About Time

Dear jumjum...

The last time I landed at the HK airport, my mobile data wasn't working (I later found out that my phone bill was unpaid, thanks to bank account complications), and I was bored to tears waiting for the bus. I realised that I was waiting right under a take-off flight path, and became interested to see if the planes took off at regular intervals, since HK is such a busy airport. I used the position of a vehicle flyover relative to my position as a point to start timing once the plane flew past it. At the same time, I also tested my counting accuracy by counting the seconds and minutes in my head and comparing it with the timer on my phone.

The data recorded. The last one was way off because the bus had arrived and I was occupied with loading my luggage.

When I got on the bus, I started thinking about how I like to time everything. In my first year I timed how long it takes to go to church from the bus station, and how long it takes to get to the nearest town, Hang Hau- so that I can plan ahead and be exactly on time. Unfortunately, that sort of backfires whenever there is a long queue at the bus station. I also like to time the different routes I can take to a destination to figure out the most efficient path. However, I usually don't write it down and forget it before I can do the comparison.

Below are two routes from Hang Hau to my hall- the taxi drivers either take one or the other, and I could never decide which to ask them to take. The blue route seems longer but more direct since it's on the main road, the red one is more windy... And now I know!

*atm*

The Before Trilogy

Dear jumjum...

For the past week I have been spending a lot of time on my own. I think it was contributed by the fact that I take 2 out of three of my classes alone. I mean, there are people I know in the class, but I never feel comfortable deliberately sitting next to mere acquaintances. In the third (Bio) class, the usual gang, save Eric, just isn't there- HJ is taking all Chem courses this semester, Chloe is on exchange, and Mel is recuperating. I've declined invitations to go out, probably because it was so busy back at home, and I just wanted to spend some time alone. As a result, I have caught up with all the series I follow, and have watched a significant amount of movies in between.

I came across Before Midnight from a list of top movies of all time. I only found out that it was the third movie in a trilogy while Wiki-ing it because I enjoyed the movie so much. All three movies follow a couple around as they stroll through different European cities and just talk...a lot. It sounds like a terrible idea for a movie but honestly, I have not enjoyed any movie this much since Pride and Prejudice (which, at last count, I have watched maybe 30 times. Honestly, and it never gets old). I enjoy their conversations about the most unconventional thoughts and opinions. I also like the verbal expression of feeling which I believe are common to most people. 

I found the script for one of the thoughts that resonate with me the most:

I will leave it there because I don't think my writing can do the movies justice. 

Patricia and I have come up with a silly movie idea about football matches in the mist. This, of course, started off because we were doing just that two weeks ago. It was a thriller about how one couldn't see what was happening at the other side of the field and suddenly out of the mist comes the shadow of a football that knocks one's face in slow motion, and their teeth flying out of one's mouth...

Anyway. Today, on the way to our last football match of the season, we were talking about how amazing the human mind is, how schizophreniacs can conjure and integrate their imagination with the real world (my reflection after watching A Beautiful Mind some time ago). We were toying with the idea of a movie about imagination-inception, and decided to combine it with our previous Misty Football Match idea, where when the mist clears, the person realises that there is actually no one there...

*atm*

Revolutionary Road and Me

Dear jumjum...

Revolutionary Road revolves around a couple in the mid-twentieth century. The wife is unsatisfied with her mundane life and believes that they are meant for something more, something better. The husband is a clueless man who really doesn't know how to deal with his wife, making a bad situation worse. Nothing extraordinary happens in this movie, but the dynamics of the couple is revealed through the flatness.

In their final fight, the wife refused to react to her husband's confession that he had an affair. She claimed that she feels nothing, that she doesn't care about him anymore. Her husband tried to force some emotion out of her, and she threatened him by screaming when he touched her. While watching that scene, I saw myself in her. I have the tendency to dramatise, I think I even like the drama. Especially when I feel wronged, I want to make the other party feel the way I feel, or feel anything as much as I do. 

I play the 'Victimized' card.

When we were kids, my sister and I would write short stories. Years later, we realised that we both steered towards writing stories of dramatic victimisation. The stories were usually about little orphan girls who were maltreated and friendless. Even the books we chose to read were so: Chinese Cinderella, When Marnie Was There, A Little Princess. I remember reading those stories and getting a kick out of how tragic their lives were. The more tragic, it seemed, the better. 

I worry..

*atm*

Single Awareness Day 2016

Dear jumjum...

For the past 2 years, the Jji jjis have had special outings during the horrible celebration known as Valentine's Day. In 2014, we had dinner in Jordan, then went dessert-shop hopping. In 2015 we booked a karaoke room and went for a Vietnamese dinner afterwards.

This year, we're so single that we don't even bother anymore. Not one of us even attempted to suggest that we do something. Patricia and I had a football match in the afternoon, and after that we dragged our exhausted selves to the supermarket to stock up on junk, and proceeded to spend the day watching movies and binge eating on our beds.

*atm*

CNY 2016 and Back to HK

Dear jumjum...

