Review for Pride and Prejudice

I am reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

It's a great story but 1/4 of the time, I have no idea what they are talking about. The complex sentences, heavy vocabulary and 19th century manner of speaking makes my head aches. I have to re-read over and over to make some sense. Then again, most of the time, I just pass it.

I feel like reading some of her other works, like Sense and Sensibility and Emma. Maybe I will read Emma first, since there are movie and TV shows about it. But, whether I can manage to borrow it is another matter.

Suddenly, I don't feel like reading that much. I don't know why.
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Something nice to share. This is a sign in a Rome laundry shop, "Ladies, leave your clothes here and have a great time."

Grades for Sem 1.2

3 cheers to me!

Received my Semester 1.2 results today. Holy crow!

Shockingly, I got B+ for Marketing. Woah, what was that? I was still praying, "Not C".

B for OB and Accounting 2. What can I say? I deserved that grade, no more, no less. My accounting skills are atrocious, not to mention, I've been so careless. As for OB, there's nothing much to say.

A for Business Statistics and MacroEconomics. I'm happy and if I get anything less, I might just go and bang my head on the wall. Both are my "pet" subjects and I expect myself to do well in them.

Z for French! Now, that's something to cheer about! I'm really, really pleased with it. I know I'm going to get A, but a distinction, never. I dreamt about it but didn't have much confidence that I will get it.

My GPA for Semester 1.2 is 3.56. Oh well, a little far off from 3.7 in Semester 1.1. Overall, I'm happy and nearly screamed when I saw the grades. That's how glad I am.

PS: Taking French was the best thing that happened to me. I love the language and in return, give me a good grade.

QingMing festival 2009

It will be the season for QingMing Festival again.

This year, we had it earlier than usual, thus there were no jams and not a lot of people.

Woke up very early on a Sunday morning. The family went to have breakfast at McDonald's, as it's customary of us to do so every year. Waited for my grandparents and cousins' family to reach. They had breakfast at McDonald's too.

I actually look forward to this activity every year. What can I say? It's the only time, besides Chinese New Year, to meet up with my relatives.

Gathered with my other relatives to offer offerings and joss sticks to the ancestors. The weather was hot, which is great. At least the ground will not be muddy and squashy.

I had a good time soaking up the sunshine which results in a headache later on.

My brother is making that "lecher" face.

We are Cullenists.

The family and relatives.

Latest (or not) New Moon and Eclipse movie news

Alright, some official news about New Moon movie.

After weeks of speculation, it's now confirmed that Dakota Fanning will be portraying Jane in New Moon movie.

New Moon is set to be released in theaters in 20th November 2009 with Eclipse in 10th June 2010 in USA.

Solomon Trimble who acted as Sam in Twilight movie won't be returning for the sequels.

First of all, Dakota Fanning has experience. She had starred in many movies. Since my wish for New Moon is that Taylor Lautner remain on as Jacob, and it had been fulfilled, I'm quite alright with other news. Unless...

However, Fanning does seems a little old for the role of Jane. Jane was described as a young girl who looks like an angel. Fanning is a little too "teenager" for Jane. Oh well.

I'm also wondering how on Earth can Summit afford her pay-check. She is classified under high-listed actresses, I think. She worked under big names before. I hope Summit don't burst their budget by recruiting big stars. They can instead focus on providing "special" special-effects and CGI.

Next, why is Eclipse been set to release in such an early date? About 6 months after the production of New Moon? It was also said that Chirst Weitz won't be directing Eclipse.

I can wait, tons of true fans can wait. I would rather take quality over quantity. Stop churning out movies like they don't matter at all. Don't they know that mass-production is the worst thing ever?

If Summit thinks that the twilight fan-base is a gold mine, they are right, of course. One day, they will get too greedy and get buried inside. But, they can rest assured that won't happen anytime.

The fan-base is getting too large and I don't think it can be called a fan base anymore. It's more like, "twilight is cool now so I'm a fan" OR "Robert Pattinson is hot so I'm a fan of twilight". Sheesh.

