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| А как вы думаете? |
Это всё :(
Monday, 30 January 2012
Понедельник день тяжелый
Понедельник день тяжелый :( Я хочу заниматься, но не могу. так устал. T_T
Это всё :(
Это всё :(
Friday, 27 January 2012
t3-mry has my soul
Привет!
Я не свободна весь день :( Ohohohohoho, I can see I am about to stumble into that loop of unfaithful blogging again :P
7 courses this term - and I'm feeling it. This whole week alone I have done nothing - and I truly mean NOTHING else than translating Middle Egyptian texts (that means hieroglyphs). Yay! Or perhaps nay?
Ok ok I am not about to complain. I have come this far and I finally got my single wish in life. Getting here is only the beginning - it's keeping my two feet on the ground that is the real challenge . I thank God every single day that I am blessed enough to pursue what I truly love. I simply cannot fathom how people can separate passion from their work.
Weekend is finally here, and that means I.K.E.A! I have been sans study table for half a term now, it's about time I get one so I can dump more junk on top of it. I have complete confidence in my ineptitude in putting books on the shelf.
I am a little behind with Middle Egyptian, so that also means no real weekend for me. My life is defined through statives, participles and prospective sdm.n.fs.
Of course, more readings and essays. I would need to get a head start if I want that one week of adventure to myself on Reading Week. I have one paper due right in the middle of that blissful holiday (putting myself in the shoes of a Soviet publisher, no less). I am so not complaining about what is on top of my to-do-list. Not when I get to rant about one of the most magnificent female rulers in history ever.
How did Howard Carter survive all those years, endlessly working and uncovering layers after layers of history? I can only imagine the fortitude and perseverance the man must have possessed. I'd like to blame it all on the absence of internet (hence less distraction), but that would be the sloth in me talking. And finally, after all this time, I made my first entrance into the Far Eastern Library in the ROM. Then I stumbled upon a dissertation of one of my profs on Egyptology. Needless to say, bricks have been shat.
Я не свободна весь день :( Ohohohohoho, I can see I am about to stumble into that loop of unfaithful blogging again :P
7 courses this term - and I'm feeling it. This whole week alone I have done nothing - and I truly mean NOTHING else than translating Middle Egyptian texts (that means hieroglyphs). Yay! Or perhaps nay?
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| More of The Shipwrecked Sailor. Hoch is definitely trolling with us. |
Ok ok I am not about to complain. I have come this far and I finally got my single wish in life. Getting here is only the beginning - it's keeping my two feet on the ground that is the real challenge . I thank God every single day that I am blessed enough to pursue what I truly love. I simply cannot fathom how people can separate passion from their work.
Weekend is finally here, and that means I.K.E.A! I have been sans study table for half a term now, it's about time I get one so I can dump more junk on top of it. I have complete confidence in my ineptitude in putting books on the shelf.
I am a little behind with Middle Egyptian, so that also means no real weekend for me. My life is defined through statives, participles and prospective sdm.n.fs.
 |
| Homework. I kid you not. That is as literal as it could get. Jolly good time - like an Ancient Egyptian. |
Of course, more readings and essays. I would need to get a head start if I want that one week of adventure to myself on Reading Week. I have one paper due right in the middle of that blissful holiday (putting myself in the shoes of a Soviet publisher, no less). I am so not complaining about what is on top of my to-do-list. Not when I get to rant about one of the most magnificent female rulers in history ever.
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| First thing due this term :) Maatkare, you please me so. |
How did Howard Carter survive all those years, endlessly working and uncovering layers after layers of history? I can only imagine the fortitude and perseverance the man must have possessed. I'd like to blame it all on the absence of internet (hence less distraction), but that would be the sloth in me talking. And finally, after all this time, I made my first entrance into the Far Eastern Library in the ROM. Then I stumbled upon a dissertation of one of my profs on Egyptology. Needless to say, bricks have been shat.
Say goodbye to at least the next 10 years of my life.
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| No time for matrimony and procreation |
To quote Sheldon Cooper: "Oh the humanities!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obTNwPJvOI8
I totally feel you woman.
Till next time,
До свидания
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Vainpot...and countdown to Malaysian Night
Здравствуй!
I am working under the fashion show department, with my lovely girls Natasha and Sarah. So guess what my job is?
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| Test drive. I'll probably reserve this look for the bride. :) |
That's right. Yours truly has the honour of being the mak andam.
