There's nothing to be done at work right now. Hence the blogging!

I'm finally starting to feel accomplished about this Perth trip! I just booked my return flight home from Melbourne on Tuesday. The date's set at 13th July, since my parents want to pick me up in KL. This means I've saved about $300, since I'm flying budget. Looks like I'll have enough money for accommodation, transport, flight, food, shopping AND skydiving! Yay! Now I just need to see if skydiving is cheaper in Perth or Melbourne.

Pat, Dan and I also finally booked accommodation. In a backpackers' hostel of course, but with en suite bathroom, I think it's a great deal. Anyways, we'll try not to stay in too much, so what's the point of a nice, expensive hotel room? Students' budget!

And visas have been booked. Only flight insurance left, but I'm leaving that to my dad. Booking everything else has been tiring haha.

Like Pat, I've been getting to know the Korean language. Everyday during lunchtime, I watch one old episode of "Let's speak Korean" (I'm on episode 5 right now). And I've been memorising the alphabet system, and copying down characters again and again everyday, so now I can write just about anything in Korean! Reading it is easy too, but I'm very slow. I think it's a LOT easier than Mandarin characters, since an alphabet has one sound, and a consonant + vowel + consonant = 1 syllable. It's like English! Except... there's no character "f", so my name's Sa Ra Pi Na. Doesn't look very nice... Haha. I'm still a LOOOOONG way off from actually speaking Korean, so maybe I'll have to wait till I'm on episode 80 or something =D

Annyeong haseyo! Jeo neun Sarapina imnida. Singgaporeueseo waseupnika. Hak saeng imnida!

Hello! I am Syarafina. I am from Singapore. I'm a student! (Well, will be in August)

Okay, that's all for today. Annyeonghi gyeseyo!

fin* (I refuse to write Pina!)

Hey Syaz! Haha

Instructions:

1. Copy and paste the instructions into a new entry.

2. List down 8 stories that you remember watching as a kid.

3. Write why you chose each movie.

4. Publish your answers.

5. Tag 5 friends to do this including the one that tagged you.

1. Land before time

- My absolute number one favourite when I was younger. I cry every single time I watch it - Little Foot's so cute and pitiful! But my favouritest part was how they made eating leaves look yummy, and sleeping in a Sharp Tooth's (T-rex) footprint look comfy, and an egg rolling through a swamp look exciting. And - oh! - the Great Valley! I wanna live there!

2. Anastasia ( Was that when I was a kid? I guess preteen means kid too right?)

- I knew most of the lines cos I watched it every three days! And I'd still watch it now; it's that good.

3. Edward Scissorhands

-At this point I'm already taking inspiration from Syaz's list, because I only remember ever watching Land Before Time as a kid. This I remember ecause he burst the poor girl's water bed! And made snow. My two most memorable scenes.

4. The Lion King

- Did I ever tell you I always acted out scenes from the Lion King at home and in the car? I'd carry a stuff toy up and pretend I was Rafiki (or whatever that baboon was called), or pretend I was eating bugs from the colourful paisley pattern of my last-time couch like Timon and Pumba did.

5. Mary Poppins

-Such a fun musical! Imagine flying everywhere by the handle of your parrot-head umbrella!

6. Pipi Longstocking

- I hardly remember much of the storyline, but I think it was from a pretty early part of my childhood. I'd roll down the carpeted stairs (only four steps, in a hotel room) because I saw Pipi rolling down the stairs haha

7. The Snow Queen

- Oooh I love this movie! It was a Soviet film, and all the images were so entrancing! I remember the wooden shoe floating on the water, the mirror breaking, the rose that froze (it rhymes!), the ball, the crow, the dancing... Love It!

8. Back To The Future

- We watch it every year whenever there's a Public Holiday, but that's because we all love the film. Michael J Fox, Saranghamnida!!!!

Okay, that's it! I tag Syaz, Pat, Dan, Diana and Steffoiz, but it's okay if you guys don't do it. Bu it's fun haha

fin*

SS501 after SHINee intro! SHINee's so cuteeeee!!!!

Who Let You Go.

