I've finally come to my last year in NUS. In the words of Lou, "I'm a finalist!" I'm nervous and excited at the same time: nervous because hell, it is honours man, no kidding. The people in Hons are like super intelligent and intellectual and they have such insightful and constructive comments to make about the texts we study that I feel small and insignificant and well.... stupid. Plus, not to mention that at Hons level, you're assumed to be intelligent and write good essays, so the pressure's on you to write something coherent and smart and impress the marker. I'm really nervous about my ISM, and all the essays I have to write for the modules. I'm scared of class participation. I'm so going to open my mouth and say stupid stuff. Oh well, let's hope at least they'll be entertaining anecdotes.

I'm also excited because..... Hell yeah, it is HONS man. Like, last semester, I didn't even think I could make it. I didn't even think about making it to honours until I like actually got into NUS. But all those brilliant level 4000 modules and lecturers and classmates that just feed you with inspiration and brilliance and yes leave you feeling stupid but that's already been covered, it's just amazing. And I entered the lit honours room for the first time today and WOAH. Although it is small, it is cosy, and well it was fun! All the lit people in there talking about modules, raving and bitching about the texts etc etc etc, and of course Weiquan and his "There's a fridge! I'm going to bring beer!" (not exactly in these words. I think). Oh yeah, fun times ahead indeed. I understand now what Paul meant by year 4 is going to be fun and thoroughly enjoyable, despite HTs and ISMs and whatnots. You feel like a class, especially since lit is already like this small department, and my cohort is tiny, so yeah. Hoorays!

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For the first time tomorrow, I am going to venture into Bras Basah Complex and get second-hand lit texts. Like OMG! Why didn't I do so before? Because I have a weakness for the feel of nice, brand-new books. But tomorrow, I shall cater to my liking of the musky smell of old books too. Bookworm alert? I think so too.

On the topic of books, I absolutely hate e-books. I mean, staring at the screen reading books? Like, wth? Even if they are free, I just can't stand reading books online/on the computer/laptop/pda/whatever. I like the feel of holding a book, of flipping the pages, of thumbing through a book from beginning to end in a bid to finish reading asap because a) it is so interesting; b) I just have to finish the darn book whether I like it or not. An e-book doesn't give you the same feeling. An e-book means you have to sit rigidly in a chair and stare at the screen, scrolling down and down and down and down, while a nice book means you can carry it with you everywhere and read it on the bus, mrt, on the couch, sprawled on your bed, at the beach, in the plane, in the toilet, wherever you want. A nice book allows you to whip it out when you're waiting for friends to turn up, for some event to begin or to just burn time away. An e-book doesn't, unless you happen to have a PDA or some gadget that lets you access it anywhere, anytime. And even then, said gadget has to have battery.

That said, I have sworn to not be seen in public reading After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie, especially on the buses and trains. Because the cover features an image of a woman fully naked, and after walking around Co-op holding up the book happily wondering why guys were staring at me funny and girls were averting their eyes before realizing what the front cover contained, I've decided that such embarrassment is too much for my reputation. I don't want to be mistaken by some parent to be reading a porno book in public... it's just odd. So.... which means I have to do a lot of reading at home. Hmmm.

I love literature. Can't you tell?