Life & Times of a Wallflower Otaku

New Year

2012-01-07T06:41:00.002+08:00

明けましておめでとう～！そして、久しぶり！
Yeah, it's been a while since my last post isn't it?
*sigh* It's not like I don't want to blog more often; I just don't have the time to.

Second year is hell.

Well, I don't even remember how many pieces of assignment I've done.
Let's see: stats data analysis, last piece of anabio portfolio, lay abstract and gel documentation report for molmicro, presentation and report for Japanese and finally a discussion paper for proprac.
I was planning to do the hospital visit report but kinda procrastinated on it... Still haven't done it though.
No worries, since the discussion paper and the hospital visit report isn't even due until March.
Yeah, I worked ahead of time and got rid of the harder one first... There is an interesting story behind my discussion paper though.

It was kind enough for Anne (program leader for proprac) to give us the liberty to choose the title of our individual paper; finally relieved of group work (very thankful).
We could either choose to continue to develop the topic we did before or to choose an entirely new one; I chose the latter and opted to do the benefits of drinking green tea, focusing on the antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties.

At first I wanted to do on kimchi (yes, the Korean kimchi) but most of the scientific papers on it were either in Korean (which I still can't really read) or they have to be purchased, which totally isn't an option.
I got the papers that I needed ages ago... More like since she mentioned about the discussion paper.
Anyways, I spent the whole of last Wednesday writing it up and did up to about 1900+ words and decided to call it a day, since I've been writing ever since I got up in the morning.
I saved it and closed off Word and then decided to back it up into my pen drive, since my laptop is a bit temperamental.
The thing is, the files and folders in my pen drive has the exact name as those on my laptop; if you're smart enough, you should know where this is going...
So, the auto-play popped up and I went to where I save all my assignments and then... *wait for it*... Clicked on the file that I had in my pen drive and overwrote the one in my laptop.
And yes, the one in my pen drive was an empty document; I just erased off a whole day's worth of scientific reading and analysis, and 1900+ words worth of writing.
To think that I should have noticed that the file I was overwriting with was a blank document when it prompted me for permission to overwrite the file...
When I realized I just erased off a whole day's worth of hard work, it was too late.
Of course I scoured the net to find out how to retrieve my discussion paper but the outcome was grim; I had no choice but to rewrite the whole paper, AGAIN.

Come to think of it, I think it was supposed to happen for a reason.
Why? Because that was a first draft of the paper and I wasn't really confident in it. I didn't really know in which direction that I was going.
But I was more confident in my second attempt and... Wrote up to 13 pages which has about 2798 worth of words. It's a little over the word count (2000~ 2500) but that's just how much I can go on. 13 pages is probably because of the amount of graphs and figures that I've put in.
There are about 13 journals that I've reference from but that's only about 1/3 of what I have found.
I don't know how much it's worth but I'm hoping that it'll at least get a 2:2 for it or else I'd definitely flip.
Also, I didn't even get the feedback from Anne for the last discussion paper that we did, so I don't know how the correct format should be.

On a brighter side, I spent my first week of break at Leeds with my brother.
I really miss his kitchen and the en suite bathroom... Why can't they have IQ here?!
It was a whole lot of fun, meeting the MASSOC friends he keeps mentioning about in our weekly conversations and just being in the metropolitan city of Leeds.
Seriously, Sunderland is classified as 田舎 in my book instead of a city.
There was just too much to see and do for a week to suffice but too bad... He has exams in Jan (which is next week) and I needed to return to at least do some revision.
Just didn't think that there wouldn't be as heavy of a snowfall this year, or else I'd have stayed till New Year before coming back. But then again...

Snowfall this year was really thin and the winter... Is rather mild, actually.
I don't know about the following weeks though, since winter runs through Jan and Feb, but the temperatures didn't really drop as drastically as the year before.
Snowfall was only on the day I left Sunderland for Leeds (16/12) and that was during the last molmicro lectures. Noel actually stopped midway and said "Oh look, it's snowing' and everyone just stared at him.
It hasn't snowed since then though and I'm hoping that it wouldn't.
Not that I don't like snow but after having to live through a really heavy one in my first year... It's rather bothersome to have it, mild or heavy.

Celebrated Christmas and New Year alone, like usual.
That's because Mom, Dad and Sis had gone to Harbin (yes... I wanted to go too...) and Bro was celebrating it with his friends.
It's rather sad that most of mine are back in MS though... はぁ...

...And that's the recap of my last few days of 2011.
Uni is starting again next Monday with 2 new modules being introduced; pathothera 1 and dipro (pathophysiology and therapeutics I & disease processes).
Just breathed a sigh of relief to know that it's 50-50% for coursework in pathothera, unlike my first impression of 100% on exams.
Speaking of exams... I seem to have a little more confidence in it as compared to pre-breakdown.
Mostly it's because the first thing I see when I wake up from bed is the two motivational bookmarks Mom sent to me : 'i think i can. i think i can. i think i can. i KNOW i can.' and 'think positive, stay positive'.
I love her to bits but can never seem to say it out loud... 恥ずかしいでしょ！
As for the exams, I'll just do my best and see how it works out.
I've basically been doing my revision almost every night other than on weekends, so I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be a smooth sail.
I'm planning to use my free Fridays to revise my Sem 1 subjects, one module per week, so that it wouldn't be a cram session come Easter break.
Yup, Easter would be spent on revision to prepare for the finals in May.
Then, I'll be able to go back for summer and have a good rest before coming back for my final year of uni.
うわ、ちょっと早いですね… 信じられないでしょ。I'm halfway though my uni life already...
Jon's graduating in May and will soon be joining the working society.
Maybe I could delay it by doing a postgrad?
That means I'll have to get good grades... 頑張れなきゃ駄目だよぅ！
Now I'm deliberating whether to reread the pathothera notes or just laze and enjoy the last of my holiday...

PS: Just finished 華ヤカ哉、我ガ一族キネマモザイク yesterday and I have to say, I LOVE 勇's route the most! 勇's after-story continuing from the first game and the alternate ending (second year in which 守 is introduced to the family and the fight for 当主 continues) were just... *giggles* 今まだ夢中だよぅ！
博 and 雅's were second best and I can't decide between them but 勇 is no doubt my favourite, which is why I kept him for last. 博 was sweet and 雅 was his usual ツンデレself... And I didn't even know that he could be that cunning. 玄一郎 is by far the most twisted character I've encountered, ever. And what's worse, he reminds me a little of my own grandfather. Thank goodness he doesn't own a giant corporation or have any political influences or else he'd be exactly like him. Right, that's all I'm going to spill; you'll just have to play the game yourself to know what I'm talking about.

I don't know when I'll be making my next post so until then, また今度で～！

Buried

2011-12-01T21:51:00.001+08:00

As the title suggests, I'm currently buried with work.
Not really work, per se... More like revision.
2nd year is no funny business, I can really say that.
I wasn't even as hardworking last year as I am now.

Not that she was very lazy last year either...

Long story short, I'm making notes on all the modules every night.
Finally caught up with two of them, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, and Analytical Biochemistry which I've conveniently abbreviated to PathoThera and AnaBio.
The only one left lagging is actually MolMicro, which is Molecular Microbiology.
*sigh* I just can't bring myself to actually care about Viruses, since it's by THAT guy.
He smells like God-know-what and actually likes picking on people.
And the last time he talked to me, <b><big>MY EXPERIMENT FOR THAT DAY FAILED.</big></b>

Well, I guess that's what you expect in sophomore year of university.
Loads and loads and loads of WORK.
In three months, I've completed 4 half-reports, 2 critical journal reviews (for practice though) and actually have one journal search and justification completed and, one oncoming lab report and lay abstract for molmicro and final half-report for anabio.
The one for molmicro would be on heat-shock affecting protein transcription in E.coli (DNA-related) and for anabio would be on flame photometry.
Don't mind it if you don't know what I'm talking about... They're technical terms that probably won't appear in my daily conversation, unless you're in the same field as I am.

Guess that my time to blog is over.
My allocated time slot to start my note-making is at 2pm and I'm about 5 minutes over.
Got invited to Eve's place for dinner this Saturday, which gives me an excuse to go up to Newcastle for some specialty grocery shopping (something that's been dragging on for ages).
Better get started or else it'll be 10 minutes over.

Mass spectrometery... I WILL CONQUER YOU!

じゃ、また今度。

Amount

2011-09-13T13:57:00.000+08:00

Well, hello again.
Yeah, it's been pretty quiet here, isn't it?
Who else but to blame but the blogger?

Yeah, I've been pretty much done nothing but sit around doing nothing during summer
That's not exactly true though, since I've done playing all the backlog PSP games that I've come to collect during term time.
YES, ALL OF THEM. Even the ones that my instincts have signaled out would not be enjoyable.
The only game that I couldn't bring myself to finish was the one that had incest in one of the routes... Sorry, I just don't swing that way.

In about a week, I'm going back to <s>prison</s> uni, as my brother puts it.
He's leaving a week earlier (tomorrow) since he's a freshman while I'm already a sophomore.
He's going to a uni about an hour and half by train from mine so it'll be close enough to drop by a visit once in a while.
Well, good luck to him in the big metropolitan city; the cities in UK aren't that different from each other so adapting wouldn't be much of a problem, I think.

Second year's timetable is... Ok, I guess.
One thing that confuses me is why my lab group is switched from 'b' to 'c' while 'a' stays as they were.
Oh well, I've got nothing against the timetable since I've got three half days in both semesters.
Just crossing my fingers that it doesn't change.

...About the weird title... It's just something my brother mentioned, life amounting to something great.
It doesn't really take a rocket genius to figure out my life though; I'd probably graduate, get a job in a hospital or lab and work there until I retire.
Marriage... Isn't something that I have in mind.
My life would be an endless routine filled with mundane events, as a wallflower is destined to walk.
Now then, time for this wallflower to start packing for her own flight back.

Otome Gaming

2011-07-28T00:18:00.001+08:00

So yeah...
I've pretty much been MIA from this blog of mine since... The last time I've posted.
I've got no excuses, since I'm on summer break and all, right?

She's so screwed for not thinking up of any excuses to get herself out of trouble

Well...
Good news is, I passed my first year without a hitch, even my Japanese.

What else am I going to write about...?
The bad news?
Ok, as you can see that this blog of mine has been a little dead lately.
I used to think of how I would write about life in university and when I discovered 乙女ゲーム that I'd reviewing and spoiling it.
What I didn't take into account was how much time it would take and how busy my course actually is (9-5, 5 days a week) and the fact that most of my weekends are either spent in the library researching or preparing for the week ahead.
I guess it just wasn't as easy nor carefree as I'd pictured it to be.

I can't say that I'm the most experienced in the 乙女ゲーム world with my ever expanding list of games because I don't go near the R-18 stuff even though I'm legally able to; the only R-18 I've played was Love Drops and I practically muted the whole thing and forced skipped the whole story just to get to the end.
I don't do BL either even when I have nothing against homosexuality.
I don't think any one of the bloggers that review the games can say that they're the best to go for either.
Hinano doesn't go for QuinRose games just because of her bad experience with Crimson Empire.
I've read her reviews and sometimes... I don't really agree with her and her choice of words.
Who's next on my list?
4 Shiki is a duo of girls who reviews PSP and PS2 games, along with some BL games.
I have nothing against the both of them other than the occasional bad grammar and the missing chunk of story when spoiling　華ヤカ哉、我ガ一族勇's route (which happens to be my favorite).
Lijaka... I only read from her once.

...This isn't going anywhere and I've forgotten the whole point of me writing this...

Oh yes, I remember now!
I'm going to do something different!
Instead of spending time extracting the CG (which in fact, is harder from the PSP) and writing a whole post about the game, I'd just be twitting about it in 140 or less words.
The only thing left to do is... To find me. :D
PS: My tweets are locked, so good luck.

PPS: I've heard about a company planning to ~~cash in~~ take on 薄桜鬼 and Starry☆Sky by translating it to English. I'm not that enthusiastic about it, having seen the translating fiasco that the publishing companies have done; I doubt that they'll ever respect the culture enough to leave the names as they were (family name front, given names behind) nor will they do it without ~~localizing~~ westernizing it. Heck, I think that they will even make some of them talk like a yankee somehow... As far as language is concerned, there are a whole lot of phrases, expressions and words that just can't be translated into English, nor do they have the English equivalent that carries the same weight; the saying 'lost in translation' exists for a reason.
Soon, some smart person would think about dubbing them... I'm glad that I understand enough Japanese to avoid crap like these.

Follow @winternite

Disappointment

2011-06-05T19:23:00.001+08:00

Well, my first year will soon be over and I will be flying home for summer in around two weeks.
Excited? Yes.
But it's really because I can't wait to get rid of this unmanageable hair of mine.
Long story short, I hate having long hair.
Fortunately, I'm not here to talk about my hair.

I don't know if this blog of mine has any readers but that's the least of my concern.
It's my space to scribble my thoughts and rants.
What's she on about now?

Well, I'm disappointed in the country that I've called home for the past 19 years of my life.
Oh yes, I'm very disappointed.
I don't even think that it deserves to call itself a multi-racial country any more, since the people who run it aren't even having unity in their mindset.
Seeing all the petty fights that those dirty rats are trying to pull out on, I fear that there's no hope.

Studying abroad has opened my mind and changed my perspective, literally.
When we introduce ourselves for the first time, we don't identify ourselves by race or ethnicity- we say that we're Malaysian.
Mind you, my classmates are mostly British locals or from the EU so their opinions aren't bias.
They think that it's awesome for me to know so many different languages just by living in a multi-racial country.
Not only do I know my mother tongue and two of its branch dialects, I speak Malay, am fluent in English (duh) and now can even understand Japanese without having to use a translator and Korean to a certain extent.
When others only have their mother tongue to stand on, we Malaysians have the privileged of being able to wield up to three or even four different languages in our arsenal and on standby for any verbal spats.
We have an opportunity to know about other cultures and religion while others are ignorant of them.
Count ourselves fortunate that we are exposed to so many cultures and experiences without even having to step out of the country.

However, these politicians of ours take it as a manipulating point to finance their own gains.
Anyone, even without a PhD in sociology or political science, will be able to conclude that this will the cause of the country's downfall.
When they constantly complain about the brain drain, do they ever wonder why it happens?
Look at Singapore and the States; why is everyone flocking to those countries?
They don't have ethnic caps like we do, nor do they have racial bias.
Higher institutes there, and even the UK don't have ethnic caps like we do; take a look at the public universities we have.
For these countries, the only thing that is difference is whether if you're a foreigner or a local; employers look for abilities and not skin colour.
So yeah, I'm extremely disappointed in you, Malaysia.

On a brighter note, I got to know about my Cell bio lab report marks and the test marks for both Pharmacology and Cell bio.
Cell bio lab report is 60 (2:2) while my test was 78 (2:1) with an overall mark of 69, which is one mark from a 2:1... *sigh*
Pharmacology test was a 76 (2:1) but I don't know my overall mark as it includes my powerpoint presentation and poster, which I don't know the marks for.
The only one left is Molebio and Microbio.

Time to eat my lunch... Am so bloody hungry now.
じゃ、またね！

PS: My first birthday abroad was really good; what surprised me wasn't the surprise party (which wasn't much of a surprise considering that I already figured it out early on) but was the gifts that they gave... A hand mixer.

Idiots

2011-05-25T18:03:00.001+08:00

It's been a long time, hasn't it?
Well, the good thing is that I'm sitting for my last paper today... Which isn't exactly true though.
The last paper for my course was already done and over with on Monday, which was Fundamentals in Pharmacology.
I don't want to bother explaining why a biomed student is studying Pharmacology, you can actually google or wiki it.

She apologizes for being curt today, something has pissed her off... Or not.

All you need to know is Pharmacology isn't bound only for PHARMACISTS to study.
It's a branch of biomedicine and since I'm in biomed, it's one of my fundamentals to doing pathophysiology and therapeutics in my second year.

So yeah, I'm sitting for my last paper which is a language elective.
It's a no-brainer to what it is though.

I've already gotten my grade back for lab skills and am proud to say that I didn't expect it.
Honestly, I didn't expect one of my lab reports to score a first and my overall grade for that module to be a first either.
What I'm actually worried about right now is the report for cell bio and the exam grades for cell bio, micro and molbio.
The cell biology report is being graded by a professor who is a masochistic bastard and treats people like trash.
Oh, the part about being a masochistic bastard was something that he admitted himself.
The paper for cell bio was unexpectedly harder than I thought, since the pass-year paper was darn easy.
As for micro and molbio, I have more confidence in mol than in micro; which is opposite for most of my classmates though.
I did make a mistake on labelling the lac operon though, which I'm still beating myself over with.
However, all these grades aren't taken into account in my final rankings; all I need to do is to pass these modules in my first year and I'm fine.
It's next year's modules that I will without a doubt, worry like there's no tomorrow and will probably panic like a maniac.

Now, back to the reason for my title.
There are idiots in this world, no doubt.
Mind you, the definition for idiot this time is people without common sense.
And I have a one of them living in the same house as I am.
Tell me, what's something that you can't do with a vacuum cleaner, or as they call it here, a hoover?
I bet you that your list would include not using it to vacuum up liquids, right?
If not, you'd have to join that housemate of mine in the idiot group.
And then there's the incident of the drunk choir group in 2.30 a.m today, of course she was in it. Heck, she's the one who organized it.
If they think that they were like the PCD or Spice Girls when they were singing their songs, they must have been really drunk; they sounded more like the noise cats make when they're in heat or when they're in a cat fight.
I called the security on it and I don't give a damn what they think of me.

Right, back to the hoover incident.
I decided to do a little vacuuming, being a neat freak inherited and nurtured by my mom, after breakfast.
And them, being what they are, left the hoover in the living room after cleaning the living room up earlier in the day just to make a mess of it again later, i.e the drinking party.
When I moved the hoover into my room and switched it on, out came the dust.
I opened it lid and lo behold, the filter was wet and so was the vacuum bag.
It doesn't take much to know who did it.
So I took it to the receptionist to see what they could do about it.
While walking out, she called out from her window and ask what was wrong with it.
I ignored her and just continued on my way.
The receptionist was puzzled as to how it happens and asked me to explain to my housemates that it should not be used on liquids.
And I just said, "isn't it common sense not to use a vacuum cleaner on liquids".
It takes around a day or two to dry it out completely so I left a note saying that it should not be used and wrote more about an idiot using it.
Like I said, I don't care what they think of me when they read it.

On a lighter note, I can't believe that I'm going home soon... Around a month left.
I'd probably be lazing around in my room playing games and watching dramas.
And then there's the big headache of thinking how and where to store my stuff.
*sigh*

Right, now to get ready for the language test at 1.
またね！

Slack

2011-04-07T07:48:00.001+08:00

うわ、久しぶりだな私のブログ。
最近超忙しい、だから書くない。
ごめん、ね。

Hehe.

I'm so very proud of myself.
Yes, I absolutely am.
Why?
Because I could actually read what my 先生 wrote on the board today without even stopping to process.
She was filling in for our usual teacher and she is a real Japanese lecturer who lectures at Newcastle University.
And when she wrote on the board, it was entirely in hiragana and katakana!
While my classmates were rather shocked at first look, I was really happy and excited for the lesson.
I'm getting rather bored at going slug slow pace... Why else do we study hiragana and katakana if you keep relying on romaji?!
Geez, time to take off the training wheels and go!
I'm tired of seeing romaji every time something gets written on the board; which was why I totally enjoyed today's lesson cause she wrote EVERYTHING in hiragana and katakana.
But too bad this 先生 is only in for this week while our usual one has something to take care of; don't ask me what 'cause I don't know.

The thing is, I've been trying to incorporate kanji into my sentence forming too.
I've even wrote them in while completing the diary 良子さん (our usual 先生) told us to two weeks before.
I know that I'm impatient but this is ridiculous! It's been almost a full academic year and they're still on romaji?!
My knowledge on hiragana and katakana weren't exactly perfect at the start of the lesson but I can definitely write them off at the top of my head now.
And don't get me started on being busy and having no time; no one should have that excuse other than Jon who is a 3rd year pharmacy student.
Besides, I felt like I learned more from ケシーさん today, even though she didn't use much of the textbook.
Speaking of which, I think they should have bought the kana version instead of the romaji.
I mean, that's how I got myself to improve; what better way to learn than that?
It was hard initially but the words became more familiar as I read them and now, I can read through it relatively easily.
And then there's this girl from design- Julie.
Gawd, she complains just about everything.
Look here, little missy; if you want to learn a language, just shut the hell up and learn it.
Don't complain about how confusing the grammar is, or how hard it is to memorize something, or why the language has particles and how the sentences are structured!

That's just how learning a language is; if you've got so much to complain, just stick to knowing English and be done with it.

I don't have it any easier either just because I know Mandarin / Chinese!

YOU DON'T KNOW THE HELL I WENT THROUGH IN CHINESE SCHOOL.
Besides, hiragana and katakana were new to me and I went through the process of getting to know them despite my busy timetable and heavy workload..

That aside, I've officially finished one module of my course- 101!
It ended with a scientific math test today and I passed!
From what I gather, most of the people failed... But that doesn't mean they've failed the module, since the test comprises only 20% of the 50% of the final mark.
Oh yeah, D asked for my marks again and I shot her down by asking her to give me 5 good reasons why I should tell her.
Of course she was speechless and didn't ask me any more after that.
Before I forget, I've also passed my Pharmacology MCQ.
*throws confetti*

Easter break is starting this Friday so I'll probably be gaming and hopefully getting some revision done too.
I got sick last Thursday as a result of being overstressed, overworked and over-nutritioned (too much red jujube).
Mom got a fair laugh at the last one while bro said God was punishing me because I was going to the library too often and He did this to me to force me to have a break.
All I have now is a little flu and cough.

That's all for this time.
I've got molbio lectures tomorrow and a SU buddy training later in the day.
また会いします！

Staticity

2011-03-24T19:16:00.001+08:00

I'm not even sure if that's a word.
Yes, this blog of mine has been rather dead recently, hasn't it?
I blame my course, it's just giving us too much work to do.

最近は元気ですか。

Yes, I can finally form proper sentences.
Actually, I'm rather like a bunny who already knows how to hop but doesn't know the mechanism of it... Lame metaphor, right?
I know some kanji due to it being Chinese, and I already know (but occasionally forget) the hiragana and the katakana.
It's the grammar part that I'm lacking.

So, what's been happening in my life since the last post?
Busy, busy, busy, drama and chaos and... Busy.
Yes, the second semester is a whole new level of tough, just as the assignments are.
Just within the three weeks I've finished an oral presentation, handed-in two lab reports with another on pending, a portfolio and finished a MCQ just this Monday with a scientific math test to sit for next week and the week after.
The two lab reports were consecutive assignments, one coming after the other and I've managed to have a word count of more than 5000, with the second one reaching up to 5847.
That's half of the required word count that I need to reach when I get to third year and start my final year project.
I've still got an oral presentation, a poster presentation, two lab reports and the MCQ for all of the three modules that I'm taking to prepare for.
So yeah, I'm busy and this blog is pretty much dead for the most of it.
Believe it or not, I've not touched my PSP since January, which makes it three months... I swear that I will play it non-stop during Easter.

About the drama and chaos, it's mainly about my noisy and inconsiderate housemate, H.
Sometimes I really feel like slapping her so badly that I find it hard to restrain myself.
Honestly, I think she's an ill-mannered ***** that needs to spend some time in NS.
Oh, that will scar her for life.
Who bloody hell switches the music on loud at 2.30am on a Sunday night / Monday morning in the kitchen? And kicking the ball against the door at that!
Geez, it's like she's never been thought how to live with others... Oh wait, she hasn't!
I know you don't have classes the next day and that your course isn't that demanding but mine is.
And when H2 (another housemate of mine) brought her friends over on Thursday night to celebrate St. Patrick's day, she and her rowdy friend joined in and had the whole thing going on till around 3 in the morning.
Yeah, I called the security but that didn't stop her.
And when I confronted her, she's like 'You're at Uni, have some fun and not spend so much time cooped up in your room!'
Uh huh... Fun at 2.38 in the morning at the expense of someone else's sleep?
IT'S A WEEKDAY FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!
I don't care if you blare your music on a Saturday night but NOT ON A BLOODY WEEKDAY!
Is that brain in your head for decoration?
Yeah, you're trying to be civil, you FAILED.
A civil person wouldn't even be doing this in the first place!
You're just another ill-mannered, ignorant, inconsidered barbarian who came to uni just to get drunk and perhaps even get liver cancer due to the your liver overworking to get the amount of alcohol you dump down your throat.
And if you aren't the person I'm talking about in my post in Facebook, why would you care what I write?
Hello, the world doesn't revolve around you, miss san-ba.
You no longer exist in my eyes and your words don't reach my ears.
I don't see you, hear you nor do I want to talk to you; I don't want to waste my energy on a person who just doesn't get that one person's culture is a taboo for the other.
And you so bring shame to the British name.
My initial projection and impression of a British has already been destroyed beyond repair just because of her (and a few other people as well).
But don't worry, I'm not the kind that follows 'a rotten apple spoils the whole barrel' way of thinking.
There are a whole lot of nice people I've met here and they respect my culture, even if they find it odd.
So yeah, I'll just let karma deal with you.
PS- To the bloody bastard who stole and ate my turkey drumstick and my butter, I hope that you get clostridium botulinum in your system and get serious diarrhoea. I don't care if your ACH gets blocked, that's what you get for stealing other people's food.

