Yups, I moved to Nanyang Girls' High Boarding School last Sunday afternoon. Mom borrowed Uncle Joo's car so that Dad could drive me and my luggage there. Rui Lin came along too out of curiosity. I had spent the previous night and that morning packing my clothes, my notes and necessities into two big trolley bags. Oh, btw, I am back at home now. Yesterday when I return, I sort of felt like coming home was like going on a holiday. haha.
Back to last Sunday. So I met my two roommates - Tang Wei and Wu Shihui - NY Sec 3 PRC scholars. They are nice people - that evening Shihui was cleaning up the room 'cos the house tutor (basically just the floor matron) would be coming around to check the cleanliness every Sunday night. So I asked if she needed help and she replied that it was okay, I can just unpack my stuff. Actually I had already done it, after spending two hours cleaning up my desk, drawers, shelves and wardrobe. Hmms, actually I think I am sort of like an intruder in their room, so most of the time I'll be trying to make as little noise as possible. The matrons treated me kindly too. Since I am new and still unsure of the rules, Ms Goh always helped me sign the permission slip which I was submitting at the last minute (boarders are supposed to get it signed by their house tutors and submit them 3 days it advance - I think its really a waste of paper but its for administration purposes...). You can tell the difference in the way Ms Goh and Ms Tan speak to me and the way they speak to some boarders. haha, so I shall catergorise them into the type who will treat you well if you are humble and treat you firmly if you try to be rebellious.
On the Friday before I moved over, Hui Ling was telling me that they (all the NJ year2s) are in the C block and asked me to request for C block too and even offered to help me move stuff if I wasn't done by the time she returned from M'sia (she goes home almost every weekend). I felt so welcomed by her kind gesture.
So I am staying in B418. I haven't got to know anyone else, since I am not very open, and I returned only at 10pm on Mon, Wed and Thu 'cos of band at NIE.
I started feeling sick on Monday (had the pre-sore throat feeling and slight flu). Then on Tuesday, it worsened and I felt slightly nauseous due to throat irritation. Still, I didn't want to miss school, especially since there was Physics SPA Skill D, even though I didn't really manage to process any of the stuff I was trying to study on Monday night. The assessment was just after break and I felt kind of hungry but didn't dare to eat for fear of vomiting so Pam suggested that I drink a cup of hot milo which I did.
Hmm, I must say fortunately the SPA on oscillations wasn't difficult and I manage to finish it despite feeling nauseous, coughing and sniffing away. Anyway, I think I will be feeling worse if I were not in school. You know, my mind is stronger when I am around my friends. I don't know if I made any mistakes, but my errors/limitations and improvements weren't very well stated.
After school, mom brought over the stuff that I had forgotten to take on Sunday before I asked her to bring me to the doctor's at coro. I got an MC for Wednesday since it was elects speech day so I could afford to absence myself. Hmm, that's the first time in my history in NJ that I was absent from school for illness. I went for band in the afternoon though, after walking to Cold Storage at Sixth Avenue to buy candles for Jurena's birthday brownies that Dency bake.
Oh, Addy lost her wallet on Monday and though I was with her from the time she last used her wallet to the time she realised her wallet was missing, ie. at Jurong East MRT. The band had chartered two buses, another to Yishun MRT. I took this other bus the week before I moved to BS so Crystal and Junhao were puzzled when I boarded the Jurong East-bound bus, and Crystal even came up to tell me that it was going to JE then I confirmed that I was on the right bus. Oh ya, I haven't mentioned that two Wednesdays ago (ie. 13 April), Crystal, Junhao and I had late dinner at Long John Silver in Golden Village at Yishun after band at NIE that day). Amazingly, the two buses take about the same time to travel from NIE to JE and NIE to Y.
Okay, back to the wallet incident. So on Wednesday during band in the recital room (we had just moved there on Monday 'cos the ceiling is much higher ie. the accoustics resembles the Conference Hall's better). Addy was extremely depressed about losing her wallet together with her mobile phone and a few times I didn't know how to reply. Her depression didn't show very distinctively, especially when she talks to others, she'd be like her usual self (and she knows it 'cos that's also what she told me). I don't know how to comfort people so I was trying to reason things out with my usual logic talking.
Thursday 21/4/05 I did the NAPFA test five items although I hadn't recovered - I still had a strong nasal sound (alamak.. I was trying to translate 'bi yi' into English when I realised I forgot how to write 'bi'. gosh!!) - I completed the five items and got a minimum C for all items, alot thanks to the lack of strictness of the J3 girl who was the tester. All the girls did the test together while the guys played. I suggested to do shuttle-run first since it needed the most energy and they accepted my idea. Almost all of us did better then we had expected =) and when I said "run faster!" when some of them were doing the final run back, it was quite satisfying when you see the effect. haha. hmms, running is really about pushing yourself. Amazingly, I came in under 11s, if I didn't get it wrong it was 10.89s. I never ever did so well for shuttle-run. I did over 12s in sec 1 and 2 which made me drop from a gold to a bronze. I think it was because of the lack of friction between the wooden floor of the hall and my worn-out school shoes. In sec3 and 4 we got to run bare-footed I think.
haha, my mom just helped me dig out my primary school report and boy were my NAPFA test results lousy. I never got a 4 or a 5 in all three years (p4-6) - all 1s, 2s, and 3s. Guess the number of sit-ups I did. 13 in p4 and 12 in p5. I just feel like laughing at myself for being so bad at it. My standing broad jump too - 130 in p4 and 133 in p5. Then suddenly in p6 I did 20 sit-ups and jumped 157cm! wow, 24cm improvement within one year. I really wonder what happened. I can't remember a single thing about the NAPFA tests in primary school other than doing shuttle run along the corridor outside the classrooms. My 1.6 run was the most consistent - C all 3 years.
Back to present. I think i could have done better for standing broad jump, but it was ok. The worse cheat case was for sit-and-reach. Everyone didn't put the starting position to as far as it should be. haha. Yay, all of us (except Yanlin and Joyce who did more) did the bare minimum of 31 sit-ups to get an A. As usual, I found the last few extremely hard but pulled through. The last station was my worse one - inclined pull-up. I nearly couldn't do the seventh one to get the final C I needed, but somehow, I pulled all I could and with everyone's encouragement and perhaps abit of cheating (I don't know if my chin really went pass the metal rod and I jerked a little) and finally the J3 said "seven" ('cos if she approves of it then it will be counted).
Hmm, maybe my peak at pull-up was the week before because during that PE lesson, Mr Menon, eh, or was it two weeks before since the week before we did our 2.4 run. Anyway, Mr Menon had said my technique was good when we had to do 5 pull-ups without anyone pivoting our feet at the metal bars without the rods.
