So many things happened recently...

Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith
Though i don't claim to be a Star Wars fan, and i know next to nothing bout that galaxy far far away, i still watch the movie. For the action scenes i guess. And this episode has plenty of it =D.

But it was a really weird time when we watched it. Last week, Yong Chen and Yih Seong kept suggesting (or is it daring each other..) to go watch the movie at midnight. And it went on for a few days that the rest of us got annoyed. Then last Friday night, Yih Seong and Pat apparently felt the Force in them or something after watching a TV commercial of the movie. Before i know it, we're sitting in the cinema watching Episode 3...at 12.10am! I don't even know why the hell we were watching a movie so late at night..when we all should either be studying or sleeping. Of course, i didn't finish what i planned to finish that night..but it's not everyday we'll be watching a midnight movie ;).

A2 exams update..
As of yesterday, more than half of our A2 exams is over! =). I'm a lot more relaxed now...and i'm sure everyone else is too. Coz all the 'study study' papers are over except for one more Chem 6, and all that's left are mostly practicals. As for the exams, so far so good for me i guess. Still praying very hard ;).

DotA summoning..
Guess Chow's addicted to DotA now haha. Yesterday, right after we finish Chem 4, he's asking people to go play DotA edi. And we heed his call and went for it after our Mechanics paper. Only 6 of us though..our pool of DotA players seems to have shrunk a lot. During those days we always have too many players...but now trying to find people to play just one game is already stressing out anyone who felt the urge. Anyway, Chow admitted he still plays DotA back home, even when we're in the middle of A2..and well, him winning both games yesterday is a proof of that i guess. He's not the undisputed All-Stars of our class for nothing hehe..

Sigh..we only managed to abstain for 3 whole weeks (excluding the one in the Web la..that's not playing, it's juz 'finding a loophole in the system' as Yih Seong put it haha =P)..but the last time we played seems like an eternity ago. Felt less stressed after we play...but not for Yih Seong (read below).

We lost another player to DotA!
Halfway thru our second game, Yih Seong complained of fever. And after we got back home, his fever got worse i think. By nightfall, he's running a really high fever..over 40 Celcius O.o. So he went to his uncle's place to recuperate (we didn't know he has an uncle here..hmm). Hope he doesn't get dengue or something...we're only halfway thru A2. And it's not fun to get dengue ;). Maybe DotA's making us sick..haha. Well, Tiong did get sick after playing DotA too ^^. Anyway, get well soon Yih Seong..

..so i got dengue after all..
Btw i just got back from UH this morning, and the result of the dengue test is out. I tested positive for dengue..but i already suspected it all along anyway. The extremely high fever is enough to confirm it. Anyway i've fully recovered now...and i think Leong's fine now too. He got out of hospital bout a week ago. Hope he can get back here for our all-day-all-night DotA games after A2 haha...

-12.51am, 28 May 2005-

Me...changed?

I feel different. I don't feel the same ever since i got dengue. Heck, i don't even remember how i was before that. I only know that now, the days seem to drag on. Felt so numb inside sometimes. Wake up, eat, study, sleep. The same thing everyday. Nothing exciting happening lately. It's so quiet in 121D the whole day...now that Jem and Leong's back in JB. Studying is all i can do to keep myself connected to this world. Maybe it's juz the exams...hm..i dunno. And i've been feeling that itch for DotA again. I'm bored.

Not to say i have nothing to look forward to. On the contrary, there's so many things i've been waiting for. Movies, games, the end of A2. Lately i'm starting to grasp what's going on. In less than a month, it'll be the end of college for me and most of my friends. I won't be seeing them anymore most probably...at least for a long long time. Felt sad everytime i think bout it. That's why i looked stoned at times. I've been thinking too much. Maybe i shouldn't be. It's making me depressed..