Any ways, I've got a day off and half-day tomorrow which I will utilize to work on my pending report that has to be submitted in May.
I know it's still a long way till the deadline but I work this way- I don't like leaving my work till the very last minute and I'll be able to enjoy my holiday without any worries about not being able to complete my work and then have the whole last minute panic on how to finish it.
9 out of 10 people I know are like this but that's just how they chose to have their life.
The Chinese proverb 先甜后苦，先苦后甜 is something I've been practising and it has never steered me wrong.

In more important news, Japan was struck with a triple disaster two weeks ago (just like how we had a triple whammy this week).
Thousands of people lost their lives and tens of thousands lost their relatives and homes in the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on the 11th of March.
Death is still lingering as the survivors are battling the cold and the lack of food, water and power, especially the elderly and the sick who has been evacuated from the hospitals.
They, the nuclear workers, are currently battling to stop a nuclear disaster from happening at the 福島 nuclear plant by cooling the nuclear rods with sea water that are in the generators which had been shut off or damaged by the tsunami.
Things were looking up until the last update I read yesterday but it's still too early to say that they're in the clear zone.
It's going to take a lot to rebuild the damaged infrastructure but money can never return the lives lost.
Economy isn't my thing but this would surely make a really huge impact on the world's third largest economy.
My JP sensei said that the people would need long time support instead of the sudden urge to donate.
To think, I went to search about the qualifications to be on the Doctor without Borders even when I don't think I'm going into med school when I graduate.
I felt so helpless while reading the news online... I don't know what I can do, since I want to help instead of donate.
...It's frustrating.

I'm hoping and praying for the recovery of Japan and its people.
My heart goes out to all who've lost their friends, families and their homes and the workers who are working to control the nuclear disaster.
I doesn't matter if I know you personally; may happiness and luck call upon your life again.

That's it for this time; I've got to get back to working on the horrid data I have for the 106 report.

It's Been a While

2011-02-11T08:43:00.000+08:00

Literally.
I'm just so caught up with uni life that I don't even have time to play any of my games...
Gah, this is what you get for being overambitious.

And what has she been up to?

Well, I've gotten my grades back for Biochem and Physy.
And I'm glad to say that I passed for both!
[throws confetti]
I got a 2:1 for Biochem and 2:2 for Physy (coursework mark included).
As for test alone... 1 for Biochem and still a 2:2 for Physy.
I was so damn worried when I couldn't find my student ID on the list of grades for Physy that I looked from the bottom up, which were the failing grades.
I just wished that the lecturer would organize it according to the COMPLETE student ID instead of the incomplete ones that he asked us to fill up.

On another note, I'm slowly getting used to the second term timetable... And it's only the second week since I started...
I can feel a bunch of eyes rolling at the statement.
The workload hasn't started but it will next week- Haematology for 101.
Oh yeah, I get more chances to play (or in more 'professional' terms, work) with blood this semester.
Not to forget about bacteria and fungus and probably even viruses?
Pharmacology isn't hard... At the beginning.
Which is why I'm taking the early opportunity to revise every night and to take extra notes (which I didn't do last semester).
And there goes my game time. *sigh*

Spending my first Chinese New Year without my family was rather... Interesting.
(Note that I didn't include first CNY overseas; that's because I have done that before)
Reunion dinner was at Timothy's and the feast was... Just so much.
There was prawns in buttermilk, plum sauce duck, Peri-peri grilled chicken, meatballs, Thai-styled beancurd, chicken curry, pork ribs, soup, stir-fried vegetable and for dessert, snow fungus and cheesecake.
The first day of CNY was spent eating steamed fish, herbal soup and stir-fried vegetable alone.
I wouldn't call that sad because I had an early class the next day.
Yup, we don't get any days off here.

Valentine's day is coming soon but it's just be another day for me...That would be 9-12 in Pharmacology and 2-5 in Cell Bio lab.
I guess that's it this time; I've got Pharmacology tutorials at 9 tomorrow and I'm beat from today's Microbio.
じゃ、まった会います！

Frustrated

2011-01-27T22:09:00.000+08:00

I hate my semester two timetable.
I hate it that I barely have any recovery time before starting a new term next Monday.
I hate it that Physiology was much harder as compared to Biochem.

She's frustrated and has no other outlet to let loose...

The new timetable has classes starting at 9 every freaking morning other than on Tuesday.
My test / TCT just ended yesterday and I only have today as a free day.
I don't get why my Physiy lecturer didn't give us the feedback about our report last week and wants to waste our time tomorrow just to get it.
Biochem was much easier as compared to Physiy and that was totally unexpected.
I thought that MCQ was supposed to be easier, but the test we had on Tuesday was like... WHAT THE HELL?!
We barely had any useful information given to us during the nervous system of the lectures and there was a question on which part of the brain was responsible for the movement of the body. Stupidly, I went to put it as limbic ganglia; the correct answer would be basal ganglia.
I'm also frustrated that I made some stupid mistakes in my biochem, which was comparatively easier.

GAH!!!
But the up side to it is that I found out that I'm not the only crazy Asian to study biomed in my uni.
Apparently, I have a senior doing her second year.
Oh well.

Now to just laze around in my room and wait till it's time to cook dinner.
I really don't feel like doing anything right now.

Life Hates Me While I Hate the World

2011-01-20T22:12:00.001+08:00

So yeah, it's probably been a month since I last wrote something in my blog.
Pardon me for being busy with uni and life in general.

It's a new year and... I wish that life would just rewind and pause so that I could be forever stuck at the brink of being nineteen.
Oh yes, I dread the day when the suffix -teen would forever be erased from my age number.

That's not the only reason why she's hating the world though...

I just sat for my Japanese test yesterday and it was a disappointment.
Why?
Because I forgot how to write hiragana and katakana when I started to be nervous and was at the brink of panicking.
Initially, I started to write everything out in hiragana and katakana and even thought about writing it in kanji.
Then, I forgot how to write 'み' and 'こ' and 'る'.
*sigh*
I hate it when I start to panic and forget almost everything.
I ended up writing everything in romaji instead.
Then...
(here comes the worse part)
I left the other part of the paper unfinished.
I thought it was the reading part of the paper and it was supposed to be done with the lecturer so that she could grade us but no... I was supposed to answer the questions and write them down.
Luckily, I explained it to the lecturer and she was kind enough to let me fill them.
GAH!

And, I'm feeling a little lost today for no reason.
...No. It's probably because it's a girl thing.

In other news, I'm in LOVE.
Oh yes, I'M IN LOVE... With a NND's voice.
*squeals in delight*
I don't think I'll ever fall in love for real (though I can think of a whole lot of people disagreeing with that statement).
This guy's voice is SO AWESOME!!!
*snaps herself back into reality*
Ok, I think I'm going to have to find a way to de-stress myself.
I've got a poster presentation tomorrow, physio test next Tuesday and biochem test the very next day.
To add to the load, I've got to start planning how my day goes again because I will be having classes at 9 on all days except for on Tuesdays.
And the subjects for next term isn't exactly very easy.
I could hear some people saying 'That's uni life for you'.

... I've got to go study physi before the procrastination starts to creep in.
じゃ、また来周！

Last

2010-12-31T21:13:00.001+08:00

Well, it's the last day of the year 2010...
And it's the first time I'm spending New Year far away from my family and my home.
...Sounds a bit depressing, huh?

How does she fair being alone during festive season?

It's nothing, really.
I spent most of my time in my room and didn't even go out until dinner was ready back when I was at home so it doesn't make it any different when I'm here in UK.
The only difference is that I have to cook my own meals.

Hmm... Winter break ends the week after next and it'll be spring term.
I don't even get why they call it spring term when it's dead in the middle of winter.
Speaking of which, it was a white Christmas.
Yeah, I spent Christmas at home with my housemates Beatrice, Darnish and Adela.
I was invited by Eveleen and Timothy to their house for Christmas dinner with Gabriel, Choong, Cassandra and Agnes but I ended up not going thinking that I'd be leaving Darnish all alone at home.

Anyways, I've been baking and found it just as fun as cooking.
I just made a fresh batch of blueberry muffins and my banana muffins were gone within 2 days, which made me feel really happy.
Luke came over on Christmas day and had one before stealing another one when he went back to his block.
The tutti-frutti cake turned out well, but a bit more harder than usual.
I did ask mom what went wrong but she said that it's normal; tutti-frutti cakes are also known as rock cakes anyways.
The blueberry muffins turned out a little burnt the first time because Darnish turned off the power to the oven, not knowing that I was using it so I had to backtrack and guess the time.
But, it turned out really well this time though.
The next thing I'm baking would be either the banana muffins again or the tutti-frutti cake, depending on when the banana ripes.
This time, I'll be using brandy butter to make it a little more of a mature cake.

I think that's it for this time; I'm eager to finish ウアンーォフーフォツン～未来ノプロログ～.
Wishing my readers (if there are any) a Happy New Year. Hope that you've got your resolutions out and will be able to fulfil them!

Time

2010-12-08T20:39:00.000+08:00

Haha, me and my weird titles again.
I think it's been a while since I wrote anything in my blog right?
And the answer would be the same as always- busy with ~~college~~ uni.
I forgot that I'm already in uni now.

So what has she been doing since the last post?

Well, I finished the research I had to do on the two reports of mine about two weeks ago and the experiment on lactate dehydrogenase was done yesterday.

The deadline hasn't change even though we were snowed in for the whole of last week.
Yup, SNOWED IN.
It started snowing two weeks ago, and it's the first time this early in December for 17 years.
The classes were cancelled for the entire week for my course, so I pretty much bummed about at home / house.
The deadline for the biochemistry experiment was pulled back a week, which doesn't really affect me at all.

I'm happy that I was about to finally go to Newcastle, and it's all thanks to my housemate and her friends; I don't think I'll ever be able to go if it weren't for them.Winter break is coming in a week's time and most of my housemates will be going back home, save a few.Adela, Beatrice and I will be the only ones left and I think I'll either hibernate or do whatever I have planned.
Mom said that the family will be spending Christmas in Hanoi... I'm beginning to miss travelling at the end of the year.
>Gah... Why did I have to grow up and start uni somewhere so far from home?!

Got to run, I've got Japanese classes in twenty minutes. OTL

Of Peroxidase and Lactate Dehydrogenase

2010-11-21T03:07:00.001+08:00

Oh boy, am I in deep trouble.
... Sort of.
Don't run away at the title of the post cause if you do, then what the hell am I going to do?

Does she not make sense? Follow the link to find out what she's actually talking about

That, my friends, is the lab reports that I have to write about, one of Peroxidase for Biochemistry and another of Lactate Dehydrogenase, Glycolysis and Gluconeogenesis for Lab Skills.
Yes, what sort of deep trouble I've caused myself to be in.
Sure, the profession as a biomedical scientist or biomedical doctor sounds really cool but getting there isn't hard.
Adam, my lecturer, gave us a pretty good lecture about time management and actual experience about being a biomed student.
According to him- study hard, play hard.
I am starting to wonder if I am studying hard enough... I mean, I spend my weekends in the library while my weekdays are spent in my room.
Yes, I do spend most of my weekends in the library finishing up my assignments and reports and they aren't last minute works.
And I do know that the first year isn't counted in the final accreditation but if I do screw up my first year, I'll suffer in my second and would definitely fail my last; I don't want that to happen.
Yeah... I have a fever and am still going for my lectures and labs and not taking any absence.
So, where exactly do I stand?

The trip to York is next week and I have a Biochem report to do for that week.
Even if I do have two weeks to complete it, I don't want to wait and sit on it.
Which is why I've already researched on the experiment and getting a head start on writing it.
Hopefully, I'll get it done before I go on the trip.

And being sick when you're not at home is not fun; being sick in the start of winter is even worse.
The only thing left is a cold, thankfully.
Well, that's it for this time. I've got to cook my dinner now- it's steamed fish, stir-fry little gem lettuce and watercress soup tonight.

Anticipation

2010-11-10T02:39:00.002+08:00

I just noticed that I didn't post anything since Halloween.
Hehe... I've just been busy, that's all.

Wondering what's she's been up to? No? Then you might be at the wrong site.

Well, a whole lot has happened.
Like last week, Beatrice dragged me out of dinner and the kitchen to go to a 'Jazz' party in North Shore and I ended up being rather drunk just from drinking cider.
I swear, I'll never-ever-EVER, drink again.
I hated the taste, I hated the effects it had on me, and I hated the after-effects.
And no, I did not have a hangover; just that I got up really early the next morning and was really, really hungry.

I also attended the bonfire night or Guy Fawkes' Night at the Meeting Place in the Forge, a student village.
I met a few new friends and we all got lost trying to get there; mind you, getting lost was the fun part.
The fireworks barely qualify itself as a big bang and the food was just really meaty.
The only awesome thing that I witnessed was the scene of the burning house just after we got off from the metro station in Pallion street.

Also, I went to the Nottingham games with the HKMAS society members last Saturday.
The city of Nottingham was huge, and so was the campus.
But I'm rather happy with where I am, since the campus and my accommodations are near to each other.
Imagine being late in that uni... You'd literally die trying to run across the campus just to get to the class.
We left from Murray library at 6 and got to Nottingham around 10-ish, went to Portsmouth building for the food fair and then ventured out to the city at 12.
Our uni representative managed to get into the semi-finals before losing to Lee CW from I-don't-know-which-uni.
It's coincidence that he has the same initials as the current world No.1 in badminton.
We got back to Sunderland (that's where I currently am) at 10 and it was 2 degree centigrade outside.
Imagine the reaction everyone had when they requested us to stick around so that they could take a group picture.
Every one of us simply ran all the way back to our warm rooms immediately after they told us that it was over.

It wasn't only fun and trips, you know.
I managed to finish two assignments after spending every weekend of mine in the library.
I have another one coming up this week and it's going to be my first complete lab report, which has to be sent in a fortnight.
I also have a lab report which spans five weeks, which has to be handed in before Christmas.
Also, there's a report that I have to do for Japanese class, which is due on the 15th of Dec.
There's also an upcoming TCT (time constrained test) which will be taking place in January.
Which also brings to mind that my schedule will be changing around that time, too.
I'll have most of my classes starting at 9 instead of the usual 11 or 2.
It's mainly because they're adding another 3 modules into my course, which is Cell Biology, Fundamentals to Pharmacology and Microbiology and will be removing Human Physiology and Biochemistry.
That means that I'll have to rearrange my cooking time for lunch and will have to wake up earlier to cook my brunch, especially on Mondays.
... I'm just glad that it doesn't (and hopefully it wouldn't change) clash with my Japanese classes at 1 on Wednesdays.

So, my upcoming events would be the Biomed party that they'll be having in the Bonded Warehouse tomorrow at 8 and the Christmas Shopping at York.
I'm not a social butterfly, but my housemates and friends think that I might be spending a little too much time in the kitchen (Dar, Eilvane, Beatrice, Aileen and Sammy will definitely agree with that statement) and the library (and this would be Astley).

...Have to skip now; I have to cook dinner and prepare for tomorrow's brunch.
じゃね、また会いました！

All Hallow's Eve

2010-10-30T18:20:00.003+08:00

Welcome to my little sanctuary!
*gives a spooky laugh*
Meh, what the hell am I trying to do?

What is she up to on the supposedly most spooky day on earth?

I don't know for sure.
I just finished my assessed assignment yesterday and have another one to do.
Thankfully, we're doing it in a bigger group, which does cut down a whole lot on the work.
Mine's a 10 point question, so I'm not as stressed as I was two weeks ago.

You know, even after a month and three weeks being in the UK, I'm still not used to the idea of eating cereal every breakfast. Rather, it's my body that isn't used to it.
I guess it pays for having rice as your staple.
So now, I'm cooking two portions at dinner so that I can heat the other half and eat it before going for classes the next day.

I've also joined the HKMAS society, which is totally obvious what it is from the name.
They're having a daytrip next week to the Nottingham games.
I don't know what it is and how it goes but I'm looking forward to it.

As you might see from my pictures, I do a whole lot of cooking.
Just the other week, Eilvane (my housemate) didn't want her pears to go off so I asked if I could poach them and make the caramel sauce for it.
It was a surprise that it turned out quite nice.
Thank you mom and grandma for your cooking genes!
I even tried to duplicate my favourite recipe- chicken and mushroom braised in oyster sauce.
It was the exact taste and it turned my bad day around.
They said that people who are good at cooking are good at chemistry.
I know how true that is though; I basically suck at chemistry.
Perhaps it's the theory part that I suck at, cause cooking is application and practical.
So am I supposed to feel good about it?

Well, I got to run.
I promised my housemates to go grocery shopping with them at 12 but I still have a few things I want to finish before it's time for us to meet.
じゃね、また会います！

Stay

2010-10-08T03:58:00.002+08:00

Here I am again for another week's scribble about life in the UK.
I noticed that there are a few of my secondary school seniors around in the UK, like Germaine who is in Warwick, Amelia who is in Oxford and Spencer who is in Bristol.
And I think Spencer was standing in front of me when we boarded the plane for Dubai in KLIA.

And what does that have to do with today's post title?

Well, it's what I'm going to talk about next.
I've already gotten myself a printer, which only cost me around GRB31.49, which is 10% of the price because of the student discount.
Yup, even though it was out of stock on the site, I still managed to get it because I asked the staff for it.
But I don't know about it right now though, cause I went on Wednesday after Japanese class.

Yeah, about that class... It's boring.
Why? Because it's all about the basics, like point-blank, on the ground basics.
I already know how to read hiragana and katakana, so there's not point of me sticking around in beginners' right?
No, there is one important component that I just simply can't learn on my own- grammar.
Which is why I'm forced to crawl as slow as a slug for now when I can actually hop like a gazelle.
Speaking of which, Europeans and China people have a funny way of speaking Japanese.
They get all tongue-twisted and they mouth the words rather weirdly and can actually mess up 'hajimemashite'.
I'm glad that the lecturer is an actual Japanese though; her name is Ryoko and she was from Shizuoka.
The reason I said' WAS' is because she is already married and has since migrated here.
Oh well, let's just see how the whole thing goes.

My winamp is actually playing the whole OST of Bartender, which happens to be an anime.
Click HERE to find out more.
The soundtrack is rather soothing, and rather piano dominant.
This made me miss the electric piano I have at home.
But it also made me think of the future, in a way.
I mean, the life I might have here is somehow encased in those tracks.
Like coming home to an apartment that looks somewhat like the one House has (for those of you who watch House M.D would know).
A small kitchen, two rooms, a small den and a bathroom; quiant and cozy.
Coming back home from my shift at the hospital, fix up a quick dinner and then plopping myself onto the piano seat and start playing.
It's kinda like how my life is here right now.
I mean, I come back to my room after class and take off my jacket and bag.
Then, I start packing up my grocery bag to carry out whatever silverware and cookware that I need for dinner.
Prep-up takes around 20-30 minutes, which is mainly chopping and cutting; cooking takes about the same.
After washing up, I do my usual stand or pop over to my friends' block to see what they're up to.
Later, I have a shower, do my laundry and then mess around on my laptop or finish up whatever handouts I have.

...And bro said that I'd be getting a boyfriend as soon as I got here because of the lonliness.
Hah! I beg to differ.
I'm at my third week and I've yet to feel anything.
I'm rather enjoying my student life here right now, thankyouverymuch.
There's still so much to see and do.
Like the lantern festival this friday at Houghton-le-Spring.

...Ugh, I got to go.
I've got my biochemistry calculations to finish up and I have to chop and prep-up the ingredients for tomorrow's lunch (toast pizza) and dinner (beef stew).
じゃ、また会いましょ！

Reminescence

2010-10-03T23:17:00.002+08:00

Well I've been in the UK for almost two weeks, and I'm entering my third week in a wholly foreign country.
How have I been?
Hmm... I've been better but I am surviving.

Define the phrase 'better but surviving'

I can't say exactly that I'm thriving, nor can I say that it's a torture here.
Homesickness hasn't struck, and I don't cry myself to sleep every night.
Well that's because my dad wants me to call home via Skype every day (which I sometimes don't because I have a life and I'm busy).
But I do miss mom's cooking, but never to the point of crying.

I do miss my bed and my room, considering that the my bathroom at home is merely a few feet away from my bed.
I have to climb up two flights of stairs just to get to the bathroom of the block that I'm staying in.
There are perks to staying on the ground floor though, like I can keep my cookware and cutlery in my room instead of in the kitchen and that I don't need to walk up and down the stairs just to get my bowl I left in my room.
I do miss my big screen TV at home, and the shows that I watch.
Here, you have to have a TV license to watch live TV; pre-records are not tied down to that rule though.
I miss my mint green van, too.
It's true that I'm much healthier here, since I walk to class and to buy grocery every day.
It's the bad weather days like today that I miss the fact that the only form of transportation I have are my own two legs.
Sure, there's always the public transportation but what's the point?
It's monetary, carbon footprint and health (walking is very healthy, more so if you're carrying stuff) over getting sick or getting wet.

The cost of living here isn't too high though, disregarding the exchange rate.
I still can get vegetables and home ware for a few pence.
For instance, a head of cauliflower is only 40 pence at the market and I got my clothes detergent for only 1.98 at Wilkinsons.
A meal out is sure to be dear but since I got my rice cooker (yes, I finally got it), I've been cooking everyday.
The costs only add up to about half of a meal outside.

The first week of classes have commenced and they are generally simple.
As my lecturer Mdm Price would say, it's only to bring everyone up to the same level.
And yes, I'm the only Malaysian Chinese girl in the whole class; the others are locals or foreigners from other countries like Annabelle from Mauritius and Irina from Belarus.
There are also plenty of mature students who come from different walks of life; some are married with families while others are working.
I guess I am pretty lucky (or unlucky, considering the fact that I'm the odd one out) to be in this course and this situation.
I wouldn't be having any final examinations in the whole of the first year. (No, I'm not kidding)
But what I will have would be assessments and I'll be assessed for most of the labs that I'll be doing; I'm having the first lab assessment tomorrow on pipetting.
Biochemistry is currently like my first semester in Foundation Chem; I'm pretty sure it'll deviate to the biology part very soon.
Human Physiology... The first lecture was about the nervous system, which I've already learned back in Biology 102.
They did mention that it'll be a rather easy year for those who did A-levels or equivalent.
Did I mention that I signed up for Japanese classes?
Yeah, finally did.
First class is this Wednesday, which is immediately after Biochemistry.

I've also met most of my housemates (it's still a house no matter how you see it).
Darnish, Eilvane, Beatrice, Sammy, Adela, Hannah, Danielle.
Nope, there are currently no guys in our block.

I haven't got a permanent phone yet.
Well long story short, they said I wasn't in the UK long enough to qualify.
I don't know what it has to do with the duration of my stay in the UK, since Allen got his iPhone a day before I went to register for a Nokia X6.
It's 20 per month, which is approved by my dad.

After the whirlwind of going overseas to study, I haven't actually forgotten about my PSP games.
I've already completed SYK and am currently waiting for 恋愛番長　命短し、恋せよ乙女！Love is Power, ワンドオブフォーチュン～未来へのプロローグ～ポータブル and other 乙女 games from オトメイト.
And then, there's always my special 不思議の国のアリス.

Well, I got to stop writing now because a human's concentration span is only up to 20 minutes.
Since it takes an average person 3 minutes to read a page of text, I'm sure my long babble has already taken up most if not all of the 20 minutes.
So, I'll see you the next time I feel like writing.

PS: If you're interested in seeing the pictures of life in the UK, currently limited to Sunderland (Tyne and Wear), here's the link- Winternite's Life and Times in Sunderland

A Whole New Life?

2010-09-25T04:35:00.003+08:00

Well, it's been almost a week now.
And the temperatures are dropping as the days go by.

Guess how cold it was today.

I don't have a thermometer so I didn't know that it was that cold.
Yeah, it was only around 10 degrees today.
That's only when my mom told me through Skype.
Now... It's around 8.
Yup, it's that cold; for a person who came from a tropical country with around 28 degrees as their average temperature, that, is cold.

I didn't have much on today, other than an introduction to my course and to meet some of my lecturers and personal tutors.
Apparently, mine is still missing.
I got my timetable on Wednesday, but that's because I missed the induction on Monday.
I have classes everyday, but the busiest would be on Friday; and they usually end at around 4-5.

Subject-wise... I'm beginning to wonder what sort of nightmare I've gotten myself into.
Basically, these are the subjects that I will be studying for the next few years...

