Some friends chide me for being too trusting, and my ex-boss used to say I get too friendly ‘coz she saw me making friends with security guards and caterers and many other random strangers during our events.

In recent years, from following a house owner to his house alone in Shanghai, to befriending an old man and hitching a ride from him followed by an almost sponsored bi-plane ride in Seattle, and then following two girls in their car from Wreck Beach to downtown on my last day in Vancouver to be treated poutine (fries with sauce and your choice of meat stuff, apparently a Quebec specialty? *shrugs* but they have it at New York Fries, which does not exist in New York btw), I question my sensibility sometimes, but my instincts ain’t too bad, I think?

I had my hair done in a different salon last week, since I couldn’t find my usual hairstylist. After convincing me to do stuff to my hair, somehow I was persuaded to accept a lift from him on his electric bicycle, and I was free to try driving it. Having the experience of riding a motorbike to a tree some years back, I wasn’t particularly thrilled at his offer. But somehow I followed him to the carpark (or more like two-wheel-carpark) and took on his offer, and rode the electric bicycle to my dorm with him lighting his cigarette behind me.

Heh. It was cool.

Riding my first-time-hairstylist’s electric bicycle

The random stranger I met in Seattle who offered me a free ride and company to the out-of-the-way Museum of Flight and an almost sponsored trip on a bi-plane ride

Met 2 Canadians at Wreck Beach and the stranger on the above right pic let me try on her construction site outfit. (Being a construction worker is very respectable in Canada, unlike how we view Singapore’s Banglas)

This is our version of guestblogging:

From Shaina to me:

I am recalling whether were you the one who started LDR first or was it me. I think it was you isn’t it? When I sent you off at the airport, was I with E already? Anyway, I am glad we have each other when it comes to sharing ranting our r/s problems! I think what makes me get by this LDR transition was largely because I have someone like you who I can rant and talk to. Hahaha this ballie always complain and complain and complain.. but secretly I think I am worst, yes? Whenever she is pissed abt smth, she will flood the msn window and I always have to scroll up to read what I missed like 3 sec ago.

It is unique how our friendship progress over the years esp the past two years. But I notice something: we share less when we are on the same island! Don’t give me the “you were too busy” kind of excuse pls… I think it was more like you were too busy smooching sam..

Anyway, I am glad that you found sam. seriously, only sam can take your nonsense and attitude! Based on our last serious talk last year, you have changed from monster (kidding!) girlfriend to a more understanding girlfriend. This r/s has def change you in some ways. And I’ve seen myself screaming at you for being so hard on sam. (I enjoy this part the most cos if not for this, I wont have any reason to scream at you… hahha) you enjoy me screaming at you right??

You and sam been together for about 3 years ish? As your friend, I am really glad that you have found a companion whom I know I will not need to worry because I know she can protect and take care of you. I can feel sam’s love for you and she is trying so god-damn hard to please you and to be on the same level as you. So pls give her sometime and don’t give up on her or the r/s okay dearie? Whenever you feel like it, just think abt this post.

Due to time constraint (we are writing a post for each other within 30mins), I shall end here now.

Ballie, I have absolute faith in you and in sam. Though it is another 2 years of LDR, but I am sure you guys can cope with it because LDR is really not that difficult! Don’t be affected by what others or some stupid LDR articles… those are rubbish. As long as you believe in your love for each other, nothing will fall apart. I believe in you guys. I really hope to attend some ceremonial of you and sam ok???

I knew way back when we were pacers that you are one friend whom I will treasure for life.

Lots of love,
your right pacer

*Me: Correction — Sam and I have been together for 4 “years ish”
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From me to Shaina:

Shaina and I talked about guest blogging each other’s blog since…and we decided to just whack it today otherwise we’ll just keep shrugging it off…

So just when I was having my second serving of DIY salad (which consists of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, a hard boiled egg and mayo), she asks about our guest blogging and how we haven’t gotten down to it. It had to be while I was eating that she bugs me to do it. :S Eating and trying to stop eating but never managing to resist good food is the way of our lives. I didn’t get down to writing immediately of course, for I’d hate my salad to be left uneaten, so I tried to procrastinate by asking her to think of a suitable topic and then suggesting another topic and then another…while I ate my salad till the last bit of mayo was slurped up. Heh. We have a pact to finish this within 30 minutes you see, and to me (and I think to her too), food comes first.

