Kenya (let me go to Kenya)?

After a series of rejections from internships, summer programmes and field trips, finally, finally a place has opened up for me! 

On the bright side, the destination is Kenya. That means the Great African Rift Valley! African wildlife - giraffes, rhinos, lions, flamingos! Salt lakes! All these exciting things aside, I think I can really put what I learn in school to use. The aim of the module is the study of conservation in the local context, which I have found to be overlooked in current strategies for 'sustainable development'.

(Did you know that many 'eco-cities' and goals for 'sustainable development' in practice are either unjust or ineffective? But that's a story for another day.)

On the dark side, the destination is Kenya, which means concerns about safety, founded or unfounded. To go, I have to convince my parents that I will not be eaten by lions or shot to death or mugged or kidnapped or anything-else-that-might-happen.

Sometimes I wonder if my parents' plan to capitalise on my (book) intelligence backfired. They pay for my education and I am thankful, but I get this sense that university's encouragement to explore and reflect critically is the antithesis of what they (or what Singapore society) wants. I'm pretty sure a profession like a doctor or lawyer would better suit their tastes.

Anyway, I have finals to study for now. 2 days to my first paper! And 8 days until exams are over!

KITCHN CURE! (Day 1 and 2)

Wow I haven't posted in a long time! Around 6 months to be exact! Anyway, the main topic for today (or tonight) is my horrendous kitchen. ._.

Since I have a month or so to go before school starts again, I decided to clean my entire house. I hope that by having a clean, appealing house my brain will feel more rested and less overwhelmed on a daily basis. In the process of that, I found this thing online called the 'Kitchn Cure', which I thought would help the process of cleaning the kitchen. As the kitchen is one of the most heavily used spaces, at least in my house, it is full of everything that doesn't belong anywhere in particular (like laundry and first aid stuff and appliances). Obviously, it is also full of food that is often not edible anymore or fights for attention such that no one knows certain food exists, until it is not edible anymore. D:

Anyway, here are (a lot of) pictures documenting the before and after of the process. I think I shall post the 'before' pictures in separate posts because I don't want to induce a headache from the utter eyesore it is in its entirety.


Day 1: Declutter and clean refrigerator

Well, obviously the fridge door needed more work haha. But at least I could see yoghurt and asparagus and food that wasn't chocolate and ice cream and sauce (whether expired or not).

Brief interlude:

My lunch after day 1!

Day 2: Declutter and clean pantry

These are the before pictures. I went on to spend 3-4 hours cleaning up. ._. And then a gigantic cockroach appeared in the kitchen because it was attracted to the light and I gave up and went to bed.


 Bonus picture! (Which I accidentally uploaded.) Heart-shaped strawberry!

My life (on two wheels) so far.

Recently I've been thinking that people take life for granted as pedestrians. (Oh how pedestrian!) A nice path is carved out that must lead to wherever you want to go just because there must be one if this country is to call itself civilised! Then, once on the path, the whole path belongs to that person too, so he or she can take up as much space or time as needed.

Come to think of it, the same goes for drivers. Everyone must drive and must learn to drive because that is what an "advanced" civilisation is. Thus, roads and cars must be provided and everyone who is not a driver is inferior and as such, has no right to the road. I suspect this goes through the subconscious of most drivers, "As a matter of fact, anyone who isn't me is inferior and has less right to the road, if any right at all.'

But at least they acknowledge the other exists (sometimes).

As a cyclist, I don't know my place. I mean it literally, but both drivers and pedestrians probably would use that sentence laced with contempt. I've not found a proper set of rules that everyone is supposed to follow. Not even on the official websites! So... Do I follow traffic rules perfectly for the greater good and risk my life (well, it's technically illegal to cycle on pedestrian paths) or do I make up my own rules which might fuel many people's anger or cost them some time? (I didn't mention injuries because I always slow down for pedestrians or swerve away at cost to myself.)

Just irritated because I've been squeezed to the kerb and had drivers honk and speed past me a lot for the past week. Oh. You'd think people would be nicer on a university campus but... They're really bad compared to those on the main road. ):

On studying in peace.

Arghh I can't study for exams!! D: At first, it was confusion. Now, it's just life getting in the way.

As nice as it is of my parents to buy a bed for me, now is not the time. D: Not when exams are 2 weeks away. Hahaha essentially I have no where to study and no where to sleep. -SIGH-

E-learning?

