That's right, school is finally out for now.
I cannot even begin to describe how exhilarating it is to know I don't have to struggle to wake up before 7 on some mornings just to get to school for a single 9 a.m. lesson. More importantly, I am also less conflicted about prioritising my other modules over FYP.
I went to bed last night feeling at so much peace with myself because I didn't have to wake up to anymore alarms. It honestly felt surreal waking up past 9 this morning.
The last week of school, which was just last week actually, was mad crazy with a couple of hiccups but I'm glad I somehow survived the ordeal.
Things went down pretty quickly from Monday.
I had an FYP meeting in school and only got home at 4 that afternoon. I was in a major rush because there was so much cleaning up and organising to do at home. The aftermath of one week of renovations resulted in several clutters throughout the house. I expressed my intentions to leave my meeting earlier but I wasn't given the go-ahead and so everything after that got delayed.
Thankfully, I managed to clear most of the mess. There's still a small pile of things in the teeter's room that requires attention though.
Tuesday was Deepavali! It was a great time with the family.
We started with the temple early in the morning. We usually visit the temple on the morning of Deepavali itself but in the past couple of years, Mama wanted to avoid the crowd and we'd go the weekend before Deepavali. We didn't have the time this year but it was strangely therapeutic to be with so many people in a holy place all together.
After the temple, we headed straight to Amuma's place. I saw both my uncles whom I haven't seen in too long. The most memorable part was talking to my grandfather.
He was mighty alert that day! He even recognised me as his granddaughter and knew whose child I was. This is rare, considering he is in the final stage of dementia.
It was such a joy hearing his voice. He must have been in a pretty good mood himself because he ate an entire bowl of porridge, which he usually doesn't. His appetite is akin to a toddler's and he doesn't eat much on most days, getting by with just bread and coffee, but he ate a proper lunch that day so it was heartwarming to see.
Not long after, we all left the house to go to my grandaunt's place!
I was bummed that Sohan wouldn't come to me. He was sleeping when we got there and when he finally woke up, he was distracted by the gadget the other kid his age was playing with so he joined them. Then he gradually got cranky and wouldn't go to anyone but his mom and dad. So I don't have a photo with my love but that's okay, here's one with my beautiful family instead:
It was pure coincidence that we all ended up in shades of pink but what a beautiful family, no?
Deepavali serves as an annual reminder of my faith in family. I used to say my family is incomplete because how can it be complete when Papa is not around anymore? But the years spent without Papa and spent coming to terms with myself and this so-called incomplete family made me realise that we are complete. It's okay if Papa's not around, it's okay if we're a member short; we're a happy family and I'm sure Papa is happy too.
Wednesday was back to school. We had a make-up Korean tutorial that morning, which was also our last Korean lesson before we sat for the written paper. I don't know how our teacher did it but she managed to finish teaching everything on time. We did 4 chapters in 13 weeks (and there are like 4 sub-chapters for each chapter) so information overload was evident.
Melly and I had lunch together. It was all joyous until I was forced to go conduct an interview on my own.
One of my members asked me what was the big deal about going for the interview on my own when everyone will eventually have to do it individually if not we would all get too tired out. You know what the contradiction is? No one ever mentioned this before. No one mentioned nor agreed that we will go for the interviews on our own.
People who know me would know I don't get angry or stay angry. I don't get defensive when someone insults me and I would let anyone run their mouths against me for one simple reason: I don't like arguments.
I'm not the best group mate. I won't make any excuses for that. But what I find really despicable is when people try to use me against me. For all the times I weren't there, I provided a reason. It may not be reasonable enough to be accepted as a reason but I'm upfront and frank about why I'm not there. I wonder if it's too demanding to ask my group mates to be understanding of me.
Oh well, talked this out with Kat and Mel and felt a whole better after that. (Thanks guys!)
I'm just a single person after all. I will continue to do me even if that makes me seem weak to others.
Spent the rest of the day and Thursday with Mel preparing for my Korean paper on Friday. We camped in school and were surprisingly disciplined for 4, 5 hours. It was a huge achievement! I wouldn't say I managed to prepare fully but I was adequately equipped, I think.
