Why do you want to work for this company?

Why, exactly?

ble'-vee

Boiling-liquid expanding-vapour explosion (BLEVE, pronounced ble'-vee).

I thought to myself, "Gee, this is what Blanche Devereaux would name her child", which just demonstrates the lasting impact Golden Girls has on me.

Considering the time and I'm still at ble'-vee, the ganjiong spider is going to appear soon.

The Case of the Yips

It was as if the prof had emptied his MCQ vault and next year he would have to rob someone else's to set the paper unless he does not mind plagiarizing his own.

There were X (X felt like > 1,000,000) number of MCQs, but how would I know? The questions were numbered in Roman numerals, and frankly I had neither sufficient knowledge nor patience to count. So after attempting a few questions I had to flip back a few pages to remind myself that there were that many questions left, the clock was ticking, THINK, woman, THINK!

I complained to the girls and Michele said "We're not living in the Roman era". Darn right, this is the 21st century where a family can fake the disappearance of a child for a reality TV show (child got carried away by a hot air balloon- how exciting!), and I am not Julius Caesar.

All I want is a B++, and to keep the DDP alive.

There are times when I feel this way...



...like now.

Things have been breaking down of late:

1. Bicycle tyre puncture x 2
2. Printer malfunctioning
3. Unresponsive keyboard " d" key
4. Table lamp bulb burn out
5. My poor body - was down with fever, and I still have phlegm :(
6. Accidentally melted part of a favourite piece of clothing while ironing
   

Thankfully these things can be mended or replaced, or simply ignored for some time:

1. The same tyre punctured twice in 3 weeks. Got it fixed the first time, will get it done again soon.
   
2. Did some (gentle) tugging of stuck paper and lots of praying that the printer head was still intact. The phrase "but teacher, the dog ate my homework!" comes to mind. Said printer works beautifully without any hiccups now :)
3. Brought Flubdub all the way to Sim Lim Square to have it checked and the diagnosis: nothing wrong. I can finally type "dumbass" instead of "umbass".
4. Was a little worried- have not seen any DIY shop around. Housemate suggested trying the hardware shop close to school and it stocked the suitable bulb in white!
5. Some panadol and sporadic rest. Lots of porridge and TLC :D
   
6. Fortunately clothing is patterned, so melted area is not too visible unless under scrutiny.
   

While it's alright for certain stuff to reach its expiry/sell-by/maturity/non-operational date/period, there is a particular thing that is sacred and should be preserved at all costs.

Let this be a reminder of how precariously close I came to losing it.

I have been having a special sense of endearment towards this new layout ever since I had the background changed.

Today, it finally dawned upon me. The new theme has the same background colour as HYSYS's simulation environment.

What's not to love? ;)

I want to explode and emit a stream of words from my mouth that make even a grown man blush.

You and your secrets are impossible.

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

Oh, my cred! It could have been catastrophic.

Out with the humdrum old layout, and in with the new!

I'm in huge trouble now. Need a brain upgrade.

Something is happening, but I can't place a finger on it.

Need to get to Avenue J. Very soon.

You know you've been skipping way too many classes when you wake up at 8 35am, finish bathing by 9 07am, only to realize that the class you intended to attend starts at 9am.

I'm still going for the 10-12 lecture though. Time to shape up!

One might drive recklessly, ignoring the red flags along the road.

There are exits one might take, and the journey would be entirely different.

But one drives on, and on, and on...

Until one reaches the dead end and sees the sign: Game Over.

Then the car bursts into the flames.

I drove, and my co driver was hurt real bad.

I hope it's not too late to save lives.

I have been a tomato before, but never this huge a tomato.

What's worse, I feel like a pitted tomato.

Think I'll make an omelette.

Not everything should be easy and fun. I should know better.

Gotta get-get through it!

I'm sorry you had to swallow that bitter pill.
No, you didn't swallow the pill.
You wrapped it under your tongue.
But it poisoned you all the same-
Albeit more slowly.

Is your heart a depthless receptacle?
You probably wish it isn't.
Though for my sake I hope it is.

Thank you for your magnanimosity.
No more bitter pills.
We'll get better together.

So I'll add stripes of bravery to my uniform every time I topple,

and one day I'll grow legs and walk away.

It's the first day of a new semester, and there are so many things to settle...

Either way, I need to keep shining.

Hope everything works out well.

Just as I was about to leave for work today, I received an SMS from my mentor, Celeste, informing me that work starts at 10am today! I checked to see if it was the 1st of April, then thanked my soggy cereal for holding me up.

So I now have about an hour to spare :)

*

There are about two weeks of work left, and I'm getting anxious because there is a presentation to prepare for and my results aren't exactly the most pretty. In fact we've been facing a brick wall lately; our modified surfactant fares worse than the original substance. But given the general time frame for R&D, Celeste has perhaps a couple of years to tinker around, and there is no need for me to be too concerned besides coughing up about 8 slides worth of findings and results.

*

Fatty made a rather brash decision a few days ago and things got really ugly for a while. I have to admit that I played a significant role, so apart from labeling his actions as hurried, I will reserve judgment. A grey cloud of guilt hung over my head as we did a post mortem, and at that point the ramifications seemed to be too many and too great for us to handle. Ultimately we both decided that Fatty had to make some amends, he duly did so and the reception has not been discouraging. With this I let out a huge phew.

*

I love having a kitchen of my own. Yesterday was Staff Retreat day at IBN, ie a wonderful day off! I fancied myself as the female version of Jamie Oliver as I toiled to prepare the mash potatoes and honey garlic pork. Of course I fished for compliments, but even without them I knew that the food was awesome :D I now have an almost religious faith in online recipes.

*

A little snippet to remind you of home, which is where I will be in about 2 weeks!

+ Just a little more everyday.

6 million hits on Youtube and I chanced upon it only today.



I love the part where she descends steps made of pillows, and when the red scarf catches her neck.

Even the lyrics are poetic.

"She pours a daydream in a cup
A spoon of sugar sweetens up"

Some days I really do feel like I fight for my life, sans the coat of course - the weather is unbearable.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful.