Rottweiler In The Garden

This week's picks: Persuasion and Escala.

Persuasion. My new favorite Jane Austen book. It's the one of the sweetest, most subtle and tender love story I have ever read despite its simple plot. Captain Wentworth is no Mr Darcy but he's a wonderful character too. Jane Austen writes the most romantic books and the characters she creates just takes it to a whole other level. One thing I did not like about Persuasion, there are too many 'Charles' in the book. Maybe because they have very limited English names in the 1800s as names like Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Jane appeared in quite a number of books, unlike now where ding dong names like Blanket or Doughnut or Apple are more common than peanut butter and jelly. Back to Persuasion, the ending's very similar to that of Pride and Prejudice but who cares. Persuasion is a simple book which exemplifies Jane Austen's acclaimed wit and ironic narrative style. Highly recommended.

Since It's been raining every other day here, I've been cooped up in my room reading while listening to Escala- a pop, instrumental crossover electronic string quartet. They sound exactly like Bond but it's good to listen to something like that when you're reading as it doesn't distract you from your book.

Oh and uncle got a rottweiler. It's only a month old. But I'm secretly terrified. when it grows older and bigger. Scaaarrry. What if it bites my head off or my limbs or my fingers?!
Dogs aside, I have received complaints that my blog isn't personal enough whatever that means. So I have decided to end each post with a random fact about dear ol' me.

Fact #1- I like tou foo/ bean curd, I do. That white tasteless thing. Yum.

Unnatural Selection

I've read plenty of New York Times Best Seller books in the past and they're not all good. Trust me. I'm sure most people have read or at least heard of Dan Brown, whose books like The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Deception Point all topped the Best Seller Lists. Well a couple of days ago I read his newest novel- The Lost Symbol. I must say it's not as good as the three I mentioned earlier, but perhaps slightly better than Digital Fortress.

Okay, okay I did not like it. I wouldn't deny the fact that Dan Brown is a creative genius and every book he writes is bound to be a page-turner.
But judging from the way he kills or try to kill off his characters, Dan Brown seem somewhat schizophrenic in nature. Seriously, one of his female characters died because a psychotic man pushed her head-first into a tank filled with ethanol and she was killed within seconds. After that he tried to kill off his main character by strapping and locking him in a crate and pumping water through a tiny vent trying to suffocate and drown poor Robert Langdon. (He escaped unscathed, obviously. But he was supposedly dead for a few minutes. Then he was all mighty and heroic and healthy again. Wonderful.) And finally he almost killed his main female character by inserting a medical needle into her vein as if she were giving blood, but the needle was not attached to a tube. So her blood was flowing freely out of it.

Come on. Just picturing these scenes in my head makes me want to puke. It's revolting, appalling, disgusting, sickening and everything in between.
It's no wonder why I do not enjoy reading books in the crime/thriller genre.
After I finished the book I went through some reviews and I thought the one by Financial Times was the best. They panned the book as "a novel that asks nothing of the reader, and gives the reader nothing back", adding that it "is filled with cliché, bombast, undigested research and pseudo-intellectual codswallop". LOL.

Books aside, I've been trying to find new music since I'm free from school, assignments, tests and all that stuff. And I found and absolutely loved Muse's new album- The Resistance. I loved every single track. Best album in a long long time! Muse ftw!

Octopus In The Garden

I did another med school interview.

This one was creepy. Imagine walking in to a dimly lit room, curtains drawn with a desk right in the middle, two chairs and one interviewer sitting there with a constant smirk upon the face. Then you feel as if the air has been sucked out of your lungs. It was like a police interrogation room with the spotlight shining brightly and directly on you. Then the smirk on his face slowly turns into an evil grin when you continue to stutter and stammer your way through the interview with rotten grammar and answers that would make preschool kids cry. And it goes on and on and on and on and... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

After what seems like eternity, you emerge from the dreadful room, breathe in air like you've been trapped underwater forever. Then you finally notice the genuine broad smile, cheekbones lift, eyebrows dip across the face of the interviewer.