I've been blogging a little bit too often now...should be studying instead =/. In the past 2 days, i've made very little progress in my studying. I would flip a few pages, then doze off for the rest of the day. Or if not, i'll find myself here, in The Web (Taylor's new com room, to you old folks haha =P), clicking the mouse aimlessly. Oh yeah, they somehow found out and deleted Warcraft from the coms. Haha..took them quite some time. At least a few of us managed to 'try' it out the other day =P. Ah well..nothing's free in this world, eh?

The movie i've been waiting my whole life..
On a lighter note, the movie i've been waiting for finally has a release date. No..it's not Star Wars that everyone's talking bout. I was never a big fan of it anyway. I'll just watch it for the sake of watching it. I'm talking bout Final Fantasy 7 : Advent Children, a fully CGI-rendered movie. It's based on my favourite game of all time, Final Fantasy VII. Have never been able to contain my enthusiasm since i found out bout the movie last year. And now it's finally gonna come out...but not in the cinemas =(. Only available in DVD, and it's not even confirmed that it'll reach here. But i got a couple of FF7:AC mad friends here as well..maybe i can get them to buy one copy for me. You don't know how much i want to have this DVD...i'll die for it. Really. I'll be a really happy boy on 14 September 2005. =)
[+/-] show/hide pictures (click for larger view)

Barret .. Denzel, Tifa and Vincent .. Yuffie .. Cid .. Nanaki (aka Red XIII) ..

Tifa kicking Loz .. Rude and Reno .. Cloud..with Midgar in the background Another fight scene =) Some 'boss'..think it's Bahamut

-6.25pm, 20 May 2005-
20.05.2005. Hmm...special date today hehe..

I'm bored..ignore me =P

It was once a dream...now it's real..
A long long time ago, when the name Pat still reigns supreme on the high scores of Sky Force, it was something we can only dream about. It's merely a passing fantasy, something to hope for, but nevertheless a possibility never thought to be possible. It once existed in our wildest dreams...and now, our lives will be changed forever. Welcome to heaven. Welcome to the world of FREE DOTA!

Haha pardon me...i was juz being excited at the thought of being able to play DotA for free. What am i talking bout? Anyone who's studying in Taylor's and NOT have a life will have known by now. It's possible to play DotA in the Web! Which means from now on we'll have free cc for as long as we're still students of Taylor's =). Don't know which bloody genius figured out how to install Warcraft on the college's coms...but it doesn't matter who anyway. As long as WE get to play as well, we'll keep this a secret from the powers that be. Haha..i've never thought anyone could be that smart to do it. Thanx whoever you are! You smart dog =P

A private blog?
Btw i was thinking of starting another blog...and no, this blog will live on. I was thinking..this blog is more like an day-by-day account of my life now, so i'll have another to record my thoughts. Somewhere i can say what's on my mind freely. Maybe even 'private' thoughts (but i'll keep them passworded =P). Anyway i'll let you all read it once it's deemed 'ready' by me ;). Stay tuned..

A2 exams..
Don't wanna talk bout it from now on. Just that if it's over, it's over. I'll juz look forward to the next paper each time i finished the last. Better stay happy during my last few days of college, aight?

-6.25pm, 19 May 2005-
Free DotA...free DotA...free DotA...

Dengue outbreak..

Sorry for the extremely long post..juz my account of me kena dengue..don't have to read it if you're not interested ;)

Hmm..so Tiong actually got dengue last week, and not sick due to excessive DotA as we first thought haha. A few other fellars around My Place also got it, including Madhavan who's living just a block or two away from us. And unfortunately, yours truly also became a patient the whole of last week..and it's really not a nice experience at all, trust me. Felt so much like dying..and i swear dying will be a much better state than being down with dengue. Yeah, it's THAT bad.

