New Year Resolutions

It's the last day of the year!

Looking back into 2007, it seemed that the year had literally flown past, with so many important events happening within such a short period - SYF, graduation, A level, etc etc... The year certainly had been an important milestone in my life!

But 2007 was also a turbulent year. I encountered many problems and difficulties within the year. There were times when I felt as though I was drifting amidst a sea of darkness, battling the fear and unknown alone. Thankfully some of those problems have been solved, but there are still a handful of those unresolved. Hopefully the coming year can be much better!

For 2008, I actually have many wishes. I'm afraid I'm getting a bit too greedy for asking for so much =D :

1. Get good A Level grades!
   
2. Get into a good university!
3. Get into the course I want!
4. Get a scholarship / bursary / any form of financial aid!
5. Have an enjoyable experience at work!
   
6. My family to be happy!
7. My sis and bro to do well in school!
8. All my friends to be successful in their endeavours! (I'm not selfish eh? =P Good luck!)
   

And my resolutions:

1. To put in my best effort to get into the university I want! (though a bit late since A level has passed eh? ~.~)
2. To keep improving my EQ! (yup, you've got to help me on this! =) )
3. To learn my fourth language! (ooh, I need help on this too! =D )
4. To enjoy my work and do a good job! (haha, my first job!! ^^)

Yup, 4 might be a bit too few, but I'll be focusing hard on them so I'll ensure that I achieve them! I'm certain 2008 will be different from this year, and I'm quite sure it will be a better one!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! =)

Ulcer-->Tooth ache-->Wisdom tooth-->Surgery

At first I thought it was an ulcer. However when the pain refused to subside after one week, I thought it might be something SLIGHTLY more serious, like a gum infection, so I went to see a dentist. After probing my condition with some questions, the dentist seemed a bit unsure, so an X-ray was taken. Then, I was told that I needed a surgery, on the spot.

Ulcer-->Tooth ache-->Surgery

=O

Great, what a super dramatic twist of events! I was so stunned when the dentist said, while pointing at the X-ray, "Hmm, you see this wisdom tooth here? It's pushing against your molar, which is causing the pain. So I'm going to extract the wisdom tooth for you NOW. Please sign the consent for the surgery."

It was like, erm, I wasn't mentally prepared for that at all?! I was expecting something closer to: "Ahh, I see that you are having a sore gum there, near your molar. Probably some food stuck in there," or "It's just a mild toothache, nothing serious, so relax!" -_-

Apparently the dentist realised the shocked expression on my face, so she told me that the surgery would be a very short one, and there would be minimal pain. Ahh, yes, that helped to ease my nerves a bit. But then I recalled my experience of extracting the two lower wisdom tooth some years ago. For one week, my face was so swollen that I looked exactly like a hippo, and I got a hard time swallowing my meals. Argh! T_T

As I was told, the surgery wasn't long. It was over in half an hour. But I probably lost like 500ml of blood throughout the process? =( And at first there was no pain, but when the anesthesia wore off, the excruciating pain started to sting. X,X And for the next few days, my face would be twice its normal size... T_T

How would I have expected something that I have mistaken to be an ulcer to be so serious?? Bleh....

Clutch! Clutch!

Went for first practical lesson of driving today! Omg, it was an unexpectedly horrifying experience! =P

The main problem lies with the bukit segment. Argh, and the main problem lies in my poor control of the clutch. T_T Straight away my instructor was able to tell that I have never driven a manual car before, and have only driven automatic cars. "Your left leg is useless in automatic cars, that's why." Lol, how true!

Cos when you reach the top of the bukit, you have to break, then move forward again without your car slipping backwards by a single inch! Omg, that was like mission impossible for me! T_T My instructor got a bit pissed at my stupidity and clumsiness in controlling the vehicle after I tried for the umpteenth time. Argh!! Felt so malu lah, like all other students learning at the same time were able to control their cars with such great ease, and I was the only one struggling! T_T

However, the worst part was the car kept dying!! Wah lau, stupid car! Nah, it's not the car's fault. Basically it was because of my poor co-ordination of the breaks, clutch and accelerator! "Push the clutch to the fullest when you break!!!" I kept forgetting that. Bleh, driving is not so easy afterall!

The other two sections, side-parking and three-point turn, were easier, cos they are on flat terrain, so there were less problems with the clutch. Sigh, I hope I can pass the test! Otherwise I'll have to pay for the remedial and retest, which is such a waste of time and money! =)

How I Kill Time

Sigh... didn't manage to catch any shooting stars two days ago. The weather simply wasn't co-operative as the sky was filled with cloud. =(

Anyway, life goes on. The boredom continues. I'm really envious of people who are so occupied with their uni applications, SL, driving course, etc etc, that keep them busy. At the moment I'm really craving for some things to do. For the past few days I have been killing time by doing nearly all the housework like sweeping/mopping the floor, washing all the clothes and drying and ironing them, washing the dishes etc. Bet I'll become a housekeeping expert by the end of the break. =D I have longed wanted to learn how to cook (only know how to cook basic stuff like rice and instant noodle and fry a sausage and egg so far), but unfortunately there's no one willing and able to teach me. Haha, wondering if I can learn it DIY style, self-learn by reading manuals/recipes. But I'm afraid that something nasty might happen, like the kitchen exploding. So better not try. =P

To keep myself busy, I've also started to watch some TV dramas. =) Usually I watch them online. At the same time I'm trying to learn my fourth language - Japanese, through online resources, but it seems that the learning is going to be much tougher than I thought. Never mind, I shall persevere and learn. Haha, but I feel that I'm like a blind man wandering on my own, and I'm getting really lost without help. =S

Meteor Shower

Oooh, time flies. Another year has passed and it's time to watch the Geminid meteor shower again.

Remember last year I was fortunate to see quite a few, and they were really awesome. Hopefully tonight I'll get to see more. =D

Surprisingly today's weather is good, considering that for the past few days it had rained non-stop and today was a bright sunny day. Hopefully the conditions at night will stay perfect!

Bahasa Melayu

Had a happy time trying to re-master my Malay language! =)

Went for the first lesson of the driving course yesterday. First lesson was about the highway code and driving rules ("undang-undang"). Got a Malay instructor who conducted the lesson in Malay language. Surprisingly, I was able to understand most of what he said! Haha, I realised that my Malay is still not rotten to the core yet. =D

Will have to take the undang-undang test next week. Was having a dilemma whether to take it in English or in Malay, but since the lesson I attended was in Malay, the materials provided are in Malay, and fearing that the actual test in English might have lots of translation problems, I decided to take the test in Malay! Yay, so that means I really have to brush up my Malay within this week! *Jia you to myself* =)

Cannot afford to fail that test. Otherwise I will not be allowed to proceed to the next stage, which is the fun and exciting part - the practical lessons. So happy learning Malay! =)

Boarding School

Today, it was my last day staying in the boarding school.

From the first day I checked in - on the 26th December of 2001, till today, 5 December 2007, in total, the boarding school was my home for 6 years. Throughout my high school and college years, I have lived, grown, ate and slept within its compound, made many new friends there, and got a solid training to live independently from my parents. As the staff there liked to put it, the boarding school was my second home.

It carries many of my memories. The first year, I stayed in A-3L/06, it was in that room I was first exposed to pop music, more specifically to Jay Chou, by my roommate Luo Jun. The second year, I moved to A-2L, and have since remained in that cluster till today. It was in A-2L/02 that I first started to play computer games, read 武侠小说, and not sleep throughout the night. By 2006, I moved to a double-bedded room, and it was through fate that I got to know my neighbour, Zhao Wei, a senior whom I can really share my thoughts and feelings with, and I truly admire him. Besides him, other people in the same cluster, like Mo Xiang, Vern Zhiang, Yi Shun, Ming Hua, Oon Beng and the rest, I have come to know and befriend them.

