday

- NUSBS Dharma Camp tee design due 3rd Oct

Jiayoujiayou (:

Btw, for my (very few) readers, I've also been posting at cardoorkey.tumblr.com (:

scubadiving!

2010-09-17T18:48:00.002+08:00

Yay, after wanting to do so for so long, I'm finally going to get my diving certification! Will be leaving for Pulau Dayang, Malaysia, tonight, and coming back on Sunday night (:

Hope to catch up on "me" time and some sleep, and to recharge for the rest of the semester. I seem to feel slightly out of place somehow, since the start of this semester. Like something in me changed, and I don't know if it's a good or bad thing. Don't think I've been listening to myself too; shall try to regroup and go back to being the good ol' me, or even better! Brought along a nice blue notebook to write down my thoughts; haven't done so in such a long time (: no DSLR, no reading materials, no MP3, no switching on of handphone. Shall go back to basics, and back to nature (:

I aim to eat right and exercise well from today onwards! No more unhealthy food and not exercising :/ it's for my own good :D

And once I come back, I'll have to CHEONG my Plant Physiology lab report. Shall do as much as I can once I finish this entry, then don't think about it until I come back. Don't want to dampen my first relaxing overseas trip in a long time, haha. The last time was in Phuket, Thailand, before I entered NUS, i.e.: 2 years ago :0 which was coincidentally also the time I first went scubadiving! Love how coincidences appear when you least expect it (:

Jiayou, Carmen!

I'm addicted to FreeCell :0

2010-09-10T20:17:00.001+08:00

Can't solve Game #21899 -.- tried for the whole day!

Font Conference

2010-09-08T22:50:00.001+08:00

Hahaha every font person looks/acts like their name! SO FUNNY!

"Welcome back, fonts. I see some familiar typefaces, and a few new ones."

And I love Wingdings: "airplane eightball, yingyang glasses, mailbox, OPEN mailbox" (((:

Jason Mraz - Beautiful Mess (Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2008)

2010-09-06T00:01:00.000+08:00

JASON MRAZZZZ :D :D :D :D :D

I melted by the first few seconds - the orchestra, his voice, him finally wearing a collared shirt for once, the wonderful song, his soulfulness and how he meant every single word he sang; basically, the whole performance (:

Love him to bits!

WHEE :D

2010-09-04T17:42:00.000+08:00

Another piece of good news: my module mappings for Student Exchange Programme got approved! Which means I'm able to go to University of Bristol, UK, to enjoy myself, and will still be able to graduate later on!

Can't wait ((:

YAY ((:

2010-09-04T17:15:00.003+08:00

I've officially stepped down from my post as the President of the 31st NUS Buddhist Society! Last night was the Annual General Meeting, and today was the seniors' sharing and passing down (: I feel lighter as today progressed :p

But now I'm suddenly very tired, as I slept at 4am -__-

Nonetheless, HURRAY! :D

inertia

2010-09-02T01:48:00.002+08:00

Yikes, missed Swimming training/intro yesterday, have to scan through textbook and practical schedule today, most probably missing Discovering Buddhism tonight, NUSBS AGM to settle by tonight, lab report (10%) to complete by tomorrow 2pm, NUSBS MC passing-down on Saturday, friends/family time on Saturday and Sunday, KE Vision meeting on Sunday 9pm, KE Motion meeting on Sunday 9.30pm, OCIP post-mortem report to present next Tuesday, etc.

Yes, my never-ending list of things to do, as usual. But shall sleep now and wake up early tomorrow for a nice cool shower and productive work! :D

Ben Folds, Nick Hornby, & Pomplamoose VideoSong!!!!

2010-08-31T01:58:00.000+08:00

I'm not focusing :/ come on, Carmen, you can do it! And stop thinking about things that you're not supposed to focus on -.- jiayoujiayou.

Be productive and try to make sense of the things that you think!

yay yay yay

2010-08-28T22:58:00.004+08:00

The end is nigh! I'm going to step down from the Year 2 CCAs soon :D did passing down to the new NUSBS President-to-be and OCIP Head these few days, and my jobs will officially end this coming Friday for NUSBS (AGM) and the following Tuesday for OCIP (SCRC meeting and post-mortem).

Looking forward to being in KE Media (Vision, Motion, Press!) and Swimming - doing things that I enjoy, so they are actually my hobbies, not obligatory activities (: and of course marketing subcomm in NUSBS, designing posters (: LOVE.

My parents have already talked about what to get me for my 21st birthday! Still a few months to go :p I'll most probably be getting a MacBook (AT LAST - it has been tempting me for more than 2 years, and I still want it) and a Tiffany key necklace (((:

Really grateful (:

okay so i didn't "sleep soon"

2010-08-24T03:31:00.002+08:00

-_______- running on adrenaline la! Ohno. 8am lecture tomorrow XD

sigh.

2010-08-23T23:32:00.003+08:00

I don't know what to feel now.

Maybe it's the caffeine from the large cup of kopi siewdai peng; it's making me feel all wound up and tense.

Or the marathon of a scubadiving theory session; they squeezed 4 lessons into 1 sitting! Crazyyyy. 5.30pm to 9.30pm T_T at least I passed :D

Or the romantic tendencies and awesome music video posted by a friend's friend whom I'm stalking. Yes, I know, I'm a creepy closet stalker/voyeur/perv, so what XD

Or the mountains of CCA and academic work waiting to be done.

Or my growing addiction to FreeCell, of all things @_@

Or the sms I received just now.

Or all my deadlines.

Or the fact that I'm stepping down really soon.

Or my painted orange nails.

Whatever it is, something doesn't feel right, somehow. Shall sleep soon *wry smile*

busy and distracted

2010-08-22T19:39:00.003+08:00

My Facebook profile:

Kee Yingxin Carmen

is going to KMSPKS to play guitar and teach a hiphop dance to Sec 3 Dharma class students! Then joining my parents for a Dharma class there, go home, sleep, go back to hall to work on report for OCIP, then supper at Master's place. Also have to settle NUSBS stuff before stepping down in 2 weeks. Maybe squeeze in time to study scubadiving theory for the lesson on Mon. What a weekend! XD

So busyyyy. So many things to do. Almost there but not quite! And my 5 core Level 3000 modules are killing me ): all for the sake of going on SEP - hang in there! Bristol beckons! I reallyreally can't wait to go. My motivation.

I'm lapsing back to my secondary school and JC days of fickle-mindedness - old and/or close friends will get what I mean. Sigh. Maybe it's due to the impending release of CCA workload XD but aiya such a waste of time and energy and thoughts! I'd rather use them on my DVDs (Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls!) that I bought in Cambodia and haven't watched.

But then again, my skin is warm and my thoughts are straying towards the back of my brain that is storing all the thoughts, memories and feelings that have been stashed aside, tossed away, ignored, overlooked. Flitting across the pages of unwritten promises to myself; cerebral snapshots and Post-Its and lists of hidden desires, wants, hopes.

Don'tknowla.

my Bio module lecturer is so cool to let us do this as part of our CA (:

2010-08-18T15:02:00.002+08:00

From http://www.metamath.com/lsweb/dvclearn.htm

The results of Carmen Kee's learning inventory are:

Visual/Nonverbal 30 Visual/Verbal 32 Auditory 22 Kinesthetic 22

Your primary learning style is:

The Visual/ Verbal Learning Style

You learn best when information is presented visually and in a written language format. In a classroom setting, you benefit from instructors who use the blackboard (or overhead projector) to list the essential points of a lecture, or who provide you with an outline to follow along with during lecture. You benefit from information obtained from textbooks and class notes. You tend to like to study by yourself in a quiet room. You often see information "in your mind's eye" when you are trying to remember something.

Learning Strategies for the Visual/ Verbal Learner:

To aid recall, make use of "color coding" when studying new information in your textbook or notes. Using highlighter pens, highlight different kinds of information in contrasting colors.

Write out sentences and phrases that summarize key information obtained from your textbook and lecture.

Make flashcards of vocabulary words and concepts that need to be memorized. Use highlighter pens to emphasize key points on the cards. Limit the amount of information per card so your mind can take a mental "picture" of the information.

When learning information presented in diagrams or illustrations, write out explanations for the information.

When learning mathematical or technical information, write out in sentences and key phrases your understanding of the material. When a problem involves a sequence of steps, write out in detail how to do each step.

Make use of computer word processing. Copy key information from your notes and textbook into a computer. Use the print-outs for visual review.

Before an exam, make yourself visual reminders of information that must be memorized. Make "stick it" notes containing key words and concepts and place them in highly visible places --on your mirror, notebook, car dashboard, etc..

NUSBS Welcome Tea 2010 video (:

2010-08-14T01:49:00.000+08:00

YAYYYYY :D

2010-08-14T01:07:00.003+08:00

I am super happy with how NUS Buddhist Society Welcome Tea turned out! (((((:

I did a sharing on what Buddhism means to me, and what I've learnt after being in the society for 2 years, and it got a really good response :D and it helped that I used Prezi, this new software that is really really sleek and pretty for presentations!

Mine is here: http://prezi.com/ejlfma8osg4l/nus-buddhist-society-welcome-tea-2010/ (okay it's taking some time to load, whyyy)

Just click the right arrow to go to the next group of ideas, and you can even zoom in and out! LOVE.

Strangers and friends alike told me how much they liked my sharing, and that it's funny/humorous, plus gave them some guidelines about how to better live their life :D Ye Thu Win even congratulated me on how my sharing could cater to people of different Buddhism backgrounds and knowledge! And Mafer (HELLO!) said that I can be promoted from teacher to lecturer already :p haha. So glad to hear all the positive feedback (:

Glad also that my time and effort in the video paid off as well! Qimin liked it so much (: Xin Zhao was so happy that photos for the meditation retreat was up :p and of course the 10-shots series was a hit as always, hahaha. Will post it up in the next entry (:

Everyone did well too! My subcomm, Management Committee members, etc. So happy to have all of them for support :D

I was so glad I insisted on having vegetarian buffet catering - Miao Yi rocksssss. Made some participants view vegetarianism in a different light!

Overall, this is the event that I'm the most satisfied with :D it's my gift and contribution to this wonderful society before I step down: giving the freshmen a good impression of Buddhism and NUSBS, and ensuring that more people will be interested in learning more about the Dharma (:

May everyone be well and happy always! (yes, you too :D)

be happy, always (:

2010-08-06T13:10:00.004+08:00

taken from Exploding Dog http://www.explodingdog.com/

It's been so long since I last blogged! Yea, what's new? XD

Typing on my good ol' Fujitsu with my newly painted shiny orange nails! Yayyy. First time I'm gone for a manicure and pedicure in more than a year :p wanted something nice and cheery to perk me up for the upcoming academic year (: I call it NUS/M&M's/carrot orange, haha. Really happy with it (:

So, what have I been up to for the holidays? Too lengthy for you, but it's just to keep a record for myself (:

May:

- King Edward VII Hall Overseas Community Involvement Programme 2010, Cambodia (a really great experience where I stretched myself out of my comfort zone XD)

- Operation No Release 2010

June:

- family tiiiime!

