What a load of bullcrap.
Attended my gran’s birthday dinner this evening, and managed to piss off almost everyone at the gathering. Moral of the story? Never take a sick, gloomy girl to what is supposed to be a happy gathering. She’d just ruin everything.
Why gloomy?
1) I am still sick.
I relapsed yesterday again. Plus, I am sick and tired of explaining my condition to people. So, I kept to myself as much as possible … apart from talking to my favourite cousin David, that is. In fact, I am also starting to get mildly depressed so … the tendency to occasionally withdraw from people.
2) I am not looking my best in a sea of ‘perfect’ relatives.
My face looks bad right now because of a severe acne breakout. And my relatives in general are PERFECTIONISTS when it comes to skin.
Every single one of them have flawless complexions - even my male cousins. And a pockmark amongst them is typically frowned upon and nagged at. Guess which one got the nagging today?
For the record, I snapped at anyone and everyone who remarked about my oh-so bad complexion. The fact that I was already moody in the first place didn’t help.
Sidenote: If you’ve seen my latest pictures on Facebook and think that what you see contradicts what is stated here … ever heard of Photoshop? ;) (Note: Not full-out Photoshop, of course. I just blank out the more prominent spots off my face.)
3) The conversations going on at the table made me REALLY angsty.
Bollocks to the ‘money makes the world go round’ attitude. The older cousins were basically brainwashing my younger cousin (who is about to start university next year) with the “MONEY IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!?!!!!!” mentality, which made me want to shrivel up like a prune and break out into a full-fledged allergy reaction to the sheer amount of stupid remarks I had to endure.
Basically, they were egging on my younger cousin to choose a career that will make him rich in the future rather than one that he is interested in. Not to mention applying the economics principle of “make sure you gain more than you invest” in every single decision he makes in university.
Fuck the money.
What is education? It is a learning experience. It’s for self actualization. You learn a shitload of things - from the base curriculum, to other skills such as social skills, presentation skills, confidence, project management skills and yadda yadda. My experience in SMU was an enriching one, so much to an extent that I am extending my course to a four-year one because I liked it. (Even though I had the option to complete it within three years.)
Why? Because you only go to university once. I choose to stay on, take my time and make the most out of my experience there.
Why rush the journey? Do you stand to gain anything? No. Except maybe bad grades (because you just want to get everything over and done with) and … few or no memorable experiences.
I took a course which I enjoy. And I chose to take a double major which is an advancement of my base degree because I like it. Every single moment - I relish thoroughly.
Needless to say, I strongly disagreed with my older cousin when he scoffed at double degrees or double majors, stating that you don’t gain anything from it - about how it’s pointless, and how you’re basically wasting more money on a second degree/major because employees won’t especially hire you because of your double degree/major, neither will you get a higher starting salary than the rest.
Money, money, money. Everything is all about money, isn’t it?
Like I said, fuck the money. You only live once.
So what if you’re rich 30 years down the road? Looking back, will you feel like you’ve lived a fulfilling life? Will you be in a career which you intrinsically enjoy? (i.e. You’re not there only for the money while thinking that the job is a load of bullcrap.) Will you feel like you’ve maximized your potential? Your capabilities?
Think about it.
If you think I am living in my own dreamworld and that in reality, people think that way and only care about earning oodles and oodles of money. Then, you lead a pretty sad life. Really.
I respect people who dare to chase their dreams and pursue their interests. Those who are simply in it for the money with zero interest, I see as the scum of society.
So there.
It’s all about striking a balance. If you land a job which motivates you, and continually gives you renewed interest … which also happens to pay well, then very good for you.
Oh, and not to mention my ultimate argument - money cannot buy health. You may have enough money to see all the doctors in the world but they can’t help you all the time.
Health. I’ve lost mine, and somehow lost all hope of ever getting it back as well considering the events of the past five months. At least I can look back and safely proclaim that I’ve done more or less everything I wanted - from singing/performing onstage (even though it ensued in an ultimate failure, but what the heck), pursuing a course which I have a strong interest in, forged many friendships through projects while weathering thick and thin and learning from the whole experience, and the list goes on and on.
(Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this entry do not apply to people from disadvantaged families or homes.)
(1) Video Game Development prof, clarifying what he meant in Question 2 (asking us to name three other elements that can complete the definition of a ‘game’) midway during the quiz;
Okay class! I realized that for Question 2, many of you are going to simply put down the three elements as ‘Mechanics’, ‘Dynamics’ and ‘Aesthetics’. But I do not want you to write that because it has already been covered in Question 3.
Instead, I want you to state other aspects, like the rules of the game, the need for a game objective or goals and …
… Oh shit, I think I just told you the answers.
(2) Data Warehousing prof (a.k.a. Mister Cosine Graph) and his response towards the answer given by one of my fellow schoolmates to a question he posed to the class.
Yes … Yes … Yes … Yes … Yes …
(One nano-second later.)
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I don’t think so.
Hahaha, thank goodness for classroom humour to liven up a dull class.
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All in all, it’s been a good 22nd birthday for me. Thanks to my darlings from Alta’Sync who surprised me with a cake today.
I still can’t believe that Krit struggled with the cake behind my back for almost five minutes while I remained completely oblivious despite the fact that three of the others were in front of me, trying not to laugh at the scene behind me. Now, that’s blur Brenda for you.
And thank you Grace - my mutually-proclaimed sister who spent the entire evening with me - together with a balloon (which attracted wolf whistles) and that lovely customized pillow which is threatening to replace Squeegee on my bed. And of course, most importantly - the companionship. I haven’t seen you in months! (And thank you for your card, I love you too! (:)
And the best thing of all? No relapses for three days so far … and counting. (Hopefully.)
Birthday wish for this year: I want to get well.
I undoubtedly declare this as my favourite place in Macau.
Basically a themed attraction, with alfresco dining, shopping, tram rides, and various attractions such as a miniature Roman Colosseum, a little ‘volcano’ which you can climb up to (which I had to miss since I still wasn’t well enough to maneuver stairs and steep slopes) and a miniature ‘Tang Dynasty’ Chinese cultural themed city.
Quaint, colourful buildings lined the streets of Fisherman’s Wharf and natually, my DSLR (Mickey) went click, click, click.
Walked and walked and walked, until I got tired (and the symptoms of my condition started appearing again so we resorted to taking the tram so that we could continue viewing the place).
I think I took the most pictures there, after our hotel, at least. (I will talk about our hotel/resort in Macau Part IV.)
The place is very different when you go there at night - instead of seeing the bright, colourful buildings, you see the streets and walkways lighted up … for Halloween. (It was about a week before Halloween when I was there.)
The buildings are also brightly lit too - which meant that I got the chance to practice night photography with Mickey.
The highlight when I was there?
Employees dressed as ghosts and goblins roaming the place and practically scaring the life out of the several groups of girls milling around the place. (Which resulted in them screaming my ears off.)
I think the ghosts and goblins were pissed off with me though because they just couldn’t scare me no matter how they tried. (I was too engrossed with Mickey!)
And … marking the return of the comic strip which everyone seemed to like! ;)
(Click to enlarge)
Meanwhile, I’ve uploaded pictures from the entire trip for your viewing pleasure. Proper photography will be added into the ‘Viewfinder’ collection later on.
Stay tuned for Macau Part IV! ;)