CLX – Holidays!

160

I'm completely shagged out as I type this, no thanks to gym this morning, but hey, it's the holidays!!

MSTs were a piece of cake, I believe. Now I just need my results to reflect that opinion...As for all! =D

Normally by now I would have typed something philosophical or somesuch just because it's dwelling in my head, but now nothing's dwelling in my head but lethargy. I'm not typing right: I make spelling errors en route (thanks spellcheck for saving me), and I'm seriously starting to zone out. I doubt I'd last past midnight...oh the soreness is hitting me hard D:

Still, on the bright side, there's lots to do during the festive season, and I can say there are plenty of places I will be going this month, albeit not being overseas...then again, the house is in a right awful mess. Oh, joy.

I guess I will end here before thinking saps the remainder of my brain juice so, before I commit this post's coup de grace, and in case I do post for the rest of December, I'd like to say:

Happy Holidays! =)

And now for something completely different....zzzzzz.

Cheerios; till the-zzzzzzz!!

CLIX – Back: Temporarily

159

It's been almost a month since I blogged. Meh.

So quickly, 2010 is drawing to a close. Is it just me or is each successive year passing by me faster and faster? Before I know it I may just be a senile, frail 80-year-old who has forgotten why he has existed. Sad.

Anyways, apart from this forethought, there are several happy things (and a sad thing) I wish to announce:

First up: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
Just got it this past Monday, and I can tell you, it's great fun, though after a while it gets quite difficult. But it's the challenge which is the real enticement.

The user interface. Awesome huh? =D

Next: Holidays!
December is here, and I just can't wait for fun and more fun! Apart from NOT studying (heh), there is lots of catching-up to do, especially with my sec-sch mates, most of whom I have not seen in over a year. Imagine that. Also there are other things in store, but I'm too lazy to list them out at the moment. Whoopsie-daisy.

To wrap it all up in time for Christmas: my Xbox360 has been found!
Just when all hope was lost...it got found. Yay. Can't wait to play my beloved Forza Motorsport 3 come time to relax! I haven't seen it in 11 months! =O

All things though have to be tempered by bad news...I hate.

The winner: MSTs.
Nevermind that it's next week, it's the punishing fact that the lecturers for CF and FMRP had to include 6 & 5 chapters respectively for the upcoming tests. Hell hath no fury like a teacher's scorn. I am thoroughly worried. Really.

So that's it, my update of the month. Don't expect much back here, I may just be too lazy to check back and type more. Maybe till sometime in my hols.

Signing out then; cheers!

Till then~

CLVIII – R.I.P., Darren Ng

158

That is all that needs to be written.

No one deserves to die the way he has. Dying like that is...unspeakable.

Oh and stop hating. He deserves no such bad publicity.

Peace out.~

CLVII – Fresh from my mind

157

I have been fascinated with the Universe for as long as I can remember. At the age of 7 I could rattle off the 9 planets (Pluto was still classed as one at the time) – in order - as fluidly as water would cascade over a waterfall. Memory boasts my greatest pride when, back in Primary 6, my form teacher told a few of us in class to scribble down on the whiteboard the planets in our Solar System. I handed the marker back to her not a minute later, beaming, before the rest had even come halfway through.

As I grew older, so did my fascination and knowledge of space: marvelling at how even our Sun, that globe of gaseous flames, being a Type G star, is dwarfed by thousands of stars in our galaxy, in terms of size and luminosity. In the universal context, our local star is but a grain of sand. There are also thousands more tinier stars out there – Type Ks and Ms – which can burn up to 10 times as long as the Sun (which by the way would last 10 billion years), whereas massive Type As and Os would burn out in mere millions of years. To a young mind these were astounding facts.

From there I spread out, going to types of galaxies, black holes, nebulae, neutron stars, white and black dwarfs, super and hypernovae, dark matter, things like that. Of course I didn't touch things like quantum physics; to me these were simply too much. Not only that, I had tremendous interest in prehistory (particularly dinosaurs), and basically general knowledge. To Dunman Secondary's old slogan, "Knowledge, the Torch of Life".

These are all and good, but in today's rat race, they are irrelevant. In business and finance nobody is going to ask you how many parsecs away Alpha Centauri is away from us (which is 1.34), or whether a Diplodocus and a Seismosaurus were one and the same (and they were). In class today I was told that people can be worked like a dog for some good money where knowledge can be a make-or-break factor. Not the aforementioned knowledge though – it's knowledge of the markets, of the economy, of the human state of mind. Lecturers somehow can't stress these enough.

Technical Analysis teaches us how to evaluate trends such that you would be in the know. Whether to buy or sell, hold a long, short, or square position, it's down to how much one understands from what he sees on the screen. Brokers are entrusted with clientele money and are expected to use their judgement and knowledge to grow their portfolios. It's a man-eat-man world, and without the right stuff people will bite the dust sooner than later. It's a scary proposition to even think of considering, but that is life, at least it's the one I am training for. Sometimes I question my decisions, but once they are made, there is no reneging, no backtracking.

Memory and interest are my saving graces. I know I can store an elephant of knowledge in a case no bigger than a football. And oh, there surely must be a reason for me choosing the course I have chosen, and then sticking to it for nearly 2 years. Come on, it's not that hard to sum it all up! I know of persons who bicker about how the school, the course, and the modules suck, but I can never get to grips with why they never dropped out. They retain neither the interest nor the knowledge, yet they stubbornly stick on like superglue. My father has done lots of finance stuff during the span of my life, and I have every intention of following in his footsteps. I want to be in the know, and that's why I am where I am.

If a certain five-year-old with a book and gusto for learning about what lies light-years out in space and what transpired many millions of years ago can remember so much, why can't I? Why not now? Definitely food for thought.

Now my brain has hollowed out. Phew.

Till then!~

CLVI - Revelations

156

My results are out. I’m pretty impressed by the astounding turnaround, but there is still much left to be desired.

If there is a reason for me to be a perfectionist, it’s because I have to be. Even if I were to provide a miracle and get a GPA of 4 for the remainder of my poly education (which I’m sure I can accomplish), I’d not even scratch 3.6. I could throw my arms up in defeat and cry out “Bugger all”. I’m not like that.

I shall make a fresh start from sem 2 onwards, and I’ll give my all. If anything, it’s because I can. I’ve got friends who did 3.8 and better, so why can’t I?

This also applies to me as a whole. After all, I have not been the most filial son, the most devoted friend, or the one with the most virtuous character. Come semester 2, I will fight for change. A change in me.

Clichéd? Maybe. But this is change that I need. I cannot be stuck as I am now. If I can’t be a new me, at least I will be one who is improving, always.

Till then~

CLV - Peace through force.

155

The Tsar Bomba being detonated in the Soviet Union in 1961. At 50 megatons, it is the largest nuclear device ever tested in human history.

That is the way peace was brokered half a century ago, however unconventional. However, in the 21^st century, is this still a solution?

“I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.”
-Albert Einstein

We don’t want a future when nuclear power is the driving force for politics, especially for certain countries...

Till then; treasure every day you have.~

CLIV - FREE

154

Free. Free. Free...

