Monday, June 30th 2003, 18:16
June entries are now in the archives (so will this entry, when I make the next one), because I have to go to Malaysia with Dominic, Emily, Josephina, Joyce, Kay, Kenneth, Matthew, Pam and Tiffany tomorrow morning. I'll come back on the fifth, and bring everyone the photos I brought. This will mean deleting the grad ball photos on my server, so this is your last chance to get them (you could ask me for them as they are at home, but that's really a hassle).
For those staying in Hong Kong - please join the demonstration tomorrow. Or at least wear all black to signify that you support the movement.
Words for this week's soundtrack:
{Chinese text lost during archiving process}
Sunday, June 29th 2003, 06:30
Went to DV8 for the after-party yesterday. This time I had much more powerful combinations than last time: a full glass of red-wine, a vodka-orange, a bottle of beer and a disgusting tequila-lime. Their mixed drinks were also bigger, and had more alcohol content too, so I was taken by a little surprise. We had a lot of nice snacks (especially the chicken!) and chatted with a group of people in the outside-area, slightly-avoiding the powerful music. Towards the end of my forth drink, I started to have headaches, and I found myself more talkative and much more sociable than I ever had (and found good-looking women talking to me, as if I wasn't Kris but some other cool dude?! ). But, my still-sobre mind told myself that it was a danger sign that trouble was coming.
So I very quickly forced the whole of the 750ml bottle of distilled-water down my organs, and made myself vomit all the food + drinks, which made me feel much better. Then after some more clubbing with the "upgraded-version of Kris", my headaches told me it was obviously time to go home. So Kenneth and I took the taxi home, and on the way I had to talk to him about slightly complicated topics to convince him that my mind (and more importantly will) was absolutely intact, since my face was extremely red. When I got home, I tried to sleep, and my parents woke up to wash my face for the forth time before I settled on the sofa 3:30 am. Yep, I managed to walk in straight lines, press the right buttom on the lift, and even used the key properly to open the door.
I think next time you have mixed drinks, don't ignore how it tastes like. If it tastes strong, it probably is. And try not to mix drinks like me - even the experienced drinkers were looking at me, hinting that my combination had some problems. The headaches, the f@*king headaches (I recovered one-hour ago, but still)!
Friday, June 27th 2003, 20:55
Did the Amazing race today with Pam, Joyce and Lap Kiu. 7nbsp;Because of time constraints, we weren't able to finish the whole race, and had to skip the two very little parts (mid-level escalator, police station) at the end. However we did not drop out/give up, so we came 11th out of 16. I am really pissed about the fact that the organisers don't give us more time to actually finish the race, which seems somewhat inappropriate for a whole-year event.
Also, I told my parents the URL of my homepage already, so if you want to mention 'your mother' or 'your father' in your insults/swearing directed to me, bear that in mind.
Thursday, June 26th 2003, 20:13
Finished reading Harry Potter the day before. The storyline's getting lame, but at least the characters are becoming more alive, if you catch my drift.
Went cycling today with a group of friends. What was expected to be a 1 hour ride turned out to be 4 hours, because someone rode a defected bike and didn't tell us until 30 minutes into the ride (you know who you are you STUPID IDIOT). So basically Dominic, Kenneth, Kavit (and Bronson a little bit) had to ride/carry/drag that heavy object from Tai Wai to Tai Po for 3 hours!!! Needless to say I am now completely exhausted. If I end-up doing the amazing race tomorrow, I will be 75% dead before the thing starts! Of course, we then walked around, ate an afternoon tea, played basketball and all that.
Why exactly am I pushing myself so hard when I just had A-level exams is really a mystery...
Monday, June 23rd 2003, 21:57
My A-level exams are officially over. Didn't do as well as I hoped for P6, which is a little disappointing, but at least I can relax for the summer, right?
Hell no! In fact, it'll be tougher than ever!
You see, neither UIUC nor UT can find me a resident placement, so trying to work out a solution to not sleeping in the streets will be a serious problem. There's also student visas to handle (I heard Canadians going to the US are treated a little differently from other foreigners, but I have to check), and payments, and opening a bank account, and learning how to get settled, and all the rest of it. Those universities are not well known for taking care of, or even encouraging, international students at all, so it's up to myself whether I live or not. To add insult to injury, my parents are complete idiots in such matters.
