A Mild Malaise
May 28th, 2007
tonight, i am a clown performing an elaborate balancing act - i have : a SAT textbook in my lap, a bowl of risotto on my knee, a mug of lovely hot chocolate topped with strawberries n cream in my left hand, whilst my right hand twirls a pencil around, and at the same time i am tilting a big Yes/No decision in my head. not to mention struggling to remember how to solve geometric progressions : a filthy mathematical concept to find the number of fish left in a lake on the 18th of April if the 1000 fish in the lake on the 4th of April keeps reducing by half every 5 days, and other ridiculously weird situations like that.
i finished prepping for my SAT Critical Reading and Writing section yesterday. not even halfway through it all, i was already despondent, woebegone, miserable, dismal, crestfallen and just downright depressed. apparently, i have absolutely no grasp on English grammar whatsoever. all those A’s in English mean nothing now that i am made aware of the fact that i do not know when to correctly use ‘who’ and ‘whom’.
and i never knew it was wrong to use the phrases ‘between you and i’ or ‘i am well’, or that it was this difficult to see eye-to-eye with subject-verb agreements. and now i’d rather be commatose than have to deal with punctuation. sigh sigh sigh. with every word that i blog, i am reminded of how pathetic my english language faculties are, and that i will most probably flunk my SAT if i dont learn to navigate the swamps of prepositions and pronoun-antecedent marriages within the next 3 days. as of now, i am most certainly not well good.
i am in Mars right now, because i thought egg tarts and Martian would help me study. WRONG. i have not had an egg tart since i got here, and Martian keeps lording his vocabulary superiority over me when it comes to those annoying SAT words. i read out to him the words i didnt know - penury, adroit, vituperation, truculent, platitude, neologism and chicanery - and he smugly started to rattle off all the definitions!!! and then he went “ask me some more!!!!” wtf wtf wtf dear god why is my boyfriend such a show off. i’m feeling very indignantly competitive right now. must remember from now on never again to date boys with vocabularies bigger than mine. inferiority complex to the power of ten.
and yes we got back together *twiddles thumbs* everybody shaddup ah. dont say anything.
this morning, i shut Martian’s wardrobe a little bit too hard and the entire shelf came tumbling down, clothes and cologne and scarves and all. fark. and then i couldnt put the shelf back, double fark. i thought Martian wouldnt love me anymore when he comes back and sees what i’ve done, but not only did he still love me, he also brought me back a salad. awwww, baby. <3
stress, panic, a lack of egg tarts and an impending cloud of doom suspended above my head aside, i am actually a very happy person this week :)
38 Comments Add your own
1. JustAnotherTragedy | May 28th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Eh back together liao ah? :>
2. stellaboo | May 28th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
most of your posts evoke a desire to gorge down on something.
now i have visions of eggtarts and strawberries skating over a lake of frozen chocolate.
3. miss susan | May 28th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
…. I got honours for english in Perth….. and I don’t know what those words mean…. omg.. I’m a fraud….
4. kennysia | May 28th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
4th April - 1000 fish
9th April - 500 fish
14th April - 250 fish
end of 18th April - 125 fish
No?
5. reallybites | May 28th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
ur reading that may13 boook?? gah all the bookshops here dont have it yet.
6. entwined | May 29th, 2007 at 12:21 am
you flew to HK to revise for your SATS?!?!?!?!?
wah. brings a whole new meaning to ” avoiding distractions at home” :P
7. k0k | May 29th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Darn, I was just going to propose to you.
8. Janice | May 29th, 2007 at 2:07 am
pinkpau is mine!!! SHHHH…. Don’t tell Martian okie ? *giggle like a little kid*
9. sieutheng | May 29th, 2007 at 2:09 am
tat explains why i haven’t seen or heard from u for a while.
10. hw | May 29th, 2007 at 2:17 am
For some reason, the only words that I can remember after reading all that are :
‘risotto’, ’strawberries and cream’, ‘hot chocolate’, ‘egg tarts’, and ’salad’.
11. Michelle | May 29th, 2007 at 6:12 am
It seems that we have a lot in comment. If you have problem in geometric progression, you can always ask me. =)
And sometimes, I do feel that I have a problem in my grammar…
Serious problem.
12. Adrian C | May 29th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Dun worry Pinks, most Malaysians speak our very own brand of English. And one of the things I do professionally is to make sure everyone speaks/writes it correctly. LAH.
13. povege | May 29th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Oh, I do understand how it feels to be “inferior”. Thank goodness I’m better than my bf in one thing — chinese. ^_^
14. MichelleSY | May 29th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
But but but - you’re one of my favourite bloggers!
