4 More Months

4 more months to live, as a Polytechnic student. A week had passed, and it's November. It feels like I had just started on my first semester. I decided to keep the knowledge, discard the attitudes I had towards learning. Start from scratch, and hopefully, accelerate, and take off to what could be a nice finish to my three year journey.

The past week seemed to be an introduction, felt some intensity, but still manageable. Monday felt like a holiday when it shouldn't, since we were struggling to get back on our feet to re-route. The other days, we were making some progress, finally. The real challenge, begins tomorrow. Within a month, I'll need to gather enough momentum through lots of effort, if not, I'll start losing speed the same way I did for the past 4 semesters.

The night before, I celebrated my first Halloween night with the Toasties. Quan, Yee Tat, Hafiz, Dennis, Danial, Zarifah and I went over to Kim's place for dinner, movie and a computer game, all in the name of horror. The journey there wasn't that bad, with the start being kind of nice, when I saw people, young and old, families even all dressed up for a Halloween Celebration at an International school nearby. I realised I was going to be late when I passed Ang Mo Kio Hub at 7pm, when I was supposed to be meeting the group in another 30minutes! I asked a friend for help, so that I could gauge how late I was going to be, and I found out only 10 minutes before I arrived, which was at 7.30pm(without her help). That was, before she disclosed the amount of time I had to travel from my current location that evening till I arrived at the interchange.

Bought dinner after meeting them, and we walked 5 minutes to her home. We watched Mirrors, a movie I heard earlier this year at the loft, if I'm not wrong, Melissa was re-telling a movie to a group of us, and that particular movie fitted everything she described! 10.30pm, we went to take a trip down to a hotel, for a cyber night walk.

The journey home, I was wondering if I could make it back without being overly suspicious of my surroundings. Things went rather fine, and I took the unlikely last 147 home last night at 11.40pm, 10 minutes after the last bus had departed for Clementi. 2 hours and 20 minutes later, I got home. That's when the real fear got to me. Last night, I took a bath in the bathroom which had the smallest mirror, and slept with the lights on. Hopefully it won't be the same tonight. I had never watched a horror movie before, and that was my first.

Anyway, I had a dream this morning, where it was somewhere in December, during the common test period. There was a werewolf 'virus' loose in campus, started by an unknown person. Each day, a close friend of the werewolf would be hunted down right after the paper. Just observe, a group of students running down that slope each day in school. Shortly after, that stretch of road becomes completely deserted, and you hear a long, loud howl. Shortly after, you could hear slow, loud panting from a human, except you could expect it wasn't human. Once it spots someone it recognized, it charged forth, claiming its prey.

On a Thursday, one of my classmates was IT. We had a paper the next day, so we could be sure that the 'virus' was here to stay, at least till Sunday. There was a cure, but I woke up before I could learn what it was. For the paper, I left the moment the paper was done, and since I had a second paper in the afternoon, I stayed at the co-op stall in the new building. It was red, so I had the thought it would be safe there, at least. Oh and for some reason, the werewolf would strike only 5 minutes after a paper had ended, and each time, it ran down the hill. However, no one knows how or when the victim would revert to his or her normal self after that. A short description would be it had a nice coat of dark grey, white and black fur (imagine a German Shepherd dog standing 2 meters tall) and once it started running, one could hardly trace it with his or her own eyes. All it took, was to be bitten or scratched, to become the next IT. A group of friends came to join me soon afterward. Since the group of us stayed around the same place, we decided to meet there at 4.50pm, and regardless or whether anyone was late, we would leave at that time. I left the room at 4.30pm with a few others. Foolishly, we all walked down the hill, since I told them I was going to the new block 73. I met my friends there, and while my friend was paying for a drink he bought, another friend who was there with us, started to morph. Everyone dashed out. One of my friends looted a few snacks and bottles of drink before we made it out to the main road. I woke up when I noticed IT charging to the bus stop.

It's November tomorrow. Barely a month to go. I don't really care if it'll become a reality. I just want to do what I can, with what I have and know...

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.

CampTCP5 '09-Day 3(The Moment I Confessed To The World)

"Attended a camp with a friend, at a school on a Friday. Booked in at 4pm, had activities till late, and we had the best night walk ever. Pitch black environment, used torches(those used in medival times) as torchlights and the monsters and ghosts, were real. We even entered the bridge of a space ship!

The next morning had some games, before we had the prize pesentation. For some reason, the both of us were down to help with the area cleaning, and when we got back, we were dismissed.Here's the weird part. A girl and her father, came to us, asking for a friendly match. Alright. This match is something that would never happen in real life. Seen the anime Avatar? That's what happened. They controlled water, we controlled fire. Behind them, was a boy who could control air. We sneaked up to him, told him our plan, and we got down to it.

However, we were never successful. Until when we finally managed to carry out our plan, the girl suddenly ran to the washroom, and came out soon after, only to throw out. Someone threw a roll of toilet paper out as well, and out came the cleaner, angry about the mess she made.

We just let her let lose her anger and she walked away. I went over to her with her father. He asked if she was fine before bringing her home. He thanked us for the time and took her home.My friend and I stayed there for awhile to help with the cleaning, before going off. We went to the bus interchange together, before going our seperate ways. Went to wait for the bus, before, I met her again. Asked where her father was, she only said he had to rush back to work after something cropped up. Offered to accompany her home, and the dream ended when we boarded an SBS bus.

Here's the weird stuff. A camp at a school? A super realistic night walk that was out-of-this-world. A girl who I had seen in 4 dreams, including this one. The first sighting was in March this year. A bus insterchange that was fully air-conditioned.

Some traits. 160 to 165 in height, sky blue tee with some sliver lines and white shorts, shoulder-length hair tied up with a black band and, neither too thin nor plump. This might freak some out. Aged between 14 to 16(though I think it's more likely to be between 15 to 16).Weird eh?

Discussed this with Jon, and we both agreed it was weird with lots of weird stuff, though some parts might just become a reality. Honestly, I hope this dream doesn't come true in any possible way. As for that girl, I don't know if someone like that really exists in the real world, an even if someone really exists, I have nothing to say, other than, how was it even possible for me to dream of someone I have never met in real life? "

That night, the final conversation started with me poping the question,"I just remembered something. Have you guys ever dreamt of someone you have never met before in real life?"

Cardus said he did, and he had a nice experience in that one(for more, just ask him). "Well, I also did, and that dream was this camp itself! Almost everything came true." That got Dax and Gary excited. I wondered if Philip was still awake, as he was acting kind of drunk although he as damn sleepy at the time. I told them about the three scenes that happened earlier during the day, as well as the team mate I saw a total of 9 times in my dreams so far. They went on asking me if I could do an introduction the next day, before I gave in and turned in for the night.

I slept for 2 hours, before going back to pack my bags and prepared to head to Ourspace. Breakfast that morning was similar to the breakfast I had back in the Philippines, but I did not have the appetite to eat much. As expected, they called me over, and asked who she was(although they only knew her name). I told them, and was relieved they let it rest after that.

