ƸӜƷ•¨¯`•My Recuerdos•¨¯`•ƸӜƷ

All hail Kar Ning who got me and my obscene amount of luggage (two huge luggage bags worth of clothes) safely back home. Originally I was supposed to take the train back; even bought the ticket..but last minute Kar Ning told me she was going back on Monday too so I refunded my ticket (half only..well,better than nothing right???) and packed all my stuff with me. A car equals to no need to travel light!!! Thank you Kar Ning!!

Anyway, there were 4 of us in the car. Kar Ning at the driver's seat, me along upfront, Siaw Wei and a very special passenger at the back. Everybody....meet I-forgot-what's-her-name dog:-
My first time traveling outstation with a doggie in the car. She was very good though. Didn't bark once. According to Siaw Wei, she thinks she's human and won't mix with other dogs.

So I have been back in Ipoh for 4 days already. Nothing much going on here except I have a fantastic sore throat *cough cough cough* and I officially hate pink!!! (inside joke...). Also managed to meet up with Sunway Ipoh friends..a huge crowd of them at once thanks to Sasi's 21st birthday in Black Canyon. Didn't snap any pictures (damn I'm so lazy these days!!!) Gahh...

Anyway, this is just a short post to assure all you dear readers that I'm still alive. Sorry for the lack of posts...I guess the sick feeling+exam stress+boredom = no mood to update blog. I actually have PLENTY to tell you all. Especially about my cousin SzeHaw whom I am SO FREAKING PROUD OF for being in the Top 5 for the Emerge KL Beauty Pageant!!!

Yea!!See..that's plenty to tell. Plus been frolicking around while in Subang before I came back. Let me give you all a short summary:-
1. Went surfing for the first time in Sunway Lagoon Wave Pool. Sponsored by Female Magazine and RipCurl. Thanks guys!!Pity I couldn't really stand up!! Still sun-burnt from that.
2. Gave myself blisters from walking around in worn out heels. Time to get new ones!!!
3. Got a RM30 cash voucher thanks to a nice cashier in Jaspal (*grins*) and got a new top!!
4. Explored Tropicana City Mall with Pui San and terrorised some waiters and waitresses there.

Haven't been very productive in Subang. T.T
Anyway, I have to off now to go wrangle with P2. IAS-es and IFRS-es are really KILLING ME!!!YEAN TING please lend me your brain for the exam!!!

Oh..not forgetting honey and lemon for my tortured throat...
Stay with me!!

I KNOW I KNOW!!!!!!
But my brain is like in rebellion mode...It is the same EVERY sitting. I will stare at my books and wish I can study all the contents through osmosis. Absorb 'em all brain!!!!!

Can someone please motivate me to study???!!!!!!!!!
Teach me how to love IAS-es, embrace investment appraisal, admire ethical decision-making. There's like this frantic mantra buzzing in my head now. Hedging-AAAModel-sharebasedpayments-CSOCI-32,39-CAPM-sustainabilityreporting-I-am-so-dead-and-I-don't-know-if-I-can-make-it!!! ARGHHHH!!!!!!

Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook has some numbing effect of my exam panic. It is converting some of my exam stress. I got my highest highscore ever a few days ago:-

And then the board was wiped clean for a new week's tourney. Blehh...
Okay..back to the grindstone Joyce!!!!

p/s: I seem to have lost my penchant for eating..Have hardly been eating more than once a day.Is it good or bad??

I just came back from 2 movies back to back.

Big applause to my Uncle Alex and Yee-Yee for managing to secure those tickets. I have to admit I was darn impressed when my Yee-Yee called me up and went, "Joyce!!Want to watch movie with us???We got This Is It and 2012!!" I thought 2012 was sold out for good for the rest of the week plus This Is It was no longer in cinemas??? (Sorry..a person who doesn't keep up with movies schedules is typing this post) Well, my uncle and aunty were very smart and bought tickets in Tropicana Mall GSC instead of the popular movie venues like MidValley GSC or Sunway Pyramid TGV.

Well, it was my first time in Tropicana City Mall and it had rather nice and interesting shops. There weren't many people there even though it's a weekend for some reason..maybe it's just the feng shui but I don't mind malls which are a little empty. Can't stand crowds. I think I'll go back there another time when I

Anyway about the movies:-

This Is It was showing the rehearsals from Michael Jackson's concert which was never performed due to his sudden passing. I didn't really know what to expect when I went into the cinema but I came out of the cinema feeling a deeper respect for The King of Pop. You want to see passion?? Then This Is It really gives us a glimpse of how passionate Michael Jackson was over his work. From the choreography down to the music beats, everything was given attention personally from him. Forget about all the mess on the child molestation, bankruptcy and weird stuff. This Is It has no dazzling costumes, no wild, screaming droves of MJ fanatics, deafening applause,no impressive props (which is customary of MJ concerts) but it shows dedicated dancers, musicians, vocalists, lighting crew, sound crew, technicians and whatnot all working and practicing hard as a family with a true star as the head; working alongside with them with genuine love and interest in everything and everybody there. Everything in there was REAL..because noone there was acting. So don't watch This Is It expecting a concert.

