Her Lung

Episode 11: Snippets.

2011-12-05T00:30:00.001+08:00

Episode 10: I'm officially 'Armoured'

2011-12-04T23:04:00.001+08:00

1st month of training:

"So what am I supposed to learn in Armour?"

"You'll be training on the Bionix Platform, don't worry."

"Shiong anot?"

"Aiya it's less shiong than Infantry, no need dig sheelscrape one, no road march."

"Hello hello? Can hear me? Testing. Testing."

"...*Bzzt*....*Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii*..."

"Driver can hear me?"

"Oi! Push back to intercoms la!"

"Gun firing alright, gun stop."

"Huh?"

"Gun firing alright, gun stop."

"Release trigger, check sear light."

"Sear light off."

"ummmm......."

"Reverse left."

"So I turn the steering wheel left or right?"

"REVERSE LEFT LAH! OI! REVERSE LEFT!"

2nd month of training:

"You guys can pack in 1 field pack full of snacks for outfield."

"Wah! Sure anot?

"Eh, later 4am got hasty departure a not?"

"Dunno leh."

"Aiya nvm we go sleep first lor."

"Reach already a not?"

"....*sleeping*...."

"SECTION PREPARE TO DISMOUNT!"

*Ramp door comes down*

"SECTION DISMOUNT!"

"OI! WAKE UP LA!"

"Huh?! must change road-wheel ar?"

"Where's everyone ah?"

"How can thiz be happeningz?"

"I don't understandz."

"Sure a not?"

"Not sure, cycle back to sear."

3rd month of training:

"Who want do sentry?"

"Me! Me! ME!"

"Can order ji-pa a not?"

"Call already."

"Eh, the collar badge is sew on the left or right side?"

"What is my posting ar?"

These are quotes (not exact) from throughout my 3 months of training in STW. It's been hell, and yet it's been quite fun. Now that I've graduated from the AISL course as a Armour Commander, I'm beginning to miss trainee life. Oh, and my section mates too.

Now as a GTW instructor (Gunnery Instructor), I definitely have more responsibilities to carry out, but that's good. Compared to others, I got the good end of all the postings available. Moreover I now have more time on my hands to slowly prepare for my next phase of life, university. I've been reading up on computing these past few days in camp. Life's real good now. Maybe I'm gaining weight too, I think.

Soon. Very soon. I can smell CCC (Civilian Conversion Course) coming soon. Seeing those ORDing personnel ORD into NSmen 2 days ago really made me envious of them. So let me see...

before I get this

Episode 9: Punggol Waterway Park

2011-10-29T12:17:00.002+08:00

Punggol Waterway Park - A really really nice place.

What a way to enjoy the Deepavali holiday. We went to Punggol Waterway Park which just opened recently after a short visit to Grandma-in-law's house, she injured her back. Anyway the 25 million dollar park sure does look like it, really a great place for a leisure walk with your loved ones or even for your entire family. There are fountains, water-playgrounds, cool bridges and even bathrooms. Really well done up by NParks. It could be also quite a romantic hangout for couples and I won't be surprised if couples take their wedding photos there. Moreover its just a 5 minutes walk away form Punggol MRT station, quite accessible with the circle line. Really a place worth visiting, I'm going there again when I buy a new camera.

Me and my Darling

Hui Ming and Clement

After that we went to Chomp Chomp for a delicious and tong jia dinner. And we ordered the ultimate thirst quencher:

Straight after drinking that ginormous cup of sugarcane, had to rush back to book in, sadly...

Episode 8: South Korea!

2011-10-22T17:47:00.001+08:00

One of the many trees in S.Korea.

Back from a 3 week long holiday with my buddies. It was so fun till it seemed like only a 3D2N tour. Tour highlights includes ridiculous theme park rides, and by ridiculous I mean those meant for children aged 7-12. Well for the rest of the trip was just... (refer below, just the first 2 parts.)

Guess that's about it. The above shirt was actually one of the many things I bought for myself. It's been a very long while since I bought something for myself and my cupboard. Oh and not to mention the nice food and scenery I gobbled in.

Oh and the spiders there are nice and big, crunchy too. Don't worry I did not eat this one.

And I got to enjoy great companionship over these 22 days, thanks to people like this:

and maybe this cute dog too.

And now, back in Singapore and leaving behind the great city (somewhere) in S.Korea:

Opps.

I've sure enjoyed myself, from Day 1 to Day 22, with the exception of some days (seriously I hate the extreme cold there) and with no regrets. Now being back in Singapore, with 1 more week left till the end of trainee life (no more marching) and around 411 days to ORD. Just hope I get a good posting for the rest of my 400 days.

Episode 7: 4 months on.

2011-08-26T12:43:00.000+08:00

I painted my room orange. Got my driver's license, except its for a 22-ton armoured vehicle and is totally useless in civilian life. Got certified to shoot heavy weapons and a cannon, which was a damn cool experience.

It's been 2 months since I passed out from spending 2 months in Specialist Cadet School. Now I'm spending my time in a very ulu part of Singapore as part of the Armour formation. Learnt lots of stuff during these 4 months and at the same time, I made lots of boy-friends. Similarly, I'm more becoming of a soldier now, eating cup noodles every night and running down from vehicles clearing forests with my all time favorite SAR21.

4 months passed so damn fast, and now I'm left with 468 days to ORD and getting my life back. For now I'll just try to transform myself into a more mature and responsible individual (and save up some money).

Next episode-> Episode 8: ORD loh!

Episode 6: BMT Passed - Now a Trained Soldier

2011-04-12T02:39:00.000+08:00

REC HL WONG

9 weeks passed super fast. 7th February was the day I enlisted and on 9th April I graduated from BMTC. Perhaps, it was really fast-paced, days packed with activities and weekends for rest and and my loved ones, too little time for me to maintain this blog of mine. Totally neglected it. Now that I have 1 week off and the time to do so, it's time for a overload of greenish stuff, maybe brown too.

It's a good way to enjoy BMT when you have good platoon mates, especially your section/bunk mates. Not to mention a "hot-bod" buddy. And it's also quite comforting to know that friends from YJ are also with me, friends like:

Najeer!

Joel

These people were the ones who made my life adjusting to BMT quite a smooth one. Just that its only the mental part. The physical part was more of a problem, partly due to the pre and post A-Level syndrome.

It all started when we got our new wives on Valentines Day (such good timing and thoughtfulness from our commanders).

Like a real wife, it came with lots and lots of responsibility, care, concern, intimacy etc. And like a real wife, it came with lots of restrictions, problem etc. However, it signifies our very first step to being trained soldiers.
The second step was, which I had problems with, the physical training to up our fitness levels.
CPT 1 (the warmup that is like the real exercise, no joke), CPT 2, AGR, Speed Training, Strength Training, Swimming, BCCT etc.

True enough, training was tough, very tough. But the results are obvious. From a IPPT fail to a IPPT silver. I even managed to hit somewhere near my record 2.4km timing. No pain no gain right? I'm glad to endure all those pain to gain this much.

And of course, training a soldier doesn't mean just training our fitness levels. We had to learn soldiering skills, such as the not-so-ready IOC to replace the old SOC. And IFC (Individual Field Craft - Field camp training). Learning how our weapons work, and how to work them. Also known as how to strip your wife in 30 seconds and putting her clothes back on in 45 seconds.

Me taking instructions form SME during IFC

Now that we are half a soldier, its time to put whatever we learnt so far to the test. The all dreaded field camp. Shall just let this picture sum it all.

It was literally the worst time of our lives. I shall not go through the details, I do not want to spoil the sad stories of the future generations of recruits, so that they'll have a story to tell. What I want to make is that field camp IS the defining moment of BMT. It tests everything, your endurance, your attitude, relationships and your fitness. And also being through all this shit is nothing, knowing that you have friends going though the same shit with you. It is this shit which will still make us friends even after 20 years.

Weeks passed after field camp, everyone got closer, as a section, platoon and maybe even company level. The last few weeks was really really enjoyable and hilarious. I enjoyed my last few weeks in BMT thoroughly.

I believe my platoon, platoon 4, is the best among Hawk Company. Our commanders, as said, are our friends, enemies, mother, father, sister, brother, boyfriend, girlfriend. This was said on our first day by our platoon sergeant, and now that I've passed BMT I understood its meaning. We can love them, hate them, but whatever they do for us, it's for our own good. They share our pain with us, and joy with us too. Thanks 2SG Darren, 3SG Faisal and 3SG Andy for making my BMT experience a good one.

Oh and my section, Section 4! What else can I say, I love them.

And so I POP-ed. Finished my 24km route march and endured all the way to the end. It was real satisfying and gratifying. Grateful too.

Well, I'm really going to miss BMT a whole lot, and I'm sure its already the best part of my NS life. Going to miss being a Armskote IC, asking (shouting at) people to not sign over the lines and writing the date for 120 times everyday. What I achieved? IPPT Silver, Marksman, passing my grenade throw (without Bruno Mars coming out to catch my grenade for me), passing IPPT, making new wonderful brothers, new skills, a stronger better faster body, a nice tan and stronger relationships with my loved ones especially my dear girlfriend who suffered a lot too during my time in BMT. As said, field camp is not the end of BMT, BMT is also not the end of NS. I'm looking forward to my new posting. More experiences to gain, more people to meet.

From boy

to (at least half a) man.

This is what every Singaporean son has to go through, and I'm glad I'm part of it.

PTE HL WONG

Now the remaining 1 year 8 months of my NS life is waiting to unfold. I have 1 week to rest and spend time with my darling and family and friends. And its back to business until 061212 (ORD date).
Hope I summarized my fruitful 9 weeks in BMT well in this post. Will be putting up posts/snippets of individual key events in BMT some time soon. I do not want to forget all those golden memories.

Episode 5: Protect

2011-02-02T23:20:00.000+08:00

Every board we walk on, every flower we see and smell, and together with the people that comes along. These are the reasons why we young man have to report to Tekong, "The Island of Manhood" (which I prefer to call it). Well don't worry, I'm not a promoter for MinDef nor I'm being brain-washed. I just want to voice out my opinions on National Service.

Well, I guess we can't escape the clutches of our late Dr Goh Keng Swee, so my opinion doesn't really matter. And indeed, many of us dread NS. We dread exams, household chores and many other things, but we just failed to see the good in them. All we do is complain and try to blame another party. Same goes for NS. Without NS, there won't be us, nonetheless Singapore. Guess I need not explain why, it is much of a common sense.
But why do we still despise it? I don't know. Maybe mainly because we have lesser freedom. Even if it is so, we also won't have much freedom as a country if we don't have NS. Fear of losing a relationship? Rubbish, a relationship not being able to survive NS isn't even worth existing. It is a test to see its strength and durability. Or is it because of all the strenuous and dangerous activities? No pain no gain. There are bound to be sacrifices, but it is all aimed for a greater good, protecting your loved ones and to protect your iPhone.
And why are we still hesitating, I've not seen a more well-fed army anywhere. We get club benefits, all sorts of benefits, $9000 from the government and free body building training etc. Compared to one of the very first generations of our NS-man (our father's generation), they ran 10km in full gear with helmet and get $80 every month. We get to run in light and cooling PT attire wearing NewBalance running shoes and get $400 every month. We'll be more disciplined, fit and we will not take things at home for granted and these are things that will surely happen to us.

So why are we still whining? "F(ing)ML on Facebook. Complaining everywhere we go. Guess what, NS is actually Fixing (up) My Life, and yours too, for sure. That's what I think.
It fixes me up.

Episode 4: Cycle Fly Skate Talk - Enjoying Now

2011-01-20T20:12:00.001+08:00

I'm back! Back from doing lots and lots of stuff with my darling over the past 2 days. On tuesday we went to Woodlands Waterfront on bikes. Bike expedition number 2 and it was also our Kite flying session number 2. We flabbed all the way there (because it was downslope all the way), parked our bikes and tried to fly the kite, the manual way. By running of course.

Check out the evil laugh at the end. We ran many many times, and still we could not get that piece of flab to fly. So we went to higher ground and do it the usual way. "Stand there and the kite shall fly on its own" style works for us the best.

Yesterday, we went ice-skating for the very first time. Seeing other people skate makes it look so seamless and easy, not till you try it yourself. During the first 30 minutes or so we were holding on to the sides for our dear life. But after a while we managed to "walk on ice" or at least travel around it. More than sufficient for me given only 2 hours to skate. Oh, Keith and and Rachel were there too. Rachel was the first to fall, then it was my turn, straight on the butt. Well, Kallang Ice Ring was quite okay I guess. Fun 2 days.

Today! D-Day. NTU Scholarship Interview day. Darling accompanied me all the way to the secluded NTU smacked right into a forested area. The interview was scary man. 3 deans sitting in front of you in a small room. Question after question, answers after answers. Luckily I had OP or else I WILL freak out. I would just say I barely passed this interview, hope I get the scholarship though.

After that I had gyming session with the almighty Jia Le. Very slack exercise but a great running session though. After gym we went to Khatib walk walk a while, go NTUC buy Soya milk. There I go zi siao JL about the ~~pretty~~ promoter selling drinks. Miss those times. Well anyway I guess its just gym all the way for me. 18 days left to enlistment.

Episode 3: Two thousand and eleven - A new year!

2011-01-04T23:10:00.000+08:00

Yeap! Spent the last few days of 2010 in Cameron and Genting highlands. Though we were high up in the mountains, my spirits ain't that high.

We had to brave the cold, mists and get all frustrated of getting stuck behind lousy drivers nad vehicles. Getting stuck behind a slow smeely truck on a narrow road while going up is a traveller's worst nightmare in Cameron or Genting. Overall, the trip to Cameron was quite a relaxing one, with the very slow and easy pace we moved around. We seriously ate whenever we went, at every stop, we ate. My slackest trip ever.

Genting was much quicked paced, maybe due to the presence of shopping malls. Got to say I preferred Cameron more even though its more "stone aged", I do prefer a much more relaxed lifestyle.

Was back in Singapore on 31st December 2010, just in time to celebrate the New Year with my darling. We went to Khatib Countdown. The performance were like getai, so I guess most of the people there were for the finale, the fireworks. I've gotta say this year's firework kicks ass. Way better than last year's firework. Much better till we forgot to take pictures or video. But anyway, its all in the moment, nothing can replace it.

Now, have to recover from post-vacation syndrome. Got to do a quick reality check. 1 month left to enlistment. I'm looking forward to it and at the same time not so too. I'm afraid that I'll not get in form before I enlist. I'll have to wake up and start my training, seriously. Can consider this to be one of my New Year's resolution.

Other new year resolutions will include, participating in the 42km SC marathon, saving more money, getting into OCS and spending even more time with my darling.

And there is still the A-levels results...

Episode 2: New experiences - Construction Worker

2010-12-22T00:04:00.000+08:00

It's a rare opportunity that is hard to come by, for a student like me at least, to be able to work and sweat it out like our fellow construction workers. It all started when my brother-in-law needed people to complete his construction projects, so he asked me during one of the Sunday dinners. So I said yes, why not? It's not something we can experience everyday and it is always good to learn new things to broaden my perspectives. Yesterday was my first (and probably last) day as a construction worker.

Boy did it really changed my perspective of this industry. People normally do not think too much of what is around them, who built them. We give little significance to what we walk on everyday, or even where we live, not knowing how it is made and how much work is being done. On top of this ignorance, we further exclude the people responsible for the roofs over our head from our society. We deem construction workers as hooligans etc.

Seeing how a pavement is being repaired really made me had a greater sense of gratitude towards our nation builders. We had to locate a cracked section of a pavement in the entire golf course of the National Service Recreational Club at Changi. Hack down the pavement affected using drillers, which is the hardest part. I drilled of a while and I was sweating like a pig. The bhangras had to drill for the entire day from 2pm to 10pm. Mixing cement was also their forte. Anyway though it may be a simple pavement with no decor or complexity, it takes a paramount amount of hard work to make smooth walkway for rich Singaporeans to walk over.
The 2 bhangras I worked with changed my perspective of them. Not saying it applies for all of them, but they sure are a friendly bunch. Took care of me, taught me the basics, helped me carry stuff and even joked with me. They are a contet bunch of people, happy with just what they have. They earned around $40 yesterday, while I earned $150 even though I did less. They can smile to me even after drilling for 1 hour non-stop. I really have to take my hats off for them. But I hope I changed their perspective of Singaporeans as being ignorant about their work, for now I appreciate for what they have done.