"The next morning had some games, before we had the prize pesentation."

Session 6. The Moat Game. The ultimate test of our teamwork. Apparently, in my dream, we finished it in under 15minutes. However, during the actual activity, we were at it for 185 minutes! Throughout, there was something that was missing in the game plan. Cooperation among the sections. Had a short lesson on that, before we went back to the same place we first gathered at, for lunch.

The closing ceremony was grand with all the good food at the buffet, though I liked the closing ceremony we had the night before we left the Philippines more. As expected, there was the prize presentation.

We had out final M&M session. Before that, I had wanted to use the same move I used 2 years ago during the Graduation Nite Dinner, which was to tell her in person just after everyone else had gone off. That day, I did not. That's when I disclosed the dream to them. Finally, I told them 2 things I had wanted to say the night before. The first, was a brief overview of the things I did and experienced during my 7-day trip to the Philippines. The next, was the dream, which I was hesistant to tell at first. "Seen the anime Avatar? That's what happened."

"Alright, this is going to sound very freaky, and some might get freaked out. Has anyone watched the TV programme Flashforward before? It's because I can, kind of see the future in my dreams. And there's one that came true. Ok, Since March till Friday night, I had 9 dreams of the same person. I'll tell you about the person later. The first two I saw were just shadows, but for the third, I dreamt of this camp. Almost everything in that dream came true, and on Friday when I joined the team, I was freaked out as well. I dreamt of me running from someone, the grid game, the campfire and the moat game. As for the person who I saw, is among us, is a girl, and she is..."

The girl who I had dreamt of for 9 times, was Belinda. I got the results I had anticipated. On the inside, I was cursing and swearing. 'Why? Why did I have to go around scaring people off like that? Yes, no doubt anyone would find it really cool and interesting, but, won't it cause unnecessary harm to some?'

At 4pm, Cardus, Gary, Dax, Jaemeng and I left for Ang Mo Kio Hub via SBS service 74. We went to buy tickets to My Girlfriend Is An Agent, before going to the arcade and went to meet Cardus' friends. Had western dinner, before going to watch the movie. At 10, we went to the Air conditioned bus interchange to help Cardus purchase his bus concession, before we offered to accompany Jaemeng to her place, before we went to the bus stop, since it was along the way. After boarding the bus, we had a little talk about how they were going to give Jaemeng a surprise this evening at her home(wondering how it went), and discussed about the possible reasons about of all things, I 'saw' her more than 5 times.

There you have it. The third dream I had. On a side note, although most of the events in the dream revolved about the same person, in real life, the same events took place, except each time it was a different person. There were small portions which did not occur fully in real, but were linked to some of the events that took place. Thus, this dream, to date, has one of the highest accuracy rates I had so far, with roughly 90% of the events I dreamt about happening during the camp.

Today nothing much happened in school, and apart from that, I'm not really in the mood to study, and I'm too tired to type on. Got lots and lots of catching up to do tomorrow.

NJC-NP Joint Comminuty Service Project to Dumaguete City, Philippines-Part 4

Well, before I begin, I just remembered a dream which I dreamt about around five years ago when I was 13. At that time, I still could not remember how many people I was travelling with, but we were travelling in a vehicle, something like a van, but it had horizontal windows running along its sides. The rear was exposed and there were no safeguards to prevent passengers from falling out. I was standing at the rear, after managing to run after it and jump on board. We were travelling through a mountainous region on a two-way passageway, with little traffic regulations in place. Come to think of it, that dream came through as well! Although I can't relate it to exactly any actual incidents we did over there, I am sure that we did visit the city in the dream on such a vehicle. If I'm not wrong, the vehicle is a jeepney.

Ok, here we go, for the fourth day. I can't really remember much about the exact order of activities that happened at the school, so I'll just post what I do remember up here. For days four to six, the reflections posted here were only briefly included in the report to suit the maximum number of pages allowed.

The fourth day was the first day of our three day visit to Candau-ay Elementary School. We took a 15 minute walk down to the school, which was a stone’s throw away from the centre. As there were no high rise buildings in the area, we felt the full effects of the blazing sun. There was also no wind to reduce the heat that we felt. We were greeted by many children who were waiting at the gates for us. Everyone settled down, and in our facilitator groups of 2 to 3, allocated 3 to 4 students to a group. My group consisted of 4 facilitators and three students. The facilitators were Yiting and Grace from NJC as well as Samuel and myself from NP. Samuel joined us on the second day when Grace fell ill. The students were Mierco, Dellwen and Ivan.

Soon after, Joey led everyone in the warm up, and we played games to break the ice. There was a short presentation by Violet, Xing Dan, Nisha and Li Chen on Singapore, Japan, India and China respectively. The presentation was aimed at getting the students to know more about their neighbour countries and the region. The children were very attentive and were very interested to know more about the world that they lived in. As there was much time left, we invited the children to take us on a short tour of the school compound. We played more games and found out more about them before going back to the centre for lunch. After lunch, we headed back to the school for more activities. We had a Spelling Bee contest, where the class was broken into four groups, and a representative was sent by each group during the group’s turn to spell a word. That was followed by an activity where students and facilitators each had a piece of paper on our backs, and others went around writing good comments on the pieces of paper. The purpose of the activity was to increase the self confidence of not only the children, but the self confidence of the facilitators as well. Following that, there was an origami session for the students. Gerald’s group came up with the idea of folding paper planes and having a flying competition, to compare whose paper plane could land the furthest. In the evening, everyone concluded the first day, and we returned to the centre.

While preparing for our dinner, we noticed a large fire at a farm near the centre, and as we heard dogs barking, we initially thought that it was an emergency, and went to inform Mr Saceda, who told us it was nothing to be alarmed about, as it was normal to see large fires in the evening. Although we ended up laughing at a false alarm set off by us, we were glad that we were alert and observant of our surroundings. We still had the “Kampong Spirit” that is slowly becoming extinct in Singapore.

We realized during our planning for the second day’s activities, that things did not go very well according to plan that day. There were too few activities to last at least two hours for each session, which had us thinking on our feet after completing the day’s activities before the day ended. For the next day, we planned to have only one session for our activities, so as to make time for our final rehearsal for the Cultural Night performance.

Later that evening after we were done with our planning for the lessons for the second day at the school, we went on with our second attempt for the camp fire. This time, we invited the farmer who started the fire we saw earlier to help us in the setting up of our campfire. As expected, he did not even use half of the bottle of kerosene to start the fire! When we started the fire, it was a burning success! We managed to keep it burning 10 minutes before our rehearsal, up till the end of it! It was a night filled with success. The final plans for the Cultural Night were confirmed and rehearsals got into full swing that evening. Due to time constraints, we decided to do away with the skit, and instead, perform 4 songs. We would also be putting up a short fashion show of the ethnic costumes of the Chinese, Malays as well as the Indians in Singapore. As for the finale item, we would be performing a dance item, choreographed by students from NJC. The rehearsals went well that evening, and we managed to get ourselves more familiarized with the songs and the order of items we would perform on the stage the following evening. I have never felt so great during our trip, where I experienced for the first time during the trip, that the NJC and NP teams had truly become one with one another during that night alone. Although we were all tired to the point of falling asleep, there was pure cooperation among the members, nothing like what we experienced back during our past meetings and briefings.