I don't even want to think about my Korean paper anymore because there's no point. It's over. I've done my best and nothing will change that.
It was Mel's birthday that day so Kat and I brought her out for lunch after our Korean paper! Banana was supposed to join us but she was unfortunately down with a fever and flu. Still, we had our fill at Sushi Express and then we went to Baskin Robbins for dessert!
The birthday girl was definitely in a good mood! Glad we managed to make your day, Melly!
They then came over to my place on Saturday to celebrate Deepavali! Nette and Gek also came over. (First for Gek!) And I invited my newly made friends for Korean class this semester but only Peiyi managed to make it.
One with Peiyi just as she was about to leave! We were watching Jurassic World but she had a prior appointment that evening so she couldn't stay till the end of the movie.
Nette came over with a flu but it slowly progressed to a fever. She was burning by the time she left but glad she managed to come while she was feeling better. It was Gek's first time to my place and she, as usual, looks tired as hell. We're all such hard workers seriously.
These girls are beyond amazing. They stayed for almost 7 hours! :> I love you girls really. Such a pity that Banana couldn't be there but I have her in my heart.
My JC mates also popped by! I proudly tell everyone who ask about my JC life that these are the only people I keep in contact with. These people are keepers.
Saturday was a madhouse with people streaming in and out. Friends of my mom, sister and brother came and filled the house with so much noise and heaps of laughter. It was a happening night.
I didn't manage to take photos with a couple who dropped by for a short while but thank you all for coming!
It was back to work on Sunday but the pace was much slower and the kids were more well-behaved so it was a good return to reality.
So it's Monday all over again but I'm feeling less pressured and more carefree because school's down. I sent out a couple of emails this morning after realising I've delayed my deadlines quite a bit because of school. Cleared matters out with Veron and got straight down to contacting my expert. I still have some stories pending but that should slowly clear in time to come.
I've got an interview waiting to be transcribed, interview questions to come up with for tomorrow's interview and it's about time I organised my main stories so that I get a better idea of what I'm looking at.
It's all good, it's all good. :-)
I cannot even begin to describe how exhilarating it is to know I don't have to struggle to wake up before 7 on some mornings just to get to school for a single 9 a.m. lesson. More importantly, I am also less conflicted about prioritising my other modules over FYP.
I went to bed last night feeling at so much peace with myself because I didn't have to wake up to anymore alarms. It honestly felt surreal waking up past 9 this morning.
The last week of school, which was just last week actually, was mad crazy with a couple of hiccups but I'm glad I somehow survived the ordeal.
Things went down pretty quickly from Monday.
I had an FYP meeting in school and only got home at 4 that afternoon. I was in a major rush because there was so much cleaning up and organising to do at home. The aftermath of one week of renovations resulted in several clutters throughout the house. I expressed my intentions to leave my meeting earlier but I wasn't given the go-ahead and so everything after that got delayed.
Thankfully, I managed to clear most of the mess. There's still a small pile of things in the teeter's room that requires attention though.
Tuesday was Deepavali! It was a great time with the family.
We started with the temple early in the morning. We usually visit the temple on the morning of Deepavali itself but in the past couple of years, Mama wanted to avoid the crowd and we'd go the weekend before Deepavali. We didn't have the time this year but it was strangely therapeutic to be with so many people in a holy place all together.
After the temple, we headed straight to Amuma's place. I saw both my uncles whom I haven't seen in too long. The most memorable part was talking to my grandfather.
He was mighty alert that day! He even recognised me as his granddaughter and knew whose child I was. This is rare, considering he is in the final stage of dementia.
It was such a joy hearing his voice. He must have been in a pretty good mood himself because he ate an entire bowl of porridge, which he usually doesn't. His appetite is akin to a toddler's and he doesn't eat much on most days, getting by with just bread and coffee, but he ate a proper lunch that day so it was heartwarming to see.
Not long after, we all left the house to go to my grandaunt's place!
