in thoughts...

Reasons why English teachers die young:

Actual(!) Analogies and Metaphors Found in High School Essays

---------------------------------------------------------------

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two
freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
17. He fell for her like his heart wa s a mob informant and she was the East River.
18. Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted
shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
26. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
27. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
28. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

Supposed to come online to settle some financial stuff...
That's all that I do online nowadays.
I hardly check my mail - all I use the computer at home for nowadays:
to transfer money back to my siblings when I use the supp card. ha.

Looking through some of my old entries.
haven't been posting for almost an entire year.
have been working for almost a year now.
see the correlation? ha.
just so tired after work.
in fact, i still have "homework" waiting for me in my bag.
just learned today that Su Lynn's gonna be my colleague!
ha. hope she'll still be happy after one year of working. yikes.

Haven't written for so long that.. well, kinda lost the "feeling" or urge to blog.
Every day, every week, every month passes in a blur.
What have I done this one year?
I can't say exactly.. just been working.
And trying to meet up with people occasionally.
Trying to keep up with work and to have a life at the same time.
Just almost perpetually tired though.
My to-do list at work just keeps growing.
Working OT is a bad solution, but a solution nonetheless.
I'm paying gym fees but not going regularly.
what a waste of money.
i'm going tomorrow - don't care. ha.

such random thoughts.
haii. It's only Monday. gosh.

I can't believe Steve Irwin just died like that.
of all the times since my bro subscribed to cable, when he's on animal planet
he's one of my favourites to watch.
and suddenly he's gone
all the times during school hols,
when i'm back at home from hall,
during my times of waiting to be employed
suddenly all i'm going to get of him is re-runs
he's so full of life that you expect him not to die, somehow
and what about his wife Terri and their two young children?
and what about all the children and adults who love to watch him on TV?
i really felt like tearing when i heard of his death
there's this feeling like your heart is being gripped by an invisible hand
and the thought that this cannot be true
and he's not even related to me.

R.I.P. Mr Crocodile Hunter. Animal Planet just won't be the same without you.

Find your own pose!

din take a lot of pictures during farewell with my camera
the whole night felt like any other gathering
meeting up to catch up
watching some past videos for a trip down memory lane
seemed pretty much all right
ribbon ceremony was not emotional, probably because of time press
but i almost felt like crying when audrey was talking and when i saw her eyes redden
it's contagious i swear
it was just that moment
so somehow it didn't feel like it's ended
and in a way i'm glad too
because swaps will not end for me
like kee min said, swaps is a state of mind
once you've been "swappie-fied"
you can't go back
i can't imagine uni life without swaps
without it, my uni life was nothing
to me, an act means nothing without intention
and last sat, my intention was not to close swaps from my life (cos i can't and i won't)
going through ribbon ceremony did not, in any way, signify an end
it was just cataloging one part of the journey that we're going through

if anything, i have been amazed by what swaps has given me
(this is starting to sound like a religion, and i'm like sharing testimony)
talking to xiaotian has brought me new hope
if there is a reason why i love swaps so much
it's because of the people
to find resonance in others, to realize similar dreams and hopes
to identify common "setbacks", to encourage one another
i don't think swaps has ended
it will come back in different shapes, sizes, forms and guises.
wait for us.

one for swaps;
all for swaps.

I'M SO FREAKING PISSED OFF!!!!!!!! ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
stupid website to book train is damn stupid!!!
make me click to run some activ control x shit and then the IE thingy pops up to say that problem encountered and it has to close
finally i get to it, and what was all that quick time shit for?
one stupid freaking picture of the train berth. LIKE I CARE??!!
and i finally get through the paying part
and the result page shows:
due to some problems, your ticket was not reserved. Please try again later.
LATER MY ASS.

been reading jodi picoult's books
so far my favourite is "My Sister's Keeper"
strongly recommend it
finished reading the last couple of chapters
while standing in the queue at an interchange waiting for bus
and i started to tear
oh my gosh
damn paiseh

went to clear up and transfer photos
and realized that i took about a grand total of 10 pictures with my camera during my commencement
diao
most of the photos are with other people.
ha
so crappy
i snap more photos during other ppl's commencement ceremonies
last year when i went for deb, june and des's
i took about 7 times more than i did that day
trigger happy then i guess

i've finished reading all of harry potter
and it's really quite amazing how the characters grow on you
how, now, when i read it, the images of the cast comes automatically to mind
except dumberdore
i kinda have the image of the new dumberdore actor
when the demeanour of the old one, with slightly more energy
i still think ian mckellen would make a good dumberdore
got the right amount of energy (unlike the first one)
and the right look (like the second one)
but i think he could stick better to the way dumberdore behaves as illustrated in the book
wise, calm, jolly, fun-loving, with a sense of humour
strong in spite of adversity
and overall, gentle and kind ALWAYS to harry potter

and transport cost is just getting horrible without my concessionary pass
one week can cost me over 20 bucks
and cab prices are increasing too
though not like i take cabs often.

commencement yesterday.
chaotic situation.
i think it's more fun to go for other ppl's commencement leh.
better than wearing that thick robe and perspiring. ha.
overall it was a great and special day
for more reasons than one. :)

this is a recap for Zhen. ha. the bee buttocks and rabbit ears. see last para. it's so freaking long ago!

bogged down... so blogging it down...
feeling very bogged down by stuff... maybe it's the effect of exams... but comparing my exams this sem and past sem exams, it's just longer by 3 more days... maybe it's the overwhelming feeling of a lack of time to prepare for camp... and have to keep trying to fill up sudden vacancies for the camp... and all the possible things that can go wrong... all the things that are suddenly not confirmed so I've to think of
possible alternatives in case what I need really doesn't materialize.... argh...damn, i suppose anyone who's trying to organize anything bigger than a 3 people outing will face these problems...

