When the bus came to take me to Tampines Interchange I was surprised to see it totally filled with AHS people that I could not enter at all. A second one came behind soon, but it was more of them, all clad in the 50th Anniversary shirts. I could not find anyone I know to ask, so i waited till nightime before I asked my junior.

Apparently, totally unexpected on my part, they had this Human Wheelbarrow Race (which I have no freaking idea how it looks like or how the students were supposed to do). In fact, they broke the Guinness World Record for the Largest Human Wheelbarrow Race!

WTF!

After that, they went back to school for Teachers' Day celebrations (because they have exam tomorrow -.-''). And apparently, they got our Singapore President's wife to be the guest-of-honour.

WTF!

I wonder what in the world is the school coming to.

*****

I jinxed electronic devices. So far, three of those, my Dreamcast, my Zen Micro, and my z520i, that came into my possession all suffered a certain degree of damage. One of my Dreamcast controllers is spoilt, and games can only work if the cd flap thingy is not totally closed. The headphone jack of my Zen is also damaged, and after a free consultation which states that repairs will cost $139, I decided that we will repair it ourselves. I do not need to elaborate anymore on my z520i.

Just last week the new Yellow Pages phone book came, together with a coupon of a free phone, with an upgrade of my brother's phone plan. My mother declares that he has to use the phone anyway, and so I got my new phone last Saturday. A Samsung SGH-X680.

I have total faith in Samsung. Not just for the fact that the first syllable of its name sounds like my surname, which others take the opportunity to make fun of, but also because my previous two phones before the z520i were both Samsung (haha, also from Yellow Pages coupons) and both worked very well. The phone is perfect so far.

And so, I end my 8-month relationship with Sony Ericsson. Not that its phones are bad, but maybe it is inferior to Samsung when it comes to clamshells.

Anyway, I hope I can stop jinxing anymore devices I get my hands on.

*****

Official lessons ended last week. Somehow the last day of school felt like any other day. Either the past two experiences in primary and secondary school are enough, or we are simply too busy with exams to care about it. Or maybe, two years are too short to develop any hard feelings.

For now, its studying, studying, and more studying.

I have never been more stressful.

Prelims venues are out.
Notes are neatly categorised and filed.
Tutorials are almost done.
No more new topics.
Half empty lecture theatres. (Because of the point above)
Students hugging very, very thick files. (Because of the second point)
Revision notes and past year examinations papers filled up the space in my file left behind by the old tutorials.
"Excuse me, I have to lock the classrooms now."
"Students who wish to order dinner, please come over to the General Office now."

The signs have surfaced. The warcry has sounded. The second most important examinations is arriving. Very soon. After almost 18 years, I am finally on the last lap of my race. I will be going through one of the most stressful, worrying, and to some extent, frightening, times, because my disappointing performance over the past 1 year 8 months means that I have alot more to catch up than my fellow friends.

It seems like I have always aimed at the bull's eye, but missed because I did not put in any effort. Maybe I lack the motivation to put in any. Now I'm back again aiming at the centre, I'm putting in more effort, though I'm not sure if it is motivation, or simply because everyone else can hit the centre, and I don't want to lose my face.

Fighting for Face. How pathetic.

Maybe I should find a better reason to deceive convince myself. Like, bringing glory to my family.

Yucks.

Whatever the reason is, I have to study now. Study like there's no tomorrow. Study like I need it more than my rice and water. Study like there's no day and night. Study like I will be dragged to some deserted place and get shot if someone catches me without any notes. Everything else have to wait. Whether is it National Service, scholarships, healthy lifestyle, love, overfishing, terrorism, or number of planets we have in our solar system.

I'm scared. Scared of losing the momentum. Scared of missing the bull's eye again (while everyone else hits it). Scared of seeing the disappointed look on my mother's face. Scared of being mocked at by others. But I have to go on.

Let's hope the good ones will remain in top form, and the not-so-good ones will catch up to be in the league as well.

Good luck to everyone.

Well, my friend sent me this which I thought was quite interesting. Instead of spamming everyone I might as well put it here. Its accuracy remains a question mark though. Read for the fun of it!

