Sure that Singapore prides itself on being a fast-paced society; constantly on the move with minimal time to rest or think unless you are able to think while moving and/or regard rest as motion.

Planning ahead is, of course, of stupendous importance.
Going for a Halloween party on the 31st and have a test on the 2nd of November?
Study and revise all your work before getting swallowed in alcohol, candy and screams.
Want to return to your home country four months later but you only have a single entry permit?
Apply for a re-entry permit. Pronto. Even it's four months ahead, because you'd never know how long these administration people can take, not to mention all the additional holidays, public or not, there actually are.
Already gotten a 2-day pass to Disneyland and Disneysea this coming weekend and have an essay due the following Tuesday?
Write your damn essay by this Friday, even if your damn presentation of which your essay is based on is this Friday as well.

Yes only 2 of the 3 apply really.

Oh, finances.
and language barriers.

All part of a lifelong journey, learning and giving at the same time.

i really want to cut my hair into a stylish short style...but at the same time i want to keep it long and longer...
dilemma.
and no, don't suggest a wig.

WEEKEND.
週末だ！

今日、寮の友達一緒に池袋のなんのアイスクリーム場所へ行く。もうそろそろ準備しなきゃ。

More assignments, homework, readings and revision to do this weekend ):
I should have just done the Intensive track, even if it means having to wake up at 6 every morning.
Oh well, too late now. Maybe I can do it next semester.

Okay, I don't know what to talk about now.
Later~

Two weeks into school and I'm already itching for the holidays to start.
Can't wait for the short festival break at the end of the month.
The Mr. and Ms. Sophia pageants and performance by Beni Arashiro!

Talked to my father this afternoon. Apparently he had worked in Japan before (not sure whether it was before or after I was born) at Suwa in Nagano. I wiki-ed it and it is supposed to be famous for its ryokans! I WANT TO GO TO NAGANO! RYOKANS. ONSENS?! SNOWBOARDING!!

Quite a funny experience after lunch too. We had already collected our alien registration cards then. Went to Belc supermarket and before she realized that the key was missing, Tina locked her bicycle. So when we went back, we walked with our bicycles while Joseph carried the locked one back to our dorm. Respect.

Writing the surrealist story.
Regret that I left it to the eleventh hour?
You bet.

I printed the stories yesterday morning at the computer lab and only started reading them on the train back to the dorm. It works, seriously, and time passes alot faster as well. Gonna do that more often from now on.

Honestly, part of me is still adjusting to the fact that the whole being is in Japan. It's not really regarding the issue of being homesick, or culture shock or even life shock. It's just that there are certain things here which strongly remind me of how it is back in Singapore and/or Melbourne. Like during meals, the PCDs would talk non-stop and stay at our table for hours. Or that certain random high-rise buildings would resemble the HDB buildings in Singapore. Things like that. And I certainly miss Melbourne Uni's campus alot.

I bought two dictionaries for about 6000yen at Kinokuniya, and I have no idea how to use them.

I do not belong to Shibuya.
I stick out like a sore thumb.
But Kaikai! I wish you were here!
We would practically visit every single store on every single floor at every single building on every single street!
The irony in the first and fourth statement.
I would still go anyway.



YamaPi at Shibuya is calling to you!
"Kaikai-chan! Hayaku kite ne! Matteru kara."
Actually that sounds more like something a girl would say.

Wo zai deng ni!

It feels like a weekend now that school for today has been cancelled due to Typhoon No. 18.
Must be that they don't want me to go to school with a bad leg and wants me to rest at home (: not that I can go anywhere anyway since the train services have been suspended. So I can't buy my books meh.

I normally use my iPhone as my alarm clock and it ran out of juice last night, which I hadn't realized. It didn't go off but I was already awake at 7ish so I just listened to the crazy winds outside and people chattering outside about whether they should go for their 9am class. I got my lazy ass out, washed up and wanted to shower when I heard Tina's voice (she has a 9am class) and she and Sven told me that the Keihin-Tohoku line has been suspended. So basically no one from DK House could go for class since we have to take that line to school. Cool.

Checked the website for news.
1st and 2nd periods cancelled.
After 10am, 3rd and 4th were cancelled as well.
So no school today!

I hadn't gotten my books and dictionaries for my 3rd and 4th period classes, sooo it's kind of a relief. But I wonder how they're gonna make up for the unexpected cancellation due to weather conditions now; please don't cancel the school holiday ):

Gives me an opportunity to clean up and tidy my room now.
And er, study more Japanese; dunno what are the chances that the sensei will give us tomorrow's as well as today's quizzes at tomorrow's class.

Although it's still early to say this,
I shall sign up for earlier classes for my final semester back in Melbourne.
Feels good to sleep earlier and wake up earlier for school.
Then again, it's 'cause I have to ):
Miss a class here and you're basically screwed; and one has to wake up at 8 for an 11am class (can't imagine 9am classes).
But in Melbourne, no problem since I live less than 5 minutes away from campus so yes.
I know I should have realized long ago that the whole 'sleep-early-wake-up-early' thing is healthy and all, but hey, better now than never. Not to mention I can't really buy souvlaki for supper and shit around here...

DIGRESSING.

Re-enrolment is commencing at the end of the month, so I'd better get my subjects right. Gonna overload with 5 subjects in order to be able to graduate at the end of next year. 5 3rd-year Cultural Studies subjects hopefully. All essays and no examinations. Wow. Then I'd have a month to rot before graduation. I'm planning ahead!

Too many things to do now.
Shall not brood.
Shall not regret.
Shall not 'emo'.

cheers.

