Yeah I know many of my post titles contain “wannabe” in them, which reflects how greedy I am, huh?

I attended my 3rd German Class today (at New Oriental School), and it seems to getting fun. Not the way the class is being conducted, but the way this foreign language is weaving itself into my mind.

My weekends till June 10 are to be spent sitting in a classroom from 2.30-8pm (with an hour’s dinner break in between). This means Squareface will no longer be spending a lot of time online staring into webspace, but instead, reciting German by gargling air into chalk space.

We were informed today that we’ll be having a mid-course and an end-of-course exam for German class! We have to pass the exams in order to clock the 150 hours necessary for progress to higher level.

I hope to be trilingual in 2 years’ time then!

So the next step for Squareface to do, is to start a CHINESE BLOG. It shall launch tomorrow, the first day of April! And no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.

(When will I be able to create a German blog?)

Okay, trivial info for the day:

I’ll be going to 49.1 degrees North (Vancouver, Canada) by this September (if nothing gets screwed up)!

TNT has very skilled performers. (The above are actresses acting as boys)

I just came back from Shanghai’s Dramatic Arts Theatre, after watching a rather different version of Oliver Twist.

What I want to blog about is not on the play, though. It’s about the audience.

Many people strolled in late; many did not switch their phone to a tactful mode even after getting several glances from the other members of the audience, making us listen to their long beeping message tone more than once; there was a kid who kept asking his mother questions and received a warning from the usheree before leaving on their own accord; and something I don’t understand is that many people had to go to the bathroom in the midst of the play. Apparently many amongst the audience had urine aplenty. About 10 people from the row behind us left for the bathroom, of which 8 made us aware of it by rubbing their asses against our heads.

Basically, this is how the 4 seasons in Shanghai work:

Summer -> Cooler summer -> (Quite harsh) Winter -> Cooler summer -> Summer

A few of days ago, it was about 7 degrees one day, and then 24 degrees the next. I was wearing a winter jacket one day, and then the next a polo shirt.

It’s gonna get a tad cold again next week though:

I suppose it mirrors the unpredictability, instability and indecisiveness of nature (or God, if you’re a believer), and echoes human nature.

If you blog mostly about yourself, do you agree that you’re mainly using blogging as an avenue to sort out your own thoughts? It has been a long while since I wrote frequently in my “traditional” diary, and I haven’t touched the diary ever since I resorted to blogging. I don’t think you can know a person for what they really are by reading their blogs since most of the time we blog by hiding this and magnifying that, agreed? The personal diary might contain the formula to a person’s heart instead. But ever since owning a laptop, I think my hand isn’t accustomed to the pen anymore. Thus by extension, I may not be as conditioned to write deep personal thoughts as I used to, and I am losing that kind of honesty as the days go by. The lies I tell myself are aplenty, but not like the mountains I tell others all the time now. Without hesitance, even.

I haven’t been blogging “religiously” (quoting Shaina) recently since there are many little things scattered all over my head. These days the voice in my head mostly goes,”Ok, go xx place to get the slip of paper, then go across to xx place to pay for it, then come back to xx place to collect the transcript, then go across to another place to submit the transcript for the official stamp, go downstairs to pay for it, and come back the day after to collect the transcript” (standard of procedure for getting a copy of your transcript in Fudan), or “after the 2nd period, look for xx teacher to ask for a recommendation letter, after the 4th period, look for xx teacher to go to his house to collect the recommendation letter, then go for a meeting at xx time, go for a talk at xx time”, and “scan and photocopy at xx place (because it costs half the price than the place across), then go across to take passport photo (pay money today, but collect tomorrow), then perhaps grab a bite while waiting for xx time to meet xx teacher to talk about recommendation letter”. There’s also “email TOEFL centre to ask why I haven’t received my TOEFL score report, find out about Canada’s visa requirements, confirm with Singapore’s China Embassy of CGS application, ask mom for bank statement, translate exam transcript, ask dad to send over the essential documents for application…”. You get the kind of mess I have in my head now?

There could be other factors that mess with my head in pernicious ways, so I’m glad it’s just these little things for now. Anyway, recently, if anything troubles me, I can watch SHAINA’s VIDEO to destress a little (Haha, Shaina, don’t scold me ok I’m giving you free advertisement).

I can access blogspot blogs again.

