I wanna hold your ha-a-and.

This is the poem that we did during today's Literature lesson.

An Arundel Tomb, by Philip Larkin

Side by side, their faces blurred,
The earl and countess lie in stne,
Their proper habits vaguely shown
As jointed armour, stiffened pleat
And that faint hint of the absurd
The little dogs under their feet.

Such plainness of the pre-baroque
Hardly involves the eye until
It meets his left-hand gauntlet, still
Clasped empty in the other, and
One sees, with a sharp tender shock,
His hand withdrawn, holding her hand.

They would not think to lie so long,
Such faithfulness in effigy
Was just a detail friends would see:
A sculptor's sweet commissioned grace
Thrown off in helping to prolong
The Latin names around the base.

They would not guess how early in
Their supine stationery voyage
The air would change to soundless damage,
Turn the old tenantry away;
How soon succeeding eyes begin
To look, not read. Rigidly they

Persisted, linked, through lengths and breadths
Of time. Snow fell, undated. Light
Each summer thronged the glass. A bright
Litter of birdcalls strewed the same
Bone-riddled ground. And up the paths
The endless altered people came.

Washing at their identity.
Now, helpless in the hollow of
An unarmorial age, a trough
Or smoke in slow suspended skeins
Above their scrap of history,
Only an attitude remains:

Time has transfigured them into
Untruth. The stone fidelity
They hardly meant has come to be
Their final blazon, and to prove
Our almost-instinct almost true:
What will survive of us is love.

Get it? No? Aiya figure it out yourself lah.

During the lesson, Mr Whitby asked us what are the main themes of this poem. Being the proactive student that I am, I said, "Time and change?" And he was like, "Absolutely correct! You must be a mind-reader, because that's what I got on the top of my paper, unless you happened to be reading upside down." Meh! Just because I sat on the front row doesn't mean I peeked! Time and change is a theme very close to my heart, (and it should be close to all of yours) because it was my 'O' Level Art topic.

Ok anyway, then Mr Whitby went on talking a bit more, and suddenly, withut a word, he stood up before me and placed his open palm in front of me. I thought he wanted my paper or something, so I pushed that towards him. He waved it aside, so I fumbled a little and grabbed a pen. He waved that aside too. He then made some vague motion, and I instinctively understood that what he wanted was my hand. It ended up in his, and he asked the class, "What does this gesture represent?"

I couldn't help but dissolve into fits of giggles like your average giggly girl. I should've been more cool about it, as if old angmoh men grab my hands on a regular basis. But no, I was reduced to a giggling mess that couldn't bear to meet anybody's eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, during which I must have blushed like crazy, and Whitby urged the class by saying, "What does this mean? I'm okay with this, save her the agony!" And everybody else laughed at my awkward predicament. :( Then Whitby asked me, "Do you have any enemies?" Still in mild shock, I said, "Erm, no?" Eventually, Leung Yan said "affection", after which he let go of me.

Unorthodox teaching methods, much? But it was super funny, despite me being scapegoat I shall mark this as one of the most memorable lessons I've ever had.

My Literature teachers are damn amusing. Before the Paper 3 section started, I was reading The Get Real Diet. The exam venue was empty, and there was nothing better to do anyway. Then Miss Chua was like, "What are you reading? The Get Real Diet?! Before my paper! *stunned* I'm... flattered!" I've no idea what she means, really.

I actually skipped her lecture so I could photocopy the recipes from The Get Real Diet. Hahaha. Anyway they watched Charlie Chaplin. For what fuck? Waste time. The only time I ever watched Charlie Chaplin was at a Jewish restaurant in Manhattan. Speaking of which, I really really feel like going there again. I've been reading stuff like The Sartorialist and Overheard in New York, and various other fashion and food bloggers who live in other parts of the US, and it seems like super fun. Sian I just want to get out of the country.

I baked oatmeal cookies!


Eh, I actually took the time to edit this photo okay... hopefully it looks more palatable now. Well, it's a slightly unconventional oatmeal cookie, because salt is sprinkled on top of the dough blobs before baking, not mixed into the dough. Therefore, it's less sweet, and more savoury than your average cookie. The texture isn't moist and chewy, it's more like a crumbly biscuit from Popeye's Chicken, you know? Here's the recipe which I halved, and also altered to be less sweet. I didn't add raisins, cos I think they detract from the flavour of the oats.

DCist’s Salty Oats
5/8 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup rice flour (white or brown)
85g unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsps white sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cups rolled oats
Salt, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375F (190.5C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together rice flour and all purpose flour. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter for 30-60 seconds to soften. Add brown and white sugars, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Cream until mixture is very well blended. Add in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats.
Drop tablespoonfuls of dough on to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle cookies with salt, giving each cookie a light, but even, coating.
Bake for 13 -15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing.
Makes about 18 cookies.

I also baked Oreo cupcakes the day before, but they aren't photogenic, so yea, none of those. I shall bake with a vengeance!