This will be the prelude to my "SAM is over!" megapost on (hopefully) Friday. Or rather, this weekend.

I just saw a video thing. Made me wish ShawnJohn was AA champ, but eh, Nastia's cool too. That video did succeed in making me miss Tots, though. And their coaches. Chow and Valeri are awesome. xD

Back to what I wanted to post about -

We got our Winganga-Li yesterday (That's our yearbook. You know, like how the SU yearbook is called "Gemala"), and then of course you get people to sign it (3 pages IS NOT ENOUGH, by the way. For me lah, at least). And then you read the comments, and wonder how true it is.

So, my dear blog readers (or rather, those who know me personally), do you associate these words with me?

- "positive attitude towards life" Class mentor/Bio lecturer
- "bubbly personality" Econs lecturer. Don't know where she came up with that.

and do I always look stressed out/uptight? Cause I think that I'm quite laid back. Hm.

Math lecturer wrote something really cheesy. But Chem lecturer wrote something made of pure LULZ. "If you need help, don't hesitate to find me. If you need $$$$$ --> GO TO BANK!" he wrote for another classmate something along the lines of

It doesn't matter if you're smart or stupid. Just make sure you marry a rich husband.

LOLdamn sexist and mean.

Need to sleep now. Walked from home to SU in the morning, then during my break, walked from college to SU and back to college. I'm beat.

SO I FIGURED...

Maybe they're wearing those awful, awful pink leotards because they're feeling very awesome and wanting to do something about breast cancer awareness. Which makes them very... noble. But still an eyesore.

Stay classy, bbs. Stay classy.

BEAM FINALS TONIGHT. GOOOOOOOOOOO IVANA.

I'm in the mood to type/write.

Anyhow, to clear up what I ACTUALLY wanted to type on Friday which I forgot about yesterday - my CSI:NY Season 6 wishlist is almost fulfilled. I'VE ALREADY HAD LINDSAY CHASING DOWN A SUSPECT. HANDLING HER GUN. TACKLING SAID SUSPECT. Now if only we'd have more of that. And I want more Flack/Lindsay bits. Or rather, Lindsay/Everyone But Danny scenes. I ship them and all, but even I think that there are either too many D/L scenes, or that it's so cheesy I snort out loud.

ON THE OTHER HAND, get Sarah Carter out. Now. I don't think she brings much to the table, AND IF YOU KILLED ANGELL OFF BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T AFFORD EMMANUELLE FREAKING VAUGIER BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY, DON'T WASTE THE EXTRA MONEY ON A NEW CHARACTER WHICH WILL TAKE TIME AWAY FROM THE CHARACTERS THAT DESPERATELY NEED DEVELOPMENT. Spend your extra money on getting Sam Flack back instead of Haylen BECALL. Bring Ridiculous Old Fraud Carmen Argenziano back. I've had enough Mactimony and I want good CSI NY storylines. As much as I love Gary Sinise, too much Mactimony is like having Foreman lead the Diagnostics team. Awful.

Also, there was a teeny tiny article on the All Around! I find it amusing that they reported the outcome of the women's AA but not the men's AA. Also, Brossy gets a picture. LIKE, WHAT? Okay, I admit, it's a pretty picture of a clearly over-extended split leap (Psssh WOGA. Heee) in that lighting predominantly found in fencing or gymnastics, but NOT ENOUGH BRIDGET LOVE.

To the more serious stuff, I'm seriously needing something to write about for my college essays. I've not had any inspiration so far. A few ideas here and there, but then even when they're floating in my head, they already sound trite. Unoriginal. Fake. Not me. I don't know what to write. The horror.

If I don't go to the US, I'm going to end up like my mother. Not that it's a horrible thing, my mother's awesome (Put your hands up if you agree, people) and successful and all that, but I think I'd cry if I worked in a bank. Whatever happened to working for the passion you have in said job instead of for money? Doesn't passion/love for what you do >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> money? Okay, I know that working for the UN/Becoming Sec-Gen = $$$$$ but still, there's the underlying motive of wanting to change the world. Change how things are. Change how things work. Work to a better future.

My mother just asked if I had decided what I was going to sign up for Australia, and I replied "Bachelor of Commerce larh", and she did this happy jig that made me sad. And I petulantly added "Because you and Dad wouldn't let me do anything else". She must've had that "Teenagers" thought in her mind as she hugged me, but she was like, "It's praaaaaaaaaactical. And you get to do what I do!".

