I didn't do very much work today, having decided to skip Latin Mass in the morning and catch up on much sleep. I did however, manage to consolidate my plans for the upcoming week and how to finish notarising all my lectures by then. I should be fairly successful, I hope. We have a test on the Monday back. In any case, I shall just drudge on.
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I restarted my Cantonese lessons today! Very happy with the new teacher. My previous teacher, who was also brilliant, decided not to return to Dublin for the remainder of her work holiday. Thankfully, she referred me to this other person. Hopefully, I will actually get somewhere this year.
For those wondering, I am actually Cantonese in ethnicity. My grandfather is from China, and my grandmother is cantonese also, and she grew up learning to read and write in cantonese in Ipoh, Malaysia. However, they decided it would be very complicated for us, the grandchildren, to learn three languages, English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, simultaneously, as we were growing up, so they never spoke to us in the Mandarin or Cantonese. That was most unfortunate. We only speak English at home, and I just happened to go to the one school in Singapore notorious for educating students with appalling Mandarin (it is compulsory in Singapore to learn one's 'mother tongue', which for me is Mandarin).
Well, to be fair, I also hated it as a child. Now, I realise how much I love languages and am desperately trying to reverse my monolingual tendencies.
For those wondering, I am actually Cantonese in ethnicity. My grandfather is from China, and my grandmother is cantonese also, and she grew up learning to read and write in cantonese in Ipoh, Malaysia. However, they decided it would be very complicated for us, the grandchildren, to learn three languages, English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, simultaneously, as we were growing up, so they never spoke to us in the Mandarin or Cantonese. That was most unfortunate. We only speak English at home, and I just happened to go to the one school in Singapore notorious for educating students with appalling Mandarin (it is compulsory in Singapore to learn one's 'mother tongue', which for me is Mandarin).
Well, to be fair, I also hated it as a child. Now, I realise how much I love languages and am desperately trying to reverse my monolingual tendencies.
During my last match, I think I must have hurt my hip joint. I think I have a contusion or a bruise right over the joint. In any case, running 1.5 miles yesterday aggravated quite a bit, and for the last 24hrs, I have been walking around like an elderly man. There is another match tomorrow, the last before Paris, and I am desperately hoping to get in on that Match, both for fitness and for the win.
Rugby Paris trip in TWO WEEKS. I am very excited. I have never been to Paris in my life, and I am trying to arrange an earlier flight to roam around without the team--- because they'll probably only want to get drunk. I intend to get to Lisieux to visit a dear friend of mine as well as to look at all the gorgeous art in the Lourve. Not to mention, I hope to walk briefly the streets that my dear friend, St Ignatius, limped as he studied for his licentiate. St Ignatius should be a patron Saint of desperate students, as he himself noted that he detested books in his youth, yet went on to obtain a licentiate in Sacred Theology. That is about a thousand times harder in his day than it is in ours. Anyway, I also get a break from my diet and I shall indulge myself with beautiful french croissants, eclairs, and other lovely food. I do not understand why the French don't like their croissants warmed up though. I'm told it is a very Asian thing. Oh yes, and we'll beat the frogs again, and celebrate.
Tomorrow will be day 20 of my diet. Only a 100 more days to go or 13 weeks, which ever is faster. I cannot wait for it to end. For those curious, I started the diet because I was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome from the beginning of term. I thought it was hypothyroidism, but the GP suggested obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The only way to definitively diagnose that is a sleep study. However, this is Ireland, it takes a few months to get a public appointment, and 6-8 weeks for a private one. I might as well go home and do it. In the end, I decided to lose weight to rule out OSA. If I have OSA, then sleep will improve, and maybe I shall pass the year. If I don't, I'll beg for another blood test. The fatigue is now gone! So maybe it was OSA, or maybe it was something else. BUT, my insomnia is back, and now I can't get to sleep! And that is perpetuating some of the tiredness. I wish I could stop my brain from thinking.
Incidentally, the only things on my mind nowadays are all the lovely carbs that I am missing, and even worse, it's all this delicious local cuisine that cannot be found in Dublin. Gosh, how I want some laksa or nasi lemak or even just some chicken rice!
Speaking of local food, as it is reading week, I tried to pull a fast one on my mother and request for a trip home. However, she saw right through my last minute ploy, and I shall not escape the cold Dublin streets for the week. On the bright side, I won't be breaking my diet.
O, how I miss those sunny, humid streets.
I have been trying to watch the classic film, Dead Poet's Society. However, after reading Prof. Kevin Dettmar's scathing review of the film and commentary on the disappearance of Humanities in university; which I found myself nodding quite a bit too, I can no longer enjoy the film. Sadly, it now seems to be filled with lots of antics and silly behaviour. That isn't what literature is about!
In any case, it makes me grateful to my teachers in Junior College who spurred my interest in literature, especially Mrs C, and Mr Tanu. I am so grateful to them for opening up that brilliant world to me, which has become a brilliant respite from the dry world of science. Speaking of JC, it is Founder's Day tomorrow. It will be 128 years since the founding of Anglo-Chinese School by Bishop Oldham, a Methodist Mission in Singapore. The school has provided for 13 years of my formation and education, and lovely memories.
I was never a popular kid in school, nor did I find many friends, or have many great days, but still made some great friends, and had wonderful memories, and the most lovely of teachers.
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