...from the clutches of the mid-year exams;
...from the restraints of study and mugging;
...from having to worry that I'll be late for a paper or for class;
...from being worried about what hurdle lies in the next corner.

Free...for now, at least.

But that means a host of other liberty-killers will take its place. My role in prepping my sis for her PSLE, for one, is undeniable. The other is my solemn duty to do my household chores. I heave a huge sigh. Life, however, goes on.

That can be said for my dear JC friends; their prelims are underway, and As are only 2 months away. To them I wish the best of luck; the torture is near over. =)

This month-long holiday is gonna be hectic, but I'll ride it through. Gym is going to be more frequent now!

To my poly pals, HAPPY HOLIDAYS =)

Till then!~

CLIII – Holiexams.

153

It's part holiday (which by the way stretches well into October), part exam (ending on the 16^th this month); part respite, part irritant.

It's the holiexams, a magical hybrid of endless hours on the computer and sprawling on bed with nearly as many hours (I tend to use the term nearly quite liberally, with just a hint of sarcasm) of studying and banging heads on the work-desk over a vexing trial paper. And it may sound like a paradox, being what it is; alas it isn't. Why so I can't say – it's just not paradoxical, 'nuff said.

Two papers have passed (Cust Relationship Mgmt & Macroecons Analysis I [which was an e-paper]), and now remains 3 others and a presentation (which can be damned if I don't score). Come the 16^th, it will be nearly pure holiday for a full month. Excited, you may ask? Splendidly so.

It's been a while since I last blogged, so this is a break of some sort, one of which I require. Otherwise I feel and fear that I will just go blind and dumb. Lots of things coming up, but my brain's recollection department has retired for the day, so no details. Just...........lots of things.

Oh and another thing – I'm turning 18 shortly. That means, amongst other things, alcohol and cars become legal. The former I can promise you will be strictly regulated (such 'luxuries' are few and far between). As for the latter: only time can tell....

There's little left to type for tonight, so I shall retire for now.

Till then!~

P.S. A random thought: I may be a commoner on the outside, but inside I feel as though I am like some sort of dandy, one with refined styles and tastes...could it be that I was once...?
Well, just saying. Night!

CLII - BREAKKKK

152

I'm one week late in typing this, but who gives a crap about what I write anyways?!

So yes, it's the long-awaited YOG break, and all I did this past week was, from highest frequency down: using laptop, helping siblings with homework, bonding day, falling sick...and gym. Isn't my life so predictable?

This week has also been filled with smiles, as well as tears. I'm torn between happiness and sorrow. It's a challenge that's befallen me, I know. That's why I'll try and pray hard so that I'll conquer it. And my family too, will conquer the demons.

My parents' greatest wish for me is to have a good life in the future, and what better time to prepare for that than now? Exams are looming 'round the corner; I'll prove to them that I can score, that that will be my redeeming factor. That is my very early birthday wish. They love me; I will not disappoint them.

Break is also my chance to become fitter. And it gets better – it's basically 2 months of exercise in a row. I'm sore from one session yesterday, and that points to a good start. My aim? Drop 5kg of fat, and gain as much, if not more, in muscle. It's as simple as that.

That's it for now. I doubt I'll have anything interesting to write after this, other than perhaps the fact that a few of my friends and I have been chosen to become brokers at some trading competition.

Yeah, that's about it.

Till then~

CLI - Interregnum

151

Title speaks for itself. As of now I'm in some sort of limbo.

There's a sort of lull in my projects (no kidding, there's still plenty to go), as well as in my tutorials and other stuff. This whole weekend is a lull.

The YOG break is about 2 weeks away; believe me, it's more jam-packed than I would be comfortable with, given what will be coming up following all the festivities. That's right—the fun before the maelstrom.

Exams: basically, the Big One. Almost ALL my modules will be represented then, and they will ALL account for 50% of my overall module grades. F-I-F-I-T-Y. If I am a no-show, I might as well just fail and drop out. It's terrible.

To make matters worse, the two modules I'm weak in now are representatives: FMI and MA1. Especially MA1. I feel shaky even just typing the very letters out. That tingly feeling.

So yes, interregnum indeed. Now I have to get over it, finish my RWPS report and presentation, conclude my MA1 country report, finish with Love Relations presentation, and so forth, before I get into revision proper. And I got a feeling; it's going to be one hell of a fight. As it nears, it even exudes a psychological aura just by thinking about it. Terrible, just terrible.

Like how the English Interregnum was England's disastrous attempt at republicanism, any more of that on my part will spell my academic doom. End of story.

Sad, isn't it? To clear one hurdle, only to find a gazillion more awaiting you, each higher than the last? The thought follows me, like a shadow.

So yeah, enough ranting, more revising! I must have that old O level fighting spirit!

Till then!~ =)

CL – Happiest 150!

150

Yeah, 150. Not a big milestone (should it be considered one? Guess not.), but nevertheless I shall ramble on.

I dug back through my blogging record and yeah, lots of changes. Not just in what I write, but how I write. My 1^st post, on August 30^th 2008, was about Os and how I'd miss the choir and Dunman Sec in general. Trying a blog for the 1^st time, of course I poked around my friends' blogs for some ideas, before making that 1^st nervous step into the blogosphere.

Here's an excerpt from that post, will keep it short, just to show how much has changed:

a chapter reborn...

looking back at my secondary school life, i am shocked at how fast time has flown, and how much things have changed...and now, with the year drawing to a close, i realise how precious these memories are, and never will i forsake them. haiz, why does it have to end so freaking soooooo-n?!

I see the difference. Do you?

It's been through a lot. I've covered it all: O levels, dedications, poems, Obama, my work stint at Marks & Spencer, results, posting, SP, Dunman, choir, friends, exams, F1...the list goes on.

As I grow, my styles have changed. Alot has changed. I only wish that my burning desire to succeed in academia remains. That is all.

Ere 2 years have come and nearly gone,
Times with frustrations; times with which I'm fond.
Apart from things, events that have come to pass
Fun with the choir, and fun with my class;
I hope the most, and that it will not fail
My grades and results, they shall prevail.

