Episode 18: Warm At Last...

Oh my. For the first time since I've been here, I can feel the radiator. I mean really feel it. On previous occasions, I've felt it radiating some warmth, but now it's actually generating enough heat such that if I touch it, I'll probably be burnt. Just drank half of my bottle of pear juice. It's yummy! Has real pear bits in it too. I did a bit of revision for LL208 after my EN121 seminar, which I went into clueless because I didn't end up reading Fitt 1 of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. It went sort of okay, although the seminar group seems really huge compared to those for my other modules. Then I met Natalie and some of the other Law freshers for lunch at Bar Fusion. Had salmon with soba noodles and wasabi sauce, which was not bad. Yannis told me that I hold my chopsticks like I'm holding a calligraphy pen, which was news to me. Anyway, I really need to get ahold of a couple of Modern English translations that I can compare my own translation work against, as well as just read to get an idea of what's going on in the first place. I've borrowed J.R.R. Tolkien's translation from the Library, but I would like to get my hands on the translations done by W.S. Merwin and Simon Armitage. I actually borrowed quite a few books from the Library today, although some of the stuff I wanted was on loan. I think I need to be more 'kiasu'...

Episode 17: Watching TV On My Laptop

Didn't get to do my Yeats presentation today after all. LL208 was fun, and everyone seems to be pretty much at my level of competence, which is reassuring! Thought processes too sluggish today to do anything substantial, so since I've finally managed to get a few episodes of my TV shows from my sister, I'm watching the latest episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It's a pretty boring episode, even if it does throw more light on Cameron's character. I finally met my personal tutor, and he's totally cool with my doing an additional language module, and he says the department would be happy for me to do it too, but it's just a matter of checking what the rules are concerning extra modules for credit. Reception was closed today though, so I'll have to go back tomorrow to check. Also have to figure out what exactly is going on with my NatWest account, whether or not I'm getting the Advantage Blue International option automatically or is it something I have to tell them to sign me up for again, despite being given to understand it was what I was applying for a couple of weeks ago. I think NatWest is the most inefficient bank on campus, given that when I went down today, the only place that had a snaking queue was NatWest, which means they're either extremely popular or extremely screwed up. Probably should have stuck with HSBC?

Episode 16: Fresher's Flu, Swordfighting In The Woods & Rosemary's Baby

I've developed a frightful case of fresher's flu! Hardly surprising, since I was sick to begin with when I arrived at Warwick. I am now consoling myself by snacking on Doritos. Once they're gone, I'm not going to buy junk food for a week! I know people tend to gain weight while studying overseas, but I was rather hoping to lose some. I was coughing so badly that David Morley took pity on me during this morning's seminar and got me a glass of water. The seminar was awesome, by the way. We got to wear funky hats and write insulting poetry. In rhyming couplets. Then we walked into the woods just outside Millburn House and recited it while swordfighting, accompanied by a small bonfire that died out much too quickly. I think the last time I had a lesson this cool was back in NYPS, when we went digging in the sandpit for dinosaur 'bones'. If only all my modules were as fun as EN124! Speaking of modules, I actually missed an EN122 seminar yesterday afternoon, which I only realised at the end of the day. My very mortified self e-mailed my seminar tutor, Adam Putz, to apologise. I can't believe I was such an idiot, and I actually did the reading for that seminar too!

I went for the Alternative Film Society's screening of Rosemary's Baby. Before I say anything about the film, I must say that I feel somewhat foolish for paying to join the society when all its screenings are free. I console myself with the thought that I'm helping to pay for more DVDs, which is pretty much why I paid to join anyway. The film was a trifle too long for me, but that could have been my stuffy nose complaining. Haven't got much to say about it, except that it was the film that made Mia Farrow famous and cost her her marriage to Frank Sinatra. Oh, and it was directed by Roman Polanski, perhaps better known to my generation as the director of The Pianist. The film was based on a novel by Ira Levin, and it supposedly revolutionised the horror genre. I can understand how for its time that might have been the case, but it's a bit dull to my desensitised, contemporary sensibilities. Still, not too bad a way to spend a night, and I had Michelle for company. Now I'm going to read a bit of Joanne Harris before bedtime because like the Bookshop lady said, everyone needs a bit of light reading once in a while, and I was reading Yeats in the Library earlier, so I've paid my dues for today.