Sun, 8 May 2005
Was feeling fine that morning..until Yih Seong told me he felt a bit feverish. And then all of a sudden i felt feverish too. Thought it was juz me too tired so took a nap in the evening..but by nightfall i was feeling even more tired, with a slight headache even. So i slept early, hoping it'll go away. But that's not what i got. By 1.30am, i was wide awake. Felt like my head was burning from the inside and i was sweating all over so much my bed was soaked. My whole body's on fire too..so hot that my bed, blanket, pillow, mattress and everything in contact with me were like 10 degrees hotter than normal. And then there's that terrible headache... If you ask me how it felt like, it's like your head's being hammered non-stop, that's how it felt like. Hmm..i think that's still less painful than how i felt. Anyway, there's nothing much i could do at that time so you can imagine how i spent the next 2 hours of my life writhing in pain. By the time the headache and fever started to subside, i couldn't think straight anymore. I was like in a daze, thinking of strange stuff, thinking that i'm in a different world already. I even had suicidal thoughts. Yeah, extremely high fever do weird stuff to your head. Believe me. I've been through it.

Mon, 9 May 2005
Went to see the doctor the moment dawn breaks. Couldn't sleep the whole night, kept on hallucinating and being half-conscious. My eyes would close for a few seconds and then i would be wide awake with the pain echoing in my head. By the time morning set in i was feeling weak all over. And i realised i can't walk straight too. Took me so much effort just to walk to the nearest open clinic..and even that's about a km away. Got some fever and sore throat medicine, and an MC for two days. Didn't eat the whole day coz no appetite.

Tue, 10 May 2005
Rashes developed on both my hands yesterday. Went back to the doctor and she said i looked much worse than the day before (i should know better..i felt a billion times worse). Took the first of dozens of blood tests. No dengue. But the doctor said normally dengue can't be detected on the first few days anyway. Practically slept the whole day away.
Platelet count: 161

Wed, 11 May 2005
Couldn't eat anything at all. Felt like vomitting each time i put food into my mouth. But then the hunger's killing me. That's the worse part...feeling hungry but you can't eat. I'll be thinking how nice something will taste like..but when i saw the food itself, my stomach rejects everything. The only thing i could do to stave off hunger is to drink. And it's not helping much.

Thu, 12 May 2005
Took a second blood test, as per doctor's request. She said there's been a dengue outbreak in My Place and quite a number of residents were down with it, so she asked me for a check up. Nothing unusual came up.
Platelet count: 108

Fri, 13 May 2005
Leong fell sick a day or two ago. Went to the doctor this morning and confirmed he got dengue. Took off back to JB the very same night. Looks like he's feeling far worse than me...but then mine already passed a few days. And he'll be missing the A2 final exams (resitting end of this year i think). Sigh..poor Leong..
Platelet count: 96

Sat, 14 May 2005
Me 2nd aunt came to send me to University Hospital for a check-up. Though it's government-funded, it was rather well-equiped and modern..unlike JB's government hospital =/. And the staff were really friendly and efficient too. Guess not all government hospitals are as bad as i thought. At night, my cousin brought me to a clinic in Kepong. She said she got the same sickness before, and she got well after seeing that Kepong doctor. Found out later that she's already 3 months pregnant! How come no one told me..And she even took the time and effort to send me to see the doctor. Couldn't be more grateful to her. And congrats on the new baby! =) Btw the fever and headache had gone away by now, but the rashes had spread all over my legs too =/. Time to wear long sleeves and long pants..
Platelet count: 68

Sun, 15 May 2005
Spent last night at my 2nd aunt's place coz this morning have to take another blood test again. They say have to monitor my platelet level to make sure it does not drop too low, and to check whether it has gone up (which indicates i'm getting well if it does). Evening went back to My Place coz have to study for the next day's Physics paper. Sigh...couldn't do any studying anyway coz i was too tired. Rested a lot instead.
Platelet count: 61

Mon, 16 May 2005
It's been a week now since i first showed the symptoms. Felt a lot better..wanted to skip the blood test today but my uncle suggested against it. So after a disappointing Physics paper (don't ask bout it) in the afternoon, my uncle and aunt brought me to UH again for that bloody blood test.
Platelet count: 98