Eclipse is my favourite book. I love the plot and characters best there. With Twilight movie being a disappointment, I'm worried about New Moon movie and naturally, Eclipse movie.

The stunts and special effects gets harder and harder with every book. If the budget remains small, then nothing will go well.

The change in directors irks me. Why must it keep changing and changing? But, it can be good news, IF, the director proves to be inadequate in the directing. Whether the change proves to be a good thing or not remains to be seen. But I hope Christ Weitz will be a better director than Hardwicke.

It was said that a director's job is to direct and makes sure everything runs smoothly while a scriptwriter's job is to provide the script for the actors to act out.

If the scriptwriter did a bad job in transferring the plot from the book onto paper, the director and actors can't be blamed for the crappy movie.

Which, in my opinion, was the root of the problem for Twilight movie. The bad script, together with the "unique" way of directing, weird and OOC acting of the actors made the whole movie a bad adaptation of the beloved book.

Once bitten, twice shy. That's a good saying indeed.

I know there's no use of reminiscing the past. But I can't help to feel reluctant to trust Summit again.

I seem to be losing the faith in the movie franchise. I can't help it. I think I'd rather read the books again and again.

That being said, I would still watch the movies and buy the DVDs. Let's just treat them as memorials.

I'm still looking forward to New Moon movie. I'm looking forward to seeing Lautner and the whole story-line. I want to see if Christ Weitz does a good job and whether the scriptwriter deserves another chance.

One last thing, as stated above, Solomon Trimble won't be returning, which is kind of sad. He is a dedicated actor who is really good to his fans. He even went to research and study the language of Quileute. He's also the only person with native blood acting as a native American which makes him "real".

This means that the role of Sam will be taken up by yet another actor. I can't believe the decisions Summit comes up with most of the times.

Changes in directors are still OK, but, changes in actors in the middle of movies is a very bad move.

Yes, some people said he's only a minor character and in Twilight movie, he's got only 1 line. But consistency is the key to making successful movie sequels.

For goodness sake, don't go around saying that people won't notice, the truth is, if they can complain about details not being included, they can recognised the change in actors.

It seems like acting is not about devotion and passion anymore. Money is the most important thing on Earth.

Updates

OK, I have not been updating my blog.

Firstly, there's nothing much to update anyway. Secondly, I'm still having fun in the message boards of twilightlexicon, coming up with absurb answers to questions.

Over a 100 posts. I'm having a great time laughing at all those original and witty answers.

I borrows books again. What irks me was the book I want got borrowed mere minutes before I went to the library! I knew I should have left house earlier. The library opens at 11am, I reached there at 11.40am. The book I want was gone.

That's it. I'm reserving it.

No chance in borrowing PS I love you and The Notebook. It was said that the former is a tear-jerking movie. Wow, I'm going to cry.

Ahh!!!

Holy Crow, I'm going to have a heart attack soon.

I'm really worried about my laptop's "health". I was just going about my usual websites, when they prompted me, saying that there was viruses and trojan horses.

My heart just ran cold and I feeling rather light-headed. What! This can't be happening to me.

I don't know what to do... I'm not good with computers programming or anything computer related. I don't know, I'm running my own anti-virus scan now.

Oh, please, let there be nothing wrong. What I hated most was trojan horse, they sneak up on you, without any warning and then Bam!, your computer is infected. Stupid people.

What I can do is to disinfect those programmes, God, let everything be alright. I can't afford to have my laptop send for repair again. It's already been the 2 times.

I'm going to warn my brothers to stop downloading stuff onto my laptop, I found out that one of the trojan horse is actually from the game's website. What the *****.

Gah!!!

Holiday and fun

I need a break.

Yeah, sure, it's holidays for me now. What I meant was, I want to go overseas. It's partly a joke and partly true. It's not very sensible of me to go on a trip when there is global recession, hence the "it's a joke".