As I’m typing this, she tells me she went to paint the top coat for her manicured nails instead of working on this 30-minute exercise that I have enthusiastically embarked on -_-. She just admitted to being bimbotic for doing so, but I guess I’m just not as important to her as having pretty nails to stare at while stoning in front of the computer waiting for her Mr Goh to call. Haha. Okay I was kidding. She’s not bimbotic at all, just concerned about her appearance, and she doesn’t wait all day for Mr Goh to call, she waits all night too. Hahahahahaha. Joke again.

But I know I’m not unimportant to her, because she always calls me at the right time and manages to say the right thing, cheering me up by the end of our conversation. I don’t think I do the same for her though, but she still holds our friendship dearly and I’ve never told her how much I appreciate her for doing so. It’s been…six (SIX??!!!) years ago since we first met on that fateful day in the nameless gathering hall above NYJC’s old library where we bitched about our class for making our class rep jobs shitty, and where she spoke well (enough to recruit me) of the Canoeing & Dragon Boat team even though I felt they were too “Cheena” for my liking. There she was, a fellow English “potato eater” who was also keen on that challenging sport that gave us two years’ worth of cheers and tears, muscles and tussles. With many thanks to her, my life in NYJC became good. Our passion (or more like obsession) with food begun since then: I remember how we stocked up biscuits in Shaina’s locker and spent more time eating them and whatever that was left in that temporary canteen than on our school work.

Thirty minutes is up but suddenly I feel like writing much more when I thought I would just crap, but now reminiscence is acting up and I wanna say more, ‘coz Shaina deserves it.

But I guess I shall wait till next time we decide to guest blog on each other’s blog again. She wanted me to write my opinion on her long-distance relationship but I took too long getting around it and I totally started talking about other things. Hahaha. Well Shaina, regarding your LDR, let’s just say I’ve never seen this side of you, and I applaud your dedication and patience. You’re someone who can master the technique of focus, and I hope you manage to apply it to your life.

If you lose focus once in a while and feel like shit, there’s me you can take out to eat good food with. Ha.

Ball Club President,

Hui Xian

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Shaina! We finally did it! Ha. So you see, if we set our minds to doing things we can get them done, and I think we did quite a good job on this for half an hour! How’s that for anticrastination!

Graduating isn’t too big a problem, but graduating on time (July 2009) might be.

After returning to Fudan from my lovely time across the Pacific Ocean at UBC, I’m being welcomed back with the multitude of procedures that test my patience and perseverance. (I’ve also learnt such things are a test of knowing the right people and what to say.)

The ever necessary multi-step procedures make me sweat over the small stuff, and surpassing my anxiousness to get my visa done, I am fretting over how I am not in control of my graduation eligibility.

Let’s talk about my visa. I assumed that I’d be able to get my visa done within the 14-day visa-free period my red passport entitles me in mainland China, but now I am on a tight schedule where I can only hope that nothing goes wrong. Since I’ve been out of China for more than 3 months, I have to do a physical examination again (these examinations are necessary for freshmen or anyone planning to stay in China for more than 6 months, and its main components are the liver and HIV, along with other general health conditions). Seeing that I came back (very reluctantly) a week before school began to settle the procedures for reinstating my student status (which could not be done afterall since the teachers I needed signatures from weren’t here although I was informed they would be), my visa-free days end this Monday (3 Mar). So in order to go about waiting for my physical examination and its report to be done I have to apply for a travel visa (L visa) such that it lengthens my ability to stay here till 18 Mar. Right now my application for travel visa (L visa) is pending while I await my physical examination on 5 Mar, and everything must be settled before 18 Mar, which is the expiry date of my travel visa (pending). However, it is unknown how long they will take to process my physical examination. :S

Then there’s my transferral of credits. I have to finalize my classes my Friday, 7 Mar, but I was told that the processing of my credit transferral will take 1-2 weeks (from my submission on Friday, 29 Feb, or later because it depends on when my faculty’s admin staff will give it to the people-in-charge) or however long it will take to get it approved. I requested an expedition of my application, but my faculty admin staff informed me that there is only one person handling the entire school’s population of student’s credit stuff and simply said there’s no need to be anxious since I’m not graduating this semester. She said that despite knowing the fact that I would have to make some major adjustments to my choosing of classes if any of my credit transfer fails, and that classes’ timings might clash in my last 2 semesters which will lead to unwanted postponement of graduation.

