Social Settings...

As mentioned earlier,Econs Makeup Lecture was boring and to exacerbate our misery,Ms Tan Chien Ming decides to extend the duration of the lecture due to the simple reason that she could not cover her lecture within the stipulated time. I suspect that one of the main reasons why she failed to complete it in time is due to:




(1) Her periodic moments of silence during the lecture which lasted for eternity.
(2) Her ever-so-slow monologue of which one could predict what she will say next even before she finishes.


Nevertheless, it's already a thing of the past so, I shall not harp on it.


In the afternoon, my family and I celebrated my paternal grandfather's birthday at Coleman's at The Peninsula Excelsior Hotel. As usual, Er Yi chanced upon a good buffet deal which was amongst the promotions of her credit card (1-for-1 buffet if I'm not wrong) and so we decided on a buffet lunch there. Initially, the Grandparents were quite against the idea of dining there as they preferred to stick to their old hangout:Mitzis Cantonese Restaurant, but they gave in in the end.

Buffet was not that bad although I think that their specialty would be their desserts and the teh tarik





Just look at the bubbly froth!

I have to say that the lunch was an enjoyable one: no squabbles in between,just good food and pleasant coversation.

Shopped for awhile before heading to Cuiwen's Church BBQ. The rest of the Cheapskate Clan (including the boyfriends) were already there participating in the games when I arrived after a long 40-minute bus journey from City Hall. All I have to say is THANK GOD FOR SZE YEE!

And Cui,thanks for the BBQ although I wished we had more time to talk...haha!

I finally found out the reason why I'm so tired nowadays (although it seems like I'm forever in this lethargic state but this time, it felt worse...)

I'm starting to develop a fever.

Perhaps it's a good thing cos I wouldn't have to go to school, no opportunity costs cos there's nothing to look forward to anyway, but Thank God that Maib was nice enough to help search for medicine on her own and administer it to me.

Speaking of Maib, I managed to psycho her to go for a haircut and this is a victory in its own right,knowing that Maib has a stubborn temperament. Of course, when there's a gain, there's a loss (Yes, Sze Yee... I can see you nodding your head in approval!) In return for her haircut, she gets a bubble tea treat from me and I have to take her swimming after Chinese New Year. But everyone's happy to see her mob of hair trimmed to a T so all's good. Hmm,the hairdresser seemed a lil' pissed though cos I kept instructing him to "cut shorter" or to "give it more shape instead of a straight cut". For your information, my sister's hair is so thick that 1 haircut for Maib=2 haircuts for adult customers...

OK! And now,it's goodnight to all...

It's been a long time...

After what seemed like eternity, I managed to push myself to update my blog...hmm,seems like the blogging momentum is finally taking its toll on me...


Frankly speaking, I can't remember what really happened the past few days cos this week just seemed like a breeze and I'm not saying that it was an easy week but that it passed so fast that I can't really remember the gist of the events.


Due to the Road Run,which took place today, yesterday was a long day for me.Normally,my day would end at 11.50am but yesterday it ended at around 4 plus due to double period of Ms. Kon's Lit and single period Physical Geog lecture...and my brain is undergoing an information overload and this sucks...



Oh! Just to digress a bit, Rhyss is flying off to the Philippines tomorrow and she wouldn't be back until 11 days later! Boohoo! Come back soon Rhyss! We'll miss you! :)


Anyways, back to the Road Run,our class had an amazing attendance record of 13 people to cheer Eagle House,Woo~ but it was rather hilarious seeing the teachers all dressed in their "sporting best" especially Lorraine Lee and Ms.Kon...

Actually we planned to walk all the way but in the end, Shannon,Evatte,Charlene,Sam,Lizard and I started to run-walk (!!!) but towards the finishing line, we arrived "in style!" heh heh!


In conclusion, the Road Run was a total waste of time. Expected it to be more exciting but turned out to be a complete bore. The only thing that provided comic relief was Zhiyi and her classmates renting bikes to cycle on the running trail, not giving a hoot about whether they were supposed to run or not...