Aomng all these reflections, the work yesterday was actually fun. I got driven around the course in a buggy, finished up a pavement in the night deep in the golf course, dodging water sprinklers (which the bhangras got very excited about) and even catching crabs which was eating a human leg (as claimed by my tow kay).
And I'm totally shagged too. Minor back aches from carrying sandbags and finger pain too. Ears might be affected from going too close to the driller. Mosquitoes bite many many too.

Anyway it's not a bad job afterall. $150 for at least 8 hours. But the money isn't all that important. It's about paying tribute to the builders of our nation. Understanding a glimpse of what they do, so that I would not be an ignorant fool. At least I also got to taste (a bit of) what my father's job is like.

The next time you walk over a pavement, think of who made it and how it's being made. Learn to be grateful.

Episode 1: Penang - A mix of good food and people

2010-12-18T00:08:00.001+08:00

Penang

11th December 2010:

Sleep on bus for 10 hours (like a pok).

12th December 2010:

Checked into our hotel, Sunway hotel.

This hotel is rather sufficient with good views,

And there is even (unwanted) company in the toilet.

No animals (or insects) were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Hotel aside.

Next we went to eat good food,

Ate some more.

And now that we ate too much, we have to walk more to shed the fats.

So we walked,

walked.

WALKED.

WALKED.

AND WALKED.

We walked till we saw the ocean and our toes bled.

13th December 2010:

We had no choice but to pray for our legs to get better,

so we traveled uphill, to the highest peak and on the highest tower,

using a slanted lift.

BUT WAIT! It was so slippery that we rolled down to a beautiful beach!

And we grew SO tired of walking that we decided to fly.

yes. FLY.

14th December 2010:

We flew all the way to KL.

The line in the sky is us flying at 364km/h.

Agreeable, Penang is home to many delicious delicacies and even *cheeeeeeep* goods. But what I'm impressed with is their local culture.

Firstly, they are in fact more multi-racial and racially harmonious than us in Singapore. Although we Singapore claim that we are multi-racial, but we don't see it as explicitly in our daily lives. In Panang, we see Chinese speaking Malay, Indians speaking English, Chinese and even Hokkien! A simple chicken rice stall we ate at had all main races working in the same stall. Where can we see that in Singapore?

I also envy their way of life. It's very laid-back. Also they are a friendly bunch of people, which can be inferred from all the taxi uncles who drove us around. This is something I'll miss when I come back to Singapore.

So apart from aching legs and a deflated wallet, this entire trip was a rewarding one, especially me being able to spend it with my darling.

Been going to the gym lately, to get back in shape in time for NS. And I'm finding a job, most probably a construction worker, something not everyone can do. Now it is very hard to have a clear goal of what to achieve during this period. For now, I shall take one step at one time.

SELETAR!

2010-12-10T16:29:00.000+08:00

Mission: Cycle from Admiralty to Upper Seletar Reservoir
Date: 9th December 2010
Time taken: 3-4 hours
Obstacles: Pathways ending halfway, Lamp posts in the middle of the pathway, "Caution" signs, Many uphills, Flabbiness
Total Distance traveled: 20km
Injuries: Aching legs and wrists, Butt pain

Dark cloud at top left

Mission Status: Completed

Looking forward.

2010-12-05T23:42:00.000+08:00

Just like Sir Stamford Raffles over looking the city skyline, our lives are somewhat the same. We have to keep looking forward and uncover whats in store for us.

Today I went with darling and her family to a temple in Bugis to pray (kinda weird doing this AFTER A-levels) and have a sumptuous lunch at a hawker nearby. Then we decided to walk all the way to Boat Quay. Along this journey, I actually enjoyed myself and had some quality time with her. We took a few pictures on the way too.

So that's all for today. More to come, I hope. Many many things to do during these few months. Get working on my fitness. Get a job and earn money. Spend even more time with her.

A new phase in life.

2010-12-04T13:25:00.000+08:00

JC2 is over.

Squash is over.

Prom is over.

What's next?

1 more week.

2010-10-02T23:19:00.000+08:00

*POOF* I'm back! I know its been a very long while since I blogged. Was super busy and tired, too tired to even switch on my laptop. Maybe it was just because I was busy, but time seems to fly so fast. Its 1 more week till I graduate from JC. 1 last week of lessons, 1 last week of eating lunch together with friends at the canteen. I will (definitely not) miss the canteen, and of course I will miss the fun we can only have during class time.
This last week is like a conclusion to a beautifully written essay. A lousy intro it may be, but the body paragraphs were perfect, full of content, evaluation... A good nice concluding paragraph to my JC life.
I would say, confidently, that I enjoyed the 2 years I spent in YJC. Although I may say otherwise sometimes, but actually I did not regret joining YJC, I found good friends, maybe teachers, a better sense of direction in life and even love. What more could I ask for?

It's time to treasure every moment I have left in YJC. My number 2 set lunch, my honeydews, and the flirting sessions with the canteen aunties. Cycling to school too. Today, Mrs Lee (wife of MM Lee) passed away, with MM Lee still overseas. It's sad. Not being able to be with their loved ones when they pass away. Really. I do not want this to happen to me nor anyone around me, even to the extent that of leaving YJC. Lesson learnt: Treasure every moment in life, because you might not know when it'll gone.

These are pictures just for remembrance's sake. I guess I'll be blogging lesser from now on then till my A's are finished. Else I'll be repeating this post again next year. I better not.

The light in my life.

2010-09-20T18:56:00.001+08:00

Had a great weekend with my darling. Started with Saturday when I went for the National Software Competition at Singapore Polytechnic. How was it? Well, the food was definitely great. The competition itself? Not so. We went in with "We will win." as our desktop wallpaper, end up we wasted 30-45mins to submit 1 question if not we can get a higher position. Anyway we got 8th position (out of 12) and we beat IJC! Mr Ho was also gloating about this. Hmm actually being a computing teacher ain't that bad, Mr Ho got a free Portable Hard disk, took a goodie bag, slept during the lecture and also, the free breakfast and lunch.
After that I went to dear's house see her. Had to traverse through the service disruption from Jurong East MRT to Bukit Batok MRT. Was very troublesome but was kind of cool to see how many buses there were to shuttle people. After dear did some "flabbying" (also known as lazing around), we went to play badminton!

Dear with her famous "arms on hips" pose!

Dear's brother, Qing Ping!

Was a very fun badminton session with dear. I realised how old and rusty I've become. Guess I really have to go gyming more often.

Sunday! Dear came to my house, to flab around. Haha. Did only a few questions then *POOF*, sleeping like a lion already. :P
After that I went to darling's house to celebrate our much awaited "Play with Fire" Festival (Mid-Autumn).
Shall let the picture do the talking, I do the flabbing.

Nice sunset we saw on the way back to Admiralty.

爱

我的老婆！

It says 黄太太。

The sparkler in dear's left hand is like a heart shape!

What a fun weekend! Well, I guess its back to school, studying and revision. :)

Killing 2 stones with 1 bird.

2010-09-15T22:52:00.001+08:00

Its been a while. Been busy with prelims and revision. During this period its been madness, study, extra lessons and even more revision. Fortunately, we have Jia Le to cheer us up, with his witty and nonsensical prelim answers. Seriously, he really makes us laugh with his solid muscles and powderful Engrish, through this very stressful period. So here are some of the nonsensical Prelim answers as promised:

Trying to be GP Pro. :P

First record of the table.

Teacher's question mark is funny.

Desperate attempt at getting marks.

A few comments on my Maths paper.

Too much physics.

JL's epic english.

EPIC WIN!

So thats all for our crap in prelims. We really did bad for our prelims, especially on my GP. Though my H2/H1 may have passed, but passing isn't all, and moreover it isn't even halfway of my expectations of myself also.

We may tend to blame our teachers like how we did, but did we question ourselves whether the fault lies in us? Maybe looking back at what we did for Computing ASP today and yesterday, maybe I'm right.


Petition to have lesser lessons

Sleeping in class.

Writing nonsense on the board.

My mum recently asked when was my A's. I told her the date and asked her when did she get involved/concerned in my studies? No offense, but its been independent education for me since Secondary 4. She said, I'm growing up and I have to study well to be able to support my own family in the future (hinting at Hui Yuan). Though she didn't answer the question, I guess she was right.

Same same, but diffferent.

2010-08-31T22:12:00.001+08:00

Try to spot the odd thing out in the above picture. Well, if you can't spot it, here's some help. Its the middle flag, its inverted. I don't know if it was intentionally put up there that way, or just some pure epic blur-ness. This view from my bedroom window, actually made me think. Think about standing out from the rest, what defines our uniqueness, or even what propels us to be within the boundaries of the norms?

Normally in "joke books", there's this irony of one's uniqueness. "You are unique, so is everyone else". If everyone else is unique, then who is? So you are not unique just by saying you are, words must turn into actions. I feel that courage is what makes one truly unique. You and me aren't all that different, we go to schools, learn the same things etc, but what makes one truly stand out is whether he/she is capable of stepping out from his/her comfort zone, to make a speech, to share their ideas, to voice out their opinions and make a difference rather than worrying about condemnation. This is what truly makes an individual unique, and is what I see lacking in youths today, at least in Singaporeans youth.
Well, I know this guy in my class, Tong Fan. He fits the bill as mentioned above, he shares his thoughts, though maybe sometimes unnecessary, and isn't afraid of the negative responses from our class. I admire him. He has the courage, to just speak whatever he thinks, whatever he believes in, no matter how weird it may be or wrong it may be. He truly stands out from us, for he ain't afraid to propagate his thoughts and feelings, which is very essential to defining one's uniqueness. I'm sure he'll go far in the future.
Yes, I'm guilty of maybe condemning him previously, but now I realise, its just him. That's nothing wrong.

If there's something wrong, it should be with us. You could argue that there are many more other factors which contribute to one's uniqueness. Good in basketball, playing games, singing or even dancing. Or maybe even being a genius. Yes, if you have this, you ARE unique, well for only maybe in your class. Don't forget, there are many others with these talents else where in the world, even better than you. Once you step out into the world, you will realise that all your skills or talents will not effectively put you into the limelight.
Lets put this in the example of a person with some birth defect, affecting his/her physical appearance. Sure that's unique (my ass). There could well be many others with the same defect. Its is whether if those people are brave enough to live their life to the fullest, making an impact on society, which in turn make reporters want to write a report on that very unique individual.

Entrepreneurs are a extremely unique group of people. They are creative and most importantly, good at standing out from the rest. They are courageous enough to take a step into the unknown, able to impose their ideas effectively on others, to ensure their success. These are the benefits of being unique.
Example of Terence Swee. Who is he you might ask. I asked the same thing once before. He is a YJC alumni. An ex-Computing student of Mrs Liang's and now, he is the CEO of Muvee Technologies. Making big bucks just because he dared to be different. I met him and shook his hand on YJ's college day, ironically taking an award for Computing too. He made a speech, which actually kind of made me think (shall do this in another post of what he said) although his did not prepare his speech. I had a talk with Mrs Liang over breakfast on Monday morning about Terence Swee. She said he was like us, a "naughty" computing student who gets scolded occasionally, but he was a little bit different. She said he gave piano lessons and even played at clubs just to earn money. From cross referencing with his bio from his web page, its true. This is what made Swee successful, he stood out from the rest of his friends, ventured overseas and created his own company. I'm really inspired by him, or even maybe to be like him. After all he is also a YJC-ian, if he can be unique, so can we.

Being unique isn't all about thinking that you are, its about believing that you can. We must not stay in our comfort zones, we should instead walk right out of it into our own paths to our future. There are many paths we can choose to take, many ways to walk it, it's about being daring to make the first step and wanting to be different. I just saw a video of a lecture in the US, when the speaker asked something, everyone spontaneously responded. If I replace those enthusiastic Americans with Singaporeans, try guessing the response.

Who's holding the kite?!

2010-08-29T12:42:00.004+08:00

Our orangey kite!

Well, a few posts back, I talked about Kites. And that I wanted to fly a kite for the first time. So yesterday me and dear went to Lower Seletar for our very first kite flying.
Fortunately, the wind at Lower Seletar did not let me down, it was considerably strong enough for us to just "let go of the kite and there it goes". I even think this is the laziest way someone can fly a kite, without all the running and such. Actually, its also very easy to fly a kite, I kinda expected more difficulty. :P

Dear flying the kite!

Dear taking a NICE photo!

Dear and Me!

Answer for the post title. :D

Yesterday was actually a great day, not only because I'm able to go to my fav hangout with my dear but also, spent more quality time together. As each day passes by, I feel I'm much much more closer to her.
After kite flying, we took free transport to Sembawang for a nice dinner out. Then we spent the rest of the night at SSC and my house. How I wish everyay was like this.

Examinations

2010-08-27T21:06:00.001+08:00

How I wished examinations were conducted just like above. But that would actually defeat it's purpose. So now I ask, what's the purpose of examinations?

Simplistically thinking, I would say examinations are the source of our misery in our teenage life. Its like a wooden splint lodged into your skin which will be excruciatingly painful whenever we touch it. Its like a living nightmare which puts so much fear into us that we wet our beds. Not only just the process of taking the exam, but also in the process of preparing for it, we do suffer a lot, mentally. Spent so much time wrecking our brains, torturing ourselves when we made a mistake and even to the extent of falling into depression after knowing you wrote the wrong answer down right after you leave the examination venue. To put it in a very very simple (and naively) way, its just the last thing a student would actually want to hear.

Or is it not? Actually, examinations are just part of the bigger picture. They are actually very good indicators of one's progress of grasping concepts, ideas and knowledge (maybe except PSLE). They act as a benchmark for people, for firms and business to choose their employees to ensure efficiency. If your examinations results ain't that good, then too bad, that's reality. If your results are good, then well done, you just earned your passport to be interviewed. That's why I said its part of the bigger picture, examinations (results) are like the "Nutritional Value" you find on a food product found on the shelves of a supermarket, and bear in your mind that they are many many food products available for sale too. Its an indicator of our intellect, signalling to our future employers whether to hire us or not. More crudely, we can say its our price tag.
While it may be seen as a way of choosing the right people for the job, its actually, in some sense, the liberator for mankind. Think of it this way, examinations are our motivation to pick up that book and learn something new. It forces us to be open to new information and knowledge, makes us think critically. Its the key to self-improvement. Without examinations, we would be playing our PSP(s) all day long, if it exists. Information and knowledge will degenerate and be obsolete, and mankind will suffer without the new inventions and discoveries. Think. All these technology we have today, including this computer you are using, was somehow created because of the existence of examinations which we ironically hate so much now. Maybe this can't be applied to Newton, Einstein etc, they are just born genius. Examinations ensure that their discoveries and inventions do go into waste and is passed down from generation to generation so that new things can be invented to better ourselves.

So do you still hate examinations? Well, I do dislike it, but its an obligation we all have to fulfil to society and even to our parents. We have to be useful individuals in the future, so that our existence will be worthwhile. So don't complain, pick up that freaking notes, and read it. Do more papers, practise (like what I'm doing above), get it over and done with. Make sure you tag yourself with a high price tag, with the corresponding level of qualities, and live a worthwhile life. Examinations. What a powerful process it is.

Hesistation

2010-08-25T22:58:00.001+08:00

This will be a short post, because it ain't appropriate to blog during this period. But anyway, I have to blog about this before I forget.
Its about lending that extra helping hand, yes with true intentions. But many a times we hesistate to do a good deed. Is it embarassment? Or is it just that we want to fit into the norm (of pretending that our assistance isn't needed)?
Sometimes we see people on the MRT who needs the seat we are sitting on even more than we need it, we decide. Think and think again whether if I should give up my seat. Whether if everyone will look at me? By the time we summoned enough courage to do whats right, someone else did it already.
I personally was like this before. I had to think before helping others. But what I realised is that helping without hesistation really makes me feel good, not only I get to see the smiles on their faces and hear the thank you(s), there's this sense of satisfaction that I've helped someone, without doubting myself. Thank you, snail on the pavement.
Sent from my iPhone

Post-Its!!!

2010-08-21T22:22:00.000+08:00

That sweet little Post-it was done by my cute little dear. :) So it was up on my wall of notes on my table top. My table is always decorated with yellow Post-it(s) when major examination are around the corner.
That Post-it gave me a new idea to, well at least waste my time, and to start off with something to blog about. :P

My Monster Fan!