Last night watched the movie August Rush after finishing the previous post. it was a great movie, so great that although at first it seemed to be like a movie inspired from a true story, but as you approached the last scene where the chracter August Rush composed his piece, it seemed more of a fairytale. The music was not very original, and part of it was from a piece composed by a famous composer. After doing some reflections, the perspectives people see music can be observed from the movie, without a doubt. Not to spoil things too much for those who have not watched the movie, the movie is filled with coincidences,where one coincidence would lead to another, bringing the whole story to a short, but disappointing close. I prefer clear-cut endings compared to endings that end half-way, leaving the audience to ponder about what happened next. Two more days before we're done with the module. oh, and I guess I better get to sleep soon so that I can wake in time to go for my first ever morning run alone, at 6.45am, maybe earlier at 6.15am. It's part of my training to wake early for school, as lately I have been waking at around 10 to 11am, even with 3 alarm clocks working to wake me up.

Once it's Sunday, I'm going to spend time to update the music piece(might leave the current one there) as well as the links list.

End of the Storm

Actually, it has ended quite some time ago, just that, I'm breaking the news late. Finally found time to update, so here I am posting(of course). This is so going to be one extremely long post.So, ya, do read if you think you have got the time and interest to.

Last weekend was the very first time I fought in a Inter Varsity-Polytechnic championship(IVP). Went to NTU on Saturday to gain some first-hand experience of full-contact sparring at the tertiary level. The difficulty of each match varied greatly, depending on the amount of experience each side had, as well as the expectations of the judges and referee.

On Sunday, I experienced my first match. That, was the third time I wore the head gear since I first joined the sport as a CCA. Was extremely afraid before the day started, but as time passed, I found myself becoming someone very different(I wasn't that quiet self, my confidence level was very high, and I forgot the meaning of fear). However, the match was fast paced. We were both very fast, but he was just faster. 2 moves by me would be equal to 3 of his.

The very first counter that was dealt was a direct hit. It was a very nice score, though it left me stunned for a couple of seconds. The intensity of the blow was similar about 10% of Adrian's. to Each time I attacked, it would only end up with me being countered. I tried to retreat to time my counter, but that, too failed. So, I sort of gave up, and decided to take the blow when he attacked, go close(close enough that it seemed as though we were hugging), and try to make my move once he forced me away. The first part ended with a devastating 4-0 score( I knew I had 2 hits, though they were not very clear to the judges).

In the second round, I tired the same thing, except that I attempted to aim for his head this time round. It proved fatal. Two attempts met with two swift, direct counters. I gave up, decided to buy time, so that even if I lost, it would be about 30 seconds or so into the second round before I lost. Everything ended in the evening, so went to Jurong Point for dinner before going home.

After that match, the storm ended. Relaxation here I come! So the next day, went back to school for an hour of briefing on the general outline of the trip, before going to the Alumni Club House for the first time to accompany them for lunch, before going off at 12.30 for Sentosa for class outing. The moment I reached, it rained. Sad. That day, was the first time I sent the most messages. And it seemed to my friends that I had a partner. Well, I'm still not attached, and I'm proud of it!

Tuesday, was spent slacking and sleeping at home.

Wednesday, was the first time I stepped into National Junior College. The atmosphere, was well, different. It was about 4.20 when I arrived, and everyone was about to enter the school. There, both sides of the team met each other for the first time, and we also knew, for the first time, the whole backbone of the plans.

Thursday, was back to training, and I seemed to have gotten worse, and my stamina had dropped.

Friday, another day to slack and sleep.

Saturday, that's yesterday. Reached the TV room at 8.30am to find that the place was still locked. At around 9am, everyone had arrived and we went in shortly after the doors were opened. Played a few ice-breaking games, and I still found it hard to remember everyone. Forgot the names of almost everyone 30 seconds after the games were played. Anyway, we got down to our groups real quick, and we successfully came up with the complete list of things to do and bring for most, if not all our activities in just 3 hours? After that, we learnt one of the college's mass dance, and it was easier compared to the one I learnt last year back at MI. Mostly hand movements which made it easy. Went for our first group lunch, and we learnt lots os stuff about the difference in our education systems. we left at 3pm. Had a minor infatuation that morning, but, I'm just glad it's gone.

Today, it's slacking and sleeping again, only that I decided on the bags to use for the trip this coming Friday.Alright. I'll say it now. I'm part of the 30-member team comprising of 2 teachers and 28 students from National Junior College and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. We're going on a 7-day trip from this Friday(Friday the 13Th) till next Thursday(19Th March...4 more days) to Cebu, the Philippines for a Community Problem Solving Project, where we will be visiting two schools for activities, and after that, we'll be back in Singapore to complete our research, report and present on the trip( definitely for some of us at NP, but not so sure about the NJC side). This would be the second time I'm going on a joint Overseas Programme. The first time was to China back in secondary school.

And, here's the plans for the up-coming week. Tomorrow, go to Grandma's place in the morning, before going to Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station to meet Jian Hui and the others for a movie, change some money if there's the time, and head back to school for taekwondo training.

On Tuesday, it's the one day where I'll slack, sleep and pack up.

Wednesday, it's back to school to pay the 400 bucks for the trip and to NJC for the second and maybe, the last time. We'll be there to learn the mass dance as well as finalise some plans for the trip on Friday.

Thursday I'll be out with WM and Jon on a tour around Singapore I guess? One of the stops is a visit to the IT fair, post my NYAA application and also to change some money if I have not done so tomorrow.

Friday, it's plain simple. Get myself and my bags to Changi International Airport Terminal 2 by 6.45am and everything else will fall into place over the next few days till the 19Th. I can't wait!

Alright, here's something random. Was interesdted in thsi quiz found on Amanda's blog, and went to try it out. Surprisingly, it's very accurate! I'm still unsure about the commitment part and the one on death seems interesting.

What is your True Fear? Your Result: Losing Someone You love affection and the people in your life more than anything. Your greatest fear is that one day someone you care about won't be there anymore. You are a very friendly and inviting person, who draws in a lot of friendships with your kind, considerate, and loyal nature. However, deep down you are slightly insecure and unsure of yourself. You couldn't deal with it if you didn't have one of your loved ones in your life anymore. You don't have too much to worry about though, because with a friend like you, no one will want to lose you either!
Disappointment
Where Your life is Going
Being Alone
Commitment
Looked down on
Death
What is your True Fear? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

CNY Round-up'09

Although it's only the seventh day of the new year, it feels almost as though it's already the end. Yesterday was the last day of visiting for me, when relatives came to visit in the afternoon. In the evening, went over to the residence of my father's friend for dinner, had a great time listening to opinions, before heading home to finish up on the backbone of the Economics assignment. If not for the email, I might have ended up burning oil up till as late as 4 or 5am after midnight. So, unfortunately, I would be skipping training for two Mondays straight to complete the assignment, and also to prepare for 3 tests, each with a weightage of not less than 30% of the final mark. I seriously need those 'A's.