Then I got to find something meaningful to do during the holidays. Obviously I'll spend most of the time working to improve my health (believe me it's not good) and attempting to re-learn how to play the piano from square 1. What I really want to do is to join the Hong Kong Young Ambassador, but since it is extremely COMPETITIVE, I'll spend the next few days thinking of other alternatives in the 90%+ chance of failure.
Then there's playing chess, chinese chess and weichi online, something that I always wanted to do, but never had the time to. If you want to play computer games with me - just give me a call or drop a message on icq.
But first, I'll tidy my room up.
Sunday, June 22nd 2003, 16:48
(Taken from Ming Pao Newspaper)
Translation: "The first four I've read over 6 times already" said Chan, a student and a typical Harry Potter fan. Yesterday at around 7, he was already there at Central, getting his copy of {Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}. He said that mystery novels appeal to him the most, and gains inspiration every time he re-reads one. Holding a brand new copy in hand and a "Harry Potter chocolate" in another, he looks very satisfied.
In my opinion, this Harry Potter craze is getting completely out of hand. Sure, it's a good book, one that I will read very soon, but is it worth lining up outside your nearest supplier 5:00 am in the morning just to get it an hour or maybe a day earlier than everyone else? 7nbsp;Especially when people call it literature, or even as far-fetched as saying that it contributed greatly to getting children to read books again. Those critics really should keep quiet for one in a while. It's just a good bedtime story, that's all!
Friday, June 20th 2003, 21:29
Edit: Got msn! [email protected]
Relative to the horrors of the previous physics exams, the synoptic was very merciful. It was all arithmetic, algebra or simple logic. Also managed to sell some old books, so it's a happy day.
Only 2 exams left on Monday. Bring it on.
Tuesday, June 17th 2003, 19:21
As the old people say, life is like a long cross-country. The longer you live the more tired you will be. But towards the end of your journey, when you are most tired, you run the fastest, trying to cover as much ground as possible, trying to make up for wasted time, so they can rest in peace. It is towards the end of the race when life gives you the most difficult tests to endure.
My last exam is on the 23rd. I feel the heat running through me like never before. I don't even feel tired from revision anymore. The 3 exams I have left are PHY6, P4 and P6. Those that don't have to do it won't understand how hard it is to get high marks for P4 and P6, to compensate for my low marks elsewhere. I also have less than 2 days for each of those exams.
If there's only one thing I could say to encourage everyone, it's three words:
"Mind over matter!"
Sunday, June 15th, 17: 36
I've had more than one person asking me about the name of my homepage. Well - it's simple really.
At first I wanted to call myself Sylvan-sylph. Sylphs were spirits that dwelled in the sky or other high mountains. They loved open spaces, but slightly seclusive in nature, all of which resemble myself. They were also very quick, but not all of them could fly (I can neither fly nor move quickly). Unfortunately, one of my friends told me to check out the dictionary for a second meaning of 'sylph', and it said "slender and graceful girl or woman"...
Then I thought of using my old ICQ name "Gwendolyn", which meant "white ring". It was my mother's idea, of a ring that looks dull when compared with other rings, but with time it slowly overtakes the other colours, grows in splendour, and takes many more years to wear away. Also fits my Chinese name. BUT since I didn't want to {sound like} tak{ing} King Arthur's wife...
(note: King Arthur's wife is Guinevere, not Gwendolyn, which is the wife of some other mythical character, but anyways. Also, "Gwendolyn" could also mean white bow, but as much as I like bows, it wasn't really relevent to the theme of nature and the sky.)
So I took the name Llewelyn, which means lightning. It reflected my love for the sky, but had a more "male" tone to it. Lightning is a phenomenon, not an actual thing, because I want to be remembered for what I've done and not what I am. Everyone remembers it, but few talk about it often. Sylvan creatures were defenders of the forests, attuned to nature but not as naive as the other woodland creatures. Being naive will kill you faster than getting hit by lightning.
Friday, June 13th, 17:40
P5 - I couldn't do two part-questions, and didn't do the last 14 mark question at all. There goes my last A...