Youzhi wanted everyone to go down for combined sectionals at the recital room that evening since it was our last time there before we moved back on Friday. However, I found it very ineffective since we only reached there past 6 and the practice ended before 8.30pm and halfway we had to move back to the NIE band room because a conducting student, Brenda wanted to have a rehearsal with her band in the recital room as she was going to hold her concert next Friday and she would be assessed on it as part of her graduating grade. Furthermore, most of us weren't concentrating or listening..
Friday 22/4/05 It was Earth Day and the Fabric Mosaic was supposed to be put up before assembly but there were some miscommunications and by the time we (Joyce and I carried two tables each from outside the hall all the way to the atrium before she left for choir and Peiling came, followed by Addy. Anna, Irene and Huimin came by to help too) were done, the back of my blouse was wet..
After school, I had to do my overdue GP essay but after doing the Paul's Wheel, I got stuck at my Thesis. (the question was "Advertising encourages a desire in products which people do not actually need. Discuss.") So I had to ask Ms Chua for help and even though she was very busy, she attended to me after telling me to give her another half an hour. She spent almost 40minutes helping me and even though at the start she said that I was "talking to a teacher whose brain cells are dead", I was the one who was having mental blocks. Then towards the end, she pointed out a great weakness of mine which I had never realised - I "always try to please everyone". That's why I got stuck at my Thesis in the first place and its also why I get into such conflicting situations in my life.
Wow, someone has finally helped me identify my problem for doing so badly in my essays despite being able to think from both points of view. I am very grateful. Hopefully I'll improve and not waste Ms Chua's efforts.
Oh, about moving to BS, Pam stayed in shock even a few hours after I told her on Monday during break that I moved there and wished that I hadn't told her. Addy couldn't believe it either and thought I was joking. Jus understood my stand though and was quite unusually calm. haha. On the bus to NIE, Christina was sitting behind me and initially she couldn't believe it (in addition to the fact that she didn't see me around at all on Sunday) and the others who were around asked, "You are not a scholar right?" and I had to explain I am not but I am really staying in the BS. Hmms, actually to think about it, its actually quite unbelievable but its not ridiculous either. Anyway, Christina soon accepted it and told me about how a clean freak she is and about how she flaunts BS rules. It was then that I found out she's not as guai as I had thought. Oh ya, btw, Christina and Edo are together now. hmms, I didn't know about it until on the bus the two Wednesdays ago when the Exco and gang were talking about C & E then Junhao finally told me on the way home. Haiyo, such a big news about my section and I had to find out from people of another section. K, then when I was taking 156 on my first school night back to BS, the back door wouldn't close and even after I tried helping the bus driver (I was at the seat where the backdoor was right in front of me) to close it - he was pulling from outside and I was pushing from inside - it still opened when he tried to drive off. We tried again but it didn't work so me and a few other girls (I think they are poly/uni students) had to get off.
Oh boy, is there something wrong with me taking 156. A week or two before this incident when it was the second time I went to school via Clementi MRT, and the first time I took 156 from that interchange, the bus nearly had an accident when turning at a road junction and the driver even got off the check the bus and took down the time.
dang, I was adding on to my post about the greenlink camp when suddenly half the post disappeared and the few paragraphs about the treasure hunt that I just typed are gone now!!! what's wrong!?!?!
It was yesterday during GP when it crept into me and started building up as time passed.
I think it was after Ms Chua returned my Common Test Comprehension paper. As she was going through a few Paul's Wheel for questions from the Compo paper, the feeling developed. She was posting alot of questions as usual and even though many thoughts came to me, I couldn't put them into words. For essays, we are supposed to always have balance, talk about both sides of the story and argue why your side is better. Isn't that something like what I always do? but the problem is I can't phrase my thoughts..
Then halfway through GP, an announcement was made over the PA system that our PW results were released and we were to collect them in the hall at 1.20pm.
I got a 2. Initially, my happiness just dropped and my scared feeling was still there but I didn't feel the impact until when I went to the canteen and overheard SingYing saying how come Fenella didn't get 1 before Xinyu told her not to talk about it since I was around. The first thought I had was that it was okay. Then as I thought more, the truth and the responses I should have had sank in. SingYing was quite right, all of them knew I put in alot of effort for PW, Xinyu, Jia Yuan, Gerard and Joyce got their 1s, most of the others got 2, and there were two or three 3s.
Oh, I just remembered. "Hard work no longer brings success" - that's part of the first question in the recent GP CT. Its so true.
Gerard and Xinyu were still laughing at us as we were walking from our classroom to the hall about what we wrote in our workplan (about us doing so much small little things) and Rard was still saying that his presentation wasn't good.. Sigh... this is the attitude I hate - jeering at others who try to be hardworking yet performing well yourself.. My class would be a much nicer one with the absence of this attitude.
Then after school, I was supposed to do my Chem S which I was already supposed to do yesterday, and in addition I had to do the Econs summary (which was due on 28 March but Mr Wong extended it till yesterday). But till now, I haven't done either... I had the urge to play again, I thought playing would also chase away the scared feeling. I guess it sort of worked. Then by the time I felt like doing work, proper sectionals was starting and people were calling me to submit their piece of fabric design for the Earth Day competition. So in the end, I was playing from 2+ to 7pm. I was already waiting outside the bandroom before 2 but Daryl who had the key was still having lessons and I felt like shooting him. haha. That was really how I felt. Adeline, Karen and Bo Yang were around and Bo Yang said I "feng diao le" which I think was true.
That was how I deeply felt almost the whole morning yesterday. Pam gave me another word to describe my feeling - incomplete.
Its like we have been going to the bandroom every morning of every school day and playing for morning assembly, then suddenly this week, we don't get to do it - it just doesn't feel right.
Then today, I was supposed to do my last minute Chem S assignment (due on Thursdays) but I just couldn't focus and simply left while Jus, Rard n Est were still doing it. Not many people who know me can believe what I said at that moment - "I can't be bothered."
Rard had to question what he heard before I went ahead to the bandroom to satisfy the urge to play. I can't really believe myself either - how did my passion for playing develop to be so intense? Furthermore it doesn't feel like I want to practise for the sake of SYF, I just feel like playing. Or is it just that I want to get away from difficulties I meet in my studies? hmm, actually its unexplainable. But its good, at least for everything except my academics. I hope it doesn't subside too soon.
Yesterday during the break while we were having band prac, Shu Jun and You Zhi talked to the band, separately, trying to get everyone into the right mode for SYF.
"We are not aiming for it, we want it." - Shu Jun.
Then she re-emphasised "want" a few times. The first thing that came to my mind was that that was quite an interesting compelling way of putting it.