CG pointed out that this is precisely why many people in my school cannot graduate on time, because admin staff only get the sense of urgency for students graduating in that particular semester, when they could have jolly well killed the problem at its root  if they had just been a bit more sensible slightly earlier.

Actually, I should have learnt not to worry over these small things by now, huh?

Back at UBC I was learning Beginners’ German from a German PhD student whose lessons were quite fun and engaging. Even though he was unsure of certain grammatic rules, we always forgave him because beads of perspiration would form on his head even in the midst of winter. Our German textbook introduces grammar step by step and we were just getting into past tense. Learning was in short sentences. I was already struggling with so many rules to remember and vocabulary to memorize, but I managed to get by with pastel colours.

Here in Fudan my classmates are done with grammar rules and usages. My current textbook is filled with PASSAGES and during today’s lesson I was completely lost when the teacher read the passage and the class started analyzing sentence structures. Usages and grammatical rules are briefly reviewed in Chinese and I can’t really follow. There’s way too much I need to catch up with, and I’m not sure if I can handle learning a 3rd language with my 2nd language in such a short time. What is 第1-4格respectively? And then there’s 强变化动词，不规则变化动词 (irregular verbs?)，不定式 (indefinite?)，现在时(present tense?)，过去时(past tense?)，完成时…

I am so dead.

It’s the first time I’m on a one-way ticket to Shanghai, and it’s painful because I don’t know when I’ll be home. Previously I knew I’d be home within the coming 6 months because I held a 6-month ticket.

The views I long to see:

It’s home greeting me from the plane!

Or does having a one-way ticket entitle me to go back anytime in between 6 months?

Hahahahahahahaha.

I want to get the remaining 1.5 years over and done with quick, but maybe I’ll take that back when I’m finally graduating and hunting for a job. And I might miss the little things here. Might.

CG, I finished my mom’s pappadum already.

Every time, I ask myself why. The self-interrogation usually starts in the sanitarily homely Changi Airport waiting lounge where it becomes a marketplace with Chinese nationals talking at the top of their voices, and where it is unclear whether the stench of salted fish is coming from their bags of purchases or the fact that they removed their shoes.

Then it becomes a full-blown self-chiding session when the man sitting next to me on the plane cannot close his mouth when he yawns, robbing me of my already weak ability to breathe in a plane that recycles its air of salted fish, rare showers, and many more yawns; and he hit me five times while putting on and taking off his jacket.

WHY AM I HERE?

I thank the Indian customs officers who moved me with the simple acknowledgement that I am not part of the above group.

hahahahahaha… found this on a random forum:

Simple things like saying “Make us a cup of tea, love.” show the inadequacies of a LDR straight away. By the time you’ve boiled the kettle, emailed to ask if they take sugar, phoned to ask if they take milk, texted to find out how many sugars because they forgot to say in the email, made the tea, bought a thermos, made another pot of tea because the first one went cold whilst you were out buying the thermos, poured the tea into the thermos, wrapped it, posted it, waited two weeks to find the post office have lost your parcel, made another pot of tea, bought more padded envelopes and another thermos, posted that (recorded delivery) and waited until your lover emails you to say it has arrived but the tea is cold and stewed and you forgot to send any biscuits, then you realise the relationship will never work…

Interesting read on LDR: http://www.nationalpost.com/loveandsex/story.html?id=296085

(a note from my dad to my mom on the back of the house door. This is how they communicate sometimes)

For just another 3 days though.

This year my red packet collection from Chinese New Year was pretty good, ‘coz I guess relatives are more generous now that I’m older, or simply because of inflation.

But I lost all of it in Genting.

Nothing to say.

祝大家新年快乐，心想事成，

在新的一年里，吉祥如意，生活美满幸福！(Credit: CG for editing)

I hope I can inch closer to a life that is 美满幸福. Meaning less 躲躲藏藏 would be good.

So. Resolution for mouse year: (to parents:) drop larger hints, talk about Sam more, leave books lying around, tell less lies.

Haha no resolution for school. Continue skipping classes that are useless, continue sleeping if I feel like it, continue avoiding people who get on my nerves. I must remember that the squirrels were really adorable in UBC, and just be glad of that memory (I think no one will understand this attempt at a joke except CG).

Okay okay, eat less too. I don’t want the day to come when I can only wear PJs. That last sentence came up thanks to Connie’s comment when she saw me in my penguin PJs and said “How come only fat people look good in PJs?” BITCH.