Friday, September 23, 2005
exchange is bringing out the worst in me
haha. i have no idea where the time is going. all i do is stay around on campus. yet i feel like i don't have enough time to do anything. am doing laundry now. it's a mad rush coz it's everyone's laundry night and i'm caught in the fray.
and after hapkido too. but damn, hapkido is fun! it's not actually tt xiong or tiring when you get the hang of it, and it's so fun learning all the techniques. right now i only know how to break a thumb, a wrist, and an elbow. i wanna know more! *excited*
but i digress. exchange is bringing out the worst in me! i've already committed three of the seven deadly sins!
for one, i am now guilty of the sin of gluttony. well. i've always been guilty of the sin of gluttony, coz everyone knows i *live* to *eat*, but it's been especially bad ever since i came to ubc.
check out what i have been eating for the past 4 days:
mon:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and french toast with butter and maple syrup.
lunch: pizza, reese peanut butter ice-cream and 2 cookies.
dinner: pasta with alfredo sauce and nachos with melted cheese and salsa sauce. and a nanaimo bar.
tues:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and pancake with butter and maple syrup.
lunch: pizza, reese peanut butter ice-cream and cookie.
dinner: beef stragonoff and cookie.
wed:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and belgian waffle with butter and strawberry syrup.
lunch: broccoli chicken and cheese casserole and cinnamon roll.
dinner: spaghetti with spicy meat sauce and caesar salad at the old spaghetti factory.
today:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and french toast with butter and maple syrup.
lunch: subway sandwich, north atlantic clam chowder with crackers, cookie with white chocolate and hot chocolate with whipped cream.
dinner: lasagne and froot loops.
yes. do you see the picture? anyway gluttony's not the worst of it.
there is sloth.
so i've always been a slacker in nus. but here... wahaha. i am way behind on *all* my readings. i haven't done work. at all. i haven't even filed up my notes for international and european union law. i'm falling asleep in my classes and doing the 'spiders' legs' effect all over again. and i am so dead. i have 25-30 page papers to write soon, and i am supposed to read 100 pages for my intercultural dispute resolution class tomorrow. and i haven't done jack. at all.
how's tt for sloth? i don't even know where the time goes.
oh alright. my day's haven't been to spectacular. essentially it's a settled routine of breakfast (always) - class - lunch - class (if any) - come back to room and slack/go for short run/send emails/blog/hang out with people - dinner (of course) - and slack some more. and on hapkido nights, i go for hapkido. you don't see "read" and "work" and "do essays" anywhere in the equation, do you?
and yesterday... hahaha. man. i had advanced criminal law class at 5pm. my floor was having a brother-sister floor dinner gathering at the old spaghetti factory, which is this restaurant in gastown in downtown vancouver. coz my class ended late at 7pm, i had to rush down with my fellow late stragglers with their late classes and practices and stuff. by the time we got off the bus it was 8.30pm, and by the time we found the restaurant it was 9pm (speaking of which, we alighted opposite the infamous amsterdam cafe on east hastings. HMM). the others had got there around 7pm, so they were mostly done by the time we came in.
the food's ok. we get free bread. $9.95 got me a spaghetti with spicy meat sauce (not really spicy. but there was a hell a lot of pasta. altho admittedly i am able to finish *all* my food and eat american-sized portions. this is why my jeans are getting so tight already. KNN.), a caesar salad, and a drink.
we got back to totem around 11pm. wed was frat party night, and one of the girls on my floor is a sorority member. so the floor decided to crash a frat party (or 4). but we were pretty late. party started around 8pm, so by the time we got there it was dying out, the place was crawling with cops, and drunk guys and girls were stumbling around.
the guys couldn't get entry. only girls get free entry and free booze. but i didn't like the whole idea of frats and sororities - you got to pay $600 for membership for these guys/girls to call you their "brother" or "sister". paying for friendship is just not the way to go. and i don't see what's so 'cool' or 'in' about this kinda thing? oh well. americ-- oops. i mean, canadians. basically, i returned to totem with the guys and a few of the girls who weren't too keen on frat parties either.