Meaning that I will be handling the hair and make-up. It has been so long since I've done any makeup on anyone, and I have been honing my long-forgotten skills for these past few days (*liar* - this is just another legit excuse to play makeup when I have nothing to do in my room). There will be five couples on the runway, each displaying a matching pair of traditional clothes worn by the different ethnic groups in Malaysia.
Of course, the crowning jewel would be the pelamin (dais used in Malay weddings) on stage. We are going to stage a Malay wedding as part of our effort to introduce Malaysian culture to foreigners. I can't wait for the sounds of kompang to pierce through the night when Busuk and Wahida would step in as our lovely couple. And yes, we'll even have menepung tawar (which is like a blessing ceremony done to the couple on the dais *explaining foreign terminologies is not my forte!*).
And oh, the hair. THE HAIR! I have no clue how to manage hairdos. I am at a complete loss when it comes to hair, since I have always let mine flow freely. I think I'm just going to stick a fake bun on the bride's hair. :P
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| Look #2. Aquamarine-inspired. |
I cannot imagine the backstage mayhem. It will definitely be a rush trying to prepare everything on time and get the show going. The venue will be at Wycliffe Hall, which is close to Trinity College at Hoskin Avenue. The University does not permit access to the hall until the day itself, and only from 3p.m.. Which leaves us precisely three hours to arrange the stage, the food stalls and the decorations until the event kicks off at around 6-ish. And I need to get my models going as well. Oh the drama.
In the meantime, we have one last huge meeting tomorrow to finalize the agenda and stuff before Winter term starts. Hurray for school. And we still have flowers to decorate, drapes to measure, costumes to finish etc etc...
Till then, до свидания!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Let the readings commence
Здравствуй!
And so, with a short trip to the library, my readings for the second half of the term shall begin.
Last week, my prof posted the syllabus online, and needless to say, the readings required are absolutely rigorous. Such is the fate of a literature student. At least one novel must be completed per week - and if you think the story ends there, I am afraid you are quite wrong my friend. The story/prose must be put into perspective, taking into consideration the social, historical and political backdrop. Oh, don't forget the classic literary (i.e. character, plot, lit device etc.) conventions too.
This is the course that I've been most enthusiastic about for this term. It is called 'Narrative Revolution and Counterrevolution in 20th Century Russian Prose'. So basically it deals with writings from the post-Revolutionary period - works from both sides of the spectrum, from the hardcore conformists to the fearless dissidents. My enthusiasm is further inflamed by the fact that Prof. Livak is teaching this course. I have to admit, he looks intimidating, and gives off the authoritative know-it-all aura that some university profs have at a glance :P But I've talked to him in person to discuss about course requirements and stuff, and he seems like a really, really cool dude. He is reputed to be one of the best lecturers in the Slavic Languages & Lit. department - one who really knows the subject matter at hand, and some of my friends have taken his courses. Reviews have been very, very positive.
To be honest, aside from the cursory readings that I've done on my own - works by Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Blok and Akhmatova's Requiem - I really do not have much knowledge about Soviet literature and Socialist Realist aesthetics as much as I do with their predecessors in the 19th century. The line between political discourse and literature is a thin one in the Russian literary canon. The two are virtually inseparable. To fully comprehend the authors and their work, one must be well acquainted with Russia's political history to understand what is implicated in the writings. And there lies the real challenge in my readings. It has become a routine for me to seek out and learn the historical context of a particular work before I start reading the real texts - even when I am not reading Russian stuff. I anticipate that the job would prove even more arduous this time around, since I will be dealing with a more volatile period in Russian history. Not to mention the problematic nature of publication to avoid censors back then, where one slip of the pen could mean death to the author. I am particularly excited about reading Varlam Shalamov's The Kolyma Tales, a series of short stories about life in the Soviet labour camps.
At present, I am still stuck in the 19th Century bubble. I am currently still reading "How the Russians Read the French" by Priscilla Meyer, a gem that I quite accidentally stumbled upon at Robarts. This is such an enlightening read, since Russian literature have in the past been accused of being a pale imitation of the French and Western European literary tradition.
Sometimes when I look at the books stacked at the corner of my room, I feel like it is such a Sisyphean task to even contemplate reading them all in such a short amount of time. But really, my philosophy has always been that one can NEVER, ever have too much books. You find the most uncanny things as you flip through the pages.