That's yesterday. And so, for today, I spent the whole afternoon on revision after lunch at 1pm. I was only able to increase my focus on revision from 20% to 80% after 3pm today. I did some revision as well in the morning, mainly the final online quiz for the practical and some background research for the Economics final assignment. In the afternoon, gamed and revised for the final Engineering Drawing test and Engineering Materials Final Test. Both carry a weightage of 30% each. I must get at least 25% for each test in order to greatly increase my chances of clinching the 'A' grade for both modules. Later in the evening, it was back to revision for the Engineering Drawing Final Test after dinner till now.

There's going to be a raging storm over the next two weeks, starting tomorrow, and subsiding as early as next Friday. The week after that, would see the storm's end on 20Th February, when I'll have the Final Examination for the Engineering Mathematics 2 module.

[Blog Update]
-Added new link:
Amanda[restricted access??](NP)

This week, I have changed the play list once again. This song was recommended and introduced to me by someone of whom I have never met before(intriguing eh?). River Flows in You, by Yiruma, was picked as a candidate for the thriller-romance movie Twilight(This I did not know until she told me about it), though I don't really know what's the story behind how they went about selecting the piece to be played as Bella's Lullaby.

Happy 'Niu' Year

Hey! It's that time of the year once again! How time flies. Here's wishing all young and old,whether Chinese or not, A Happy 'Niu' (New) Year! It's 'niu' (cow in English translation) as, in Chinese, it sounds similar to the word 'new' in English.

This year's new year celebrations so far, we, quite the tradition as well, though there are only a few differences compared to last year's. Last night, I was on the computer all the way till 4am in the morning, rushing though 2 projects that were due this coming Thursday and Friday. After that, I slept till 9am, before having a vegetarian breakfast, went to the temples to pray, came home for an hour before going off to catch the movie, Red Cliff 2 with my cousins at Lido.

Heard that the movie was better in terms of action compared to the previous one, as I had not watched the first part. The only sad thing was, I was able to predict what would happen next, for I had already read the comic version of the story. It occured that, in life, one of the things that makes life interesting is not-knowing what would happen next, and the anxiousness one feels while waiting to find out what would happen next, that makes that wait worthwhile. Oh, yes, and here's one quote that I found rather cool,"where there's faith, there's hope". The scenes were almost about the standard of movies rated NC16, which might attract an even larger audience given its PG rating.

After that, at 7pm, we left to visit relatives till 10pm, having dinner at Holland Village before heading home.Oh, and my uncle, aunt and cousins got me a watch as reward for my performance in the first semester, and not just that. It's the watch that I had wanted to save up for last year! Thanks lots!! Well, they also adviced me to join the Adventure Seekers, a CCA which I had been considering of joining till my parents asked me to join the Taekwondo Club. I had heard lots about the club, and had been thinking of joining, except that, right now, I'm just confused.

Tomorrow, it's going to be another long day, though it's going to be worse. We might be staying at home most of the day tomorrow, but I have to get 2 projects completed in time for the final presentation stage by Thursday and Friday respectively. I'm really starting to hate January, although it has the best public holidays of the year. Finally, if you would like to help me in my project and would not mind to spare me just 5 minutes of your time, kindly help me complete this short survey. This survey is about the stress students face at the Secondary, Pre-U and tertiary levels.Your help is greatly appreciated.Thank you!

After the Hiatus

It's been a month since I last posted something up here ya? Alright, today I'll continue from where I had left off then. Going to be one extremely long post, so take your time to read it though.

Anyways, let's just skip to Saturday, 22nd November when I brougt Sean and wm back to school. Somehow, the three of us managed to ake the same train to Lakeside MRT Station that morning. Met Darren and the others at the MRT station, before I actually met the two of them. So, we walked as usual to school, before taking a tour. Went straight to Qi Long to bring him a message from Andy, before going to take a look at the Drama Club at the auditorium, followed by the St John booth to take a look. Seems like there were quite a number of new members this yar, though I did not enter, for I did not really know the new officers who were appointed to the school this year.

Next, met Meng Yan and another friend before we walked around behind her. Throughout, Sean and wm were intrigued by the new building and were jealous of the facilities(they were from a reputable school you see). The school seems to have grown,with the new canteen, equipment, furniture and hall. One thing that caught my attention was, how did the school suddenly become so wealthy in just 1 year? Maybe, perhaps they were cutting back on funds back in the old building so that they can spend more on the new building. The library now has bean bags and touch screen computers, there is even a Problem Based Learn room equiped with a new projector which uses cutting-edge technology. Met almost all the teachers who taught me over the past 4 years, and I guess some were surprised to see why two strangers were with me as well? Went for lunch at the coffee shop, before we heaed to Funan to get the flight simulator game, before walking a couple of kilometers to Sim Lim to get Sean's joystick. They took the train home after that, while I walked to the esplanade to take the bus home. It's worth the effort, as I have a wider choice of seats and also have more time to sleep on the way home.

And that's all for the month of November. I dont' really have much to comment about that month, for it was very smooth, except that I had problems with Economics and Communication Toolkit. Other than those, everything else was just fine.

Now, let's head on to December. On Tuesday, the 2nd of Dcember, I was almost too afraid to do welding at first. However, after the demonstration, everyting started to become fun and easy. Maybe that's what most might feel on their first attempt. That, sure was a nice start for the last month of the year.

Later that Friday, I did badly for te first Engineering Drawing test. I made a couple of errors on the second question, denying me of a chance to complete the whole paper. I'm expecting a borderline pass for that paper, but I'm just going to let the grades go just this once. I'm going to working at double or even triple the pace just to recover from that fall.

The next day, on the 6th of December, Jon, wm and I went for Changi Airport's Terminal 2 for lunch at Popeye's. The portions were way larger than KFC's, but was it worth paying the price. As we could not find a suitable spot to study, we decided to make our way to the national Library branch at Bedok to study instead. We had planned a couple of days ago to study economics together, to clear our doubts and questions, for Jon's and my test was going to be held just 3 days later on Tuesday morning. I managed to cover every single chapter during the 4 hours we spent there, thanks to Sean's notes. We went to Burger King for sundaes, before going to the hawker centre to buy food and then, head home. I decided to take the bus once again, for it's cheaper and I can sleep peacefully on the way home again. Shortly after I entered City Link at City Hall MRT Station, I met Sean and Cherie, by coincidence. The moment Sean saw me, he took no time tryig to explain and prove that it was not because of cherie that my first call could not get through once again. Of course, although I bought his reason, but afterall she was also with him, so perhaps that made it even more difficult for him to pick up my call. I reached home at 8.50pm, just in time for the first episode of the animated Star Wars series.

On Monday, I went to King Albert Park to study with the usual group; Jun Jie, Jian Hui, Janna, Amada, Jenere, Billy, Zhi Jie, An Yan, Swenson. We stayed there till 6.30, before Jian Hui, Janna, Jenere, Zhi Jie and I went fo dinner at the hawker centre narby. I went home at 7.