And you suddenly realize what a wild imagination a person has when they are all anxious and unsettled. And you feel the weight lifted off your shoulders and you know you have tried your best and even if you don't get what you want, it's an experience you will never forget.

.:: I'm sorry I tend to exaggerate::.

On a lighter note, two lovely girls are celebrating their birthday today- Carmen and Jeanette. Happy birthday lovelies!

And finally do listen to Ephemera's Air and Fleet Foxes' He Doesn't Know Why. Beautiful songs for a beautiful Sunday. Happy Sunday people!

Damaged Lights

...Bam...Car Crash.

Jiving to the Wrong Beat

No more ballroom dancing for me. No more making a fool of myself on the dance floor with my Victoria Beckham like movements. Not that my partner was any better considering the number of times I had to wash my shoes after a lesson.

I just got back from a not relaxing trip to KL. Not relaxing because I had a med school interview and a dental appointment. Eek! The interview was the highlight of the trip because I actually had a lot of fun. The interviewers were really nice and they made it very simple and casual.
Dental appointment went well too. I did a root canal treatment which went very smoothly and did not hurt much. Well that's maybe because I had a double dose of anesthesia and took pain killers after the treatment.

I've been trying to master the art of baking recently. I even baked a cake for dad for his birthday. And also I've been spending a lot of time with my cute as a button little puppy who's getting more and more annoying by the minute. Not forgetting the newest addition to our already large family, the scrawny yet beautiful white little kitty. I must say I do not like the unimaginative and appalling name the creatively challenged Timothy Lau gave to such a beautiful creature.

And finally the new fall t.v season is here. Now that I'm done with Seasons 1,2 and 3 of Ugly and while waiting for Season 4, I have plenty of time to dig out new stuff. New series Glee is pretty addictive. It has the cheesiest lines ever and covers loads of modern day pop songs. Season 2 of 90210 definitely got off to a much better start than Season 3 of Gossip Girl which is getting more and more ridiculous. I want to strangle Serena more than Annie now. That's just my opinion. So any recommendations?
Oh do listen to MGMT's Kids. I've been playing it on repeat since Sunday.

Give Me Some Betty

"..asking Betty for fashion tips is like asking Britney Spears for parenting advice.."

and I finally found time to update my blog. Well I got my driver's licence, watched a whole load of movies and spent a bulk of my time sitting in the clinics waiting for something interesting to pop up.
Anyway, nothing very interesting to do in Sandakan. I went out for movies, G.I Joe- which was way better than Transformers and a lunch and dinner with family friends.

Ahh, I'm addicted to Ugly Betty. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm watching at least five episodes per day..No no no. Marc's voice is stuck in my head.! But it's quite good, highly recommended to people who enjoy gay jokes and stick thin fashion models.

Speaking of Betty, Archie made the right choice with proposing to Veronica and not Betty. Betty was too busy trying to get everyone to like her. She teaches girls to run after guys and do anything to please them. Veronica on the other hand was a very confident independent woman, if Archie was busy - she would go on other dates. She didn't wait around to be played. Not that I'm a big Archie fan but oh wells.

Back to Betty for me. And back to my miserable couch potato life.

My Adventures With The Wicked Wedgie Woman

"Nothing is more deceitful ... than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast."

Another day, another driving lesson, another near death experience. I nearly crashed into the fueling station because of the indecisiveness of the irritating woman. Two more days until I'm free from the wrath of this wicked wedgie woman. (Captain Underpants..brings back great memories... )

I had a relatively good day in Sandakan after that incident. I learned a lot of new, interesting stuff recently to keep my brain cells from decomposing. SLE- Severe Lupus Erythematosus is the most interesting thing yet. Then of course I went out with a few of my high school friends- Haow, LK and Valerie. We relived the moments where we were fooling around in school while being hunted down by our dear old Mr. G.

