Have picked up the dying threads of A Beautiful Mind last night, and become so engrossed in it and forgot the woes of finding intellectually stimulating books. Why is it that I end up buying a book, and take months to read the first half, then drop it aside, only to pick it up again and read the remaining half in less than a week?

I was speaking to D last night before class started and was telling her about my experiences in Adelaide last year. D's from Queensland, Australia and she shed light on how so many Australian teenagers become so independent at such a young age and live on their own once they hit 18 years of age. According to D, many Australian children do household chores at a young age and care of the family as well, which allows them to pick up the essential skills for independent living. D, for instance, was doing household chores, such as cleaning the floors and doing the dirty dishes and cooking for the family, when she was 9, got her driver's license at 16, worked a few part time jobs whilst studying in high school back then, and moved out when she was 21.

Excuse me while I pluck my eyes out. I don't remember doing a single household chore when I was 9. We had a domestic helper, so I suppose all we children had to worry about was whether we had homework to complete or whether Sailor Moon or the Powerpuff Girls were on.

I am such a failure. I ought to be shot.

Anyway, D is a really nice person and I really want to help her out. She moved here with her husband last month from Queensland. Apparently he was headhunted and was posted to work here in Singapore for 5 years. So now she's looking everywhere for a job, with no luck so far because she's considered an "expat", and technically, not allowed to work here.

Tried asking my dad but he gave a mumble tumble asspicky response about insurance coverage and pensions (oh sure Pop).

48 more days til a new life!