- waking up at 5.30am to follow my mother for her morning exercises with people twice/thrice my age :p

- letting myself go and slacking too much (which is good, and bad)

- met up with friends

- started watching Glee on Channel 5 :D :D :D

- designed a logo for a friend's new CCA

- went for NUSBS stuff (TIBS' The Awakened Challenge, NYPBS AGM, signatories, NUS ISEAS talk, interview)

- trained (sort of :p) for Shape Run

- watched MIKA in concert!!!

- prepared SEP stuff (so mafan D:)

July:

- MOE school attachment at West Spring Secondary School for 3 weeks (interesting experience! no proper teaching, though)

- trekked at Bukit Timah Hill with teachers from WSSS (so fun!)

- taught Guotong guitar :D

- met up with friends

- watched FIR in concert! (Stephanie Sun rocked as the guest singer!)

- went for The New Paper Big Walk

- Bukit Panjang Government High School 50th anniversary dinner (yayyy so nice to see old teachers and friends again)

- held an NUSBS MC meeting

- went for 5km Shape Run! (ACHIEVEMENT)

- helped out with NUSBS booth at NUS Matric Fair (so tiringggg)

- watched Inception (cool movie)

- helped with NUSBS orientation at East Coast Park (also very tiringggg, was aching for the next few days)

August:

- NUS Flag Day (super tiringgggg! D: reached my new record of 3 tins though, so am happy!)

- KEVII homecoming (viewing our hall's rag performance)

- bidding for modules (doing 5 core mods this sem, dieeee - must pia already, and take less CCAs *resists temptation of hall dance and KE media*)

- planning for NUSBS Welcome Tea (13th Aug, Fri, 6.30pm, LT3! I'll be a speaker too :p)

So many things coming up :0 better get to work! No matter what, be happy, always (:

The Climb - Miley Cyrus - WSSS Sec 2 ACE

2010-07-23T00:53:00.000+08:00

Sorry for not blogging for so long, have been very busy. It's already the last day of my 3-weeks school attachment tomorrow! I haven't completed my reflections, or documented my group project, but it doesn't really matter (:

Anyway, this was a video I made which we presented to the Sec 2 students in West Spring Secondary School during their ACE period (some non-academic lesson):

More next time! Everything's picking up pace again! Today was the first day of NUS Matric Fair, and I'm going to have an NUSBS MC meeting this Saturday, then I'm going for Shape Run (5km) on Sunday :0 oh gosh. Better sleep soon!

yay for Dictionary.com (though I don't read my Word of the Day emails regularly :p)

2010-07-04T12:28:00.001+08:00

Word of the Day for Saturday, July 3, 2010

vespertine \VES-per-tin\, adjective:

1. Of, pertaining to, or occurring in the evening.
2. Botany. Opening or expanding in the evening, as certain flowers.
3. Zoology. Becoming active in the evening, as bats and owls.

To my own ear, I sound hyperpoetic, and I don't mean to exaggerate these vespertine moods; I think that this restlessness that I am describing was really quite ordinary.
-- Peter Gadol, The Long Rain

So on we journey'd, through the evening sky / Gazing intent, far onward as our eyes, / With level view, could stretch against the bright / Vespertine ray: and lo ! by slow degrees / Gathering, a fog made towards us, dark as night.
-- Dante Alighieri, The vision, or, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise

Vespertine derives from Latin vespertīnus, "evening."

beautiful skies

2010-06-23T01:19:00.003+08:00

The day that started me off in taking photos of beautiful skies (: it was 6.44am! Uploaded more on Facebook :D

so much yet so little

2010-06-22T23:32:00.002+08:00

Woah, it's been 21 days since I last wrote an entry. The past 3 weeks passed by in a blur, and I feel that everything is in limbo, like I'm not here not there. I didn't really have my own schedule, and just go wherever the day takes me. Or more like doing whatever someone in my family wants to do. Sometimes I feel frustrated, and sometimes I can't be bothered. At other times I just don't know what to feel. Yet other times it feels nice to let others make the decisions and not care too much about the details.

It's like somehow after one year of being responsible and on-task as a president of a society and head of a hall CCA, and independent as someone who stays in hall and does her own stuff most of the time, I have subconsciously let go. Once back home, I've become less mature, I don't really practise time management, I let myself be caught up in TV and stupid never-ending shows and the internet, etc. So terrible and unattractive.

But today, I felt like things are changing ((:

I finally got to sleep as long as I want for once. This is instead of my mother trying to get me up by 7am (if not earlier) almost every morning to go to our park downstairs and join old people in their qigong/taichi/briskwalking/oldpeopleexercises (which I secretly enjoy doing deep down because no one cares to give you a second look even though you are totally an auntie in a 20-year-old girl's body). The point is, I really don't understand how people have the motivation to get up so early. The only thing I can think of for myself would be to admire the pretty sky (shall post a photo of it up in the next entry). And of course to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and to train for my 5km run which would be held end July. But somehow I just can't bring myself to wake up leh. As I said, after coming home I'm just letting myself goooo. I came up with the excuse that it's my 1 year's worth of sleep debt, haha. So it's actually good that my mother is so enthusiastic and motivated, because I think I'll fail after 2 or 3 days XD

Next, I managed to finally get some admin work settled! Have to prepare documents for my SEP to University of Bristol, and I've made appointments to get some of them tomorrow, yayy. At least it's a bit of weight off my chest (:

Then, I went for a facial at Holland V, which always feels nice (: my parents sent me to the MRT station, where I took a train to City Hall. Read a little bit of a book along the way; it has been so long since I indulged in a book! I used to be such a bookworm in my lower secondary days and earlier XD

Reached earlier than the meeting time, so walked around Raffles City and settled on Streets, where I tried warm coke with ginger :0 such a weird drink! I guess it's an acquired taste, lol. Sweet, sour, spicy and warm, all at the same time! At least it prevented me from drinking too fast as what I usually do. So I got to sit there longer and get some reading done, haha.

Met Liulu (laogongggg) and we went to TCC. Tried their new drink, Berry Nutty, and it's quite interesting! Weird, but this time in a good way :p tasted of strawberries and a strong hint of peanuts. Had some crunch too, from the peanut bits. Reminded me of the Xin Wang peanut dessert (before they changed it -__-) so I finished it quite quickly XD but $7.50 before GST is quite steep la. It was nice to catch up with her and find out some stuff :D

Erik (gorrrr) joined us, and we bumped into our council juniors, Weiting, Biqi and Meijiao! Haha later I'll meet even more councillors :D in the end we settled on Ichiban Boshi at Suntec and chatted about studying overseas and stuff. It seems really different from Singapore! Liulu was saying how she appreciated Singapore's taxis, money changers, banks and fast food outlets after experiencing France's. I guess I was lucky that Erik is leaving soon, because he was asking questions that I haven't started asking yet. So at least now I get a slightly better idea of how I should be preparing for stuff (:

We split ways after that, so Erik and I went towards the MRT station. But not before him spotting his girlfriend and Jocelyn (fellow councillor, haha), with 2 other friends. Yayy first time I've seen her! She seems nice (:

The two of us chatted a bit more before we took trains of opposite directions. And then, around 1 stop later, I realised that Hongyi (another fellow councillor!) was in the same carriage as me! Few steps away only! Hahaha so we happily talked and caught up on stuff (:

So it's a near-perfect day for me, in the sense that this was what I had envisioned my holiday to be, and it was the first time that I've felt like it was so. Catching up on sleep, meeting friends, having good conversations, yet getting some admin stuff done, etc.

Looks like tomorrow will be a productive day too! Meeting Siva in NUS to get my SEP recommendation form (9-10am), then Ms Lim in MOE HQ to get my scholarship endorsement form (10.30am), then Jarvis and I think Jacinta and Melissa at Raffles City to do some NUSBS stuff (12.15pm).

Things are getting busy, with my school attachment coming up and issues that have been procrastinated coming back to haunt me, so yes I think I'm sensing a change in myself. Like I'm slowly warming up again (:

Jiayou, Carmen! Get back to your normal self asap!

I'm back!

2010-06-01T18:18:00.002+08:00

YES, it's finally my recuperation month! OCIP was tiring, scary, stressful, but a very good learning experience. Next was Vesak Day, which was one of my family's most relaxing Vesak Days ever (: going in the evening is much better - no squeezing, less smoke, etc. Then I went for Operation No Release, and took really pretty pictures, some of which were used in this blog:

https://toddycats.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/toddycats-reports-from-operation-no-release-2010/

More later; tired! XD

WOAHHH

2010-05-09T13:40:00.003+08:00

I can't believe it. Year 2 is over. My OCIP trip begins tomorrow. Everything's going past in a blur!

Fare thee well! I'll be back on 27th May, 1am (: here's to a great, meaningful, enriching OCIP! :D :D :D

tomorrow, tomorrow

2010-05-02T23:28:00.003+08:00

Totally slacked at home :D it's as if my papers are over and I've a glorious 3-month holiday, but it's not the case! XD

Got to start Malay tomorrow (esok!) and settle my OCIP stuff asap :/ almost 1 week we'll be off to Cambodia! Ahhh scary :0

Also, I made a special video for my mother for Mother's Day, since I figured I'll be quite busy around that time (it's next Sunday, btw!) plus I felt like slacking around some more even though I'm back in hall already, heh.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll love you, tomorrow

It's only a day awayyyy (:

plans for recuperation month, aka June (and beyond!)

2010-04-30T01:29:00.005+08:00

Music:

- guitar (learn more songs, do my secret project :D)

- piano (learn a few simple songs, brush up a bit, teach Nicole some too)

- sort out songs collection, make nice playlists

- maybe make pretty videos of my favourite songs with lyrics included, then upload of YouTube, haha!

Photography:

- photo outing at Kent Ridge! (have to find kaki, or have a nice exciting solo exploration) (maybe Wenqing, or Jerome and Shihao and some other guys)

- photo outing at the park near my house ((: had wanted to do so for the longest time

- sort out photos; had wanted to do so for the longest time too

- photo blog, www.cardoorkey.tumblr.com (update!)

- KE Kreatures photo album on Facebook (add more, and maybe even come up with a blog with more description on each creature! like scientific names and stuff :D)

Shopping (ohmygoodness I think the last time I really shopped was 1 year ago!):

- suitable bag to bring to work (attachment in July!) and more formal events like concerts and weddings

- sensible, comfortable, smart-looking shoes

- insensible, uncomfortable, pretty shoes that go well with everything :D (one of my pairs broke!)

