The Omens of Study

The eyelids droop lower, and lower. Like a geometric progression, slowly.
Wonderous of the number of people who must have done the same thing, years past. The 1990s. 1980s. 70s. 60s. 50s. Pre-war.
Did they all feel the heavy feeling on the foramen magnum of their necks? The drooping eyelids, and sudden lethargy that came from nowhere. The fingers crack a bit, releasing the air that's been trapped within the joints. And that was the 5th time for the day.
She needs fresh air. It's been stagnant, wafting around the same room for so long. O2. A nice change from CO2. And H2O. Dehydrated and restless. How many moles of crap, she wonders, are found in 10 grams of chem?
Probably no more than can be found in Parliament House. A debate rages in her head. Yes. No. Sit down. You need a rest. You need to study. It's only for a month, you'll be fine.
Look at the context of the whole period she urges. All that study you did before will surely boost you up now if you continue to do the same. This will ensure you social and economic surety in a racist and patriarchal society.

Yup, the omens were there.

Exams are coming soon.

And my mocks are up on Tuesday.

Mishy <3

A Fruity Odour...

That's what I'm meant to say when describing an esterification.
Two weeks ago, I did an experiment on esterification. We were basically given a bunch of alcohols and carboxylic acids to play with [with proper guidance of course] and then told to identify the scents.

At that time, I was still suffering the beginning of the effects of that horrible bug going around Perth. And here I am, being told to smell six different solutions with my defunctional nose.

This event probably goes right up there next to the time at Saints Trek when I, the Malaysian, was teamed up with my Japanese Britishman partner and told to teach a bunch of Grade 7s the history of South Africa's colonialisation.

You could've asked me to tell you why the sky was blue and I'd have winged it just about as much.


The first one I sniffed smelt like nail polish remover. That was somehow unanimous throughout the class, so I put that down. The second one smelt like bananas. Oh wow, the overpowering smell of bananas. Bananas are easily the worst smelling fruit that God may have decided to plant on this earth. That was also probably what knocked out my sense of smell for the rest of the experiment.
After that, I could barely smell anything, save the overpowering 4th mixture which cleared out my nose in a flash. Although I still couldn't actually smell anything.
So I cleverly went up to Zaheed, Erik and Brendan, and collaborated my results with theirs. Yen told me that the overpowering 4th mixture was vinegar, and Zaheed told me the 3rd mixture which the banana smell managed to conquer was probably a citrus fruit since he thought it smelt like an orange. Then Zaheed decided that the 5th mixture smelt like deepheat.

Deepheat.

I'm not entirely sure how he manages to remember the smell of the deepheat so clearly, but okay, considering I had a blocked nose and I didn't really have a platform on which to argue with him, I listened to him and put that down into my results. The 6th mixture didn't actually have any scent, and when I tried to sniff it, but couldn't smell anything, I really thought that my nose had finally given in and I'd lost my sense of smell.
I also have to say thank you to Erik right now for giving us the equations since I didn't know how to write them down at the time. XD

I just spent the entire evening having to practice my organic chemistry for a test tomorrow. I think I know my stuff...I just hope I realy do know it, and it's not just floating around in my head. =/

Two colourless solutions mix and a fruity odour emerges...


Mishy <3

Palin and Clinton

I love Saturday Night Live. Even if I can't get it on Australian national TV. [which kinda makes me abhor Australia even more...]



This is so precious. I love it, it's funny. Especially Clinton. I'm going to have a gala day everytime I see this from now on.
You know what I've realised...Tina Fey and Sarah Palin look a hell of a lot like each other.

Perfect. XD

Tina Fey's still cooler though. And Amy Poehler did an amazing job as Hilary Clinton. The Clintons can't be too happy right now about this one.

Mishy <3

Where Are You From?

A confusing question.
Where AM I from?

This is not a case of me suffering from amnesia, or any form of memory loss. No, this is an identity issue.

When asked the question, most people would respond with their nationality.
Where are you from?
I'm from England. I'm from America. I'm from India. I'm from Canada. I'm from Cambodia.

How simple.

