School Life - The Amazing Race

Note To Blog Marker

2009-08-07T08:37:00.001-07:00

Hi Blog Marker,

Please click on "ACE Term 3" to look for my posts that I would like to be marked for ACE. Enjoy the many many songs that I put!

Cheers,

Darrel

Taman Jurong - Revealing the inherent childhood

2009-08-07T08:14:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

We went to Taman Jurong today to have fun. As in seriously. Of course, you have the official paperwork, consent form and bureaucratic stuff saying "Newspaper Collection - National Day CIP", but we are efficient pleasure-seeking people who put fun above work, at the right time only, of course.

Firstly, I think we did each of our blocks by ourselves. We had our own really weird experiences, but for me, I think my most memorable experience was standing and walking around the void deck for 20 min literally doing nothing. That was just too fun. I think the people at the coffeeshop (I could see the coffeeshop from my block, only a 1 minute walk away) must have suspected me as a loitering person :) . The impression as being suspicious must have been confirmed when they saw me carrying the bags of every group member in my group.

Then, of course, all of us participated in the mass transportation activity of stuff to Blk 156, then the container. Unfortunately, newspapers couldn't be transported through traction of saltation (I mean, newspapers bouncing?), so we had to resort to suspension-like techniques to carry the newspaper. But at least we had fun, after the hard labour, throwing the newspapers. *point point at a lot of people* :).

Finally, it was break time, and while a lot of westernised classmates ordered French fries (shame! Chinse High leh! Must buy pau! OK just joking and no offence, but while fries were $2, pau was $0.60), I got a pau and two cups of Milo Ice. Unlike Rayson, I chose Milo Ice and not Milo because the ice would help to reduce the sweetness of the Milo. After eating, a lot of us were having fun at the playground. Finally, I realised that there were people who loved Tic Tac Toe as much as I do!

Few photos:

Ziying smiling, Samuel reading Deathly Hallows, Mdm Lim chatting with relief teacher.

Weiyang racing away on his brand new Ferrari!

It is only at times like this where you realise that endless CIP, while tiring, is ultimately more fun.

Cheers,

Darrel

Depressed Love

2009-08-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I suddenly have this weird desire to listen to depressing songs about love and I have no idea why. Ah well, after putting two songs about the feelings of people after break up, I think I'll just put two songs on happy love.

The first depressing one is sung by a really famous group. People who are somewhere around 50-70 should remember the Beatles really well? The first song is by them, and it's called "Yesterday". The lyrics are really simple, but the meaning's stated perfectly. Enjoy!

The second depressing one is actually not very depressing, but it's a nice song of innocence, or more appropriately, naivety. The feeling is that "Where are you? We were having so much fun yesterday but now you're gone" is being said, but by a innocent voice. Do enjoy "Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden. I think all of you might have heard it before somewhere, this song is quite famous, but exact time period not sure.

Now, the first happy song is sung by a...well, also famous, but not just for his voice. Boy George's songs were greatly loved by the public in the 80's, but he was also gay, and that wasn't exactly very accpetable to the public then. Anyway, you should enjoy "Karma Chameleon" by him, and if you want the lyrics, get them here.

The second happy song was also famous in the late 80's. 'Wake me up before you go go" by Wham is a catchy song, so do listen to it if you're feeling down. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Darrel

Viewpont 3 - The connotations of Literature

2009-08-07T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

It was only just nowthat I realised that the fact was universal - that when the correct words were used, length didn't matter, for the meaning was the most important. I think this is what our Chinese teacher is attempting to teach us, that when you have alread risen to the level of amazing words and phrases, the level of amazement can only rise further when you achieve the same effect with less words.

I think a really basic example would be the poem on paper planes that we did. I distinctly remembering telling Timothy Ling this as Zhu Cheng, him and I were briefly discussing: What was the paper planes symbolic of? Looking back, it's sort of obvious now that the main source of confusion was the "brutal road". It was never clear, and indeed i don't think no one had the explanation: What was the brutal road supposed to be sybolic of? Judging from how everyone said he died, I think that quite a number of us were thinking that he died in a car accident? I don't think this is wrong, cause even the answer sheet given to us didn't explain itself about this particular choice of word. It is possible now, that this referred to the cruel reality of life and of modern society. The "paper planes" being flown, if this interpretation were taken, would suddenly expand to mean many social vices, eg drugs.

In conclusion, I think when we write essays and the like, language and literature have the power to make us think far greater than what's stated in your text, so use them wisely. I like this quote: The written word triumphs over powerful physicals, but powerful physicals fail to make the written word fear.

Cheers,

Darrel

Don't Worry Be Happy!

2009-08-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

There are times when people have wondered why our dear iCouncil chairman Glendon can always smile so widely. After long time unwilling interaction with him, I have finally discovered the reason, and this is what I shall share with you now.

It all begins with Glendon's amazing intellect in IH and current affairs. In his own words, he had "a lot of free time during P1 and P2", so he would "read the newspapers back and forth". Note the age and note the behaviour. This amazing acquaintance with newspapers and current affairs has developed into what we know today as the modern-day Glendon. In other words, he knows practically any medium-scale current affairs that has happened in the last 5 years.

If you interact with Glendon long enough, you will discover that when Glendon speaks about the poor and the dying in Africa, he doens't smile, but instead frowns slightly. This led me to wonder: Was it due to constant interaction through the newspapers that has led to him realising, as I have as well, that we have no right to be unhappy, simply because there are many poor, sick and starving people in rural Africa who can remain happy.

In other words, as the title of this post sums up: Don't worry, be happy! You have nothing to worry about that is truly very important (this applies in really general situations, like you didn't bring your Maths Assignment)!

Speaking about this makes me think of a recently very popular Chinese song by Jay Chou that has won quite a few major music awards recently. In English, it's called "Rice Fragrance", but I felt that a more appropriate translation would be "Paddy Fragrance", for the emphasis is on the delight of the padi. You can simply watch the video and listen to the song, but if you understand the lyrics, sing along, and reflect on them as you sing, cause you will hear that really, you have nothing to worry about. During a minor interlude in the pre-official-release-version of the song, Jay Chou speaks tells you exactly what I've been saying, that there isn't really a lot to worry about when you think of the many other people around the world suffering. Enjoy the video and the song, and remember: Don't worry, be happy!

Just a slight postscript though: You can also interprete the song as a escapist form of music par excellence (quote some stuff from Animal Farm notes, cause it's really quite appropriate), for it also says that if all else fails you, you will always have a warm and loving family waiting for you.

Cheers,

Darrel

Thoughts of an Immigrant - A musical expression

2009-08-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Did I ever mention that I went to China during the June holidays? It was basically for my paternal grandfather to meet up with his relatives in China and also for me to learn more about them. My main purpose here is to give a really brief introduction to three English songs that I feel really describe the feelings of my grandfather well, one when he just left, possibly around 4++ months, one when he was homesick, possibly around 3++ years, and wanted to come back, and one when he was about to come back.

I do not believe that any of you are familiar with the first one, for the really simple reason that it's a really really old song. "500 miles" by the Brothers Four appeared to be quite famous in the 1960's (I can't seem to get a lot of information on this song, possibly because they're not that famous). Get the lyrics from here , but the essential meaning is about an immigrant who has left his hometown and friends and relatives a long long distance away, and can only come back when he is rich enough to do so. Lovely song and lovely lyrics. Enjoy the video!

The next song is a lot more recent, and sung by a man commented on as a Frank Sinatra wannabe. This 2005 hit "Home" by Michael Buble is really delightful, and it's written like a husband's writing to his wife. The essential message: is I miss you a lot, and I can't stand it any longer, so I'll be coming home soon, baby. When you watch the Michael Buble official MV, you find it untouching and very Michael-Buble centred, so I chose the Westlife video, where singing part is slightly changed, but the video is a lot more touching. Watch the video. It'll make you wanna cry if you put yourself in the people shown in the video's shoes.

The last song is really recent, and I believe a lot of introduction isn't necessary to Daniel Powter's "Next Plane Home". Essentially, this person greatly misses his "you" in the song, and he'll be on the next plane home. Here, we can take "you" to be friends and relatives. Apparently they've removed the original MV of the song, so I'll have to use the one where he's performing it somewhere live. Enjoy the music.

Cheers,

Darrel

Viewpoint 2 - Clash of Civilisations

2009-07-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I was at a competition organised by the JC on the other side of our campus. In the final round(which I didn't get into), finalists were expected to present on certain issues regarding world poverty and hunger in Africa. A particular rival boys school's student impressed some with the way he inserted humour into his speech. Many teachers there were both shocked and amused. It was so politically incorrect, and he managed to make the serious situations into light-hearted jokes.

But then - there were many other participants, and indeed quite a number of the judges, who were looking sort of shocked at this particular boy's descriptions of such internationally sensitive conflicts. This was millions of people who were suffering, who were being tortured, who were dying, how could you ignore the severity of the situation?

