Exams Suck The Sanity From My Soul

I am hovering on the edge of the crevice.

EXAMS START TOMORROW FML FML FML.

Not done studying!

T_____T

You see these faces, Exam?

THESE ARE THE FACES OF ULTIMATE

...fear.

Dieee.

May Lee Meets Culture.

Last night was escapism at its best - talk about living another person's life for a couple of hours!

Last night, Ryui Bynn and I dressed up and headed off to the Toyota Classics performance by the Orchestra Citta di Firenze conducted by Lorenzo Castriota Skanderbeg and featuring tenor  Leonardo Melani. We had free tickets in hand and being classic music fans (well sort of), it only made sense to go!

At first, I was a bit doubtful of my ability to listen to classical music for like two hours at a stretch, but I had no need to worry because IT WAS SUPER EFFING AWESOMEEEEEE!

 This is a general overview sort of thing, came in the envelope with the tickets. I had no idea what we were going to attend til this arrived, so it gave us a bit of a heads-up as to what to expect. 

Hint: Night of ear-gasms.

 The programme book on the right was really informative! Are they all like that (fml, so obvious that I don't know nuts.. sigh)? It came with helpful tips for noobs like me (when to clap, continue clapping at the end of the show and there will be encores, etc), and also background information for each song. The background info really made a difference!

The songs were, in a word, fantastic.

Would it be too artsy-fartsy pseudo-connoisseur to say that it literally felt like emotions that you can feel with your ears? Who cares.. it really did. It was incredible!

At times, the hair on my arms literally stood on end, at others, I could almost FEEL the sorrow and heartbreak of the imprisoned Joan of Arc/brokenhearted courtesan/abandoned wife. I was practically clutching the arms of my seat when the man who dumped his lover was enchanted by fairies to dance to death.

And that's just the orchestra. When Leonardo Melani opened his mouth to sing, I was mesmerised. Ok, at some points the orchestra was louder than he was, but I can't understand Italian anyway, so it didn't make much of a difference to me!

Sorry, no pictures of the actual event and stuff.. I didn't want to look like a jakun, running around taking pictures of things, or worse, camwhoring. *sombong*

Ok, one more thing.

Food.

Holy mother of God.

I watched in awe as RB packed away SIX little cups of strawberry panacotta.

He's not insane, they're just insanely yummy!

The rest of the food was pretty good too *drools*

 My ticket! Hehe

Angklung Suite, mannn..

We actually reached a little bit late, we were supposed to be seated by 8.15 pm, but we reached at 8.30 sharp (it started at 8.30) and it was too late to enter the hall. The apologetic ushers told us we'd have to sit in the suite for two songs before being able to enter the hall. RB was like "waaaahhhh.. see, if you're rich, late also different story man" and I have to agree! If we were one of the ticket holders for the seats down there, we'd probably not be able to enter.. or we'd have to stand outside.. but because we were in the suite, we could watch it on TV for the duration we were stuck there. And the ushers were so apologetic! "Sorry for the inconvenience, Sir" and suchlike. I can assure you that I've never been apologised to when I was the one being late. New experience!

 Background information on the conductor and tenor! Might be a bit too small to actually read, though.

Okay, being unable to camwhore ALL NIGHT was cruel and unusual torture. So I had to take the first opportunity to do it!

I guess all I want to say is that it was an awesome night. 

Escapism at its best.

For a few hours, there were no UKM monkeys, no assignments, no exams, no nothing. Just fantastic music, fabulous food and a frickin box seat.

=)

I Like Slides, Not Heights

Have you heard about the slide in Empire?

 

At 5 storeys tall, it is (according to them) the tallest indoor slide in the world!

At RM12 a ride, it could possibly  be the most expensive slide too *looks wistfully at free slide in playground*

Part of me wants to give it a shot, but the wuss in me says "HELL, NO! Have you forgotten your fear of heights?"

I listen to the wuss. It shouts louder and accompanies its oratory with sensory backup like quivery knees and sweaty palms.