- sensible, comfortable, quirky flats and/or closed-toe shoes

- more feminine tops and bottoms, maybe a skirt/dress or two (lol, yes, still attempting to be more feminine; baby steps, baby steps)

- work-appropriate attire (:

Exercise:

- train for Shape Run; run in the park and around the beautiful neighbourhood! (:

- swim

- WiiFit (haha my family hasn't been using it for a while :p whoops)

Clutter clearance:

- be hard-hearted and throw things that I don't need! No more karung-guni girl! XD

Relaxation:

- facial at Dr Hauschka (best I've ever been to)

- massage at Wan Yang (shiok)

Okayyy the list is quite long already so shall stop here and add on when the ideas come (:

The Big Bang Theory lyrics

2010-04-29T01:00:00.004+08:00

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state

Then nearly 14 billion years ago expansion started

Wait!

The earth began to cool

The autotrophs began to drool

Neanderthals developed tools

We built a wall

(We built the pyramids!)

Maths, Science, History

Unravelling the mysteries

That all started with the Big Bang

(Bang!)

"Since the dawn of Man" is really not that long

As every galaxy

Was formed in less time

Than it takes to sing this song

A fraction of a second and the elements were made

The bipeds stood up straight

The dinosaurs all met their fate

They tried leap but they were late

And they all died

(They froze their @$$&$ off!)

The oceans and Pangea, cya

Wouldn't wanna be ya

Set in motion by the same Big Bang

It all started with the Big

Bang!

It's expanding ever outward but one day

It will cause the stars to go the other way

Collapsing ever inward

We won't be here

It won't be heard

Our best and brightest figure

That it'll make an even bigger

Bang!

Austrelopithicus would really have been sick of us

Debating how we're here

They're catching deer

(We're catching viruses!)

Religion or astronomy

Encarta, Deuteronomy

It all started with the Big Bang

Music and mythology

Einstein and astrology

It all started with the Big Bang

It all started with the Big

BANG!

mugging of another kind >:D

2010-04-29T01:00:00.000+08:00

Yayyy I'm left with one final paper! And it's 1 week from now. Plus it's Bahasa Melayu, a subject which I actually enjoy studying ((:

Last night, I realised that my paper was to be at 5pm when all along I thought that it was 1pm XD haha I was envisioning holy light descending upon my dark, desklamp-lit hall room, with heavenly music included. Okay just kidding. I sang the heavenly music, though. Laaaa~~~ yay more time to study!

Well, in the end the paper was quite intense; I was so afraid I couldn't complete it in time, because the last paper from the Faculty of Mathematics that I sat for (Biostatistics), I left quite a few part questions out T_T in the end, I completed just on the dot! No time to check, and a few hours after I was like "dang I should have written a little more here and there" but whatever la, I did my best (: and that also marks the last of my 4 Mathematics modules which I am required to take because of MOE requirements, woohoo! No more Maths or Stats for me in a long time; somehow I just can't internalise how to calculate chances and probability -_- if you want to sit at a table, then sit! If you don't like someone, or want to sit with your spouse, or don't want to sit between 2 empty seats, then swap places. Why do you need to calculate the total number of ways that you can do so? XD

Anywayyy before the paper I had planned to go swimming after it ended, but it started to rain just as I was about to leave for the exam ): packed my swimming stuff and brought them along anyway (: also helped a stranded student get to her exam venue, yay (: luckily, the rain stopped when I left the exam hall! So hopped on over to the swimming pool - 14 lengths of the pool this time; got asked to use lanes 1-4 because the others were used for training, but it was too packed already so I left. It was great to be able to swim after so long! Woah during the first few laps the arms were aching :0 must be my (not quite) recent sedentary mugger lifestyle, lol. It went away after that, so that's good. Maybe I'll go running tomorrow or the day after :D

Went to the old PGP canteen for dinner since I missed the dining hall's. Missed as in missed out, not missed-longingly missed :p finally got to eat my fried noodles from the Chinese noodles stall, mmmm ^___^ all the oily goodness, slightly charred bits and the wonderful chilli. My mouth's watering just thinking about it :D had a cup of warm, freshly-cooked barley drink which was surprisingly good, and got to chat with a good friend too (:

Returned to my room, got on the computer, painted my nails, answered some more-important emails (OCIP stuff), and watched lots of The Big Bang Theory ((((: it's super funny and cool; my favourite comedy at the moment! So now, I shall start with mugging of another kind - lyrics of TBBT theme song! Muahahaha. Also known as "History of Everything":

Shall post the lyrics soon ;)

lol

2010-04-26T21:39:00.002+08:00

Okay so I didn't go to shower. Christina came over and exclaimed excitedly that there's a praying mantis in our level toilet! Mafer and I rescued it and brought it to the grass area on the first level, lol. Hahaha took lots of pictures, but til next time! :D

(:

2010-04-26T20:51:00.002+08:00

Heh time flies and it's the middle of my finals! Had a paper on Saturday (not bad) and a major one today (was slightly short of time, but hopefully still okay), so feeling quite relieved (: somehow I'm feeling much more relaxed than the last few times, hmm :p it's like I feel that there's a bigger world out there than just studying and attaining good grades; I've so much else to give my time and energy to. I've things planned all the way until late September, and I know where I'll be for the first half of next year. I've been to 2 birthday celebrations in the past few days, both of which the night before my paper (but luckily held in hall so it's okay la haha). I've a friend whose grandmother passed away, and just found out today that the writer of a blog I'm following (Jessamyn Harris, in my links) just gave birth to a healthy baby girl whom she named Symphony. A friend told me not long ago that she got attached, and I know that another hasn't gotten over his breakup even though it has been some time. My sister's exams are around the corner, and my brother will be sitting for his A Levels in a few months' time (okay that's not an opposite, but still :p).

With so much that life has to offer, why study?

To enrich yourself for the future? To make sure your brain doesn't degenerate? To get that first class honours so that you can get a job and good pay? For my case, it is to ensure that I become a well-rounded and knowledgeable person, and a capable teacher/sister/daughter/friend/mother in time to come (:

But academics is just one aspect of enriching oneself. There's so many other things that can be done! Well, there's a time and place for everything. After the finals, there's OCIP, then recuperation month (haha), then MOE attachment at a school, and other stuff (: and before I know it, I'll be in Year 3 already.

But for now, the time is ripe to take a good shower and get back to Living With Mathematics! Yes, that's the name of my module; hahaha.

countdown..

2010-04-18T12:24:00.002+08:00

..to my KEVII OCIP Meeting 4 (later tonight)

..to becoming a HARDCORE MUGGER (Monday)

..to the start of my Year 2 Semester 2 finals (24 June, aka next Saturday)

..to the end of my Year 2 Semester 2 finals (6 May, aka next next Thursday)

..to KEVII OCIP 2010 (10 May)

..to the end of my term as NUSBS President and OCIP Head (a few more months)

Exciting! (:

I'm volunteering for this! (:

2010-04-16T03:25:00.000+08:00

Taken from Wild Singapore, Ria Tan:
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/04/help-stop-cruel-animal-liberation.html

15 April 2010

Help stop cruel "Animal Liberation" - volunteers needed

Animal release or 'fangsheng' is traditionally conducted on Vesak Day which falls on 28 May 2010.

A cage full of munias, birds often captured solely for the animal release trade. Photo from Chang Hua Coast Conservation Action.

Last year, in media reports before Vesak Day, the President of the Buddhist Fellowship, Angie Monksfield, said there is a difference between Buddhism and kindness towards animals. "Being kind to animals is one of the core practices in Buddhism," she said. "However, freeing animals into the wild, especially those that have been bred in captivity, is not necessarily a kind act as these animals would be easy prey for predators."

Instead, she urged Buddhists to refrain from eating meat and to adopt and care for animals from shelters, help injured animals and preserve their natural habitats.

Sadly, animal release continues to take place, throughout the year, but particularly during the Vesak Day period

It is cruel to release animals into the wild. Why?

Often, animals are released into the wrong habitat, causing them to die a painful death. For example, freshwater fishes are released into the sea. Or marine fishes released into the reservoir. Freshwater frogs are sometimes released into the sea. We have also observed shallow water animals (such as clams, snails, crabs) being released in deep water. These will all almost certainly die.

The process of release can be stressful to the animals. Animals bought from shops are often stressed during transportation and religious ceremonies. Many may already be weak or dead upon release. Exhausted released animals may eventually die.

Pets or captive bred animals usually lack the natural skills to survive and may die when released into the wilderness. They may not know how to avoid predators, or find food and shelter.

Released animals that do survive may hurt existing wild animals, and upset the natural balance. They may compete with our native wildlife for shelter and food. Some released animals may eat our native wildlife, or introduce diseases to our wildlife. More about the serious impact of invasive alien species.

Buying animals destined for the table does not stop the trade. In fact, it simply supports the trade and encourage the capture or raising of more of these animals.

Ironically, the practice of animal release often CAUSES more animals to be captured. Increasingly, animal release has become such a big business that in some places, animals are harvested from the wild FOR animal release.

TRAFFIC did a five-year survey of munias (small birds) in the Medan Bird Market. Many of these birds are exported to Malaysia and Singapore. The birds are not sold as pets. The trade in these birds is fuelled solely by the practice of releasing them. Dealers reported that between 30% and 50% of these birds died in the first 24 hours between capture and sale. from Animal release: Don’t spur capture of wildlifeThe Star 4 Nov 09.

In Taiwan, religious groups spend more than NT$200 million (US$6.19 million) annually to engage in "release of life" rituals, which they practice 750 times on average each year involving more than 200 million creatures. Birds, fish, frogs, turtles and snakes are the most commonly used animals. Turtledoves, sparrows, scaly-breasted munia, and Japanese white-eye are the most popular birds in the "release of life" activities because they are cheap and can be easily caught in large numbers in the wild in Taiwan. From 'Release of life' religious practice spurs big business: group Central News Agency, Taiwan News 2 Oct 09.

Thus it seems hardly compassionate to release animals into our nature reserves or parks or reservoirs.

To be truly compassionate, we should STOP the practice of animal release.

Possibly, most people who participate in animal release do so innocently, not knowing they are doing more harm than good. Greater awareness will hopefully stop this cruel practice.

You CAN make a difference!

Don't release animals.
Persuade your friends and family not to release animals.
Join the team of volunteers coming together this Vesak Day to stop animal release.

Volunteers are needed for "Operation No Release 2010" in the upcoming Vesak Day period! To join, please email Karen TeoKaren_TEO@nparks.gov.sg by 22 Apr (Thu). A briefing and training session for volunteers will be held on 8 May (Sat).

Facebook status

2010-04-16T03:16:00.001+08:00

Kee Yingxin Carmen is up at 3.12am trying to savour her last few days of slacking before morphing into a HARDCORE MUGGERRRR >:D muahahaha

why i was so happy that day, and today too

2010-04-15T13:46:00.002+08:00

1. Weather was fantastic! After a super humid day, the cool night breeze was very much welcome

2. My brother won 3 medals in his natoinals! :D so proud of him! Saw his genuinely happy (and handsome, lol) face on Facebook as he was mounting the winner's podium and was grinning to myself in the library (:

3. Met Cass in NUS to pass her a book from the Chinese library; so nice to see her and have a quick chat! She bought me tauhway and hamchinpeng too ((: haven't had them in a long while, so was very happy haha.