Oh and not forgetting
My friends, teachers, all of them
They've all certainly made
My life anything but a sham.

~~~
=)

Of course, all my posts can still be accessed...still. HAHA.

Till then!~

CXLIX – Yet more music.

149

There can never be enough good music, good pieces lying 'round in the internet. But perhaps I'd snatch a few and bring it here.

Give yourself a lifetime, and you'd never finish going through the whole lot. That's the general idea, at least.

And who says Latin is a dead language? Doesn't Latin exist in one of the most recognisable pieces of our time?

Behold the Man who is a bean! (It's the first piece playing on the Mixpod.)

Ecce Homo, qui est faba;
Ecce Homo, qui est faba!

Vale Homo, qui est faba;
Qui est faba; qui est faba!
Vale Homo, qui est faba!
Vale Homo, qui est faba!

Qui est faba.

Translated directly:

Behold, the Man who is a bean;
Behold, the Man who is a bean!

Farewell, Man who is a bean;
Who is a bean; who is a bean!
Farewell, Man who is a bean!
Farewell, Man who is a bean!

Who is a bean.

Anyone who has watched Mr Bean would know this instinctively. =)

Another one is an accompaniment to Vivaldi's Spring—Winter. You'd be caught in the dark if you have not heard it before, it's one of the most recognised pieces around. And it's one hell of a great piece, which is perhaps why it has survived for 295 years! Top that, Gaga! (Though it's absolutely unfair to compare it this way haha. :/)

When I feel hard-pressed, that's where I fall into. Its soothing notes and lyrics. It helps me through my day, like how others would depend on something else....yeah. Especially now, with projects and tutorials piling like an Everest everywhere I go. -.-

So I can sleep soundly now. Till the next day dawns, with the air filled with yawns, I shall sleep soundly.

Till then!~

CXLVIII – Results!

148

My blog is dying; it needs reviving. :/

So anyways, recall that rant about getting below GPA 3 and stuff like that those months ago? Then recall the resolutions I created for myself after that episode of ranting? All those As I need to claw my way back up?

The fruits of my labour are showing, better than expected! J

I took 4 papers; 3 have been returned. So far, it's 2As, 1C (CPF, of all topics zzz.), so it's pretty much fair game. So I can smile and say I'm well on my way! :D

A reality check, though: so far things have been going my way, but not with the likes of Macroecons, Report Writing or the like. Lecturers talk of how difficult the mid-years are going to be (50 %!!!), how tedious, how this, how that. Scary. Also, it's only been a term, so I'm only 1/8 the way through, which in perspective kinda sucks.

So yes, I can celebrate a little and stuff, but then I'll realise it's back to the grind, and the cycle repeats. EIGHT consecutive times, a real bugger.

This year isn't looking bad at all.

Till then!~

CXLVII – Dreams aren’t gonna just materialize.

147

Today I just talked to my parents about having our own family portrait taken when I graduate from SP (y'know, those graduation gowns you get to wear, which you see in pretty much every traditional family portrait). My dad agreed wholeheartedly; my mom...not really. She said to me to hold that thought till I graduate from University, so when people ask my mom silly stuff like where I graduated from she could say so with a little more pride.

Paper society, remember? In S'pore saying you got a degree or a masters sounds way better than saying you've got a diploma to feed you. Well, obviously, but hey, this is an Asian society as well, which means it's a society of saving face.

Which is why University is still a prime choice. Locally, preferably. Again, this isn't simple—think about all the other people out there who think the same way. That means I'll have to fight extra hard to get what I want, and need to attain. If not here, then overseas, if the necessity arises.

I've had enough of this procrastination. It's gotten me nowhere, but down. Way down. Like Sec 1 bad-results down. Being the shy one has gotten me nowhere either. Look what happened when I finally opened myself at FOC and FOP? It worked wonders, it achieved miracles. So away with the old, and in with the new! If I don't transform now, I might as well not do so, for it'd be too late.

I'd like to shed a few pounds. I'd like to study hard and do well for my sake. I'd like to be more open and friendly.

Oh, I'd like to have that family portrait taken too =) Hopefully in future when I see myself smile in the photo I will know it is one which is well and truly genuine and worthwhile.

Till then!~ Lots of holiday activities to occupy me for the next week and a half!

P.S. I've added a couple of new pieces, Pachelbel's Canon in D and J.S. Bach's Toccata und Fugue for the Organ. Hope they are worth listening to. =)

CXLVI – Tragedies of a Composer.

146

So, the exams are over. Did OK I guess, but only results can speak for themselves. Time to move on.

Lots of things happening this holidays, but I can't be bothered to list them out. There is no point in doing so anyways, so again, time to move on.

~

If life can be summed up in the chords of the piano, then I think I know just the person who fits the bill, one whose work reflects his outlook of life, as well as the life of his own. That's right, it's Frederic Chopin.

When you become really good with the piano, as I hear from many recordings, the chords and notes become a mere guide; it's the pianist who does the interpretation, and places the feeling in the music, things that make a listener discern between an amateur and a master, a maestro. And I guess when Chopin wrote all those Etudes and Sonatas he knew how pianists in future who play it would interpret it—that in the manner in which he had lived his life. As far as I have read, his isn't the happiest: he died impoverished and ill, and still so young.

If you listen to his work (I've put up Nocturne No.20, alongside the likes of Scriabin, Handel, Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi), you may notice something about his music, something...pained about it. Like as though he is chronicling his life in a series of works, subtly hiding the true intensions of publishing them, like saying, "Enjoy what I have missed, what I have lost, lest you end up in the state that I am in". Maybe that's not it, but that's how I see it.

Chopin's life is a tragedy; his work is anything but. And those beautifully placed notes on paper have become the most sought after the ears of the discerning. I've had enough of modern pop, for now. And as an exception, I shall move back...to when classics ruled the airwaves, when it was the blast of the trumpet, the squeal of the violin that struck a chord with the masses.

When true feelings, be it fear, anger, sadness, lunacy or sheer joy, did not need words for them to be expressed with absolute clarity.

Till then~ =)

CXLV – Issues, issues.

145

I'm in a major conundrum. An unexplainable, inexplicable conundrum. And it worries me, it bugs me.

Why so?

For those who know me and say MST, hell yes. It's 2 weeks from now, and it looks, ironically, harmless. I know my concepts; I know that banks must keep an MCB of 3% with the MAS, and 13-18% MLA, that there are loans out there which second-hand car dealers utilize to scam people, legally, and that the MAS does not wield all-mighty power, as MA1 formulae show. What I fear is the abstractness of it all, for not all that is taught is tested, not directly at least.

See, the financial world is full of uncertainty. New examples are being made every day. The questions may refer to them and, using the concepts which we have been taught, as a result we have to use intuition and some logic to get them answered. It's the subjectivity; much like the SS and Geog which I had much fear of back in my days at Dunman. That, I guess, will have to be dealt with a pinch of salt, lest I implode.

Also, it's the matter of formula, formulae. Especially with my MA1. If not for some rechecks and trial-and-error, as well as Flex, I might as well have flunked my BB test on Thursday. Not that there are many formulae, no. It's the many variations to it that frighten me so. For instance, A0 can be written in one way or another, given the number of autonomous parameters given, and K, the multiplier, can have a varying number of other dependant parameters on its own, mastering which will actually make things quite easy: almost the whole class scored full marks, fairly or otherwise.