I honestly think that Mum really wants me to follow her footsteps and be more successful than her and all that. I mean, we are similar. Frighteningly so. You don't think that genetics and nature/nurture would have much effects on a person's attitude, but you'd be surprised. For someone whose parents go to work and only see their parents at night and on the weekends and the times they make to spend with me and my sister, I'm so alike my mother it's scary. For starters, my sister looks like my mother, but I think is more like my Dad (Heehee, TAKE NO OFFENSE, Kache, but it's true. Somehow. Vaguely... I have no explanation. See you on the 15th! :D). Oh, and she has the Chia physique (Legs that go up to Canada. Hahaha. See that House reference?). I look like my Dad but have the Chan physique (Pear shaped. HAHAHAHASINCE WHEN DO I BLOG ABOUT BODY SHAPES?).

Anyway, I'm not talking about the physical similarities. Like my mum, I like reading and baking and I think my management style could be similar. I mean, obviously prefects are not as large-scale as an investment bank, but I get that feeling, because when she comes back from this training courses thingamajigs, I steal her papers (Those with the "What's your management style?" kind of questionnaires) and most of the answers she put are similar to what mine would be. You know those Big Five personality tests? Those Myers-Briggs tests? Yeah. Similar results. Although I took one provided by the college the other day - they said that I float between INTJ and INTP depending on the situation. Heeeh.

I remember at one point, there was something with the prefectorial board, and I had an idea of what should be done/had to be done/what could be done, and I was talking to my Mum about it, and she basically told me what I already thought up. OH, and our preferences for places to travel. Obviously, I've travelled less than Mum, but the things we want to see are pretty similar. Like when my parents went to NY last year - Dad was talking about the museums being huge and all, and I was like, "I'd love to go on a holiday JUST to see what's in those museums," and my Mum agreed. And we joked that we'd go to NY and just go to all the museums - the Met, the Guggenheim, etc etc. Dad doesn't like long flights, that's why he doesn't enjoy traveling much. Also, I like places which are both vibrant, metropolitan places but with plenty of history. I haven't been to a place that could beat Beijing in that respect, yet.

Also, my love/ability for art probably came from my mother. She used to draw a lot, too, apparently. While waiting for her Form 6 results, she said that she taught Art in a school.

Since this is my blog, I'm going to take my own time justifying the decision to sign up for the Bachelor of Commerce in Australian universities instead of the personal choice of Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science/International Relations.

Taking a Bachelor of Commerce doesn't exactly take me away from my dream of working in the UN or being Secretary-General. I mean, look at my Mum's friend - she's an Economics major. She's working in the Financial sector of the UN. Not everything in the UN is about political analysts and advisors and the General Assembly or Security Council or Human Rights Commission or International Court of Justice. Like every other organization, there are the people who runs the place. You need a Finance and Administration sector. You need a Human Resources sector, among other things. Besides, the General Assembly only meets like, twice a year... ish. AND the Financial sector is vital in which they do all the calculations on how much to spend where (Hahaha, I still remember the bit about the Sec-Gen changing his mind from more money for Africa to less money for Africa to making the Finance & Admin people being more busy than they already are).

Besides, the post of Secretary-General requires a Political Science Postgrduate Degree, not Undergraduate. Of course International Relations undergrad woud go well with Political Science postgrad to SECRETARY-GENERALSHIP, but hey, a Business Administration/Commerce undergrad and experience with dealing with people on a wheel & deal, moneymoneymoney basis would have its advantages too, right? It's not as if dealing with banks would be any more different with dealing with countries. Financial institutions and MNCs rule the world nowadays. (Note: this is a sarcastic undercut at the condition of the world, okay? It's sarcasm. Sarcasm isn't easily read out, so I forgive you)

They'll need someone who can give everyone a kick in the ass, to make them see sense (Sens, not Dollars. Sometimes you have to look at the small details before looking at the big picture).

Okay, I don't feel like ranting any more. All I know, and all I believe is that God has something great planned for me, and He will let me know about it. Like what Mr Jacob said to me the other day - He'll close all the doors and just leave one open, and close all the windows so you'll see that door. Just pray and have faith.

I keep getting distracted. I've been wanting to type this really really long blog post, but I MUST NOW HAVE THE DISCIPLINE TO SIT DOWN AND TYPE THIS THING OUT IN ITS FULL...NESS.

To start off, I have finally been getting some Chemistry practice. 3 weeks to that paper, I must do much better than what my Internal marks are if I want to be scaled up up up. I haven't touched Math yet, and it's my second paper, but I intend to start with that on the week of the study leave. I have my study plan... planned out.

