Called Mel with a special international card number; I had to call back about twice after using up all its talk-time. I remembered all the things that are possible, like having our houses just a bike-ride apart in a dream, or eating green-bean soup both in a house in Adelaide and in a P1 classroom at the same time.
So despite having another dragon-lady teacher to deal with (though that metaphor's inappropriately strong), I am always lucky. So, so lucky. Through sheer maneuvering, I got to miss the real storm by shuttling to Swensen's for lunch with the guitar comm, where blatantly unorthodox, hyperactive antics brought respite. Yu-Hsin was determined to create a real Earthquake out of the ice-cream version (hey, he was the one who wanted dramatic bucket-loads of dry ice for our concert) and be HCN, while Zhixuan remained fascinated by salt-shaker inertia. Enlaced with conversation about "where you want to go next year", the genuine warmth teamed perfectly with laughter that goes right down into your stomach and aches.   
When I returned, the storm was over, and half-guiltily I stayed with the drenched-not-demoralized victims. The weather was soft and cool (there really was rain that morning). Kaimin drew cars, Rachel and I studied, the LTP judges came to their decision, and there we were, not knowing why we were waiting.
I unloaded my junk on my desk table; my mum had left a Kinder Bueno for me. 

Post #100, or
The Jamie Cullum Jam
Chivas Regal is a brand of Scottish whisky. It creates trouble, even among the under-18s. It's a sponsor of an exclusive gig for the jazz-swinging young Brit, and accomplice to an extremely badly organized event.
In order to win invites, one had to enter one of the several contests organized by Streats, Life!, 8 Days,and others. Only the latter publication included the important and discriminatory information that you have to be 21 (if you're a female) and 25 (if you're a male) in order to sign up. Streats did not even include one's IC among the necessary information to be submitted. This would create unnecessary disappointment (for people young enough to actually enjoy the event for what it was) and extra paperwork/email-work (for themselves, needing to sort through submissions from contestants who did not even qualify).
Next point being, why the discrimination against males 21 to 24 years of age? Mr. Cullum would have the dubious honour of performing for an audience largely older than he. Wow. The max. age limit could be attributed to the fact that the concert is to be held at the Aquadisiac Bar at Indochine, clearly off-limits for youngsters (although why the ban held against 18 to 21 year-olds exists at all is questionable). Here's where I blame Chivas Regal. They don't wanna let in people not old enough to drink their ol' event-sponsoring whisky.
And if Universal Music isn't under the thumb of Chivas, would it be fair and plausible to not hold the event in a bar? Do they fear 12-year olds who will hurl underwear at Jamie and undermine Singapore's classy reputation? Or do they assume that 12-year-olds would express no interest whatsoever in Mr. Cullum's music? Considering the way Mr. Cullum is packaged (like a boyband member who enjoys drumming on the lid of his grand piano), this would seem hardly to be the case.
These are probably woolly personal arguments with an element of truth, but it seems a shame to leave out people who just want to hear a talented guy sing.

I love this. I bloody love this. Read it, TTcrew. It brings back hilarious memories.

(From http://www.angelfire.com/pop/fanficscritics/teenyfanfic.html)

How to Write a Teeny Fanfic
(Alternatively titled, How to Put Yourself in Fanfiction With The Boys of *NSYNC)