ended up in the lounge watching/playing this old james bond shooting game, which was hilarious. and then i crashed into bed abt 2am. ugh.
yeah. i guess tt's why i fell asleep (again) in international law (again). prob the lack of sleep plus the fact tt my lunch today was huge.
oops. digress: third sin. 'bimboism' isn't really a sin, but i thought i could lump it under pride. you know. bimbo = vain = pride? something like tt.
yeah. so anyway i think my housemates and everyone on campus is bringing out the worst in me. everyone's all about appearances and images. even in my rez, we brush our teeth and walk around in our jeans and blouses. i used to wear my t-shirts and shorts around everywhere ala sheares and temasek, but i stopped coz in a place like this, tt's prob akin to a prc being condemned for the fashion faux pas of wearing socks with slippers.
so now i'm wearing jeans or track pants all the time, unless i'm about to sleep or go for a run, then i wear my lock cock shorts and t-shirts. and everyday i need to coordinate my wardrobe. am trying to minimise the amount of clothes i wear, but at the same time i have to be mindful tt i cannot be seen wearing the same outfit two times in the same week. so it's always about matching one top with different jackets to create diff looks. tt's so 'cleo'. omg.
and the worst thing tt happened today: i was walking to lawschool with diana, and i was telling her tt i wanted to get a scarf coz my neck and cheeks feel really cold when the wind blows, and when i put my hood up it never ever stays up. which is irritating. so she tells me she has a scarf. and i'm like, "oh. what colour is it?"
and she's like, "pink. you want it?"
immediately i reply: "no. it doesn't match my outfit."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dammit lah. i'm becoming a fucking original girl now. was griping to my baby tt i hated writing emails to him coz i always sounded so mushy in them, and if i were to read the stuff i write from a third person's perpective, i'd prob put my finger down my throat and gag or something. and he said tt it was ok coz "girls are allowed to be mushy."
and i'm like, "NO. you don't get it. ORIGINAL GIRLS can be mushy. they can be as mushy as they want to be. but *I* am not an original girl. tt's the difference."
he replies: "oh really? you're pretty original when you're with me."
NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sigh.
one thing tho. now i understand why people who go overseas become more nationalistic. i find myself constantly defending singapore coz everyone here has this pre-conceived notion tt we're some small backwater country with lots of jungles and we don't speak english.
it's exasperating.
i get a great kick out of telling people tt singapore is more forward and the pace of life is a lot faster than here. it's smaller, but it's a city by itself and we have malls and eating places tt are open no matter what time you go, even at 3am. our clubs close at 3am (and some go on through till 6am), and not 2am unlike here. we speak english as a first language, and we all know 2 languages. and even though we might have a very paternalistic government, we are not a police state. and we *DON'T* have a drug problem.
yeah. tt's the gist of it.
oh now. for general info: how to communicate with the locals (this sounds like some kind of tribal guidebook - random words:
in singapore, we say "hi."
here, we say "hey, how are you doing?" the other party replies: "good! how are you?" and you reply "good!" and then you continue conversation from there.
in singapore, we say "yeah" or "definitely".
here, we say "for sure."
in singapore, we say "cool!"
here, we say "sweet!" or "awesome"
in singapore, we say "bye!"
here, we say "see ya!" (and it's 'ya', not 'you')
ok. last of all. pictures!
welcome to the YIH of UBC.
it's the SUB (aka student union building). and yeah... can you see the different (aka existential) kind of life here?
and this is how we eat lunch when the canteens/food courts have no more tables or chairs.
tt's me and eileen btw. her pizza and my soup! :)
and this is something i got from the dollar store when i wanted to go get a tupperware.
i foresee this is going to come into use. a lot. if i keep up the partying with the crazy animals around me. now, all i gotta do is get a nice bottle of vodka or tequila to go with it.
