This coming new year is going to be different from all the other years of my life that I've lived past, so to speak. For one, it doesn't seem much like the new year at all. Take for example, there's no more looking forward to going back to school - at least NOT YET - because JC school term doesn't start until 1st February, I was told. Also, there's other people telling me that Polytechnic students start school a lot later, which makes it all the more draggggggggyyyyyyyyyy...
Guess when the world is about to experience a second economic Great Depression, life for me follows suit - it gets ever more boring every day I stay at home waiting for my GCE O Level results to come out. To hell with the suspense of the results - just tell us the date of release, for Christ's sake. I just want to get out of the house, go to school and break this monotomy of sitting at home rotting at the sofa, being a couch potato. Can't time just past more quickly?
That being said though, I'll just worry about the grades when I receive my O Level cert. After all, each day has enough trouble of its own, so what's the point worrying about what you cannot have any control upon?
And another thing - this coming new year is what perhaps nobody is actually looking forward to, throughout the globe. Look at the economic mess that everyone has got into - shareholders, Leyman Brothers' mini-bond victims, everyone fighting tooth and nail to preserve their rice bowls, and no more splurging on "necessities" like PSPs, Nintendo DSes, even MP3 players.
Even the thrifty people aren't spared at all. Just when I was about to make plans to buy myself some expensive gadget like a DS or just a cheap and decent MP3 player, the economic crisis struck - and sometimes I wonder why I went about so much effort to save money when I can't even spend it on my own stuff in the end after all. Maybe God wants me to start saving for the many more rainy days to come, I guess...
Simply put - the moving on to 2009 isn't anything grand after all, it's just a continuation of the troubles we are currently facing in 2008. Therefore, I don't see much reason to celebrate after all, apart from the hope that when worse situations come, we see more of Christ's glory made manifest in carrying us through those tougher circumstances.
Hence, a short message to those fortunate enough to read this entry - I urge you to place your hopes, aspirations, pain, worries, everything on Jesus this year, for he is saying today, "Come to me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."(Matthew 11:28)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Uncle Daniel's House Party - a Christmas party before Christmas Eve
Yep, I gotta catch my breath these few days after Christmas events, so I haven't been updating this blog lately, so it appears dead - but not anymore. Fresh new content coming up next year, so stay tuned.
Or maybe you guys wouldn't have to wait for so long after all...
Anyways, on 23rd December 2008 Uncles Kelvin and Steven and I went to Uncle Daniel's house for a celebration for the successful performance at the Peerless Name Jesus Christmas Dinner '08. We waited until around 9.30pm for everyone to reach there so that we can start the "debriefing" and comment on our performance. The consensus was this: we couldn't have done it without Jesus Christ, our common Lord and Saviour, helping us behind the scenes and putting everything in order with our common prayers. Now THAT's one spirit, one mind, and one common faith being manifest in us, namely:
From bottom left to right: chocolate pastry(I don't know what's that thing-a-ma-jig called), pork knuckle, and steamed butter rice.
As for the milk bottle, I don't know how it ended up there - probably it's meant for Brother Maran's new baby daughter(I still haven't asked what's her name).
Of course, we wouldn't possibly forget starting the whole party singing praises and worshipping Him, right? So we sprang into action and had a great time indeed.
Brother Chris and me, holding the guitar, posing for a photo impromptu.
And just after dinner Uncle Steven's birthday was announced - on 23rd December 2008 - perfect timing! Uncle Daniel got us a Christmas log cake for us to share, which doubled as a celebration for Uncle Steven's birthday, and boy, that was truly Christmas, considering that God made the events fall onto place: Celebration and debriefing of the Christmas Dinner'08 dance item, celebration of Uncle Steven's birthday, and early celebration for Christmas at Uncle Daniel's house.
Christmas Log Cake, aka Uncle Steven's Birthday Cake. Good stuff!
Sweet stuff for a Sweet and Merry Christmas. Perfect. I was told to eat a whopping three thick slices just after eating a whole lot of stuff, so I did - and being the first to eat the Christmas turkey stuffing, which nobody in the house ever noticed until I told them, I was fully stuffed like the turkey I ate. I hope they're not thinking of using ME as next year's Christmas TURKEY? Haha...
Or maybe you guys wouldn't have to wait for so long after all...
Anyways, on 23rd December 2008 Uncles Kelvin and Steven and I went to Uncle Daniel's house for a celebration for the successful performance at the Peerless Name Jesus Christmas Dinner '08. We waited until around 9.30pm for everyone to reach there so that we can start the "debriefing" and comment on our performance. The consensus was this: we couldn't have done it without Jesus Christ, our common Lord and Saviour, helping us behind the scenes and putting everything in order with our common prayers. Now THAT's one spirit, one mind, and one common faith being manifest in us, namely:
- Jesus Christ - the one keeping us together in one piece and one mind, making miracles out of situations that seemed impossible beforehand, and teaching us along the practice periods and holding our hands throughout the stage fright period.
- Uncle Daniel and Auntie Norines - for organising our group for the dance item.
- Uncles Kelvin and Steven, Brothers Maran and Chris as well as Theudas - for being the ones out there doing the meat of the dance
- Sisters Osheana and Shirleen - for endless behind-the-scenes moral support, and providing invaluable suggestions throughout the dance practices.
- Thaddeus, Malcolm and Brother Maran's new daughter, born during the crisis of the group, when our group was about to buckle under the pressure and hiccups here and there - for providing comic relief when everyone was stressed up about the performance and being endlessly attacked by Satan via problems and circumstances that came out of the blue.
- Any other people who helped behind the scenes that I forgot to mention in this list of credits.
So, with all the problems that happened beforehand, and the startling comeback that we did in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, this was no doubt reason enough of celebration because of His grace and faithfulness to see us through till the very end and beyond. And boy, did we enjoy this party, of course!
Just look at the spread, haha.
From bottom left to right: chocolate pastry(I don't know what's that thing-a-ma-jig called), pork knuckle, and steamed butter rice.
As for the milk bottle, I don't know how it ended up there - probably it's meant for Brother Maran's new baby daughter(I still haven't asked what's her name).
Of course, we wouldn't possibly forget starting the whole party singing praises and worshipping Him, right? So we sprang into action and had a great time indeed.
Brother Chris and me, holding the guitar, posing for a photo impromptu.
And just after dinner Uncle Steven's birthday was announced - on 23rd December 2008 - perfect timing! Uncle Daniel got us a Christmas log cake for us to share, which doubled as a celebration for Uncle Steven's birthday, and boy, that was truly Christmas, considering that God made the events fall onto place: Celebration and debriefing of the Christmas Dinner'08 dance item, celebration of Uncle Steven's birthday, and early celebration for Christmas at Uncle Daniel's house.
Christmas Log Cake, aka Uncle Steven's Birthday Cake. Good stuff!
Sweet stuff for a Sweet and Merry Christmas. Perfect. I was told to eat a whopping three thick slices just after eating a whole lot of stuff, so I did - and being the first to eat the Christmas turkey stuffing, which nobody in the house ever noticed until I told them, I was fully stuffed like the turkey I ate. I hope they're not thinking of using ME as next year's Christmas TURKEY? Haha...
Saturday, December 20, 2008
A barbecue, again
Had a barbecue today at Uncle Yiye's place, so we were to leave the house at 1.45pm to set off to his house. Before going there, we went to Shop 'n' Save because Aunt Wanyin had to buy diapers for baby Claira, so along the way we bought a bag of chips to prepare for the barbecue. Unfortunately there was just so much food for the barbecue that we left the chips alone. Ha, so much for wanting us to try wasabi-flavoured chips...
After hanging around at Uncle Yiye's condominium abode we went downstairs for a swim. Boy, that swim was dangerous even though it's still a 1.2m flat pool - we found a stray orange plastic container meant for a Super Soaker floating on the pool out of nowhere, and I almost slipped into the water because of a dumb transparent glass marble at the pool floor!
Anyways, we hung around the pool for a while more until the barbecue started, since for the rest of the day we had nothing else to do. Then we had this problem here: the delivery for the barbecue food didn't arrive until 6pm, when the scheduled time was supposed to be 5.30pm. So, we started behind time and the fire was started. While trying to dispose of the excess burning material, we accidentally burnt a hole through the dustbin bag - luckily for us, that bin was made of fireproof plastic so we didn't damage any property. Wow, even soft drinks can put out fires, man...
Despite that, it was still worthwhile the trip anyway - we went back with full stomachs, and excess food to take home too.
After hanging around at Uncle Yiye's condominium abode we went downstairs for a swim. Boy, that swim was dangerous even though it's still a 1.2m flat pool - we found a stray orange plastic container meant for a Super Soaker floating on the pool out of nowhere, and I almost slipped into the water because of a dumb transparent glass marble at the pool floor!
Anyways, we hung around the pool for a while more until the barbecue started, since for the rest of the day we had nothing else to do. Then we had this problem here: the delivery for the barbecue food didn't arrive until 6pm, when the scheduled time was supposed to be 5.30pm. So, we started behind time and the fire was started. While trying to dispose of the excess burning material, we accidentally burnt a hole through the dustbin bag - luckily for us, that bin was made of fireproof plastic so we didn't damage any property. Wow, even soft drinks can put out fires, man...
Despite that, it was still worthwhile the trip anyway - we went back with full stomachs, and excess food to take home too.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Blog wipe - getting ready for the new year!
New skin, new look, and new stuff coming right up!
As all of you may have already noticed by now, this new skin looks more posh than the previous template I used, but there are sacrifices for this. For example, where once I put in the Anglican High School logo, and stuff like little write-ups at the side are no longer there. In its place is something more, should I say, empty space.
But there's the juice of this entire new blogskin there - I get to customise more of this blog and make it more personal than just rigid computer-generated layouts. No more plain designs anymore - life's just about to get more colourful with the modifications made on this blog!
Visitors, do tag a lot more - it seems a little empty so far, so help me bring some life into this blog, thanks in advance!
As all of you may have already noticed by now, this new skin looks more posh than the previous template I used, but there are sacrifices for this. For example, where once I put in the Anglican High School logo, and stuff like little write-ups at the side are no longer there. In its place is something more, should I say, empty space.
But there's the juice of this entire new blogskin there - I get to customise more of this blog and make it more personal than just rigid computer-generated layouts. No more plain designs anymore - life's just about to get more colourful with the modifications made on this blog!
Visitors, do tag a lot more - it seems a little empty so far, so help me bring some life into this blog, thanks in advance!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Glycemic Index - a clue to healthier eating
As always, I get stuck at home due to the bad weather outside, and because there ain't anywhere worthwhile to go without spending big money, I'm bored stiff, apart from whatever Playstation 2 and computer games are available to me while I'm still killing time during this long waiting period after the O Level major examinations.
So, I just did a little Net-surfing and found this familiar topic that appeared in the Biology textbook - the glycemic index. Basically, glycemic index isn't some complicated topic after all.
Simply put, glycemic index is a measure of how fast the carbohydrates in food are released into the bloodstream. The higher the index of a particular food, the faster the glucose derived from the digested food gets absorbed into the bloodstream. So, to quote a few examples,
So, to ensure your blood glucose stays steady I'd suggest you eat more fruit and veg, and nuts are a good thing to snack on if you're gonna burn midnight oil. For a quick fix just grab the nearest chocolate bar. However, that doesn't mean eating nuts despite food allergies, so don't use this information provided against me when stuff like that happens, okay?
Still trying to kill time after sharing this to Netizens reading this entry.
So, I just did a little Net-surfing and found this familiar topic that appeared in the Biology textbook - the glycemic index. Basically, glycemic index isn't some complicated topic after all.
Simply put, glycemic index is a measure of how fast the carbohydrates in food are released into the bloodstream. The higher the index of a particular food, the faster the glucose derived from the digested food gets absorbed into the bloodstream. So, to quote a few examples,
Foods with high glycemic index(GI): potatoes, bread, corn flakes, sweets, cereal, etc.
Foods with low GI: foods like nuts, milk, fruit and veg., chicken and fish.
So, to ensure your blood glucose stays steady I'd suggest you eat more fruit and veg, and nuts are a good thing to snack on if you're gonna burn midnight oil. For a quick fix just grab the nearest chocolate bar. However, that doesn't mean eating nuts despite food allergies, so don't use this information provided against me when stuff like that happens, okay?
Still trying to kill time after sharing this to Netizens reading this entry.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Random doodle
Just bored over what to do, so I came up with this sketch. It looked pretty good on pencil, so I decided to improve on it by ink, and here's what I'm ending up with.
Of course there's imperfections here and there, but I guess this will have to do for now...
The hidden story behind the AHS Guitar Ensemble Farewell Chalet 2008
Just thought that if I kept this any longer in my heart I might burst anytime, so time for some serious ranting, yea? That being said though, if I have offended anyone by name or reference, I apologise in advance. So yeah, I'll go ahead with this...
When I was told of this Guitar Ensemble Farewell Chalet meant for the Secondary Fours, I already knew who was gonna come and who wasn't. Daniel and Jonathan were feeling really down and dejected because they were rejected for the Harmony 2008 Concert, so I knew what they were going through. However, I still tried to persuade them to come and join the rest of the Ensemble, to no avail, obviously. Knowing Benedict's couldn't-care-less attitude, he wouldn't even bother to come even if I tried to get him to, and he didn't come.
Great, I've been with them bass boys for the past 3 years, being looked down by Mrs NC Koh, being seen as the boys who couldn't do anything of substance within the CCA group. I was the one down there doing their dirty job of annotating the scores so they could play the bass section of the pieces, and many times I fork out their lunches and snacks out of my own pockets. This is what I got for 4 years of service in the CCA.
Thank God He sent Jacob to come for this chalet - at least I know there's someone out there who still cares for this socially-challenged senior of his.
During the first day of that farewell chalet, I was told that there wasn't any barbecue on that day itself, but rather on the next day. Of course, I was really angry at that time because it meant that I couldn't attend that barbecue due to my hip-hop dance item training and practice for the Christmas Dinner 2008 starting at 8pm the day after. The "today no barbecue" quote was already turning my stomach upside down the moment I heard it.
I was just recovering from this disappointment as the day went on, until the rest of the Secondary Four batch went for the movies without me. Hell, nobody even told me that they were wearing the batch tees and they just up and went for the movie marathon without asking me along at all! So naturally, being the only Secondary Four boy among the entire girl-dominated batch there, I felt left out. What to do while they were out at the movies? I stayed with the juniors, playing cards and behaving immaturely just to fit in.
The next day, after hitting Li Pin's mouth with the "ball", which was actually a soap bar, by mistake due to some rough Captain's Ball playing, I felt really bad. I actually injured a girl, and the guilt made the day worse, and after being told off by her I stayed my distance from Li Pin, just so that she might feel better with my brief absence. Hell, if you guys performed friendly fire in the middle of a rough game, you'd understand why I did that.
After buying drinks for a parched Guitar Ensemble, a familiar voice shouted out from the crowd: "Aaron, I forgive you!" That forgiveness made me ponder about some things much later. However at that moment I dared not look back at her. I just didn't dare to - I didn't, and still don't know why.
Despite being forgiven I still felt lousy for the day - and the rain had to spoil early barbecue. Two ladies were cooking at our pit just before the rains came - I wrote about this before in the previous posts. And I was later called back to the Secondary Fours' room in the chalet and told about some admin issues the Secondary Three committee were lacking on and mistakes they made, and I was to be there for a, supposedly, Secondary Four batch photo.