Of course, there's the Mr Ang, my cluster mentor who is always being strict, has a fiery temper and a psyche ability that enables him to catch people playing computer games in the middle of the night. Haha, amazing right? Well, I guess I still have to say a big THANK YOU to him, for being my guardian and mentor for these years. Arikato!

When you talk about hostel, you surely cannot miss grumbling about the food. Throughout my stay, 3 different caterers have served us. At the beginnning was Yan Palace. Super ngiao, cannot add rice, cannot have double serving. Many of us were truly starving during that period. And the dishes served were most of the time terribly awful - overcooked vegetables, burned fish and oily food. Towards the end of its contract, things improved slightly as it allowed us to add rice and take double serving, but the quality of the food still sucked. Then came ISS. A promising start that ended in miserable failure. In the last few months before it left, we were served overnight dishes, repeatedly re-fried fish and re-boiled soup. The food was nearly inedible. After it was booted, here came Select. Well, to give it credit, things improved dramatically with the quality of the meals being satisfactory, but that of course came at a higher price paid by the hostel management. After living in hostel for so long, you'll certainly realise, nothing beats home-cooked food.

Other things in hostel, like the Koi pond always full of Koi, the magnificent skyline that beamed through my room's window since I moved to A-2L, the sundry shop, the general office, etc etc. I guess life without them would be rather different. Ha!

Well, so today marked the end of my stay there. Before I left, I have made an important decision, which was to leave behind and bury the sad and unhappy moments that I have encountered there, and only bring home those happy and wonderful memories. So I will always have fond memories of the hostel, and forget about the unhappy past! =) Though I won't say I will miss hostel life, for living at home is certainly much much more luxurious and comfortable than living in hostel =D, I guess I would still lose an important part of my life as I leave its premises.

Sayonara boarding school!

A Level over!

|~ THIS IS THE 100^TH POST OF MY BLOG =P ~|

Thanks blogger for that information, well, actually that’s not the main point of this post.

A LEVEL IS FINALLY OVER =)

Now that’s a great cause for celebration. Add to that: no more school from now on! =P (Well, at least for the next few months)

So JC life has come to an end. Done with exams, done with school, done with H3 (argh, the poorest decision I have made so far), done with almost everything else. Asking me about my feeling? Erm, yeah, rather happy, at least the exam stress is off my shoulders, one less thing to worry about. But other than that, life goes on, now with one huge chunk of it missing, guess the sense of ‘emptiness’ will soon kick in. Probably I’m already feeling it now, owww… feeling sad *sobs*

Goodbye to school, goodbye to classmates, schoolmates, friends, teachers, etc…

*Sobs sobs*

*Tissues needed*

*Oww, the bin is full already, shucks, shall stop emo-ing*

*Cheers myself up with the thought that A Level is over*

*Yay =D*

偶感而发

离别，
是幻灭，
还是苦难的终结？

惆怅，
是迷茫，
还是失去的绝望？

寂寞，
是沉默，
还是无情的冷漠？

明天，
是新鲜，
还是不变的从前？

希望，
是狂妄，
还是空虚的痴想？

重逢，
是回温，
还是残酷的冰冷？

Prelim is over!

Prelim is finally over! =)

It was an awful period for all of us – two weeks of torment plus the numerous weeks of mugging before the papers. Feel greatly relived when the last paper was over, which unfortunately, lies one day later than many people =( But anyway, the most important thing is IT’S OVER!! =D

So after the H3 Chem paper, the class went celebrating by having a K-session at Cine (thanks to those who patiently waited for one extra day before enjoying themselves, you’re being very jiang3 yi4 qi =D). Guess everyone was trying to let off the pressure that has accumulated within us throughout the two-week ordeal. So we sang our hearts out and had great fun together! Haha, realised the Jay Chou fans in our class would include Alvin, Jane and me =); the fanatic Tank fan would be KH; and the Hokkien clan would consist of Alvin, JR and Soony =D. And there’s the poor Niklas who was crippled by his handicap on Traditional Chinese characters. DOTA could have been greater fun right? =P

Enjoy the brief respite this weekend! =)

Chemistry

Judging by the way the Chemistry papers are going, the finale - H3 Chemistry, will be a massacre.

We shall wait and see.

And did I say that I want to get my first pass in H3? Oops, I'm sorry but your prospects seem to be nil by now.

Don't talk about H3 when you can't even secure an A in H2 lah...

大人的世界

大人的世界真是黑暗。

人性的扭曲，心灵的变态，在大人的世界似乎已屡见不鲜。

作为一名即将步入社会的少年，我感到恐惧、茫然，也为自己感到悲哀。

童年的无忌，人性的纯真，都已快离我而去。

我坦诚，我做不到出淤泥而不染的境界。被大人社会同化，只是迟早的事。

我的宿命，好像早已放映在我面前，预告着我即将面对无穷无尽的黑暗，一切的争斗、欺诈、贪婪、背叛，将从此与我纠缠不清。

童年的真诚，已被成人的虚伪取代；内心的纯洁，也早已被世俗的污浊侵蚀。

看着心灵变得空虚，看着周围的人渐渐变了样，我只能在心底呐喊。

* * *

大人的世界真是奇怪。

思想的荒诞，是非的颠倒，在大人的世界似乎已绝非怪事。

作为一名尚未“开化”的黄毛小儿，我感到彷徨、无助，也为自己感到可怜。

我宁愿永远做一个不懂事的孩子，也不愿随处误导他人。我宁愿永远都不长大，只要我能远离荒谬，远离黑暗。

只可惜，岁月不待人。我就快成为那世界的一分子了。

H3 Chemistry - Revival

After nearly one week of intensive H3 mugging, I'm nearly through it! =) OK, up till tonight, I'm left with only the last two chapters, which I intend to finish by tomorrow. Great job! *Pats myself on the back =)

It was only during my revision that I realised how badly I have been lagging behind the H3 syllabus. There were many concepts which I missed entirely during the lectures, which I needed to catch up over the past few days. Thanks to Ben and Wai Lumn for your help! =) Suddenly feels much more confident about H3. Hoping to pass the paper for the first time during the prelim! =D

School coming to an end soon! But that also means that the exam is getting nearer! Argh.

Life returns to normal

The much anticipated five-day break is now over. Life returns to normal. T_T

Prelims in 2 weeks time!! O.o That's certainly not great news to hear. But uh, two weeks to go!

Can see that many people around me are entering frenzy mode. Getting a bit scary now because it seems that everyone else is mugging harder than anyone else! OK, ignore the logic. Basically it means that you can start to zi bei if you haven't started. =P

Will still have to find time to study H3! Argh, didn't factor in H3 in my initial study plan, so didn't reserve time for it. The only possible way out of this now is to squeeze time out of everything to accommodate this extra subject. Good luck to myself! =(

Cheryl

I’m now very very tired after the 2hr long walk this morning. The jam was terrible. I bet at least ¼ of Singaporeans crossed the Causeway this morning. Just so unlucky to be caught in the horrible gridlock. Gahhh…

Anyway, yet to blog about yesterday’s visit to Cheryl’s house. Hmm… so nearly the entire class went to Cheryl’s house yesterday after bio test, to bid her farewell before she leaves for US later this month. Her house is so homely! Very nice parents and siblings, cozy furniture, and cute pets – it’s just so nice a home, so nice a family. How I wish my own home to be like that! We spent the whole afternoon playing taboo and pictionary. Realised some people can get really kan-chiong while playing taboo, like tay, whose left cheek would twitch when it was his turn, or jane, who kept looking at the hourglass. Then there was kat who basically answered for both teams =P. Pictionary put everyone’s drawing skills to test. Muaha, some people’s inferential skills were super imba. Like tyz who guessed jane’s drawing of an umbrella, when the art on the board was nothing like an umbrella. And some people were better at giving clues through their creative drawing, like the martian question – liang en drew something like an ant while the other side kh drew a sun, four circles and a stick man, with an arrow pointing at the man. Muaha, in all, it was pure great fun and laughter for the whole afternoon, and I think it was the best afternoon that we have spent together as a class ever. =) Thanks to Cheryl!