So yes, I'm worried. And undermining whatever leftover time I have to revise are my country report, the report introduction corrections, as well as the questionnaires. It's really screwing me over.

And now for the bright side: I got into Yearbook as a journalist! Well, that was largely because I was only 1 of 2 people present for the interview. Went smoothly though, we shook hands and there we go! Time to rack up CCA points!

Also had a great time with some of the Devils @ the Cathay! Nevermind the fact that we waited for an hour to be seated at Aston's, at least we could chat and joke! Simply, it was great! Hope to meet up again soon!

Oh well. For all the worries I've piled up, isn't it time to revise?

Till then!~

CXLIV – Joke of the day...for intellects :/

144

An elderly man went to the doctor's to have his regular physical check-up.

Upon finishing the examination, the doctor asked the patient a question.

"How are you feeling?"

The old man replied: "I've never felt better! I've got an 18 year old for my bride, and she's heavy with my child!"

The doctor was rather surprised, but he quickly regained his cool and responded: "How about I tell you a little story?"

"OK, sure."

The doctor began. "There was once an avid hunter, who never missed a single hunting season in his life. One day, as usual, he was off to another open season but, in his eagerness and haste, grabbed his umbrella instead of his gun!"

"So he was in the forest alone, with an umbrella for a gun. As he was stalking a deer through the woods, a great big bear lumbered across his trail, menacingly headed for him. The hunter's instincts took over and, without hesitation, he squeezed the handle of the umbrella. The bear immediately fell forward, dead."

As the doctor concluded the sentence, he found the old man in a state of disbelief.

"How could it be", he spoke. "Someone else must have pulled the trigger!"

"Ermm...." the doctor replied. "I'm getting to that."
~

Well, if you didn't understand that...your loss. :D
Just something to break the silence.

Till then!~

CXLIII – Life, in practical terms

143

Bertrand Russell

Three passions have governed my life: 
The longings for love, the search for knowledge, 
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness. 
In the union of love I have seen 
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision 
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. 
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people]. 
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens, 
But always pity brought me back to earth; 
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart 
Of children in famine, of victims tortured 
And of old people left helpless. 
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, 
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

adapted

~

Happy mother's day, mum. Filial piety may be my biggest failure, but that doesn't mean I don't love you.

Till then~

CXLII – Weekend rush.

142

Week 1 of school is up. Week 2 is about to fly in my face.

Nobody gets spared. Tutorials have got me by my throat, simply because it's a revision of Year 1's work...which I have largely abandoned.

This weekend, it's MA1 and FA, the latter being the more fearsome one. I've got pen, paper and notes at the ready, yet I have forgotten. Forgotten where to look for answers, which pages to flip to for reference. And to add that Graeme apparently can do most of it very frankly scares the shit out of me. I mean, if he can remember, why can't I?

WHY DO I FORGET?

Anyway, tomorrow's the briefing for the Japan cross-credit programme. I feel that if I can make it in it will be a great blessing. Lessens my burden in sem 2, which would really help. =)

OK. Back to the grind!

Till then~

CXLI – School.

141

Title says it all. I'm back at school.

And there are whispers in the pipeline that indicate Year 2 is, and will be, tough. This obviously isn't good for my all-star prospects. Like say, Macroeconomic Analysis. Angela Koh says it has a very high failure rate. Worrying eh?

You bet.

I'm doubling up on my efforts to stay on top or, in worst-case scenario, to stay afloat. But otherwise, as of now, my prospects are good. Really good. =)

Oh yes, there are a few things I want to update on...

FOP:
Actually, I didn't need to go for days 3 & 4 but, since I will rot at home anyways, I say, why not? Basically slacked Thursday away with the other facils. Camwhored with DBF01 once we were back at SP. And thankfully, we broke the quota! So did many other classes! Great job! =) We shall meet up soon!

Sentosa:
FOC vets met at HarbourFront MRT @ noon with Frisbees in tow. Bought lunch, then headed down to Siloso beach to have fun! Basically we played Monkey Frisbee, dunking, beach volleyball, water captainball, the such. I got wet, almost everyone got dunked. We had alot of fun, that's for sure! Got mildly sunburnt, though I don't think to the extent of Wylie (her shoulders are red and burning)... :/ Damn the water was uber-salty.

After that went to Vivo to have a Carl's Jr. Dinner! Its burgers are massive, but that doesn't mean a 25% increase in volume has to be followed by a greater increase in prices! -.- Ate on Vivo's rooftop with the rest of them, but had to rush through my meal 'cos my dad wanted me to be home to help my brother in D&T. Was too late though—he was already asleep! Totally wasted my trip home, could've stayed on... )= DEVILS FTW!

And of course, the end of the outing heralded something scary...school. It's only day 2, and yet it has given people goosebumps. There are stacks of notes thicker than an A-math textbook, and they make my shoulders sag. Got a "new" bag, but I doubt it'll last with all the weight it's carrying. Shall study hard, and hopefully (and a MUST) I can get As for every single module!

Bring it on.

I'll try to update as frequently as time would allow me, and that would mean LESS POSTS. School will soon swallow me whole.

I WANT TO GO TO JAPAN FOR THE CREDIT EXCHANGE THIS SEPT!

Till then!~

CXL - FOP

140

Just returned from Day 2 of FOP, and I'm exhausted. Think about it: I'm a stationmaster that has to be energetic for every class that passes through our station: couple that with 3½ hours of sleep at school.

Get the picture?

Man, when the air-con shut off yesterday, even opening the windows won't help. How to sleep that condition?!

Notwithstanding these, it was actually quite a good programme. I was assigned to DBF01 with Vivienne and Justin, to a bunch of freshies. Ice-broke, then lunched (in an awfully packed FC5) before heading off to do station games. Won't elaborate, but it involves raffia string. Lots and lots of it.

Had dinner with facils at Clementi. We then watched funny vids on YouTube, prior to heading outside and playing random games with the remaining Devils. HAHA Eric and his "dey-kor" (underwear) nick playing Concentration! Ended up drinking loads of refreshing (and rumoured to be disgusting) water! xD After that we showered (2am somemore :O) and ended up sleeping in the SB Store, 'cos it was the only place left with air-con!

Day 2 featured talks, videos, performances and more stationmastering! Exhausted, as you would expect. Guess what, I'll have to wake up at 7.20am tomorrow!

Anyhow, I think DBF01 is not bad. Quiet now, but sure to speak up soon enough! Hope to open them up to one another before Thursday... :) Well least there are potential hyper people that can liven up the class...I think!

Back to the grind! Eyelids drooping! Shan't elaborate more!

Till the-

CXXXIX – FOC 10/11!

139

Freshmen Orientation Camp 10/11 = Awesome!
What more can be said about it?

Here's a rundown of what happened from Sunday through Wednesday:

DAYzero:
Met some Devils @ Orchard MRT to have dinner! I led the group to Lucky Plaza (where I maintain my braces), where there is a restaurant called Ria specialising in Ayam Penyet (smashed chicken). Bee Hoon, Joyce and Charrier were already there, and so we settled down and ate! The chilli was too hot for me, and my blueberry juice failed to quell the burn in my mouth D: Damn was it expensive. Also, it was there where we realised Eric has only brought 2 sets of underwear—for a 3-day-3-night camp. Till now how he survived with that number, I'll never know. Give me ONE Eric clap! :D