Episode 15: Hungry Ghosts

Sigh. My efforts at translating Sir Gawain And The Green Knight into Modern English verse were in vain, as I've been informed that what we should be aiming for are prose translations. Ah well, back to the grindstone soon enough. I just got back Lost Dog's production of Hungry Ghosts, which I saw for free, one of the perks of being a STAR. It was a really intense experience. One of the girls who went for the interview with me last week happened to be seated two seats to my left, and she was in tears at the end. To summarise, Hungry Ghosts is a dance theatre performance that looks at the issue of terrorism through its effects on a man who by a twist of fate is the sole survivor of a terrorist attack in a theatre. A bit of breaking of the fourth wall went on, since at points the performers were seated in the audience and either spoke lines or entered onto the stage from there. This is going to sound so wrong, but I just have to mention that Ben Duke, one of the male dancers, has abdominals to die for. That and he's also an incredible dancer. Clearly, we should all become dancers so that we'll be hot, which is the kind of superficial reasoning that makes people take me less seriously than they should, but is also the kind of reasoning I would use to convince myself to do things like dance. Or exercise. Anyway, I'm rather jealous of people who can dance, any sort of dance really. Attended the STARs social in the National Grid Room after the performance, where I signed up to work on the campaigns for three upcoming performances. (The ulterior motive being that if I put in two hours of work on the campaign, I'll get a free ticket to the performance.) Hope I haven't overcommitted myself...

Episode 14: I'm A Star!

So Natalie's fine, which is a relief to all of us. Note to self: never be tempted to drink excessively, not even on special occasions. After today's EN123 lecture, I've realised that it's actually quite a strain to understand Thomas Docherty's accent when he's speaking softly. Anyway, I didn't get the steward position at the Arts Centre, but I am going to be a Student Arts Representative after all! I thought I didn't get it because I hadn't received any e-mail, and the e-mail was supposed to have arrived by Monday morning. Apparently, it was delayed, so I came back to my room to receive a pleasant surprise. Michelle and Natalie got in too, so that's cool. I just got back from dinner at Heronbank because I bumped into Michelle and Natalie at the Arts Centre. I was there to pick up the Joanne Harris novels that I'd ordered last week (so now my shelf has a pretty collection of light reading) and I saw them walking past the Bookshop. We had vermicelli for dinner, which was okay. A bit weird to mix soya sauce and sambal chilli though. Now I'm slaving away at translating 70 lines of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight into Modern English. I hate EN121!

Episode 13: Lower Ford Street Baptist Church & Natalie's 19th

So we finally made it to church this Sunday, but not without a fair share of drama. To begin with, it was raining for the first time since we've been in Warwick. As in actual rain, not just some anaemic drizzle that clears up after a while. It wasn't very heavy, but it was enough to soak me through and wish that I wasn't shivering. At first, we couldn't find the shuttle service to the church. We contacted the lady who was driving, and we made our way to what we thought was the correct place. Turns out, in a replay of last week, we turned in the wrong direction again and she was actually waiting for us further down the road from where we had been standing. If I didn't feel that it was actually important to attend a church regularly while I'm over here, I'd probably have given up and just gone back to bed. Sigh. I miss the convenience of church being just an MRT ride away! Stop me if I ever complain about that again when I'm back in Singapore, okay? Doesn't mean I'll stop wanting to take a taxi back from COGS when my dad's not in town though...

The actual service was really traditional. It was a baptism service this week, which is generally fun to watch. I think COGS should go back to doing complete immersions. Sprinkling water from the font just doesn't have the same dramatic effect. Anyway, I thought the service was nice, but if I had to attend it regularly, I don't think I'd be able to take it. They only had an organ and a piano for musical accompaniment, although I recognised most of the songs that were sung, and the ones that I didn't recognise were tuneful and lyrically meaningful. They even did 'Shout To The Lord', and it was way faster than anything that's ever been heard in COGS. I was flipping through the hymnal instead of listening to the sermon, just to get a feel of what sort of stuff they sing there. I didn't recognise most of the songs, and for the ones I recognised, some of the lyrics were different from what I'm used to singing. I was reading through the rationale for the alterations, and I'm afraid I don't quite see the point. The hymns I like, I like precisely because they sound slightly archaic. I feel it gives them a sort of gravitas that contemporary Christian music tends to lack. So while I enjoyed today's service, I think next week, I'll be visiting another church. Probably the one that Chernise attends?

After the service, we stayed behind in Coventry to shop for Natalie's surprise party. By the way, I managed to get refunds for my three Topman rings and my Primark hoodie. I love how the stores here will just give you a refund, no questions asked. I wish Singapore did that! Probably says something about our culture that we don't have such a customer-friendly refund policy. Surely it can't have that much of an impact on sales? We bought a Disney Princesses cake, and then spent a good deal of time trying to find a place that sold balloons. Along the way, I bought three roast pork sandwiches because I was hungry. They were pretty good, although I wish the applesauce hadn't been so bland! I was expecting a mix of sweet and savoury, but that didn't happen, so I'll admit I was a little disappointed. Randomly, can you believe that I still haven't had fish and chips here? Signature dish and all, but yeah, not yet. It'd better be good when I do! Otherwise, I'll be sorely disappointed and feel a bit cheated. Some stereotypes have to be true, don't they?