On the other hand, more urgent things for this week. Apart from understanding Chemistry and making sense of Math, I have yet to finish my college essays. I am giving myself until Friday to do so. On Tuesday, I'll have to go back to school and get Pn Lee to print out my Form 4 and 5 results, or something. Or not... I'll just have to photostat my report card and do it the ulu way. Also, I must remember to make copies of my SPM results and together with my report card copies or result tables, get them verified. Because my results and my essays are the only things left for the university applications that I have not finished yet. Poor Ms Cheang, holding on to random pieces of paper.

I already have some post-exam stuff planned out, because they're pretty urgent (to me lah). Like, clearing out my books - NEXT YEAR, I AM GOING TO SELL OFF ALL MY COLLEGE BOOKS AND NOTES. I will make space in my book cupboard, AND IN IT WILL BE MY BOOKS WHICH DO NOT FIT IN MY (measly) TWO RACKS ANY MORE. I have lots of books. Lots of thick books. Yay. I'm totally going to pile the Patricia Cornwells together.

I need to mail in Wisconsin-Madison application by Nov 15. That's if the parents would let me go to Wisc-Mad, because I'm not doing any more Sciences, and... they're known for their Science faculty.

I'm way more excited about December. Because at least I already have FUN THINGS!!1! planned. Dec 7 - 10 will be spent with the classmates in Singapore (My parents want me to wrangle the date to 8-11, but some classmates have to go elsewhere on Dec 12, so...), I will need to CALL A RELATIVE to ask if I can bunk over for... 2 nights... heh heh, for 10 and 11 because 12 will be my grandmother's birthday dinner do and blah blah etc etc. Dec 15 will be the day I cry, whether happy or sad - it's not known yet. Dec 17? 18? Will also be a day I cry, also not known whether it will be happy or sad crying, then more Singapore for Christmas (I think. I'm assuming, here), and maybe this time we'll stay for New Year? (The last time that happened was in 2000) depending on whether I need to mail in more US applications or not.

I just realized how awesomely full my December is going to be. A classmate wants to have us over at her place for a Christmas pot luck thing, hope I can make it. It's not often that one is able to keep close relationships with classmates whom you see every day for only 11 months, compared to awesome schoolmates/Melonademates you see for 11 years (Clearly extrapolating, but you get the point).

Away from things that are actually going to happen to me, BRIDGET SLOAN IS THE 2009 ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPION! WOOHOO! Poor Becca Bross, though. All she had to do was land that last tumbling pass on Floor, and she heads it. Literally. THE PAIN. Sloanie was classy about not-really-celebrating, though. And Rebecca was classy on the podium (from what I've read). The US goes 1-2 AGAIN, and I totally miss Tots, but hey, life must go on. Next year, Cheng Fei hopefully doesn't injure herself and medals on vault, Alicia comes back with an Amanar to go with that awesome Rudi of hers and also medals on vault, Sandra Izbasa doesn't injure herself either, and regains her mental composure and medals on Floor, Chellsie medals on... something, Nastia wins that elusive Uneven Bars gold and Shawn... well, even if she comes back RIGHT NOW! I don't think she'll be ready for next year's Worlds, but it'll be good news if she even comes back. >_>

Oops. Totally went off-tangent there. I was going to say how after the Olympics, I was telling Yih Shan that Bridget would be the one to watch, and I was right! Didn't expect it to be THIS quick, but I was right! National Champion, on to World Champion! Woohoo! Bridget has got to be the only national team member I've read of who watches CSI and House. The others are all "GOSSIP GIRL!" (Nastia, okay, Bridget does that too, Sam and Shayla?) and "GREY'S!" (I'm seriously doubting their tast in TV shows. Chellsie. Alicia. CULPRITS) and Shawnie's all "SECRET LIFE OF AN AMERICAN TEENAGER!" THAT ONE, I doubt her taste THE MOST. GG and Grey's, fine. I watched a 1 minute clip of Shawn guest starring in that favourite TV show of hers, and I gagged. Sorry ShawnJohn.

I was also distracted from what I wanted to blog by a video of Kim Yu-Na performing a short programme to a James Bond medley. HOW FIERCE IS THAT? I wish I could skate like that. Alas, my sense of rollerblading/ice skating balance has been off ever since I went through my growth spurt in form 3. Ah, well.

ANYWAY, the post I ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO TYPE YESTERDAY was not about ice skaters or gymnasts being awesome or how exciting my life will be after my Finals. It was supposed to be this really boring WHAT I WANT!!1!! AND YOU CAN HELP ME! post that I imagined was going to sound like a very, very, VERY bad advertisement. But bear (Heehee, Min Shen - remember 'bare'?) with me here for a moment, will ya?