Tuesday was the first day of the common test. In the morning, there was Economics. It was pretty do-able, and the MCQ questions were really easy. I must say, that the reason behind why I would not be getting an A grade is simply due to the fact that I did not put in enough effort during the revision. I'm expecting a C grade for that paper. I went home for lunch before going back to school in the afternoon for the Engineering Mathmatics 2 paper. Not to offend anyone, but, this was the only paper that i did no revision at all, for I was ready for the test about a couple of weeks before the day the paper was due to be held. I'm expecting an A+ grade for the paper.

There was a few days' break before the last paper(also the toughest for the term) was to be held.On Wednesday and Thursday, I spent a total of 18 hours revising and memorising chapters 3 and 4 of the syllabus. On Thursday, maybe not knowing that the others were meeting up to study was a good thing, for I would have wasted 4 valuable hours of my time on travelling alone, but still, meeting up with friends was way better than shutting oneself from the rest of the world, tryig to get information into the mind. Currently, 18 hours is nowhere near my 48 hours of memorising and revision, made last year during the O Level period, while studying for Physics papers 1 and 2.

On Friday, practically, I did not open my notes nor did I went through the slides. I spent the whole day relaxing. In the evening, I met the comittee of the Mechanical Engineering Society(I guess?) and went for a Christmas concert at the esplanade concert hall by the SSO. Really enjoyed it thoroughly, especially toward the end where there was a sing-along session. AND, I REALLY SANG. Guess I built-up too much stress over the past two days.

After the concert, joined them at a restaurant that sells only chocolate related food and beverages for a short moment before I took the bus home. This bus ride was going to be one that I might remember for quite some time. On the way back home on the bus, spotted a group of three girls(I'm usually not the type of person who is so free to do such stuff). Every 3 to 5 minutes, I took glances. However, after a while, I found myself looking at them momentarily, until it became so obvious they, too turned to look at me, and soon, we were staring at one another. That's when I got afraid that I might have done something wrong and stopped. Frankly, that was the first time I did something like that. It only ended when they alighted from the bus, and it felt as though time flowed normally again. That 20 minutes sure felt like an hour.

Anyway, now, it's on to yesterday, and it's Saturday! The moment I arrived in school at 8.30am, everyone was getting ready to leave for the examination room at block 50. The paper was easy, if one had studied the chapters thoroughly. That, was a paper where, if you studied, you would not only pass, but have a high chance of doing well for the paper, and if you had not studied for the paper, you might fail, or if you were lucky, you would pass decently. I'm confident of at least an A grade for this paper.

After the paper, we went to Vivocity, for lunch and to watch a movie. Once there, Janna was just too excited when she saw that Twilight was showing in Singapore at last, and it was 5 days earlier than the actual release date. What's more, we only had to pay 8 dollars for each ticket as Amanda had the Safra card. Sadly, Jenere could not join us as the movie was at 4pm. So, we, Janna, Amanda, Jian Hui, Jun Jie, Wei Yong, Kenzi and I wet to Carle's Jr for lunch. It was only 1pm, so we had 3 hours before the movie started. At 2pm, we went walking around. Around 2.0pm, I found out that there would be more joining us later on. Janna had called Chengwen and Chengyun to join us for the movie, while Jun ie and Jian Hui asked their friends to join us as well.

We accompanied Jenere to the bus stop, before going with Jian Hui to withdraw money(and we got a shock), before going to the cinema box office to wait for the others to arrive at 3.30pm. At 4pm, we were ready to enter.

At 4.15pm, the movie started, but during the first part of it, the graphics were not very good, but after the scene, everything seemed to be in place. I must say, that the movie was definitely worth watching. 2 hours, lots of action, especially in the second part of the movie. Now, I'm thinking if I should watch it again, and I'm also considering of reading the books in the series. Janna! You have influenced me as well...

Alright then, that's all for today's post. Not sure if this 3 week break is going to be boring or exciting though, as it has only just began.I'm skipping CCA tomorrow as I'm having flu and can't do very much physical activity as yet, but should have no problem doing so on Thursday. Jun Jie is also planning a roller blading trip which I'm so looking forward to, and I guess I better prepare some plasters as well for that day. So far, at least 5 people I know are already on holiday, and soon, more would follow. If you're one of them, enjoy your trip!!!

Oh, and before I end the post, expect a mass blog makeover tomorrow, for it's that time of the year where I change my blogskin and make some major changes once again!

1.2 Day 2

Today was a day with some unexpected events. I arrived in school at 7.20am again today. At 8.15am, there was a briefing on the workshops and equipment,followed by a video screening, before we were split into 8 different groups, where everyone was grouped by name in alphabetical order. We were free to go at 10am after touring the facilities. We decided to go to West Mall to watch the House Bunny, before going for lunch at Burger King at 12.45pm.

Went back to school again at 1.20pm. We split up at 1.50pm to go to our respective classes to attend our elective modules. The class was broken into 4 groups; Workplace Safety, Project Management, Advanced Engineering Mathematics and Economics. I'm the only one in the class taking Economics. Anyways, I did not fall asleep during the lesson, but the lesson sure wasn't easy. At 4.30pm, we were dismissed, and I went straight home after that. Back home later this evening, I had a hard time trying to revise the things learnt today for the module. In fact, I had to put in 3 times the usual amount of effort I used for revision during the exam period, just to fully comprehend the introduction chapter alone. It almost seems like an accomplishment, but I have yet to go into the second chapter.

Since there was a lot of time after reaching home, I decided to go for a run later on at 5.20pm. Today I did not train so much on speed, but more on stamina, thus it took me 25 minutes to complete the run itself. Tomorrow, if there's time, I would be going for another run again, this time training a little more on speed.

It took me some time to realise that Deepavali falls on Monday, the 27Th of this month. I thought it was on a Tuesday all the while. The thing is, I'm planning for a celebration together with a few friends, however, there is hardly a day where everyone, or most of us might be able to meet. I'm finding myself walking into dead ends almost every time I make a turn into a corner. There should be a day where most of us can make it right?? It feels as though we're so close to making it, but there's still more things to get done before we're there. I dislike the idea of abandoning plans that have been prepared to thoroughly. Anyway, like always, if we can't settle on a final decision soon enough, the same thing's going to happen again, and it's going to be another wasted effort. Damn. I just hope that December could come soon, so that we can be sure that there would be a gathering.

Preview for tomorrow, I finally get to meet my Adviser for this semester, have the first joint lecture with the other class we were with last semester, and also, Engineering Math 2 and perhaps some Chemistry again, after 8 months.

On Vacation'08-Part 7

Hey there! Here we are, at the seventh and final part of series, which means that the holidays are about to come to an end, signalling the start of another semester. I must say, that, this week was definitely one of the most exciting weeks during the seven week break. So, without any more delays, here's the week's happenings. Oh, and I decided to throw in today as well, since I wanted a nice, long finish to this post.