星座統計出爐～真的很準唷！

> >Q 1：什麼星座的人最情緒化？
> >
> >第 1名 處女座 1,573 票 17% 第 7名 牡羊座 613 票 6%
> >第 2名 巨蟹座 1,021 票 11% 第 8名 金牛座 605 票 6%
> >第 3名 雙魚座 958 票 10% 第 9名 射手座 598 票 6%
> >第 4名 雙子座 810 票 8% 第10名 天秤座 559 票 6%
> >第 5名 天蠍座 792 票 8% 第11名 獅子座 501 票 5%
> >第 6名 水瓶座 661 票 7% 第12名 魔羯座 364 票 4%
> >
> >Q 2：什麼星座的人最有異性緣？
> >
> >第 1名 獅子座 2,001 票 28% 第 7名 牡羊座 529 票 7%
> >第 2名 天秤座 746 票 10% 第 8名 水瓶座 342 票 4%
> >第 3名 雙魚座 652 票 9% 第 9名 金牛座 293 票 4%
> >第 4名 雙子座 595 票 8% 第10名 巨蟹座 278 票 3%
> >第 5名 天蠍座 568 票 8% 第11名 魔羯座 249 票 3%
> >第 6名 射手座 564 票 8% 第12名 處女座 198 票 2%
> >
> >Q 3：哪個星座的女生最難追？
> >
> >第 1名 處女座 2,329 票 23% 第 7名 金牛座 720 票 7%
> >第 2名 天蠍座 1,426 票 14% 第 8名 射手座 566 票 5%
> >第 3名 魔羯座 862 票 8% 第 9名 天秤座 509 票 5%
> >第 4名 雙子座 807 票 8% 第10名 巨蟹座 452 票 4%
> >第 5名 水瓶座 780 票 7% 第11名 牡羊座 399 票 3%
> >第 6名 獅子座 768 票 7% 第12名 雙魚座 398 票 3%
> >
> >Q 4：哪個星座的人神經最大條？
> >
> >第 1名 射手座 1,109 票 22% 第 7名 水瓶座 332 票 6%
> >第 2名 牡羊座 680 票 13% 第 8名 魔羯座 305 票 6%
> >第 3名 獅子座 464 票 9% 第 9名 天秤座 278 票 5%
> >第 4名 雙魚座 436 票 8% 第10名 處女座 257 票 5%
> >第 5名 金牛座 402 票 8% 第11名 巨蟹座 219 票 4%
> >第 6名 雙子座 338 票 6% 第12名 天蠍座 191 票 3%
> >
> >Q 5：哪個星座的人說話最毒？
> >
> >第 1名 天蠍座 2,693 票 27% 第 7名 水瓶座 650 票 6%
> >第 2名 雙子座 1,121 票 11% 第 8名 牡羊座 637 票 6%
> >第 3名 處女座 1,031 票 10% 第 9名 天秤座 457 票 4%
> >第 4名 射手座 848 票 8% 第10名 金牛座 408 票 4%
> >第 5名 獅子座 704 票 7% 第11名 雙魚座 357 票 3%
> >第 6名 魔羯座 674 票 6% 第12名 巨蟹座 354 票 3%
> >
> >Q 6：什麼星座的人最不喜歡受拘束？
> >
> >第 1名 射手座 1,864 票 24% 第 7名 天蠍座 371 票 4%
> >第 2名 水瓶座 1,720 票 22% 第 8名 巨蟹座 358 票 4%
> >第 3名 雙子座 811 票 10% 第 9名 雙魚座 301 票 4%
> >第 4名 獅子座 516 票 6% 第10名 處女座 214 票 2%
> >第 5名 天秤座 495 票 6% 第11名 魔羯座 211 票 2%
> >第 6名 牡羊座 475 票 6% 第12名 金牛座 163 票 2%
> >
> >Q 7：什麼星座的人最專情？
> >
> >第 1名 魔羯座 2,366 票 27% 第 7名 水瓶座 407 票 4%
> >第 2名 處女座 1,059 票 12% 第 8名 雙魚座 393 票 4%
> >第 3名 天蠍座 932 票 10% 第 9名 牡羊座 376 票 4%
> >第 4名 金牛座 929 票 10% 第10名 射手座 374 票 4%
> >第 5名 巨蟹座 772 票 8% 第11名 天秤座 359 票 4%
> >第 6名 獅子座 436 票 4% 第12名 雙子座 329 票 3%
> >
> >Q 8：哪個星座的人最懶惰？
> >
> >第 1名 射手座 682 票 16% 第 7名 雙子座 296 票 7%
> >第 2名 金牛座 620 票 15% 第 8名 牡羊座 261 票 6%
> >第 3名 雙魚座 428 票 10% 第 9名 天蠍座 222 票 5%
> >第 4名 天秤座 343 票 8% 第10名 巨蟹座 221 票 5%
> >第 5名 獅子座 316 票 7% 第11名 魔羯座 201 票 4%
> >第 6名 水瓶座 314 票 7% 第12名 處女座 191 票 4%
> >
> >Q 9：哪個星座的人最癡情？
> >
> >第 1名 獅子座 1,771 票 17% 第 7名 牡羊座 669 票 6%
> >第 2名 雙魚座 1,481 票 15% 第 8名 處女座 604 票 6%
> >第 3名 巨蟹座 1,091 票 11% 第 9名 水瓶座 437 票 4%
> >第 4名 魔羯座 1,023 票 10% 第10名 射手座 427 票 4%
> >第 5名 天蠍座 1,017 票 10% 第11名 天秤座 284 票 2%
> >第 6名 金牛座 791 票 8% 第12名 雙子座 259 票 2%
> >
> >Q10：哪個星座的人最愛吃醋？
> >
> >第 1名 獅子座 1,704 票 29% 第 7名 魔羯座 246 票 4%
> >第 2名 天蠍座 1,373 票 23% 第 8名 牡羊座 220 票 3%
> >第 3名 處女座 439 票 7% 第 9名 雙子座 189 票 3%
> >第 4名 巨蟹座 438 票 7% 第10名 水瓶座 182 票 3%
> >第 5名 金牛座 371 票 6% 第11名 天秤座 181 票 3%
> >第 6名 雙魚座 302 票 5% 第12名 射手座 171 票 2%
> >
> >Q11：哪個星座的人最獨立？
> >
> >第 1名 天蠍座 607 票 14% 第 7名 處女座 269 票 6%
> >第 2名 魔羯座 605 票 14% 第 8名 雙子座 261 票 6%
> >第 3名 水瓶座 534 票 12% 第 9名 金牛座 236 票 5%
> >第 4名 獅子座 528 票 12% 第10名 天秤座 186 票 4%
> >第 5名 射手座 495 票 11% 第11名 巨蟹座 133 票 3%
> >第 6名 牡羊座 308 票 7% 第12名 雙魚座 115 票 2%
> >
> >Q12：哪個星座的人最愛睡？
> >
> >第 1名 天秤座 884 票 12% 第 7名 射手座 528 票 7%
> >第 2名 雙魚座 799 票 11% 第 8名 水瓶座 479 票 6%
> >第 3名 雙子座 759 票 10% 第 9名 處女座 452 票 6%
> >第 4名 金牛座 747 票 10% 第10名 天蠍座 422 票 5%
> >第 5名 巨蟹座 600 票 8% 第11名 魔羯座 415 票 5%
> >第 6名 獅子座 550 票 7% 第12名 牡羊座 399 票 5%
> >
> >Q13：哪個星座的人最易犯桃花？
> >
> >第 1名 射手座 2,069 票 18% 第 7名 獅子座 588 票 5%
> >第 2名 水瓶座 1,696 票 14% 第 8名 牡羊座 491 票 4%
> >第 3名 天秤座 1,445 票 12% 第 9名 魔羯座 404 票 3%
> >第 4名 雙子座 1,437 票 12% 第10名 金牛座 366 票 3%
> >第 5名 雙魚座 1,365 票 11% 第11名 處女座 366 票 3%
> >第 6名 天蠍座 925 票 8% 第12名 巨蟹座 342 票 2%
> >
> >Q14：哪個星座的人最沒有安全感？
> >
> >第 1名 雙魚座 1,080 票 15% 第 7名 天秤座 519 票 7%
> >第 2名 雙子座 932 票 13% 第 8名 水瓶座 429 票 6%
> >第 3名 巨蟹座 793 票 11% 第 9名 金牛座 376 票 5%
> >第 4名 射手座 722 票 10% 第10名 魔羯座 339 票 4%
> >第 5名 處女座 598 票 8% 第11名 獅子座 318 票 4%
> >第 6名 天蠍座 542 票 7% 第12名 牡羊座 281 票 4%
> >
> >Q15：哪個星座的人得失心最重？
> >
> >第 1名 天蠍座 827 票 16% 第 7名 雙魚座 300 票 6%
> >第 2名 獅子座 760 票 15% 第 8名 水瓶座 298 票 6%
> >第 3名 處女座 665 票 13% 第 9名 牡羊座 282 票 5%
> >第 4名 魔羯座 440 票 8% 第10名 天秤座 275 票 5%
> >第 5名 巨蟹座 329 票 6% 第11名 射手座 241 票 4%
> >第 6名 金牛座 319 票 6% 第12名 雙子座 219 票 4%
> >
> >Q16：哪個星座的人最幽默？
> >
> >第 1名 雙子座 1,122 票 18% 第 7名 獅子座 372 票 6%
> >第 2名 射手座 1,072 票 17% 第 8名 天蠍座 336 票 5%
> >第 3名 水瓶座 624 票 10% 第 9名 雙魚座 305 票 4%
> >第 4名 巨蟹座 596 票 9% 第10名 魔羯座 217 票 3%
> >第 5名 牡羊座 585 票 9% 第11名 處女座 204 票 3%
> >第 6名 天秤座 562 票 9% 第12名 金牛座 189 票 3%
> >
> >Q17：哪個星座的人最不容易說出內心的話？
> >
> >第 1名 天蠍座 1,037 票 19% 第 7名 金牛座 353 票 6%
> >第 2名 水瓶座 757 票 14% 第 8名 雙魚座 264 票 5%
> >第 3名 魔羯座 594 票 11% 第 9名 天秤座 259 票 4%
> >第 4名 處女座 434 票 8% 第10名 射手座 258 票 4%
> >第 5名 巨蟹座 426 票 8% 第11名 獅子座 247 票 4%
> >第 6名 雙子座 404 票 7% 第12名 牡羊座 171 票 3%
> >
> >Q18：哪個星座的人最愛腳踏兩條船？
> >
> >第 1名 雙子座 1,204 票 21% 第 7名 獅子座 302 票 5%
> >第 2名 水瓶座 1,000 票 17% 第 8名 天蠍座 290 票 5%
> >第 3名 射手座 828 票 14% 第 9名 牡羊座 188 票 3%
> >第 4名 天秤座 499 票 8% 第10名 巨蟹座 143 票 2%
> >第 5名 雙魚座 499 票 8% 第11名 魔羯座 143 票 2%
> >第 6名 處女座 491 票 8% 第12名 金牛座 134 票 2%
> >
> >Q19：哪個星座的人最夠朋友？
> >
> >第 1名 天蠍座 1,908 票 22% 第 7名 天秤座 486 票 5%
> >第 2名 巨蟹座 1,058 票 12% 第 8名 雙子座 410 票 4%
> >第 3名 獅子座 852 票 10% 第 9名 金牛座 374 票 4%
> >第 4名 射手座 803 票 9% 第10名 魔羯座 370 票 4%
> >第 5名 水瓶座 790 票 9% 第11名 雙魚座 349 票 4%
> >第 6名 牡羊座 585 票 7% 第12名 處女座 327 票 3%
> >
> >Q20：哪個星座的男生最被動？
> >
> >第 1名 金牛座 918 票 15% 第 7名 水瓶座 412 票 6%
> >第 2名 魔羯座 770 票 13% 第 8名 天蠍座 406 票 6%
> >第 3名 處女座 766 票 12% 第 9名 射手座 330 票 5%
> >第 4名 巨蟹座 663 票 11% 第10名 獅子座 246 票 4%
> >第 5名 天秤座 481 票 8% 第11名 牡羊座 233 票 3%
> >第 6名 雙魚座 481 票 8% 第12名 雙子座 209 票 3%
> >
> >Q21：哪個星座的人最喜歡流浪？
> >
> >第 1名 射手座 1,043 票 30% 第 7名 牡羊座 176 票 5%
> >第 2名 水瓶座 607 票 17% 第 8名 魔羯座 151 票 4%
> >第 3名 雙子座 368 票 10% 第 9名 獅子座 139 票 4%
> >第 4名 雙魚座 240 票 7% 第10名 金牛座 113 票 3%
> >第 5名 天蠍座 196 票 5% 第11名 巨蟹座 92 票 2%
> >第 6名 天秤座 195 票 5% 第12名 處女座 90 票 2%
> >
> >Q22：哪個星座的人最重視朋友？
> >
> >第 1名 水瓶座 1,279 票 15% 第 7名 天秤座 530 票 6%
> >第 2名 處女座 1,246 票 15% 第 8名 獅子座 504 票 6%
> >第 3名 魔羯座 1,081 票 13% 第 9名 雙子座 423 票 5%
> >第 4名 巨蟹座 846 票 10% 第10名 金牛座 383 票 4%
> >第 5名 射手座 665 票 8% 第11名 雙魚座 374 票 4%
> >第 6名 天蠍座 534 票 6% 第12名 牡羊座 370 票 4%
> >
> >Q23：哪個星座的人最不喜歡上課？
> >
> >第 1名 射手座 968 票 19% 第 7名 獅子座 314 票 6%
> >第 2名 巨蟹座 851 票 16% 第 8名 天秤座 299 票 5%
> >第 3名 雙子座 504 票 10% 第 9名 天蠍座 286 票 5%
> >第 4名 水瓶座 491 票 9% 第10名 金牛座 214 票 4%
> >第 5名 雙魚座 380 票 7% 第11名 處女座 212 票 4%
> >第 6名 牡羊座 318 票 6% 第12名 魔羯座 199 票 3%
> >
> >Q24：哪個星座男生最容易落淚？
> >
> >第 1名 雙魚座 1,164 票 26% 第 7名 雙子座 208 票 4%
> >第 2名 巨蟹座 689 票 15% 第 8名 金牛座 196 票 4%
> >第 3名 處女座 674 票 15% 第 9名 射手座 190 票 4%
> >第 4名 天蠍座 269 票 6% 第10名 魔羯座 187 票 4%
> >第 5名 天秤座 261 票 5% 第11名 牡羊座 173 票 3%
> >第 6名 水瓶座 236 票 5% 第12名 獅子座 132 票 3%
> >
> >Q25：哪個星座的人最悲觀？
> >
> >第 1名 處女座 750 票 17% 第 7名 天秤座 263 票 6%
> >第 2名 雙魚座 718 票 16% 第 8名 水瓶座 185 票 4%
> >第 3名 巨蟹座 599 票 14% 第 9名 雙子座 122 票 2%
> >第 4名 魔羯座 568 票 13% 第10名 牡羊座 121 票 2%
> >第 5名 天蠍座 390 票 9% 第11名 獅子座 109 票 2%
> >第 6名 金牛座 316 票 7% 第12名 射手座 98 票 2%
> >
> >Q26：哪個星座的人最八卦？
> >
> >第 1名 雙子座 783 票 20% 第 7名 處女座 251 票 6%
> >第 2名 天秤座 500 票 12% 第 8名 雙魚座 229 票 5%
> >第 3名 射手座 360 票 9% 第 9名 金牛座 228 票 5%
> >第 4名 魔羯座 356 票 9% 第10名 獅子座 221 票 5%
> >第 5名 水瓶座 276 票 7% 第11名 牡羊座 199 票 5%
> >第 6名 天蠍座 271 票 7% 第12名 巨蟹座 184 票 4%
> >
> >Q27：哪個星座最會表現"曖昧不明"的關係？
> >
> >第 1名 雙魚座 885 票 16% 第 7名 金牛座 391 票 7%
> >第 2名 天秤座 697 票 12% 第 8名 處女座 348 票 6%
> >第 3名 水瓶座 608 票 11% 第 9名 巨蟹座 317 票 5%
> >第 4名 雙子座 544 票 10% 第10名 魔羯座 270 票 4%
> >第 5名 天蠍座 506 票 9% 第11名 牡羊座 224 票 4%
> >第 6名 射手座 420 票 7% 第12名 獅子座 213 票 3%
> >
> >Q28：哪個星座的人長的最好看？
> >
> >第 1名 天秤座 1,417 票 22% 第 7名 獅子座 381 票 6%
> >第 2名 天蠍座 791 票 12% 第 8名 雙子座 379 票 6%
> >第 3名 雙魚座 554 票 8% 第 9名 金牛座 376 票 5%
> >第 4名 水瓶座 519 票 8% 第10名 處女座 360 票 5%
> >第 5名 射手座 469 票 7% 第11名 牡羊座 322 票 5%
> >第 6名 巨蟹座 440 票 6% 第12名 魔羯座 308 票 4%
> >
> >Q29：哪個星座的人最有魅力？
> >
> >第 1名 天蠍座 1,331 票 17% 第 7名 魔羯座 558 票 7%
> >第 2名 射手座 1,274 票 16% 第 8名 雙子座 472 票 6%
> >第 3名 天秤座 903 票 11% 第 9名 獅子座 403 票 5%
> >第 4名 牡羊座 667 票 8% 第10名 處女座 306 票 3%
> >第 5名 雙魚座 659 票 8% 第11名 金牛座 285 票 3%
> >第 6名 水瓶座 577 票 7% 第12名 巨蟹座 285 票 3%
> >
> >Q30：哪個星座的人最臭屁？
> >
> >第 1名 獅子座 2,205 票 34% 第 7名 天秤座 385 票 6%
> >第 2名 射手座 579 票 9% 第 8名 水瓶座 307 票 4%
> >第 3名 天蠍座 553 票 8% 第 9名 魔羯座 245 票 3%
> >第 4名 雙魚座 543 票 8% 第10名 金牛座 244 票 3%
> >第 5名 雙子座 496 票 7% 第11名 處女座 244 票 3%