T'was the busiest winter break. I was assigned by Dad to replace our old television and also to get a cabinet for it (our old one was massive and could stand on its on). Having never purchased anything so costly before, I approached the task with extreme caution and thorough research. Mum and I went to at least 6 electronic appliances shops, had an hour of lecture on SUHDs, UHDs and four-basic-colored screens. We then went to 6 more furniture shops to look for a cabinet, purchasing and even returning one with hidden defects. I went around with a measuring tape permanently in my bag. After all that, I formed an opinion that shops should stop playing colourful demo videos that are extremely unreal. I mean, we aren't paying to watch demo videos! As a buyer, I want to know how an actual movie looks like on your screen, especially since my mum and I are averse to screens that over-enhance the pictures, making everything look artificial. I made all the sales assistants play me actual movie clips before we made our decision.

Other than the great TV-buying adventure, there was the pre-CNY preparations, spending time with Cam and Lionel (alternating eating and exercising), and applying for summer exchange. When I finally heard back from someone (thanks to some harassing done by my prof), I spent days going over his research- making notes and jotting down questions to ask. The interview was at 5:30 am my time, and Cam kindly got up early to let me into her house, since my home internet is extremely unstable. After waiting for 10 minutes and still no call, I was fretting that I gave him the wrong Skype name, or that I mixed up the time, etc. It was an extremely short interview, over in about 5 minutes? Thank goodness. I was expecting intense cross-questioning but got nothing of the sort.

It's funny how Kuchingites spend weeks preparing for CNY, but the celebrations zoom by over a few days' time. It was a rainy CNY, and we didn't do much visiting- neither with my family nor with my friends. I think my friends are getting old. While visiting, the majority of them now prefer plain water to soft drinks, even shandy! We started our gathering much later than we used to, and stayed so long at one house gambling that we only managed three houses in one day. It was a slight disappointment, since it was my last day in Kuching, and my first time visiting on 初三 in two years. Also, it was Ash Wednesday, so I was fasting, and could only drink water despite the array of goodies that was before me.

I am a miserly person when it comes to certain things, and paying to select a flight seat is one of them. I usually let the airline surprise me. It usually isn't too bad, but this time, I was put in the very last row (where one hears the toilet flushing every time someone goes in to do their business), and at the extreme left corner, squished against the window and the wall (thanks, AirAsia!) When I sat down, I felt extremely claustrophobic and had the panicky urge to kick and push the seat in front of me to give myself some space. It was extremely uncomfortable, until I talked some sense into myself and went to sleep. 

It was a bit surreal leaving in the middle of CNY celebrations to come back to classes and catching up with studies. But after 5 minutes of adjustment, it feels like I never even left. I was doubting if we had soccer training today, since the campus has been extremely misty, and I can barely see the field from my room window, even though it is just across the road. I do the most embarrassing things at soccer practice. Today I sprained my ankle while running back after catching a runaway ball. Smooth, Jacq, real smooth!

*atm*

2015 In Review

Dear jumjum...

2015 has been a roller coaster ride and really, it has zoomed past. 

I experienced some most unexpected highs, for example giving my longest presentation ever relatively smoothly without any prior rehearsal (I was severely pressed for time) and not knowing if I even had enough material to even decently cover the allotted time; I reached the most tipsy state (was I drunk? I still can't decide) that I have ever been during summer break; and my proudest achievement would be that I boldly took my first, serious, 4-credit computer course, Introduction to Object-oriented programming. 

In the beginning of the semester, I was cautious but relatively confident with the course...and ended up being below the mean for midterm. Interspersed throughout the semester were periods of feeling utterly hopeless and panicked when my code wouldn't work for labs or assignments. I become a complete wreck when I'm in panic mode, and I think OOP has forced me into staying calm keeping my wits about me, simply because it is guaranteed that nothing will be solved if I'm running around like a headless chicken. It has also gave me a taste of being the underdog in class- my mouth wide open with confusion while the rest of the class nods with understanding. I guess I just needed some time and sufficient practice to adjust to their way of thinking and the language, because I did well in the finals, and I'm really really relieved because it's a testament that I learned and improved. 

In 2015, I also hit my lowest point ever, feeling like I'm not good enough for anything, and I think that it all stems from overthinking. Still working on that, and I've learned to just go for the things I want- because really, what do I have to lose if I fail? 

*atm*

Diam.

Dear jumjum...

Today in language class, we did a presentation to describe our sci-fi 'invention'. Melody and I despise language classes as a rule, and generally any class that counts participation as part of the grade.

However, this particular language instructor is pretty cool- she prepares interesting material for us to mull over and discuss and so every lesson is interesting. For once, I have actually picked up some presentation skills (gasp!), and I have immense respect for her.

As Mel and I were leaving the classroom, the instructor expressed that she was surprised that the pair of us can actually talk. Oh woman, you should see how we are in other classes, where we're not even attempting to speak out. She was like, 'Why are you guys usually so silent?!' Well, yes, we do speak- but to quote Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (film, 2005)-

'Only when forced!'

*atm*