On a not-so-nice note, I’ve lost my fork and spoon… again.

My dream last night was a weird one. I went on holiday and somehow my cousin gave me a snack to munch on because I was hungry. I did. And we continued our tour. After our holiday abroad was over, I found myself in my own home, and I was just telling my parents how mobile phones knew when a person died, and the phone would take the picture of a person as they die. I walked up to my parents old bedroom and the white furniture were still around.

I looked out the window to view the mountain. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest and I was falling, but I managed to catch sight of my phone and smiled. FLASH! I was dead.

But I had become a ghost. I saw my parents frantically running upstairs, finding me dead on the floor. And they wondered why. I was alright and well for the whole time, how could I have possibly died so soon? They called the ambulance and they pronounced me dead from food poisoning.

Now as the ambulance crew left, my parents found themselves able to see my ghost. They asked me, “Why did you not tell us you were feeling unwell?” I shook my head. I knew I was perfectly healthy before the heart attack and my death.

Soon the whole scene changed. I was now in my uncle’s house and I was ready to be buried. They did send my body to the cemetery, but my ghost remained in the house, afraid for sunrise. I knew that the Black Guard of Impermanence and White Guard of Impermanence would take me when the sun is up because my strength was diminishing at a fast pace.

I waited. My brother had gone to school and he was coming back home. My sister was talking to me, crying as she went along. I gave her all my treasured belongings. And the worst part was my parents. They just kept crying.

When my brother got home, it was nearly sunrise. All I could say was “I’m very proud of you, my boy,” before the two arrived, ready to take me to hell. I threw all my jewellery and personal belongings that I still had. I hugged my parents goodbye and said I’d love to be their daughter in the next life, and told my sister that we’ll forever be sisters and I’d love to be her sister again.

The two told me to fly, I said I could not. They told me to jump. The feeling was exhilarating. I move freely in the air, but I could not bear to leave. This was when the two gave me a chance. A chance to choose who I’d spend half a day with before I was taken to hell.

I chose my sister. We were then sat down in a car with the two and we cruised around until we found a beverage shop. The two had no idea how to use cash, and I ended up paying for them. As I was walking towards the car, a thief snatched my keys (wtf right?!) and I chased after him, screaming stop! Stop! STOP!

Try as I may, I was unable to catch up. Thankfully the two managed to retrieve it back for me. But time was up. They quickly changed back to their original form and insisted that I left immediately. I held on to my sister’s hand and they pulled me away to hell.

And then I woke up.

My flatmates are horrible when it comes to the kitchen. They don’t wash up immediately. Not a big deal to me, I don’t wash up immediately too. But I wash up daily. They don’t.

Recently I’ve come to realize that everyone has been using my sponge. So all the money I spent on sponges are spent on everyone else. Okay, that’s not too bad. I got them from Brunei so they’re pretty much cheap. I replace my sponge every month because it gets to horribly smelly and disgusting because well, after washing up they leave it like that. Moist. And… full of their mess.

I seriously have no problem with people using my things. But seriously? At least have the courtesy to remove all that gunk and yuck from my sponge and dry it. It will not have a horrid smell for the next person (me, because they rarely wash up).

And now comes to dishwashing liquid. They can never survive without mine. I have replaced it three times, all out of my own wallet, and they are always the ones who finish it. It sucks. I don’t expect much in return (money-wise), but at least have some basic courtesy when it comes to using others’ stuff.

They finished my last bottle of dishwashing liquid and I’ve taken out a new sponge and left the old one there. I’ve decided to no longer share either my sponge or my dishwashing liquid. It now goes straight into the cupboard. They’ve replaced my sponge, but it has been 3 days since the dishwashing liquid ran out. And no one has bothered to replace it. And now the sink is full since no one bothered to get a new bottle. Lazy bastards. But if I give in and share again, I’m definitely going to lose and they will, as usual, solely depend on my wallet and my responsibility to help them again.

On a happier note, I’m back from Morocco and I’ll be writing about my travel experience soon, if I have the time and effort

Problem: Every time I think about my weight, I grab the nearest snack and eat it all. Worse still, it’s usually a bag of crisps or biscuits.
Solution: Don’t buy them. Don’t eat them.

It sounds so easy, but it is not for me. I keep giving myself excuses, like “Oh, but it’s exam time and so you need more food to concentrate”. And then I buy all that bad stuff and the cycle goes on and on again.