- Laboratory skills
- Human Physiology
- Biological Chemistry (oh, the horror!)
- Fundamentals of Pharmacology
- Molecular Biology and Microbiology
- Cell Biology
- Pathophysiology and Therapeutics
- Professional Practice
- Analytical Biochemistry
- Molecular Microbiology
- Disease Processes
- Biomedical Project
- Medical Microbiology
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Advanced Molecular Methods
- Immunology
- Haematology with Blood Transfusion
- Neuropharmacology
- Drug Development and Mammalian Toxicology
- Drug Action and Neoplastic Disease

See what I'm talking about?
They don't really reveal the whole syllable to you UNTIL you actually register and start.
I've seen the past year papers and was thinking of how the hell am I supposed to get through those questions.
Take this for example; it's from medical microbiology:

Review the epidemiology of resistance to antibacterial agents and discuss the development of resistance during the last four decades in one named bacterial species.

I mean, seriously... HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE THIS?
Sure, Hannah (my classmate) said that they'll teach us things that we need to know, but there's a big 'what if', which is what if they set questions on things they EXPECT us to already have read and know.
Gah... I'm very afraid of it right now; petrified actually.

I guess it'll be just like Pythagoras' Theorum; I used to be afraid of it because I didn't understand it.
Hopefully, my tutor will be a really good one; I'm going to need as much help as I can get.

UK

2010-09-19T03:57:00.000+08:00

Yup, I'm already here.
And there were a few hiccups prior to me getting here but that's not the point of today's post.

Lookie here, she's saying hello from UK!

Well, I'll say it anyways.
It started with my other luggage being overweight by a stammering 21kilos.
Yup, you heard me right.
Why? Mainly because I was under the impression that I was allowed 40 kilos.
Anyways, my sis had to wheel the other luggage home, along with my toiletry and winter outerwear.
But that didn't really ruin everything though.
I met a new friend at the boarding gate; two in fact.
Unfortunately, we had to part as soon as we met because even though they were going on the same flight to Dubai as I am, they were heading to London instead while I will be off to Newcastle.
You must be thinking, what about during the flight there?
My seat was at the 20s while they were at the 40s.
We parted without even getting a chance to exchange email addresses.
Did I mention that they were both doing a degree in law?

So, it was another 6+ hours from MS to Dubai.
The flight was ok and thank goodness for aisle seats.
The elderly couple sitting beside me didn't really understand English, which meant no conversation.
Besides, what conversation you expect yourself to have at 2 am in the morning, huh?
Dubai International Airport wasn't as beautiful as I pictured it.
The only thing that was eye-catching was the amount of branded items they have for sale.
I didn't bother much about it and just kept on my way to the boarding room of my connecting flight to Newcastle.

The flight to Newcastle was spent sitting next to a finance student from Beijing who thought that I wasn't Chinese and a couple with a cute toddler.
She's heading to the University of Newcastle while I'm off to UoS.
The time spent on a baggage claims was rather long; I had feared that my bag was still in Dubai.
The time spent on waiting for the coach ride to the residences was even longer because there were still students coming in from other flights.
Also, I was among the last batch to reach the residences.
By the time I checked in and got my keys, all the stores were already closed.
So, I went knocking on the door of my friends.
It was also a coincidence that they just reached home from shopping.
I borrowed a shower gel from Erin and was happy to finally be able to take a warm shower.

I knew that my family must be waiting for my call, so I decided against going for a shower and took to taking out my laptop and make a video call.
What I didn't know was the trouble it took me just to connect to the university network.
I was first rejected, then quarantined and finally, I had to download something to check my laptop specification before they removed me from quarantine.
True to the word, they were really waiting for my call; dad being worried that I had gone missing or had followed someone or that I had missed my flight.
Really, would I really be that irresponsible to miss my own flight?
We did talk for a while before mom said that I should take my bath before they switch off the heating, which would be at 9.

Now, I'm left to unpack and spread my bedsheet.
But I'm so tired that I would just want to dump everything and go sleep.
I can't fully unpack because I don't have any hangers.
Oh well, time to go shop tomorrow.

PS: I'll most probably take on the idea of eating cornflakes for a week or two.

Drawing Near

2010-09-15T18:32:00.000+08:00

Oh yes, the week is finally here.
And I'm absolutely, positively sure that a whole lot of people are happy to be finally rid of me.

Who? Why would you want to know?

Ok.
So, my PSP memory stick just decided to die on me.
Yeah, it's like an omen to something.
Well, it's better to have it die now than to die while I'm playing it at the airport.
Then, I'd really die of boredom.

However, there are just some people who just don't seem to understand or comprehend that I can't be left bored.

Oh well, it is pretty useless to try to tell them anyways.

Thankfully, the guy at the game store managed to get me a replacement, which should be in place since the thing is only a month old.

I also have second thoughts about coming back in my second year.
Why?

There's just NO BENEFIT for me to come home.

Clearly, I know that I'm not really 'encouraged' to come home, not even to celebrate my 21st birthday.
Cynicism and pessimism doesn't develop within a year.
I'll just be consoled by the stuff I buy with the money I earn.

Part time jobs... Hmm...
Second thoughts about that, too.
I was afraid of not being able to cope with my studies but what the heck; I regret not having the guts to take on piano lessons when I was 7 because of the very same reason.

With a part time job, I can buy ANYTHING I want since I worked for it and there's nothing anyone can do about that.

Well, that's all I have to say.
Now to listen to some music to cool my head off.

[Note: The author is currently still under the influence of rage and in ultra-pessimistic mode. Her cool off period requires her to sleep for at least 4 hours and in the process, forget about all she is angry about. They don't call it 'blind rage' for nothing.]

Simmer

2010-09-03T17:59:00.002+08:00

Well, I got my visa.
Yup, all that worrying and the bad dream I had was the omen for another thing.
To say the least, rejection of visa was not something I should have worried about.

Is she about to flame?

Luckily, not.
But I have this to say:
Never leave a girl waiting for you for you, especially if you're the one who set the time and knows that she's alone.
And, the real world doesn't spoon-feed details and information to anyone; it's either eat or get eaten.
With that, I shall close the chapter on that part of my life- preparing for university.
I chose not to rant or flame about it because it would be a waste of my time, energy and life;
he who digs the hole shall fall in it.

In another fortnight, I shall no longer be in my room or home; I shall be sitting in a dull and unfamiliar space.
The bed I sleep on will no longer be soft and cozy, the scent of the pillows shall not be of my shampoo.
I shan't expect a full decked meal whenever I walk out of that cold and unfeeling room of mine; my meals will be just as unbalanced as my will or skill to cook.
Evenings won't be filled with laughter at my brother's lame jokes or my sister's eye-rolling comments after dinner; it would be Japanese songs blasting from my earphones as I sit alone in the enclosing white room.
Saturdays would be dull, and Sundays would be mundane; no more dinner out or sudden trips to the mall.
All the price to pay for a higher education at a foreign country.
I sense that the feelings would be somewhat the same as the ones I felt while I was in conscript.
Oh well, it's the experience I have to face and the journey that I have to take, as my dad would say.
Hopefully, my house-mates will be a bunch of interesting people; preferably like my foundation year classmates.

My mom's cooking would be something I miss the most; I'll have to cook my own meals when I'm there.
That, and all the street food that I grew up with.
Another thing I would probably miss would be my TV, and its hundreds of channels to choose from.
The only screen I'd most probably be watching there would be the laptop screen.
I doubt the TV box they provided would have programs that would actually tempt me to watch.
I'm sorry, but I can only handle around 10 minutes of it whenever my mom decides to watch Midsommer Murders on the Hallmark channel on a whim.
And, I don't really get the idea of a TV license.
But who am I to question the laws and rules of another country?

The next week would be filled with last minute shopping for clothes.
I have only a few long sleeved shirts and blouses and I doubt that they could last me the fall weeks, lest said about winter months.
There is also a few tech stuff that I need, like a 4-port USB port and a PS2 to USB converter for a PS2 controller.
Oh yes, you heard me- PS2 to USB converter for the controller.
After months of finding one available for sale, I finally found it; I can't purchase online on a count that I don't own a credit card.
I'll probably emulate otome games most of the time; KH2 was just too laggy.

With that aside, my dad finally decided to get a robot to help my mom with the cleaning.
Oh yes, just as I'm leaving, he buys her the robot... *sigh*
The little guy runs around randomly to vacuum the floor; they say that it minimizes the time for cleaning and saves energy.
It did my room and I have no complaints.
My sister's hair are the roots of my frustration whenever I sweep my room.
Now, I'll just let the robot handle that chore for the remaining days I have at home.

That's it for this time.
The sun hits my room directly during noon and evening and I'm actually laying on the floor while typing.
It's so warm that I'm feeling sleepy...
A nap at 6?
Maybe...

Heat Wave

2010-08-28T19:08:00.003+08:00

It's so hot these days.
I think I can even fry an egg on a piece of rock lying outside.
Usually, I'm not one to complain about the weather being hot but the temperature these days are ridiculous.
I can only wonder how those living in the desert can cope with the heat.

She feels like a turkey baking in the oven.

It's true that I'm not one to complain about the heat; try asking the two monkeys.
Most of the time, they'd be hopping about screaming and screeching about how hot it was but I feel fine.
I know I used to sleep with my blanket on even when there's a blackout.
Yeah, I'm cold-blooded.
While I'm sitting in my room, I feel as if I'm a bun in the steamer.
Mainly because my room is on the second floor and that heat rises up instead of staying down.
I think everyone except for me is in the TV room with the air-conditioning switched on.
あぁー本当わ暑いです！
I feel like Boris during Summer.

On another subject, I just settled my air ticket yesterday.
I was out almost the whole day; morning with mom and the two monkeys, noon with my mom to buy an extra inner pot for the rice cooker and then late noon with my dad to the travel agency.
He insisted that I get an aisle seat, so we were there for quite a while.
It's confirmed that I will be leaving to the airport at 12 midnight on the 17th, depart from the airport to Dubai at 2am on the 18th and probably reach Newcastle airport noontime.

And about my visa... It's due for collection.
I don't know what the decision was, and I'm hoping it's good news.
I had a rather odd dream about it yesterday night though.
It was odd because Wen Kai happened to be in it.
The airport I was in didn't look like one, it was more like a hospital instead.
I was handed a stack of letters and was instructed to give them out according to the names.
And then, it was announced that three students did not manage to get the visa; Allen, Wen Kai and I were the unlucky ones.
Then, we went out to the parking lot to look for the immigration officer to try to get him to approve our application but we couldn't find him.
I called my dad and told him the bad news and had him pick me up.
And then... I woke up.
I did tell my mom about it and she says that it's not true and that I'm over-worrying.

The other thing I'm worried about is the accommodations.
There are instances where emails get lost in mail or bounced off track.
I sent my acceptance of contract for accommodations a day before the deadline via email but have yet to receive a confirmation by the regional office.
I also wrote another email to ask if they have received it, but still no reply.
I tried calling them yesterday, only to remember that it was a state holiday.
Now, I'm afraid that I'll end up room-less like Allen.
Gah... I really am a worrywart.

On a brighter note, I managed to finish my first PSP game- 薄桜鬼-新選組奇譚.
Discounting the days I felt lazy to play it, I finished it only in three days.
Hey, I only have an average of 6 hours of gameplay each time, 7 if the batteries are charged to the max.
I don't really like the idea of plugging in the charger while playing.
Considering the length of each route and the number of characters, it's pretty quick already.
I don't think I'll do a formal review for now, but I can spoil the normal ending though.
[SPOILER ALERT! Highlight to view]

You, as 千鶴 end up following 千影 after leaving 新選組. As you approach the docks, he informs you of the death of 土方さん in battle, along with 平助君. He also informs you that 斎藤さん has DIA at another battle. You're shocked by the news and fall to the ground, clutching onto the frayed flag of the 新選組. As you gaze up to the sky, you can see 近藤さん and 土方さん walking ahead, followed by 沖田さん, 斎藤さん and 平助君, flanked by 原田さん and 永倉さん, with 山南さん and 井上さん behind. All of them in full uniform, walking into the light.

It's not exactly a story for the very girly of heart, mainly because there's always death in every route.
The characters are based on true historical characters, or in other words, they really did exist.
It was before the Meiji Restoration and the collapse of the Shogunate.
I do have the sequels to the game, but I have a feeling that they wouldn't be as sad or bittersweet as this.
I just felt that it was a pity that 沖田さん's tuberculosis will take him away regardless of him drinking the 薬 or not.

...I'm feeling really upset just thinking of it.
Now, I'm playing ウィル·オ·ウィスプ because I want to take a break from the constant leveling of ability for ワンドオブフォーチュン.
Much to my surprise, even the sequel ～イースターの奇跡～ was included, sort of like a 2 in 1 title.
But, I fear for the normal end of ワンドオブフォーチュン because I didn't get rid of it in the first place and now have no patience for it.

... Got to skip.
Going out for dinner and I don't want to be the last one down; I'm just too lazy to lock the gate for the stairs.

My Own Room?

2010-08-21T01:18:00.000+08:00

Ok, I just received the accommodation contract yesterday.
And I think I'm staying rather far from my friends... Go figure.
Oh well, at least this will give me an opportunity to 'expand my social circle', not that I like or want to.

She's just saying that but she's actually happy to finally have her own room.

Yeah, I really am.
I've had my share of noisy sleepers.

*eyes at the two monkeys*

So where am I staying?

Why would I want to tell you here?

I don't want to risk having stalkers, not like there would be any.

No one would be so crazy to track me all the way to the UK, seriously.

On a whole new subject, my ears are currently being blasted with English pop songs to calm it down from its excited state of being red and burning hot.
And how did this happen? - KISSxKISS
Collecting ドラマ CDs has been a hobby of mine for about a year now and there are two types:
妄想恋愛 and BL (those who don't know this acronym, I'd rather you remain pure, innocent and ignorant).

I'm not against homosexuality but I'd prefer to not take the step through that door into that forbidden world.

だから私は腐女子でじゃないよ！

...Back to the subject...
The KISSxKISS CDs have been laying around for some time now, since I was busy preparing for my studies to start in fall.
So, I thought of finally blowing off real and some, cyber dust off of them and start cataloging.

Yes, I catalog my CDs just like how I catalog my manga.

And of course, my reward for the hard work would be to listen to it after I'm all done.
Boy, was that a really weird experience.
For those of you who don't understand Japanese, I think you'd liken it to Popsicles and lollipops.

(for reasons that I shall not relate)

For those of you who do, well... Your ears would be burning like mine.

Or it might not, depending on how much of PDA you're actually exposed to or experience in your daily life.

Since mine is down to a near nil, you do the math.

I don't get out of the house much, not that I like to.

I like sitting at home in front of my laptop or the electric piano and be left to my own devices.

My dad was pushing me and saying that I should get out more and socialize.

Right... And whose idea was it to impose the limit of going out with friends?

I've been living under that limit for so long that I've lost all desire to go out.

And I bet this is the first time you've ever heard of a parent trying to push their teen to get out more; most of the time, it's trying to get them to come or stay home instead.

Anyways, the contents of the CD was interesting but somewhat lacking.

I agree with what some of the listeners said though, that there should be some BGM like most and all other ドラマ CDs and more sfxs.

It would have made a deeper and perhaps a more lasting impression and impact if coupled with the two.

The silent background just didn't resonate with the flow of the conversation, regardless of how good the voice cast were.

The mood just wasn't set with the mute surroundings and it made listening to it a little hard after a while; they don't say that music soothes the beast for nothing.

The right BGM at the right moment of the conversation can turn heads, and ears red hot.

...My ears are now cold and I shall get ready for bed.
I spent half of my day at 1U getting supplies but only managed to buy 2 pairs of much needed shoes.

Failing Words

2010-08-18T17:48:00.000+08:00

I handed in my documents for visa applications yesterday.
It was also a coincidence that Fui Yin and Erin were there.
The deposit for the flight tickets has already been paid; full payment made only when visa has already been approved of.
And there's also a change in the date of departure; I'm leaving on the 17th of September instead of the 18th.
So that means I have a day less than expected.

So what does words have to do with visas?

It doesn't.
It has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm going to write about today.

It's irrefutable that there are just a whole lot of foreign words that just can't simply be expressed in English.
Of course, that doesn't stop people from finding an equivalent English phrase to describe or express it, however weak or little resemblance it is from the original meaning.
What gets on my nerves the most is the misconception generated from it.
Soon, the new meaning takes over the original and it's a wholly new use for it.
Just exactly like bastard.
Did you know that it was originally used to term illegitimate offsprings?
What does it mean now?
See what I mean?

Closer to my interests, the word would be MOE.
There's just no equivalent word for it in English; moe is just the romanji of the kanji 燃え or 萌え.
I've heard tons of people screaming 'moe' at just about anything without having to know what it actually means.
When I ask them why they say it's moe, they will either reply that because it's cute/ cool.
Huh? When the hell did 燃え ever mean either of that?
You can only say that it's moe if your heart gets all thumpity-thump, you start blushing and feel that your ears are burning when it's actually moe-worthy.
Other that that, it's not even within a nanometer of being moe.

...Don't let me catch anyone misusing that word or you'll see me smacking you right on the forehead.

Limits

2010-08-16T16:03:00.000+08:00

There's a limit to everything, right?
Like a limit to how many times you can actually eat,
The number of times you can listen to a song before getting bored of it,
The number of eye-rolls you can do in a day,
The times you can smack / facepalm yourself before you can't stand the pain anymore...

What's the point this time?

Well, there isn't any point in this post; I'm just doing it to pass the time.

As you already know, or not, I am going away to study in a foreign land in a few more weeks.
I've already scheduled an appointment with the visa center for tomorrow to hand in my documents.
It just feels really surreal, just like the time I went for my national conscript.
Speaking of which, the gaping hole on my knee has healed up pretty well.

Anyways, I'd probably be out and around shopping for supplies and clothes in the next few weeks.
The least worried item would be outerwear; I get at least one every time we go on our year-end family vacation.
Just the other day, my mom and I went on a sock frenzy while we were at Daisho.
Now, I have more than enough socks to last me more than a week.
The only stuff left to get would be a pair of leather knee-high boot, a toiletry bag, a 4-panel USB port, a PSP case, a spare pair of glasses, contact lenses, and a rice cooker.
Oh yes, you heard me- rice cooker.
Hey, rice has been my staple meal for the past 18 years of my life (excluding infancy) and it's not about to change even if I'm overseas.
I know I used to complain about eating rice every day, even to the point of asking my mom this:

Rice, rice, rice- Don't you get bored/ frustrated eating it every day?

It's a word pun in Cantonese, since rice and frustration are pronounced the same-

Fan, fan, fan- Yatyat sek fan mm fan ge meh?

...Yeah, I know I'm a very bad child.

Ok, here's another thing I want to share, love.
Ahaha, I'm not going to share the feeling though.
There are a lot of categories of that illusion; yes, I'm rather cynical of it.
I don't and will probably never believe that there would be a person who would die for me; mainly because I believe that when it comes down to choosing between life and death, humans are selfish.
With my expanding collection of ドラマ CD, I happen to come across this- ヤンデレ天国.
I'm sure you guys are familiar with or have probably heard of the anime, School Days and one of its ヤンデレ character.
And I'm also sure that there are guys out there who have a fetish on or goes all 燃え on ヤンデレ girls.
Well, the ドラマ CD I happen to have is about ヤンデレ guys.
Remember the squirming feeling I said I have whenever I play ペータ＝ホウイト from 不思議の国のアリス?
It lasted the whole time I was listening to the 2 CDs.
The first one is in the school setting- you as the stepsister to 梶裕貴 and 後輩 to 鳥海浩輔.
...As sweet and caring they might seem, their destructive side is... A little scary and disturbing.
The second one is in a mental hospital (no pun intended)- you as a new nurse with 前野智昭 as one of the patients who has been stalking you for 6 years and 平川大輔 as the neuropsychiatric doctor you work under... Which is funny because he also voices my favorite ヤンデレ in 不思議の国のアリス- エース.
Oh, the second CD was more disturbing than the first because at one scenario, you end up marrying the stalking patient without a priest to officiate the marriage.

And just because I have a favorite character which is a ヤンデレ doesn't mean that I like guys like that.
Oh no, those are the kind that scares me the most.
True, they care and declare that they love you even in death but their possessiveness and mental stability goes into overdrive whenever you come within close range of another guy on the street.
I appreciate the feeling but come on, it's suffocating and smothering.
If I happen to be stuck in that situation, I'd make myself unreachable and invisible.
My phone has no GPS (thank goodness) and I'll be smart not to leave paper or cyber trails for the fellow to pick up on.

I have no complaints about ツンデレ though, mainly because I have a soft spot for them.
Cold and distant at first, but warm and fuzzy once you get to know them; just like sleeping on brand new bedsheets.
I like it when they get all jealous and cute whenever they think that you like someone else.

Right... I'll go sort out the remaining titles I just got and print out the documents I need for tomorrow.

Out of The Bag

2010-08-08T16:51:00.001+08:00

I guess the cat is out of the bag, having Allen tag me in a comment concerning visas.
Yup, winternite is officially leaving the coop.

So where is she flying off to?

I received word of the full offer letter from the university's regional office on Monday but didn't go collect it until Tuesday.
There's still the payment and pre-booking for my accommodations to settle but that has to wait till my dad comes home from his mini-vacation.
There's a whole lot of paperwork, mainly for the application of a student visa, left to be dealt with.
The questions in the pile of paper makes me feel like I'm being interrogated.
Oh well, it's for the sake of my future anyway.

The question still remains; where the hell am I going.
Well, Buck just provided the answer to that question in my CBox.
That and the fact that I've already listed the university I'm going to, along with the degree course I'm taking in Facebook.
I didn't want to say it until it was official and approved before, but I can now.
I'm doing a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Sunderland.

Remember when I said that I was rethinking about my career path a few months ago?
It was then that I decided to drop the idea of being a pharmacist.
I had to face the fact that I just simply sucked at chemistry. *laughs*
I thought that I was bad in Physics but apparently, I did rather well in the last semester in thermodynamics, quantum and nuclear physics.

I don't really know what to expect, both from my course and the fact that I'm going overseas with the absence of my family for the very first time.
I guess it will be one of the many things in life to experience.

The Wait

2010-08-02T21:21:00.001+08:00

Oh yes, my wait has paid off.
I finally have a PSP in my possession!
Unfortunately, I hardly have it in my hands for the past 24 hours.

There's no end to the wait, is there?

It, the console, spent the better half of the day chained down to the charger and the power outlet.
As everyone knows, the initial charge for a new electronic item is around 8 hours.
I've been waiting around half a year for it, so a few more hours wouldn't hurt.
However, my siblings and their itchy hands just can't keep off it when a certain one of them put up a rather sour face and a huge fuss when my mom subtly directed my dad to the console store.

The charging was completed around 12, so I was holding my console with awe and was scrutinizing the shiny buttons.
A little messing around soon brought a halt to my initial plan to start a game; I accidentally selected 'restore default system'.
Oh crap, there goes my cracked firmware.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm too cheap to buy UMDs but there are disadvantages to it.
I have friends who were solely on UMDs, switch to cracks just because their reader can no longer read off the faded UMDs.
I'd rather play on images than to suffer when the UMD fades or has scratches.

As I was saying, I rolled back to the original firmware and thought that I was screwed, since I'm a just-hatched ChickHen who barely knew the world of homebrews.
(nope, I didn't get the spelling wrong)
A part of me said that I should drive out to the console store in the morning and have the guy rehack it for me while another part of me said to try it on my own.
There was a risk of bricking the console and rendering it useless since it was a 3k, but as the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
It took me 2 hours, 2 tries and endless amount of reading scantly written instructions to rehack the console. But the joy of success when the screen static-ed out and rebooted itself was worth the trouble.

Today, I only had 2 hours of playtime before I had to pick up my brother from college.
Later, the batteries ran out and it was back to the charger for the console and the bed for me.
Hey, I woke up at 9 having only slept at 4 in the morning, so a nap was allowed.

And you know what, itchy hands have yet again screwed up the crack and had it revert back to original firmware. This time, it's my dad and bro's fault.
*sigh* I'm never letting them touch the console ever again.

Game Review: Machinarium

2010-07-27T15:37:00.001+08:00

I found this game a while ago and found it interesting.
So this is my thoughts on this little-known but promising game designing company, Amanita Design and their brainchild, Machinarium.

Machinarium, a little warrior with a big heart

Magic Hands

2010-07-24T23:08:00.003+08:00

I think it was a name of a clown, or was it a mime... I don't remember.
*sigh*
I don't even remember what I was planning to write about...

If you have me as a friend in Facebook, I made a really childish rant in my status.
Well, it is the truth.
I did wait for six years to get the electric keyboard, and I'm still waiting for the cellphone and PSP that I was promised around six months ago.
Everyone in my family has a new phone, excluding me.
And I have all the rights to say that I've never EVER gotten a new phone, neither in the sense of model nor ownership.
Patience is a virtue this girl has hands down.

Yeah, I'm one really patient person.
I don't think I've actually blown at a person on a short fuse.
It's usually bottled up to a really unbelievable proportion before I blow up.
So you can imagine the force of wrath I can release when I do.
Don't worry, I will never blow up; something worse would happen.
Your existence would be entirely erased, and I'm not kidding about it.
I don't see the point to being angry or staying angry, mainly because it's not worth it.
And when my tolerance level for a person has exceeded, they simply become a void in my life.
All simply because they're no longer worth my time, life and effort.