4. Managed to complete my studying in time for my Cell Biology CA2, and the test wasn't that bad either! Not sure about 3 questions, but the rest should be okay la *crosses fingers* I felt so relieved after it was over; like a huge content-heavy load off my back (temporarily, but good all the same) :D

5. Dining hall dinner was super nice for once! Like, in a long long time. Hahaha there was YAM rice, and I got a larger serving than usual because I was the last person to get the vegetarian food and they wanted to clear everything heh heh.

6. Lots of other little things, like interaction and conversations with friends, etc.

Today:

1. My tests and lessons for Year 2 are OVER! Okay la, the official/compulsory ones at least. I just received an email saying that if we want we can go for this CA2 review on Friday XD hmmm see how.

2. My last test, Malay oral, just ended and it went really well! Cikgu even asked me at the end of it if I was planning to take Malay 3, and said that I should because she thinks I'm very fluent :D :D :D happy! Whatever I prepared for came out, so I didn't stutter or have awkward silences or was at a loss for words (: thanks to Mafer and Zhuangli and all my Malaysian friends in hall too, for practising Malay with me. Haha!

3. Went through all my Facebook photos while searching for photos for someone's birthday present, and realised how much I've been through these few years; all the experiences and events that I had (: I'm really living a fulfilling life, and I'm very grateful and glad for that (:

4. Realised that my term as NUSBS President and OCIP Head is almost ending! Relaxation, here I come!

5. Going to Holland V tomorrow; that always makes me happy (:

Okay, off to lunch! Then back to hall to prepare a birthday present :D tata!

Be happy!

:D

2010-04-13T20:56:00.000+08:00

GOOOOD MOOOOOD (:

Haha sorry for the short entries; had wanted to write more but have wasted too much time! Still have CA tomorrow and the next day T_T

Be happy! :D

blah

2010-04-08T19:26:00.001+08:00

Went to see the doctor at UHC. Hopefully will get better soon :/

i have the megrims D:

2010-04-08T09:47:00.005+08:00

Monday: itchy throat

Tuesday: painful sore throat, dry cough, random bouts of throbbing pain on the lower right side of my head

Wednesday: abovementioned + fever + little bit of phlegm (with lab report due that day some more!)

Today: feeling much better (after catching up on much-needed sleeeep last night); not totally recovered though :/

Word of the Day for Wednesday, April 7, 2010

megrim \MEE-grim\, noun:

1. A migraine.
2. A fancy; a whim.
3. In the plural: lowness of spirits -- often with 'the'.

That might justify her, fairly enough, in being kept away from meeting now and again by headaches, or undefined megrims.
-- Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware

Tonight, by some megrim of the scheduler, I have the honor of working with the departmental chairman, Dr. B.
-- Pamela Grim, Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives

They do say it's always darkest before the dawn, she thought. I reckon this is proof of it. I've got the megrims, that's all.
-- Stephens Mitchell, Scarlett

Kate had learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with Effie's megrims was to maintain an attitude of determined cheerfulness.
-- Susan Carroll, Midnight Bride

Megrim is from Middle English migrem, from Middle French migraine, modification of Late Latinhemicrania, "pain in one side of the head," from Greek hemikrania, from hemi-, "half" + kranion, "skull."

push on!

2010-04-06T12:50:00.003+08:00

Almostttt thereeee. Now if only I can figure out how to choose a sequencing primer, hmmm. Lab reports are so sian -__- shall remeasure my lengths (well-to-band) first.

Malay lecture later; wonder if there's oral :/ hope not! (checks IVLE) Ooh okay it's Kuliah Terakhir (final lecture) today - ringkasan (summary). Yay. Then it'll be Cell Bio lecture, and more on the cell cycle. CA2's next week, ahhhh! Another 20% of final grade. And there's LSM2202A CA2 the day after T_T 50% some more.

OCIP proposal is almostalmost done, YAY finally. I really do hope everything will go fine (._.)

Throat is itchy and I've a bit of dry cough. Hope it'll go away soon; drinking lots of water and bought a pack of Honey & Lemon Strepsils from Cheers. It's almost $5 leh :0

Okayyy song lyrics time!

All At Sea, Jamie Cullum :D

I'm all at sea/ Where no-one can bother me
Forgot my roots/ If only for a day
Just me and my thoughts sailing far away

Like a warm drink it seeps into my soul
Please just leave me right here on my own
Later on you could spend some time with me
If you want to
All at sea

I'm all at sea/ Where no-one can bother me
I sleep by myself/ I drink on my own
Don't speak to nobody/ I gave away my phone

Now I need you more than ever, I need you more than ever, now
You don't need it every day/ But sometimes don't you just crave
To disappear within your mind/ You never know what you might find
So come and spend some time with me
We will spend it all at sea

Like a warm drink it seeps into my soul
Please just leave me right here on my own
Later on you could spend some time with me
If you want to
All at sea

hey you

2010-04-02T21:33:00.006+08:00

My latest publicity design: a mass email to all KEVII Hall residents!

(okay so I'm not really tackling Practical 5 of my lab report; but still, at least I'm doing something productive! and designing calms my nerves - makes me feel less fazzled :D)

Btw even if you're not from KEVII, you can also contribute! Please contact me if you're interested (:

---

Hi there!

It's going to be the end of the academic year, so why not grab this opportunity to clear your room while contributing to a good cause?

KEVII OCIP (Overseas Community Involvement Programme) will be going to Cambodia to do volunteer work this May, and we are looking for donations! Here is how you can help:

- CLOTHES: any size will do; if it ain't torn, we want it!

Although we will be mainly interacting with children, one of the schools that we are visiting is situated in the slums of Phnom Penh. The people there make a daily income of US$1 a day, and some children go around the slums naked, playing with the rubbish that they are surrounded with.

The clothes that you donate will definitely make a difference in their lives!

- STATIONERY: pen, pencils, erasers, rulers, pencilboxes, notebooks, notepads, lined paper, blank paper, post-it notes, children books, everything!

Are your drawers filled with free stationery like post-it notes from matric fair, orientation and roadshows? If you haven't used them in a while, why not give them to others who need it more than you do?

The schools we are visiting have children who are interested to learn, but some do not have the means to do so. Help them fulfil their dream of a good studying environment by providing them with your old but usable stationery!

What are you waiting for? Bring your stuff down to the dining hall and help the people in Cambodia TODAY!

There will be 2 labelled boxes next to the bread toaster, and they will be there until 9th May.

We look forward to your kind contributions, thank you! :D

Cheers!

Carmen Kee

KEVII OCIP 2010, Head

D:

2010-04-02T19:16:00.002+08:00

I was very unproductive for the whole of today ): it shall change NOW. Go Carmen, don't get stuck in a rut! Your hectic crazy Year 2 is almost over, just like what you wanted; now CHEONG AHHHH.

Non-renewable resources are depleting, so please don't run out of fuel ):

Toddycats!

2010-04-02T11:54:00.002+08:00

Went for a briefing for those interested in becoming Toddycats! volunteers last night instead of going for my GEK1505 lecture :p luckily there's webcast, heh.

I was so excited after that that I posted a link on Facebook, haha! (it's later mentioned in the article below, yayyy) This was what I wrote:

Kee Yingxin Carmen is super excited after coming from a briefing about volunteering with Toddycats! Great way to get clued into the nature happenings in Singapore, while helping to raise awareness and do conservation :D :D :D

toddycats.rafflesmuseum.net

Added on when people started replying:

btw are you interested in joining? ((: Siva mentioned trying to get a group of 5 friends to attend the activities haha. things like public exhibitions, telling people about stuff at raffles museum, watching shows/films/documentaries, going on field trips, etc!

Non Life Science students can join too, as long as you're vaguely interested in Biology/biodiversity/conservation, etc. Anyone interested? :D

This was written by Siva (my favourite NUS lecturer thus far!) about our briefing last night, taken from http://toddycats.rafflesmuseum.net/programmes/

Meeting the biology students

Posted on Friday, 2 April 2010 by otterman

Yesterday evening, I met 14 undergraduates from biology with an interest to learn more about the subject and who want to make some contribution to conservation. Exhausted from two weeks of preparing the honours students for their oral exams on top of everything else, I was quite exhausted. Still this had been a long time coming and the Toddycats Manpower Captain (3rd year undergraduate) Grace Lo, would be relieved we were finally gathering after extensive procastination!

I asked them to arrange themselves into a circle which they did quite speedily – so that was promising! During introductions, I interjected comments and began to feel hopeful. The students, who were all in their 1st and 2nd year of biology, came from a diversity of interests – some are more research-inclined, others have an interest in communication while others look to be happy generalists who can apply themselves in any situation.

I talked about what we could do;

[1] Learning through interaction – [Toddycats Engage!]
There is a lot of information on the internet but nothing beats hearing news face to face. This is meant to be a conversation rather thana lecture so there will have to be a preliminary agenda at least so we can read up briefly. This will also be a good opportunity to invite people down for a conversation or to share movies we can never show in class for lack of time or talk about things we have encountered or read about in the month that has passed.

[2] Learning through discovery – [Toddycats Discovery]
Students can organise field trips based on suggestion and invite the grad students or lecturers along – e.g. bird watching on the Southern Ridges, listening for bats and looking for other fauna on Kent Ridge, the Lower Peirce boardwalk at night and horseshose crab rescue in Mandai mangroves (potentially a project on its own). This is the sort of field exposure that allowed us to help our seniors and phrase research questions easily in our senior years as undergraduates. This is also intended to get them to organise.

This group will begin with an evening field trip to Kent Ridge to listen to bats with the new bat detectors – we can figure if my earlier recces of the best spots pan out under their scrutiny. They can next plot wildlife sightings in NUS as a guide for other students. After all, not even all of them could say they have seen a changeable lizard on campus before (Calotes versicolor), let alone figure out its ecology. So that will make discovery easy and enjoyable – a fun stage in their journey to be in.

[3] Action – [See Dugongs]
An obvious beginning to quick and immediate action is to form a team of five to guide – at the Raffles Museum’s Public Gallery (which one of them called a white elephant after seeing it empty when he visited one day) and at public exhibitions, using specimens from the museum and department.

Each person is to begin with just two specimens for a combined total of 10 specimens explained/team. I will have to train and asses the teams but I can ask their seniors for help. They will get a chance to apply their new talents at a few occasions:

The after-term lunch-time tours for NUS staff are to be revivved.
Support for specific events like International Museum Day
Collaborate with NUSSU SAVE to showcase local biodiversity during their Green Carnival
A beginning of term exhibition at Science and/or Central Libraries. In future to liase with clubs and societies during orientation week.