Anyway, I've been wanting/needing a new pair of earphones since... I got my iPod. Because I know iPod earphones aren't that great, and my awesome Sony Bass Reflex earphones only has a 4-inch wire (Hey, that's as wide as the balance beam! I digress -). Now that the rubber around my earphones are LITERALLY TEARING AWAY (You should see Yih Shan's iPod earphones. AWFUL), I need to find a replacement pair soon. Those Awful iPod Earphones actually cost RM75. Awful. And aren't really that great either.

However, my point is - have you ever heard of Skullcandy earphones? They're really pretty. And apparently, really good.

THE POINT OF TALKING ABOUT Skullcandy EARPHONES IS... That if you help me, I could get it... FOR FREE. Technically. See how that last sentence sounds like a very bad advert, a very bad scam e-mail? Like "I have USDxxx,xxx,xxx,xxx.xx and I need to put it in an intermediary bank account! You can have a cut!" and scams like that. But no, this is not a scam. This actually is me typing it out. It's me pimping out...

...

Lockerz.com

Ever heard of it? No? It's basically an invitation-only website which is a subdivision of Amazon.com, is legit (but has a lot of issues when it comes to traffic, because it's still in the beta stage), and what happens is that you get invited, log in every day and get 2 points (or Pointz/PTZ), answer questions daily and get 2 more PTZ and when it comes to redemption day (Last redemption day was Oct 15 US time), you get to spend your PTZ on goods! If you have enough PTZ lah. And if the stocked stuff doesn't run out uber fast. For example, I was trying to get this tackle box of sweets (Heehee) for 50 PTZ, it was IN STOCK WHEN I CLICKED. When the page loaded it went out of stock. Sigh. I've got about 67PTZ right now. And I want to redeem a pair of Skullcandy earphones. There are a couple of 125PTZ models and a couple of 175PTZ models.

One gets an extra 2 PTZ when an invited friend accepts the invitation. Wong Yih Shan has not done that yet. DO YOU EVER CHECK YOUR E-MAIL? >_>

Anyway, yes. I'm trying to accumulate AT LEAST 125PTZ by Nov 15 (Because I think that's the next redemption date. They mentioned on Facebook), so that I might have a teeny tiny chance at getting a pair of Skullcandy for 'free'. Or not I'll have to spend my Singapore Dollars on Something Other Than A Tablet In SimLim in December. So, preeetty pleaaaaaase - anyone wants to check Lockerz out, tell me? Oh, and Yenn Ling and Su Ann are already on it. Yay. Aiyah, if you don't like it you can forget about it after taking a look. Or if you want to redeem stuff like xBox 360's or PS3s or PSPs or DSi's or Wiis or games or snowboards (Burton. Burton snowboards are awesome) or whatever else there are. Or even donate to several societies with your PTZ.

The point is, just give me a heads up if you want an invite. :D

This has been a really long blog post, and I totally wish my scanner was working. I just finished a quick sketch which I want to stick on dA and mentally debate opening a PayPal account to earn money and stuff. Uh... yeah.

PS. YAY BRIDGET again! The only thing is that - someone needs to steal the entire freaking USA Gymnastics stockpile of Nastia Bubblegum Pink leotards. Thank goodness it wasn't the Olympic Podium Training ones, but the Nastia AA Gold one is just as hideous. Bubblegum pink is jarring. Bubblegum pink does not go with red/white/blue floors. Bubblegum pink is not a very American colour. Even Shawn AA Silver red was a better colour. By 7907 times. If they're recycling Olympics leotards for Worlds, my favourite is still the blue Flame one. The Shawn BB Gold Nastia UB Silver aSac VT robbery one.

[EDIT] I TAKE THAT BACK. REBECCA BROSS. WHY DID YOU. I DON'T EVEN KNOW - WHY THE HECK DID YOU TAKE THAT FREAKING PINK OLYMPICS PODIUM TRAINING LEOTARD? WHAT? WHAT? I DON'T GET IT. SERIOUSLY. Sigh. I give up. The Americans are treating the World Championships as if it's Nationals. Leotard-wise, that is. Also, if it's true regarding the switch between Ivana for Bross for BB finals, WHAT THE HECK, PEOPLE? Ivana is no Jana Bieger. She's waaaay more capable than you think! I know you want Brossy to be the Next Big Thing, but stiiiiiiill. Unless you're running with the Olympic mentality that AA silver medalist = BB gold medalist, then...

My mother thinks that I could do better than with Human Resources. She thinks I should be an analyst.

Can't imagine myself working in a bank, though. And I wonder how a Commerce/Analyst background (And later a PoliSci postgrad, if I'm still into it) would bring me to UN Sec-Gen, but whatever.