Haha I'm flopping around at home because it's e-learning week! O: In other words, it's click-every-link-or-die week. Apparently, having 'high-tech' lessons is to prevent schools from being crippled in the event of a pandemic but... I prefer worksheets. xD
(To be honest, I haven't clicked on a single link yet eheheh. ^^;)

Anyway, I was trying to deal with my online social life (or lack thereof) this morning. Facebook and Google+ and Instagram are all interesting but annoying in their own ways haha. (I just created an Instagram account at my sister's cajoling! I'm still a pearmountain if you must know!) Ironically, I have to come back to blogger to complain a bit. I have issues with blogger too; what are tags for anyway?! But what's funnier is how I forgot I was a guest to you-know-who-you-are's blog under my other account, which I deleted and merged with my gmail account, which means I can't check what her new WordPress url is. ): I guess I shall have to wait until my friendly, only, regular visitor pops by to leave a comment then. -sigh- It was such a superb surprise when I saw her sometime ago~ :D The alliteration is a not-so-secretive hint.

Ahh I should start work but I'm not done with my lunch/tea/whatever! D: You can see why it's taking quite long to finish.

Oh. The annual wushu buffet thing (sounds funny) was held yesterday, but my mum wanted me home so I couldn't pop by. ._. Ching was busy too oh no! I heard the batch picture consisted of only 3 people oops. xD But never mind! MAF is this Saturday so it'll be a nice reunion with not only the rest of the batch, but with my other friends and seniors too! :D I wonder what the lanterns will be like this year~ Maybe I should bring my own heheh. ...I sound like I have pyromaniac tendencies.

I'm looking forward to visiting the Chinese Gardens too! I've never been there in my life haha! I hope it won't be too anticlimactic, as things sometimes are after you wait and wait in much anticipation.

I wonder if nus celebrates 中秋…

Hmm I want to cycle to school! I was planning to do it last week, but the morning I decided to try, it rained so heavily that there were floods in nus. -.- Maybe the weather has something against my attempts to go green and exercise more? I don't really have to do it this week haha but I'll try tomorrow!

...I should get back to work. Go stare at the glowing orb on my desk!

On listening.

BBC news has really fascinating opinion articles, such as this one.

Could one man have shortened the Vietnam War? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23037957

Hazy daze.

-flail- I couldn't breathe this morning! -gasp- D: While waiting for the bus to arrive, since class hasn't been cancelled, it felt like the oxygen wasn't getting into my brain.

Actually, it smells as if Indonesia is burning stuff in advance for the 7th month. .__.

As if to prove my point, a smoke alarm just went off. Ahaha weird.

Hey what if there's smoke because there's really a fire?

...I can't see very far.

Oh wait, there is a fire. T.T Yep, we need more smoke in air.

It seems I can only think in short sentences for the time being.

-gives up and brisk walks to the airconditioned building-

-sneeze- D<

Starry starry night～

This song is funny!

The simplest food is the hardest to cook.

In my hunger, I forgot about that for a moment there. I regret ordering from the Japanese stall in the food court hahaha.

Overcooked, soggy soba that isn't cold enough and store-bought (can be forgiven) sauce that isn't diluted properly. Since these were overcooked, I figured the tofu might taste normal, but on the contrary, it was undercooked instead. T.T I'm appalled when I can probably cook better than people who cook for a living!

I think the newspapers were right about overpriced food at food courts. -sigh- Food like that should either be cheaper or of a better standard zz. It's not even peak hour now so they don't even have the excuse of rushing to serve the dish. In fact, I'm one of the 5 diners here now.

Seriously, my sister's instant noodles are cooked better.

-sigh- I think the lack of calories in my system is making me cranky. :<

Speaking of food, I haven't cooked anything in a while. I blame it on a lack of inspiration, groceries and space to walk around in the kitchen. .___.

I meant to clean it today! But unfortunately I sprained my ankle in an incredibly stupid way. D: When I woke up this morning, I stood up right? On my still-numb left leg. It gave way and... ow. It's not a serious injury, but I think I've learnt my lesson when it comes to aggravating injuries.

Oh, injuries. ): The Planet is getting an operation for her knee! (Hahaha a planet with knees.) Sounds really scary! I haven't asked her if it's local or general anaesthesia. o_o Hope it goes well!