Haha.

On this nice Friday morning where many people are stuck in school with books and teachers, I'm on the computer typing this out, enjoying the very slight breeze coming through my brother's window. It would not have been possible without the Polling Day holiday which the school decided to put it today, although I should say it makes no difference because now that there's no more PE for the year2s, my typical Friday ends at 9.15am.

The past 2 days were windy days. People who have been to my house before will know that my living room window is unobstructed, to the point that you can spot me poking my head out from the polytechnic, and my mother, for some reason, loves strong winds. So with the window opened so wide (even the grills were pushed to the sides) that a human can easily jump out of it (don't worry I'm not doing that), the living room was really typhoon yesterday.

I did not really slack through the past few days, but I am still trying to get myself into mugging mode. I slept through Wednesday afternoon, waking up in time to catch the news and the NDP.

And so, my father fixed the spoilt computer, which turned out to be a damaged power supply box. Although no one is using (and wants to use) that computer anymore, he is still fiddling around with it, even as my brother and I are finalising the specs for the new one we are buying. Heh.

Not too long ago, he put into use his awesome skills of taking things-that-others-have-thrown-away again, returning home one night with two graphics cards. The Geforce2 card is apparently spoilt, but the Geforce4 (!) one is still working. He plugged it into that P3 450 comp, which is like a champion horse pulling a cart.

To the person who wants that Geforce4 card, its only a MX, not a Ti. And its only 64mb.

Since I'm here, I might as well do some shameless advertising. Although I think no one will buy, I do hope miracles will happen. Haha. Please support me!

VJC is organising a carnival called Family 3, which is basically a day of fun "to create awareness for elderly needs and the importance of family life and intergenerational dialogue". Proceeds from this carnival will go to the Singapore Action Group Of Elders (SAGE). (Don't worry its not N*F)

This carnival will be held on 2th Sep (one day after Teachers' day, which is the saturday of the one week break.), time from 9am to 4pm, at VJC.

There will be stuff like:

1. a london train ride

2. a mini viking

3. a super dog twister ( for older kids and adults)

4. A dunking machine

5.bouncy castles and a titanic slide

6 A kiddie corner

7.sports games with an intergenerational element designed by our very own Sports groups

8. massage services by a massage academy

9. Art jamming- you can paint as a family on a decent sized canvas and get to take your artwork home for a fee. All materials are included.

10.Talks. We have a chiropractor Dr. Terence Yap who will give a talk on managing and preventing joint/spinal pain, a nutritionist speaking on how to eat right and stay healthy, a senior resident physician from SGH speaking on staying healthy and active through the years and a psychologist speaking on parent child communication.

11. performances by our cca groups

12. flea market stalls

13. external vendors for food on top of our canteen food

14. Story-telling sessions by veteran story-tellers.

Guest-of-honour is Mr Matthias Yao, Mayor of South East CDC.

Why am I saying all these? Because I am supposed to sell a booklet of coupons. It cost 5 bucks each, which is used for buying food, drinks and games (I think). There is also a lucky draw coupon.
So hor, if possible please support me k? Haha. Ya I know have to study for prelims but its important to spend time with your families also right? Somemore can help elderly leh!

Its typhoon in my living room again.

I will have to cut down on my frequency of blogging, maybe even using the computer, because I get tired easily from staring at monitor screens (I'm still using CRT =( ), and if I get tired I can't study liaox. Many others have already begun their preparations, so I have to catch up before its too late.

The windows are closed now, after the winds blew my mother's spectacles from the table to the floor.

[ADDON]

I thought this year's NDP paled compared to the previous years. Last year there were celebrations at the heartlands, complete with fighter jets making their way down to the heartlands just to make the residents happy (With such tight airspace, that was a challenge, esp the fact that Tampines is so near the airport), there was some online thingy which let people at the stadium moblog entries in, and the fireworks then were much more magificant. Even my mother asked how come this year's performance so little.

[/ADDON]

And so, I just watched the National Day Parade on TV. Its all the usual stuff..guard-of-honour, bomb burst, performances, national anthem, fireworks, etc. Yet I still kept myself glued to the television, making sure I do not miss out any moment of the Parade.

I have never watched a Parade live at the stadium or Padang before, save for the National Education Show in Primary 5. That one, I missed the pre-parade segment and had just stepped in when the jets flew past, because of huge jams at the gates. However, watching on TV is not too bad either.

It has always been a huge contradiction for me when it comes to Singapore. I have always hated the exam-oriented environment and mindset that Singapore has shaped in us, the way the opposition is suppressed, the way media is controlled, the high cost and standards of living, and how old buildings are
torn down or restored to beyond recognition, just to keep tourists coming in.

But when I looked back, I have to agree that education forms the best years of my life, its in these schools that I made all the good friends, met all the influential teachers, picked up all the knowledge, and ultimately shaped me into what I am today. I never liked the stress that came with the examinations and competition, but it is this stress that allowed me to stand strong despite all the pressure.

Opposition is suppressed, media is controlled, but I guess that is what allowed Singapore to stay clear of the political crisises that plagued other countries. Cost and standards of livings are indeed high, but I think if one can be easily content that should not be a problem.

Singapore has been an open economy, and we depend highly on foreign markets for our survival. We do not have a culture to start with, so we took all the cultures others brought in, mix them together, and call it our own. Its quite unique in some sense.

Singapore, no matter how bad it is, is the place I grew up in, has provided me a safe environment such that I do not have to worry about basic needs, allowing me to concentrate on what my counterparts in poorer countries consider as luxuries. I have to return this favour in some way or other. I need to start
dreaming.

As Singapore begins its 42nd year of nation building, I do hope that Singapore will continue to thrive. Like what I read somewhere in the papers today, Singapore has not yet found a balance between conservation and development. I hope more can be done in keeping our dying cultures alive (I have not seen a makeshift stage showing Teochew opera for ages), and find something that no other country has. Or we will just be another America. I'm actually quite sick of watching local celebrities introducing Singapore to the world with the same old "Zoo, Birdpark, Sentosa, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Rojak, Chilli Crab".