My brother went ahead and did it though!

Here's a video! Erm, the first couple of minutes is pretty much just a shot of the slide, cos the staff take some time to fit each slider-person (haha is that even correct?) into a sort of rug that you stick your feet into. So you can slide properly. Oh, word to the wise: don't wear crocs (the classic-looking ones with the fat front), like what my brother did, cos one of the reasons the slide is empty for sooo long in the video is that the staff had some problems stuffing my brother's fat croccy feet into the rug-bag-thing!

And I have no idea why my brother slides down so slowly, maybe it's because he's light. People usually whoosh down much faster!

Ok, watching this video makes me want to go on the slide!

Shut up, wuss May Lee.

It's time to grow some balls!

Ok, fine. =/

Can someone go down with me? I may need some hand-holding, dammit. *quiver*

Torn Between Laughter and Tears

I watched this video

and I don't know if I laughed because everybody in the video is laughing, or AT the people laughing. All I know is, I laughed for the entire duration and had to pause it halfway cos my tummy was hurting so bad! Okay, so I don't have abs. Hmph.

Real funny shit, much needed these days with our favourite Bolehland leaders running around trying to see how much money they can spend.

"Oh my GAWWDDDD so much monehhhh!!! How to spend how to speendddd syok tetek giler dowhhh!!!"

Seriously, if I could ask one question, it'd be 

"What the FUCK for?"

Cos honestly, RM5 billion? 

How about scholarships for poor, deserving students who will then be able to serve the Government and slow the brain drain somewhat?

And gosh, better healthcare? What about that? What is the point of having government hospitals that constantly suffer shortages, causing people to go to private ones? And now with the increased service tax, private hospitals will be even harder to afford, not like they were even cheap in the first place. Insurance will become more expensive. So basically, if we fall ill, we should just sit at home and wait to die. Is that it? Then who's going to fill up 100 floors of space?

Oooh oooh I know! How about sitting down, and thinking of the rakyat instead of how the other presidents would be soooo impressed at how the lift has buttons from G to 100?

Fuck this shit. I want to live on the moon.

I hope the Man on the Moon is good-lookin'.

Look Ma, I Can Tweet!

Yes! I have hopped onto the bandwagon!

As of now, I have the grand total of ONE tweet!

*excited*

Yes, I am very slow. It took me years to get a Facebook account, and I'm years behind everybody else with this Twitter thing. Which meant that maylee, mayleelim, ml, lml, may_lee, and tons of other combinations were all already snapped up by other May Lees *glares*.

I had to take xoxo_maylee.

You know, like xoxo, Gossip Girl. *shame*

I never claimed to be very original. Yes, it does sound a bit bimbo. But wtf mannnn.. it's not my fault my name is so common!

Anyway, now I can share the banalities of life with all of you! Like, a million times a day! Yaaaayyyyy!

Isn't this EXCITING?

Okay, I snuck here to share my Twitter excitement, and my assignment is giving me baleful glares from its minimised position at the bottom of the screen. Sorry. Will get back to you asap. <3 *tiptoes away*

*sneaks back*

TWITTERRRRRR! =D

Hello Liver, I'm Sorry

 Meet Beer Tower. 

Meet also the sadistic guy who poured the contents of said beer tower down our gullets.

*slurs* It was supposed to be a birthday party! Sharon's birthday party, to be precise! We were supposed to chill out and be party-ish.. but noooooo Ryui Bynn was like "Imma get two beer towers and we're gonna drink it all!"

It was more like two beer towers and a jug of stout. We're all lightweights, with a few exceptions (RB being one, lucky bastard), so you can imagine the effort that went into finishing all that.

 "It's Sharon's birthday! Must give face! Drink drink drinkkkkkkk"

A mix of stout and Tiger. Not a fan of stout. Mixing doesn't help.

 Empty tower = relief!

"Wait, got one more!"

