Chinese New Year 2011

The transition from 2010 to 2011 was extremely fast. Just today, I looked back to the new year of 2010, and now today, we're at 2011, the rabbit's year.

The past few days were really relaxed, going from place to place, seeing my driving skills improve tremendously within just 2 days, when back in January, I still had to wait for the road to be clear without any obstruction before turning out from a minor road, I needed to make many tiny adjustments while parking, I did not even dare to park in a parallel lot, I had to drive in a car park extremely slowly, making sure I had perfect clearance on both sides before I went up or down the slope to the next deck in a multi-storey car park. In just 3 days, I got those skills to near perfection, with help from family, relatives and friends. Driving more than 220 kilometres over three days, spanning a total of 7 hours on the roads, to 13 destinations in 3 regions.

On Thursday, we went to visit our grandparents in the morning. I was very unsure of my skills back then, and my judgement was rather poor. In the afternoon after lunch, we started on our visiting. Grand mother's place first, followed by my aunt, then off to Plaza Singapura with another aunt, uncle and cousins to catch The Green Hornet. That movie sure gave me some motivation to drive at night I guess. Thanks to the driving at Plaza Singapura, I became more comfortable manoeuvring in tight spaces. We ended the night by visiting my second uncle's family.

I travelled to nearly every corner of the Eastern region of the island from 1.15pm on Saturday, getting lost in Bedok before eventually finding my way back home at 12.18am.

This week, it's back to studying. On the way home the night before many things went through my mind. What about now, later, today? What's going to happen over the next few months, years? What will I do? How would I do it? Where should I go? I felt as though I had found my calling, as though I could see my life right ahead of me. It felt as though, I was in some time machine, driving through time, into the future and back. However in the morning when I woke up, I felt as though everything that happened was just a dream, that it never happened, until I looked at my phone, realising I had forgotten to reply a few close friends the night before.

I had been feeling worried about absolutely nothing for four days now. I have no idea what's going to happen. I met someone who sounded like you, which made my heart skip a beat, but the feeling's still there. At least the twitching in my left eye ended, which I feel might be the fact I met my former form teacher's cousin at home today when she came to visit.

Last Week of the Last Polytechnic Vacation

In a few minutes, it's going to be the last week of my last polytechnic semester vacation. After that, it's going to be the final sprint(not the actual final sprint yet). 3 years sure came by really fast.

I found the courage to sing along with the Toasties during the extra night we spent at the Loft.

Today, just went home, bathed, slept, had lunch, slept, drove around with parents, ate, shopped, drove home after picking my brother up after his tuition, slept, had dinner, watched television, ran, bathed, watch television, and I'm back here. At least I feel more comfortable driving with my parents, more relaxed. When I tried driving barefoot, I realised although it was harder to step on the pedals, I was able to feel the exact amount of force I needed to apply the brakes and accelerator, hence I felt as though I had full control of the car, up to 70 kilometers per hour.

Tomorrow, it's going to be a great day!

Sorry I wasn't of much help earlier, other than lending a 'listening ear'...

Level 3.1 Examination

One more day to go. So far, it's been going downhill. No motivation, little drive. And I had thought it ended long ago. This time it came back, stronger. Shall do a proper post tomorrow after it all ends.

This morning, I dreamt of something that's been kinda recurring for some time now, except that the places always change. I have no idea how to go about telling it. It's almost as if it was all happening in real time, and I would only notice it was a dream when I turned to another side of the bed. Even after I realise it was a dream, I couldn't get myself to wake from it, until I heard my phone ring. Twice. Somehow, the minute-long alarm just couldn't work, but the barely 2-second long message tone did the trick.

I can't remember much about the dream. It started in a flat. I was with a family. No idea what or why I was there, seated at the dining table with everyone else. Somewhere in between, I was conversing with a friend, either over the phone, or online. At the end, it was raining at the entrance of a shopping mall,and I was meeting the same friend. Upon seeing me, two kids (I think they're about 3) ran toward me from one of the pillars concealing part of the glass doors, happily. I can't remember if they were two boys, or a boy and a girl. Behind them, she followed. One thing I did not know was, who was their father?

I don't know for sure what it meant, but I had dreamt of something like that before, sometime last year, I had a dream where I was out with a group of friends, and someone I knew, was there with us for a moment with another guy friend who we did not know. They left 5 minutes after we all bumped into one another.

I don't know. It felt as if someone was trying to force it into me. I tried to force myself to wake, but I had to receive two messages before I could wake. The alarm did not work(I subconsciously turned it off and went back to sleep). From the looks of it, it'll happen in the future? I doubt it. Maybe it's too early to tell. The dream felt so real, and I felt joy being at the flat conversing with my friend. I was struggling to wake just before I saw her with her kids, as a result, I did not know how I felt during that time.

"Who was the father? Me? Wait. We have never been together, so that won't happen."

Almost throughout the whole day I was pondering over the same thought. Now, I'm feeling lost. What am I to do? It's one of my greatest dreams to reach that point in my life, but I'll want to know how I'll reach there, and with who. Perhaps, it was good that I did not know for sure who the friend was, but I'm glad whoever planted that in me was good. I rather live like a normal person, not knowing what would happen in future, though it's good to experience it twice, once in a dream, and again in real time. It's the journey experience along the way that provides the comfort and warmth.

Maybe, it was time to let nature take its course? I'll just continue being myself. Embrace whatever comes my way, living as if tomorrow was going to be the end of the world.

Mid August'10

So far, August has been great. Not too stressful, not too relaxed, just the right pace.

On Saturday I went for my first fireworks photo shoot with classmates and friends. Learnt quite a lot of stuff, but found it really hard to apply. I was given a piece of black paper, something that was used if I wanted to shoot just one explosion in the night sky. Most of us used a remote, as the shuttle speed was set to the user-defined setting, also known as the BULB mode, where one would just hold down the shutter button for as long as he or she pleased. At the start, I simply thought all I had to do was to just press, and release. For the first wave of fireworks, all I had were photographs of nothing but black. As the time went by, I guess I did better, managing to catch some of the explosions, with 2 to 3 good ones. The segment where the Phoenix mother ship, with the torch bearer on-board, was escorted by her 10 Dragon Boat escorts, was definitely the coolest hands-down. However, the fireworks simply sucked. Compared to the National Day Parade's fireworks, the arrangement for the finale was more disappointing. Yes, the variety was there, but the duration just simply wasn't.

As I was unable to get my hands on the closing ceremony ticket, I shall be joining them again on the 26th.

The coming week was spent solely on our final year project. We did make some progress, and all that's left is the report, some experiments to determine the finalized product, and the manufacturing.

Yesterday, was probably the most eventful day in August. It was also the day I was blur as a sotong. In the morning, I woke at 8am, and took my time to turn on my laptop. It took me 10 minutes to realise I had a dental appointment at the National Dental Centre 9am, and I had not done anything, except to turn my laptop on. As a result, I arrived at 9.20am. When asked for my Identification number, I recited my Student Card Number. Twice. In addition, I let out a loud "huh" when I realised I was reciting the wrong set of numbers. In the end, she simply passed me my queue number. 5 minutes later, I was in. 10 minutes after that, I was back out, getting my appointment. For some reason, I blindly requested to have my appointment pushed back to 5th October from 30th September, although I was able to make it on both dates.

I took a bus home, and it rained heavily just as I made my transfer home. As I left home in a hurry earlier, I brought nothing but my gate key(I had it detached from the key chain as I went for a run the evening before), phone, and wallet. Without an umbrella, I waited 15 minutes for the rain to reduce its intensity before I walked home, only to find myself locked out at 11.15am. My mum had taken my relatives to the museums for a visit, and would only be back at 4pm.

I took an umbrella, went to take a bus to my dad's workplace. 10 minutes after arriving at 11.40am, I drove us out for lunch at a market nearby, before doing some grocery shopping, and headed home. At 2pm, I went to the Jurong Regional Library to do a quick research on some stuff related to the final year project, from 3pm to 3.50pm. I had thought the few of us would be meeting at 5pm instead of 4 in school to prepare a surprise. After some confirmation, it was indeed 4pm as stated a few nights before.

