Photos

Here are some waaaaay long overdue photos.

On the day before the mock trial. I was lethargic/stressed/excited, well, pretty much feeling everything at once.

During the short recess.

One of the defense's witnesses. This guy cracked everyone up with his twitches. (Gotta love team members who come up with the coolest ideas and who actually agree to carry them through!)

With Olivia and Wei Yiing, the prosecutor.

My defendant who was found not guilty!

Taking a breather while the jurors deliberated. (Someone went, "Hey, the opposing counsels shouldn't be talking to each other!" Our response, "Yeah, whatever!")

Supper with the girls after the mock trial. This was around 11 pm, I think. I was ready to crash on the bed right after filling up.

Next up: photos from Penang!

End of semester

HELLO!

I finally have some time to blog. I've been so busy in the past two weeks that I could barely find time to sit down and do what I really wanted to do without feeling the slightest bit of guilt, let alone set aside time to type out a proper blog post. But I have some time to spare tonight because, well, SCHOOL JUST ENDED! More precisely, today was the last day of classes in INTI for us. Last class of our last semester here. You know, when I first came here, a part of me really couldn't wait to leave this place for so many reasons, but right now, I actually feel kind of sad because I have to leave all the great people I came to know here. Anyway, let's leave the weepy things for later.

(This post will be a very long, wordy one - because I'm just like that! And also because I can't seem to upload any photos right now, so all you'll be seeing is words. Ah!)

So I've been preoccupied for the last couple of weeks with this thing that we call a mock trial. Our US History professor holds mock trials for all the classes he teaches. And despite what anyone might tell you, we actually enjoy these things a lot. Well, for the most part, anyway. I lost some sleep over this but I will say that it was all well worth it. I fell a little ill just two days before the trial (and freaked myself and my teammates out a bit), but I refused to let it stop me from doing as I'd planned.

Here's a brief introduction to those who are not familiar with this mock trial thing. What happens is that the class is split into groups (two or four, depending on the class size) assigned one or two cases respectively. The cases are nominated by students and chosen based on votes by students. So, in my class, we were divided into four teams because the class is pretty big. There are an average of 8 to 9 people per team.

One of our cases is about child abuse in a Puritan family (I suggested this and thought I'd end up in this case, but it didn't happen - and truth be told, I wasn't too crazy about this topic because my sociology mock trial was about child abuse too). The other case is about a Puritan priest who hung his wife because, according to him, she was a witch. (Puritans are the people who settled New England and broke away from the Catholic Church with the aim to "purify" the church - less ornate churches, less elaborate services.)

I ended up being randomly placed into the defense team in the priest trial. After a round of brainstorming, we picked out our characters (that made up our witness list) and started work. We met a couple of times every week, normally one day before classes, to discuss the case because we got developments in every class. Before long, everyone started getting into it and developing their own roles. It was quite fun seeing how everyone began thinking about their own parts and coming up with the brightest ideas out of the blue.

Anyway, after preparing for a month or so, we had the trial on Tuesday evening. I'd spent my weekend and Monday typing, editing, organizing, texting, calling, holding meetings, typing, editing, re-organizing. I camped in the academic block from 8 am to 11.30 pm on Monday. Yeah, in the same clothes for 16 hours. I was shocked too. The whole day was spent with minimal food and rest and near maximum freak out mode. Not too good a mix if you ask me, but it had to be done. By the time I'd reached my room, all I wanted to do was sleep. But I had to stay up til 3 am to finalize the evidences. The most tiring part was probably editing and organizing the evidences because we had to make sure that the evidences were fair in the sense that they followed the case developments closely and did not contradict anything else in our arguments (I think I should clarify at this point that we create the evidences - because this is fake, remember? :P)

Come Tuesday, I was a mix of emotions. I was excited, anxious, worried - anything but relaxed, in short. But the clock was ticking and whatever I was feeling had to be shoved to the back burner because suddenly my teammates were coming up to me and asking me random questions like, "Crystal, how old am I supposed to be again? 33? And my WIFE?!". And I assume you know how short my fuse can get when I'm stressed out (I consider myself pretty patient in my normal state, but when I'm highly strung, just don't try me). So there was a considerable amount of forehead slapping and hand flailing done before the trial.

