Oct26, my exams are over!!! 1 more assignment to do before i bid goodbye to monash university with *fingers-crossed*! hee..=p well, somehow my life has been revolving around library, books, stacks of notes and exams! i find myself studying alot, eating little and sleeping at extraordinarily weird hrs. there were times when i would even ask myself: 'hey, am i a nerd? a bookworm or what?!?' i don't want to be a nerd, do i have a choice? hmm...
i got my hsy essay back yesterday....and i was so contented to see that it was a B++! i'd been so worried...so anxious over this assignment because i was very positive that i didn't answer the question well. there were so many loopholes in my analysis and i knew that i didn't hand in as perfect a piece of work as i had wanted to. and when i was collecting my assignment from the History Office, i was well prepared to see a B- or even a C. Paul commented that he didn't agree with alot of things i wrote in my essay, but he was really impressed at how much i tried to link theories together and the amount of reading i did shown by my long reference list! =) so, i really thank God that it was a B++, in fact, it's a pretty good Distinction mark actually!~with this grade, i'm still hopeful for a HD+ in my final hsy grade....!=p great! i don't feel that i let myself down afterall....that's kinda joy of my day!
and yes, the exams yesterday was kinda a breeze for me. all exam hints given 2 weeks ago came out as usual....no surprises at all! i'm truly glad that 2 of the 5 questions were mathematical formulae derivations, so it was pretty much solving the equations and minimal explanations of economics! =) and i guess this is ever my first exam which i have seriously allocated enough time to answer all the questions in the exam paper! just as i finished my last word and full-stop, the examiner shouted: times up! phew~ glad that my only exam of the year...my final exam in my academic life is now over! i know i've done my best, the rest i'd leave to the markers to decide!
you know? i walked out of the exam hall yesterday feeling so tired...so brain-dead...so reluctant to say a single word...i just knew i needed water and i needed so much to go to the toilet~! and the most unexpected thing happened! unknowingly, i walked into the Male Toilet! ahhhhh.....!!! when i rushed out of the Gents, a group of guys walking towards the Gents looked at me with such curious eyes!! *blush* man! that was so-so-so embarassing!!! "sorry", i said. imagine how bad it must have felt!! you guys must be laughing really hard now...! but you guys must understand ok...my brain isn't working too normally after exams!!! that's my only excuse for intruding into the privacy of the male restroom....=).
oh well, i'm currently working on my final assignment on divorce culture in Australia and US. it's an intriguing topic which has led me consider so much about marriage, about cohabitation, about commitment and individualism. some questions remain unanswered: why are so many people still getting married in an age of rampant divorce? why is there such a strong faith in the marriage institution? is it a belief in commitment through religion/rites and rituals, marriage ideals or socialisation, which have inbued into people the notion of the needs of being married? that one day, you will be married to your princess of your dreams or prince charming?
hmm...something to think about!~
~gracie left a note at 2:12 pm
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Oct 20, so much to do...so much to write...so much to think about! i've been working hard since daybreak today and i just feel tired. my right eye has been twitching frequently and even wearing specs didn't help much. i just finished my Honours Dissertation proposal! phew~ what a relief!!
amidst of all these hardwork, i have been feeling really relieved and motivated since yesterday when i got my results for my presentation. guess what? i topped the class! not only that, this is so far my highest record! 96%! woohoo!!! never in my uni life....! never!!! i have Never expected this incredible result! in fact, i was telling myself that i'll be glad if i got a 70%. i believe this grade is not a mere reflection of hardwork, but more so, the help i got from God when preparing for the presentation. i remembered how ill-prepared i was on the day of presentation and how much i stuttered through the whole presentation!
oh well, it does pay off to role-play as a 'lessie' (lesbian) eh? hee. i'm indeed thankful...i'm really thrilled...i'm motivated...! i want to really strive hard for HDs in this final semester and i know i can do it with God's help! this is my final lap....Run! gracie!! Run!!! after sucha boost of motivation, i just can't help but work even harder....to run even faster in this race of academic life. i know i can't relax too much despite finishing my Honours thesis proposal. there's still 3 more to go!! Music exams tomorrow, Econs exams next monday and a 3000 word essay due next Friday!
it's time to take a break! have shower and good dinner before i continue my few hours of revision for my Music exam!! gracie, you can do it!! i want to grab a HD tomorrow...to give my best!