I read a report on the influx of tourists going to Australia and England due to the falling exchange rates. I want to go there too. The last time I went to Australia was when when I'm not yet in Primary School. My memory isn't that good, so I need to refresh it.

There are so many countries I want to visit, mainly the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, USA, Canada) and Oceania Countries (Australia and New Zealand).
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On another note, I seem to be getting 'lame'. I like it though. I never thought I had it in me to write those notes. I'm always giving "stupid" and sacastics remarks about things. It's good that there is a place to put them.

Recently, I'm back to life at the message boards of www.twilightlexiconblog.com. To cut long story short, this is the thread where I've been most active. http://www.twilightlexiconforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4703&start=480. cassis_rose is my alias.

I like my answers a lot. A person asked, who is the Volturi? I replied, is is a support group for freaks with freaky powers.

Some of the people's answers makes me laugh, a lot. It's so fun, that even my brother joined. He thought up of a brilliant question, why is Aro's skin so wrinkly and papery? And I'm going to replied, he has not been using moisturiser. Hahaha.

I really "love" some of these people, they are so witty and original.

Happy day

Yesterday had been a great day.

Went to KK Hospital to visit a relative and bought a "flower basket" at the gift shop. I saw some really cute bouquets of fake roses. I think they are made of sponge.

Guess what, I bought it. It's very beautiful and looks quite real.

At night, went for dinner but didn't shut the windows as we did not think it will rain.

Ha, it really rain that evening. At first, it started as a drizzle and though I asked my father to go back, he didn't want to. The rain got heavier then small again, we didn't care much. My father said our tables and floors won't get wet because there was no strong winds.

We went home, drenched. It was still raining, and I was laughing so much. It made me thought of the musical "Singing in the Rain".

I can't remember the last time I got drenched.

Till next time~

Pride and Prejudice (BBC) TV review

I watched the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It was a long series, 5 hours worth of goodness. I may be years late, but that moment was worth it.

This is what pleases me. It is not a movie which means no cutting of scenes, instead, it stayed very true to the book. This scenario is rare, very rare indeed.

Often, I laments how movies spoils a good book. I'd watched the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy. It was quite a good movie, but lots of people recommended the BBC version.

Come to think of it, Macfadyen's portrayal pales in comparison to Firth's. But, maybe, it's because everyone see Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in their eyes.

It was by chance I found the tapes in my school library. It did not cross my mind then to borrow. I wanted to watch it sometime, but I did not mean to borrow it through school. Come to think of it, my decision at that time seemed stupid.

I have just discovered the joy of my school library but exams were upon us and school term was ending. How unfortunate.

I'm thinking of borrowing the 2 discs again when my school term starts. I was in a rush and not in a mood to watch the whole show properly due to exams.

Ahh, well, I'm in the "Pride and Prejudice" phrase. All the books I borrowed today were related to the book. Considered them a sequel and Mr Darcy's POV.

I've to agree that the BBC version is so much better. Hahaha, Colin Firth as Mr Darcy was swoon-worthy. No wonder all those people, (I'm thinking them to be women) recommended it. He really portrayed Mr Darcy well.

I think, the entire cast was very into character. They were well-chosen for their roles. Furthermore, the girls' beauty or rather, handsomeness, seemed very real for that time-line. How do I put it, it was not like the beauty of the 21st-century.

Hmm, most older women would considered Mr Darcy as to what we (teenagers) considered Edward Cullen of Twilight to be. I may be bias though, because teenagers will be attracted to Mr Darcy as long as they read the novel and older women will swoon over Edward.

Regardless, everyone likes a gentleman.

I highly recommend the film to anyone who read Pride and Prejudice. Too bad there's no subtitles. They have a tendency to speak softly.
So, it seems that the 2005 movie and 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice were rated favourably by the critics. Both stayed very faithful to the novel. I watched both, and my favourite is the BBC version.

Pride and Prejudice by BBC.

Produced in 1995.

Starring Colin Firth as Mr Darcy.

Very, very into character.

Starring Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet.

Just like how I would 'see' Elizabeth from the novel .

