Cannot believe my last blog post was more than a month ago! And so much has happened since then!
Okay, I know I said so much has happened but I honestly have no recollection of what happened exactly! All I can say is I've been studying a lot, sleeping a lot, and going out with friends a lot!
And so as usual, I shall refer to my Instagram photos to remind me of what I've done in the past month!
So while I'm waiting for instaport to import all my IG photos onto my com, let's see!
Most recently, just had another drinking/supper session with Candice and Justus at Justus's place! Guess this is like a usual Friday hangout thing. Followed by a crazy mahjong session with army pals last night where I kept losing more and more money! What are the chances of seeing more than 3 Hua Hus in a night! Pui pui pui!
Fortunately, I was splitting my losings with Yong Ze so I didn't lose that badly! Phew! Haha!
And I finally cleared most of my mid terms! Guess I did average/above average for most of them! Got so pissed off at BioPsych though! So much efforts for naught! At the end of the day, everything was from lecture notes solely, so why did I put in so much effort for the textbook! I want my recess week back!!!
And to think I spent a day memorizing the effects of Cocaine, Amphetamine, Morphine, Hallucinogenic drugs, Nicotine and a lot more and how they work at synapses! Gosh! (Oh well, at least it's practical knowledge!)
TIME FOR PHOTOS:
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| Starting off with... Taro!!! Can't wait to meet you and hug you! |
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| Drinking at Candice's! |
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| Pasta while Dining with Abra at a restaurant near PGP! (One day before Social Psych mid-terms!) |
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| Chilling at ECP!!! |
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| Me and Hong Wen! Friends for 14 years! |
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| Wild Honey nom nom with BEECHEES! |
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| Celebrating Jin Tong's 22nd at Itacho with Jin Wen, Ee Chow and Justus! |
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| Lovely monitor lizard at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves! |
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| Delicious sushi at Itacho! |
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| Chilling at Timbre with Army Pals! |
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| Band of Brothers! |
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| Awesome pals! Must meet more often! |
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| Saw this on my Dorm's door all of a sudden! #vaporeon And it's POKEMON! Haha my neighbor was a glaceon! |
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| Finally got my 3ds games after mid terms!!! #professorlayton #fireemblem |
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| SOMEHOW FOUND THIS IN MY PHONE! |
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| Haha Commando BMT magazine!!! =D |
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| Just me walking along ECP! |
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| Recently being sent tons of Taro's photos! |
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| Haha loving how he looks so dao and adorable! |
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| *hyperventilates* |
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| AND SOMEHOW, by coincidence... Ending with cute Taro too! |
And now for some random rambling, it has been pointed out to me by Abraham that I've been suppressing my emotions so much which is typical of a Type 7 that those emotions are manifesting in my dreams! Haha!!!
And those are mostly emotions of stress and guilt for not studying and instead playing/doing nothing! OR even just pure exam stress!
The most epic dream: Dreamed I had to stab someone to save my life and while stabbing, I literally sat up in real life on my bed with my hands out like a stabbing action. WTH!
I sincerely hope I don't have anything dangerous around my bed, or I might be seriously injure somebody or myself la!
Arrgh, I have so many more 'cool' dreams but I can't remember them all!
Oh and I feel like I'm undergoing some withdrawal symptoms for not studying, like it just feels so wrong to stop studying after weeks of doing so! I wonder if I'm really starting to like studying a lot HAHA!
But I think this happens to everyone right? Like how after exams are over and everyone seems to be stuck in limbo: What am I supposed to do now?
Fun stuffs no longer seem so fun after all!
And while I'm blogging right now, people like Hong Wen and Candice are chiong-ing their projects and FYP so frantically! It makes me wonder why am I so free! o.O
***SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD, PLEASE SKIP IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED TILL THE LATEST EPISODE***
Wanted to have a blog post to argue for Lori on The Walking Dead here but those strong emotions I had have sort of dissipated in the past few weeks! Should have just blogged then!
To summarize:
The writer's opinion is that Lori was a strong and independent character till the very end. True, she might have made some mistakes here and there, but at the end of the day, although some of her actions were not justified in the light of perfect information, we can all agree that they were made under very dire circumstances.
First, how can anyone simply pin most of the blame on her for cheating on Rick in the first season? Let's take a look at the circumstances: A zombie apocalypse, tragic news that her husband passed away, her having to rely on Shane to take care of her and Carl, witnessing the other side of humanity and looking upon the bombing of their last hope which is a safe haven in the form of a city? These were the information we as the audiences have seen, subtle flashbacks, and have we simply chose to ignore these signs?
All these happened in a span of a month, where she had to rely on Shane, her husband's best friend to keep both herself and her son alive. And this was the point where she went into a relationship with Shane, and there goes all the bashing of how she's a slut, how she's unfaithful, how it has only been a month and she so happily cheated on him. Have we forgotten what she's been through, how strong she had to be to keep sane while facing both the zombie apocalypse and the news that her husband passed away? Have we forgotten about Carl, a boy, her son, whom she loved so much, that she could give up everything for him? And yet, we are willing to forsake all these facts to look at how she could have possibly been so willing to go into a relationship with a man, a man who probably saved both mother and son's life not just once, but a few times?
The emotional turmoil she had to go through just by heading into this relationship is probably unfathomable, but with the world coming to an end, is it really too much to ask for her to find a companion to try to survive in this new harsh world? If Rick had really passed on, would he not hope for her happiness and their continued survival?
For those of us who watched Homeland, this scenario is not an unfamiliar one. The sudden news that one's mate is actually alive, her happiness had to be conflicted with all the guilt of having been unfaithful to him. Yet, have we once again chose to overlook the emotional turmoil Lori had to go through? Looking upon some comments by the audiences, it was all akin to 'Ha. She should not have cheated on him in the first place, Rick was such a good guy!'.
Perhaps this is what we call perceptual salience in Psychology, the seeming importance of information that is the focus of one's attention. Having been exposed to Rick's valiant efforts to come back to his family, having witnessed his courage and bravery, have we all been put under a state where we are so very willing to justify Rick's actions since he's supposed to be the 'good' guy? Have we simply overlooked how each and every single one of us are capable of both good and evil, and can indeed commit mistakes?
Three terms come easily to mind when figuring out why most of us are bashing Lori and condemning her actions, while supporting Rick and his decisions, believing that his actions are always the right ones.
First, Fundamental Attribution Error - the tendency to over-value
dispositional or personality-based explanations for the observed behaviors of others while under-valuing situational explanations for those behaviors. Are most of us non-consciously committing this error while judging Lori's actions, the writer's opinion is most definitely yes.
Second, the Belief in a Just World - the cognitive bias
that human actions eventually yield morally fair and fitting
consequences, so that, ultimately, noble actions are duly rewarded and
evil actions are duly punished. Having been exposed to the good side of Rick, we expect good things to happen to him, while we expect bad things to happen to Lori for having committed an act of betrayal. To further justify this belief, even during scenes where Lori is portrayed as the victim, we can easily witness the tendency for observers to blame her, the victim, for her suffering.
Third, Cognitive Dissonance, the feeling of discomfort when holding two or more conflicting cognitions. Having been imprinted with the fact that Rick is a good guy and Lori is the opposite for betraying him, we justify Rick's actions even when it conflicts with our beliefs while criticizing Lori's bad actions and ignoring her correct decisions. Have we allowed our need, our desire, to want our expectations to meet reality alter our way of looking at things as they are? Have we been so infused into a state of judging in terms of absolute good and evil that we choose to overlook the fact that we are all in fact in the grey area?
During the season 2 finale, we can see the audiences bashing Lori for condemning Rick's actions for killing Shane when she was the one who told him he was dangerous. She had blamed Rick when his actions are out of self-defense. So what now, was she just supposed to accept the fact that her husband killed his best friend and she was partly responsible for this scenario? This was someone she possibly loved that was killed, if not a lover, a good friend who saved both mother and son's lives. Was she supposed to just take it lightly? Was it really that wrong of her to project that anger onto Rick? After all, her husband had just taken a life, a human life, a friend's life. The amount of guilt she had to undergo for having let her husband go through this coupled with the guilt that she could have prevented this very scenario, all led to her being angry, both at Rick and mostly herself. Is that so hard for us to empathize instead of blaming her for the way things turned out? Are we so easily absolving Rick's responsibility in the way things turned out? Furthermore, this emotional turmoil had to be coupled with the fact that her unborn baby's father could be Shane and the fact that she was responsible for bringing a new baby into the cruel world they're in. Honestly, the amount of turmoil she had to undergo could easily outmatch everyone else in the series.
To conclude, her honest mistake aside, Lori has been a strong and independent woman who carried herself well throughout the series, perhaps more so emotionally that the rest of the cast. Let's take a last look at her last words to Carl:
You are going to beat this world, I know you will. You are
smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you. You
gotta do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world.
So, so, if it feels wrong don't do it, alright? If it feels easy don't
do it, don't let this world spoil you. You're so good, my sweet boy.
Best thing I ever did, and I love you, I love you. My sweet, sweet, boy I
love you.
And so, out of the formal tone of this summary... LORI FOR THE WIN! From a proud member of Lori Grimes Fan Club!
***END OF SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD***
And so, all the best for everyone studying out there! Don't forget to catch up on the latest episodes of the good series out there!
TV teaches us so much more if we choose to allow it to. So sick of jokes criticizing dramas on television and asking kids to focus more on reading books. I participate in both reading and watching dramas, and can honestly say that both are capable of expanding one's mind. Even the most juvenile cartoons have a way of teaching us the ways of life and capable of increasing our emotional quotient, our ability to perceive, understand and manage emotions!
Lastly, a few videos from youtube with soundtracks from Spirited Away that I absolutely adore, and Flower Blooming in the Slums / AKA Aeris's theme from FF7 Advent Children!
Do listen to both!!! Especially when under stress!!! =D
BE OPTIMISTIC ALL!
P.S. Bird shit fell between Ee Chow's eyes and his specs while we were walking to the gym and it was just so damn hilarious! LOL!