Actually I think You Zhi can be quite a good motivator, putting his ideas across reather well, just that sometimes when he slips in the "la" etc of Singlish, (perhaps he's trying make the atmosphere less tense), it weakens the impact of his points.
Several weeks ago he said something like, "If you all think that you can practise hard at the last minute, that's true la, but now is already the last minute". The part after the first comma is really a good twist.
Anyway, soon after I started, Ashley came to practise too. It was then that I realised alot of his tonguing is done using his breath, which isn't good I think (unless you perfect the skill like professional players. Previously I did that when I had such terrible ulcers on my tongue I couldn't tongue with my tongue). He admitted its a bad habit he developed.
Towards the end, he got me to try his instrument and I found out that its really lousy. Though its very easy to do the fingerings (I think 'cos its so old and loose), the sound that came out was like "Yiiiiiiiiii..."
She rested her head against the back of the rocker, closing her eyes, growing just a bit warmer by the time he'd finished. It wasn't just the poems or his voice that did it. It was all of it, the whole greater than the sum of the parts. She didn’t try to break it down, didn't want to, because it wasn't meant to be listened that way. Poetry, she thought, wasn't written to be analyzed; it was meant to inspire without reason, to touch without understanding.
p.98 (towards last few pages of "Reunion")
I wonder what my daddy would think of my life and what he would do if he were me. I have not seen him for fifty years and he is now but a shadow in my thoughts. I cannot picture him clearly anymore; his face is darkened as if a light shines from behind him. I am not sure if this is due to a failing memory or simply the passage of time. I have only one picture of him, and this too has faded. In another ten years it will be gone and so will I, and his memory will be erased like a message in the sand. If not for my diaries, I would swear I had lived only half as long as I have. Long periods of my life seem to have vanished. And even now I read the passages and wonder who I was when I wrote them, for I cannot remember the events of my life. There are times I sit and wonder where it all has gone.
p.206 (after 1st dozen pages of "Winter for Two")
We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken us a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox.
John Paul II ... was self-evidently a virtuous man. There are very few people in history, including papal history, of whom one would say this.
Virtue is the quality of goodness in a person or in human conduct, obtained (according to the Greeks) by the practice of wisdom or prudence (acquired by contemplation, in the Christian tradition), courage, temperance and justice. These are not innate qualities, but have to be earned. In John Paul's tradition, faith, hope and charity are added to the four classical sources of virtue. For a non-philosophical and non-religious world, this comes down to the argument that more important than what one does is what one is.
-- "Global appeal of a virtuous man". William Pfaff. Today. Thursday, April 7, 2005.
I had never thought about what is meant by 'virtue'. Hmm, its indeed not easy to be virtuous.
Wow, I just found out! This really comes as a surprise. The top student in NJC. Interesting. and he links to all his friends' blogs with their photos - a very good idea. and the happy tree friends pic just makes me want to laugh. so amusing
This is making me like blogs/online diaries more.
Gosh: "but like i only studied for wad.. 2 days so HAHA! i made a mess of the paper. for the boxes which i had absolutely no answer to i just filled them up anw.. with nonsense equations literature quotes lines of music.. i turned their chem olympiad sign ( 5 linked rings of benzene - linked olympiad style so corny) into a fuzzy caterpillar eating leaves. :) after all if u cant answer them, u may as well entertain the examiners right?
and almost everyone there was some sort of nerd with glasses and gah! almost comparable to the ri string orch which i happen to see on sat. BUT there was one cute guy from the abovementioned dunno wad school and he sat next to moi! YAY! haha after the paper he asked me how come i did it so fast ( its cos i didnt know how to answer the whole middle section wad ) so funny :)! anw if i get in i'll know on mon.. but i won't, so i wont owe zhongyan any lunch."
Does pure intelligence gets one that far? A script with a "fuzzy caterpillar eating leaves" gets a silver for chem O? This is impressive.
Last Wednesday was uni talks day. Representatives from the various faculties from all three unis in Singapore came down to speak to interested parties. I became a chairperson for one of the talks just two days before that 'cos the original ones didn't confirm their attendance.. It was my first time speaking to a room of strangers, fortunately I picked the smallest possible venue - CS33. The talk was by Prof Dennis Ong of Nanyang Business School. Those people who attended the talk looked really expressionless (at least when I looked at them). Then when the Q & A session started, no one asked questions so I decided to present Prof Dennis with the token of appreciation and end off the talk, thinking that they already want to leave but someone started asking questions when it was supposed to end and that started the ball rolling... Ugh, then I didn't know how and when to end the talk again (its like so silly)... Anyway, I guess overall it wasn't too bad.
To quote a tag:- Melvin: fenella, u have got EXACTLY how i feel abt CTs and Uni. EXACTLY. cant be more accurate. haiz how now?
Wow, I am quite surprised there's a triple-science student who thinks alike me in the way that we don't want to do Science. Is that what was to be meant? If it is, its both comforting to know that I am not alone but also sad to know that someone else has the same difficult future-determining dilemma. I guess no one else can understand how people like us feel.
Hmms, so maybe I am going into accountancy. ? . But NTU or SMU? I want to go to SMU, as previously mentioned, and when I talked to Swee Peng about it, she also expressed her enthusiasm towards SMU.
Yesterday, Mrs Cheng gave the final of her series of Leadership Talks. From Lemmings (having a purpose in life), to Who Moved My Cheese (being able to quickly adapt to changes in life), to ?? to finally FISH!: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results.
The four steps: Play Make Their Day Be Present (both physically and mentally. give people 100% attention and concentration) Choose Your Attitude
These two days I am really missing going to the bandroom in the morning and playing for morning assembly. Feeling so aimless when I go to school. Now I sort of understand how Sandra felt when she said after her competition that she feels aimless - at least I still get to go for band practices, theirs is from intensive practices to none at all.
The school had agreed to pay for chartered buses to send us to NIE after school for weekday band practices which started yesterday. There was also RJCSB concert - A Tempo last night so Mr Ho allowed the practice to end at 6.45pm so that we could make it to the concert. That was a really short practice (we started about a quarter past five). Anyway, so the EXCO's really worried about the band's current condition and attitude. I think our band's just not 'together' enough, but I don't know about the other problems, and I really hope those who do know will take actions soon, because I think many of us are too oblivious and no one's making things clear enough. 22+ days to SYF. I am scared.
We were late for A Tempo; missed the first song. Bo Yang and I had to rush to the box office to buy our tickets 'cos we didn't get them before hand so we didn't get to sit with the rest of our band. It was my first time attending a concert in Esplanade. At the end of the first half, Bo Yang was telling me a weakness of RJCSB that he found - they don't end together. He said he had played there before and the accoustics is such that there'll be a very good effect where all the sound gets absorbed to a certain point within the hall if everyone ends together. Hmm.
