Muahahahaha! We are the CHAMPIONS!

Yup yup yup! The secret is out!

What secret? You never mentioned anything about a secret...

Oh yes I did... Remember the 'thing' that I was hinting at in the past blog entries? The one where I said I was counting down, but then it was postponed etc etc? Well yes. Now that it's finally over - and the tension and pressure is off, phew! - I can finally blog about it! The reason why I didn't blog about it before is 'cause I was secretly afraid I'd 'jinx' it. Silly of me, I know...

Anyway, what happened is this:

In the last week of July 2007 (just about a month ago lar...), I participated in the Yayasan Sarawak World Style English Debate 2007 as a team member of UNIMAS B. This was the second time I'd joined this competition, the first time being last year, which saw my team then failing to make it to the semifinals. This year, with my fellow worthy teammates who shall be henceforth be referred to as Quay and Wani in this here blog of mine, the competition was hosted by Inti College Sarawak, and personally, the thought of the competition kept me awake for quite a number of nights. Yes, I was that nervous. Anyway we joined the debate competition, and just for the fun of it (and to pass the time in between the debate rounds) I decided to join the Public Speaking (henceforth referred to as PS) competition as well. Imagine my surprise when on the final day (after 4 rounds of preliminary debates) of the preliminaries we found ourselves through to the semifinals, and they liked me (or rather, my speech on "Seven Ways To Have A Son") enough to send me through to the semifinals of the PS competition as well. Of course, we were ecstatic, cos we were hoping we could make it through to the semis, at the very least. So then, imagine our further surprise and happiness when we found ourselves through to the Finals! And, if you can, try to imagine my horror and fear when I found the nice judges liked me (or rather, my speech about how "Life Is Like An Umbrella") enough to gimme a ticket to the finals of the PS as well. Why horror you ask? Well simply because I wasn't expecting it at all (remember I joined just for the fun of it?), and now I had two highly stressful things to do on the same day: be part of the UNIMAS B debate team in the finals, and the PS finals too. So there you have it. What started out as a walk in the park transmogrified into a living nightmare, Doc Jeckyll transformed into Mr Hyde. Like, wow.

So then, as is of course the rule of nature, time passed quickly enough. Before we knew it, one month had passed and yesterday arrived. Gee that sounds a little odd. What I meant to say is... Oh, you know what I meant to say! Anyway, yes, our kind and generous officer-in-charge-of-us treated us to a really nice lunch of briyani rice at this place called Tok Janggut Cafe. Then we arrived at Inti College at about 1 p.m. I think Quay and Wani were probably the best dressed debaters that day. Or at least the ones who got the most compliments. What we did was try to 'coordinate' out outfits for the finals. Quay wore a jeepah (is that how you spell it, Quay?), and Wani wore a black cheongsam. Sure interesting right? I wore my usual green baju kurung. So there we were, at the finals, trying our best to fight off the deluge of stress and tension and pressure. It just so happens that UNIMAS emerged as champions in the debate competition for the past 2 years, so yeah, we were really hoping we could retain the trophy (and the title, 'champions' has a nice ring to it). But we were up against some really good teams, and when it was time to draw lots, we ended up being the Closing Opposition team, which by the way (and it's something of a secret... so far) was my team's personal favourite. So far, so good. Then they released the motion: "This house wants teachers to teach and parents to discipline." Talk about a really tough topic! This was really confusing for us. But I'll spare the reasons why (it might get a little too technical). Anyway to cut a reeeeeeeeeally long story short, we won. Yup you read that right. We won the debate competition. We're the CHAMPIONS... Again! So this is 3 years running that UNIMAS have conquered the trophy. And apparently because of this, the challenge trophy is ours. Yup, it's official. We don't have to give back the pretty trophy anymore. It stays... In UNIMAS! Muahahahaha! And on a further note, I won the public speaking competition too. That's right, I'm the champion of the public speaking finals! I guess they really really really really like my speech - "My World Is Orange" (why do I always get the weirdest topics?). I won! I won! I won! I won! Muahahahaha! My entire university's happy, my debate family is happy, my team is happy, I'm happy! And today, our faces were plastered in all the local newspapers. So far, that makes it the Borneo Post, the Eastern Times, the Sin Chew Jit Poh, the See Hua Daily News, the Utusan Borneo, and the Utusan Sarawak. Quite a bit of publicity I know, and I know a lot of people are squirming even as they read this, but really, please try to understand it from our point of view... Some of us have never seen ourselves in the paper, so yes, it is a big deal for us. Sad I know, but that's okay, at this very moment, we're all really happy people.

And how did I celebrate last night?

I had 2 packets of curry-flavoured instant noodles.