Apparently I don't think I was supposed to be part of it from the start. I was about to join in the photo-taking, but one of them said it was only for the girls, so what was I to do, being the sole minority there? I stood as I watched them take some photos and decided this wasn't getting anywhere, so I got out of that place.
When I was told of this Guitar Ensemble Farewell Chalet meant for the Secondary Fours, I already knew who was gonna come and who wasn't. Daniel and Jonathan were feeling really down and dejected because they were rejected for the Harmony 2008 Concert, so I knew what they were going through. However, I still tried to persuade them to come and join the rest of the Ensemble, to no avail, obviously. Knowing Benedict's couldn't-care-less attitude, he wouldn't even bother to come even if I tried to get him to, and he didn't come.
Great, I've been with them bass boys for the past 3 years, being looked down by Mrs NC Koh, being seen as the boys who couldn't do anything of substance within the CCA group. I was the one down there doing their dirty job of annotating the scores so they could play the bass section of the pieces, and many times I fork out their lunches and snacks out of my own pockets. This is what I got for 4 years of service in the CCA.
Thank God He sent Jacob to come for this chalet - at least I know there's someone out there who still cares for this socially-challenged senior of his.
During the first day of that farewell chalet, I was told that there wasn't any barbecue on that day itself, but rather on the next day. Of course, I was really angry at that time because it meant that I couldn't attend that barbecue due to my hip-hop dance item training and practice for the Christmas Dinner 2008 starting at 8pm the day after. The "today no barbecue" quote was already turning my stomach upside down the moment I heard it.
I was just recovering from this disappointment as the day went on, until the rest of the Secondary Four batch went for the movies without me. Hell, nobody even told me that they were wearing the batch tees and they just up and went for the movie marathon without asking me along at all! So naturally, being the only Secondary Four boy among the entire girl-dominated batch there, I felt left out. What to do while they were out at the movies? I stayed with the juniors, playing cards and behaving immaturely just to fit in.
The next day, after hitting Li Pin's mouth with the "ball", which was actually a soap bar, by mistake due to some rough Captain's Ball playing, I felt really bad. I actually injured a girl, and the guilt made the day worse, and after being told off by her I stayed my distance from Li Pin, just so that she might feel better with my brief absence. Hell, if you guys performed friendly fire in the middle of a rough game, you'd understand why I did that.
After buying drinks for a parched Guitar Ensemble, a familiar voice shouted out from the crowd: "Aaron, I forgive you!" That forgiveness made me ponder about some things much later. However at that moment I dared not look back at her. I just didn't dare to - I didn't, and still don't know why.
Despite being forgiven I still felt lousy for the day - and the rain had to spoil early barbecue. Two ladies were cooking at our pit just before the rains came - I wrote about this before in the previous posts. And I was later called back to the Secondary Fours' room in the chalet and told about some admin issues the Secondary Three committee were lacking on and mistakes they made, and I was to be there for a, supposedly, Secondary Four batch photo.
Apparently I don't think I was supposed to be part of it from the start. I was about to join in the photo-taking, but one of them said it was only for the girls, so what was I to do, being the sole minority there? I stood as I watched them take some photos and decided this wasn't getting anywhere, so I got out of that place.
Good riddance, I thought. I didn't belong there anyway. Uncle Steven came at the right time - at 7.30pm. The rain was so heavy that day that the barbecue failed anyway, so in a way I was delivered from a situation whereby everything looked really bad and hopeless, to a community who was working towards one common goal - to spread His name to the rest of a portion of the Singaporean community and to raise funds for the church building in the name of Jesus, via doing our part in preparing an English Congregation dance item for "Peerless Name Jesus" Christmas Dinner 2008.
After all of that was over, I sat back in the room to think about why all that happened, still bearing hidden grudges and things. She might have said that just to make me feel better at that moment, but if she can forgive me for what I did to her, why can't I do the same to those around me, just like how Christ has forgiven those who believe in Him?
Yeah, maybe it's time to just put aside all that ostracism and get on with life, as it is with Jesus around.
To put it in a dramatic sense, God delivered me out of all that anger and frustration and changed all that into devotion and concentration in the item. And there I found my solace - no more loneliness in Him, no more need for needless explosions of anger. And I'm still holding onto His promise that He will never leave nor forsake me. come hell or high water.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Let Christ be the Lord of your life and everything within
Just a few months after I first got into church, I was introduced to a cell group which I now attend, and the members of this cell group are very fervent for the Lord, and these are the same people I have come to see as exemplary models of what a life with Jesus Christ should be like. It was also in this cell group that I've first heard of this story that Brother Arulkumar has shared with me earlier this year. Pondering about random stuff, this story came abruptly into my mind, and therefore, learning that blessings are to be shared with everyone else, I've decided to retell this short story in this blog entry.
That being said though, we must set our hearts right before God first before you ask anything of Him first, then He will send His Holy Spirit to help us.
Moral of the story: If you get stingy with Jesus and try to limit His place in your life, He won't perform miracles nor help you much in your life. Knowing that human effort alone cannot accomplish anything of substance, and that in the flesh dwells nothing good within our spirit, it is mandatory that we should let Christ help us in every aspect of our life, to ensure our success in life in Him. After all, what greater blessing is there for every man than to have a loving and gracious God to help him succeed in everything he does?A man once bought a house, and decided to dedicate a room for Jesus, where he could be alone and free to be with the Lord. "This room is yours, Lord, and bless this house and my family," the man said. Jesus accepted this offer.
The first night that the man spent in the house, he could not sleep in peace because there was a figure that was knocking on the door and making a din. Looking out of the window in his room, he realised that it was the devil at the door, making such a din at the door that the whole family was woken up by the immense noise. The man, in his desperation, went to call upon Jesus in His room. No matter how much he tried to beg and ask Him to get the devil out of his doorstep, nothing happened throughout the whole night. Fortunately for him, the devil walked away by dawn.
The next day, everyone was not in their best condition for work and school, so together, they took an afternoon nap. Who would've known that the devil came knocking and making a din at the doorstep again just as they were about to fall asleep? Soon, they were getting desperate again and the man went into Jesus' room and pleaded with Him to get the devil out of the doorstep. Still, nothing happened and after the devil got tired of disturbing the household, he went away, only to came back at night again. This went on for several days.
Finally, angered and fatigued by all the days of noise and lack of sleep, the man went to ask Jesus why He wouldn't do anything to stop the devil. However, all He replied was, "You dedicated this room to me, but what about the rest of the house?" At that very moment the man realised his folly, and declared that He be free to move around the house as and when He likes, and that He be part of the family too. Hearing this, Jesus went to the living room, rebuked the devil, and the devil cowered in fear of His voice and scampered out of sight.
From then on, Jesus was the VIP of the household, and the man and his family went on to dedicate their lives to Him more than ever since this incident, serving His ministry and furthering the gospel to many more people and bring them to Him for their salvation, sometimes even performing miracles in His name, such as healing the sick and occasionally even raising the dead back to life in His power and glory.
That being said though, we must set our hearts right before God first before you ask anything of Him first, then He will send His Holy Spirit to help us.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Looking back at my past...
Just a quick review of what big events that I could take note in my life so far in Anglican High, since there's pretty much little nonsense to do except think and talk of nonsense.
It's in Anglican High where:
It's in Anglican High where:
- I soiled my first uniform because I puked out of carsickness while travelling in bus 17 to school on the first day - and was granted permission to skip the first day of school to clean up the mess.
- The first friend I made in Anglican High actually broke wind real loud in front of the whole class in just the 3rd day of school - and of course, it was a stink bomb.
- I was put into the 4th out of the 5 CCA choices I made - and so I joined the AHS Guitar Ensemble.
- I was the first person in history to bring frogs into the Guitar Room for "horrifying entertainment on the loose".
- I was the first person in history of the Guitar Ensemble to bring a live tortoise into the Guitar Room - and attracted a lot more attention whilst Mr Shi, the instructor, seemed to be insensitive to its presence.
- I became one of the four who got ostracized in class 2L'06 - but gave ample time for us four to bond with each other, being the "losers of the class".
- I became the "babe of the class" in class 3B-4B from '07 to '08 due to some joker trying to ruin my reputation in the new class - and the title stuck with me among my classmates to this very day.
- I became the smart-aleck in the class - getting the answers wrong most of the time.
- I attracted a lot of attention - both voluntarily and involuntarily.
- I was made fun of by my classmates because of a rumour spreading that mentioned about me being a potential FHM model - see (4) to know why.
- I was the butt of the joke in many places - like walking into the glass panel in public places, and playing guitar to an audience who wouldn't even bother whether there was music being made or not.
- I was St Bernard's irritant fly buzzing at his ears.
- I pushed myself to the limits and sat for the GCE O Level Examinations.
- I had to shit in my pants in the middle of a major O Level paper. I repeat - a MAJOR paper where if I didn't, I would lose time and not be able to finish the paper.
- I gradually learned to differentiate assholes from true friends, and to cherish the good ones.
- I learned major lessons on money management - many times, I overspent my pocket money on food in the school canteen alone, not to mention spending it on fast food.
- I learned that a loud voice isn't everything - anger doesn't accomplish anything at the end of the day but instead makes your blood boil faster.
There are just too many more things to list down about the stuff I did in the secondary school years, but there is just one thing that I can't deny - it is in Anglican High where I got to truly accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Swimming phenomena
Just a little thing I've noticed while I'm accompanying my sister to the public swimming pool for her swimming lessons. Some of the kids swim with their pyjamas on, I wonder why?
At first glance I thought it's just them, trying to do some free laundry after their afternoon naps. Driven by curiosity, I went ahead to disturb Shang Bo over the phone to ask why. I was told that the pyjamas were there for training for Silver and Gold swimming courses, and they tie the ends up and blow it up so that it doubles as a float.
Wow, interesting discovery for the day...
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Long hair gives long irritation
Well, I guess it makes sense. Hair grown too long covers the tip of the ears, and spectacle rims pressing the sideburns against the head definitely isn't a good idea. In short, you just feel irritated and sleepy most of the time when there's long hair.
Just look at this sleepy picture of mine above, and you get the idea. My God - it's like, just two months since my last haircut, and already it's feeling irritating for quite an eternity already. Maybe I'll have my haircut tomorrow - finally salvation has come for my head. Much as I'd like to keep the hair there, the irritation gets worse for every day I leave my hair long.
It's easy to turn into a sleepyhead with this kind of length of hair, man. Time for a haircut!
December Woes
After the farewell chalet I reckon there's pretty much nothing of substance to do, except perhaps paint the house this coming Monday, walking around aimlessly at the mall, or just visiting the library to read some random crap. As for looking for a job to earn my keep, I'm having second thoughts about it. Perhaps, yeah, Uncle Kelvin does make sense. Why not just chill and relax and enjoy life while it lasts.
Or maybe I'll just find time to catch up with some of the Primary 6/9 folks while the holiday lasts.
Or maybe I'll just find time to catch up with some of the Primary 6/9 folks while the holiday lasts.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
AHS Guitar Ensemble Farewell Chalet 2008 Day 2
It was a short chalet time for me, because I had to set off for practice for the hip-hop dance item for Christmas Nite 2008 fundraising dinner for My Saviour's Church. In other words, I didn't have time to stay for the barbecue.
First things first, I overslept while at the same time telling the juniors that I'd be there at around 7am in the morning. In the end I reached Aranda at around 9.30am. Along the way, I was thinking, since I hadn't had any breakfast yet, I might as well drop by the Mr Bean store and grab some pancakes there before the activities, namely an Amazing Race, was to begin at 10.30am. Along the way I bumped into the rest of the Sec 4s who stayed overnight, and they were heading for McDonalds anyway, so I just tagged along. Yay, good chance for me to use Wi-Fi in public places.
It turned out that before you could use Wi-Fi service provided by McDonalds and other fast-food chains, you had to register for a Wireless@SG account and log in. Having 2 sets of wireless Internet access, one being the Wireless@SG one and another provided by Downtown East, I used the Downtown East one instead, since there wasn't any prerequisite required to use it anyway. It worked, obviously. Yay, another job done to ensure continual Internet access outdoors.
Ate a simple breakfast of tea and Sausage McMuffin, while the others ate stuff like Big Breakfast. Nothing against McDonalds food, but it's a tried-and-tested experience that when you eat Big Breakfast, especially the scrambled eggs, you begin to start to want to go to the toilet for the big business. Not a good idea to start the day when you're in a hurry to let the games begin. Anyways, we continued on, with the rest of the girls making beelines to the toilets while I headed off to the chalet to unpack entertainment machinery there.
Alas, nobody was opening the door despite button-mashing the doorbell button and smacking the door like nobody's business. It can't possibly mean they're all outside the chalet - the slippers were all outside the door. Fruitless banging and the building up of steam meant that I waited outside like some desperate guy. Ah, but at least Wei Xiang came just at the right moment and, man, she is literally EXPLOSIVE and blew the door open with her brief rant and smacking of the door.
Um, I guess that's girl power, so to speak?
After getting in, I hung around with the juniors who were there, playing poker cards, a couple of rounds of Tai Ti, got acquainted to this game called Bridge, and the games started. It was Captain's Ball, but with a little rough twist - they used apples and Lux soap dipped in a Softlan laundry softener and flour mixture so that it's very slippery and hard to catch. It didn't turn out to be a good idea - the right lens of my spectacles dropped off the frame, some people got hit hard by the hard soap, and I accidentally hit Li Pin's mouth with the soap during the game. Of course, that made her pissed at me - who wouldn't, when her mouth is bleeding at the lip?
We decided to leave the games alone, and check on Li Pin, to make sure no tooth damage has been done. It didn't hit the teeth out of position, I reckon, so phew for me.
Lessons to learn from this rough and dirty game:
We ended up not having the Amazing Race that we used to have every year, because there was just too little people attending this Farewell Chalet. Even so, the weather wasn't very good to us - we went indoors at around 2 plus, and there we stayed and hung around until 5 when it rained. Just before it rained, someone was using our barbecue pit just when we were about to start the barbecue. Thanks ladies, whoever you are, for using our barbecue pit just when we were about to use it... (sarcasm)
"Hey, that's our barbecue pit," someone yelled out to the ladies from the balcony. It just didn't make sense. We tried to get her to use some other barbecue pit, but we all we got was this answer: "Aiyah, it's only the numbers, what... Go use the other pits, lah."
Ahem. Barbecue pit 2313 is the one we paid for, not the others. And what's up with that lame excuse of the other barbecue pits being "too hot" when there's no burning charcoal put in the grills yet? "Whatever you are cooking, make it quick. We're gonna use the barbecue pits soon. Hurry up," I answered them. Of course, everyone was pissed when the rains came just when the inconsiderate ladies left with their pot of inedible crap half-cooked.
It rained, and stopped. And it rained again. How are we to barbecue? We waited and waited. By 6-plus the people were grumbling and becoming desperate for barbecue, so someone started the idea of starting the barbecue at the BALCONY, of all places. Nice place to have a barbecue, but what about the smoke signals? Luckily for us, we managed to stop them in time just before they opened the pack of firestarters.
