Thursday, September 28, 2006
I feel that I should be doing more stuff. Everyone around me is going for community service, meeting clients, joining a capella groups, rushing for frats/sororities, taking part in forums, participating in Wharton China/India/Pakistan/Timbuktu projects...
And how am I spending my time? Taking salsa classes. And going to the gym. (occasionally). And studying. And sleeping. This semester was supposed to be the "try everything once" semester, not the "try one thing" semester. But it seems that I never get to hear about all this stuff going on! (or maybe im just not paying attention)
Aiyuh, this wouldnt be happening if I'd gotten into S+r|ctly Funk. One of the seniors told me I was this close to getting in, if it wasnt for the fact that I had "too much energy". What the heck?!
Just now, just as salsa class was ending, all the Funk members were coming into the studio to rehearse for their show. Heart pain sia.
he rocked the party at 8:09 PM |
Monday, September 25, 2006
So I woke up this morning and while shuffling to the bathroom, saw this written on my hallmate's door. (We all have message boards mounted on our doors)
I dont know who wrote it, but siiigh, it brings back such lovely memories.
I miss you guys :(
he rocked the party at 11:05 PM |
Couldnt resist this gem written by a scholar from a certain government company related to the economy:
Top Ten Signs That You're a Singaporean in America:
10. You feel humbled after the first week of class and you realise that our world class Singaorean education ain't gonna save your ass here.
9. You get complimented for your standard of English, but they don't understand what you're talking about.
8. Conversational topics often start with "I heard you get can't chew gum there and you get killed for doing drugs"
7. To which the standard reply should be "And you tw*ts can't even drink so shut the f**k up"
6. You feel an overwhelming urge to launch into a description of your day when you hear the standard greeting "Wassup?!" (Please don't. I have gotten all sorts of weird looks for doing so)
5. You feel a vague desire to fit in and start a new singaporean fraternity Kappa Ni Ni (KNN) (Unfortunately the sister sorority cannot exist as CCB does not exist in the greek dictionary.)
4. (For the guys) You refer to the freshmen cafe as the cookhouse.
3. You suppress an urge to call the auntie serving you steak "Auntie".
2. You feel an immense source of pride when you see Yeo's soya bean drink displayed on the shelves of Giant or Walmart
1. You wonder how you got swindled into going half way around the world just to study harder than you did in singapore.
... How true, how true...
he rocked the party at 11:00 PM |
Sunday, September 24, 2006
So I did the whole American experience thing: Watched my first American football game, with my American friends from KCECH, while munching on an American hotdog and sipping all American rootbeer. Whoohoo.
Franklin Field
We were playing Villanova, some supposedly nearby college. Inter-college rivalry can get pretty intense, so I found it hilarious when the jeers started out from: "Nova sucks, nova sucks..." all the way to "Safety school, safety school..." -grin- It just smacks of ivy league elitism, but its so fiendishly satisfying.
Highlight of the evening: The traditional 3rd Quarter toast, when, once the 3rd quarter ends, Penn students and supporters stand up and sing this song which includes the line, "And here's a toast to dear old Penn" at which we hurl literally hundreds of pieces of toast onto the pitch.
Not a very good pic, but the feeling was simply magical. I shall try to get a better shot next time.
Sadly though, we lost the game. Ah well, you cant win everything, can you?
Overheard after the game:
Villanova supporter: Penn sucks, Penn sucks, lost the game, lost the game.
Penn supporter: It doesnt matter, cause you're gonna end up working for me anyway.
he rocked the party at 11:42 PM |
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
So after my tryst into the Penn hip hop scene was duly rejected last week, I've been experimenting with various other genres since, mainly involving taking ballroom and latin dance classes. I've taken a taste of tango, cha cha, salsa, swing and foxtrot, and I must admit I'm salsa is my absolute favouritest. (even though the instructor for the ballroom classes is -hot-)
Its by far the most fun and I actually feel like laughing when I'm dancing, as opposed to hip hop when I'm supposed to look all cool/pissed off. Simply love the happy and fiesty latin (?) songs that go with the dances. Plus since guys are in such short supply in dance classes, I get to dance with every girl in the room (which may be a good or a bad thing).