Once in school, I found myself going back out to purchase a few stuff at King Albert Park. 40minutes later, I was back at the venue at 5.25pm. We were preparing a birthday surprise for our club mentor. He came by the back door. I happily took my time to paste the photographs onto a large card. He asked a friend to get some cash ready to purchase some refreshments to break fast with our fellow Muslim members. He walked past. We saw each other in the eye. He went in. Awkward silence. Well, at least the night went extremely well, and he apparently forgot about the card, until we brought it in to be presented to him

Today, our group had a 3-hour meeting at the library to plan for our design and the manufacture of our product. We even met our lecturer and supervisor who were there to get a few books! I went home, and slept the afternoon away after a short revision. Woke up at 5.30, before going for an evening run. Covered 8km in 50 minutes, by far the best timing this month.

This afternoon from 4.30 till 5.30pm, I revisited an old dream. It felt kind of weird, almost as if I was dreaming in a dream, yet I felt awake the whole time. In the dream, I was with my neighbours, relatives and parents, going to Malaysia on a holiday to stay at a bungalow. Here's the thing. Apparently, I was the only child, and the only one who looked my age, my parents looked a few years younger. My neighbours are supposed to be around my age, but in the dream, they looked like 5 or 6 year olds. Everyone else was the same, except that the cars we travelled in belonged to the 90s.

We arrived at 9am, and at 12pm, a young child wanted to trek along an abandoned railway to the country side. instead of by car, with 3 toy pushcarts stockpiled with snacks, drinks and clothes. We were going to stay at a country club till 6pm. My parents said that we had visited the place before when I was younger, except that now they had built a country club near there(they did not even mention my brothers, who were apparently non-existent in that dream... The railway hike experience was a revisit of one of my dreams when I was somewhere between 3-5 years, where I had this white cart with a yellow seat on one end and a long, blue handle on another).One way, the journey would take an hour. This was the thing. We had to walk along the tracks, and about a kilometre to our destination, we had to pay a toll at the first booth. The guard stationed there was short, old and grumpy. The second booth sold drinks and snacks. The journey there seemed rather easy. Until we reached the toll booth. the kid ran past the guard, and as our carts were all connected, we were unable to stop. He started to chase us, and he eventually caught up when we stopped at the second booth to buy drinks. We paid him, and continued on.

Why I had thought it was a dream in a dream, was simply because the country club looked like the Singapore Zoo and Botanical Gardens combined, and it was in Malaysia, facing the sea. What's more, the place even had a golf course, with some holes located at the gardens and the zoo! A friend hired a buggy for us to travel around in. I decided to walk through the zoo, and we caught an elephant feeding session, before I hopped back on so that we could complete a tour of the place.

We went back to our starting point, which was a canteen facing a large swimming pool. Not too far in the horizon was the beach. We had a nice afternoon chat with some tea, coffee and biscuits. At 4pm, there was a warning. Yellow lights were lit and an air raid siren was heard. My uncle told us that the place prone to sudden gusts of wind, a result of the vast open area of the country club. In a moment, it came, and the whole structure shook as though there was an earthquake. After the winds stopped, we saw water sprouts appearing near the beach. I counted out loud for everyone. There were 6 or 7 of them, and they were big. We did not feel any danger, so we went for a short walk nearby. I followed, but went back after awhile. Back at the canteen, I saw someone familiar by the balcony, and went out to confirm it. She was roughly 1.5-1.6m in height, and wore a red shirt. Maybe she was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans as well? I went up, and yes it was her(Apparently, I have never seen this girl anywhere before, and somehow my subconscious picked her up to be someone I knew, and yet I din't even say, or hear her name once in the dream. Sadly, I was unable to remember all her facial features.). We had a good chat, sat down, and continued our conversation over coffee. She needed to go to the wash room, so I followed. Something unique about the country club was that, the taps were shared, except the toilets, changing area and the showers were not(just like Makan Place @ NP, though the colour scheme used was different). When she came out, I learnt that she was there with her family, so I guess it wasn't really a coincidence afterall.

At 5pm, we parted ways. We promised to ring each other up once we're back in Singapore so that we could meet. I did not get to return to the canteen to see if the weather had improved as we were going to trek back to the bungalow. The journey back was tough, especially at the start. The guard at the toll gate was there to stop us, saying that the railway suffered some damage, but if we wanted to carry on, we had to be prepared for the worst. The kid was upset, but stubborn and he wanted to keep going. The adults contemplated our options. A quarrel ensued. 30 minutes later, we decided to set off at 6pm. We had a few more carts so that the adults could sit in and enjoy the ride back instead of going on foot. I linked all the carts together, and we had an engine to help. Somehow, halfway through, I simply broke down, badly. I had no idea why. Even if there was a reason behind it, I can't remember. After we set off, the journey was great. a stretch of the slope that was there had collapsed, and along the way we were able to see the sea and the horizon! It was 7.30pm when we reached the bungalow. We sat down together for dinner, and at 8.30pm, my aunt asked me to the porch, and we had a conversation about my conversation with that girl from the afternoon. I can't remember the details about almost every conversation from the dream, but that one, was filled with lots of advice. I only managed to remember the last part, where she said that if I wanted to, she could send me back home so that we both could see each other the following day. I agreed, and the next moment, I found myself awake, at 5.30pm.

Tomorrow and Sunday, it'll be intensive revision all the way till the end of next week, as August edges to an end and September arrives.

It seems not having the usual conversation for just one day, makes me feel as though something's missing. Maybe with my tone and words, you might find it rather boring? Every moment in text, was lived like there was no tomorrow.

National Day Weekend

Happy 45 birthday!

The recent weekend was kind of special. On Friday, I went to purchase some gear for taking the fireworks over the 2 weekends. On Saturday, went to the flyer with my relatives. In fact, it was our first time. Brought all my gear, hoping to see things I had never seen before. Indeed there was, and we saw students arriving at the F1 pit building, and on the way down 20 minutes later, we saw them making their way to the floating platform. That evening we went to Long Beach for a seafood dinner. Enjoyed it alot, and I tasted prawns for the first time(as I was afraid of the taste of the prawns since young). A prawn surprisingly tastes similar to the crab.

On Sunday, we had a gathering at my uncle's place for lunch. Quite a pleasant drive there, and that was the first time I parked the car perfectly in 1 reverse attempt, and at a car park my dad had never driven to! Went to Clementi to buy dinner and snacks for a soccer match later that evening. We had instant noodles for dinner. The next day, well, easy going morning, but as the time got later, things just kept getting better.

Woke up at 9.20am, surprised that my dad had not gone to work. 30 minutes later, I realised it was the nation's birthday. Lunch was simple, took a family photo after aeons before going to Hort Park(wrong timing) in smart casual attire, which was a wrong decision under hot and humid weather conditions. Went home, changed and went to Commonwealth where we took a train to City Hall to meet my aunt and uncle. Adjourned to the Singapore Recreation Club(SRC), but we had to make a couple of detours along the way. Kind of impressed with the two guys in charge of an exit at City Link. We managed to enter after leaving city link from an alternative exit at 7.20pm after the floats cleared the waiting area and the barricades were temporarily opened. Watched part of the parade live, watched how my dad offered advice to another member who was impressed we knew about the 1/3 rule of photography and videography. During the finale, it was as though I was watching a scene from the Gundam Seed Anime being played in front of me. The red fireworks that swept across the sky from the left to the right of the skyline at the start, was like the thousands of nuclear warheads being intercepted in the anime series.

During that time, I was someone who looked like her (except she was taller and whose voice had a higher pitch) sitting beside me, using a phone of a similar model but of a different colour, taking shots of the pyrotechnics with her family. Had the urge to help her like my father did, but decided not to, since it might spoil the experience for them. Moreover, a voice was telling me to continue waiting patiently, to walk on.

Today was spent on watching the encore telecast on the internet, chatting with a friend whose face I have never seen, who I have never met. My marathon training began today, with the 8-kilometre route. The timing wasn't up to my personal standard, but it was fine, since I had just recovered from a flu and minor knee injuries. Tomorrow, is the day I begin on my intensive revision for the final exams.

Meeting somewhere between December and February. The decision which might make or break it, just like the mere 5 minutes I experienced at Bedok Bus Interchange more than 2 years back.

Day 13-Cousins' Visit

Here's celebrating my 300th post!

This morning, I had 2 dreams, the first was set in pure darkness until toward the end I started to see light. The second was a continuation of the first after I woke up at 6am, and tried to sleep to continue dreaming(Lots of Deja Vu moments from today were from that dream).

The first dream probably started at 4am this morning, maybe earlier. I can't determine the time, or place in the dream, as my surroundings was pitch black. It started with me hearing a friend's voice, telling me,"Hey, wake up. She's online."