The alumni seniors came to join us, all drenched in the rain and stuff, and still they lent us hands to start the fire at the pit, but it still ended up being a failure anyway - there was no fire, only more rain soaking through their clothes and wet umbrellas. I wished I could stay longer, but by 7.30pm I really had to go for practice because the next day's the full-dress rehearsal for the hip-hop dance. So, much to my own personal dismay I just "disappeared" from the chalet hungry until 10.30pm when the practice ended.
Ate a lot on the first day, starved on the second day, both emotionally and physically.
First things first, I overslept while at the same time telling the juniors that I'd be there at around 7am in the morning. In the end I reached Aranda at around 9.30am. Along the way, I was thinking, since I hadn't had any breakfast yet, I might as well drop by the Mr Bean store and grab some pancakes there before the activities, namely an Amazing Race, was to begin at 10.30am. Along the way I bumped into the rest of the Sec 4s who stayed overnight, and they were heading for McDonalds anyway, so I just tagged along. Yay, good chance for me to use Wi-Fi in public places.
It turned out that before you could use Wi-Fi service provided by McDonalds and other fast-food chains, you had to register for a Wireless@SG account and log in. Having 2 sets of wireless Internet access, one being the Wireless@SG one and another provided by Downtown East, I used the Downtown East one instead, since there wasn't any prerequisite required to use it anyway. It worked, obviously. Yay, another job done to ensure continual Internet access outdoors.
Ate a simple breakfast of tea and Sausage McMuffin, while the others ate stuff like Big Breakfast. Nothing against McDonalds food, but it's a tried-and-tested experience that when you eat Big Breakfast, especially the scrambled eggs, you begin to start to want to go to the toilet for the big business. Not a good idea to start the day when you're in a hurry to let the games begin. Anyways, we continued on, with the rest of the girls making beelines to the toilets while I headed off to the chalet to unpack entertainment machinery there.
Alas, nobody was opening the door despite button-mashing the doorbell button and smacking the door like nobody's business. It can't possibly mean they're all outside the chalet - the slippers were all outside the door. Fruitless banging and the building up of steam meant that I waited outside like some desperate guy. Ah, but at least Wei Xiang came just at the right moment and, man, she is literally EXPLOSIVE and blew the door open with her brief rant and smacking of the door.
Um, I guess that's girl power, so to speak?
After getting in, I hung around with the juniors who were there, playing poker cards, a couple of rounds of Tai Ti, got acquainted to this game called Bridge, and the games started. It was Captain's Ball, but with a little rough twist - they used apples and Lux soap dipped in a Softlan laundry softener and flour mixture so that it's very slippery and hard to catch. It didn't turn out to be a good idea - the right lens of my spectacles dropped off the frame, some people got hit hard by the hard soap, and I accidentally hit Li Pin's mouth with the soap during the game. Of course, that made her pissed at me - who wouldn't, when her mouth is bleeding at the lip?
We decided to leave the games alone, and check on Li Pin, to make sure no tooth damage has been done. It didn't hit the teeth out of position, I reckon, so phew for me.
Lessons to learn from this rough and dirty game:
- NEVER use hard stuff like soap or apples for Captain's Ball, Monkey, or any other game that involves throwing the stuff to a teammate, to avoid friendly fire.
- NEVER use Lux soap or Softlan laundry softener - Alicia's arm turned red after washing the stuff off with tap water, and it's probably because she has sensitive skin and does not really know it until it turned red.
- ALWAYS play dirty games in an area near the toilets. We had to take a walk for 5 minutes before we could reach the nearest toilet, which pissed a good lot of us off as we went there to wash up.
We ended up not having the Amazing Race that we used to have every year, because there was just too little people attending this Farewell Chalet. Even so, the weather wasn't very good to us - we went indoors at around 2 plus, and there we stayed and hung around until 5 when it rained. Just before it rained, someone was using our barbecue pit just when we were about to start the barbecue. Thanks ladies, whoever you are, for using our barbecue pit just when we were about to use it... (sarcasm)
"Hey, that's our barbecue pit," someone yelled out to the ladies from the balcony. It just didn't make sense. We tried to get her to use some other barbecue pit, but we all we got was this answer: "Aiyah, it's only the numbers, what... Go use the other pits, lah."
Ahem. Barbecue pit 2313 is the one we paid for, not the others. And what's up with that lame excuse of the other barbecue pits being "too hot" when there's no burning charcoal put in the grills yet? "Whatever you are cooking, make it quick. We're gonna use the barbecue pits soon. Hurry up," I answered them. Of course, everyone was pissed when the rains came just when the inconsiderate ladies left with their pot of inedible crap half-cooked.
It rained, and stopped. And it rained again. How are we to barbecue? We waited and waited. By 6-plus the people were grumbling and becoming desperate for barbecue, so someone started the idea of starting the barbecue at the BALCONY, of all places. Nice place to have a barbecue, but what about the smoke signals? Luckily for us, we managed to stop them in time just before they opened the pack of firestarters.
The alumni seniors came to join us, all drenched in the rain and stuff, and still they lent us hands to start the fire at the pit, but it still ended up being a failure anyway - there was no fire, only more rain soaking through their clothes and wet umbrellas. I wished I could stay longer, but by 7.30pm I really had to go for practice because the next day's the full-dress rehearsal for the hip-hop dance. So, much to my own personal dismay I just "disappeared" from the chalet hungry until 10.30pm when the practice ended.
Ate a lot on the first day, starved on the second day, both emotionally and physically.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
AHS Guitar Ensemble Farewell Chalet 2008 Day 1
Back, as usual, after a day out at the chalet that's meant for us Secondary Fours. After all the slogging, grilling at murderous guitar pieces for the performance at Harmony 2008 Concert at Victoria JC Auditorium, it is finally time to relax, have fun and, um, eat till your belly's gonna burst...?
When I got to Aranda Country Club lobby at 2.15pm, I had this hunch that that was definitely the wrong place to go to, because I didn't even know which chalet room we were to meet in. I checked the phone message sent by Wai Ping earlier yesterday, which confirmed that I was to go to Pasir Ris MRT Station instead, which proved my hunch right. Took a 10-minute walk back from Aranda to Pasir Ris MRT, and met Shawn, Zhi Tao and Genevieve, and later some more Sec 1s, before walking back to Aranda. Heh, talk about a little exercise of the feet, sand and mud...
Went to the lobby to wait for Yannis and some adult to check in for us before we could get into a chalet where we could unpack and play around in. After getting in, there was practically nothing much to do except some self-entertainment by playing poker cards and Uno, though of course, there weren't any monetary wagers involved at all.
A while later we ate instant noodles for late lunch. Soon after, they planned to go outdoors to play some messy games, those that involve putting chocolate into flour so that it looks like you-know-what, and probably either making you step and squish it or throwing them around, etc. Quite terribly, it began to rain, so we were stuck indoors and the games were cancelled. Instead, we went for dinner.
Wow, oookay... look at this, fellas. I just ate instant noodles at 5pm, ate some chocolate at 6pm, and now we're out for dinner at 7pm. Still, I ate sliced fish soup with rice, and a bowl of cheng tng
and surprisingly, I still managed to stomach them down. Dropped by KFC to buy a large box of popcorn chicken to munch on in the chalet, then later we resumed self-entertainment among ourselves - Shawn, Zhi Tao, some of the girls and I playing cards and occasionally, the PSP that I borrowed off Shang Bo but still have yet to return to him, and the girls playing tau pok(human pile) in their room, making such a din that for a while, we thought they were doing gang-rape inside.
Anyways, after an awful long time of boredom and joking around, Hai Long finally managed to come, with me meeting him on the way to the lobby and directing him back to the chalet. After his arrival, things soon became different - in a good way, of course. For one, he asked me to go hang around downtown so that he can explore around in this corner of Singapore, and also for him to withdraw some money from the ATM and buy Subway sandwiches for the girls upstairs at Aranda.
Look at this, people, LOOK AT THIS. Instant noodles at 5pm, 2 packs of chocolate at 6pm, sliced fish soup with rice and a bowl of cheng tng at 7pm, popcorn chicken at around 8pm, and now Subway at 9pm. Thanks, Hai Long, for bringing me to such a place to get tempted to eat like nobody's business out here...
In the end by 10pm I was stuffed. I just couldn't eat anymore for the day. After the heavy supper, I hung around for a while more before Uncle Kelvin called up and I had to leave the chalet to come back home, to keep everyone else updated about the happenings during this chalet.
When I got to Aranda Country Club lobby at 2.15pm, I had this hunch that that was definitely the wrong place to go to, because I didn't even know which chalet room we were to meet in. I checked the phone message sent by Wai Ping earlier yesterday, which confirmed that I was to go to Pasir Ris MRT Station instead, which proved my hunch right. Took a 10-minute walk back from Aranda to Pasir Ris MRT, and met Shawn, Zhi Tao and Genevieve, and later some more Sec 1s, before walking back to Aranda. Heh, talk about a little exercise of the feet, sand and mud...
Went to the lobby to wait for Yannis and some adult to check in for us before we could get into a chalet where we could unpack and play around in. After getting in, there was practically nothing much to do except some self-entertainment by playing poker cards and Uno, though of course, there weren't any monetary wagers involved at all.
A while later we ate instant noodles for late lunch. Soon after, they planned to go outdoors to play some messy games, those that involve putting chocolate into flour so that it looks like you-know-what, and probably either making you step and squish it or throwing them around, etc. Quite terribly, it began to rain, so we were stuck indoors and the games were cancelled. Instead, we went for dinner.
Wow, oookay... look at this, fellas. I just ate instant noodles at 5pm, ate some chocolate at 6pm, and now we're out for dinner at 7pm. Still, I ate sliced fish soup with rice, and a bowl of cheng tng
and surprisingly, I still managed to stomach them down. Dropped by KFC to buy a large box of popcorn chicken to munch on in the chalet, then later we resumed self-entertainment among ourselves - Shawn, Zhi Tao, some of the girls and I playing cards and occasionally, the PSP that I borrowed off Shang Bo but still have yet to return to him, and the girls playing tau pok(human pile) in their room, making such a din that for a while, we thought they were doing gang-rape inside.
Anyways, after an awful long time of boredom and joking around, Hai Long finally managed to come, with me meeting him on the way to the lobby and directing him back to the chalet. After his arrival, things soon became different - in a good way, of course. For one, he asked me to go hang around downtown so that he can explore around in this corner of Singapore, and also for him to withdraw some money from the ATM and buy Subway sandwiches for the girls upstairs at Aranda.
Look at this, people, LOOK AT THIS. Instant noodles at 5pm, 2 packs of chocolate at 6pm, sliced fish soup with rice and a bowl of cheng tng at 7pm, popcorn chicken at around 8pm, and now Subway at 9pm. Thanks, Hai Long, for bringing me to such a place to get tempted to eat like nobody's business out here...
In the end by 10pm I was stuffed. I just couldn't eat anymore for the day. After the heavy supper, I hung around for a while more before Uncle Kelvin called up and I had to leave the chalet to come back home, to keep everyone else updated about the happenings during this chalet.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Harmony 2008 Concert
It's always like this - all the tough work first, then the actual thing just breezes us through like nobody's business. This performance is the last of us Secondary 4s under the name of Anglican High School Guitar Ensemble, which is kinda significant to us. Call it a farewell gift to the school - we helped our school raise some funds for the new indoor stadium.
Anyways, I reached school at 8-plus. It was such a bore at first, with only the few of us waiting for the rest of the Secondary 4 group. The usual stuff - get your stuff ready to go to Victoria Junior College to last yourselves one whole day until dismissal at 10pm.
Crapping around and talking nonsense among the juniors was common, and it always happens whenever there's events that we participate. This bus trip from Anglican High to Victoria Junior College was no exception. I guess by the time we reached VJC everyone had a common topic to talk about - we were put inside Lecture Theatre 4, and boy, the entrance stank like rotten cheese left there for years!
There we stayed, there we crapped, until the dry run session. Sean and Jiayu was performing a guitar solo and dance duet - something that probably those Renaissance art enthusiasts would consider "class". Meanwhile the rest of us Sec 4s were preparing for Lovers' Theme and El Vito, as well as Walk in the Woods by the whole ensemble as one. After the dry run, lunchtime was what all of us were waiting for.
Due to Wei Jie's stature, he was nicknamed Marcus Khoo, after one of the teachers in Anglican High, who is both fat and knows how to play guitar. He soon became the centre of our attention, being made fun of by us during lunchtime and throughout the rest of the waiting period before the performance, though of course, there were no hard feelings at the end of the day.
Thanks to the air con valve blowing directly down from one end of the elevated lecture theatre to the bottom end, I managed to turn my hair into a semi-permanent mess with the help of some hair wax to bring my fringe up. Finally, after years of hair length control by the school, I can finally whip up a presentable hairdo while still leaving my hair long and heaped at the top! At least now, the school authorities have less power over what we do to our hair, as long as we give them what they wish for.
Despite rehearsals and dry runs, and endless practices, we still messed up at some point in our limelight. Lovers' Theme was alright, and the beginning of El Vito was okay too, but at the transition part of the song to the second half, some of us were playing too fast and the rest, too slow to catch up. Luckily for us, there was another pause within the music score, so we managed to come back as one again at the ending, and with a "Ooh!" and multiple hand-poses we caught the audiences' attention and received roaring applause, despite the fact that most of the top-deck seats are empty and that most of the audience are at the bottom deck.
After the performance, I got my bird whistle from the backstage, saw Sean, and gave him well-wishes before his duet, then went back to the stinkin' Lecture Theatre 4 to start boring myself until the interval was up. Meanwhile I was telling about Jacob and Benedict of our screw-up on stage and they were like, "Whalau, you guys suck lah. Look at us, we only Sec 3 nia, can perform much better than you guys leh. Summore, we Lambada people go first leh."
Well, okay... Wait till one day you screw up, and tell that to your juniors. Most likely you guys'd probably get a similar answer.
After the whole performance, we went back to the Lecture Theatre 4, only to find more of our seniors coming back as alumni members of Anglican High! People like Song Han, Wan Ling, Xin Lin, Xinyi, Si Hui, etc etc... Heartwarming sight, to have people who were once part of us coming back for moral support and chatting about life after Anglican High graduation. Thanks, guys!
Of course, good stuff always has to end at some point in time, and so we parted ways at Victoria JC. Some of us went back home by public transport, while some of us came back to Anglican High in order not to waste the money paid for 2 chartered coaches to bring us back to school.
To keep things short, Harmony 2008 Concert was a blast!
Anyways, I reached school at 8-plus. It was such a bore at first, with only the few of us waiting for the rest of the Secondary 4 group. The usual stuff - get your stuff ready to go to Victoria Junior College to last yourselves one whole day until dismissal at 10pm.
Crapping around and talking nonsense among the juniors was common, and it always happens whenever there's events that we participate. This bus trip from Anglican High to Victoria Junior College was no exception. I guess by the time we reached VJC everyone had a common topic to talk about - we were put inside Lecture Theatre 4, and boy, the entrance stank like rotten cheese left there for years!
There we stayed, there we crapped, until the dry run session. Sean and Jiayu was performing a guitar solo and dance duet - something that probably those Renaissance art enthusiasts would consider "class". Meanwhile the rest of us Sec 4s were preparing for Lovers' Theme and El Vito, as well as Walk in the Woods by the whole ensemble as one. After the dry run, lunchtime was what all of us were waiting for.