I managed to take this photo using rice grains

I'm keeping them. ;)

Well, these 2 days I've been hanging out with my dear, after a week long of abstinence. We are in the middle of the Prelims, felt that we at least need to meet up and push each other. Not literally.
1 more long week till the end of the Prelims, then I can have a small small break. And its all the way to the end. They always say its the end when I was taking my O's. Looking beyond the A's, there's NS and after that there is University and working life for the rest of my life. So when somebody says, "Just hang on, the end is near!". Whack that person, back into reality. Life as a human, its more or the less the same for everyone of us. But I'm sure it beats being those stupid pigeons on the pavement I cycle to school everyday. I just have to embrace this, together with her. I'm really lucky for her to enter into my life at this period, really.

So I guess its back to studying tomorrow. I have to up my studying another notch, I believe I can do better than what I'm doing now. I hate it when I don't know how to answer questions, and I'm going to make that change.

Kites.

2010-08-15T20:57:00.002+08:00

I've never done Kite-flying before. Never. And I really want to do it. Isn't it amazing? Just the power of the wind alone, the kite is able to take flight. And its entire fates lies in the string which is holding it back home. That string, its gotta be very strong. So strong that even the strongest gust of wind can't do a single thing to it, other than blowing the kite to greater heights and distances.

Well, I was just thinking, together with Jia Le. Not about this of course, about whether that kite was a sotong or octopus. I still think it is a sotong. Then we moved on to birds, eagles in particular, having sex in the skies.
But that is just the fun side. We talked much more. Its been a while since someone shared with me and vice versa.

These few days have kind of been reflective for me. Whether if I've made positive impacts on people, rather than negative ones. Am I actually doing the right thing even if it seems to me that its okay to do it?

-END OF REFLECTION-

Yes! Finally. I actually (easily) squeezed out the time to actually do my ritual before major examinations. Go to LSR (Lower Seletar Reservoir) for a reflective session. This time it was with Jia Le. I don't know whats with Jia Le, everytime run with him, when going back that time, he'll emit off an aura to entice me to walk home.
The Prelims are just tomorrow. And I'm glad to say, I think I'm on track. Really. We'll just see tomorrow, whether if I have 1 hour to snooze on my table. I'm just wishing all this would pass, the prelims and A's. Of course, I would take them seriously, but I just wish I could fast forward to 3rd December.

And my darling's birthday is coming up, I've got a REAL good surprise for her (provided her inquisitive mind of hers caught no balls). I really hope she likes it. Prays.

A song.

2010-08-15T20:31:00.000+08:00

"Collide"

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide

Don't stop here
I lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find
You and I collide

You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide

Best National Day ever!

2010-08-12T23:30:00.000+08:00

It was definitely my best NDP yet, to be able to enjoy the breathtaking sights with my dear at the SkyPark of Marina Bay Sands. Sure it was expensive, but its damn worth the money. And to make sure it was worth more, we took a whole lot more pictures and videos. :)

Evening sky

Setting sun behind clouds

Muscle solid!

♥

Almost Night sky

Me and Dear

Nightview 1

Nightview 2

I definitely won't forget that night, the night I kissed her at the top of Singapore's city skyline with fireworks going off. It was a special moment for me, and her. It would be different without her there, even with the most beautiful fireworks.
(Refer to my dear's blog for a detailed timeline. :P)

And just yesterday, I was going home from school after consultation and etc, I was greeted with this when I alighted from the bus:

I managed to get a free bottle of Coke out of this. :P
Then after that I went home to check out my new cupboard, it was pretty neat.

And then I was off to get my new phone, wasn't that excited though.

Guess its just that so many things have happened in my study break, when its just supposed to be mugging all the way. I'm not blaming anything or anyone, its just time for me to add a little nitrous to my engines. Its time to zoom ahead.

Birthdays.

2010-08-06T21:25:00.000+08:00

Birthdays. It is defined as (by Wikipedia) the particular day on which the person was born. To me its just more than that, obviously. Its a rite of passage, not that I'm going all religious, but its actually more of a process. A simple yet significant process.

In normal terms, it signifies a progression of maturity and growth. Just like Pokemon, we level up and evolve and are able to do new stuff with the newly acquired new skills. Basically, we change. The conditions imposed on our lives change. When we hit the milestone ages, we get new "skills". We grow older and people trust us to be of a certain maturity level of that age, thats why the conditions change, then we are given more freedom. But, it doesn't drop from the sky when we are a year older, we have to earn it. Bottom-line, Birthdays are just another process of growing up, strictly physically.
Growing up inside doesn't come with Birthdays. Birthdays are just reminders that one is aging and should act and think of that age, thats all. It all boils down to self-realization. Whether one is being able to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and being able to act like one. If one is being able to do so, it will be one of the best birthday gifts he/she have received. It isn't just all about wishes and parties on Birthdays, a little bit of self-reflection is essential.

Well, birthdays are also a process of discovering whats most important to you. For me, my birthday yesterday, the cakes and presents aren't all that important to me. Its the wishes, the people who cared, who really wanted to celebrate my birthday is whats most important to me. After all the cakes I eat will end up as crap in the toilet bowl, but the relationships I have with my friends and family will remain in the depths of my heart for a very long time. And its actually spending my birthday with her is the greatest gift I can ever wish for. I don't really care about the gifts (no offense), but what I really want is often misunderstood. What I want is very simple.

Now that I'm 18 years old, I have to consolidate all these stuff above. I have to reflect what being 18 year old means to me. It isn't all about being able to buy 4D/TOTO, alcohol, watch M18 shows and being able to get married. But it is also the age where I have to shave botak and serve my country, when I have to treasure the people around me even more, and to take up new responsibilities ahead of me and make correct decisions. I'm turning older by the year, and I have to think appropriately by the passing second.

Filial Piety

2010-08-01T18:45:00.005+08:00

Wasn't feeling too good this morning at 12am. So I camped in the kitchen and prepared for the worst to happen. I vomited all the crap I ate at 4am, thereafter vomited water at 5am. It wasn't so much about me, I'm fine now. But I'm super touched by how my mum reacted.
The first time I vomited, it was in the sink, and obviously it was choked with all my crap. My mum cleared it all, without complaining. She digged out medicine for me to eat. Patted my back during my 2nd misadventure. Applied medicated oil onto my stomach for me. All these small little things, I will not ever forget when I grow up, when my mum becomes old.
She even went down early to Yong Clinic to queue up for me for about 45 mins. I love you mummy. When you grow old, I swear I'll take care of you, even if you are unreasonable or grumpy, because I knew you really cared for me, selflessly. This isn't an obligation, its called filial piety.

1 week on!

2010-07-31T23:43:00.001+08:00

Pour H2Os!
"Free water! Hey miss! You look hot! Do you want some water?"

Monday blues.
"Hey, hows Shanghai?" "What did you buy?" "Got tests."

Computing Practical.
"You ask yourself..." "Huh? Must stay back ar?"

Track and Field Meet.
"I muscle solid..." "What a joke!" "Waste of time..." "What is this??"

Maths Time Trial.
"GG la!" "Waste so much paper for 30 marks." "Wah Piang."

End of month dinner.
"Carry this chair and walk around" "EEE, you win me." "Not bad!"

Saturday's study session.
"Haha like monster sia!" "Are you tired?" "I love you, I really love you."

This are events in chronological order and together with excerpts of speeches I heard or said.

Shanghai 2010 - 梦想航天

2010-07-31T23:09:00.005+08:00

Shanghai World Expo, China Pavilion

Finally, some time for me to post about my quite enriching experience in Shanghai. For you all know, I'm been selected by my school, together with Daryl Tay, to represent YJ and join students from all the other JC's and even students from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Macau. So I left on 19th July and touched down in Shanghai Pudong Airport at 1.30pm local time. It was as hot as hell there, in the middle of summer. So no, its not winter when I went there. How I wished it was winter.

Day 1, wasn' all that fun, it was more of getting us into the hotels and stuff. Day 2 is when things started to get interesting. We visited China's Space center.

Yeah right. We visited some simulation room in some Youth Center. Weird enough. What's weirder is the actual carrying out of the simulation. But afterall, at least I got to know how NASA, or at least the Chinese, send rockets into space. Next we went to some Solar Energy Research Center.

So over here, I got a lesson on solar panels in the great language of Chinese, with the Shanghai accent. Oh and there was this lesson on how a space rover works too. Quite interesting though, I just wished they freaking spoke in English. So much for not touching Chinese anymore after A's.

Ohoh then next was quite fun! And almost like the only shopping time we had. We went to do some street shopping.

The street was realy like old ancient China;s street. It's still one of my favourite places so far. Very scenic and I don't get to walk down this kind of street everyday. Oh and the food there, marvelous.

Weather too hot! :P

Poor birds with sticks pierced into them, these was some of the things we saw when we went hunting for 小笼包. It was acceptable, but we were damn glad to be able to taste authentic stuff. And we were quite excited too. Not until we almost ate 小笼包 every single day till we were kind of sick of it. Oh we are me, Meng Yang, Michelle, Joanna and Wei Lun. They are my Singapore Clique throughout the whole trip.

Moving on, we went to an airport museum right smack in the middle of the city, and yes, big planes right beside a building.

Oh and before we went to see all these decomissioned planes, we were inside the museum's main building watching a movie. The movie was informative on how a plane works, but the damn funny thing about the video is that the title is “上天之路”。

So after viewing the reason why we are here in Shanghai, we went to the river for sight seeing. Oh man, I love that view, especially during night time. How I wish Hui Yuan was there with me. Just look at the pictures.

Nice right the views. It actually nicer when you see it with your own eyes. Singapore's city skyline is nice, but this is wayyy much more cooler. Most buildings there have LEDs on the exteriors of the buildings, providing a visual feast for us. Oh and thats Meng Yang and Michelle.

Oh, so that is Day 2. Hmm I better work on my summarizing skills or I will not end this post.

Hmm so basically Day 3 & 4 is World Expo. So let me sum up my experiences there.

Hot, HOT, FREAKING HOT.
Long LONG, FREAKING LONG (queues).
Lots of 3D movies.
4D movie at Taiwan's Pavilion, one of the best pavilions.
A lot of nice visual effects and nice buildings.
Spotted some lousy English, finally!
Rolled-up T-shirts baring bellies uncles.

So I'm getting lazy and I shall let the pictures, as usual, do the talking.

Expo tickets!

Compare this to canteen queues at YJ :P

Example of a long queue

Singaporeans!

Its a ceiling.

1h45mins long wait for this 3D movie.

Me and Daryl!

Shanghai's MRT

Singapore's Pavilion, not even worth to visit with VIP status.

Well, we don't get to do this in S'pore.

Malaysia's Seafood Restuarant (Pavilion)

My name! At least half of it.

Korea Pavilion

View from New Zealand's Pavilion

Weather Pavilion?

The best pavilion we visited.

Hong Kong Pavilion

Macau Pavilion

3D!

UK's Pavilion, super cool!

Netherland's Pavilion

Spain Pavilion

Waited 1 hour plus to see this baby. T_T

Played cards under the bridge till night fall.

Well, I started to miss Singapore at right about here. After going walking through the Expo grounds on both sides of the rivers for 2 days. It was very tiring but at the same time I was very much exposed to the culture of Shanghai people. They do not queue up, do not let passengers to alight first in the MRT, cars do not stop even if it is our turn to walk etc. I don't know, its not me who can judge them. But still, I miss Singapore like hell, mostly the things we take for granted.
Day 5! Visit to Shanghai FengXian High School. Pretty decent school and its freaking big. From the entrance to the main admin building is practically the whole of YJ. The funest part was being able to build our own rockets with real explosives and being able to successfully launch it. :D

My rocket flew, to my relief. And the parachute came out too! :) So after rocket flying we went for our last dinner in Shanghai. It was a pretty long one, but oh wells, I miss those friends I made there. :)

Meng Yang, Wei Lun and Me

Manna and Me

Group 12!

Ticket back home! :)

Aerial view of the World Expo

My current wallpaper.

Best sunset I could get.

IN CONCLUSION (finally), this trip broadened my perspectives and it turned out to be more fun than expected AND the sights were just amazing, at the Expo and the city. But at the same time it was very very tiring.
In the process, I learned to treasure what I have in Singapore now, especially the people I love. I was heartened, to see my family, friends and my girlfriend to welcome me back home. I was really touched.
Now that Shanghai is behind me (except for the reflection part), I better employ all my resources into catching up whatever I missed in that week. I hope I'm able to do it, like previous times.

On sea!

2010-07-16T23:34:00.001+08:00

Shanghai

Hmm okay. Little updates from what happened this week.
Got 1st for the 3000m event, with Bruce coming in 2nd. Had a very nice run on Monday and its been a long while since I ran like this. I missed it. Anyway I've done my part for Pierce House. So no thanks to 5km.
Had a new Physics teacher to replace our dear Mdm Lim who is sick. Get well soon Madelin! :D Mr Charles Goh (I think), he was the DM for YJ 2 years ago. Now our Physics class is super quiet, have a strange feeling. But anyway he teaches quite well I think.
A-Level Computing Coursework Part A, done!
My mum is MAYBE (most probably) going to appear on this coming Sunday's Sheng Shiong Live TV game show. HAHA. She was lucky enough to be chosen. Look out for her!
And on Wednesday, I had the fright of my life, but its okay now. :) Oh and I've been seeing my dear from 3 days straight now, sending her home too. Going to suffer from diabetes already, soooo many sweet moments with her. :)
Oh and the Principal mentioned my name and Daryl's during morning assembly, to congratulate us for being nominated to go to Shanghai. I didn't really do much, all I did was just to say yes after hearing it was free, and yes I've yet to thank her! :P

So yes, I'm going to Shanghai from the 19th July to 24th July. Fully sponsored and with allowances of $20. Should't complain, its still free after all. I'm not as sooo forward looking to this trip because I'll miss out on 1 whole school week of lessons and my dear! :( But oh well, I'll still have to go. But actually I'm eager to see the World Expo too. And the other stuff too! (itinerary in Chinese)
Just finished doing some admin stuff for the trip and will start packing REAL soon.
Well, I'll be off soon and will be back here in a week or so. I'll will miss my family, bedroom, Singapore, parrot and my darling.

(oh and the new page above is dedicated just for my dear, so my posts can be less mushy and all lovely stuff will be posted there. :D)

Holding Hands - Part 2

2010-07-10T22:56:00.000+08:00

A tingling sense of touch,

Followed by a courageous grasp.

Fingers intertwined,

Palms caressing each other.

One higher, one lower,

Both swinging.

Coldness I often feel,

Warmth I will give.

Fingers wriggling about,

Warmth I feel.

Hands we both hold,

Together as one.

Treasure every moment of it,

Savour every second of it.

For we are venturing into the darkness,

Your fears...

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

I'm a ex-E-Literature student,

but definitely not a poet.

Damn.

It.

My love (for Math)

2010-07-08T21:48:00.000+08:00

Enter these equations into your GC, I triple-checked, so it should be right. Oh and please standardize the V-window. (You may need to zoom out a little.)

Y1: 8, [1.4, 3]
Y2: 5(X-1.6)+1, [2.6, 3.6]
Y3: -4X+27, [4, 4.7]
Y4: 3(X-5)+8, [4, 6]
Y5: 12+√(2²-(X+7)²)
Y6: 5X+1, [1, 2]
Y7: 12+√(2²-(-X-2.8)²)
Y8: 2X+13.5, [-4.75, -0.7]
Y9: -2X-5.5, [-8.95, -4.75]
Y10: 10, [-15, -12.1]
Y11: 6, [-14, -11]
Y12: -5X-57, [-13.4, -12.6]

Well, to disprove my earlier post somewhere this year that my love for a girl can't be expressed in terms of Mathematical equations, here it is.
Dear, I love you! :)

Uncle-fied.

2010-07-04T10:18:00.000+08:00

My dear nephew, Hao Zhe!

All thanks to this little rascal here, I'm an uncle now. But oh well, being called an uncle has its own good. Haha, I got this picture from my 2nd sis during my cousin's wedding yesterday. Oh yes, Congratulations to Thomas too! Yeah, though it may be boring (all weddings are except yours), well at least I got to spend time with other cousins and my family.

Me and 2nd sis!

Generally, yesterday was a very nice day. I spent the whole day studying with my dear, haha and I understood girls more, in terms of arm-pit hair. I had a very very sweet day with her. ♥ Must abstain from honeydews already.

