Almost There

I'm almost recovering now. At least I don't get fever any more! But I'm still coughing a lot, and coughing up green phlegm. I wonder why the bruises on my arms take so long to subside though. At least now I'm able to function normally, albeit having rather weird appetite twists, and disrupting classes (though I try VERY hard not to), with spasmodic throaty (or phlegmy) coughs. Gah. It was rather embarrassing in yesterday's class in business. I shall not elaborate on that.

It's when you start functioning normally again that the amount of work you've left behind starts to pile up and crush down like mountains on you. I simply must get those FYP readings done by this weekend! Not to mention start doing my Engineering in Drug Delivery individual project, and researching for the group project. Oh, and to brainstorm for MNO's group project, which will involve quite a lot of my time too. And glancing at my time table, reality hits me into the realization that lab is starting next week (dreaded reports and vivas)! I'm going to be nocturnal very soon. Bye bye normal sleeping hours.

IHG (Inter-Hall Games) is here and being part of Phoenix, I'm covering articles for several sports. This is kind of horrible for me as I have absolutely zero experience writing sports articles (you know, who scored, and blow by blow account of what happened), besides near zero experience in playing sports too. So with my very limited vocab and experience, my articles are often lengthy, boring twists and repetitions of the words 'score', 'goal', 'chance', and bla bla bla. (Somehow I'm lucky enough to write articles for sports in which we win, hehe.) I hope the players don't get too disappointed by those rather colorless accounts of their feats.

Being on the topic of IHG, something really weird happened this week (in fact, I wonder if weird is an appropriate adjective for that, but we'll leave this point aside for now). For the first time in my entire writing life, a certain article of mine was actually thought to be 'controversial' , and I was told to be more 'politically correct' while writing next time. =.= For people who know my writing style, I have never been anything but boringly politically correct all the time! (Boss should know, it would be so much nicer for him if my articles were 'juicier' and more 'controversial'.) And the way I see it, article Whatever It Was that I wrote was just as boringly politically correct, and maybe boringly moralistic as ever (Is 'boringly' even a word?). Just because it upset a small number of people with guilty consciences means I should write to please people (who disgraces the hall through their actions)? I stated that it was my own personal opinion, but I never even wrote to condemn. The purpose of that small little paragraph in the article was to gently point out something that I hope not to see again, for the sake of the hall's reputation.

That aside, I felt it was good anyway, that people think it's controversial. I have gained no enemies, and so far no one has attempted to edit/remove the said article, so the more 'controversial' it is labelled, the more it will attract readers. Which brings me to remember that once, in my blog, I said something about a senior, and a whole bunch of other seniors added me on MSN just to gain permission to access my blog in Windows Live Spaces to read it. That is the level of inquisitiveness of the people in hall. And by the way, the paragraph above this one, is at least 10 times as controversial as compared to the little paragraph that was deemed to be so. So be prepared to be disappointed if you actually want to go and read it after reading this (just the way those seniors who addded me on MSN are). No hard feelings towards people who still feel the article is on the controversial end though. I guess we're just looking at the issue at very different perspectives.

The new hall freshmen have settled in very quickly, but I haven't really got to know them. I guess I am anti-social, or just sick, or too busy (or finding excuses). One day I'll come back finding Raffles Hall a different place, with different people. Sometimes, being in hall for so long, I do wonder what connects me to hall. Is it the people, whose faces change year in and year out, or is it the lifestyle, the buildings, the comfortable little circle of friends I keep? Is it hall spirit, that is ebbing out of me as I go higher up in NUS, revived only when I participate whole-heartedly in the Aspiration Cheer?

That's why I think all residents should, if they go down to support a sport, go down to cheer for RH Handball. Not because it's one of our very rare sports that go into the finals - but that's the place you find most Rafflesians turn up to cheer, to be excited, and most of all, to be united for a common cause. Another event that I really feel for is Rag Day, when we cheer for Float and wait for results together. Other events are just more scattered, and even if the passion is there, the people are not.

Ahh well. Enough thoughts for today. :) The nodding Winnie the Pooh handphone holder Mable gave me is studying his book diligently (at least he looks like he's doing so), so I should follow his example too.