I've signed up for a 10 week salsa class, so Rox, hopefully I'll be good enough to dance with you when I come back.
Ay caramba!
he rocked the party at 11:00 PM |
Monday, September 18, 2006
Warning: This is YET another one of those "i did this, i did that" posts with silly pictures of me in various places. Why? Because the whole school + activities thing has been so hectic, I dont even have time to pee, let alone think of a nice reflective blogpost. Everyone always complaining how this blog has too little pictures anyway.
So there's only one word to describe this weekend: INTENSE.
So friday started out with a hypnotist show by this-guy-whose-name-i-forgot, but who is totally AMAZING! I'm a convert, this guy seems like the real deal. I mean, he managed to hypnotize like 20 people randomly picked from the audience, and I know they werent placed there cause one of them's my friend. They were all looking skeptical onstage for a couple of minutes, then suddenly the guy stamped his feet and all (but one) of them slumped over in deep sleep. It was really freaky. He made them do all these crazy embarrassing things, like be a cheerleader, convinced music was coming out of their shoes, spray themselves with water, which were hilarious. Best 7 bucks I've ever paid for a show.
Then it was off to the Lambda Phi Epsilon asian frat party, with shitty music and jungle juice which tasted like water. Thank goodness for contacts within the asian frat community which brought the party upstairs to a private room with as much Grey Goose (eugene, nolan, ervin, chiahow, kuansian... our favourite sia! Isky cannot drink), Baileys ad Kahlua we could get our hands on. And forget nurse and stewardess uniforms. As agreed with nadia and melvyn, I've added "Asian soriority girls in baseball shirts" to the top of the "hottest people on earth" list. Kind of makes me wanna join a frat. Siiigh.
So we partied till 5 in the morning, then it was time to board the bus at 7am for our long awaited New York trip!
Picnic lunch at Central Park was followed by: Shopping around union square, which included a stopover at Abercrombie and Fitch which looked and felt like MoS:
Trump Tower
We met up with Wen En (and Debbie, we took a "debbie's not here with us" picture! heheh), and Nadia's friend Rachel at Union Square.
Before proceeding to Ground Zero
And investment banking hotshot Kendrew's future workplace, Wall Street.
After which it was dinner at Chinatown for (surprisingly delcicious) Xiao Long Bao at Joe's Ginger, but we couldnt resist a snapshot of this gem on the way there. (And their "xin" in xin jia po is the wrong "xin" too. Goodness.)
After which was crazy clubbing with Edward and the folks from Colombia university at poseurish, dressy lounges, with waaaay overpriced drinks, and hiphop/retro (bad) mixes at Duvet, a club with full length beds for us to sprawl on and photowhore. We're in this photo ACTING drunk. Drinks were way too expensive to get any substantial high.
And you know I cant resist taking a pimp picture with the pretty ladies of the night. Haha
Needless to say, we were waaaay tired by the end of the night. I fell asleep at supper, which was overpriced (15 USD for a bowl of -lousy- korean noodles... everyone who lives in NYC must be filthy rich) anyway. But nope, we still had to catch the chinatown bus back to Philly in time for the Club Sg welcome barbeque on Hill Field:
Class of 2010!
So there you have it: my weekend with only 4 hours of sleep over 3 days. So you understand how I ended up like this:
Right. Its 4.24am now on Monday morning. In Gina's words when we were lost, fatigued and grumpy Sunday morning at the subway station, "Why the heck do we do this to ourselves?" Because we're simply livin the life we've always been dreaming about. :)
he rocked the party at 12:38 AM |
Thursday, September 14, 2006
So $tr|ctly Funk rejected me. Boo. The pool of applicants was cut from 95, to 34, to 18, to whatevernumbertheyneed, and I had to go all the way down to the last round before being dropped. I mean, I'd really never expected to screw up anything to do with hip-hop, but well, i did. Ah well, failures make a man stronger, no? Granted, the final 18 were -really- good. Seriously. Singapore aint seen nothing yet.
Motivated to take more classes and try out for Spring auditions next semester; after all, most of the current Funk members didnt make it the first time too, and im proud to be one of the 3-4 freshmen in the top 18!