Got back to Warwick and went for my interview to become an Arts Centre steward. I really hope I get it, as it doesn't seem like I'll be becoming a STAR. Stewarding doesn't pay well, but that's not why I want to do it anyway. I'm more in it for the free shows, and getting to do something that I'll never have a chance to once I start working. Fingers crossed again! Then I went over to help with party preparations. I wasn't actually expecting to cook anything, but I somehow ended up being tasked to sauté the sausages for the pasta. The results were apparently satisfactory to everyone who tried it. Except for Keegan, who after tasting a slice of sausage, told me that he can see why I don't cook for myself. Like, what the hell? Thanks Keegan, seriously. If I ever whip up something decent, you're probably not getting any. I think I could become pretty okay at this cooking thing. Just give me time. Haha! The food overall was great, but then again, it generally is when a bunch of Singaporeans get together to make a meal, isn't it? Haha...

So what's a party without some games? A bunch of people started playing bridge, which devolved into some random game that Wayne taught them, before we all sort of ended up in a big group playing Mafia. Very JC orientation. We kind of got busted for throwing a party, but the resident tutor, while annoyed, didn't really lecture us at first. Nonetheless, she was quite the killjoy. We told her we'd probably be done by 9 pm, and she actually came back to check on us when it was approaching that time. She was a little bitchy then, as she was going on about our self-imposed timing and how we should be cleaning up. So we cleaned up and left not long after. I headed to The Graduate@Cholo with the usual suspects, where stuff happened that was both funny and scary, if you can believe that possible. Suffice to say that the rest of the night was something that shouldn't have happened, and we shouldn't have allowed it to anyway. Perhaps more importantly, it must never be allowed to happen again. I'm serious.

Episode 12: Freshers' Potluck

I met Conrad in the Library to work on the Yeats presentation for next week's seminar. It didn't feel like we actually got a lot done, but that's just me and my overachieving mentality. We did sort of figure out what each of us is going to be presenting at least. He'll do the close reading of 'The Second Coming' and I'll tie it all back to Yeats's interests in religion and the occult. My knowledge of that pretty much consists of what I gleaned from surfing this morning, but it should be enough to let me hammer out about 500 words, which is the estimated length that my presentation should be according to my handout. I really need to catch up on my reading for next week though, especially for Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, as I have to attempt to translate part of it as an exercise. Am so not looking forward to Middle English lessons! I'm generally good at languages, but let's face it, French isn't that hard to pick up. I'd probably be rubbish at something like, I don't know, Japanese? Though at least I don't have to wrestle with Anglo-Saxon, unlike Chermaine at UCL. Haha...

Went from the Library to the Freshers' Potluck organised by the Singapore Society. Bumped into people like Jeremy Ang, whom I probably haven't seen for more than five years. There was a lot of yummy food, including Jerrick's cake, which he is so going to make for my and Samantha's birthdays! Someone brought an awesome potato salad too. I guess I do sort of get sick of eating sandwiches after a while, although they're so convenient. Not enough to make me start cooking though! Anyway, the whole potluck just involved a lot of mingling and schmoozing really, but I spent most of the time talking to people I already knew. I bought a ticket for the trip to Cheshire Oaks because frankly, how can any Singaporean resist cheap shopping at a factory outlet? Practically all of my friends seem to concur. Seriously though, I need to buy more clothing that is specifically suited for the bloody cold weather we've got here! I'm completely not acclimatising, and this isn't even winter yet. Sigh...

Episode 11: Varsity & STARS Interview

I didn't have lessons today, so I woke up late and went online. One of my sisters was finally online, so I asked her to send me all the TV shows that I haven't been able to download over here. (I send the torrents to Audrey via e-mail and she downloads them for me. I wish my university didn't ban P2P!) The transfer rate is awfully slow though, which is understandably frustrating and frustratingly understandable. Can't think of a solution, so I'll just bear with it. Then I rushed over to Heronbank to meet Chernise to help her move her friend's stuff. I didn't get lost, even though I was cutting from Westwood to Heronbank for the first time ever, and in the process, I saw parts of campus that I've never been to before. Same thing happened later, when I was walking back with her from Varsity. There's this whole tract of land between the university and Kenilworth that is untouched, and it really feels like you're in the countryside. Picturesque, if the weather's right. Don't think many of the other Singaporean freshers have seen that area before, as it's pretty much not along any of the main routes that one has to take around campus.