This is my topic for discussion today - What are the influences of Western cultures and Eastern cultures in our education today? Let us take a look at this particular finalist. Coming from a greatly Westernised school, it could be said that his education had been along the path of the Western world. Politically incorrect jokes must surely be a feature of the culture. After a horrible day at work, a crowded subway, and enough glimpses of people who are just too serious, surely there must be a light-hearted side to the cruel world. Undoubtedly, politically incorrect jokes satirises the current system. Here, the student must have thought that this would work.

However, there were many schools who were under the influence of the East. People from the East are generally more relaxed. Having been slightly slower in their development, you still see a slight level of ignorance, albeit a peaceful one, of the troubles of the modernised world. Horrors on the other side of the world are merely a far-off nightmare. Thus, these people will attempt to offer aid, to stop this nightmare, thus developing a more emotional side, instead of the cool calmness needed to stop the horror. But when on comes along and coldly and humourously desensitises this situation - It implies a icyness in that particular person, something people in the East hate. Thus, when the student came along with his jokes, the more pro-Eastern were, as expected, greatly shocked.

Ultimately, there is no better culture. There is only the equal clash between them. Thus, it might be better to merge the two cultures, to please both of them.

Cheers,

Darrel

Viewpoint 1 - What is the purpose of technology?

2009-07-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Before we even need to begin on whether technology is right, let us take a very brief look at technology, or more specifically, the development of technology from the Industrial Revolution. Upon the Revolution, the prototypes of many common appliances we saw today appeared. The first modern automobile by Karl Benz could officially chug along on the street in 1885. The first radio system started blaring out announcements in 1897. The list goes on and on.

An interesting thing to note is that at this particular period of time, what is known as Liberalism, or in other words, the main idea behind "Nothing But The Truth", that everyone is entitled to rights, has expanded to a great extent. In fact, this can be most clearly seen from the Emancipation Proclaimation (ie All slaves should be freed) and the sudden desire for equality in race, gender and age.

This leads me to make a sort of interesting suggestion: Was it because of the lost of such servants that technology was developed? By the equalisation of man around the world, it implied that everyone had the right to be free and respected equally. In other words, all servants that people once had would be lost. Man, in a sense, would now have no one else to, in a way, do his dirty work. So what did he do? He put the responsibility on somethng else which were not protected by rights, by something which he could create freely - machinery. Thus we see that instead of black slaves carrying Western masters on a trishaw, you now have these Western masters driving a car themselves.

In fact, technology as a replacement for slave labour now is even more clear, albeit more negatively. Those who were thrilled by the power of electricity, technology and machinery realised soon that the very fundamental weakness was that it broke down very often and was also very cold to them. Thus, we see that maids are now becoming common, for they rarely, in fact, nearly never report sick and they can keep people company.

In conclusion, technology could have been a substitute for slave labour. Your opinion?

Cheers,

Darrel

Lesson 3 - A Humourous Poem

2009-06-30T17:49:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

This is just a funny take on primary school, no offence on anyone's feelings. Apart from remembering my so-called primary school days here, I am also remembering someone. See if you can guess!

It's close to noontime, and something evil's lurking in the dark

Under the sunlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart

You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it

You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes

You're paralysed

Cause this is lesson, lesson time

And no one's gonna save you for the teacher's gonna strike

You know it's lesson, lesson time

You're fighting for your life against a killer, teacher to die

You hear the door slam, and realise that there's nowhere left to run

You see the cold eyes, and wonder if you ever see the sun

You close your eyes, and hope that this is just imagination

but all the while, you hear the teacher creeping up behind

You're out of time

Cause this is lesson, lesson time

There ain's not second chance against the thing in all its might

Lesson, lesson time

You're fighting for your life against a killer, teacher to die

Crazed teachers calling, the mad start to walk in their masquerade

There's no escaping the scream of the teacher this time

(Mouth open wide)

This is the end of your life

They're out to get you, there's mentors closing in on every side

They will possess you, unless you've done your homework all the while

Now is the time, for you and I to unite close together, yeah

All through the day, I'll save you from the terror on its feet

I'll make you see

That this is lesson, lesson time

Cause I can thrill you more than that teacher would ever dare try

Lesson, lesson time

So let me give you fright and share a

killer, diller, chiller, thriller to die.

Hope you like it!

Cheers,

Darrel

Lesson 2 - William Wordsworth

2009-06-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Why I Like William Wordsworth:

"Nature never did betray the heart that loved her." The heart that really did love her, the heart of Poet Laureate from 1843 to 1850, William Wordsworth, was never truly betrayed. The many graceful poems that waltzed out from his pen during his lifetime were all intimately connected with nature, and his poems were either about environmental nature, nature of London, and human nature.

The first type of poems are poems about environmental nature. The best and most famous example of this is the poem "I wandered lonely as a cloud". Though the poem is generally very simple( a poet sees a field of joyful daffodils and thinking about it warms his heart) there is a deeper meaning about environmental nature. The poet is described as a cloud and the field of daffodils as people As such, this shows the inherent unity of man and environmental nature.

The second type of poems are poems about the nature of London, his native state. Perhaps the most direct is the sonnet "London 1802". Outwardly, it seems to be lamenting John Milton's death, but the sonnet actually points out that London has deteriorated to a horrible standard, where religion, the army, literature and the home cannot help people to find inward happiness, and only John Milton can lift London out of its miserable state. Despite this type of morally and politically outraged sonnets being common in this period of time, it can be said that "London, 1802" can be ranked as one of the best.

The final type of poems are poems about human nature. An example of such a poem, also close to William Wordsworth's heart, is "It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free". William Wordsworth, while visiting Revolutionary France, fell in love with Annette Vallon and had a daughter with her. However, due to the Reign of Terror in France after that, William was separated from his daughter and lover. When he finally saw his daughter after ten years, he went on walks on the beach with his daughter in Calais. This poem would then show the aspect of human nature, about how absence makes the heart grow fonder.

According to Wordsworth, "Nature never did betray the heart that loved her". Wordsworth loved her, wrote about her, and it should be fitting that his love for her won the love of others.

Three Poems:

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

London, 1802

Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.

It Was a Beauteous Evening, Calm And Free

It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,

The holy time is quiet as a Nun

Breathless with adoration; the broad sun

Is sinking down in its tranquility;

The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea;

Listen! the mighty Being is awake,

And doth with his eternal motion make

A sound like thunder--everlastingly.

Dear child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,

If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,

Thy nature is not therefore less divine:

Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;

And worshipp'st at the Temple's inner shrine,

God being with thee when we know it not.

Acknowledgements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wordsworth

http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/wordsworth/section5.rhtml

http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/wordsworth/section6.rhtml

http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/wordsworth/section7.rhtml

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/william_wordsworth/poems/10951

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/william_wordsworth/poems/10954

http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2340.html

Lesson 1 - All The World's A Stage - William Shakespeare

2009-06-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

All the World's a Stage by William Shakespeare

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Figurative Language Used

"Last scene of all,That ends this strange eventful history,Is second childishness" - Metaphor. This line seeks to compare the last stage of life of a man with second "childishness" or in other words, childhood once again. This line seeks to show the similarities between two seemingly contrasting subjects, the nearly dead old man and the just born young boy.

"creeping like snail" - Simile. The "whining schoolboy creeping" is another way of saying that the schoolboy was reluctantly walking to school, and his speed is "like snail", or as slow as a snail. The use of similes appear more in phrases like "Sighing like furnace", where the lover is said to sigh constantly, just like a furnace does and "bearded like the pard", where the soldier's beard is long and bushy, like a panther or a leopard.

"The sixth age shiftsInto the lean and slippered pantaloon" - Personification. The six stage of men's life is said to shift into, despite it not being able to change clothes, a pantaloon. Thus it is giving a non living thing (the sixth stage of life) human qualities (changing into another set of clothes).

"Sans everything." - Hyperbole. This portion refers to the fact that an old man loses everything. However, this is not true, for things like the old man sense of smell may not be lost. Thus, this is simply exaggerating and also showing that an old dying man's life is like oblivion.

Why I Like This Poem

To compare the world to a stage, life to a play, and to also divide a man's life into seven stages. Three seemingly impossible tasks are pulled off in this fantastic literary magnum opus by William Shakespeare.

The first two tasks are nicely pulled off by William Shakespeare in his first four to five lines. What attracts me here, however, is not the simplicity of this comparison. The average poem lies on a high level, seemingly unconnectable with readers, for example poems about celestial love. This gives one the impression that the poet wrote this while he was drunk and is thus too unrealistic. However, Shakespeare, being such a famed playwriter when he wrote this poem for the monologue in Act 2 Scene 7 of As You Like It, might have actually been musing about his views on life, and thus gives the reader an impression that the poet, in this case Shakespeare, actually does believe in what he is writing. This would make it more connectable and understandable for the common reading public, like me.

The accomplishment of his third task also similarly appears to be as heartfelt by Shakespeare as the accomplishments of the previous two tasks. His spilitting up of the seven types of men appear to be the seven types of characters one would usually see in his plays. For example, characters who are in the lover stage are people like Romeo and Juliet, and characters who are in the soldier stage would be people like General Macbeth. This would make Shakespeare appear to be a man who really loves his literature, for even in his poems, they can appear so interlinked. This dedication to literature raises my respect for the famous Bard, and the subtlety of doing so leaves no doubt about the Bard's talent.