And another thing I love about today. It's Tricia's 18th birthday! Happppyy Biiirrthdayyy.. I owe you a zillion presents. A self made card perhaps? Come home soon. Xoxo.

A Week In KL

"Three Swedish switched witches watch three Swiss Swatch watches switches. Which Swedish switched witch watch which Swiss Swatch watch witch?"

So I spent a week in KL shopping and meeting up with a few of my closest high school friends- which was basically the reason why I went to KL. I did sit for a test along the way. We had a hard time planning since we were so far away from each other even though all of us were in KL and we almost called the whole thing off.

I am truly happy that we did manage to spend a night together especially Freda who was having a test the next day. She insisted she was going to study at Lowena's place when all the others were busy gossiping and playing cards. I think she did study.. a little. in between all the clicking and tapping on the mouse and keyboard updating her status on Facebook every five minutes.

Our sleepover went surprisingly smooth. I realize I have some pretty interesting friends who just cannot stop swearing. And what is so different about this sleepover is that we managed to sneak in 2 hours of sleep. But 1 night is just not enough when we have not seen each other for such a long time. A year an a half ago I was so sick of seeing these monkeys in school every single day without fail. I was so eager to finish high school and start the next chapter of my life. But these are the people who made high school that much better, the people that made me want to get up early every morning to go to school. They are the definition of high school to me.

So when can we see each other again?

My Newest Obsession

I passed my Q.T.I! I scored 19/20! which means I am thisclose to being a legal driver. I'm a pretty good driver, it reflects in my Q.T.I score but I did come very close to killing a few people including myself.
I nearly knocked down an old man, then I nearly got killed by a stupid Malay dude, after that I nearly crashed the car because of a spider and finally I nearly killed another old man riding on a bicycle. Quite an accomplishment considering the fact that I have only driven for 7 hours.

Harry Potter was amazing. I like the darker approach and the pacing and direction of the movie was really good. I was going to mention this sooner but because of some complications with the internet and of course I was busy with my newest obsession.

A new Puppy!!

Me Drive? Jesus Save Me!

"But there's this difference: one is gold put to use of paving-stones, and the other is tin polished to ape a service of silver."

I am a very good driver. Excellent driver. I nearly killed someone then I nearly got killed. Carmen came up with an awesome explanation- Someone tried killing me and I nearly killed that person while protecting myself. Ahh... If only my life is that dramatic.
I nearly killed an old man who was stupid enough to stand in the middle of the road and I nearly got killed by an idiot who could not tell the difference between the brake and the accelerator. To tell you the truth, I did not notice the idiot and his battered Kancil who was inches from killing me. I was too busy trying to refrain myself from yelling expletives at my extremely irritating driving instructor.
I've only completed 4 hours with her, another 12 hours of pure torture to go. I'd rather you strap me down on a chair and play Mariah Carey on repeat mode.
At least I have a few days off, next lesson's on Monday.

Oh I'm watching Harry Potter with a some of my oldest friends and one of my original Harry Potter buddy. Yay! I don't really remember the book though so I'll see how it goes. Ah yes..it was in Form 3, I remember Lowena crying in class after reading the part where Dumbledore died. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Speaking of high school friends, they came back for a week. Didn't do much though, some were busy with kids and children and some were busy doing God knows what. We did go back to Sung Siew, of all places.

A picture to end the post. Toodles!

Bronze Pinkish Purple Sequins

I Love My Best Friend.

Bitching at the Beach

"Well, we must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering."

The post- A Levels adventures started with a picnic by the beach and I made it very clear that I did not want to be covered with sand and sea water. But somehow they did not get the message and they threw me into the sea. Brilliant huh?

Paintball the next day. Obviously the guys had more fun.

Not my usual activities for the post-exam celebrations. But hey it's good to try something new and different once in a while.

On a side note, I have finally found a vampire book series 100 times lamer than Twilight! The Vampire Diaries are some of the worst books I've ever read. Bad, bad, bad.