I met Jac and the other NY juniors during interval. Happiness really spreads. Jac had her usual mega reaction when I appeared in front of her and it does cheer one up. Then as I hanged around, I got to hear some other juniors whom I've never seen before (ie. probably sec1 and 2s) telling the sec4s that Marsiling Sec and Orchid Park Sec got gold with honours and expressed their disbelief in a way that made me feel they kind of looked down on them. They said Orchid Park Sec had gotten COP the previous time. Many schools got gold and there was no bronze. They sounded very knowledgeable, saying that the previous time there were many golds on Day 1 too. Then they said there'll definitely be alot of golds too on Wednesday (that's their competition day). Hmms... I don't get to go - we have band prac.
Okays, back to the concert. I liked their percussion section best. The timpani player is a girl who hits with all her might with accuracy and confidence and the cymbals player is a guy who seems to be very good at manipulate the cymbals after clashing to produce the suitable 'after-sound'. At the last song, the section was so comfortable onstage they were evidently enjoying themselves and dressed up for the oldies.
After the concert ended, we went to Burger King at the basement of the Raffles City for dinner, or rather, supper. Crystal, MingHui, Ade, Yixian, JunHao, Daryl, QingYang and Erwin. I think Yixian has this extremely high level of being amused - he was laughing so hard about everything (he, MingHui and Ade were making fun of each other) you just feel like laughing when you see him in that state. Then on the MRT home, it was the first time I saw Qing Yang so hyped (about boosting the band morale) that when he got off the train, he walked the wrong direction - away from the escalator. haha. I think its the night time syndrome.
When I got home, it was already 12mn. and today, the exhaustion I felt was different from that of the past - it feels like I've aged, an older sort of exhaustion.
Oh no, I found out on the official website that SYF Central Judging for Bands starts at 9am. I've never played for any concerts or competitions so early, and I don't know if the other have. We are the third band to play.
Michael actually sent part of the videos he took during the trip to ChannelNewsAsia! I didn't even know about it, but somehow, it was fate that gave me the chance to see it. I rarely watched CNA but I got to know about the program and that it was featuring Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister) last Thursday night after seeing an advertisement on that day's Today newspaper (which I rarely read) that I had picked up from my home door for the first time ever.
So when scenes of us suddenly appeared on the TV screen before me, I was quite surprised. Michael had even interviewed Edwin, Keefe and Richard. The commentator/narrator (or whatever the person is called) said that we were there "rebuilding schools" and that just hit me as a lie. Then I began to think that what they say can't be trusted. How truthful can commentories on news channel be.
Anyway, the duration of the section of us (which was to show an example of students from Singapore doing community work overseas) was rather short, just a few minutes, and I realised something else - that the news shows viewers at home an excessively condensed version of the real thing. Okays, still, I really admire Michael's talent - he's two years younger than me yet he has already produced something that had been viewed by hundreds of thousands in the region.
There was a part of the programme that showed Dr Balakrishnan in the 1982 TV debate series or something like that. He was the last speaker of the entire debate series, and he spoke with so much zeal that when they showed the present him speaking again seconds later (slower and with much more consideration), the difference made me understand deeper the impact of age on human. We may grunt at the elder ones, often complaining that they do not understand us, but do you think they really don't? They were once our age. Even if they don't give us what we want, I think some of them really do understand.
The topic of the debate was something about the civil service and what made me more impressed than I already am of him was that he ended his speech calling himself a "humble future civil servant" (I wish I had the exact line) and now he has actually proven his words true. Making a statement at such a young age to serve the government and carrying those words all the way till you become a minister is definitely an admirable feat.
I think its the most relaxed and fun camp I've ever been to. We started off on Friday evening with the traditional ice-breaker game - whacko - in the parade square. I was in the laughing mood, especially as the sky got darker and sometimes laughed so hard I was bending over. Our group wasn't too big, only abit more than a dozen - Hui Ling, Pei Ling, Ken, Adeline, Lynn, Christine, Wei De, Qi Ye (The ex-Aerius house captain, Qi Tang's brother! - I found out during our BBQ), Kevin, Huimin, Sabrina, Jun Ying, Thomas, Shu Fen and me.
Sometimes our responses were so fast you just hear a whole string of names and don't see the whacko-er moving at all.
Those who became the whacko-er for three times had to do a forfeit. Thomas had to sing the school song and Pei Ling had to say "hi" to someone in a car nearby.
Then we played the pass-the-action game. We were supposed to split into two groups to pit against each other and somehow, it became a J1s vs J2s game. Hui Ling came up with the phrases and the first one was "Buddha Jumps over the Wall" for the J1s. As usual, the actions got distorted but still they managed to pass the idea and the last person guessed "fou tiao he" (Buddha Jumps over the River) thinking that it would be a modification from the original. Haha, it still makes me laugh now, thinking of it.
Some other phrases included "Do you want to go to the toilet?" and "I love GreenLink" which become "I love Mrs Cheng". hahahahaa. The original action was to point at a hanging potted plant outside the general office to refer to GreenLink but somehow, it became pointing into the office so a couple of them guess that.
I was the first in line for the word "Baby" and after Sab passed the action of holding a baby to Thomas, he added a gorilla action after that and the others simply followed. I was laughing off my head with all that ridiculous actions.
Pei Ling tells alot of silly lies - I gradually learnt. The other time she told Adeline that Raun is an Indian. haha
Then we joined the Astronomy Club for a star-gazing session. It was interesting learning the names that people have given to the stars. We even got to identify and see two planets - Jupiter and Saturn! I think we bring luck to them. haha. 'cos usually nowadays its too cloudy to see. According to the man (whom I think is an astronomer?), Jupiter has just passed by the spot where it would be best to see it on 3rd April so its still very bright now.
April 3, 2005 /// Jupiter at opposition Opposition occurs when a planet farther from the Sun than Earth appears opposite the Sun in the sky. It is the best time to observe a planet.
What I saw was almost just like the pictures you see in books but it was very tiny, I think just 6mm diameter? I had to adjust myself till I see it at the correct angle 'cos otherwise I would only see a black screen.
We were each given a planisphere - a projection of the celestial sphere on a planar chart showing the stars visible at a particular time and place. A planisphere is a device consisting of two wheels mounted on top of each other. The bottom wheel is a star map, and the top wheel has an oval cutout - the horizon. As the star wheel turns, different parts of the map become visible through the oval, representing the stars rising above the horizon.
Yups, so members of the astro club taught us how to use it. Mingwei, Ling Ee and Xiuxia were around.
