i still love the scent of rain

from Chinese feng (wind) and shiu (water)

some people cry, others reminisce, so how do i handle an absence in the house?

i rearrange furniture, that’s how. which was what i did last night in spite of the fact that i have a 2000 word essay on limb organogenesis due tomorrow. i should slap myself. f—.

i like our place now, i must say. i mean, i’ve always liked it… but it’s looking really great. and different. and spacious. and bright. the living/dining area looks almost totally transformed with a new mix of furniture. Mel’s old room is now a sorta study/library/computer place albeit with Mel/Hanna’s old bed still there. and the room that i’ve always shared with Hiks now has the tall shelf, that used to be in the living room, with Mel’s TV at the very top. our room sorta looks like a cross between a posh hospital and a rundown hotel now. if that makes sense.

now my thought goes to… how i’m gonna face having another person in the house. i know it sounds weird and brat-ish.. but i’m actually scared. yes, i’m a braticus, fine!

i’m definitely happy with Hiks. and the living arrangement we had when it was just me, her and Mel in the house was… well, it was the happiest i cld ever be. [the only one that can top that is if Ridwan and i are still studying but married and living in an apartment at Southbank or Toorak or sumthin... but that's another story for another day lah uh...] we’ll see how it goes in the months to come…

bah… get back to work elia!!!! write! write! read ur darn articles!

blogging is such a compulsive waste of time!

pictures from earlier this year, at Docklands….

still hasnt really sunk in yet, the fact that Melisa Ali has left! elia sedih tau…………….

you know how certain events in your life just puts everything else that’s happening on hold. that was what it was like on Friday for me… assignments, lectures, labs, Intervarsity Quiz briefing just thrown out of the window. all that was in my mind, and all i was arranging my time around was Mel’s departure. considering the briefing was at 4:30 and we left the airport at 4…

haha. and then she missed her flight and had to come back home and fly this afternoon instead. badut, kau, Melisa! hehe.. no lah… was gd to have her rnd for one more nite. although Hiks and i were damn tired [i dun think Naj was tired, just hungry =P] after the quiz [which went well, alhamdulillah]

sorry eh, Mel, pagi ni aku tak bangun awal buatkan lasagna utk kau… penat giler ah… nanti aku gi shah alam ke… kau dtg SG ke… aku buatkan, insya Allaah.

i might have used that word one too many times on Thursday.

but when you’re standing in the first row and you get to hold Duta’s hand more than once and see Sakti and Adam and Eros smiling when you scream out their name… *swwwwwoooooooonnnn* [heh. tapi kesian drummer, aku tak ingat pun nama dia.]

all the groupies out there, i feel you, babes…

i’ve got Sakti’s pick! yay! i lost Eros’ pick from their gig in Singapore when i lost my wallet in The Tragedy at Melbourne Airport last year. i was so sad… but now, got consolation lah. though my fave is STILL! EROS! he’s shhhooo cuuuutee… like a little monkey… and when he took of his shirt and was walking arnd with his jeans and suspenders…. aarrgh.. so adorable….

and i lurrrrrrrrvve Duta’s voice, dammit.

thank you Melisa for this prodigal early birthday treat… i’ll remember it for the rest of my life, babe! Sheila on 7 ’s performance was impeccable, the crowd was awesome… damn, even the venue was charming…

i entered and i was like man! feeling OC or what? the layout is exactly the same as Alex’s club–stage, floor, bar, gallery… the lighting, railings segala soooo sama lah….

oh, and opening band, Playground, was not bad… they genuinely look like a bunch of friends who really truly enjoy doing what they do together.

[zack, mel, farid, elia, mun]

[after concert shot with mel]

[just the girls]

it’ll definitely take at least a couple of weeks before i get over such a good night out. *smile*

met up with Tiara and Ridwan for dinner/ supper after. my gawd… the MUDCAKE at Cafe Greco is so good! it’s warm and it comes with warm choc sauce and warm fresh cream and cold vanilla ice cream and a slice of orange… delish… Ridwan honey, if we’re ever quarreling or anything bring me here and get me one…

and then we missed the last train so Mel and i had to sit in Haizul’s boot all the way to Clayton. hehe.. badut. but at least it was a station wagon, so we cld breathe…… (?)

