A long overdue update

Hello!(*cue lame joke about Adele's new song*)

 It's been a few years since I've last updated, so many things have happened in my life and I'm living a life that is very much different than the life I lead when I last updated this blog. For one, I'M LIVING IN FREAKING JAPAN! Oh yes, my dream of living in Japan came true! Although I didn't expect that I'd be studying engineering in JAPANESE(in Kobe University). As a girl, not only am I a minority in an engineering course, I'm an international student(there's only like 3 international students in my entire course). So I'm basically a minority WITHIN a minority. Hey, it's not so bad really. After a few bouts of homesickness and culture shock, I've come to love Japan, a place I now consider a second home.

 Nice, fun and loving people are everywhere in this world and I'm blessed to have found some of them in my university. Life in Japan would be so depressing without my friends. And at first, the language barrier between the other Japanese students and I was frustrating but after a few months or so, things got better. And now, there are even times when I consider my conversational Japanese to be better than my English. Although because of Kanji, I still prefer to read and write in English(despite the fact that my English has considerably worsened since high school!). The other day, I actually typed up my experiment report in English. Well, my sensei have been going on and on about how Japanese universities have to be more globalized and take a more active role internationally. As English is the so-called lingua franca of the world, I thought my sensei wouldn't mind me writing in English. Although only *after* I completed my report did I remember my manners and e-mailed my sensei and asked for permission.

 I suppose all this rants must be boring for you readers. To be honest, when I started blogging, my aim was to get popular online and get money from advertisements(HAHA) but I no longer harbour such wishes(it'd be nice to get a secondary income from blogging though). Now I consider my blog as an online diary(albeit a public one). I hope in a few years, I would re-read my blog and remember the "good old times in Japan". That's one of the charms of keeping a blog - getting to read old posts and reminisce about old memories.

 I guess that's all for now. This is just a short post just to give an update on what I'm doing now(not that anyone reads this blog really, hahah). Any comments and feedbacks are very much appreciated. Feel free to ask me questions about Japan/studying Japanese/ life in Japan/ anything! :)

Signing out,
Sabrina

For Halloween, I dressed up as a Malay lol

KTJ

FINALLY. The registrar called my mom the other day and I've been accepted to do A-levels in Kolej Tuanku Jaafar (boarding school in Mantin). It's rather posh so I wonder if I'd fit in. The environment would definitely be different than what I'm used to in SMK St. Teresa. Most of my Teresian friends are going to colleges like Taylor's or HELP to do A-levels - if you're Malaysian, you'd know that these colleges (people would usually name Taylor's college lah) are notorious for their nightlife/people partying too much. But I guess that's what a normal college life entails - a tantalizing temptation to just drop your studies and just party the night away.

Fortunately(or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), there'll be no such temptation in KTJ. As it's modeled on British boarding school, the rules are pretty tight. There's a uniform, a curfew and a strict set of rules. But if I'm being really really honest with myself, I think the environment in KTJ would suit me better than the environment in colleges like Taylor's. I still don't trust myself enough. I'm a bit too carefree and irresponsible to handle proper college life. I can't cook. I can't organize myself properly. I'm not disciplined enough. And the list goes on and on.

So I think boarding school life might do me some good, mold me into someone independent and responsible. Anyway, if I do go to KTJ, I'll only be starting in August which is a good 4 MONTHS AWAY. So I guess I'll be doing my STPM(so that my brain don't get rusty from unuse) in St. Joseph first since it starts in May. Yeah, I know it'll only be 3 months of studying the STPM syllabus but I need some intellectual pursuit to fill up my time before I go to KTJ. And it's free!(Form 6 in St. Joseph) Plus STPM syllabus is somewhat similar to A-level.

P.S:

I thought I should update you guys on my SPM(big scary exam at the end of secondary school) results too since it's a rather big part of secondary school life.  So here it is..

• Malay Language - A+
• English Language - A+
• Islamic Studies  - A+ (my teacher was so surprised at this! because I always get scolded in class for talking >_>)
• History - A+
• Mathematics - A+
• English for Science and Technology - A+
• Chemistry - A
• Physics - A-
• Additional Mathematics - A-
• Biology - A-

People have been congratulating me on getting straight As but I'm still haunted by the A-s. I've requested for a remarking on the three subjects which I got A- for, so we'll see what happens. I'm not hoping for much, I think I deserved that A- for Additional Mathematics but I'm hoping to get an A for Physics :(

Not a morning person.

I'm not a morning person. I hate mornings. I get grumpy in the mornings. To be honest, I'd rather not speak with anyone in the mornings and just wallow in laziness. I dunno why I feel so sleepy today - I slept at 12 and I woke up at 9. That's 9 hours! I should be brimming with energy now!

..but I'm not. I feel lethargic. Very rarely do I wake up feeling great and ready to take on the world

                                                   Ready to take on the world! Chyah!