Monday wasn't really an exciting day to begin with, and I was still waking after 10am in the morning! How exactly am I going to wake at 6am this coming Monday for the first lesson of the semester, which starts at 8am? In the afternoon, I went for my third-last evening run for he holidays. I clocked 20 minutes, which was not too bad, as it was a few days since I ran the route, and I usually have relatively low average speeds on Mondays.

Tuesday, the day progressed as though I was climbing a mountain. I woke at 10am today, a slight improvement in my waking time. The afternoon was spent on rushing through the first 40 episodes of Naruto Shippuden, sequel to the 220- episode anime series of Naruto. There was without a doubt more action in the new series, and the music collection (knowing some of the music helps one to estimate how good a series is) is also better. I won't add any spoilers in here, for it might kill the excitement of fans who just started watching the series. In the evening, I went for a run again, and I managed to hit 19 minutes, a minute off the normal 20 minutes. At 7.40pm, I set off to meet Ling(did I get your name right?) at Bukit Gombak to collect an order. Wanted to go to Eunos to collect it as I usually want to spend some time out before going back home. So, bought some bread, before walking all the way home. Surprisingly, it took less than 30 minutes to walk home from there, even though I got lost halfway through!

Wednesday was the second time during the holidays that I met up with my sps friends. We went to Bugis for lunch, talked quite a lot to catch up on some lost time and I gained some insight about a module I'll be taking next semester. The knowledge contained that module was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to a JC, but it sure was reassuring to know that it was offered as an elective. Nice. We went to Sim Lim to get some accessories for our phones, before going to Marina Square to watch a movie. It was pretty late by then, so we went for dinner before heading home.

Thursday saw me going to the National Dental Centre for an appointment again. If I remember correctly, that day was one of the few days that I was early by at least 5 minutes. After a while, the things to be done for the appointment were done and I took the bus home after making a call to Sean. Here's a little fast fact: For every 1 in 2 calls made to Sean, there would be a long wait before he answers his phone, and there would also be someone beside him answering the call as well. Anyways, It's good to hear that they're doing really well together, but, I seriously hope I did not call them when they were doing something else, like what usually happens in most drama serials. Sean, if that did happen, please do let me know(in private of course)! I will do my best to make it up to the both of you! I went to West Mall to search for a present for my brother who's turning 15 in less than a day's time, but did not manage to find a suitable gift. So, I decided to leave for home, empty-handed. However, something lit up my spirits when I saw someone familiar, in a brown uniform and black bag. Coincidentally, I met Chong Siang! It's been a long time since we were together. Turns out that he had just come from Jurong Point after being dismissed from school, and was searching for a sports towel. So, I accompanied him to Queensway. Thought I might find something good there as well, so I decided to take him there. It was 6.20pm when we left on bus 61. We reached about an hour later, and within 15 minutes, we got our things and went to the hawker centre across the road for dinner. By the way, I got a dozen shuttle cocks, but it took me a while to notice that after making the purchase that it would make a really bad birthday gift, as he does not play badminton. So, I turned to plan B, to give him the blue lanyard for his phone I bought the day before. I reached home at 9pm, just in time, I guess, for I was expected to be home after 7pm. At 11pm, there was a group conversation held, to organise the joint birthdays of three 4E1 classmates, Wei Xiang, Wei Fan and Weng Ling. Not exactly sure which days their birthdays fall on, but I'm positive it's during these 2 weeks, so Happy Birthday to them! After the conversation, which got nowhere after a while had ended, I thought of something nice.

Let's head back to the 2007 Graduation Nite, held shortly after the last O Level paper had ended. A really great night to remember, me making the second confession(most memorable one in fact). Bonds were remembered and strengthened, before everyone left the premises. 4 years of secondary school life had ended. After that was a month of rest and recuperation from the examinations, before going to MI for the first one month during the PAE period. I was reluctant at first, but, that decision sure was the right one to make, for the strongest bonds that I have made so far(and want to have for the rest of my life), were from class 08S6. Well, it wasn't really academic strength that made us worried, but more of the separation after 1 month, that made me stressed during those times. Having friends from around the country is damn rare, and it's even more rare to have close friends from around the country. A month later, I spent time in preparation for Polytechnic life, as to me, it did no seem fair for the friends in the JCs to be studying and under much stress, while I, was at home, slacking and doing nothing. That head-start proved to be extremely helpful during the course of the first semester, where I made many new bonds during the course of study in ME. Right now, it's going to be the start of a new semester real soon, and there's only so little time left to relax, before I get back to seriousness again.

Friday was such a slacked day for me, though I woke up relatively earlier at 9am. It's still nowhere close to my 6am target, though I know that I'm getting close to it. I spent the day watching Naruto Shippuden again, this time I'm left with 11 episodes before I catch up with the rest of the main group who are currently at episode 79. Sadly, episode 80 would only be released next Thursday. I went for the last 5kilometre run during the holidays. That run was the mos eventful. I saw myself clocking extremely totally new and faster times, especially in the nature park, where I clocked 9 minutes instead of the usual 13 minutes. However, on the return part of the run, I stopped to help two boys whose ball had rolled to the side of the ride I was on. It's rare to have me say this, but, one of them sure was cute when he took the ball, thanks me and ran off. It sue was heart warming to see them running off safely to return to their game too! I sprinted 400 metres to make up for the lost time while waiting to cross the road earlier on. I sure was surprised I could sprint that distance, as after all that running, I did not expect to have that kind of a stamina. Guess the holiday's training sure worked some wonders. I ended up clocking 18 minutes for the run that day. My cousins came at 10pm to celebrate my brother's 15Th birthday, and there was lots of fun! I was surprised when I, too received a present! Thanks a lot!

Saturday, and that's today! Today, I wok up extremely early at 7.11am! Yes! I'm almost near my target! I sent an email to the taekwondo club this morning at 10.20am, hoping to join it so that I can train up my strength and fitness. Having speed ans stamina alone would not help much. I hope I can get a reply soon so that I can start training once again after stopping for a year. At 11am, I left for the City Hall MRT by bus as I wanted to catch up on sleep during the journey there. I was late as expected, but by 5 minutes, and was second t arrive. Sean was the last to arrive today, as the gathering today was not a date. Maybe he reached home pretty late from his date the previous day, that's why he ended up being late, so I guess I can't really blame him for that. We went for lunch at Pasta mania, talked quite a lot about education again, before we went off to Toys R' Us to look at the toys vehicle models, before going to take a look at some Samsung phones. WM sure freaked me out when he went in to grab all the brochures for Sumsung models in such a short time. Sean, seriously, I wonder how freaky he was when you said that he took the brochures for every phone model which the shop sold. After that, we went to a coffee shop in the basement for desert, and slacked there till 3.30pm before going off. I went back to the esplanade to take a bus home after accompanying them to the MRT station. The tyre marks left by the cars were gone, but still, the condition of the road felt just the same as it was before the race. Perhaps the difference could only be felt when one was driving a vehicle on the road?

Just a moment ago, a short discussion was held. Guess there's really going to be a class outing for the PAE class that I was once a part of, and it's round the corner!Can't really say much here till it's confirmed though.