And me?
I'm from...
But wait. What DO I say?
I could say I'm Malaysian. But am I? Am I really? I haven't been able to speak mandarin, or cantonese or even malay since the day I was born. Some increasingly broken bits of the dialect, yes, but never fluently, and never enough to carry off a conversation. I can't speak the language, I have a different mentality, I've even started to look different...the locals would reject me for even trying to fit back in.
Could I say I am South African? I have lived there. I have been accepted by people there. I have managed to convince myself that that place was home. But hang a sec...I'm not African. I'm Chinese. Yes, I respect Nelson Mandela, but there's no way I could be African if I can't identify with all the history of the people living there, could I?
I lived in the Philippines for two years, and I liked it...but I suppose that's not enough time to claim citizenship either.
Indonesia? You gotta be kidding me, I literally got chased out when I was 7. Even though I have lived there for 7 years. That's the longest time I've ever stayed put in a place, even though I can barely remember some of it. I wonder what it must've been like back then.
How about Australian? The ocker Aussie, living out in the wild? No, not really. I can't identity with the place. Open and acepted racism? Lack of shopping malls? Yeah, I'm not gonna be able to deal with this.

So really...what am I?
By my passport, I'm Malaysian.
Culturally, I am very Malaysian.
But mentally, could I be considered South African? The one place where I've managed to fully integrate?
Physically, am I Australian, seeing as this is where I am?
I lived in Indonesia the longest...seven years...is this where I'm from?

Perhaps my passport is just a badge. Something to force on me so no one else get confused. Personally, I'm confused as well. What am I? Where am I from?

The question remains unanswered. But perhaps you can tell me where I'm from.

Mishy <3

8am and 5pm

That's when I have currently been getting to school, and when I find I am now leaving school at.
Recently, the teachers started getting panicky and all about exams, and I don't blame them.
Unfortunately, because of this, I have now been expected to arrive at school by 8am so that I can receive extra lessons, and to leave the school at only 5pm to receive even MORE extra lessons.

I'm starting to wonder if this year will ever end.

I had yet another 8am session for maths today, which I am supposedly expected to turn up for for the next two weeks. Yes, I am quite happy that teachers are doing this, since hey, none of them are getting paid extra for this. So yes, gladly, I'll turn up.
I only wish that this session wasn't occuring so early in the morning.

Okay, so people will think I'm weird, calling 8am 'early', but let me tell you that in Australia, school only starts at 9.15am- a time when reccess normally starts in other countries. I usually don't even get up until 7.30am because of my newfound late start. Which is why 8am is now considered to be early for me.

And while I curse this late finish to school, I am sort of happy that it's there since I need to be forced to study occasionally.


Wow, look at them. I should take a leaf out of their book.

Of late, there have been people who started breaking down because of exam pressure and such. One of the worst cases I know of is where the headmistress has actually threatened to take my friend out of TEE, or to kick her out of school. All because the she believes that this breaking down is a sign that she cannot handle the TEE.
What complete and absolute bull.
The girl in question has been receiving some of the highest marks in her classes for a long time. She studies so hard, and has been doing so since Day One. To force her out now after all the hard work she's put in would not only be unfair to her, but also to the teachers who helped her get there and the school who would benefit from her marks. The only thing wrong with her is that she doesn't have the confidence in herself. Despite these high marks, she continually breaks down before each exam. I would be happy if I had her marks, but she seems to be upset that she's not doing as well as she should, or that she's not memorising things when she should be. I watched her in Human Biology today, when we were doing a unit test, and she looked like she was about to break down again. I didn't even really study for the same test, but I wasn't on the verge of tears.

You know what? Maybe I should do what she does so that I can get good marks too.

Mishy <3

Silencing Our Freedom

Just a few days ago, I was watching a news report in Perth regarding the supposed Anwar take-over on the 16th of September. One of the main interviewees of the entire report was Raja Petra, lead blogger of Malaysia Today. Another was Anwar Ibrahim himself. The last was PM Badawi's son-in-law [whose name honestly and most unfortunately skips me].

Fast forward to my thoughts: I wondered what kind of news report would be shown over in Malaysia.

I watched an Australian perspective of what is happening in Malaysia. And it's pretty much unlike anything I've seen yet in Malaysia. Usually Malaysia makes all their programs very patriotic, and happy and sunshiny, and, of course, very Malay. This new report did show quite a few Malays, yes, they are Malaysians. But at least I was able to get the viewpoints of the Indians and the Chinese as well whom, lest we forget, are Malaysians too.
For the first time ever, I was able to find out the platform from which Anwar Ibrahim is building his campaign. I am understanding what he's standing for, and why he's doing it.
I'm almost willing to bet that Malaysian TV programs have banned anything coming from Anwar Ibrahim.

I listened to Raja Petra's view on the media, and of how Malaysia Today got blocked from the cybernet in Malaysia. Recently, I opened up the papers today, and saw that Malaysia Today had been put back online, but that Raja Petra was being arrested under the International Security Act. I'm rather disappointed that such a thing has happened. What happened to democracy? What happened to free speech? The news article in the West Australian mentioned that Raja Petra had been writing slurs about Islam and the government. If we are as civilised and as democratic as we would like to believe, then why do we need to censor all these things about Islam and the government? Critcism is good. Insults are good. If we didn't have them, we wouldn't be able to be held accountable. The article has also said that the government would be doing this to all other radical bloggers.