Then, the few of us went on the play Risk. Used to play it quite often back in Sec 4, when the few of us would spend the whole afternoon in the tower block classroom playing it (owww, bringing back the memories of sec 4 life…). Missed the game quite a lot. Many people like to think of the game as purely a dice-rolling game based on luck, I think the most important part of the game is the diplomacy with other players. Next is the strategy. Liang en is super pro at this! Salutes him for his superb skills. There were six players, so we split into three teams. Voon was the first to be booted from the board. Next went tyz. Then I left after that because I wanted to take ms kwee’s car back to hostel. Heard from Andrew later that our camp lost the game, was crushed by liang en. Haha, the game was really fun, but it always takes a very long time (at least 2 hrs per game). Also, you get to see some people’s true colours through the game, like who is the back-stabber and who is trustworthy. <3>

Wishing Cheryl all the best! Hopefully we can always get together as a class whenever she comes back. 7D forever! =)

When disappointments come crashing down

Thank you very much passerby, though I really doubt I can get out from this anytime soon.

In life, there are dreams which can be fulfilled, and there are dreams which can never be realised. For some people, dreams can be easily realised, whereas for some, circumstances prevent them from moving forward, and the best they can do is to be contented with the current situation. But that is not to say that with effort, one can never turn the tables against circumstances. With sufficient amount of courage, determination and brilliance, there should always be a way out. However, one key condition must be fulfilled - that nobody is undermining every bit of effort that you're putting in. Imagine yourself striving hard at your target, but there's someone down there pulling your hind leg, wanting you to drown together. It is when you face with such a situation, that you'll start to realise that it's futile to work so hard, as long as you are unable to shrug of that evil grasp.

There are things which can never be explained clearly. Even if I can, I doubt anyone would believe. It's too convoluted a story, too evil a plot, that I reckon any writer would ever produce such a fiction. It's just so happen that so unfortunately, I'm the victim in the story.

A screwed life

Sometimes life is screwed not because you want it to be screwed, but it's because someone close to you wants to screw it for you. The worst thing is you have absolutely no control over what that person might do to you, and there's no end to what that person can do to screw up everything you have. You might say it's bad luck, I call it a curse. Any escape routes? Unfortunately not.

Expect things to keep worsening, until somebody is eternally crushed in this zero-sum game. There will be only one survivor. Everyone else will be ruined, totally devastated to ensure no comeback is possible. It's a slow painful process. You'll get to see the destruction taking place on yourself bit by bit, until you hollow out and collapse. Absolutely no chance of escaping from the devil's grasp. Any attempt to do so will be faced with an even more tragic, torturous punishment. Nobody can exit the game alive, except the sole victor.

Life is screwed, not because you want it to be. It's forced upon you, and that's how you have a screwed life.

Random Post

OK, I see that my blog is sustaining from prolonged inactivity syndrome, without a single post for one week. So here I am again to post something on my blog! Whee =P

PE lesson today was pure comedy. We played volleyball! A sport which apparently none of us in this class was sufficiently proficient. We couldn't even do a proper serve or hit, so as anyone can imagine, the whole game was pure comedy, with random shots going in all directions. As nobody could do a proper serve, we started the ball rolling by just tossing it across the net! Yay, praise our creativity man! Then since not many balls could be caught, or sustained in the air high and long enough for it to be hit across the net again, most of the time it ended in the net, or somebody just hugged it and re-served. Then there was this Jane in my team, who managed to dodge nearly all balls approaching her, and did a good job of that! =P OK, to give her credit, she did manage to do some good serves. =) Throughout our game, we managed to attract quite a sizable audience though, who I think very likely had enjoyed every moment of the show. Haha, we <3 volleyball man.

Hmm.. enough of that. For all those interested: (this message is also on EMB) there will be a meteor shower next Tuesday - the Perseids. Well, it says the peak is from 12-3am of Wednesday =(. Maybe can stay up until 1am to watch. Haha, make sure you get to a nice dark place with a good view of the sky before you start watching, and remember not to bring along your binoculars! You certainly don't need them when watching meteor showers. Hmm... and also pray hard that the night will be clear!

*Praying hard for the safety of the South Korean hostages. As I type this blog post, the deadline of 3.30pm is nearing. May they survive well and be strong.

A meaningful weekend

Yay, had a good weekend! =) Spent entire Saturday slacking - morning went for EDB talk (was super surprised at the highly informal setting =O), then afternoon slacked at friend's room, then played the guitar for a while, then tried to solve the Rubik's cube, then played com games for the rest of the night. Muahaha, life is so meaningful when you suddenly forget about work and tutorials and the looming exams for one day. =)

The EDB talk was really special. Never been to a 'talk' held in this manner. Nearly everyone was expecting a lecture style talk, you know those with students sitting in the audience gallery and the speakers would be on stage talking. Apparently not for this time. The speakers and the students sat at the same table!! =O Nearly freaked out when I first saw those round tables, with those 'EDB host' tags on each table. Thankfully, it was really informal, and it wasn't those gruesome kind when they observe you for some group activity or semi-formal interview style. It was more of a sharing session with the EDB officers and scholars, which was a pretty enjoyable experience.

Side note: saw Singapore's tallest wedding cake when I passed by Bugis after the talk. It was really tall! The guard said it took them 5 000 eggs to make the cake. Poor unborn chickens.

Rubik's cube is evil. Don't try it unless you are really bored and have nothing else better to do, which was my situation in the afternoon. But in the end I still got really fed up and decided to go online to search for solutions. Even with that, it took me more than 1hr to solve it. Cos every time you make a wrong turn, you have to redo everything again. =X

Tomorrow having half-day off! Yay, happy mood... =)

Maths Revision

I think I'm doomed for certain topics of maths - complex numbers and differential equations.

Tried out the extra practice on complex numbers, didn't help at all. I was still stuck at many questions, and for most of those questions, I was totally clueless on how to solve them.

Started doing the A* Maths lecture handout on DE, equally demoralising. Couldn't even form the DE for those word questions.

I wonder why I'm particularly weak on these two topics. Doing practice doesn't seem to help at all, as every time a new question comes up, I'll still be stuck and loss all over again. Am I really beyond hope on these two topics?

Connection

Blast the freaking connection. It's getting really irritating. Incredibly slow speed, nearly continuous disconnection, and unusable wireless signals.

=(

Guitar Score

Can anyone help me find guitar score on this song called "Brothers" aka "Bratja" from the anime Full Metal Alchemist? It's a very nice song! =) I've tried my luck through Google but I could only find piano sheets. If anyone can convert the piano sheet into guitar tab/score, please tell me too!

I'll be very very grateful to anyone who can do me this favour! =)

Consider this

Consider this: forgo 45 days of lunch and save $2 every school day to pay for prom, or to have lunch for 45 days.

I think the latter choice might be a wiser one.

T_T

Wishing Yong Zi and Liang En all the best for IBO! Hope they'll have a great time in some ulu place in Canada. =)

And yay, can skip tomorrow's H3 tutorial. It's going to be about genes, and thanks to our bio syllabus, I guess all bio students are eligible lecturers for tomorrow's topic. =P

CCAs Over

Finally, my term in both my CCAs have come to an end. No more CCAs from now on! ;-)

But I must say that I feel quite sad though, no longer being part of the CCAs. Afternoons will be much more boring nowadays, can only sleep, mug, read or slack. Miss the friends and fun of CCAs...