I was bummed that Sohan wouldn't come to me. He was sleeping when we got there and when he finally woke up, he was distracted by the gadget the other kid his age was playing with so he joined them. Then he gradually got cranky and wouldn't go to anyone but his mom and dad. So I don't have a photo with my love but that's okay, here's one with my beautiful family instead:
It was pure coincidence that we all ended up in shades of pink but what a beautiful family, no?
Deepavali serves as an annual reminder of my faith in family. I used to say my family is incomplete because how can it be complete when Papa is not around anymore? But the years spent without Papa and spent coming to terms with myself and this so-called incomplete family made me realise that we are complete. It's okay if Papa's not around, it's okay if we're a member short; we're a happy family and I'm sure Papa is happy too.
Wednesday was back to school. We had a make-up Korean tutorial that morning, which was also our last Korean lesson before we sat for the written paper. I don't know how our teacher did it but she managed to finish teaching everything on time. We did 4 chapters in 13 weeks (and there are like 4 sub-chapters for each chapter) so information overload was evident.
Melly and I had lunch together. It was all joyous until I was forced to go conduct an interview on my own.
One of my members asked me what was the big deal about going for the interview on my own when everyone will eventually have to do it individually if not we would all get too tired out. You know what the contradiction is? No one ever mentioned this before. No one mentioned nor agreed that we will go for the interviews on our own.
People who know me would know I don't get angry or stay angry. I don't get defensive when someone insults me and I would let anyone run their mouths against me for one simple reason: I don't like arguments.
I'm not the best group mate. I won't make any excuses for that. But what I find really despicable is when people try to use me against me. For all the times I weren't there, I provided a reason. It may not be reasonable enough to be accepted as a reason but I'm upfront and frank about why I'm not there. I wonder if it's too demanding to ask my group mates to be understanding of me.
Oh well, talked this out with Kat and Mel and felt a whole better after that. (Thanks guys!)
I'm just a single person after all. I will continue to do me even if that makes me seem weak to others.
Spent the rest of the day and Thursday with Mel preparing for my Korean paper on Friday. We camped in school and were surprisingly disciplined for 4, 5 hours. It was a huge achievement! I wouldn't say I managed to prepare fully but I was adequately equipped, I think.
I don't even want to think about my Korean paper anymore because there's no point. It's over. I've done my best and nothing will change that.
It was Mel's birthday that day so Kat and I brought her out for lunch after our Korean paper! Banana was supposed to join us but she was unfortunately down with a fever and flu. Still, we had our fill at Sushi Express and then we went to Baskin Robbins for dessert!
The birthday girl was definitely in a good mood! Glad we managed to make your day, Melly!
They then came over to my place on Saturday to celebrate Deepavali! Nette and Gek also came over. (First for Gek!) And I invited my newly made friends for Korean class this semester but only Peiyi managed to make it.
One with Peiyi just as she was about to leave! We were watching Jurassic World but she had a prior appointment that evening so she couldn't stay till the end of the movie.
Nette came over with a flu but it slowly progressed to a fever. She was burning by the time she left but glad she managed to come while she was feeling better. It was Gek's first time to my place and she, as usual, looks tired as hell. We're all such hard workers seriously.
These girls are beyond amazing. They stayed for almost 7 hours! :> I love you girls really. Such a pity that Banana couldn't be there but I have her in my heart.
My JC mates also popped by! I proudly tell everyone who ask about my JC life that these are the only people I keep in contact with. These people are keepers.
Saturday was a madhouse with people streaming in and out. Friends of my mom, sister and brother came and filled the house with so much noise and heaps of laughter. It was a happening night.
I didn't manage to take photos with a couple who dropped by for a short while but thank you all for coming!
It was back to work on Sunday but the pace was much slower and the kids were more well-behaved so it was a good return to reality.
So it's Monday all over again but I'm feeling less pressured and more carefree because school's down. I sent out a couple of emails this morning after realising I've delayed my deadlines quite a bit because of school. Cleared matters out with Veron and got straight down to contacting my expert. I still have some stories pending but that should slowly clear in time to come.
I've got an interview waiting to be transcribed, interview questions to come up with for tomorrow's interview and it's about time I organised my main stories so that I get a better idea of what I'm looking at.
It's all good, it's all good. :-)
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