whiney whiney...ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....Now I'm super afraid of getting messages that start with "Hi Joanna... I've got something to tell you... "

Oh, thanks Sunshine for the homemade barley water.. had a fun time looking at the personalized cup and sucking up barley bits... haha... remember 2 rabbit ears and 2 bee buttocks... ;) thanks, took my mind off exams n camp, even if it's just a
while... ;)

Sodium-squared thought at 11/27/2003 10:21:41 AM

been watching tvmobile while i travel
(sidenote: 3 more days till the end of my bus consessionary pass! sobs. no more bus-hopping.)
and male runway models are not very nice to watch leh.
they got this sian look (which i suppose makes them think they look cool)
then at the end of the runway they stare blankly for a second at the crowd
and then they either back up 2 steps before turning, or some just turn on the spot.

it looks very much like they
are typical guys (non-models) walking towards their favourite
hamburger/hotdog kiosk/rental store
(upon reaching the end of the runway)
they stare for a moment at the door of the shop (the blank stare)
and realized it's closed for the day (so they turn and walk back)

i dunno why.
just not very nice to watch
and the recent one showing on tvmobile
features this funny pants that has a very very very visible zipper
right up to the waistline in front.
NOT COOL.
the other one has the very visible zipper right up to the waistline. at the back.
lagi worse
was telling my sis (we were both quite disgusted with the design)
maybe it's for convenience
depending of which end you need to "release" stuff out. ha.

on the other hand
female runway models are just fantastic to watch
was watching victoria secrets runway show the other night on star world
WOOHOO!
really eye-candy sia.
and i meant literally too
cos got one series the lingerie was made of candy.
yum.
i can really really understand why girls like to ogle at other girls
it's not really a lesbian tendency
it's just they look so freaking good
and much more interesting than the guys.

finished reading the hobbit
it's actually quite interesting
think tolkien's style of writing just takes a while to warm up to
maybe now i can try LOTR again

went shopping with fen and ali yesterday
and totally loved the white dress fen got
though she said she wouldn't have bought if not for her fren's wedding
think she looked really nice in it
and it's such a pretty dress!
and ali's lame jokes are just waaaaaaaaah
hahahah
i really like the protect the young one
hahha
go ali!!please come up with more while you still have hols! hahahah

had a great KTV session yesterday!
at one point voice went hoarse from singing FIR but so shiok!!
whahahha
happy birthday june!
loved the company last night
fun to sing when people hop from room to room
and all those cao meng songs are just plain loud and fun
hahah
and mayday! lian ai I-N-G, happy I-N-G, L-O-V-E!!
woo hoo!

i used to think that it'll be good to read the book before going to the movies
now.. not so sure after all

if i hadn't read the da vinci code right before i saw the movie
(i read it a second time. still as enjoyable)
maybe i would be happier with the movie
the movie itself was good
though i roughly knew what was gonna happen
there was still some suspense
but maybe if some of the happenings in the book were less clear for me
i may have enjoyed the movie more
i mean i know they probably cut some parts due to time constraint
but i really liked the idea of a cryptex within a cryptex
and the solution of the first cryptex was nice
i liked the casting, surprisingly
din think tom hanks was a good choice, but i just like his acting
and ian mckellen was just a blast. love him
and audrey tautou was good too. she's got a lovely smile. and the accent is just cute.
i even like the monk. (casting-wise. he's been acting in quite a lot of good movies)
but the bishop was not as i imagined, and they changed the character's principles and stuff.
i imagined a frailer bishop, but he's quite erm big-sized.
i loved the part of the book where Langdon and Teabing revealed to Sophia what the whole mystery was about, how the two of them built on what each other said. The movie showed two men semi-bickering over stuff, as if their Harvard and Oxford loyalties were more important than the findings. neh. din like that.

i think the cast saved the movie.
i wished they had an extended version of the da vinci code.
There should be more Peter Jacksons around. ha.

Have never read x-men comics. in fact i hardly watched x-men cartoons when i was a kid.
or i dun remember.
but i do like the casting again.
ian mckellen again! ha.
hugh jackman as wolverine. i can never look at the word or cartoon image of wolverine again without thinking of hugh jackman. (which is good because he's so cute)
james marsden as cyclops is just droolicious.
prof charles xavier too.
halle berry as storm
now i'm glad i din read up on x-men
because according to zs there was so much discrepancy i would probably be going mad in my head trying to prevent myself from shouting out "THIS ISN"T SUPPOSED TO BE!!"
(i had a vague sense of that during da vinci code. grr. )
so i just enjoyed the eye candy (tho cyclops din appear much, dang. )
and Jean Grey just looked horrible half the time la.
she literally turned grey. tsk tsk.

memoirs of the geisha
read the book before watching the movie too.
wasn't half bad. i really like the colours incorporated in the movie
suited and emphasized the mood and all
and i loved gong li. she just simply shone. (more than zhang ziyi i may add)
michelle yeoh wouldn't be my choice for her character tho. too tanned.
too "westernized". or maybe i've watched too many of her other movies.
And i din like how they changed Nobu's character.
but other than that it was good
i liked the young Sayuri too.

now LOTR.
i've yet to even finish half of book one.
very long and draggy to read.
but i'm reading the hobbit now, and it's good. maybe that will increase my interest for the LOTR books later.
but i loved the movies.
so maybe next time i should just watch the movie first then read the book.
at least there'd be less disappointment.
i think.

i'm gonna get the book for brokeback mountain to read.
i'm thinking parts of the movie must be too subtle for me to catch cos it was just okie for me (just good eye-candy la). maybe if i read the book then watch the movie again it'll be different. hmm.

and i am so slacking now.
haii.
lunch time.