Bitching about school again.
written: 1:26 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

I forced my mom to subscribe to the Sports package so that I can watch the US Open, and this morning I forced myself to get out of bed at TEN FRIGGING AM just to watch Roger play his first match of the tournament. (I meant to get up at 9 actually but obviously overslept.)

He was already up by two sets to love and I only got to watch him play for like, thirty minutes for the last set. He won on his opponent's serve, which is freaking awesome, but what was more awesome was that he didn't win due to his opponent's error; he won because he is amazing. And I swear I love watching his back hand (single back hand, thanks) because he does it with such grace and it just looks really nice. And when he slammed down one of his amazing aces (apparently he had 15 in this match), the commentator went, "That's Federer 101."

ROGER PLEASE WIN THE TITLE FOR THE FIFTH CONSECUTIVE TIME SO THAT THE MONEY I MADE MY PARENTS PAY TO WATCH YOU CAN BE RIGHTFULLY VINDICATED. My current desktop wallpaper is a collage of pictures of Roger winning the '07 US Open (he wore all black omg hott with two t's). It'd be nice to get an '08 version.

**

So I tried reading the stuff for today's State Building class and was trucking along really well until I got to the UN General Assembly Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, Resolution 2625 (XXV) (1970). The font is damn small, the print is damn dark, it's two columns on one page, my eyes hurt, and I stopped reading and turned on my laptop and I haven't gone back to reading since.

Grahhh. I do like State Building a lot but he gives us all primary materials (things like UN GA/SC resolutions, UN Charter, conventions, treaties, omg die lah) which is quite a chore to read. No one likes reading statutes and legal documents; NO ONE. Last week's class involved two long-ass judgments, one ICJ and one Israel Supreme Court, and I didn't even bother attempting to read either. Quite apart from how I hadn't printed out the materials then, they were really just way too long.

And speaking of printing, I kinda need to say this: WHAT THE FUCK I SPENT HALF AN HOUR YESTERDAY AT THE COMPUTER CLUSTERS PRINTING OUT ALL 682 PAGES OF THE STATE BUILDING MATERIALS. WAH LAU EY. I still haven't figured out how to bind them. I don't think I want to kill myself trying to flip through a bound 682 pages' worth of stuff everytime I try to prepare for class, so I might split it up into sections. Problem? I double-sided print the whole thing so I might not be able to split it very well.

Bleahhh. If only I didn't have this neurotic need to highlight the things I read, not because my highlighting actually means anything in a meaningful manner, but because I just like to have physical evidence of my having done my work. Even if the said physical evidence consists of half the page being highlighted. Okay, I exaggerate, but...yeah, I just don't think I'm a very good highlighter, and ergo, not a very good student.

I went out to pour myself a cup of water and have lost all urge to write.

I sent Chun Ying to the King Albert Park bus stop last night. I'm so proud of myself!

And I saw Kenneth loitering around outside the moot court last night when Jasmin and I went downstairs in hopes of getting coffee during our break. He was still around after my class ended so I went to find him and we had a nice talk. I'm so going to miss him when he leaves for exchange. One whole year, oh my god, how devastating.

I think all guys should be as nice as him. Really. He's quite literally the nicest guy I've ever met in my life and I'm really glad he's my friend.

One last thing before I go take a shower: I'm so sad that my Project Runway eye-candy has been eliminated! Poor Daniel Feld. He's so hot, oh my god, though it got really tiring to watch him and his nervous breakdowns for the past three weeks. Sigh. He's dating this other super cute contestant who was eliminated earlier on and when I found out, it just confirmed that if a guy is 1) really hot; and 2) on Project Runway, he must be gay.

Actually, the next time I see a really hot guy who dresses impeccably, I'd err on the side of caution and assume he's gay. Chance are, he probably is.

It's raining now and all cold and nice and I don't feel like going to school. Sigh. I'm so sick of school, it's not funny anymore. The only redeeming factors about the whole process is 1) the friends; and 2) the wearing nicer-than-normal clothes. But then again, Factor #2 will start to wear thin after a while and I'll be back to my dressing lazily in t-shirt and shorts (no slippers though; I hate, HATE wearing slippers and I don't think I'd want to date a guy that wears slippers because, yeah, I'm superficial like that). But hey, at least I have nice t-shirts, right?

Oh yeah, I finally finished McEwan's Atonement. I did enjoy reading it a lot. On a whole though, Part I completely pwns Part II and London, 1999; I couldn't get over his amazing attention to detail and the way he got under the skins and into the heads of all his characters with such insight and empathy. As for Robbie's narration in Part II...I don't know, maybe it's because I don't like reading war literature or watching war movies, but the novel kind of lost its magic for me there. Briony's narration got a little bit better, especially towards the end when she meets Robbie and Cecilia again, but Part II really paled in comparison to Part I. The latter is just...breath-taking and absolutely mind-blowing. Half a novel dedicated to ONE SINGLE DAY.

Am I inspired to pick up his other books, though? Not really. He didn't quite hit me at the core of things the way Julian Barnes did. I don't know if I'd ever find a writer that moves me as deeply as JB does, if I'm being honest. The thing about modern novels is that the less-established names aren't really worth reading 'cause all their attempts at literary fiction just seem pretentious and full of it to me. Most of the time I don't bloody understand what the fuck is the point of their plot, and all attempts at edginess are just...I can't help but react with a weary sigh and an eye-roll. Of course, it's not as if I can do better (I can't), but I definitely know what's worthier of my money and my time.

I also realised that I tend to tend towards reading British writers. It's not a conscious thing at all, but when I was thinking about my favourite books, most of them are by British writers. When I'm buying a new book, I tend to buy something by a British writer. And they're usually English.

I haven't been reading much poetry lately though, but I still absolutely love the poems by Philip Levine that I found online.

I can't decide if I should read Amis' Money next or the Satanic Verses. Probably Money; I think it'd be much easier to read than Satanic Verses. And I really need to shower.

before sunrise // before sunset


Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010