OK so after dinner we MRT'd back to Dover and prepared our Cluster dance before the clock struck 8. Tony then went through the usual admin stuff before our dance showcase! All the clusters did a great job, though I felt Devils' was the BEST! I guess that led to what would happen on Gala Night...

Next was the Nightwalk prep. There were 2 routes, SB and EEE, and because EEE was touted as longer and scarier, I chose it. And to be honest, when we walked it with Imran later that night, it was. It was totally dark, and silence was only broken by the shuffling of feet, the groan of toads, and hushed chats. Personally the U-shaped toilet was creepy (and so it became), and 6 people volunteered to scare there. Damn it if only I wasn't so hesitant. Continued down the route, and some were assigned; some weren't. In the end there had to be a slight alteration to the route, and that was when we encountered the Tunnel. Totally creepy with the lights out (not to mention they went out on their own); it will become the basis for one of the longest and scariest scare sections of the walk.

By the time we were done it was already 3.15am. Forgot whether I showered then or later i the morning, I was way too tired. And as usual, the air-con was frightfully cold.

 

DAYone:
Woke up at 7.45am and washed up. Changed into the MAD Camp SP T-shirt and headed down for breakfast. From there we slowly hyped ourselves up in preparation for the arrival of the freshies!

11.30am. Whoa were some of them early! Amongst the first from our cluster to arrive were some girls—Tiffany and Jolene. Like I said, they were damn early. Soon the rest of them streamed in, and were greeted with screams and "WHOO!"s. And typically, some of them were stunned, haha. (:

Later was the ice-breakers, and I tagged Daniel's group up. Played all sorts of games, including blow wind blow, and of course, forfeits. Oops my memory's failing me already. After that was the globe-making session, which is made of a balloon, some glue, paint and Miley Cyrus' face. Not bad, considering the shortage of time we suffered. (:

Next up we Events people were called to set up the station games, with me and Joyce taking the 'marbles on spoons' game. Unexpectedly numerous problems cropped up, since there were time constraints, and the changing of many game locales due to threats of rain. As a result, the clusters rushed out to MLT12 only to find that the games have relocated, save ours (BizIT), and so they crowded outside the doors for awhile before making their move to the other stations. In the end, only 3 teams played at our station in the course of 2 hours; we ended up sitting down and chatting for much of the time. The hour-long wait was otherwise unbearable. We ended at 7.30pm before heading back to MLT12.

But there was no break, 'cos then we had to leave to prepare for the nightwalk happening later that night. We headed for the engineering block and determined our job. Imran led us through the revised route later on, with Joyce and I left at where we were supposed to scare. Unique and Aaron were not far ahead, so we headed up to them and chatted. Oh I hate them mosquitoes, they gave me rashes. Since we had plenty of time, we wandered the route and chatted with more people on the way. The nightwalk was supposed to start at 11pm—the lights should go out by then. Quietly we had dinner there at 10.40pm, and our props came just shy of start time. In the end Joyce and I were the only scarers without props (wouldn't it be weird to scare people with our SP shirts screaming back at the freshies?). Just as we finished fretting about our lack of equipment, the lights went out. 11pm.

Aaron, Unique, Joyce and I headed back to our posts, when we made our shocking discovery—the lights before the main library are still on! How the hell are we supposed to scare people like that? For the next 45mins we searched frantically for any master switch that would plunge the entire area into darkness, but to no avail. Tony couldn't find the switch either, so we decided to make do with just the props. We set the Red Lady (one hell of a scary prop) at a junction where she wouldn't be seen till the freshies have made their turn—she looked scary even in broad daylight! Joyce gave up any hope of scaring anyone there, so we headed to the dark part of the route, and stationed ourselves where Charrier and Eric were, just before the Tunnel. Our job was simple: play ball.

And so we waited. It was only alot later when the first group came along, epic fail, that one. They walked right past us, and when Eric jumped out to scare them, all they said was "Look, it's 2 underwear!" and laughed! LOL Eric was stunned! Anyhow we got our satisfaction a minute later when the confidently strided into the Tunnel, only to start screaming hysterically. And it went on, and on, and on...

More groups came through. Some of them were genuinely suspicious of us just sitting there and rolling a ball about, others just walked past us, distracted, only to be scared by Eric as they walked past him (man gotta respect him). It was almost endless, and I was getting tired from my lack of sleep. Typically our cue to start was when we hear screams just before our station, and while there was no-one we talked about how incredibly good the scarers in the Tunnel were.

If I can recall I saw a GL crying and shivering from the Tunnel. She could not stop shaking, and I felt sorry for her. I also heard more people cried during the walk. :O

In the end it was just GLs taking the walk. Couldn't be bothered to scare them any longer, HAHA. :D We simply packed up and left. By then it was way past 3am. Wayy past. Made the long journey back to SB to wash up and change before going back to bed. Totally, totally drop-dead tired by then. Day One over!

 

DAYtwo:
Woke up early again, even though I overslept by a full hour. Washed up and headed own for breakfast with the cluster (if I can remember LOL), then already we had to prepare for the Wet/Dirty games. Before that of course was the Mass Dance Rehearsal, had to teach them the basics to the dance. Wei Chen did his Jack Neo act there, bloody funny! Like how he screams 走开! 走开!!!!! HAHAHAH! Well then had to go prepare the Dirty game props.

Took the items and headed to the MPF. Spread the canvas sheet out and poured all sorts of disgusting shit on it, like shampoo, BBQ sauce, sesame oil, mayo, tomato sauce, amongst others. And OH IT STANK. YOU'D ALMOST WANT TO PUKE. Went to make the field game with Eric and Zhi Xiang before the whole thing began. Man it was blazing hot, as though it was burning on purpose. It began in earnest, and Eric was once again our SAVIOUR! He did the live demonstrations for the freshies, even ending it with a body slide on the muck we've created. Of course, many disliked doing what he did, and either:
1) jumped clear of the canvas, with only the feet getting stinky, or
2) slid on their bare legs and hands, which were easy to clean.
Some, however, seemed to relish getting dirty! They ran towards the canvas, and flung themselves into the smelly mess. Sliding and rolling and skidding, some just couldn't get enough! :O

It was kinda like a limbo of sorts, although it was a fun limbo, and this went on till 2pm. The whole time the sun was relentless, and by the time I got my lunch I've been cooking for a good 4 hours. Lunch was short and quick, and by 3.30pm I was being roasted again. Between each and every game I had to run up the stairs and to the water-cooler to quench my thirst. At that point, water was the best-tasting thing that ever went into me. But during the game itself, who cares about the heat? All I did to every camper was this: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! OK, now run here! Take the front of the cardboard box and JUMP! Jump! (x10) NOW RUN!". I thought it was real good fun! This part went on till about 5,6pm? By then I was well and truly cooked. Official sunburn. (Now I'm peeling skin off my nose! Urgh.)

After that, Events people could finally slack! All we did was to go have our shower, change into our camp T-shirt and sat in the MLT with the campers. Made friends with a few of them, including Basil and Wenjuan (who rebutted me when I said "Why you blushing?" with a "How about you?". Totally owned, 'cos I looked like a lobster in a boiling pot LOL.). We then headed down to a buffet dinner. Campers took their food first before we followed suit. Log people had to eat first before going to Moberly to set up the Gala Night props. All of us sat together as a cluster, so bonded. :D Took alot of food haha, could compete with Daniel!