Spotted this during the Road Run. We wandered off halfway...




Clear blue skies...Fresh, hot sand...the breeze in your hair...an imperfect day for a Road Run...

Lunched with Shannon,Evatte,Emily and her History Seminar Group at Long John's Bedok before heading home to sleep... (sleep away all the bad memories)

Hmm..I think my mensus is coming soon cos all the depressing thoughts are coming back again...Just by thinking of schoolwork,tutorials,make-up lectures (which I have to attend tomorrow,argh!!!),more work,CHOIR (another level of stress! I wished you would be more reasonable... ),people....(sometimes I feel that working with animals is much better than dealing with people. I rather an animal bite me than to hear people stabbing people's hearts and backs...)

Anyways, this was supposed to be a happy blog...so, :D

Today was the day where the O level results were released and I just can't help but think back to the time where we were going through the same stressful situation a year ago...I was talking to Fan Cuiwen while she was on her way to school and she was really quite nervous cos normally, conversations with her would be full of shrieking and non-stop laughter but she was really very serious and tensed just now...her heart was "beating every milli-second". Same goes for Virnice and Michelle...but I'm glad that they did well...Virnice is contemplating AJC or TJC and Mich is thinking TPJC..HAHAHAHA!! SEE YOU THERE!

As for Fan, I'll be meeting her soon after the Chinese New Year Week to spend time with her. She's even planning to take leave to accommodate my schedule! HEH HEH HEH!! I can't wait! It's been ages since I last saw her!

Alright, guess that pretty much sums up everything I wanna say...

Stupid Econs Lecture spoils my day...

all in a day's work...

Finally! It is the month of February which means around 9 more months to go before I experience true freedom from the clutches of Singapore's tertiary education system!


Anyway,just to recall what happened recently, Sze Yee popped over my place and we had a nice long chat.Well, of course we did other things besides talking and it was really nice cos I sorta missed her...(happy eh,Sze Yee?) =)
She crashed my school just to eat the Roti Prata in the canteen today..hahaha!
Now for some unflattering photos of the 2 of us doing Hard Gay to the sounds of Ricky Martin's Livin da vida loca...WOO!!!!

In Choir today, we celebrated Sochenda's birthday!!! Haha...I'm glad she enjoyed herself even though she was too smart to know that we were planning a surprise for her! We tricked her into coming to sectionals quickly by saying that Weilin and Ai Ping are mad at her for coming late for practice but she was quite suspicious even though she was terrified that Weilin and Ai Ping were really angry with her (which would be impossible!)

So cutting the cake (we gave her a bear too!)
Altos!

Anyway,Soloists of the Day were Henry and Ai Ping...nice! Songs we learnt today were nice too especially the one which Joshua Habermann recommended. After practice, CHARLIE, Mimi, Duc,Shannon and I went for Alpha dinner at Ai Ping's church. Quite nice to see them all go (especially Mimi) and I'm positive everyone had a good time. Food was good (our table was so cluttered with all the chocolate wrappers,empty drink packets, chicken bones and empty plates! But it was ESPECIALLY MESSY at Duc's area! I wonder why...hahaha!) Games were simple but enjoyable. Charlie Brown soon established a reputation of being proficient in another language (Japanese) and suddenly there was an influx of people who asked him to sign on that portion of the Bingo card. Actually we wanted to go around asking for signatures but we ended up staying where we were and signing on the papers of those who looked for us..."like superstars!" Oh ya! How can I forget to mention this?!?! FINALLY, I get to see Jerome in real life and not in photos! Hahaha...and Charlie Brown had to ask whether I was excited and whether I was secretly peeking (...)

Been spending a lot lately on shows: Vocal Consort's Concert at Esplanade, Sam's TWO Band Concerts, the Phantom of the Opera Musical in April at Esplanade, and Junwei's gig at ITE Dover AND, I'm gonna talk about the latter cos I can't believe I got tricked!!!! Who started the rumour about the terrorist attack?!?!?!