hmm.
what category of sin does 'alcoholism' fall into?
now playing: hotel costes - cafe de flor
and after hapkido too. but damn, hapkido is fun! it's not actually tt xiong or tiring when you get the hang of it, and it's so fun learning all the techniques. right now i only know how to break a thumb, a wrist, and an elbow. i wanna know more! *excited*
but i digress. exchange is bringing out the worst in me! i've already committed three of the seven deadly sins!
for one, i am now guilty of the sin of gluttony. well. i've always been guilty of the sin of gluttony, coz everyone knows i *live* to *eat*, but it's been especially bad ever since i came to ubc.
check out what i have been eating for the past 4 days:
mon:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and french toast with butter and maple syrup.
lunch: pizza, reese peanut butter ice-cream and 2 cookies.
dinner: pasta with alfredo sauce and nachos with melted cheese and salsa sauce. and a nanaimo bar.
tues:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and pancake with butter and maple syrup.
lunch: pizza, reese peanut butter ice-cream and cookie.
dinner: beef stragonoff and cookie.
wed:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and belgian waffle with butter and strawberry syrup.
lunch: broccoli chicken and cheese casserole and cinnamon roll.
dinner: spaghetti with spicy meat sauce and caesar salad at the old spaghetti factory.
today:
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and french toast with butter and maple syrup.
lunch: subway sandwich, north atlantic clam chowder with crackers, cookie with white chocolate and hot chocolate with whipped cream.
dinner: lasagne and froot loops.
yes. do you see the picture? anyway gluttony's not the worst of it.
there is sloth.
so i've always been a slacker in nus. but here... wahaha. i am way behind on *all* my readings. i haven't done work. at all. i haven't even filed up my notes for international and european union law. i'm falling asleep in my classes and doing the 'spiders' legs' effect all over again. and i am so dead. i have 25-30 page papers to write soon, and i am supposed to read 100 pages for my intercultural dispute resolution class tomorrow. and i haven't done jack. at all.
how's tt for sloth? i don't even know where the time goes.
oh alright. my day's haven't been to spectacular. essentially it's a settled routine of breakfast (always) - class - lunch - class (if any) - come back to room and slack/go for short run/send emails/blog/hang out with people - dinner (of course) - and slack some more. and on hapkido nights, i go for hapkido. you don't see "read" and "work" and "do essays" anywhere in the equation, do you?
and yesterday... hahaha. man. i had advanced criminal law class at 5pm. my floor was having a brother-sister floor dinner gathering at the old spaghetti factory, which is this restaurant in gastown in downtown vancouver. coz my class ended late at 7pm, i had to rush down with my fellow late stragglers with their late classes and practices and stuff. by the time we got off the bus it was 8.30pm, and by the time we found the restaurant it was 9pm (speaking of which, we alighted opposite the infamous amsterdam cafe on east hastings. HMM). the others had got there around 7pm, so they were mostly done by the time we came in.
the food's ok. we get free bread. $9.95 got me a spaghetti with spicy meat sauce (not really spicy. but there was a hell a lot of pasta. altho admittedly i am able to finish *all* my food and eat american-sized portions. this is why my jeans are getting so tight already. KNN.), a caesar salad, and a drink.
we got back to totem around 11pm. wed was frat party night, and one of the girls on my floor is a sorority member. so the floor decided to crash a frat party (or 4). but we were pretty late. party started around 8pm, so by the time we got there it was dying out, the place was crawling with cops, and drunk guys and girls were stumbling around.
the guys couldn't get entry. only girls get free entry and free booze. but i didn't like the whole idea of frats and sororities - you got to pay $600 for membership for these guys/girls to call you their "brother" or "sister". paying for friendship is just not the way to go. and i don't see what's so 'cool' or 'in' about this kinda thing? oh well. americ-- oops. i mean, canadians. basically, i returned to totem with the guys and a few of the girls who weren't too keen on frat parties either.