Tried to claim my HKID card, but the taxi driver took me to the wrong place, then drove it back, then realised that the wrong place was the right place. Then I got soaked while I'm coming home.
Those guys that e-mailed me for second-hand books didn't show up yesterday. Wasted 1/2 hour waiting in vain.
Our trip to Malaysia is crumbling, with very low chances. Look guys - if you have any difficulties just voice it out honestly? Please don't make lame excuses because you change your mind and don't want to go? You do realise your decision will ruin everybody else, right? Those people should know who I'm talking about.
Conclusion: life is an
Thanks Anthea for finding this picture!!
Thursday, June 12th, 17:55
Had physics exam today. The papers were very difficult, but what's done is done, and there's no point worrying. After all my parents said that for a person like me, a B's really good already, so there you go!
For those that know Cantonese, THIS IS A MUST READ!!!
http://hk.geocities.com/phybeenghk/1.htm
Tuesday, June 10th, 21:37
To those that keep on saying how bad they are doing, stop it.
I am talking to the top 5% of our year in particular. It's good to be humble and all, but if you keep on saying how you are screwed and stuff, it gets RUDE. If you're doing better than most people, why are you screwed? Are you suggesting that since even you're screwed, the rest of your year group's comprised of 95% very screwed -up people?!
Not happy - please explain.
Sunday, June 8th, 15:40
Mrs. Eaglestone's yr. 13 physics class: Tuesday 10th, period 1 outside the staff room if you want help.
**SPREAD THE WORD**
Can't think of anything funny to give to Mrs. Hartwright, so I settled with these:
The left one is my own gift to her (she's retiring after this year). The right one was my mother's DEADLY idea (of putting it inside the mug - she kinda forced me to). Well, I'll get others to write messages on bits of paper and put it inside the mug, effectively saying "in the name of the further maths class". I like her as a teacher, not as a mom!
I was originally planning to give her a magnet with a picture of a banana ("yak jiu" in Cantonese) , but too bad I couldn't find it.
BTW, is everyone falling asleep during revision? Because I might have a solution to this problem. See, while my own revision method is not great at all, one thing it does well is to keep me awake:
Keep doing practice questions under timed conditions.
Rest/work in 30-minute cycles (except for past papers of course).
Sleep according to your biological clock (mine's 11:00 to 7:00). Sometimes important matters could keep me awake however.
Instead of aimlessly staring at textbooks, try writing notes, re-writing everything in your own words (I did all of that during the holidays). You can't write and sleep at the same time.
If there's anything you don't understand, ask Kenneth Ho!
Saturday, June 7th, 17:41
Something woke me up earlier than my usual 6:30 alarm clock:
Scenes such as these add spice to my otherwise deadly (boring) revision life!
Also, a belated birthday to Athens.
Thursday, June 5th, 16:20
edit: So it's not only me that had stomach aches after S3?
Finished S3 exam today. It was quite easy, which means grade boundaries will be very high. For those that like making careless mistakes (ie Kris), watch out!
I'm really, really close to finding a permanant background music for my page. If you have noticed, my music is getting nearer and nearer to a certain style. Any good music of this type?
It seems that many people are thinking about what to do for the summers already. If you're going to a trip, remember to go for something EXOTIC and PHYSICAL. The 5-star hotels are for old (ie grandparents) and the disabled (ie our parents) that can't walk/run anymore. Take advantage of our youth while it lasts, because frankly it doesn't.
Tuesday, June 3rd, 17:13
Finally went out for a breath of fresh air. I only went out for 3 hours, and yet I already feel tired. I think we might need to do some training first if we are to enjoy outdoor activties after the exams, otherwise we might suffer from heatstroke?
Sunday, June 1st 2003, 11:25
May entries are now in the archives.
June - the month of either really good weather or typhoons. Makes no difference to those of us that has to stay indoors and revise. Too bad I have to stay home and revise. The autumn-like breeze from my windows, however, somewhat compensates. Living on a hill means you could enjoy indoor temperatures of 19-24 (with windows open) throughout the HK summers, which means even after 6 years, I still don't know how to use the air-cons because I never needed to.