And oh, more freedom please.

Last but not least, I agree with one Indian said in one of the clips shown during tonight's Parade. Singaporeans need to relax. Ha.

You can say I am a victim fallen to government propaganda (maybe I really am), but I hope I'm not too late to say

Happy Birthday Singapore.

Last Saturday morning I went to school to help with the filming of Alfas Challenge. It was a workshop to help students do better during interviews when applying for scholarships, and the teacher-in-charge asked Year2 iCOMP Infocomm Club students to film instead of the Year1s so that more Year2s can benefit from the workshop, especially that the rest have to pay 30 bucks for the whole day event.

Someone else doing better in academics should have went instead of me.

Anyway our task was to flim the mock interviews so that participants could review their performance later in the afternoon. It got boring soon afterwards, because it was very repetitive.

I think interviews are not at all a breeze to go through. There's actually a very thin line between being confident and being boastful. Its not easy to even be confident in an interview, firstly because its really very frightening to talk in front of a panel, especially when that simple talk is going to decide your future, and secondly because saying too much makes people think that you are haolian-ing.

So far the most confident person that I have ever come across is still the senior who trained me in competitive programming, and throughout the entire interview only one person came close to him - my batch's student council president.

I guess the only thing I benefitted from the entire workshop was the free food during the tea break and lunch.

Saturday night was spent at Nanyang Junior College, where I attended the Nanyang Film Festival to support a friend, whose boyfriend happened to be the director of all three short films O.O, two in Chinese, one in English. I guess the event was not too bad, considering that this is the first time, though there is alot of room for improvement.

Video is becoming a competitive area for junior colleges. Haha. iCOMP Infocomm Club should organise one too.

Today was National Day celebrations. We were allowed to come in red or white tops, but in the end I wore my uniform instead because I could not find a decent red or white shirt.

Celebrations started at the parade square where several uniformed group students, under the command of a parade commander who seemed to be weaker compared to the Katong Convent counterpart across the canal, marched in holding the National Day and College flags, accomapnied by house committee and their banners.

I was surprised to see my former Maths teacher donning the SCDF uniform, standing on the podium saying National Day related stuff which I think I have heard a thousand times before. I didn't know he was from the SCDF.

Celebrations was quite a letdown. There was obviously a lack in coordination, and the sound system once again disappointed us, because no one bothered to fix it. Victorians managed to reduce some of the awkwardness by trying to sing loudly during the songs and laugh and clap as much as possible during the two videos. I should say that the items put up were still not bad if one had paid close attention to it. I liked the harmonica band. The students council has to improve.

Went home facing the four walls after we were dismissed, because no one wanted to. I wonder why people like to go home so much. Maybe its just me.

On my way home I spotted AHS people all over the Marine Parade area. According to my friend they had their 2.4km run today.

Wow. So what happened to their National Day celebrations? Is that another ingenious idea that the new principal came up with to reduce the number of holidays they have so they can mug more?

Backtracking to Sunday I was drinking my milo in the late morning when I received a phone call from my mother. She fell down, and because she tried to use her hands to break the fall, she broke her wrist. When I reached my mother I saw a very obvious hump on her wrist.

At the hospital it was waiting, waiting, and more waiting. The first was waiting for the nurse in the consultation room to decide that my mother needs an X ray before she could see the doctor. The second was waiting for the X-ray. The third was waiting for our turn to see the doctor.

Apparently I had to pass the X-rays over to the doctor first before seeing her, but I didn't know that until my brother came from home and told me that I should not be holding the X-rays. So we waited for half-an-hour for nothing.

My mother was shivering very seriously, so we decided to cut the queue abit. The doctor decided that she needed an operation and a stay at the hospital. So after more waiting at the Nurses' Station and subsequently the Admissions counter, she was admitted into a B2 bed.

The most intolerable thing throughout the entire wait, was actually the painful look on her face, coupled with the sense of helplessness I had.

By the time she got to the bed her shivering was gone, and she looked better than the battered body earlier on. I think the shivering was more of a psychological thingy than a physical one. I vaguely remembered myself shivering similarly when I went to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning due to very serious gastric pains.

The following day in school, I was surprised to receive a call from my brother that my mother has been discharged and was at home already. So fast? I thought.
It turned out that the doctor somehow fixed her broken bone back into the original position, and put her arm into a cast, asking her to go back again another day. Resting at home is more cost-saving than staying in the ward.

Help came mainly from my aunt's family. A fully automated washing machine was in my house on Tuesday, courtesy of my cousin. (Huh? Isn't it a standard feature in everyone's homes? Nah..the one is my house was the 1990-era National semi-automated type. I don't think anyone of you have seen a washing machine that's green in colour before have you?)

Then my aunt cooked dinner for us in the past few days, because none of us could squeeze out the time to.

My mother looked the same in the past few days. She doesn't show signs of improving actually. Hopefully she will be alright soon.

Not that I am bad-mouthing her or something, but at her age, I have a feeling that this will not be the last time. Haix.

This aside, I finally found a torrent client that can work fine with my computer! There are loads of Linux-based torrent clients around, but because I have screwed up Python and Java, Bittorrent and Azureus are out. Today I found a C++ based torrent client called rTorrent, which is a text-based one. Downloads, however, are slow, just like the others.

A new error message has just appeared in my hp. Pressing the menu button will throw up a message which says:

DynamicMenuError
Errors occur in the menu.ml file. This may render the menu unusable.

After pressing OK it still brings me to the menu. But the shortcut buttons and links can no longer work anymore.

And so, next week is National Day week. Besides Monday which is lessons as usual, the rest are without lessons. Friday is a holiday because its our Polling Day holiday. Then the teachers are capitalising on this by giving out tons of homework. Argh.

Prelims is coming.

Tomorrow will be a busy day.

And so today was the VJC Careers, Higher Education and Scholarship Fair 2006.

They gathered the three local universities, numerous government and government-linked agencies, and education centres which handle overseas education, to set up booths in college, and promote their scholarships to us. Lessons ended at 1.20pm for all, and included a lucky draw with a top prize of an Ipod Nano to attract crowds. Within the first hour my hands were full of bags and brochures belonging to the different agencies.

I don't have many choices; 'S' Papers and myopias less than 500 degrees in either eye are minimum requirements for most scholarships. I just went round with my friends grabbing their brochures and free gifts. My haul at the end of the day included 1 handphone pouch, 1 notebook, 2 posters, 3 paper bags, 5 pens, and many, many brochures screaming why I should pick them.

Also listened to 3 talks, one by the British Council, one by IDA (which turned out to be the same presentations as the previous two times I went), and one by MINDEF (which was rather slipshod =x).

After attending the fair today, I am once again wondering if I should study at an overseas university or if I should just study at a local university. No doubt an overseas education sounds attractive, but I can only go for one if and only if I am able to get a scholarship. Without 'S' Papers (and even 4 As to start with) or "outstanding CCA records" to shout about, scholarship probability is nearly zero. Then US and UK universities require reports from my teachers, and I don't have anything good for them to write about. Just the thought of my teachers spending hours with images of me in their heads while they try to cook up something to deceive those admissions officers is enough to make me feel....weird. Its like, wasting their time.

Then there are essays to write and interviews to attend. My GP is rubbish, and I really can't talk to strangers. Group discussions where examiners try to weed out quiet ones and take in vocal ones are the worst. I will be the first to be shown the door.

So when I receive the letter to thank me for applying and wish me all the best in my future endeavours, I will then start crying my heart and soul out in my bed, regretting why I had not studied harder in my JC days and tried harder to win at competitions. After that, I will just spend the next three/four years quieting studying some computer science course, graduating without anyone noticing, then join some small company located at a corner of some office building as a boring programmer, and worked till the day I die.

Haha. Sorry you have just wasted some time reading some crap.

I'm not looking down on local universities by saying that the above would not happen if I study overseas. My point is that it is quite likely my life will end up as boring as above (please la, all that talk about me becoming some godlike boss is shit.), so I might as well not trouble the army of teachers. I can die more quietly without anyone knowing. Also I hate the sight of some invisible guardian popping out to ask me why I had not strived to get better results when I had the chance.

I'm not sure myself what I am trying to say. I'm just pouring out everything that's running across my mind now. I'm very confused.

Maybe I am typing all these because I am upset by my disappointing performace in my past 18 years of life (that can stretch into one essay) and I really hope that my future will not be as dull anymore. Maybe. Hope.

I have not taken SAT. And I will definitely fail if I should take one, and waste that 100 bucks away.

I have always ignored those announcements and reminders and deadlines about filling up online forms or attending scholarship talks or whatever. Now that it caught my attention, I don't have much time. Should I start doing them now, it will only bring the tutors shock waves that I am thinking of university now when the rest of the population have done that half a year ago, and me, an array of scoldings and sarcastic remarks for not doing it earlier.

While many people have more or less decided their future academic path, and now concentrating hard working towards that goal, I am still a wondering soul in the thick fog.

Special task force = Professional seat fillers

I wonder if its a good thing. I won't mind sitting in the PT watching, but I don't want to sit beside strangers. Ha.

My flat's Lift Upgrading Programme has started. At the other side of my flat they have digged up one big hole and laid cables.