It was a happy ending, in the sense that I was able to leave both CCAs with no regrets at all. I believe I had found good successors, and certainly the juniors will strive their best to better the CCAs. Have faith in them. =)

Haha, and sorry for my absence on MSN or my blog here. My connection is getting screwy. Roommate called the ISP customer service hotline a few times already, but apparently the suggested solutions didn't work at all. Then he realised that the hotline is operational for 24 hrs a day. So that probably means that his calls ended up in India. =D

I <3 Guitar and Ne2twork. Both will rock on! =)

H3 Chemisty

Once again got owned by H3 Chemistry test. Didn't pass it. To drop or not to drop?

BT ended

BT2 ended yesterday. Relieved. Shall try to enjoy this weekend before starting to do anything next week, though I doubt I can do anything much at home...

Discovered some weak spots through this BT. Complex numbers - totally no concept, despite it being one of the 'easiest' topic according to my senior; energetics - read the energy cycles in the wrong direction, what a stupid mistake; ionic equilibrium and solubility product - totally no concept, didn't manage to do a single question on these two topics.

It's time to buck up man. Don't let these topics kill me in the prelims and A levels. Haha, but let me take a break this weekend first. =)

BT2

BT2 starts tmr. Good luck!

1st of July will be a very important day - day on which GST will rise to 7%, the smoking ban will take effect, and the caterer in boarding school will change.

=)

Ju Hua Tai

After 3 days of trying, I can finally play Ju Hua Tai solo on the guitar, though the playing still not smooth yet! The song's very nice on guitar! *Inspired by Shao Kai's group during the concert. ><

Don't ask me to play for you yet though. The playing is far from decent. =P Haha, and yes, I wasn't pro enough to figure out the scores in less than 3 days. T_T

Hmm... so Ju Hua Tai shall be the third solo song that I will master! *The first two being the Spirited Away theme songs =) All very very nice songs...

Sucky Net Connection

Argh... now my Internet connection is very screwed. The connection is intermittent - it goes on and off like every 10 seconds. The speed is also crappy - one normal page like google.com can take >10 secs to load. Can't even stay on MSN - auto signs off every 5 seconds. =(

What is wrong with the connection lorh? The router kena struck by lightning again is it? Bleh...

3 more days to go. Wonder how's everyone now? Bleh. Have the big picture in mind. You're not preparing for the blocks - in less than 2 months, you'll be reading through all the same materials again to prepare for prelims, then in less than 1.5 months later, you'll be reading through them again for the A levels. Do note that for subjects like Bio, the papers are on separate days, so for example, you sit for paper 2 today, but paper 1 is on next Monday. So that means you have to revise the same materials one extra time, IN LESS THAN THE SPAN OF A WEEK.

Cheers for that man.

Repairing a pen

Some tips to repair a ballpoint / gel pen which still has ink but simply refuses to write:

• Scribble circles on cardboard
  
• Simply draw a few circles on a glass surface
• Heat the ball point for a few seconds over a small flame (eg. cigarette lighter)
• Swing the pen in an arc a number of times to force the ink to the tip using centrifugal force
• Scribble a few lines on a rubber surface

Source: Wikipedia

Have yet to personally examine these methods. Have lots of pens which are like that >.<

If you have tried before, please tell me which method works best! =)

Maths

T_T

I need help for maths. Stuck. Spent one day on sequences and series liao. Now another day stuck with probability and P&C. Die. Shucks. Won't be able to finish in time le. Still got all the other maths topics + bio. How??!!

Gahh... help!

=S =X =(

Holidays

2 weeks have passed, 2 more weeks!

Argh, time flies. Getting a bit panicky now, afraid I can't finish covering the syllabus. First week of hols was spent entirely on guitar, absolutely no revision (except reading that extra evolution notes, which I spent one week to read =X). Yay, guitar rocks. *Haha, still have a bit of hangover here. Ciao right? ;P

So my revision started on week 2's Tuesday. What have I covered so far? Hmm... chem, plus half of econs! Think I'm going a bit too slow, cos I still have maths and bio, and omg, bio has TONS to cover T_T Must speed up a bit.

=)

Guitar Exco Interview

Guitar exco interview yesterday was scary.

It was certainly one of the most gruesome interviews I have ever been to. Well, fortunately I wasn't one of those being interviewed, but unfortunately, I was one of the interviewers.

The interview started at 9am, ended at 3pm. Over the 6 hour period, 12 candidates were interviewed. So you can estimate how long each person was interviewed. I really sympathized with our poor juniors who had to stay for so long and be scrutinized so thoroughly... Really felt very bad about that...

I guess it was because all of us in the senior exco had very high expectations of the new exco. We wanted to ensure that the club will be in good hands when our juniors take over. We wanted to put the strongest team possible to take charge of the club, and be entrusted with the task of bringing guitar to a greater height.

And therefore, the selection of exco members became a highly challenging task for us, and the decision was certainly not an easy one to be made. We had to consider the abilities of each individual, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the candidates and the overall chemistry between each potential member of the new exco, among many many other factors. It was an extremely painful job, but certainly necessary. By choosing the right people in the exco, we are laying the foundation for a better guitar club in future.

For the junior exco:

Let's hope that we have made the right decisions, and you can fulfill the promises you made during your campaign speeches. Don't be disappointed if you're not in the exco. We have left many opportunities for you to contribute equally significantly for the club. Neither should you be complacent if you're in the exco. Work doubly hard and contribute as much as you can for the club. Jia you!!

For the senior exco:

Ruo Cheng, Sean, Shir Li, Yuan Xin, Han Lu, Jane, Valerie, Shao Kai and Weng Woh, it was really wonderful to be able to work with all of you! Although during our term, we screwed up a lot of things, ultimately we managed to pull through and see the club grow under our leadership. This itself would be an achievement that all of us in the exco can be proud of! Let's wish our juniors all the best! =)

Guitar club will rock on.

Guitar Concert

With the conclusion of Varolari, my time in guitar has finally come to an end.

It's more than a happy ending - the concert was successful, and all of us had a great time together! Although the preparation and backstage work were nightmare-ish, somehow the team managed to pull through, and yep, I'm proud to say we have done an impressive job! Well done, and a million thanks to all backstage crew! =)

Not forgetting, Alvin and Cherlyn, as well as all musical actors, great job! The night has certainly been a wonderful and entertaining one!

The turnout for the night was pretty unexpected. Seriously. I was deeply worried about the ticket sales, which was not truly encouraging at all before the concert. But when the curtains first opened, and I saw the auditorium was 3/4 full, I was really really overjoyed. =) Haha, there was one thing I realised though - the audience somehow had a rather low proportion of our peers. Hehe, enthu parents! *Tsk tsk, musical for the wrong audience =P

So the concert marks the end of my guitar term. Looking back at my time in the CCA, the journey has been a wonderfully enjoyable and memorable one. I joined the club as a total noob last year. The only reason I joined was simply because many of my classmates joined, so I followed suit. I'm rather amazed at myself, for having grown in love with the instrument, even though I just learnt it since last year. A big thank you to Alvin, Jane, Han Lu and all the rest, who have taught me the skills and guided me through the scores and tabs. =) Hope I'll still play the guitar as I leave the CCA...

Then some time last year, I ran for exco and became the quartermaster. Haha, a role that I enjoyed and yet hate. Kept getting bullied by irresponsible and inconsiderate club members - people who left club guitars here and there, people who messed up the guitar room, people who refused to help carry stuff... You watch it.

Then this year, we had our SYF. As Alvin likes to quote his former teacher - "成绩不重要，最重要是process", indeed, the training process was the most memorable part of the whole SYF experience. That was the time everyone in the SYF team got closer with each other, supported one another through the arduous process, and then reap the rewards that we all strive hard to achieve. Gold. It was a happy ending to our SYF efforts too!