Jia Le's Creation

And yeah, the week was so far okay! 1 observation though. Jia Le is getting more and more guai lan. Definitely. We're still laughing in class, joking around, leaving class when our teacher isn't here. Guess we still ain't all that serious about our A-Levels yet. Its about time we start putting on the mugger face. Its just like about 130 more days to A's. 40 days to Prelims. Damn. And there is still the Shanghai Trip which I'm most probably going already. 1 week totally gone. And I cannot see her for 1 whole freaking week! Argh.
But anyway, I see this as a test and an opportunity, rather than a bad thing.

So yes, this is all for the week. Moving on to tomorrow, I'm going to love it (and her too!).

Favourite Spots.

2010-06-26T21:15:00.001+08:00

Lower Seletar Reservior

Mine is Lower Seletar Reservior. I go there for jogs, mainly to de-stress. I can sit there and look over the water, admire the setting sun, for a full 1 hour. Its located at the extreme North of Singapore and not many people knows about it, or goes there. Its my secret little place for me to have a short get-away, from my busy busy hectic life. So whats yours? Where do you go for relaxation and to just chill out? Where is your favourite spot?

I just went there today for a power jog. Its really been a long time since I went there for a nice evening jog. And then I saw today's beautiful sun rays emerging from the gloomy clouds, I was happy to be able to catch such a breathtaking sight, but at the same time sad that I was unable to share this view with her. So actually this gave me this idea about each of ourselves own favourite spots and since I've been talking about my favourite spot for many a time in my posts.

I'm sure everyone does have their own favourite spot/getaway. A little place to themselves where they can find peace and relax, take their minds off their busy work schedule etc. Be it in the toilet, in front of the computer screen, if it works, it is. Your favourite spot will be able to give you space to think through things, reflect about what you did for the past few days, months, or even years. Clear your mind to make decisions in life. Its like the reboot button on the back of your head. This is what a favourite spot means to me, I hope it means the same thing to you.
But what if you don't have a favourite spot. Easy, find one. Singapore is small, yes. But the list of secret hideouts is not exhuastive. Just think back, which place you've been too, which really captivates you, which is the place you fell in love with at first sight.

To me Lower Seletar holds a special significance to me. I do not know if I'm repeating this here but anyway. It has a special part of my childhood memory. I once went there to cycle with my dad every Sunday, when I was in primary school. I enjoyed it. Slowly it became a memory, but a memory for me to remember.
Besides this, Lower Seletar, as said above, helped me in making some decisions, help me to reflect on myself and basically helped me to de-stress.
And now, my favourite spot is endangered. Land development, the new Aerospace park, Seletar Airport and all the litter in the water. Soon, my favourite spot might just disappear. Thats why, I wanted to share my own secret hideout with my loved ones, before it all disappears. (eh dear, next Saturday? :P)

What I did in 2 weeks.

2010-06-25T22:00:00.000+08:00

Squash'09

Time really does fly, especially during the holidays. Yesterday was the Squash BBQ I co-organised with Gideon and Cherie, sure it was hell organsing the BBQ, and ordering the food especially, but its worth it. To thing we could get all 3 generations of Squash together, its really worth it. Well this is probably really the last time I've something to do with Squash, and I've got to say I'm happy, happy that I've gave my small little speech to thank everyone who made my experience as a captain a good one.

Hmmm, I shall leave out some things I did during my 2 short weeks of holidays. Many wonderful things happened, especially one in particular. But there were also some moments which ain't all that happy, like the NS Medical Checkup. Seriously, I do not even want to talk about what I went through. Its akin to numb goodness.

So as usual since I'm lazy I'll just leave it to the pictures.

Bukit Batok Nature PARK

2010-06-20T20:29:00.001+08:00

The quarry

Just 2 days ago, I went to 2nd Sis's house for dinner. So before dinner we decided to bring Hao Zhe for a stroll in the park. Not an ordinary park though. Its one of the best park I've been too. Seriously. Though it maybe just a bit boring walking there, but there sure is a lot of biodiversity in this park. I particularly like the quarry right in the heart of the park. The water is so calm and serene that you can see reflections of it. If you look closely at the picture above, you can see one guy meditating just at the edge of the water.

And these 2 birds. I've never seen this kind of bird before, nor heard it. It was like laughing and I think it's name has the word laugh in it too. Surprisingly, the birds ain't scared of us too, so that why I am able to take pictures with my crappy phone camera.

It sure was a nice place to visit. I just love the environment there. One day, I shall bring her here, and show her what a real park is. :P

Luck!

2010-06-19T20:48:00.000+08:00

Much too often seen in games, luck seems to play a very big role. Lets take Pokemon for example, if you think you caught a wild Pikachu using a normal Pokeball and you are damn lucky, sorry but think again.

Yup. It isn't all luck in games, its all formulated and planned. But is this so for life? And when I say life, I mean you and me.

One aspect of life that luck is minimal is love. I feel that luck has absolutely nothing to do with 2 people coming together. Instead it requires more than just luck. Loving someone requires mutual respect and understanding, trust, protecting her, many more other things that I've yet to learn, but most of it is the feeling. Feelings, they must be true, sincere and everlasting. Oh and looks like I'm deviating away from the topic. Yeah but I hope you get my idea, luck has absolutely nothing to do with love. I'm not going to leave my relationship with her to luck alone.
With some exception, this comes from real life experience. We need luck to meet the folks, lots of it. We must be damn lucky to meet her mum, while I was playing hand games with her. XD

Luck comes more into play when we set after our goals in life. Talk about work. You have to be at the right place and the right time to sometimes get the pot of gold. When dealing with clients or projects, sometimes luck is needed to give someone that extra boost to work towards his/her goal. Maybe something more relevant would be studies. I am super sure luck does play a part. Not that we were lucky and was born smart, niether is that we do not need to study and count on luck to pass. Its all boils down to whether we are lucky enough to get easy papers at major exminations. This is the only part luck does play a little role.

And now. Luck is just about all the random things that happens in our life. From getting struck by lightning and Daniel doing a nice drop shot in Squash, it is pure luck. Somethings in life just happen like they do, and nothing can stop them. Like striking 4D and ToTo, or when in the casino, luck is very very much essential (although there are ways in which we can calculate the probabilities). But for me personally, I hate leaving my life to luck. It is very uncertain and sometimes the results may not be the one I want. I would rather work hard for something, put blood and sweat into it, gain all the valuable experiences and get what I want. And even if I do not get what I want, I know that at least I've put in the best of my ability to achieve what I want (This is actually the true definition what success means to me). Rather then wallow over something you did not get and blame it on god for not giving you enough luck to achieve it.

OKAY. I didn't expect to cough out so much content for this extremely hard topic (hmph). But yeah its alright, sometimes posting such big philosophies here makes me think, reflect about my life and discover more about myself. Makes me feel all uncle already.

Holding hands.

2010-06-14T22:41:00.000+08:00

I held her hands,
I told her why I held her hands.
My heart was thumping like mad,
She must be thinking I'm mad,
But she was mad enough to say yes.

We walked in the city lights,
Admiring all the sights.
We went to the spiralling bridge of lights,
And everything came to light.

Her hands, I hold.
It was cold.
But it warms my heart.
Thereafter, I sent her home.
And when I was on my way home,
I realised.
I forgot to give her Proof.

-Short Entry-

2010-06-13T13:54:00.001+08:00

Finally, after 4 years. My desktop computer has kicked the bucket, it had a good run considering its many users during the entire 4 years. But that also means that all my music and pictures, my memories perished along with it. Damn Microsoft. But anyway, this may maybe actually a blessing in disguise, for I will definietly spend lesser time on the Internet (assuming I don't use the laptop).
Talking about spending time, this few days I ain't spending time revising. Whats with me? I told myself I wanted to go through Econs today, but I ended up fixing speakers underneath by bed (the effect is cool!). Thereafter I slept on my bed with the music on for 2 hours. Man, whats happening.
Maybe its just that I'm excited. Or in other words very much looking forward to tomorrow. My mind is so preoccupied with tomorrow, nothing else is being able to register into it. I just hope tomorrow will be a good day, a day a new story unfolds, when I can create a whole new picture album on this crappy laptop.

Happiness

2010-06-05T22:28:00.003+08:00

What defines happiness? What defines the most sought after objective in life? Is it affluence, peace or prosperity? Or is it family, relationships or love?

This was a topic for the Pre-University Seminar Panel Discussions at LT 26, the Happy Singaporean Youth and I am intrigued by this topic. I want to know what happiness means to me.
For sure, I do know that happiness is a continuing process, it is never attainable. No one can ever say "I will be happy!" without actually being happy. It is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is the rainbow.

Some say happiness is money. Only by being wealthy one can stay happy. You may totally disagree or assent with this idea, but I feel that both are right to a certain extent. To me money is essential, not for happiness but for the pathway to happiness. Simply put, it is a tool for happiness. A stepping stone or supporting pillar for happiness. If one were to look at happiness with accordance to money, he is damned, big time. He will never achieve his so-called happiness because humans are greedy by nature. No amount of money can satisfy his needs. Greed is like a hole in our hearts that nothing can fill. He or she will end up slogging for the rest of their lives, attaining something which thy cannot bring with them to their afterlife.

So I'm studying hard, real hard, to ensure that I have a clearer pathway. To where the pathway is leading me to, I'm not really too sure. To be frank, I'm not sure of what I want to achieve in life. A Mathematician? A technician? These are my choices so far. I do hope I really get my choice right, its getting kind of late.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile – Albert Einstein
Is this the key to happiness? Can the people around us ensure us our happiness? For sure, I do know that our families are the basic unit of happiness one can derive from. In fact, happiness cannot be enjoyed by one only, it has to be by sharing. If you are feeling happy yourself, means that something is wrong. Really wrong, because it is selfish. It must be that either people feel happy for you or the other way round, not just by yourself.
This now brings us to relationships with people. Be it with our loved ones, friends or even our spouses, our happiness partly lies with them. If you want to be with someone, make sure that both of you are happy. If you want to do something, make sure the people affected will be happy. The world does not revolve around us, its the other way round.
I'm thinking hard too. If I were to be with her, can we both be happy? I hope so, and I hope I don't make her sad.

I do not wish for Lamborghini(s), condo(s). I do not want "He was a rich man" to be engraved on my tombstone when I die. I want "He made a difference." Anyone can die happily knowing that they made a difference in someone's life. I too want to make a difference in someone's else life and in our society. I want to see people smile.

Well. This is what happiness means to me (for now). I hope I'm right. I hope I can achieve it. I hope people around me will smile, particularly her.
If you were to notice the picture above, if you just see happiness, I feel sad for you. You must see that it is in your both hands, its yours to control. AND I'm happy for you if you can see that happiness is meant to be given and shared, which is signified by both hands in an outreach position.

JiaLe, if you are reading this, ask yourself this. What is happiness to you?

Pre-University Seminar 2010

2010-06-04T16:22:00.002+08:00

Pre-University Seminar 2010

Oh man. I'm finally back from PUS. Over these few days as a Student Liaison Officer (SLO) staying at Prince Georges Park Residences was really really tiring. I was put in-charged of Group 2, a rather feisty group but a rather hard one to control too. But since our main duties were to disseminate information and to account for their safety, we weren't all that close to them. We weren't even supposed to be with them when they were doing their activities. So we just let them take charge of themselves, keeping our roles to a minimum. But really, it was hell babysitting them, and kinda worthwhile in some weird sense. I love the video they did, it proved to me something.

One thing I am proud of is that I could see PM Lee Hsien Loong's speech. Though it was boring, but hey it was my first time seeing him live. The Q&A part showed me that our PM actually do have a rather good sense of humor.

I do not want to write a lot about this, its been very very tiring. Ushering, reception, cleanup, you name it, we did it. And I would like to extend my apologies to Shi Min, my other SLO, for being such a lousy SLO. Been forgeting stuffs etc. Sorry!

But amongst all these work, I actually did enjoy myself in some pockets of times we had and I even made new friends. :D

I'll be posting pictures once I see them on FB. For now, let me un-claustrophobic myself.

Points of interest.

2010-05-30T21:50:00.002+08:00

The world on my shoulders

These few days I've been busy with Pre-University Seminar, rehearsals, meeting, trainings and buffets etc. Super busy, sometimes I would wonder how did I get myself into this. So anyway I took a break from everything and went to Sentosa with my sisters on Saturday. It was my very first time at Resorts World Sentosa and damned I'm impressed. The decoration and structures there are really magnificent. Took a few pictures of my trip:

Finally able to see the most commonly word used in GP

Tickets SOLD OUT! Freak.

It's art. BTW its the artist's specialty to carve fat statues.

Singapore has really been changing a lot these years. Well, too many of a time we keep saying there's nothing in Singapore to see or walk. It's time they should really get out and enjoy how much Singapore has changed over the years. (The Victoria's Secret shop is hot!)
My next destination is the IR at Marina Bay and most importantly, the Helix! I want to see all that with the night view of Singapore's skyline and with a special someone.

So that's my break from my busy schedule. Right after this trip, I had to go to my sister's house to finish up my essay for the Focus Group Discussion, a project initiated by YJ English Dept and Mdm Koh herself. I have to post my (lousy and usually crappy) essay online for the HODs and the principal herself to view. During that short meeting with Mdm Koh, she asked us individually if we wanted to back out from this program, though it is intimidating, but I really did not want to pull myself out. I felt that this can really improve my writing skills and its for the better good. Although the essay I finished writing is still like crap, but hey, lets take in the crap from all the teachers. Going to post my essay later on. :)

AND tomorrow I'll be staying at Prince Georges Park Residences @ NUS for the entire duration of the Pre-University Seminar. So I won't be blogging for a period of time. I'll update about my experience at the seminar once I get back. Hope I have an enjoyable time there. Hope.

Start.

2010-05-28T15:39:00.000+08:00

-7580 metres to East Coast Park.

4 days to Pre-University Seminar.

11 days to Holiday lessons.

15 days to actual-Holidays.

17 days to something.

24 days to NS Health checkup.

27 days to Squash BBQ.

45 days to Computing A-level coursework

52 days to Shanghai. (clashes with above, damn)

69 days to my birthday.

75 days to study leave.

80 days to Prelims.

95 days to Jogathon 2010.

166 days to GP A-Level paper. (First paper)

189 days to Computing A-Level paper. (Last paper)

189 days to Prom Night

217 days to the end of 2010.

End.

The Lakehouse

2010-05-23T18:47:00.000+08:00

I don't know what made me watch The Lakehouse yesterday night, but anyway I watched it till the very end. Its a very sweet and touching show. It's a story revolving around this lake house. The owner of the Lakehouse, Kate sold this house to a architect, Alex, and moved to the city to work. She left a letter in this mailbox requesting for the new owner forward any mails of hers to her new address. This formed the basis of their relationship, between Kate and Alex. They communicated through writing letters and that mailbox. I shall not go into all the mushy stuff, but in the end the two couple got together like just any other movie (else I'm gonna whack my TV up if those two did not get together).
Felt that this movie was a very meaningful one. It is actually all about waiting. Waiting for the right moment, waiting too long, and there comes the regrets. Somehow I'm able to relate this to myself, then I asked myself if I've waited too long. Have I?

Today. Today was simply great! It was the most normal Sunday I had in months. I did not really do any homework, partly because HaoZhe came at 1pm and started crying non-stop. Then my parrot was also screaming non-stop too. Simply not the best environment to even read something.
Went to cut my hair with second sis just now. Her auntie skills got us both haircuts at a total of $5.60. Cheapest haircut I ever had. Oh and I cycled my sister there too (tiring).

Straight after that I went to the gym with Jarratt. It was a record of 5 weeks of not going to the gym with him. Finally managed to catch up with him. I'm glad he is integrating well in Singapore Poly. I thought that if we were to continue this tradition every week (or so), he could end up as my photographer for my wedding 10 years down the road. And most probably it would be free. Have to think of the future already. :P

Wetland Reserved.

2010-05-22T14:26:00.001+08:00

Sungei Boloh Wetland Reserve

I was dragged to this reserve early in the morning, had to cancel my appointment with Sebby to the gym. But its alright. I get to go walk in slippers on rocky trails. Actually theres nothing to see there anyway, because its not December (migration season) when all the rare birds from as far as Korea take refuge here. But hey,we got to see the Chinese Egret. And I managed to take a nice shot of it. Magnificent bird.