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Marketing End-semester exam

Marketing today. I thought I'll die.

I just studied Marketing for less than 3 hours yesterday night.

I was feeling strangely light-hearted and not stressful before the paper. During reading time, I was thinking "Oh my God", I'm going for the Sub paper, which I never want to in my life. To touch that subject again would go against my every wish.

For don't know what reasons, I thought of the answers, well, the sub-headings anyway. I can't explain every well and my English is really bad. I felt ashamed for writing those sentences in the answering book.

I've been thinking. Is it because I'm wearing my four-leaf clover? I forgot to wear it today, I didn't want to go back home to get it. However, I went back and got it all the same. Makes me wonder if things would have been different if I didn't. I'll surely blame myself for the "bad luck".

I think I can pass. I must pass. I'll not, in any case, go for the Sub paper. But, I don't just want to pass, my GPA will drop drastically if I do.

We'll be getting our results in the middle of March, I guess. Oo, I'm so excited and anxious.

Exams are over, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief, now what? The problem I've been thinking of is coming true. Gah, I'll deal with it should the time comes. As for now, I'm going to enjoy my holidays. Enjoying, in my sense.

I started on MacGowan's Ghost by Cindy Miles, her latest book. Quit a nice read so far.

Oh well, Freshmen Year has come to a complete stop. It's been a good year, with many emotions on the way. Thanks for all the fun and the memories. I'll treasure them. Hoping to have a couple of classmates in my Junior Class. A familiar person by the side is always better.

BS & BA2 end-semester exams

Actually, I have much more interesting things to update. But, since, it's exam season, it's customary for me to give a daily commentary on my exam papers experiences. It'll soon be over though.

Business Statistics was alright. Hmm, now that I think of it, there's nothing much to say. I must have that A.

Business Accounting 2 today was OK, with me heaving a sigh of relief. I only study once. I know where my standards are for Accounting, seriously, it is bad.

I was very careless though. It's either the font that gives me headache or that I just speed-read everything. I don't think my calculations will be wrong but it's the way I see the questions.

I don't ask for much, just a B/B+. I was so worried yesterday night that today's BA2 will be a goner. I'll cry if it was. And, I spent some time yesterday night watching a show (which I'll elaborate on tomorrow).

On a side note, too bad the disc can't be burned. Guess I'll borrow the 2 discs again, when I return to school after my holidays.

Tomorrow is the final paper. Yes! Marketing, as it is, hates me and vice versa. With little time on my hands, and not one to burn midnight oil, I just read through what the lecturer told us to study. I did not study anything extra, on the contrary, I cut down on the things that have already been cut-down.

I'm so going to regret my actions tomorrow. Why is it that my mind says one thing but my heart says the other?

Oh well, a B is all I want. Then, I'll be free from Marketing forever. I hope tomorrow's paper will be alright and manageable.

Till then~

OB end-semester exam

Done with OB.

It was a killer. So now, OB stands for Obviously Bu******.

I can't say I never tried my best, neither can I say I tried my best. Obviously I can study it better or concentrate better, but at least I sort of did my best.

I forgot some things here and there. The MCQs were so difficult. I'm always left with 2 choices, both seemed right, it's just which one is more correct than the other. Argh...

I totally forgot what is the strategies to solve conflict and 3 situational factors that affect a leader's behaviour. The latter which I did not study at all.

Ah well, it's gone. I won't have to touch OB again. I was so angry that I have a mind to tear the paper. The best thing is, I won't have to see my answers. At least, there is some consolation to this mess.

Goodbye OB, we ended at a sour note. *There goes my chance of acquiring an A. I hope my B/B+ is still intact.*

Business Statistics tomorrow. It should be well. But I dare not think positive, or else it will be jinxed.

BA2 and Marketing, another killer. Oh joy...

Oscars & MacroEcons paper

Gah, why is the Academy Awards or Oscars be on Monday morning? No wonder I felt something wrong when they announced that this year Oscars will be on a Sunday. I spent too much time on USA-based websites.