So once they are done with that new lift they will come over to my side and tear down one lift, then make the other one stop at every floor. That will mean digging one big hole in the wall just nearby my unit. I hope I do not have to endure all the construction.

Tomorrow's a half day, apparently to celebrate our achievements, for performers to rehearse and teachers to make final arrangements. The rest of the population has a rehearsal too, to walk from the LTs and line up along the walkway, to clap and cheer (-.-') when the guest of honour comes in in a car, just like what we did last year.

It makes no difference to the five computing students, as coursework is on as usual. After hearing what our computing teacher said today, it turns out the difficult part is not difficult after all.

VJC is going up on The New Paper soon! I think.

The 7th month is here. Be careful not to stay out too late.

Prelims are coming..30+ days to GP and 40+ days to the rest of the subjects. I'm still not studying.

As Prelims draw near teachers are rushing to finish the syllabus and squeeze every possible piece of knowledge into our feeble stretched brain. Revision problems, practice problems, make up lectures, revision lectures, remedials, tutorials etc.

Computing Coursework 3B has started and I am supposed to do something that I have never ever learnt before in my life.

Amidst all these workload I have to settle my top 3 achievements, my CIP hours, and think about which university and course to go.

AMD just bought over ATI.

College Day is this Saturday, and our class is being volunteered to be a special task force to help a teacher, who is apparently the overall in charge for seating arrangement.

Around the world everyone is fighting and arguing again.

Around the world news are reporting earthquakes and floods and typhoons and heatwaves again.

I overheard my mother telling my father that my brother's spine problem has worsened and an operation seems unavoidable. It sounds serious.

Life.

Yesterday morning I went back to AHS to attend the 50th Founder's Day's celebrations.

It was quite a buzz in school when I reached as the uniformed groups positioned themselves all over the place ushering vehicles to the carparks and greeting the guests that arrived. Student councillors were in their ties and blazers accompanying the guests. The rest of the student population were sitted in the hall, dressed in special anniversary t-shirts, with each level donning a different colour.

The hall has been made air-conditioned since last year, but I did not see it myself until I stepped in yesterday. Huge industrial-sized air-conditioners on the second storey was enough for me to feel that bit of cool air.

The celebrations in the main school hall started off with the school song and a prayer. Before the usual speeches from the principal and the guest of honour, some bishop, a video titled "The Soaring Eagle" was played, highlighting the 50 years of AHS, along with interviews of some prominent alumni.

After a prize presentation to those students with 6/7 A1s, the concert finally started. The concert itself was quite alright, the most interesting performances being the teachers coming together to sing two songs, and the uniformed and sports groups attempting a Storm-like percussion play.

The concert ended with the uniformed groups releasing party poppers shooting those little colourful strips of papers that made the entire hall looked like a World Cup stadium celebrating the win of a country.

Made my way down to the heritage centre, the first time I stepped in since its launch last year, to have a look at the exhibits, afterwhich I went to the tower hall beside it to indulge myself in a hearty meal of rice and curry.

Various changes were made to the school. Besides the air conditioners in the hall, all the classrooms now have dark tinted glass windows and curtains, for reasons I do not know. Graffiti and art have appeared on some walls, the fitness corner has been totally revamped, and three different models of security cameras have been spotted. A wushu cca has also appeared.

At night I went to Expo for the anniversary dinner. There were already many people when I reached there. I spotted people (before and during the dinner itself) like my batch's NCC, Girl Guides and Chinese Drama people, a couple of my juniors including at least one from my S44 junior class, along with several teachers and ex-principals. Amongst the crowd I also spotted one of my VJC Maths lecturers.

I also spotted several ex-teachers, like my Social Studies teacher, who remembered me and a third of my name ("wei something?") although I was relatively quiet in class. Then there was also my Sec1 Maths teacher, who I remembered was a jovial old man who could write very well with both hands and played the saxophone to the whole school when he retired. There was also my Sec1 Science teacher, who
went on to the Sports School when it opened. Lastly there was my Sec2 Chinese teacher, who back then was in charge of badminton. He recognised me, but forgot my name.

When a friend asked him how was AHS's badminton now, he said it was bad, couldn't even get Zone titles. When I asked is it because of the Sports School, he gave an excellent reply: If its the Sports School, then they get 1st, we can get 2nd right?

My friends and I, totalling four, sat at table 437, together with 6 others who graduated from 2001, and coincidentally all went to VJC. There was an occassional exchange of words, otherwise we didn't talk much. The NCC gang sat next to us to a table themselves. Most other tables were occupied by adults and the elderly. The emcees looked for the oldest graduate in the hall, and it went to some guy who graduated in 1963.

The programme for that night was almost a repeat of the morning's activities. It was the same video, the same principal speech, and the same GOH speech, which no one listened to =x

There was lucky draw, which was, I can swear, is a total conspiracy. For the 30 table prizes, tables 340, 343. 344. 345 all won. For the 30 individual prizes, 5 of them, including the top prize of the Ipod Nano, went to the table of NCC guys, which, if the probabilities were worked out, were not random at all!

The dinner itself was typical of a normal wedding dinner, a nine course meal with endless refilling of orange juice. I think having the dinner at Expo wasn't bad. Although less exquisite, the atmosphere was more relaxed.

I received a "24K gold-plated commemorative coin" together with a CD containing that soaring eagle video as a gift. The front of the coin was the school crest, and the face of the school's metal button formed the back of the coin. Nice.

My friend pointed out that all the popular artistes did not turn up. Hmm..

Overall the dinner was fun, although I wonder if I should had went to find more teachers. Then again, I regret not having any tools to capture the events of yesterday, for perhaps the next time I return, everything may have changed again.

After missing out two days of school, I went back to school today to encounter a very "interesting" assembly.

Some guy had nothing better to do, so free that he decided to go out onto the streets, Orchard Road to be precise, with a camera in hand, catch VJC girls in very short skirts, take photographs, pen a really fantastic letter about VJC girls being sex symbols, and send it in to the Ministry. The Ministry kindly forwarded it to the very hands of our principal, which resulted in a check by the teachers on the students today and noting down those who need to buy new skirts, not before a little lecture on "following rules".

I am trying my best not to hurl vulgarities and fingers at him. However, I wish to question, what's the difference between his actions and those done by a real perverted man?

Well, I really appreciate his concern for VJC girls, and perhaps the general jc female population. I appreciate his efforts in spending time flipping through the dictionary finding strong words to put into the letter, ensuring that his message gets across (who else would have thought of describing jc girls as sex symbols?). I appreciate the need for him to snap photographs of what he saw so that we can better understand how important moral values are.

I have noted that he thinks we, at 17/18 years old, are not old enough to know what is right and what is wrong.
I have noted that he thinks he is not being perverted taking photographs of girls in short skirts.
I have noted that he thinks short skirts = porn.

So I guess from now on, girls must take note the lengths of the skirts they wear. So that they will not become targets of perverted men. So that others will think they uphold moral values. So that they will not be photographed by members of the public.

I think the best skirts will be those that clean the floor girls walk on.

Guys, on the other hand, should start ensuring that their flesh are also well covered. Guys caught flashing 1cm cube of their chest or 5 strands of their leg hair may be photographed and complained to the Ministry for being sex symbols too!

Amusement.
Self-amusement.

4, 3, 2, 1, A!

4 trips to CMPB
3 ECG tests
2 PES Ds
1 ABP

A!

While everyone is "happily" studying in school, I'm stuck at home having a one-day affair with this machine.

The cuff is tightly wrapped around my left arm, with two cables, one a data cable and the other an air tube, running to a machine slightly bigger and much thicker than my Zen, resting in a pouch specially built for it.

At first it was still alright, but now the cuff around my arm and its every-half-an-hour squeeze is beginning to make me very uncomfortable. I can't bend my left arm well because of the cuff, and I have to carry this thing with me everywhere I went. As if its not enough, I have to record down what I'm doing every half an hour, on a piece of paper provided.

Actually this whole monitoring thingy looks like some stalker to find out what I exactly do in my life everyday. The recording diary is one thing, but that machine measures my blood pressure so frequently, they will know if I surf porn ogle at girls think of sex get excited. Luckily the World Cup and common test and returning of papers are all over.

Then I realise that actually I can bathe, stripping the thing off and putting it back during the half-an-hour interval. But the cuff doesn't look easy to put on, so I shall decide later.

The machine just took one reading. I don't understand what the rest of the values meant, but the "pulse" reads "65 bpm". Yay.

P C M C GP
E O B B C5

Haix.

[EDIT]

Tachycardia is what they wrote in my medical status report. It sounds dangerous. Haha.

Surfing through Wikipedia I read that caffeine indirectly causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow to muscles. Then I remembered that on both occassions I had downed one cup (the first time) and one can (today) of coffee before making my way there. Could it be the cause?

[END OF EDIT]

My heart rate is still high.

My appointment was 8.30am, but I only went there after school at about 1pm so that I can do my napfa re-test(silver!) and computing coursework(I am stuck =( ).

During the test they asked me to try and take a nap, even switching off half the lights and playing music (I heard My Heart Will Go On, among others) for me. But people who have been there will know that its impossible to do so. At least for me.

Apparently it was abit of a mistake to do my 2.4k run before the ECG according to the MOs there, but I don't think it affected me because I didn't do any exercise the first time I went there. Besides this time round I had a five-hour rest.

They think that a one-min ECG test is not enough, and a half-an-hour test is not enough, so they decided to make it a twenty-four hour one.