Chinese Egret

Although I do see a quite similar bird like this flying around in Yishun, especially at the reservoir area.

Plover

Oh and this is a Plover. A very common bird in Sungei Boloh. This bird was very fast, took me a while to get a clear shot of this guy.

Mudskipper

Oh and whats a swamp without Mudskippers! Damn, they are cute.

After that we moved on into the forested area. Then the sky turn real grey in minutes and it started to rain. Who would have thought? No umbrella, so we took refuge in an (abandoned) outdoor classroom. It was kinda dark as the classroom was under the canopy of trees. After waiting out the rain (quite a short time), we continued on our journey and to our surprised we saw an enormous monitor lizard crossing our trail.

Monitor Lizard

Huge right? It stayed super still, so yeah, taking a photo of this dude is kinda easy.

AND straight after that! We saw an ALLIGATOR.

Sungei Boloh's Alligator

Nice right? Sungei Boloh really does have all these creatures there. And by now I hope you realized these pictures (except the first one) were taken from Google. haha. I did actually see all these creatures though, except the alligator.

But come to think of it, though I felt that this trip was very boring, but actually I felt happy for those creatures there. They have a nice piece of land reserved for them. But its very disheartening to see plastic bags and Styrofoam boxes floating in the water and we mistook them for birds, all thanks to those inconsiderate litterers. Its a good thing NPB tax people going into the reserve. But or course the tax was in the form of a $1 entrance fee.

Oh well. To be frank, its actually quite a nice way to start my weekends with a walk with nature.

A Match!

2010-05-21T20:58:00.002+08:00

I knew that there was another person with the same exact bike as me. But I did not expect that person to park just right beside me! It was a weird and strange sight though. Haha. I think my bike has found ~~his~~/her partner and I guess its time I should follow my bike. One person once told me that the greatest wrong I would do to myself is to not pursue what I want. Well, I guess I should do something and not play this waiting game.

Talking about matches. I just finished playing the Squash Inter-House in school. I played with Dexter, Calvin and Victor! And sure did I have fun. It was like the best match I've ever played in weeks. So now I'm officially (and slowly) abstaining from Squash. Its time to really concentrate on studying. I'll just have to settle the Squash Tee-Shirts for the J1s and the BBQ and I'm officially out!
(and btw Pierce house really did dominate Squash!)

And I maybe should mention some stuff from this week.
Monday when to MOE (the source of our misery) for the Shanghai Trip briefing. Mr Jimmy Goh drove us there (late) and we went to the carpark basement to have our meeting in a bomb shelter converted into a conference room. Nice. The best thing was that the meeting was 15 minutes only. Travel all the way there for a 15 minute meeting. They are really the source of our misery man. Had to travel back all the way back to YJ for the very last ESP meeting (thank buddha). But not bad, got to see Mr Toh's life when he was studying overseas. And I was given a list of ALL scholarships in Singapore. I think it will be useful. After the ESP meeting, I went to see the Squash Inter-house for girls, although I knew who will win. :)
Today I told Mr Ho about my Shanghai trip as it clashes with our A-Level Computing Coursework. I knew this would come. Haiz, I really hope I can go Shanghai. (nice timing by MOE too)

So I guess thats all I can remember. I'm super tired man.
Will post again tomorrow! :D

Points to note

2010-05-15T22:50:00.002+08:00

OK! I'm getting lazy so yes. This week will be summarized in points.

Went for Mother's Day dinner in a posh restaurant, under-dressed (in slippers).

Had a 3 hour long talk after that.

Sex Education Talk on Tuesday.

Learnt ABC. It's good to get A's.

Straits Times in 3D

COOL SHIT!
Free 3D glasses (bought the newspaper early in the morning).
Watched 3D videos on Youtube with the glasses.

Principal Talk on Thursday morning.

Wanted suggestions for Term 3 timetable. I think she knows what we wants. Duh.
Wanted to know more about our GP results/problems. It looks serious.
Had to type an email for her.

Went to Thompson Plaza to have lunch at Swensants with Mr Ng

He drove me there in his new 1 year-old car.
Talked crap along the way. Seriously, crap.

Had a pretty fun Squash session on Friday evening (though I did not play much).
Outing today - Jia Le's B'dae lunch

Gym with Sebby.
Went to Fish and Co with the gang.
Went to get clearance to play pool later on.

So I guess this is all. Nothing much this week. Really nothing much. Wasn't all that happy for me.

My Mum.

2010-05-09T21:48:00.001+08:00

My dear mom. :D

From a strict disciplinarian to a loving and caring mother. This is the story of my mum.

When I was young, I was extremely playful. I was a rascal. When I was in Kindergarten, she had to drag me to school. Fetch me to-and-fro from school, carrying my bag. Thats all I can remember from that period.

When I was in primary school, my mum started beating me. I was throwing tantrums, showing attitudes. She had to force me to study on the dining table. I could remember always pretending to be sleepy and put my head on the table to pretend. In short, I was the total opposite of me now. And of course I cried after every beating. Each time the cane/belt came down, I bet she felt the pain too.

2 incidents I clearly remembered. When I was around primary 3/4. I fell down on my two front teeth. Bled a lot. I was crying. She hugged me and told me it's ok. This I clearly remembered. My 2 bucked front teeth is a reminder of this.

Next my primary 5 English results. It was my first time failing a paper in primary school. I was devastated. I was afraid to tell my mum. And when she finally knew it, all hell broke loose. Then I was sick, coughing very badly. She took me to the doctor.

I was also a very sick boy when I was young. I had asthma. She administered lots medicine onto me, taught me how to swim. She sent me for swimming courses with my cousin to solve my asthma. And look at me now.

My secondary school days. My family was facing a financial crisis. She had to go to work. Her role as a full-time housewife ceased. I had to help with the housework, iron my own clothes. She had to make money and even take care of the house. I was immature and really did not even help much. But towards my O-levels, I showed her that I can be independent. I no need anymore reminders from her to study.

And when I was admitted into hospital for the very 1st time, I really felt lucky to have my mum around.

Now. She ain't working anymore, due to her problematic leg. Now she's like any other ordinary housewife, going for morning jogs with her own aunties, talking and mixing with our neighbors. She's at home 24/7 and I prefer it this way. Good thing is she will not aggravate her leg and look after this 30 year old house. Its always good to have her cook food for us once again.

Her strategy towards me now? I think its absolutely nothing. And I hope too. I want to take charge of my own life right now, except the monetary part. All she does now for my academic related stuff is just to sign, sign and sign. And when she sees my results, there ain't much of a reaction, just a do better next time signal.

I don't know whether this is good or not, but I hope is that she trusts me. I sincerely hope I won't let her down academically. She's the second reason why I'm doing my work.

Frankly, anything related to school, she doesn't even know. I can bet she forgot that I was the captain for Squash, I had the student of the term award. Sometimes, I feel like not telling her, I don;t know why.

And I admit, sometimes I do feel irritated by her. When I'm busy studying, she brings in food and asks me to eat, not once but many times on a single day. I remembered last time, she brought fried food in for me when I frustrated with my C++ program, I told her off. I asked her to get out.

For my mum is also a money-faced person. Any bursary/scheme she would apply for it. Now that my eldest sister is working, I don't really think we are that poor anymore. I would rather she give others who are really poorer than us have this chance.

She does wrong thing's and doesn't take the blame for it. She loses our things, spoils the technology in the house. Whenever anything spoils or is lost in the house, fingers will point to her first.

But she's my mum. Not every one is perfect, having only one mum is perfect. She my mum and I cannot change this fact. Even if she wears her embarrassing attire (tight shorts) to market, I'll walk beside her.

Today, we had a simple fare for dinner at home. Sure it was simple, but it was way delicious. Her food never tasted better. Tomorrow, we are going to a restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day.

I woke up early today to do housework which is something I have not done in a very long time. I vacuum the floor, and mopped the floor instead of Magicleaning it (it sucks). I know I shouldn't just do this on Mother's Day, for its Mother's day everyday if you really love your mother. I will try to make an effort to do housework on Sunday's whenever I have the time. This is my word.

Don't expect me to hug my mom and say "Happy Mother's Day" to her just like what my second sister did just now. I'm not that sort. I'm a typical guy who can't really express his feelings openly. That's why I wrote all of it here.

So heres to you mummy, Happy Mother's Day! I love you. ♥

(And Happy First Mother's Day to you, 二姐!)

My last time.

2010-05-07T22:05:00.000+08:00

Squash 09/10 :)

Finally! A successor. I can really now take my time off Squash and really start studying. Gideon's is the new Captain for Squash and Cherie is the Vice-Captain.

Student Coach: Calvin

Secretary: Lewis

Treasurer: Angel

Quarter Master: Cho Hung

CIP Rep: Clara Woon

PTI(Boys): Jordan

PTI(Girls): Laira

First of all, I want to congratulate the above people. :) I really do hope they can work together and not let us down. Especially Gideon, he has lots and lots to accomplish. I want him to be a better and even better captain than me. So I'll spend the next few weeks giving him advice and opinions, I can't really 放心right now. I'll pop by to check on them occasionally. :D

So lets now summarize my experiences of being a captain and a member of Squash. (Like what YJC always do, reflections.)

From the moment, I was captain in 2009. I was absolutely clueless (compared to now) about how to get things started and going. I was lucky to have Apple and JingWen to guide me along, show me what to do and such. Most importantly, they got us Coach, and they got us in the A-divisions. I will definitely not forget what they did for us. And now I'm repaying this debt, Gideon is going to get a crash course. Definitely.

Coach wasn't the only good thing (yeah, especially PT), but all the small events such as the Inter-House 2009, Open House, friendlies with JJC,NYJC and HCI. I really learnt how to organize events and handle large crowds, and even to talk in front of large audiences. I bet I would not even have the courage to do this back in Secondary school. And unknowingly, I matured too. As in when handling interpersonal relations. I enjoyed those events, even though it may be tiring to prepare and plan all these. Its all worth while.

Now I shall talk about the 12 goofs I'm in charged of. It was really really tiring to get their attention in the beginning. I was too soft also back then, I admit. So thats why maybe they are a little naughty at times. I scolded them, begged them and it was actually part of my job. If I did not do this, no one else will (hmmm, Xing Jun). So sometimes I had to be fierce to them even though they are my friends, I got to do whats right rather than whats popular.
Towards the end of the year, we were definitely more bonded as a team and also as friends. Which I think is the most important besides results. I feel that results ain't all that important (at least to a YJC-ian), whats most important is that friendships are made and forged. JJC is one very very good example. :) All we just did for the A-Division is to show the world that we are making a comeback. The new Squashers will. They better. I have extremely high hopes of them, as I can see that they can really get Squash back up on the list.

Me and my 12 goofs have done our job. We can peacefully step down now. I can too. Today was my last time standing at the the switch for the lights, shouting and shouting at them to hurry up before I switch off the lights. Amidst all those shouting, I felt a faint sadness. How I miss those times shouting at them, laughing with them and sharing weal and woe (PT) with them. I'm really gonna miss those times, playing Squash with them and laughing over stupid shots. My only regret was not to play Squash with the remaining J2's just now before my lights went out. The next moment I was walking in the darkness along the corridors of the Squash courts for the very last time.

Finally, I would like thank our seniors for giving us a new lease of life. The J2's for teaching me, supporting me and letting me have an enjoyable experience. The J1's for ensuring our hardwork has paid off. And of course dear Mr Chung. He helped me a lot in handling this CCA. I sincerely thanked him just now, with a long hand-shake and me shouting "Jack's Place ar!".
Now its really my last time. My last time organizing this BBQ. I hope it really does happen (when I finally book the chalet :P). I want to celebrate. Celebrate our 1½ years together as a team.
And thats when I will really hold our new Mr Captain fully responsible.

(PS: If you are seeing this and you are a J1 Squasher, I assume you are smart enough of what I expect from you. Make yourself proud of Squash and don't let me down. Your ex-Captain, Her Lung. :D)

Reading minds.

2010-05-05T22:03:00.001+08:00

My dear nephew, Haozhe. :D

HAHA!! I saw this picture of Haozhe on FB and though it needed something extra. So I went to google Yoda Quotes (from Star Wars) and waalaa! haha, ten years down the road we'll be laughing at this photo of him trying to read minds. :)

So now I'm thinking how good if I am able to read minds. I would then figure out what goes on in a girl's mind. Sometimes I'm real clueless about what/how they think, and of course they do think differently from guys.
Lets say for example, about Love. During the Sex Education talk on Tuesday, just take a look at what we discussed.

Yeah. The last 2 is epic. I guess what the video said about the girls' view on love and dating is kinda true. Girls would tend to rather take things more emotionally and would not really go after the physical part of an relationship. Well, this is something I could actually read of any girl's mind, even without the video.
But anyway, back to mind-reading. It could really come in useful now, I need to figure out what some people is thinking now.
Like what Haozhe was thinking when I was making funny faces for a full 10 minutes in front of him just now.

(idiotic asshole, stop showing me your tongue)

Selfish beings.

2010-05-02T19:41:00.000+08:00

I just saw this video on Youtube today. Watch it.

It's filmed in Turkey. The female cat was hit by a car and the male cat was trying his best to save her. I was touched when the cat lied down beside her and its face says it all. I could almost see the sorrow in the male cat's eyes. This is definitely a true love (and rather sad one) story between animals. Gives true meaning to "till death do us part", rather than it being an objective. Sometimes, we humans should learn something from the animals, instead of being our selfish selfs.

Humans are really selfish (by nature). We exploit Earth's resources, destroy habitats for our cities, and now we knock our domesticated animals down without any remorse. We are darn selfish. Every human being does things for his/her own interests, without the consideration of the things/people around them. Can we love one another like what the cats are doing? Are we willing to give up things that we are after? There is no human being who completely did not do something for their own personal gain.

Yes. I admit. I am selfish. I stole my sister's bolster. Ate more honeydew than I'm supposed to eat. Yes, these are minor. But, I am more selfish than you think. I'm not sure if I can give up the 'things' I want for other people. I'm not even sure if I can be like that cat in the video.
I'll try not to be selfish anymore. This video really made me think.
Always put others before yourself, if you have the capability to do so.

I think I'll get a motorbike in the future. I know it's dangerous. But if I happen to knock down anything or anyone, I get knocked down too. This way I won't be like those selfish (and cowardly) drivers who hit-and-run in the comfort of their seats.

R.I.P YJ cat.

My basin of thoughts.

2010-05-01T20:45:00.000+08:00

Lower Seletar Reservoir

Today is a good day. Woke up kind of late and talked about bolsters. And the morning was great! Sunny weather for the whole of today. Went to Lower Seletar to jog with Jia Le after managing to finish some homework. It wasn't the best jog with him, wanted to slack and walk for the most of the time. Went there, sat down and talked crap.

But when I go there alone, I definitely don't talk crap to myself. I think through stuff there. Its the peace and sounds there that will really allow be to think through stuff better. Though the smell there ain't that nice, its the best sea view anyone can get in my wonderful town of Yishun.
This is also my way of relieving stress (the jogging part too) when I need to. Other people may have their other ways, but I'm loving mine. Its like my secret (although not so anymore) hangout. My own place where it is truly mine.

My first time there was when I was cycling with my father. I remembered we would cycle there every weekend when I was in primary school and we would race up a stretch of road on our way back home. Now every weekend my father stays at home and be a potato couch watching the Chinese martial arts show.
But anyways, that place definitely holds a certain significance to me.

I'm not sure when this landscape will change. Soon, the nearby Aerospace Park will be opened and so is the nearby development. But I really do hope I can share this place with someone before it all disappears.

S.Q.U.A.S.H

2010-04-26T22:51:00.002+08:00

Squash has gave me new things.

Wonderful friends.

A sense of achievement.

A sense of belonging.

Insensate pleasure.

Pure raw fun moments.

Countless (lost) balls.

3 rackets.

1 eye guard.

1 pair of court shoes.

Bruises and abrasions.

Courage.

Experience.

Love.

Integrity.

Compassion.

Loyalty.

Commitment.

Responsibility.

And many other more...