Due to Wei Jie's stature, he was nicknamed Marcus Khoo, after one of the teachers in Anglican High, who is both fat and knows how to play guitar. He soon became the centre of our attention, being made fun of by us during lunchtime and throughout the rest of the waiting period before the performance, though of course, there were no hard feelings at the end of the day.
Thanks to the air con valve blowing directly down from one end of the elevated lecture theatre to the bottom end, I managed to turn my hair into a semi-permanent mess with the help of some hair wax to bring my fringe up. Finally, after years of hair length control by the school, I can finally whip up a presentable hairdo while still leaving my hair long and heaped at the top! At least now, the school authorities have less power over what we do to our hair, as long as we give them what they wish for.
Despite rehearsals and dry runs, and endless practices, we still messed up at some point in our limelight. Lovers' Theme was alright, and the beginning of El Vito was okay too, but at the transition part of the song to the second half, some of us were playing too fast and the rest, too slow to catch up. Luckily for us, there was another pause within the music score, so we managed to come back as one again at the ending, and with a "Ooh!" and multiple hand-poses we caught the audiences' attention and received roaring applause, despite the fact that most of the top-deck seats are empty and that most of the audience are at the bottom deck.
After the performance, I got my bird whistle from the backstage, saw Sean, and gave him well-wishes before his duet, then went back to the stinkin' Lecture Theatre 4 to start boring myself until the interval was up. Meanwhile I was telling about Jacob and Benedict of our screw-up on stage and they were like, "Whalau, you guys suck lah. Look at us, we only Sec 3 nia, can perform much better than you guys leh. Summore, we Lambada people go first leh."
Well, okay... Wait till one day you screw up, and tell that to your juniors. Most likely you guys'd probably get a similar answer.
After the whole performance, we went back to the Lecture Theatre 4, only to find more of our seniors coming back as alumni members of Anglican High! People like Song Han, Wan Ling, Xin Lin, Xinyi, Si Hui, etc etc... Heartwarming sight, to have people who were once part of us coming back for moral support and chatting about life after Anglican High graduation. Thanks, guys!
Of course, good stuff always has to end at some point in time, and so we parted ways at Victoria JC. Some of us went back home by public transport, while some of us came back to Anglican High in order not to waste the money paid for 2 chartered coaches to bring us back to school.
To keep things short, Harmony 2008 Concert was a blast!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Full-dress rehearsal
Nowadays, the big thing is about the guitar performance, so naturally this is what I'm gonna blog for during these few days. It seems that you're gonna see more entries about what's going on in my life during the holidays, since I'm having much more free time than ever to burn at my own sweet time...
First things first, the guitar playing has been going on smoothly for now, at least for the rhythm guitar part. At first, I thought El Vito was quite a tough piece to play, but it ended up being easier that I thought. Thank God for all this, man. And to make things better, I finally managed to sell 2 tickets off to Uncles Kelvin and Steven!
The whole full-dress rehearsal started at around 9-plus in the morning, so we went to school early. In fact, I reckon I was the earliest - I reached school at around 7.10am and there wasn't a single ghost around until Shi Yong from Harmonica came 10 minutes later. Meanwhile, I was burning my time away until we decided to go to Market 85 for breakfast, since the canteen isn't open, and Market 85 was just within the vicinity of Anglican High anyway.
As always, many complaints and things left locked inside the Guitar Room meant that there was a lot of inconvenience for everyone. Still, the whole programme and rehearsal went on smoothly, and we were dismissed at 12-plus at noon. Being always with Sean, Hsuan Tien and company, we went to lunch after getting ties for us boys and waiting for the girls to get their stuff ready. By the time we reached Market 85 for lunch, it was already 1-plus.
As we were walking down the side gate towards the market, I looked back only to notice that Jiayu, the dancer who was with us, was lagging behind and I wondered why. Thinking back from her saying that she's fatigued, I understood why and went ahead. But how was I to know that she'd just up and fell down onto the floor without any rhyme or reason?
At first, I thought she was just playing possum on the dirty outdoor concrete. But, something was amiss - it seemed she was on the floor for real. Later on I was told that she had hypotension - low blood pressure - and to make matters worse, she didn't even have a proper meal during our lunchtime at Market 85, just ate an apple whilst we were already eating heartily to our hearts' content.
In any case, we went on to carry her aside and made her sit, rest and recover. Just then there was a passer-by uncle who saw what was happening, and passed me some medicated oil. Somewhere along the conversation I heard that uncle say "That one your wife, ah?" Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, uncle. I've barely finished my last year in Anglican High, and I didn't even mess around outside, man! I mean, can't you differentiate us students from working adults?
...Or, maybe not. Both Sean and I were still wearing the full-black attire that looked kinda like office wear, so probably that's why that senile old guy made such a big mistake. Worst thing is, Mr Poh was also there among us who were out there helping her get up and rest, so yeah, go figure. He was laughing his way back home, or school, I guess.
Lucky gal, that Jiayu. If she didn't travel with friends around as a group, God knows what might happen if she were alone and feeling weak all of a sudden.
First things first, the guitar playing has been going on smoothly for now, at least for the rhythm guitar part. At first, I thought El Vito was quite a tough piece to play, but it ended up being easier that I thought. Thank God for all this, man. And to make things better, I finally managed to sell 2 tickets off to Uncles Kelvin and Steven!
The whole full-dress rehearsal started at around 9-plus in the morning, so we went to school early. In fact, I reckon I was the earliest - I reached school at around 7.10am and there wasn't a single ghost around until Shi Yong from Harmonica came 10 minutes later. Meanwhile, I was burning my time away until we decided to go to Market 85 for breakfast, since the canteen isn't open, and Market 85 was just within the vicinity of Anglican High anyway.
As always, many complaints and things left locked inside the Guitar Room meant that there was a lot of inconvenience for everyone. Still, the whole programme and rehearsal went on smoothly, and we were dismissed at 12-plus at noon. Being always with Sean, Hsuan Tien and company, we went to lunch after getting ties for us boys and waiting for the girls to get their stuff ready. By the time we reached Market 85 for lunch, it was already 1-plus.
As we were walking down the side gate towards the market, I looked back only to notice that Jiayu, the dancer who was with us, was lagging behind and I wondered why. Thinking back from her saying that she's fatigued, I understood why and went ahead. But how was I to know that she'd just up and fell down onto the floor without any rhyme or reason?
At first, I thought she was just playing possum on the dirty outdoor concrete. But, something was amiss - it seemed she was on the floor for real. Later on I was told that she had hypotension - low blood pressure - and to make matters worse, she didn't even have a proper meal during our lunchtime at Market 85, just ate an apple whilst we were already eating heartily to our hearts' content.
In any case, we went on to carry her aside and made her sit, rest and recover. Just then there was a passer-by uncle who saw what was happening, and passed me some medicated oil. Somewhere along the conversation I heard that uncle say "That one your wife, ah?" Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, uncle. I've barely finished my last year in Anglican High, and I didn't even mess around outside, man! I mean, can't you differentiate us students from working adults?
...Or, maybe not. Both Sean and I were still wearing the full-black attire that looked kinda like office wear, so probably that's why that senile old guy made such a big mistake. Worst thing is, Mr Poh was also there among us who were out there helping her get up and rest, so yeah, go figure. He was laughing his way back home, or school, I guess.
Lucky gal, that Jiayu. If she didn't travel with friends around as a group, God knows what might happen if she were alone and feeling weak all of a sudden.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Bored stiff - still can't really get to do anything of substance
These days, I'm just bored stiff - sorry for all that droning about having nothing to do during the holidays after the O levels.
It seems that all the while, I never actually get to do something fun or anything engaging during this holidays, besides slack and talk during guitar practice after learning how to play the assigned parts of the song for the upcoming Guitar Harmony concert on 28th November 2008. One word to sum it up - the PSP I borrowed off Shang Bo became indeed a true friend in times of need, just like the owner himself, during the long periods of boredom. Thanks, Shang Bo!
That being said, tomorrow's the full dress rehearsal, so it's the usual Men-in-Black guitar costume - black shirt, black pants, black socks and black shoes. Of course, being part of the guitar ensemble there's no need for sunglasses on stage, duh!
To be honest, it's quite a messy schedule, having to cope with inerrant Christmas Nite dance practices and guitar rehearsals. In fact, it's just so messy that I can't even tell whether I'm free to do what I like or too busy to do anything. Sure, I already have plans to look for a holiday job, but the thing is, who'd be offering people part-time jobs for people who can only work for 2 months...?
I've read the newspapers, used the Internet, used everything I know to search for part-time jobs, but there's just too few jobs who offer short-term work. Sigh, I guess probably it's due to the economic recession crisis. So, yeah, go figure.
It seems that all the while, I never actually get to do something fun or anything engaging during this holidays, besides slack and talk during guitar practice after learning how to play the assigned parts of the song for the upcoming Guitar Harmony concert on 28th November 2008. One word to sum it up - the PSP I borrowed off Shang Bo became indeed a true friend in times of need, just like the owner himself, during the long periods of boredom. Thanks, Shang Bo!
That being said, tomorrow's the full dress rehearsal, so it's the usual Men-in-Black guitar costume - black shirt, black pants, black socks and black shoes. Of course, being part of the guitar ensemble there's no need for sunglasses on stage, duh!
To be honest, it's quite a messy schedule, having to cope with inerrant Christmas Nite dance practices and guitar rehearsals. In fact, it's just so messy that I can't even tell whether I'm free to do what I like or too busy to do anything. Sure, I already have plans to look for a holiday job, but the thing is, who'd be offering people part-time jobs for people who can only work for 2 months...?
I've read the newspapers, used the Internet, used everything I know to search for part-time jobs, but there's just too few jobs who offer short-term work. Sigh, I guess probably it's due to the economic recession crisis. So, yeah, go figure.
Friday, November 21, 2008
SWATting flies - Slackers' Work At Trial
Well, well, well... So I've just jumped across another hurdle of my life, finishing my GCE "O" Level Examinations, and now I am bored stiff over what to do, other than to practice my guitar for the upcoming Guitar Harmony concert, or to practice hip-hop moves that I was taught earlier for another upcoming Christmas Nite '08 performance item.
Currently, I can't find a job during this period of time, thanks to the guitar practice taking up most of whatever time I have right now. Whoa, so that means I don't really get a chance to earn my own keep. Well yeah, sure, I can live off my family, with hardly any problems about spending money as long as I don't go for extravagance, but I personally feel that it's really high time I should take ownership of my own income and earn my keep, yeah?
Currently, I can't find a job during this period of time, thanks to the guitar practice taking up most of whatever time I have right now. Whoa, so that means I don't really get a chance to earn my own keep. Well yeah, sure, I can live off my family, with hardly any problems about spending money as long as I don't go for extravagance, but I personally feel that it's really high time I should take ownership of my own income and earn my keep, yeah?
4B Class Chalet 2008 - Epilogue
Well, I couldn't very well leave my string of posts about what's going on at the end of the class chalet hanging in the air, right? So here's basically what happened...
At morning, 7.30am, Uncle Teck rang up to ask me where are the guys who stayed overnight at the second day, because he couldn't find them at the reception counter. In the end, he decided to go up to the chalet suite where Kevin and the others were staying overnight at instead, feeling insecure waiting at the reception counter like some donkey waiting for grass to fall from the sky.
Because I was to go back to school for guitar practice for 28 November '08's Guitar Harmony public performance, I couldn't be at the chalet back then, so in the end I called up Jin Meng to settle the stuff with Uncle Teck, since he's the main character that helped us start and to end the chalet by helping us check out.
Later on at around 8-plus in the morning, both Jin Meng and Uncle Teck called up to say that the fella, who told us that the earliest time to check out was 7.30am the day before, gave us the wrong info and that they could only check out between 9am and 10am. So, things got screwed up once again. I don't know how they did it, but they finally got the entire check-out thingie solved at around 12pm in the afternoon, or so, I think...
So, that's pretty much the end of this year's 4B class chalet. Bad start, bad planning, bad end. Despite all of these things we still pretty much enjoyed ourselves in this chalet, though. Praise God for this!
At morning, 7.30am, Uncle Teck rang up to ask me where are the guys who stayed overnight at the second day, because he couldn't find them at the reception counter. In the end, he decided to go up to the chalet suite where Kevin and the others were staying overnight at instead, feeling insecure waiting at the reception counter like some donkey waiting for grass to fall from the sky.
Because I was to go back to school for guitar practice for 28 November '08's Guitar Harmony public performance, I couldn't be at the chalet back then, so in the end I called up Jin Meng to settle the stuff with Uncle Teck, since he's the main character that helped us start and to end the chalet by helping us check out.
Later on at around 8-plus in the morning, both Jin Meng and Uncle Teck called up to say that the fella, who told us that the earliest time to check out was 7.30am the day before, gave us the wrong info and that they could only check out between 9am and 10am. So, things got screwed up once again. I don't know how they did it, but they finally got the entire check-out thingie solved at around 12pm in the afternoon, or so, I think...
So, that's pretty much the end of this year's 4B class chalet. Bad start, bad planning, bad end. Despite all of these things we still pretty much enjoyed ourselves in this chalet, though. Praise God for this!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
4B Class Chalet 2008 - Day 2
It wasn't as fun as expected, and some even called this chalet a failure altogether.
I was already at the bus 17 when I realised that oops! I forgot to bring enough money to spend downtown, nearby the chalet. Only 20-odd dollars in my wallet left - how was I to survive the next 15 hours out there with just that little money? Nevermind that, I still managed to survive with that little money - it just takes a little discipline to maximise the use of the cold hard cash.
Let's start from this morning. I got there by 9.30am, hoping to catch up with my classmates so that we can go for a McDonalds breakfast together when they told me they already had their breakfast without me. Oh thanks, "friends", for that empty stomach just to rush there to be with you guys...
Well, I can't blame you guys either - I didn't tell you guys beforehand. Whoops!
So, I survived the morning with just two sticks of Time-Out chocolate, which I bought on the way to Pasir Ris Park to cycle. $8 for two hours, $5 for one hour - which was more worth it? Of course, we aren't stupid people - we rented bicycles for two hours, every man for himself. Trouble is, the bicycle kiosk people didn't have enough two-dollar notes for change for everyone, so they simply gave Leon a $10 note for us to split among ourselves, while they gave away the rest of the $2 notes to the lucky girls. Wanting to save the trouble, I decided to collect the money from Leon later, which actually saved my own butt later on in the day. Thank you, Jesus!
Another trouble came up - the eleven of us were split into two groups, Vanessa, Yu Kwan, Leon and Roy in one group, and Jin Meng, Kevin, Clara, Sue-Ean, Sophia, Shi En and me in another group. Vanessa's group returned the bikes earlier at around 11.40am, with us still cycling aimlessly in the park for fun after peace and joy. After we returned our bikes they told us that Vanessa's group still hadn't returned the bikes and I couldn't get back my IC until they did. What now? We rang Vanessa up, and went back to the bicycle kiosk to notify them and finally getting my pink IC back. Phew.
Lunchtime - I am now left with approximately $12 for both lunch and dinner. Solution? Eat mixed vegetable rice - which is just another name for rice with meat and vegetables which you can mix and match for yourselves. I'm down to nine dollars left. After lunch we headed back to the chalet to rest and recover... but not for long.