I even managed to catch some sleep in the office (and people from the other case watched me through the glass door - really, is a sleeping figure that intriguing?) before the trial began. I'd planned to get myself dinner at the eatery on-campus but Wei Yiing said that it doesn't serve heavy meals at that hour. So I just had some sandwiches and decided that I couldn't stomach anymore food at that time. I fed on more water than solid food. :S

The trial went very well. There were some blunders along the way (like me cleverly blocking the jurors' view of the screen, laughing uncontrollably while questioning one of my witnesses, and forgetting to use one of our most important piece of evidence - really kicked myself for that last bit), but overall, I was very pleased with the way it turned out. All my teammates were sufficiently prepared (I bugged them about their questions for a week and made them answer questions off the top of their heads whenever I felt like it - I sound cruel now, don't I?). They could answer well even during the cross examinations and I was very happy about that. We'd anticipated and covered most of the things brought up in the cross examinations, but they handled even the unexpected questions very coolly. The best part is, they all got into their roles so well! :D

To cut a very long story short, there were a few objections and a few heated moments, but they just added on to the excitement. The only thing I'm still a bit apprehensive about right now is that since the mock trial ended, my friends have taken to humming the Jaws soundtrack whenever they see me. According to them, I looked scary whenever I approached the prosecution's witnesses. In all honesty, let me tell you that I did not frown or glare. All I did was walk toward them as I would toward anyone else. I guess my jurors and audience were just reading too much into my facial expression. Tsk. :P I guess I shall have to bear with this Jaws reference for just a few more days. (Because this isn't the worst part. That goes to them linking me to somebody whom they think I have a relationship with. Wow, it's like high school all over again!)

Anyway, I couldn't have asked for a better and more entertaining team. I had to spend more than usual on my phone credit. And my phone was constantly running low on battery. But it was okay. I had to forgo a few hours of mugging time to meet everybody to discuss their roles, but I managed to work around that. Most importantly, I got to know my classmates better and discover what awesome people they are. That was really the highlight of this experience. :)

Oh, wait. My defendant was found not guilty. You cannot imagine how I felt when the foreman announced that. Seth (my defendant) looked genuinely relieved and, boy, was I relieved. It redeemed all the time and effort we'd put in. At times, it felt like the case was never going to play into our side because he looked so bad what with his extramarital affair and questionable actions. I mean, he hung his wife! I was initially worried because I didn't think I could defend a priest who took it upon himself to kill his wife because he thought that she was a witch.

People congratulated me after the verdict was out. They said I did a good job - with the interrogation, especially. But I don't want or need the credit. I played my role to the best of my abilities as did everyone else. Every member of the team deserves credit. I think people tend to overlook the big picture and focus on the lawyer, but it is really the small things that can make all the difference (it doesn't really matter how awesome your lawyer is; if your witnesses suck, chances are the jurors won't be impressed and might get a bad idea of your team anyway).

Working on the mock trial was taxing, but it was well worth it. I knew it when I was sitting in the front row, listening to my witnesses during their cross examinations. I can't believe how seriously we took everything, but it was kind of heart-warming to see that. I do feel like a proud mama now! :)

I'd love to show you photos and videos (and major bloopers in a few videos!) of my team, but I can't upload anything here right now, so I think that will have to wait until I can get a connection that is stable enough to allow me to post photos. You may check them out on my Facebook profile. They're all there - from Wendy's and Olivia's cameras. Thank you, my dear photographers. :)

If anything, this mock trial showed me that I did have a very good time in this college (or university, whichever you prefer - by the way, I'm considered a university student because this program goes toward my degree) despite the times when I complained about small stuff. This trial wrapped up this semester just nicely.