I thought my passion for Egyptology could tamper down my frustration for not taking any lit courses in the first term - but that move proved to be farcical. Don't get me wrong. My love for archaeology and Egypt will forever take precedence before literature.
But literature keeps me sane by driving me insane. Does that make any sense to you? (I am sure lit students can very well relate to this sentiment)
Till next time, до свидания. :)
And so, with a short trip to the library, my readings for the second half of the term shall begin.
 |
| For the month of January only. And the books are far from complete (someone beat me to the library!) |
Last week, my prof posted the syllabus online, and needless to say, the readings required are absolutely rigorous. Such is the fate of a literature student. At least one novel must be completed per week - and if you think the story ends there, I am afraid you are quite wrong my friend. The story/prose must be put into perspective, taking into consideration the social, historical and political backdrop. Oh, don't forget the classic literary (i.e. character, plot, lit device etc.) conventions too.
This is the course that I've been most enthusiastic about for this term. It is called 'Narrative Revolution and Counterrevolution in 20th Century Russian Prose'. So basically it deals with writings from the post-Revolutionary period - works from both sides of the spectrum, from the hardcore conformists to the fearless dissidents. My enthusiasm is further inflamed by the fact that Prof. Livak is teaching this course. I have to admit, he looks intimidating, and gives off the authoritative know-it-all aura that some university profs have at a glance :P But I've talked to him in person to discuss about course requirements and stuff, and he seems like a really, really cool dude. He is reputed to be one of the best lecturers in the Slavic Languages & Lit. department - one who really knows the subject matter at hand, and some of my friends have taken his courses. Reviews have been very, very positive.
To be honest, aside from the cursory readings that I've done on my own - works by Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Blok and Akhmatova's Requiem - I really do not have much knowledge about Soviet literature and Socialist Realist aesthetics as much as I do with their predecessors in the 19th century. The line between political discourse and literature is a thin one in the Russian literary canon. The two are virtually inseparable. To fully comprehend the authors and their work, one must be well acquainted with Russia's political history to understand what is implicated in the writings. And there lies the real challenge in my readings. It has become a routine for me to seek out and learn the historical context of a particular work before I start reading the real texts - even when I am not reading Russian stuff. I anticipate that the job would prove even more arduous this time around, since I will be dealing with a more volatile period in Russian history. Not to mention the problematic nature of publication to avoid censors back then, where one slip of the pen could mean death to the author. I am particularly excited about reading Varlam Shalamov's The Kolyma Tales, a series of short stories about life in the Soviet labour camps.
At present, I am still stuck in the 19th Century bubble. I am currently still reading "How the Russians Read the French" by Priscilla Meyer, a gem that I quite accidentally stumbled upon at Robarts. This is such an enlightening read, since Russian literature have in the past been accused of being a pale imitation of the French and Western European literary tradition.
 |
| Such a good read, and I am far from finished :P May need to extend the loan (again) |
Sometimes when I look at the books stacked at the corner of my room, I feel like it is such a Sisyphean task to even contemplate reading them all in such a short amount of time. But really, my philosophy has always been that one can NEVER, ever have too much books. You find the most uncanny things as you flip through the pages.
I thought my passion for Egyptology could tamper down my frustration for not taking any lit courses in the first term - but that move proved to be farcical. Don't get me wrong. My love for archaeology and Egypt will forever take precedence before literature.
But literature keeps me sane by driving me insane. Does that make any sense to you? (I am sure lit students can very well relate to this sentiment)
Till next time, до свидания. :)
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Привет! Что ты делаешь сегодня?
Okay. Here goes.
Since it is 2012 already and it is now or never, I hereby pledge to be a more faithful blogger. As if I've posted stuff before =.=
All levity aside, this blog is mainly a testament to my repressed/stunted passion to write stuff freely - without fretting over citations that are the bane of my existence as a Humanities student.
It has been quite a long while since I have given any thought to compose something honest and straightforward - and for the first time in a very long, long time, I want to write again :)
Here's to a (hopefully) blessed year ahead :) May the Almighty guide us all.
Since it is 2012 already and it is now or never, I hereby pledge to be a more faithful blogger. As if I've posted stuff before =.=
All levity aside, this blog is mainly a testament to my repressed/stunted passion to write stuff freely - without fretting over citations that are the bane of my existence as a Humanities student.
It has been quite a long while since I have given any thought to compose something honest and straightforward - and for the first time in a very long, long time, I want to write again :)
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| "If you're a bird, I'm a bird" (Photo by Yours Truly) |
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