As the day nears to when we J2's will officially step down, we will are 1 day nearer to our big A's. I want to quickly step down and really start my perilous journey till 3 December 2010 (Day of last paper and Prom Night). Amidst me wanting to quickly step down, I want to make sure we get the right guy to be Captain. A guy who can really gain the respect of his fellow Squashers, able to bond them, make them more united, make them want to come for training. And most importantly, make Squash a CCA that people wants to join. Not wasting what our seniors did for us, they got us a coach and we ended up in A-Divisions. Though we did not win "anything" is particular, we paved the way for them, we showed all the other schools that YJ Squash is making a comeback. Now its really up to them not to let us down. Those J1's and the captain. I'm not sure if I've achieved those above, but I'm sure I'm damn satisfied with what I've done.

But I'm quite sure they will do well, seeing them having so much fun today playing Captain (Squash) Ball in the Quadrangle. I'm sure they will go a long way.

For me, I'm not sure if I'll be playing or continuing Squash in the near future. Like NS and stuff, especially NS. Its like the brain/skills killer. Coming out from NS is like suffering from amnesia. Brain power = zero. Skills = rusty. Sure, sports is a lifelong thing which sticks with you. And I'll stick with that. 10 years down the road, I would really like to play Squash with one of the Squashers. And I presume that will take place in Kallang. Where the air-con is.

So this is it. This is all I got to say about Squash. It definitely changed me and I'm a changed person.

Back to H2.

2010-04-24T15:17:00.003+08:00

Taken during a brain wrecking tutorial

Sweet! I just finished my H3 Maths Final Test. Been studying it for about 2 weeks now, been abstaining from Squash, Windows Live Messenger (modern day pleasures) etc. Woke up early in the morning at 5.50am go NUS. Reached MPSH2 at around 8am and man, it was full of people. And all I see and hear is China Nationals. I'm like at Shanghai Expo or something. Seriously, these foreigners are going to dominate our universities. Singaporeans, where are you?

Anyway, I went in and came out alive. The paper was still manageable except for a few parts. Coming out from that hall felt great, although its from a air-conditioned place to a hot place. This marks the end of weekly lectures and tutorials, tiring journeys, reaching back home late and not cycling to school.

Indeed this H3 experience was a tiring one, but it was also a much enriching one. I can happily say I've finished learning Level 1101 Maths in a university (H2 is around level 100-150) and suffered semi-head damage. Now all I can think of is about matrices.

A is invertible.
det(A) ≠ 0
rref(A) = I
Ax = 0 is the trivial solution.
Ax = b has a unique solution.
rank(A) = n & nullity(A) = 0
rows/columns of A are linearly independent.
0 is not an eigenvalue of A.
kernel(A) = {0} & range(A) = R³
A can be obtained from a series of E.R.O.

This are the 10 freaking properties of a n x n square matrix. And you must be wondering what matrices have to do with Linear Algebra, its has everything to do with it. These 10 laws are called the Linear Algebra map.

And this map is being taught by Prof. Victor Tan. Want to learn more about him? Just google him, second result form the top. Today he walked beside me during the test, I'm like pretending to think, but I'm not, and I conveniently covered my answer pretending I'm stretching. :P

And besides learning this stupid map, I really got to know whats life in university is like. You can eat in lectures like nobody's business. Even if you crush up the plastic wrapper noisily, nobody cares.

Get late for anything and not get scolded. They don't even care if you come or not, seriously.

Tutors are 90% overseas. Content learnt from them is 10%. Our tutor, Ngo Quoc Anh is from Vietnam, Hanoi. He can teach, but we can't understand. And he is the weirdest tutor I've ever seen. When we asks him a question he doesn't want to solve, he will just say "GOOD!". Then when he really doesn't know how to solve a question, he will shout "I don't know~" and laugh at himself. But he is a nice chap after all. We used to climb stairs with him in the Science Block.

Picture drawn by our tutor; edited by us XD

Guess all this flexibility in university is because they know their students are adults and should treat them like ones. JC ain't treating us like that, so does it mean we aren't adults yet, we aren't ready yet or just that we still need more spoon-feeding. Studying in university really needs loads of discipline.

Overall, this experience has been a wholesome one. Learnt many many things and am proud to actually complete this $500 module. Now its time to put my focus back onto my dear H2's (and H1), and many other stuff.

Like seriously. I need to play Squash.

Cat got my tongue

2010-04-17T17:58:00.001+08:00

I hate eating. The food I eat is nice, it tastes good. Just that the process is painful. I freaking bit my own tongue on Sunday evening during dinner. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but the moment I bit my tongue, I threw down my chopsticks and wanted to hurl vulgarities but can't (just like when I miss a drop ball in Squash).

Now there is a "big pimple" on the left inner side of my tongue, and its killing me. When I talk, chew, swallow, lick my upper front row teeth, get food bits out from in between my teeth, French kiss, brush my teeth, drink water and everything which includes the function of the mouth, will result in severe pain and a constipated face.

Its so bad that sometimes I just don't want to talk, I just want to keep my tongue resting on the bottom of my mouth. And if I do talk, it ain't that clear. This week I heard the most "huhs" from the people I talked too.

The worst part of this is actually not the pain, it's the opportunity costs.

Weekdays in school, I had to painfully enjoy my chicken chop-omelette-butter rice, have excruciating talks with friends, and best of all, play Squash.

Today my mum cooked mutton curry. MUTTON CURRY!

Just now, my BIG sister ordered Pizza, the cheesy Twist and eat one together with drumlets. Perfect. I did eat most of it (very slowly) and hated the process.

Well, this really reminded me of ulcers. Last time I used to have lots and lots of ulcers. My record was like 3/4 ulcers at the same time. It was much more worse (painful) then, but much more faster to heal. My tongue 6 days already and still haven't heal. And if it still doesn't heal, I'll be damned. And if I bite my tongue at the same spot again, I'll die of shock. (I've bitten an open ulcer before)

But I'm also wondering, do animals bite their tongues too?

If lets say a lion or a cat were to bite their tongue, their tongue will like have a piercing already. Because of all the fangs they have.

But birds are much more luckier, they need not worry about such stuff. They have one beak only. There will not be cuts/wounds, their whole tongue will just drop off, I presume.

OK. I should stop here, so many wild thoughts in my mind now. Just wish I'm a baby right now. No teeth, drink milk all day long and need not worry about any single thing.

Episode 3: National Income JC

2010-04-15T21:42:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was our only chance to prove ourselves. NYJC was considered our only chance of winning at least one school. I told the guys to do their best, and I'm sure they did.
We sacrificed Wei Jie to play with their top seed. And we really have to thank him for that.
Then Calvin won his first game. It gave me a glimmer of hope. Then he lost the match. Too many mistakes made by him I guess.
Left with me and Cho Hsien. We played our hearts out even though we already lost to NYJC. And at least we all manage to bag at least 1 match. 4-1.

Though it is one match, it is a baby step, or rather a stepping stone for the current batch to climb on. Its all on them now. (Forget about the MJC match tomorrow, just going to have fun tomorrow.) Slowly I hope the subsequent batches will improve and YJ Squash will no longer be a "dump" for the No-Cca-Club. Then all our hard work will not go into a waste.

Maths Trail 2010

2010-04-10T22:38:00.001+08:00

Today was Math Trail. I together with Jia Le and Victor were (idiotic and guai lan) station masters. Our station (above) is at Wang Cafe at the Sky Garden of Suntec. Not the ideal place to do Maths given that we are just situated outside the toilet and the roof is leaking.

The question for our station is actually quite easy to solve, just that its a very long task. We as station masters did not solve it as we were lazy. But our participants were quite enthusiastic and most of them managed to solve it. Here they are:

OH YAH! and I saw Wei Ren and Wei Dong on my way there. These two are exactly ALIKE man!!! Seriously, in school when I see them do not know who is who. Wei Ren is the one on the left and Wei dong on the right. I distinguished them from the shirt they wore. -.- (and they kindly let me take a picture of them :) )

Last year, I was a participant, walking* around in Sentosa. Thinking we could not possibly win anything. Little did we know we were running towards the finishing point and got 3rd. (*still can't admit the fact that we lost to some people) Then was fun. Now its all in the malls, the feeling wasn't even there. Who would possibly do Maths in shopping areas besides calculating discounts and such?

Looking on as a station master, seeing those participants running and solving questions really brought back some memories for me. Especially seeing Larry coming to our station. And today was also his birthday! When we saw him in the underpass, I threw my jacket over him and we gave him a good old birthday bash. Oh how I miss those good old times.

Episode 2: Electrocuting Alternating Current

2010-04-09T22:53:00.002+08:00

Its week 2 of Squash A-division. Its been hell week. Playing with ACJC was our record for being the fastest to finish. We started at 2 pm, ended at 3.15pm. Their Squash and our Squash were worlds apart, literally. Their warm-up shots were consistent, straight and loud. Ours were inconsistent (ball flying everywhere), not straight and even louder (ball hitting the tin). So we were rushing to finsih our match with ACJC. Most of us continued games without breaks. Need to go home finish homework. :P

Today's game with JJC was much more fun. First of all, they were our friends, we were like talking to each other even before the games. They even gave us the courts to train, bought drinks for us. And guess what? I ended up playing with Roger again. (Played with him during the friendly last time) I played (definitely) my best with him. It was the only match I played where I panted this heavily and perspired that much. He is good and somewhere around my level, so maybe thats why I could play so long with him. This time I took it a little slowly, I took breaks and coach asks me to sit down beside him, gives us a small talk and encouragement. And when it came to my final game which will decide my match, the pressure was on. The first time I'm feeling pressurized in the competition. Coach was like "you can do it, breathe slowly." OK. Went in and played my best.
I lost, but I was happy. Happy that I could play such a nice match with a friend. It was a good experience, a good start to boost our already very low morale. Just a pity I did not win, or else everyone else will feel more confident. Sorry man guys. I had my chance to do something for the team and I gave it away.

Next up is NYJC. Our only chance to win at least one match. We just have to watch out for their 1st seed.
So look out for Episode 3 of our losing streak. National Income Squash.

Definition of love.

2010-04-03T21:27:00.000+08:00

I decided to post this because I wanted to know what love means to me. And maybe because of the overwhelming response (1 person) wanting to know more about me.

I had 1 girlfriend back in Secondary 3. It lasted for 2 years. We both started off making each other laugh, then she asked me, as I did not have the courage back then. Then we became a couple. We went to the movies, shopping and all the usual stuff. The only unusual stuff we did for each other was to cut out acrylic hearts from the D&T workshop (secretly) for each other. I still have it hidden somewhere in my drawer.
But I guess we were too young to know what a relationship meant. We did not fight or argue, we just felt that something was missing. My usual walking to school with her routine felt like a chore I had to do at home. The feeling just wasn't there anymore.
We broke up. Guess it was then best for both of us, we were clueless about what love is. Just last week, during my block test week, she called me. I was surprised. She asked me to the movies. I kindly rejected her, well I really wished I could catch up with her, but its during the block test period and I really could not find the time. I felt bad turning her down, for she is a good friend of mine now.

When I was working in December 2008. I was admitted to hospital for a heart infection. This was the period I knew the difference between infatuation/crush and love. I was deeply infatuated by a workplace girl, even lying on my bed in ICU, I was thinking about her. When I was out of hospital, I went to get her a gift. That was the the first gift I gave her and it was very well the last one. Noting happened, I just happened to give up. For I found out I was too overly concerned about finding a girlfriend and not doing other stuff, like good deeds. Actually, it was this old man I helped on Christmas that year who taught me there is a much better thing to do than chase girls, which is to help people and not ask for anything in return. I changed my perspective since then.

Then its on to 2009. At the very beginning of J1. I knew this girl, also from my workplace. At first we seemed like good pals, but when I got to know her more. I actually wanted to protect her, comfort her for she has some family problems. I really liked her. And I had the courage to ask. But it was too late. But I guess it was the best decision, for I wasn't yet ready. Year 2009 was a real busy one, and there isn't really time for relationships. I would just end up hurting her.

For now. Hmm. Heres whats its like. I do like her. Her character, her values and most of all she has the maturity level to really have a relationship. And so do I. I may be like a idiotic childish fellow at some times, but I think I'm mature enough to handle relationships. If not, I will be. A steady relationship requires both party to be of a certain maturity level. Then there can be room for mutual understanding and respect for each other. I dislike girls who just wants the latest handbag, etc. I dislike superficial girls.
All this talk may seem crap. What do I know about love? Frankly, nothing. Absolutely nothing! For I have not truly fallen in love before. But so far, my interpretation of love would be caring for that special someone, wanting to protect her and wanting to give her the best. That's why my Maths notes are so neat and clean, because I love Maths.
I really hope that girl in my mind now will let me experience what love really means. I'm going to ask. Real soon. Real soon. Time is getting the best out of me, or us.

So that is what happens when you put ♥ and lungs together. This is all I know about love for now. And this post really does summarize up my past relationship and crushes. I really hope I can fulfill my own definition of love.

Episode 1: Hydrochloric Acid burns

2010-03-31T21:16:00.000+08:00

This is episode one of our Squash A-Div at Kallang Squash Center.

The bus was waiting for our 8-men group at YJ's carpark. A 30-seater big bus. The funny part is that the Table tennis group is also leaving for A-Div, and their bus was a little smaller. And their group was around 20 people.
So anyway we boarded the bus and it was kind of a short journey.
When we were reaching there, I gave my "motivating and inspirational" short speech. I did not expect us to win. I just wanted all of us to do our best and try to overcome that nervousness of ours through our match with HCI.
We reached there and got off the bus, with some eyeballs rolling at us, or rather the bus.
We played.

5 minutes later...

We lost.
Man they are good. But we tried our best and at least all of us got to serve at least once. Yeah its really that bad. But we were not as nervous as last time, so I guess this was good.
We saw some of our friends there too! JJC and NYJC. Oh and JJC was our referee. And they won MJC I think. NYJC suffered the same fate as us (but slower) under ACJC.

After our matches, we went back to school for training. In coach's car. Our primary objective was just to get to Yishun as easy as possible.

So thats all for Episode 1. Stay tuned for Episode 2: The shocking Alternating Current.

Saturday. Oh Saturday.

2010-03-27T20:02:00.005+08:00

7.30am. Already at the Esplanade sitting down looking like idiots. All thanks to Jia Le for reaching the MRT station so early. Everytime meet with him, he sure go there super early one. Then to make myself don't feel so bad, I decided to come down 10mins earlier to beat him, but he was there at Yishun MRT already. XD

The Maths Trail dry run was kind of a success, our feedback was constructive unlike those we do in surveys. And the questions were quite hard and we could NOT do ALL of them (or can't be bothered). Thus leading to the "constructive" feedback. :P But the whole dry run was super boring. Walking to and fro from Suntec to Esplanade isn't fun at all. I think on that day we will be bored to death for our station is a cafe. Wang Cafe. But fret not, nearby there is a Virtual Simulator, $6 per ride. :)

After Maths Trail, I went home, switched on the air-con and slept straight away. Yeah today's Earth hour, later I switch off lights. Lights only. :) Then kenna wake up from my sleep, nice timing though, because I was going to gym with Jarratt. :D 2 weeks without seeing him and the gym, we both go gym, come out very shag. Let me see, I've been going to gym with him for 1 year now. And every week we catch up with each other. Today we spent like 10 mins talking about Jogathon instead of lifting dumbbells. But its always nice to catch up with him, that elmo kid. :P

Oh and took some random pictures in school on Friday and edited it on my phone. The effect is kinda cool!

Ricky sitting on orange chair in SRC

Joel being decolourized

Jia Le Trying to be Joker, literally.

My parrot on my Dad's Leg

I call this app on my phone, Paint Colour In My Life app. :) I'm very fascinated by this app, play with this when I'm bored. LOL.

AND today's newspaper is really very interesting. Read an article of a car on fire in Mumbai, the owner just bought it, driving out of the showroom then the car on fire. LMAO.

Then got another article on a High-speed bullet train service from Singapore to London. Yes. Possible in 2025. -.- And only possible if our friendly neighbour Malaysia allows the track to be built on their land. :]

The last one isn't an article. Its an advertisement.

Click on the picture to enlarge. AND JUST READ AND LAUGH.

Oh and lastly, I've changed my blogskin. Looks nicer I think. :)

Time to do something.

2010-03-26T21:36:00.002+08:00

* Breathes in deeply*

*Exhales*

Finally, the block tests are over. It sure was a very long week although we had no lessons. I hope I did well. Or rather I kind of hope I do badly too, so that I'll feel better. I don't like always being the clever kid, I'm not. I'm just hardworking and everyone can be like me too, its whether they want to or not. I just got my priorities in life right. Thats all. I want to study hard and ensure that my children won't suffer the same fate as me being born into a a rather poor family. I want to give them the best. :D

Thats why I'm not celebrating the end of block tests. My real test isn't over yet, it has not even started yet. The block test in my opinion is to just get us into the studying mode, and I'm sure it has worked on me.