And I am happy to say that my social circle has expanded a lot thanks to this place.

Can you tell how happy I am right now? I'm happy to the point of being sappy. :P

This was an awesome experience. :D

Being

So what have I been up to?

1. Mugging - My History mid-term is on Friday. The word mugging itself has just been fortified in my vocabulary, given the amount of grey matter contributing to this activity as the mid-term approaches.

2. Crafting and celebrating - We all contributed to making Sher Minn's birthday card. I enjoyed making the covers a lot. Here's the front cover:

Doesn't look like a 19-year-old's birthday card, I know, but the three animals just had to be there! As for the pastel colors... well, we had to make do with the color papers we had. :P

And this is my personal page:

We celebrated her birthday last night. The surprise plan was foiled, but we had a good time anyway! :D

3. Organizing and reorganizing - My list of priorities, that is. Suddenly all the work came rushing in like a dam just burst. And the deadlines are all looming one after another. It's sort of like taking a train ride into one of those spooky mansions. Alright, that might be an odd and inappropriate comparison, but do excuse me because I just reluctantly got up from a nap in the best weather possible to sleep in.

4. Planning - Our post-finals vacation! I'm excited about this. I have a new found respect for people in the PR field. Trying to keep even a few people completely happy is difficult, what more a big group of people. Let's just say that I can't wait to get all the logistics down to the last detail ticked off the list and just relax and have fun.

5. Reconnecting - The more time passes, the easier it is to lose touch with friends. Sometimes in the late of the night, before I go to sleep, I wonder how you're doing. All of you. And sometimes I kick myself for not making the effort to say hello and catch up. So now, I'm doing my best to do that. (And you, thank you for saying hello.)

Alrighty. I might as well get a bit more reading done before I head out for dinner. Hungryyyyyy. Okay, I probably should stop here.

Have a good week, everyone!

Parts and parcels

I haven't posted in a while because I was busy basking in the bliss that was the holidays.

Chinese New Year was so-so, nothing too spectacular nor drab. My flight going back was delayed due to some technical problems. The flight was initially retimed to depart an hour later than scheduled (and I only got to know this after I checked in and entered the departure hall with only a cup of coffee as my breakfast) so I had to find a seat, station myself there with my belongings while reading Digital Fortress. I was engrossed in the book so the wait didn't feel that long.

We boarded later than the rescheduled time. Once the plane was taking its normal starting up route, I was excited to reach home, especially since it was already the first day of the New Year. But the plane stalled twice while it was gaining momentum on the runway and it jerked really hard. The first time, I wasn't too worried. After I steadied myself, I just continued reading. But the second time was scary because it felt like the plane was close to taking off already, but it suddenly jerked to a halt. My immediate thought was GET US OFF THIS PLANE. I'm a frequent flyer, so I've learned not to overreact to jerks and a little turbulence, but that was freaky.

So we disembarked and went back into the terminal. Fast forward to the end, I ended up reaching home four hours later than scheduled. I was bummed that I missed the entire morning of the first day and that my first meal of the New Year was a pack of overpriced nasi briyani that cannot match up to a complete meal of New Year dishes. But I was very thankful that I got back safely. :)

I enjoyed my chill time at home because there wasn't much work to do. I loved my TV time a lot. And even though I'd gotten accustomed to not having a TV around 24/7 for two years now, I still really love it when I can morph into a couch potato for a whole day. It's very unhealthy to be so sedentary, I know, and I wince every time I see the walking meter on my phone and it reads a small figure like 100 and maybe 0.1 km. But, y'know, it's the holidays. And that's when the lazy bug infects most easily. :P

In the midst of all the merry-making around, I was very sad because our cat died. My little blue-eyed prince of almost 6 years old. It hurts so badly but you know, it's like that with pets. You love them and they love you, that's what makes it worth it. In the end, you experience a heartbreak, but when you think back to all the good memories, you'll realize that's what matters. I won't talk more about this because it saddens me. We have good memories and that's what we keep.