Interpretation of Poem

This poem originally appeared, as mentioned earlier, in Act 2 Scene 7 of As You Like It. The first intepretation of it is it's surface intepretation upon seeing it in the play, as the musings of a melancholy and contemplative man, for this was a monologue by Lord Jacques, a faithful and contemplative man. With his description of life being a play and the world being stage, what he could have been implying was that life was very confusing, and surprising changes could happen at any point in time. This particular occurrence in life can be seen in As You Like It, when the niece of Duke Frederick, Rosalind, is suddenly chased out by the duke, even though he has took good care of her for a long time. Lord Jacques, who knew about this when he said the monologue, must have been confused by this sudden change. Regarding the division of a Man's life into seven stages, that may have simply sought to enhance the fact that he was really a contemplative man who thought long about such matters. To conclude, the first interpretation depends on the play itself, for this may appear to be the musings of a melancholy and contemplative man.

The second interpretation of the play is that this poem was to show Shakespeare's mindset of life and the world, and the seven stages of Man were to show how he felt Man in a play, literally should be like. Shakespeare, at the period of writing this poem, was already an established playwriter with plays like Taming of the Shrew, Comedy of Errors and Titus Andronicus. With these great plays, Shakespeare's devotion to his playwriting might have been subtlely shown in how he felt life and the world was like. About his exact attitude to life and the world, however, is not very clear, for Shakespeare did not state how life was similar to a play and how the world was similar to a stage. Nevertheless, his love for playwriting can be seen from his mindsets of life and the world. This love can also be seen, when he states the seven "ages" of Man - infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon and second childhood. In short, the infant adapts to its comfort zone, the schoolboy doesn't want to leave its comfort zone, the lover is narcissistic, the soldier wants to build a reputation and also cares more about others, the justice has social status and is prosperous, the pantaloon is the butt of others' jokes and the man in second childhood constantly requires attention before death. These seven type of characters are not uncommon in Shakespeare's later plays after As You Like It. For example, the lover could refer to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and the soldier could refer to General Macbeth in Macbeth. As such, this poem could have been showing his love for his plays by stating the types of characters that he believed should be common in plays.

To conclude, looking at either way of interpretation of his poem, the Bard of Avon's talent is once again, unquestionably great, but so is another aspect of him, and that is his love for plays.

The Game of Love Chapter 2

2009-06-25T23:17:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I think you can sort of guess that the long absence from this blog was due to certain Hercules-worthy tasks we call "homework" that I had to complete. But it was also for a fantastic holiday that I shall be posting about soon. Anyway, to continue with the story.

Though I say "one month", it seems to me to be impossible to pinpoint an accurate time where I can safely say "This was the time where I fell in love with her." I cannot give an opinion on whether infatuation is a build-up or a one shot, but I think it was a build up for me.

A military man will well know that a build-up attack increases the torture, the pain and the injuries during a war. I think sufficient Korean dramas describe that it perfect detail, which always leaves me wondering why don't they have an Oscar for "Best Overseas Drama Serial". Daily conversations with her soon mesmerised me, and despite the wear and tear of daily school life, I like to think that the delight she spread was like a long flowing bandage and a soothing hand that literally brushed away my troubles.

But her brushing away my troubles was not what I just wanted. The greedy me wanted to brush away her troubles as well. Any experienced Casanova will tell you that the tension of not knowing whether the other side likes you is part of the joy. Korean dramas display this tension beautifully, and even an inexperienced watcher like me could see it. Perhaps that is why I was so addicted to Korean drama during this period of time. Wishes came through there, and I wanted mine to come true as well.

A few weeks later, my wish did come true.

Cheers,

Darrel

The Game of Love Chapter 1

2009-06-03T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I promised a story coming up, and here it is! There's a special feature at the end of each chapter: There'll be a song to follow up. I may have quoted the song's lyrics, or the song just fits the chapter so well. Yup, enjoy, and I do know that I don't write well. Mark gave me the inspiration to write this story, and this is NOT random, by the way.

Few can understand the true power of what some term love, some term infatuation. Of course, some will come up to you and go on about how love is not infatuation and infatuation only comes about during puberty. Then again, the thesaurus can't see the difference, and frankly, will any teenager be able to?

Then again, who are the teenagers to speak, a few years later, when only bitter memories don't fade?

Now I think I know, what you tried to say to me and how you suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them free...

Puberty, though not manifested to its highest form yet, was waxing when I entered the new school for a new life. I was a rural villager in New York then, wandering around, occasionally banging heads, guard kept high.

She made me lower my guard.

Perhaps it was because she was small. Being nearly one full year younger than me, her height was in deficit as well. My fatal flaw in guard must have been small.

Or perhaps it was because she was cheery. Joy evolved into a smile on her face, a twinkle in her eyes, an optimism in her voice, and it showed itself in its purest form in her atmosphere. No doubt this quality is what those nuns have developed in those old movies where they speak to hardcore convicts.

Whatever she had that sent me sprawling in defeat, I had no counter-plan. With no counter plan to just a one-second attack that wasn't even directed at me, I knew that my sorry life would end when we were put into the same class.

One month later, her attack became full-scale.

Cheers,

Darrel

Note to blog marker(s)

2009-05-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hi blog marker(s),

My first necessary actions will be to honour you for your hard, neverending work in sacrificing self over others, giving up one of your solitary day of freedom and laughter confined to marking. If it wasn't for the lack of time, I would be writing an Ode to The Blog Marker.

OK, I know this is very fake. It was meant as a joke, but really, thanks for your time. As such, though, I have decided to take upon myself the serious job of informing whoever's marking my blog on the necessary steps you must take to ensure that I get as high marks as possible. No offence to Han Wei though, for I tak all responsibility upon my shoulders.

Anyway, to get the relevant posts I want to be used for ACE, click, at the bottom of either the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth post, the hyperlink with the word "ACE". This will direct you to all my relevant blog posts. Of course, its the 5 posts immediately before this post, but still, clicking it would be better.

Now, what seems the most appropriate thing to do is to apologise. Really, writing short posts is sort of a trouble to me. I know I have most likely doubled the limit, and you should be tired after grading so many blogs, so I really must apologise. I think the content of my posts are not too bad, so take a rest, rest those tired eyes of yours, then read. My blog posts aren't Susan Boyle or Hollie Steel, they can't lift you up, but at least I try.

Once again, thanks so much for your hard work!

Cheers,

Darrel

Ode to my enemy

2009-05-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I suddenly thought of her. I have exhanged hellos at 3rd language, despite not being in the same class. Does this sound a little Romeo-Juliet-ish? I hope its the Montague-Capulet enmity part, cause that's all. We didn't become friendly with each other because of our son's/daughter's death respectively, though.

But enough of this Shakespeare allegories. Who is this "she" I'm referring to? Due to the extreme pervasiveness of the internet, I shall decline to comment upon her name. All you need to know, is that she has been the bane of my academic life, haunting my marks as I grew.

It wasn't hate at first sight though. The day which I came to know her was when I was Primary 1, seeing her two places in front of me during End-Of-Year Prize Giving. She was 2nd, I was 4th in the level. At that period of time, she was an unknown genius, together with the then 1st in level. Between the two of them, the top in subjects were distributed evenly. In P2, when we became together, she eventually became a familiar sight, and to the then innocent and young me, she was a competitor I had to win. Masculinity and chauvinism were abstract concepts, it was the joy in beating her that I wanted. I didn't, and as she remained 2nd, I was 9th.

In Primary 3, we were in the same class, and then substantially raised our competitiveness. There were of course others, but the two of us were always at the front, always attempting to throttle the other. We both got into GEP, but as she clutched on to her 2nd, I plunged into the mire of 15th. In Primary 4, we were both newbies to our primary school. Unfamiliarity, however, did not bond us, and so didn't the fact that we had to coexist in the same class. I like to think that it was our driving force, and that propelled us to fight for glory. I have no idea if Infatuation's arrival and its subsequent handiwork between me and another girl was a curse or a boon, but I knew it was what led me to my 10th in level, with her being 3rd. Breakups do tend to have an effect on you, after all.

Primary 5 was our dream year, and I distantly remember it being one of the best years of my life. Not only was it the fact that I had fallen to Infatuation, not only was it the fact that I was able to flirt, shamelessly then, at arguably the most romantic place in China, but also the fact that I was 3rd in class, and she, being in the same class as me, wasn't. She had been infatuated too, but hers was on its way to love. Primary 6 was my trump year. What else could one ask for? Power as a Vice Head, good friends with the girl who charmed me two years back, 2nd then 1st in level...She, however, had lost her grip on the positions, and while I did not gloat, I was still proud. Proud for defeating her, proud that I had risen. I always think that it was her breakup that secured my high position, and I always pity her. In our final, best battle yet, I had a higher PSLE score then her, and with that, we parted ways.