"Huh? Oh oh! But so early?"

I saw her profile flash at the bottom right of my sight. I wasn't seated in front of any screen. I looked around, it was pure darkness. The only thing I could see was a small tab showing her profile name and picture, stating she was online. I got up and went to the computer, and started a conversation. She asked about the school I was studying at, about the courses offered there. Suddenly she said that she was planning to make a trip to the school with 2 other friends to look around, as they had never been there, and would arrive between 11am to 1pm.

After she went offline, I could see the cabin, and my room mate behind me. I woke up at 6am.

I tried to sleep again, to continue with the dream. Somehow I wanted very badly to see how the day developed. At around 6.30am, I found myself waking in the cabin again. I saw her still online, and went to chat with her. However this time, we were talking about the times we had feelings for each other, and though I could feel she was hesitant to start over with me, I was hinting to her I would like to start afresh. She was refusing my hints in a sweet tone. Her message had the word "Auttthhhhiiiiinnnnnnnggg", which I stared hard at, trying to decipher the meaning. Did it mean "outing"? Her last message before going offline was asking if I was interested in her close friend, 'Alanor'(the name isn't spelt that way, though it sounds the same).

At 10am, I got changed, and went to the school. The crew was at Makan Place, so I went there to join them for brunch at 11am. I saw a group of 3 girls. I went to them, and invited them to join us since we had some extra portions. The captain invited them to join us on the short voyage to Orchard Road after lunch, as we were going to relax for the afternoon, before preparing for a battle at Mount Faber in the evening. They agreed, and decided to tag along, and return to look around the school when we return in the evening.

At Orchard Road, the 5 of us went to a department stall at one of the top floors of a shopping mall. We met another 2 friends there. One was teasing her, while another, was teasing the both of us, asking how the both of us were getting along.

Just then, the captain and 4 other comrades came, and told us to look out the window. It seems that the battle had started way earlier than we had expected, and we were mobilised to take part in the defence as well. As the ship was docked somewhere far from our location, and the 5 of us had no choice but to head over to the site first, since we could summon our crafts, also known as mobile suits(something like a super sized suit, but it's armed with weapons) from our present location. She held on to me, asking to follow me on board the craft. Somehow, without even thinking, I simply allowed her to follow. However, the both of us had to get to somewhere else before we could summon our crafts. I brought her all the way to Vivo City, so that I could prepare her to join me on board the craft, which could only seat a pilot. I was able to modify my craft at a secret workshop there by configuring the craft. Before I pressed the button to summon the craft, I told her to prepare herself for the flight to the battle site. I woke up at 8.45am.

Once again, I tried to fall asleep at 8.45am, and at 9am, I saw myself seated in a circle with the crew and with her seated opposite me on the floor outside the entrance of Makan Place. Her friends, and two of our friends who we met at the department stall, were not present. We were having dinner, talking about all kinds of stuff. Although we were not seated beside each other, I felt as though we had reconciled.

She was about my shoulder height, and her voice seemed to have gotten a little higher pitched.

I woke up at 9.45am, but my head felt really heavy, as though it wanted me to sleep on to continue dreaming. However, I did not want to go back to sleep or I might sleep till 12, and might not be able to remember my dream upon waking, as that heavy feeling in my head wasn't a good sign. If I had fell asleep, I would go into a deep sleep almost immediately and would wake at least 2 hours at 12pm, unable to remember whatever I had dreamt.

"This evening, my cousins came over to visit, and to pick up some pills as one of my cousins would be going overseas on a back packing trip in the coming week. Had my dinner late this evening as I had just returned from an evening run, while everyone sat at the table and chatted about our overseas experiences. I can't help, but feel the warmth. The conversation has fuelled my desire to go on a long trip with a group of close friends."

Back as Promised

2 weeks have passed. A week of examinations and a week of intensive preparation.

Won't be expecting good grades for the examinations this time, as I planned and did things in such a way that most things happened at the right place, at the wrong time. On Friday, went with the team for their immunisation at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, before leaving with Marcus and Shen Faye at 3.15pm.

The week after was fully occupied. Monday to Wednesday, I attended a standard first aid course, which was kind of like a refresher course, as my certification had expired 5 years ago. Tuesday night was spent totally on packing my bags for a camp the next day, and for the up-coming overseas trip the coming Monday, so I did not study for the first aid test. On Wednesday, found out that I was not going to be part of the orientation camp in April. On that same day, met Koon Teck to collect the First Aid kits and some stuff that would help us during the 14-day trip to Dumaguete City in the Philippines. Passed the course with 28 out of 30 for the theory, and cleared the practical and CPR test. Attended a pre-trip camp after that. THat's the first time I attended a camp for the purpose of bonding with team mates, getting to know the stuff we're going to do there better, all in preparation for an overseas youth expedition programme. Went to play pool with Danial, Iqbal, Mel and Hui Yin that night, before buying supper for some of the others back at the apartments.

On Thursday, ran 10 rounds at the stadium, before heading back to join the rest in preparing for the Cultural Nite performance. Had lunch with the team, and left for our pre-trip community service, which seemed like what a team would do in the I&E in Action Module, under the Community Pathway. Had a strong sense of deja vu once again during the briefing by Melinda at the centre, when I remembered the scene where we were all standing round her as she gave the briefing. Can't really remember when I dreamt of it, and what happenedin that dream, except for that briefing scene.

Today went to get some stuff to pack for the trip. In the morning went to Yio Chu Kang to meet Jacy to collect her package for her kids, before heading ome for lunch. Went out to change money and purchase some stuff to use over there for the 14 days, and went home for dinner. Joined some friends for dinner at Brewerkz till 9.30pm before heading home.

Shall complete the packing and final baggage checks later in the morning, before returning to sleep the afternoon away till 4pm. Tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to do a short post before heading off for 14 weeks. Would only be able to post again after that.

I'll be on my way back soon. Please wait a little longer...

The Tiger's Turn

Happy Chinese New Year to all.

Three days of pre-exam break has ended, providing a clear mind for the last 4 papers, the first in two days. Making this short, for each year it's more or less the same(minus the different things that happen each year, good or bad).

First Day, a visit to the temples, movie at Lido followed by dinner at Revenue house, and ending off with the first two visits of the year with cousins. Caught Percy Jackson ad the Lightning Thief at Lido at 4.30pm. It was a great movie from start till the climax, afterwhich the thrill just died off with the producers trying to rush the ending of the film in the last 30 minutes. The whole film lasted for more than 2 hours, inclusive of air time for the ads. Went for a Japanese dinner after that, ending off with a visit to my grandmother's and uncle's homes, just like last year.

Second day, I fell very ill, but managed to recover in 5 hours. 4am I woke feeling extremely weak, shivering violently, my throat sore, running a high fever. First thought, damn the timing. Somehow managed to fall asleep again, waking 2 hours later at 6am. Before that, was having a weird dream, of how I was having a photography class with some of the people I knew, at the now-gone block 73 lecture threatre. It ended off when I started worrying about forgeting to complete and submit my photographs on the last lesson. If not for the air conditioner which made me shiver so badly, I was going to have a really bad panic attack that morning. 3 hours later, I woke again, but it fet as though I was dreaming all night long. I had no fever, the air conditioner was running, but as usual, I wouldn't feel cold(the temperature was alway set at 25degrees), I could walk normally around the room. It felt like a dream, until I drank a glass of water. Sore throat. At least it was better than fever, and being unable to walk around, eat, drink or do anything for the rest of the festive season. Went to the market to getsome drinks with my father before heading home. Cousins from my father's side came over for lunch, and stayed till 4, before we went over to my cousins' place for dinner, before continuing on to visit another cousin's home.

The third day. We did not really go anywhere yesterday, for friends and relatives came to visit. The only day I really had some time for some revision.

Something new this year, I was doing the driving most of the time on the second and third day. On the first day, I drove with my uncle to the Revenue House, and on to my Grandmother's home after dinner. On the second day, I drove to the market and back, and later on in the afternoon, I went on my first drive with my cousin, my first time driving with someone who was also a probational driver(for it meant less stress for both drivers when it came to driving from point A to B in terms of travel time). On the third day, I drove my parents do dinner and back.

Today's the fourth day, and it was also time I started studying for the examinations again. Just 8 more days and I'll no longer be at level 2. This year is definitely going to be better than last year!