1. Give your female lead character the name you wanted your parents to give you. If you want to use your own name, that's fine, too.
2. Decide which *NSYNC boy is your favorite. He will fall in love with you -- err, your character.
3. Give you-- I mean, your character's friends the same names as your friends.
4. Very Important: Describe each and every article of clothing everyone has on.
5. Decide which *NSYNC boys your friends -- err, your character's friends will fall in love with.
6. Write some scenes where your character and her *NSYNC boyfriend fight and nearly break up. Make sure the *NSYNC boy apologizes profusely.
7. Pick out lots of lyrics of songs. If it doesn't fit with the story, don't worry. It doesn't matter.
8. Follow the below development process to achieve desired (teeny) effect:
a) Your character and your character's friends get ready for an *NSYNC concert. Preferably, you will discuss excitedly about your respective favorites. It is very important to insert description of your clothes here. (Remember, Justin's girl MUST wear baby blue)
b) You drive to the concert, cruising to the tunes of *NSYNC and Christina Aguilera (Britney is not allowed.)
c) At the concert, despite the fact that you're 50 rows from the stage, your main character's favorite member will lock eyes on you/your main character, and will fall in love immediately.
d) Miraculously, the same happens to each one of your friends. (Optional: If you have Justin dating/being stalked by/seeing Britney, Justin's girl and Britney are allowed to have a throw down.)
e) And, there are no overlaps. No fighting for the same girl.
f) After the concert, the guys invite you and your friends backstage, where you mingle and joke around as if you had known each other your entire lives.
g) There is touching, giggling, and possibly a game of Truth or Dare!
h) You spend the night and the next few days hanging out. During this period, your favorite guy will pop the question: "Will you go out with me?" or "Will you be my girlfriend?" The later, the better. It is nice to build up "a friendship" before "jumping in too quickly" into a "relationship."
i) Your character will become pregnant with _______'s child (Note: It is okay to change your favorite during the process of writing the story. The best way to mirror this in the plot is to have the child you're pregnant with actually be another member's.)
j) Remember: You do not need to show the sex scenes between your character and the *NSYNC member. That would be very inappropriate. And if you choose to show them, he must be a virgin, too.
k) Your character and her *NSYNC boyfriend get in a fight. He serenades his way back to her heart by singing IDMC/GMHS/IBGFY at their concert, in front of the other teenies. Everything I Own and For the Girl Who Has Everything are also classics.
l)Your favorite/new favorite member proposes marriage and you get married and live happily ever after. Your other friends and their favorite will have similar outcomes. ( Double weddings are double the fun!) The characters will wear white dresses, even though they've had children out of wedlock already.
9) It is also nice to have an abusive past, if you choose not to have a perfect family. Abusive pasts create more moments for the boyfriend to cradle your character lovingly in his arms, uttering eternal vows to never hurt you like others have.
10) Character development: you don't need any! That's the beauty of using yourself in the -- err, yourself as a MODEL for the fanfic's female lead character.
11) You also need to flood the story with inside jokes among friends, since they will love the story just as much as you will, because they -- err, their characters -- are also in it.
12) Spelling/Grammar check is optional. As long as you can read it, it's fine. You can also tYpE LikE tHIs, iF yOu'D LikE. It's sooo much prettier that way.

So the name Owen is "Welsh, with vague Celtic origins?" Impressive.
Everyone's talking about starting their mugging programmes. It makes me feel quite ill, and the Common Tests have just ended - and we have to start again? Now? I don't know what I was thinking of when I was happily re-decorating my wall with screenshots and being chuffed (brave) for a new term.
Why does everyone have to have birthdays in July? I reinstate, here and now, that I passionately hate shopping. Hate hate hate. Strong word used accurately.
Guess I should stop laughing/sniggering/snorting at SAT papers, if one ever did. Even Zihao gets 2/3 right on the Lit paper. "How was the maths?" I asked unthinkingly. "Oh," he stalled, "10% got 800 (the full score)." "Were you one of them?" I say. "Yes," sheepishly. I forgot who I was speaking to.

Final rhetorical question count: 5

"Man has no choice when he wants everything."
- The Scarlet Tide, performed by Alison Krauss, OST Cold Mountain

A family friend snapped three crumpled, lovely hibiscuses off a bush for us, which my mum stuck in a jar that used to hold maple syrup. They were like tissue folds this morning, white, but by midday they blushed light pink, almost lilac. They are fushcia now. They only live for a day. Maybe they'll be crimson by nightfall.