Well, there you go, the last weekly review for the last week of the October Vacation. The new school semester is going to start soon, and it's also time for me to do some warming up to get ready for the challenges ahead, for I have a gut feeling that this semester's not going to be as easy as the previous one. Here's a preview for the next post. On Monday after the first lesson of the semester, I would be meeting up with some friends in the afternoon again, after we sort of lost contact for 5 months.

Return of the long-term break

The holidays have arrived again! Yes, this time, standing at 8 weeks(including this week), it's longer and perhaps, far better than the long break after the PAE period. This might seem all too appealing to the JC students, but, I don't really like the luxury of extremely long breaks, as it greatly reduces and kills the momentum that has been building up for the past 4 months. I' m considering getting a job for the first time during the break, but, I'm also not sure if I'm up for it.

Anyway, today's paper, was, as expected, the easiest among the three. Yet, ironically this was also the module that I spent the least amount of time to study for. Compared to the 10 hours I spent on Math, 6 hours I spent on Electrical Technology, I spent a meagre 1 hour on Mechanics alone. And that 1 hour of revision was done only yesterday. The language used in that paper was somewhat similar to the standard used in the "O" Level Additional Mathematics papers. Just read the question, and you would know right away what kind of question you were going to face. The Mathematics paper, for most of the time, all you had to do was simply to look at the question to know how you were going to answer the question. I would still say that the Electrical Technology paper was the most challenging, whereby each question carried a certain level of difficulty. And, true enough, this paper was definitely many times tougher than the common test which was held 2 months back. However, there is one thing in common in two of the three papers. The last question was always the one that would kill off the average students, who simply revise jut enough to pass the respective modules. The last question in both the Mathematics and Mechanics papers carried a total of 12 marks, which meant the difference between an extremely low A grade and a Distinction grade.The mathematics question proved itself to be one of the toughest any student who took the module had ever come across. As for the Mechanics paper, it was simple on first glance. But, if one were to do the calculations on paper in black and white, one would find the solution to the question to be extremely tedious, thus running a high risk of making a careless mistake.

On the whole, I will definitely secure a decent A+ grade, if not, I might be able to get my first AD grade.After the exam, half of the class headed to West Mall to catch the movie, Money No Enough 2. I won't say that the movie was not good, nor was it excellent either, though visibly, there were a handful of great actors and actresses in there. Though touching at times, the jokes also managed to pack quite a punch, creating a great ambiance at the start.

I headed home at 3.30pm, before heading to the nature park for a run after the rain, which proved to be a very big mistake. Firstly, I did not place the pedometer in the correct position in my pocket, which resulted in reading only 0.673 kilometers and less than 900 steps. Next, the frequent sprints every few hundred meters made me feel so weak that I felt like collapsing shortly after reaching home. Now, I'm down with a mild fever. So, I guess tomorrow, I might have to end up giving up on going on the Sentosa trip with the rest of the class. Even if I could Make it there tomorrow, I doubt I will have much energy for some of the activities there as well.

2 days to the "Three Course Meal"

Firstly, Happy Belated 43 Years to Singapore~

Been some time since I typed about something in here. Let's start from Friday again. First up, the photos(Taken from Andy's blog)!!


The largest reunion since the start of the year(I bet the next one on August 29Th would be bigger)

Kim Fong, Andy and me
The whole group of us

Picture with Mr Foo

The temporary canteen(A sea of RED)

Picture with Miss Lee
(I still don't have the guts to pronounce her full name like the others)


Picture with Miss Ker


Anyway, on to Saturday, Went for lunch at a country club, guess I forgot the name of the country club and the restaurant, though we're going to another branch on Saturday. After that, went home, took a short break, before heading down to Lido Cineplex in Orchard to watch the Dark Knight with my cousins. Pretty nice show, with a balance mix of lines and action. At around 7pm, we went to the car park to get into the cars. Just then, one of the Black Knights' F-16 fly over the building! So, first, we saw the Dark Knight, then after that, we sighted a Black Knight. How cool was that?


So next day, I took a short break, before the real intensive revision started on Monday. On Monday, there were students who came over to practice the piano in preparation for the examinations. So, while that was going on, I memorised all the formulae or the 3 papers, of which the first paper would be on this Friday.


Yesterday and today, was plain revision. Raced against time to complete my papers within an hour. Did Mathematics in the morning, followed by ELTech in the afternoon. As for today, it was almost the same, except that I did something I have not done since February. I finally had the chance to go on a 4km long run. After going on the first 2km at around 11 km/h, I could not hold on any longer. By the way, I have not included the incline of the distance covered in the nature park. So, I guess it could be more than four kilometers.


Right now, my legs are hurting. I had never felt them hurt that badly since the long distance cycle a few months back. Anyway, tomorrow it's going to be one heck of a day, with only Mathematics revision going on for close to one full day.Maybe we should make that, slightly more than half a day, at around 12 hours. So, for now, it's 2 days and counting...


Is it going to come soon? Or would it be fine to just let it go, and no one would notice? Or, wait. I might be able to do something about it, yet no one would notice anything...

Two sides

Today was somewhat slacked, as I had totally left the books at one corner, ignoring the revision schedule for today(if I even had one). Met up with Andy, Damien and Zhong Rog for lunch to celebrate Andy's Belated 17Th birthday at Nihon Mura, Jurong West Sports Complex. Once again, many thanks to Andy for the treat!!The lace seemed pretty new, as when I went over to Andy's place last year, the complex was still under construction. We spent 3 hours on lunch and catching up on lost times. We sat down from 11.30 till around 2.45pm, before Andy walked home, while Zhong Rong and Damien went to Jurong Point for Some arcade racing, and for me, head home to keep some young guests company at home, at least for the next couple of hours before they went home at 6. The journey home took an hour and a half, as I decided to save on transport costs and took the bus instead.

So, headed home, sat down and watched a movie with them, before they went off at 6. had dinner after that, and watched The Day After Tomorrow at 7. Life seemed pretty boring after reaching home because of 1 reason. Tomorrow's going to be the first day I start not even 2 weeks, but 8 days of intense revision. After that, it would be 7 weeks of slacking at home, or perhaps, some occasional outings with friends.

During the course of the movie, random, but sensitive thoughts ran through my mind. And, I met my other self while that was happening. So far, had been giving it names, 3 to be exact.And as for the random thoughts, exactly when they arrived and what they were, well, I'm not really sure, and please accept my sincerest apologies as I don't really wish to mention them here. However, I might share them with you, if you're willing to lend a listening ear.

Maybe it came at the right moment, maybe it did not. Exactly whether it's time or not, I still have no idea, although I know very well that for as long as they're kept in, they'll never get out. So, when the time finally arrives, will I be able to make the right decision?Am I able to do the right things? Damn! Maybe, should I simply wait for that one window to appear, and see how things go from there? Or maybe...

First Week of Poly Vacation:Pre-occupied Week

Finally I hit the Hundredth Post in this blog(after 2 years). This week was not a busy week at all, since there were only 4 things that kept me occupied on 4 different days. First was last Saturday, followed by yesterday, today and Saturday.

