I will get my essays done. I will!

If only the essays would get done by themselves if I say that enough times. Because I am horrendously behind schedule, and working at a horrifyingly slow pace. I try to write, and then spend the afternoon staring at the screen till I can't make head or tail of what I'm saying, and can't even decide what to change.

Meeting Up

Met up with Carmen and Tracy after SATs for lunch and to shop for a prom dress. Was fun chatting and doing the dress shopping. Thanks for accompanying me!

Met Adeline today for lunch and coffee. We talked for a really long time; it was always good. You know, serious world important stuff that girls normally talk about?
You know, like, erm, boys? Or makeup?

Highlights, courtesy of me

"Ok, I've checked my schedule, and I believe I'll have time in college for a boyfriend"

"I mean, why would I want to have kids? I don't even have pet goldfish"

"If you want a boyfriend thats handsome, caring, thoughtful and doesn't talk back, get a dog"

The As are over over over!

Wohoo!
(If these celebrations seem a bit late, let me explain. There are extenuating circumstances.)

My As ended on the 29th of Nov. (Dratted H3 eccons)
After which I prepared for my SATs, which were on the 1st of Dec.
And had to shop for a prom dress from the 1st--3rd of Dec.
And Prom was on the 4th. (which was spent tottering around on high heels and getting blinded by camera flashes, but thats another story)
It is now the 7th and I have uni applications to complete.

Bah! What holiday?

The prelims are over

And I can finally blog about something I've been obsessed with for a period of time- figure skating! I have wasted countless hours of my live on youtube just watching skating, so. yeah. And I have persuaded mom to let me learn skating after the 'As, so thats something I'm eagerly anticipating.
And back to videos and skating. I spend a disproportionate amount of time watching 1 skater in particular. His name? Evgeni Plushenko. I first saw his picture in the papers for the 2006 Torino Olympics, and I thought 'hey, that guy is pretty cute. And his hair is nice.' So I googled him. Then I youtubed him. And I was STRUCK. His skating is fantastic! And he flirts with the audience!


I've watched the other competitors, and they've failed to leave as deep an impression on me. After Plushenko, the others all seem slow, clumsy, or technically deficient. There is one other skater who can compare though--Alexei Yagudin. His 2002 Olympic programmes were just gorgeous.

The point of all this? To declare that I love Plushenko! Nah. Thats probably post-prelim delirium.

Die!

I am so dead.
Its the day before CTs, and what am I doing- surfing the net when I haven't even done a fraction of my revision. Especially history.
Oh, why did I go for training(s).

Die econs essay, Die

I will finish this before tomorrow. I will. I must.
Maybe if I say this enough, the essay will be mysteriously written by itself.

Oh, ohh
'Reliance on unrealistic assumptions, such as the rationality postulate has resulted in a failure on the part of economic theory to capture the complexities of the real world'. Discuss

*dissolves into existential angst*

McDonalds, McDonalds

Its been an extremely hectic week. Besides judo occupying almost the whole of Saturday and Sunday, an International History Term Paper due on Monday compounded matters. That the SEA History Term Paper and Raffles Asia Programme papers were due on the same day (Thursday) did nothing to relieve the stress. I found myself tired and listlesss during practice, that the throws were not working out, and thinking 'I need a vacation!'
BUT-- finally the week is over and I can look foward to Chinese New Year. I've borrowed DVDs from my judo coach to watch on the long journey to Malaysia, and I'll try to get rubber tubing so that I can work on my pulling and avoid going mad with boredom in godforsaken Muar.

OK, on to more interesting matters. I found this fascinating article on McDonalds.
It narrates how McDonalds has chanaged and adapted its strategy over the years. For instance, I never knew that breakfasts were one of the most lucrative times for fastfood restaurants. The article also details the exhaustive research that goes into a new product.

As dietblog says:

McDonald's CEO James Skinner claims "We've learned. We've evolved. We believe we've cracked the code in the United States."

What is the code? Americans like to eat all day long.

Most outlets are open 18 hours a day. Others are 24/7. McDonald's essentially want you to stuff yourself from dawn 'til dusk.

It seems that many customers are only too happy to oblige. After all, McDonald's have kids play areas, they have McCafe's, they have wide-screen TV's.

The salads and so-called "healthy options" are nothing but a nod in the direction of the food police. McDonald's have been talking about reducing trans fats for years. Ironically at the same time they do the talking - they come out with snacks like the chicken Snack Wrap. Each "snack" has about 330 Calories and at least a gram of good 'ole trans fats.

America: McDonald's has you under their big fat meaty thumb.

I was so intrigued by the article that I went to search for more articles on McDonalds. This one by the Economist is pretty good too.

Some interesting quotes from the Economist Article:

"Yet the really interesting thing going on here is at a hybrid restaurant, which in part uses McDonald's Japanese system—creator of the Teriyaki burger—and a new concept from Sweden, which grills burgers vertically instead of horizontally as on a traditional griddle. This new type of grill offers great space-saving possibilities—extremely useful in crowded Japan."

"The average sale in a McDonald's is just under $5. Typically what might happen is a mother comes in, buys her children a Happy Meal, and herself just a coffee. Now that salads and other lighter options have been added to the menu, many of those mothers now buy themselves a meal too, lifting the order value to around $12. The lighter options also encourage existing customers to come back more often because there is a greater variety of things to eat."

Some related, and not-so-related articles:

• Fast Food's yummy secret-- America's second fast-food group is as successful as it is little known
• Changing the menu-- Why food companies are joining in the crusade for healthy eating
• McDonald's is loving it in Asia
  

My life is exciting

not

Monday to friday:

1. Go to school
2. Go for training
3. Then practice piano and do school work at home
4. Sleep

Repeat

Saturday and Sunday
sleep. do work. practice piano. train (on sun)

Yep. No exiting jaunts with boyfriends till 3 am for this girl. No watching movies everyweek and shopping. I lead a boring life.

Apple iPhone!

After much speculation and debate, the iPhone has finally been announced! All the rumours were true after all. Though I read rumours, and saw dozens of fake mock ups, its still a tad hard to believe that the iphone is out.

Gizmodo has details of the phone's functions and a review of each function

wize comparison- iPhone vs other phones

video-iphone in person behind glass

The Iphone is not a SmartPhone

School reopens

school in = fun out
nevermind, theres still training
grinz