I suddenly found its very cool that although the Earth is so big, we get to see the same sky wherever we were. Though we get to see much fewer stars here in Singapore, its still the same sky. I was telling a few of them that we got to see much more stars in Maldives, then they said but we didn't have an astronomer with us. That's so right. Just imagine how much more we would have learn there about identifying stars if an astronomer had came along. I didn't really think much about it when others said that people used to look at stars to guide their way but after learning how to identify the stars, I realised the significance. And I feel like joining Astro Club's star-gazing sessions another time.
Before supper, the treasure hunt game started at 9.40pm. The clues were very well-formulated especially some which I thought were rather ingenious too. One clue was "Way in KL" and I kept thinking about the KL part without realizing that its actually a simple anagram for 'linkway'. The places where the clues were hidden was not too obvious nor ridiculous. A smart one was the clue in the oasis – the clue was "camouflaged" in the sanctuary picture and though we did look at it when we were searching, we didn't see the clue.
Oh, I haven't explained how the game was played. We were first given an envelope containing two clues and half a piece of A4 paper to paste the stickers we were to find at each of the 24 stations . The 'easy' one is supposed to lead us to the next station where there would be stickers and another two clues while the 'difficult' one is supposed to lead us to find stickers only.
There were a couple of clues involving math questions (don't forgot the organiser of the game, Wei Bin is an F math student) for the location of the two "haunted houses". I shall quote Wei Bin of how they were planned to be: In TA21, when people pulled open the door, they will hear chairs dragging inside. When they entered, they will see 2 candles and walking closer, a green figure was hanging there looking like praying was taking place. "Tan Xiang" was lighted to give the joss stick smell. A man with green face(chengyang) then came in from the window. In TB33, when people opened the door, they will see blood, finger and a cockroach "eating" the finger. When they stepped in, something will pat their shoulder and when they turned they will see a green face man with pointed nose(jiwei) holding a "bloody hand". The room is in a mess and another blood with a nose can be found on the other table.
I think we were too distracted by/focused on finding the clue and moving on to the next station to notice everything and be frightened. For ta21, once we entered the room, I already saw a hand moving outside and verbalised it. I was quite puzzled about how he got out there (like this is the second storey, how on Earth did he climbed up there and what is he standing on). Anyway, he didn't come into the room so after finding the clues, we just took them and left. For tb33, initially I thought the clue would to somewhere outside the classroom so we searched outside the front door and then the backdoor but couldn't find so we decided to enter through the backdoor which spoilt the plans-we were supposed to enter through the front door. So Jiwei began lamenting that he should have locked the backdoor. haha, phew.
I was afraid of being frightened when entering the rooms so I always made Qi Ye go in first. Oh ya, I haven't mentioned - we were split into groups of threes or fours. The other member in my group is Shu Fen, whose behaviour I think sort of resembles Chai Xin, haha. She's ex-NY too. Both of them are year1s.
The game ended at about 11.40pm and we were the last group to return to the amphitheatre. Although we were walking almost all the time, my group managed to get the third placing! haha. We got about 11easy and 6difficult clues and I wished we had found all. Janice, Addy and Wei De's group won the game and received a box of rocher which they shared with everyone. Overall, the school was a whole lot more well-lit than last year during the band camp treasure hunt so it was much less scary.
After supper, we bathed in the LT5 toilet where there were only two cubicles with showerhead so we bathed till 1.30am. Initially, Janice suggested that the OGLs (Anna and PeiLing) teach this year's mass dance while we were waiting but they couldn't really remember and weren't very willing either. Hais, I was quite keen about it too, after having learnt it in Kudafari. Then after awhile I felt quite weird dancing in front of the mirror. ugh.
It was very nice to have a chance to have a long chat with Janice (my ex-primary school classmate) during the long afternoon break on Saturday. Adeline, Thomas and I had left the camp for band at NIE at like 7am (there was clarinets breakfast at 8am) and only returned after clarinets lunch.
We talked about primary school, about people in NJ and I-don't-remember-what. Janice gave a very apt description of Gerard - very intense.
Then it was time for the BBQ but when we got there, they were lighting the charcoal and there were too many people then Janice wanted to play badminton so we went down to the PE equipment area but couldn't get hold of what we needed so we ended up playing hockey since the sticks and balls were available. We had some fun and laughter trying to play a game then Anna, Addy and Thomas came down to join us so we started a mini-match. We play two mini-matches and both times I ended up in the two-persons team, once with Janice and another with Addy. Both times my team lost and I got quite exhausted holding the stick and running after the ball although the matches were extremely short. Hmm, I really admire the stamina of hockey players. Anna was comparatively much better at it. Then since I was so tired, I suggested joining those who were playing basketball - Junjie, Jiwei, Kevin, Zhixiu, and I forgot who (I'm blogging this part on 23/4..). For the girls, Addy and Anna were really good, making the game fun in addition to the fact that the guys would pass the ball to the girls.
The BBQ, I felt, was the most successful one I have even been to. The charcoal was extremely hot, and the food was fabulous. We were bbqing in the linkway on the small cemented part next to one of the pillars (haha, sounds very shabby but its not just that, there were tables and benches too). I think it was a great idea to use the two disposable aluminium trays as the 'bbq pits' and the hard wire mesh instead of the bendable one that is most often used. Qing Xiang had all the good contacts for raw satay, raw pork chops, fried beehoon and fried rice; Pei Ling bought two large slices of fish which she bbqed right after adding the simple bare seasoning of tomato sauce and margarine yet they still turned out good; and there were the usual stuff including marshmallows which melted very well with strong heat from the burning charcoal - so they tasted the way everyone likes.
After that was the last game of the day. haha, I shall be lazy - copy and paste from WeiBin's blog again: The candle game is one having to burn all the ropes to go in to "rescue" the prisoner by burning the last rope which a waterbag will fall on the prisoner. Overall, it's not very successful as the game barely last 5 mins due to insufficient rope to do a complex maze. Ken was a bit disappointed as he is the one who planned this game. It's like after having to spend so much time planning and yet it's not very successful. It's understandable and I felt a bit sad too... I will be feeling very disappointed too if my treasure hunt did not work out well.
Then most of us girls left at 10pm. I would have liked to stay on but hais..
Jasper, Yuxian, Cheryl and I went down to support Sandra and Xinyu for their SYF at kallang theatre yesterday. NJ was third to perform in the afternoon session and while I was watching the first two colleges, I felt scared for them (putting myself in their shoes), but when NJ started performing, I enjoyed the dance and even tapped my foot to the music, wanting to watch more when it ended. After watching all the traditional indian dances for the afternoon, I thought NJ's ID was the best, though AJ's was quite good too. Then I found out from Sand that NJ's dance instructor also choreographed for AJ this year. Hmms, that means NJ's choreographer is really pro - I think the dance moves had really impressed me. For NJ's, they were split into groups which made the dance much more interesting to watch.