ended up in the lounge watching/playing this old james bond shooting game, which was hilarious. and then i crashed into bed abt 2am. ugh.
yeah. i guess tt's why i fell asleep (again) in international law (again). prob the lack of sleep plus the fact tt my lunch today was huge.
oops. digress: third sin. 'bimboism' isn't really a sin, but i thought i could lump it under pride. you know. bimbo = vain = pride? something like tt.
yeah. so anyway i think my housemates and everyone on campus is bringing out the worst in me. everyone's all about appearances and images. even in my rez, we brush our teeth and walk around in our jeans and blouses. i used to wear my t-shirts and shorts around everywhere ala sheares and temasek, but i stopped coz in a place like this, tt's prob akin to a prc being condemned for the fashion faux pas of wearing socks with slippers.
so now i'm wearing jeans or track pants all the time, unless i'm about to sleep or go for a run, then i wear my lock cock shorts and t-shirts. and everyday i need to coordinate my wardrobe. am trying to minimise the amount of clothes i wear, but at the same time i have to be mindful tt i cannot be seen wearing the same outfit two times in the same week. so it's always about matching one top with different jackets to create diff looks. tt's so 'cleo'. omg.
and the worst thing tt happened today: i was walking to lawschool with diana, and i was telling her tt i wanted to get a scarf coz my neck and cheeks feel really cold when the wind blows, and when i put my hood up it never ever stays up. which is irritating. so she tells me she has a scarf. and i'm like, "oh. what colour is it?"
and she's like, "pink. you want it?"
immediately i reply: "no. it doesn't match my outfit."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
dammit lah. i'm becoming a fucking original girl now. was griping to my baby tt i hated writing emails to him coz i always sounded so mushy in them, and if i were to read the stuff i write from a third person's perpective, i'd prob put my finger down my throat and gag or something. and he said tt it was ok coz "girls are allowed to be mushy."
and i'm like, "NO. you don't get it. ORIGINAL GIRLS can be mushy. they can be as mushy as they want to be. but *I* am not an original girl. tt's the difference."
he replies: "oh really? you're pretty original when you're with me."
NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sigh.
one thing tho. now i understand why people who go overseas become more nationalistic. i find myself constantly defending singapore coz everyone here has this pre-conceived notion tt we're some small backwater country with lots of jungles and we don't speak english.
it's exasperating.
i get a great kick out of telling people tt singapore is more forward and the pace of life is a lot faster than here. it's smaller, but it's a city by itself and we have malls and eating places tt are open no matter what time you go, even at 3am. our clubs close at 3am (and some go on through till 6am), and not 2am unlike here. we speak english as a first language, and we all know 2 languages. and even though we might have a very paternalistic government, we are not a police state. and we *DON'T* have a drug problem.
yeah. tt's the gist of it.
oh now. for general info: how to communicate with the locals (this sounds like some kind of tribal guidebook - random words:
in singapore, we say "hi."
here, we say "hey, how are you doing?" the other party replies: "good! how are you?" and you reply "good!" and then you continue conversation from there.
in singapore, we say "yeah" or "definitely".
here, we say "for sure."
in singapore, we say "cool!"
here, we say "sweet!" or "awesome"
in singapore, we say "bye!"
here, we say "see ya!" (and it's 'ya', not 'you')
ok. last of all. pictures!
welcome to the YIH of UBC.
it's the SUB (aka student union building). and yeah... can you see the different (aka existential) kind of life here?
and this is how we eat lunch when the canteens/food courts have no more tables or chairs.
tt's me and eileen btw. her pizza and my soup! :)
and this is something i got from the dollar store when i wanted to go get a tupperware.
i foresee this is going to come into use. a lot. if i keep up the partying with the crazy animals around me. now, all i gotta do is get a nice bottle of vodka or tequila to go with it.
hmm.
what category of sin does 'alcoholism' fall into?
# posted by Kitana @ 9/23/2005 02:20:00 PM 
