It's a funny thing that one of the more significant things concerning my outlook on some things in life was changed pretty drastically by Chian Yeh.

It's no secret, I love myself. Where food is concerned, I'll eat whatever my tastebuds like, whatever the health books and common-sensical people say. Where clothes are concerned, I'll ensure I don't look like a disaster in them. A fashion-trend disaster, perhaps, but as to where how I look is concerned, chances are that if it happens, I meant it to happen, and it'll be rather obvious anyway.

More to the point, where blame is concerned, I'm the second fastest person I know to reflexively conjure up a scene where at least one thing draws a fine line between Me and The Problem. No, the fastest person is not Chian Yeh.

Let me introduce a New Character, from the Roadside School. Her name is Liu Lao Shi, and if I remember right, she bore a secret title not known to her, namely "Tiger Woman". (The Roadside School one, not the Doon Man High School* one) She had a fiery temperament legendary even amongst the ranks of Chinese Teachers, where she belonged, and an especially soft spot for A Certain Person who has won a similar sort of affection from a certain Yang Lao Shi, who has been given the more unholy title of "Yang Fa Ke" by, if I remember correctly, Julie.

[*Reference to A Certain Principal of A Certain Thai School, whose accent I will remember for some time longer]

One who has been taught by the Yang probably will not forget his demeanour when he goes Red With Rage. One would also state with the utmost confidence that the same Rage-filled demeanour is expected when one steps into one of the Liu's lessons, no matter how cheerily she starts the lesson, if at all. This is comparable to expecting what will happen when "Codename Claudia" walks into a lesson Yang is teaching.

This Rage period is also especially Enhanced whenever someone forgets to bring their textbook/do their homework/fails miserably/has a face she doesn't like.

Imagine, then, this scenario (Translated for my convenience, I think you can imagine it in Chinese easily enough though):
[I credit a vivid episodic memory for this]

LIU storms into class, in a particularly foul mood. The class and her exchange greetings, after which she gets straight to the point.

Liu: If you have not done your homework, I want you to STAND UP!

(About half of the primary-five class stands up. It is mostly the Usual People (except, if I remember right, at least almost all all of them together, comprising amongst them the Karmen and Codename Claudia; as well as the unexpected guest star of the morning, Chian Yeh.)

Liu flits over to Codename Claudia's table.

Liu: I know you are a good child. Make sure you hand it in tomorrow. Sit down. (She beams brightly)

Liu turns to the remaining people and her face suddenly assumes a much scarier expression. (No, she does not beam even more brightly.)

Liu (scans class with Evil Look): THE REST OF YOU. IF YOU HAVE GOOD REASONS I WANT TO HEAR THEM NOW, AND YOU'D BETTER BE FAST.

[About five minutes pass, as the experienced Chinese teacher does the scolding and reason-collecting very quickly.]

(She reaches Chian Yeh, and her tone is more gentle): You- you have a good reason, yes or no?

Chian Yeh: No reason.

(The class falls silent, expecting The Wrath Of The Nine Hells to manifest themselves in the teacher standing before them.)

Liu's expressions contort wildly for about 2 seconds, then she starts grinning like a maniac, then laughing.

(The class exchange highly worried looks. Chian Yeh watches on in a nonchalant manner.)

Liu: (repeats) No reason.

Chian Yeh: Yeah.

Liu: Good child. Sit down.

(The class is now in a mini-uproar of sorts, and Liu resorts to Tiger methods to scare the class into quiet submission.)

The thing that got to me most of all, of course, was that Chian Yeh freaking just stood there when he was cornered by this woman with a very bad temper, very loud voice and very sadistic punishments, and freaking said "no reason", when this is the kind of woman you expect to bite off your head, munch it into itty bitty pieces, then do a tap dance on your body. Figuratively, of course. You can tell she had me rather scared, at least.

It's like a level 1 adventurer faced with a nine-headed hydra, who, when he gets to make the first move, goes up to the hydra, waves his hand in a non-magical fashion and says "Hi, I'm dinner."

I guess it sort of affected me, so when I'm in a tight situation and am pressed for something, I usually have MANY ideas as to what to say, and they're the easiest to just... say first.

In a most unnatural fashion, no thanks to Chian Yeh, I try to repress it - a lot. The amazing thing is that most of the time fact is stranger than fiction, and I can do the stupidest things, so most* of the reasons I have - regardless of their creativity rating - are freaking VALID if you hear them, anyway. -.-

(*Especially oversleeping. My reasons are all real providing you are not a teacher)

But I do try not to shift the blame - and it's not because I feel bad if I do that, I assure you I feel quite happy with myself when I conjure a good reason - because I don't want to have to lie to maintain whatever I want to maintain. I don't want to have to resort to things I'm told were wrong, things the world have maintained are wrong, no matter how natural and easy this nonsense is.

It helped very largely that someone dared to speak the truth and didn't get punished for it, though it's more than unreasonable to hope for that to happen.

I try, and I'm posting this because maybe someone out there could try this before it gets too late, while too much time is spent on trying to fix their image, too little time spent on trying to fix themself.

It's easier to run away, that's for sure. But how much easier will it be when you have even more things chasing after you?

Why is it that I always lag so uber sadly when I'm playing on the Kurzick side of Fort Aspenwood?

I now have somewhat in excess of 50 jadeites ONLY because I'd been busy study for the promos and also doing homework. So no, Karmen, don't think that I'm going out because I don't care about promos :P I just don't care for it as much. Anyway, I am down to 3 platinums. After I sell off my Amulet of the Mists, assorted gold weaponry and perhaps the baby siege turtle (do I hear a scream from Ets? Hmm) or the baby hydra, I shall have enough platinum to afford my third set of 15k armor. Only a little bit further to go, now...

I'm slowly getting the hang of econs (but very slowly, I stress) and slowly getting pretty sick of history. I am strange, I guess. I don't have this ongoing interest all the time, just some of the time.

Ets, want to set up a GW blog? :P

Sorry I didn't go last Friday, Faye >< I was sick. Slept for 15 hours straight.

OMG

OMG THE UNIMAGINATIVE BASTARDS

They actually used badly-blended themes from LOTR FOR THEIR NATIONAL DAY LAME VIDEO PREVIEW THINGY THIS YEAR -- complete with crap nominal reorchestration (ended with triumphant Gondorian violins, can you believe it --!)

THE SACRILEGE

SO MUCH FOR AUTHENTICITY

It doesn't matter if you beat the game and are feeling good when half the people around you don't get it and then accuse you of cheating, the other half try to suck up to get some answer out of you and the teacher simply shrugs his hands up in whateverment.

Three assignments, three weeks, at long last my precioussssss.

I guess I'll read up, enjoy the library's air-con, enjoy the slackiness of it all. But there's no one to read up with who will do it for anything more than getting stuff off you, no one to enjoy the library's air-con with who will not make a fool out of you in the library, no one to slack off with, no, not when the promos are parading alarm symbols on the phone calendars.

Well, at least there's xt, for now. Heh. QUICK WOMAN, c0ff33 on s4turd4y? (sh1ny c4rd!)

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It's 22 days til the kueh flies away
22 days
That's so gay.
(Say say say)

Take care Faye.

I'll write something better when I'm feeling more gay and less gay. Here's hoping blogspot doesn't screw up on me again or I'll feel REALLY... gay.