today i fell asleep during the neverending CNS tumor lecture, but was awoken suddenly by something which made me semi-jump into the air like i was having a convulsion. i was totally disoriented and mortified that i had just manifested some severe nervous disorder, and also, that i had just created a completely unglam scene for myself. then, i turned to my left and saw mark COLLAPSING WITH LAUGHTER. and when i demanded to know if he had just poked me out of my sleep, he couldn't even answer me because he was breathless from all the laughing. and when i asked him later what motivated him to poke me, he said he just thought to himself that 'it'd be so fun'. yes, how do i love thee? let me count the ways...

apart from that, we actually had an (unexpectedly) nice day. we gave iris a surprise birthday celebration at novena square, which involved looking for her present. i chose this brown bag which mark was totally skeptical about, but it turned out that she actually really liked it. i love shopping for people's presents! it's like the funnest thing in the world! i should be a personal shopper, like rachel from Friends. totally my dream job!!!

other than iris' bag, i also instigated mark into buying 2 shirts in under 20 minutes. this has got to be some kind of record or something. so anyway i was overall quite happy today, apart form the times when i remembered the poking fiasco in the LT. oh, and another thing. after lunch today i said out loud that 'i think i deserved a coke' (which reminds me- i think my coke addiction is really getting out of hand). whereupon mark said 'No, you -don't- deserve a coke because you haven't been starving yourself all day', and proceeded to list all the food which i had been compulsively eating throughout the day like pocky, lots of mentos, ice cream, ham sandwiches, breakfast etc etc. so i think i'm going through my binge phase again, which is bad cos it usually means that i'm feeling some kind of extreme stress and yet am in denial. or, it could mean that i'm having a growth spurt. but i don't think i've had one of those since like sec 1. shits man :P

HAHA omg! just found this youtube of Bill Clintin during a memorial service for Martin Luther King! it's hilarious! check out how he tries to pry his eyelids open with his fingers! haha, he should totally be a med student!

so! i've been on a little hiatus as of late, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the many important events that have been unfolding in my life. since i am currently in between failing microB and failing patho, i have a little bit of time for a rapid update:

christmas was great for many reasons. for starters, there were the PRESENTS. which i always look forward to because my family spends weeks hinting what we want to each other, sometimes in subtle, but mostly not-so-subtle ways. for example, if i really like this bag, i'll like point it out to my mom and say, 'why don't you get this for me for christmas!' whereupon she says, 'ok, you go ahead and buy it and i'll reimburse you for it later'. and then a few weeks later, i open up a small little unassuming oddly-shaped package, and find to my utter surprise that my mom has just given me the EXACT SAME bag that i always wanted! it's like the best surprise ever! you see how it works now? that's why i totally love christmas- it's the spirit of giving y'all! and of course, there's also the other meaning of christmas. which is when we all sit down and be grateful for the many non-materialistic joys in our lives, like love and safety and stuff. yup. a belated merry christmas to all!

new year's was semi-ok. i was treated to a dinner buffet at the ritz on the 30th, where one of my many flowy and ever-expandable dresses shone in all its paunch-hiding glory. and then for new year's eve, my sis and i embarked on a new and dangerous mission. we decided to cook seafood risotto for our grand and intimate family dinner at home! unfortunately for us, the road less travelled turned out to be an ambitious path that consumed wasteful amounts of time, scallops, and white wine. the seafood part started off nicely sauteed but the addition of rice, turkey stock and wine threatened to rapidly transform the dish into a pot of mush. which could still have been averted if eaten promptly after preparation, but alas, the dad had to be stuck in a long and fateful traffic jam on the way home. it was a bit depressing at first, but my sis and i comforted ourselves with the thought that all great chefs have their off-days, and at least the seafood could still be eaten without a knife. for the time being though, i have a feeling that we won't be attempting any form of rice-and-gravy dishes. heh.

my new year's resolution is to BE HEALTHY! this includes exercise and junk food. for exercise, i have decided to do some form of crunches and sit-ups and leg lifts everyday. there will be no fixed number of reps or sets, except that i must keep doing until i start to hurt like hell. which is of course a perception that is subject to many external factors, such as laziness and sleepiness, which both tend to lower the threshold of pain. like there are some days i feel like i need to stop after a mere 5 crunches, but i guess the important thing is that i must at least do something everyday. this regime has in fact not come at a time too soon, as i have noticed that mark has recently taken to pinching my stomach fats as a term of endearment. but there shall be no more of that!

also, i have realised that the cornerstone of my junk food rehabilitation is the avoidance of all junk food purchases. in particular, i will not buy any more glico, meiji and kit kat, because they not only make me fat, but they also give me pimples. i will however, allow myself coke and pepsi, but only at reasonable amounts per day (under 1 litre) and i must try to brush my teeth as soon as possible afterwards to avoid premature tooth decay. oh, and also, i am excused from this resolution on account of any sickness, injury, exams, and depression. because we all know that at those points in life there are more important things to focus on than being healthy. like not feeling sad and all.

which is why i still believe that sometimes, ice cream in bed really just is the only path to true happiness :D

happy 2008 everyone! here's to a great year ahead! :)