RIP Bobby, we love you always. :)

Now that school has resumed as per normal, we're picking up where we left off. It's back to readings, equations, and speeches. To kick off the week, I had a mid-term in an 8 am class on Monday. Last night, we had a barbecue which was a lot of fun. Right after class, I found myself in Giant, pushing a cart full of ingredients and charcoal. I was worn out when I came back to my room at midnight, but I ended up staying up til 3.30 am, which explains my sorta-dazed state now, even though it is already noon time. :P

I'll be off to lunch soon. Have a good week, everyone. :)

Ne-Yo in KL

The Ne-Yo concert last night was amazing. It was my first real concert and I must say that it was worth attending. Ji Ding and I had been wanting to go to a concert together, but somehow our plans failed to materialize, until the end of last year when she asked if I want edto see Ne-Yo live. Of course I jumped at the opportunity.

We stood in line at around 6 pm. We were only allowed to enter the concert venue at 8 pm. The 2 hours of standing in line was quite tiring. Not only were we sandwiched amongst sweaty bodies, we also had to endure cigarette smoke swirling around and also someone complaining loudly for a long time behind us. Oh, well. We entertained ourselves by people watching, talking, and taking a few photos. We instantly regretted not borrowing someone's camera when we realized that we could've brought one in. :( Ahh, what to do.

Anyway, the opening act started at about half past 8. The crowd was trickling in and getting hyped up. After five songs (if I remember correctly), the crowd was hyped up and ready to see the man himself. The hosts came out and entertained the audience for a while, getting everyone to chant Ne-Yo's name. Once the crowd was sufficiently geared up for what we had all gone to see, Ne-Yo walked onto the stage, causing a mad wave of screaming to ensue. It was then that I realized why it feels so great to be at a concert to watch an artiste that you really like perform. I was positively euphoric throughout the first song, Because of You.


Everyone was sweating buckets but no one seemed to care once the show got rolling. I do not remember the set listing, but I do know for a fact that his performance was really entertaining. He not only sang, but also got the crowd ooh-ing and aah-ing at the littlest things. In between songs, he interacted with the crowd and got everybody hanging on for more. The crowd was mad.

The concert ended around 11.15 pm after he performed Closer, which I think is a brilliantly fitting end to the night, what with the choreography and excitement level at the time. We left Sunway Lagoon, we were like ecstatic little girls who had been given a free lifetime supply of Barbie dolls. Walking out of the Purple Zone and turning back to look at the stage, all I could think was WOW.

I loved every single bit of the concert. And I am glad that we went to the concert, even if it meant sweating like I'd run 6 laps, worrying if waterproof make up really does its job well (it did - whoever invented waterproof make up, thank you so much), sleeping at 3.20 am (after supper and a period of a big adrenaline rush) and waking up at 6.00 am today to come back here. I walked into the hostel area feeling dog tired but still excited. And thank goodness for caffeine that gave me just the right boost that I needed to keep me going until 12 pm. Much to my own surprise, I only caved in and paid off my sleep debt at almost 3.00 pm.

Here's a big, big thank you to Ji Ding for the hospitality and awesome company. Also, not forgetting our patient driver, Kingston, who waited and waited as the crowd went by without signs of us anywhere. (Kings, we told you to go there later ma. Hmmmh.) As a treat, I let him listen to a minute or two of the concert through the phone. (I still think he should have just bought the ticket and came with us.. Hah!) And thank you to Jonathan for his softer hair which I loved and his same ol' sarcastic remarks (and should I say inability to pick up hints?). You all made my night!

It was one of the best nights I've ever had. :)

Treasure trove

Look what I found in my old photo albums!

Debbie and I at Julita's birthday party.

Fateen and I during Raya '06, I think.

When digital cameras were all the rage. (By the way, that's our 3A1 shirt.)