Now, I hear she's doing well, along with many other friends/frienemies(friend-enemies) of mine. Though I most likely won't have her chance to compete with her once more, but still, enemies then, friends now. Hats off to you, my friend-enemy!

Few songs before I end off, certain songs that quite fit parts of this story. Terry Jackson's Seasons In the Sun (the first verse) and Yael Naim's New Soul seem particularly fitting. Maybe a quick video montage of Yesteday Once More, by the Carpenters. Till another time, adios, and I apologise for the really long post.

Cheers,

Darrel

Current Affairs: My Epic Screwup

2009-05-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Before proceeding on, however, I just want to state certain conditions to declare myself successful. This being a debate, let's analyse it from the point of view of a judge. Firstly, I must have answered the requirements of this debate. Seeing as it requires us to make addiction a medical condition due to the fact that it has benefits to society, we then must consider: What justifies making any condition a medical condition? Why should or shouldn't addiction be classified as a medical condition? Does doing so really benfit society? How does it benefit society and if it doesn't, how will it harm or remain neutral to society? Secondly, I must have spoken persuasively. Thirdly, I must be organised and have a good structure within my speech. Lastly and most importantly, I must have adhered to my role.

Having stated these conditions, let's now take a look at how I screwed up, with an advantage of 20/20 hindsight. Let's take a look at the first condition. I stated that for condition to be made a medical condition, it means that the condition must affect the person's judgement, such that he is unable to be represented as a thinking adult in front of the judiciary system, and therefore we are removing his freedom of choice to be represented like that. I stated that this freedom of choice should be removed as it causes third party harm and it affects the rationality of his choice. On the society point, I didn't link, and as that was half of the motion, this should warrant the term "an epic screwup"

On style, I don't think I was too bad. In terms of organisation, I wasn't the best, making a string of accusations that weren't grouped into contentions. In terms of role however, ah, here is where I really flunked it. As the mother whose son died, I'm supposed to be emotional, crying all over the place etc. I'm also supposed to ask for regulation. Did I do this? No. Though I sort of justified my hardline, angry stance when I said I'm fighting for change, there was no excuse for forgetting the second clause of change.

Therefore, this is how my speech should have been. Three main points of clarification: Firstly, on the whole nature of video gaming (addiction is easy, not due to teens) , nature of its company(mercenary, don't care about players) and nature of players (play only for coolness, soon get addicted). Then, onto more elaborated and concrete substantives on freedom of choice, with third party harm and rational choice as main issues.

Yup, that's all. Just providing a self analysis.

Cheers,

Darrel

Anyone Lived In A Pretty How Town

2009-05-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

The performance "If There're Seasons..." yesterday was simply stunning. The beginning scene began with this poem by E.E.Cummings, but composed into a song "anyone lived in a pretty how town". It's purposely in small letters, by the way. What I'd like to do is to comment on this poem and its theme.

A brief summary: Anyone and no-one are the most individualistic. The "someones" and "everyones" of the town exhibit no individuality and spawn numerous repetitive generations. The children, with the imagination of youth, realized the love between anyone and no-one but forgetting it as they grew. When anyone dies, the townspeople only bury his body, but the grief stricken no-one mourns his passing and is buried with him. The two then find further love after their burials, more in death than the townsfolk ever knew in life. The townspeople then go on with their lives.

It's a tough poem to understand when you only read it once, and I took further reading and explanation by the characters later in the muscial that it actually meant that to be living a normal life can be more interesting than the people who don't, for the people living the normal life, "anyone" and "no one", actually are able to love and appreciate life well, while the people who sought for a life that was exciting, "someone" and "everyone", soon fell into the social mould of a loveless and lifeless society. When anyone and no one died, someone and everyone didn't mourn them, but there may be a day which they will, after a long time.

And how true it has become these days! Love is only rediscovered and developed after many eyars in life! Many affluent businessmen, Bill Gates being and example, in the end, contribute back to society through similar means as normal charity workers. Speakign of charity workers, Susan Boyle shot to fame only through her normality, her individuality in a normal, peaceful life. Normality, though brushed aside and condemned by fame, is soon a servant of fame, for fame is only a temporal normality, which centres on greed and ignores anything else, while normality is eternal and perennial, because it remembers life, it remembers love.

Everyone lives in a pretty how town, it's only a decision whether to become a singularly unique anyone or a conformist everyone.

Cheers,

Darrel

P.S. I know this is very complex, for I'm not very sure myself on whether my analysis is better. Ah well, maybe there'll be a day where I can understand this poem better.

What are values?

2009-04-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is a real story taken from a blog. The original writer was very shocked at his own decision for the test. I want to share the story and then provide my own comments, cause it's really shocking. It's really unexpected too. A note though: The original post was in Chinese (I don't regularly read Chinese blogs, or any blogs as a matter of fact, it was my father who introduced this post to me), so I translated it. It's taken from http://blog.omy.sg/hoeytheory/archives/27.

My friend held a newspaper in his hand, and asked if I wanted to take a simple psychological test. Curious, I agreed.

Question 1: There is a pregnant woman. She has had eight babies. Three of her babies are deaf, two of them are blind and one of them is mentally slow. Furthermore, she is a drug addict. Would you encourage her to abort this baby?

Before I could answer, I was stopped by my friend, who asked me yet another question.

Question 2: You have to choose a leader for the world. Which of these candidates will you choose?

Candidate A: He is constantly in contact with distrustful politicians, and consults astrologers. He has a wedding affair, and smokes regularly. He also drinks 8-10 cups of martinis daily.

Candidate B: He has a record of being fired twice, and sleeps till noon everyday. He tried opium in his university days, and drinks a large amount of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero and a vegetarian. He never smokes, and seldom drinks beer, and when he does, it is only a little. He has also never had an affair.

After my friend let me write my answer down on a piece of paper, he told me the real profiles of these candidates:

Candidate A: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States.

Candidate B: Winston Churchill, once Prime Minister of Britain.

Candidate C: Adolf Hitler, German Chancellor from 1933.

My friend stared at me sombrely. "Did you just choose Hitler for the world? So would you still advice the woman to abort her child?"

I said of course, we have been aiming to search for safe births, safe education, safe lives, we don't want any babies to suffer because of their family and any highly likely diseases. Of course I would encourage her to abort.

My friend declared, "Then, you just killed Beethoven, that lady was Beethoven's mother."

My friend asked, "Are you shocked? What you thought was the most humane, most obvious answer, was actually to create a Hitler and to kill Beethoven?"

His conclusion: Don't act according to values.

Ultimately, what are values? In my opinion, values are not something that everyone can have. They aren't materialistic, neither are they tangible. I think the friend's conclusion wasn't that correct, for ultimately, what he thought was that values are characteristics and physical conditions. However, I beg to differ, as I have mentioned above. Ultimately, the Beethoven question would have been difficult to avoid getting wrong, for the most normal and rational decision would have been to abort, to reduce the child's pain and the mother's burden. But really, what is normal? Do we really have the moral authority to decide? Ultimately, do we not witness the famous disabled with respect, for they are crippled birds who soar higher than those who aren't?

For the leader question, in hindsight, it might have been better to have asked for an analysis of these candidates' psyches, to really understand their values.

What was your decision? Did you create a Hitler and kill Beethoven?

Cheers,

Darrel

Memory...all alone in the sunlight...

2009-04-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Due to the very important fact that I didn't get a closer to perfect full marks (no offence, han Wei), from now on, I shall be labelling each blog post I want to be considered as ACE as, erm, ACE. And maybe something else too, an example being this post. Furthermore, in the words of my P6 Science teacher, to make it idiot-proof and moron-proof, the only posts from now on are, well, ACE posts.

Anyway, as I was saying, memory. It's sort of lucky I don't have to force myself to think about how I should go about doing this blog topic, as I trust many are doing now. Instead, I can just start typing, cause my memory was very strongly triggered as I walked past the B block and looked up.

Day 1:

He stepped out of the car. Being only 6.40, the whole school was shrouded in darkness.Nearly, the whole school, that is. As he stepped out, the first thing that greeted him was the amazing clock tower. During the Open House talks, he had heard so much about how this tall, majestic tower would light up with an amazing glow. And here it was!

Soon, however, he found stares shooting towards him for standing there and staring at the clock tower like Romeo would Juliet. Blushing and hastily crossing the road, he quickly sat down at the row for his class in his position, or where he thought was his position at any rate.

A great number of unfamiliar faces sat down next to him. Searching for familiar ones, he soon found Ernest and the two of them sat together, coming to this large, untrodden territory as part of it for the first time. Apart from the fact that they were from the same primry school, they also had another similarity - they knew one person each who were very close to them. Ernest had a Sec 2 brother here, while he had a Sec 3 friend who had been as close as brothers. Whatever it was, the two of them huddled together, one of the many twin-pillars who had formed to withstand the winds of change and unfamilarity.