2012 surprised me. And I like surprises (good ones...so don't go planning mischief for me okayyyy) There was a lot of hype about this movie before it's release and I wasn't very keen on it. I don't know about you, but I don't really appreciate movies that tell me that there's a good chance I will die in 3 years time. Trust me when I say woe and disaster scenes aren't my thing. I enjoyed 2012 more than I thought I would. It was certainly exciting and there were some funny moments in the show. My favourite character in the movie was the Russian guy, Yuri. There was a moment in the movie where the audience actually clapped for him. Haha!! 2012 is one of those movies you have to watch on the big screen to really appreciate it. The scenes of the Earth cracking, buildings tumbling down like tower blocks and disaster effects won't look as impressive if you watch it on your laptop screen. ;)

Wow..I actually typed out two mini movie reviews.
Anyway, before I end this post..let me share with you what Benjamin proudly displayed to me today. His new loot from Toys"R"Us :-

I was going through my blog archives. Yea..I do that whenever I feel rather out of sorts with myself (which is what I am feeling at the moment) and I realise that I hardly ever write about my feelings into my posts anymore. No, I don't mean here-I-bare-my-soul-read-every-detail-of-my-life posts. I mean my musings.

I just came back from cell group and we were discussing about breakthroughs. My cell leader Nat was talking about how important it was to have God in everything with do to achieve our full potential and more. We need His help. But the most important part is whether we LET Him help us. If we limit ourselves then it will be very hard and even impossible for God to help us. I guess it is like me trying to help somebody who doesn't want my help. Those words kind of hit home with me because I do limit myself. In more ways than anyone would probably think I do. And one of it is limiting myself towards people.

I really don't have any idea what people perceive me as because someone would go, "OMG..don't mess with Joyce she'll break you!!!" but if another person hears that they'll frown and go,"No..why do you say that??She's not like that." Over the years I have come to realise that it is because I can be quite reserved with people. Yea, I'd joke, I'd participate..but I am rather afraid to trust...to confide. I can be blunt towards people I don't like. But it is the people I'm close with that I am afraid I don't confide my feelings in. (It's certainly nothing wrong with you, my dears, who're reading this, but it's all just me) I can share happy feelings and funny stuff but when I feel sad...I can mostly hit rock bottom without telling anyone. I'd probably go, "Oh..I'm so sad." But 9 out of 10..I won't tell exactly why. I read somewhere that 'we are afraid to share sadness because we are afraid to show a vulnerable side to others.' Well, that's totally me. I hate feeling sad. Sadness leads me to feel weakness. I hate that.

"You're so strong, Joyce.You sure can wann..."
Well...what if I cannot???I am not so strong until EVERYTHING also can

Perhaps some would ask me to grow up, that I am doing the right thing. When I put up an armour then nobody can hurt me. Well, what if I am the one hurting me?? When I limit people from me to protect myself...aren't I also limiting away people who might want to protect me?? If I focus only on shielding myself..then I would be selfish. I guess it makes me a selfish coward??? I constantly look at myself and think..do I like me?? I am not perfect. But I don't want to turn into someone I'd hate. I have to allow God to help me. I have to trust Him to bring more people in my life that I would learn to share with.

There is a saying..

So ends my muse session for today...

That's about the two things that are keeping me going at the moment.

1. I need the caffeine
2. All I have to do is add hot water.

Have you ever experienced being so busy that boiling water is a chore???
I sound kind of exaggerating but seriously..for the past week, I have actually been keeping an eye on the clock every time I boil water using my roomie's electric kettle. It takes about 3 minutes for a full kettle. Okay...slap me.

Not that I have nothing better to do but I have been practically living in Lecture Theater 8, Sunway University College since Monday. And before that was Lecture Theater 7. Revision classes 8am till evening (subjected to when the lecturer decides to let us go). I really salute the lecturers..for a student like me, sitting down listening and writing and yet can feel so tired by around 3 or 4 p.m. The lecturers who talk and talk and only get the same breaks we have (about 5 or 10 minutes in between with about a 45minutes lunch break) yet they don't look as tired as us.

Yea...so since my breaks are short I grudge every extra minute it takes for the water to boil.

I know I am a bit off when I type these kind of posts in my blog.
Sorry dear readers..I guess you really won't understand unless you're taking ACCA. As usual for every sitting I'm seriously dreading Judgement Day!!!

Oh yea....to Monash and Aussie Uni students....
(referring to Sze Haw, Chrysie, Kar Ning, Angelica, Kat and the happy bunch)
I know you're either experiencing freedom or about to get freedom. Haha!!!
Go crazy okay????