We then moved on to Moberly and, since we had some time left, the groups did their own separate rehearsals. The facils also rehearsed the cluster dance one last time before Gala Night began. Didn't know why the stage was so dark, very hard to discern people. And so we all sat down and bombed other clusters (Dark vs Light Side) and sang cheers!

It soon began with the group performances! They were quite good, though some I didn't get LOL. Also we all noticed that most of them used the same song: Sorry Sorry! By the time we heard it for the umpteenth time we sort of groaned. We got worried too, because our piece had that song in it. D: So it went on through the night, 19 performances over. AND GUESS WHAT? THEY SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST! (As quoted by Clay) We screamed and ran up on stage to do our dance piece, and it was great! When we were done we jumped for joy and screamed like crazy, it didn't matter! We then went back to our seats and did the Mass dance as a whole camp! It slowly disintegrated into dancing madness as we finished and formed a human train up onto the stage!

Just about everyone squeezed onto the stage and screamed and danced and jumped and cheered, it was magical. Though the DJ sucked (HAHAHA), we just screamed, danced, jumped, cheered. I forgot about my lethargy for a moment, and exercised like I never did in my life! Balloons popped, the stage shook. The music blared, and we just did what we did. I think that went on for a full 30-40mins. I was exhausted when I was done, all I did was to run up to the water-cooler and camp there. Soon people dropped out and went back to their bunks, us included. Headed to the bunk and played Indian Poker, where I suffered my hardest hit from Eric. In the end we just sat down and wrote them warm-fuzzies to everyone else, but I fell asleep halfway through, at around 3.30am thereabouts. Last thing I remembered was how friggin' cold the bunk was. After that Sleep punched me square in the face.

 

DAYthree:
Woke up at 8.40am that morning, still dead tired. Finished off the remainder of the papers, and washed up. Headed down to FC6 for breakfast (roti prata) and chatted with Basil, Menon and Marvin. After they went up to pack their stuff I went across to the facils' table and ate some more prata. We all just sat there and stoned, and joked about how Eric has no more underwear. Much later, we went back up to bunk and packed our stuff, before going back down to MLT12.

There we bombed more groups (We know Cupid, We don't care cheer) before Tony announced the results of the camp. And could you believe it? THE DEVILS WON! By 90 points! The cluster just screamed and screamed and screamed. We got our movie tickets! :D:D After that Tony broke camp, and we all rushed out to camwhore. And yes, all of them pictures can be found on Facebook! Took so many in those 30 mins. But while the campers got to go home, the facils involved in FOP had to stay back! D: But at least that means I didn't have to go back today!

So it was during the briefing that I realised I was facil/stationmaster with Wei Chen! I'll be taking DBF/FT/1A/01 with Viv and Justin! So who's in that class?

Anyhow after that we were supposed to go out together for lunch but cancelled it because we were so darned tired. I simply took a cab back to Tampines, showered and slept. Only woke up for dinner and some Facebook. And guess what? I'm still feeling camp hangover! D:

I miss camp. I miss the Devils. I want to relive those 3-4 days again.

I'm tired. I've been typing non-stop for 2½ hours. At least I've updated! :D

Next stop: FOP!!

Till then!~ :D

CXXXVIII – NOT Away.

138

Yes, I'm back.
Yes, I had loads of fun. ^^
Yes, I seriously want a Devils' cluster outing!

But...

Yes, I'm too darned lazy to update at the moment >.<
Yes, I still want my sleep (I've got a slight headache).
Yes, I need my rest for next week's FOP.

Who's going into DBF/FT/1A/01?

Also...

Who's going into DBF/FT/2A/05?

Just so you know, Devils is the most awesome cluster! :D
I'll update tonight or tomorrow!

Till then!~

CXXXVII – Away.

137

FOC till Wednesday

will write about it after then!

Also, my room is complete! Cheers!

Till then!~

CXXXVI - Thought

136

Big in word, big in meaning.

And contrary to what people think, it doesn't run you over like a freight train.

No. It's more like a steamroller: slowly, but surely, it crushes you under its weight. Better still, it takes its time.

First are small things, like chores, taking care of your room, the lot. That isn't bad. What I worry about is what comes next. The big-uns.

I'm turning 18, and that means I'm at the threshold of adulthood. Once that happens, the steamroller accelerates. My parents tell me that once I finish NS, ie. 21, I'll have to rent a home for myself (read: I get KICKED out of the house). Anyways, I heard that's the case with most other people too, so I guess that's fair. But what's next?

Taxes, house, car, education (later which I'll have to pay), then family, voting, food, work...and the list goes on. Sometimes I lie in bed and think how adults are actually able to deal with all that, and all the stress that comes along with it. And then I ask how I will survive it myself.

In short, the reins of life are slowly being transferred from my parents, to me. Their problems concerning me will eventually become mine...and more.

No wonder there're so many cases of tax evasion, chalked-up debts, and broken families. Some people simply can't assume responsibility, can't accept responsibility. They try to escape it, and those are the results, the sad statistics.

So why do we even want responsibility? Why so when there are undesired end results? For awhile I was tormented by these questions, and for awhile the answer eluded me.

And then I slap myself on my forehead and say 'why am I so stupid?'—it's in me all along.

Responsibility is tied to trust. So having responsibility means you have the trust of someone, somewhere to do your job and to do it right. For instance, my mum trusts me to keep my room neat and the government trusts the taxpayer to pay his taxes. My family was trusted upon to take care of someone's dog while he was overseas.

It is also tied to pride, pride in making sure you do your job right, be it to please other people or not. Then comes the final link in the chain—satisfaction, especially so when you've done a good job. You swell with pride, or at least pat yourself on the back when you've made good on your taxes, to quote an example. Point is, without responsibility, you won't gain trust, and then you won't gain satisfaction for satisfying. Your life depends on responsibility. That's how the world works.

So I look upon the grand scheme of things, and sigh. But then I realise it's actually better for me, the feeling of trust, for no-one likes lying around and being completely useless and helpless. For being helpless and useless is not the way life should be spent.

For those who think responsibility is something you run away from, this is your chance to think twice. It's not worth it.

Till then~
(3
more days!)

CXXXV – Nukes, Tron, and the Folding Bed

135

Came across a Straits Times article concerning the possible destabilisation of North Korea. More protests and dissent, say informants and think-tanks, maybe exacerbated by its currency revaluation which appears to have done more harm than good (well obviously, otherwise why would people complain?).

Questions of Kim Jong Il's ailing rumoured ailing health and the succession issue has made the situation more precarious. Power struggle, it seems, is almost inevitable in the secretive state. And while South Korea, whose warship is blown in two near disputed waters at the maritime border coincidentally around the same time as the publication of the article, possibly due to a stray (or 'stray') mine floating about in the cold waters, is the one most at risk, followed by the US of A, I believe we here too, even though thousands of miles away, are at risk.

Here's why:

Nobody knows how many nukes the North has, but Mr Kim does. All those missile tests last year (or the year before?) have unnerved so many, for the capabilities of such weapons are already known. Should they be used in retaliation in the regime's dying days or, worse still, by trigger-happy power-grabbers, the consequences will be pretty much like this...

