Another Day, Another Week

I cut my hair today - technically, my mum cut it for me (you see, her former profession was a hairdresser). It's short, but not short enough... I still can tie it.

Anyway, today is the 25th of July, and the NiE (as I've mentioned before) newspapers are to be verified and chopped - literally - by the school authorities. My class has two groups doing it: one all-Chinese, another all-Indian. The all-Chinese group got a go-ahead from our homeroom and also English teacher, Pn. Jamuna, while the all-Indian group hadn't even started. Bwahahahaha... I feel sorry and happy at the same time for them!

So, today the all-Indian group were rushing to finish. Tempers flared and misunderstandings roam galore as they rush against time to finish it in approximately less than half a day. As I was doing my homework, I was surprised by the president, who came with a camera (would you believe it?) again. She wanted to take my picture - again. I was, "What? I thought you already took my picture. I don't want to do this. Seriously, you people don't know how to organize!" But I let them take the picture anyway.

After break, we had Maths, and Pn. Uma was giving out exam papers. She lost Jia Ying's one... really. And she ordered her to come to the table as if the missing paper wasn't her fault. Than, we had assembly. Nothing much, usual vows, prize-giving ceremonies and prep talks by teachers. A teacher announced that starting from next week they would hold the "Baca Buku 5 Minit" where we had to read a book for 5 minutes - our own book, mind you. That didn't bother me, in fact, I was pretty delighted. I plan to try to finish Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover quick enough.

Oh yeah, Jessica Loo of 1 Telus and I did something today. She pretended to have a cut on her wrist, and made up a story that she got hurt peeling potatoes. She also said that she found out I was her long-lost cousin twice removed. It was fun, nearly 95% of the people she told fell for it. And it was fun being her cousin - for a day.

So, basically all that happened today was a flurry or in Bahasa Melayu, huru-hara. I wasn't in it, thank goodness, I was just the audience - and it was good fun!

Homeroom Humiliation

I know I'm running late to actually talk about this - that happened over the course of the last two weeks, I think. But, I feel I have to tell you about this - it'll make for an interesting blog. First thing's first, do you know what's NiE? Yes? No? It stands for Newspaper-in-Education, where you have to create a four-page newspaper to qualify for a contest created by The Star to encourage students to be creative and the normalities. Anyway, my class had a team - I wasn't in it - and they wanted to interview me for Spelling Bee. Yup! Of course I said yes, I mean, what do you expect me to say? "I'm sorry... I can't do it" to my homeroom buddies. They'll be so - bewildered.

Okay, so we had an interview, and they asked all sorts of questions - regarding Spelling Bee, that is - they didn't run out of the topic. After that, the president (who was in the team) wanted a photo shoot. Could things get any worse? We went all around the school before deciding on where to take the photo. And guess where? In the homeroom (classroom) itself. I was like, "Duh?!" in a dumb way.

They had to clear everyone behind me because I was taking the photo at my desk. So most of the class huddled in front of me and looked at me intently, waiting for the flash to go. I was in a fit of laughs and grins, holding an absolutely worn book, wearing eye glasses with a serious look on my face. Obviously, you can't look all that serious when you're taking a photo, can you? And, before we were already getting to a decision, my best friend, Jolene of 1 Efektif (another class) walked past and yelled, "AMANDA HOI!" I turned, startled, and saw my best friend... seeing me - like this. This. Cannot. Be. Anymore. Pathetic.

Soon, my president snapped the photo, and everything was over - so fast. So, you see, if you take time to concentrate on that one moment where you want everything to be perfect, than it will be. So don't worry about what people might think or what they'll be saying about it... that's your moment, so take it while it lasts.

A Liking for the Killers

It's confirmed. I have developed a taste for rockers, The Killers. The Killers, from the USA, are named as the band to look out for this year, and I think I know why. The Killers consists of Brandon Flowers(vocals/keyboards), David Keuning(electric guitars), Mark Stoermer(bass) and Ronnie Vannucci(drums) and they're good, very good. Their debut album, Hot Fuss is on my list of albums to buy, alongside One Tree Hill: The Soundtrack.

Hot Fuss, which has 11 songs spawned many hit singles, such as "Mr Brightside", "Smile Like You Mean It", "Somebody Told Me" and "All These Things That I've Done", both of which are my favourite The Killers' songs. One song worth mentioning that is not included in Hot Fuss is "Indie Rock 'N' Roll" which got me hooked onto The Killers. From then on, I am a Killers fan. Their music is rock-driven, with stunning electric guitar and also bass solos, expecially on "Somebody Told Me" and "All These Things I've Done"; great drum mixes on "Glamorous Indie Rock 'N' Roll". However, "Mr Brightside" is very popular amongst Killers fans, not by me, though.

The Killers have proved to be an expectant rock band, as its debut itself has been climbing the charts to score high with the critics. Cheers to The Killers!

They're Already Here

Yo! I've just returned from catching a movie with friends. And by my blog title, you could've already guessed what movie that is, right? Bingo! It's War of the Worlds, my friends.

I'm now convinced that any Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise collaboration is a sure hit. And I'm glad to say I was mystified by the stunning film, and everything about it. Must've cost a lot for Spielberg, but then again, we're talking about Spielberg, at what cost will he ever stop filming? Zero.

The latest remake of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" book, War of the Worlds stars Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto and Tim Robbins. Star-studded, ain't it?

Of course, you'll know the synopsis by now, so I won't be specific. The movie was SPECTACULAR, AWESOME, MAGNIFICENT. It was a jaw-dropping experience, and I applaud Spielberg. The sound effects deserve recognition, and the CGI parts are absolutely breath-taking. I most certainly enjoyed myself.

Tom Cruise's Ray Ferrier was very funny, and his daughter, Rachel was, well, okay, I guess. All she did was cry and scream and show her intelligence, that's all. His son, Robbie, however, pumped out a commendable effort. Great acting. Tim Robbins' character was a little annoying, and Miranda Otto was graceful and simple.

All in all, it was a great watch. As the saying goes, wine tastes better with age, this third remake of "War of the Worlds" certainly scores higher.

Musical Performance... and Other Happenings

It was a long, long day for me today. But, surprisingly, I had loads of fun. I played for the birthday party with my ensemble pals. What went wrong was that I had overpracticed, so my upper arm started to get painful in the middle of Pachelbel's "Canon in D", and it spread to my entire arm during Vivaldi's "Spring". I had to stick with it until the end of "Spring". I must tell you, it was excruciatingly exhausting. Ee Lyz, my cello buddy noticed that I was missing notes, adjusting my bow and continually shaking uncontrollably. How nice of her to take note of my playing, what a great partner, ain't she?

And, besides, there was this annoying girl who came with one of the ensemble members. It was like a nightmare... except that it was threefold. They said they were late because they just had to WATCH A CAT GIVE BIRTH TO A LITTER OF KITTENS. Tell me, how absolutely pathetic is that? Very pathetic. It's amazing how dimwitted anyone can be.

So, after our rerun during practice session, that girl came up to me and was like, "You know your lower D? I think it was a bit too low, or maybe it's just me." I felt like tearing her apart at that moment. Who the heck is the cellist right now, eh? You or me? And she went on talking to the rest of the ensemble members, even the teacher, with her sarcastic remarks and know-it-all slang. In the end, we all assembled at the practice room upstairs, with the teacher there, and started to tell everything bottled up inside about that girl. It appears everyone in the ensemble hates her.

Yeah, and that was about all. After the performance, me, Ee Lyz, Yin Shi, Sharifah Leena and Xianling went to a room upstairs and wiled the time away talking. That was very fun. When we came down, I took some pictures using my camera phone.