And stop saying your mastery (yes, mastery, I insist) of the English language isn’t amazing.
Cos you (and your mastery obviously) could kick SAT ass anyday - I spy some perfect 800’s coming this way =)
Relax, babe, you know that you know the answers - it’s that tingling you get in your gut that one’s more correct than the others.
And pls don’t tell me that tingly lil gut feeling doesn’t exist - because that’s how I managed to skive off all my English exams in Msia *sweats*
Good luck babe, you’ll be fine. Don’t say you won’t be, OK, cos the last time you said you’d fail, you ended up getting an A. Or something equally ridiculous.
Hmph - I should really stop commenting on your blog ok. You’re making me feel penuriously inferior =P
ps: Tell Martian to coach you lah, instead of being all smug and and….Martian =D
pps: I didn’t say anything OK! Look at me, saying nothing about you being in Mars with access to most excellent Martian egg tarts =)
15. Jun | May 29th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
hey su ann! i can’t believe u went to hk to study for ur SATS! r u gonna take it there too? issit cheaper? i remember doin mine in metropolitan college like 5 yrs ago -__- 5 yrs later i’m sitting in front of my laptop, reading about ur study trip to mars when i should be studying for tomorrow’s OBGYN exams. why u make me so addicted to ur blog one?? *narrows eyes and glances at u suspiciously*
btw i’m gng to hk in 2 wks’ time. any places to recommend and things to eat/buy? u’re the pro after all ;p
16. Director | May 29th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
fuiyoh..the return of the martian……hk again…haha,well…gud luck for ur SAT’S
17. melvin | May 29th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
all the best in exams :)
18. foreverjas | May 29th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
gosh… wish u both all the best. wish to read bout your post about ya wedding in the future =P
19. darkhello | May 29th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
martian sounds like a walking dictionary!!
20. ria | May 30th, 2007 at 9:38 am
best of luck with the SATs! you can ace it i’m sure. :)
21. ckyeo | May 30th, 2007 at 11:45 am
you speak powdeful england
22. jonathanlim | May 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
being happy is a good thing.
23. Jeff from LA | May 30th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
My guess is that Martian memorized a similar list of vocab words to the one that you are going through, so he just happened to know the definitions of those terms. I mean, how else would he know the meanings behind the words “vituperative” or “truculent,” since its unlikely he will have the opportunity to use those words on a daily basis. (I’m assuming he doesn’t have a boss that believes in verbal abuse).
Anyway, don’t worry, I think you have a fine grasp of the English language.
24. Charlie | May 30th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Oh my gods.. if -you- can’t manage, what hope is there for the rest of us?
That does it. I’m going to the UK to study instead. : (
25. Lalita | May 30th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Oh wow! How do you still manage to bring food themes into a post that has nothing to do with foodlah?? And I always read the posts when I am HUNGRY!!! Aiyah!
Your grasp of English is great! Just the mechanics of it may need greasing is all. I tell you, my English was great when I was in Malaysia! And then ah, came to live here. And although my English is better than some people, I sometimes still have a complex when I speak - probably cos I cannot use words like “geram” etc. when I need to substitute words. Then I get stuck in mid conversation and then start to stutter! SO EMBARRASSING I tell you! This is when all my insecurities start to surface and rear their ugly face. Must make time to read more!!!
26. pinkpau | May 30th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
justanothertrad : yes :)
stellaboo : maybe thats coz most of my posts were written when gorging down on something :P
miss susan : return ur honours! now! now, i say!! *jealous
kennysia : that’s what i did .. hahaha! but more sophisticated
ppl unlike u and i would use this canggih formula Tn = a x r^(n-1)
reallybites : kl bookstores oso dont have. but can get from malaysiakini website!
entwined : seriously wan, too many distractions in kl. but come here also no use, got one big distraction called Martian -__- back to square 1, sigh
k0k : wei u think so easy to marry me wan ah! simply propose then can already ah!
janice : okok :D
sieutheng : 1 more day!
hw : the hot chocolate was the best of all :D
michelle : wait till u see the grammar problems in SAT, argh
adrian c : really?? so can u tell me how exactly i should know when to use who and whom??
povege : lucky you =( i’m not. actually i dunno.. i think we’re pretty equal when it comes to that, haha
michellesy : no lah no perfect 800s this time i’m afraid =( too little prep time and still so much left to read and do. SIGH! cis i dowan martian to coach me -__- he’s so goddamn smug. just now i asked him more words also he know all.