Problem: I drink too much Coca-Cola
Solution: Home blended fruit juice
Problem with solution: Massive sugar intake ( ~500g in less than a month )

No idea what to do with that.

I had a dilemma a few weeks ago of whether to go back or not during summer because going back would be pointless since I’d just lie down in bed for more than 16 hours a day… which is completely opposite of what I should do! I’ve discussed it with my sister and I’ve decided to go back and:

• Get a work internship for at least 2 weeks
• Get a teaching internship for another 2.
• Get a part time job at a tuition school (if my parents allow me)
• Sign up for the gym, get a personal trainer and work out at least 3 times a week or join those fitness classes
• Go for a jog at least once a week at Tasek
• Keep to this plan

I’m feeling so uncertain at the moment, it’s crazy. Well, on the bright side, my visa is ready and I can’t wait to go to Morocco next week!

It saves you both time and money. After cooking the congee, if you have extras, just pop it in the fridge and consume it within 4 days. Just heat the amount you need for your meal and you’re done!

During my trip to Singapore, I was on a plain congee diet because I could not eat proteins (I had a horrible case of urticaria). I roughly know what tastes are in the porridge, and this recipe is based on my experiments. It serves about 5 people, feel free to try it.

Ingredients

• 1 (rice cooker) cup uncooked long grain rice
• 400g Chicken Breast, cut into slices
• Ginger, cut finely into strips
• 4 cups water
• 1 Scallion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon pre-fried Shallots
• 1 teaspoon pre-fried garlic
• ½ Salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon Light Soya Sauce
• ½ teaspoon Dark Soya Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (optional)

Method

1. Add the chicken breast, 2 cups of water and ginger and bring to boil.
2. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the rice and remaining water.
3. Turn to low heat to simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on (or longer, depending on how watery you’d like it to be).
4. Add the garlic, light and dark soya sauce, pepper and salt.
5. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
6. Stir in sesame oil( and shaoxing wine).
7. Garnish with scallion and shallots and serve.

Oh and this is the most optional step. If you want to add an egg, do that before step 5. Don’t beat or stir it, just leave it to boil.

Enjoy your congee

I’ve been trying to study, but the best times to do so are at 11pm when the damn corridor is quiet. I’m sick of hearing them play football all the time. I’m so tempted to call the Resident Tutor / Security because I cannot concentrate. Ugh.

And I’m homesick too. I’ve been cooking a lot of home food to compensate though. Green bean soup, black bean soup, congee, you name it. And my finances don’t look too amazing at the moment. I owe money and I have a little over 300 in my savings. But hey, I’m going to Morocco and I’ve paid for *most of* my trip! But then again I’ll have to pay more when I spend on necessities / buy things there. I’ve also got a blender.

On a side note, I do REGRET ordering a printer from Jessops. My order hasn’t been shipped yet and I did not see that it would take 28 working days to arrive because it is a backorder. And I need to print my notes for exams goddamnit! And the cost of printing in the library is ridiculously high and so hell no am I going to use that. I’ll just study off the computer and pray really hard that it goes in my head.

I do not intend to sleep until 4am. So that I can wake up at 2pm, get ready for exams and then cry.

Life’s pretty chill at the moment, but I’ve 3 exams to study for, and I’ve not finished revision. I spent most of my winter break on holiday, like, proper holiday. First, I flew from London Heathrow to Brunei International Airport. I spent a good few days in Brunei hanging out with friends and relatives before my stopover at Singapore.

In Singapore I spent most of my days shopping, but for New Year’s Eve I spent it with Dayna, Brenda and Cherlynn. Let’s just say that the day was filled with a lot of good food, singing, and a ridiculous countdown on the bus It was great fun though since I haven’t seen them since September I spent another day unpacking all my brother’s stuff into his boarding house and cleaning his room while my parents were in a salon and my sister hung out with her friends. Suffice to say, I think I did a good job considering the time constraints.

Oh, and did I mention the security guard thought that I was… his mother? D:

Before leaving Singapore, we bought a lot of things from the Duty Free shops. I managed to get my Victoria Secret perfume, Noir Tease. I’ve wanted it for ages already and when I finally got it (all expenses paid by parents), I was elated I also got the Laneíge Hydra Solution Cream and it’s sooo smooth.

After my Singapore Trip, I started helping out with my cousin’s wedding. I was one of the Chee Mui (or bridesmaids) and we had so much preparation to do! The event was successful though and I had so much fun as well! One of my cousin’s make-up artists complemented me for my knowledge about makeup. Apparently he gives makeup classes to people who wanted to learn. Makes me wonder why people would do so when there are videos all around the internet. (Hint: Youtube.)