Yeah, yeah, Sunday, USA timing. Zzz, so it's Monday morning, again. No! I want to watch it, especially when Twilight movie actors/actresses will be present.

I'll see. The most, I'll ask my cousin helped me taped it. 3 hours of show. Normally, I get all excited about it and when the actual thing comes, I often found it boring.

Today's MacroEcons paper was quite alright. Once again, I did the front part slowly but ended up rushing a little for the last few questions.

I stumbled along the way but there should no big problem. My A should be still within grasp.

1 down, 4 more to go. 2 more As and 2 B/B+. That's my wish, I'll work hard for them. Sort of.

Exams are a bother

I'm terribly excited, if excited is the choice word to use for the jitters I'm feeling now. I'm thinking anxious is more like it.

Tomorrow, tomorrow is the big day, after all. MacroEcons can be considered "my life". I thrive on it. It's by far the most interesting subject I've studied and come to enjoy as well. Needless to say, it has my high expectations set to it.

If I can't even do well for it, then what chance do I have for the other subjects, say Marketing? With high expectations, comes stress.

An A. All I need is an A. I'm will go mad if I don't get it. Hmm, maybe not. That will be an exaggeration. I think I'll cry though.

I studied as much as I could, what is the results remains to be seen. Oh god, please help me.

After tomorrow, I'll concentrate on Business Statistics and OB. Another 2 As I must get. OB, not that much, but what other subject can I get an A on? Definitely not BA2 and Marketing.

Exams are a bother, that much I can firmly say.

Ill and exams is starting

I'm ill. Actually, it's been about a week but I just saw the doctor yesterday.

Sore throat and dry cough. Now, my voice is all scratchy and weird. I can't speak properly and sing.

Tomorrow is the start of my exams. MacroEcons paper, comprising 60% of overall. Gods, I must get an A. Gah...

All the best to me then.

Volvo sure knows how to market their products.

"Drive a Volvo. Live Forever" is the tagline for Volvo C30. A great marketing act.

With New Moon movie on the horizon, the next luxury brand to market their ads will be Porsche. "Be cool, Get a Porsche". "Diamonds are a girl's best friend, but Porsche is a girl's true love." Who needs diamonds when you've got a Porsche?"

Well, well, the director and script-writer better include the famous yellow Porsche 911 Turbo inside the movie. And for goodness sake, put in the proper brand and model this time.

The moment I saw the advertisement for Volvo, I know that something is off. It don't seem like the model that the real, fictional Edward drives in the books.

I did some research, and guess what? The Volvo model used in the movie is a C30, a family car. The real deal is actually a Volvo S60R, a sports car.

Gah, the difference is a whole yard. There's just something wrong for a teenager (although forever young) to drive a family car. Even Carlisle do not drive a family car.

If anyone has money for their disposal, would anyone get a family car?

No wonder, I almost chocked when I saw the movie's Volvo. Not sleek but bulky. I wanted to get to the bottom of the lack of class of the Volvo used but didn't, and it slipped my mind.

It gets on my nerves when details aren't even pay attention to.

Rantings

All the years of belief that holidays meant the start of a new beginning is dissolving right in front of my eyes.

Reality is setting in, all too quickly.

Holidays mean naught but another day, one more stressful than a typical school day. What in the world is happening?

I've had enough. This is it.

Fine. I live by this "motto" now. Tomorrow will another day. No matter how imperfect today is, it will end and relief will come again.

Updates

Many things to update.

Today is officially the last day of school. Having mixed feelings. Feeling quite reluctant and happy at the same time. Holidays...not so much.

Got back my Business Accounting 2 and Business Statistics coursework grades. A B+ and A respectively.

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http://riddles.juliakniep.de/HallOfFame.html

Click here and you'll see the Hall of Fame to the Twilight Riddle. *Refer to the above picture. That's just a print screen. As such, only those names who starts with A is captured. For full details, click the link*

I'm officially a Twilight Riddler. 3rd in line in alphabetical order. Adrielle Soong.