By three-plus, we were already good to go for soccer and Captain's Ball. Thanks, Clara, for hitting my spectacles so that it bent sideways at the right side, just at the nose prop, while I was looking at the other direction - that's two hits in my face consecutively during these two days I've been in the class chalet! Well, though this was totally uncalled for, I guess it's about high time that I got a replacement for my spectacles before it becomes too workhardened that it breaks at the joints!
By 5pm everyone seems to be exhausted from all that playing, passing around and shooting, so we headed back to the chalet. On the way, Kevin and I decided to get ourselves some drinks, and it was only then that I was finally found to be completely bankrupt - I bought 3 1.5litre bottles of H-Two-O, Iced Lemon Tea and mineral water, plus my ginger beer, with the last of my money... Luckily Kevin returned me some money for the drinks he asked me to pay for earlier, so I'm not that financially deprived at that moment till dinnertime.
Headed back to the chalet, but by now, the suite was such that there was very little people left hanging around, if any at all... In the end people like Ming Yue, Lavinia and Joan decided to leave as well. No Cheryl, no Sue-Ean, and no Clara too, not to mention no barbecue, apart from the one that we had yesterday? No kick! What happened to what was supposed to be called the class chalet? Why do things until so susak(troublesome), then ending up having kosong orang(literally, "zero human", ie. completely nobody) in the chalet suite?
At least there wasn't without complete hopelessness for the chalet after all, since finally, Ashley managed to show up out of nowhere and join the gang of 4B classmates just as we were about to be demoralised by pure boredom. Finally, things such as suggestions to go for bowling at the E!Hub at Downtown East are coming real fast.
Still worrying about money matters, a supposedly unlikely thing to worry about in a class chalet, we went for dinner at Burger King, and it was just then that I remembered that my $2 was still with Leon! Thank God! Now I have $6+ to spend on dinner. Though it was still fun having all the enthusiastic classmates who DO care two hoots about what's going on in the class, it is so ironic, just 8 of us out here for dinner at Burger King, and whatever happened to the rest of the 32 people who make up class 4B?
According to them, the class chalet last year was a total flop - hardly anyone participated positively in the class chalet past the first day, when the barbecue was in. And it seems that from what Jin Meng was ranting about, it seems that someone within our class has got a lot of money issues yet to be resolved with the class treasurers and Jin Meng being the ultimate monetary victim, whose name I will not disclose, to protect the involved parties' reputation.
"What a flop this is. It's like, nobody's coming because nobody seems to bother wanting to come for this chalet, perhaps?"
"Yeah. Probably the big thing is because of the sheer imbalance of boys and girls in the class.(we have 10 boys and 30 girls in our class)"
"But then I always thought that the girls in our class seemed to be very united one, leh..." I joined in the conversation, still unwilling to believe that this was what's become of class 4B.
"Ha, you've only seen the outside of the girls. Who knows what's between themselves."
"Ah, must be girls' politics again. Gah." I spoke in disgust.
Finishing our junk food dinner, Ashley spoke of going to the bowling alley, and we went there, with Sheng Chao and me coming out of it to go back to the chalet room, since we were bored stiff and unwilling to bowl with them. If it weren't for my super-tight budget, I would've gone to join them in bowling. Even so, would I be embarrassing myself if I couldn't hit any pins down at all if I joined in the fun?
Bored stiff, we just lingered around the place, with Sheng Chao using this same laptop which I use to blog now to play Counter-Strike, while I was out there watching TV and, though down to my last penny, still deriving some satisfaction from drinking ginger beer at the comfort of the sofa and strong air-con. Maybe if I had more money, peanuts would go well with that soft drink while watching TV in such a spacious Executive Suite at Aranda Country Club.
They later came back from bowling, but in the end, nobody played mahjong at all, which obviously didn't do any justice to the mess we created from the tiles, dice and plastic chips for "money", at all. All the girls had went back home, so at the chalet, it's just down to Kevin, Leon and Sheng Chao to stay overnight. Wow, it finally seems that the 4B class chalet became a 4B-boys class chalet overnight...
I was already at the bus 17 when I realised that oops! I forgot to bring enough money to spend downtown, nearby the chalet. Only 20-odd dollars in my wallet left - how was I to survive the next 15 hours out there with just that little money? Nevermind that, I still managed to survive with that little money - it just takes a little discipline to maximise the use of the cold hard cash.
Let's start from this morning. I got there by 9.30am, hoping to catch up with my classmates so that we can go for a McDonalds breakfast together when they told me they already had their breakfast without me. Oh thanks, "friends", for that empty stomach just to rush there to be with you guys...
Well, I can't blame you guys either - I didn't tell you guys beforehand. Whoops!
So, I survived the morning with just two sticks of Time-Out chocolate, which I bought on the way to Pasir Ris Park to cycle. $8 for two hours, $5 for one hour - which was more worth it? Of course, we aren't stupid people - we rented bicycles for two hours, every man for himself. Trouble is, the bicycle kiosk people didn't have enough two-dollar notes for change for everyone, so they simply gave Leon a $10 note for us to split among ourselves, while they gave away the rest of the $2 notes to the lucky girls. Wanting to save the trouble, I decided to collect the money from Leon later, which actually saved my own butt later on in the day. Thank you, Jesus!
Another trouble came up - the eleven of us were split into two groups, Vanessa, Yu Kwan, Leon and Roy in one group, and Jin Meng, Kevin, Clara, Sue-Ean, Sophia, Shi En and me in another group. Vanessa's group returned the bikes earlier at around 11.40am, with us still cycling aimlessly in the park for fun after peace and joy. After we returned our bikes they told us that Vanessa's group still hadn't returned the bikes and I couldn't get back my IC until they did. What now? We rang Vanessa up, and went back to the bicycle kiosk to notify them and finally getting my pink IC back. Phew.
Lunchtime - I am now left with approximately $12 for both lunch and dinner. Solution? Eat mixed vegetable rice - which is just another name for rice with meat and vegetables which you can mix and match for yourselves. I'm down to nine dollars left. After lunch we headed back to the chalet to rest and recover... but not for long.
By three-plus, we were already good to go for soccer and Captain's Ball. Thanks, Clara, for hitting my spectacles so that it bent sideways at the right side, just at the nose prop, while I was looking at the other direction - that's two hits in my face consecutively during these two days I've been in the class chalet! Well, though this was totally uncalled for, I guess it's about high time that I got a replacement for my spectacles before it becomes too workhardened that it breaks at the joints!
By 5pm everyone seems to be exhausted from all that playing, passing around and shooting, so we headed back to the chalet. On the way, Kevin and I decided to get ourselves some drinks, and it was only then that I was finally found to be completely bankrupt - I bought 3 1.5litre bottles of H-Two-O, Iced Lemon Tea and mineral water, plus my ginger beer, with the last of my money... Luckily Kevin returned me some money for the drinks he asked me to pay for earlier, so I'm not that financially deprived at that moment till dinnertime.
Headed back to the chalet, but by now, the suite was such that there was very little people left hanging around, if any at all... In the end people like Ming Yue, Lavinia and Joan decided to leave as well. No Cheryl, no Sue-Ean, and no Clara too, not to mention no barbecue, apart from the one that we had yesterday? No kick! What happened to what was supposed to be called the class chalet? Why do things until so susak(troublesome), then ending up having kosong orang(literally, "zero human", ie. completely nobody) in the chalet suite?
At least there wasn't without complete hopelessness for the chalet after all, since finally, Ashley managed to show up out of nowhere and join the gang of 4B classmates just as we were about to be demoralised by pure boredom. Finally, things such as suggestions to go for bowling at the E!Hub at Downtown East are coming real fast.
Still worrying about money matters, a supposedly unlikely thing to worry about in a class chalet, we went for dinner at Burger King, and it was just then that I remembered that my $2 was still with Leon! Thank God! Now I have $6+ to spend on dinner. Though it was still fun having all the enthusiastic classmates who DO care two hoots about what's going on in the class, it is so ironic, just 8 of us out here for dinner at Burger King, and whatever happened to the rest of the 32 people who make up class 4B?
According to them, the class chalet last year was a total flop - hardly anyone participated positively in the class chalet past the first day, when the barbecue was in. And it seems that from what Jin Meng was ranting about, it seems that someone within our class has got a lot of money issues yet to be resolved with the class treasurers and Jin Meng being the ultimate monetary victim, whose name I will not disclose, to protect the involved parties' reputation.
"What a flop this is. It's like, nobody's coming because nobody seems to bother wanting to come for this chalet, perhaps?"
"Yeah. Probably the big thing is because of the sheer imbalance of boys and girls in the class.(we have 10 boys and 30 girls in our class)"
"But then I always thought that the girls in our class seemed to be very united one, leh..." I joined in the conversation, still unwilling to believe that this was what's become of class 4B.
"Ha, you've only seen the outside of the girls. Who knows what's between themselves."
"Ah, must be girls' politics again. Gah." I spoke in disgust.
Finishing our junk food dinner, Ashley spoke of going to the bowling alley, and we went there, with Sheng Chao and me coming out of it to go back to the chalet room, since we were bored stiff and unwilling to bowl with them. If it weren't for my super-tight budget, I would've gone to join them in bowling. Even so, would I be embarrassing myself if I couldn't hit any pins down at all if I joined in the fun?
Bored stiff, we just lingered around the place, with Sheng Chao using this same laptop which I use to blog now to play Counter-Strike, while I was out there watching TV and, though down to my last penny, still deriving some satisfaction from drinking ginger beer at the comfort of the sofa and strong air-con. Maybe if I had more money, peanuts would go well with that soft drink while watching TV in such a spacious Executive Suite at Aranda Country Club.
They later came back from bowling, but in the end, nobody played mahjong at all, which obviously didn't do any justice to the mess we created from the tiles, dice and plastic chips for "money", at all. All the girls had went back home, so at the chalet, it's just down to Kevin, Leon and Sheng Chao to stay overnight. Wow, it finally seems that the 4B class chalet became a 4B-boys class chalet overnight...
Monday, November 17, 2008
4B Class Chalet 2008 - Day 1
Went to enjoy myself there today, but it wasn't that interesting as I expected, because I couldn't stay overnight out there at Aranda Country Club.
For one, they couldn't get anybody to check in for us because there wasn't anyone among us who is above 18 years of age, so Jin Meng and Sue-Ean were like, "What to do now?" Things just couldn't be this way, and it was then that I thought of Uncle Teck!
"If there's anything you need just gimme a buzz..." was the last thing I remembered that Uncle Teck told me like, two years back. So I put it into use - "Hello Uncle Teck?" I rang him up.
"Ah, Jing Yuan, what's up?" he replied.
So I told him everything about our problems with getting someone to check in, and whether he'd be free and able to help us stand in and check in for us. I'll admit, yeah. It's hard on him to do all these for our class while he's still in the middle of his worktime and risking having his pay docked and everything. Thanks man Uncle Teck, I don't know how to thank you for this, man.
So everything went a little better after being able to check in. The next problem came - the barbecue. All the food has been bought, and the charcoal and firestarters were bought too. We played Uno with the girls, and after Leon and the others were done in the kitchen, we were just about to go downstairs with all the barbecue equipment, when suddenly there came yet another problem which I came to solve:
It wasn't much, but someone apparently thought that someone else was going to bring a lighter to start the fire. Also, though the butter was bought, there was no butter brush! So, what are we going to do with the chicken franks without any satay sticks to skewer them with?
Of course, the unlikely fella came to save everyone's butt - I went to buy all those stuff with Sheng Chao. The barbecue came smoothly and of course, butter-lady Cheryl was enjoying the food while applying the butter, but some became so oily that we were at risk for coronary heart disease. Oh well, you can't expect good food without oily deposits in the body anyway, haha!
It's a good thing that the butter I bought was low-fat. Whew.
So there I was, barbecuing the satay while the others made off with all of the chicken wings and chicken franks(most people just simply call them sausages) and other things like marshmallows. In the end, I only ate two pathetic chicken satay sticks, tested some half-cooked mutton satay, and drank only 100-Plus.
Though, yea, I'm a bit starving, I don't have the appetite to eat anything in the middle of the night. Damn.
After the barbecue, yep. I was called upon to send Cheryl to the front gate. Apparently, I didn't, of course. What about the rest of the food still in the barbecue? Why me, when she's going off with two others in a group anyway? Maybe I should've gone escorting her instead of trying to save face instead, or should I?
Anyways, the barbecue ended with only Jin Meng, Bernard, Kevin, Fang Hui, Clara and me. We settled down, cleared up the mess that they made before they left, and sat down, sharing some juicy gossip, inside jokes and of course, some stuff that we didn't know until we shared among ourselves.
They went on to watch Madagascar 2, despite my attempts to persuade them to watch it tomorrow instead, because I had to go at 10.30pm, and it was already 10.20pm when they already decided to do so. Great... just as I was about to start having fun hanging around with 4B classmates, it was time to go.
Well at least I've got all these recorded down, for the benefit for those 4B classmates who wanted to know what went on during this chalet but couldn't make it. But even then there's free Wi-Fi that I could've used for blogging this entry there, on the fly, instead of doing this at the comfort of my own bedroom...
Sigh, you just cannot have everything good at once, I guess.
For one, they couldn't get anybody to check in for us because there wasn't anyone among us who is above 18 years of age, so Jin Meng and Sue-Ean were like, "What to do now?" Things just couldn't be this way, and it was then that I thought of Uncle Teck!
"If there's anything you need just gimme a buzz..." was the last thing I remembered that Uncle Teck told me like, two years back. So I put it into use - "Hello Uncle Teck?" I rang him up.
"Ah, Jing Yuan, what's up?" he replied.
So I told him everything about our problems with getting someone to check in, and whether he'd be free and able to help us stand in and check in for us. I'll admit, yeah. It's hard on him to do all these for our class while he's still in the middle of his worktime and risking having his pay docked and everything. Thanks man Uncle Teck, I don't know how to thank you for this, man.
So everything went a little better after being able to check in. The next problem came - the barbecue. All the food has been bought, and the charcoal and firestarters were bought too. We played Uno with the girls, and after Leon and the others were done in the kitchen, we were just about to go downstairs with all the barbecue equipment, when suddenly there came yet another problem which I came to solve:
It wasn't much, but someone apparently thought that someone else was going to bring a lighter to start the fire. Also, though the butter was bought, there was no butter brush! So, what are we going to do with the chicken franks without any satay sticks to skewer them with?
Of course, the unlikely fella came to save everyone's butt - I went to buy all those stuff with Sheng Chao. The barbecue came smoothly and of course, butter-lady Cheryl was enjoying the food while applying the butter, but some became so oily that we were at risk for coronary heart disease. Oh well, you can't expect good food without oily deposits in the body anyway, haha!
It's a good thing that the butter I bought was low-fat. Whew.
So there I was, barbecuing the satay while the others made off with all of the chicken wings and chicken franks(most people just simply call them sausages) and other things like marshmallows. In the end, I only ate two pathetic chicken satay sticks, tested some half-cooked mutton satay, and drank only 100-Plus.
Though, yea, I'm a bit starving, I don't have the appetite to eat anything in the middle of the night. Damn.
After the barbecue, yep. I was called upon to send Cheryl to the front gate. Apparently, I didn't, of course. What about the rest of the food still in the barbecue? Why me, when she's going off with two others in a group anyway? Maybe I should've gone escorting her instead of trying to save face instead, or should I?