I left Brunei and spent 45 pounds just to get back to Bath (my fail for not preparing for my return journey in advance). Rent paid out (OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH!) and now I’m trying to find a house. Mmmhm. Cooking congee to last for days because I cba to cook anymore. Life is sweet.

Right, enough with procrastination. Back to my studies.

I managed to score a 64% for my SRPN calculator (which translates to a 2:1) and 88% for my Connect 4 game (1:1) for my programming module. This means that overall my average for my coursework is a first class (76%) I missed the lab session where we could get individual feedback, but nonetheless I’m happy with my results. All the marks for my lab work isn’t released yet, but hopefully it’s all 10/10 so I can get a higher first

Not only am I doing well in my Programming, but for my French I got a 76% for my reading assignment, 69% for my writing and 63% for my listening. I still do not have my speaking test results, but things are looking good. Hopefully it is > 72% so that I can overall get a first

I had my Christmas dinner with my flatmates the other night. I received the “Most Hardworking” award. I was surprised. Compared to those who need to do essays, all I do is chill in my room, check Facebook, emails, moodle and once in a blue moon, finish my assignments that are due. I don’t have much to work on since I only have 5 modules that require little or no work compared to those doing Maths who get problem sheets weekly. But it’s just nice knowing that people think so highly of me :p

Going home in 2 days! I hope I’ve done enough shopping and enough preparation for leaving. I’ll need to bring study material since I have 3 exams in January. It’s not like A Levels when it’s perfectly fine to do last minute work I really want to end up with a first class, and once again in my life I’m actually feeling ambitious. I don’t want to be half-assed like I was last time for A Levels. I’m hoping this ambitious mood of mine will last until my 3rd year!

• The player can start, load or save a game
• A Text and Graphical User Interface
• The ‘Computer’ needs braiiiiiiiiiins

So I spent a good few days constructing different methods for AI. I’ve never done any AI before and this is my pseudo-code:

# generate all possible winning moves.
loop:
    if exists((x,y), (x+1, y), (x+2,y), (x+3,y)):
        # checks for horizontal patterns
        add to combo
    if exists((x,y), (x,y+1), (x, y+2), (x,y+3)):
        # checks for vertical patterns
        add to combo
    if exists((x,y), (x+1,y+1), (x+2, y+2), (x+3,y+3)):
        # checks for diagonal patterns /
        add to combo
    if exists((x,y), (x-1,y+1), (x-2, y+2), (x-3,y+3)):
        # checks for diagonal patterns \
        add to combo

''' Now that all the combos are added, we shall eliminate
wherever Player 1 destroys the combination '''
for pattern in combo:
    for coords, value in pattern:
        if value != player1:
            add to comp_combo
            continue

''' Now let's see how much chance we have '''
for pattern in comp_combo:
    chance = 0
    for coords, value in pattern:
        if value == computer:
              chance = chance + 1
        if value == player:
              warn = warn + 1 // warns the computer
    if warn >=3: insert the token at the remaining slot to block the player from winning
    if chance >=3: use it and win
    elif chance >=2: let's keep that in view and try to use it
    elif chance >=1: I'll randomly put a piece to increase my next chance

Of course, after a while I kept playing with my AI and it stupidly helps me to win by putting tokens at positions that could. Of course, I could eliminate it if I made another loop that checks for the player’s combinations and try to put myself in their shoes, and if they can win, I’ll not place my token there, unless absolutely necessary. But I’ll implement that next time in future when I get my feedback

I started my coursework the very first week it was assigned. I knew I had no idea what the heck was going on, and how the heck I could possibly attempt it. I started early because I knew that I always, always find problems whenever it comes to deadlines, regardless of how early I ‘completed’ it.

On Monday night I got into the lab, laboured non-stop until 3am on Tuesday. The deadline was 8 hours away. I submitted my coursework and was proud of my beautiful GUI and semi-intelligent AI. Unfortunately, I messed up one important thing… my sleeping schedule.

I have not attended a single morning lecture all week, except the one yesterday, in which I got up 5 minutes before the lecture started. I’ve also been sleeping at 8pm, waking up at 1am, then sleeping at 5am, etc. Ridiculous? Definitely.

I think I fixed it already though. After, well, a random night walking in dark dark places in the university at like, 2 in the morning?