Finally, our final concert - Varolari. A wonderful and unforgettable experience. Something that I'm sure all guitar members would be proud of!

A happy ending, a tiring but rewarding journey. Now it's time to pass the baton to the next exco, and the challenge for them is on - bring the club to greater height and yeah, guitar rocks! =)

Confused...

有时候我感到疑惑：究竟我是为谁而忙，为何事而心焦。明明知道我无力改变现状，却还是事事关心，为整件事操心、担忧。或许是因为我已经预料到了惨痛的结果，抑或是我的良心过意不去，我竟然无法像许多人一样，采取一种漠不关心、事不关己的态度。或许我言重了，但这不只是我一人的感觉。毕竟，最终事情出了什么差错，大家都还是必须共同负起责任的。为何就不能同心协力地把事情办好呢？

我曾想为事情付出一份绵力，但我渐渐发现，如此付出，最终还是无济于事的。看着一些人仍不死心，还在默默地努力着时，我不禁觉得心头一阵绞痛。若大部分的人都选择面对惨痛的结局，就让我服从多数吧。

H3 test

T_T

H3 test was as usual, a screwed-up affair. No structures deduced, plenty of nil replies – not because I couldn't finish them, but simply because I had no answers for them.

Felt greatly relieved after walking out from LT1. Now I have done my part, let fate decide if I should stay in this course.

Cards!

Great surprise to our class today. The self-made cards that were confiscated by Mr. Pang last Friday surprisingly appeared during Maths lecture - the Maths lecturer wrote some numbers on the cards, and used them to randomly pick people to answer her questions. -.- Nice application of our creation. Haha, am thinking that if our cards were not confiscated, we probably would have a nice collection of cards with different designs by now. =D But then, confiscation serves as the main driving force behind the creation of new cards. =D

Am wondering how did the Maths lecturer got hold of the cards. Did Mr. Pang pass the cards around the whole staff room? Woots -_-'

Maths Test

"You can look up for inspiration. You can look down in desperation. But do not look left and right for information." -- Ms. Kwee during Maths test.

Haha, interesting quote from Ms. Kwee. Anyway, screwed the test really badly - got single digit T_T. Ms. Kwee was a bit shocked when she asked me to report my score. I think I disappointed her, but never mind, will work harder for BT 2 to redeem myself. =)

H3 Chemistry test next Friday. Either do or die - the school has told us that if we fail this test, we would be forced to drop the subject. A bit cruel -.-

My CT is going to leave us for 1 month since school reopens (he'll be away for 2 months, but since the whole of June is like holidays...), bet our class will miss him a lot. Anyway, guess who will take over him as relief tutor? *Drumrolls.......* PPC!! Heard that he's a nice tutor, and can teach very well. Haha, but still feels weird having the DM teaching you a subject that's not related to discipline. =D

Student from HC

For those still unaware of it, read today's NewPaper for the story.

That guy, not sure who is it (not revealed in the newspaper), heard it's some HP guy from J1, really stole the headlines meant for some mother's day-related news. Well, probably there'll be a public apology at morning assembly tomorrow morning, or the press would be there, or the school admin will call for an emergency meeting with all students to clarify matters. Whatever the course of action, damage has been done to the school's image, of which everyone of us from HC is part of. Probably get niao-ed by friends from other schools for a while. =(

Anyway, his reason for hitting the bus driver was really lame - because of gf's ezlink card. Afterall, that situation certainly didn't warrant the use of violence, especially when the driver was an elderly. Whatever the circumstances at that point in time, the fact that he punched and used violence against the bus driver was in itself unforgivable. He really brought shame upon himself through his reckless behaviour. He also really hurt his father, who knelt down and begged the driver to forgive his son. And of course, he really brought disgrace to the school, which was certainly unnecessary and unwelcomed. This guy would have to face whatever consequences that he brought upon himself, and carry this burden of guilt (if he ever feels it) with him for probably the rest of his life.

Core Module

“If you have a dream, protect it. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it.” -- The Pursuit of Happyness

Felt greatly inspired after watching the movie. The movie, based on the real-life story of Chris Gardner, was truly touching and compelling. Although I have read about this story in a Chinese magazine before, it was a totally different experience watching Will Smith and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, the real-life son of Chris Gardner acting it out. The love, determination, passion and dare shown by Chris was amazing, and those qualities were perhaps the key to his eventual success. The quote above was taken from the scene when Chris was talking to his son at a basketball court, and those words struck a chord deep within me. Don't be hesitant, don't be deterred by others, just follow your dreams.

OK, enough for the movie review. Haha, the para above sounds really serious. Now something less serious. Core module today was OK. Nothing much about the course itself, just sat through it and listened. Enjoyed the food provided. =) Paul was really admirable. Can tell that he really enjoys what he is doing now, and he is passionate about it. Wishing him all the best!

Rat dissection

Rat dissection!

Today's bio prac, we had the chance to dissect rats! First time dissecting an entire organism. Last time only dissected pig's heart and pig's eye before in high school. During the prac, Miao Jing told me she dissected frogs, rabbits, pigeons and goldfish before for her bio pracs back in China. A bit experienced. =D

Anyway, the prac started with Mr. Ngoh demonstrating to us how to carry out the dissection. He chose a pregnant female rat, so when he cut open the ventral side of the abdomen, there were 13 foetuses there. Could see the heads, tails, ears and toes that have been formed. Quite gross actually, with the blood and placenta all over the place. Then he showed us what to look out for, blah blah, and then we set off to do our own dissection.

Some people chose to dissect male rats instead, for the sake of being able to analyse the scrotum sac and its contents. Well, most succeeded, and they seemed to have lots of fun doing that. (Gross =X) Then some also managed to crack the skull to peep at the brain. Realised that rat's brain consists of 3 lobes, each lobe is as small as a peanut. (Peanut brain!) OK, and some rats stink, cos there were holes on their intestines or something, so you get the stench. My rat's intestine was like bulging, bet it was a hungry rat when it was alive.

So that was all about rat dissection. Nobody fainted, nobody puked. Yep, everyone from 7D is strong! ><

New Template

Changed the template. Hope it looks nicer =)

Realised that with this template typing long paragraphs will look, uhm, scary. Like whole big chunk of text. Woots, shall aim to minimise that.

Think somehow this template looks nicer in IE. Am using Firefox though. -.-

PW & H3

It is certainly unfair – such a huge disparity. If I were one of them, I would be making noise too. It was lucky of me for being a Hwa Chong student, to be among the 85% of the cohort getting an A for Project Work. While I am certainly happy and satisfied of my grade, the debate over the percentage of students getting an A among the local JCs have set me thinking of a similar problem, a problem that I foresee will generate a similar furore sooner or later. It is about the H3 modules.

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the H3 system, allow me to briefly introduce it. Several options of H3 modules are available to JC students – guided research programmes, university modules and MOE modules. While each H3 typically has its own syllabus and framework, no common grading standard exist between the different modules. It is understandable that it may be difficult or even impossible to come up with such a common standard. However, the discrepancies are huge – students taking university modules can easily score near full-marks or even perfect scores; guided research projects have the added advantage of being able to be used to participate in project competitions; while those taking MOE modules often struggle to even pass their tests.

Unfortunately, I belong to the last category. Granted, it was out of my free will and decision that I chose to attend this course, and thus courted my own miseries. However, I have to clarify one important point: when I had to make my choice last year, I only had partial information – mine was the first batch to take up these courses, and I have no seniors’ experience to refer to. Neither were the teachers of great help, because they too, were unfamiliar with the new courses. Hence, it could be said that we were the guinea pigs – we waded into murky waters without knowing the dangers – or rewards, waiting for us at the other end.