Anyway, Valentine's Day is coming and I'll be spending time with A SPECIAL SOMEONE whom I love a lot...

My Brother.

As 14th February is his birthday, and as I have no SPECIAL SOMEONE to go out with (I'm an official member of the Spinsters' Club,right Rhyss?) The best thing I can look forward to is Cuiwen's rose which she plans to send to me (supposedly) through the inter-college friendship week or something...heh heh!

"this love is taking its toll on me..."

Iron Lady of Choir!
Trying to be Wallace & Gromit (?)

From the heart

Bitching

Something others do and something which one unconsciously engages in.(Although I have to say that most of the time I am aware yet I still persist.)


Something which is,most of the time, inaccurate due to the massive spreading of similar rumours but which, something which we tend to believe easily.


Something which you can't help doing due to an obvious and recurring weakness in the subject you're bitching about.


Something which you have no right to do as it is considered as passing judgement on someone when it should actually be settled by God.


The more I type this, the more guilty I am. I can say now that it is wrong to gossip and talk bad about people but once I'm in a group, it just happens naturally. It's always the case and I'm not proud of it!

Sometimes I try to be conscious of my tongue and keep my words to myself:being quiet the whole time the gossip is making its rounds. However, in the end, the pressure becomes so immense, like that of a water hose that is waiting to burst, that the floodgates of hell are released and everything starts coming out.


I just hate this weakness of mine. Can I just shut my mouth once and for all?


Things are made worse after people realised that I am God's child. Maybe I need to learn it the hard way. Maybe God would heighten my flaws, take away what little talents left in me just to show me how imperfect I am and make me realise who I am to question others when I'm worse than them?



From the depths of my heart, Lord, I want to change and be a better person:not one who brings people down. Help me to see people with your eyes. Sometimes the best person is the one who listens more than he speaks. Help me to learn to pray for them to replace each gossip I have said, each negative word I have uttered about them....

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

Actually I have no intention to blog for a long time, partly due to studies and other commitments but it just came as a random thought.


I was reading the additional mini-sermon which came with the "Our Daily Bread" and this time, it was about Knowledge and Wisdom. It states that Knowledge without Wisdom is nothing as you would be constantly listening to the many voices and not knowing which is the correct one. This leads me to think about Life in JC and the sudden influx of knowledge that is hastily thrusted on our weary minds. I realised that the more I understand how things work, for example,how the economy responds to price signals and why inflation and many other economical jargon takes place among other things, the more confused I become. Just like what the sermon said, my mind would soon become a computer overloaded with too much information that it is bound to crash one day.

The more knowledge we acquire, the more we have to see things through different perspectives. Also, we are expected to have a wider scope of our subject. An example would be Literature. In secondary school, Lit was not as complex as now with regards to analysis and essay structure but now, there's poetry and prose comparison: we have to question from both sides and argue with substantial points. The same goes for GP: wider scope, more marks...no black and white areas, there are always the "greys" to be considered. Recently, we are told to take a stand regarding the debate of God vs. Science. When is this going to end?



No wonder adults often say that they would very much want to be children again: carefree, without worries. This is indeed a case of "Ignorance is Bliss." Does education really give you more knowledge or more headaches?

"Teach less, learn more", they say...


Lord, give me the Wisdom to study smart. What's the point of poring through lecture readings and tutorials,understanding everything there and then but forgetting them soon after going through everything? I know that I'm not as academically well-off as many around me but give me the Wisdom to know what to do such that I would be able to perform sufficiently to go where you want me to...

Back to the Status Quo

My sister got a new bed. And with it came many problems and packing,throwing,re-organising and conflicts. Problems regarding the ergonomics of the room and how it should be arranged in such a way that it maximises room space as well as what should be retained and discarded (sentimentality vs. practicality) and many more.


As to conflicts, actually it's more of a personal issue. It's just that my aunt touched on a sensitive spot which epitomises me as a whole (Well,sort of...) She likened me to my third aunt in terms of untidiness and organisation and my third aunt's room is like...I don't know...you can't even see the floor cos its so messy? Of all things! Even though I'm not as neat and tidy as my Mum but to compare me to my third aunt is an insult to the extreme! It's equivalent to how I feel when someone hurls profanities at my parents.That's how serious it is!