So much for thinking random thoughts. Whatever comes to my mind, comes alive in daily events, sooner or later. Lately, I have been able to 'see' things from a different perspective, that I doubt most would not be able to. Give me a movie scene, and I could imagine the cameraman filming the moment and the director directing the actors in their actions and lines while looking at the product of the efort they put in fr the particular scene. Give me a photograph, and I could imagine what happened shortly before and after the photograph was taken(I have never been told if those events have really happened, so I can't be sure if the images I imagined are 100% authentic). I can't wait for June.

Yet Another Blessing In Disguise, Perhaps?

All things come in Threes. I'll make a list, before going on to my long story for the day. Lecture today was surprisingly short. Received an email with the opportunity to help change the school. Completed the final paper for ED, with the confidence of an A grade. Bad start for the test in school. Bad stomach upset in school. Did not make the interview for the trip.

This morning, I got out of bed without a good feeling. Subconsciously, my mind was telling me to sleep through the day. The dreams I had the night before, felt too good to be true. Reminds me of the morning of the posting results, though it was somewhat different. Dragged myself to school, as there was a test to be held at 8.30am. We were delayed till 9.20am, as here were some technical issues with the online test. We sat for a written test instead. Went to bind my assignments, but sadly, the lecturers were not in the office at the time. Dropped off the projects and went off for lunch. Went off to the washroom for an unpleasant start to the afternoon, before heading for the last lecture of the semester, which lasted an hour. Went for the final test, after some help from Hong Peng, which greatly boosted my chances of getting an A grade for the paper.

On 29th February, I spent 2 minutes in a room. I felt the same cold, dark feeling which I felt inside of me when I failed my first attempt at a driving test after a near accident with a primier taxi, when I left the room. Here's a copy of my Dream Journal, unedited, dated not too long ago, on Saturday, 30th January 2010. It was just a day after the interview, and I "saw" the results firsthand. What I have here, are notes, as the scenes in my dreams usually jump around from place to place(though the events are ironically able to link themselves together extremely well):

30th Jan'10
day: Sunday, 7th Feb'10 ??
time: late morning/ early afternoon
venue: some function room large enough to hold 40

Confirmation of OMF applicants(announcement by 2 members of panel)
>failed interview
>>students who were asked questions about selves, studies, trip-related = accepted(no names mentioned)
>>>first meeting for successful applicants held on 14th _____(month)??
>joel,glenn,sarah..
[END]

Apparently, the dream started with the flashback of the dialogue session held on the 28th. Somehow, after the session, when everyone went for another round of refreshments, a white board was brought in. A piece of paper covered the board. 2 members of the panel came in. Silence was in the air. One of them said,"students who were asked questions about yourselves, about your studies, or any trip-related questions would be accepted without ay questions asked." They left, without mentioning any names, and with the board remaining in the room. I accepted it as though nothing had happened. In the crowd, I saw only familiar faces. Something that woke me up, was the fact that there was no way I could communicate with my friends who were successful. Whenever I tried to congratulate them, it was as if I appeared to be non-existant to them. Even as they bumped into me, they just walked on to the others as though nothing had happened.

Last Friday, the results were known. Today, the 8th of Februay 2010, the results were released. It might be disappointing, but, it wouldn't be fair to hog a vacancy for someone who's better wouldn't it? Back on Tuesday, 19th February 2008, it was similar to what I may have felt after waking, but today's pain, is nothing compared to what I felt that day. Not getting into the course I wanted badly migth have been a great deal back then, but it has become some sort of a blessing in disguise as my parents might put it. If not for that one extra point, all this might not have happened at all. I got a feeling, this time round, yet another blessing might be just round the corner, waiting for me to receive it.

The next challenge awaits!

January's Brush

The closing week of each month usually carry the most memorable moments. First long distance run of 15km in 2010,running the longest project marathon, completing 2 interviews that were running consecutively at 2 different locations, and ending off with a short reunion with camp mates.

The second year, is where relatively short timeframes for projects to be completed are implemented, either you're revising yur stuff, or you would be rushing to complete the last paragraph of a section in the report so that you could continue on the next section, and in turn complete and submit the project in time.

The last weekday of January, was a rather agonising day, where I noticed seconds lasting nearly as long as hours, and hours as long as a day. I had barely completed the final touches to our project, which was due for presentation that afternoon. In addition to the presentation, I was due for an important intervew, in which I was playing for extremely high stakes, with the probability of making it through being 11/20. Who wouldn't want to be part of a 2-week, heavily subsidised trip to another continent at the other side of the world? It's great thinking about the reward waiting on the other side of the pasture, but the path leading to it, is filled with countless mines and traps, threatening to stop me at my first step.

Fast forward to 3.50pm on Friday, I was about to get ready for a presentation, when a call arrived. It was my turn for the interview, when I was just about to get ready for the presentation. My mind, was filled with nothing but a white void. The walk to the Student Services Office seemed like an hour, when it took only 5 minutes. I felt as thouh I lost my voice upon arriving. 5 minutes later, I was invited into the room. For once, I felt traces of my voice return, only to realise that, I was unable to think clearly on my feet, which caused much panic. On the inside, I was calm, but on the outside, I was contanly tiking of what I should add on to my statement to make it better. Constant clashes led to a breakdown, and I simply paused. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, and I said a sentence or two to complete what I wanted to say.

In just 2 minutes(maybe more), I was touching the cold, metal handle of the doors which would return me to the comfort of my friends. I did not turn back, but kept moving forward. The same, cold, dark feeling which I felt inside me on my first driving test after commiting my first immediate failure mistake, returned once again, this time bringing with it double the agony. In your local drama, staying in the 'cell' for less than 5 minutes is akin to receiving the death sentence. For me, it meant brushing wih death and returning to life. It's just an experience like no other. If it wasn't my time yet, I would be receiving that golden ticket to board that plane. I have made the choice within those 2 minutes, to prove myself. It's now up to fate, to decide which path I should take at the crossroads in June. With no regrets, I shall now leave it aside for the timebeing, lest the ticket really did manage to find its way to me.

Back in the classroom, Yingfeng was concluding the presentation. There were only a couple of mistakes, but overall, he did really well.

Had a great evening letting the pain go with Cardus, Jaemeng and Jorge at Dhoby Ghaut that evening. If not for them, I might still be lying in bed, penning down every little regret I had, right after I left the room. After a great night(withut drinks, of course), I felt as though nothing had happened.

Just yesterday, went on a 6km run with Hongpeng at East Coast, revisiting part of the 42km route I ran back in December. I completd the run at my average time of 35minutes. Went home, slept the afternoon away, and drove my third return journey to dinner via expressway.

Today went pretty well, with lots of stuff being settled. Reached home, went for a short 4km run, with a feeling I had never felt before. With every step, I felt as though I was gliding on air. Never fel so great before. Wondering whether it was the reduced weight of my stomach(had my dinner only after the run), or it was the run I had the previous day which provided the boost. Completed the run in 22minutes.

Lately, I had been dreaming of stuff, which could happen on the same day I had the dream(which could freak me out at times), and thinking of random people at random times, and seeing them appear in front of me just a couple of seconds later.

Tomorrow, it's time to return to the books and projects.

"Journey" To The Past And Back

In the past week, my mind and subconscious travelled back in time. On Monday, I dreamt of me being 14 again, going to a polytechinic which looked like a secondary school.

During the rest of the week, my dreams were somehow filled with images of the past, showing what the future would be like if I made the choice to take a different route at each junction back in those days. My waking life over the week was miserable, filled with nothing more than sheer regret. It's the same thoughts of "Why didn't I have the courage to make the move back then? Why didn't I sign up for it? If only I hadn't done this, if only I had done that."

Wednesday, I had a dream, as a result of too much video games. Found myself in a boss fight with 2 other characters. One girl, and a knight. The knight refused to accept me for some reason, which I forgot what it was after I woke. The fight took place at a small village, defeated the boss, and moved on to a cave, where we fought off monsters. Somehow, we ended up at school, and fr some reason, we made our way to the SDAR office. There, for some reason, the knight finally accepted me, and things started happening at a fast rate. A girl(not the one I started out with), rushed to me, passing me a small, A5 sized ring binded booklet, its cover made of recycled paper. Along its left side, was 2 words spelled in capital, and 4 digits, in olive green colour. On the right, were 4 photographs, presumably from a tour. She said that she was there to pass me the booklet on behalf of a Dr. __________ (it's an Indian name). On it was a note, which was a message written to her asking to pass the booklet to me, his name was at the bottom of the note. I fell into a daze as I saw the cover page and flipped the booklet open. I woke after that. That evening, I wrote a message, which might not mean anything to the recipient, but it helped me let go.