[4] Action – International Coastal Cleanup Singapore
Site Captains are desperately needed! This work requires email interaction with organisers and a site visit or two. They will have a Zone Captain for backup so there is safety net.

[5] Action – regional help
Second year student Ong Say Lin and friends will be volunteering with sun bear researcher Wong Siew Te. We hope to suggest dependable students to Siew Te annually to provide dependable, volunteer support. Toddycats with field experience and exposure to issues could be helpful.

I rounded up the session by sharing about the project-based nature of our work – we avoid crippling demands on a person’s time but require communication, reliability and sustainability. That did not faze all of them. By the time I reached home, one of them had already posted enthusiastically on facebook.

I started out in conservation like this, at their age, through the Biological Science Society. Those experiences imbued with me with skills I have applied in a variety of crises for the better. Let’s hope they get a kick start too.

the number 2

2010-03-31T11:53:00.004+08:00

Today,

I went for my 2nd paid study at the Department of Psychology

where I sat from 2 test blocks,

bought 2 dishes for lunch, each from a different stall (lontong from the Malay stall and brown rice from the Vegetarian one),

spotted 2 men smoking in a supposedly smoke-free campus,

had 2 people approaching me to ask for directions.

Haha! So random.

Ohyes and I want to catch 2 shows - Mika's concert (!!!) on 14 June and Chicago the Musical on 6/7 May :D :D :D ohmygoodness so exciting! Will start looking out for discounts XD

Anyway, I shall finally get down to doing my LSM2202A lab report T_T ohman. Jiayoujiayou! (:

hello, world!

2010-03-24T23:47:00.002+08:00

Haha okay so more people are reading my blog than I thought :p I figured that if I didn't update regularly, and/or write about uninteresting things about my life, then not many people will continue reading and I could just talk to myself, lol! :D

Well, the week has been not bad so far. Or maybe it's just that I'm used to this crazy busy Year Two life that I'm living. Since I'm feeling random and don't really want to start on my webcast lecture, I shall just go through what I've done today (: I forsee another longgg entry, heh.

Something out of the ordinary happened today - I woke up late and missed my dining hall breakfast! :0 gah I've always been able to wake up on time and/or have dining hall breakfast (aiya hall made it compulsory to pay, so must eat la!). Maybe it's just my body telling me to rest more D:

Rushed off to LSM2202A (Experimental Molecular & Cell Biology) lecture, was okay. Somehow I feel neutral towards this area of Life Sciences. More like I'm okay with it, I can understand it, but I'm not enthusiastic about it :p as compared to Biology, whereby I'll be going, "THIS IS SO COOOOOL." and going all bouncy and excited (: field trips rock! Haha. As you can see I'm looking forward to specialising in Biology in Year Three (:

My parents dropped by in my father's car during my break to pass me some teabags and ah-ball-ling (aiya don't know what others call them; that's what my family calls those white balls with different fillings in them; my brother and I used to call them ahhhh-bowling :D). It's super nice! I think they bought them from Clementi - the skin's very soft and chewy, the filling is interesting - yam!, the sesame filling is great as usual (my fave), the almond soup's nice too ((: love my parents! Woah so many exclamation marks in one paragraph, lol.

Went to Megabytes to have a vegetarian sandwich (yum) and ate the ah-ball-lings, then rushed off to LSM2202A lab. We did DNA sequencing today, from the plasmid sample from the previous practical. As I said just now, I can follow instructions, do the stuff, but no particular interest la :p my lab partner's really interesting though! An exchange student from Canada :D super chio and quite smart (on scholarship), and has a Singaporean Malay boyfriend :0 it's cool to have her around, not only because we get to chitchat about random things while waiting for things to run, but also because she's done quite a bit of research work during her summer breaks, so this lab module to her is nothing XD makes it stressful yet reassuring at the same time, haha.

Sigh even weeks mean packed Wednesdays:

10am-12nn: LSM2202A lecture

12nn-6pm (usually it ends earlier than this, plus there's breaks): LSM2202A lab

6pm-9pm (usually ends at around 8.30pm haha): GEK2901 lecture (Reporting Statistics in the Media)

Luckily lab ended at almost 5pm, so I could go back for dining hall dinner, then off to another lecture. Lecturer was being cynical and funny as usual XD rushed off to check my LSM2103 results during the break - I think I could have done better la ): but not bad already I guess, 80.83. Went back to continue lecture, learning about things that were sort of covered in the preallocated biostatistics modules I took already :p my group handed in our project at the end of the lecture, so yay one thing off the list! And also 20% + 20% settled (:

Walked back to hall, settled down a little, then went off to meet my OCIP treasurer at 9pm to settle (2 times in a sentence, lol no creativity.) the accounts and budget. FINALLY got back the money my father helped to contribute some time back! Lots and lots of notes :p so that's another thing off my chest, yay!

Called my father while returning to my room, told him about the money then chitchatted with him ^_^ he's such an amazing person! Love him loads. I think I'll always be daddy's girl :D went to bathe, then sat in front of the computer, so here I am!

And now that I realise that it's already 12.15am, and that my hair is almost completely dry, I shall go and sleep soon.

Take care, everyone! And may we all have a happy and productive day ahead! ((:

The Black Eyed Peas HD Video on Oprah's Show in Chicago

2010-03-19T20:58:00.001+08:00

The one that gave me inspiration for NUSBS' Dharma Camp mass dance / morning exercise! (((: EPIC. You can't even see the street!

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

2010-03-19T20:48:00.003+08:00

Love Sound of Music :D :D :D

Beyonce 100 Single Ladies Flash-Dance Piccadilly Circus, London for Trident Unwrapped

2010-03-19T20:48:00.001+08:00

Love it (: and so leggy, ohmygoodness :p

bucking the trend

2010-03-19T20:24:00.002+08:00

For the first time this semester, I'm not rushing over to Dharma Circle after my LSM2103 lecture :D

I just had a nice cool shower (during a rainy day, yes I know I'm weird hahaha) and am now settled down and shall start cheong-ing my OCIP stuff!

Anyone who is interested in donating books/clothes/money in aid of my Overseas Community Involvement Programme to Cambodia, please drop me an email at ke7ocip[at]gmail.com ((: p.s.: replace [at] with @, I heard that this prevents spam, yay. We're also looking at building a well, but it costs US$300-1,000 so we're hoping to get donations from friends and sponsors (: any ideas of organisations/people to approach for our fundraising efforts, please drop me an email too, thank you!

Zee Avi - "Kantoi" Sing-Along

2010-03-18T17:22:00.001+08:00

Yay, saya suka Bahasa Melayu! :D this video was shown during one of our Malay 2 lectures, nice!

Semalam I call you, you tak answer:
Yesterday I called you but you didn't answer

You kata you keluar pergi dinner:
You said you went out to have dinner

You kata you keluar dengan kawan you:
You said you went out with your friend

But when I called Tommy he said it wasn't true

So I drove my car pergi Damansara:
So I drove my car to Damansara

Tommy kata maybe you tengok bola:
Tommy said maybe you watched soccer

Tapi bila I sampai, you, you tak ada:
But when I reached you were not there

Lagi lah I jadi gila:
More and more I became crazy (?)

So I called and called sampai you answer:
So I called and called until you answered

You kata "Sorry sayang tadi tak dengar":
You said, "Sorry my dear just now I didn't hear"

"My phone was on silent, I was at the gym"

Tapi latar belakang suara perempuan lain:
But behind there was another girl's voice

Sudah lah sayang, I don't believe you:
That's it man (LOL my own words, not direct translation), I don't believe you

I've always known that your words were never true

Why am I with you? I pun tak tahu!:
Why am I with you? I also don't know!

No wonder lah my friends pun tak suka you:
No wonder my friends also don't like you

So I guess that's the end of our story

Akhir kata, she accepted his apology:
In the end, she accepted his apology

Tapi last last kita dapat tahu she was cheating too:
But in the end we found out she was cheating too

With her ex-boyfriend's best friend...Tommy

Kantoi:
Gotcha!

di perpustakaan (haha what a nice cheem-sounding name for 'library')

2010-03-18T13:57:00.002+08:00

Hello! *waves to no one in particular* haha I'm at the library now, editing the proposal for my OCIP (Overseas Community Involvement Programme) instead of listening to webcasts and revising tutorials XD ohwell. It's for a good cause!

I was feeling so sian yesterday when studying with Yun Lan, and when I talked it out I realised why - I'm doing things not because I want to do it, or that I crave for a leadership position, but that there's no one else who's willing to take it up and I don't want to see these meaningful CCAs fall. And that's taking a toll on my energy and time.

I really appreciate what these CCAs have done - both share the same traits; they aim to help others and to make the world a better place :D and that's what I admire.

NUS Buddhist Society has helped me so, so much. Not only do I benefit from learning more about the Dharma (Buddha's teachings), I also try to make other's lives better by helping them if I can, or just offering a listening ear, or giving a smile - that's Dana (generosity, giving)! (Coincidentally, my Buddhist name is Dana, haha!) I'm also reminded to treat people with equanimity (yes, even that day when a girl was a few seats away from me talking in a very-quiet reading room and spilt coffee on my blouse just a few minutes before, without realising/apologising). Loving kindness and compassion towards everyone is the way to go (: I also learnt about the importance of the mind, and how one can train the mind to be sharp and focused in good times and bad. Mindfulness is also very important - to be aware of the things happening around you, and not to take anything for granted. All these are Buddhist teachings/philosophies/whatever you would like to call them :D

KEVII OCIP is another amazing CCA. It was set up just a few years ago, and this will be the 3rd time it's held. The 1st leader spent close to 1 year just crafting out this CCA, and liaising with contacts, and going through administrative matters (a pain in the neck, lol) just to bring this CCA into KEVII hall (: however, somehow last year not many Year 1's joined so there weren't many members who could/want to continue this year. I could do it, but was hesitant due to my heavy commitment with NUSBS already. But because there was no one else, and I didn't want to see such a meaningful activity stop after so much hard work put into it, I took it up as well -.-

Even though I really like these 2 CCAs, I somehow feel bad because I'm not giving my all to either of them, resulting in lacklustre performances in some areas (in my opinion la. but then again my friends will tell you that I'm a perfectionist) T_T and spending so much time planning and organising the activities detracts my enjoyment towards them!

Like instead of having a nice, peaceful meditation session, I have to run around and do admin stuff, or prepare for things to do after that session, etc. Not that I'm stingy about my $10 payment fees la. But it's that I want to learn more and cultivate myself, but don't really have the chance to do so.

No time to feel excited about exploring Cambodia when I'm thinking of the safety issues, and money, and hoping my 18 members can mix well and work together in harmony when they're such different and unique individuals, and that no one gets lost (oh, the horror). And that's not even mentioning worrying about doing our job well, and if the children really benefit from our presence. At least I'll have a meeting this Sunday to settle as many things as I can. Fingers crossed!