The school song and the national anthem were sung with great pride as the school band played, and as the Sec 1s' tongues hesitantly rolled over the lyrics of this melodious song, it was due to respect for the school rules and tradition, and that was all. Few understood the meaning, to everyone, it was just another song to be sung. Everyone then was feeling sad from leaving, nervous from the unfamilarity and the sheer size of the school, awkward from the large number of unfamiliar people they were with.

Day 119:

He stood in front of the clock tower now, pondering. He had just finished the soccer match between his class and the Sec 2's and though the scoreline was a fascinating 11-2 to the Sec 2's, his mind was off. He remembered himself staring at the clock tower 118 days ago, then shocked, stunned, amazed, awkward. Now, here he was, winner of one prize, participant of quite some competitions, and already settling to the busy pace of the typical student.

What surrounded him now, usually, was a set of familiar faces, either as friends or as routine. He knew now that every Friday, the Library would be especially busy with Library club members, he knew now that NPCC and NCC would be tucked in at the multi-storey carpark or the area near it, he now knew that the Clock Tower, though a National Monument, was still commonly used, with him becoming one of the common users, he now knew that because of the fact that the land his school was on was hill-like, therefore the flooring system was a little weird, where the third floor seemed like the first floor.

"Hey, what you doing! You don't want go back and eat lunch is it! Not hungry ah?" His friend's calls dragged him out of memory lane. Striding towards his friends, he glanced back. No more did the nervousness, the shock, the awkwardness exist. What did exist, was the shock and admiration for the school's strength, and a strong, deep, true love for the school.

Yeah, that's all. I know it's very flashback-ish, but to prevent any misunderstandings (no offence once again, Han Wei). I hope it's OK.

Cheers,

Darrel

Digression from serious work

2009-04-18T04:25:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I have absolutely no idea why I am posting this, cause I'm supposed to be doing my worksheets to allocate time for revision tomorrow. But anyway, I'm just posting this cause I most likely want to have a quick break before I set off to this mysterious restaurant to celebrate my mother's upcoming birthday:).

But anyway, speaking of digression from serious work, how do you digress from a topic in conversation? (Why am I saying this? Personally, I have no idea, but that's no the point.) In a conversation, let's use me and Timothy (no offence to him, it's just that its a good real life example.) The conversation basically goes like this.

Tim: How much is Lea (a very good friend of mine who is a girl and unfortunately mistaken to be my crush) worth to you?

Me: She's worth a lot to me as a friend.

Tim: What about a GIRLFRIEND?

Me: Er...she's not my girlfriend, so no worth there.

This will go on till the end of lessons, so this is bad. To digress, this is how it should go.

Tim: How much is Lea worth to you?

Me: She's worth a lot to me as a friend. By the way, how is doing in ? Do you still call her commonly?

Tim: NO!!! She's not my crush!

Me: Are you sure?

Tim: YES!!!

Me: I don't believe you. Anyway, we should pay more attention.

Tim: OK.

Digression successful!:)

Cheers,

Darrel

Susan Boyle - the sensation shocking the world

2009-04-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I'm here to talk about the sensation rocking the world right now - "Britain's Got Talent" Susan Boyle. Highly praised by the judges, ther youtube video of her singing has garnered 18 million views - and counting.

What was it that made her win so astonishing? As one blogger pointed out, she was not exactly the best looking lady. As she made her way onto the stage and answered the question, "Which singer would like to resemble most" with "Elaine Page". Everyone laughed then, for the beauty of her voice is just too great.

In fact, I would like to do some soul searching, as many bloggers are. Was what made her win espsically stunning her innocent smile and her wondeful voice? Was the world surprised that a woman who is not exactly Miss World can stun the world with one song? Is this a sign of society that outer beauty has started to reign supreme over the simpler, yet morally more hauntingly beautiful and everlasting inner beauty?

This is just some food for thought. Here is the video of her singing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I have to do this, because the embeding of her video has been disabled by request. But it's worth a listen. Furthermore, the song itself is beautiful as well.

Cheers,

Darrel

Photo Montage

2009-04-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is my photo montage. Quite a few people appeared here, if you have any objections to your face appearing here, do tell me. The song is "We are the world", a relatively old song which includes Michael Jackson and quite a number of other singers. Just in case you were wondering, this is the first chorus, with mainly Michael Jackson singing, though I can't identify the other person singing. The lyrics are "We are the world, we are the children\We are the ones who make a brighter day\so let's start giving\There's a choice we're making\We're saving out own lives\It's true, we make a better day\Just you and me".

What is my reason for choosing the song? It's not only the fact that the opening scene portrays the world, and that the ending is me and CY, but the point is this song was created by Michael Jackson to tell the world that there was a country out there whose citizens are dying and they needed help. To help others, the whole point about being a compassionate leader and a leader who can care about others, isn't that exactly what we are supposed to be? Aren't those the basic marking of a good leader? Since with the theme of identity, this point is so important, that we should strive for this point to define us, I used this song. This is just to let you know, just in case you were interested why didn't I choose more modern day songs.

Cheers,

Darrel

NUS Geography

2009-04-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is SO long due, cause the competition was last Saturday, but I'm really sorry for not updating.

So anyway, I was making my way to NUS and was staring at the Singapore Flyer when suddenly my phone rang. i glanced at the screen. An unknown number was displayed.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Darrel? This is Li Ki. Are you in school uniform?"

"Er...no. Ms Gwee said it was OK to be in PE shirt and khaki shorts."

"Where do you live?"

"Where are you now?"

"Er, I'm looking at the Singapore Flyer." By this time, I sensed that it might be better for me to turn back and was frantically whispering to my parents if they could turn back, maybe get off the highway or something like that.

"Then, never mind. Thanks anyway. Bye" Murmurs in the background. "He lives in , can't expect him to go back..."

"Dad, can you go back?"

"OK, I'll try. Call him and ask him what time we need to be there."

I called the unknown number. "Hello? This is Darrel. I think I can make it back. What time to I have to be there?"

"Check the schedule Wen Kang." Indistinguishable murmuring. "5.15, Darrel."

"5.15" I whispered to my Dad. He nodded. "OK, Li Ki."

"You can make it? Oh my God, thanks so much!"

When I finally did arrive there, quite some time later, I realised that a few things were amiss. For one, Li Ki was in Sec 3 uniform. For 2, all but 2 (including Li Ki) of them were not (they were supposed to be) in school uniform.

"Hello Darrel. Change your uniform with Wen Kang. It fits, doesn't it?"

So of course, I changed. By the way, Wen Kang was Sec 3.

The latest update I got from Ms Gwee was that they had just completed the Geo-trail and was now wondering if they could get into the finals. They apparently spent 30min looking for Asian Civillisations Museum, but yeah. Then, we entered the Auditorium. I sat in between Benny and Ms Gwee.

To cut the long story, we didn't make it into the finals and we had to be content watching VJC, NUS(H) and RI compete for top spot. To skip the boring details, they had questions, with one of the answers showed wrongly and one of the answers apparently set wrongly, though for the latter they believed they were right.

Then came the presentation of the videos. Now THIS was very interesting. The theme was "Forgotten heritage" and NUS(H) had to present first. They did on how Singapore's money was being gradually forgotten. During their presentation, they mentioned something about how the notes in their video were NOT real. That was not their real flaw. Then they said something about Singapore's education is very cheap, and research is more expensive...basically, they screwed up.During the question round, when the judges asked them which 3 icons did they think should be included in new notes, one of them said the Singapore Flyer. Perfectly fine, was it not for the general comment being whispered around that said, "It's just a Ferris Wheel, London has the London Eye too."Then came VJC. They did on the trade of unsung heroes (garbage men, etc). They weren't too bad. Then came RI and they did on dialects ("die-lects"). They weren't too bad, but the judges evidently left the hardest questions for them.

After that, there was an audience round, where the audience had to call and the person who manages to get through the MC would answer the question. I hate myself for getting through and giving the wrong answer. HOW could I have forgotten that the El Nino Southern Oscilliation was nowhere near Europe? It's in the South-east corner of the Pacific Ocean, near Peru! I hate myself. But never mind, I opened up a chance for my senior to answer it correctly.

After the whole thing was over, they had FOOD. It ended at 7.30, so I don't think elaboration on how much we ate is necessary. However, after the competiton, I realised that my senior had went to watch Tan Kah Kee - wearing my uniform. My dad was sort of angry at me, but he soon calmed down when I assured him that my senior would return me the attire on Monday.

My target now is to make GAIA (It's capitalised cause its an acronym, I'm not emphasising the fact that it's the Greek goddess of the Earth) my best friend and to go for NUS Geography next year. Wish me luck!

Cheers,

Darrel

Finger Lickin' Good Friday

2009-04-10T05:18:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Here I am now, typing while my dad, uncle and cousin are displaying their mahjong prowess and discussing a Mediacorp online memory games that can win you a $50 voucher. I mean, hello, $50? But that's them. Another elder cousin of mine is listening to music. Two younger cousins of mine are playing "Settlers", a board game about strategy and tactics. My mum and aunt are watching a Channel 8 variety show about local food. They're switching to Korean drama soon. The poor me, on the other hand, is still attempting to figure out how to refine the tweaking of my project. I'm not saying that everyone out there is more free than me, though.