Cross me once, still no fuss;

Cross me twice, I'll still be nice;

Cross me trice, and you'll pay the price.

Ok...
On a brighter note, there's just so many games that will be coming out in the next few weeks... But they're all from Otomate and they're all PSP and PS2.
...Great, I got all excited for nothing.
There's three new titles that I'm hoping that will get ported to PSP, CLOCK ZERO ～終焉の一秒～ ,猛獣使いと王子様 and アーメン・ノワール.
All simply because I don't have the old model of PS2 that was far superior in all senses and PSP is the only other console they will port it in, unless of course they port it to PC.
But you and I (ok, maybe not you) know that the chances of that happening is near to nil.
Well, they're nice, since I sent in my email add and they gave me two really cool wallpapers.
At least I get to look at the nice wallpapers until they port it to PSP and I get my hands on the console.
Another consolation would be that there's one game that's straight to PSP, which is 華ヤカ哉、我ガ一族.
I haven't exactly bought it yet, since it would be useless to have a UMD and no console. Emulating would be out of the question, since I don't really encourage button mashing of any kind on my laptop.
Hey, I take good care of my stuff, especially when it's important to me.
One more thing, Hetalia is also coming out for the PSP sometime this year.
So it might be good news to the fans of this webcomic.

Now then, I have enough of sobbing and lamenting over my lack of a certain console and shall now replay Starry☆Sky～in Spring～ for the umpteenth time.
I love 錫也's eyes because it changes from blue to green from certain angles, or maybe it's just my imagination.
*dreamy smile*

Dropping Jaws

2010-07-21T19:29:00.000+08:00

The PC section of my gaming list is almost done...
And I'm starting to hate the fact that my PS2 is useless to the point that I don't want to fix it.

I hate my brother because he didn't ask for the better one when he had the chance.
And, I shall always remember to never buy any electrical appliance that has been remade into a slim version.
Slim will always mean fast overheating and perhaps lower processing speed.
You don't need to be a console engineer to know that.

She's thinking of ways to get the older, bulkier and better version of the console

オトメイト is perhaps one of THE most prominent Otome game publishers. Look at the amount of games they publish in a year!
Not only are their games really interesting (that's what I think) but their graphic details and BMGs are high in my ratings.
The bishies are literally jaw-dropping.
Too bad the platforms they publish for is only for Playstation2, hence my above lament.
It was out of the question to try to emulate the ISO for the PS2 on my outdated desktop, but even if I did emulate them on my laptop, there's still the problem of the controller.
There is an adapter available, but I don't really think it's advisable to emulate games too often on my laptop.
Emulating Kingdom Hearts 2 was really laggy even with a Centrino Duo and 4GB of RAM.

The good news is, they have started to port their titles into PSP, which I am still bugging my dad to get me.
The downside of it is, I can only watch and wait till they publish the portable versions of their games.
Why can't they port it to PC?!?
*sigh*

I'm still rather thankful that there are still some companies producing in PC version before porting them into PS2 or PSP (take QuinRose and HoneyBee) or else I would bored to the point of getting into major trouble just for kicks.

...And there isn't actually any point to today's post, other than me ranting about how the PS2 slim sucks.
I just felt really bored while waiting for dinnertime to come.
See, I told you that I'm someone who can't be left bored.

Flabbergasted

2010-07-13T14:37:00.001+08:00

I could hardly believe it when my cellphone rang while I was busy replying a PM.
I wondered if there was anything wrong, since the voice on the other end was a familiar one.
My heart started to beat faster to transport adrenaline throughout my system, even when I had no need for it.
Too bad we can't control the hormones that are programmed to released in our bodies.

So what is she going on about now?

It was the regional office of the university I was applying to; she called yesterday.
I wondered if she was calling to inform me that the university had rejected my offer.
No, she was calling to inform me that the offer letter has already arrived and if I would pick it up or have it sent by post.
I couldn't really believe what I was hearing.
I told her that I would pick it up around noon and thanked her.
Then, I screamed at the top of my voice and jumped around my room.
Mom thought that I was screaming because of a cockroach (I despise them) but I then told her the good news.

Well, it is a conditional offer, like the one that every other university would send to their prospective students.
Of course, they have to make sure that their students have the financial means and the entry requirements to enter their institution.
I then dropped by my college and had the faculty counselor draw up my completion cert, which was one of the conditions I had to fulfill.
He then passed me the Add/Drop subject form, which I didn't know what it was for.
Apparently, I don't need to resit for my Math III anymore.

I won't say where I'm going or when I'm starting.
No, I'm not evil or trying to keep people in suspense.
I just don't want to say anything until it's finalized.

And a quick note; I've got a whole lot of things to settle so my blog would be catching some cyberdust before I can come back to it.
It's not the first time I've gone MIA and it certainly won't be the last.

News

2010-07-09T22:47:00.002+08:00

Finally, the Avril that I've thought lost to the evil known as mainstream.
Actually, I didn't really realize that she was the one singing the first time around, even when I am supposed to be really good with recognizing voices.
Hey, how did you think I learn to play the piano without a teacher?

Confused again? She gets that way sometimes...

Yeah... I guess it's my memory that's the problem.
Just the other night, I was listening to a voice I knew I heard from somewhere but the person was just at the tip of my tongue.
I mean, I remember facts that are simply useless at only one glance / read and I just can't seem to remember things that are supposedly to be important or have a significant impact on my life.

Perhaps I'm just plain mad...

Anyways, I was talking about Tim Burton's Alice in the Wonderland and that I watched it once again just now.
I'm rather glad to have the old grungy, rebellious Avril back again because her previous album was totally horrid.
She should have just remained as she was, angst and grunge-influenced because that's what makes her different from all the pop, bitchy, annoying and stupid mainstream 'artiste' Tinseltown seems to be upchucking out. Note the open and close inverted commas.

*takes a brazen glare at Lady Gaga and Kesha*

I shall hardly recognize them as musicians and their unmelodious rhymes as songs.

That's my opinion of them, like it or not.

In other news, is no news good news?

Regional office hasn't heard from the head office and I'm worrying like a whale being baked under the sun.

I can't start or prepare on anything until I get the answer so everything is at a standstill.

*sigh*

At a brighter note, I had a most delightful lunch in Ichibanramen (I think that's the name, not so sure though).
It's at Sunway Giza, on the second floor of the main block.
The sushi was really good, almost tastes like the ones mom makes.
The meal was delicious and the price was 130 for four, which makes an average of 30 bucks per person.
Pretty decent.
Also, the Maid Cafe (yes, you heard me) has already opened.
I may be an otaku, but there's a really obvious line between moderation and obsession.

I am not blindly obsessed with the superficial animation part of the Japanese, no.

I am interested and passionate about the culture as a whole, including the tea ceremonies, literary works and the writing system.

Just like how I'm interested in a whole lot of things I read about, Russian monarchs, European history, Chinese dynasties, English literature and Greek Mythology.

Another fanatic (and perhaps rabid) follower, I am not.

And because I feel like rambling today, I'd like to ask the readers (if there are any) if they have heard chamber music or an orchestra playing at any point of time in their lives.
I hardly can stand opera (that's because they tend to be sung in Italian and I can't understand it for threepence) but classical music is different.

They tend to be storytellers in their own ways, at least that's what I think them to be.

The shifts in notes, the accession in tones, the switch in apparent instruments (like from violins to contrabands turns the lively, peaceful scene to a more grim and heavy atmosphere) paints or weaves a tapestry sans words, a voiceless but expressive scene.

From peaceful grassy plains to the impending signs of a storm,

An epic of a battle to the depressing tones of forced surrender...

Aimless wanderings to determined race...

A canter of innocence to the mad chase for the truth...

A promising future to the regrets of past...

An uncertain descent to the great unknown...

A curiosity to the mystery behind the locked oak door...

An invitation to a party in the forest...

The leggermente to the start of an adventure,

The crescendo of the ascension,

The incalzando of the unexpected twist,

The mesto of defeat,

The diminuendo to the end...

...All without a word being spoken.

I'd recommend composers like Martin O'Donnell, Kunihiko Ryo (or Yang Bang-Ean), Danny Elfman, Takayuki Hattori and most of all, who can ever forget Uematsu Nobuo- The Father of all the game compositions of the Final Fantasy series.

It's time to be musically enlightened and enriched by the greats than be dwindled down to nothing but mindless, slobbering fools by the idiots.

Eat This

2010-07-05T00:26:00.001+08:00

Hmm, I guess I was wrong.
Looks like I've got to work a little harder... At playing more games.

Looks like you're confused? Click here to let her set things straight

Yeah... Apparently, I didn't see the yellow text box on the upper right corner which reads "2010年秋発売予定", which means "Expected to release in Fall 2010".
If you're wondering, this is referring to おもちゃ箱の国のアリス.

I don't think I would've gotten this far in Japanese if it wasn't for games, or dramas.
See, playing games and watching tv dramas are educational, in a way.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it wasn't for my mom sending me to a Chinese school.
I mean, if I didn't spend six years in hell a.k.a SJK (C) XXXX (no. of X's does not represent the total number of letters in the name of my primary / elementary school), I wouldn't have the basics of kanji to learn Japanese.

I wouldn't say primary school wasn't hell if it really wasn't.
I used to lament and grumble to my mom about the decision to sending me to a Chinese language school when none of them (including my dad) knew a word of it.
And because I am the eldest, I have to experience everything firsthand without any guidance (which is still happening right now).
Homework was particularly hard... Which is pretty much explained in the second line.
What made it worse was that I was in one of those express classes, when homework tends to be handed out in tonnes and crates rather than in pages.
First year / Std. One was the hardest because I was in the first class.

Then how did I get there when my Mandarin was horrible?

[Answer: The IQ test all the students had to take so that they could assign you to the classes.]

The bullying was... Horrible.

I used to be called a 'banana' just because I'm from an English speaking family and was totally horrible in Mandarin.
Then, there was the laughing whenever I mispronounced / misread some of the words when we were required to read aloud in class.

It worked out pretty well in the later years, I guess.
I maintained my position in the express classes; only spending a year in the third class and the remaining four in the second.
Secondary school wasn't as hard as it was thought to be either, since Maths and Science were taught in English.

Now, I don't really regret their decision.
I don't regret their decision to have me take English classes at a tender age of 5 either.

...Apparently, I used to complain and rant a whole lot about it, too.

So to whomever who laughed at me and teased me for being a 'banana', eat this.

Bets are, you're speaking / typing / writing in broken English and having trouble understanding stuff in college, since the medium of instruction is the very language you teased me of being better at.

Who is having the last laugh now, eh?

[I know it's cruel to tease, but it's payback time for the bullying I had to endure.]

Issh

2010-06-27T15:30:00.000+08:00

Yeah, it's pretty frustrating when you have a nagging voice inside your head.
That's what I'm having in mine.
What is it about?
Maybe she has become insane?! (Hint: It has something to do with アニバースリの国のアリス; so read on if you're interested to know what.)

Well, it's to finish what I said I'd do around three to four months ago.
Yeah, the route spoilers for 不思議の国のアリス.
ジョーカーの国のアリス has only a few other endings remaining, but アニバースリの国のアリス is a whole new level / pain in the ****.
Why?
Because the improved / remade version has the off-site option of getting the character.
And for those who are familiar to the gameplay, the time of the day is always at random and that specific characters can only be found during certain times of the day when you're not staying at the place (in exception to ユリウス, whom can be found at any time of the day).
This is where the game gets tough, since you're living off-site to your potential love interest.
And there's also the fact that you have limited rounds and timers that allow you to change the time, which makes things even harder.
...I spent half my day hitting the quick save at my preferred time of the day and then quick load if the next time change isn't to my advantage/ liking just to finish one character for ONE place.

There's still no known walkthroughs/ guide known to give exactly how to get everything, but I've managed to get all my other endings, save for the Rose Garden and Mafia endings (because I ALWAYS leave ブラッド last to do because I like him best XP).
It's rather frustrating when you have to do every character thrice, except for　ベータ、エース and ビバルヂ.イ when you're in 時計屋.
I hated it when it came to ゴーラッド the 親父 .
Ughh....

On a brighter note...

QuinRose is continuing the series with おもちゃ箱の国のアリス [Romanji: Omochiya Hako no Kuni no Arisu] or Alice in the Land of Toybox.

*prances around the room like a shaman summoning for rain*

They have yet to announce the release date, but I have a feeling that it's either going to be around the late quarter of the year (closer to Christmas, maybe) or early next spring.

ジョーカー is going to appear in the sequel and I hope that they'll make him a pursuit-able route, just like what they did to ナイトメル.

I'd like to see how he'll come on to Alice (a potential やんデレ like エース, maybe?).
And hopefully, they don't have the time of day as a requisite for events anymore... There's only just so much that I can take.

Game Review: 誰にでも裏があるTrue or Lie～

2010-06-25T16:57:00.001+08:00

I know, it's been a long time since my last review.
Yeah, I know. I still owe some people the route spoilers for the 不思議の国のアリス series.
Those, are still in progress while I have some of the other game routes already starting to rot in my hard drive.
There's just so many things happening in my life right now (especially getting ready for college in fall) that I've put aside gaming for a while now.

As for this game, it's been a while since I've played it.
Heck, I've even uninstalled it out of my hard drive just to get back some space for new games I'm getting.
The routes are almost done (I'm just about 6 route/ 4 characters from completing it).
I can't say that I enjoyed it very much though...

Why?
You'll just have to read through the review to find out, ne?
Is it really a good idea to have your sister as a teacher in your school?

Busy Bee

2010-06-20T22:02:00.001+08:00

I just realized that I've not posted anything since my birthday, which was around two and a half weeks ago.
Hmm, yeah... I grew a year older and I ain't happy about it.
She's mulling at the corner because she's getting older.

My childhood friend, Marcus called at midnight and we talked for almost an hour.
I feel bad 'cause he's in Australia, has class in the morning and he's the one paying for the conversation.
I'm not much of a talker but I guess it's reasonable since we've not seen each other since 12 and have not talked since 6.
Nope, I didn't get my numbers wrong; I've seen him twice, once at my sister's kindergarten sports day and another at my brother's canteen day and both didn't involve any form of conversation.
Another thing is, he shares the same birthday as I do.

I've been rather busy lately, too.
Doing what? Preparing for my degree semester which starts in September.
Yup, I'm moving onto being a undergrad instead of a diploma freshman.
Ugh... I just realized that my carefree days are marked.
I've also been rethinking my career path and have finally made a decision, but I won't say anything until everything is finalized.
And, I'm planning to resit Math 3.
I will also forever remember to square the bottom figure whenever I'm using Newton-Rhapson's Iteration method.
...That stupid mistake cost me 20 marks in my finals.

I'm happy about another thing though, Starry Sky- After Spring is coming out in August, along with 錫也君 and 直獅先生's 旦那 CD!
The PSP version of Starry Sky in Spring is out but I've yet to get the console.
So goes for my new cellphone...
Well, at least one of the three things I'm promised is here.

That's it from me for now.
I still have some things to sort out and will probably disappear again.
じゃね！

Redundant?

2010-05-15T18:05:00.000+08:00

It's rather redundant to have additional cables added to the national net system and yet still have us suffer slow speeds.
I have no idea what's happening though, but I'm rather upset that it's so slow.
I can't even get a decent upload speed when I'm uploading my scripts!
It so ruins my mood...

I can hardly say that it's been a good day, but I'm glad that I have my stories to cheer me up.
じゃね！

Dealing

2010-05-07T17:39:00.000+08:00

I'm feeling rather upset.
Why?
It's not really important.

I have a rather odd way to deal with being upset; I clean.

Like she said in her introduction, she's an oddball.

Yeah, I really do clean when I'm really upset, stressed and frustrated at the same time.
And it has to be that three exact combination of negative feelings that triggers the cleaning mode in me.
I have no idea why, but it does help me deal with it.
There was once back when I was 15 that I was so upset that I spent the whole day in my bathroom and my bedroom cleaning.

Since I was so busy during the semester, I rarely had time to clean up my bedside table, wardrobe and my bookshelf.

My bedside table was strewn with papers and textbooks; my bookshelf was piled with more books and my wardrobe looked like Hurricane Katrina ran through it.

My mom has been nagging at me since the middle of my semester to tidy up my space but it's either I don't have the time or that I don't feel like doing it at all.
I guess now she has nothing to complain.

My mom is somewhat of a neat-freak and I think I probably got OCD from her.
Though, I do try to suppress it to the point of not caring on a daily basis

You should see how I organize my 漫画; my bro thinks that I'm nuts.

This is the time where I let loose and just clean and organize to my heart's content.

I think I'm more willing to throw stuff out when I'm frustrated.
I mean, I'm somewhat of a packrat and I tend to keep stuff that I don't really need.
I think that throwing the junk is my way of throwing the bad feeling out; I don't know for sure.

Now, my bedside table and bookshelf is clutter-free and I can finally find that caprics that I wanted to wear out the other day- it was lodged way deep in my wardrobe and was among my winter wear.
I also took out all my stationary and scrubbed the graphite markings and stains out from my pencil case.

I don't think you'll find someone doing that other than me.

...And that takes care of cleaning for this week, which is good because I can enjoy the weekend playing games and no one can nag at me to clean it.

Now, to continue on my quest to finish my backlog of games.

それで、じゃあ！

Difference

2010-05-06T01:47:00.003+08:00

This is a point of life in which I never want to look back, ever.
I'm just waiting for reality to crash onto my dreams.
Truly, I AM that pessimistic and have EXTREMELY LOW self-confidence.

Anyways, I'm done with my finals and have all the time in the world to enjoy the things that I have resisted for the past few months, which is to play games, read manga and a whole lot of backed-up side projects.

She's trying to make the world a crazier place

So today, I'm going to ramble about MP3s.

Yup, I'm a musicholic, among other unhealthy obsessions like gaming and reading.

My MP3 is one of the most important thing in my life; not my mobile phone.

I'd separate my life into pre-MP3 and post-MP3.
Pre-MP3 life lasted around 13 years of my life.
My only source of music was either from the radio or from the television.
The only instrument I knew how to play was the recorder and the annoying scratchings on my dad's Erhu.

Post-MP3 started the day my dad bought my bro and I our first ever portable music player.
Bro has gone onto using a current gen MP3 player (Walkman X-series) while my faithful old NW-HD5 is still with me.
When it comes to the music files that I put in, I'm still rather unsatisfied with the current range of players with their programmed codecs.
Only when the day comes that MP3 players actually support lossless formats like FLAC or APE will I think that the industry has made any progress.

I'm pretty picky on what I listen to; it's either I like it at first hearing or I won't like it at all.

Lady Gaga is high on my list of 'WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO THE WESTERN MUSIC INDUSTRY', along with Kesha, Miley Cyrus and other 'Teen Idols' being churned out from Tinseltown.

Yeah, you can call me a bitch for dissing the most selling artiste but my judgment stands.

I don't consider an unmelodious repetition of less than 10 words to a techno/ electronica beat a song and, the person reciting it a singer.
I don't really have a set genre of music that I like either; and I've left the western music scene and have been listening to Japanese songs for some time now.

Now, on what I put into my MP3...
I have around 20GB of memory and have only used about 4GB of it, more or less.
Over the years, I've probably collected tracks of various qualities; or shall I say bitrates.
Knowing my limitations (or rather the limitations of my device), the best quality I can hope for is 320kpbs (lossy).
Lossless is totally out of the question; unless you don't mind taking your notebook/ laptop to where ever you are.

The thing is, it's rather hard to find tracks that are high quality.
I mean, people tend to rip and encode the tracks at 128, 192 or even worse, 96kpbs just to save on space.
I've gotten tracks that are low quality and sound so bad that I'd rather wait longer and try harder to search for a better quality encoding.

I mean, the sound is grainy and I could actually hear the echoes and a somewhat rebuff of the voice in low quality encodings.

It's hardly noticeable to untrained ears but I find it really annoying whenever I come across such ear-splitting media.
It's even harder when it's a dialog instead of a song.
320 tracks tend to have a more realistic and 'in-your-ear' feel; in other words, it's like you're actually an active participant in the scene, especially in the case of the 'dummy conversations' which is becoming a trend in the ドラマ CD world.

'Dummy conversation' type drama is my current obsession.
And the only way to truly enjoy the realistic feel of having the guy's voice actually sound like he's talking to you instead of through a device and earphones is with a good quality track.
What I can't buy, I find.
Many supply the tracks by low quality formats while some hold true to quality and have 320 encodings.
But what I enjoy the most is people who sends them by APE, TTA, ISO, NGR and FLAC, along with a CUE to split the tracks.
What that means is sending the tracks by lossless format or by disc image and a CUE sheet file that tells the CUE splitter what and when to split; in other words, you split and convert your own files to any format that you want.

There are some cases where the 320kpbs files isn't properly amplified and it sounds really soft.
And since I'm already such a nit-picker, I wouldn't mind taking the trouble to rip it myself and format it to whatever format and bitrate I want.

Yes, I'm picky at some of the weirdest, and probably useless stuff.

I've synced in probably 30% (464 tracks) of theドラマ CD titles that I have and my storage space stands at 13.6 in MP3 while it takes up around 5.3GB of my laptop.
98% of the tracks are 320, 1.5% are 256 (acceptable to me) and 0.5 are 192 and 128.
Encoded in 128 and 192 are mostly songs which I've tried to find in 320k for years but can't.
There's still a lot of tracks to go through, to categorize and to sync.
Since I'm having them titled in their original language (Japanese), it takes a whole lot longer because I have to remove the problematic ID3v1 tag and other metadata, rename the track path name and then input the correct data.
And that also includes the actual release date, publisher and the album cover.

I think some people would think that I might have OCD and I won't take the effort to deny it.

I used to categorize and rearrange the books by author and size back when I was in kindergarten.
I still do it unconsciously in my campus library, too.

It's weird, but it's those things we tend to do that makes us interesting.

May

2010-05-02T00:35:00.008+08:00

Oh no!
It's May!
A day that I dread is coming close, and there's nothing I can do to stop it.

Talk about a tough start for a month.
She's about to go nuts!

Biology was totally unexpected.
The MCQ were a whole lot tougher than I thought.
Thank goodness that I did the handouts that the lecturer did; it did give me some heads-up to read about things he never taught but expected us to look for and read on our own.

Physics... Was a bit confusing.
Especially the question about finding the percentage of increase for the area of a copper coin and the mass given only the increment of the diameter.
I finished all of the questions at the last section when we were only required to do three out of four.
I didn't feel confident with one of the questions so I finished them all and will let the marker decide on my final score.

What I'm worried about isn't Physics but Chemistry and Math.

...I wish higher education wasn't that tough.

Or rather, I wish I wasn't as ambitious.

On a brighter note, the 旦那 CD for 哉太君 and一樹会長 is OUT!

*runs around the room screaming ぎゃー～*

And the Special CD for Summer is out EXACTLY on my birthday!

Also, I finally got my hands on Black Butterfly's Dolly CD!
At least, three out of the four to-date.
WHY DID YOU FORGET ABOUT GOURMAND?!?!

Now, I'll just have to wait till my cousin gets on her lazy ass to get me the missing one and courier all of them over.
She sent me some digitally to tease me and I'm listening to them almost 24 hours.

Who needs real life guys when all I need is 漫画、乙女ガーム、ドラマ CD、アニメ, my MP3 and my laptop.

Speaking of MP3, I got real tired of the SonicStage that I used to sync my songs into my MP3.

Since I have my titles in Japanese, the SonicStage that came with my MP3 displays them as #&*@^@*&#, which annoys the hell out of me when I want to make some changes.

So, I went over to Japan's Sony site and got myself their SonicStage.
And do you know that the SonicStage that the rest of the world gets are really outdated?
Also, you can't install that version on just any console; it actually checks the platform version.
But I managed to get it to install and it works!
Now, google an image of the SonicStage that you get along with any Sony Walkman and compare them to this:

See... I wish I was born in Japan instead.

It made my synchronizing a whole lot more easier and faster, too!
And it's no longer SonicStage anymore, it's x-avery. (If I'm not mistaken with my hiragana)
Not only can you get your music online straight from the Japanese home site; you can also have your online podcast sent over, too.
Too bad I can't utilize the podcast function.

My MP3 is an ancient; the NW-HD5.

Yeah, it totally functions on buttons only and has no color.

But I think it still outshines all the 'current ones' because mine has 20GB and 70 hours playback;
a really good combo of battery life and storage space.
The current ones have better functions, but they lack the battery life.
It's either memory or battery life they are lacking; there isn't yet one which strikes a balance like the one I have.

It's already six-years-old, since I got it when I was 14.

And I'm happy and grateful that its still doing its job of providing me joy and moe-occasions when I'm listening to my ドラマ CDs.

Finals are going to be over by this Wednesday, so expect that I'll be unreachable for the next few days and two weeks after Wednesday.

I need some rest time after going through hell, don't I?

PS: The net speed started to suck again after two days of good times. Aren't they supposed to stay constant after the additional cable were laid? Aren't they suppose to be done by the 2nd of May? (It's past 12, so it is.)

