Saying Goodbye

Today's Smile-Inducer : Being fitter than I thought I was...dragging 2 bags about as heavy as I am down the road, catching a taxi alone and donkey-ing the bags on the LRT was no mean feat! Oh, how I wanted to sit by the roadside, bags by my side ala vagabond and play the whole damsel in distress thing ...

After clearing, packing and dismantling shelves for 2 consecutive days, late night celebrations, 2 birthday celebrations and hours of backbreaking, I find myself sitting in the middle of jam packed KL central, calmly sipping overpriced coffee whilst everyone around me bustles about doing something. It hits me then, I've ended my tenure here in KL.

Leaving my room this morning was harder than I thought it would be. Locking the door for the last time, the realization hit me that I wouldn't be coming through them ever again. No more "Urgh, I hate this room! Why is it so HOT here?". Never again can I complain about my monkey ancestors paying me visits (not that I'm complaining about that..).

Sitting across a bunch of working adults earlier during lunch made me miss my classmates so much. I'm getting a serious case of the Peter Pan syndrome. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really don't think I'm ready to face the dragon, tigers and the wild unknown. I'm just a little girl lost in a world which has suddenly grown bigger, meaner and way more foreign :(

On a brighter note, I'll be reunited with my storybooks soon. I'm anxious to return to the world where imagination pulls up the best surprises and I'm able to reject reality when it gets too hard to bear and come back to comfort, to family, to life.

How to Shake Off a Stalker 101

Lesson #1 :

Understand what the hunter seeks and THEN do the exact opposite ! Here's a real life example : Hunters who go after wild meat will never settle for docile feed. Tame your wild tendencies and take up knitting, or housekeeping. If it works, the hunter will lose his interest and the prey escapes ...

Rule Numero Uno : Just stay way way away. Safest bet in the treacherous wild ...

Sorry I'm being so vague today. But wish me lots of luck on this ..thing of mine, life-threatening or not let's just hope for the best. Few more months Jo...*deep breaths

Today's Smile-Inducer : I dreamed a dream of you last night. In a few hours I collected the laughter we shared in all those years. I miss you, I hope you're happy wherever you may be.

Boom boom pow !

Picture from delicatedetriments.blogspot.com

It IS possible to feel one's head about to explode. Mine's simmering with irrelevant facts on ceramics and polymers and manufacturing systems and bathtub curves and what-if-i-go-blank and i-can-no-no-i-can't-oh-shaddup-jo-concentrate! thoughts ..

Wading through the ton load of formulas in my cluttered, confused brain, I stumble upon this revelation : Seriously, if I could pass on one sliver of advice to future generations...would it even involve what I'm torturing my overworked cells here with?

Tomorrow at 1400 hours would see me slouching over a sheaf of papers, pen poised for attack, and *hopefully* lashing out answers in frenzied relief because the alternative just bears no thought ... :( 24 more hours to stuff info. Do you think stuffing cottonballs into my ears would keep them info intact? ....

My friends, who probably wouldn't be reading this because they, unlike yours truly would be able to concentrate on more pressing matters, I shall not wish you good luck... Ling Sim said yesterday that luck is only for stupid people so here's wishing you ALL THE BEST!

Ah, a word of advice from an author I HAVE got to read :

Of course, it is very important to be sober when you take an exam. Many worthwhile careers in the street- cleansing, fruit-picking and subway-guitar-playing industries have been founded on a lack of understanding of this simple fact.

Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

Belle de jour

Today's Smile-Inducer : I have a problem with relaxation. I indulge in it too much ....

Walked along my bookshelves the other day looking for something light to take the edge off mugging for exams. Dancing my fingertips along the spines of books, I rested on this one. Honestly, it was the cover that drew my attention. Bought this some time back after reading about the author.

My initial aim was to look for something light and easy on the braincells. This book surprised me by being really witty, down to earth and entertainingly X rated. Splendid for cleansing the palate in between mouthfuls of Reconstructive vs Displacive Polymorphic Transformations, Queuing Theories and Reliability Engineering. Nothing like sexy, smart, sharp observations to take away the acrid aftertaste of last minute lamp burning ...

I shall lay off her descriptive sexploits and leave you rather with this ... :

Stop being a workaholic. On the rehab coolness stake : workaholic is somewhere between glue-sniffer and habitual tissue-eater. Alcoholism is so much more you. - Belle de Jour

In a sentimental mood

Today's Smile-inducer : looking back and realizing the silver lining was there all this while...