In comes a 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring, or ABP, for short.

Some small machine will be attached to my body, along with some cuff and rubber tubing (the machine got pouch somemore), and I go home, returning it the following day. (I read interpreted it wrongly at first; I thought I have to sleep there. Haha.)

The brochure they gave me went to the extent of comparing it to a pen in a picture, just to show how small it is. But I guess it should be really small. Because my mother just told me my brother had one recently too, and I didn't even know that!

The only bad thing is I have to skip school for two days, and I can't bathe.

Next Tuesday will be the day I have a machine and its wires molesting my body.

Not too long ago my mother's boss treated her to durians, and i ate almost half the durians.

Today the boss of the coffee shop my mother is working in struck lottery, so treated everyone to durians.
And I finished half of it again. Haha.

With the distribution of the prelims timetable and the reminders that prelims are a mere 48 days away, slowing ticking down, the stress and pressure are beginning to build up, slowly but surely.

And when I see the paper 0s for the various subjects scheduled on the last few days of the exam weeks, I can only sigh and regret for not working hard enough. 68 for maths now? For what?

At a Business forum I attended today:
SMU: We conduct interviews to students who are coming in...blah blah..and we have rejected students who have 4As before because they do not speak up during interviews etc etc blah.

NUS: My nephew never spoke a word during the interview and he got in.

Haha. "Interesting" talk.

So while other schools start lessons late, we end ours early instead.

I failed chem. Again.

Boycott Today!

For democracy!

For freedom of speech!

I GOT 67 for MATHS!!!!!!!!!

This is one of the greatest shocks (or rather, surprises) I got in recent days. I was expecting a just-pass for it when the teacher gave back the papers this morning. This is the best maths results I had since year1 mid years (I got 41/50 in a common test in the first 3 months) ! Haha.

After flipping through the results I realise that I could have gotten 73 (an A!), if I had replaced 2 minus signs with 2 plus signs (2marks!), finished up the working for one question (2marks!), and realise that my answers for a part 2 of a question could be taken from part 1 (2 marks! I didn't realise the 2 parts were linked =( ). It could have even went up to 75 if I had not rounded off my answers for one question and used exact fractions instead of decimals for another question.

It could even have gone up to 78 if I had not read "occur more than 4 times" wrongly and written P(x>=4). That would have made me one of the highest in class!!!! I think.

Then again, I shouldn't harp too much on all the "could have", because if I really "could have" then I would already have gotten better marks. I can't turn back time, so I shall accept it.

Currently this B grade is the highest grade I got since the Year1 mid year (my A for computing..... =( ), beating my previous highest of the two C grades during the March common tests. Not to say I'm satisfied with my marks, but I'm happy. Haha.

While I'm quite sure I won't be doing well for physics and chemistry, I'm still staying optimistic, Even if the average chem mcq mark was 14/30. Hoping at least a pass in both. Heh. I do hope those chunks of stuff I wrote for computing will get me a good score. I want an A! At least a B!

Besides surprising myself the 67 was also high enough to surprise some of my friends, who went "Even QW can score so well, why can't you?!?". Hahahahahahahaha.

This 67 was powerful enough to keep me awake throughout the day, despite having only 3-4 hours of sleep because of last night's World Cup match. I collapsed only at the end of the day, during computing lecture. Ha.

I wonder if people will think I'm crazy, getting all hyped up over a 67, when others are worrying over not getting A or 90/100 or something.

I need to mug!

Speaking of World Cup, last night's Portugal vs France wasn't exactly exciting. In fact I fell asleep and missed the penalty kick, waking up in time to watch the replay only. The only exciting moments were only in the last minutes of the match where Portugal were desperate for a goal. Otherwise the match was no kick (pun!)

Today the house comm people went up on stage to announce that the final match next Monday will be screened in college live. I have not decided if I want to go to school and watch. I prefer the college letting us to go sch later that day. =(

After this I shall take a nap, before preparing for tomorrow's coursework.

Last but not least, godly download speeds!

Today was iCOMP farewell!

Actually I missed out much of it, because I was attending a engineering talk, so I was only in time for a cup of coke, a CD the juniors made for all the seniors, and a photo with the lab technicians.

iCOMP has been a very enjoyable time for me, definitely one of the greatest highlights during my two years in VJC. iCOMP was the place I relaxed after a hard day of work (even better than the student lounge!), the place that brought me laughter in the midst of the stress, the place where I made whacky friends. iCOMP indirectly allowed me to hang out in the lab technician room with the lab technicians, something which not many in school can do. How many people have heard the usually reserved lab techs sing with a guitar?

On the other hand, I regret that I did not contribute much to iCOMP. People think I am a dedicated member, turning up for every meeting every Wednesday. However, turning up for every meeting and not doing anything is the same as not turning up at all. In the past year and a half, the only major project I did was the Director package I created for the current affairs quiz. Otherwise, all I have done were just helping out with some simple filming of some concerts, and capturing them onto CDs.

I didn't do much.

As the seniors step down from iCOMP, the unique name that everyone know will be going down with us too, as the CCA changes its name to Infocomm Club. After my sec1/sec2 time in AHS Computer Club, this past year of iCOMP will be my next best memories of CCA.

"the 50th anniversary how"

"so who going esplanade"

I was bugged by my friends (ok la, only 2 actually) on the above issue. So I might as well ask everyone. Then err...I see if I can do something about it. Haha.

There are at least 3 events according to the AHS website and the alumni website.

1) Founders' Day celebrations
Date: 22th July Saturday
Time: 10am
Venue: Main school hall
Cost: Free

I should be going back on that day. To see how much the school has, err, changed.

2) 50th Anniversary Dinner
Date: 22th July Saturday
Time: 7pm
Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 1A
Cost: $50 for us.

I went to the ticket ordering thingy and they said: Consolidate your seats and order by the table to avoid being separated from your friends!
The thing they never say how many heads to one table. I think I shall email them later and ask ba.
Another thing is the payment. Apparently they only accept cheque through mail. $(50x10) in one cheque?

3) Concert
Date: 30th July Saturday (This is interesting, because 30th July is a Sunday. So I don't know if they are referring to Sat or Sun)
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall
Tickets: $20, $40, $60, $100

Have to call some number to get the tickets. Sistic?

Tag on the board if anyone is interested in any of those. Then I shall see how I can settle it ba.

I don't know what to do now.

I still remembered I said I wanted to blog on "achievements", but I'm not in the mood to blog about something so heavy now. Perhaps I may end up not talking about that at all.

All pentium3s and no pentium4 (or athlon) makes Qing Wei a dull boy. Heh.

I'm not exactly very free actually; I haven't revise my OOP (object-oriented programming, in case anyone wants to know), my school bag is empty, and empty tutorials and lecture notes are all over my files and the floor. Then again, in this relatively quiet and peaceful afternoon, I don't feel like doing anything. At least for now.

After today, it will be another term of mindless rush, in preparation for the final examinations in a not-too-distant time. I wonder if I can survive till the end of this year.

Yesterday was the class chalet. Turnout was a little disappointing, numbering just about half the class. But activities weren't too bad; I myself had fun cycling, playing soccer and frisbee.
Going home wasn't pleasant though. After missing out of the last train, my friend and I had settled for bus21, only for it to break down halfway, so swtiched to bus3. Plus another bus291, it took me 4 bus trips to reach my house. and two of them weren't necessary.

I should get my own bike next time.

Its so sad to see Brazil out of the World Cup. I stayed up to watch Brazil win, but in the end watched them lose instead. Apparently France exposed Brazil's weakness in defence and used it to their advantage, at the same time setting up a strong defensive front to stop their samba attacks.
Surprisingly Brazil did not play a good game yesterday; it was Zidane's performance that impressed me.
Then again, it won't be nice to see Brazil win every time. Just like what Ferrari did to Formula One. Some variations will be nice. Haha.

But then, the World Cup doesn't look like World Cup when no South American team is in the top four. Haha.

With the few options left I would pick Italy and Portugal to be in the finals, and see Italy win. Although I think it will be Germany winning France instead.

All songs suddenly sound so nice when one listens to them on a quiet afternoon.

My mother just woke up. With a person walking around the house and giving the occassional nag, the peacefulness of the afternoon house is broken. Haha.

Its really very disappointing when the team I support loses in a soccer match. And worse still, losing in something stupid called penalty shoot out.

I hate Germany. For killing my favourite team.

I have experienced at least two other penalty shootouts up till this day. The very first was during my primary school days where there was a little inter-class soccer competition organised by the PE department after the PSLE. My class lost in the 3rd-4th placing match because of the penalty shootout.

The second one was the VJC-MJC match last year.

Penalty shootouts are fun to watch only if one is not at all related to either team. Otherwise, they are powerful enough to give heart attacks.

Finally the common tests are over. The only paper which I knew what I was writing was computing. I should be able to pass Maths, although maybe just a passing mark. Physics wasn't too good, and I am going to continue my record of not passing Chemistry. Haix.

The end of this common test was much more anticipated by me, because I can finally watch World Cup matches without worrying about studies, or at least while I am watching.

While the rest of the world can indulge themselves in men and soccer balls and tutorials and lecture notes, the poor computing students will be starting their third coursework next week, for me, right on the very first day when I return to school. This 12-hour coursework will be carrying the heaviest weightage, and the last time I touched OOP was about 2 months ago.