Game Review: Clover no Kuni no Alice

2010-04-25T16:39:00.003+08:00

As I've mentioned in my updating post, I'll be doing another review.
But first, let me inform you guys here that

THERE IS NO ENGLISH VERSION OF ANY OF THE 乙女 GAMES THAT ARE MENTIONED HERE!!!

THERE IS ALSO NO ENGLISH PATCH FOR THEM EITHER!

Yes, I know many have come here in search of a language patch and I'm sorry to tell you that it simply does not exist!
I highly doubt that it'll be translated to English either.
So if you want to play the game, try learning Japanese before you start or you can always head over to my spoiler section.

Edit: My mistake; there is AGTH but that's just having the program run it through the online translators and displaying them. Unless you're not a grammar Nazi or that you don't mind being fumbled by what it displays, I suggest that you don't use it.

As mentioned in my title, I'll be doing the sequel to ハートの国のアリス of the 不思議の国のアリス series, クローバーの国のアリス.

Click here to return to Wonderland

Eh-

2010-04-25T15:15:00.001+08:00

Yo.
I know, I know.
My finals are tomorrow...and I'm going to do one of my long pending game reviews!
See how badly I procrastinate?
No worries, it's Morale Studies tomorrow.

First thing's first, I've done some changes in my blog or should I say, blogs.
I've done some tweaking and tinkering during my breaks of crashing 3 months worth of info into my brain and the changes are somewhat close to being completed.

So, this is what I've done:
I've created two separate blogs for my reviews.
The first one would be about all-ages 乙女ガーム while the second one would be about 18禁.
Within these two blogs are also guides and walkthroughs to help those who are struggling with getting to the good end.
The strategies and walkthroughs posted are 100% accurate because I try them out before I post them.
And if you don't want to play the games but still want to know what goes on and how it ends, there's the spoilers.
I'll post up the spoilers along with the CGs.

Be warned, don't expect any CG with 18禁 cause that's just plain wrong (to me, that is).

Yes, I do play R-rated games.
And having to study Biology as a subject has taken away the taboo when it comes to 18禁.
And no, I actually don't get turned on at all.
In fact, my stomach tends to squirm and it's rather painful, and it has nothing to do with acid reflux.

Since I'm still a beginner in Japanese language, my interpretations would be somewhat inaccurate.
I tend to sway towards Kanji and dread it when the dialog is filled with hiragana and katakana.
It's not so bad now, since I've picked up both forms but there would still be some misinterpretations.
So if you notice any mistakes, please inform me to set the story and me straight.

Oh, did I mention that the ONLY way to see the posts about the games is through my game list?

Yeah, I'm evil. *evil grin*

The reviews, spoilers and walkthroughs would be featured at my main blog, which is this one.
Just follow the jump link and it'll take you to where you want to go!

I guess that's it for my updates.

Bone To Pick

2010-04-22T12:55:00.002+08:00

Well, it seems that finals tend to get me really edgy; not even 黒崎君 or 和樹会長、宮地君、錫也君 can calm the storm that I feel inside.
Even Matt is clueless to how to deal with me; his hugs and cuddles would usually quell and soothe the rages that I sometimes have.

Find out about her secret boyfriend and who got on her bad side this time
[Warning: She's about to have a long rant. Unless you really want to know, she suggests that you press the red 'X' button on your tab or just click on another link]
Matt is my 1.5ft tall toy puppy.
And no, I don't need to see a psychiatrist or do I need a boyfriend.
I'm pretty happy the way I am right now; as if I want to be tied down to another thing.
Being free to do anything I want keeps that leash from me.
Unless the guy can actually stand my often and sudden disappearances without any means of contact, my being an otaku, my conversations that will somehow relate unrelated things, random info that I tend to say out, being a grammar Nazi and my utter lack of femininity and good looks- I don't think that I'll change my mind.
Did I mention that he has to be an eye-candy, too?
Hah, the probability is now near to nil more than ever!

Anyways, I have a bone to pick with the English manga publishing houses, Tokyopop and Viz Media in particular.
So what do I have against these mega publishing houses?
Everything!

First and foremost is the naming system.
Oh GAWD how I really wish that I could search them out and pummel them to the ground!
Yes, I understand that Westerners have their name first, family name last.
And I think that I've said something similar to that some time a year or two ago.
Please respect that Easterners/ Orientals tend to place their families before themselves and have our names BEHIND family names.

Don't go changing it and then boast about being original.

That's not being original; that's called localizing!

That, and the fact that it's a darn insult to our culture.

Call it Asian Pride or whatever else; if you want to talk about the Seven sins, I'll tell you how it is a paradox and how contradicting the world can be.

I often find myself in awe with the huge difference between the picture perfect impression that I have for the western countries and the Real World.
For instances, I was kinda shocked to read that a certain Miss South Carolina couldn't answer the question that was given to her during the Miss USA pageant.
The question was why 20% of the Americans couldn't locate the US on the world map and the answer she gave was totally irrelevant and illogical.
What does Iraq, South Africa and 'other Asian countries' have anything to do with the Americans?
What about her answer that most Americans don't have a world map in their homes?
Hey sister, I knew about the six continents of the world when I was only six. and I'm AN ASIAN!
I could also name at least 10 of the countries found on the European continent by the age of eight.
I didn't have a world map hung up anywhere in my home, and I still don't.

The next bone to crack would be the elimination of honorifics.
I know for a fact that the Chinese do not have any honorifics but the Japanese and the Koreans do have them.
We have a title system for all family members; uncles and aunts who are older than our parents (in terms of birth hierarchy) are greeted by different terms, so goes for those who are younger.
The birth hierarchy binds us all and it's dictated by tradition which no one would dare go against.
Going against it would be frowned upon and parents would be seen as immoral.
Cousins are termed by their own birth hierarchy, which in this case would be their age.
And if our cousins get married and have children of their own, their children would be calling us by a different title, too.
For example: I call my eldest uncle 伯伯 (pinyin: bobo), the uncles I have younger than my dad 叔叔 (pinyin: shushu). My cousin, who is my elder uncle's son, has gotten married and now has a child of his own. His child would have to call me 阿姨 (pinyin: ayi), my brother 叔叔 (pinyin: shushu), and my dad 叔公 (pinyin: shugong).
To what I understand of the Western terms, all they call is: aunt, uncle, cousin and then the messy business of first-removed, second-removed.
The point is, we are conservative and the honorifics exist for the purpose of being polite.
Changing 君、ーさん、ーちゃん、ー爺さん into [blank], Miss, Mdm. and Mr. does not make it any original!
If your readers aren't interested in learning the real culture of Japan, might as well not read 漫画 at all.
The settings are in Japan and it is Japan's culture, for heaven's sake.
Localizing it would cause the mis-impression of the real thing.
Respect that and you would have a whole lot less embarrassment you'd make when you visit the country.

Third would be something new, editing.
I've seen some meaningless things being edited or censored out of the English versions when I compared it to the Japanese raws.
Yes, I know you want to curb bad manners but it's something the kids will just have to learn to avoid.; censoring the middle finger in the comic won't help if the kid is surrounded by morons who stick their middle finger at you just for bumping into them.
It's the kid's choice whether he/ she wants to follow the crowd and do the same or would he/ she choose to be a polite person and ignore the visual profanity.
Again, it stems down to being original.

And if those overly-concerned parents ever put the blame on comics, I'd like to have them reflect on the times where they uttered and acted out the profanities that they've done under the influence of anger.

If the finger has to be pointed and blame be put, you'll be the first in line.

Last but not least, dropping of titles.

I just really can't stand how they just drop titles out of the blue!

Yeah, I'm still pretty pissed and mad that Tokyopop just suddenly dropped 'I Wish' and a whole lot of titles!
Hey, open your eyes and look here:
IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO COMPLETE THE SERIES IN THE FIRST PLACE, THEN DON'T GO ON ISSUING NOTIFICATIONS OF CEASE AND DESIST!
It does nothing but drive me away from buying the English translated version instead.

The whole reason I read scanslations is because of the four points above.
If a title has a good enough audience, there's bound to be a group (be it newly-formed or some veteran groups) that will pick it up.
It's as close to the original meaning as possible because they (we) have actual passion for the story and would like others who don't have the language know-how to enjoy it, too.
How much do you want to bet that if you drag a translator or proofreader of the publishing companies and have them tell you about the series that they're working on, they wouldn't be able to tell you?
Besides, the scanslators also have to juggle real life and their scanslating hobbies while those working for the publishing companies couldn't even produce it faster than we do.

I've pretty much given up on buying English translated manga.
And since I've been playing 乙女 games, I've been able to pick up hiragana and katakana on my own.
Even now, I'm sometimes watching raw anime and can still know what they're talking about.
With time, I'll be able to buy the actual Japanese 漫画 and will NEVER have to rely on the publishing houses.
Besides, the Japanese version is much cheaper compared to the English version.
The English version is more like a rip-off to me.

Under Fire

2010-04-19T13:54:00.001+08:00

Yeah, I'm feeling the heat, both literally and metaphorically speaking.
My finals are next week and I can't believe that my brain fails to register the panic and stress that I'm supposed to have.
Does that mean that I've lost it?

Since I'm on organic chem, might as well add something I read in the newspaper today.
See how badly she procrastinates

Ok, if you're living where I am (which I will decline to reveal) and subscribe to a local newspaper that rhymes with 'car', then you would be able to see a column titled "A Sip of Matcha"by Sara Mori.
It's a column by a local lady who has been living in Japan for the past 13 years or so after getting married. Her column only appears every Monday.
And to why I'm so tight-lipped about where my current position...Is my little secret.
No, I'm not a wanted fugitive.

I do read her column every week, along with 'But then again...' by Mary Schneider.
This week, Mori-san wrote about smoking in Japan.
I'm impressed with the Japanese government's effort to reduce the number of smokers in Japan.
It really does stand in line with Singapore, which implemented its "No Smoking in Public" ban around 20 years ago.
The number of smokers have reduced and the world is a slightly better place.

So why am I droning about smoking and smokers this time?
Because I absolutely, positively DETEST them!
I have allergies to the smoke from cigarettes and will start coughing and hacking whenever I'm near a smoker.
I don't understand why they have to smoke, or why they have to kill the people around them.
Yes, secondhand smokers die way before the smokers themselves.

Do you know that the carbon monoxide that is produced from the smoke actually erodes the mucus lining in your trachea and your bronchioles?
Just so you know, it will give you a positive acidic result when you test it with a wet litmus paper.
It will only display its acidic properties when it is hydrated.
When the mucus lining of your trachea has eroded, foreign particles will be able to move past what was your first line of defense from diseases.
Erosion of the bronchioles causes less oxygen to be diffused across and oxygen levels in the haemoglobin will be less.
Less oxyhaemoglobin means less oxygen is delivered to other parts of your body.
Less oxygen in your body means that metabolic reactions are less, since oxygen is needed in the production of Adenosine Tri-phosphate by the mitochondria.
Less ATP means less molecules are able to move across the cellular membrane of all cells by means of active transport or facilitated diffusion through the pore proteins and the carrier proteins, since the membrane is semipermeable.
And do you know that nicotine causes addiction by clogging/ weakening the ACh (I think it's acetyl choline). ACh is the body's own 'stop' button to stop a certain sensation/ impulse that goes through your nervous system.
Without it, the impulse will continue to diffuse across the synaptic cleft of your nerves and received by the post-synaptic nodes that are located at the dendrites of your nerve cells.
And since nicotine somehow gets your brain to produce dopamine (which I don't remember how or why), you will need more nicotine to feed your 'feel-good' sensation.

To me, smoke smells bad and smokers smell even worse.
I don't get why people start smoking in the first place and how some women light up a cigarette and sit there like she's oh-so pretty and wanton.
My first impression would be that she's a hooker looking for a big fish to reel in.
Yeah, that's what I think and I don't care if you call be a b**** for it.

I've been vacationing in China quite often and I'm really, really tired of having to be stuffed in a room full of chimneys.
Seriously! It's like they can't live for a few seconds without a puff.
I can understand that it's to warm up your body (that's what my dad told me), but there are also other options!
Geez, there isn't a day where my hair or clothes don't smell like I've been rolling in a pile of tobacco leaves whenever I return to the hotel.

Even though my dad used to smoke, he now says that it smells horrible and has no idea why he started.
I'm just glad that he stopped after getting married to mom.
Maybe it was because of her that he stopped or that Singapore doesn't allow smoking in air-conditioned and public places.
I think it's the latter, because dad doesn't seem like a romantic kind of guy...

Oh well, that takes care of Biology; which means that I should really consider being a doctor instead of [insert wanted profession here].
*sigh*

Whadda-what?

2010-04-06T21:34:00.002+08:00

Oh my GAWD!
It's already April! A few more weeks till my finals...
*realizes the degree of crap that she's landed herself in*
No doubt, I've been eating, sleeping and crapping with organic chem in my head.
I even try to imagine the structural formula of the hydrocarbons that I read off the cleanser and toner that I use.
Yes, winternite has gone insane.

See how did studying drive her nuts.

I'm not kidding here.
I really do try to visualize the ketones, amines, ethers, esters and the alcohol that are present in the products.
Calculus is driving me up the wall, too!
I especially hate Trigonometry functions and integrating them!
Differentiating them is the hell lot easier!
I've got nothing against Physics because they are really interesting- Thermodynamics, Quantum Physics and Radioactivity.
The only thing I need to make sure of is the formula for decay constant, which I always seem to forget.
Biology is ok. It's just that I have to remember not to make the stupid mistake of naming the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary vein as primary artery and vein.
Yeah, I did that back in sophomore year of high school, in other words, Form 4.

I've put off doing a whole lot of stuff just to study.
But when summer break starts, all hell will break loose!
Imma gonna watch anime, play games and read all day long and there's nothing anyone can do about it!
Don't worry, I'll be doing my job as well.

Gotta go slide through the Bio slides. I have a Bio test the day after tomorrow.
それで、じゃあ！

In The Dark

2010-03-27T14:50:00.002+08:00

Today is an important day.
It's such an important day that I try squeezing an hour in my tight schedule to blog about it.
Why? I'm sure you've been watching the TV or listening to the radio, else have you been living in total seclusion and cut off from civilization?
Today is when Earth Hour will take place.

Wait, Earth Hour is today?

Yup, at 8.30pm tonight, people of the world will switch off their lights for a full hour.
Commercial venues and business squares will be switching off unnecessary lights instead of being in the total dark.
Last year I was fortunate, or should I say unfortunate, to celebrate Earth Hour while I was still in conscript.
The big-shot Commander "graced" us with his attendance to sit in the dark with us.
I have to admit, sitting in the dark with friends and comrades is rather fun.
But what wasn't fun was the fact that the camp we were in was not clean, spiritually speaking.
The darkness and silence of the surrounding forest wasn't exactly reassuring.

Now, I'm back at home, so I think I'd probably be sitting in my room in the dark with my laptop for company.
Oh wait, I won't.
I received news of my aunt's passing just an hour ago.
So instead of sitting with my laptop, I'd be sitting somewhere near a casket?
That doesn't sound good at all.

For anyone who stumbles onto my blog and this post, I'm giving an advanced thank-you for your offer of condolences (if you did offer, that is).
She had cancer.
We used to be rather close, until the fallout between my uncle (her husband) and my dad (they are brothers).
Hope that she is at a more happier place now.

Freaking Out

2010-03-12T16:05:00.003+08:00

I'm not exactly freaking out though; I don't have the time to.
Yeah, I know that I've not been really actively blogging recently; I blame my studies for it.

You could practically see from my to-do list that I have added a whole lot to do and have almost virtually done none.
Well, I've finished the Physics part of my attempt to recover my lost files when I lost my pendrive. I just have to work on the Chem and Math part right now.
Read on to see how college life isn't as fun as depicted on TV

Chem is a headache because it's entirely on Organic Chem, meaning all the hydrocarbons and their reaction mechanisms.
It's both good news and bad news at the same time because I don't have to do any calculations, but I have to remember the reactions that takes place, the ions that are formed, the bonds that are broken, the atoms that are either substituted or eliminated, nucleophiles, electrophiles, rules, laws, names, structures (I especially HATE dealing with kekule structures) and a whole lot more.
Math is another headache because it's ENTIRELY calculus.

And because of the frequency of sleep paralysis I've been experiencing and that I've just finished two ultra crazy weeks, I went out with my bro to watch Alice in the Wonderland today.
The show was nice, just that it probably won't leave a deeper impression than Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.

I'll update my game list as there are new games that I've set my eyes on and will probably redo my 漫画 list, since I've abandoned some and picked up some new ones.

Well, this is probably the only update you'll get from me for the whole of March.
I gotta get back to my notes; I've got a Bio test next week.
See you again when this crazy semester finally ends, which is in another two months.
またね！

PS: I didn't realize that I've actually been learning BOTH hiragana and katakana at the same time while playing 不思議の国のアリス. I guess the only reason to take classes right now is to learn the grammar faux pas and to get a more accurate pronunciation and enunciation.

Don't Kill Me, Yet

2010-02-22T22:30:00.002+08:00

...Most probably because I'm half dead by my own already.

Sorry, no CG this update.

My reason, (excuses to your ears)
- Overload of work since I'm resiting some of my subjects. Ask my friends, I've practically moved into the campus library and have not joined them for lunch in a long while.

Don't worry, I do eat.

- Hardly even touched the guide to using Suzie and CG ripping. Hence, I still have no idea how the hell it works.
Click here before you come to me with pitchforks and broomsticks
...That's it.

You'd believe me if I showed you my bedside table.
Gone are the puppies that I've bought on whim and temptations.

They are now replaced with stacks and stacks and stacks of thick, heavy reference books and mountains of papers.

Even my mom is complaining about the eraser shavings that she finds on my bed and the floor.

To make it up to you, I'm going to show you my current desktop.
(Hold on, there's a reason to it...)

Now direct your attention to the taskbar of my desktop.

I'm currently on my mission to type out all the questions I can find in reference books as practice questions.

Mind you, this is only the first chapter I've done and I've got uh...14 more to go?

Yeah...

To your extreme right, please.

Now, I've completed most of the games during my breaks (mostly at uh...2-4 am).

I've not started on Starry Sky yet, but 不思議の国のアリス series is mostly done.

That's not all, I've got loads of games that I've yet to install and to update in my list.

Since this is my last semester and I have around five months to waste before starting my degree (if I do make it, that is), I'll be working on the CGs, spoilers, guides and reviews then.

And since I get paid more for tutoring (yes, TUTORING) and I barely leave the house, I can get more games.

See, there is a bright side to this, right?

...Hey! Who the hell threw that tomato?

Don't you know that they're good for cancer prevention?

Also, I've managed to learn more katakana while playing those games.
Notice the 'JP' tab on the taskbar? That's my keyboard in Japanese IME mode, which is all the time.
I can form basic and simple sentences right now, like: 熱い!天気は本当に暑いです！
Heh.

Gotta run.

Have a stupid redundant presentation to prepare for tomorrow.

Game Review: Heart no Kuni no Alice

2010-01-30T23:14:00.009+08:00

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for (or I've been waiting for)...
My first ever game review!

Yeah, yeah; I'm not famous enough or qualified to give game reviews, but I'll do it anyways.

*sticks out tongue like a little kid*

I'll be doing this now and then when I come along with a game that I have.
I can foresee that most of it would probably be Japanese visual novels, but there might be occasional XBox 360 games popping up or even PSP, that is if I get the console.

The game that I would be reviewing today would be Heart no Kuni no Alice (no, duh).

And to make things clear from here on out, I will not be explaining about the game plots, strategy or even the endings in any of my future reviews.
My reviews would be entirely on my thoughts on the game plot, graphics, gameplay and soundtracks.
I will, however, make posts about the routes of the game that I've played; but that depends entirely on whether I liked it or not. (For those who wants CGs and spoilers, this is what you should wait for.)
I don't plan to waste my time on things that I don't like.

Now, onwards with the review!

Coming After

2010-01-29T00:51:00.004+08:00

Yeah, yeah. I know I should be burned at the stake for breaking my promise.
I was busy on Sunday, as a matter of fact.

Again, I was called (more like forced) to be the communication medium (a fancy term for translator) between my dad and his cousin in China.

I'd like to point out that I'm not the only one who knows Chinese in the family.

There's a surprise inside...
It's troublesome and bothersome, not to mention wasting the precious free time that I have.

My days are practically filled with classes, since this is the final semester in Foundation year.

I only have Fridays off and classes up till 2 on Mondays.

My Tuesdays and Wednesdays are from 12-5 while Thursdays are the worst- 9-5.

I have an additional redundant but mandatory subject to take this semester too, Morale Studies.

...As if sociology has anything to do with what I want?

After being in college for a year...
...Ok, it'll only be officially a year when May comes around, but you get my point.
As I was saying; after being in college for a year now, it gets more easier to spot the ~~noobies~~ (oops...) newbies.

First off, how to spot freshmen in my college with 3 simple giveaways:

1. They walk around the campus wearing the college tag.- I pretty much did the same thing when I first started, but took it off during classes. Took it off for good after two weeks.

2. Getting lost.
- My campus has a weird way of naming their classrooms, like L1.17. Half the time, they'll be wandering the halls in search of the classes, especially during the first two weeks.

3. Walking around like they're high-and-mighty or cooler-than-thou.
- I think it's more obvious this year. They try to hide the freshman status by acting like they're 'grown-up' and accustomed to college life but it's the act that gives it away. I remember feeling rather awkward for the first month.

And now, what I feel about the freshmen:

1. I think they have very bad toilet-manners.- I can't even find words to describe it. It's like they're not even potty-trained!

2. Too influenced by what they see on television.
- Come on, this is [insert country name] for God's sake, not America! College isn't all about dating, hooking-up and all the overly-dramatized love story. The whole reason you're in college is for further education.

3. I don't think that they should be in college.
- Simply because they don't know how to read the signs, especially the ones that says: No Smoking in the Campus Grounds; Please Put the Plates into the Bins Provided Here and Please Place the Books in the Trolley After Use.

4. They can't keep their hands to themselves.
- We didn't have any cases of graffiti until this year.

Finally, the surprise...

The whole reason why I didn't do the routes yet was because I couldn't watermark the CGs that I have extracted.

Yeah, I watermark them so that you people can't steal them by saving the image.

My photoshop wasn't working with Vista (CS2 bugs) and I'm lazy to do the workaround.

I'll try to start by this week, kay?

...Just don't hold me on my word. My term as a communication medium isn't over yet.

Troublesome

2010-01-23T22:06:00.002+08:00

本当わすみません!

I know, I promised to start writing about the routes and the CGs of this week, but I didn't.
Please don't come at me with torchlights and pitchforks...
I'll compensate in a post that I will do tomorrow, since I have to go out for dinner now and will probably return quite late.

I was preoccupied the whole afternoon with finding a way to customize my page jump links.
In other words, I was trying to make it a manipulatable widget instead of a template, stamping the ever so boring 'Take a step inside...' in each and every one of my post.

Want to know what I have found?
My search was in vain, I couldn't even find a solution to that.
Wordpress users are able to have that liberty, unlike us Blogspot users.

I tried changing the html, the widget class, id and a whole lot of other ways and I still couldn't even find a bloody solution to it!
I even tried doing it how Wordpress users would, just adding the text behind the more tag.
It was only four hours later that I realized that it was probably the most stupid thing to do.
Why?
It's because Blogger doesn't automatically generate excerpts from our posts; Wordpress does.
That was the facepalm moment.

Well, I though of a way to counter that!
You might have noticed that there are two links to view the entire post.
That's it.
Hey, don't blame me; at least I tried!
Furthermore, I'm not an IT student; I take Bio as my elective.
Neither do I have any form of classes in computer language (html , xhtml), nothing.
What I know, I learn by trial and error.

Anyways, since Blogger has implemented static pages, I've already converted some of the ones I made before into them.
Hope that they'll continue to develop more of these features or else I might move my blog to someplace that will allow more liberal encodings and customizes.

Wh-wh-WHAT?

2010-01-16T11:35:00.015+08:00

Like I wrote yesterday, I'm currently into クロバの国のアリス～Wonderful Wonder World～.

I finished ハートの国のアリス, its prequel, around two weeks after I got it.

The only thing left now to complete is the dance A ending for most of the characters.

Pretty fast, considering that there are nine character routes to take, which has a whole lot of CG to collect and it cost me around... uh...two-fifty to get it.

For those in the know, both are bloody 乙女ガーム series developed by QuinRose and is already in manga form.

Thank goodness that it the operating platform is PC and my laptop actually has the specs to store and run it.
I'm just not happy with the price, but it's a known fact that the Japanese deal by the thousands and has exceptionally high cost of living.

And for those who don't, they just see the title as an alien language and go "WTH is that?"

Ah, piqued your curiosity, huh? Saunter on inside then
I'm not about to get out of my way and explaining what the plot is; I might do it some time later when I feel like it.
Well, I've searched the net on sites covering these two games but have so far found none, other than two which are walkthroughs and guides.
The only one I've found is about the sequel to クロバ, which is ジョカの国のアリス.
And since I've finished two routes in クロバ and almost all in ハート, I think I might do a review and the game routes for both of the games.
For , I've done all the routes except for ゴーランド.