~gracie left a note at 4:50 pm
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Oct14, life has been fulfilling recently...been busy busy...but a good form of busyness i guess. so much of work to do, but i feel great that i always meet my deadlines on time! cool! so much has happened over just the past few days...how i wished i could just jot down every moment, every thought, every action!
guess what am i doing now..? hee, yep, typing this bloggie while i listen to the 60s songs from bp's cd! oh man!~ i can't believe i'm doing this....hehe, but i realised that i've begun to appreciate music so much more after taking sociology of music. i love this song i'm listening to now especially, He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother, by The Hollies. coooollll! =p and yeah, i had a great day at class today! had a presentation on our imaginary pop-rock singer, Ian Grath! this name sounds cool eh? hee, yeah...i was really nervous right before the presentation! you know the butterflies in your stomache? i had so much of it...but oh well~ 5 minutes flew as i stood up there. yehhh!! and it's finished now!! time to celebrate! =p and oh yar, i got my assignment back and i got a HD+ for my essay on national songs of Singapore! yesssss, that adds a smile to me today!
one thing that really makes me really really motivated to work hard for the next 2 weeks is when i witnessed the smiles hanging on every graduants' faces just now. walked past the Campus Centre and yeah....saw groups of graduants smiling at their cameras....taking pictures with their best friends and family! snaps...snaps! i'm just so envious....when is my turn? i wish i could be doing that as well.....awww~ i was especially envious when i saw the girls carrying their bouquets of pink lilies and having their bfs to take pictures with them. *dreaaamm* you know, what really made my day is that i was able to meet shannon and jinn once again!!!! oh man! i really missed these girlsss! it's jinn's graduation day today...and both girls and jinn's parents flew all the way from singapore~ and oh man! i just can't help but break into my singaporean-accent singrish once i saw them!!!! =p so nice....to see old friends again~ singaporean friends in whom i've known over the past few years! sucha sweet experience! haha! shannon's first line when she saw me was: "oh girl, you slimmed down!" hee, i felt soooo flattered! i thought i did put on some weight...=p hee
and it was so interesting how we were on the topic of graduation....and these two girls are already making me excited about my own graduation! shannon said that Arts students have pink sashes and suggested that i should get a pink slip-on dress...and to have my hair platted to one side! =p so sweet looking! yeah, these two girls were telling me how every graduant looks almost the same....it's time to be unique!! hee. oh....this is getting me so excited man!! i can't wait!!! when is my turn....this is taking too long!?
~gracie left a note at 7:01 pm
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Oct10, it's usually when you wtt (waste-time-together) that you find out more of people! and that was exactly what we did yesterday evening. it was a great experience yet again, talking to people i have never really gota chance to have a chat with.
it was just a surprise for me to be able to chat with floz yesterday! we have never crossed the 10 word mark! haha! floz just came over and as we chatted, he told me how he gota establish an aquaintance with joyce through my friendster website?! and it was just so amazing to know that he's got actually 15 taekwando black belts students training under him and on his name card, it states: 'Master Joo'. oh man!!~ it's just weird!?! feels so funny to call floz this way!?! interesting!
and yes, another guy who never fails to send smiles to my face is bp! just love talking to him! he is really witty! and i love his intellectual jokes! used to think that he's mr. cool and that i can't associate with this really australian-caucasian looking guy! man! when i really did have a chance to talk to him, he's just so interestingly funny! (bp, i mean it in a good way eh? don't get me wrong! =p) love his 'admittedly dodgy' video clips he showed us yesterday....just brought back so much memories of the activities that we had so far.
another mr. cool that i've talk to yesterday was thad! man! this music-jazzy guy is really cool! sometimes he just looks too cool till it's just difficult to tell and discern from his facial expressions. there was once when i led out songservice at the main church and he was my pianist and the song i chose was 'Give them all'. he started his intro with just chords and i just started singing. when i spotted that he raised his eyebrow when i started on my first note, i got scared!?! did i start on a wrong key?!! oops...immediately i stopped the whole singing process and i asked him softly: can you give me the first key? and he didn't get what i was asking....and when the whole congregation just stopped, i just felt so embarassed! but when i eventually asked him after the service, he just said with a grin on his face: 'you were just fine! didn't know why you stopped?' that was when i really gota know thad better....he isn't that frightening actually! hee.