So I had lunch with Chernise at Varsity, which is a pub that lies about midway along the route between Westwood and Heronbank. This is walking down along Kirby Corner Road, and then turning in the direction of Scarman. It's a nice place, especially if you want to get away from the international crowd, as I hardly saw any non-British people in there during lunch. Singaporean freshers, you should all go there at least once, if you haven't already! Chernise says if I attend her church, I'll probably see the inside of Varsity quite often because the church is nearby. Will go there in two Sundays' time. The food's good, and kind of makes me want to stop eating sandwiches from Costcutter and the other places on Central Campus. I should check out Café Westwood though, since it's practically at my doorstep. Maybe for lunch tomorrow, before I go to the Library to do some research on Yeats's The Second Coming. Am meeting Conrad to discuss our seminar presentation, although honestly, how much can you cram into a three-minute presentation?

I wandered over to the Library after walking Chernise back to Central Campus and into Costcutter. (We didn't manage to find her friend's stuff.) I needed to print out my inventory form for submission, so I topped up my printer credits using my credit card. I also bought a photocopying card by mistake, so I'm going to sell that to Michelle, since she says she'll probably need to photocopy stuff because she reads borrowed books too slowly anyway. I managed to figure out the whole printing thing, which made me feel slightly accomplished, in the same way that doing my coloured laundry yesterday did. I feel like I'm becoming a proper student! So I filled in the form, walked back to Rootes Social to hand it in, then walked to the Arts Centre to bum around until my STARS interview. I stepped into the Bookshop, and proceeded to purchase all but three of Joanne Harris's novels. I know, I'm insane, but I just couldn't resist, not when they were all nicely lined up on the shelves and all Black Swan editions too. The lady who helped me to order the remaining three was really understanding and totally got why I felt like I had to buy them all at one go. The covers are really pretty by the way. She jokingly asked me if I was actually going to do any studying while I was here, so I told her I didn't really bring much leisure reading over from Singapore, which is true. She's like my favourite new person now, seriously.

The STARS interview was okay, I guess, although I didn't feel like I made much of an impression. We were supposed to come up with some ideas on how to market a particular event. Couldn't really say much because some of the people in my assigned group were really vocal and it was hard to get a word in without sounding rude. Or you could read that as me being completely useless in group situations. It's this habit I have of wanting to listen to everyone else's thoughts before adding my own. I didn't use to be so retiring, I think. It's something I somehow picked up along the years. So despite coming from RJC, I haven't quite mastered the art of being cutthroat and competitive in order to get what I want. I do hope I get the job nonetheless, as it sounds like a really cool thing to be doing, and it could be helpful when I start teaching, if only tangentially, in getting my students interested in the arts. I'll know by Monday if I'm in, and then if I am, there's a social to attend on Tuesday evening. Fingers crossed!

Episode 10: A Long Weekend Begins!

Just to make you guys jealous, my weekend began at 1 pm today because my seminars for EN121, which are normally on Friday mornings, only begin in Week 2. I didn't realise it either, until I was talking to some friends online. So I started gloating and now they all hate me. Haha! Anyway, although I technically did my laundry yesterday for my white and light-coloured clothes, Shen Ting was the one who operated the washer and the dryer. Today, I actually did both for myself, and it didn't turn out too badly. Just that the dryer apparently doesn't work too well, as my clothes were still a little damp when I took them out. Had to lay them all over the room to dry them out. I'm not going to blog much about academics because there really hasn't been a lot happening. Just that the same faces keep popping up in my seminars, so hopefully, I'll become good friends with them, especially since the repeated faces are actually all people on the same course as me! I'm already meeting one of them in the Library on Saturday to do some work for our next EN123 seminar. Have to work on Yeats's 'The Second Coming'. I also got around to pushing up my French module to the earliest timing, which only made sense timetable-wise. It seems that I have to go down to the Language Centre to do it in the online system too. I still haven't spoken to my personal tutor about doing the module for extra credit. I really want my £160 back, if it's possible!

Episode 9: Singaporean Potluck-Cum-Karaoke Party!

Just got back from an impromptu karaoke session in Yong Long's room. We were singing along to all sorts of cheesy pop songs from the late '90s and early '00s, streaming the music videos from YouTube. This all started because we discovered that Rahul is a great singer, so we made him sing a couple of songs (and he did them really well), and then they tried to make me sing a song. Apparently, the YouTube video drowned me out. Haha! Then suddenly someone decided we should all sing along to YouTube videos. If any of Yong Long's neighbours could hear us, they must think he's damn weird. It was excellent fun though, a sort of trip down musical memory lane. Before that, we had a superb Singaporean potluck and the food was smashing. I sort of miss Singaporean food, but not to the extent that I have insane cravings. Just that whenever I taste it, I think to myself, how nice it would be to have this again. Then at the very next meal, I go out and grab a boring sandwich for convenience. I know, I should really start learning to cook for myself, but the inertia is simply enormous. I'll do it eventually, I promise! Oh yeah, I finished my homework for EN124 Modes of Writing: An Introduction while waiting for Amisha at Arthur Vick. Five lines of poetry from utter randomness. Fantastic...