BB/GB carolling at our home. :)

Christmas carollers from BB and GB. :D

BB/GB Annual Gathering '06 - Hawaiian Night - uhhh, yeah. :P (I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT SKIRT IS ANYMORE, DON'T GIMME THAT LOOK!)

BB/GB Annual Gathering '06 organizers.

Nett and I. :)

At the Friendship Park when it was new. (Oh, the days of zits... ARGH!)

Chia Hsin and I when we were so young and innocent at 14. (I don't think either of us can imagine looking like that again!)

Keeping up our Lantern Festival tradition at Chia Hsin's home. :D (I forgot when this was taken.)

Ah, the good ol' days when digital cameras were so new and amazing! Now that we all have cell phones with built-in cameras that can contend with real cameras and dSLRs (no, I don't know what it stands for) that can make amateurs take photos almost like professionals, gone are the days when digital cameras are all the hype.

I love these photos, even if they do make me cringe sometimes, and go 'the hair! the zits! the eyebrows! the atrocity!'. (Well, I've already discovered hair care techniques, facial products that work, shavers and tweezers for eyebrows - and yes, they hurt, but whatevaaah - so thank goodness for all that!)

If you're wondering what possessed me to go dig up all my old fugly photos (okay, so I'm not completely over the eyebrows... can you blame me?), well... I just felt like it. :)

Why you shouldn't window shop in a high-end area

I was at KLCC for another orchestra concert today. It is 'The Big Country' today. We were treated to a stellar performance of country tunes played by musicians in country-inspired outfits. :D

The highlights of my day include a very entertaining concert, a very good dinner at Sakae Sushi (I am not completely averse to Jap food now!), a good bout of walking, staring sadly at a BEAUTIFUL black Ferragamo handbag on display, ogling a pair of va-va-voom red Jimmy Choo, and finding Nicholas Sparks' latest book... and not buying it. It is hot on the racks! It's still selling at RM69.90. After blowing almost RM30 on dinner, I figured I'd better wait for the RM30+ version of the book to be released.

:(

Ferragamo. WHY DO YOU TAUNT ME SO?

:(

No more high-end places for a while.

And Nicholas Sparks' new book. I WANT YOU SO.

:(

Patience, Crystal...

Chillin'

Today saw me jumping out of bed at 9.45 am and bolting to the bathroom. Being the champion that I am, I woke up late for my 10 am class because I cleverly turned off all the alarms that I'd set at 8.30 am, thinking that I'd sleep for just another 15 minutes. Apparently, I still have not learned that when my roommate is not in, I tend to wake up later than I intend to if I turn off all the alarms. I delude myself sometimes, I do.

Today was a very busy day. I totally skipped breakfast, silently willing my stomach not to growl during music class. At noon, I was feeling anything but enthusiastic. Thank goodness for small miracle foods like oat biscuits! (All the way from Kuching!) And for friends who are willing to walk all the way across the academic blocks and give you the last butter croissant in the bakery even though they are the ones who really wanted it first. Talk about chivalry, we definitely need more of that. (In case you're wondering, no, I don't think we'll ever achieve gender equality. Because, let's face it, we all want 'equality', but if we really do have it, will we be so much happier all the time? This is a topic I'll save for another time because I got into an unresolved debate relating to this with someone of the opposite sex.)

Productivity level isn't too low today, though. I managed to squeeze in some time to practice on the piano. That second last page still gets to me a bit, but I'm working on it. After practicing and butting into Wendy's singing practice, we headed back to the hostel grounds to check out the food bazaar. There were a few international food stalls alongside the LEO stalls. I had roti john daging and popiah for dinner. So sinful, but so delightful! :D After that, we got dragged into a short pocho pocho dance which is a bit more elaborate than the one I know. I ended up being very confused and I felt like I have two left feet. :P

Right now, I'm chilling to John Mayer's sexy voice. Aaaah.