Anyways, the barbecue ended with only Jin Meng, Bernard, Kevin, Fang Hui, Clara and me. We settled down, cleared up the mess that they made before they left, and sat down, sharing some juicy gossip, inside jokes and of course, some stuff that we didn't know until we shared among ourselves.
They went on to watch Madagascar 2, despite my attempts to persuade them to watch it tomorrow instead, because I had to go at 10.30pm, and it was already 10.20pm when they already decided to do so. Great... just as I was about to start having fun hanging around with 4B classmates, it was time to go.
Well at least I've got all these recorded down, for the benefit for those 4B classmates who wanted to know what went on during this chalet but couldn't make it. But even then there's free Wi-Fi that I could've used for blogging this entry there, on the fly, instead of doing this at the comfort of my own bedroom...
Sigh, you just cannot have everything good at once, I guess.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Quantum of Solace movie review
Caught a movie just the other day with my friends, Kevin, Jin Meng, Bernard and Yuan Zhi, just the other day. As usual, I was the laughing stock for the day - how was I to know that fella was pushing the glass panel towards me when I was looking at the other direction? In the end I embarrassed myself by hitting myself unintentionally against the glass panel in public.
Disclaimer: Hey guys... Don't blame me for being so excited over VivoCity, man. It's my first time there, so I'm going to describe VivoCity as much as I can.
Nevermind that, I am willing to be a fool for Christ, for He who is above the world is far greater than he who is in this world. Anyways, we got the tickets we went for lunch at the food court located at the top floor. And it was the worst place possible to eat cheaply - the food court was designed and embellished so that it looks like a typical Chinese eatery in the middle of the night. With all that engineering feat it was easy to drag us into eating stuff we normally wouldn't pay such extravagant prices for... Thanks Bernard, for leading us into partial bankruptcy on-the-go...
and we went into Golden Village VivoCity. Along the way, we saw a separate corner specially for Gold class seats only. Whoo, looks posh, but definitely costs the customer a bomb, according to Jin Meng. Being the rich fella among us, of course he was being made fun of as the "Big Boss" able to afford such stuff for his 'family' - an internal joke that I'd share someday at the expense of his Internet-ional ridicule, which I just hadn't the heart to.
We went on to the cinema. Quantum of Solace was pretty cool, with all the special effects and stunts. No spoilers for you guys, so here's basically what I like about the movie: It's just stuntful, going around and shooting people like nobody's business, apart from the storyline, and it's a good show to go, if you aren't fundamentalist enough to follow the Bible strictly, verbatim.
However, from a Christian point of view I notice that most of the good movies in the cinemas nowadays either include lots of violence and sex - which explains the high popularity of M18 shows like Kill Bill and 300 - or the ones that are rated NC16 like Rule #1 and Resident Evil movie series. From all this I see sublimal messaging though - people these days are strongly influenced by things that they see in the cinema, so maybe that could be one of the reasons that you see those bad things going on in society - I won't say what.
That being said though, I don't object to watching these stuff - just be watchful of what you're watching and you should be safe - don't let violence from such movies influence you to be violent or stuff like that.
Disclaimer: Hey guys... Don't blame me for being so excited over VivoCity, man. It's my first time there, so I'm going to describe VivoCity as much as I can.
Nevermind that, I am willing to be a fool for Christ, for He who is above the world is far greater than he who is in this world. Anyways, we got the tickets we went for lunch at the food court located at the top floor. And it was the worst place possible to eat cheaply - the food court was designed and embellished so that it looks like a typical Chinese eatery in the middle of the night. With all that engineering feat it was easy to drag us into eating stuff we normally wouldn't pay such extravagant prices for... Thanks Bernard, for leading us into partial bankruptcy on-the-go...
and we went into Golden Village VivoCity. Along the way, we saw a separate corner specially for Gold class seats only. Whoo, looks posh, but definitely costs the customer a bomb, according to Jin Meng. Being the rich fella among us, of course he was being made fun of as the "Big Boss" able to afford such stuff for his 'family' - an internal joke that I'd share someday at the expense of his Internet-ional ridicule, which I just hadn't the heart to.
We went on to the cinema. Quantum of Solace was pretty cool, with all the special effects and stunts. No spoilers for you guys, so here's basically what I like about the movie: It's just stuntful, going around and shooting people like nobody's business, apart from the storyline, and it's a good show to go, if you aren't fundamentalist enough to follow the Bible strictly, verbatim.
However, from a Christian point of view I notice that most of the good movies in the cinemas nowadays either include lots of violence and sex - which explains the high popularity of M18 shows like Kill Bill and 300 - or the ones that are rated NC16 like Rule #1 and Resident Evil movie series. From all this I see sublimal messaging though - people these days are strongly influenced by things that they see in the cinema, so maybe that could be one of the reasons that you see those bad things going on in society - I won't say what.
That being said though, I don't object to watching these stuff - just be watchful of what you're watching and you should be safe - don't let violence from such movies influence you to be violent or stuff like that.
Friday, November 14, 2008
O Level Crisis - Week 4: Feeling like a half-filled cup of water
Ok, the papers are gone. Finally, no more studying for me until next year! Thank you Jesus! Unfortunately, I still feel a bit empty, having to adapt with suddenly having no more school and no more examinations and tests, and most importantly, not being able to be with my good old chums...
O Level Physics Paper 1, 10/11/08, 8.00am
Studied until 12am the previous night, so I wasn't in my best condition to sit for the examination that day. Still made it through, though not without a few careless mistakes. Finished this paper within half an hour, with another half an hour left to burn.
O Level Chemistry Paper 1, 12/11/08, 8.00am
Studied my guts out with everything I had, and threw in everything I had. Finished this paper within 45 minutes, because of chemical equations that had to be intepreted properly. By the time this paper was over, I was already halfway dead when the Physics-Chemistry Double Science students were out to celebrate already...
Nevermind that, just one more day to freedom and I'm outta this O level cage. Must bear, must bear, must bear...
O Level Biology Paper 1, 13/11/08, 8.00am
Threw in every last bit of my strength into this day. Threw in everything I've got, my guts, my brains, my intestines(I made up the intestines part myself), and guess what happened...
...I finished it in 25 minutes. Overdrive mode - Must put in my best, must put in all I've got, must let this be over in the fastest possible time....
...and dozed off for the next 15 minutes until the examiner woke me up. What to do? I checked the answers again for careless mistakes. It was a drag - the next 20 minutes was decades to me, right smack at that particular seat at the examination hall. Air-conditioned hell.
"Time's up!"
My heart rose.
"...and the boys will move the tables to the second level, and the girls will stack up the chairs and put them at the side of the hall..."
My heart sank. Thanks, teachers, for fully utilising the manpower at the expense of our absence from the school for the rest of our lives now...(open sarcasm)
Watched Quantum of Solace with Kevin and the others, then proceeded to hang around in VivoCity for a while before going back to Tampines Sports Hall for badminton. By night-time I was back in action, practicing for the December 13 Christmas Dinner performance item.
Finally, Aaron Goh is back in action!
O Level Physics Paper 1, 10/11/08, 8.00am
Studied until 12am the previous night, so I wasn't in my best condition to sit for the examination that day. Still made it through, though not without a few careless mistakes. Finished this paper within half an hour, with another half an hour left to burn.
O Level Chemistry Paper 1, 12/11/08, 8.00am
Studied my guts out with everything I had, and threw in everything I had. Finished this paper within 45 minutes, because of chemical equations that had to be intepreted properly. By the time this paper was over, I was already halfway dead when the Physics-Chemistry Double Science students were out to celebrate already...
Nevermind that, just one more day to freedom and I'm outta this O level cage. Must bear, must bear, must bear...
O Level Biology Paper 1, 13/11/08, 8.00am
Threw in every last bit of my strength into this day. Threw in everything I've got, my guts, my brains, my intestines(I made up the intestines part myself), and guess what happened...
...I finished it in 25 minutes. Overdrive mode - Must put in my best, must put in all I've got, must let this be over in the fastest possible time....
...and dozed off for the next 15 minutes until the examiner woke me up. What to do? I checked the answers again for careless mistakes. It was a drag - the next 20 minutes was decades to me, right smack at that particular seat at the examination hall. Air-conditioned hell.
"Time's up!"
My heart rose.
"...and the boys will move the tables to the second level, and the girls will stack up the chairs and put them at the side of the hall..."
My heart sank. Thanks, teachers, for fully utilising the manpower at the expense of our absence from the school for the rest of our lives now...(open sarcasm)
Watched Quantum of Solace with Kevin and the others, then proceeded to hang around in VivoCity for a while before going back to Tampines Sports Hall for badminton. By night-time I was back in action, practicing for the December 13 Christmas Dinner performance item.
Finally, Aaron Goh is back in action!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
O Level Crisis - Week 3: Waste of time
Hi, back to what's going on in the GCE O Levels for me, continued from previous posts...
O Level Combined Humanities(Social Studies), 3/11/08, 2.oopm
This paper wasn't as hard as I thought - I was well prepared already when I sat for the paper. It isn't often that you get to sit for a paper so confident in a major examination that determines your future, you know. I chose question (4) as I thought it was much easier as compared to the other questions, namely (2) and (3).
After the paper, I asked around and to my surprise, most of my classmates chose question (3), on Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. First reaction was "What?" Such a difficult topic to write on, yet so many people chose that? From what I think it looks like, I think everyone else's outta their minds to do something that is going to cost them marks when they could avoid that question altogether and do another.
No offence, but I think I'm saying this because I got stuck halfway while trying to attempt question (3) and cancelled off the whole question because I wrote crap, ending up doing question (4) instead, which was far much easier.
O Level Chinese Papers I and II, 5/11/08, 8.00am and 10.45am
Something happened halfway during Paper I, which is too embarrassing and humiliating to mention. Skip that.
The papers were not as difficult as I thought - I managed to do it with ease, and managed to survive the whole ordeal with a chronic stomachache throughout the examination. Tough luck, eh? Anyways, I did manage to finally finish Paper I, making up for the unfinished Paper I in the Mid-Year Chinese GCE O Level. Paper II was easier too - all the comprehension passages span only about three-quarters of a page!
The remaining days - guess what did I do? Yes, play! But of course there's some discipline involved - with great amounts of play-time also means great amounts of study-time as well. I studied throughout the nights till at least 3am the next day. Today's no different too.
O Level Combined Humanities(Social Studies), 3/11/08, 2.oopm
This paper wasn't as hard as I thought - I was well prepared already when I sat for the paper. It isn't often that you get to sit for a paper so confident in a major examination that determines your future, you know. I chose question (4) as I thought it was much easier as compared to the other questions, namely (2) and (3).
After the paper, I asked around and to my surprise, most of my classmates chose question (3), on Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. First reaction was "What?" Such a difficult topic to write on, yet so many people chose that? From what I think it looks like, I think everyone else's outta their minds to do something that is going to cost them marks when they could avoid that question altogether and do another.
No offence, but I think I'm saying this because I got stuck halfway while trying to attempt question (3) and cancelled off the whole question because I wrote crap, ending up doing question (4) instead, which was far much easier.
O Level Chinese Papers I and II, 5/11/08, 8.00am and 10.45am
Something happened halfway during Paper I, which is too embarrassing and humiliating to mention. Skip that.
The papers were not as difficult as I thought - I managed to do it with ease, and managed to survive the whole ordeal with a chronic stomachache throughout the examination. Tough luck, eh? Anyways, I did manage to finally finish Paper I, making up for the unfinished Paper I in the Mid-Year Chinese GCE O Level. Paper II was easier too - all the comprehension passages span only about three-quarters of a page!
The remaining days - guess what did I do? Yes, play! But of course there's some discipline involved - with great amounts of play-time also means great amounts of study-time as well. I studied throughout the nights till at least 3am the next day. Today's no different too.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Bad state of the bedroom
Messy, eh? This is the conditions where I live in - always.
Nevertheless it's still rather comfy - and the messier it gets, the more inspiration I draw from the surroundings for stuff. And of course, it has always been that way since last year's Final Term examination period, and hasn't changed since then, even till the Secondary 4 Preliminary Examinations and this current GCE O Level period.
If you're saying it's humiliating to show the state of the bedroom in this mess, it's a big mistake. I'm proud of this room, because that's where I spend most of my time in. After all, what better place than to be in your room doing all that nonsense and serious stuff in the same place?
Coming up with a song - finally!
After hearing so many good songs of worship dedicated to praising God for His presence and power, I thought, maybe it's time for me to compose a song for Him as well. And what better way than to do it on the guitar as well!
Actually, I have been struggling with coming up with something called a "song" for quite some time, when the inspiration just came up from nowhere in the middle of the night. The next day I immediately penned down the song and got my guitar going, without even allowing some time for myself to brush up(eew, that's gonna stink).
It's been written down already for quite some time, but I just thought I wanna share the song with you people:
Actually, I have been struggling with coming up with something called a "song" for quite some time, when the inspiration just came up from nowhere in the middle of the night. The next day I immediately penned down the song and got my guitar going, without even allowing some time for myself to brush up(eew, that's gonna stink).
It's been written down already for quite some time, but I just thought I wanna share the song with you people:
By the way, I usually never write songs and this is my first, so if the lyrics don't sound right, please offer some suggestions. Thanks, people!Title: What a blessing it is to be with You
By: me
*Chords and rhythm are to be released later, when feedback is received about the lyrics
This day I proclaim that You are King
You are Lord and Saviour of my life
You alone are worthy of my praise
Because You are the truth, the life, the way
Who can ever match your lovingkindness
Your grace, Your love and Your peace?
The cross before me, the world behind me
You are the One I long to worship all my life
Chorus:
Oh what a blessing it is to be with You
In all my fears and worries, I turn to You
Jesus, the foundation on whom I stand
I commit my life into your hands
Saturday, November 1, 2008
O Level Crisis - Week 2: Justification of Study
Well yep. The second week is past - 4 more weeks to go! I say 4 weeks, because there's another two more weeks to the end of the O Levels, and immediately after the GCE "O" Levels, we Secondary Fours are called to practice for 2 more weeks as the cream of the crop in Anglican High Guitar Ensemble... Who said that we were very good at guitar anyway, now that all that full-time studying has turned our skills a bit rusty?
Somehow, I don't think it makes sense for us Secondary Fours to go back there to practice full-time in school anymore - surely a longer holiday break is well-deserved for us after all the hell at Muggers' Paradise*? Unfortunately it seems to be a big NO - we are enlisted to perform exactly one month later, at Victoria JC Auditorium, 7pm on 28th November! The O level break isn't justified - we won't get any fun out of it, neither would we have time to search for holiday jobs, FTW(for the win)!
If I can help it, I'd skip any guitar practices, since I already have my credit for the stuff I've done for Guitar Ensemble. But if I do that, all becomes very political. If I remember right, I remember Mrs NC Koh saying that we Secondary Fours promised her to perform for this public performance. Yeah, tell me more about promises - I don't remember ME making any such promise from the start, though I don't know about the others.
Enough for all that ranting - time for some serious business with GCE "O" Levels?
O Level Combined Humanities(History Elective), 28/10/08, 2.00pm
This one's a tough nut to crack, but it was yet another morale booster for the rest of the examinations that came later on. Ah finally, though the League of Nation's appeasement policy wasn't justified because it accelerated World War II when it was supposed to prevent war in the first place, my midnight oil certainly was justified. Hell, something that I studied for until 4am the next day past midnight surely must have been justified - the stuff just became second nature at the exam hall, so I just wrote and wrote: 3 pages for Source-Based Questions, and 1 1/2 pages for each of the 2 Structured Essay Questions.