...and then the rest is history.

Also the article raised the possibility that, in the countless refugees that pour into neighbouring countries, there could be terrorists, radicals that can make their presence readily known in the form of a suspicious-looking package left behind at a crowded marketplace that would jeopardise many civilians' lives. Who would want that to happen with all the terror crap that has already happened these past few years, not forgetting the one in Moscow not 3 days ago?

I guess you wouldn't need any more convincing. And honestly, I wouldn't want to think about it either, the effects are so morbid. Sometimes I wonder why I'm born into such a volatile day and age, even though things actually seem more stable than before?

Hey, DPRK says it's willing to get back into denuclearization talks (even though it walked out of it), and we're all glad about that, but what happens if it fails, again? What if this is only N.Korea putting on a mask and being two-faced? No-one knows, and no-one wants to know.

~

Anyhow, Disney is releasing a movie in Winter 2010, and by looking at the trailers, I'm guessing Tron: Legacy will be quite an awesome movie.

Here are the trailers...

Teaser.
Official Tron Legacy Trailer

Preview.
TRON LEGACY Trailer #2

Cool, right? It's 9 months away but I think it'll be worth the wait! :D BTW Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982 film Tron, and it takes place 27 years after the latter (real time). :D

And of course, my bed's arrived! Well, not a bed exactly, but a sofa-bed! It's already filled half of my remaining room space, and I guess now I have my own room, with no interruptions from my siblings (that is, if I lock the door, otherwise they'll come in anyways :/) I'll put up a picture of it once the rest of the room has been put up and spruced up!

Now, 4 more days! :D

Till then!~

CXXXIV – All Better!

134

Says it all really.

And it was achieved by sleeping on my brother's bed for 1½ hours. Testament to how dusty my room really is.

Now, if I can keep it dust-free, I can avoid this 3½ day episode from ever happening again, period. Don't want to spoil my experience at FOC now, right? J

Till then!~ (now the house needs sprucing up :/)

CXXXIII – Cold sweat

133

Oh great, I've fallen sick. Yet again.

That puts my illness tally to 2 bouts in 3 days.

Thing is, I feel unbearably warm, and I sweat (in bed, mind you), yet a touch of wind chills me to the core and gives me sneezing fits and a runny nose. The bed being rather dusty might be a factor: I'll have to vacuum it soon. Me not sleeping enough is yet another reason, so I'll say goodbye to late-nights too. ):

I hope this ends soon, 'cos camp will be on in a week (read: A WEEK!), so I'll need all the fitness I need to sustain sleepless nights till Wednesday! 16◦C air-conditioning there will make sleeping very difficult indeed anyways. Damn, if February was scorching, March is pretty polar. Singapore's weather has bipolar issues! :O

Anyways, ordered the bed, chose the table, and bought the lights for my room, so I guess it should be ready for full habitation in a week! Brilliant! Finally something I actually look forward to in the house...!

And, oh yes! I'm blogging again!

Till then!~

CXXXII - Hits and Misses

132

Devils!

McAfee virus scan is taking forever to scan my laptop, so I've taken the liberty to kill some time.
~

Being a facilitator has really opened me up as a person. Sure, I may still be rather reserved and quiet, but least it's an improvement from last time, when saying "hi" was pretty hard for me to manage. To put it in perspective, I'm breaking the ice. Slowly, but surely.

Breaking away from harbour isn't the easiest thing to do. And now I'm doing something that deals with people, and the camp will tell if I can cope with that (which hopefully will be the case :D). With support from my cluster, the Devils (ftw!), it shouldn't be hard! I'll just have fun and make more new friends! :D

To quote from Mark Twain, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." In 20 years I'll look back on this and smile. Forged friendships, inexhaustible fun. (:

I've missed many opportunities before, and I regret it, so I shall make FOC as memorable as I can! :D

Till then!~

CXXXI – Saving Grades

131

I've just found a terrific way of saving my grades and pulling it up above 3.6.

Get As. Not just any old A, but one for all modules as well.

And oh, did I mention I have to do this for the remaining 2 years in Poly? I mean, how...hard can it be?

This though shall wait till the 19^th...now it's R&R. (:

Till then~

CXXX - Bittersweet

130

Half the holidays have come and gone. And as the title implies, it has been one with some conflict in my mind.

Bitter:
Got my results yesterday, and I wasn't pleased. For me anything below a GPA 3.0 is just not good enough. The standards I've exerted on myself have failed me. So many in my course got a 3.4 and above, it only begs the questions: what happened? Didn't I do well enough?
I can only think I've got my inter-sem results to blame. I did so horrendously. Final exams were much better, but perhaps the losses incurred before could not be covered. Oh well.
Anyhow, sophomore year will have a fresh set of modules, a clean slate. And although my overall cumulative GPA will always be affected by this episode, I believe I will come back from the dead. At least a GPA 3.5, please—I need it. Just hope that the 20-40-40 rule will stand. That freshman year's damages will be minimised. ):

And then there's the light at the end of the tunnel—DEVILS! :D

Sweet:
I have recently returned from my facilitators' Bonding camp. I was exhausted at the end, but it was completely worthwhile! Our cluster (Devils) has grown so much in these 2 days, and of course, we bonded! We shouted cheers (which in creation seems to be second nature HAHA), played games and took on challenges together—little wonder we were able to befriend each other so well! In between we had meals together, danced together, laughed together, ran together. In essence, we've bonded together far better than through all the trainings combined. (: GO DEVILS!
Following Sunday we'll meet up again for FOC! And we'll try to be as (legally) high as we can get for the freshmen! :DDD
Additionally, my room is almost 100% complete! A week ago it was a complete wreck (so has the rest of the house); now it only lacks a proper bed and work table, but even then I can finally sleep in my own bedroom for the 1^st time in 8 years! Eight! By the end of the month my room should be ready! (:

OK so that sums up my post...maybe I should post more often. Anyways at least I ended it on a happy, light note! Will spend the rest of the hols happy, and come Apr 19 I will start studying real hard once again!
10 days to FOC!~

Till then! (:

P.S. I've become obsessed with the harpsichord; it is like a piano, but to me it's far more fascinating and regal! Scarlatti is the best amongst the harpsichordists!
Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in G major, K. 455
~

CXXIX – Music, what the doctor ordered

129

OK, so I am typing away in the wee hours of the morning. But then again, it's the only time I can, given the mess my place is in now.

Do allow me to begin.~

---

I have always loved classical music. It took me away from this fast-paced, relentless world and into a parallel universe so surreal it would feel like a dream. And I would float in it, like a butterfly would flutter about.

That is, until the outside world permeates through my earphones and drags me back into reality. That I dread.

My love and appreciation for such music had been with me since childhood, since my ears first caught its exuberance, its richness, its wonder. It teases you with quick, playful tones; it haunts your innermost soul with mournful cries. It is able to evoke even the most deep-seated of emotions, forcing them out with its power. You would not readily find modern pop or rock which can affect one's emotion to that degree.

While my siblings blast modern music out of their handphones and sing along to their hearts' content (which I don't mind—I do like a good many of them), I would still revel in tunes already centuries old. It does not matter which era they belong to, be it Baroque, Romantic or early Contemporary, I like them all the same. And I have to agree with one YouTuber: "anybody who can write music and have it be remembered and played centuries after their death is one hell of a musician."