I shall resume studying, right after the Maths Trail dry run tomorrow. At Esplanade. Early in the morning at 8am. On a Saturday morning. With the Maths Department. Well, I hope Mr Ng is going too, then at least we can joke about him.

Today! Went to school early to teach Dennis Computing, although my paper was at 2.30pm. Dennis! DENNIS LEH! Stupid Dennis. I woke up at 6am, reached school at 7am, and I was on time. DENNIS WAS LATE. LATE. Why am I not surprised? Helping this poor boy was part of my agenda, but its to help me revise too. :D I teach people because I get to learn too!

Then Mdm Lim came to teach us Quantum Physics. The Photoelectric Effect. Light hit metal, then got current? What the hell? Then we went to LT4 for our rehearsal, we doing a skit for the whole cohort on Monday. I hope we don't fail. :) We will be throwing balls, walking through human doors and Mdm Lim will be doing the sound effects for the door. XD Super funny! Can't wait to make ourselves look like fools on Monday.

And today was my official last day of Squash Training with coach. And my official last training with those goofs. Still a bit disappointed with some people not coming, but never mind. :) Sometimes I don't know whether if I've failed as a captain. I can't even get my members to come for training, or even get them to do something properly. Or am I too kind? Or I've still not earned their respect. I don't know. I just hope for the best for our A-divs. This is what we are fighting/training so hard for. And its the last stretch, I'm sure we can make it. :)

I actually wanted to give a speech, you know? A thank you speech or something. But I've decided not. Don't know what to say. :(

Now I just need to spot a good guy to replace me. Someone who is fiercer, and who can really earn the respect of others.

So I guess March is coming to an end soon. What a month March has been. Super busy. And in this month, I saw somethings, or rather felt something. I don't know if it is what I think it is. But... Nevermind. April!! Here I come!!

Happied.

2010-03-21T21:40:00.002+08:00

Today was Hao Zhe's 1st month! Went to my 2nd sister's house early in the morning, they just moved in there today too. XD I actually wanted to go there and start revising my computing. Then came the distractions. No air-con, Hao Zhe crying, relatives coming, food, more food and people carrying Hao Zhe around.

So end up, I did not study at all. :) I just slacked my whole day through, playing Wii and sleeping. And of course eating. Haha. Guess its the last day of our "holidays", it should be fine. But I better stop procrastinating and start on my computing.

That little angel above, isn't him damn cute? I could not resist not carrying him. My big sister too!

Then Hao Zhe became like a doll, which everyone wanted to carry. Well, I pity him. He cannot even see! (babies are partially blind at this stage) He even puked out milk at one point. But I guess this can't be helped. He is like our source of happiness for us. Especially to my parents.

My dad was sleeping in the guest room, and we brought in Hao Zhe, my dad IMMEDIATELY become awoke and was already smiling. haha.

Yeah, but it wasn't all that fun. I was kind of bored to death. Thinking of some stuff. As always. One of which is the pink elephant in the room. The B Tests. Did not even study for GP. Computing not started. But at least Physics is done and Maths is almost done.

I really can't wait for the block tests to be over. Not that I can stop studying, but it will be less intensive I guess. And I'll have more time to think about other stuff and actually do something.

Then the next deadline I'm looking forward to would be the day I'm liberated from H3. 22nd April. So looking forward to that date although its the date of my final test, and its on a Saturday.

To sum up this holiday week. Its been the happiest week of March for me. Especially the past few days. :) Now the last week of March, 要硬着头皮去做，就闯过去了。

Good luck to everyone for their block tests. :D

Can't lose anymore

2010-03-17T22:26:00.002+08:00

First of all I am sorry to the Squash girls for making them make a wasted trip to YJ today. Its partly my fault for not clearing and clarifying the misunderstanding between me and the JJC Squash Captain.

Yup, today was the friendly. (yet again) Only the boys came, so only boys played. And only the boys lost. (yet again, we lost to HCI on Saturday.) Damn they are good. I even lost to their 4th seed. To imagine Sherman going up against their 1st seed. Hope everyone has a clearer view of where we stand, or rather if we are even standing at all. I appreciate those who came for the friendly and thanks. :) Just hope we can improve in the coming weeks.

And luckily, A-Div is postponed to 31st March. Or else I'm going to lose my block test too.

Another thing I'm losing is time. Everyday passes so fast (even when studying), and the number of things left to revise are uncountable. I better put on my nerd-face and really start mugging like real nerd.

Really can't lose anymore. I have to win. WIN! (but its getting hard to stay optimistic.)

1000000 C 1 = How many ways to choose?

2010-03-14T20:39:00.004+08:00

Just last month I think. I did a GP Comprehension on how choices impact our life. It didn't occur to me how I was affected by it, or rather I was unknowingly ignorant about choices in life before doing that essay.

Today I went to NUS Open house. While waiting for the late comers, Victor went to the nearby shop to buy sweet. There were many racks of sweets to choose from. I saw him standing there looking at it. Choices. Too many of a choice isn't good for anyone. Even when we went to the Food Bazaar, we had problem choosing what to eat.

I went to NUS Open house to get my choice right. Up till now I still have not got my dream course at NUS yet. I'm was unsure about what to take and what I want to do in the future.

But now I'm a little bit more clearer. Now I'm interested in Computer Engineering, a mix of Engineering and Computing. Other choices would be "other" Engineering courses or even Maths (Sciences). Who knows I may be the next Carl Friedrich Gauss. :P

Every aspect of our life we have to make choices which more or less determine our life. I just hope I am capable of making the right choices.

Even when it comes to relationships. I hope I'm making a right choice. Not that I have many choices. Its either a yes, I should or a no, I shouldn't.

Choices or not, I still have to make a decision. I really do hope that all my choices will work out just fine for me (and her).

Just tell me.

2010-03-12T21:52:00.005+08:00

Last day of term 1. I got back my report slip. It wasn't what I expected of myself, and was kind of disappointed with it. But now at least I know where to work on.

I actually was really intrigued by the teacher's comments. First of all, Mdm Myl spelled my name as Her Lang, which reminded me that I have to change my name next week. Thanks.

And Mdm Lim! Her comment wasn't the default copy and paste like what the other teachers usually do. Her comment was long, but I just want to mention 4 words from it. "Take care of health". I'm touched by her concern. Not that I'm dying from a terminal disease or something, but she knows that I'm stressed up. She was caring for me, once at a Physics Practical class, she asked how I was doing. That was the day I was taking my H3 Math Test. She really could understand me. She rocks. She is one of my best teacher, and definitely my best physics teacher. Sometimes, I think she really treat us like her own children, and I feel sad for her that we don't complete her work. Thats why I did ALL my tutorials beforehand, even the worksheets. I do not want to disappoint her. :)

After Computing, we (Hui Yuan, Xing Jun, Cassandra, Victor, Hobbit and me) went to SCGS for the Squash umpiring Clinic (Workshop). I guess we are really gonna screw up as umpires. We were laughing at the demonstration video and I think we forgot almost everything. The guys in the video demonstrating all the various fouls are damn funny. They started off as friends playing, and ended up fighting, vomiting on the floor, nose-bleeding, throwing rackets and hurling vulgarities/obscenities. They got lots of hitting by the ball too! XD Just so nice to see the Chinese Squash guy get tortured in the video. Slow motion video of the ball hitting his butt. And coincidentally, the video was made by Australians. (They hate Chinese)

Have to inform the rest of the Squash members about what we laughed at during the workshop, so they don't get laughed at. I'm very disappointed with some of the boys of Squash. A-Div is already just the week after and they still have not even wake up. So what if you are not in the team, you are still part of this CCA. Here I am trying so hard to arrange friendlies, and in the end who will freaking turn up? I'm on the verge of exploding, don't try me. When I get angry, I get REAL angry. I don't usually feel angry, but they are forcing me to. Including the JC1's.

Argh. Spending lots of time on Squash and this is what I get. Sometimes I feel like quickly passing on this role of captain to the J1's soon. Tak boleh tahan already. My time management cannot handle so much things and its taking a toll on my studies. Can visibly see my results starting to dip. Looks like I have to work real hard for the upcoming block tests which coincides with the A-div.

Many things to do, and many things to think of.

The least you can do is just tell me if you like me, and that will be one less agonizing wait.

(and to those kay poh people out there, lets just keep it to the blogs.)

Expectations of me.

2010-03-06T17:15:00.003+08:00

Man I'm beat. Had to wake up early in the morning at 6am to go for my NAPFA test. And my first item was my lousiest item, the holy Standing Broad Jump. The nemesis of all the 5 items. Right smack into my face. But luckily I was prepared for it with help from Mr Fauzi. And now he keeps on calling me the "Squash Guy". After my 5 items, it was the finale.

To date, that was probably my best run. But I wasn't that conformable with everyone thinking that I'm the best or such. The expect me to run first, and of course I played along. I did not want to spoil their morale. Luckily this time round, I did not let them down. But I'm not sure if I'm this lucky every time.

I'm expected to score A's and not to fail. A classic example was when I failed my Complex numbers test and everyone thought they were ok. That isn't what I wanted.

When we saw our seniors took their results, the teachers around me also said they wanted A's from me. I can understand why. But they are giving me unnecessary pressure and I think its kind of bothering me.

I know I really should not care about other's expectations of me but really to just think about my own expectations of myself. But its really hard to do so especially when I'm with a H3 and I'm supposed to be clever. In fact I actually have lesser time and more workload. The least they can do is understand what I'm going through and not give me even more pressure. I pretty stressed up now. And its been a long time since I went for a de-stress session. (Jog to Lower Seletar)

But one thing I'm glad about is my parent's stance towards my studies. My parents did not even ask how I did for my A-level Chinese. Either is that they did not know or that the trust me with my own studies. I hope its the latter. Like this I face no pressure at home. They do not ask me to study, I do it on my own. So I guess its because of this they do not really care about my scores, or really check on my studies. I just happy they are willing to let me take charge of my own learning. This way I think its best.

Well, I think its just the stress getting the best of me. Looks like I need to go to Lower Seletar for a run tomorrow, preferably with someone too. Anyone?

Oh and my mum was transferring old photographs to a new album just now. And look what I came across.

From my previous post on Childhood memories. The boy on the right is Ridhuan. I really wonder how he is doing man and if he still remember's me.

BEGONE TESTS!

2010-03-05T22:31:00.002+08:00

I just finish my 3rd consecutive test today. Alone. In some random classroom in B-block. Then I went on to collect A-level Chinese results. It like stress non-stop. Before today's test, have to memorize crap, then after test have to wait nervously for A-level results. Mr Rizal of all days today never come, then have to wait longer and become more nervous when you keep on hearing more people screaming for joy. Because you know there is one lesser place for a pass. I was like chanting "E", "E", "E". Aiming for a grade E. Then guess what I got an EE. (Exceeding Expectations). I got a C!! And the thing I'm most proud of the Oral, I got a MERIT. First time in my entire 11 years of learning Chinese. Just glad that I've got 1 more obstacle off my shoulders. Made me feel better after the many tests, knowing that I have one lesser thing to worry about. So I guess I won't be seeing/writing Chinese for a while now. :)

After that went for Squash training. Fun as usual, with a birthday celebration, coach fooling around, no PT and playing ¾ with coach, tricky guy. Then during training, I saw Zheng Rui, and he told me that my freaking "unglam" photo of the jogathon was used in the yearbook. DAMN YOU Jarratt for taking that picture (and putting it on FB also). You are so dead the next time I go gym with you. :P

And damn the "yearbook people in-charge". And the Squash picture is the formal picture la! What a joke. Can't they choose the other pictures?

So now I'm kind of relaxed (partly because of Squash and the dinner). Like for the first time in this week. This week have been hell for me mainly because of the H3 test. Now that all is over, I can "try" to finish my checklist of homework after my NAPFA test tomorrow. Looks like no time for gym again. Sorry Jarratt, I have to kill you the week after.

And I have to organize a friendly for YJC, AJC and JJC Squash teams at YCK. If AJ agrees to it, I can start planning already. But I'm super fed-up with the AJ Captain. Always take so long to reply, like not important like that. Just hope this idea of mine goes ahead smoothly. I think we really need more experience prior to the competition. And we really need to see where we stand within our A-Div groupings. And I really need to give everyone a prep talk. Can see everyone is trying to be serious in training. But the attendance is still crappy. A-Div is less than 20 days away and they are missing training. Thats definitely not acceptable. Just this one last stretch! We must get our priorities right.

So this should be all. Enough of self-reflection. I have to figure out something, something lingering in my head amongst those vectors and matrices...

Tick Tock

2010-03-04T22:34:00.002+08:00

I'm really stressed up man. These few days I'm like just rushing through them, not really paying attention to whats happening around me. I'm not even sure if I'm stressed or not, or is it me just being lazy and just procrastinating.

I can't wait for the weekend (Sunday) to come. Because by then all my tests will be finished and I can finally sit down and finish off my never-ending checklist of work to do. And also by then I will get to know my A-Level Chinese results. I'm getting it tomorrow. The results to sum up 11 years of Chinese. 11 light years. I hope I at least get a pass, because if I don't. I don't know what to do anymore, how am I going to cope with so many things all at one shot. So please, Chinese, don't screw up my life.

Ironically, when I walk around in school, I hear/see JC1's complaining about their mini-PW presentation/tests. Sometimes I just feel like telling them my situation, to make them feel better or even to prepare whats in store for them.

I can complain, I have the right to complain and I do complain. If I don't complain about all the tests I have, I ain't human anymore. I need to release that tension in me, I'm like a time bomb waiting to explode. And I plan to release it during a nice session of Squash tomorrow, regardless of my Chinese results. And I hope the JC1's don't make me explode, or I'm going ballistic.

I need more time.

2010-02-28T17:39:00.010+08:00

Whoo. Now is the only time I can sit in front of the computer and blog. These past few days I was practically not studying, instead I was preparing for CVD and just having fun.

Lets start off with our classroom. Some JC1s took the liberty to rearrange of tables and chairs. So Syaf and Ibrahim wrote this on the white board for the JC1's. This is epic man, damn funny.

So any JC1's seeing this, don't mess with the tables in J4-16. XD

Then there was CVD preparation. Jia Le and Me was in-charged of the logistics for CVD. So we had to make the props for the International Costume Competition. Our class was given Australia and our model Joel had to dress up as a surfer dude. So we had to make him a surfboard. Looks difficult but we actually did it. Thanks to everyone who helped, especially those not in logistics. :)

Not too sure about this 2 if they had helped. :P

Thereafter I went to Victor's house for a stay-over, together with Jia Le, Daniel, Jay and Sebestian. From the long train ride to ECP, we were like laughing all the way. We went to ECP around 8pm to cycle for 1 hour. Jia Le managed to learn cycling within an hour and we were damn happy because we were the ones who taught him. :)

Went back to home base with our valuable Whisky bottle and our little pervert club jokes. We played cards most of the time. Cheat, Indian Poker and Murderer. End result was voice almost gone and stomach pain from laughing. XD

Indian poker with all of us getting the highest cards. XD

We stayed up till around 2am watching Japanese videos and then all started to sleep starting with Daniel, our small boy. :)

Woke up 2 hours later to prepare to go school for CVD. Cooked Indo-mee. We are at an Indonesian's house, what else? :P

Going back was a big contrast. We were all sleeping on the MRT till Yishun. Then when we reached school, we started setting up our store at the Archery field. Our stall was called Tribal Shoot, people had to pay $1 for 3 arrows to shoot targets. We had to resort to archery since our Radio and Car-wash ideas were taken/rejected. :( But I did not expect archery to be so fun. Yesterday was my first time shooting an arrow man. All I did for yesterday is helped out a bit at the store and most of the time walking about and playing. Playing soccer like a fool but it was fun yeah. Played Squash with Marcus and that was the best match I had in weeks. :D

And the most surprising thing is we earned quite a lot. Around $130. A lot of the school staff contributed to it.

Oh and Joel did not win the ICC, its ok. We still have the board. :) Its so going up in our class as a decoration.

So after everything we cleaned up everything and went home. It was a fun day at CVD, but it was long and tiring too.