So it was the last day of school on Thursday. I'd been planning to write a short post about it,but what caught me offguard was how difficult it was to sum up into mere paragraphs the past 4 years of my life. I find myself plucking at words,weighing the

m,cringing and tossing them out in search of the next best fit.

How does one succinctly put into words the complicated mix and meld of emotions,the whole process of growing up and of self discovery? How does one successfully capture the memories adorning the walls of familiar corridors and immortalize them into black and white scribbles?

I know there's still UK but whilst we're still on this page, here's a shout out to the people who have made college life a lot less dreary. In no particular order...

Kim, for the bedtime stories,conspiratorial whispers in lectures and a shared predilection for juicy...fruit :p. Its been fun trying to forcefeed you jazz :p

Such a blur one...too bad it's the only one with all of em in.. since I rarely lug a cam around :(

KS, for the 'early mornings' and late night ramblings. It's been nice having a fellow insomniac who doesn't hesitate to share gadget talk with a female and who laughs not at my tendency to read weird stuff (at least not to my face :p). Thanks for being a friend in need.

DX, for your head-knocking advice and funny jokes. And for constantly reminding blur ole me of replacement classes and telling me straight out if my hair looks uncombed (ouch! It's fashion! *cough cough*)

Wen Qi... yes you. Technically only got to know you after you left for greener pastures and colder climates :p but it's been fab keeping in touch despite the time zone. Appreciate the fact that I can depend on you when the itch to talk about photography and other cool stuff strikes...

Yeo,my sweet grandpa *hides*. How could I have done it without all the 'pressure' from your previous accomplishments? Kidding..don't kill me just yet. Thanks for being there to stomach my crap.

Dino the bro, for being my dinner delivery boy and my bestest mate on campus :) I've loved hanging out with you in the horrible canteen and gossiping over keropok lekors and crappy taufufa. Oh, the days when older sisters were still considered 'cool' :p

When I first got in, I counted the days before I could get out. Ironically, now that the last step finally looms up, I find myself craving the security of classrooms, close friends and markerpens on whiteboards.

How does one wave goodbye without at least a heavy heart and not so dry eyes?

Vacuum

Note to self : Wake up Jo. It's not a bed of roses out there. Sometimes I wonder why I ever gave a damn. Is subterfuge all there is to life? Do tell me things get better after this.

My last, your first

Today's smile inducer : Happy taxi drivers ! You know you're lucky when the moment you hop into a taxi the driver greets you with a cheery 'Good Morning! Where to?' and there's great music playing in the background. The man was positively oozing good cheer, and an orchestral version of Connie Francis's hits was on repeat..feet tapping! Seriously guys, smile ! It IS infectious..

It's the start of the last week of college for me. At the other end of the spectrum, today marks the first day of the new school year for all primary and secondary school students out there.

It's funny how things work out. Having traversed a long, winding road wrought with fear and stress, joy and fun, weighed down by decisions and flying with the heady weightlessness of accomplishments and amassed accolades, I stand close to the end of this leg of my journey and break one of my new year resolutions. I look back.

Plasticine, the smell of baby powder, and the scrape of chalk on board. The feel of newly sharpened pencils, the very grown-up sense of possession - MY bag, MY books, MY school. All the little fragments that make up whole memories.

Today, hundreds of 7 year olds step into the study mobile and start their own journey. As you buckle the shiny new pair of white school shoes, as you familiarize yourself with the comforting weight of schoolbags, and zip up your brand new uniform, I know beneath all that shine and polish, there's the steady buzz of anticipation, of new terrains yet to be explored and unchartered grounds to leave your footprints on. I know no 7 year old would read this but here's a wish from someone 14 years your senior...

A little friendly advice before you head off...you'll find many on this path but when you do..

Catch a falling star

and put it in your pocket

save it for a rainy day

In with the new

The last time I left a trace of me here it was still 2009. Oh, don't you hate the sneaky way time grows wings and takes flight without so much as a backward glance?

It's that time again, of new beginnings, new chapters and new adventures. It's the first post of the year, so let's keep things cheery shall we? Here's wishing this year would prove to be better than the last and not as good as the next one will be.

Alas for me, it's time I blew off the dust collected in the corners of my mind, oil the gears of thought, and bring out the artillery before engaging in a battle of wits with my much neglected lecture notes. Will probably resort to coaxing and cajoling pretty blobs of information to stay in the comfortable recesses of my brain...at least till it's time to purge them out again..

Yes people, it's the period where I'm supposed to show my teachers how much attention I've been paying all semester. Wish me luck!

Till insanity strikes again,

Jo