ok, one last shot for no good reason:

looking at my organiser, i realise that from this week onwards… till the end of sem… i’m just gonna be so bogged down with work. eww. i’ve got an average of three things due per week, now onwards. i might as well jump in front of a bus, it’ll be less painful. k. kidding.

at the moment i am so sleep-deprived and exhausted i cannot bring myself to eat and i feel absolutely sick… and my speech is incoherent. but before you think i’m about to wallow in self-pity, i’ll just say, it’s ok, i’m fine.

i went for a walk this morning at 6 which was GREAT coz it must have been sub-15 degrees… feeling it sting my face was *f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c*. the only other time i remember being cold this year was one night when i walked back pretty late from uni. ONE NIGHT. it’s supposed to be autumn by now laaaah…. sigh. so, anyway, i walked to 7-eleven. and i bought "V", which comes in black, sugarfree and regular. i’ve never seen the black one before so i got a can each of regular and black. i’m a sucker for these things what… i’m the kind who, if something i want comes in a couple of colours or flavours, i’d most probably take one of each. stupid ah? such an easy target for their cheap marketing strategies.

yes. so that was my morning. now it’s almost midnight. i’ve still got lots of work. so… that’ll mean that the sleep debt’s juz gonna snowball… hmmnnn…

in happier news, i’m going to the Sheila on 7 concert tomorrow! [nampak sah priorities masih belum set.] yay! hehe. and then, the next day, Friday, i’m MC-ing the Intervarsity Islamic Quiz. the irony eh?

oh. but Friday is also the day Mel’s flying off. dddaayymmmnnn.

my partner
my best friend

my one true thing

and i’m STILL crushing on you

i’ve handed in one out of three assignments which i had due at 10 am just now. i’ve never *ucked up this bad before in my history of uni life.

heh. the strange thing is, i’m pretty calm about it. i’ll hand them in by this evening or tomorrow morn though. hmmn… that’ll cost 10% worth of marks each… so that’s 1.5 off my GEN3051 total and 1.3 off my GEN3031’s. i hope my final marks wont be some borderline thing… where i’d need that one more mark to scrape through to a HD… yikes…. ok. repercussion: now i seriously gotta start working my ass off.

but… the farewell bbq we organized for Melisa on Sunday went so well, it feels like it’s worth it *smile*

the pictures are all so happy! we look like a bunch of little kids… i’m really not up to it to upload all the pics up on the web but Mun has some really nice ones on her Friendster blog/album.

alright. enough now. i should get back to work.

i’ve been wondering why the uncle at the flea market on campus hasnt been selling daffodils and tulips for the longest time and Melisa pointed out to me that that’s coz it’s not Spring! d’oh. why didnt i think of that? it juz never occured to me.

autumn is sloooowwwwly coming. we were walking back to South Yarra Station after supper at Soda Rock–the authentic 40’s style, out-of-Archie-Comics diner at Chapel Street–last nite and i noticed the leaves have begun their senescence!

still, i miss having daffodils in the house. they’re such pretty, happy flowers.

i like daffodils. i like daffodils and tulips and horses.

ok, i shd get back to work. on tuesday i have my

• Report on Arabidopsis
• Report on Cystic Fibrosis
• Report on Auxins

all due. the auxin one’s not too bad… but the first two, having to be full-length scientific articles… and so why am i blogging?!!! and i’m meeting Ridwan later at Sokolata. and we’ve got a barbeque tomorrow… eeeeeeee….. ok. better get back to work.

i’m *officially* pronouncing my colourless, odourless but absolutely wonderful Neutrogena SPF15 Lip Moisturiser lost. problem is, it’s really easy to find in Singapore but here, it’s really really really rare coz they’ve made way for more local products on the shelf. like the Blistex SPF30+ Ultra Lip Balm i’m using. it tastes of cinnamon and saccharine to me… and not nearly as good in preventing the chapping. yeck.

i’m genuinely sad.

you know how sometimes you misplaced something and you just tell yourself that it’s ok coz it’ll appear somewhere soon enough and it does? well, it’s been a week with my Neutrogena. this morning before leaving for uni i turned all my bags inside out looking for it. but nothing.

on the other hand, like a consolation, i found my Faber Castel Fine Pen pencap.

thanks for reading. i know this isnt exactly life-changing or earth shattering. but i am sad.