~gracie left a note at 7:45 am
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Oct 6, freedom...that is the first word i told myself when i finally threw my essay into the essay box at 8am this morning! what a relief! well, as a matter of fact, the feelings of uncertainties and doubts still linger in my heart now. questions like, did i really answer the question? paul says to focus on sources...did i do enough of that? oh no...what if i didn't meet his requirements! well, i'm still worrying for the assignment, can you believe it? the stress i'm currently facing now is, it's worth 50%. if i flung this, i'll be dead-seriously dead man! hmmm....what shall i do to get rid of these lingering uncertainties? *i wonder...*
oh well, actually i came in today, now...because i have been wanting to write this down since saturday but i never get a chance to! had a wonderful saturday spent at church last week, simply unforgetable! first smile of the day happened when i was able to talk to the little ones when i first arrived at church! this was the first time i felt close to them! i prepared my children lesson study last-minute cos' i've been tied down with so much work last week. and i thought i'll be seriously bullied by those kids...but it turned out to be the best lesson i have ever done with them! kay-kay was asking questions, as in really proper questions; sandra, kien ann, kim yin and ashley participated when i told them about the bible story of how Jacob met Rachel. andrew came along and he was grinning when i gave him his belated birthday gift! and of course, when it was time for memory verse, they were at first reluctant. but eventually we recited it together and they each got their stickers! haha~ so cool!
second joy that came that day was to witness the baptism of vincent and alex. it was a great experience to listen to their testimonies...to laugh over how alex drags on and on about his stories...and to see how their testimonies have moved the hearts of some people. and when ps. foo appealed to ask who wants to be baptised in the near future, caroline and grace stood up. that very moment, tears of joy flowed. just overjoyed! i can't describe what goes on down in my heart; i just feel touched. it's great to see that they are making that decision! and i remembered how i made my decision years ago. just great!
third joy was the mooncake night! stayed around in church and helped out Uncle Euan to prepare for the night's program. what surprises me is that catharine and andrew (Euan's children) actually plays around with me! coollll! it's great to talk to these kids! makes me feel much younger! heehee. and it was great catching up with Henry too! whoh! it's been so long since i last met him...10 months since i last met him in Singapore?! yeah, great to know that he's doing well...and he told me a little secret too! that his mom made the mooncakes for that night! oh man!!! i'm so thrilled!! and yes, the night was spent talking to ps tsu, who reminds me of my ye-ye (grandfather!)...and also with alex, phil, joyce, jing and some others. great to know that i belong here. =p and of course, the night ended with delicious mooncakes! thank you, aunty! it was really really good! yummm....great! at least i didn't miss mooncakes this year! =p
it was a great saturday!
~gracie left a note at 12:27 pm
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Oct 5, man!~ it's 20 days to liberation! freedom from exams, assignments, presentations and projects for the rest of my life! what a day to remember! like how Johnny puts it, "it's a homerun gracie!" yes indeed! i can see the finishing line...less than a 100 metres away and i'm reaching soon! hang on, girl!
i've been struggling hard to write up a 2500 words essay for the past 3 days. it wasn't hard to reach the word limit. it was just hard to make the analysis sound simple, to the point and easy to understand. the question requires me to compare, contrast and assess. this is hard, considering that i've got 3 characters involved here. it took me sometime to figure out that the best way to do this question effectively was to use the A& B, B&C, A&C method of analysis. seriously challenging but i learnt a great deal about critical analysis though! glad that it's all over.......finally finished and sent to my tutor through email an hour ago. i can feel just a heart full of relief when everything was done! just great!
but i know that i've got a few more hurdles to cross before i hit 'home'. you know, have you watched baseball? love that game! hmm, a few more weeks to go...a few more assignments like this to hand in and exams too! it's scary to think that all these things are going to happen in the coming 3 weeks! i can't handle this! arggghhh....someone please help! on this note, i shall just wish myself 'good luck!' and hopefully i can say at the end of it all: "i have run a good race, i've fought a good fight!" seriously trying to keep myself determined to achieve all HDs. it's impossible if i set my mind to it. that's why i've been pushing myself so hard....seriously hard. i could have handed up my essay yesterday but i just couldn't let it go when i knew that i did not write my best essay. and so, i handed up not my 1st draft, nor my 2nd draft, but my 3rd. and i know with much confidence within, this is my best that i can ever give! i hope i can stay this way for the next few hurdles....just like the Energizer advertisement goes: "Never say die!" =p
~gracie left a note at 6:25 pm