:)

Back in Subang and the insane ACCA revision classes period have started. Classes from 8am til around 5 or 6 p.m. We students resort to all sorts of energy boosters to keep awake in class and the lecturers (salutes) talk for hours to prepare us for the ever-looming exams.

Wait...that's not the reason I'm smiling...

Sunway Pyramid is having their Simply Indulgence in Beauty period.
And everywhere in Pyramid there're booklets with coupons for self-pampering. And in the booklets there is one of voucher for a 3 weeks free trial in Celebrity Fitness for 2 people worth RM450. I have quickly redeemed the voucher with Pui San. So as of now...I am entitled to use the gym and participate in the classes in Celebrity Fitness until the 26th of November.

Seriously..I went with Yean Shan and her friend Phoebe just the other day and we felt so good after a gym session and then sweating it out in the sauna. The sauna is doing my skin so much good!!!Happiness and satisfaction...
So what are you waiting for??Go redeem your voucher now and smile with me.

Yea...that's roughly how far Subang is from Ipoh.

I'm going back to Subang later this afternoon.
It's really unbelievable how time can fly past so fast and I've spent more than a week in Ipoh.
And tonight I'll be sleeping in the single bed in my hostel room instead of my queen-sized at home. Arghhh....but I just have to accept that I can't have the best of both worlds.

Well, I had quite a good time in Ipoh.
Finally managed to meet up with Sunway Ipoh friends, albeit some were missing due to exam fever. Again...WHY didn't I take some normal course that has like months of holidays in between??? The beauty of ACCA..

Now I gotta go pack!!!
I'm a professional last minute packer!!

Back in 2006, when I sat for my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), we were allowed to take as many subjects as we liked (provided we paid of course) and we had only 9 gradings in the SPM, ranging from the coveted 1A right down to the dreaded 9G. Since then, there have been changes. Students are now limited to 10 subjects and I was told by my dad earlier this month that there would be changes in the SPM gradings. A new grade; A+, will be introduced. Click here for the source article.

Today's NTV7 evening news brought this topic afresh into my mind when the new grade was described as "a more refined way of identifying the truly good students" (this is not a quote mind you...more or less this was said). It got me feeling a little skeptical. I'm no education expert but common sense got me wondering...Do we actually NEED a higher grade in SPM??? I mean, isn't 9 enough already??I have been browsing through forums where there are mixed reactions to this new grade. Some are outraged; they don't want another grade to worry about, some approve; they agree it will be a truer reflection of their academic abilities, while the rest remain indifferent.

Over the years, as the results for the public exams (UPSR,PMR,SPM,STPM) are released there will be news of several students scoring strings of As and rising numbers of students scoring As and so on. Then there will be questions raised about whether the As actually mean the students will continue to be successful in future studies or the grades have merely been inflated. My parents often told me that in their time, back in the 1970's and earlier, scoring an A (notice AN A...not As) meant you were practically a genius. Now, score only one A in SPM, people will probably label you as a no good, lazy student who probably wasted your school years sleeping in class (not strictly true as some people just aren't the studying type but are talented in other ways). But do you get what I'm trying to say here??? You just can't deny that an A now is just not the same as an A 30 years ago.

Personally, I feel that the government's move of introducing this new grade is to pull back up the 'value' of As. However, they can actually achieve that without introducing another grade. All they have to do is impose stricter marking and grading system for the papers. For example, if initially you need 80 marks to score a 1A, make it 90 marks to score a 1A. Then there would be no need to introduce the new A+. But of course, if they did that, there might be a sharp drop in the students' achievement graph. And I guess that wouldn't be a very good motivation for the school-leaving students who are about to enter into a new stage of their education life. No one likes to receive a slip with bad results. Plus I think suicide rates might increase, seeing that there have been cases where students commit suicide over missing out on one A. Hmm...I could see a lot of problems ahead if they were to do what I suggested. So I guess that's why the introduction of A+???

For now, I am not against the introduction of the A+ grading. However, it remains to be seen whether it WILL actually be a way to give the truly high academic achievers their due recognition. I believe that if the government were to stick to their word and set a very high requirement for students to obtain A+, then this may just be the solution for the salvation of SPM gradings. So, I will be crossing my fingers as my brother (who is 17 this year) along with all the other Form 5 students sit for their SPM in 2 week's time.

Just do your best and your results will reflect your effort.Don't worry about the new grading.

Disclaimer:
I am not indicating that students who have achieved As in the past years are undeserving of them. On the contrary, I acknowledge their hard work and sacrifices to obtain those beautiful results slips. I merely support the more specific move to select the best of the best in the awarding of scholarships and training programmes.

I would be like to hear other opinions or responses to my post.
Please post them in my comments section which you will find at the bottom of this post.
Thank you.