Still, I hate it when I fail. The feeling sucks, but this is precisely the reason why I came here: To be among the best, to fall, and to pick myself up and try again till I succeed. And the good thing about this place is that no one judges you. I could ask the stupidest questions in Business Chinese class (oh believe me, I do) and no one would laugh. I could go to the gym and struggle with the weights and no one sniggers and how weak I am. I could go this entire semester without an extra-curricular activity, and it looks like that just might happen, seeing how I skipped all the other auditions just to try out for Funk. And I could choreograph what I thought was the best dance ever, realize during auditions that it was NOT, yet walk out feeling proud that i got that far.
But for now, let me just forget the uncomfortable squiggly feeling in my chest, the one I get when Im sorely disappointed, f*** my homework, and watch Initial D with my floormates on a computer screen. That's the best part about being here at Penn, that when something goes wrong, drown it in some random procrastinating activity/party/dinner/social, and pick yourself up. Because tomorrow is another day.
Something random: my Graduate Advisor was chairing a floor meeting for all those living on the 1st and 2nd floors. When she asked for suggestions on how we should spend our funds improving our common areas, installing facilities, etc, someone piped, "Can we have a floor DOG?" -grin-
he rocked the party at 8:54 PM |
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
So I was completely blown away by $tr|ctly Funk, Penn's premier hip-hop/jazz group at Freshmen Performing Arts night. They looked so much better on stage than on video (as always). I was so enthused that I didnt even take note of the audition dates of the other groups. Its another case of "I want it so badly that I dont give a crap about the other options", just like how I felt about Penn one year ago. (Goodness, has it been one year since I slogged through the hellish world of application essays?)
Last night I got past the first round of $tr|ctly Funk auditions, which I totally underestimated. A grand total of 95 of us had to do 4 eights of jazz and 4 eights of hiphop which they taught, including some freestyle before and after each combination. Sheesh it was freakin tiring, especially for "the-only-exercise-I-did-since-I-came-here-is-walk" me. After practising, I was almost too shagged to audition. Haha.
Round 2 of auditions is coming up next on wednesday, incorporating 1 minute of self-choreography. Dunno how I'll find the time to do that. Sheeeesh. I'm not even in a CCA yet and I've got problems juggling assignments and dance.
Ah Lionel, but didnt you say you've always wanted to be part of a hip hop group??
he rocked the party at 12:25 AM |
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
A certain male ex-dance president (AHEM) asked me to help advertise the Next Wave concert by the NUS Dance Ensemble on my blog, since "sooooo many people read (my) blog right". Hmmmm. Ah well, since so many of my beloved alumni are in it... heh heh heh. Kidding kidding.
But seriously, do go for it. I've watched previous Next Wave concerts before and I can tell you that its worth every cent spent. I'm kicking myself in the ass that I'm missing it cause im 10,000 miles away.
About the Ensemble
Founded and led by resident choreographer Zaini Mohd Tahir, the NUS Dance Ensemble turns fourteen this year with The Next Wave 2006. A prolific dance company with its cast of over a hundred undergraduate and alumni members, the Ensemble has also earned a reputation for its impressive versatility, evidenced by its diverse repertoire consisting of ethnic, modern and classical dance forms. For years, the Ensemble has enthralled and inspired audiences with performances of passion, honesty and innovation. The Next Wave 2006 promises to deliver all that, and much more.
Together with the resident choreographer, Zaini Mohd Tahir, the Ensemble is showcasing pieces by the strong core of Ensemble choreographers such as Shahbirul Zaki, who is a well-established choreographer and dancer in the commercial dance scene. This year's Next Wave is also featuring choreography by Dan Kwoh; winner of the Best Male Dancer Award (2005) in CSTD's Theatrical Festival in Perth and budding young choreographer in the contemporary dance circle. The Next Wave 2006 is a dynamic display of artistry and enthusiasm, not to be missed.
he rocked the party at 10:12 PM |
Here're the photos I promised!
Last family dinner at the airport..
Thanks for coming to send me off!
My newly set up room... check out the singaporean flag man.. nationalistic pride! And the photos of YOU, dear readers, on my corkboard.
The rest of my room... lovely view of the rooms next door.