I don't think I can live through knowing that I tried to go after an おやじ.

*shudders*

ユリウス is a different case. He sounds more like he's in his mid-thirties instead of the おやじゴーランド.
Thank goodness that he isn't in クロバ.

I shan't go on any longer, mainly because I'm still in my jamies even when it's already 11.30 and I've still not done my chores.

I think I'll start writing next week; one character per week.

And that is only IF I feel like it.

So don't hold me on my word and say I didn't warn you.

Alrighty then, time to go bathe, do my chores and go study for my Physics test.

...And maybe squeeze in ボリス?

Redecorating

2010-01-15T15:18:00.000+08:00

Well, it's been a week since I started my third and final semester.

Yeah, I'll be starting my degree courses after this, if and only if I can get it.

Sounds bleak, huh?

I've already sensed and prepared for a major disappointment so that's that.

Hey, I have REAAAAAAALY low self-confidence so don't go reassuring me with comforting words.

I will neither believer it nor let any slight hope rise.

Anyways, my mom's been nagging at me to tidy up my room.
After they shifted my electric keyboard downstairs, I have...
this void at the side of the room.
They're thinking of renovating the house, but only a portion of it.
My room would be totally closed off because they're gonna knock one wall down and extend my bathroom.
My room would definitely be larger than it is right now, since it has turned from an 'L' shape to a square room.

For those who have actually seen my room would probably be saying that I don't need a bigger one, heh.

This HAD to be done because they needed to shift the water tank above my room out. The tank was leaking and it has already seeped through that one wall.

There are occasional bubbles forming from the walls and the paint keeps peeling off.

Hopefully, dad will fix up the built-in shelf like he said he would; my bookshelf is already overfilled.

Back to tidying up, I'm transferring most of my stuff from the study to my room.

Since I'm staying in my room most of the time, makes sense to have my stuff here.

I find it rather hard to stay in one room with 'some' people now.

They complain a whole lot when I stay in my room too often, and they tend to start arguments if I stay out of my room.

I mean, WTH? What am I supposed to do?

It's rather tiring trying to satisfy them so I'm staying out of their way most of the time.

Right, I'm getting rid of most of the stuffed toys (mainly dogs and teddy bears) on my bedside table.

Yes, I do still keep them; got a problem with that?

Will probably be throwing away a whole lot of stuff.
*sigh* I can't believe I have to grow up now.

It's the last year for me to have the suffix -teen attached to my age.

I have another four months till death takes one year off my life.

And next year, I'm in the YA category... Ughhh.

Any vampires around to freeze my age?

*puppy dog eyes*

PS: I've already finished one route in クロバの国のアリス～Ｗｏｎｄｅｒｆｕｌ　Ｗｏｎｄｅｒ　Ｗｏｒｌｄ～- Peter's route. Will probably post about it in the next one, but that will have to wait, I have Physics assignment on Monday and a test on Wednesday.

Working on Nightmare's route later.

I'm Listening

2010-01-09T14:10:00.011+08:00

Sound, oh glorious sound.
I find no greater joy than to listen, and read.
Come to think of it, most of the activities that I love doing are very singular, other than gaming of course.

I have been pondering about this question Sappy asked when we met at MPH.
She finds it odd that no one in my family enjoys reading other than me and wonders where I've picked it up.
She isn't the first to ask though, and I didn't really know how to answer either.
I simply don't know.

Anyways, I'm not writing about books and reading.
Sound is the belle of the ball this time, voices to be more specific.

I'm sorry to say, English voice dubbers in Japanese animation are a disappointment to me.
Not all, but most.
I've been listening to some of the drama CDs that I have and find that the Japanese doing a better job at it.
The variation between roles by the same 声優 is astounding, and the give a far more convincing performance in both tone and emotion.
My MP3 is being cleared of songs I have lost interest in to synchronize all the drama CDs I've gotten.
Most of the songs are English songs; the English music industry is another sad and disappointing topic in my eyes.
I think 20GB should be enough, right?

My bro was giving me the discerning eye when I told him about drama CD, since 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 was among the albums I managed to get my hands on.
He says that it was pointless to listen when I don't even understand a single word of it.
It's his loss, since this is one of the ways to pick up a language.

I have a few favorite 声優, and it's not a surprise that most of them are guys.
*rolls eyes*
And no, I'm not listening to BL drama CDs. 私わ腐女子でわないよ！
Anyways, here's the list of 声優 that makes me melt into a puddle of goo and go all giddy (which is not an easy task):
~Not in any particular order~

- 小西克幸
- 最上嗣生
- 平川大輔
- 杉山紀明
- 杉田智和
- 中井和哉
- 櫻井孝広
- 小野大輔
- 福山潤
- 伊藤健太郎
- 森田成一
- 関智一
- 緑川光
- 檜山修之
- 森川智之
- 宮野真守

Hey, just because I'm a bit rough and don't prance around in a skirt and going all boy-crazy doesn't mean that I don't have a girly *shudders* side of me.
I am still a girl, just that I'm not too keen on real-life boys.

男の声優

Fictional characters
|

Me being giddy and happy

Conclusion: Winternite has solidified her stand as an otaku.

Meh, I'm going to see if ボリス would take me to the dance like he promised.

New Year, New Beginnings?

2010-01-01T13:31:00.004+08:00

Well, it's 2010 now.
The new year started with a scream, literally.
I'll take it as an omen and say that it won't be any better than last year.
So, I'm anticipating even more disappointments, arguments, debacles, unhappiness and tension.
...
Hey, don't flame me for not being happy about a new year.
I'm a pessimist; I live to see the negative side of things.
I started out as a spunky (I can't seem to imagine myself being spunky) and perky girl but life has sorta molded and beaten me down to a cynical and pessimistic wallflower.

Now, I'm to hide myself so that the pervy knight doesn't find me and the possessive and jealous mafia boss of a husband of mine doesn't either one of us.
*snaps her fingers and disappears*

Warning Labels

2009-12-31T22:21:00.004+08:00

Well, it's the last day of 2009, so I'm trying to put on one last post and close the door of yesteryear two hours from now.
And what a weird way to end the year's post with warning labels.
Warning labels?
Yes, warning labels.

You know what warning labels are, so I'm not going to define nor explain its function.
If you don't know what warning labels are, I shall perform a 土下座 for I am amazed at your ability to have survived so long without knowing what they are.

Well, let me be my odd little self and say that books should come with warning labels.
More specifically, visual novels or 漫画 should come with warning labels... More detailed warning labels.
I almost died after reading chapter 13 of ﾊーﾄの国のアリス or also know as Heart no Kuni no Alice.
Yes, DIED.
My heart was going ドキドキ when I started the chapter and when it reached the chapter climax...
It stopped beating for five seconds. No pulse, no movement, no breathing.
My eyes continued to scrutinize the contents of the page and my mind echoing the words that were telling their tale. My fingers tapped on the -> key to reveal the next page.
I swear, I shall never find anything that's more tempting than books.
Well, other than music that is.

I shall now leave this world and head onto my little corner of my mind.
While the whole world is ushering in 2010 with loud music, noisy crowds, gyrating and crushing bodies, long jams and putrid odor of sweat, I shall be comfortably sitting in my room and having the company of my harem of fiction.
As Jane Austen once penned Pride and Prejudice and have Elizabeth Bennet say,

What are men to mountains and lakes?

I shall now reply with another rhetorical question,

What are men to fiction and dreams?

乙女

2009-12-29T16:56:00.005+08:00

乙女ガム is something that I'm dabbling into right now.
That's the reason behind my recent weird tweets.
...Speaking of which, I've noticed that the manga genre is running on 'Alice in the Wonderland' plots right now.
Westerners are into vampires while the Japanese are into Alice... Heh?

The one that I'm currently playing is the first of the 'Wonderful Wonder World' series - ﾊーﾄの国のアリス．

Since I have very little knowledge on katakana, I mostly depend on the kanji that I see in the conversation to make my decisions.
My first attempt on the game while I was still in China was terrible.
I got the bad ending.
But I've figured out how exactly the game works and runs... And I've gotten two good endings on my following attempts!

I won't give out too much details, since I don't want to spoil anything... And I really want to get back to my game.
There are nine characters to end up with:
(the names are not their real ones, it's my nicknames for them)
- The SM bunny (has a huge insecurity complex)
- The pervy knight
- The bad tempered queen
-The melancholic clockmaster
- The sickly Nightmare
- The suave mafia boss
- The bloody twins
- The trigger-happy hare
- The tone-deaf theme park master
- The cat (I've got no better names for Boris... Cat is pretty much self-explanatory)

Too bad I couldn't upload the CG... Because I have no idea how to extract them.
*whams head on bed rest*
This game is so OMG on so many levels.

Watch out though, since I might have an 乙女ガム tab on my navi bar.
*shhh...*

Time to go see the queen!

Changes

2009-12-27T22:09:00.006+08:00

皆さん，ただ今帰りました!

Ehehe...
I won't do a full recap of my vacation in China. Here's the summary:
- Ken and Liang (the Chai bros) came along, so did Ms. Chai.
Last year was the only year that the Chai family didn't join us for the annual vacation. It's a pity they didn't get to join us, since Korea was by far the BEST vacation experience.
- I had to share a room with the tour leader; SHE is female, you dirty minded people. D:< - All we saw were rocks and lakes... And more rocks.
Most of the time, I was imagining the scene of the ドラマ CD I was listening to on my MP3.
- There probably won't be any uploads of photos, since I was too lazy to take pictures.
- I didn't spend much on this trip and the only splurged item was the outerwear I bought in Samuel and Kevin while waiting for the transit in Guangzhou.
- The ONLY eye candy WORTH a second look is the manga that I had stored in my laptop.
- The net speed was decent at some places and I got pretty great ddls at some of the sites. But...
- Internet access is SEVERELY LIMITED. Facebook, Blogspot, Twitter, Flicker and a whole lot of other sites were blocked by the Great Firewall of China. (No pun intended)
- Spending Christmas in China was not a good idea.
After witnessing and experiencing the HORROR of pushing bodies and heavy smoking of the crowds, I scoff at their CLAIMS to be CIVILIZED.

And to further my flamings, here's what I think of Chinamen:
- Chinamen are rude and obnoxious... I'm ashamed to be associated with such barbarians who had refined the method of paper making and invented the compass.
- There was a family who had really bad table manners and we were forced to share a table with them to even out the number. They fit in really well with the Chinamen.
- On most days, we go hungry because THAT family tend to lick their chopsticks and THEN go on to picking the dishes with their SALIVA-LACED chopsticks. Disgusting.
- Chinamen DO NOT believe in the system of QUEUING UP. They do what they can to push themselves to be the first.
- They think themselves to be superior, only to fall flat on their asses when we spoke to them in English.
Hey, you only speak ONE language and probably your own dialect; I speak THREE languages and TWO other dialects while I understand FIVE languages and THREE dialects.
Note: Three are the normal E2M (English, Mandarin and Malay) and the two dialects are Cantonese and Hakka. The extra two languages are Japanese and Korean (both of partial understanding and in the process of learning) and Hokkien for dialect. <- No bragging intended.
- They are SELFISH and SPOILED BRATS, not to mention CUNNING and SLY.
- They just can't go on without smoking. They'd probably DIE if they had to go on without smoking for a day.
- They SPIT at EVERY FREAKING PLACE! And to make matters more disgusting... They tend to step ON their spit and DRAG THEIR SHOES ACROSS IT!
Yeah... As if you could HIDE that trail of slobber scuff mark leading to your shoes...

Finally,
I declare my cousin INSANE for getting married to a Chinaman.

*takes a deep breath and goes back to Zen mode*

On a lighter note, I'll be making some changes to my blog.
Yup, you heard me... SOME changes.
I won't be closing it off like the last time.
I'll be making the changes through my sub-blogs (yes, I HAVE sub-blogs that are meant for experimentations) and that would make the transition more smoother.
And if it doesn't work, I don't have to worry about messing up my current template.
I won't be revealing what changes I'll be making, just in case the plan falls through.
The only obstacle right now is to bug my dad to get me a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS4...

Hmm, I think that's it for this time.
Imma go play ﾊーﾄの国のアリス! :DDDDD
Blood threw me on the bed when I visited him last night... I wonder what's he going to do next?
*shifty eyes* <- BerryCarmen
Fictional guys are probably the only guys that are able to get my non-existent heart reappear and go 'ﾄﾞｷ―ﾄﾞｷ'.
Like I said the last time, real guys just can't measure up anymore.

PS: I'm thinking about watching Sherlock Holmes this coming week, probably in OU / 1U (or what other names). Contact either bro or me through whatever means if you're interested in joining us. Date will be decided later.

漫画お宅

2009-12-15T13:42:00.003+08:00

始めました，あたしわ鳳惠。こにちわ！

Lol, I finally figured out the way to get my keyboard input to type kana.
I've also found the way to enable my taskbar to display in unicode, so that both Chinese and Japanese could be featured.
Even my calender is in Japanese...
See, I do learn some useful stuff while on the internet!

Oh yeah, I'm sorry for not updating often. Been sorta busy with finals and stuff... Life.
I'm just dropping off to say that I'll be adding some new stuff to my blog around three weeks from now, which is when I'm on sem break.
I've also noticed that there are some readers from Japan coming to this blog to look for raws... which is kinda odd.
There are no raws here, but there will be something else that I will put up later on.

Gotta go study Bio now, last paper tomorrow.

Win

2009-12-03T17:22:00.003+08:00

Yup, it's awesome!
I won NaNoWriMo!

And before you pop out the champagne and stuff, so did the other 1k+ people.
Don't get the meaning of the word 'win' here wrong; I did win, and so did they.
Being a winner doesn't represent being number one in this case, or any other similar cases; it's a win because we accomplished something.

You see, many of us wouldn't even think about writing a novel.
Even if we did, we'd actually procrastinate and never get to finish it.
So, this is where NaNoWriMo comes to play; and I think I've written about this before.
It challenges you to glue your ass down onto the chair to finish a 50k word novel in a month's time.
You can have a preplanned plot and drafts, but not a completed story.
You'll have to cast away all doubts and think about it as your fingers type; decide as you watch your characters materialize in front of your very eyes.
It also taunts, mocks and laughs at you whenever procrastination shows up; belittling you whenever you lean towards temptation.
Believe me, there wasn't a night that I wasn't sitting in front of my laptop and absorbed with getting my story out.

And you know what?
I'm not even done with my story yet.
Yeah, I can actually hear someone asking how the hell did I win when I'm not even done writing.
Actually, the goal of NaNoWriMo isn't about completing a novel in 30 days; it's writing a 50k story in the month of November.
And that, people, is the minimum number of words which makes a story qualified to be termed as a novel...A short novel.

There isn't a particular genre, and there isn't a best in genre.
The thing about this competition is, there simply isn't one ultimate winner.
There's no judging schemes, no bad blood amongst writers...None of the sort of evil.
A novel is considered a novel if you think it is one; just like how the first kiss is- It wouldn't be a first kiss unless you consider it to be.
The sky's the limit, and the earth is your canvas.
If you want to write about the apocalypse, you're welcome to.
If you want to make it that your vampires can be killed by nothing but chillies, go right ahead.
There are no rules, laws or anything...YOU are God.
It's a alternate world / universe that bends to your will and fancy.
It'll be as you dictate, even if it defies the law of Physics.
But mind you, your characters would sometimes take a life on its own to write itself and will not do as you command.
That's what happened to me and my characters. My FMC and MMC didn't turn out like I expected them to be, and there is definitely some friction that will happen to the MMC and his best friend.

This is also a good way to train your creativity and to think outside of the box.
Science students are generally blocks of wood, seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I am a wooden block myself.
We obey all the laws and principles that we are taught, like Newton's Three Laws of Motion and all the other principles.
It'll always be 1,2,3 and never h, k, 8.
When writing, it could be 1, m, 8, di, 389...You get my point?

My news of victory was received in cold response from my family.
My friends, on the other hand, were supportive. :D
(Thanks, guys!)
I felt happy that I could write that large amount of words in 30 days when I thought it to be entirely impossible a few weeks ago.
Now, I know that it's possible and I am capable of writing more than that.

What now?
Well, I'm going to finish writing my novel and try to come up with a title.
I think I heard a gasp and someone fainting...
Yeah, it's still a untitled novel. I left it as Story 1.
Here's the good part: The winners of NaNoWriMo are entitled to have their story printed!
Yup, the organizers and Createspace are going to print out my draft and compile it into a presentable manuscript... FOR FREE!
That's right, you heard me! Even the shipping is FOC!
The offer will end in June 2010, so I gotta finish my novel and its edits by then.
After having it printed, I can either sell it in Amazon or look for a literary agent that will read my book and then hopefully agree to represent me and take care of my career as an author.
But... That'll be decided later on.

I guess that's it for now.
I'm still trying to persuade my FMC to go on a trip with the MMC and his best friend, but she's worried about her siblings...
That's about as much of a spoiler that I can give; it's more than generous.
I guess you'll just have to read it when I'm done and satisfied with it.

Now to plug in my earphones and continue my literary quest to bring happiness to my FMC's life.
Too bad I can't do squat about mine.

Hell

2009-11-27T22:24:00.002+08:00

You know the term, Hell on Earth?
I think that it simply is what it says: Hell on Earth.
Not a description of chaos, not the experience one feels; it simply means what it is- Hell on Earth.

Right now, I feel disgusted.
Not by the macabre find of corpses hastily buried in the South Philippines, not by the incestuous German man who violated and ruined his daughter and not even the Khmer Rouge nor the Jew Genocide of WWI.
I am disgusted at the beings that caused it- humans.
I feel disgusted by the beings that call themselves human.
I feel disgusted at myself who is human.
And no achievement of the so called human race or mankind will ever make me proud of being one either.

At this moment, I don't think that Hell is the worst place to be.
To me, being human is even worse than being a prisoner in hell.

Humans are never satisfied.
Humans are hypocrites.
Humans do what they teach their kids not to do.
Humans preach what they never abide by.
These are the real definitions of human.

I once questioned the reason to conform with human society's views if it goes against one's principle.
Someone replied that, if something is a social norm, then it is something accepted by human society; thus making it valid and correct.
I then challenged the speaker with the fact that sexual relationships before marriage is a social norm, but that doesn't make it right.
I was then labeled as stubborn and self-destructing.
See my point?
Humans are hypocrites and no longer have claims of being a more intelligent being compared to beasts.

As much as I am disgusted, I won't take away my consciousness and life.
I will simply live by the rules and morales written and preached by the hypocrites, caring not whether human society approves of it.
If they denounce me as human, I shall be glad of it.
I have no wish to be grouped under such vile and vulgar creatures of vice.

2009-11-22T13:20:00.002+08:00

Mmhmm...
I'm not dead, yet.
Just very busy...
Like I'm half swallowed by the dreaded monster known as Life.

Still writing, just a tad behind schedule.
Have a whole bunch of stuff to finish this week.
Stupid tests and quizzes.
Gosh...

I really need a vacation soon.

Still

2009-11-13T23:29:00.003+08:00

YES, I AM STILL ALIVE!
Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?

I'm still breathing;
I'm still blinking;
My stomach is still trying to digest mom's pork chop with apple cider sauce;
My esophagus still trying to suppress that burp I've been holding back on;
I'm still writing my novel- 23k and going,
My characters are rebelling- they don't listen to me anymore, and the most important thing...
Why the hell are there so many teen romance novels with vampires in them?

...Figures.
Everyone is gaga about Edward.
Speaking of which, I've not touched my Twilight novels ever since the movie came out.
I tend to stay from mainstream stuff- I don't like it as much once it gets famous and everyone is crazy about it.

The next book on my book hunt list are Isis: Tale of the Supernatural, Impulse and Initiative, The Personal Diary of Mr. Darcy and Nightlight.
I doubt I'll be able to find them here.

And if anyone is looking for a fun game to play, I might suggest that you try the Dream Chronicles; just make sure that you have enough RAM to support or it'll be very laggy and the graphics sluggish. It spans three episodes and I just finished the second one in the morning.
It's a hidden object game that is beautifully done; the mini games are really nice and the soundtrack is very soothing.
Others on my favorite list are: the MCF series, Princess Isabella: Curse of the Witch, Natalie Brookes and Samantha Swift.

Well then, I should be getting back to whatever I wanted to do.

Epic?

2009-11-09T03:21:00.004+08:00

Ok, it's three in the morning (close to three thirty) and I'm still up.
No kidding.
My parents would flip if they opened their door and found me still on my laptop and sitting in the same sofa, at the same position and... still intent on typing.
Yeah, my family shares not the joy of writing; neither do they share my passion for books.
I fancy myself an adopted child, but my resemblance to mother made that thought wholly improbable.

The weekend is over and I had finally surpassed the recommended word count 2 days ago.
I started my story on the 4th, three days later than the actual starting date.
So far, I'm happy with what I've gotten; immensely happy.
My characters are starting to write themselves, which isn't a bad thing after all- less for me to mull over how to connect one part to the next.
I did not intend for my FMC to be so cynical, or her friend such a hopeless romantic, or her cousin to be so immature.
My FMC is now a cynical and outspoken person while her friend is much too busy ogling at her fiancé to be bothered by anything. Her cousin is acting like a child, even when he is twenty-four!

I had some trouble back then, my MMC did not want to come out.
Like I had tweeted for the past few days, he just wasn't willing to show himself. From 10k up to 14.5k words / 22 pages / 7 chapters, he showed neither hide nor tail. I worried that my FMC was too cynical and sarcastic for him.
But that problem is now solved! I finally managed to shove him out into the limelight at my 8th chapter / 26 pages / 15+k words.
Ah, the sweet feeling of accomplishment.

It may be 15k now, but I think I'll be able to add another 1.5 - 2 k words today, more if I'm lucky.
Speaking of which, I have to get to bed now. I still have classes up to 2 in the noontime.

PS: To think of the irony where I get embarrassed at kissing scenes and cringe away at the very sense of the abhorrent pink mood / atmosphere and yet, I'm writing a novel under the genre of romance!
And yeah, I've been reading a little too many Regency novels *coughPrideandPrejuidicecough*
that my novel is written in that form. Or rather, the conversation is styled in that form.

PPS: If anyone is curious, this is the URL to my page in NaNoWrMo -> Winternite's Profile
Uh huh, I have yet to think of a title for my novel. And sorry, no excerpt or synopsis either.

Oh Noes

2009-11-05T20:59:00.002+08:00

Well, I'm still writing my story- now more than 4000 words, but around 2000 words shy from the recommended daily word count.
You know, I found it hard to think of a title for this post but words seem to flow when I'm writing my story.
I hope that it will continue...
*prays to the God of Literature and other Gods that has to do with writing and creativity.*

My eye had been twitching almost the whole day, with reasons unknown.
It started when I was in the campus library, continuing my story on paper while the original draft is in my laptop.
Continued throughout the day...

Ok, time to get back to writing. I need to make up for the three days that I didn't write.

Drown

2009-10-31T21:28:00.002+08:00

I bought two books from MPH yesterday.
I don't even know why I did, since I don't even have the time to read it.
Maybe I could read it while in the loo... But then again, it'll smell nasty.

I just sent a mail to the groups that I'm working for, stating that I'm either on hiatus, retired or just plain fired.
It's up to them to decide.
I just don't have the time to do it anymore.
Yeah, not even proofreading.

Every week, there's bound to be one subject being tested, one or two labs and God knows how many assignments / tutorials / questions.
Especially for Math... The last one was 57 on Differentiation.
I fear what she might give for Integration.

Finals are in a month... And I really, really do have to buck up.
Another reason why I'm always borrowing the same three books from the campus library.
I hope that the questions I covered are vast enough... Especially with Chemistry.
Ms. S sets out of topic and misleading questions which is hard for we who were used to the spoon-fed style of exams during school days.

That's all for this week.
...I'm really tempted to read my book, but I've got another Math test to practice for...
Resistance has NEVER been harder.

Rock Bottom

2009-10-30T00:13:00.003+08:00

Ok I've been almost unreachable for the past week, be it by phone, MSN or even by mail.
I don't even have time to type out a simple text message to reply my classmates.
I've been piled under a whole lot of work, and that's the only thing I can have time to say.
I have no updates on scripts this week, regrettably and unfortunately.
You can say it's an excuse, but that's the only thing I can offer.

I'm planning to drop some of the groups that I'm working for.
I simply don't have time to sit and translate like I used to.
You will probably receive a message about it, along with the last script that I was left with, some time this weekend. And that's only if I have free time to type it.
I barely switched on my desktop or my laptop for the past three weeks or so.
I apologize for that, but it can't be helped anymore.
Real life has already half digested me.
And I've been feeling sorta... kinda.... I don't even know how to describe it.
I used to enjoy translating, but lately...
It's become more like a job than a hobby.

NaNoWrMo starts in a less than a week.
I've got my story down but I'm beginning to doubt that I have the time to type it out.

This is the very reason I don't want to grow up.
You barely have the time to do what you want, and absolutely no time to do what you need.

Itch

2009-10-15T22:58:00.003+08:00

I'm so swamped with work right now I could barely fill my weekly quota of scripts.
Yeah, it's come to a most unwanted standstill.