Hmm I miss home-cooked food. Maybe I should cook this weekend. ._. Or tomorrow, but I don't feel like asking my mum to buy stuff and cooking for one is difficult. Most importantly, my kitchen is still screwed up.

...oh forget it. T_T

I don't even...!

-sigh- It just occurred to me that the reason why there are so many problems in the world is that it might be run by immature, unstable people in the guise of adults. I guess some people never grow up, not in that innocent sense. They never grow out of tantrums, or petty arguments, or general self-centric behaviour. They expect the world to be at their beck and call, like over-indulgent parents. If the world fails to do as much (which obviously it does, for it has its own, more important concerns, which coincidentally include the numerous other spoilt children), then they either blow themselves up, thinking they'll get attention, or blow others up, for all the 'wrong' they have done to them.

The other revelation is about relationships. I'm starting to think it might be a vicious cycle of some sort, where young people do not receive adequate or appropriate guidance and affection from their parents, resulting in them seeking it elsewhere. It's probably all a gamble then, most marriages. Hmm. Which is fine, but why gambling addicts don't seek help from those counsellors is beyond me. T_T

Why is society riddled with problems? Makes it too much like cheese. If it were edible, it's likely to be the squishy kind.

Some days I just feel like giving up. ):

Spotted: a wild Sarah

HAHAHA why is it you're the only one who leaves comments, dear Sarah? xD

Whee I feel a tad more social this week, because I've been talking to random friends. (Y) Most of my weeks have been filled with either the silent company of my duck or the chirping of my bird. Cute as Bluey is it no speak english. T_T

(Speaking of which I think I was almost invited to a 7B dinner, but unfortunately I have obligations to my mother/grandmother. D: So my boredom continues.)

Haha crap I just laughed aloud to myself at Yi Jia's SMS. I think I'm becoming old and lonely haha. Like a weird bird lady OH NO.

I wandered off to Boon Lay today, partly because my mum set free my aeroplane. She suggested meeting her at her workplace because they apparently have an important use for cynical tertiary students like me. o.o Anyway, I was hungry and bored at home. I think my plan to self-entertain backfired, because after lunch I was no longer hungry but still bored. Oh well, I guess the hamsters were cute and the books I borrowed will suffice.

If you must know, I'm glued to my mattress for now. Again. Unemployment is quite dull haha. But it feels nice in a way, not having to rush to do anything or go anywhere for a while. :D

Okay, I've not been completely unproductive! I managed to sew a dress and a cardigan okay! Albeit with wonky stitches because I don't understand sewing machine tension. T.T

Oh and I've accepted the offer to nus yay. So I really have nothing I must do. All I need now is another awkward photo to embarrass myself for the next 4 years. Good eh?

I think I'll come back when I have more things to write about. xD

Blackboards and chalkboards!

Whee it's kind of funny that I keep trying to post while I'm waiting for something. But I guess it's productive too~

Ah. I hope the essay thing will work out fine, though I'm kind of using it as an excuse to learn a bit about the universe. Hey, what you said makes sense but I still think it's worth a shot? Maybe? Uh. ><

Forget it, here are some weird pictures instead.

Hey! My dad seems bribe-able with instant noodles! O:

ちょっと寒いですね。

天気の方じゃなくて、友達の方です。T^T なぜ私に何も聞かないですか？；－；まぁいいかっ。

Ahh my ankle is aching from the cold. =_= And as usual, I'm sleepy haha~

The shrine at Asakusa is pretty cool. xD I'm not sure if it's because it's Sunday, but the place was packed!

Whee.

We visited other places too but I am sleepy. -sigh- And homesick for just one reason. =_= -SIGH-

君のせいだ！:<

東京に初めての投稿～

Wow. My blog seems to be hosted at thelinebetweenthelightandthedark.blogspot.com.jp! So my google is all in Japanese now. xD

Either it's not that cold here because it's spring, or there's something wrong with me because my mother was wearing 3 layers while I was in 1 in the afternoon. (Don't worry, I'm not that nuts to not be in a jacket earlier in the day. :D) Hmm. I brought both my sweater and coat along since my mum was worried about the temperature, but... 3 layer is too warm even at night.

We visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum first haha. :D Quite typical of my mum and I but I picked that museum to visit for it's interactivity. o.o Well, at least my sister was entertained for a while? Oh! We saw sakura in bloom along the street to the museum and the locals stared at us as they passed like we were a bunch of crazy retarded tourists who've never seen sakura before. Oh wait. We are a bunch of crazy retarded who have never seen sakura before. Does that make excessive photo taking forgivable? o.o

Surprisingly Akihabara didn't excite my sister as much as it seemed it might? If you didn't know, it's one of the anime character collectible places in this city.

...strangely enough what we have bought most of are socks. .__. What! My toes are cold though the rest of me is warm. Not sure why my sister and mother started to buy too. Then my mum suggested buying 5 pairs for my father because they were on offer. (No, I told her my dad would scold her so we didn't spend any more on socks. xD)

On the gloomy side, I didn't get any sleep on my way here so I felt and looked quite terrible. =__=

<--sleepy! I couldn't figure out how to adjust the plane's seats, was seated in the middle so I didn't have anything to lean on, the lights were kept on during most of the journey and as usual, there were crying and whining children. -SIGH- We couldn't check in until 2pm and it would have been a waste to come to all the way to Tokyo to uh, sleep. I crashed like an asteroid into the moon without realising it when I was waiting for my sister to finish showering. xD

Ahh I'm still very sleepy, have a bunch of things to charge and am too lazy to upload photos so that will have to wait! Uhh I don't mind taking a photo of the rather cool bed that I have claimed and a friend of mine that followed me here though? :D

Bored of waiting to board~

HAHA my mother and sister were questioned at the gate while the staff took one look at me and decided 'not threatening'. Oh well. -.-

Using the wifi here but I should switch to airplane mode soon~ :D

On a random note, I'm wearing a tokyo shirt to tokyo. xD

Why is manga so fascinating?!

At the moment, Itsuwaribito Utsuho in particular! Haha it's a relatively new series which I think is worth supporting! xD I picked it up last year when the comics connection near my place was still there. Candidly, I shall admit to you that I should have been studying and not wasting my savings on manga but... :D I dunno, it's just something I spend money on. A bit like how people spend (maybe more) money on clothes or CDs? Ahaha.

But the process of buying manga is sometimes more embarrassing than it should be! Argh I went out with my sister to... a place that involves a comic book shop. Unfortunately for me, my height (or lack thereof) gets in the way. Since the manga I just mentioned isn't the most well-known or popular series around, it was kept on a shelf right out of my reach. D: Seriously?! Haha I don't know whether I should be thankful or sad that the staff just ignored me, because if they came over and helped (sorry, but are you height deficient?) it would have been... -sigh- After that I asked my sister if she saw any of that and she said 'I saw 10 seconds. Wait. Who are you? Don't talk to me.' ._____. Anyway! I got hold of the books but let's just say I shouldn't go to the Clementi branch for a while. >///<

Heheh. :D

Hey but it's a cool series! Even the main character is attractive for once! I think in shonen manga, the main character tends to be the kind that doesn't think things through or worse, isn't intelligent enough to think things through. Also, they're immature so you can watch them 'grow' but I tend to find the secondary characters more interesting haha. Oh, did you know that developing fully formed personalities for secondary characters is unique to manga? Western comics place much less emphasis on them. Fictional books mostly concentrate on the main charcters too. o.o

Wait, where was I? Oh, the main characters. They also tend to survive everything for no good reason! ._.

Okay, okay, I shall stop talking about manga. But I'm headed to Tokyo tomorrow night so... But I'm not that proficient in Japanese to read entire tankobons in their original language! Good for my mother and sister though, otherwise I might waste their time in manga 'kissa's. Haha okay, I will stop. xD

My sister and I rescued a pigeon today! ^^ It had one injured leg and was missing all the feathers on its back, as well as its tail. The skin looked that of a plucked chicken. D: Well, we called the SPCA and they came to pick it up. I had to sit in the rain for a while because it didn't like the shoebox. =_= Meh.

Actually, I haven't finished planning the itinerary AHAHAHAHAHA.

Neither have I finished applying for scholarships. HAHAHAHAHA OH WELL.

Oh my mum just appeared to scold me for no reason. Hmm. :d -shrugs-

...I wonder if I should bring my computer along.

