In Chemistry class,

Mr. Ancelm: Where were you on Saturday?
Affy: Bandar.
[I wasn't prepared for the next question]
Mr. Ancelm: What for?
Affy: Function.
Mr. Ancelm: What kind of function?
Affy: Family.
[Mr. Ancelm mumbling]

My usually slow brain deserves a pat on the back, or maybe a good dose of oxygen.
Congratulations to Mr. Brain for the split second thinking — coming up with a suitable and acceptable excuse right on the spot.

Throughout my years of being late (or even worst, not attending) class, I have developed a valuable skill:

1. Simple, one-word answer is the way to go. You only answer the questions asked and don’t attempt to include any unnecessary (unasked) details. Well if you do that, you are playing with fire, my friend.
2. Try to include the word ‘family’ in the conversation. That prevents the teacher from asking further questions. Works 90% of the time. Eg: family emergency.
3. Be creative with your excuses. ‘Transportation problems’ is too common and it usually leads to much further questions.
4. You can always pull a sickie, but try to limit the fake “I was sick” to less than 5 times per semester. You never know when you are really sick and need a day off from school.

But keep in mind that skipping class is your loss, not the teachers. Unless you have awesome friends, like I do (haha!), who are willing to fill you in, in what you have missed previous class — notes included!

Another educational entry brought to you by Affy.
You might want to bookmark this entry for future references.

Back to my homework. Adios.

I ditched yesterday’s class (morning and afternoon) to attend the St. John’s Sports Day ‘07. I have all Sunday tomorrow to come up with an acceptable excuse for missing class — need to sleep on that first.

Congratulations to Green Hegemony for winning the championships. Captain Wawan and Captain Rara did a swell job in keeping the team spirits up. To Red Gorillas, Yellow Unicorns and Blue Sharks: good try. I was a Green member back in the day, so I came wearing a green shirt. Hehe.

Here’s Zaff, Captain of the Yellow Unicorns. Though they didn’t win, she deserves a mention on my blog for looking extra extra hot on that day. They lost, but they lost looking good.

Here’s Captain Rara (if she seems familiar, she appeared on world-of-pablo numerous times) with her spanking new short hair. Final coaching words from team Captain Rara to the Green Hegemony Junior netball team.

If you came here for the cheer leading competition video, I’m sorry to say I have decided not to upload it for the world wide web to see. Someone with sticky fingers toggle the video quality setting on my camera to the lowest setting possible; the video is grainy. IM me (those who have my hotmail account) if you want to see despite the appalling quality, but only if you ask nicely. HAHA.

(Click here for a wonderful slideshow of ’some’ of the photos taken)

Well well, look what we have here. This is a rare sight, better snap a photo of it before it disappears into thin air.

Lo and behold,

Taken during break, yesterday, near the Boy’s toilet (2nd floor)

It wasn’t there today, as expected.
The toilet still smells funny today, as expected.

I wonder if it’s for show only.
I wonder if the administration reads my blog.

Related Entry: (Proper toilets okay?)
Side notes: no cleaning ladies were spotted in close proximity to the premises

Enjoy the rest of your night people!

Stella said I should post.

I was absent on Monday. Mostly, because I was sick as a dog. Partly, because I wanted a one day extension, just so I feel extra superior (Haha!) when I get back to school the following day.

Just because of a simple one day extension, I didn’t get the school-starts-at-7.30AM memo. Luckily, I was late that day. More good news too: Lessons are now only an hour long and so is lunch break.

Which also means, classes start at 7.45AM and end at 12.05PM (it was 7.15AM - 12.30PM).

All this to ease the gridlock (you know something needs to be done (and pronto!) when you see agitated parents volunteering as temporary traffic police to ease the traffic jam)

It’s nice to see that the school administration is aware of the surroundings and taking action — instead of sulking behind their desks, in a well air-conditioned room, abusing the school’s internet like they do.

Next:

1. It is time to revamp the toilets.
2. Remove all the chalkboards and replace them with whiteboards. Some tutors are really stingy and old-fashioned, they don’t want to spend money on a $2 whiteboard marker pen, although, it’s apparent that they are suffering from dust-related illnesses (watery-eye and hacking cough).
3. I think all the air-conditioners on the top floor needs a gas re-fill.

Enjoy your long weekend!
Adios.

My keyboard is sticky.
I’m excited for this.

I am alive and well.