A treat for Pat: Kyu Jong from SS501 (i think that's how his name is spelt...) acting in some lady singer's video

A treat for me: Jaebeom!!! Swoon-a-riffic!

Okay, that's enough for now ;)

fin*

Where The White Boys Dance.

So it seems I'm not the only K-pop crazy person I know! Haha There's this song that I've been listening to Again and Again, by 2PM. Seriously, I always seem to fall hardest for bands that I'm not initially impressed with.

Case in point: Tokio Hotel. I laughed when i first saw their music video for Ready, Set, Go, but my sister slowly pulled me into liking them (and God forbid, even their songs). That train's come and gone though, because I seem to get over things really fast haha.

And now my attention has turned to 2PM! I actually thought they couldn't sing, when I heard their first single called 10 Out Of 10, but their new song's really addictive. Watch them on Idol Army on youtube - they are seriously one group of cute, really funny guys. 2 AM too! (2AM+2PM = One Day. Seriously! They're branches of the same group. 2AM sing ballads, while 2PM are more performance-centric)

From left: Chansung, Wooyoung, Junsu, Jaebeom, Junho, Nichkhun and Taecyeon.

2PM's leader is Jaebeom, who's actually from Seattle, and he's an '87 baby. He kinda looks like Jokwon, the leader of 2AM, although he's not as fruity as him. He has such a fun sense of humour, and at 174cm he's the shortest of the group, poor baby (Junho and Wooyoung are 178cm, Junsu is 180cm, Nichkhun is 181cm, Chansung's 182cm, and Taecyeon towers over all at 185cm How can anyone not look short?). Obviously he's my favourite of the group, even when he's cocky at times, because he is cocky-funny. And he is so frickin' sexy! His upper body is so fiiinnneee... Haha. He's by far the best dancer of the group, and although he falls flat a little when singing, he does vocal runs quite nicely. =D

Jaebeom <3

I suppose besides Jaebeom, my second favourite is Wooyoung, who's an '89 baby. He's so cute and funny (Okay, they're ALL funny), and crazy! There was one episode of Idol Army where he had to fulfill a mission: To go out onto a street alone, get food for free, and get recognised. Woyoung doesn't really have the star appeal of Jae and Nichkhun, so he wasn't recognised by anyone and had to beg for the food. And he was so funny, acting like he was whining and stamping his feet. Cute! He makes the funniest comments, and likes saying "Oh My God!" when something shocking happens. Chances are he learned that from Jae, Nichkhun or Taec...

Wooyoung

Junho's a '90 baby, and he looks like Rain. I think he has a much more controlled voice than both Jaebeom and Junsu, and he's one of the better dancers of the group. Unfortunately, in Idol Army, he's rejected by almost ever single girl/ guy group, poor guy. But he has a good humour about that. And he has random outbursts of English, which some Netizens have commented sounds like he's imitating Rain's English.

Junho

Chansung's the maknae (baby/ youngest) of the group, a Feb '90 baby, but he somehow looks the oldest haha. His 182 frame certainly does contribute to that image. He looks macho-est, but he's realy goofy, and loves to eat aLOT. He looks a lot better since he's cut his long hair, and he's my sister's fave 2PM member. Always bullied by the guys haha.

Chansung

Taecyeon is the tallest, and is from Boston, which he moved to when very young. Born in 1988. He looks like my brother when he smiles with the large teeth he has, which is a little disconcerting for me. Darn that brother of mine, because I really like Taecyeon. He raps, along with Chansung.

Taecyeon

Nichkhun's born Thai, but LA bred. His Mum's Chinese, while his dad is Thai, but with brown hair he looks somewhat Eurasian. With black hair though, he looks more Asian. Like Taec, he was born 1988. He's considered the cutest of the group, with a baby face and smiley eyes and baby-buttock skin (haha). He is a girl magnet, and the arguably the most recognised member of the group. Remember the Idol Army mission that I talked about? Everyone else wasn't recognised at all (since they debuted just last year), Jaebeom was recognised after maybe 7 minutes, and Taecyeon didn't take part. All Nichkhun had to do was step out of the bus, and in 3 seconds girls came running towards him! Wooyoung had to plead for food, and Jaebeom had to sing for a discount, but Nichkhun automatical got two free pieces from the aunty because he's "so beautiful!". How unfair is that? Haha He's near the bottom cos even though he's cute and funny, I don't think he dances or sings particularly well.