I think I seriously have delayed response system, especially my feelings. I got O8 for Physics and at that moment, I easily accepted the news, was still cheery when I replied to my classmates about my grade. But now the sadness is sinking in, as I begin to realise the implications. Should I have failed? I had thought that the paper wasn't difficult, it was my lack of preparation. But Keefe got a C and Richard an E. I had expected to fail but after knowing my results and theirs, I thought again and realised I have no good reason to fail. The pass rate in my class was 29.2% - Tian'en got the A, Terrence n someone D, 4 Es, 8 Fs, 3 O7s and 6 o8s. I know no one will bother to blog about how their classes did, especially so statistically, but that's me.
It is rather weird because on Monday, Adeline and I were chatting and I had said that I won't really feel sad about academic results, its only because I should feel sad about having done badly that I feel sad.
Even though I was relieved I got an A for Math, I was sad when I found out there were 11 As in my class, so I actually did quite badly in comparison - I barely scrapped pass the mark; and so many people who don't take math S did better than me. I know I am being too competitive, but isn't it something to be ashamed of. People may say don't compare - I won't if it were some other subject but Math is my best one. If people who usually claim they find difficulty in the subject can do so well, there's no good reason for me to perform less. I think its because of my deteriorating attitude - from the beginning of this year, I haven't been doing my tutorials ahead of the lessons. Mr Tsang wrote the top four scorers in our class on the board - Tian'en 85, Gerard 81, Sandra 80, Russell 79 - and the more I stared at it, the worse I felt. Russell got 18 for last year's common test and Sandra had complained about the paper.
Hmm. but overall I'm quite glad that everyone in my class passed.
I know how we do for this common test ultimately doesn't matter. Lydia got 4 As in the end though she had gotten poor common test results. but its different for Fenella. People usually study extremely hard just before the big exam to do well, but Fenella doesn't; Fenella depends on consistency, and its not a good sign that she's losing consistency.
A recent graduate, Rosa Diswanty, from SMU came down to the student centre to have a session with interested students on Thursday, and I am getting really scared about me still being so undecided about which university course I want to take. I want to do a Business Course because of my interest, but I am also considering Science and even have some sort of interest in Psychology. Then I also have to decide on which University to go to. I want to go to SMU, but according to Rosa, you really have got to be able to manage your time, and your relationships with your classmates well - have to build up a good reputation. The University stimulates a real business environment, where deadlines mean deadlines.
You have to create your own opportunities, and not wait to be told what to do or even wait for an opportunity to be created for you to grab. Rosa was telling us that at the start of her first term, her professor simply told the class to do a project on community work, no further instructions were given. So they were expected to come up with the whole structure of the project.
Quality class participation really matters, and it can take up to 25% of your final grade, which depends on your professor and maybe your fellow classmates.
The structure of their programme is such that there are three terms for the first three years, 15 weeks per term. There's a break in week 8, with the mid-term exams and presentations in week 7 and week 15 is the major exams week. The major exams can be in the form of a three-hour paper or a presentation in front of a crowd of maybe even 200 and be sure that these people can shoot really intellectual questions at you during the Q&A and you better be able to think on the spot and give decent replies which have gone through a quick but good thinking process. Of course your presentation has to be engaging. Whoa. this whole thing about good presentation skills and quick thinking is so not me.
Rosa also mentioned that observation is an extremely important skill, a lifeskill. She gave us a few pieces of advice.
~ For everything you do, always think if its really what you want to do, what you believe in. ~ Never do anything you do not believe in. ~ Always think through anything you do. ~ What matters is not how you start a race, it is how you end it that does. ~ Never hold on to past successes.
No matter how successful you were before, it is how well you perform now that matters. If you are not doing well now, who cares how good you were in the past. At least the Cambridge examiners, the university lecturers, your future employers, the working society you step into in time to come won't care.
She was very animated and something that impressed me was her ability to act out a senario that involves different people all by herself, without lifting herself off her seat - simply by changing her expression, tone, and what she says. There was a point in time when she stopped in mid-sentence, saying that she's considering whether it would be beneficial to tell us something. I then realised that everything she says has gone through quick thought process, weighing of the necessity and whether it contributes positively to the session. You have to be very good at saying 'decorative' words like "sorry to burst your bubble but..." (she used this phrase quite a few times) which may seem extra but actually helps to prepare your listeners thus lessening the negative impact of what you are going to say. This is something I have tried to learn since my frank, straightforward character and bluntness in speech have caused my project work partners to tend to reject my ideas.
She also said something that hit me right on the spot - there are some people who appear to be able to do everything, but actually they are not really good at anything.
I lack something that I have a deep passion for. That's why I have still have such a wide range of options.
I hope I haven't quoted anything wrongly.
I don't know how I got the notion that I am not very busy but now, I realised that I actually have alot of things to do.
Gosh, I just visited the NTU and NUS websites and took a look at the various course descriptions and I'm getting more terrified and sort of crossing the Sciences off my list of possible university courses to take. I am not really inclined to do Science - I don't think I want to do research and experiments for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll end up taking accounting. I feel like going to SMU, just that I don't know if I'll be able to cope and excel there. What about accounting at NTU or NUS?
There was band yesterday and over two hours was spent on sectionals. I felt that I lost the interest in controlling myself to play well after several repetition. We had moved to the grandstand after someone from Chinese Orchestra told us to move away as we were disturbing their practice in the hall (we were at the benches near the hall). Wow, so we have to listen to her? was the respond some of the juniors had. Hmm, to think about it now, why didn't they close the doors. Anyway, so there were the softballers in the field and I was 'observing' them but got 'told off' by Jurena. I know that the sky is very beautiful but can you take the time to memorise the score. Of course she didn't direct it to me and I think that's the best way she could have phrase it so I got away from stoning at them. Edo had said on Wednesday that he'll test us one by one to see if we have memorised the scores. I'm dead.
The seconds have already somewhat memorised their parts, and Jurena said they are the best section at the present, which is very true. Everyone of them really makes the effort to play together with one another, and according to Jurena, when you play as a section, what matters is not how good and how loud each individual is, but whether you can play together. When you play together, you sound loud as a section.
That's something we thirds have to learn. We haven't practised together as thirds at all. Got to build up the feeling. I think that we lack the desire to play together. Though something comforting was that once yesterday, Siew Han and I managed to bu yue er tong de play a certain bar in Amazonia after Jurena had stopped conducting during sectionals and even repeated it together. I think I need to initiate short thirds sectionals soon - tomorrow?