Nobody is to blame in this case – the system is new, and needs a few more years to be perfected. Nonetheless, some actions have to be taken to address the huge disparity that currently exists – it is simply unfair to all those taking H3. Perhaps a bell curve system can be adopted in the grading? Or perhaps some form of moderation and standardisation can be done to minimise the discrepancy?

Be it Project Work or H3, both will ultimately be reflected on the final certificate, and both can potentially affect the future prospect of a student. Nobody will be willing and happy to put in so much effort only to earn a disproportionate reward, or to see other people gain much higher rewards by putting in much less effort. Certainly, those discrepancies in grading have to be addressed, and they better do so before we see another round of debate in the press next year, again by our batch.

Tiring

I need a break. Ever since SYF ended, I haven't really had time for myself, to rest and to take a breath. Besides clearing all the backlog that have accumulated during the SYF period, there is something really pressing that followed immediately that did not allow me to even slack for a moment. Well, the deadline is nearing, and certainly I have to repay what I owe during my absence during SYF. But yeah, time is really running very very short and it's nearly working round the clock now to get things done. Hopefully things will turn out right and we'll complete things in time. Shall not think of what happens otherwise.

Guitar concert coming up soon (not really that soon, but hahas, have to start training for the extra pieces though). Will again have to dedicate time to learn the new songs and practice those songs with fellow performers. Hmm... trying hard to squeeze time out of the 24-hour day. Somehow I must be able to ensure efficiency of time used approaches 100%.

Only good thing out of all these is that by every night I'll be so tired that I'll fall asleep immediately once I lie on my bed. Although I may sleep fewer hours, but somehow the rest will be deeper and more complete, and I feel more refreshed the next day. Wonder if that will last, or it might just end up in me burning out and achieving nothing...

SYF Photos

SYF photos: http://uglord.diaryland.com

Go check them out! =)

SYF

The much dreaded and awaited SYF is finally over. Sounds a bit un-emotional eh. OK, to be frank, I really feel relieved and liberated. Yeah, LIBERATED is the word. It's like I don't have to stay back in school till like 11+pm for consecutive nights anymore. And that itself should be a great cause for celebration. My fingers can also be spared from further bruises and blisters, until the concert comes next month. Haha, relaxing... =)

The results for SYF: GOLD. Would say that I'm quite satisfied with this result, although it could have been much better certainly. >< At least all our efforts didn't go down the drain, and we received a rather fair rate of return. Really, all the time, effort and hard work were just for that 10 minutes of performance on stage, like that Chinese proverb 台上一分钟，台下十年功. The process of training was really arduous, and tiring. But when the outcome of it is satisfactory, it is worth it. And certainly, this SYF experience have been bittersweet but fruitful for me. Thank you Guitar Club! We had a wonderful time together! =)

Wishing all performing art groups ALL THEIR BEST for their SYFs coming up soon! Jia you! =)

SYF

SYF coming in 2 days. Just ended training like 1 hr ago. Hmm, thankfully this is not going to last for too long.

And we must make sure our efforts pay off by rising to the occasion on Thursday. Go Guitar!

And oh, advertisement: Support Varolari - the Guitar Concert! =)

Net is up again

Fried router finally resurrected. Feels good. You won't understand the misery of being net-deprived until you experience such things. Thank goodness it's up and running again. =)

SYF coming up in 5 days time. Trainings are getting harder and longer by the day, and we were having training for almost everyday for the past week, and the coming week will see us having training for everyday till Thursday. It's OK because it's the final lap, the last mile. We're nearly at the end of it, although the ultimate real challenge has yet to arrive. That will be on Thursday, 5+pm. It's either we make it, and be happy that all our efforts pay off, or we don't make it, and feel sad that 5 months of hard work goes down the drain. Don't like contemplating about the latter scenario. So better work hard these few days and increase the likelihood for the former scenario to happen.

Am starting to feel the physical and mental stress after this really intensive period of trainings. Never mind, all these will be over soon. And yeah, I'll start to fall behind tutorials starting from next week. Hope the teachers won't pwn me. It's because of SYF. SYF and SYF. Suppose to dream about it every night by Han Lu's standards, but I doubt I can ever attain that level. Now my life only revolves around 2 things: school and guitar. Guitar and school. Yay, nothing else.

Good luck guitar club, for the result we seek to achieve! =)

Internet Down

My Internet has been down for the past one week. Apparently the router was fried by lightning. Didn't switch it off before I went to school. So now life is miserable without Internet. Gahh...

Posting from hostel's computer room. Competition for limited terminals is intense, especially during long weekends like this. 20 computers plus 4 laptop terminals for 1200 occupants. Calculate the ratio yourself and you get my point.

Managed to pass SYF auditions only after 3 tries. WTH. Nobody gets into SYF only after passing auditions by 3 attempts. Feel disgraced. But I will cherish this hard-fought opportunity even more. Thanks to Han Lu and Jane and all those who have really helped me especially at the last moment. Hopefully we can achieve the target that we set for ourselves! =D *Counting down to SYF: less than 2 weeks!! OMG ><*

Haha, on a side note, felt very depressed after failing the auditions two nights ago, decided to put my anger and frustration into good use: learn how to play DOTA. =) Don't be surprised, my computer cannot support Warcraft, so I have never installed it nor played it before. It was only at the spur of the moment that I decided to learn it from scratch and played once against the computer. So now know a bit of basic stuff, shall attempt to learn more. ><

So much about SYF, now I really feel like quitting SYF to piah DOTA -.-

Random: Chinese names of these games: Warcraft - 魔兽争霸, Counter Strike - 防恐精英 Enjoy the long weekend =)

Movies

My eyes are turning really red and painful after being spammed with endless movies. Ouch...

Normal lessons resume tomorrow. Back to the hectic days! ><

Nexus

QOTD: "The power of personalised technology: Viagra is shipped to your door when you start thinking of what to do tonight." --Nat =D

Nexus was pure fun and cool! It was mainly a gathering of geeks, bloggers, technopreneurs and many world-renown IT industry big shots. =O Woots, initially thought I went for the wrong hall, but hahas, felt noob throughout the thing as I knew nuts about IT and web 2.0 and long tail etc etc (the mere quoting of these terms showed I have learnt something from it afterall! ><).

The whole event was just so informal (unlike many other conferences / courses / talks) - there was this online Live Message thing that ran concurrently with the talks and you can post a message and see it appear on the projector right away! *Cool!* Most speakers were also very interesting and humourous, cracking jokes here and there. I must say that it was really something different from all past conferences and symposiums I have been to, and it beats them all. Kudos to the organisers! =)

And oh, all of us were overfed by the sumptuous meals provided - we had breakfast, tea, lunch then tea again! The food was way way way above expectations! =D

Post Blocks

Whee, block test over!! =)

*Realised that my previous post said 'block test starting tomorrow!'. Haha, time flies!*

A reason to celebrate? Not really. Will be busy for the next 2 days! Really really busy I mean. Gahh... Tomorrow there'll be a full day event at Nexus. Hope I'll not be too much of a lost sheep when I get there. Then Sunday there'll be the scholar's comm thingy. Woots, I need a break! ><

And oh, not to forget, screwed the Chemistry paper. MCQ got 12 wrong liao (out of 30). TT Somehow always get pwned by Chemistry MCQ - last year failed 3 lecture tests mainly because couldn't finish MCQ. Now BT 1 becomes the latest casualty. Save me!

So today after bio paper, the class went to PS for lunch and movie. Bean's Holiday is hilarious =D. Then went to Tay's house for a while, before departing for Genus Concert. *Woots, I hate the meals I ate - both lunch and dinner were super fatty and unhealthy. =)*

Block test over! =) Whee...