Newfound friends on English House level 2. We've played tennis, sipped bubble tea, partied, and apparently we trashed Kings Court at ultimate frisbee too!
With Sam and Alex... also on level 2!
Harnwell's DDR party before the toga party. Brings back the memories man!
One for the ladies: Singaporeans Nadia and Gina, newfound party buddies!
Asian Central
Party at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: alcohol-free, surrounded by art, good food, and hiphopping music to make y'all drop it like its hot!
Singaporeans @ the museum
Partying at one of the 10,000 frats we visited the past week
Hunky hispanic Rodrigo and tennis/pingpong champ Mahlar, living opposite my room
Will upload more when I get 'em! I really have to go sleep now cause its the first day of classes tomorrow. Jiatlat jiatlat
he rocked the party at 8:25 PM |
Monday, September 04, 2006
So for the past few days I...
Woke up late and didnt care that I was missing some random lecture.
Woke up early to have breakfast.
Washed, dried and ironed my clothes (unbelievable, but yes.)
Ran to Centre City and back, which only took 30 mins, and didnt even break a sweat.
Won a quiz on Penn traditions (and got a Ben Franklin action figure as a prize..oh wow)
Played Texas hold 'em on a real gambling table with real gambling chips which you can get for free.
Braved cold winds and freezing temperatures to look for good parties.
Chilled at a college house lounge at 3am, talking until I fell asleep.
Went to school organized, alcohol-free parties at the Library, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the bookstore.
Breakdance battled a Korean in a breaking circle at the museum.
Did ghetto gangsta moves alongside a whole bunch of african-americans grooving to r&b.
Visited 10,000 unofficial drunken frat parties with cheap beer and horrible vodka.
Got drunk on cheap vodka from pre-games, and Edward's good, high class alcohol at his club VIP table.
Attended a dialogue on Free Culture by the book's author.
Described Singapore's political scene, blogging trends, military service, and thoughts on copyrights to 20 other Americans during a Reading project discussion session.
Went to church.
Made instant noodles and ate them with friends at 2am.
Played tennis with 6 Americans.
Taught friends how to 6-step and bodywave on the tennis court.
Attended a standup comedy night filled with f-words and racist jokes (and loved it)
In the words of that stupid advertisement, "I'm loving it"
he rocked the party at 2:21 AM |
Saturday, September 02, 2006
I was just blogsurfing the other day, and I'm becoming increasingly unattracted to the template of the typical clubber girl, decked in black, wide-eyed, too much makeup, and fake smiles all around. eeee-yer. And to think they used to be so high on the desire list. And pictures of drunk guys in shirts in clubs are NOT cool.
Am I really growing too mature for the club scene?
And the ever-present disclaimer: No, I am not talking about anyone in particular. Just a thought.
he rocked the party at 9:36 AM |
It sucks that I'm thinking of my future even before classes have started, but aiyuh, overachieving singaporean scholar habits die hard, especially if you're surrounded by overachieving crazy chiong to take Math 52743 classes scholars.
The reason why I came here was to break away from the ratrace, to understand that I can achieve that life I want without selling my soul to the devil, sacrificing interests and quality of life for qualifications. Ah, but 20,000 miles away, its still here to haunt me. The dilemma: Stay in the College, taking the classes I'm REALLY interested in - game theory, psychology, PPE, spanish, film studies?? Or succumb and do the whole Wharton in 3 years and MBA the year after - what seems like 90% of Singaporeans do. Or take middleground and do a double in College and Wharton and coming out after 4 years without a Masters? (again, another hurdle in the ratrace, not having a Masters would put one ever so low in the scholar heirachy.)
Then again, the whole entrepreneural thing I wanna venture into doesnt require all these qualifications. But just how viable is that? Sheesh, this is supposed to be the time of limitless possibilities, not spent worrying about reality so soon.
As appropriately put by Rachelle, "you can never escape the ratrace, no matter how far away you are"
That said, sorry, I just cant resist blogging this:
There was a party organized by the school over at the Library last night, with DJs and really good music, how cool is that? And there's one tonight in the Museum too. The frat parties are just full of crappy beer and very loud ang mos. Oh, give me back my Zouk.
he rocked the party at 9:13 AM |