Being in the choir for four years gave me such an outlet. So I can't play the organ. Or the piano. Or the violin, guitar, trombone or any instrument, for that matter. It didn't matter, for I still had an in-built instrument for that express purpose of creating music.

My voice.

Mr Toh is a conductor with passion for music. And he showed it brilliantly in his conducting, and the choir itself. The results speak for themselves. And under him, my love for choral music grew as well. Be it folk songs, carols, or old prayers, he managed to instil in us that love for music. And it is because we love it that we sing well too (maybe not in rehearsals, though).

He is a great conductor, not just in the sense of achievements and awards, but what his choirs could gain in return—friendships that last, and a healthy passion for singing. I will never forget how much he has influenced me in that aspect, that which I have unending gratitude for.

Those four years have come and gone, but the music stays. I'm listening to more pop songs now, and I reckon some of them to be darned good. And with that you would think classicals are a thing of the past.

But like I said, I have always loved classical music. And that love shall stay forevermore.
~

It's 2.57am now. Would like to wish Mr Toh a very happy birthday. (:

Till then!~

CXXVIII – Epilogue of sorts

128

It's over. And I still can't wrap my head round it.

MOB was fine, very easy actually, a sentiment echoed by all my peers at school.
Accounting was easy too, to my pleasant surprise. My greatest success was perhaps being able to reconcile the bank statement with company ledgers, something I used to dread BIG time. Still, I think I can only muster a B overall, 'cos my MST results really, really sucked.
Economics was fine, but could have done better :/
The real bugbear comes from Statistics, which lost me lots of marks, and to make things less comfortable, it accounts for 40% of my total Stats marks. Damn.

No point crying over spilt marks though—who cares, it's over! All there is to it now are the results and GPA, which will come out roughly in 3 weeks' time. My hopes for making Honour Roll list have faded...

...which leads me to my next point: ambition. I have my ambitions, and I think I know how to get there, but to do so require sacrifice. Lots and lots of it. Clichéd, I know, but it doesn't kill to drive reality home...right? Anyway, isn't the Uni route what everyone wants, what everybody yearns for?

Guess not. Haha. Not all my friends opt for that route anyhow.

OK, now to my post-exam activities. My class went to the Cathay @ Orchard to watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It was so-so, given the weak plot (the book was much better), but at least there was the CGI to fall back to, as well as the various battles involving Medusa (Uma Thurman), Hydra, and the lightning thief himself. I doubt that it was $8 well spent, even with a stellar cast backing the movie.
After that a few of us went to the arcade and played Outrun, BishiBashi and the touch-cube thingy. Good fun all around. Thereafter I had dinner before going home at around 11pm.

This isn't the end.

There's cycling with the class at East Coast Park tomorrow (which will burn us. I mean, it's heatwave season!), then facilitator bonding sessions during much of the March hols, followed shortly after by a Bonding camp, Freshman Orientation Camp early in April, and finally Freshman Orientation Programme a week before classes recommence. To fill the gaps in between I've been thinking about a mash-up party, a class reunion or two, choir meetup, choir concert, lots of gym and not forgetting transforming a storeroom into MY bedroom.

That pretty much sums up my holidays, and my post for the day. Now my next biggest agenda is to lose that belly fat...damn. Running, and lots of it, should do the trick!

Till then!~ xD

CXXVII – Hearts and ang pows

127

Today is a very special day. And it will not come again till 2048 (YES I BOTHERED TO CHECK), which is a long way away...I think I'll be a granddad by then. :/

And so without further ado, I shall type...

HAPPY VALENTINE-ESQUE CHINESE NEW YEAR!

As the title suggests...well I'm sure you'd understand. Singles, like me, Happy Friendship Day! Get them ang pows! :D

Anyways, 3 papers to go...to FREEDOM!

Till then!~

(P.S. this will really be my last post for the month. Hehe)

CXXVI – Cacophony before the storm

126

Well, this will be my last post for the month. Hopefully what you see below can account for that.

FEB
8^th:     IDEA Presentation and CRS Presentation
10^th:    ITAB Web Presentation
11^th:    MOB FY Paper
22^nd:    PACC FY Paper

MAR
1^st:    ECONS FY Paper
2^nd:    STATS FY Paper

So yep, say hello to my pre-arranged itinerary. Not that I wanted this arranged anyways, but oh well, that's the price of trying to get a GPA of 3.65.

Anyhow, updates. I'm now in the Events Dept for FOC! That means I'll be stationmaster for field games! Actually, I wanted to be GL (Group Leader for the unacquainted), but Joyce somehow managed to convince me that running around with your group simply isn't worth it (which by the way is actually quite a good point). And since I didn't mind becoming one, I've become one.

Honestly, I can't wait for what's coming up next!

OH and I've chosen the Financial Trading option over Banking! I could still change, but heck. That's what I've wanted (: Onward!

Right I shall stop here. From here on out it's mugging FTW. No, seriously, I have to get my O level groove back again. Damn.

Till then!~

CXXV – FOC surprise!

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Yesterday I had my first FOC meeting. Along with it came feelings of excitement, anticipation, and predisposed uncertainty.

It started at 3pm, and finished at roughly 5.30pm, so yeah, it wasn't long, but it was enough for me to know quite a few people...or at least their names. :P

Let's start from the beginning.

Justin, Vivienne, Jac and I came into a room full of people whom we've never met. We split into 2 different rooms (guys/gals), which for Viv was rather 'traumatizing' (as she was the only girl from our class to make it), and waited while we were given numbers for the girls to pick, thus forming a pair. As for me, it was this nice girl named Joyce, who wears braces like I do :P.

We were sent to an adjacent room to join a cluster of us pairs (4 clusters in total) so we could start doing icebreakers in earnest. Started with the "good morning" game, which involves us saying "Hi so-and-so, so-and-so, etc, my name is so-and-so". This was a cheating game, as we had earlier stuck name-tapes on our shoulders, so anybody having problems with someone's name just had to glance over to the person's shoulder and voilà! Problem solved!

Next game involved Tony asking us random questions about our partners. Most of us managed to escape initially, but after a while pairs got caught, and eventually one pair (surprise, surprise, it was Julian's!) had to forfeit. They did some watermelon banana forfeit, heheh.

Following that supposed to be some lie-on-belly activity, but the trials for the game failed big-time. Not easy to lie on somebody's stomach while somebody else is doing the same to you. Next!

Last came our beloved Wacko. It was funny, considering the fact that the whacker had to content with the whackees' constant spewing of names, and the latter oftentimes ended up calling out to the unfortunate soul so he/she wouldn't just stand in the middle and look helplessly around (some unlucky ones became unfortunate souls themselves). In the end, someone hyper named Jasmine got hit, and she and her partner Clay had to forfeit too. They did some glue game, where they stuck themselves together and did weird things :/

Ta-da! 1^st facilitators meeting done! I did enjoy myself thoroughly :D

 

Anyways, next Wed there is a talk for DBF students over the concentrations available for year 2. My mind has long been fixed on Financial Trading, but still, better to know what you're flying into...

Also, I'm smack in the middle of projects with datelines as long as a toothpick. What more can I say?

Uh-oh, mum's nagging at me to wipe the table :/, so I'll end here!

Till then!~