Previously, I went to swim. Is it surprising that I went to swim? Don't be surprised, cause even though I have a Gold in it, I swam to teach my P3 cousin how to swim (it's part of its school curriculum. I think people in NPCC have to learn too for LEAPS.) Following that, I had a substantial KFC dinner. My aunt was like, "Are you full?, when I had eaten:

3 spicy chicken
1 coleslaw
1 shipped potatos
15 french fries

But still, she's a nice person. Now, my target is to

Complete my Science revision
Complete my Chinese worksheet
Do my Debate blog
Prepare ppt for most likely Prelim 2

All before my cousin leaves at 11.30. That should be manageable.

Cheers,

Darrel

Coke: The Dominance of a Beverage

2009-04-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
I believe everyone has drank a coke before. In fact, Coke, or Coca Cola, its more commonly use name, has practically become a household brand all over the world. While everyone drinks it, has anyone wondered, why has Coke become so widely recognised? Sure, food and drinks transcends any boundaries there might be in language, but why the great craze over it? I think I have the answer: Its advertisment. More specifically, its music. This particular song was a great hit in the past, if I'm not wrong, in the 1970's. This is not the original version, but I think Coke adapted it and instantly made Coke a worldwide hit. I'm posting both the Coke version and the original version. For those who listen to Chinese radio channels, you'll know that Radio 1003 once used it as its morning theme song. But so much for my talking. The Coke song is only 1 minute long, while the original is 3. Still, I hope you can enjoy this song.

Sorry, just a note before I leave you to enjoy this song. If you listen carefully to the lyrics, you'll notice that they are actually advocating for world peace. So yeah, that's all. Enjoy the music!

Cheers,
Darrel

New sub-blog!

2009-04-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This particular fact is strongly influenced by a friend of mine's own sub-plot. This message is basically to inform you that I will be creating a sub-blog soon. This blog will focus on debate...and debate. I shall be flinging random rebuttals and I would just like to see if they're good. You can post there to comment on the (bad) quality of the rebuttals I give, but don't be too harsh on me. Yup, that's all, everyone.

Cheers,

Darrel

P.S. I shall be posting soon about the NUS Geography competition. Expect it soon!

Project's Day

2009-04-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I'm still in denial.

Well, to make things clearer, maybe a description of the judging process might be helpful There were three judges, a Canadian male teacher, a Chinese male teacher, and a female English teacher. After the presentation, the Chinese judge just posted a few general comments, and we thoughy we would live, till the Canadian judge told us that he didn't understand what was the essential focus of our project. As I was explaining to him, he threw up his hands in utter despair.

"No, you don't see! First, you're talking about the zenith of society, then you go to the masses, then you want to reach to the children...that would take a minimum of a year, it could be a whole school syllabus! I like your idea, it is commendable...but imposible. " He nodded his head sadly, and the other judges followed suit.

The female teacher leaned forward. "Now, let me give you a few suggestions, so that you can maybe think about it. Actually, when I say suggestions, you should really put your heart and soul into it. But anyway, you could tweak your end product a little..."

I'm not saying that these judges are wrong. However, my team members were still sort of in the denial mode. I'm nearly going to snap out of it, but before I bear the brunt of it, I shall settle the details of my project. Wish me luck!

Cheers,

Darrel

GEBPSDCs 2nd round

2009-04-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

(Word of warning: This post will most likely not be counted in my blog post count, because of its obvious length problem. So don't say I didn't warn you.)

You must all be wondering why I left early on April's Fool. The reason is actually quite simple: To watch, once again, the GEBPSDCs, but this time, it was the round of 16 and the quarter finals. So, I left early to prepare 8 classrooms within 1 hour. Well, this would have been easy, assuming that current conditions were perfect, but as you know, there's no such thing as utopia. Some problems we faced were uncooperative seniors (no offence) who didn't want to clear out of their air-conditioned classrooms and had to make every Sec 3 debate senior positively furious at them before clearing out of their classrooms. Then, there was also the problems of seniors who wanted to return to their classrooms during the debate. We also had a very hard time persuading them to clear out. After these problems were resolved and after the debates themselves, we had to put back the table, and as fate would have it, the table arrangement was wrong, and which table belonged to who wasn't the priority. Who said that fate didn't want us to have our revenge? :)

More into the rearrangement process. We had to move arrange the tables in a fixed format and we had to place bottles on every speaker's /adjudicator's table. To do this, the Sec 1s formed the organisation called "Saikang" Warriors. "Saikang" means, well, doing dirty work and its a hokkien word. In fact, if I were to break the word up, "Sai" means human waste(euphemism :)), and "kang" means work, so well. Anyway, we carried the bottles up three stories (oops, am I giving you too many clues which classes these seniors were from? Haha) And we managed to finish the classrooms just before the inquisitive Primary School students rushed into the classrooms to enjoy the aircon.

Now, into the more interesting portions: the debates! Well, basically, the two debate motions read, "THB in a 4-day work week" and "THBT child sportsmen should not be allowed to turn professional". The 4-day work week motion was a little screwed up, because Prop and Opp define it the same way and both them stuck to their definitions. The Prop says that a 4-day work week refers to the 40hr work week being shortened to 32 hr, while the Opp says that its compressing 4ohr into 4 days. Seriously, what was lacking was to attack each side on their own ground, example being, "Even if we go along their definitions of 4-day work week, their case still holds no water, because..." That would make things easier a BILLION times. I was shadow-adju-ing (an unofficial adjudicator) Clementi and Casuarina for the 4-day work week motion. Apparently Casuarina's first speaker was a MediaCorp child actor, he looked vaguely familiar at any rate, but yeah. The Casuarina team was so cute! They were ending off their speech with (They were Opp), "now, my dear Proposition, let me ask you a question: Do you still believe in a 4-day work week?" and the Prop 1st speaker was like smirking and vigourously shaking his head. However, Clementi won in the end, even though both had really good style. I had the feeling it was the reply speaker of Casuarina (the child actor) who lost it. He was basically saying the Prop hasn't actually showed anything and that's all. It's like, I can immediately assume that, because he didn't say it, Opp hasn't shown anything as well!

So anyway, after this, we had the second debate. This time, the quality was obviously higher, because this was St Hilda's vs RGPS. Do you know that I could have gone to St. Hilda's, but didn't? But that's a story for another time. Anyway, i was a little biased towards St. Hilda's, cause I know their speakers casually, and I have two good P5 friends who are boys, just in case you were wondering, there. Anyway, this particular debate went on OK, and I felt that the debate should have gone to St. Hilda's not because of the fact that I was biased, but the JC judges felt that St. Hilda's was too stiff and inflexible.

After the debates, the "Saikang" Warriors had to help carry boxloads of water and stuff to a Humanities Programme classroom (I'm not stating where this classroom is and the classrooms that we used for the debate were not HP classrooms) .

Yup, so that's all. It was an interesting experience, but I am none the wiser about how to be a good adjudicator. However, I don't think I'll die.

Cheers,

Darrel

School at 8pm

2009-03-31T07:06:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I'm in the mood to descibe the scene I encountered when I left debate training.

I gasped when I stepped outside. The darkness had mercilessly snuffed out the lights. Trying not think about the Japanese Occupation, I stepped outside and walked towards the multi-story carpark.

Near KK Hall, I saw a women practising Tai Chi. The mind is an amazing tool, and how I wonder why my mind can so easily link this image to that of a young Chinese women brought to this once-Japanese stronghold. At 8, when you're tired and hungry, your mind can make very weird connections.

I walked to the multi-story carpark using the SMTP block. The first floor lights were all turned on, casting a pale white glow over the eerily green tiles and my determined face of not to think of anything scary. However, it is relatively difficult to look at the surroundings and not think about appartitions and many P3 average compostions with things like, "I saw something like a white blanket" "I screamed with horror" "The ghost knocked me down" etc.

Finally, I passed by the comforting lights of the area near LT 3 and the General Office. There, it was brightly lighted all the way to the carpark. Home safe home? Not the best description, but relatively apt.

When you look at so many turned on lights at such a late time, you are in a dilemma. The lights provide you with safe travelling and comfort you, but it adds to global warming. What do you think? It's your choice.

Cheers,

Darrel

Gender power balance

2009-03-31T06:51:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

On the way back from my very long debate training today (5 hours), I heard this on the radio, "A man is gay because of women. I mean, come on, how heavy is a handbag? When men carry it for women, their hormones go off balance."

I know that many of you out there will go giggling away at the g-word, but seriously, this is cause of thought. There's this facebook post going around and its really very popular - its about how female and how male are you. Basically, there is this list of criteria, and all you have to do and see how many apply and convert it to percentage.

Are men servants of women? An impromptu answer would be a strong, "NO!", but then, consider it. Worker bees slave their lives off serving the queen bee. All worker ants want when they work is to mate with the queen ant. The lioness hunts the food, thus exerting some sort of control over the majestic lion. Are these signs of the fact that men are actually under the strict control of women?