Anwar was also detailed about in the news report, and how his sodomy trial has been going and such. While I am none to keen that this is yet another Malay contesting for power and not some other race, I am happy that at least SOMEONE is contesting. Anwar has been charged again and again and again with sodomy, all to ensure that he does not campaign, all to ensure that he does not take over. Yet, all evidence points to the fact that Anwar Ibrahim is not guilty of sodomy. In fact, the doctor that examined his so called 'victim' has stated that there were no signs of entry or tearing. Scarier news is that the doctor has actually run away to Myanmar because he feared for his safety in Malaysia after the report broke.
The doctor ran away to Myanmar.
Myanmar, which is having all sorts of problems with human rights, the UN and the house imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi and all that jazz.
People run away from Myanmar to come to Malaysia for safety, not the other way around!
Although if this is what the doctor has had to do, then this is probably a very good indication of where things are currently headed in Malaysia right now.

We've been silenced. Our speech has been taken, and the government is using any means they can to keep us quiet.

My question is: Why keep us silent, if there is nothing to hide?

Anwar Ibrahim is building his campaign on his accusations that the government are corrupt and racist. The government is doing all that it can to stop Anwar's rise to power. Sending 50 MPs over to Taiwan. Bringing in illegal immigrants to vote for BN, but when the protestors brought them to the police station to be arrested, the protestors instead were arrested.
The way things are going, looks as though Anwar is right.

Mishy <3

Two More Weeks...

Two more weeks.
Exams will be here soon. Not exactly the finals, but mocks are just about as scary as the real thing.
What MY question is, is... How did it get here so fast??

Massive shock and wake-up call. I have two weeks till exams. TWO WEEKS!
No one told me about this. Sheesh, where'd time go?
You know what's scary...I don't think I even know half the stuff I learnt last semester. And I'm freaking out already.

Having to work on homework AND revision isn't fun...it isn't easy, and I'm beginning to hate school for it. The pressure on us now is absolutely mental! I wish they'd learn to make things more even.
So bring on the late nights, and endless days. I think I'm headed back to my old dog days routine.

On a more cheerful note, I saw the Matric Dance photos of the Saints girls, and they all look stunning. =) I'm only upset that I'm not standing there with all of them in the photos, when I should've been.

Mishy <3

Catching the Bug

I did it, stupidly enough. There's a stupid horrible bug that's going around Perth now, and I managed to avoid it at first.
And now I have it.

So I am currently suffering from a massive headache, a stuffy nose, a dry cough and weirdly sensitive eyes.

I haven't done a stitch of work today, save trying to finish my history which is vitally important to my already dropping marks.
I should be looking at my lit since I have an essay to do tomorrow.
I should be trying to work on my maths since I have a test next week.
I should be trying to understand my chemistry since I can barely get my head around Chapter 24.
I should be practicing my Human Bio and P&L exam papers since I'm not doing the best in those two subjects.
I hate being ill this close to exams.

Mishy <3

University Applications

I finished them BOTH!!!

And...now I just gotta pay up for both.
Meh. That's such a bummer. So it means I'm not actually completely done after all.
I've decided that the VTAC [Victoria] application process is a lot more troublesome than the TISC [WA] application process is. But then again, perhaps all the talks my teachers gave me, and all the university lectures they subjected me to based on this thing have actually drilled into my head without my noticing, and therefore seems easier.

In WA, I've applied to UWA and Curtin. In Victoria, I've applied to the University of Melbourne, Monash and...the International College of Hotel Management.
Yeah, the last one sounds weird. And I'm betting no one actually believed I'd be interested in this area of study. I haven't even told my parents yet, and I'm starting to wonder how they'll react to it. But it's my last choice, and my last resort for if I completely fail to get into the other universities. And hey, on the bright side, the hotel business is a lucrative one to get into. Look at the Hilton, the Sheraton and the Shangri-La. Look at Mandarin Oriental. Look at the Indaba. That's a lot of money they're pulling in. And seeing as I've been in and out of hotels for most of my life...I think it'd be great to make a business out of one of the places that I feel at home in.

I'm relieved. To be honest. I've finished the applications wayyyy before the due date, and I can finally concentrate on my work and such.

Now I've just go to get through the TEE and then my university applications won't have gone to waste.

Mishy <3