Saturday, November 12, 2011
OHAI.
So um...In case you were wondering...I changed the URL of my tumblr. So look for me here.
|Basking @| 2:49 AM|
+++
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Last Hurrah.
This blog has lasted a long time and I have been faithful to it but having to manage 2 Google accounts is giving me a headache. I have decided to move my base of operations to somewhere slightly more
magical. Also, my chatbox is infested with spammers. Yeuch.
So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu. Adieu, adieu, to
you and
you and
you.
|Basking @| 10:50 PM|
+++
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Platform 9 3/4.
You know how you always remember what you were doing at the moments the world was shaken? Like...I was watching Phua Chu Kang when the newsflash about 9/11 appeared...and I was woken up by several smses on a weekend morning when MJ finally beat it. Things like that.
These events are forever imprinted in the history of humankind. But there are also the more personal historical events called memories. And I remember how Harry Potter entered my life though at that moment I had absolutely no idea it would be a worldwide phenomenon.
My auntie gave me both the Philosopher's Stone (cos we be Brits) and the Chamber of Secrets as presents for some celebratory occasion. Confession: I didn't read them. Every time I began reading the Philosopher's Stone I would get bored by the introduction of the Dursleys and their Dursleyish Muggle way of life. That meant I closed the book before I could be introduced to Dumbledore (he's the first main character to appear in human form). I shudder to imagine my life now if the book (and my mind) remained closed.
So after it collected dust for a few years, I brought the books with me on a family vacation to some place in Malaysia. I have no idea where because it was at least a good 13 years ago. And being young and self-centered, I didn't like leaving the comfort of the hotel room to go places I didn't know and see things I didn't understand. So I curled up in a chair and read. And read. And read. And read. I finished both books in 2 days, no mean feat for a person whose time on earth just managed to hit the double digits.
From then on my imagination was trapped in the wizarding world. I waited breathlessly for the Prisoner of Azkaban to hit the shelves and stayed up all night to finish it the day I got it. With the Prisoner of Azkaban, the rest of the world suddenly put on its jetpack, caught up with the Hogwarts Express and Jo Rowling became a millionaire.
It all just went uphill from there. My mom bought me the Goblet of Fire as a surprise. The Order of the Phoenix surprised me in hospital. I woke up early and waited for the postman to bring the Half-Blood Prince. The Deathly Hallows beat me to it, even in its special limited edition box, and I woke up to it lying on my bedside table. I finished each book on the day I got them (as every other Potterhead has done), not taking my eyes away from the hallowed pages, not wanting the magic to end, not even to partake nourishment. I read while I ate, a bad habit my mom was and still is both aggravated and amused by.
The Dark Ages came when I, not having any friends quite as Potter mad, began to forget about the magic. I lost a few books to friends and to the mysterious place in houses where lost things go when you're SURE they're somewhere in the house but have no idea where. I didn't think of Harry much even with the movies coming out every few *long* years. Probably because all the people I like kept dying, in real life and in the movie. RIP Richard Harris and Sirius Black. Also, the book-to-movie inaccuracies drove me nuts. I went totally cashew over the fact that they didn't have Quidditch matches in any movie besides the first. *grumble*
Now I love the fact that I have my own wand (twelve-and-a-half inches, holly and ebony, griffin feather core). That I could dress as a Ravenclaw student and not look out of place in Hogwarts. That I can write an academic essay on wizarding issues in our world's context and get an A. That I miss Fred and Sirius and Lupin and Tonks and Hedwig as though I've known them my whole life (as I almost have). I love the fact that my life is magical. ϟ
*I just love this picture.
|Basking @| 8:43 PM|
+++
Thursday, June 30, 2011
I've Become So Numb.
Hello from my personal (and dusty) corner of Fengshan Primary; where the teachers are the friendliest and most helpful people in Singapore, the principal is dedicated to inspiring and the air-conditioning is set to 'Arctic' (as one might infer from the title of this post).
I never expected to have fun on practicum. Or actually want to do work. BRB I have to go eat crow.
I find it refreshing and surprisingly less tiring to be doing work (reflections, lesson plans, eating/planning when to sneak a lunch break) than to be sitting around like a sack of potatoes watching shows on a LAN connection that's slower than a snail going backwards. I feel useful. I like making a difference. Maybe I'm doing something right after all.
On a more frivolous note, I like my current degree of tan and I hold a grudge against practicum for taking away time that I could have spent in the sun. In another country, no less. DANG IT TO HECK. (I have also become more family-friendly in terms of swearing. Gotta watch my mouth around those little bastards)
Also. When the H-E-double hockey sticks are we going to get our stipend? How am I going to survive on only $400 a month? #firstworldproblems #Idon'treallymeanthisbutIstillwannaknowwhenourmoneyiscoming
|Basking @| 1:47 PM|
+++
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Right Now.
Physical: Burnt. Shedding skin like a snake with eczema. Thinking of
cutting trimming hair again soon. Needs exercise. Preferably yoga. Stomach is in turmoil from diet change. Subsequent bodily processes will be left to readers' imaginations.
Mental: Not too lively. Sluggish from being a tourist. Needs a wake-up call. Most alert moments occur when immersed in Order of The Phoenix (revisitation to series: #∞).
Emotional: Meh. Drained by HCMC. Not quite connected to the social scene yet after being gone for more than a week. Slowly making plans to insinuate self back in. Slightly aggravated by acute pruritus.
Overall: Itchy.
|Basking @| 12:48 AM|
+++
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Prostitute Psychic says...
FAILs come to Singapore. I never thought I'll see one on my own homepage.
................................
|Basking @| 1:49 AM|
+++
Friday, April 1, 2011
Umpire State of Mind.
It really amazes me at what people don't know. There's a reason it's called General Knowledge...Private Knowledge just isn't of high enough rank to be noticed. Everyone should know General Knowledge. He's quite a nice guy once you get to know him.
Now that the cawing of numerous dead-eyed crows has died away, I'm serious. I have come across future teachers who think that relatively lighter-coloured mealworms are Eurasian. I cannot wrap my brain around this appalling state of affairs so I decided to come up with a list of facts that everyone should know...but unfortunately don't.
1) There are only 8 planets in our solar system now. Pluto got demoted.
2) Birds are not mammals even though they are warm-blooded. They are birds. Avians. And they are very closely related to the dinosaurs.
3) The 3 primary colours are red, yellow and blue.
4) The Beatles are John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
5) If an 'H' comes before an 'O', like in 'Honestly', it is SILENT.
6) You cannot get pregnant from drinking sperm.
7) The gizzard, spleen, gall bladder and pancreas are all different organs but part of the digestive system.
8) Faxing yourself plain paper doesn't mean you're beating the system.
9) An 'umpire' makes sure everyone follows the rules. An 'empire' builds Death Stars and kills lots of people in galaxies far, far, away.
10) Expelliarmus is a disarming spell, not a killing curse.
If you've been reading through the list and going "Why am I wasting my time?! I knew all of this since I was sucking nutrients through an umbilical cord!", good for you. You are well-read and probably know more about the world than I do. Go forth and flaunt your precious knowledge.
BUT if you've been reading this and going "ORLY???", I suggest you visit your local library sometime soon and pick up a book, preferably without pictures.
|Basking @| 4:13 PM|
+++
*I just love this picture.