A "non-animalistic" example is this - when a man falls in love with a woman and vice-versa, how many times do we see men proposing elopement? Practically none, for its the women that does that. To quote a very famous Chinese saying, men will "love a women till the earth cracks because of age". We don't see the opposite.

To conclude, till the 1900s, male chauvinism was rampant and we use "Man" to signify men and women. Today, however, I wonder: Is this simply a bully complex of the mind of men that men are weaker than women? I really wonder.

Clarification: I am not a feminist. This is simply a casual thought. Do comment upon this article.

Cheers,

Darrel

Piano...again

2009-03-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Sorry for double posting, but I neglected to mention something. i went for my last piano lesson yesterday. My piano teacher was relativelty focused on the area of my scales and my pieces, which weren't very good. She said that I don't have to take this year's exam, but I need to mantain and improve my current standard. It's sort of weird, how I had thought I would never come back, and did. But now, I'm sure I'll come back, to visit her when I'm free. And when I go back to visit my primary school (it's only a fifteen-minute stroll away from my piano tuition centre)

Cheers,

Darrel

JGs Quarter Finals

2009-03-29T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Firstly, when I arrived, I saw:

3 Sec 4 debaters, two I don't know very well and vice versa, one I know very well and vice versa.
1 Se1 NYGH debate nemesis, cause she's a good speaker/debater, and she was once my enemy in terms of EL and CL in primary school (her Chinese was too good for me to take down. She's not as good as the Chairman, JY and Ming En, but her compositions are slightly worse than mine. I beat her in English)
1 Sec 2 NYGH debater senior from my primary school, but she didn't recognise me. I know her cause she was a prefect when she was P6 and I was P5.

Yup, so anyway, the debate commenced.

Speaker scores by me (not official and not final)

Nettie: 7/10

Kah How: 8/10

Ee Wei: 8 + half/ 10

Li Ki: 8/10

Nicolette: 6 + half/ 10

Darion: 8/10

In the end, while waiting in the adjudication (complex and fanciful word for judging), the seniors told us to spread the message that if we didn't win, we're going to jump into the pond.

So, we won, even though the best speaker was 2nd Prop. Li Ki was so emotional, he did something that was completely unexpected, which I'm not supposed to say. Boo.

So yeah, that's all. Just describing my work-orientated weekend. Actually, my schedule consists of three parts - work, sleep, eat. Except on Saturday, where I watched 1 hour of Animal Planet. Apparently, this is Sec 1. Never mind, at least I still get to sleep, compared to CSE (Cannot Sleep Early). Haha.

Furthermore, this post is really really short, only 150+ words

Cheers,

Darrel

GEBPSDCs

2009-03-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Today was the GEBPSDCs. Because I know this will result in a lot of brain cells wasted to decipher this, I'll decipher it for you: Gifted Education Branch Primary School Debating Championships. Mrs Laura Ng posted a message about it.

So anyway, I was chairman. This means I was the guy who goes like "You will have 4 mins to make your speech. At the 1st half minute, a bell will be rung like this (DING)..." Yup. i was also the timekeeper, which name explains itself.

So, to talk about the first debate I chaired, between Henry Park and Radin Mas. Henry Park lost. Amazing to hear a GEP school lose to a non-GEP one, right? No offence to them. But if you were there, you would have understand what I meant. The second speaker of Henry Park was like at the end of her speech, because she was seriously rushing for time, was like "(indistingushable stuff)andthusthismotionmuststandthankyou." If I were to slow it down, "I have successfully proven to you that handphones are bad and thus this motion must stand. Thank you."

Next debate was between Bukit View Primary and St. Hilda's. No repeat of previous scenario, cause St. Hilda's won. It was sort of clear cut. Bukit View kept on harping on Obama, when they weren't even too clear about him. St. Hilda was really confident, and it was seriously outrageous, the margin which they originally won by. Then, there was serious moderation, making the margin significantly lower, but it was still a relatively large margin.

Then, we did some cleaning up and clearing up. When I say that, I mean extreme cleaning/clearing. We had 40 mins to tidy up 32 classrooms. Sounds fun right? What if I told you the average commuting distance was 1 min between each classroom? But still, we made it. Then, we had to carry a huge pile of publicity materials from the Ops Room (which is near the clock tower) to Kong Chian Admin. It's a really really fun thing to do under the hot sun. Following that,we had to carry a box of mineral water from the Ops Room to the clock tower. Then, as a reward, we had a lunch packet that was leftover. Finally, we had to stack up chairs.

However, all in all, even though I only had 5 hours of sleep because of the iCIT camp yesterday, (here comes the very moral oral stuff) I feel that this has enriched me greatly in terms of dealing with conflicts and I understand now that one should be responsible for his/her mistake and this is especially important for us to grow.

Yup, that's all. As I still have tons ofstuff left undone, especially the 作文, I shall not chat longer. Adios!

Cheers,

Darrel

2300 - little thoughts of a passenger

2009-03-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Sorry for the really depressing and confusing post, I really felt like that. I feel so much more better after venting my feelings.

Anyway, the previous night, i was travelling home after the match between Liv'pool and Man Utd. As commented in the class blog, a 4-1 win is seriously very surprising. Even though I said that only serious Liv'pool fans would bet on such a score, I asked one of my relatives, who is one of them, and he said that 2-1 was very good already. In the end, it's Singapore Pool who takes the most money.

Anyway, while my dad was fetching my cousins home with me on the car, at the traffic light near the overhead bridge that is very close to our school, we saw a young man drop his handphone at the bus stop as he was crossing the road. A Samaritan immediately got off the 132 bus next to us, picked up the phone, and shouted for him to come back here.

(Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to hear the moral,P6 Oral stuff.) I feel that this is very good, for we live in a self-centred society, where coldness enshrouds every single person's heart, and it is good to know that within some of our hearts, the little bright seed of warmness can still emnate with glory and brightness, it can still rip off that blanket of ice over a person's heart. A flame may be small against an iceberg, but if the small flame is hot enough, it can melt the iceberg, and this is exactly what I saw.

Anyway, any good moral views that I had was thrown out of the window when my cousin commented that both were of the same race, with no offence meant to anyone. I apologise for attempting to be so politically correct, but I don't want my comment to set off a furore, virtual or reality. I sincerely mean no offence to any race groups.

Anyway, after we had left that scene, we saw a police car next to us. As we were in a car that was supposed to sit only 5, and there were 6 in the car, with one of us without a safety belt, naturally I would get panicked, thinking that a fine was in order, but the police car just drove off. Being really really puzzled, cause I thought that the police were supposed to be really strict, I voiced my inquiries. My two cousins, both serving N.S., nearly laughed their heads off. Through the laughter, I heard one of them say ,"You cannot believe in the police one! Inside the car, one of them is regular, the rest of them is like us one! Driving around at 2330 already very sian (boring), where got check one! They supposed to shine torchlight into car, but who really care!"

"Really?", I replied, not really believing that this was true, for if it was, why were the general public so afraid of the police?

"Yeah! Only traffic police on motorcycle than you scared, this one don't need la! You know on TV, they say what 'the steel within', right? You see them go do duty, all of them slack one! They sit under the tree in the hot sun, say vulgarities, never do any work, two minutes only, all will go 'Sergeant, smoke break leh!' Don't know one hour got how many smoke break."

After hearing my cousin enlighten me (no offence to any NSmen who feel deeply insulted, and I'm not being sarcastic), I truly understand why Singapore wants to make peace with every other country to fight the terrorists. (No offence to any military personnel.)

Cheers,

Darrel

P.S. Saw a really big rat on the void deck of my cousin's house.

Why do all good things come to an end...

2009-03-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

This song by Nelly Furtado kept on echoing in my head the day before.

Yesterday was my last piano lesson, after my Theory exam. As I entered, my teacher was still explaining stuff to a cute little small boy, who seemed to be in Grade 1, so I didn't dare to play my atrocious piano pieces, instead preferring to play my scales.

After him was me. As we practised, she constantly spoke about me having to practise my piano and not let it fade away. She also wanted me to make time to take my Grade 6 practical exam next year. As she thought and corrected me, my mind was constantly wandering. My mind returned to the first piano lesson, where I was an innocent P3 boy who had stopped piano at Grade 2 for 1 year. Then it slowly flitted though the four years I had been there, where my theory was slowly brought back to life and a 100/100 paper was to be expected. My piano playing ability also rose to quite a high level. I also thought about the highs and lows I had there, about the time where I cried because I had got 88/100, about the time where I was so happy that I received a Merit for my Practical...

Soon, it was the end of the lesson. My piano teacher asked me, "Can you come on the 21st?" I told her that I was not sure and was most likely unable to because of the Gala Dinner. After she thougth for a while, she said she would be there on Wednesday and I should come along if I could. However, there was a feeling the air that I was not coming for any official lessons ever again. As I walked out of the door, my heart was in deep turmoil. How do you say goodbye to a person who has witnessed you through your maturing years?

Leaving the classroom, I avoided the eyes of the counter clerk, who seemed to be looking a t me. Leaving the centre, I heaved a long last sigh before silently bidding the place farewell.