But I know it's going to turn out fine in the end. A few more weeks and things will start to wind down and solve themselves (haha I hope!) and then it'll be the finals, and OCIP, and teaching attachment, and matric fair and orientation, and start of year 3!

Okay, so back to my OCIP proposal! JIAYOU CARMEN (:

The Story - Brandi Carlile [Grey's Anatomy]

2010-03-16T23:32:00.001+08:00

This is the video I wanted to show 2 entries ago (:

Owl City - Fireflies

2010-03-16T23:27:00.001+08:00

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance

A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

(:

The Story - Brandi Carlile

2010-03-14T17:25:00.003+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=c2a8VzsCGlc

Hmmm I'm using my brother's laptop, and can't seem to get YouTube to post videos. But it's a great song, and leaves me tempted to watch Grey's Anatomy again XD not much chance though, I'm sticking to 2 shows for now. Maybe the holidays or something :p

Found this song when watching American Idol (yes, 1 of the 2 shows I'm following :D), and it just spoke to me (:

All of these lines across my face/Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been/And how I got to where I am

But these stories don't mean anything/When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you

I climbed across the mountain tops/Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules/But baby I broke them all for you

Because even when I was flat broke/You made me feel like a million bucks
You do/I was made for you

You see the smile that's on my mouth/It's hiding the words that don't come out
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed/They don't know my head is a mess

No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what
I've been through like you do
And I was made for you...

All of these lines across my face/Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been/And how I got to where I am

But these stories don't mean anything/When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you

balik kampung

2010-03-14T16:53:00.002+08:00

YAYYY I'm finally home ((: yesterday I was looking at myself in the mirror at home, and commented to my family that somehow I feel that I look better/prettier when I'm back XD

It's great to be back, with the hours of recorded TV shows and family time and eating good food (:

At the back of my mind, there's still CCA stuff to settle, academic work, etc, but IT'S OKAY. Shall keep them til Monday when I get back to hall after a visit to the hairdresser's for a trim :D

distracted

2010-03-09T21:55:00.005+08:00

It seems like the more things that I have on my plate, the more random things I feel like doing. Escapist tendencies? Argh. FOCUS, CARMEN.

Malay test today was..hmm okay la. Don't think I'll score full marks, but don't think I'll be in the bottom half of the class either :p should be fine (I hope) (:

Tomorrow's Experimental Biology paper, and even though it carries more weightage than the Malay paper, I seem so restless and distracted -.- as what Jingyi and I said when we were in secondary school, "omgness I'm worrying that I'm not worrying about my studies!" ahaha.

Like yesterday, I was suddenly so excited about Student Exchange Programme (SEP), and went around Facebook looking at the photos and notes by friends who are overseas or has been on SEP, and started thinking of what I want to do, etc. I even added a new entry to my (as of now, private) "overseas blog" :p this blog is where I'm compiling different bits of information about the university I'm going to, things about the school term, interesting stuff that can be done there, and now I've added an entry with a list of friends who are overseas whom I want to visit, plus the universities they're at, and the parts of UK (or US and other countries) that they're staying in :D :D :D and also a list of things that I want to do there - places to visit, things to buy, events to go to, etc.

All this while I've 2 CAs coming up.

And then last night, I suddenly thought that I should try out a new thing that I chanced upon - a software (FREE) that allows you to convert your photos into POLAROIDS (((: super coooool: http://www.poladroid.net/

1st batch: rough colour scheme is black, white, red and a dash of blue

Okayyyy back to studying! CONCENTRATE.

guys

2010-03-05T23:31:00.002+08:00

One thing I like about NUS Buddhist Society guys - I can be who I am with them (:

Just now after Dharma Circle, we went over to Subway for a small chitchat/hangout session, and I realised that I was the only girl there XD but I didn't feel weird or that I wasn't safe (: they're such nice people!

I had wanted to start whining about guys, but shall not XD sleeeeep! Shall go to Central Library tomorrow to mug ((:

wonderful dayyyy

2010-03-04T22:25:00.003+08:00

Yay took this photo when I was back home (: I'm not going back for a second weekend running ): it's okayyy work hard for CAs and then catch up on my 10 hours plus worth of American Idol recordings :D as what my pa used to say, "What until your eyeballs roll onto the floor ah!" (when I was a TV addict, hahaha)

I had a wonderful day todayyy :D :D :D (read: a long rambling post about the details of my day)

Had Malay tutorial A at 10am, then went to the Arts canteen thinking that I'll be eating all by myself *cue singing* don't wanna beeee, all by myself, anymoreeeee XD

Then I met Zhuangli and May (not sure of the spelling, but she's such a nice friendly girl!) so sat with them! Ate ladyfingers, something I hadn't eaten in quite a while (boo hall dinners -.-) and tried the soursop juice, which was super! Sour and cold, perfect for the hot weather (cuaca hari ini sangat panas!) ^_^

Proceeded to the library, where I checked my CCA marks. Even though I'm doing heavier work this year (president of NUS Buddhist Society and head of KEVII OCIP Cambodia, plus was in hall Flag holiday comm), I have less points than last year!! Whyyy ): okay so that wasn't a highlight of the day, but I wasn't that fazed by it la. Should be able to appeal because I don't see why I can't get my marks for OCIP. And anyway even if I can't stay in hall, should be able to stay in PGP or the other residences XD

Went to top level to study, and got quite a lot of Bahasa Melayu revision done (: yay saya mengulang kaji (yay I revised my work)! Saya sangat gembira (I'm very happy) (: saya mesti rajin belajar (thanks Adrian!) kerana saya ada perperiksaan pada minggu hadapan (I must work hard because I have a test next week).

Went over for my Malay tutorial B at 3pm, which was short and painless :D then decided to go over to Central Forum to visit Weilin's booth (TimeorDime) to support him, and walked over to YIH to get some light exercise into my day :p

Wanted to drink the iced coffee from Yakun (love!) but they didn't have ice -___- so got the one at the canteen instead. Hello cheap but good coffee! Only 70cents, I can't believe it :0 realised that the canteen's not really occupied, so found a conducive spot below the fans away from the high traffic area and studied Bahasa Melayu some more (:

That was when my mood started going up - the iced coffee was great, the area was cool and nice, they were playing old school songs on the radio, and I managed to finish going through my Bahasa Melayu buku nota (notebook) in time for my next lecture!

Kept my stuff and went through the YIH forum area, wanting to look at the Mac fair, but apparently they were keeping the stalls already -.- haha nevermind, because I met Kevin Quah (yes, writing his surname because he called me "Carmen Kee!" lol) there! Shall go visit him tomorrow XD

Then walked over to Science and the wind was wonderfullll (: and the small leaves on the trees overhead were falling, and I love falling leaves ((: met another friend along the way, and also my very nice LSM2251 TA, Paul! He changed his hairstyle, haha.

Got to class early, met Kyaw at the LT, chitchatted abit and found out the Venerable Gyurme's course turned out well, which left me quite glad (:

Lecture was seriously quite easy today, and everyone looked very bored for the first half/threequarters of the lecture. Things only started getting interesting in the last part, when the professor introduced us to binary codes (O,1) and ternary codes, and other things like bar codes, morse codes, etc. Coool.

After that relaxing lecture, walked back to hall to have dinner. Okay, so it was bad. Like, terrible. Usually I'm not picky with my food, but today I only ate 2 of the 4 dishes -.- gahh. But because my mood was so good, I didn't think much of it too. Only get a little tinge of regret when I threw the untouched food into the rubbish bin -.-

Anyway, met up with my OCIP treasurer after that, and explained the estimated budget to him already. He's taking it from here, so that's one thing off my plate, yayyy! I feel much better now, phew. And he was telling me how he thought that this is very important without having me to do so, which is very heartening (: hopefully we'll be able to pull it off well!

After that, dug through my wallet and found a shining beacon of light in the form of a golden $1 coin :D which means..I can use the M&Ms slot dispenser to get my M&Ms that I've been craving for! And it's for a good cause too, so all the better (:

Got the mini ones that I like, and was humming all the way back to my room. Saw that Mafer's room light was on, and went to return her rubberband. In the end, I spent more than 30mins in her room, eating her muruku (yumm) and chitchatting ((: feels so good to just talk and wind down after a long day! Thanks Mafer!

Told myself to wake up early tomorrow to get to the Science library and study hard for my 2 CAs next week, so shall go and bathe now. Here's to a great day, and a wonderful and productive day ahead!

Lalala! May you be well and happy too! :D

warm

2010-02-28T19:08:00.002+08:00

It's quite a warm day today! Lucky for my laundry then XD

Finished LSM2103 (Cell Biology) CA1 on Friday, studying for GEK1505 (Living with Mathematics) midterms which will be on the coming Monday, and then more CAs to come the following Tuesday (LAM2201 Bahasa Melayu 2) and Wednesday (LSM2202A Experimental Molecular & Cell Biology).

And I seem to function slower than usual these few days -.- lack of sleep? Haha ohwell almost thereeeee! More than halfway through the second semester already! JIAYOU.

streamofconsciousness

2010-02-23T14:23:00.003+08:00

consi concio consci consciousness - why is it so tricky to spell something we all have?

It's been awhile. I haven't been typing long rambling entries! Okay I shall attempt to do one (:

I'm sitting in the KE7 hall study room for the first time in a very long time - since last year, maybe? Didn't enjoy my last experience, with the scratchy chair cover, drink cans haphazardly littered around and the lingering smell of food. But after my father's subtle persuasion, in addition to the construction workers setting up shop near my block (noisy lorry, workers dragging materials down noisily, you get the idea), plus the weird weather (ahh, the draw of aircon), I've decided to give it another go! :D

Found a nice little corner away from the door. Now, there are power points at the bottom of each table of 4, which I think is very practical and cool (: join the family, small but powerful (pun intended, hahaha) one!

In front and to the left of me are shelves filled with books of different colours (but all with a tinge of yellow), sizes (but all at least 1 to 2 fingers thick) and ages (some are very recent, due to the new rule of leaving things on the shelf if one's leaving the room for more than 30minutes). Wonder when's the last time some of these were touched! :0 Pathology, Computer Science and Organic Chemistry are all living happily together on the same shelf - with piles of notes on the shelf to the left, and an empty JuiceFresh bottle at the side for aesthetic purposes.

Gah, my writing mojo is leaving me, perhaps because I still have 2 lecture notes to study for Friday's CA, or that I still haven't fully prepared the OCIP budget to be presented during tonight's meeting (quite happy with my ppt slides though, haha).

Or perhaps it's that I've laundry and lunch lounging around waiting for me.

Okay then, tata! (:

I have hectic weeks ahead

2010-02-22T22:00:00.002+08:00

Tomorrow: OCIP presentation at hall SCRC meeting; study for CA on Friday!

Wednesday: Whole day lessons - 10am to 9pm; study for CA during lab breaks! GEM2901 project discussion

Friday: LSM2103 CA (20%); Vegetarian Dinner at Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission

Saturday: NUSBS Dana Lunch; study for CAs next week!