I'm also granted eternal bragging rights. With thanks to helpful strangers, of course! Not to mention, my wits, books, google/yahoo, and websites.

I'm thrilled at this, it's been quite some time since I got featured or done anything like this.

On a side note, I love the new banner! It's so beautifully done and the topaz eyes are just amazing. Bella's eyes looks more greenish than brown though.

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Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

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Next week is the start of study week. Going to really sit down and absorb information like a sponge. So many things to study and yet not enough time.

Time is always not on my side.

I've got to work hard. My expectations can't be considered that high. I know where my limits are and know enough not too push myself too hard. But I can't help to feel left behind sometimes.

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I've things planned out for the upcoming holidays. I want to do the things that I like. There are 2 books sitting on my shelves, waiting to be read.

I'm planning to sweep the library shelves for books. Which reminds me, I am going to reserve those books that I want.

I want to make bead accessories. Recently, I read some magazines that ignite the passion to weave beads once again. Seeing those shiny, cute, little beads and crystals make my day.

Regardless, I'm expecting a vacation to either nearly countries or in Singapore itself. Let's just say it's sixth sense. Maybe there won't be one, I'm fine with that.

There's a delicate matter I don't want to say. Nothing is fixed, I don't think Alice will even "see" it, seeing that no decision is confirmed. We'll see...

Till next time~

School term is ending

I'm feeling a little forlorn lately.

The school term is ending, another "year" will be gone, soon.

Whatever I felt and said/complained about in the beginning will soon past. Yes, I know that I'm not happy when school first started, but, now that everything is ending, I'm feeling quite reluctant.

I felt guilty for thinking this way and that. But, I realised, my class is as good as it could get.

Every time, when a school year ended, I would start to have these feelings and thoughts. Would it be better if I had done this?

I may not like it at first, however, it has started to grow on me, just like other things.

Realisation always comes too late for me.

2 more days of classes to attend. Then, I'll be "free". Really? Sometimes, I feel that in school is better than out of school. I just want to bang my head for thinking this. Didn't I always moan and groan about schooling?

Humans are always so fickle-minded... At least in my case.

Sigh... I can't control time, I can't seem to make use of time and worst of all, I don't treasure time.

At this point of time, it makes me think of the song 'When all is said and done' by ABBA. I don't know how much in context it is. But, 'Thanks for all the generous love and thanks for all the fun, neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done".

I don't know about the generous love portion but I did have fun in school. I also know there's no one to blame except me, when all is said and done.

Whatever is the case, the song is stuck in my head, probably due to listening it over and over again when I'm trying to learn the lyrics.

Updates

OK, I had a good time in school but I'm in a sort of bad mood now.

I've no idea why though.

Whatever, it's so near to sleeping time so I'll just sleep the bad mood away. Tomorrow will be another day.

Got back my MacroEcons and OB coursework grades today. I'm very happy for MacroEcons because I got an A. Woohoo! That was also the project I spent the most effort in. So, the efforts paid off and it was sweeter than others. My friends who are in my group, too, got A for their coursework. 40% an A, 60% to go.

OB was great, too. Our project was 87/100. Not too bad. I got an A for coursework. Yay! Now, I really must work hard for OB end semester exam. I can have a chance to get an A. 50% more to go. OME!

For Marketing coursework, I had an B. 50% to go for end-semester. I don't have high expectations for Marketing but needless to say, the lowest I can get is a B.

Hoping to get back French result tomorrow. High expectations for it.

Watched Les Choristes in the library with my friend today. Wow, I never thought that the school library is actually so up-to-date. I'll surely make use of the facilities next time.

Anyway, I borrowed the tape, have to return it on Friday though. The bad thing about borrowing tapes from school library is the lack of borrowing time. 3 days for DVDs, a little too short to my liking. But, it'll be efficient.

My friend borrowed the soundtrack. Hoping to be able to burn it.

Watched the second part of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Actually, I can't really see why it can get so many awards. But, I enjoyed it all the same.