On Friday, I went to Pizza Hut with the peeps from N4. On the way back, I 'saw' the girl who passed me the booklet in the dream I had on Wednesday. She asked for directions to the school, and ran off. So, in the dream, she passed me a booklet, while in person, she asked for directions. Weird.

In the evening, went to Kismis field for the ME fun day. The tug of war lasted 5 seconds, with us petite friends, losing to a bunch of muscular students. It wasn't demoralising at all, in fact, our bonds got stronger. Then came the relay. It was funny to meet the same opponents, but it was funnier to see how we reacted to one another's ways of completing his leg of the relay. Rushed off to meet Zheng Yan and Zihao for the barbeque at Toa Payoh.

We took 157, and arrived at 7. Someone said Ryan would be late, but she never mentioned which one. As a result, both were. Nearly the whole class was there that night, and it was a night worth remembering, although there was no stayover due to a low response. Went for supper at King Albert Park with Zheng Yan, Ryan Ng, Jing Hui, Chiahua and Gekshan. At 12.45am, Jing Hui and Ryan Ng accompanied back home for the night, after we saw Chiahua, Gekshan and Zhengyan off halfway during the journey.

In the morning, they left, and I headed off for Lakeside at 10.15am. I reached at 10.35, and met up with Zhong Rong and Zijie(Yes! I finally met him in person!). Zhong Rong gave mr Liew a call, which gave us the reassurance that we could crash the secondary 1 CCA Open House without any complications. Went on a tour, and noticed the changes in the school(not physical changes though). At 12, went to Jurong Point for lunch with Andy, Zhong Rong, Zijie and the juniors. Had a nice time getting to know them a little over lunch. 1pm, we went to take a group photo. Before that, a few more joined in. A strong sense of Deja Vu. Many thoughts ran through my mind at the time, and that, prompted me to tell someone something later that day. Whatever the dream was, don't think it would be appropriate to describe it here nor what I felt due to sensitive issues(leave me a message if you are serious about it).

Took the train home after taking the bus back. Finally, I could catch up on my sleep. That night, was probably the best night I had that week. Regrets that I had back in old school that I kept close to me, I finally let go that dreamless night.

Sunday, I had my first driving experience on the expressway. It was no different than driving on the road, except that with low mental stamina, I found it hard to concentrate, to maintain the vehicle's course within the lane, for it was always moving toward the right. Even as I kept to a speed of 60km/h which made things easy for me, I found myself starting to become mentally tired 15 minutes into the drive on the way home. It's better to be physically tired, than mentally tired, for the consciousness of an average person is way stronger than the physical strength of the strongest person alive.

So many things happened in a week, I found myself 'travelling' to the past and back, through gatherings and re-visits. On Monday, I opened my eyes to a whole new future. I am starting to let go of the past regrets which have, and will continue to prevent me from doing some things in the future. Only by letting go, would one find more roads to choose from. Looking forward with no regrets, is better than looking back and wondering if the choice made was the right one.

And A New Decade Begins

Leagues later, 2009 has become yet another completed chapter in the history book. 10.10pm on Friday, on 1st January 2010. A quick look back at 2009.

First 'adventurous' journey home from Merlion Park on 1st January 2009, on foot, which lasted 5 hours. First camp and sparring competition. My first overseas trip with the school. Started on my driving lessons in March. Formation of a new CCA. CCA orientation camp. Went on neighbourhood photo-taking tour in Bukit Panjang, Chua Chu Kang, Taman Jurong, Rivervale, Sengkang, Tampines, Kembangan, Siglap, Pasir Ris, Loyang and Changi. Downfall of a great friendship with friends whose faces I have never seen before. Got my third phone on Saturday,5 September. My second, and very likely, my last sparring competition. One star kayaking course at Pasir Ris Beach. First leadership camp in school. First Marathon, completed in 6 hours 50 minutes due to unexpected circumstances. Night cycling around the Eastern Park Connector Network on Sunday, 27th December.

2009 has been a year where countless lessons were learnt, and many fond memories forged. Met many great friends, learnt ways of finding out who was true, and who was not.

The past year was filled with more hardship and sorrow than happiness. Pressed badly for time due to many commitments and the lack of proper time management. Lost many things I held closely to compared to the bonds and memories I gained.

The last week of December 2009 has been a great one. Saturday,26th December, went to my Primary school teacher's home for a primary 5,6 class gathering after our last gathering 2 years ago. It was difficult indentifying some of us, as everyone of us had changed. Spent a day gaming, taking photographs and having dinner and supper together.

A day later, went out for night cycling and photograph taking tour of sights seen along the Eastern Park Connector Network with three friends(after the first attempt in September failed due to torrential rain and time constraints). With that, I have become more aquianted with the Eastern part of the country, though some areas are not the safest places to be after midnight. Monday, reached home, packed, headed back to school for a last minute meeting.

Tuesday, had my driving instructor on his last day at the school. Wednesday, rushed to complete part of a project in school before going to the bus stop to meet some friends, beore heading off to Toa Payoh. That day, was the first time we had more than 10 volunteers helping out, delivering food to the senior citizens in the town. The night before, I had a dream of myself with a friend, helping two girls in finding their direction. It did not dawn upon me unil later that afternoon at 4.45pm, that I would be meeting them, though their looks were slightly different from the images I 'saw' in the dream the previous night. Met 2 new friends, and a former room mate at the previous camp. we completed our area in 45 minutes, before heading off to the HDB hub for dinner.

Thursday, went for my last driving lesson before the new year. Did not have much major problems, except for the minor mistakes that I never found out. In the evening, went for a 9 kilometre run that lasted 55 minutes, before watching a disappointing countdown party on television, and keeping watch of a blue moon from 1 till 4am.

Today, rushed part of my project, before continuing to Orchard Cineleisure with family to catch Avatar 3D at 1.50pm. It was a great movie, currently the best movie I have ever caught at a cinema. The graphics, cinematics and plots were espeially stunning. I had two dreams of the plot over a span of three days, which kind of gave me a short preview of the movie. Went shopping, before heading over to Jurong East for dinner after going home.

2010 began with a bang like the previous years, however, I have a gut feeling, that this year, things would be unimaginably great. Miracles would unfold. I don't know how, but I just know it, that 2010 would be a year that is filled with more pleasant memories compared to previous years.

2010, I see you. Top 3 resoultions(I'm still thinking of more to fill in). Finding you, because I just haven't met you yet. Finding my first GPA of 4.0. A chance to travel to places I have never been to.

21-11-09

Finally started revising Calculus again after a long time. Less than 3 weeks to go, and I have yet to start on the actual revision. Falling behind for SOM and ED as well. Here I go. Next week till the week before Christmas, I won't be online between 7.30pm and 10pm on weekdays for revision. Weekends, well, have to see how it goes.

The morning started well, and I remembered almost everything I dreamt about, but wanted t wait till this evening before recording it in here. By now, it's a little too late, as I have forgotten most of te stuff that happened in the dream. I remember 4 things. Driving lesson(I had missed a lesson during the weekend in that dream), it took place somewhere on a weekday, I 'met' Germaise somewhere, and I 'visited' a few places I dreamt of some time ago. This morning I was able to remember almost everything, but once it was the afternoon, I had forgotten lots of it.

Went to IMM with parents to collect my brother's cake at 1.30pm, we took part in a cashback event at 2pm(and received a $50 Red Apple voucher), and reached home at 3pm to cut the cake. Set off with my cousin, parents and brother to Toa Payoh to drop off my cousin at the swimming complex before heading to Orchid Country Club to collect my brother's 2 bowlig balls, and continued on to Kallang to get his 2 'new' balls. Went to Bukit Merah for dinner, before we came home.

Took lots of pictures today. Most were blurred(as the were taken through the car window), some were ok, and a few were nice.

Tomorrow, it's back to revision, this time, re-writng my own notes for ED.

Experience Drive-26

The second revision session before the actual test. Had the lesson on a Tuesday morning, as that would be during the time period of my test, so that I could simulate the traffic conditions in the circuit as well as on the road. Was expecting a different instructor, as before I managed to get the slots, there were no slots available for me to book only until 2 weeks before I managed to find slots from 9.50am to 11.30am. Went through every station in the circuit followed by another 2 test routes before the session ended. I still had problems with the parallel parking and waiting till it was safe enough to make a turn into another road. Other than that, my vehicle did not stall again.