A can of ice-cold Coca-Cola would have made it perfect.

See? I'm really just a simple person. The simple things in life make me smile. The memories of Wednesday, the 29th of August 2007, are gonna make me smile for a very long time.

Cheers!

P.S. Will post up pictures as soon as I get my hands on them... End of P.S.

At last!

I can't even remember the last time I watched a full-length Bollywood movie. So you can imagine how excited I felt when I saw in last Sunday's papers that Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai was gonna be aired today. Man, I almost counted down the days to today, I was so excited to watch the movie. Not that I haven't watched it before, I think I've watched it probably about a couple of times already, but too much of a good thing is never a bad thing, and this movie is A Good Thing (trying to mimic Martha Stewart here). This movie stars Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai as its leads, and of course, I personally feel that any movie with any of these actors starring in it is always worth watching. The plot is quite good too, rather different from the 'usual' Bollywood plots you get. But I'd rather you guys checked it out on your own than me spoiling all the fun by reviewing it here. All I can say is that it's a great movie, and I would watch it all over again if I could. And I do actually try to watch it everytime it airs on national TV.

One thing I really like about watching Bollywood movies is its feel-good factor. I always feel nice and happy after watching Bollywood movies. Why? Perhaps because the movies almost always have a happy ending. You know, the guy and the girl always end up together by the end of 3 hours, no matter if they go through the worst predicaments throughout the other 2 hours and 59 minutes. I love happy endings. And the guy is always the charming, handsome, sweep-the-girl-off-her-feet kinda guy. And he can dance and sing too! I also think the world today lacks the kind of chivalry that you see quite often in Bollywood movies. The guy is always there to protect the girl, even to the point of beating up the people who hurt/taunt/tease/bully/injure her. I know some of you might say it's vicious and all, but I just find it really romantic and sweet... How many guys these days would actually do that for their girl eh? Most guys these days would probably just stand at the side and gawk if anyone were to hurt/taunt/tease/bully/injure his girl. Why can't this happen in real life eh? That's why I like Bollywood movies...

It always makes me smile.

Cheers!

Cold comfort!

Yup, I'm right at this very moment in the great UNIMAS library. Ah, such comfort. The whole building is air-conditioned, and it's the type of air-con where you have to put on thick sweaters or risk contracting hypothermia. The chair I'm sitting on is a comfortable gray, its cushion beckoning so invitingly to any weary passerby. There's free Internet connection, I'm connected to the World Wide Web with my trusty LAN cable and my laptop, and yup... This is the kind of university life I envisioned. Now if only everything else was just as perfect.

Sigh.

It's not, unfortunately. I just had a midterm exam this morning. Ironically, a good portion of the paper was based on the argument genre, namely debates. Which is highly ironic, if you know what I mean. I have a 'mock' Statistics exam in about half an hour's time, but am I worried? Am I perplexed? Am I trying my best to cram last-minute formulae into my head? Am I running my fingers over my scientific calculator to 'warm up' for the onslaught of calculations? Nope, nuh-uh, no way! I'm blogging! Muahahahahaha! This is definitely the life.

Now if only my room in college was a fully air-conditioned, gray-cushioned ensemble... Then I'd be truly happy.

Cheers!

P.S. Why do English teachers have to learn Statistics? End of P.S.

Here I am... Again...

... in my faculty's computer lab, writing in my blog. This is starting to get rather deja-vuish. How many times have I actually blogged from a computer in a computer lab? I do get a little paranoid at times, wondering if what I'm writing can be seen from across a crowded room. But then again, a blog is supposed to be read by the public right? I dunno.

I just had lunch of rice, stewed liver, gizzard cooked in some spicy gravy, and sausages and fishballs. Yup, that's lunch. I'm stuffed and sleepy, and I've still got 2 more classes before I can strt driving home. Sigh. I've been feeling really lethargic this past two days, so I've been sleeping really early at night.

On a sad news, remember the countdown I gave in my previous blog entry? Well, apparently it's been postponed to the 27th of August, so sigh, it's a longer wait. I really was looking forward to getting it over and done with, what with all the stress and tension of assignments and exams. But no, the organisers had to postpone it for some reason or other. So now, I've got to take an exam earlier than the rest of my class, cos the 27th was supposed to be one of the days I'd to take a mid-sem paper. Oh well. No worries.

And I guess that's it from me for now.

Cheers!

Another week of university...