As my father would not be there till around 1o minutes later, I went to walk around the mall my centre was situated at, knowing very well it might be the last time I came here. As I walked around, it suddenly struck me that i had stayed only on the second floor, I knew so little about the others. It is funny, when you look back at your bitter experiences, you feel happy, but when you look back on youur happy ones, you feel sad.

I walked around the place for around 10 minutes before I left. I constantly looked back, for I was wondering if the tears flowing down my face and dripping onto the floor would be obvious. Is parting sweet sorrow? I really wonder.

However, apart from the grief at leaving, there was another deeper emotion inside me. It seemed to be related to the fact that I would never be taking my Grade 6 using the current syllabus, which would change in two years time. What was it? Was it the sadness at wasting my hard work? Or was it disappointment at not fufilling my teacher's last wishes? Whatever it was, I would most likely never find out.

Flashback 000001

2009-03-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

This will be one of the many in the series of my memories, be they good or bad. This is the reason why I'm posting two posts in a day and posting in spite of the fact that I haven't done my Geog 1.8 yet.

While waiting for my dad after my piano tuition, a boy just walked up to me and asked me, "Excuse me, were you the Vice-Head Prefect?" As I answered yes, I asked a question of my own, "What class are you in now?", even though I've never seen him before. He answers "5H" with a smile. As I waved him goodbye and walked away, I suddenly got into one of my writing mood. It's like a mood where you suddenly feel like writing essays and the like, you know? It's basically the opposite of writer's block. But anyway, yeah, this is how the story goes.

The boy stood behind the pillar nervously, eyes shifting from the announcement book he had just left on the stage, to the reading student population whose eyes would soon pin him down, and to the mike which he would hold later. The beads of sweat tricking down his back, usually a rare occurrence, was affecting his mind crazily now, and he tried to remember what he was supposed to say. This was different from acting. In acting, you know it was most likely make believe, you know that all it will do is to propel your name into stardom, but this...this was totally different.

When the bell rang, he heard it with astonishing clarity, and it seemed to be like a death sentence, a death sentence that rang for 5 seconds and set off a general murmur as students rejoiced the end of silent reading and kept their books. He made his way to the stage, attempting to cool down that jumping heart of his that he swore was what everyone was looking at now. The flag-raisers took their positions. They had it easy, the boy thought. Just raising the flag. That's all they do. The conductor, a P6 veteran, looked at him with question, asking him if he was ready. He could barely detect the faintest hint of scorn, of surprise, and of acceptance of impending doom as he nodded his approval and nodded his head, while making his way up the small, elevated stone platform doubling as a stage.

As he looked around, the general murmur was raised by quite a few decimals as the general school population silently sized up this new guy. He could almost hear them saying, "Who's that? I thought that only a P6 can do it? What's this P5 doing here?" He quelled the general whispering as he spoke into the mike, "School, please stand." The whispering, like the wind caressing the leaves as it made its swift journey past, stopped at once. Trying to imitate the senior's authoriative tone and praying for a shred of confidence to make him sound more like his senior and less like a wimp, he enunciated, "School, atten-tion!"

To his general surprise, what folllowed after that was good. As he recited the pledge, he could feel the student body reciting with him, and for the first time, he felt something coursing through his veins, spreading through his soul, an emotion which he had not felt for a really long time. Pride. Finishing up the pledge and the announcements, he left the stage, to be greeted by the looks of pleasant surprise by the P6 seniors. That wasn't too bad, he thought. It wasn't any trouble at all.

It was a year later. The boy stood on stage, tall, proud, and thinner than he was the year before. As he went up on stage, his aura of sadness of palpable. Those who looked at him were wondering what was happening, especially the innocent, bubbly P5s, who were the ones standing in front of him. Going through the process of being the "commander", he knew that the P6 prefects could feel his anguish. Even though he was the Vice-Head, he had more friends than the Head Prefect, for the Head commanded respect, while he commanded friendship. He knew it was inevitable, he knew that sooner or later, the PSLE would take higher priorities than his prefectorial duties, but as he stepped off the stage, a close observer would have noticed that the boy's eyes were red, and he rushed off in the direction of the toilet after he had finished. He couldn't be blamed, for that signified the end of an era, the end of a lifestyle, the end to the daily routine he had. From now on, it was unfaced dangers, territories whose maps had been lost over time. He really couldn't be blamed, for the small little boy who had went up a year before was now leaving behind a group of people who had grown relatively more mature listening to his baritone dictating the progress if the morning assembly. He really couldn't be blamed.

Yup, that's the end of my essay. Yes, I know its really long, but I just couldn't help myself. I was the boy, just in case you haven't inferred, which is not very likely, so no offence. It's ultimately your choice on whether this essay was good, and by the time you feel like commenting, I think my cbox would have been OK. Watch out for my next post! (This sounds corny, haha. )

Cheers,

Darrel

You've got another think coming...

2009-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

This blog has just been resurrected by me, due to the fact that my ACE is precious and the tsunamis of homework have finally been halted by the corals of Week 10 and the mangroves of the holidays. However, the forces at work are still there, an actions must be taken such that their devastating effects will be unable to affect us when these shields are reaching their ends. That was nice metaphor, wasn't it? How egoistic can I be, really...

Anyway, I'm not doing my Geography 1.8, because I'm still reading "To Kill a Mockingbird". OK, I know I should be doing my 1.8, cause I've already read the book like ten times from November to December,when I first bought it, but still, the delight of applying the concept of "chewing the cud" to a book is very nice.

Well, what I'll be talking about today is about Friday's CA. Mrs Laura Ng shouldn't have termed it "debate motion", cause she made me structure a really bad rebuttal at Cheng Yao's points, but Cheng Yao has finally been able to set a lot of very nice traps for trapping opponents, as you can see when he reiterated his stand that he was all for donation, but not for legalising. His reply to my point about the right of life wasn't good, but the right of life argument is one of the strongest cards anyone can play in the debate, which was why I left it as my final point, but no one seemed to get the hint. Weirdness upon weirdness. I wanted to mention something about liberal democracies too, but there were teachers behind, so I stopped myself.

Excluding Cheng Yao, cause he's a debater, I personally feel that teh best speaker was Mark. Mark's confidence has been growing really steadily, from the Crawfurd (Am I spelling his name correctly? No offence.) thing to this. Mark's points were relatively solid too. I wonder if Yi Zhe would have been best speaker if he was there, because his points were all like really heavy and really strong points, and if Yi Zhe could speak well on that day, well, in Chinese, they call it adding eyes to the dragon, which basically means enhancing something that's already really strong and good.

Which brings me to the History thing. Zhu Cheng thrown a lot of facts inside, but it just wasn't easy for him to express the first part, cause he didn't read LKY's memoirs (book 1 and 2), and I did, but no offence to him, cause I took bac the books and if Zhu Cheng were to read it, he would not be able to do a lot of stuff. It was really heart wrenching. In case any of you notice, I was tearing when Zhu Cheng said that portion.

But back to yesterday. To be honest, I had a premonition that we would be released early yesterday. One of my Sec 2 debate senior told me as we walked into the hall, I quote: 'There are only two reason why he calls us here like that. One, the system's screwed up. Two, we're going to be released early. Look, (Dr.) Hon's smiling. That's a good sign."

So yeah. As my title states very clearly, if you expected this to be long, you've got another think coming. It's time for me to do my 1.8 and do up my History file. Bye people!

Cheers,

Darrel

Weekend 21-22/2/09

2009-02-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

On the weekend, basically spent it at the NUSCCS(NUS Chancellor's Challenge Shield). It's a competition testing on current affairs and I had so much fun. Only the JC people were there upon my arrival and one of them was nice enough to lend me their practise test papers. Out of 25 MCQ, I guessed 20 and knew 5, and my score was 8, which was well done, considering that the current average was 7. When a senior called out "I got 7!" and the nice J2 senior who lent me that paper went "The Sec 1 got 8!", I was like "Er..." So anyway, Li Ki got 9 and Glendon could have got 10 and above, but the J2 seniors stopped him when he got 4 out of the first 7 questions correct (Everyone could only get 2 at the most). The prelim paper was really difficult, and I guessed 45/50. After comparing answers with the JC team, however, I realised I had scored 8/50. I never knew that Poland was in the EU, but there you are.

But why am being so boring? Main points now. We had lunch with the NYGH team, which composed of 3 Sec 4s. I knew one of them, for she was my first debate coach's girlfriend. So anyway, now those NYGH people know me, but they didn't really speak to me, cause I was doing my Japanese homework and they were playing bridge. After lunch, which was from 11.25 to 1.15, HCJC got into finals, and they won NUS and VJC. Apparently one of them wanted to pee in the last round.

On Sunday, I did all my homework, played 1 and 1/2 hours of table tennis and forgot about my ACE.

So that's all for today and my first posts, and seriously, go spend your time on more constructive stuff like doing your ACE, unless you just lost an argument with your toy Tigger(haha).

Cheers,

Darrel