I am done with my 500 word essay on ’students should have more input into the school’s curriculum’.
While in the process of trying desperately to complete the essay, I almost cracked my skull.
Next time, I’m choosing the essay. You hear that, Dila? I’ll choose the essay.
Something easy like umm… ‘I love myself’.

On an unrelated note, I might be catching 300 tomorrow! MIGHT.
There is a change of plans. H is off to Miri tomorrow. Great. (sarcastic tone ofcourse)

The very much needed and long awaited March Break is here. I wouldn’t call it March holidays nor a week’s unwind, cause I have tons of homework and a Mathematics test - all due the very first day school resumes. It pretty much feels like any other school day to me, except I can sleep when I want, wake when I want.

And I am putting extra effort to sit and study for the next Mathematics test this time, instead of winging it like I usually do. I failed the previous tests miserably, which makes me at high risk of being booted out of Mathematics class. I am up for the 2 year challenge, really.

Okay, enough about school.

This trailer scared the shit out of me. If you know me well, which I am pretty sure most of you don’t, I like watching horror movies — the scarier the better! I think it must be the adrenaline rush I get when watching at-the-edge-of-your-seat movies. So, back to the trailer. I was channel surfing, in a dim room with a surround sound to it’s full potential (it’s Akademi Fantasia concert night*) then came on this Malaysia newest thriller movie trailer - “Jangan Pandang Belakang” (non-Malay speaking readers: “Don’t look back”).

I have been hearing rave reviews from bloggers about the movie, 300. It is also on my ‘Movies to look forward to this 2007‘ list. Am I the only one who hasn’t seen it yet?

*I didn’t watch Akademi Fantasia (a few seconds doesn’t count) and I don’t plan on watching it either. If you want to talk AF day-in-day-out, I suggest you to meet my parents. They are dieheart AF fans and it’s getting annoying. And Astro, if you’re reading this, can you remove channel @15 off our list of services during daytime?

St. John’s Boy’s toilet

There was once a day I never hesitated to go the toilet at school. There was once a day when the school toilet greeted us with the fresh scent of lavender. There was once a day when it was possible to take a shower in the school toilet. There was once a day the lock on the cubicles were in perfect condition. There was once a day the school toilet wasn’t a victim of vandalism. Oh, how I miss my St. John’s days.

The dilapidated toilets at SA reeks of shit/pee/smoke and I have photographic evidence. Sometimes, the stench tickles my nose. I think the odor can also choke someone to death. You could leave a decomposing body in one of the cubicles, and no one would notice. Bear in mind that, this is the cleanest Boys toilet (2nd floor) throughout the whole school.

SA Boy’s toilet (2nd floor)

How do you expect us to go from squeaky clean toilets to a toilet beyond repair? Don’t they know that vandalizing the toilets will only cause problems to themselves (and innocent others) and not the teachers?

Sure, the SA sinks look perfect in the photo. Well, they’re not. If you have a keen eye for detail, you might’ve noticed that there is no drainage pipes beneath the sinks (No, it’s not hidden nor tucked away in the photo - there isn’t any). Which means, all used water (includes spits, phlegm etc.) from sinks falls directly to the floor (or in my case, directly on my shoes). Which explains why the toilet is really really wet. Trying desperately to fix, students jam the sink with cigarette buds — bad idea. And don’t get me started with the cubicles — imagine busted locks and unflushable toilets.

Another problem is that, the school/administration locks all the toilets on the 1st floor during recess (peak toilet usage times). All the students flock and cram the 2nd floor Boy’s toilet to take a whiff (there is a higher risk of getting caught if they smoke in the ground floor toilets)

And did I mention that the boy’s toilets are located at the very very far end in the vast and dense jungle (yes, jungle) of SA?

I can’t wait to leave this dump (2 more years… Affy, 2 more years).

For an on-going forum discussion on SA toilets, click here (appalling shitty pictures included). Just to give you guys a taste on how hot the forums are: Exhibit A (as posted in the forums) NOT for the faint-hearted and squeamish: consider yourselves warned. And I did NOT take that picture. (more…)

I was at the brink of running out of Maths class, stomping my way to the office, get the slip signed and get my sorry ass out of Maths class; ending the torture once and for all. But I was in the midst of a test (yes, Mr. Lim gave us another test as one last endeavor to drive students away), trying desperately to figure out Question 8 and by doing so, I lost my sense of time. My dramatic attempt to leave Maths class never came as it was already the end of the day. It also happens to be the last day to get your subject combinations reshuffled. In other words, I’m stuck with Mr. Lim for two years!