Today, for the first time this semester, I studied. Cleared almost all the doubts that I had so far over the past 2 weeks. If only I had started earlier(just like what I did in the first semester), I might even be a chapter ahead of the class by now. During dinner, history repeated itself, once again. 9 years ago, I got a fish bone stuck in my throat. This evening, I got another stuck in the same area. The good thing was, compared to 9 years ago, this time it happened on a weekend. In the past, it was on the evening I had my dinner after coming home from school at 7pm, the day I had my SA2 Chinese paper in P3. Initially, I thoguht it would be fine to simply leave it in there since it was just a small bone, and it would cause alot of trouble if I had to get it out, until learning that if I left it there for more than a week, I could stand a chance to breathe my last breath. At least tonight we only took a minute to get it out, compared to the agonising 120 minutes we went through at NUH and lots more cash spent, compared to tonight, although we still had to leave home to extract the bone.

Since school started I havent really been able to remember my dreams as clearly as I used o during the holidays. Got a strong feeling it could be due to the amount of sleep I get each night. Perhaps I should turn in earlier each night. I want to remember my dreams. Who knows, that one dream might just help me in the future...

Experience Drive-20

Almost there! Yet another revision session and lesson, which went relatively well. I still had problems with the parallel parking and directional change in the circuit, and till that point of time, I felt my performance on the road was fine. I stalled once on that day.

Was out the whole day, from 12 till 8. Before that, Uncle and aunt came over to deliver some apple juice(made with a secret formula), which tasted better than those you buy off the shelves! It's kind of for my brother to drink, to help him relax before the first day of an important examination tomorrow. Went out for lunch with parets, before I went to the driving school at 1.20, and took a train down to Bugis to meet them later on at5pm, before we went for dinner.

Finally this morning, I could remember my dream. It's about a kayaking event with a group of friends at a lake.We were told that the lake was infested with sharks and crocodiles, but we went on, till we saw lots of fins and eyes protruding from the water surface. We went to a beach, and we met with the same thing again. Weird, but at least, I managed to remember what I dreamt, after what happened the night before.

A Dream Too Real To Be A Dream

This is something I definitely have got to post. I had this dream on Friday morning. Something what made this dream special, was that it's another one of those dreams that I was able to remember every event down to nearly the smallest detail. Personally, dreams like these, have a relatively higher chance of becoming a reality in the near future compared to other dreams where I simply remember the brief events and the people involved.

I was driving a car(can't remember the make), before being chased by a police car in Malaysia on the highway. Was detained, and brought to a police station. (How was it, that I was able to drive a car whenI was still on my way to sittng for the driving test and getting my license?)I could remember everything that happened at the station. From the outsde it looked like a bungalow. On the inside, it was like an office. The walls were painted bottom-half yellow, top-half white. The windows had white grills. There were two officers, both Malay. The one who interrogated me, was the artise who acted in the series "Police and Thief"(weird,right?). As for the other, I did not really look at him, other than knowing that he was there, watching. Somehow, I answered every question truthfully, and the concluded that I was driving a car that did not belong to me(as it was a rental car)and that I had stolen the car. Weirdly, I simply acknowledged the crimes that I was found to be guilty of. And, the penalty to pay, was none other than capital punishment by shooting.

In that dream, it was so weird, yet it felt so real. I was so calm, yet I did not worry about what was yet to come. In that dream, I saw death as being born again, as though I had another life waiting for me to live after I had passed on. He took me to an empty room, had me facing the window, and held a rifle aimed at my back. I thought to myself," Don't worry. It will happen so fast, before you know it, you'll be born to a new family in another part of the world."

Before I knew it, I heard a loud bang. I fell to my knees, before fallng flat onto the ground. I felt my hearing disappear, and my eyesight became blurred. Before I knew it, I passed out, but not for long. I felt myself being dragged out by the feet, by the same officer who shot me with the rifle. The white-tiled flooring was stained as he dragged me through 3 rooms. He kept turning right. The moment we were in the thrid room, I slowly regained consciousness. That, was extremely weird and unnatural. How was I, having been shot right in the heart, still be able to be awake? I tasted blood in my mouth. I felt a mild pain in my chest, and my right palm was covered in blood. Perhaps, I unknowingly covered my wound with it when I fell? The officer was still nearby, talking on the phone, asking for a vehicle to take my body to a morgue.

I woke up. I lifted my head up slightly, and took a sweeping glance of the room. Feeling weak, I slowly opened my mouth, which leaked of blood. What about my arms, could I move them? Slowly, I moved my arms slightly. He was still on the phone, and I did not want to surprise anyone with any sudden movement. I jerked. The other officer noticed, and whispered to his colleague, who had just hung up the phone.

"Hey,hey! I think, he just moved."
"You sure? I knew very well I shot him fatally. Maybe it's his last breath."

He picked up my feet, and started dragging me out through the door. The time now, was after sunset. The sky was crimson. By now, I was fully awake, and felt alive, except for the pain in my chest. However, although my heart was still beating weakly, I felt some mild pain there. He turned me over at the carpark after we were out the main door, and there, still breathing, I stared him in the eye. He took a step back. He turned ghostly pale. "Why that look? You haven't killed me yet," I said, softly, blood leaking out like water flowing from a leaking tap each time I spoke a word.

"But how? I shot you straight in the heart."
"Yes, you did. But why am I still alive?"
"Nevermind. Hold him still. Don't worry. I promise you this time you won't feel anything after the shot."

I nodded. He walked over, loaded his revolver, covered its nozzle(is that what its called?) with the back of my head, and almost immediately, he pulled the trigger. I lost consciousness almost immediately. However, after a short while, I felt myself waking once again. This time, I stood up. The officers were still there, and they did not dare to move. My family arrived by car. "Now that you have tried to shoot me to death twice, do you mind letting me return to my family? With those 2 wounds, I don't think I would last beyond tonight." In shock, they nodded, to the extent it seemed as though they were having a fit. He gestered his hand, as if he were anxiously asking me to leave. I got in the car, and by now, the bleeding had stopped.

We got home, and the first thing I did was to head to the bed. My room was still just as messy as ever. Sitting there, I told my parents that I had to cancel the last 3 lessons for driving as soon as possible so that they could get a refund of the fees, and that it was pointless to cancel the test date, for there would be no refund even if we were to give up the slot to someone else. Weirdly, I never told them what to do after I had passed on. My family, and I did not feel nor show any signs of fear, happiness or feel sadness. We were calm. They agreed, and I went to the kitchen to get a drink and something to eat.

It was about 10pm in the night when I went to the secod floor to turn on the desktop. I saw my brother taking the model kit I had bought earlier on the 2nd of September when I took a short tour around Sengkang. (From that, I guessed that day might be my brother's birthday, this saturday, October 10th. But wait. Why would we, or I even drive to Malaysia on a Saturday just to celebrate my brother's birthday? Weird.) Suddenly, just as I was about to log into the computer, I started shaking violently and uncontrollably. "So his is how it feels to say goodbye. Just let me go on for a little longer and see them for one last time, please?"I thought, before waking at 4.38am in the morning.

"Huh? That was a dream? But it felt so real!" With that thought, I started shivering badly, the same way I shivered in that dream. Quickly, I reached out for the comforter I was lying on. Surprisingly, it was folded in half, along the side of the bed. How was I able to do that while I was dreaming? All I remember was lying over it before falling asleep, but not folding it in half as I fell asleep. In addition, why did the room suddenly become so cold, when only the fan was turned on, and the air conditioner was turned off throughout the night? I started to feel fear. What if, that dream really came true? Wouldn't all of us be in trouble? Was the comforter that was folded in half, and the extreme cold I felt upon waking some kind of a warning to prepare for the worst on that day, for the dream would definitely become a reality on the 10th of October, this Saturday? I don't know. If it was really going to happen, I rather stay home all day, if I were going to be the cause of it.

SG "Tour"- DAY 4(Sengkang)

Woke up this morning at 10.30am, and I thought. Since yesterday I did not have the chance to go to Sengkang the day before, why not go today? Maybe not. I felt sleepy, and my muscles were aching from the tiring ride the previous day. Drank some milo mum made early that morning, and out of curioisity, I flipped through the issue of My Paper that was left on the table. An article caught my eye. There's a GUNDAM Fiesta going on at Compass Point, and today's the first day! Perfect timing. I told Mum I was going to leave for Compass Point at 12 and would only be back at 7. She asked the usual,"Why not ask some of your friends along? Aren't they having their holidays as well?"