My car broke down, again.
I was heading home after delivering something to my mom's friend in the morning.
Halfway home, it just died.
Luckily, my uncle's workshop happened to be nearby.
I gave him a call and then called home to have my mom pick me up.
I was almost late for classes today, almost.

My eye itches for no apparent reason.
It was my nose at first, and that was while I was climbing up the stairs to head to the bio lab in the Pharmacy wing.
It's my eye that itches right now, the left one to be exact.
I've tried eye drops, I've tried sleeping it off...It didn't work.
And, it's rather hard to type or do anything with only one eye open.

In other news, I messed up my Physics test on Tuesday.
There goes 5% of my final grade.
I forgot to include the scientific notation in my calculation for electric forces, which subsequently affects my calculation for the acceleration of the electron when I used the force answer to get the magnitude of the electric field.
If the words confused you, I hope this might clear it:

F= k|q|/r^2
E= F/q
F= ma

There's something wrong with my Sims 2.
It crashed yesterday, much to the dismay of the little brat.
Now, I have to finish my proofreading for Skip Beat, fix my game and then study for my chem, bio and math test next week.

See, I told you that I was swamped with work.

2009-10-06T23:30:00.001+08:00

Rue the day that the string got snapped.

*evil grin*

Ruins

2009-10-03T16:30:00.004+08:00

Despite losing the intimacy of my two famed friends- wit and intelligence, I am still able to express what I desire to say.
Thus ends my unusual way of writing, for the following post is of the modern world.
To be more specific, it's concerning manga.
(Again, those who know manga as an equivalent of the mango fruit will be seen as a blundering ignoramus in my eyes.)

This is in regards to the end note that I gave in this post: Back.
For those of you who are in a state of blur for you have either been living under the rock for the past few months or that you've just been rescued off a deserted and unmapped island, please direct your attention to the following links: Prelude to Disaster, Justifications of Self-Righteousness and Further Reports.
For those who are well-informed about the whole uproar, please direct your attention here: Note of Worth.

I fancy to think myself as a veteran reader, but I pale in comparison to other veterans for this is only my 4th year while they've been in this for almost a decade.
If put to the hierarchy of high school, I'm only but a sophomore.
As for the scanslating community, I only joined recently.
Disregarding my two-year hiatus, I'm in my 3rd year as a translator and first year as a proofreader.
New I am to the community, but the sense of comradeship I have to all my fellow scanslators could stand rival to a friendship of ten years.
And now, the community is in danger of annihilation.

The said annihilation comes in form of a group of people who were once part of the community but has now submitted to the condemned preachings of the Green Book of Greed.
They think themselves influential and now regard themselves as the 'Representatives' of the community.
They speak of change for the better, hold negotiations and make decisions in the name of the community.
Mind you, this community is as vast as the galaxy, just as it is diverse.
Though vast, we never needed a monarch, least said about representatives.

The above are just the prologue of this ramble of mine.
My opinion starts below.
I have formed my judgment based on evidence.

Scanslators are the grey people of the manga industry, also the Underground.
We translate manga, manwha and manhua into other languages than the media's native language, just like publishing companies like Viz, Tokyopop, CMX and etc.
The only thing that differs between us is we don't get paid for it nor expect any payment, that and we do it as a hobby instead of a profession.
Scanslators don't get paid with any form of money, but in form of gratitude and thanks.
Getting paid is blasphemy of the highest degree. Those who do so are considered the lowest of all life forms.
Fueled by passion and the desire to share joy, we spend precious time doing what we do, expecting nothing in return.
Such is the Universal Code of the Scanslators.

These representatives have no idea what they are dealing with, nor are they conscience of the magnitude of repercussion that will soon follow if their plan is set into motion.
The scanslation community will come to the end as we know it.
And the genocide will thus stain their hands with blood of former comrades while they delude themselves with the thought of creating a 'win-win-win' situation.

(Directed to the 'Representatives')
First, who are you to declare yourself our representatives?
It's not universally agreed, literally.

I am also insulted when you referred to us as an 'untapped source'.
I see that you aren't in any way involved with the scanslating process, hence the birth of your stupid proposal.

Money and power have clouded your judgment.
You don't have as much power and influence as you delude yourself into having.
To the corporates, you are nothing but a pawn to destroy the very community you think you're doing good to.
Your proposal will blast open the pathway that was impenetrable for so very long, leading to unneeded bloodshed (figuratively speaking) and finally your own ruin.
Heed the warnings of your friends and comrades; cease the idea of the situation that will only materialize in the perfect world or you will be ostracized by us all.
Your name shall be sullied and be remembered as heretics for the rest of eternity.

(Directed to Imitorar on subject: Comment)
As you said, you have no emotional attachments to the scanslating community, you therefore have no rights to say:

But why is that a bad thing?

I shall put a bullet through your heart, mutilate your corpse to pieces and later curse your soul to the darkest region of hell if I ever chance an encounter of you.

The purpose of scanlation is ultimately to allow people to read manga that they wouldn't get to otherwise, isn't it? If that is the goal of scanlation, then this move would be nothing but a good thing, because it would allow fans to read the manga that they want to read in a timely manner, in good quality AND LEGALLY, which is something that they cannot do as things are now.

This move would fulfill the goals of the scanlation community, something that should be met with praise, not rebuke. What value is the scanlation community in and of itself, and why should its continued existence be prized above fulfilling the goal of allowing fans to read well-produced manga quickly and legally?

Yes, that is the sole purpose of our existence. However, I disagree most vehemently with your views.
FYI: I do buy manga. My dad frowns upon my purchases and excludes it from my reading reimbursements.
When you use the words "timely manner" and "quickly", it made me laugh at your ignorance.
The publishing houses can never compete with the speed of scanslators, that is a known fact.
The time for the scanslators to churn out a complete volume is only a fraction of how long the publishing houses take.
Being amateurs and doing it at our free time, we surpass the 'Professionals' who do it as a job by a long shot in regards to speed of release.
Common knowledge of the language and Photoshop on an outdated computer for the former whilst a degree in linguistics and the most current of hardware and software for the latter, publishing houses still shrivels in comparison with scanslators.

As for quality, I'd vouch for the scanslators.
Even when the publishing houses boasted on their ability of keep to the original, they are still far from it.
For example, Viz excludes all forms of honorifics, replacing them with Miss, and Mister.
And you can bet on the destruction of earth that ALL publishing houses switches the order of names, with given name preceding family or surnames.
As an Asian, this is the biggest insult!
How could they boast on their originality when they go about Westernizing the script?
I can say that I am original when I translate scripts!
I never ignore the honorifics nor do I change the names!
They are the very beauty of Eastern culture, which I'm very sure YOU wouldn't understand!

That said, I think that you are judging the staff of MangaHelpers far too harshly. I don't think that they're as greedy as you make them out to be. I think that they really do want to help the community. If you read through the entire plan, you'll notice that MangaHelpers doesn't really stand to make any money from this. Any money made would be made by Viz and any scanlators that agreed to work for them. I don't think that any comparisons to Tazmo are valid. Tazmo does what he does out of greed. MangaHelpers planned this out of a desire to give the community what it wants.

I believe my judgment to be fair.
I've read the proposal and their justifications on the matter.
Their hidden objectives are unseen to you, but transparent to others, including me.
I advise you to read between the lines, and discard your naive views on the world.

I wholly agree with Edward and Protected, and many others who can foresee the apocalypse that will soon befall the community that I've taken much pleasure in the company of.
Even if it does strike, the scanslation community will rise and flourish as an underground movement again.
There are just too many of us for the publishing companies to deal with.

All hail to the hundreds, nay, thousands of scanslating teams- my comrades in leisure, passion and battle!
May the fire of Scanslators burn vigorously till the ends of time and engulf those who dare do harm to us!

Failing Words

2009-10-02T18:35:00.006+08:00

In spite of the somewhat bad week, it hasn't prostrated me.
But words, my supposedly best of friends, has left its seat in the train of my thoughts.
I fear my wit and wisdom will soon follow, for I have not much of either.
I do dare own that I have neither beauty nor intelligence, neither talent nor grace, gift nor virtue.
I am, in short, nothing but an empty shell with a soul that thirsts for the next interesting and new thing.
So what is this empty shell going to ramble about this week?
What about the tingling feeling I have running down my spine?

It's been going on for a while and it's always when I'm reading anything that involves a burst of feelings, especially the one so famously colored pink.
At first, I thought that it might have been the lack and want of the feeling.
Oh how wrong was I.
It's fear, not lust.
Deep mortification if you may.

It is odd, isn't it?
Females aren't supposed to have these feelings, do they?
They're supposed to embrace these feelings, fawn over it and then dissolve into a puddle over it.
However, my hair stands on their very ends, an unearthly chill runs down my spine and my mind is a blank.
I shan't change any of it, for change shall eradicate the sole tiny happiness that wicked Life allows me.

For now, indifference and melancholy shall be my companions.

Fidget

2009-09-30T16:17:00.002+08:00

This is gonna be short, since I'm starting to feel sleepy already.

I'm happy with the results I got for my finals, and I'm determined to do better this time.
I got distinction for a redundant subject, which leads me to question my choice of career now.
...I'm not making much sense.

I've also taken quite an interest in novel parodies, but still prefer the real work done by the orignal author.
I wonder if Jane Eyre has a parody...I heard from somewhere that she's a assassin in that parody.
I guess I'll go on another book hunt again.

Butchered

2009-09-25T23:50:00.002+08:00

Okay, it's not weird for me to post twice in a day.
But this is gonna be short.

I've almost done reading most of my books in two hours.
Yes, five books in two hours; and each of them is more than 200 pages.

Remember my mentioning about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?
It's pretty much a butchered version of the actual work, but I like it.
And I rather like how they wrote about the author, who is a guy:

Jane Austen is the author of Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and other masterpieces of English literature.
Seth Grahame-Smith once took a class in English literature. He lives in Los Angeles.

See, this book is published in 2009; and I found it in Singapore, which is the south of where I am.
This book probably won't even be available until the late quarter of next year, or not even allowed in the shelves for the old coddgers in the censorship board see it not 'fit'.
Another reason why I'd rather say that I'm from Singapore instead of MS.

Speaking of which, my brother is in desperate search for the girl from Negri Sembilan whom he held hands with during the bungee ride.
Yes, if you remember holding hands with a 6ft 7 guy with specs and looks somewhat like a Japanese, please leave your e-mail at my C-Box.
His description is 6ft 7, wearing a pair of specs, single eye-lid (hence we call him Japanese), black T-shirt, a pair of long pants and a pair of New Balance blue sneakers.
My bro is regreting that he didn't ask for your name that day and would like to contact you.
Thank you.

Back my reading.

Back

2009-09-25T16:27:00.004+08:00

Well, I'm back.
I was able to escape my captors and walk all the way back from the straits of Johor.
...I should cut the crap here.

Yes, I am really back.
And I had no intentions of being contactable for the past three days.
That's why I left my laptop at home.

Anyways, I had a rather nice time at Singapore, even when we were lost for two hours trying to locate the hotel and my dad's stubbornness to get a new map, saying that 'Singapore will never change.'
I'm glad that he had to eat his words.
However, our return was of a sour tone, fortunately not mine.
I won't say anything other than 'Hell hath no fury like a women's scorn'.

I went to Singapore on a quest for books.
Yes, you heard me, books.
Because of the ******* censor-board here, I can't get any of the books that I'm looking for.
From Borders to Kinokuniya, from Somerset to Orchard Road, I've walked through the crowded streets and been sandwiched in the MRT.
But alas, I've only found 4 out of the 6 that I was looking for.
Oh well, at least I have something.
And yes, most of my shopping hauls were books.
I'm happy though, being able to hold in my small hands the copy of 'Pride and Prejudice'...wait for it, '...and Zombies.'
Yes, the parody version.

I seem to have not only become an otaku this year, but Jane Austen Addict (a title of another book that I bought) too.
I love the stories like Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park.
I don't love Northanger Abby and Sense and Sensibility just as much though.
Whatever it is, I'm a very huge fan of most of Jane Austen's work.
Just as much as I'm a fan of Charlotte Bronte.
And I love my manga just as much as I love my classic literature.

Speaking of manga, I'll be a bit late on my translations and proofreading.
In other news, there's this rumor (I shall treat it as a rumor until sufficient evidence is put up) about MangaHelpers.
I'm still on the fence with it; but if it ever sways to any form of payment, I shall abandon it faster than you can sneeze.
Money and power are great, but you also depend on people like us to get that kind of money and power.
In short, you're basically alive because of the fans. Anger the fans and they will abandon you.
There won't be a king or a kingdom when there are no people; there won't be a site when there are no fans.

2009-09-22T08:00:00.001+08:00

Winternite has been kidnapped!

She was minding her own business, reading Jane Eyre in the comforts of her lazy chair and her laptop when she was whisked away by four shadows!

Her last ever communication was three hours ago, through her cell phone that she had in her pocket!
She's currently locked in a crate and moving along the highway. She overhears her captors saying that she will be taken to the country down south.
Further contact will be futile as her phone has gouged the last of its juices.

Her captors and motives are yet to be identified, and a ransom has yet to be issued.
Let's hope that she will be back safe and sound.

Kewl

2009-09-20T20:54:00.003+08:00

Ok, that was lame.
I don't have any title in mind.
I think my creative mojo has run out...Oh gosh!
What am I going to do, NaNoWrMo is only a month away!
*flies into a state of panic*

Other than stupid rules and unwanted grumpiness from a certain someone, nothing much has happened in my life.
Oh yeah, no script releases this week.
I have to prepare for someone, which I can't tell until it's over.
And, I found that my laptop is not very good for translating, since I'm so very used to my large screen and mouse.
Oh well.

With no new games to go obsessed with and a practically non-existent nightlife, I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now.
My new laptop can keep me interested for only so long...
Most of my college mates have gone back to their hometowns for the long holiday.
There are only so many of us that are locals.

I guess I can try to bulldoze my writer's block right now.
Or maybe I'll go watch Inkheart....
Maybe.
Sigh...

RAW

2009-09-18T14:02:00.005+08:00

Don't worry, I'm not mad or anything.

The first week of sem 2 is over, and I've got some things to say about the classes.
First, I hate my current Math lecturer.
She looks sickly, gets tired easily and never EVER comes prepared.
Just yesterday, she was almost half an hour late just because she got lost.
What's worse is, she makes me more confuse than I already am.
I mean, differentiation and integration is my worse topic in all of Math, second to Trig (but the problem was solved by my sem 1 lecturer).
If she doesn't improve her ways of teaching within a month, she'll have one angry mob with pitchforks and crowbars coming at her.
Too bad that our previous lecturer have her hands tied, or else we'd kidnap her and keep her to ourselves.

Second, my Bio lecturer is a really old guy who looks somewhat perverted.
I guess that's the impression you get when you're a guy and you're talking about the reproductive system.
He likes people who ask questions, which is somewhat of a bother to others.
I have no complaints about him.

Third is my Chem lecturer; she's the same one as last sem.
She's still the same, and we all still have the same thoughts about her- PLEASE REPLACE!
Lastly, is my Physics lecturer. She's still a little meek, but at least she know what she's doing.

...And this concludes my overview of my lecturers in sem 2.
The results of our finals aren't out yet; delayed till further notice.
Oh yeah, my MS lecturer resigned. Yup, him.
And he left without marking our papers.
*goes into her mom's closet and spews a whole lot of profanities*

So...I've been busy and procrastinating a whole lot recently.
My schedule is still a little wonky, since I've not gotten used to it yet.
So, I'm sorry for sending the script for 隗ヨリヒトカイヨリ式 late, Mioka...
済みません!

Also, a big thank you to Sophe for giving me access to a warehouse of raws!
I'm forever in-debt to you and will stay with your till your baby 恋愛カタログ grows wings and flies.
And I finally figured out why I couldn't download the files from kiligaris.
Trust me, I had a really huge facepalm moment there, not to mention a headdesk moment too.
I'm still on my raw hunt for other manga to edit, since I'm a nitpicker when it comes to scans.

In other news, my laptop arrived today!
Yup, HP Pavillion dv4!
It's black, isn't heavy and...it has Windows Vista.
Yeah...Vista. I wanted Windows 7 but unfortunately, the model comes only in Vista.
Oh well, at least I still have a laptop to use now and I don't need to stay in the study to do my stuff.
I can even watch tv and type too!
But the only thing missing is a mouse.
I think I'll buy one myself.

Now to go mess with my new toy!

Tape Dispenser

2009-09-16T00:49:00.004+08:00

Ok, it's another unrelated title.
The tape dispenser just happen to be in front of me and I don't have a title in mind.

Let's get to the point, shall we?
I like my template.
It looks nice, and it's pretty much up to me to edit.
I like my brain.
Even though I don't know how it works and why it's wired particularly different from others, I like it nonetheless.
I hate my genes.
Genes are what makes me...me.
I hate my college cafeteria.
I was in a rush, so I didn't grab my brown bag for lunch. I bought a cup of sweetcorn with honey in the cafeteria and now regret it.
I've been having diarrhea since 6 in the evening.

In other unrelated news, I'm thinking about doing one-man scanslating, even though I'm not a guy.
Ever wonder why it's always '-man' in suffixes? What's with the sexist words here?
...Going astray now.

Ok, one-man scanslating...Just like Omari's Sister.
But there's going to be a huge difference between her and I.
This is what I aim to do:

I won't be working on recent titles.

Reason: I can only read Chinese for now, I'm sorry. The only thing I can do is to translate from Chinese to English and then use Japanese raws to edit.

Most of the projects I plan to work on are either one-shots, completed or not well-known.
Reason: The reason is pretty much the same as above.

I will only work on a title which has been dropped or titles that has no releases for the period of 6 months.
Reason: I am a very peaceful person who prefers to promote non-aggression. And I also share the same philosophy as Entropy, since I'm also a staff there. I won't work on titles that are being done by other groups as to not generate bad-blood between scanslators.

I will sometimes redo a title done by other groups.
Reason: Having said the above, I will only redo a title if the following occurs:
(a) The chapter is LQ and I managed to get a HQ scan.
(b) The translations are so bad that it hurts my brain when I read it. - It also means that the proofreader is either nonexistent or not doing their job.
(c) The editing and typesetting is terrible.
-You could say that I'm a bitch about it, but that's the way I am. If you want to do something, make sure that it's somewhere close to perfect.

I don't mind working on licensed titles.
Reason: I'm not claiming that I created the title, so I didn't commit plagiarism. Neither did I steal, since I'm not charging anyone for it nor am I getting paid. Also, I'm helping the mangaka to distribute their titles. Not everyone can afford the high prices that the publishing companies have set.

I will only release whenever I feel like it.
Reason: As you can see, I am a slave of many groups; I also have a life outside of the computer and grades to worry about. Since I work for myself, I don't have a deadline. You'll get it when you get it.

I'm doing all this purely out of interest.
I like what I do, and what I'm doing.

The titles that I've decided to work on are:
- Otomen (terrible typesetting)
- Saiunkoku Monogatari v03 (not-so-good translations and editing)
- Tokyo Crazy Paradise Parts of v11-19 (terrible editing)

I will credit the original translators for their work, if I'm redoing their titles; maybe even the proofreader, if they did their job well.
The only thing left for me now is to reinstall my Photoshop to enable my hotkeys and to start cracking.

PS: If anyone stumbles upon my blog and reads this post by any chance and have a request for a title, I'd be happy to oblige with two conditions:
(a) Make sure that the title has a Chinese version.
(b) Don't harangue me about the deadlines.
Just leave your requests at the CBox on your left, along with your e-mail address so that I can contact you.

200

2009-09-12T13:15:00.006+08:00

I've officially reached 200 posts!
*throws confetti*
It seems like I've been throwing a whole lot of confetti lately.
Yeah...

I've updated the look of my blog.
It doesn't look really different from the last one, does it?
Yeah, I know I made a huge deal about the surprise but delivered very little, or so you think.

Well, there are some differences.
Firstly, I managed to get rid of the huge header and replace it with something more...me.
The previous header text didn't really match the picture, and it was too colorful.
I also resized it to fit, and made the frame transparent.
Secondly, I made a menu bar.
It was tough trying to figure out how to write the code for it at first. So, I did some research on some of the templates available and found the code, edited it a lil and input it in my own.
And I sort of tweaked it a lil so that it's transparent.
Thirdly, I made it into a three-column instead of a two.
Usually, you'll get a three-column in your ready-made blogskins but unable to edit it in the page elements; you'd have to change it through the html.
But, I found a way for it to appear in the page elements and enables me to change it as a widget instead of the tedious task of reading through the whole code.
I've also changed the playlist of my player and moved it lower.

As for page-wise, I edited the projects and status page.
If you bookmarked my previous link, it'll lead you to a 'page does not exist' page.
I've separated it into groups and will update them accordingly.
It'll also lessen the work of staffs who wants to check them 'cause they won't need to scroll down too much just to find out.
The archives page is the same, since it's already separated into groups within the page.

Oh yeah, I changed this address to another one of my sub-blogs so that anyone who typed the address would see this image.
But what I forgot was that I locked the domain and no one could access it.
I'm really sorry about that and think that it's a pity that no one could see what I put up.
So, I'm going to show it to you here!
This is it:

I also had to figure out the code for it based on another example.
I'm glad that everything worked out.
And I'm glad that I am finally able to tidy up my messy blog.

That's it for this time.

PS: I still have the copy of my template; I can give it to anyone if they want it.
My template is for those who want to keep their background image, header and also want a menu bar and a three-column blog. In short, it's perfect for editing to your personal taste.
I think I'll call it MMB, Modified Minima Black.

Crash Bash

2009-09-07T14:51:00.003+08:00

I'm not talking about the game by Mad Dog Labs.
It's literally crash bash.

Semester two will start tomorrow, and I'm halfway through Dae Jang Geum.
I've already planned to put it on hold so that I can restart my routine in life.

I get zombified whenever I start watching a drama (be it J / K) and anime.
First I'd occupy a room, which is either the TV room or the family hall.
I'd then move the furniture around and just plop myself onto the couch and start watching.
I can suppress thirst and hunger, which is very much useful whenever I'm doing translations.
I can watch up to 10 episodes per day, when I ignore most stuff and will only respond when nature calls on critically.
Yes, I am that crazy, wacky and nuts.
And it is also another reason why not one person can bear me.
No girl can bear me, least said about a guy.
I can take pride in that! *Ehehe*

Brat (as she is now known as) is having her first ever public exams right now.
And the first thing I woke up to today was to the screams of my mom.
Why?
Refer to the above mentioned.
She deems it my fault, entirely mine.
Brat is freaking out and it's my fault because I was watching drama for the past few days.
Stop, before you say anything that makes me punch you hard and say that 'You're just like her, jumping into conclusions', let me at least say this.
I was sitting and waiting for brat to ask me whatever she wants to know during the one and half week of break that I had.
I wanted to have a anime marathon, but I didn't.
I wanted to have a drama fest, but I didn't.
I sat in my computer translating, and also waiting.

When I told her that she has another two weeks, she said 'So what'.
When I told her to study, she said 'No' and scampered off to watch TV.
When I finally yelled at her, I got yelled back by my mom instead.
So, tell me again.
HOW THE HELL IS IT MY FAULT?!
Hmm?
And she's still watching TV right now.

So, what the hell am I supposed to feel, huh?
Why do I have to be responsible when she herself doesn't even care less?
Why do I have to be scolded for enjoying what's left of my break when I sat there waiting for nothing?
Why do I have to take the brunt of the fire?
Why do I have to be the one facing the music when she's so nonchalant about it?
I can't force her to study when she herself isn't willing to.
It's no use forcing, nothing would come out of it.
Force can only lead to bitter feelings.
She has to learn this lesson, and unfortunately it's going to be a hard one.

Yes, I do admit that I'm insensitive most of the time.
Yes, I do admit that I still have remnants of bitter feelings.
But I will not admit that I didn't try to tell her.

With this, I earnestly hope that she'll fare well.
This decision will be her life lesson. It will bring her some pain as she walks on the path that she chose, but she has to continue it nonetheless.
The only thing I can do now is watch.

Mono

2009-09-05T12:50:00.005+08:00

I'm back to putting unrelated titles again.
Mono was the first word that popped up in the twisted and dark mind of mine.

Ok, I've been translating the whole week.
I've also been celebrating Ochibichan's Anniversary week with fellow staffers in the IRC.
They are one fun and wacky bunch.
I love them.

So far, I've finished all my scripts for 솔직 담백하게, はなしてなんてあげないよ, ハードな調教師 and almost finishing メビウス同盟.
I think I have had enough.
I'll work on them every week, like how I usually deal with it.
I also dropped my first title, 天才めがねにキメっ！just because it didn't suit my taste.
I hated it.
Also, Mioka has officially stamped my stamp on黒崎弼's ass. He belongs to me.
On the other hand, 電撃デイジー (the general story) belongs to Eimy.
She can have the others, I only want 黒崎.

Semester two starts next week, and I'm scared just thinking about it.
It starts on Tuesday, and I have Chem as my first subject of the sem.