Sunday: Visit Mr Loh's house for CNY (drop by only); study for CAs next week!

Next Monday: GEK1505 Midterm Test (20%)

Next Tuesday: Catch up with the LSM2103 lecture which I missed the week before; LAM2201 CA (20%)

Following Wednesday: LSM2202A CA1 (30%)

Following Friday: Workshop on Safety & Crisis Planning & Management by OSHE for OCIP

Following weekend: NUS Open House - NUSBS booth; Pa's company's family day on Saturday; maybe friend's Malay dance production on Sunday

Shall bathe, clear my head, then tackle OCIP. I want to studyyyyyy! Luckily I started studying LSM2103 since last Wed/Thursday XD but there's still one whole part to cover - Thilo's cytoskeleton, gah. Haha ohwell what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! :D

break

2010-02-18T18:06:00.002+08:00

Ahh haven't written for some time XD it's Recess Week already, so fast!

Back in hall after slacking from Friday night to Wednesday afternoon :p now it's back to work! Have to catch up with lots of stuff, so have to put in lots of effort already. Terus berusaha! Haha learnt that from my hall neighbour (jiran sebelah saya) Sharlene :D

Book of Love - The Magnetic Fields

2010-02-10T21:35:00.003+08:00

LOVE this singer ((:
And no, I'm not hinting anything to anyone. Haha. It's just such a PRETTY song ^^

Note to self: Capo 1st fret;
G (320033, or 32003x)
C (x3201x) or Cadd9 (x3203x)
D (xx0232) or A7sus/F# (20023x)
G (:

Taken from YouTube video info:

mp3 available at:
http://www.myspace.com/natalydawn

Congrats to fujilives on the upcoming wedding!

Lyrics:

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing
But I
I love it when you read to me
And you
You can read me anything

The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb
But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anything

The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we're all too young to know
But I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings

And I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings
And I
I love it when you give me things
And you
You ought to give me wedding rings
You ought to give me wedding rings

clearing misconceptions

2010-02-08T21:48:00.004+08:00

I haven't written in so long! Super busy with everything, but feeling productive and independent, so all's good (:

It's Buddhism Awareness Week, and we've set up an exhibition at Central Library, free distribution books around NUS and spammage of orange posters (one common misconception per poster, contributed by NUS Buddhist Society members and designed my yours truly, haha) :D this year's theme is Clearing Misconceptions, so we're hoping to present Buddhism as what it is - something useful, practical and meaningful; a way of life; mental cultivation; compassion and loving kindness; the path towards freedom from suffering, etc.

And coincidentally, something happened recently which fits in very well with our theme - some videos were posted on YouTube, showing a senior pastor, Pastor Rony Tan, in a church in Singapore talking to a man and a lady who converted from Buddhism to Christianity. He asked them questions about what they've learnt from Buddhism, from things like chanting and meditation, to 'reincarnation' and karma. Then he pointed out supposed flaws in the beliefs, based on what was shared. I found myself shaking my head when watching those videos! What wrong views! I didn't feel anger, but more of sadness because they are not doing themselves any favour by putting down another religion.

I had always believed that you are your own best advertisement. If you conduct yourself well, and people see that you are different, they will naturally want to know what helped you to be the person you are. You don't have to compare, or preach, or convince people into believing in your religion.

One of the things that Buddha taught is 'ehi passiko' - to discover things by yourself. Don't just listen and absorb; question and doubt! Don't just think that something is right because so many others say so. When the pastor asked those people some questions about Buddhist teachings, they replied that they don't know, or are not sure. This should not be the way. We should always know what we are doing, otherwise we'll just be blind followers of something that we don't know much of.

This is one of the reasons why I decided to become a Buddhist after attending the orientation camp by NUSBS - there were explanations for what we were doing and chanting; we were free to ask any questions we want about the Buddha and his teachings without being afraid that anything was too sensitive (: we could ask about common traditions, thereby realising that what we thought were Buddhist practices were actually the product of a mixture of Chinese tradition, Taoism and/or superstitions.

And that is why I wanted this year's BAW to be about clearing misconceptions.

So, how would I deal with people who put down other religions without really finding out more about them? Follow Buddha's teachings of calming the mind and looking at the true nature of things. What spurred them to do these things? Over-attachment to their beliefs? Perhaps. Whatever it is, I wish that they are well and happy. They are also in the cycle of samsara (suffering), with greed, hatred and delusion, just like every other person. May all beings, including them, be free from suffering, greed, hatred and delusion.

NUSBS will be dealing with this matter in a calm manner, and clearing any misconceptions that have arisen - in line with our theme, yay (:

Okayy I've written too much. Now back to work! (:

---

Update, from Pastor Rony's website:

Urgent Message From Pastor Rony

I have received a number of emails from people who have been saddened and hurt by the testimonies of an ex-monk and an ex-nun. I realized that my presentation and comments were wrong and offensive. So I sincerely apologize for my insensitivity towards the Buddhists and Taoists, and solemnly promise that it will never happen again.

When we have received those emails, we immediately removed the video clips from our website. I urge those who have posted those clips on the YouTube to remove them as well.

After reading the frank views from those emails, I was also prompted to tell my members not only to continue to love souls, but also to respect other belief and not to ridicule them in any way, shape or fashion.

Let's put our goal to build a harmonious Singapore a top priority.

My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words

2010-01-26T10:16:00.001+08:00

MCR brings out my inner emo rock girl, hahaha. Yes, they do look like militant pandas in their uniforms and black eyes, but the song just seems to grow on me! And the guitars and drums are spectacular ((: how do they strum like that?! The bass is like downdowndowndowndowndown x1000 lol. And wow, drumsss. I still want to learn the drums one day :D

IAMNOTAFRAIDTOKEEPONLIVING

My (insert adjective here) Month

2010-01-24T02:06:00.008+08:00

WARNING: BORING ENTRY, FOR SELF-REFERENCE!

4th - went to the NTUBS Dharma Camp to support them

5th - packing and doing last minute preparations to go overseas

From the 6th to 9th - in Cambodia on a recce trip with 4 other members to check out possible places and projects for the Overseas Community Involvement Programme (OCIP) team I'm heading. And this was when Round 2 bidding was on, and I had 3 modules to bid for. But that was the least of my worries, because at times our plans just totally changed at the last minute and we had to come up with an alternative there and then.

10th night - chaired my OCIP meeting, which was when we realised we had to set up a booth at our hall's bazaar which was on 13th to 15th. Last minute prep!

11th - start of school

12th - mad rush to prepare booth; that night something went into my eye which made it water and I couldn't open it properly or wash it out but still had to print and prepare stuff so I did it with only one eye open; slept at 3am.

13th - woke up at 7plus to transfer stuff to Central Forum; set up booth; did duty, went for class, came back to do duty some more; jogged a little; dining hall dinner, rushed off to 6pm lecture

14th - woke up at 7am; set up booth, did duty, met my friend for lunch. Went back to the booth just to pick up my waterbottle but ended up going all the way to ulu Woodlands to get more stock for the booth from this snacks wholesale warehouse. Came back to the booth, rushed back to hall for dining hall dinner, rushed off to 6pm lecture. Went over to YIH for a religious societies' presidents' gathering/get-to-know-you/chitchat session which ended at 10plus. Back to hall; took money box from Nalene, counted money and did accounts.

15th - woke up at 7plus; set up booth, did duty, met my friends for lunch, went back to Central Forum to check on booth and to help my friend get discount for his book at Co-op; rushed back to hall for dining hall dinner, rushed off to 6pm lecture. Came over for DC, presented token of appreciation to Bhante, chitchat; went back to hall, didn't really prepare much for the next day

16th - woke up at 7/8plus; prepared for meeting; met Puay Kim and Kwek at 10plus, talked until lunchtime; MC meeting until dinnertime; HOME AT LAST (sat on the sofa, staring at the TV like a sack of potatoes but family wanted my attention as well so explained my situation to them and knocked out once my head hit my pillow lol)

17th - woke up later for once; slacking and watching TV; went to jog around Bukit Panjang with Eddy, yay! Very very bad stamina though ): haven't exercised for such a long while, sigh. Jiayoujiayou!

18th - breakfast at home, lunch with parents, back to hall; lecture at 6pm (yes, again. In fact, I've lectures at 6pm every day -.-); OCIP treasurer passing-down and FAQs; treasurer and fundraising team debrief and discussion; rushed back home to settle family stuff

19th - woke up at 6plus; Pa dropped off Nicole then Tommy then myself; total time wastage on internet to rest the mind; 4pm lecture then 6pm lecture

20th - woke up at 7am; prepared for lab later; 10am-12nn lecture, 12nn-5plus pm lab, 6pm-8plus pm lecture; back to hall, slept at 12nn for once!

21st - woke up at 7plus; my first attempt at being a hardcore mugger in Science library (anyone is free to join me!! just sms or something :D) for the whole morning; lunch, back to hall, slack; 6pm lecture; swimminggg!; slack; met Navigator and Vice-Head for questions, instructions and meeting; slept at 12plus, yayy acheivement

22nd - woke up at 7am; weather was super nice so made me happy and calm; listened to LSM2103 webcast lecture but didn't even complete one set of notes T_T; went to Holland V for facial (because Chinese New Year was coming, she was extremely meticulous! Which means it was extremely x100 painful argh.); bought Frolick yoghurt (yum) and wandered around the old shopping centre; spent some time choosing a pretty red gerbera daisy for Jacinta ^_^; went back to NUS; briskwalked from Science to hall because was a bit late; went up to get OCIP money and decorations, brought them down; facilitated icecreamfloat booth setup; got dinner; rushed off to 6pm lecture; went over for DC, presented flower to Jacinta, chitchat; back to hall

23rd - woke up at 6.30am; supposed to meet ldlc for breakfast at Clementi at 8am but she pushed it back to 10am. Was in dining hall already so decided to eat beehoon first. Proceeded to mug my LSM2202A notes that I brought along (yay for planning ahead). Reached Clementi but then ldlc wasn't there so I mugged some more lol. Productive at the strangest times and places! A bus stop next to a magazine stand on a Saturday morning la; how cool is that? XD by 10.20am I sort of guessed that she overslept so went over to Mos Burger for aircon comfort and more mugging (: met Cass for lunch, went over to ABC for Dharma talk on Happiness (good!); took MRT to Lot One, walked around; family time; HOME; resting, answering more urgent emails and blogging

I've no words to describe how I'm feeling now, really. It's like, I've so many emotions and nowhere to express them so they get all bottled up and when I open it up a flood comes out and I'm just wading around, not knowing what to do. Ohwell. Hopefully tomorrow (more like today) will spell a fruitful rest for me (and everybody else!) :D

As what was mentioned in the Happiness talk, we should always think about benefiting others. And I should take care of myself, also with the intention of caring for more people (: this motivation and attitude, as what Fred said, is *snaps fingers* magic.

