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!

125

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!~

CXXIV – Oh, joy!

124

~

Title sums it up, actually. This past week has been blessed with quite a fair bit of luck, and I'm glad. (:

~

And yes, this comes still as I grapple with the thought of looming exams.
~

But before that, let's reveal the post-carnage stats. It's not a pretty picture:
~

2 As

1 B+
1 D+
1 D.
~

Pathetic, if you ask me. Still, it's not all a bed of nails, for I can transform it into one filled with roses next month...provided I can A for every single module. :/
~

But anyway...
~

I am now a facilitator! Along with Justin, Vivienne, Julian and Jac! :D Yay, that means meeting with freshmen and stuff like that, haha. Training starts this Wed so I'm quite a fair bit excited about this whole thing. Hope it all works out!
~

Also finally made some friends I can actually speak comfortably with in EPI! This would definitely help with my planning and stuff for my group's role-play a month from now. Quite excited, actually, cos you would see Graeme shaking with his high-mech act again! Well, perhaps.
~

Yesterday my dad and I were picking up my siblings from fencing when I stumbled across this:
~

A Mazda MX-5 NA. The very car I've been wanting to get my hands on.
~
This example definitely has been modified, especially with a set of fixed headlights (the original has ones that pop out). It's the only NA example I've seen so far, the other MX-5s being either an NB or NC, which are much more recent. Still, I might have a chance to actually get my hands on one as soon as I get my driver's license probably next year. Whee~ :D

~
Today however, is one from hell. Housekeeping hell. A trillion tons of junk has officially evacuated from the abode, and that has yielded results—a much, much neater room, for one. Which means: to hell, sinuses!
~

Ok, that's all the smiles and frowns for the week, hope the next one's even brighter!
~

Till then!~

CXXIII – 17 going on 18.

123

It's 2010. And for someone born in 1992, that means...18. New doors open.

You could guess the rest.
~

And of course, the first thing on my mind, possibly one of the more interesting aspects of adulthood, is the car. The insurance, house, work and booze can wait (seriously, I hate the very idea of drunkenness and the problems associated. Urgh). Right now there is a Toyota Allion, but my dad has been considering to get an old Mazda MX-5 NA (yes, the one with the retro retractable headlights), thus adding a roadster to my 'inventory'.

A Toyota Allion, with auto transmission.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata NA...manual trans. Damn.

That, however, would mean getting a licence. Thankfully, I have a plan—Highway Code test by midyear, and with practice I'll take my manual driving test by next year (when I'm well and truely 18). After that, time to hit the roads (:

Leaving that aside, my exams are only a month away, which means much of my CNY will be burnt trying to revise for it. Still, the gambling and the money can be sacrificed for the fruits of success that would later come :D TIME TO STUDY HARD!

After that, holidays! 7 weeks of that should be enough. Perfect time to catch up with old buddies, some of whom I have not met for years. (:

I've got to stop now. It's late and I have to wake up at 8.30am! *Sighs*

Till then!~

CXXII – This and that.

122

I'm ending the first week of school now. It's ok, considering that exams are next month. Oh well, not that there's very much to blog about anyways here, because it's just business as usual.

Had my facilitators' interview yesterday, and had quite some laughs in the process. Saving me from the silly acts is Vivienne! She did all the stuff the testers told her to do, and all I had to do was to stand still. :D Anyways, the results will be out next Wednesday, so I hope I can make it into the team! Being able to interact with the juniors would be a great joy.

Now, on to other news.

Someone introduced to me a blog (or rather, a particular post in the blog) which has been making waves in the local blogosphere. Kitchen Tigress, or KT for short, had gone to an OCBC branch on her birthday, fully expecting to be given a 'surprise' cake as per in the Sunday Banking Ad. What ensued after she was told that the ad was purely commercial is now being hotly discussed in numerous forums. Had MrBrown not picked up on this post, all that would not exist.

OK, my two cents' worth on all this hullabaloo. Since when did advertisements do a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" gimmick? Carlsburg and its holiday experience? Guess not.

Or it being able to deliver its beer even in the highest of mountains? Please.

Point is, advertisements are hardly ever true to its word (perhaps only the telcos' messages can be believed). Also logically, I have to agree, how can branches store a massive reserve of cakes for its numerous customers anyhow? The very thought beggars belief.

Next, the poor staff. Having them to put up with her only to have their 'surprise' cake flatly rejected (apparently KT bakes pretty good cakes) is just mean. While she can laugh at the supervisor's reactions, I would laugh at her gimmicks. Clichéd, but so true—what if she went through the same treatment? The sock must be on the other foot before the implications of such an action can be realised.

In short, it was just a total, unnecessary waste of time and also too much lost face on the supervisor's part. KT, you have no shame. Of course, people have their pride and egos, and essentially, what she does is up to her. However, what happens as a result...well, she'd better watch her step, because she has ruffled too many feathers. Still, you can eke out a few laughs from the ridiculousness of it all.

It's late. Time for bed! (:

Till then!~

CXXI – Happy New Year!

121

Hello 2010!

Went to Bryan's place to partake in the festivities on New Year's Eve. It was not bad, most of the choir people went, as well as some of Bryan's other friends (whom I do not know much of). We played Taboo, sang carols, and counted down to the new decade with a small glass of Moet & Chandon. Heck, even the fireworks from Marina Bay were visible! Beautiful, that. (:

Thereafter I joined Moses and the other K-pop crazy people to watch some, erm, K-pop on Youtube. The Xbox360 this time was somewhat forgotten. It was difficult for me to sleep thereafter, even though I had something to attend later that morning. However, once that group started to watch horror movies (Moses' staple), weariness took over. I and the horror movie lovers left early that morning, me and TB on service 28.

I have my resolutions. Sometimes I ask myself why I set such high expectations for myself, but isn't that the express purpose?

1. GPA 3.7! Hard as it seems, I want it so badly;
   
2. Get fitter for NS, one of my greatest bugbears; AND!
   
3. Be less shy in front of acquaintances. Shyness is my greatest social faux pas.
   

Tough, but I will do my best! :D

So once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Till then!~