Nichkhun

Junsu's (child of '88) face I didn't like as soon as I first saw their music video, but watching Idol Army, he's growing on me. The boys tease him alot because they say his head is so big haha, and he's probably the least attractive of the boys, but he's funny. And his face was so funny in the SHINee (another Korean boyband) episode of Idol Army, when he was blowing the ping pong ball. He's considered the best singer of the group, but he sometimes lacks control and goes flat or sharp sometimes in ballads. But he seems like a nice guy.

Junsu

So that's a 2PM intro. I love them! More bands probably coming up. Maybe I'll do 2Am next.=)

fin*

Andy, You're A Star.

I got into NTU Socie! I got the letter yesterday, barely a week after the interview, but for some reason I'm not exactly jumping in my boots. I'm happy, don't get me wrong, just not very excited. I suppose there'll be a whole lot of essays coming my way again. Oh well, at least I'll be coursemates with Pat! Haha. Now, if only NUS will send me a letter - any letter, be it rejection or acceptance - soon. I need closure!

Another day at work tomorrow. Gosh. So not looking forward to it. One thing I am looking forward to, though, is flying off!!!!! Yayy!!!! Only 5 weeks of work left, working towards my goal. Would you believe I have a countdown to end-of-work? I cross out every day that I go through, just to make me feel happier that I'm working towards the end. How sad is that?

fin*

Korean craze has taken me over! It all began with Boys Over Flowers, which I'm sure Pat understands, and now it has gone into music. Super Junior's Sorry, Sorry has caught me off guard - it's so freaking catchy! And the fact that it has 13 members, many of whom are cute, has me watching their videos Again and Again (which is another song, by 2pm). 2am has the best singing voices, as does K.Will who rocks in Teardrops, and Baek Jiyeong's Like Being Hit By A Bullet is so heartwrenching. 

I'm Korean crazy, but that's not where I'm going. Tickets have been booked, and I'm going to (drumroll please):

Perth and Melbourne! 

Weee! First to Perth with Pat and Dan, then when they fly home, I'll fly to Melbourne to see my much-missed cousins.

Of course, I'm paying for everything on my own, which means all my pay between 13 April and 19 June will go towardss this trip. My dad's paying 168 for my return ticket from melbourne, but only because my budget was 600 for that, and that would mean transiting at KL, which my parents don't want me to do.

I'm so excited! It feels so final now that tickets are booked. =)

Just for fun, watch the Again & Again video by 2pm. Their dancing is on point as always, but the funny part is the fake lyrics that are pasted at the bottom of the screen. Hilarious!

:

fin!!!!!*

OMGoodness, I totally bombed both the NTU sociology interview and the written test! Who knew it was possible to write so much without actually having anything of worth to say? And the interviewer said to me after the interview: "Wow, that was a quick interview! Your answers were to the point", which I don't know is good or bad, because when I asked if other interviews were usually longer, she simply said that some students talk more. How??!!

A lot more points for me to talk about just bubbled to the surface on my bus ride back to the station. A lot! Like, did you know that Sweden recently became the seventh country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage? Or that I actually have a lot more questions to ask the lecturer than I thought? I actually (initially) told her I didn't have any questions for her, and then thought up some stupid questions on whether the course covered a wide range of topics, even though I'd told her at the beginning that what I liked about sociology was its wide range! I'm such an airhead!

Well, afterwards, after calling up a few people to whine to and hear reassuring words from, I went home to numb my mind with chicken rice, bubble tea, and a few hours of Korean dramas which I'd recorded but hadn't had an opportunity to watch. I'm almost fully recovered, even though I had my depressed "world-is-ending" face on the whole MRT ride home. Gonna go home after this and watch more. (I'm at the library at the moment.)

Seeyaz! fin!