~full-on racist bitchin ahead (albeit followed by nice stuff)~

aaaaaaaaaaaarrrgghhh!!!! i can’t take it anymore! i just want to throw my keyboard at these people!

i’m at the library now, enthusiastically searching for research articles to reference in my Genetics report on Cystic Fibrosis but the people around me are driving me out of my mind! next to me, is a a chinese guy [as in from China] who’s doing some engineering questions online or something. but you know what he’s doing? do you FREAKING KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING???? he’s verbalizing every single thought process that’s going on in his little mind! BLOODY LOUDLY TOO. VULGARITIES INCLUDED. AND HE’S RIGHT NEXT TO ME! it’s the freaking library for goodness’ sake! not your house, damn clown.

but i can’t really blame him for his misgivings can i? when the librarian is having a nice chat with the guy in front of me. this librarian takes care of the Asian Studies section and he’s from China too. the guy he’s talking to is chinese and they’re having their jolly conversation in chinese. ok, the language is not an issue at all… but the fact that they are talking so loudly certainly is! dammit.

honestly, i’m not one for overgeneralizations and stereotypings. i’m more than certain that amongst the 1,475,054,245 people from China AT LEAST 748,621,896 would be really nice. but! if my life is constantly punctuated by these incidents, do excuse my occasional relapse.

in first year, when i was studying for my exam in the library, a girl [from China, what else?] sat next to me, took out her textbook and began reading it out loud. that, my friend, isn’t even the bad part yet! she was trying to memorise the textbook so, in other words, i was forced to listen to her repeat it paragraph by paragraph. can you believe it? the situation was just… ?#!@$%$@. i think i actually tried enduring it for about an hour coz it was a good spot in the library [till she came along].

last year, ALSO at the library, [it's amazing how they pick libraries to do these things... but then again, i've seen them at their most peculiar behaviour in supermarkets and trains. these PRC folks are so... weird to me.] i saw a couple take the cushions of the armchairs and making themselves comfortable on the floor! i was like.. what the? hello? people? you don’t even do this at Starbucks where you are paying customer!

since we’re on the topic, henry told me bt his PRC roommate when he was staying at the halls. to begin with, he had to put up with incorrigible filth. their beds were separated by an aisle [for lack of a better word] and i remember when henry was telling me and jason bt it…

[henry] he used to like to put a pot in between our beds.

[me] for what? superstition?

[jason] his spitoon is it?

[me] or does he pee in it in the middle of the night?

[henry] *fully agitated* NO! he cooks soup! every night!

ahahahahahahahahahahahahah! all three of us totally cracked up man… i know boiling soup on an electric cooking base is still better than a spitoon of phlegm but still! and apparently he let’s it boil overnight and it always spurts out. and he never cleans the floor ever….

heh. ok. i’m done ranting. and i’ve changed computers. i’m at a dif section now.

i went to the toilet at the Campus Centre just now. at the back of the cubicle door, amongst the graffiti [that i do like sometimes coz they're more political than mere senseless] was an ADVERTISEMENT! someone had pasted on the ad for auditions for this year’s production of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

and the first line of the poster read: Are you a singer/ actor/ dancer/ Jesus?
ahahahahahahahaha! ok, the blasphemy. it’s funny but.

and then i dropped by the campus bookshop [not the co-op one] and found The Velveteen Rabbit! finally got to read it. here’s me declaring that it’s up there in my list of fav children’s books. others i’d recommend [no matter what age you are] would be:

• Guess How Much I Love You [all-time favourite]
• The Way I Love You
• I Forgot to Say I Love You
• The Giving Tree [and other books by Shel Silverstein]

i’ve always wanted lots of shelves of lots of books in my house… like how my parents have done up our house now. those titles [plus Roald Dahl's!] would definitely make it to my kid’s rooms!

how gorgeous is the m:robe? i’d love the MR-500i but i’d settle for the MR-100.

i love gadgets  =) i rmbr i used to watch the cnet central show religiously when i was in S’pore. the stuff they featured were really cool!

and the other show i’ve always loved are those interior design ones… like the Designer Guys! and Queer Eye! love design and architecture mags too!!! i’ve always told my mum that one of my dream job’s to be an interior designer… but she’d surely flip if i actually did it. as it is, my parents spent a good hour talking me out of applying for architecture when i was filling in the NUS forms. stereotype betul! juz coz i’m a girl.