I went home by bus and was approached by 3 guys from some Church or something. They targeted me because I was like a student and looked easy to target. They were asking me to believe in 2012 and prepare for it. They claim the government was hiding it blablabla and talked about what Planet X crap. I saw that my bus wasn't here yet and the queue was quite empty so I decided to let them entertain me. Then we went further to talk about H1N1. XD I was like playing along with them. But at one point I was quite frustrated with them already. Then I saw my bus and said I wanted to go. They freaking FOLLOWED me. Asked for my e-mail and I said I wanted to keep it confidential. Then one guy threatened to follow me if I don't give my e-mail. Thats when I got serious, raised up my racket and said "Sorry, we have to stop here." And it freaking worked. I guess it was a wrong decision to let them entertain me.

When I reached home, I forgot all that happened at the bus interchange and just when to sleep. Just like that. I am really tired from the whole week of school.

Oh by the way, I saw this picture (on facebook?!) of Hao Zhe when he was JUST born. Nice cord.

Can't wait for him to grow up and me teach him stuff. :D

Today I woke up feeling damn refreshed. So I cancelled today's gym with Jarratt so I can catch up on my homework. More or less did some catching up but my H3 Maths still haven't touch and the test is just next Wednesday. Damn myself.

So little time and yet so many things to do. My time management doesn't seem to be working out at all. Feeling more and more stressed knowing that more and more things are coming despite all these fun. Block test and A-division both on 22nd March. Hwa Chong Friendly on 13th March. Napfa this Saturday. Maths Tests this coming week. Argh! And still the JC1 CCA transfers.

Can someone just help me?

My 200th Post

2010-02-21T20:06:00.006+08:00

Great timing. Today my nephew came into this world at 10:19am at Gleneagles Hospital.

I received the news at 5am that the water just broke. So we weren't that excited. Then when Hao Zhe came out, my mum was going crazy already. Calling relatives and such, even going over to the neighbours to tell them.

For me, I went to gym. Haha. With Jarratt of course. Had a nice run to get rid of the CNY snacks and to keep my body in form. Then we went to Macdonald's for lunch. Damn you Jarratt. :P

After that we headed to Gleneagles Hospital to visit them when everyone is finally free. First and foremost, it ain't a hospital, its a freaking hotel which provides medical service.

Take away the handlebars, you get a hotel corridor.

This is even better than some hotel room la.

My sister really got good life to deliver in Gleneagles. I heard her doctor is quite famous one also.

So we all traded my sister's IC for the baby from the nursery. We pressed the doorbell outside the nursery, then we heard babies crying inside. XD

With the baby in our hands, my mum was going crazy, literally. She kept on talking to Hao Zhe etc. Then she just took him up and carried him. lol. Then everyone also carried him around. Haha.

The Proud GM (Grand-Mother, not General Manager. :P)

The auntie who is very short. haha.

Got GM, also must have GF. See so young got GF le. XD

I look like I am going to throw Hao Zhe into the camera. I don't know how to carry babies yet.

And here is the proud mother, and my dear sister. :)

and their first family photo. :D

Oh and this is a video of Hao Zhe waking up and yawning. Super cute. But he stretch hands like soccer like that. Imagine him shouting GOAL!!! GOAL!!! XD

And thanks to Hao Zhe, I did not really study for any of the tests tomorrow. Haha. Looks like I have to whack my way through.

This 200th post is really a nice post. So was my 100th post. Haha, that was last time. :)

I've been reading my past posts since yesterday. I can see how I've matured through these 2 years. Its really reflective on my own life so far. Damn right.

From my childish secondary 4 life to the day I got my surprising results. Then I went to work, had a crush and another. Went to hospital and learnt to treasure life even more. Had my last day of work. Made difficult choices and ended up in YJC. Pulled through my JC1 year with great friends and fun. Up to now. Damn, lots have happened. Hope I will still jot these events down here so in 10 years time I can look back at all these and smile. :D

Crazy woman

2010-02-20T23:15:00.003+08:00

PHYSICS tutorial!!! The last period of every week. And the most slack one too, because everyone (including Mdm Lim) is tired and its just 215. But she was really pissed off yesterday because a lot of us did not do the tutorial. I'm kinda angry with my classmates too, for not even doing the tutorial. I'm just putting myself in Mdm Lim's shoes, she treats us so well, but we do what in return for her? Well, I hope this will change.

After the long long Physics tutorial, I rushed down to the Squash courts to get the J1's organized.

Got to say that 20 people ain't that a lot, but when all of them are in the Squash courts, it freaking a lot. And its the first time I've sooo many rackets together at one time in YJ, got to thank everyone (J2's) for bringing their rackets. :)

After the intro and basic training from coach, XJ and me brought them to the Quadrangle to play catching, with a twist. The person's name we shout will be the catcher. Well, I had my fun by switching the catcher to and fro. Kind of sadistic too, but if it helps to make them remember each other names, why not?

After that is our turn to catch (chase) the J1's. They run 3 rounds around the track and we have to chase them. When we pass them, they have to do forfeit. Through I managed to get to see their fitness level, really got to increase their physical fitness level.

Then we went back to the Squash courts for a quiz. Funny answer in the quiz. Ceiling, right and left box, 'not counted' boundary. XD

Straight after that was the icebreaker, was still ok but at least better and Mr Ng's Archery. :P

Yes, I've enjoyed myself yesterday and I hoped the J1's did so too. That was definitely a nice start for their first day in Squash.

Today is boring. Did some Math, Computing, Math, sleep and Math. Scanning too. See I can even remember all the minute stuff for today, just shows how boring it is today. Damn.

Oh and this is my 199th post. This blog sure came a long way. Its time for me to read back my previous posts.

a candle in a hurricane

2010-02-17T20:15:00.002+08:00

ok where should I start? Let me think. 1st day of CNY. I went to Fabian's house early in the morning, like super early. My big sis drove us there, I asked her to turn right into the carpark, she drove onto the other lane (where cars are coming towards us) and wanted to turn right from this lane. Lucky got no oncoming car, or really will have accident. This isn't the scariest part, the scariest part is her parking. Needless to say. Hear the beeping sound keep on beeping, BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP. Like the heart rate on the ECG (hospital equipment), going to die like that.

It's not that I want to believe that girls can't drive, but my sister is making me to, so is the other female drivers I see in the carpark.

Went to Fabian's house after my ordeal. Played poker cards, a bit of Mahjong, eat, drink. The usual stuff I do every year, just that this year was the most boring of them all. We did not went to play pool because most of us were bored of it. KTV also don't want because not enough people. So I went home for dinner instead, with my 2nd sister. :)

2nd day. Bleh. Went to my father's side. Same old usual stuff every single year. Same food, and we could even bet on what 婆婆 was wearing la. And Yi'en was correct. Damn.

Most interesting day I guess was the third day, yesterday. People came over to my house. Quite a fair bit came, not as much as last year, but who cares, Ben was here. :) We played 10 cents Mahjong. Freaking 10 cents. I played for 3 hours or so, and I just lost around less than $1. Ben and me even had to fight over 10 cents with my ah ma. Kinda of cute to see us fight over 10 cents with our elders, when they already gave us ang paos.

After dinner, we watched Inglorious Basterds. Pretty nice and funny show, if you can tahan the violence. Then went over to 2nd sis's house and watch another movie, with a crappy story line. But any movie can be a good movie, if are watching it with loved ones. :D

Today was a rather fast day. Morning announced that we are released at 1.10pm. I'm freaking overjoyed, it's like the best CNY ang pao from YJ man. Lessons were quick and break was fun too. When going for lunch, we saw Mr Ng with Ms Chong. Then they had lunch together. After eating, Mr Ng walked back in triumph to the canteen to put back his utensils. Then 215 clapped for him and the whole canteen was looking at him! He super pai seh, till his face damn red. XD

I guess with us around, Mr Ng can really get a girlfriend now. :)

Then went for Squash. Had to survive training on just sandwiches. Then PT was a killer man, guess my fitness level really went down during CNY. I was half-dead, like a walking Zombie. Then I still have to give the guys a earful to wake them up from their sucky attitude. I don't like scolding them and I think they also do not like it either. But someone has to do it, and it has to be me. This attitude is not going to bring us anywhere, and its not what I want the JC1's to see on their first training. Seriously.

Why can't the 18 year old guys who are about to hold rifles be as disciplined as the girls, and at least act like their age. I not saying anyone is childish, but we have to really stand up to being JC2s.

All these training, JC1 intake, Squash camp is really sucking my energy away. Handle this handle that. I'm really trying hard to keep my flame alive. But I'll do my best, even if it takes me to use a flamethrower, I will. Go Charizard!

In the corridors.

2010-02-13T20:37:00.007+08:00

Today, my family and Ben was playing Wii in the living room. Swinging the Wii-mote like idiots, especially my mum. I see her play can laugh, tilt the remote to turn, she leans her whole body to turn. XD One day I'm going to take a video of that, instant hit on Facebook.

Among all those chaos in the living room, Ali and Alam, my 2 little neighbors were checking in on us. They wanted to play too, then kept on asking my mum if they could play, indirectly. Not just once, but many times. Guess they were all attracted to the noise while they were cycling in the corridor.

So when I went for a afternoon nap after our reunion lunch, I lied down thinking. Amongst all the other stuff, I thought of my childhood in my corridor. It all started when I was about Ali's age too. Then I had companions to play with, always wanting to go out and play. There was a Malay boy, Ridhuan (I think), he was my best friend and neighbor at that time. We colored coloring pages, I remembered how he taught me to color in circles to make the picture nicer. I played catching, hide-and-seek with him. There was also Taufiq and his brother too. We were the 4 kids in the corridor then. Playing around poking our noses into other people's houses. Once I think we played block catching and was scolded by a 11th floor neighbor. (and I see him still on some mornings)

Then Ridhuan had to move. I wasn't that sad because I was still quite young then, but still I was bored. Till Xiao Bo and his family moved in. That was when I'm around primary 2/3. Mr Shi was our new neighbor and to date one of our best neighbor. He and his family moved in from China and Xiao Bo his nephew was my best friend then. At that time, I always went to Xiao Bo's house to play with him. He had all the toys, the ultramans, monsters etc. We played for hours. And I clearly remember that we usually went to www.cartoonnetwork.net to play the games there, its like a tradition every time I went there.

Why were they our best neighbors? They give me a haircut every month, bring the 2 families for outing every week on Mr Shi's pickup truck. Both my family and his went to a Air Show, Army Open House and many other places. Mr Shi's mother also cooked for us, invited us for dinner at their houses occasionally and so did we. The sui jiao then was delicious.

And well, every happy moment has to end, Mr Shi decided to move to somewhere else in Yishun, Block 620 series. That time I think I was quite sad. Only left with Taufiq and his brother.

(Now I really feel like meeting up with Xiao Bo.)

NOW. Things have changed. We're still here, so is Taufiq. Most of the neighbors all moved out. We are still on very good terms with our very long Malay neighbor just next door. We exchange food and ang baos every CNY and Hari Raya. I'm going to deliver the food over to them first thing in the morning tomorrow. Just like every year. :)

As for the extreme end of the corridor, a Indian family just moved in. They had their first child and my mum is very good friends with them too. They made a punjabi suit for my mum and even invited us to their child's 1st birthday party. (which I did not attend :( ) My mum recently burrowed a few DVDs from them and my mum said it was full of expletives. XD

Looking back at around 10 years ago, from what I can dig out from the abyss in my brain, I really miss those times. When I don't have to worry about what I have to worry today. Now seeing, Ali and Alam terrorizing the corridors, I don't really blame them. Let them do what they want, I don't want to ruin their childhood, for its not going to last very long. Soon the corridor will be a long passageway to walk every morning when going to school with a bicycle. And it will also be a long and tiring walk back home through that corridor.

From young the corridor has been my playground, now its just part of my route to school. Just that. Hope those playful kids treasure their time in that corridor, and not at my house. :P

I decided to post this so that I will not forget those happy times in that corridor. And also to remind myself to treasure the things I have now, before they disappear indefinitely.

And so after reliving those happy moments of my childhood, I went straight into a sleep, not thinking about anything else. :D

And I feel so accomplished, I did not do any homework on a Saturday. Blame it on the Mahjong and Wii. Damn.

let go.

2010-02-12T19:53:00.003+08:00

One of the two things now running in my head is the S-word. Squash. I bet this is the most mentioned word in my blog for 2009. And I think its going to be so for 2010.

Wednesday was the JC1 trials for Squash. Overall they are better than us when we first joined. At least theres one guy with experience. And surprisingly, there was quite a number who wanted to joined. PE Dept. gave us 21 and we kinda accepted 22/23. A bit too much for 2 courts but we'll see. Well, having a surplus is better than having a shortage right?

The 2nd thing in my head is about 'letting go'. Remember the asymptote? I think I should let go. I'm not giving up, just taking a step back. Let nature take its course. I better focus on getting the Squash team going, focusing more on my studies. Let my graph be the y=x² graph: a smiley face.

Oh and CNY is just 2 days away. Reunion dinner is just tomorrow. This year will be a bit different. First I'll be celebrating my 1st CNY without my 2nd sister. But at least I'll get an extra ang pao.

And Valentines Day is on CNY too. Not that I've nobody to celebrate with for V-Day, its just less significant to me, as I treasure my family more now.

Total Defense Day is on the 2nd Day on CNY too! So on top of wishing "Happy Chinese New Year", we will have to say "and a Happy Total Defense Day".

This year, I don't really mind how much I get for ang pao, but what I really want is the time to relax and enjoy great food with my family and relatives. Just 2 days of not worrying about school and Squash. 2 days of getaway from all my worries. :)

Oh and have a Happy Chinese New Year, Valentines and Total Defense Day. :D

Babies!!

2010-02-07T22:04:00.003+08:00

OMG! Babies are damn cute. Just came back from Northpoint to buy Bah Kua with mum, er-jie and er-jie-fu. Went off to the carpark then I saw a familar figure. It was Mdm Lim and ZEA ORAIDA! Nothing much about Mdm Lim. :P Zea is sooo cute man. She was laughing at my mum or something like that. Then I wanted to high five her, then she scared scared one. Make me look like pedophile. -.- Oh and I confirmed that the definition test is canceled too! :P
Looks like I have to work on my baby skills, I'm gonna be a direct-uncle soon! (and my mum is going to be a GM, Grand Mother. haha)

Back to school tomorrow. Haiz, why are Saturdays so close to Mondays yet Mondays soooo far from Friday?

Ah Zhui!

2010-02-06T21:05:00.003+08:00

Ah Zhui is the name of the dog residing at Lower Seletar. I went there today for a run, its been a very very long time since I went there. As usual, I sat there till the thoughts in my head were gone with the wind. Yeah the wind there was very strong. Then when I was leaving, Ah Zhui followed me, with a packet of something in his (I presume, I can see the balls hanging) mouth. But alas he wasn't following me, he walked in front of me, put down the packet in a patch of grass and urinated on it. I'm like wtf.

Then now its like I'm following him. Then Ah Zhui stared at me. Looked like he wanted to go crazy and bite me, I started running off back home already. He is one big dog, scary one too.

Been observing this dog everytime I go to Lower Seletar, can't help it. Its like my company there, alone with no one to talk to. Too bad Ah Zhui already has a collar around its neck already.

Then later wanted to go Chinatown, but cancelled due to a fight with Big sis and Yi'en in the car. Thats one hell of a fight. Almost have accident. I reckon my sister's attitude got to change, its getting out of hand. Guess its my mum's pampering her from young leading to this. I don't expect her to change instantly, it takes time, but she better start now.

So no choice we have to go NTUC to buy CNY stuff. Went around and my dad bought beer for me! :) (and for himself too, got reason to buy so my mum don't have to scold him only) Bought the usual CNY stuff too. Then have to carry ALL the stuff back from NTUC. 1 whole carton of oranges + the beer and lots of canned food. Was like a workout on the way home. Fingers pain also.

Opened 1 can of beer to drink. Drank it while finishing up some homework. Then I go sms Squashers tell them say Friday training cancelled. Then I thought tomorrow is Monday an I said "remember run tomorrow". Super "malu" la. Beer's fault. And when I though I won't get drunk.

Today drink, tomorrow MUST go gym. Or else wait got belly, the beer belly. Had a weird timing with Jarratt, but oh wells, he have to work. Oh and Ben's coming over tomorrow!!! :D