*despair*

 Tomato head! I 'gave face' to Sharon, and she returned it after roasting it a bit in a beer marinade.

 Finally! Some semblance to a birthday party!

 "When I open my eyes, the beer towers will mysteriously disappear"

Happy drunk faces on the way home.

Sharon clutching her bottle of curacao.

Yum, curacao. =D

 

I'm Against Mistreating Children - Are You?

Hey, you! Stop right there.

What, in your opinion, constitutes child abuse?

Is it slapping a child around?

Kicking a child?

What about neglecting said child?

Many people are unaware of what constitutes 'abuse'. It's not always physical. Abuse can be mental as well. A child who is emotionally neglected and constantly put down could grow up severely affected by this form of abuse, just as a physically abused child can. So you can't just feed your kid three meals a day and ignore him the rest of the day and then say "Oh, I'm an AWESOME parent!" cos you're not. You're abusing your child.

Obviously, if you're rotaning your kid until the feller passes out, then you should just go turn yourself in to the cops cos as a parent you suck major balls, and if you think otherwise, you're delusional or just sadistic.

Children have basic rights, too.

And while it is always assumed 

"haiyaaa of course the parents will jaga the kid riggghtttt... their own child, they'll take care properly la",

it's not always true!

The Convention on the Rights of the Child have 54 articles and 2 Optional Protocols that detail childrens' rights: in summary, the rights include "the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.", and the four core principles of the CRC are "non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child" (all quotes taken from here).

I don't know if you already know, but unicef is running a Get On Board campaign to get 100,000 supporters to stop child abuse in Malaysia. Each supporter is encouraged to support and promote this anti-child abuse campaign in their own way.. I've gotten on board, will you join me there?

Don't they deserve your support?

For more details, visit their site here!

Escaping Simon

I'm sorry this space has been silent for so long, but assignments and real life have kept me so busy, I haven't even had time to do laundry (brought 'em all home for mummy to handle *scuffs toe in dirt*) let alone write a proper blog post!

Yesterday started off with an exhibition - the exhibits being the posters my class made containing elements of gender-related issues. 

This is my group's poster about domestic abuse!

 Chris loves her poster.

 Meet Kevin, one of only three guys in my class and the subject of glares and mutterings whenever our lecturers raise feminist issues.

"Yes, Kevin, stop OPPRESSING us!"

"Don't objectify us! We're not sex objects!"

"You're such a MALE CHAUVINIST."

Poor oppressed men.

My group! Yes, I didn't get the 'It's Punjabi Suit Day!' memo.

Haha actually I did, but I don't own one.

Individualism, woot!

Doing my bit for domestic violence! Say NO to using women as target practice!

 Random camwhore picture with Shel's dupatta!

The stress of assignments, presentations, talks etc got to us so bad that when a random 'DRESS UP AND GET OUT!' opportunity presented itself, we grabbed it. Oh boy, did we grab it.

 Shel, Chrissy and me at Kissaten.

We're hideously overdressed for Jaya 1. People's eyeballs were out on stalks.

 Maybe it was because of Chris the Model.

Who is the reason we now call assignments 'Simon'.

"Wahh still have so many assignments.. DIEEE"

"Huh? Simon? Who's Simon?"

"Simon?"

Mockery all round.

 Not that I don't sympathise, but.. 

Eat your cheesecake, I'll be over here looking good for Simon.

Nerd Porn

Some people escape into alcohol, drugs, shopping or sex.

For me, escapism happens within the pages of a book.

I love books, and I'm pretty sure it's apparent!

When life is hard, when I'm tired, when I just don't like what's going on around me, my usual course of action is to pick up a book and delve right in. Opening a book is akin to opening a portal into another world, another situation, another life.

Those who know me, know I love books with a passion (understatement).

I've been introduced to another awesome site, courtesy of Yu Jeat: Bookshelf Porn

Get your minds out of the gutter, people (haha I got pretty excited too, myself)! It's a site with pictures of books. Books on crazy shelves, books arranged into sculptures, desks made of books, stacks and stacks of books (omg heaven!!).. you name it, they have it!

