"poufs"

I have decided: after the A levels are done, I'm going to Kinokuniya to buy a book of SAT practice tests as a sort of sadistic reward for myself. And then, I'll amass a decent collection of Sontag's works — already, I have Regarding the Pain of Others, On Photography, and At The Same Time. I've already read Against Interpretation and Styles of Radical Will, but I still don't own the books. (*BIRTHDAY PRESENT HINT ALERT*) I want to read AIDS and Its Metaphors, but I'm apprehensive about starting on her fiction for the same reason why I haven't touched Ayn Rand's books yet. (I chickened out on Atlas Shrugged and read an anthology of love poems curated by Duffy; please stop berating me for Cowardice Of The Intellect.)

After which, I will bake a cake, brush up on Friends trivia en route to Melbourne, and actually start to seriously think about what I want to do when I grow up. At the moment, the future feels too distant and made-up. Life with a buzz cut feels like a lamentable state of affairs, but NS life to me is still shrouded with myth and mystery. Studying in college feels like a happy dream that's just as nebulous and elusive. In fact, I cannot conceive of life with the post-prelims timetable until it actually happens on Monday.

Additionally, I've also decided to apply for baptism, which will probably be held end-November. I've no issue with getting wet. I'm just a little nervous about appearing in front of everyone who has seen me grow up since I was a strange amorphous thing articulated only by my parents' joy, and declaring, in the rite and ritual of Protestant ordinances, my beliefs. I know that ordinances are not necessary to have a relationship with God, so why harp on baptism so much? I'm guessing that instituting outward expressions of faith is fundamental to the strength of the church, and there is an inherent assumption that institutions anchor and govern. I'll write more about that sooner or later, prelim results permitting... D:

Oh, do come if you wanna see me get baptized, even if you're polytheistic/monotheistic but skeptical of Judeo-Christian religions/staunchly atheist/staunchly apathetic. Think of it as a chance for participant-observation in a non-denominational independent church slightly divergent from the modern megachurch, and filled with nice people with opinions of their own. We study the Bible without becoming Bible-thumpers ourselves, occasionally find humour in the rhyme schemes of old hymns (feminine rhymes in an a-a-b-b structure anyone?), and Quran-burning is certainly frowned-upon. :)