Pomplamoose - If You Think You Need Some Lovin

2010-01-22T10:13:00.003+08:00

LOVE! This duo is so talented! ((: she sings so well, and is so pretty, and he is so kooky and enthusiastic when playing his music :D and I love the visuals so muchhh. Their editing so cool, I want to learn that someday (:

(note: may take some time to load; pause to let it load fully before watching - it's worth it!)

From the YouTube page:

mp3: http://www.myspace.com/pomplamoosemusic

If You Think You Need Some Lovin, written and produced by Pomplamoose

"If You Think You Need Some Lovin" is a VideoSong, a new Medium with two rules:

1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice).
2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds).

Lyrics:
If you think i'll give you money, well honey that's just funny cuz i got none. No money, ain't got no money. If you just want conversation go somewhere in the nation, not my house. But if you think you need some lovin, that's fine. Cuz if you think you need some money, well you can't have mine, and if you want some conversation try a pickup line. But if you think you need some lovin, that's fine.

If you think you need a shrink, you're draining down the sink, go take a hike. Ain't got no time for your baggage. If you think you need a fix, don't put me in the mix, just stick to wine. Whine, wine, whine, wine, whine, wine. But if you think you need some lovin, that's fine. Cuz if you think you need a shrink, well I'm out of time. And if you think you need a fix, I'm not the fixing kind. But if you think you need some lovin, that's fine.

cool

2010-01-22T07:57:00.002+08:00

The weather is so nice and cool todayyyy :D first to be in the G3 toilet again (I think :p). When I walked out, instead of heading straight to my room, I turned to the staircase beside the toilet and enjoyed the cool wind that smelt of rain. Deep breaths in and out, savouring the moment, smiling (: nice way to start the day!

May the rest of this week be happy and productive for everyone :D

talk it out

2010-01-19T09:20:00.004+08:00

The last week or so has been terrible; I was so busy, tired, filled with things to do. Talked to so many people - strangers, representatives, presidents, committee members, friends, family. Not that I don't enjoy it. I think communication is very important. And I am convinced by this point once again last night. Hope things will get better soon.

Sometimes I yearn for someone I can talk to, about anything and everything. And for that person to hear without judging or speaking. Just to listen and understand. Although I've become more vocal and expressive these few years instead of that shy, quiet, law-abiding/fearing, chubby little primary school girl that I was so so many years ago, I've still withheld information, even from my closest friends. Yes, I do share a lot, but there are things that I never told anyone else. I don't tell others when I've problems. I'd always felt that it's not nice to put your burdens onto someone else's shoulders, when every one of us has our own problems to deal with. And sometimes there are things that just can't be solved, so why whine so much about it? The most that we can do is change our mindsets, deal with it as much as we can and carry on with life.

my current desktop wallpaper (:

2010-01-11T09:34:00.002+08:00

A ray of hope flickers in the sky (:

Photo taken by myself last sem; the wonderful view outside my room at sunset!

bye Cambodia, hello Singapore!

2010-01-09T17:32:00.000+08:00

I'm back :D the recce trip to Phnom Penh went much better than expected, yay! Met so many wonderful and inspiring people there, and saw once again what a charming place Cambodia is ((: Learnt lots too but more later, meeting my family for dinner soon!

sunrise (aka the very long and disjointed blog entry)

2010-01-04T22:40:00.006+08:00

Listening to Sunrise by Norah Jones now, trying to gather my thoughts and decide my next course of action.

I realised that I haven't been writing that much nowadays, and spamming my blog with photos and YouTube videos in an attempt to take up space. Lol.

Somehow today I just feel really tired. Both physically and mentally. Went for NTUBS' Dharma Camp today and kept dozing off during the meditation session and Dharma talk! Argh. And even though I left early hoping to accomplish more stuff when I get home, I didn't really do that ): extremely lethargic :/

(Okay now the song's Superstar by Jamelia. Haha good ol' times in secondary school dance! Okay stopped the music because it's distracting me from my train of thought.)

This is suffering. This is the endless cycle of craving, wanting, and wanting some more. Wanting to do so many things, yet sometimes at the expense of myself.

This year, I decided not to make any New Year's resolutions because from past experience, I realised that resolutions are meant to be broken. Lol. So I'll rather have a long-term goal and go towards it (: and that would be to be an all-rounded person in various aspects: spiritual, academic, cultural/musical, social/relationships, volunteering, physical, etc. But that means loading myself with lots of things. Is it worth it? Can I do it? I don't know, but I'm still doing my best.

- NUS Buddhist Society (president)

- NUS KEVII Hall Overseas Community Involvement Programme (head)

- maybe take up hiphop class again this sem? (it makes me happyyy)

- go swimming regularly (it makes me happyyy too!)

- be on the ball starting from the first week of the academic semester and work towards that First Class Honours woohooooo

- continue playing the guitar for leisure, but not too much :p

- continue using my camera and get back my arty-farty mojo

- support my friends in any way I can, but without taking too much out of myself / let them take advantage of you (actually Daniel once told me that I'm a very nice person, but can tell that I'm holding back a bit, which is very true; maybe due to past experiences whereby I do so much yet not get anything in return. That's an attitude/mindset that I have to change!)

- get as much work done as possible by Saturday and go back home every Sunday to spend time with family

- don't think about getting attached and that kind of thing; thinking about a person is already very time-consuming stuff, much less actually getting together with someone and spending more time with him. And I think it's not fair to him if I'm always so busy and can't give him enough of my time XD but if something happens, it happens lor. If not, nevermind better still :p

Anyway, back to this holiday.

I find that my mind is all over the place these days. Case in point: when I switch on my laptop, I'll go on the Internet and open several windows: NUSBS email, NUS Webmail, Gmail (personal and OCIP), which would eventually lead to Facebook, then maybe (read: most probably) YouTube. Ohyes, this blog too. Which will lead to the blogs in my Links section, and then maybe to even more websites if those blogs post interesting links or something.

Ohno, I haven't checked the requirements for liquids for handcarry luggage! Shall open a tab now. Okay so I opened 2 tabs XD didn't know that even snow globes that don't fulfil the liquid requirements (100ml) are not allowed :0 shall read more later.

Back to the laptop thing. Other than using the Internet, I'll be opening other documents. As of now, I've a Word document containing clear and detailed instructions for my brother and mother telling them all about the complicated NUS bidding system and teaching them how to go about it during the time that I'm overseas (3 pages long!). Then there's another document of emergency contacts of the 5 of us OCIP members who will be in Cambodia for the recce trip, but not completely filled yet, gahh. And there's another one for urgent things to do. And a PDF document on travel insurance that I'm supposed to print out and bring along in case something happens (choi ah!).

Yes, very complicated. And I keep switching windows too.

I realise that I sound very long-winded and whiny. Eeyer. Didn't write for so long and when I do I sound like that?? Cannot lahhh.

Okay onto lighter things. I'm going to Cambodia from 6th to 9th Jan! To do a recce trip and check out the possible projects (: crossing my fingers and hoping for the best (:

And semester 2 is starting soon! Back to hall and campus life; (relatively) independent living and better management of my time HERE I COME ^^

Plus today's camp was actually not bad! Saw a lot of people whom I've met before ((: everyone's very nice and friendly too. And Venerable Bodhi remembers me; such an honour haha! Jasper and I were waving so cheerfully and vigorously to her when she smiled and waved to us, LOL. And the food is niceeee :p

Ming2 tian1 hui4 geng4 hao3! Tomorrow will be a better day :D :D :D

Happy New Year (ABBA)

2010-01-03T02:01:00.001+08:00

Haha yes I know it's a little late :p

This is a meaningful song by ABBA, my favourite oldies (but goldies) group! Had always liked this song but didn't know until now that they were the ones who sang it ((: love the retro sound, simple un-confusing presentation and old school visuals :D and even though the lyrics were written so long ago, they are still applicable today!

No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It's the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now's the time for us to say...

[CHORUS]
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...

[CHORUS]

Seems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor
It's the end of a decade
In another ten years time
Who can say what we'll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine...

[CHORUS]

my current desktop wallpaper (:

2010-01-02T02:48:00.002+08:00

Haha yay! Artwork by Edward Monkton ((: love how he is so random and quirky!

something to remember in 2010

2009-12-31T14:17:00.004+08:00

You don't stop laughing because you grow old.

You grow old because you stop laughing!

be happy!!

changing

(:

Sorting Out

Looking forward!

melancholy

Travel Video!

Must..concentrate..

hiatus

funky nails!

greetings!

all is fine

bad day bad day!

The New Semester at Sea - Short-Term Voyage, May 2011

introspection; interrobang!

warm

I did it!

I learn something new everyday!

evolutionnn

My 120 pound journey.

get a grip.

Kenny Chesney - The Boys of Fall

XD

On Facebook:

Kee Yingxin Carmen

woah.

yesssss

:/

OneRepublic - All This Time (Lyrics) (Waking Up Album)

The Feeling - Join With Us

The Feeling - Join With Us

OneRepublic - All This Time (Lyrics) (Waking Up Album)

scubadiving!

I'm addicted to FreeCell :0

Font Conference

Jason Mraz - Beautiful Mess (Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2008)

WHEE :D

YAY ((:

inertia

Ben Folds, Nick Hornby, & Pomplamoose VideoSong!!!!

yay yay yay

okay so i didn't "sleep soon"

sigh.

busy and distracted

Kee Yingxin Carmen

my Bio module lecturer is so cool to let us do this as part of our CA (:

The Visual/ Verbal Learning Style

NUSBS Welcome Tea 2010 video (:

YAYYYYY :D

be happy, always (:

The Climb - Miley Cyrus - WSSS Sec 2 ACE

yay for Dictionary.com (though I don't read my Word of the Day emails regularly :p)

Word of the Day for Saturday, July 3, 2010

beautiful skies

so much yet so little

I'm back!

WOAHHH

tomorrow, tomorrow

plans for recuperation month, aka June (and beyond!)

The Big Bang Theory lyrics

mugging of another kind >:D

lol

(:

countdown..

I'm volunteering for this! (:

Taken from Wild Singapore, Ria Tan:http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/04/help-stop-cruel-animal-liberation.html

15 April 2010

Help stop cruel "Animal Liberation" - volunteers needed

Facebook status

Kee Yingxin Carmen is up at 3.12am trying to savour her last few days of slacking before morphing into a HARDCORE MUGGERRRR >:D muahahaha

why i was so happy that day, and today too

:D

blah

i have the megrims D:

Word of the Day for Wednesday, April 7, 2010

push on!

hey you

D:

Toddycats!

Kee Yingxin Carmen is super excited after coming from a briefing about volunteering with Toddycats! Great way to get clued into the nature happenings in Singapore, while helping to raise awareness and do conservation :D :D :D

Taken from Wild Singapore, Ria Tan:
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/04/help-stop-cruel-animal-liberation.html