But I typed a whole long post only to get an error, so I’m not sure I wanna write it all over again.

So setting up my own site is worth it, because my blog does not get affected by China’s regular blocking & unblocking game.

Read: Foreign blog providers blocked

Friends using blogspot, sorry I can’t continue to be a loyal reader of your blogs for the time being. Maybe a month later?

校际交流07秋季UBC选拔通过名单和通知

校际交流07秋季UBC选拔通过名单：

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请以上同学下周二3月27日下午13：30到外事处103来开会。

外事处

2007.3.22

Fudan has given me the go-ahead, so now we shall wait and see if UBC says yes…

There’s gonna be a darn load of things to do just to be there for around 3 months, but I’m so happy! All the preparations I made didn’t amount to nothing! I even took the TOEFL exam to compete with the locals on an equal platform ok…

I was wearing a nice green collared shirt beneath my jacket today, and left the jacket open, and thought I looked smarter than my usual casual affair. It was UBC interview day.

After a yawning session of the Old Testament (I spent the entire class time categorizing some of the pictures on my laptop), I bought 2 meat buns that were intended to be my staple for lunch. I hid from the rain in a classroom and delightedly ate the buns. I didn’t want to join anyone for lunch because I didn’t want to smell like the diner’s. However, these buns are potent with meat juice, you know, like xiaolongbaos (steamed meat dumplings), but thrice the size? I had a bite into it and suddenly juice spilled over my mouth. I wiped it off with a tissue, thankful that I wiped it before it dripped to my shirt. But when I checked, my shirt had already been stained with the juice, at which point of time I’m not too sure. With an hour and a half before the interview, I deliberated with the thought of going home to get changed, but decided against it because I know I would only get more flustered. So I masked the stain by zipping up my jacket. I think I left a scent trail of meat bun wherever I went (I was barked at ferociously by a dog later on).

I sat in the Economics building (one of the newly constructed buildings with blessed clean toilets) after using the washroom there, rehearsing my answers to some expected questions for the interview, and resisting the urge to pee every 10 minutes. I don’t know why I was so nervous. I just really hope I can go, despite the troublesome procedures it entails.

It was good that the candidates and I were talking to calm each other down. I told them we’ll see each other at UBC before I went in for the interview, to encourage each other, and myself. Somehow I managed to disguise the fact that I was a foreign student.

Over the weekend, I prepared answers for questions such as why I wanna go to Canada, UBC, and what I hope to gain from the program, and the stuff on my resume. However, this was the first question that was asked of me:

“We all know that you’re a foreign student. So tell us why (here, i was thinking yup yup, I’ll tell you all about why I wanna go to Canada) you chose to come to Fudan (huh?).”

Basically all I prepared sorta just went down the drain, because I was thrown questions like what the cultural differences I see between China and Singapore are, how I find the education system here, and complaints about Shanghai. All of which I doubt I made a very good impression.

I can only hope for the best. So, cross your fingers with me ok? Hope I’ll receive good news by the end of this week.

At 新世界商城, New World Building (mall), 10F. 99RMB for adults (but someone distributes coupons for 20RMB off at the ticketing booth!? So it becomes 79RMB), and 75RMB for students.

Actually, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, unlike other museums, does not teach you much. The museum does not teach you how to create the wax figurines, nor does it give you information about the figurines displayed. If anything, the museum shows you who the most renowned people in the world are. So the challenge is, out of perhaps 50 or so figurines, how many can you identify?

It’s cool that they have a zero distance policy, so we can go ahead and hug the figurines all we want. As I appreciatively did.

There were a few simulus machines where you could play virtual reality games such as table-tennis, and the above — something akin to street fighter.

“Wa-tah…!!”

Squareface: In sooth, Wiliam, thy pen can write with speed twice thou feather.

Shakespeare: Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.

Squareface: So Einstein, tell me, what do you make of the air in Shanghai?

Einstein: Hmph.

Rowena (a friend I made on the plane back to Singapore last year) and I had fun goofing around with the figurines, when we had no intention of going to the museum in the first place. More pictures are with her, so I’ll entertain you again after receiving the pictures from her.

I’ve been to London’s Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (though eons ago, in 1999), and I remember it housed many more figurines, including our MM Lee and PM Lee. I am surprised that Shanghai’s Madame Tussauds doesn’t feature China’s premiere nor president. Perhaps in the next phase.