Tue, 17 May 2005
Morning my uncle and aunt send me to UH again for blood test (when will it ever end..). By now the veins on both my hands were already pricked so many times they were bruised O.o. My platelet level shot up to almost normal, but the doctor said have to do another blood test 'just to make sure'. Sigh. Hmm..btw while there a lady was doing some survery on the 'economic impact of dengue on the burden of family'. Guess i was unfortunate enough to be caught by her, and ended up having to answer so many questions. But at least i'm feeling much better now..
Platelet count: 128

Thu, 19 May 2005
Took the last (hopefully) of my blood test this morning. Thank god...i was wondering how much of my blood do they want. Seems like they already drained a litre out of me =/. Anyway i'm back to normal now...well, as normal as i could possibly be =P, only the rashes haven't go away. Thanx to everyone who's concerned bout me, especially all my apartmentmates, classmates and most of all to my uncle and aunt who wasted so much of their time on me. Yeah, i survived dengue =). Never want to go thru that again...

-6.00pm, 19 May 2005-

Sigh...so damn tired..

Back in 121D last Sunday. And i've feel really tired since then. Maybe it's just my body refusing to get up at 7am everyday. That's juz too early. Sigh. So much happened too. Totally unlike the uneventful holidays. Hehe.

Got back all our trials papers last week. Could have done better than what i've done. Should have done better. Damn lot of careless mistakes. Makes me wonder if i really took the trials seriously. Doesn't matter now anyway. Gotta keep my head on A2. And it's only 2 weeks away from today. Began wondering whether i can finish studying again. Better not think of it. =/

i HATE interviews...
Just had an interview at IMU a few days ago. I think mine was supposed to be on Saturday, along with Yong Chen and Paul. Too bad when the IMU fellar called the other day i was busy sleeping (stop giving me that look haha). Ended up having to have it on Tuesday, and that day i have Chem test in the morning. Hmm..looking on the bright side, i had more time to prepare myself..

To say i did a great job impressing the interviewers would be stretching it REAL far. Then again, i'm impressed at myself just for surviving it =). Maybe no one realised before..but I developed a fear of interviews ever since i went for the ASEAN scholarship interview when i was 12. I was so nervous then i just blanked out after the first few questions. Only managed to look down, and i get the feeling they are staring at me..you know, that kind of feeling. Still remember those 5 interviewers trying to get me to say something...anything at all. But i just sat there, quiet. I wanted to open my mouth..but there's nothing to say. Before i could think of an answer, they throw another question my way. Sigh. And my parents put so much hope in me. Dad even took time off work to drive me to Singapore, and Mom's always right beside me till the time i stepped into the interview room...and out traumatised.

Since then i never want to go thru it again...but life's full of interviews, ain't it. I guess we gotta face our fears, there's no running away from them...oh yeah i don't have to tell you all i didn't get the scholarship right haha..

Well, at least this time i didn't just keep quiet...not that i have a choice if i wanted to =/. But still, i don't think i gave satisfactory anwers...at least answers long enough for them to think of another question to ask. They always seem to be waiting for more from me...but i can't think of anything else to say to save my life =/. Wondering if i could get into IMU... don't know what to do if i don't (altho half a year of holidays doesn't sound like a bad idea =P).

After the interview, Wy Keat called me out for a drink. He got into IMU half a year earlier...and he's been telling me bout life in IMU. If there's any in the first place =P. Good news is, there's only 2 hours of lecture a day. Bad news, the rest of the day is spent studying for the exams. Sounds fun. *roll eyes* haha..

PS - resorted to skipping the first few classes the past few days. Just to catch up on my sleep. Waking up at 7am just ain't working for me =P. Still feel tired after sleeping...maybe i should sleep longer haha. And btw i didn't do the questions we were supposed to discuss in class anyway..

PS PS - ok, i confess. I went to play DotA the last weekend. Two days in a row. Sigh. The guys juz seem so desperate...i swear they'll even get down on their knees if i hesitate for another second haha =P. And they should put a warning somewehre : 'CC is hazardous to health'. Really. Tiong fell sick a few days ago after spending 15 hours straight(!) in cc (two and a half hours of that was with us =/). He's back in Kuching right now...hope he recover soon.

-7.10pm, 5 May 2005-