jun : no lah im taking in kl! in metropolitan also, haha. things havent changed much eh. all the best for ur obgyn exams! hehe my blog is here to serve as a reprieve for the stressed out. as for hk, where are u staying?
director : yes, return of the martian :P haha thank u!
melvin : thank u! am very nervous
foreverjas : haha wedding! oh my god! dont simply say
darkhello : darell dont say that =( his ego doesnt need anymore inflation!
ria : scareddddddd =(
ckyeo : u being sakastik ah!
jonlim : im grateful whenever i am
jeff : that doesnt make sense.. if he memorized other words instead of the ones i asked him, how would he know what the words i asked meant? haha :) he just reads a lot. i wish he could take my SAT for me.
charlie : u want to go to US!! US, i say!!
lalita : i SO know what u mean about wanting to use certain words but cannot, and then u stumble in conversation!! hahaha! happens all the time :D
27. Kevin Chan | May 30th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Haha, done with SATs already! Grammar’s a real bitch tho…
28. Jeff from LA | May 31st, 2007 at 6:21 am
I actually meant that he memorized a list of words that happened to include the ones you listed, but I will accept your explanation of his being well-read instead.
Moreover, I have a more general question for people in general regarding Malaysian universities. Kenny Sia recently included a post discussing how beautiful SEGi College Malaysia’s campus is and many of the commenters mentioned how they wished they had gone there instead because of how nice the facilities were. However, what I found to be odd was that very few of the commenters seemed to care about the academic prestige of the school. I also thought it was quite odd that they decided to invite a blogger to help advertise for their school.
Were these commenters just joking or nonrepresentative of Malaysians in general, or does the comfort of the school grounds/environs play a large role in how people decide where to go to school?
29. g. kryptonite | May 31st, 2007 at 9:47 am
I’ve graduated from a respectable university in California and never encountered such words… I think writing has nothing to do with size of one’s diction but it’s how you use it to paint a picture in the readers’ minds… (I just realized I sounded like a pervert. Please note that was entirely uninteded)
Anyway, I have to say you have a cute yet charismatic style of writing. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading your entry.
Thanks,
g. kryptonite
30. ckyeo | May 31st, 2007 at 10:40 am
no sakastik wan…lim peh is a very humble person!
31. anon | May 31st, 2007 at 12:20 pm
wow.. fly to hk just to study.. you are being spoiled by dad aren’t you? did he pay for your air ticket?
32. Cat-chan | May 31st, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Hey, good luck~ I’m sure you can do it. =^^=
Now I gotta go read up on physics… cause if I pass it this sem I’ll never need to do it again and I would like nothing more~ hee!
All the best, yo!
33. Jun | May 31st, 2007 at 5:37 pm
hehe ur blog nvr ceases to amuse me :) am having another exam tmr then i’ll be gng home!! gng to hk fr june 10-15– i think tht shud giv me adequate time to do some financial damage before i reli truly max my card out >.
34. melvin | May 31st, 2007 at 6:36 pm
dun be nervous, u can do it, have confidence! =)
35. pinkpau | May 31st, 2007 at 9:08 pm
kevin chan : man, i so know what you mean
jeff from LA : generally, prestige-seekers would not opt to study in malaysia if given the choice. for those who do choose to study locally, i would think the difference in fees plays a bigger role than anything else, including campus environs. are you malaysian tho?
g kryptonite : having graduated from the US, i’m sure you know that the SAT doesnt care about your writing ability :) they just wanna know if you know their big words. thank you for the compliments! just checked out your blog, i see you and i are starbucks brethren :) where in cali did u go to school?
ckyeoh : haha limpeh means what!! apparently my hokkien not very powderful
anon : i wish he did.. that would be very nice of him
cat chan : ahh physics :D i love that. good luck!
jun : hey i think i’m in HK around then too. u should hit all the street markets and the islands in HK. victoria’s peak for the view, disneyland if you so wish, central and causeway bay for food, LKF for partying and drinks, nathan road and harbour city for shopping! tsim sha tsui and kowloon area for sure
melvin : arhghghghg =(
36. Jeff from LA | June 1st, 2007 at 9:11 am
No, sadly enough I am not Malaysian, although I have great respect for Malaysia. I am an ABC.
37. anon | June 1st, 2007 at 2:41 pm
oh.. did u pay for it yourself then? lol… that’s nice of yourself then. =)
38. ckyeo | June 1st, 2007 at 8:06 pm
lim peh means your father in direct translation, but for this case lim peh refer to me…..and i am ckyeo!! not yeoh!!!
sky keep you ar!
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