At coro where we went for section lunch, we met the NYCB juniors. Jacklyn remarked that I have become thinner. Eversince I returned from Kudafari, two people (at least?) have said that, An Qi being the other one. NYCB's SYF is on 14 April. That's so soon! Jacklyn was with the other sec4s. Jia Yun and I met the other clarinet juniors (sec3s and some younger ones) on the other end of coro and they seemed rather sad though they denied it. I wonder what happened.
After that, I met TK at AMK KFC to help TK and do work. But I hadn't done my own tutorials in advance so I didn't manage to help as much as I should have. Hmm. Refer to TK's blog, quite a good log. Both of us are similar in that we often get distracted away from work. So we need to do work with someone else so that we won't be that distracted. I think its ok, the problem is place and time.
Swam 15 laps on Friday.
Oh ya, Monday band practices starts tomorrow. So that's 3 official band practices plus 1 official sectionals per week, not including additional self-practice. And the band is moving to NIE for all practices starting Monday, 12 April which sort of eliminates chances for self-practice. Fortunately the school has agreed to pay for chartered buses to send us there and then to an MRT station after practices.
But I was just considering moving over to NY boarding school (but this isn't the first time I am making such a consideration), 'cos I am getting very physically tired of the travelling - the jam along the way to school is comparatively more serious then during my NY days. And the impact of me not doing any work after I get home on most of the weekdays is really getting too serious.
Have Read
'04 year-end holidays (highest number of books read in a long time)
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (gd read)
-Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot (fun read)
-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (must read - inspirational)
-Slab Rat by Ted Heller (full of office politics and R21 stuff - not for kids)
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (makes u want to finish it)
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks (simple but meaningful)
-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (can identify with)
-The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (romantic love story with too much R21 stuff)
-Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (even more R21. ugh)
-The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
-Unstrung Heroes by Franz Lidz (autobiography about his four uncles and father)
-The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (very unique POV of an autistic boy)
-The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (love the breadth of the plot, one of my favourites)
-Wild Orchids by Jude Deveraux (alternating between two first persons' view - unique, but don't like e plot)
-Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (philosophy tb in a story; gets abit dry though plot saved)
-forgot what i read...-
-Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan (story of an urban planner)
-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (impressive intelligence with bits of great humour)
-Just between Us by Cathy Kelly (thickest bk i've ever read-600+pg, too long for me but not bad)
ha, started a few bks but didn't enjoy them enough to read more.
'06
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel (novel based on true story; a lot to learn from the book - animals, religions,
survival, appreciation of simplicity; marvelous descriptions of both the tangible and the intangible,
such that I could feel their realness; bits of very enjoyable humour; a must read)
-The Complete Analects of Confucius, Volume 1 - Asiapac Comic Series (some good teachings.
didn't read everything though)
-The Parable of the Pipeline by Burke Hedges (lent to me by Shujun; like she said, its a short version
of Rich Dad Poor Dad - good financial tips)
-The Alchemist by Paul Coelho (simple story with deep meaning)
-Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(hai, doesn't seem to be working for me - cos im not applying..)
-haven't been updating from Jun'06 to Jul'07-
'07
-Take a Chance by Sarah Webb (very interesting twist towards the end)
'08
-A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer (very saddening. made me realise how significant family is in how a child behaves)
-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden (refreshing book with many pics)
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Rui Zafon (amazing how people can think of so much plot to pack into one book, wld b a gd tv series)
-The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the story is interesting but i think the ending cld hv been better written)
-This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes (a bit thought-provoking on relationships but i didnt like e abrupt ending)
-Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (gd knowledge but partly qte repetitive)
-For One More Day by Mitch Albom
-The C Words by Mark Mason (made me keep wanting to read on. light & funny)
'09
-Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (another good read from Deveraux)
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (gosh such vivid descriptions! very well written book. i liked d theme of friendship and the realness of the story)
'10
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (a must-read!! i love the expressed thoughts of the protagonist, esp those about friendships, and the writing style - it seems like she's telling me her story specifically to me)
How to Save Your Own Life by Michael Gates Gill (an inspiring read, for emotional liberation and greater joy in life)
Reading
on hold
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Waiting for chance to get hold of
The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Gotai Fumanzoku or An Unsatisfactory Body (Translated into English as No One's Perfect) by Hirotada Otatake
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Other Recommended Readings by Marc
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes. Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s emotional and moral life. Dickens states that we must learn to go against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”
Lolita – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each. The story is as devious as it is beautiful.
Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done. Nuff said.
How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating. Pretty much the greatest cookbook ever written. Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll be a master chef by the time you’re 30.
Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful fiancée. Life was good. But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him. So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years. This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self discovery.
Self-note: Tip for my future business =D
give employees reasonably high pay to keep them- otherwise they are unlikely to stay loyal.
treat employees not according to how well they treat me but how conscientious they are at work
(of course, musn't expect them to only do work throughout the entire working hours -
give some breathing space too, we are humans, not machines) Movies watched(listing started on 6jan08)
in cinema from VCD/DVD
1Sep07: "Hairspray" w TK, GH & SH
14Sep07: "Ratatouille" w mom & extended family
28Dec07: "The Pianist" w Jus & Pam (heartbreaking but good lessons; i recommend!)
2Jan08: "I Am Legend" w Sherm (scary! but good acting; thought provoking; i recommend!)
5-6Jan08: "A Good Year" alone (excellent show! i like the acting; funny; good lessons; touches my heart; i recommend!)
11Jan08: "Le Grand Chef" w WLing, JT & Irene (good! funny, very touching, :) nice; watch if like humour+meaning+food)
7Feb08 (CNY 初一): "Ah Long Pte Ltd" w parents (pretty hilarious - but u gotta understand dialects, some teary parts. wells typical of jack neo movies but with diff content)
11Mar08: "The Leap Year" w Sherm (so sweet! :) and apart from couple relationship it touches the theme of mother-daughter and best friends too)
6Jun08: "P.S. I Love You" w Sherm (don't know if its coz we watched it on laptop, coz it didn't impress me as much as it did for him in cinema)
8Jun08: "The Forbidden Kingdom" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (ums..guess i'm really not into kungfu)
8Jun08: "What Happens in Vegas" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (simple,relaxing show)
7Jul08: "我和狗狗的10个约定" w Sherm, his ma & sisters (very simple,touching but actually not my type of show)
10Jul08: "Before Sunrise" w Sherm (hmm maybe watchg on laptop really affects appreciatn of movies..)
30Sep08: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" w Sherm (i didn't like it as much as i thought i wld when i saw the ads)
31Dec08: "Yes Man" w Mom (inspiring and funny)
11Feb08: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" w Mom (not as impressive as i thought it wld be)
1Jul09: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" w Yumei, YY & Matt (the best thing was the soundtrack. heh.)