O Level Physics Paper II, 29/10/08, 2.00pm
The moment I finished the paper, I thought - drats. How on earth did such unexpected questions come out on the paper? The size of an atom - the fundamentals - I forgot Chapter 1, of all things! A couple of mistakes could've been avoided easily, had I been more on my toes for Physics paper. So, for those future O Level candidate wannabes, better watch out - I've been there down and dirty on that paper and now, there goes my A1 for this paper...
...unless I work really hard this time round for Paper 1?
O Level Elementary Mathematics Paper II, 30/10/08, 8.00am
Morning paper. That's one thing you've gotta be thankful for whenever you sit for any paper - one thinks most clearly in the morning than in the other times of the day! In my opinion, this paper can be better utilised when sent to primary schools to raise their standard by a little, in my opinion, as compared to putting it in front of our desks in the O Level exam hall. Or better yet - use the question booklet as rough paper to fold paper aeroplanes.
O Level Biology Paper II, 31/10/08, 2.30pm
Just thank the Lord they gave me this paper! Having aims to become a doctor, this paper is fundamental to my ambitions - so this is the most dangerous one of all the papers, in a sense that if this paper goes wrong, my ambitions and future can be jeopardised at any moment during the exam period...
Just thank the Lord that these stuff didn't come out for this paper:
- Mitosis and meiosis
- Excretion(includes kidney and functions, as well as dialysis machine function)
- Enzymes
- Genetic diagrams
- The heart and cardiac cycle
- Genetic engineering
- Down syndrome(trisomy 21)
- Nervous system and reflex actions
- Impact on Ecosystems(eutrophication and bioaccumulation)
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good - His love endures forever!
However I, too, must still be on my toes - who knows, they might just test us on this very topics that Paper II failed to test us on. Another great morale booster - I'm one step closer to helping God spread His gospel through getting nearer and nearer to studying medicine!
Granted that I shouldn't start getting complacent, I have to hit the books again, so stay tuned for next week's post - O Level Crisis - Week 3!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Coffee - my good friend, but God is greater!
Depending on this stuff called caffeine since the start of the GCE 'O' Levels. This trusty friend is there when you need him, but you gotta pay for the extra energy boost. And oh, did I mention there's expiry dates for this kind of stuff?
Unlike caffeine, God always gives up strength whenever we are weak. As it says in Isaiah 40:31,
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;Trusty Jesus always has His way in me, always much better than caffeine itself. Why, He created caffeine within the first 6 days of creation, so needless to say, He's gotta be greater than coffee itself! Just for good measure, having God to keep you awake during study periods is a free service offered to us, if only we ask for it. All praise be to Him for keeping the best things in life free!
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
Of course, God doesn't have such things called "expiry dates" printed on Him, so don't worry about having no energy if you allow Him to be your powerhouse. However, there's a trick to having Jesus help you out...
Most people probably wouldn't see the connection here between God and coffee, but to gain the effects of caffeine you gotta first fix up the coffee before you can drink it. Likewise, we should learn to serve and love God before we enjoy His presence in our lives. Our longing to love and serve God is part of this "coffee-mix" of a life pleasing to Him.
- You prepare the mix - learn to love and serve God with the sugar of faith, milk of perseverance. Sieve out the impurities in your mix - remove sin in your life.
- God adds his water of grace and mercy, and adds in love, patience, peace, kindness, temperance, discipline, joy, forgiveness, and everything nice from Himself to make the coffee top-grade.
- He gives you the mix - enjoy the "Life's Ultimate Victory coffee-mix" recipe, free-of-charge!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
O Level Crisis - Week 1: Morale Boosters
Just a little sum-up of what's been going on this week, from a personal point of view.
O Level Chemistry Paper II - 20/10/08, 2.30pm
It was tough studying, but the paper simply was a let-down. It didn't justify my effort that I've put in for Chemistry, my favourite subject, because it turned out that most of the questions were either too clichéd or simply questions that appeared in either the Preliminary Examinations or other practice papers, repeated in this paper. A pushover - I enjoyed this paper, though I expected more Qualitative Analysis questions in this paper.
O Level English Papers I and II - 21/10/08, 2.30pm and 5.00pm
English is my greatest liability here, and I can finally say I put in everything I had for this paper. This comprehension paper should get me at least a B3 or B4, I think, instead of the lousy C5 I got for the Preliminary Examinations. The summary question was quite a challenge, but I am sure I got at least 10 points from the passage right...
O Level Additional Mathematics Paper I - 22/10/08, 2.30pm
A complete pushover, though I underestimated the paper after all - a quick check AFTER the examination made me spot careless mistakes here and there, which dashed my hopes for 80/80 marks for the paper. But still, I'm going to be content with just a little over 70 marks for this paper.
O Level Elementary Mathematics Paper I, Additional Mathematics Paper II - 24/10/08, 8.00am and 2.30pm
Another fun time at the examination hall - except that many people ranted about careless mistakes made in E-Maths Paper I, which means that I must have made some of the blunders discussed. Went to disturb Alex and George while they're using Alex's laptop to play Counter-Strike, Diablo II and later DotA. Wow, they sure have a knack for playing games at that point in time, man.
Back in the examination hall. Skipped 3 questions before inspiration hit me in the head in that very instant I prayed for His help. It was getting easier and easier as I progressed into the paper. All thanks, praise and glory be to my Jesus Christ - He turned the A-Maths paper from a chore to entertainment!
Will continue updating the experiences of being in the examination hall on the next post, titled: O-Level Crisis - Week 2.
O Level Chemistry Paper II - 20/10/08, 2.30pm
It was tough studying, but the paper simply was a let-down. It didn't justify my effort that I've put in for Chemistry, my favourite subject, because it turned out that most of the questions were either too clichéd or simply questions that appeared in either the Preliminary Examinations or other practice papers, repeated in this paper. A pushover - I enjoyed this paper, though I expected more Qualitative Analysis questions in this paper.
O Level English Papers I and II - 21/10/08, 2.30pm and 5.00pm
English is my greatest liability here, and I can finally say I put in everything I had for this paper. This comprehension paper should get me at least a B3 or B4, I think, instead of the lousy C5 I got for the Preliminary Examinations. The summary question was quite a challenge, but I am sure I got at least 10 points from the passage right...
O Level Additional Mathematics Paper I - 22/10/08, 2.30pm
A complete pushover, though I underestimated the paper after all - a quick check AFTER the examination made me spot careless mistakes here and there, which dashed my hopes for 80/80 marks for the paper. But still, I'm going to be content with just a little over 70 marks for this paper.
O Level Elementary Mathematics Paper I, Additional Mathematics Paper II - 24/10/08, 8.00am and 2.30pm
Another fun time at the examination hall - except that many people ranted about careless mistakes made in E-Maths Paper I, which means that I must have made some of the blunders discussed. Went to disturb Alex and George while they're using Alex's laptop to play Counter-Strike, Diablo II and later DotA. Wow, they sure have a knack for playing games at that point in time, man.
Back in the examination hall. Skipped 3 questions before inspiration hit me in the head in that very instant I prayed for His help. It was getting easier and easier as I progressed into the paper. All thanks, praise and glory be to my Jesus Christ - He turned the A-Maths paper from a chore to entertainment!
Will continue updating the experiences of being in the examination hall on the next post, titled: O-Level Crisis - Week 2.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Christmas Dinner Performance 2008 Auditions
Okay... Here's what's been going on in church. We're called to put up a performance item for My Saviour's Church Christmas Dinner 2008. Of course I'm enthusiastic about it, but the timing is a little bit off, I'll admit. Still, I gotta put in my best for this one, even though significant events are popping up everywhere.
I mean, immediately after the O Levels we Secondary 4 Guitar Ensemble members have to go back to practice for the next 2 weeks, while still trying to market the tickets away. Sometimes I wonder, how did Claudia and the others manage to sell the tickets off so fast?
To make things worse, there's another 2 more chalets to come up, which I must attend. Because, well, 4B'08 will have much less opportunities to be together as a class as each of us goes towards their own paths in life, so this coming class chalet will have a lot of significance. Same goes for the Guitar Ensemble chalet - the Secondary 4s in Guitar Ensemble will no longer be around, so you Secondary 1 to 3 juniors - beware!
Yea, though this is pretty hectic, but with all these things around, I've gotta be down there, being the live entertainment and man-behind-the-scenes? Sigh, freedom after the O Level period isn't free...
...or maybe it is, but just involves shedding a couple of never-shed tears and a couple more "can't-bear-to"s?
I mean, immediately after the O Levels we Secondary 4 Guitar Ensemble members have to go back to practice for the next 2 weeks, while still trying to market the tickets away. Sometimes I wonder, how did Claudia and the others manage to sell the tickets off so fast?
To make things worse, there's another 2 more chalets to come up, which I must attend. Because, well, 4B'08 will have much less opportunities to be together as a class as each of us goes towards their own paths in life, so this coming class chalet will have a lot of significance. Same goes for the Guitar Ensemble chalet - the Secondary 4s in Guitar Ensemble will no longer be around, so you Secondary 1 to 3 juniors - beware!
Yea, though this is pretty hectic, but with all these things around, I've gotta be down there, being the live entertainment and man-behind-the-scenes? Sigh, freedom after the O Level period isn't free...
...or maybe it is, but just involves shedding a couple of never-shed tears and a couple more "can't-bear-to"s?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Gaining momentum - Veni vidi vici!
I came, I saw, I conquered.
This shall come true for the rest of the papers that I'm taking. So far I've taken Chemistry Paper II, the full English Paper and Additional Mathematics Paper I. And the outlook has been optimistic, I would say.
Ah, 3 days through the examination and I'm already feeling confident for the papers to come. If I know them 4B folks well, they should be slogging their guts out for the next coming 2 papers, even as I type this entry. So, here's just a couple of comments for the papers that I took so far:
Chemistry Paper II
Quite disheartening, because I've studied a lot on Qualitative Analysis, and the paper turned out to only have just 2 questions. First reaction was WTF? Overall, I reckon they purposely put the paper this way to be a morale booster for the papers to come.
English Papers I and II
Wreaked havoc and killed more brain cells that I could estimate, and I got stuck halfway doing Question 1 - The delights and frustrations of being a teenager. I prayed for inspiration, and true enough, Jesus saw me through the whole paper, finally ending with a decent essay to hand in. Did situational writing, deja vu. English Comprehension seemed to be the greatest liability throughout the exam, and I was writing on an empty stomach(Oh God, save me!), but still, the summary question did lift my spirits up in the end, because now I am confident that I put in my best. This paper took everything I had, now it's time to get back at English!
Additional Mathematics Paper I
Not that I like to brag, but this paper...
...just barely managed to kiss my ass. Nice try, A-Maths, but you ain't getting anywhere with me without me first scoring with you. No constructive comments for this one - I'm eager to pwn this paper hard and fast.
Well, that's that for now. I'm going to "kill" the papers one by one until I am the last one standing by the 13th November...
This shall come true for the rest of the papers that I'm taking. So far I've taken Chemistry Paper II, the full English Paper and Additional Mathematics Paper I. And the outlook has been optimistic, I would say.
Ah, 3 days through the examination and I'm already feeling confident for the papers to come. If I know them 4B folks well, they should be slogging their guts out for the next coming 2 papers, even as I type this entry. So, here's just a couple of comments for the papers that I took so far:
Chemistry Paper II
Quite disheartening, because I've studied a lot on Qualitative Analysis, and the paper turned out to only have just 2 questions. First reaction was WTF? Overall, I reckon they purposely put the paper this way to be a morale booster for the papers to come.
English Papers I and II
Wreaked havoc and killed more brain cells that I could estimate, and I got stuck halfway doing Question 1 - The delights and frustrations of being a teenager. I prayed for inspiration, and true enough, Jesus saw me through the whole paper, finally ending with a decent essay to hand in. Did situational writing, deja vu. English Comprehension seemed to be the greatest liability throughout the exam, and I was writing on an empty stomach(Oh God, save me!), but still, the summary question did lift my spirits up in the end, because now I am confident that I put in my best. This paper took everything I had, now it's time to get back at English!
Additional Mathematics Paper I
Not that I like to brag, but this paper...
...just barely managed to kiss my ass. Nice try, A-Maths, but you ain't getting anywhere with me without me first scoring with you. No constructive comments for this one - I'm eager to pwn this paper hard and fast.
Well, that's that for now. I'm going to "kill" the papers one by one until I am the last one standing by the 13th November...
Friday, October 17, 2008
Mixed feelings - What does it mean to be Anglican?
So, the graduation ceremony is over, and all of us will sit for the GCE 'O' Level Examinations. After that, we're going each to their own paths in life. Just feeling a bit emotionally unstable, because it's the last day that the people who make up 4B'2008 are going to gather together like this, in classroom setting. The next time we meet, we could very well be all fully grown-ups, each holding their own jobs and careers.
Here's a little piece of junk that came to my mind during the graduation ceremony in the afternoon, and it seemed like a pretty fitting one, so here goes:
I know it's sounds emo, but I did this on the fly, man. Don't expect quality, I'm not good at writing poems...
Anyways. To be honest, it was the first time in history that I've ever put this tough question in front of my face - what does it mean to be Anglican? In the past, I used to complain about lousy school policies, such as having the Mid-Years AFTER the June Holidays, and the stringent need to really sit down and let morning devotions sink into our heads, and of course, CCA problems here and there.
I used to grumble about the school wasting money on unwanted books and programmes like community service, when that time could have been better spent on studies. However, it was only though these stuff like Hari Raya that made everyone buy Malay costumes to fit into the class dress code, and newspaper collections at apartment flats that made us cooperate with each other and help out whenever possible. And it was all these events that made me feel that, yeah. I'm part of a class, not a lone wolf. The tons of recyclable material could not have been successfully gathered without the help of everybody.
In other words, the 4B class name will always bring me some nolstagia.
Here's a little piece of junk that came to my mind during the graduation ceremony in the afternoon, and it seemed like a pretty fitting one, so here goes:
The first howl of wind blew us all into different places.
Some ended up in the same class, same school,
Others flew somewhere else...
The old friends became scattered,
The strangers settled together, all clueless and lonesome.
The PSLE cert did the scattering of the people to the four winds.
Before we knew it,
Everyone was naming each other "Friend".
And so in life, our paths did cross this way.
Friendships were hurt here and there,
But often, hatchets were buried in no time.
We thought, "After all we're classmates,
There wasn't any need to fight anyway."
And so, flames of anger always get quenched down easily,
Never to become political in any form.
The troubles came - it's the friggin' exams.
Every man for himself!
Some soared high,
but others were left behind, trying to catch up.
"Aha," I realised.
That was what friends are for -
To save your butt and throw you into the good-grades bandwagon.
Bonds were formed, both ionic, covalent and friendship,
and ever-continuing self-improvement of class 4B, both academically and socially.
Very reactive - laughs followed wherever we were as a class.
The second howl of wind - history repeats itself.
GCE 'O' Levels - every man for himself, its the friggin' exams!
It happens, whether you like it or not.
Great pals get sucked into the JC-choice cyclone,
Eventually going to be scattered once again,
To unchartered waters of confusion and uncertainty.