Human solitude.
What a way to experience it out of class today.
Not the usual verbal garbage with famous quotes of short stories woven out of loneliness and hiding in corners.

Why must it rain.
The pitter-patter woke me up, to think that it was the air-conditioner leaking.
Uncomfortable sleeps.
Unwarranted nightmares of cars, pesky kids and a torn family.

Too much self-sympathy there,
Oozing like thick yellow pus from a festering wound.
Needs to go out,
But I'm afraid,
Afraid of the rain.
Too afraid.
Of lack of empathy and care.

Lol.
Can my readers (if there're any left) holler at me once in a while to let me know that I'm not writing all this in vain?

So anyway,
Headed to and fro from school on my own today.
Literary Genres and Contemporary Literature are axed.
My short-listed subjects are Japanese 3, Creative Writing (yeah wtf but the teacher is interesting and I like to write random things so why not), Introduction to Kanbun (looks cool and fun) and Approaches to Japanese Society (just 'cause it's really my thing; Japanese, culture, report writing, field work, research). I sent all my emails out to the respective department exchange advisors so hopefully all the credit can be transferred to my degree and diploma.

Classes were more enjoyable today.
Met a new friend at Jap; name's Ayu (I think that's how it's spelt), a graduate student at Sophia. I just went to talk to her after class 'cause she said she studied and worked at Singapore heh. She's an awesome young woman, very friendly and approachable. And when she asked "where do you live in Singapore?", I really wanted to say 'uh Singapore?' but wtf of course she knows where Serangoon Gardens is. Double heh.
The new guy sitting beside him asked me whether I was from Australia 'cause he said I have an Australian accent. LOL, first time I hear that sort of thing. And Ayu said she initially thought I was brought up in the West too until I just used all my lahs and lehs and lohs. Yay to Singlish.

Approaches to Japanese Society was insane. The classroom was small so half the class had to stand outside and when Ryu (lol his name is Ryan but Yifen and I call him Ryu 'cause his Chinese name has a 'long2' in it) and I arrived, there was no space left outside the front and back doors. More than half of the 'outside' people left though, and hopefully less people will enrol in this class 'cause I really want to get a seat inside pleaseee.

And wtf, I couldn't get 3 separate bikes to work 'cause of the wheels or the brakes. Shit lah.

Tsukiji Market and some museum event for exchange students tomorrow.
Gotta bank in, get my e-dictionary and do my damn laundry.

Sian leh. Ask me something to write about please ):

First Day of Soph Skool

I can't even begin to describe how it went.
It could be disastrous, depressing, fascinating or just plain normal like meh.

Rush hour at train stations is so extreme; they have train supervisors stationed outside doors with the purpose to push remaining passengers inside the doors. So I had to experience that twice today; once in the morning and once in the afternoon, nearly evening. But the fucked up thing is that if I want to avoid that, I have to choose modules in the third period because all the second period slots are already taken up by Japanese and first starts at 9.15, right after rush hour and the 4th ends at 4.45, right before rush hour so I get double joy in a coconut shell. And there aren't many to choose from in the first place ):

Nearly everyone in DK was cranky this morning 'cause we had to wake up before 7 in order to prepare and leave the house before 8 to be able to reach school on time. Even so, I missed the class 'cause wtf I found the classroom but the door couldn't open and there weren't any signs regarding classroom change. So whatever, I just skipped it and went to rot at the computer lab before Japanese at 11am.

I remembered watching an episode of BOSS, where the Boss herself said that Toda Erika's character wasn't even an adult yet 'cause she was sporting 'tea-coloured' hair. And sure enough, that makes sense 'cause nearly every college girl I met on campus and anywhere else had brown hair, in the same shade. Seriously, did they use the same DIY hair-dye or something? And I've been hearing plenty of 'ee, maji de?!' and 'kawaiiiiii!!!' In any other city, it would be poserish but here, it's the norm and meh you can't criticize it anyway 'cause this is where it originated and anyone else who doesn't actually speak or know Japanese but uses those phrases are just act-seh or act cute only.

So Japanese class.
The sensei said there were 43 people enrolled in this level and hence, we had to be split into two classes, by jankenpon wtf. The losers had to go to the classroom on the 5th floor and the winners got to stay in the classroom we were in. Everyone from DK in that class lost lol. Actual lessons have yet to start and we have a test tomorrow already :D
Oh, and I finally met the other Melbie in my class. Name's Michael. Law/Commerce. 5th year. Koganei Dorm, same as Stanley, another Melbie.

I went to buy my Japanese books during lunch break. Ran into the guy in my orientation group there. He called me by the wrong name, but I didn't even remember his name.

Third period.
Creative Writing.
The teacher has so many expressions; he can easily pull several in a single phrase. And he speaks out of random sometimes. While he was busy talking, I was already brainstorming on stores I could write about him lol.
Alot of work though that class, and none in Japanese. So I was wondering whether I should take it; it's not like I haven't 'studied' creative writing before. But that class was slotted right in between Japanese and Intro to Kanbun (which I'm going to take) so unless I just use the extra 3 hours in between to do something else more constructive, I might end up taking it ):

Intro to Kanbun was pretty straightforward.
The sensei asked us to fill out a questionnaire and she interviewed us individually. That was it.

The ride home was pretty smooth.
I think I actually like travelling on my own sometimes; quite peaceful (mentally)

The N'EX is up!
It's the new train that travels directly to Narita Airport from Shinjuku (and other stations). I'm psyched 'cause that means when I go back in February, it'd be more convenient :D at least I'd know how I'd be going anyway.

Meh more classes tomorrow ):
Another 4 periods back to back, then I can finally decide which ones I'm gonna do.

K cheers~