This picture was taken using my hp. Haha. I borrowed a bluetooth adapter from my friend (I seem to have borrowed many things from him) and tried hooking up my hp to Fedora Core last night. Gnome has bluetooth packages which allow me to communicate with my hp quite easily. The bad thing is there's no GUI, so i have to type the commands out in the terminal.

That was last night.

A tutorial I read on the Net recommended an application called ObexFTP, which supposedly "allows filesystem browsing as well as automating complete backups of your files" in my hp. But I had trouble installing it so I gave up halfway.

Then this morning when I woke up, I decided to try connecting again. But hell I couldn't get the obex server working. So now while the computer and hp can see each other, they cannot connect up to each other. I think its because my failed attempt at trying to install that ObexFTP screwed up the entire thing.

I think my computer is in one big mess after I did so many things to it. But I have not yet understood the Linux filesystem, so I don't know how to go about clearing the rubbish. I am tempted to format my entire computer. Heh.

To say the truth sometimes I do get tired fiddling around Linux. Being a new user it is rather frustrating whenever I run into problems and there's no one I can turn to for help. Tutorials, both online and print, are too difficult to understand because usually users of Linux are already very knowledgeable in Unix, and computer science in general. Following online tutorials step-by-step to set up a printer or bluetooth support without understanding what I'm doing is just not my style. I seem to have dived into the ocean without learning how to swim yet. Yes, Linux (or rather, Unix) is as huge as the ocean.

From Starhub's Terms and Conditions:
9. Use in a Network Environment
a. You must not use or permit the use of the Service for the purposes of providing or operating any server services (including but not limited to HTTP/web, SMTP/mail and FTP/file transfer services).

=(

Actually I already sort of know that I'm not allowed to set up my own server, this being a home subscription plan after all. Still, the truth hurts. Haha.


Fedora Core comes with a whole range of packages that allow users to set up servers, and I wanted to try it, but...
So I have to continue to stick with Blogger, until I find some way of getting around this problem. Actually I still have an FTP account here, which I have not touched for a long time, but its rather restricted, this being a school server after all.

Today is 1st July! Starhub officially upgraded its Maxonline 2000 service to 4000, although I think some trial runs had been done over the holidays. There is a very slight increase in download speeds when I used it this morning, but because my computer is slow in drawing up the graphics, I don't end up browsing the Net faster. I think the increase only made my buffer being filled up faster. Haha.

I. Need. A. Bloody. New. Comp. Pu. Ter.

My father seems convinced that the house needs a new one. But he wants good reasons to justify. Even after telling him that I will be using my own bucks to pay. I cannot tell him I want one so that I can whack those pixels on the screen, because he (and I) know very well that my A Levels are coming (f* the alevels!). I haven't thought of a good reason.

A class chalet is coming up! My crazy class is going to have a 2day1night chalet starting from tomorrow, perhaps as a little pit stop before we throw ourselves into another "exciting" term.

I wonder if anyone will read each and every single word that I typed here. I don'y know why, but I can comfortably read my friends' blogs without problems, but I get sick when I see my own blog with chunks of words tighly squashed together. Maybe I should try another font.

While reading the newspapers today I saw something which is really amusing.

DOOR IS ZIDANE SOUVENIR

Leipzig: The stadium door at Leipzig which French star Zinedine Zidane kicked in anger after being substituted during the 1-1 group draw with South Korea is to be kept in its damaged state as a souvenir.

"I initially was goin to ask Fifa to reimburse us," said stadium director Winfried Lonzen. "But now, we are going to preserve this door deformed by a kick from one of the greatest footballers."
-From AFP

And people are rating the chances that David Beckham will vomit again after World Cup matches. Odds are being offered by bookmakers.

How interesting the World Cup is. Haha.

I received an sms while i was studying my organic chem.

+659xxxxxxx
24/06/06 12:23
Come back to ahs and buy lots of 50th anniversary dinner and concert tickets, leh!

Because I lost all the contacts the other time I went to repair my phone, so i replied [below is my "sent messages" folder. The words behind were meant to make it less impolite.]:
+659xxxxxxx
24/06/06 12:32
Sorry u are? Stil got sell ah? Both concert n dinner tickets?

The reply I got:
+659xxxxxxx
24/06/06 12:34
I'm ms chan! Pls get comp club members to support.

!!!! [I swear that was the first time I received an sms from her with a word "leh!" inside. I was expecting a friend or junior!]

So my reply[I haven't store her contact yet, below is "sent messages" folder]:
+659xxxxxxx
24/06/06 12:44
Oh. Haha tt sounds abit unlike u. R tickets sales poor?

Her reply:
+659xxxxxxx
24/06/06 12:51
U alumni's response is quite disappointing, leh.

And so, I took the initiative to encourage people to go, by taking out some time to type this. Haha.

"I didn't want to blog until the common test, .." (I realised I didn't type the word "after" haha) but I seem to be contradicting myself.

I read a forum letter recently, and subsequently listened to mrbrown's podcast, on this very suay guy who received a summons letter from the Media Development Authority (read: government), apparently for not paying broadcasting licensing fees.

The only problem is that he does not even have a television set at home.

Sounds like the matter is solved? No! He still had to pay the fine! Because he did not tell the authority that he does not have a television set!

I marvel at the intelligence of the government. =x

Recently there has been alot of discussions on the issue of English standards in Singapore.

http://blog.vjc.sg/2006/06/19/because-our-native-tongue-is-singaporean/

This is lengthy, but a good read. Let me grab a couple of quotes from it which i liked.

"Every couple of years or so, the education ministry comes up with a press release highlighting yet another problem with our education system. My question is this: If you have so many problems, maybe the problem lies with you?"

"Everytime there’s an issue with education, I barely see a student write anything in the Forum. It’s always people who have kids (parents know close to nothing about the system, by the way), or educators (who are often the problem anyway), or just someone with an opinion (oh please, who doesn’t)."

I have read countless forum letters in the newspapers, on educators and the general public who came up with all kinds of suggestions that they think can increase the standards of English.

I remembered one letter was about introducing English and Higher English, similar to our Mother Tongue and Higher Mother Tongue, where more capable students can study literature. Well I wonder if that was a good way, because it is, then we didn't had to reform our Mother Tongue syllabus.

Back to my friend's article, I agree that our education is too tied up with our economy. Since young we have been brainwashed to memorise those F! formulas and theories, so that we can do well for examinations, get into top schools, get a good degree, so that we can get a good job that earn us good money.

That made sense, because all this money has translated into the comfortable homes, stable supplies of food, and fine security we have today. But if education is seen as preparing ourselves for a "prosperous future", all the passion to gain knowledge, is any in the first place, will be killed.

The main point of the article is that passion is the way to solve the countless problems that keep popping up. I myself put that into action by substituting Biology for Computing haha. Passion often can be a huge driving force in getting things done. I think one will not anything difficult if he has the passion to learn.

Unfortunately, now that our education is so tied up with economy, even passion cannot let one go far. Everything appears easier said than done.

I don't study economics, so I don't know anything about money. But still, I dislike the way money is controlling people.

Someone wrote into today's newspapers about not having enough local content in our electronic media, which contributes to the drop in English standards and also the lack of national identity (an issue brought up recently). I'm not going much into this today, but I thought, no one is supporting these local content, what's the use of putting so much of that into our media?

Singaporeans are full of praises for Korean and Japanese dramas [soccer], and Taiwanese variety shows [European soccer leagues], but there is no lack of criticism when it comes to local content [soccer], no matter how much hard work the producers [players] put in.

I didn't want to blog until the common test, but I decided to after reading a very interesting article.

Flipping through the Chinese newspapers Lian He Zao Bao today I saw this huge page on AHS's 50th anniversary, which is coming up next month.

The article said that the school is going to pay a special tribute to our long-time school servant, Mr Hassan, and the entire article was about him. True to what the article said, everyone in AHS knows Hassan. But, at least for me, my knowledge about him is limited to just the facts that he is our long-time school servant, and that he lived in our school. This article truly enlightened me and made me understand more about him.

He has worked in AHS for a grand total of 48 years (that's almost half a century!), from a young man of 20 years old to an elderly of 68 years today, having served six principals. He is so loyal to AHS, he named his three sons such that their names take on the three alphabets A, H, and S! OMFG! In fact I didn't know he was married with children. =x

And so, while I know that he lived in AHS, I didn't know his entire family lived in AHS too, until 8 years ago when they moved out. Also, I didn't know that he was in charge of printing the examination papers!

Spending almost his entire life working for AHS, I respect Mr Hassan. Deep from my heart.

The article also gave some information on AHS's past, like that fact that Lee Kong Chian's grandchildren studied at AHS. I had expected them to study at schools like HCI.

AHS is organising a whole lot of activities for this anniversary, and I think I shall be going, although it will cost $50. That's ok I guess, given that its a twice in a lifetime (I have to wait another 50 years for another event similar like this!) chance. Anyway, I've saved some money from not going to Prom Night!

While AHS is not as established as VS, or as famous and popular as DHS, AHS is unique in itself, with its own characteristics and features that cannot be found in other schools. This article brought out that little bit of sense of loyalty that still remained in me.

The AHS Alumni Website

Its 6.20am in the morning and I'm here blogging. Haha. I couldn't get back to sleep after waking up so I decided to come up here to check the World Cup scores.

So yesterday was my turn to go to CMPB for my NS medical checkup. Everything was fine, surprisingly, all the way until Station 6. Apparently my heart rate is too high, and so I have to go back in one month's time to have my ECG retaken again. Wtf.
I guess I was too nervous or something, being in a new place with strangers everyone, so my heart beat abit faster. Haix.