Here everyone will have to fend for ourselves,
But even as we crawl, grab, squirm, struggle, run, walk,
climb, soar through the difficulties we will face much later in life,
When will we see each other,
In such unity as that we had in those days?
I know it's sounds emo, but I did this on the fly, man. Don't expect quality, I'm not good at writing poems...
Anyways. To be honest, it was the first time in history that I've ever put this tough question in front of my face - what does it mean to be Anglican? In the past, I used to complain about lousy school policies, such as having the Mid-Years AFTER the June Holidays, and the stringent need to really sit down and let morning devotions sink into our heads, and of course, CCA problems here and there.
I used to grumble about the school wasting money on unwanted books and programmes like community service, when that time could have been better spent on studies. However, it was only though these stuff like Hari Raya that made everyone buy Malay costumes to fit into the class dress code, and newspaper collections at apartment flats that made us cooperate with each other and help out whenever possible. And it was all these events that made me feel that, yeah. I'm part of a class, not a lone wolf. The tons of recyclable material could not have been successfully gathered without the help of everybody.
In other words, the 4B class name will always bring me some nolstagia.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The goal becomes clear
Well, many events have been happening and yep, it's not in my favour too. Even so, my targets are clear for now - I desperately need to raise my L1R5 score drastically within this two weeks, or risk not being able to be with most of my classmates in any good JC.
Maybe this might serve as self-encouragement after all, since I figured that the Science subjects are my forte, and getting A1 for them just needs a little more push and a sharp eye, since most of them are due to careless mistakes or concept errors that need to be corrected as soon as they are found. As for English, Paper 2 seems to be my greatest liability, because I always fail comprehension, and close to failing summary at times...
Even so, I'm not going to give up at this juncture. The Lord has given me the peace, the determination, and I'm depending on His wisdom and knowledge for the rest of the revision period and through the GCE O Levels, for the Lord first of all, and to the desired JC my heart and guts will lead me to...
Maybe this might serve as self-encouragement after all, since I figured that the Science subjects are my forte, and getting A1 for them just needs a little more push and a sharp eye, since most of them are due to careless mistakes or concept errors that need to be corrected as soon as they are found. As for English, Paper 2 seems to be my greatest liability, because I always fail comprehension, and close to failing summary at times...
Even so, I'm not going to give up at this juncture. The Lord has given me the peace, the determination, and I'm depending on His wisdom and knowledge for the rest of the revision period and through the GCE O Levels, for the Lord first of all, and to the desired JC my heart and guts will lead me to...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thank you 4B - for the past 2 years in Anglican High
Just thought that since after this week I won't be able to see most of my classmates anymore until the graduation day, and then each to their own path, hardly crossing any roads with each other anymore, I felt inclined to type this post despite my heavy revision schedule.
Time to get a bit sentimental, but hey, it's dedicated to my class anyway...
Thank you guys, for being lively, as usual. Very cliché, right?
Thank you 4B people, for all the inside jokes and being the rumour arcade for the juciest gossip spread internally, things like Confucius, algae, the rich boss, etc etc, and many others I forgot.
To tell you the truth, it was an eye-opener for me the first day I was in 3B. All along I thought everyone who got into a Triple Science has got to be a nerd like me(back then I saw myself a nerd, but I don't think I am now.) After mingling with you guys, I learned a lot of things:
Now, how do I end off?
"Thank you."
What, you were expecting something more?
Time to get a bit sentimental, but hey, it's dedicated to my class anyway...
Thank you guys, for being lively, as usual. Very cliché, right?
Thank you 4B people, for all the inside jokes and being the rumour arcade for the juciest gossip spread internally, things like Confucius, algae, the rich boss, etc etc, and many others I forgot.
To tell you the truth, it was an eye-opener for me the first day I was in 3B. All along I thought everyone who got into a Triple Science has got to be a nerd like me(back then I saw myself a nerd, but I don't think I am now.) After mingling with you guys, I learned a lot of things:
- Never crap too much - you might lose your mind anytime.
- The "big rich boss" has weird taste for his wives - one short and one fat(no offence, just for laughs), and has a small son who loves to "kaopeh"(taunt, pass funny sarcasm and jokes).
- The blackie "Obama" representative of the class is edible as high quality Swiss bittersweet chocolate.
- The dog barks a lot - it's a lot much worse than its bite.
- Don't swear too much - you'd be seen as an idiot and jerk, and you end up being attacked with more "kaopehs."
- Don't go too far in "kaopehs"
- Always follow where your heart leads you, when you truly like someone. In studies, use your brain more, though, or you'll suffer heartburn when the cert comes to your hands.
- In exams, jokes or homework, go for the no-brainers first - it'll help you find yours.
- Don't be a flirt when you don't have the money - learn from the "big boss".
Now, how do I end off?
"Thank you."
What, you were expecting something more?
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Uneventful Sunday, but He's moving fast in school
Study time... but I'm still able to blog. Wow.
Man, it's just plain crazy. I've got stacks of worksheets to do, and even more loose ends to tie up before the GCE O Levels. I don't mind all that, but I'm just feeling a bit incompetent due to the poor results I've been getting. Wow, a L1R5 of 15, you see that? Can't even go to the top 5 JCs.
Just the other day, the VJC Principal came to Anglican High to give a talk. The cut-off point is a L1R5 of 4. Why, all my seniors went there, and I'm to be left behind? No way, at least if I can't go there I can't just give up without a fight.
And of course, I've done my own O Level countdown, it's like only 21 days left, from this entry onwards...? Time flies, and I've haven't even started making the best ending impression on the class yet! Needless to say there's so many things going on in my mind, like how to impress the girls in my class(No, really, I'm serious) and doing my best for the O levels, and other stuff like planning for my future and everything...
Anyways, back to what's happening in school. There's now a calling to Christians in school to gather together and pray for revival in the school, that Christ may touch their lives and save them, and a few of us joined in the prayer meetings. Wow, there's even talk about doing praise and worship, and probably even gathering for 4B Christians... But at this point in time I daren't put high hopes in it happening as of yet, since everyone's busy with studying...
Man, it's just plain crazy. I've got stacks of worksheets to do, and even more loose ends to tie up before the GCE O Levels. I don't mind all that, but I'm just feeling a bit incompetent due to the poor results I've been getting. Wow, a L1R5 of 15, you see that? Can't even go to the top 5 JCs.
Just the other day, the VJC Principal came to Anglican High to give a talk. The cut-off point is a L1R5 of 4. Why, all my seniors went there, and I'm to be left behind? No way, at least if I can't go there I can't just give up without a fight.
And of course, I've done my own O Level countdown, it's like only 21 days left, from this entry onwards...? Time flies, and I've haven't even started making the best ending impression on the class yet! Needless to say there's so many things going on in my mind, like how to impress the girls in my class(No, really, I'm serious) and doing my best for the O levels, and other stuff like planning for my future and everything...
Anyways, back to what's happening in school. There's now a calling to Christians in school to gather together and pray for revival in the school, that Christ may touch their lives and save them, and a few of us joined in the prayer meetings. Wow, there's even talk about doing praise and worship, and probably even gathering for 4B Christians... But at this point in time I daren't put high hopes in it happening as of yet, since everyone's busy with studying...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Melamine gets into foodstuffs
First it's the killer milk. First time I've heard of people dying from kidney stones from drinking milk, and it affected babies, of all possible consumers. Now it's my House of Steamed Potato crackers. I wouldn't mind giving up that, since the tomato-flavoured ones give me a sharp aftertaste when I eat too much of that junk.
But there is a real liability when both Glenn and Clyde eats this brand of crackers too, and they both eat them more often that their parents who don't say much attention to how many biscuits they eat a day... Adults having kidney stones is bad enough, what more children whose bodies are still not as strong to take that much damage as compared to us physically grown-ups...
Maybe it's high time everybody should ponder about just what they are doing for money's sake. Really, some businessmen do become the black sheep for the country's economy, ruining lives with the very thing needed to sustain life - food.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wow I love you guys man, you're my lucky stars
This afternoon my friends and I went to form up a "cycling gang" and went roaming in Pasir Ris Park. I was leading, though I didn't like having people behind me. But before all that, we went to Swensen's for lunch.
Boy, was it expensive! The curry chicken baked rice was the only thing I ordered, and it cost me a bomb - $11.90. That's like, half my wallet spent on just the food...? The others were richer, they ordered spaghetti and extra coke, while I stuck to good ol' plain water. Funny, God created water and so far, nobody has improved on it yet. Bernard was making a whole lot of noise during lunch, and I ended up doing stuff like calling on the waiter to hurry them to deliver the mooncake ice-cream(whatever that is) to those who ordered them, and calling for them to settle the bill.
Next, we headed to Pasir Ris Park, and what should we have taken but bus service 3, of all services. We ended up near Rachelle's house, thanks to Cheryl, and, embarrassing to say, I was yelling just opposite the bus stop about how they should've taken bus 17 instead, with all the schoolchildren looking and laughing at us. In the end we split into two, the boys took a taxi while I flagged down another and went with the girls.
We ended up at Carpark C, while Bernard and the others were at Carpark E. Walked halfway until we could see Carpark D, then we rented some bikes, everyone his/her own, and found them. Made another round back to wait for the others to rent and cycle. Fooled around a bit in the Children's Playground, then went for drinks and flying kites(which didn't fly at all due to no wind).
Went to the beach, and boy, there was so much seaweed(or algae, I don't know) on the shore. Then Sue-Ean was picking up one and saying that's Ming Yue(in case you didn't know, there was an inside joke that her chair smelt of algae). Laughing and fooling around like nobody's business, I threw some stones, trying to skip a few in the water, but it all sank down in one plunge(or whatever it's called, those waves that appear from where the stones sank at).
Took some pictures and called it a day. How nice of Sue-Ean, offering me a home-made muffin that she'd make someday after I asked to taste either of Cheryl's or Sue-Ean's cooking while they were talking about food. Needless to say, there'll always be new rumours from all those talk I have with them both boys and girls.
After all that tiring workout I still had one thing to do - fetch my sister home and buy takeaway food home, and who should I meet but the lady boss of BC Super Grill herself, asking whether I or any friends want to work as waiter down there, and she needed like about 3 more people to help out. Wow, after hurting my wallet for the whole day I got a job offer, just like that.
Hallelujah, I think God's trying to tell me something, though I don't know what...
Boy, was it expensive! The curry chicken baked rice was the only thing I ordered, and it cost me a bomb - $11.90. That's like, half my wallet spent on just the food...? The others were richer, they ordered spaghetti and extra coke, while I stuck to good ol' plain water. Funny, God created water and so far, nobody has improved on it yet. Bernard was making a whole lot of noise during lunch, and I ended up doing stuff like calling on the waiter to hurry them to deliver the mooncake ice-cream(whatever that is) to those who ordered them, and calling for them to settle the bill.
Next, we headed to Pasir Ris Park, and what should we have taken but bus service 3, of all services. We ended up near Rachelle's house, thanks to Cheryl, and, embarrassing to say, I was yelling just opposite the bus stop about how they should've taken bus 17 instead, with all the schoolchildren looking and laughing at us. In the end we split into two, the boys took a taxi while I flagged down another and went with the girls.
We ended up at Carpark C, while Bernard and the others were at Carpark E. Walked halfway until we could see Carpark D, then we rented some bikes, everyone his/her own, and found them. Made another round back to wait for the others to rent and cycle. Fooled around a bit in the Children's Playground, then went for drinks and flying kites(which didn't fly at all due to no wind).
Went to the beach, and boy, there was so much seaweed(or algae, I don't know) on the shore. Then Sue-Ean was picking up one and saying that's Ming Yue(in case you didn't know, there was an inside joke that her chair smelt of algae). Laughing and fooling around like nobody's business, I threw some stones, trying to skip a few in the water, but it all sank down in one plunge(or whatever it's called, those waves that appear from where the stones sank at).
Took some pictures and called it a day. How nice of Sue-Ean, offering me a home-made muffin that she'd make someday after I asked to taste either of Cheryl's or Sue-Ean's cooking while they were talking about food. Needless to say, there'll always be new rumours from all those talk I have with them both boys and girls.
After all that tiring workout I still had one thing to do - fetch my sister home and buy takeaway food home, and who should I meet but the lady boss of BC Super Grill herself, asking whether I or any friends want to work as waiter down there, and she needed like about 3 more people to help out. Wow, after hurting my wallet for the whole day I got a job offer, just like that.
Hallelujah, I think God's trying to tell me something, though I don't know what...
I don't despise authority, but I hate authoritarians.
Gibberish in the morning just because I didn't take the antibiotics for my face on time. Gibberish in the afternoon just because I'm using Wikipedia when I'm supposed to do mathematics. Gibberish because my room has been barged into by my grandpa, talking nonstop about the risks of cycling with my friends today. "The other day someone died because he cycled."
So what? If everyone were afraid of cycling nobody would be making money out of bicycles anymore.
"Then those people are the foolish ones."
"Then I'd rather be foolish."
I'm sick of arguing with you, old man. What, you want me cooped up in this hellhole? Home would be the best place in the world - without that old man's nagging. Just go do your own business, for God's sake, and don't bombard me with senseless conclusions that can be easily toppled by a one-liner. What, I'm already 16, for crying out loud! Stop keeping me in the house - you'll never succeed.
So what? If everyone were afraid of cycling nobody would be making money out of bicycles anymore.
"Then those people are the foolish ones."
"Then I'd rather be foolish."
I'm sick of arguing with you, old man. What, you want me cooped up in this hellhole? Home would be the best place in the world - without that old man's nagging. Just go do your own business, for God's sake, and don't bombard me with senseless conclusions that can be easily toppled by a one-liner. What, I'm already 16, for crying out loud! Stop keeping me in the house - you'll never succeed.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Prelim tomorrow - but I'm still blogging with ease
So here I am, still able to use the computer even after I got locked out of my computer. Reason?
I'm using Uncle Yiye's laptop, again. It's nice because it's Claira, his daughter's first birthday. Jotted down the notes and reorganised them, so it's made my Chemistry studying a piece of cake. Literally, two pieces of cake also went into my tummy as we celebrated her birthday anyway.
Got to play his PlayStation Portable. Though he only had 3 games inside, they have the potential to last a really long time, simply because two of them are RPGs. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was nice, but I don't like the complicated gameplay and the stupid spinning DMW system was very distracting. Overall, the graphics are the kind that you would say "Wow" at the first sight, but it gradually gets boring as you get used to the PSP graphics quality. It's no different from the other lousier game systems - graphics will ultimately be secondary when it comes to gameplay and the technical side.
I still prefer Final Fantasy IX. The gameplay is simpler.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wow. Big boss goes to clinic.
Look at Glenn at the left. And look at us, my sister, followed by Clyde and the maid, then my grandma. In case you're wondering I'm behind the camera.
Lucky brat, having half the family going to clinic with him. Stomach flu. The doctor told him that he wasn't supposed to drink milk until his gut is better. Gave him some stomach flu powder to dissolve in water, and extra fever medicine just in case.
Hey, the price is really steep when you come to a paediatrician. Good money too, for the doctor, since her treatment always works more effectively than the other doctors around the neighbourhood, and the medicine doesn't come cheap either. What more when this is a heavily populated part of Singapore. Hello, this is Tampines for goodness' sake!
As for me, I do have asthma, also treated by her, and now brought under control for many years already. Thank God, I don't have to spend heaps of cash anymore, until when I really need to...
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