BT

BT starting tomorrow! Wishing everyone good luck and all the best! =)

Jia you jia you!

*BT will end on Friday, not taking Physics on Monday! =D*

Injured!

The curse still seems to be permanent: I'm getting injured on my right side again! This time it is my right ankle that got pwned. )=

Was rather surprising though, at that moment of falling, my first response was to say sorry to Alvin ><. It was probably after like a few seconds that I started to feel the pain. OUCH!! *Lags*

A million thanks to Cheryl, whose superb first aid skill managed to prevent excessive swelling and alleviated much of the pain =). Thanks to Sean who went to get ice, Jane for her slippers (sorry I dirtied them!) and many others who acted as my mobile walking stick for the day! ><

Managed to limp back all the way back to hostel from school. Hahas, took me more than 20 minutes though. =P

But anyway, I think I still reached back hostel faster than Alvin reached home! -.-'

So much for the anticipation. Hahas, we didn't get back our PW results, false rumours!! Anyway, new rumours say we going to get it back during Term 2 Week 2, after our BT. ><

HC's results was imba! Got full day off today! Hahas, a bit lagg in posting this I realised. But anyway, congrats to all seniors who did superbly well! Oh, according to press, somehow RJ did better than us, but not too sure. The figures and stats seem to conflict one another. Gahh.. :S

Sigh, am really envious of all the seniors who are now free from all these woes of learning and having exams. Some of them are happily waiting to go overseas for university, some are in the army, some slacking at home... They have passed this stage of life - a painful, torturous but yet memorable stage of life. Yet, I am still stuck right in that process, facing all the troubles and problems and difficulties that many of them have went through. Never mind, next year, I will be the same as them. I will be the one coming back to school and see my juniors working hard and piahing while they envy us. Hopefully my batch will also get equally good results as them! =)

*Wonders at the vicious loop that occurs every year. Why can't they just scrap the A levels as well? =D

JAE results coming out soon! Wishing all juniors who are affected all the best! =)

random

This afternoon, suddenly realised there were lots of blue spots on the floor of my room. Looked high and low for the source of it - checked if there were leaky pens - found none, but realised most of my pens running dry soon; checked my bag - no blue stains; checked my chair - none either. So in the end, I realised there was a blue patch on my left foot, apparently some blue stuff that I accidentally stepped on outside my room - similar stain could be found on my slippers. Looking at all the 'blue prints' on the floor, I had no choice but to mop them off. ><

Tomorrow will be sort of a weird day. Will be getting results for PW? Then have to wait for H3 tutorial at 4pm?

):

A level results

Rumours Press says: A level results will be out this Friday.

*Anxious*

OK, I shouldn't be the one being anxious, the seniors should. Hehe, afterall I'm only getting back my result for PW. ><>

CNY

yay yay, am back home now! hahas, will be going back to singapore shortly, so that i can go for the guitar rehearsal tomorrow morning?! bleh, opportunity cost: ANG PAO money!! could have gone visiting tonight and tomorrow, but have to go back soon... *compensation needed! :P* lol, guess that's a sacrifice for SYF? :P hahas, anyway supporting tomorrow's class TUANBAI! Please please make it come true! =) (too bad can't go AHRLCT's house? ><)

most memorable thing done over past 2 days: LEARNT HOW TO DRIVE A CAR!! yepps, my dad taught me how to drive! =) *claps, screams in joy ><* hahas, there was this newly-built shophouses opposite my grandma's house, perfect for a newbie like me to practice driving - the roads were deserted, and there would be no danger of traffic coming from the opposite direction crashing onto me! >< yeah, so learnt much of the basic stuffs, like how to start the car, move it forward, turn right, turn left, and then backwards! (oops, missed out stopping it, heys, i also learnt how to apply the brakes!) hahas, was a bit scary at first, realised that even if i didn't step on the accelerator, and didn't step on the brakes either, THE CAR WOULD SLIP FORWARD BY ITSELF! :O omg, nearly crashed into some bushes :P OK nvm, that was a negative demonstration. the most important thing is: I CAN NOW DRIVE A CAR!! =)=)=) Just a bit slow though, and yeah, beware of me cos i don't know much of the driving rules etc =D

hahas, three cheers for myself ><

Happy CNY

yay, currently back in m'sia! wishing everyone happy happy new year! ;)

CNY celebration in school - juniors decided to change their stall idea 3 times in a week, finally deciding to sell Milo dinosaur! Woots, congrats they made profit! :D Fac dance competition - pretty sad that Apollo didn't win, but still think that Apollo had the best dance! *<3 it! :) Hahas, as if refusing to admit the results, we (referring to most 7d-ers and many many other enthu Apollo people) went to do the dance again and again right in the central plaza and outisde audi, even after the celebration has ended! :P Whoosh!

Went out for lunch with some fellow 7d-ers at KAP! Hahas, that was probably my first visit there after like one year since last year's orientation? >< (don't visit mac that often) Niklas and Melvin engaged in a staring competition that lasted for nearly half an hour! (hahas, more details please refer to junior class' blog, shan't repeat) Then had to leave at around 2.45pm because I had to rush home before the jam started to build up across the Causeway!! *argh, apparently there was an extension of the outing to cheryl's place? bet i missed out lots of fun... :'(

Haha, anyway managed to reach the checkpoint at 4+pm, no jam! Phew! But because the queue for the bus was too long, decided to walk across the Causeway. >< *Cool right? can enjoy the sea breeze and inhale all the exhaust smoke from the traffic whoozing past me :P

Will be visiting grandparents / relatives in a faraway town tomorrow! Hahas, hopefully can receive lots of big ang paos!! ><

Will be going back to hostel on Monday night. Bleh, all thanks to guitar for that weird rehearsal that was arranged to fall on the third day of Lunar New Year :S. Hahas, nvm. Shall spend time visiting friends in Singapore instead! ><

新年快乐! :)

V-Day and X-Country

Yay, thanks to Jiin-Shiuan and Si Rui for the V-Day gifts! =) Thanks to the girls for doing up the card-boardy thingy and Cheryl's biscuit too! =)

Haha, shall list some interesting observations for today's X-country:

1. Was running with Koo all the way, were supposed to finish together (uhm, at least one after another), but somehow there was this extra guy who came between us at the finishing line, so our positions were two places apart -_-
2. Met a group of girls who were walking while was running in the jungle, then when was running along Lornie Road, saw the same group of girls again. Apparently though they took a shorter route, they still lagged us -.-'
3. The group of girls was singing "Baa baa black sheep" as Koo and I ran past them!! =O
   
4. Tay managed to walk 4.8km in 53 minutes! =)
5. All the mass run girls in our class ended in the top 100 positions!! Woohoo, Mr. Rudy Lee must be proud of them! =P
6. According to Tay, Wee was reading the Economist magazine while walking after he passed the last checkpoint. OMG! X.X

Hahas, X-country turned out to be rather fun actually. Although there was a bit of screw up at the beginning when our dear PE rep didn't bring the number tags and we had to run down to the finishing point to get ourselves new tags, that didn't affect the mood! Hahas, the weather a bit hot though, but there is ample shade in MacRitchie, so no problem! =)

This would also be my last X-country in HC! A bit sad right? Bleh, nvm... Was the 5th time running the same track. Lol, the same Milo van too! Haha, deja vu...

*Yawns*, tired, shall go sleep now! =)

Ice Cream Sales

Woohoo, selling ice cream was FUN!!