Sian.

The checkup process was very neat despite the large numbers of people there. Go to one station, done the stuff there, and go to the next one, check, and next one. Perhaps that's the characteristic of the military; everything follows a procedure.

Anyway, the doctor's attempt to distract me from the blood drawing was not helpful. At. All. He was asking me whethe I had a girlfriend or not, and talked about giving excuses about not finding a gf etc. I couldn't understand what he was saying, so I gave him crap answers, making me look like a fool. He returned me crap replies and continued talking crap, making him look like a fool, because no one in the room understood what he was talking about. =x

So far the World Cup hasn't brought me much surprise except for the Australia-Japan match. But lately i realise that there is alot of thrill in supporting the 'minority' teams, especially if they managed to score one against the better teams and put a face of horror on their faces and slience in the crowd. Haha. I first realised this when I decided to support Togo when Korea played a disappointing first half. Even in the second half, I don't find Korea's goals as exciting as Togo's. Lol.

So now, adding to my list of supported teams, namely Singapore, Brazil, Netherlands and Argentina, I shall add Togo too! I don't think I get to watch any more group stage matches, but next time if I see the 'minority' teams performing better than the 'better' teams, I won't hestitate to support them. Lol.

The excitement of group matches, in my opinion, is when the final matches are being played. There we can see all the 'Country X must beat Country Y and hope Country Z loses. Country Z just needs a draw with Country W and they have not lost in the past 38 years' conditions. This is also the time where we can see countries cheating to get through to the next round. Example? Denmark vs Sweden during Euro 2004.

I find it weird as to why the news does not have extensive reporting on the World Cup 2006. I still remembered Euro 2004 coverage was very extensive, with both stations having dedicated sports reporters and an entire section of news on the competition alone. Now? News merely showed match replays of the goals and near-miss.

The start of common test is coming closer and closer and I'm still having difficulty settling down to work. Argh.

The only bad thing about blogging so early is that I have to type softer on the keyboard. Otherwise in the dead silence of the morning I can easily wake the whole family up.

After spending a farking bloody long time on the computer, I finally got my Brother MFC-210C to work with Fedora Core! It can now print and scan on the Linux! =D

Looking at the new iCOMP website that the juniors have created, I will say no doubt its one of the best ones I see these days.

If only iCOMP remains as the Internet and Computing Club and not what Infocomm Club that the IDA wants us to call ourselves.

If only AHS's Computer Club was half as good as iCOMP.

If only I was half as good as the iCOMP president.

Finally after three weeks of stay at the repair shop, my Z520i is back in my hands, half recovered.

Apparently they only repaired my screen, which took up the three weeks because they didnt have stock for the cable inside the phone, and had to wait for the cable to come. I had expected them to rewrite the phone software, but no they kept it intact. So only half of the problems were solved.

Handphone numbers in my phone appeared as numbers and not as the corresponding names, even when the contacts existed. I solve the problem by re-saving all the contacts. Then I cannot run any of my Java applications, slapping an "Application error" alert in my face when I accessed them. The default theme is "corrupted", so I have to settle for a "Mistic" theme that sets an almost white-coloured background. Nothing special, except that the font colour is white too. And more and more images are beginning to disappear, in their places either a cartoon of a picture broken into two, or simply just black and nothing else.

I'm not complaining or something; I still like Sony Ericsson and the Z520i alot, but I just felt that quality control should have been better than expected. Of couuse it may not be their fault, perhaps it was me who didn't take good care of it. Then again, shouldn't it be able to withstand mild shock or mishandle?

I spent a little time last night trying to find out if there is any way possible I can replace the phone software myself, but my efforts were in vain. I either write my own O.O ,which is physically(referring to me and the phone's 16mb of memory) and mentally impossible, or stick with it until the end of the year. The latter seems easier, but my hands are itchy. Haha.

And so, the World Cup is here. The tournament for the world's most popular sport has attracted billions of people around the world, fans and non-fans, to catch "22 men chasing a ball" and watch them kiss their rings or take off their shirts (and robot dance haha) when they manage to score.

I still remember the World Cup four years ago threw up plenty of surprises. I myself watched France fall to Senegal, which threw my predictions totally off, and Ronaldino's shocking but cunning free kick against England. Four years on, its now almost at the other side of the globe, and thanks to my Internet Service Provider I can only watch four matches. Perhaps a little consolation is that the important matches only come after common test.

I did not waste my time watching the opening match though, seeing the ball hitting the nets six times. Costa Rica's both goals looked suspiciously off-side, but never mind haha.

My take? I support Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands, for no particular reason at all. Any of them win will make me happy, but I pick Singapore Brazil.

Yesterday I went on a little "military" journey.

Morning was spent at a DSTA building at the Science Park. The DSTA people gave us a talk on the DSTA scholarship, which was exactly the same as the one I heard when they came to VJC for scholarship talk. There were also talks by two men, one navy guy who briefly told us some of the technologies in the new shealth frigates Singapore recently got. The other was a middle-aged guy who deals with electromagnetics at DSO.

After lunch buses took us to the SAF Centre of Military Experimentation, and that's where the excitement began. Located inside a camp, its a small building which consists of three labs which they supposedly try out new technologies to help them fight better battles.

There is this lab up on the 2nd storey which looks like some LAN game centre/underground hacking centre. There are computers all over the place running powerful workstations, some complete with joysticks that simulate fighter jets and choppers and tanks, all fighting out in one same battlefield that can be seen and tracked on other computers. Located in a corner is a cluster of computers where commercial off-the-shelf software like Black Hawk Down and Counterstrike and Generals and Battlefield, among others, were installed for play.

Besides gaming there are also terminals where people develop these simulators. When I was there I saw at least two female programmers who were, I think, doing some debugging work on Visual Studio. Female hard-core programmers. Haha.

Down at the first level there was this mock command post where there are huge touchscreens with numerous other lcd screens which supposedly allows commanders to transmit information to foot soldiers in the field. The hosts explained some of their technologies to us, like tablet PCs and PDAs running 3D maps of Singapore on Google Earth-like software, and also their private search engine which they use to hunt out terrorists. Maybe they will use that to hunt this blog down huh? Haha.

Overall I find this trip very informative and fun, especially the SCME tour. This lab, having just set up not too long ago, is not something I see in news often, so through this tour I learnt more about real cool place. Although a little part of me prefers to be carrying a gun and running out in the field, I don't mind working in this lab too, if I get a chance to go in the first place.

I have just heard the most exciting news that can happen to me.

"From 1 July, MaxOnline 2000 and MaxOnline FlexiSurf 2000 will be MaxOnline 4000 and MaxOnline FlexiSurf 4000. With higher combined download speeds of up to 4,000Kbps, you can surf, play and shop at double the bandwidth at no additional cost!

What's more, existing customers will enjoy an automatic upgrade. There's no change in hardware nor subscription rate. Simply power off and on your existing cable modem from 1 July to enjoy faster access speed right away!"

From here

YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have experienced download speeds of 300++KB/s, which translated to 2400++kbps, during some of my downloads recently, which I thought was impossible for my 2000 plan. But I never thought they were going to increase the download speeds!

Actually the increase does not really affect me much; a price cut would have been better, but I'm easily contented =D

TALKING TO MYSELF...... II

My mum is at home today; her day off from work, although the house doesn't make too much of a difference with or without her around.

The PC Show is back again this year, showing just about the same stuff these IT exhibitions show every year. But wth PC Show is shifted to Suntec this year from Expo, meaning its a longer trip down, should I decide to go.

Anyway, these IT exhibitions doesn't exhibit things that I want to see, and going to these shows just make me more desperate in wanting to get a new computer. Argh.

Do I sound weird in my entries? I wonder, because these days my entries sound (or rather, read) differently from my usual self. Either I have been stressed out by school too much before the holidays, or I have been "bored" out by the holidays. Someone drag me out of my house!!!

Alternatively, I can bury myself in more books as a countermeasure, but this computer is stopping me to do so. So perhaps someone can do me the favour by destroying this computer so that I can get a new computer I can get my ass down to work.

TALKING TO MYSELF......

After feeding myself with two of the four dumplings on the table, and drinking a cup of coffee, I'm here, again.

Am I contradicting myself? Never mind.

Lately I have been eating quite a bit of durian, and now that Dragonboat Festival is coming, soon I will be stuffing myself with more dumplings. Coupled with my procrastination to run three times a weeks at the stadium, very quickly I will be down with all kinds of highbloodpressurediabetesfatscholesterolheroinandwhatnot and I may die by the end of the holidays!

I just realised Fedora Core 5 came with a "Gnomad 2", which is an application that allows me to read and write to my Zen's MP3 compartment. (I kind of knew it exists, but I didnt know it was inside the CDs.) This means I don't have to switch to Windows to transfer my songs anymore!

Actually I seldom use Windows now, because for some weird reason the virtual memory is disabled and I can't enable it, and it crashes applications one by one.

I spent half a day yesterday fiddling around with the computer, installing Java plugin and Realplayer 10, and connecting the hi-fi to the sound card. Muahaha.

FC5 actually came with Bluetooth capability, but I don't know how to activate it and I don't have a device to try on now. I'm quite reluctant to read the lengthy documentation.

Argh. Seriously, I should be mugging instead. But I hope by the end of the holidays I can fully understand the Linux filesystem.