14Aug09: "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" w Joyce (it was awesome! best action movie i've ever watched)
17Aug09: "Food, Inc." w SYL & RuiQ (learnt some stuff abt the American food industry but it was a bit boring and not worth the $10)
22Sep09: "The Time Traveller's Wife" w WB, VanD, WLing, CHL, Irene, VanQ, Mf, Pg (i liked it. having read the book really helps w udsg)
21Nov09: "Gokusen" w Mf, Eva, Tony, Sarah (funny inspirational movie)
24Dec09: "十月围城" w Tony, WLing, VanQ (action action and a bit funny? tony criticised the plot. my fav scene was the running n jumping through the crowd along the five-foot ways w/o cuts)
30Dec09: "Sherlock Holmes" w Irene, Tony, Sweetee (my favourite genre of books made into a movie - what else can be more cool? acting effects humour excitement suspense all in)
12Jan10: "Avatar 3D" w Mom (didn't appreciate the digital effects which everyone wowed about. content etc was so-so. cathay's 3D glasses were too heavy for me)
8Feb10: "The Truman Show" w Ky n sis n Yuhshin (a must-watch. very thought-provoking, funny. reminder to be spontaneous and create your life the way you want, instead of falling into a typical routine
14Feb10: "New York, I Love You" w Mom (I loved it! a good couple movie with meaningful pointers to keep it going. but i think some stories could be more developed)
16Feb10: rewatched "The Pianist" (still find it good, tho i still feel first viewings are the best)
17Feb10: "Valentine's Day" w CHL n WB (laughed throughout - a feel-good movie; liked the fact that the various stories binded tog so well with the little surprises here and there, vs NY ILU in which each story was separate)
20Feb10: "赤壁二" w Addy, Karen, Sharon, SJ (should have watched the first one first cos i ended up not knowing who's who and what's happening and had to keep asking :/ and couldn't pay attn.. if not i think it should be a pretty good movie..)
4Mar10: "Alice in Wonderland 3D" w Mf (i found the 3D effects of this @ CCK Shaw SO much better than Avatar @ The Cathay =/ and the movie was much more enjoyable too! - cheered a sad me up :)) favourite quote - the Mad Hatter: “You used to be much muchier before. ... You have lost your muchness.”)
18Mar10: "Nodame Cantabile" w Irene, Mf (i thoroughly enjoyed some of the orchestra pieces - SO impressive! the expressions of the actors were really amusing :D)
23Apr10: "Ice Kacang Puppy Love" w Mom (funny, touching and meaningful - about love between friends and family. i cried 3 tissues! cos some touching parts i could really understand the feelings of the characters involved)
Inception
Letters to God (very simple Christian movie)
22Nov10: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" w Ame, Irene (they loved it. pretty good, i guess the main problem i had was that im not familiar with HP :X)
13Dec10: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" w Sj (not bad, could follow the story unlike HP. like the meaningful teachings, too long - in a post)
2Mar11: "The King's Speech" w Ame (hilarious, inspirational, tho it doesn't impress me that much to understand why it's the Oscar winner)
Mar11: "10 Things I Hate About You" very funny. silly sweet high school romance. just right for having breaks in between doing homework
23May11: "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" w Wb Yl Ame Pg (pretty good - scenery, freakish parts, fighting scenes, dressing, humour, bits of Christianity like when the Spanish said "only God gives life")
6Jun11: "Xmen First Class" w Wb Ame Pg (i was very keen on watching it and it was really good! intellectual, makes sense, cool action, some humour)
9Jun11: "Legally Blonde 2" w Irene (seems like some dumb blonde movie but kind of meaningful too - speaking up for yourself and what you stand for)
17Jun11: "Something Borrowed" w Sandy Lisa (quite funny, somewhat meaningful wrt friendships. they didn't like the lack of sense for one part tho)
16Jul11: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" w Irene, Sweetee, Kw (not bad. i didn't understand some parts again but the humour and effects were pretty good)
Aug11 "Horrible Bosses" w Ma (she fell asleep! gosh. the movie was very crude i must say but there was the humour)
25Oct11: "The Three Musketeers" w H (i would rate it 3.5 for humour/intellectual language and 4 for action. it's by the same producer or director as Sherlock! but a bit less awesome albeit a good chill out movie)
5Nov11: "Real Steel" w Hl (action packed but not too hardcore for me. i liked that there was the father and son element and how the father eventually softened his heart and especially the part when charlie was having trouble telling max sth and max was so understanding saying "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." touching and demonstrates true fighting spirit)
12Dec11: "50/50" w L (adopting her words - a heavy topic put across in a lighthearted way, but not taking away d meaning. most of it was rather hollywood-ish trashiness but there were a couple of punch lines "u can't change ur parents, but u can change d way u respond to them.")
25Dec11: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" w KY (ultimate action packed! super tense almost throughout the movie, and interesting Tom Cruise made it such that not everything happened smoothly - he would jump and misland and get all sorts of injuries..it's really the courage to jump without hesitation even though you are not sure you'll be alive after that. KY loved d movie and said she would watch it again!)
3Jan12: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" w KY (i love mystery (: and the witty sarcastic dialogues. good level of excitement with the action. didn't understand some parts as usual. i like Holmes and Watson they depict such a true pair of buddies ;D)
23Jan12: "You are the Apple of My Eye" w mom (now i understand why guys like this movie so much - the anxiety of chasing after a girl and the acts schoolboys do to get the girl's attention and hopefully affection. the initial fluttering and the subsequent quarrelling)
22Mar12: "The Iron Lady" w KY (really love Thatcher's sharp words. inspiring and thought-provoking, tho i was still left uncertain of what to do with my life, the movie is definitely an encouraging one)
29Mar12: "Barney's Version" w SJ (a funny movie of a screwed up life of a man who had 3 wives, smoked and drank but very heartwarming at the same time, the relationships with the dad and the 3th wife - quotable quotes!)
27Apr12: "The Hunger Games" w Mom
4May12" "Avengers" w MF n PS (funny, action-packed)
7Jul12: "The Amazing Spiderman"
21Jul12: "The Dark Knight Rises" (fantastic depth, loved the twists)
20Aug12: "ParaNorman" w Mom (simple funny animated movie, heartwarming support)
Performances watched (listing started on 25Apr10)
20Jan10: Patrick Marber's Closer by outoftheBLUE, NUS Science w Pam (
13Mar10: The Rain Came Down Like Pearls the Night I Died... The New Musical - Sing & Tell by Mark Chan w Addy & Jy
21Mar10: Quintessence by NUSCO w CHL