心还绕着你徘徊。

Oh hey it's 林俊杰！Haha his songs have remained nice over the past 10 (What?! I feel old!) years. If I'm not wrong, he's the first artist whose music I discovered when I was young. O: Anyway, lyrics are below~ :3

表达爱

我们擦身而过 风卷起了沉睡的什么
情绪在怂恿 撑开了懵懂
有一种冲动

决定不沉默 毕竟有感觉的人不多
我不想就此错过

眼睁睁看爱 就这样过吗
至少我和你 可以说说话
证明刚刚发生过什么

用表白换一份期待
能不能就少一点忐忑无奈
心还绕着你徘徊
难道这是爱

泪水流过才明白
爱不爱原来心里早已存在
幸福不在千里外
让我勇敢表达爱

眼睁睁看爱 就这样过吗
至少我和你 可以说说话
证明刚刚发生过什么

用表白换一份期待
能不能就少一点忐忑无奈
心还绕着你徘徊
难道这是爱

泪水流过才明白
爱不爱原来心里早已存在
幸福不在千里外
让我勇敢表达爱

Ahh there's a difference in the way the 1st chorus is sung. o.o But JJ Lin's songs tend to be complicated like that!

Pffft if I have nothing to talk about, I shall be posting more lyrics. :d

The things I could do!

On the 16th of march. -sigh- In fact, after receiving a flyer last week, I wanted to attend smu's seminar open to the public. Only to find that it was on the 16th. And last night, Sarah asked if I was free to go to the nus open house with her and the Bean, but that's... also on the 16th. Okay, actually I went for their open house last year, so I doubt there's anything new to see, but I'm so bored, lonely and un-motivated at home.

Speaking of home, Bluey's beak is swollen for some reason. D8 The suggestions I found online weren't very useful.

Uh, I was waiting at the bus stop near my house and noticed the tree in the photo is rather pretty! Why has someone as inert as you left your bed, you ask? Well, my friend, I have embarked to Chinatown to risk a S$1000 in exchange for Yen. I'm still on the bus now ahaha.

I feel so lazy ARGH. I woke up at 12.30pm(!) yesterday, then proceeded to sit around re-reading manga, before moving on to filling in a meme from deviantart. More specifically known as the 'pointless time-wasting meme', or so the author titled it.

...it really is time-consuming, mind you. Hmm... Maybe I should waste more time by putting it up here when I'm finished.

Oh! Someone remind of to take part in illustration friday(this friday)! But wait, everyone who reads this blog is otherwise occupied. D: Forget it, I shall appoint my bird as official reminder.

I miss school.

It drives me a bit crazy hahaha. Since I don't have much to talk about today, here's a sms conversation between my sister and I. Okay, okay, essentially it's me annoying my sister. :D The context here is my sister meeting Jiahe at NTUC (coincidentally)!

JIAHE JIAHE JIAHEEEEE

EH JIAHE

OMG

HURHUR

POOR JIAHE HAHA.

HEHEHEHEHE

JIAJIAJIAJIAJIA?

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

IC WHUT U DID THUR

I'm such a horrible batchmate omg

why HAHAHAHAHA

I dunno HOHOHO (bang ying). See?

icic

I wonder wai.

psh

Soh sorry.

Too chow-dish.

Quack. :D

lame

Okay, I should goh to sleep before you kill me.

Or before I manage to annoy everyone on the team. xD

They might all hsu me.

SHUSH

I WILL COME OUT WITH A PARANG

Needless to say, I was too afraid for my life. I think I understand what Cheng Yong meant by 这家伙也好不到哪里！Oh, snow white is snow white. Sorry, couldn't think of a homonym for your name, Ching! Or is that a good thing? xD

I blame it on the coffee at 11pm. Or overdose on JJ Lin songs. (Nothing to do with the guy personally though!)

Let me get out of your shooting/棍/枪/driving range.

東京へ行こう！

Planning itineraries is harder than it seems. Really. D: I got a headache  (yes, literally) from trying to include  all my mother's requests and trying not to bore my sister from visiting Tokyo's numerous museums!
One tends to forget that Singapore is, well, puny compared to other countries. Thankfully, Japan's transport system is quite navigable, though you wouldn't think so from your first impression of the train map. xD  At the moment, it's still a work in progress! -sigh-  Have many details like the price of tickets and where to eat lunch to workout ARGH.

 Not to mention I need to revise my conversational Japanese otherwise we might be screwed. ._.

 Goodnight ~