Thursday, June 28, 2012

CHALLENGE: DO SOMETHING NEW EACH MONTH



This month, I decided to attend my first gig to support a friend! The video above belongs to an act that were on before him. They performed covers and I could only recognise a few of them.This is their version of Rolling in the Deep. Unfortunately, I only recorded half of this performance. Needed to save the battery!

The experience made me very determined to see artists that I like in concert. The obvious difference between watching a video on youtube and seeing them live in person is well, you see them there in front of your very eyes. But the performance. I can't even begin to imagine the atmosphere or the sensations of watching a performance live (I remember being able to feel feet stomping during the gig). And of course, how the artists themselves interact with the audience and how they try to engage us and make us feel for what they are doing.

I've watched a lot of performances throughout the years (via youtube) and the most engaging ones are when the artists are having fun on stage or when they lose all sense of themselves to the performance they are giving. It doesn't matter if they forget some part of the lyrics or aren't in sync when dancing. The overall effect is so much greater than the individual sum of its parts.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

GIF GALORE

Yesterday night, I was in a gif frenzy. Instead of making more gifs of dramas, I decided to dig up old videos of my friends. After making a few, I realised that this is what I should be doing. Gif-ing special moments of my friends. There will always be people willing to make gifs of dramas and movies, but who will make gifs of my friends? Below are the gifs I have made last night. If I can find more videos, I'll probably make more :D

Year 9 Maths Enchancent
What are you doing Tina and Fiona?!
Crazy Wings at the City
A scary endurance test.
Year 11 - Waiting for the bus at Glen Waverly
Why is this trolley moving by itself? Is it haunted?!
Year 11 - on the bus from Glen Waverly
Anna gets her revenge
Year 8 Brigidine Day
Why is Lisa shooting at the camera?!
Having fun camwhoring at Kim's house
Year 12 PD day
Lisa and Alyssa's attempt to dance
Year 12 PD day
Why hello there Janani!
Year 12 PD day
Being dragged by Tina to the lockers while singing
Ice-skating with a bunch of noobs
I was the only one that didn't fall!
Tuyen's 18th birthday
Why is she always laughing? :/

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Big

Despite having a very long backlog of drama waiting for me to finish, I couldn't help but start on one of the new drama offerings for June. I started this drama for one reason and one reason only. Big is the Hong Sister's offering for 2012. I became a fan of this duo after watching Delightful Girl Chun-hyang. Although I had watched My Girl first, it is Delightful Girl Chun-hyang that owns my heart. It is the Korean drama I go to in whatever mood I may be in. I tend to re-watch it every year and each time, I discover something new.

In recent years, I have not enjoyed their work as much as I would like to. I do laugh at their sense of comedy but there was always something missing. A spark, or something special, that I found in Delightful Girl Chun-hyang and hoped to rediscover in their later dramas. This is one of the main reasons why I continue to follow their work despite not being a major fan of their recent offerings. Another is that they're bloody good rom-com writers. Their dramas will always ensure a good laugh and it's got heart, which isn't something I can say for a lot of rom-com dramas airing in Korea.

Anyway, I've started on Big and it's just so good. So very very good. It's a lot more low-key compared to their recent dramas, and that's a good thing for me. I see a lot of familiar faces and it's so good to finally watch Baek Sung Hyun as an adult. I still remember how cute he was in Stairway to Heaven. Sigh. I shall always remember the buckets of tears I shed for him and Park Shin Hye.

I love that I don't know what's happening in this drama. I don't know who is going to end up with who. I don't know exactly all the character's relations to each other and I surely don't know what laws govern the body swap scenario. It's got me guessing and changing my views on the characters every so often. I love that.

I shall be off to make some gifs. Here is the first one I've completed.

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So very close.
I have come back with more! I'm  getting a lot better at this. Practice does make perfect!

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Our very first appearance of Gong Yoo.
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And another one cause he's so handsome.
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I want a green umberella  now.
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Hello Shin Won Ho!


Biochemistry

At the time I started writing this post, I am 5 hours and 23 minutes away from my biochemistry exam. I have officially given up any hope in passing this subject and pretty content with repeating it next semester. Although I have tried to study for this subject with the limited time that I have, I realised during the study session that there is no way I can pass. Its impossible to remember half the semester content in one day and two nights.

I regret taking the "advice" to complete the three hardest subject in one semester so that they can be out of the way. All three subjects - Anatomy, Human Physiology and Biochemistry - are very very demanding subjects. The amount of memorisation that goes into each subject is terrifying. I've been able to manage both Anatomy and Human Physiology because there are constant assessments which motivates me to keep on track. Furthermore, they tend to cross over. So while I'm learning about the different organs that make up our gastrointestinal tract, I'll also be learning about the different functions and the pathways which they use to achieve filtration and reabsorption in the kidneys.

On a larger scale, Biochemistry does not inter-relate like Anatomy and Human Physiology does. While I do learn the different chemical pathways that bring about the physiological pathways that functions our organs, it is not as harmonic and the odd one out. Furthermore, I don't have constant assessments that help motivate me to keep up with my study and it is quite a dry subject. Not to mention that there are a few lecturers that could put you to sleep. Unfortunately, I also thought one of my lecturers sounded condescending and hence, tuned out to most of his lecture content.

So yes, I admit to being quite laid-back and lazy with this subject. Which is why I've come to terms with failing this subject and repeating it next semester. I've learnt a valuable lesson (NEVER DO BIOCHEMISTRY WITH TWO OTHER HARDCORE SUBJECTS) and I'll be wiser for next semester. I guess this also gives me a head start to focus on the other half of the lectures I could not memorise in time.

And while it isn't important to note, I do fair better in my studies when I am studying a subject I have interest in. In VCE, I achieved my highest study score of 45 thanks to Information Technology. It was a subject I loved and was quite passionate about. In my first year of university, the subjects I did best in revolved around Physics. By then I've realised I hate subjects that required me to memorise textbook after textbook (like Biology and to an extent, Chemistry).

I'm much more of a practical person - which probably explains why I always did better in laboratory work for Chemistry and Biology. It's so much easier to understand a concept when you've had some experience in seeing how it works in real life. Guess that means I'm more of a visual person too.

Considering how I'm going to fail Biochemistry, I came to realise that it is one of the prerequisite subjects needed to get into Optometry and other medical fields. If I have no interests in any of the subjects required of me, what does that exactly say about the path I'm trying to take? Does this mean that the path I'm trying to pursue is not suited for me? Or does it mean that despite it being required knowledge, I won't have to rely on it to much? Should I pursue a career that's more involved in the laboratory instead?

I'm still very confused about my future.

So yeah, thanks biochem. I'll see you next semester!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Maroon 5 - Payphone

My exam studying song.