Was in charge of the Network stall selling ice cream today from 11-12. Nearly had to skip lunch for that. But never mind, it was really fun being able to sell ice cream! *Sense of accomplishment* =) I was the one scooping ice creams from the tub, so basically I decide who gets bigger scoop and who gets not-so-big scoops. >< *evil, lalala* Anyway I think I sold at least 30+ ice creams within like 40+ minutes, which I thought was quite good! Haha, was really overjoyed when I saw a queue piling up in front of me. Woot, then had to scoop faster and do things much much faster. =D

There were also some minor screw ups during my time slot. Somehow we ran out of cones after like half an hour, so late comers could only buy in cups (stocks have been replenished at 12pm!). Then soon after that, we realised that some of the ice creams started melting, probably because we kept opening and closing the freezer too frequently, so the temperature in it was like getting higher and higher. No choice but to close the stall and apologise to whoever that wanted to buy then. =( Then there was this cup filled with water that we use to place the ice cream scoops in after we scoop ice creams. It spilled probably like 3 times when I was there lah! Rarr, then had to keep cleaning up the mess. Suggested them to get a heavier cup, since the metal scoop was really heavy, not something that a polystyrene cup could hold. In the end they got this big plastic bucket, then several cups were put in it to stabilise the structure, then we solved the problem. Creative problem solving! ^^

Must really thank Ye Qing and Christina for putting in so much effort into this retail stall! They were really very very responsible and meticulous in ensuring everything runs smoothly! Three cheers for them! =) Haha, must also say a big thank you to all Network members who came to help, whether it was their turn to man the stall or not. You all were very enthu! Then of course, not forgetting all those who bought ice creams from us >< Thank you for your support!

The ice cream stall would be there till next Thursday. Haha, will have more chances to sell ice creams for the next few days!

=)

Chem SPA

Chem SPA tmr, good luck everyone! :)

A lot of juniors online at this moment, presuming all of them busy with their econs ILP, due tmr too! :P Good luck to them too!

Lala, shall go to sleep liao. Watched Superstar for one hour just now, LOL, so Darren won. Haha, HC won't be dominating in both superstar events. Pretty random post tonight. Rarr... Good night!

Ants

It's a pretty frightening sight to see lots of ants suddenly crawling out of your computer - I bet you won't like the sight of it. But just as I typed this, a sudden gush of ants just appeared out of nowhere from my computer, FROM WITHIN MY COMPUTER!!! Rarr, my computer has no sweets, no sugar and no food inside, so get out of my computer!!

Shall hereby declare WAR on ants!! *Shall pinch them every time I see them. Hehe, don't blame me, they came to occupy my space and became irritating pests!

Every year I have been battling ants, and every year I have to get rid of them using very very inhumane means like spamming pesticide onto a whole colony of them in my crayon box two years ago. X.X It was really a gruesome sight - a whole mountain of reddish-brown dead ants. But if you don't get rid of them, they'll probably pwn you, by biting you throughout the night and you wake up having itches and swells all over. Argh!!

So now they're back again. And I shall not show any mercy, dead ants shall they be!

Tuesdays

Tuesdays are really dreadful. School starts at 7.30am and will only end at 6.30pm!! But that's not the worst. The worst is I only have a one-hour break throughout the day! :'(

The entire day is like packed with lessons: first period econs tut, then maths tut, then maths lecture. Then we have our one-hour lunch break (11am??), before returning to lessons - bio lecture, GP then bio tut. Argh... It was like by GP period most of us were already dying - Ms Lin walked into class seeing all of us lying on the table. Thankfully bio tut ended early, so we got a little break there. But it didn't help me much, for I still fell asleep during H3 chem lecture. Zzzz... The feeling of getting spammed by endless lessons is seriously not good.

The only consolation is that tomorrow is a slacky day! :) There's only GP, followed by chem prac and then CT session!! Haha, so that means tonight I don't have to piah and work on my tutorials and stuff. :P Bet I won't be able to accomplish much anyway, since I'm already so tired...

Shall sleep early tonight. Good nite everyone!

H3 Chemistry

H3 Chemistry is imba. It was just the first set of lecture note and tutorial, and the difficulty level was more than enough to pwn me. Ouch! :(

Didn't expect it to be so hard. Some of the questions were simply beyond my scope of knowledge. Even intelligent guesses seemed impossible. However, most of the answers turned out to be rather intuitive. Perhaps it was me who didn't think hard enough? :S

Mr. Rudy Lee is our H3 lecturer cum tutor cum our class' chemistry tutor cum CT :). Yesterday during tutorial, he directed a question at someone from other class, but that person didn't know how to answer. Then Mr. Lee said, "You can arrow someone else to answer this question, but not anyone from 7C or 7D." Haha, so we had immunity from answering that question. But anyway in the end it was Liang En who gave the answer, so not much difference.

I guess it would take much more time for me to get used to the H3 syllabus and everything. Hopefully I can hold it out till the end of the year! (*Help needed! >.<)

Orientation Campfire!

Woohoo, Orientation Campfire Night was fun!

Although it was raining all-day (ermm, probably for two days and nights already up to Friday night) and campfire had to be held in the hall, it didn't spoil the mood at all! The J1s were super-high all night, with all the deafening cheers that erupted from time to time =). Whenever a fac made its appearance on stage, be it the performance item, flag or dance, the J1s would cheer as loudly as they could, and it was really great! Haha, it reminds me of last year when I was part of that crowd, cheering all the way for the whole night. Though this year I'm already a J2, but being together with the J1s really ignited that enthusiasm in me again for the night!

Could sense that the rivalry between the faculties has intensified greatly this year! Last year Apollo was the champion, with a clear lead over the rest, but this year the tide seemed to have turned against us! T_T At first it was the War Games, when I witnessed the entire process how other three facs ganged up to bully the Bull Boy. Owww... pain... But I must say that the Apollo juniors put up a brave fight! They really showed the fighting spirit, defending their base with the wall of man, wearing down other facs' attacks and eventually launching a counter. It was really exciting and heartening to watch them fight! Then it was the flag and item contests on campfire night. Though Apollo didn't win in both events, the enthusiasm of the entire fac could still be strongly felt! If Apollo were to make a comeback, then this enthusiasm must not fade! Go go Apollo!

Anyway, back to campfire night. Saw for the first time the new Apollo fac dance, and thought that it was really very cool, perhaps even better than last year's! =) And the Athenians lived up to expectation by putting up a really hilarious performance. Haha, thought that it may even become their fac tradition to do so in future years. =D

After that during the song and dance session, we finally joined our junior class and had fun together. Our juniors are really a fun-loving and friendly lot, and I enjoyed being together with them! Go juniors! =D Then at the end of the campfire, thanks to a pause in the raining, there was the grand fireball light-up! Then we took a photo with our juniors at class bench before I left.

I didn't want to leave so early, if my parents had allowed me to stay for the night... T_T (sounds as if Cinderella had to go home by 12 midnight =P) Anyway, it was past 12am when I finally reached home, partly due to the landslide down the road that caused a terrible jam along the road. So that explains why I am posting this only one day later. Campfire night was really a night which I would not forget, for all the fun, memories and friends. Hope everyone had lots of fun! =)

Back to School

Now we are back to school.

Since the first day of school, it seemed that nothing much has been happening. Life proceeds as normal, as if a year hasn't passed. Nothing much has changed. Unlike in sec school, none of the teachers were changed for my class this year (not that I want them to be changed, they are good afterall :D). Same classmates, same subjects. Recurring tests (although no longer counted). The only thing that has changed is perhaps the way I write the year on my handouts. It is already 2007. Yeah, I'm supposed to be one year older, and I'm supposed to be taking A levels this year. OK enough of that rambling - the point is - life has been sian since school opened.

I was quite happy to meet our juniors. They were a fine class of juniors - hip, fun-loving and friendly! Really look forward having a good time with them during JTS, STJ (haha, wonder if the later exists :P). Only knew one of them - my junior from high school. Hope they enjoy their orientation!

How I miss the fun and good time we had last year during our own orientation! The War Games, the night outings, the OG, etc etc... Let's JAM!!!

Go 7D!