Got the whole "You're not working at your full potential" lecture, but it's okay. Sometimes I wonder if Mum's trying to motivate me like I'm a member of her team in the bank or something, or whatever. Haaaaha.

I still think I need a subject with more gray areas.

Sleep now. Intensive studying to begin tomorrow onwards. Must spend more time on Maths and Chemistry. I believe what my cousin said, and what my mother said - don't spend too much time on subjects you're good at since you've already got a good ground, but push it when it comes to the weaker subjects.

If I work hard, I still can get into ANU.

But if my essays are more awesome, I'll be able to get into Columbia or Georgetown.

OH, SPEAKING OF WHICH. GEORGETOWN IS NEED-BLIND ADMISSIONS AND NEED-BASED AID. I LOVE THEM.

The classmates want to have a trip down to Singapore. Guess who has to organize? Well, actually I volunteered. LOL. Because I'm probably one of those people who go down to Singapore x1326540367037 times but never really go to 'see the sights'. Apart from Orchard Road lah. And the relatives' houses. And some eating places. Other than that, I've not had a very exciting Singapore life, so to speak.

I really should have that deja vu, wheelchair Grandma around That Route We Took So Many Years Ago for memories.

I recall the Melonaders wanting to have a trip down to Singapore, too. Hahaha. It'll be funny. I have to be down to Singapore twice in December (Grandma's birthday in early December and Christmas, yay!), definitely. Funny if I'd be spending my entire month there. Scary, too, since ED stuff is released in mid-December.

Well, off to finish up some work. Econs 2006, Bio 2008, Chemistry and Maths 2005. Oh, and finish up the second half of my ESL essay. And send some stuff for photostating.

I forgot to bring my blue ink refill today, oh, well.

Also, I'm on holiday this Friday.

And it's terrifying to think that I only have 7 days left in college. :O

We had an awesome lunch with Ms Cheang today. Spontaneous, unplanned (Okay, same meaning) and totally fun.

Must bring camera to college for the whole of next week!

[EDIT]
A lesson for you, kids! Don't trash talk about a person in another country when you don't know if someone in the room may know that person. YOU NEVER KNOW. For all you care, when you're gossiping about someone, their pseudo-daughter may happen to be in the exact same computer lab listening to every little bit of your conversation.

Another lesson is that don't make assumptions. I used to as well, but I learnt that while first impressions are important, you should have space to know the person before handing out judgment. Or at least, don't join in on the trash talking if you don't know the person. Rumours are only spread by spiteful people like you who don't know all the things about a certain person.

It's tempting to turn around to put them in their place, but I don't want to pick a fight with a bunch of trash talkers anyway.

TL;DR Gossiping is not a good hobby when there are strangers around you.

Maybe I should convince my parents to let me do a double degree at ANU - A 4-year Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Commerce course. Then I can do my International Relations AND Human Resources.

Sounds good on paper, right?

Sigh. You know how, in movies, you get those protagonists who go through a lot of grief with their parents over what they love and what they want to do and in the end, the parents give in because they just want their child to be happy?

Sucks that it only happens in movies.

Whatever happens in my undergrad, I WILL do Political Science/International Relations (or Studies) for my postgrad. I will I will I will.

Going jogging with Yih Shan and Jia Sheen after this. Will blog later. I realized I haven't done so yet.

ALSO, NUS is ranked higher than Brown. WHAT TRAVESTY IS THAT? But then again, Georgetown is also ranked beneath UWA. But that's all postgrad rankings that undergrads should not be worrying about. The only people worrying are the undergrads' parents.

My mother does not understand the fact that if I don't get financial aid, I won't go to the States. And that I AM keeping a study abroad programme in my options. AND that I want to start in July. What's with the hurry for me to start in February? I somehow want to go to my sister's graduation. If I start in Feb I doubt it's happening. :)

MORE LATER. :D

My ESL was forecasted to be an A17. Thank goodness.

In other news, I promise I'll update tomorrow, after my SATs, since it'll be the last time I'm truly free before plunging into the deep hole that is Final Exam Mugging and University Application Soul Searching.

Things to blog about:
- Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Like, whut? I like him and all, but he's barely spent a year in office! I can barely see what he's done for world peace. On the other hand, this reassures me that winning the Nobel Peace Prize before becoming the Sec-Gen is entirely possible. ;)

(What is with American universities mailing me TONIGHT? Interestingly enough, the secone email was from an American university... in London.

Ohio State also sent me a letter. OSU isn't too shabby a public institution, but I'm not into the whole Huge College Town thing that it's got going on (Which UCLA has, too).

OOH, and I got an 8.5 for my IELTS. WOOHOO!

Gloating over. NIGHT!