Last Saturday, met up with Sean and his two close friends, Wei Ming and Jon who were from St Patrick's School at 1pm at City Hall MRT station.We went to Raffles City in search of a gift for Wei Ming's sister who would be celebrating her birthday this coming Saturday. Well, we were at a total loss about exactly what to get her, since she is an university undergrad and we have no idea what a girl her age would like. So, Sean, Jon and I asked the friends we knew about what someone like Wei Ming's sister would like, and we all ended up with the same answer: Bracelets and Necklaces. Sean and I got the same answer as to where to get them: Diva. Eventually, we did pass by Diva, but they did not have in store what we wanted. In the end, we decided to go for our last resort: chocolates.

We trained down to Vivocity and got a 38-dollar package of 6 assorted chocolates from GodDiva. We felt really bored after that and stoned for a short period of time, before making the decision to train to Terminal 2 of the Changi International Airport(all because a friend did not want us to meet her, and even "chased" me home in the process).It was around 8.30pm when we left the airport, after witnessing an SIA Boeing 777 plane being delayed in its flight.

Yesterday, I was finally able to reunite with Andy and Randall. They sure did not change much, except that Andy has improved in his studies, and Randall was just as slacked as ever. Long time since we met up yea? Anyways, Andy wanted a change in cinema this time round, so we decided on the Shaw cinema at Jurong Entertainment Centre. That building might look small, but its cinemas sure prove it to be otherwise! We watched the much talked about movie, Kungfu Panda at 10.20am at Cinema 3. Heard many critics saying that it was a must-watch during the holidays, and we wanted to watch it for ourselves to believe it. True enough, the 7 bucks we spent on tickets(one of the CHEAPEST so far since the price hike),and the large portions of pop corn(the cup was so damn big that you could not hold it with one hand!) sure was worth spending. That movie was a cocktail of action, humour and trust. The audience was laughing almost throughout the whole movie(us included of course)! After the movie, we walked around as we were too full to have lunch, and there was still some time to spare. So, we went to the arcade on the second floor to kill off 45 minutes, before heading in our separate directions once again.One more thing. The movie ended with humour, which put it at a notch above many other movies, for you would expect such scenes to be placed after the credits. There were two quotes that were insightful in the movie. They were "Yesterday's a history, tomorrow's a mystery and today's a gift" and "there are no such thing as accidents". I quite like the first one more, for it's definitely applicable to our daily lives, and as for the second, well maybe it's to reassure us that anything we do could be helpful to our future?

Finally, on to today! Today's meeting with Sean and Wei Ming was sort of like a last minute-plan, and I mean TOTALLY. We arranged to meet at 10am this morning at 1am the same morning(that was last night). So, this morning, we met up as usual, went to Sean's place to place our bags, and off we went for a jog near his place. We ran on the road of a private housing estate of bungalows, and the route was coupled with slopes that provided a bit of a challenge to us. We had prepared to run 5 laps, but on our first, Sean and i had stitches. Guess we did not eat enough for breakfast this morning. Nonetheless, we decided to walk for just one more round before heading back to his home. We talked about quite a lot of things before we arrived at Sean's favourite downhill slope. There, we sprinted down the slope and I easily went beyond my top speed and nearly lost my own balance.

As we had only spent a total of 30 minutes, we decided to go for a cycle from East Coast Park to Changi Village. There goes my third time cycling a distance of 40km. Sean was ecstatic when I told him of the route that the NP Cyclng Club used on our Orientation Ride in April. He's an airplane fanatic as well yea. We trained down to Eunos before taking a bus to the park, reaching there at around 12.30pm. We had a light snack, rented our bikes, and stocked up on water, before commencing on the first 20km of the ride. This time round, we managed to see many thrilling sights of plane landings and take-offs up close, but, those were only the warm-up. We reached our destination of Changi Village at 2.30pm. We stayed there for close to 30 minutes for a short drink and chatted before setting off at 3pm. On our way back, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 jet passed directly over our heads. What's more, its flaps and landing gear were fully extended! NICE! Sadly, we did not bring our camera with us, so we were unable to take any photographs of the ride today. At 5pm, we completed the final gruelling 20km of the ride, with me tackling Wei Ming's bike almost every time he rings his bell at ignorant park users who stay on the wrong side of the track. Had a late lunch and early dinner at MacDonald's before we head back to Sean's place.

We reached Sean's house at close to 7pm, and went to slack in his study room after a nice drink. his whole family met up for dinner today, and the atmosphere was great. And for dinner, they had steamboat. Lots of delicious stuff tonight. Well, the food sure looked tempting, but, maybe i should not join them in their dinner? By the way, Sean brought Wei Ming and I into his room where we watched TV and looked at his collection of plane models. At 8pm, we had a short dinner before leaving for home. And, once again, many thanks to Sean for the great day of activities which were a bit of last minute, but they were really enjoyable!

So this is how the days will be like till the holidays are over? Days are slacked, but i still fear the probability of being off form once school starts again. So, how are things going on? Still good, or have things gotten a little tougher??

Time

School had just started, but with a simple blink of the eye, it's already the third week of school. Time sure flies when you have got things and unfinished tasks to do. These three weeks alone were a real challenge, for life now not only involves studies, but also one's social life and character,especially in the way one does and handles things. Many people, many perspectives. Well, guess that's the way it'll be for the next three years down the road.

The past two night have been enjoyable with the gun bound sessions. I still have trouble visualising the effect of relative velocity in the game, but I should be able to see it with more practice, while ensuring that I don't get addicted to the game.

Anways, watched three movies over the weekend. Yesterday I watched Priates of the Carribean: At World's End and Step up 2 the Streets. Pirates of the Carribean was shown in cinemas around the same time last year, and as for Step Up 2 the Streets, it was shown recently this year if I'm not wrong. The movies were great, and kept me occupied when I was bored after doing some revision. Just a couple of hours ago, I watched Night at the Museum. My first impression was it being a horror movie,which turned out to the exact opposite of what I had thought it to be. It was more of a fantasy coupled with adventure and humour. Come to think of it, these movies might be just another form of entertainment for many, but, set deep in their respective sets, each story teaches a lesson in life. That's usually what I look for in movies,apart from watching them for pure entertainment.

Tomorrow's going to be another day in school. I'm still looking forward to Tuesday though, for it will be more of working with something I like doing, which is building miniature models, except that this time round, I will be working with not just a model, but one that is able to run on its own with motors. Tomorrow, well,I don't really know much about what's going to happen, just that it could end up being a pretty tiring day,with school ending at 5pm.

Friday's going to be another day of reunion with friends met back in MI during the one month trial of JC life.Though there's going to be another one on the 19th of next month, this one might be able to help us catch up with lost time I hope...



School has only started, and I have yet to find my rightful place in there. Why? Why is it that things have to go this way?Whenever and wherever time plays a part, the people we meet are different,and the things we do are alien to us? Is it all predestined? Or was it just the simple fact that life goes on?



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