Beau Bristow Live

On June 4, Thursday, Beau Bristow performed in INTI. The event was organized by the college's CF. The night before the concert, I checked out his website to listen to his songs. (Obviously, you won't want to go to a concert without knowing any of the songs performed, right?) I instantly fell in love with a few of his songs. The best one for me the first time I listened, though, is Stand.

Before the concert, we saw Beau in the dining hall. And then while Olivia and Wendy were eating and I was busy talking, Olivia said she saw him coming out... from the INTIMart. HAHAHA! No, I don't know what he bought in our little convenience store from where I get my phone reloads and emergency cough syrup. :P

Anyhoo, the CF band opened with three songs that got the crowd into the mood for more music. It was a good opening, I think, especially with the uptempo tunes. :) After that, the emcees gave a short introduction of Beau himself (his real name is Donald and he is 28 - AND SINGLE! - as the male emcee very enthusiastically pointed out to the crowd). A few free CDs were given out to the lucky draw winners too. (Why didn't he pick my number, 104?! *sniff*)

The first song that he played and sang is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. He mentioned that he likes to open his gigs with a song that the audience is familiar with, and then continue with his own songs. His rendition of Chasing Cars impressed me a lot. I really enjoyed the song not only because it is a song that brings back a lot of good memories for me (ah, the night something shifted in me...), but also because of Beau's own touch to the song.

He's awesome on the guitar - that's enough to melt my heart. But what's even better is that he used a guitar pedalboard all throughout his performance. When he first used the guitar pedalboard towards the end of Chasing Cars, I was befuddled as to where the background music came from even when he wasn't strumming the guitar anymore. Afterwards, he explained that the pedalboard functions to record what he chooses to record and then play back. Aaaah. Cool, isn't it?

Most of his songs are reminiscent of a cross between Jason Mraz and Rascal Flatts. Before he played the second song, Look At the Stars, he explained that it is a song that tells about having a good night after a bad day. That made me smile because it was exactly how I felt at that moment (for a while, it was easy to ignore my problems because sometimes we just have to let go and remember to live, don't we?). Sign Me Up, he said, is a song that he wrote for a girl whom he was into. How sweet is that? :) Tell Me Something's Wrong is inspired by his grandfather who suffered from cancer.

Don't Get Too Close to Me is about distancing yourself from others because you don't want them to see what's really inside of you. When It's Gonna Change takes a larger perspective on life; it is about how broken the world is. I Can Walk Through the Rain is an inspiring song that talks about finding hope in times of adversity. I don't know why I can't remember what Fighting Wars is about (sigh), but it's a nice, slow song with reflective lyrics. He ended the night with an uplifting song from his latest album, Standing. Still., I'm Gonna Love.

After that, there was a small meet and greet session. We purchased his CD for RM25 and lined up (okay, more like sandwiched ourselves among many other people) to meet him. It took a while to actually get in front of the line and when I was already there, many people kept on popping up to have photos taken with him. (Okay la, sometimes good things take time, don't they? Hmph.) He signed our CDs and talked to us briefly. He seems very down-to-earth and friendly. It was nice being able to shake his hand and tell him what a great show it was because I really enjoyed his performance. It's been way too long since I felt that way. :)

By the end of the night, I couldn't have been more glad to have decided to attend the concert. Earlier in the day, when I asked around, no one was free to attend the concert with me. Wendy was the only one who wanted and would go with me but had to leave early. But Olivia gave in to my persuasion and said fineeeeeee, she'll go. Hehhh. Good thing she ended up being happy she went. Phew. :P

Click here for more on Beau Bristow. (Stream the songs and enjoy!)

:)

PS: I shall be writing a more formal review of the concert for the next issue of the Orion (college newsletter). Copies are available at SAO and INTIMA office.

Sneak peek

Beau performing I Can Walk Through the Rain.

I'm Gonna Love

I shall blog about this wonderful gig soon. Patience! :)