Right now I am typing in a crowded computer lab in my faculty. Why is it crowded? Because the entire population of my class is crammed in here (me too). Why are we crammed in here? Because we're supposed to be 'exploring' some 'really cool' software thingy that will really 'help' us in one of the courses or something. Thing is, we've been told to explore 'on our own', which of course most inevitably leads to 99.99% of us doing anything but exploring aforesaid would-be-helpful software. Fact is, most of us are surfing the Internet, getting out weekly 'fix' of the outside world. They're smart, the people managing all these wonderful computers in the lab. They've actually managed to block the Friendster site, so yeah, none of us can actually check out Friendster. Smart, these people.

It's Monday (well, duh!) and this means it's the start of another week of boring classes and even more boring work. This morning started well though. I had a breakfast of some leftover pasta, and man, it was good. I absolutely enjoy pasta. I'll take it even if it's been stuck in the fridge for a couple of days. It still tastes good.

The countdown has started. Or rather, it's been there all along, but the event is getting closer and closer. I don't really wanna mention anything about The Event here, but I will blog about it after it's finished and over with. It's approximately another 10 days to it, and I'm getting more and more nervous. All I'm saying is that it has something to do with a debate competition. There I said it. Stay tuned for more updates (in the near future).

Midterm exams are fast approaching, in fact it's just next week. Am I prepared? No, of course not. I'm occupied with other things, namely reading as many story books as I can, in an attempt to complete 50 books by this year's end. So far, I think I'm close to 20 (if my tally's right), and I'm currently in the middle of Jane Eyre. It's a good book, especially if you're a hopeless romantic, and I've read it so many times over the past 7 years that I've really lost count.

Okay, that's it from me this time. I've got about 4 hours to spare to the next class, which will see my class watching Much Ado About Nothing, the movie starring Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington, and a few other Hollywood big names. It's one of the plays we're reading this year, the other being Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. We've got to actually put up a major play production at the end of this semester, and that's major pressure, needless to say.

Well, this is really it.

Cheers.

Of all the ironies...

Most people go to the lecture hall to receive some form of education...

... I come to the lecture hall to receive Internet access.

Now you tell me, how ironic is that? Thing is, I've been so busy these days. You know what I mean... The usual rush with driving up and down, lectures, assignments... So like, the only free time I get these days is the time in-between classes, so I thought like, since so many people were doing it, I could just bring my laptop over together with my LAN cable and like, just surf around and check my email and update my blog every little chance I get. Killing two birds with one stone. Or rather, receiving an education and free Internet access with one university trip. Ironic, indeed.

As I'm typing this, about 20 of my own coursemates are somewhat staring at me, wondering what I'm doing up here on the stage with my laptop. I can see another friend snapping pictures with her camera. When she reads this, she'll probably grin or laugh. Another friend is about 3 metres away from me, sitting on the floor with his laptop and LAN cable too. A couple of friends are at the very back of the hall, standing around in this little conjoining room where they have the exit doors, and laughing at me as I type this. Oh yeah, the life of undergraduates. Ironic.

The average time I sleep each night is getting earlier and earlier as the weeks progress. It's not that I wanna sleep early or anything, it's just the fatigue and exhaustion getting to me. But I am getting somewhat used to the hectic schedule. I don't feel that sudden urge to scream anymore like I did in the first couple of weeks. Assignments are starting to pour in though. Soon I'll be wanting to scream my head off with all the lack of time and the rush of assignments.

I guess I should stop typing now. More and more coursemates are coming in, and soon this whole place will be packed with students. Don't want to be like the first thing they see as they walk in. Would be pretty traumatising for them to start class with me greeting them.

Cheers.

Blogging for the sake of blogging

Sitting in front of my laptop now, typing this, and I'm thinking:

"When is this all gonna end?"

And by this, I mean the hectic schedule and helter-skelter of university life. It's been almost a month since I became a 3rd year TESLian in Unimas, and already I'm counting down the days to the study break (3 weeks long, 3 glorious weeks!). Of course, the same old equation applies here:

Study break = study = exams = end of semester = holidays!

But still, it's a long way to go. I think prolly another 3 months or so to go. 3 terrible months of torturous lectures, assignments, and exams! 3 terrible months of trudging to the lecture halls, wishing and hoping the lecturer will let us off early. Sleep is a rapidly disappearing commodity. When I stay in my room in college (I've moved into the single occupancy room), I get bitten by all sorts of creepy crawlies. I dunno how to get rid of them - my arms and face are covered with little insect bites. Food, ever present as always, but money becomes another issue. Stress, pressure, the banging of heads against table tops. The lightning fast copying of lecture notes. The endless cries for rest and sustenance. The rush of completing assignments. The heartache of badly-done exams. The longing for the holidays. Sigh. It's just another ordinary day in the life of a 3rd year undergraduate.

Trying really hard to smile and survive,
Cheers.