If heaven doesn't contain any library like this, I will be severely disappointed.

 Hello, perfect Sunday activity!

(I am super afraid of  the sun, so also Hello, empty bottle of sunscreen)

Phwoar.

Okay, so looking at bookshelves is sort of like watching porn, I guess (hence the name). Looking at other people's fun and not being able to touch.. But it's super awesome to look, no?

*glazed eyes and frantic clicking*

I am a porn addict *malu*

Starting A New Chapter

I guess the title says it all.

I'd rather not go into minute details, but LB and I are no longer.

He will always occupy a place in my heart, and who can blame me for having a soft spot for him?

He is, after all, the one who was always there for me, the one on whom I could always depend, the one who loved me wholeheartedly.

But at one point, I realised that the path of my life had reached a fork and I had to choose.

And try as I might, I couldn't choose him.

The time for tears and self-recriminations is over, though. I've gone through the sobbing and writhing in inner guilt thing.. but after meeting up with him earlier today for lunch, I can confidently say that the page has turned, and it's now the beginning of a new chapter. This is the last emo breakup-y post; I will now look forward and walk the path that I've chosen for myself.

I've learned something from this experience though.

It's very scary having to decide what path to take in life. Much easier to let 'fate' or 'God' decide for you, and then deal with the effects. I've had to grab the bull by the horns and let me tell you, I almost fell off and got trampled on! I wrestled with doubt, guilt and worry and I don't think LB had an easier time struggling with his own emotions.

Also, I realised that there aren't many (if there are, I wouldn't know because I couldn't find any!) emo songs for the person instigating a breakup. There are lots of 'Got Dumped' songs, but where are the 'I Had To Make That Super Mothereffingly Hard Decision' ones? Are we not allowed to emo? Geez.

This is my first no-emo-songs breakup. I've had the sudden tears, the wistfully-looking-at-old-pictures thing, and the wanting-to-text-other-party-but-can't bit. But no emo songs. Dear song library, you've let me down. Please jump off something tall in shame.

On A Break

And by that, I don't mean the holiday sort.

LoverBoy and I are on a break. From each other.

Before people gasp and start staring accusingly at him, let me clarify that I was the one who asked for one.

Why?

I needed time to think about where things are headed, and whether I can go with the flow.

And then I got to wondering "what the heck am I supposed to be thinking about?"

I mean, I've already done a fair bit of thinking BEFORE the break, what do I have to think of some more? But I guess I just need some time alone to sort my thoughts out, etc. Alone, where my judgment wouldn't get overly clouded.

It's always a big jolt when you come out of the comfortable haze of habit and routine and realise that all is not as well as you thought it was. I've had to do some uncomfortable soul-searching, and so has he.

Nobody is perfect, and sometimes the imperfections of two people can cause them to fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces... or it can cause them to scrape against each other and create sparks that can ultimately reduce a fairytale to ashes. 

Whatever the outcome of the break thing, I will always treasure the time we had together.. and I say that with all the sincerity in the world. LB has been an awesome.. well, LB.

I could never ask for more.

 

Post Your Secrets, They'd Stay Safe

Yesterday, Yu Jeat introduced me to this awesome site called Post Secret where you can write your deepest darkest secrets and post it in to them, anonymously.

People write in with secrets that range from the sweet
"When I make clothes for my mom, I hide notes in the seams"
to the bizarre
"I used to fantasize about having a threesome with Legolas and Pippin." (wtf -____-)

The awesome thing, I feel, about this site is that it provides a space where you can vent. I mean, have you ever had a secret so big that you feel like you need to share it or else you'd just burst, but at the same time, you cannot let it slip for fear of catastrophic consequences? Post Secret is where you can safely let it go.

And it has moved beyond mere 'oh, just tell us your secrets'. Watch this!


Can I again say how awesome the internet is?
Bless you, Internet.