And I dunno what my problem is. Some people say sleeping for 8 hours is best - I've tried before. And I still felt sleepy. Some say "No, 8 hours is too long! Actually 6 hours is enough already!"  On most school days, I do sleep for 6 hours but I still go to school with panda eyes @-@

                                         One of the image results when googling 'Panda Eyes'

I actually went to a Pretty Reckless concert last year(this girl punya band) and even though I stood at the back, I could still see her eyes so clearly. Okay, maybe it's because it was a pretty small venue(Manchester Academy which only fit probably a little more than 1,000 people?). But seriously, I've never seen anyone with that much black eyeliner on them! Or is itblack eyeshadow? I think it would be tiring to use black eyeliner to create such an effect because eyeliner, as the name suggests, only create lines.

Anyway, back on topic! I'm still on the quest on finding the perfect hours of sleep for me. I actually wanted to try the Uberman's sleep. It's where you take twenty-minute naps every 4 hours. I know, sounds crazy! And at first, apparently your body will rebel against you and you'll feel terrible and horrible for the first few days. But I heard that after a while, you'll get used it and will be able to function normally. And do you know the total amount of sleep in the Uberman's sleep schedule is only 2 hours per day! Wah, can save so much time! And it is really tempting to try such an time-efficient sleep schedule.

But.. I've read that the Uberman's sleep schedule hinders your growth! How leh, I don't want to be short forever! I still have maybe a few years of growth left!(I know, in adulthood, you still grow, but the growth phase is so slow it's pretty much un-noticeable) Due to my insecurity over my height(wtf), I decided, no, I won't try the Uberman's sleep schedule thank you very much.

I *will* find the perfect amount of sleep hours for me one day. But until then, I shall continue NOT being a morning person.

SPM IS OVER!

HEY GUYS! GUESS WHAT?

SPM IS OVER!!


..well, okay, you can argue with me and say that I have still EST and that SPM isn't officially over for me /sadness. But really, how to study for EST? Maybe read textbook a bit lah, but they never ask directly from textbook. If you take EST, you know what I mean lah.

And speaking of EST, I owe Jasmine over 6 reports. Hehe, sorry Jasmine - I'll send some tomorrow!

But anyway.. have I mentioned? SPM 2011 IS OVER!!

To be honest, this sudden freedom feels rather odd. I feel like I should be studying and doing SPM model papers right now. Old habits die hard I guess. Did you know, they say it takes 20 days to make a habit? I've been studying like crazy(okay, maybe not crazy, but I did study pretty hard) for the past month or so.

I haven't made concrete post-SPM plans yet, but in general.. I would like to:

1. Study driving(this is a given of course)

                                          First result when you google 'super cool car'.

2. Learn Japanese,Chinese and maybe Korean if that UCSI class still have space

I have been meaning to learn Japanese for quite some time.Admittedly,my secret dream is to be in Morning Musume(okay not so secret now) but it is of course rather unlikely. I shall content myself with being just a fan *sob**sob* Although Tsunku(Morning Musume's producer), if you need any more overseas member(since Junjun and Linlin graduated), call me!!

But yeah, I'm a pretty big J-pop fan. My iPod is full of Japanese songs.. and I wish I can understand them! And I hate watching unsubtitled variety show because I don't understand anything!(well, maybe little things like 'kawaii',hahaha). And of course, learning a new language is always a plus!

Also, I'm learning Chinese because in 20 or 30 years, China would be our new overlords /hail.

3. Do volunteering work

I thought of volunteering for SSPCA but I'm scared of dogs. I've joked earlier this year with my sister that I might go and volunteer with the orang utan..Not that there's anything wrong with it. It seem fun actually. This is again one of those things where I haven't made any concrete plans yet.

4. Dye my hair

This colour seems pretty safe. It's a lot like the colour I dyed last year, but this is a bit darker.

This brown is rather nice too!               

I'm in a dilemma!! Which hair colour to choose? Or should I be brave and just bleach my hair and become a blonde wtf wtf wtf.

5. Take Grade 7 Jazz Clarinet

My last exam was Grade 5 last year, and I'm hoping hoping that my teacher would let me skip Grade 6. I promise I'll work hard, teacher! :( Yeah, I know I haven't been practising since September.. but in my defense, I was rather pre-occupied with trials and SPM :( Grade 7 would be important to me because apparently, to play in a university band, you need at least a Grade 7. And yes, I would still want to play my clarinet when I'm at university :)

6. Take Grade 5 Piano

I started my piano lesson last year(although I did learn piano for like maybe 7 months or so when I was in primary 3). I took Grade 3 this year, my teacher was happy with my results and she's letting me skip Grade 4! Heee :D :D I don't know whether I can do piano exam and clarinet exam simultaneously though. I remember the struggle I had with Grade 5 Jazz Clarinet and Grade 3 Piano exams respectively. I don't know whether I can do both at the same time lor :( Some more it's Grade 7 and Grade 5.

So, anyway, that's my post-SPM plan(sort of, it's tentative).

LINK MY BLOG AND I'LL LINK YOURS! (this only applies to friends or acquaintances that I actually know,I won't link some random stranger spamming my blog kay)