Simply, I said as we left for the bus stop,"I don't think my friends would want to walk with me under the hot sun taking pictures of HDB flats, though they might be interested in the first GUNDAM fiesta in the country." Mum was meeting Dad to go buy stuff and have lunch that afternoon.

Boarded 189 and left for Clementi. Transferred to service 156 to Sengkang, on a journey which lasted more than 2 hours. A bus is the way to go if you wanted a slower and more relaxed pace in travelling. The bus wasn't crowded at all throughout the trip. Reached Sengkang Interchange at 2pm, and it felt almost as though I had arrived at another country. Alright, first stop, Compass Point. There it was, just the way I had imagined the scale of the fiesta to be as I read through the advertisement earlier that morning. Relatively small, with numerous exhibits of the various designs of GUNDAM model kits on show.

I left on a short tour around the shopping mall, before going on to the Interchange complex which contained the Bus interhcange, LRT station and Sengkang MRT Station. Deja vu. I dreamt about this place a couple of months back. It was a dream where I was at a theme park in Genting with some friends, and the shopping complex had the same decordations found on the wall of the interior of Compass Point, on the fourth floor. A ship, a lady and a pirate if I could remember correctly. Compass Point definitely has almost every shop you could find at West Mall, except it was missing a cinema. However, the shopping mall was more lively and had more space than West Mall, though it only had 4 floors compared to the 5 that West Mall has.

As for the interchange complex, it was from another dream. I can't say for sure if that dream truly was deja vu, but the only things that were exactly the same was the LRT train, the interior design of the place, and the staff on duty at the basement, who surprisingly also wore the same lime green unifroms that only the SBS service staff wore.The staff on duty at the MRT platform wore the maroon uniforms put on by SMRT service staff. I did not realise it until I saw the lift and escalators that linked the LRT platform a couple of floors up and the MRT platform in the basement. In that dream, I was on the way from after making a visit to school on Teachers' Day, alone. In that dream, it started with me alighting from a bus and meeting other friends in school. The MRT Station, surprisingly had a basement for an LRT platform, and a platform a floor above.

I did not go down to look at the MRT platform, but I went up onto the LRT platform. It's different from the one at Bukit Pangjang. And there they were, 2 service staff in their bright, lime green uniforms chatting to each other. Similar to that dream, I missed 2 trains before boarding a train, finally. Went on Route C(or was it route B?) along the compassvale side of the route, before alighting and boarded another train for route B(or was it route C?). I kind of got myself confused with the simple network of the LRT system there, for it is in the shape of the figure 8. However, the 4 routes were rather confusing. For example, would the train I board go on route A, before continuing on route D when it arrived at the Sengkang LRT Station again? And the directions of the route change at 3pm, which were rather interesting. You don't see the trains change directions along any other LRT or MRT line in Singapore (I'll find out if it's the same for Punggol next Wednesday when I try out the line) at 3pm.

I alighted at Fernvale, and started taking photographs once again. By then, school students were already dismissed from school, so it was kind of a great, last minute plan, where I did not have to squeeze onto a over crowded LRT train. There's something about the train itself. Not only was it different than the trains you would see on the Chua Chu Kang LRT line, the trains were also faster, although you had to wait between 2 to 5 minutes for a train to arrive. Compared to the Chua Chu Kang LRT where you would see trains passing by almost every 2 to 3 minutes, I saw a train pass by on the Sengkang LRT line roughly every 3 to 5 minutes, maybe more.

2.50pm, all the way till 4pm. As expected, I did not get lost though it was my first time there, thanks to the LRT line. I did not expect that I would complete walking the full route within 2 hours! One thing that I could observe about my "tour" so far. The archietecture and design of the HBD flats there are definitely more attractive and they sure look more modern than the HDB flats in the western parts of Singapore, in places such as Jurong and Bukit Panjang. Some of the flats even looked like condos without the fences and swimming pools! Perhaps, the flats at Punggol would look similar, or even better?

Took a break at 4, before returning to Compass Point for the Fiesta. It was real crowded by the time I got back, though the queues at the cashier wasn't as long as I had expected. Bought a little gift for my brother who would be turning 16 the coming month, before boarding 156 and headed back to Clementi Interchange where I boarded 106 back home. Arrived at my doorstep at 7.15pm.

Here's some of the photographs taken this afternoon:

Oh, and if you would like to see more, Here's the links to the 4th day of the "tour" and the GUNDAM Fiesta @ Compass Point.

"sg tour"-DAY 4(part 1)

"sg tour"-DAY 4(part 2)

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Happy 44th National Day

This year's celebration was unique. On Friday, woke up at 4.45am. Somehow I managed it as I slept at 2am the night before. Had just recovered from mild fever and alost fully recovered from flu the day before, and hopefully, I won't get chased out by the secuity when we enter the school later on. I took the 6.45am bus with my brother to Clementi, and after 2 years, it was just the same. That morning, half the bus was dressed in the patriotic red. Decided not to wear red this year. I had wanted to wear red at first, but, on second thought, let's try giving this year a miss.

Reached Lakeside at 7.20am, andthey were nowhere in sight. Weirdly, anything tht hasgot to do with meeting friends from secondary school, I'm always early. But when it came to activities with friends from polytechnic,I'm usually either very early, or I as very late. Classes included. 7.35am, Randall and Jin Tian arrived, and as we were way too early, we went for breakfast instead. Went back to the coffeeshop behind the school, and stayed there for over an hour before we went back to school. Like the year before, I skipped clases before lunch time, which meant I skipped the EM3B lecture hat morning from 9 to 11am.

We waited at the foyer after signing in, listened to his usual long speeh, listened to and sang along to the songs, and watched the performance by the students involved in the actual parade on Sunday. The performance was in fact a nice, close-up preview of what's going to happen on the big day. That short morning sure broguht back memories. One again, they had a carnival this year. We were soon joined by others(I can't remember everyone). As I woud be running around a few places the whole day, I decided not to ring along my camera. Thus, there were no pictures taken. Met up and caught up wih lots of familiar friends and teachers while we were there. There were also inter-class games for netball and table tennis.

At 11, the alumni formed a team to play against the current students(mostly players of the school team). I took part as well, just for fun. As expected, I had not fully recovered, and after just 5 minutes, I started walking. It was a nice match, although e lost very badly(which is a good thing). Good thing I informed the club that I would not be turning up for the friendly match in advance that night, as after the friendly match ended at 11.30, I went straight to the toilet to make myself feel better. The match lasted only 10 minutes. At 11.45, Alicia and I shared a cab to school, for I was late for a test, and she had classes at 12.

A cab arrived just in time, and it was a nice coincidence, as, the driver who brought us to school used to fetch our vice principal to school in the past. What a small word! We had a nice chat with him during the journey. Very memorable morning. In the taxi, I felt unwell again. Damn. Let's hope it would be gone by the time I arrived in school. During the journey, he asked if we both knew which school we were in. coincidentally, we only knew that our courses were both from the Mechanical Engineering Division, just minutes before we boarded the taxi(while we were walking to the school's main gate).

Rushed straight to the classroom(still perspiring very badly after the game). How nice, just after I got off I felt like fainting. Bought a drink, and once I sat down, I felt better. In a minute, the test began. Nice timing.For th rest of the day, I was back to normal, except for the flu that was still there. My mind went blank in the first five minutes as I was changing my mindset of the holiday mood to that of the studying mood. Completed the test for Thermodynamics without much difficulty although it was just 5 questions. Went for IA after that, got back my draft for the case study, and we started with the lessons. Toward the end, I became very restless and my mind just switched off.

3.50pm, I took 154 and headed for Toa Payoh Hub to meet Bernice and some others from Joy 5, class of 2002. Maybe I would consider it to be luck that the Meals on Wheels service was cancelled at the last minute, which gave me the chance to catch up with my long lost friends.I was the last to arrive. Everyone had changed so much, although I could still recognise everyone. But, like in the past, the nicknames had not changed very much, although we did not use them as often. We had a nice walk to Mr Peck's home. Drank some drinks, sat around, chatted a little and took a couple of photos before we went for dinner at 6.15. He brought up the old jokes we once shared, and we still remembered the essay where the "buglar ran to the bicycle and ran home", among many others. Sadly,when I said I had to rush off at 7, that was when the gathering ended. Mr Peck walked me to the bus stop and everyone offered to come along. Bernice went off to met her boyfriend, Yong Jie rushed off to get ready for a wedding at pm, Eugene and Andy most probably went home. Took 88 with Wei Yang to Bishan before we parted ways once again.