A little part of me is glad that I didn’t commit as I have made a new friend, who is never happier to be assisting me in Maths class. Finally, help sent from the heavens above. Haha. She doesn’t bother explaining simple concepts repeatedly — she’ll live, I guess.

Tasks at hand from GP Class:

Utilising mindmap.

Word sudoku.

I love my GP group. Though we don’t know each other that well yet; put the four of us in a group and we’ll skip happily from one conversation topic to another. We connect. I’m definitely looking forward to my next GP class.

Okay, I need a shower. and I have a Biology test tomorrow.

I’m getting the hang of school (the enormous workload and the class shift)

Adios.

1. General Paper (Mr. Paul C.) - He is also my group tutor. In other words, I see him everyday for regristration. He is a funny chap from good England (judging from his accent). He is not strict at all, extremely polite and understanding. An all around well-mannered man. His mum definitely raised him well. I am glad to be in his class.
2. Mathematics (Mr. Lim KG) - He is the male version of Grey’s Anatomy’s Miranda Bailey (popularly known as ‘The Nazi’) with a pinch of humor. He hates your gut for being in his class (don’t bother sucking up). His goal is to decrease the number of students in his class as much as possible by bombarding them/us with terrifying mathematics equations and an insane workload. He is very strict, punctual, punctual and punctual. And did I mention that he gave the us test on the second day of class?
3. Chemistry (Mr. Augustine A.) - I know him before my Pre-U1 days. He lives just a stone’s throw away from where I’m at. I used to walk to attend his nightly Physics and Chemistry class (last year). He is a good man who demands respect. He speaks funny and I like it that way. Again, his goal is to reduce the number of students attending his class.
4. Biology (Mr. M. Fakhrur) - The malay guy who speaks with a slight hint of Australian accent. He is polite and understanding. He can be monotonous at times, but it’s Biology; we all need off days from that subject — so that’s forgiven. And no, he doesn’t scare students away, all are welcome!

My classes are dominated by females, with the exception of Mathematics (there is a balance for General Paper). For Biology, a class of 30+ students, only 5 of them are males. For Chemistry, again, a class of 30+ students, only 7 of them are males. And I thought Accounting class is full of girls.

I wore this for 3 days straight; making me the biggest nerd in the school along with others.

This is the only photo they released for general public viewing (complete with the ‘champion - zorro’). I didn’t take any photos.

Okay gotta jet. I have tons of homework, no thanks to Mr. Lim KG. Deadline: tomorrow morning! There are a lot of things to do, I might just weep alittle when I get everything done.

I received the key to my locker; there’s no need to ferry my books the weight of 5 solid bricks between classes. Yay. It still needs major dusting and cleaning though.

-Affyswamped

I never thought Pre-U life is this draining. I seriously don’t know how on earth I can survive the next 2 years with a schedule this hectic. By the time I get home, the only thing I want to do is sleep and laze around. To show you how exhausted I am after school: I have Heroes Ep17 sitting on my hard-drive since Tuesday.

To make matters worst, my tutors are drill sergeants with the exception of GP. They take punctuality very seriously (something which I definitely lack).

The most random thing happened today. I was hustling my way to class, carefully maneuvering between crowds of people and dragging my bag of books the weight of two healthy new-born babies. Whilst walking through the congested corridor, a girl started a conversation with me.

Girl: You’re Affy. I’m [insert name here].
Affy: Umm… *puzzled*
Girl: I live near you. Next time you see me, acknowledge me.

[then she walk hastly in the opposite direction]

Affy: *Still puzzled*
Affy: *continues to walk to class*

Let me get this straight: A random girl, which I’ve never seen before in my entire life, comes up to me, calls me by nickname, says she lives around the area, told me to acknowledge her every-time I see her and scoots off. Wow. She didn’t even smile (how can you approach someone new that way?) and the tone of her voice suggests that she is annoyed and somewhat pissed.

Too bad I didn’t get a good look at her to acknowledge her in the future. She just came and went almost right away for my brain to even process.

I’m so shutting the blinds and curtains from now on.

If you happen to be that girl I’m talking about, can you approach me at non-peak times? Let’s say, during lunch? We can introduce ourselves like civilized individuals over lunch. Make sure you leave your PMS-y attitude at your locker or by the staircase (if you don’t own a locker)

Affy-