Seeing my posts, I can't believe I've gotten so far.
I have 12 more till 200, which is quite a lot.
I didn't think that I'd be able to keep blogging till now, seeing that I tend to drop things after I lose interest in it.
I'll do something special when I really do reach 200, since it's like reaching a milestone in life.

I guess that's all for this time.
I think I'll go have a doughnut now.

いきものがかり

2009-09-02T16:10:00.004+08:00

It's a name of a band.
Their song is my favorite at the moment.

Semester two is starting in a few days, and I'm terrified.
I don't want to know how badly I did for my finals.
But I do look forward to starting Biology class.
Besides, my back hurts as a result of sitting too much.
Yeah, I'm an 18-year-old with a body of a 60-year-old.

I've just about had enough of translating 天才めがねにキメっ!
It's too...too...too SMUTTY for my taste.
Please, even when I'm not so innocent anymore, I don't want to be less innocent that I am.
I'd rather leave the adult stuff to when I decide that I want to grow up, which is probably a long, long, loooooong way from now...Or even never.
I can't stomach some of the elements...It's kinda disturbing, you know.
I think I'll finish the last of chapter 3 and pass it off to another translator, someone who can handle heavy smut.
I'm sorry, but I just can't handle it.

I think I can finish the rest of Mobius Doumei.
I'm only two volumes from completing it.
I eagerly waiting for Mioka to send me the next chapter of 隗ヨリヒトカイヨリ式 and 撃デイジー.
I told her that since Naomii has staked a claim on Aritsune, I'm stamping my claim on Kurosaki's ass.
He might have a whole lot of fangirls, but he's now MINE.
I'll wait for Mio-chan to officially announce it. :P

Okies, I think that's it for now.
I want to finish MD fast so that I can go watch Da Jang Geum again.
I plan to spend the rest of my four days going on a marathon.

Losing My Mojo

2009-08-31T00:21:00.005+08:00

It's kinda sad, you know.
But I've got to admit, it's bound to happen.
It's a wonder that I could manage to clear some after four years.

Wha?
Oh, I'm sorry.
You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?
I'm referring to O2jam.
Yes, that music game.

I found a way to download the songs from O2mania.
Trust me, there was a facepalm moment.
Anyways, I was happy to be able to get both of Yiruma's Kiss The Rain and River Flows In You.
Boy, were those songs awesome. My fingers had a nice workout.

Yeah, about me losing my mojo.
There were a few songs I could play with perfect timing and hits (and I mean a whole lot of 'perfect' notes and only < style="color: rgb(102, 204, 204);">Like all the 'easy' level of the Sonatine songs and some of the 'normal' ones
Milk Chocolate in normal and x4,
Natal Angel in normal x4.5,
Maustrap in 'easy' x4,
Bang! Bang! Bang! in normal and 4.5,
Song For You in normal and x6,
Missing U in hard and x5
Color Paradise in hard and x6,
Waltz of the Puppy in normal and x5,
Bride in Dream in normal and x4.5
Nocturne in hard and x6...
I can't play as well as I could before.

I can't believe it myself either!
Four years ago, my screen's color wires shorted out and my keyboard was lousy.
I couldn't press the 'd', 'k' and 'space' all at the same time.
I had to work out a way to hit the three keys when it appeared as a combo.
Now, I've got a better screen and a good keyboard, but I no longer have the same level of skills!
Well, it has been four years since then.
I guess I can't blame my fingers for getting rusty.

Oh well, practice makes perfect.
I was a noob back then, and I did managed to get myself to that level.
I guess I'll just have to do it again.

Another One

2009-08-28T03:15:00.005+08:00

It's 3 am in the morning...And I'm supposed to go to the mall later today.
Oh well...

Yeah, I spent the last 30 minutes editing another manga.
The typesetting for I Wish... was terrible, so I decided to redo it again.
This is what came out of it.

The editing done by the person who did this (I forgot her name...)

And this is the one done by me.
I think I can call myself a copy ninja now!
The barcodes are gone, and the texts are less dull.
I also resize my image to a standard 690 that most scanslating teams are using.
I also *ahem* replaced some words and did the proofreading.
Next, I'm going to read about what type of text to use for different types of sfx and what to do when the problem is larger than what an amateur copy ninja can handle.
Oops, I think I made a spelling mistake there...Oh well. I should have checked it before merging everything. >o<

I think I'm going to redo all the chapters done by everyone else other than Korean Manwha.
Yeah, I will!
But that'll only happen when I have the free time and have no more scripts to do.
I think maybe...The summer holidays of next year?

I'll write about my trip to the mall later, if I feel like it.

Another one

2009-08-26T19:41:00.005+08:00

It seems that I like editing, but I won't do it unless it's just for the fun of it.
I don't want to take it up as a job; translating is already enough to fill up 35% of my pie chart of things I have to do in a week.

This is another gutter shadow- free page that I found while translating.

Transformed from a two page:

to this:

I didn't do the the right page because there's the horrible gutter shadow there.
Anyways, notice the difference in fonts from the previous one?
I downloaded the font package from The Idiot's Guide to Manga Editing and installed it.
It looks authentic now, compared to the last one.

I FEEL SO VERY HAPPY!
That's it from me today.
I'm going to translate the rest of the chapters and then head onto Tasty Kiwi's 솔직 담백하게.
I owe them the rest of volume 4, since I put this on hold for more than two months.
After that, maybe I'll snoop around for more raws and try to practice on editing again, but that has to be after I finish all of my assigned projects.
I don't want to be irresponsible.

Finished

2009-08-24T14:41:00.003+08:00

I'm finally done.
Yup, my first ever college finals.
YAY!
*feels giddy*
*throws confetti and jumps up high*

You know, I was almost late for the paper.
Initially, I thought that it was going to start at 10.30, so I got up at 9.00 and dallied my way to 9.40.
Usually, I leave my house half an hour before the time even though I live only five minutes away by car.
Even at my mildly slow driving, I still get there in 15 minutes, 20 tops.
It was lucky of me to walk to kitchen to get my cup for my breakfast drink and just happened to glance at the post-it note I wrote for my mom to know my exam schedule.
I looked at the clock again, abandoned my cup (and my breakfast) and rushed out the door.
Luck seemed to be on my side as each traffic light I passed was green the moment I reached it.
I reached the exam hall just as the students were walking in.

The paper was decent (I don't want to jinx it by saying it was e***).
Most of the objective questions were what we learned back in Form 5, just in English instead of Malay.
Thanks to the tips given by the lecturer last Monday, I was able to answer the structure and essay components with ease.
I did the question on the expansion of the tin industry and its effect on the socio-economy and the formation of the government instead of the question on the foreign policies because I felt that I had better chance with the former question.
I think I wrote a little too much on the formation of government, but who cares.
I finished 15 minutes ahead of time, but wasn't allowed to leave the room. So I just sat there and looked at some furiously scribbling while some idled with a 'I don't know how to do' look.
James, who sat next to me, barely finished in time. He was still filling up the MQS when the examiner took my paper.
I'll let you in on a secret though, I idled away my Sunday instead of studying for MS. I only started reading on the structure and essay parts at 1 in the morning and finished an hour later.

In other news, I was wondering around the RomCom blog (Simon & Schuster) when I stumbled upon this site which was introduced by Jennifer Echols.
It's the National Novel Writing Month, or NaNo for short.
It's where participants dedicate the whole of their November writing a novel of any genre. At the end of November, participants who have finished will send in their entries.
The winner will have their novel sent to publishers for viewing, that means you might have a chance to be published!
I registered myself and am now in the running for it too.
I realized that, I just can't wait around for things to happen anymore.
If I want something, I'll just have to make an effort to grab it!
If it's meant to be, then it's meant to be.

It's not like I'm very confident in my writing.
Writing has never been a serious thing for me, because I never considered it as a career choice.
Even when my teachers back in sec school (or high school, if you may) encouraged me to take up creative writing courses and major in English in college, I told them that it just isn't possible.
Given my background and my practical parents, they would never agree to me having writing as a serious career.
And it's also why I'm doing my foundation year in Science instead of Literature.

I do like writing, but I don't know what's going to happen in future.
I'd probably just do it as a hobby, but who knows what the future holds?

Editing

2009-08-22T14:59:00.008+08:00

If you're a Facebook user and happen to have me as a friend, then you'd probably read my status update.
I'm learning how to edit manga over studying for my final paper.
This is the product of what I learned!

Ahaha, this is what I initially wanted to project after two hours of watching my captive bishies.
Yes, a nosebleed.
And Rei is my REAL Japanese name. Not Kikimi like some stupid brat said a year ago.
My name in Romanji (converted from Kanji) is Taka Irei.
I prefer Rei, so I'm gonna stick with it.

Well, now I can use Photoshop to edit manga instead of just using it to watermark stuff and make polaroids, avatars and banners.
I seriously can't draw with it though; I really suck at art.
My progress in editing had to be stalled all because I couldn't engage quick mask, which is needed to get rid of gutter shadows.
And the root of it is, I can't afford to get the real copy of Photoshop (it's around 200+ bucks, WAAAAAY over my budget).
The cracked version rendered the hotkeys useless.
I was using the trial copy before and got used to doing everything with the hotkeys.
It's really terrible when you have to keep clicking on the Menu toolbar just to select the image.
If I can get a real copy to replace the cracked one and manage to master editing, I can be a real threat!
Translating, proofreading, editing, typesetting and quality checking...I can't wait till I can start my Japanese and Korean classes!

Oh well, since I don't feel like reading about the country's boring history (what's so interesting without the conspiracies, assassinations and bloodshed; it's only about a bunch of people getting outsmarted-it's the nicest possible way to put it...) I'll get a head start on my translating.
I think I'll probably get a few script to proof tomorrow.

Edit: I was translating Shape of Love when I found this gutter shadow free-page.

This is the page before the cleaning and typesetting.

And this is the page after the editing. (Click on the images to enlarge and compare.)
Out of all the fonts I have, smudger was the closest I have to manga text.
I had a tough time cloning the side and getting rid of the huge sfx on the wall.
I finished this in an hour.
I know, I know...I'm rather bad at it. But practice makes perfect, ne?

Final

2009-08-21T18:16:00.002+08:00

Yeah, my finals are slowly drawing to a close, so is my first semester in college.
The last paper I have to take is MS, a redundant subject that I happen to hate but am good at.
After that, it's pure holiday bliss till semester two starts in September and that's when the horror begins.
I know that I screwed up Physics; unsure about Math and after Chemistry today, I fear for the worst.
I used an entire week to study said subject; when I saw the questions on the paper, I knew I should have wasted that week doing nothing or watching anime.
The questions were confusing, and that's the least I have to say about it.
I swear, I will do better in the second semester, and nothing's gonna stop me from taking what I want for degree next year!

I'll go have some fun now to forget about today and to take my mind from wondering about what will come when I go back.
First thing's first, a Naruto Shippuden marathon.
It's interesting, but I won't go rabid over it.
じゃーね!

Proficiency

2009-08-19T14:37:00.004+08:00

I'm done washing my bathroom.
And it feels great to have time to finally clean it!
...I don't think anyone in the whole wide world would admit to that.

Anyways, I was lurking around the Baka-Updates forum's Recruiting section. It seems to me that there are a whole lot of groups around, and a whole lot of them are looking for staff.
There are some asking for C-E translators, which I was VERY tempted to bump back.
But I've got a whole lot on my plate now. And since semester two is coming, that means that I have less time to manage my stuff.
And with the introduction of Biology, I think I won't even have off days and probably will have to stay till 5.30.

My translations are still on hold, until next week. Proofreading has been ongoing though.
I haven't heard from J-Sis in a long time, so I'm assuming that I'm out.
Fate hasn't sent me anything, and I'm still waiting.
I've not received any proofreading scripts from Shoujo Crusade yet, but that's because they know that I still have a whole lot of translating to do.
So far, I've done 61 scripts; 40 translating and 21 proofreading.
I'm aiming for 100 each.

Proofreading seem to be a much coveted position; that's because people think it's easy.
But it isn't.
If you get a script from a translator whose written English isn't good, you'll have a hell of a time trying to figure and piece together what they're trying to say.
The raws help, but not very much.
I do ask for the raws to be sent alongside with the scripts, but that's because I want to see the reactions of the characters to exactly express their tones in speech.
I also want to assess their characters and character development to know the kind of speech they use; tone, slang and all.
And it's not because the translators are incompetent. Thank goodness that most of the scripts that I PR-ed are from translators who have a good command in English.
Like I told mioka, I read the scripts thrice. Once is with the spell checker to note obvious mistakes, then the second time to make sure the dialogues flows well and are according to the character's manner and the third to catch things that I missed.
The reason for doing so many reads is to ensure that everything is perfect and that the 2D characters are able to come to life.
A grammatically correct script is one thing, but without a tone that suits the characters, it'll just be another monotonous read.
Yeah, I'm that picky.
I'm still far off compared to veteran proofers, but I will try my best.

Translating, however, is not easy at all.
There's always the issue of changing the character's names from Chinese to Japanese.
I used to have a problem with the names; always asking the department head to give me the list of names in romanji. Most of the groups don't have the list, which made it even harder.
However, I solved the problem by getting a Japanese word processor and using a little ingenuity.
The only problem now is deciding which pronunciation is the right one for the name, whether it's according to katakana or hiragana.
I want to think that my scripts don't need to be PR-ed, since I proofread them as I translate. But, I can't say for sure until I ask proofers who gets my scripts.
My only problem is missing translations. I get very careless after many hours of translating, and sometimes don't check them after being done.
I get e-mails from editors now and then to fill in those blanks. I don't mind it though, I'm happy to oblige.
I can't comment on editors, scan preppers and QCers because I've never done any of them.

You might say that I'm stupid for doing so much when I'm not even getting paid for it.
Boy, are you wrong.
First, it's for the readers; but I'm not that selfless though.
As a reader myself, I hate to see low quality scans done by a half-baked team. Horrid editing, terrible typesetting, atrocious translations and an abominable feel to the overall chapter is one thing that I avoid like the Black plague.
I do appreciate the fact that a fellow manga reader has converted from a leecher to a contributor, truly I am. But if you produce such a horrible product, you would either have to buck up and get more experience and get a few experienced people on the team or go back to being a leecher.
I don't want my eyes to be tainted by LQ stuff.
Someone might happen to stumble upon my site and be affronted by my flamming, but I'm not pointing fingers to anyone and I do reserve the right to say it, since I do contribute.

Second, it's a sense of passion and pride. I like doing it, and I take pride in my work.
It's practically pointless to do something without those two attributes.

For those leechers who are looking to join any scanslating groups, I suggest that you apply for a group that has been around for 3 years or more.
They have experienced staffs who are willing to help you with any problems and you might even get to learn new tips and tricks from them.
If you're a newbie in the whole scanslating scene, ask for help; they won't bite.
Most scanslating teams offer training to newbies, since extra help is always appreciated and welcomed.
I'm forever grateful to the staff in Entropy for teaching me things I previously was oblivious about and the experience that came with it.

With this, I end my post.
I hope that a leecher happened to stumble across this and takes the initiative to help a group.
What's the point of hording your skills? Set it free and show the world what you can do!
Then, you can control the masses of rabid otaku like me! XD

Changes

2009-08-16T21:33:00.015+08:00

I dunno.

I've 'reconnected' with most of my primary (or elementary school, if you want to 'Westernize' the term) mates via Facebook.
They've changed, a whole lot.
I guess people do change, even when terms like 'a leopard can't change its spots' comes to mind.

I don't know what they'd say if they see me at the reunion. (If there is one, that is.)
They'd probably comment on my appearance.
Hey, it's not my fault that my hair color is a genetic problem; I didn't ask for it.
I'm more brunette than I was.
And then there's my English, which makes me more 'banana' in their eyes.
Well, who really cares.

Oh yeah...I've got another round of wallpaper to show!
Hehe...

This one is kinda nice.

One for the Naruto fans.

Oo, I love this one!

I like this one, too. The clock adds a nice touch.

This one is just cute.

This is suits me more. I love black.

This one looks like the one I found before. This one is Vocaloid while the other one was from 家庭教師ヒットマンREBORN！

This one isn't bad either. And I love the MP3!

A forum poster had this one, but I didn't know that I could actually find it.

This is is for 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 fans who love Nagato Yuki. (I know you're out there...)

And last but not least, something for the Final Fantasy fans.
I love her gloves. I wonder where I could get one...

That's it for now.
I think these wallpapers will last me for another say...two months?
I like collecting them, but I'll only use a few that I really like.
Most of them have dark background so that it doesn't hurt my eyes when I'm staying up late on the computer.

I'll go flip through my Math book now.
The finals start tomorrow and I have to be there at 12 just for the MS scope class.
*sigh*

ARGHHH

2009-08-14T21:02:00.010+08:00

Well, you guys must be puzzled by my title...like always.
Yeah, that's me after studying for a whole week. I'm so sick of it that I'm not even bothered about continuing Physics, which is my weakest subject.

I've been doing absolutely nothing the whole day.
I went out to the Curve and got myself some new clothes.
And no, there won't be any pictures of my ugly self.
When I came home, I did nothing but browsed through the wallpaper section of my bookmarks to get some wallpapers.
And I also downloaded a new theme for my computer. I was getting real tired looking at the one I have.
So, these are the results.
This is my computer with the old theme. Boring, right?
And I love watermarking my stuff. It gives me a reason to use Photoshop.

And these are with the new theme.
I'll give you a cookie if you can spot the differences.

I think I will put this for my laptop, when I get it.

Bro says that this doesn't suit my image. I like it, so the heck with it.

I think this one will work too.

I love this one. It's exactly what I do every freaking day.

I don't remember where I got this wallpaper. It's still one of the best one I've ever seen.

Speaking of which, I have a whole lot of backed-up manga...again.
I think there's 3+GB worth of it unzipped.
I'm afraid of busting my hard drive, so I dare not unzip any one of these until I clear some room. There are a few series coming to an end soon.
But I think it'd be hell the day that it does.
Well, that's the price to pay for countless hours of pure pleasure and bliss.

At Times Like These...

2009-08-11T23:38:00.002+08:00

I'm glad that I stalk Aerandria.
They have one of THE BEST titles.

I swear, I will get this series if I can read Japanese.
I'd even go through the hell of a jam to get to Kinokuniya.

Yeah, I'm THAT extreme.
My reason?
A picture is worth a thousand words.

Serious Realization

2009-08-09T14:14:00.004+08:00

I just came to realizing something when Aunt Molly's friend (my mom's friend) asked me this question after we reached home from having brunch in Puchong:

Are you going out later?

Aunt Molly and her friend are visiting from Singapore.
I think Aunt Molly and mom were once colleagues when we were still living in Singapore.
Mom's shopping with them at 1U at the moment.

Anyways, that question kinda took me by surprise.
I could've told her that I just went to 1U with my friend (technically, it's bro's friend but I know him and we talk occasionally) or that most of my friends have gone back to their hometowns.
I could've also said that I'm having finals in two weeks and want to prepare for it.
(Well, I am planning to finish the rest of the chemistry questions after this...)
But I didn't.
I stupidly went and said this:

I'm more of the homebody type. I prefer to stick at home

Yeah, smooth move... *facepalm*
I realized that I have no life...Seriously.

I mean, yeah, I do prefer to be alone.
And that my dad has some stupid rule that I can only go out a specific number of times with my friends. Overprotective, much.
I feel like I'm living a life of a really old lady who lives with 27 cats, not an 18-year-old teenager who can drive and has the privilege of having her own car to drive!
The only thing that I don't have is a purse full of cash.

Other than college and occasional band practice (we're missing a keyboardist), I don't go out much.
I either spend my time writing or translating, which is mostly in front of the computer.
I don't watch much tv either, other than a few shows or the sudden whim of having a drama marathon.
I do study on a regular basis...Ok, that's blasphemy.
I'm the kind that does stuff last minute and somehow gets lucky. My luck is running out though.

Gah...This is bad.
I'm only a teenager once and I'm living it like a freaking old lady with 27 cats!
Can anyone save me from this?!

Hand-ins

2009-08-08T00:30:00.002+08:00

Note to all admins & staffers:

There will be no hand-in for translating scripts for the following two weeks, including this week. I have finals and I need to prepare for it.
I will make up with the extra hand-ins after my finals, which is during my semester break.
Please take note!

I'm still doing proofreading as it doesn't take me as long as translating.
Think 1 hour vs 3.5 hours (my fastest translating speed- minimum bathroom breaks)

どうも有難うございます!

Nutty

2009-08-07T17:12:00.003+08:00

Despite of the terror of the H1N1 epidemic, I went out to the mall.
Yeah, this is the first time in my life when I actually drove out on my own to go for a walk at the mall. Okay, maybe not alone...Bro said that he wanted to blow off some steam and he went with me.
And he just called Ryan to follow and I was surprised to find that he agreed to.

I went there for some books and anime price check. I think I'll buy my anime from Classic Records and Sun Comics, the OST from Anime Tech, my tankobon from Borders (in 1U, Tropicana City) and maybe even Kinokuniya when I can actually stand the downtown jam. My novels will still be from MPH and popular; but it'll be a while before I start buying novels again, unless it's absolutely awesome.
My dad doesn't pay me much, that's why I'm hunting for places with cheaper prices.
And, my favorite secondhand bookstore closed its doors...I can never get my 'Dear America' series anymore, unless I courier them straight from the States.

I also spotted a really awesome messenger bag and a great hoodie in Momoe, a pair of nice sport shoes in Sketchers and a nice looking watch in Swatch.
And...All the above mentioned stuff are well over my budget range.
I guess it does suck that I don't have a part time job.
I still do have that 300+ bucks as allowance from the conscript...but I don't think I'll spend it unless I really have to.

Oh well, window shopping did do me some good.
At least some of the stress got blown off and I think I'm ready to tackle my exams.
If anyone wants to go out to the mall, give me a hollar. Just make sure that it's not the following three weeks, I'm having my finals then.

Glad

2009-08-06T21:32:00.004+08:00

I'm glad I turned 18 and can watch any damn show that I want.
I'm not glad that I don't really look 18 and have to show my ID to watch any damn show I want.

I know that this was released last year, but watch it when you get the chance: Wanted.
I love it and it's on my 'To Get' list.

I also got another pitch for a story.
"My presence is no benefit, my absence is not loss. The gun was what brought me to life, and it shall certainly bring my death."
The first sentence was inspired by the famous Khmer Rouge motto "Your presence is no benefit, your absence is no loss." while the second one is by the above-mentioned film.

I never reveal direct plotlines of my stories, just in case some moron comes along, steals it and then get famous with it.

For now, I've got to worry about getting at least a 3.0 to get the course I want next year.
Here's to studying during next week's study break!

Realism

2009-08-04T18:51:00.002+08:00

There was once when someone asked me,
"How real do you think you are?"

Well, I finally found my answer,
I'm only as real as the rainbow you see.

I'll leave you to my cryptic post and let you pick and ponder over the existence of a hidden message.

Net

2009-08-01T12:45:00.002+08:00

It's not the butterfly net.
Nor is it the fishing net.
Or the -ball net.
It's the internet.

When I had my first ever internet experience back when I was 12, I was amazed by it.
I even made a list of what I'd do when I had access to it.
My own experience didn't come until I was 15 for it was my dad's perpetual fear that we (my siblings and I) will be influenced by the evils that lurk in the information superhighway.
He also imposed a ban that we could not visit any internet cafe for any reason.
Yes, for the first 15 years of my life I was an internet virgin.

My inability to contribute any information for projects or group discussions frustrated me and I was quite verbal about it.
Lo behold, I was finally able to have it.
Coming back to the present, I don't think there's anything great about the internet.
I think the novelty wore off three months after I got it.

I've been into countless trouble after getting the internet.
I think the worst would be MMORPG addiction.
Of course I'm a rehabilitated gamer now; I'm clean and have not played any games for a while now. Even if I did, it'd just be a few minutes before boredom claims me and I'll close it off.
Grinding levels isn't an interesting way to past the time anymore.

I have turned to reading since then, manga to be more specific.
Speaking of which, Aerandria's site crashed down once again due to heavy or rather, extremely heavy traffic.
I imagine hordes of fangirls (and some smut-loving fanguys) have maxed out the bandwidth of the site leading to the crash.
Here's to Aerandria's speedy recovery and longevity to continue producing quality scanslations and excellent titles.
Not to mention those witty remarks found on the credit pages.

All right then.
I'm supposed to do my math now, but I'll predict that I'll give up halfway through and end up falling asleep on the floor.
I only slept five hours yesterday.

C'est La Vie

2009-07-31T15:33:00.003+08:00

I'm still running a slight fever and headache.
And I'm still a little wonky.

So, I'm going to write about my inbox.
Yes! My e-mail inbox.

Everyday, I'll receive a bunch of chain-mail.
And I'll delete them without a second thought, unless the title catches my attention.
Or else, it's into the recycling bin.
Now that I think about it, why do they call it the recycling bin anyways?
E-mails are made of...I'm not sure what the heck they're made of...Maybe electronic particles?
So, how do you recycle the particles?

Annnyways, all I have left in my inbox are mails from forums, scanslation groups and mail of school projects back in sec school.
And it's 8 pages full.
I'm so pathetic.

Au revoir