The part I liked about the evening. Travelling. I took the Circle Line,operated by SMRT, for the first time that evening. The train ride was pretty nice, especially at the front, where unlike the train operated by SBS Transit, the emergency exit had a window. I got off and transferred at Serangoon. The walk was really long. Did not walk very fast, for fear I might become unwell once again. Got onto the train just in time and headed straight for Harborfront Station. I was to meet my lecturer and some friends for a nigh of German Cuisine at Brotzeit, #01-149 Vivocity. I arrived on the dot at 8pm, and the queue was really long. Perhaps it was Friday night. We got a table for 4, and we learnt the pronunciation of some of the German food on the menu. We did not really order food in German(which I was looking forward to nervously), but we did learn that some of the ingredients were flown in from Germany! Wow. I ordered the German style of fish and chips. Instead of the coleslaw and mashed potato, it came with mushrooms and a unique sauce. The fish was really tender and nice, though, like other dishes, the price was high, but still affordable. We had desert, and it was really good! Definitely value for money! We chatted about a possible future educational trip to Germany which would last 2 weeks. I would very much like to go on that trip as well, but sadly it clashes with the schedule of the California Challenge in June. 2 great trips, but only 1 me. I definitely want o take on the California Challenge, but at the same time, I wanted to go on the educational trip to Germany. At 10.15pm, we went off. Not only did she offer t pay our bills, she also offered to give us a lift home! Wow thanks lots!

Saturday was the first day of the long holidays. my holidays were going to be slightly longer than most students this year. For me, I return to school only on Wednesday. Anyways, Saturday was spent more on resting, gaming, and a little on studying as well.

Sunday morning. Happy 44Th Birthday Singapore! I woke extremely early that morning, before falling asleep again till 10am. Studied in the morning, before going out for lunch with parents at Chinatown. We went to Chinatown square as they were looking for a Chinese stall to have lunch at, but as we had to walk a long way to get there, we decided to return to the hawker centre instead. At Chinatown square, there were many stalls selling all kinds of toys. They ranged from as early as the 80s to as recent as this year. Great place to get old stuff at low prices which look as good as new too.

After lunch, we bought dinner and supper before heading back home at 3pm. Slacked around till 6.15 when the parade was telecast 'live' on television. Did not go head down to take photographs, as I would be alone for the whole event, and my brother was already going there with the camera to take some shots with his friends. This year's parade was definitely better than last year. The displays, decorations, plot were a lot better. The aerial displays, theme song and fireworks were not as good as last year. The fireworks were better to look at, however, it did not last as long. Wondering how much better it could have been if it lasted a couple of minutes longer.

Today, I was gearing up for the examinations arriving in less than 2 weeks. Slack in the morning, did some Math again in the afternoon, and took a nap after that. I cried out a name again this time, though it wasn't as loud and clear as the first time a few years back, where I woke my dad, who came to check on me. Went to study a little more, before I continued slacking for the rest of the night.

Tomorrow, I don't think I'll be doing as much math as I did today. Tomorrow, I'll be doing and completing my IA case study so that I could submit it for checks on Wednesday, in case I had to make some changes to the mistakes.

Hey, I enjoyed this afternoon lots. Didn't really expect you to be there when I only had thoughts in my mind. So much I wanted to say, but I couldn't. Longing for the day where I could meet you once again. Always dreaming of that one day I could finally see the real you. Would you grant me this one wish?? Oh and by the way, sorry if the post was long and boring as usual.

First Step Into SPS

Yesterday I entered the St. Patrick's School(SPS) for the first time. First impression? No wonder the both of them were complaining when they visited the new Yuan Ching Secondary building. The school building looked more modern compared to YC's old building. In fact the school was really big with many blocks. Went around during the carnival with them, and WM passed me off as his brother, who was once a part of St Patrick's. Wow. I met them at 2.20pm, went on a little tour around the school, before we started slacking for one and a half hours. We bought mainly food and drinks during the short stay.

It was a carnival with an unusually low number of visitors. One thing that amazed me lots. Stall holders had to go by the book in selling food, drinks and games. Wow. Back in Yuan Ching, we had the freedom to sell our food, drinks and games at any price, at any time. It was as if we were running our stalls as a class. We did not need the teachers to be there at all times to supervise us. Back in those days, although we did not study Economics, we were able to apply the concept of demand and supply.

At 3.45pm, I noticed a girl who sat across the table we were at. She looked a little like you, except, younger and shorter. At 3.50pm, they left. 10 minutes later, we left as well.

The journey to the school was just great. I regret not bringing my camera to snap pictures during the journey. At 12.25pm, I left for Clementi Interchange on board SMRT Service 189. Transfered onto SBS Service 196 at 12.48pm. I missed the 12.35pm bus. I refused to allow myself to fall asleep on the second deck of the bus(although it was really peaceful at the time, since I was the only one dominating the whole second deck). I wanted to look at the sights and note some of the places the bus route visited. After an hour, I gave up and slept for about 30 minutes. 10 minutes later, I alighted a stop before SPS, to take the short cut. Never did I expect it to be so extreme. If I had wanted to take it, I had to walk through it sideways. Thus, I decided to walk to the school's front gate via the canal. 2.20pm, I met the group once again.

4pm, we left for Dhoby Ghaut via SBS Service 36. Failed to find a LAN shop to play L4D, so we went on to have our dinner instead, at Carl's Jr. I ate a little cheese, however I don't seem to be developing any rash from it. Could the cheese be lacking in that special ingredient, or have I overcome the allergy? We left at 7pm, and I took SBS Service 14 back to Clementi Interchange. This time it was the new bus. Transferred onto SMRT Service 189 and reached home at 9.20pm.

Today, went to IMM and Chinatown with my parents to shop for pants for my brothers. I was too bored to stay at home, chatting with a friend I have never met in person before, through a computer screen. Somehow whenever I chat with these friends, it gives the feeling that I am interacting with angels (since no one has any idea how angels look like). I have never seen their real physical appearances, however, I have only heard their voices no more than twice so far. Youthful and full of energy, except for one. I met Mr Choy, a teacher who I have lost contact with for over 6 long years. He has changed alot, and I could hardly recognise him when he walked past us with his daughter who would be celebrating her second birthday this month. Hopefully, I would still be in Singapore on the day schools celebrate Teachers' Day, so that I could return to the schools to visit the teachers I have not met with after so long.

Reached home at 5.45pm. Had dinner, practiced music, and left at 7.10pm. Sent my brother to his friend's place where he would spend the night, before I went to Hong Kah North Community Club for the lesson. Now, I'm back at home, slacking. After tonight, I would not be slacking as much as I used to. 6 weeks to the final examinations. 6 weeks to re-claim my place on the Director's List.

It's been a more than a week. No matter how long it would take, I'll just coninue waiting for a shadow to appear from the horizon. Somehow, I would rather wait longer, and carry it on the same way we are now, till it's September Nine.

Beyond Dhoby Ghaut

Today was the first time I took the North East Line beyond Dhoby Ghaut Station. The journey from home took close to an hour. Inclusive of waiting time, 15 minutes to Clementi MRT Station, 15minutes to Outram Park MRT Station and 13minutes to Boon Keng MRT Station via the North East Line. Once there, it was an additional 10 minute walk to the Luzerne to collect the gift pack which came with the desktop. It was about 5 when we were done. We carried on to Hougang, another 11 minutes' journey by train from Boon Keng. I had wanted to carry on to Sengkang to explore the area if we had time, but it was 6pm by the time we were done at Hougang to get my brother's books and stationery. Took 74 back to King Albert Park(KAP) before transfering to 77 back home. Total time spent on return journey: 105minutes.

While at Hougang Plaza, there wasn't much difference in the shops and all, but the place was not crowded with people unlike Jurong Point, even though the shopping centre was small in size. Another thing which I tested was my 'so-called' theory. After today, I guess it might be true, or I might have been extremely slow to notice it(if has already been proven by others whose eyes are sharper than mine).

Not a very bad day today, though I did not manage to explore much of Sengkang and try out the Circle Line today, there's bound to be other chances to do so in the future. Perhaps once I get my license, I might want to go for a spin around the Eastern parts of the country to explore a little.