Hmm,you may be thinking that it's just a small issue but to me, Organisation and Neatness is of utmost importance and this explains why I have this fetish of packing my clothes wardrobe every few weeks and why I can't stand the sight of books that are not properly aligned or even papers not neatly stacked together...and even though it may sound like a boast but I'm proud of how my room looks and how I organised it to be....I don't need my aunt to tell me nicely how things should be arranged and talk to me as if I don't know nuts about land maximisation of a tiny room in a four-room flat....ARGH!!!


But anyways, I should be glad that at least she bothered to help me organise and pack things...even though the comments were unnecessary...and all because of ONE BED...how ridiculous....Don't get me wrong: I still love my aunt. It's just that I thought she should know me well enough to know that she shouldn't say that continuously...(she's been harping on the issue of efficient space management for 2 consecutive days!)


Now my room is smaller than usual and smells of IKEA and my brother is King of 1/4 of the house....



After church I bumped into the most unexpected person in the heart of Yishun: Ms. Wendy Lee. (Yes,our Phy Geog teacher!) Apparently she attends a church nearby and she was waiting for her husband to pick her from his guitar lessons or something like that.Initially I wasn't sure whether it was her but she did a double-take when she saw me and came over to chat with my aunt and me....



Met Cui and Ping after that. Cui wore a skirt!!!! Pretty eh, Cuiwen? Chatted for quite some time before Ai Ping had to go and met up with Constance,Cui's church friend,after that. (She's funny!)



Woohoo~Cui in skirt!

Argh...can't take it anymore....hours and hours of packing and moving would inevitably turn a usually lethargic person like me to the living dead....

My many "Firsts" Today

"Happening" is what I would use to describe today. My "first" kicked off when Miss Kon sent me,along with a group of others, to the library after we failed to do our Lit Homework. Actually, I did it on rough paper and not in the Lit Journal and maybe it's because of that that I got sent out. Anyways, maybe this may be one of the last few times that I get punished in the educational system cos when we reach university, detention and such forms of punishment is unheard of. Therefore, being punished in JC occasionally is one of our last few opportunities to do so, at least according to CHARLIE'S philosophy...heh heh...

Shortly after, my next "first" came...I suffered a bout of severe menstrual cramps after running 5 rounds on the track during PE. It was not the first time getting mentrual cramps but this time, it was so serious that I was quite immobile! The pain was excruciating. The feeling was like rapid circulations of blood jabbing me periodically. Thanks to kind souls like Samantha, Charlene, Rhyss,Evatte, and many others who were concerned enough to ask me how I'm feeling time after time,who succeeded in shipping me to the canteen, buying food for me and giving me Panadol. THANK YOU!!! =)


Finally, the last "First" is the worse of all!!! In all my seventeen years on this earth, I have never felt more embarrassed and even though I know that by recording this incident here for the whole world to see would be embarrassing too, I'm sure I was humiliated enough already and further humiliation would mean nothing to me anymore. Anyways, to get straight to the point, my menstruation leaked and my green tpjc skirt was likened to the drainage basin that Ms.Lee taught for the lecture on rivers. (except that it's the Red Sea and not your normal,rushing water!) By the time I discovered the scarlet fountain of humiliation, Louis and Seng Keat (of all people) had already witnessed the Revival of the Red Sea in Singapore...ARGH!!!!

I alerted Mimi immediately and I side-stepped all the way to the toilet after enduring many "obstacles" along the way, one of them being Commando Lee who had a skeptical look on his face when we side-stepped past him. After I changed back to my PE attire, Mimi and I faced the world with courage again.(Well,actually me only!) Louis came up to me and told me that he and Seng Keat saw it but before they could alert me, I went out of the room already. As if that was not enough, Henry came up to me and said:

"Even though I don't know what's happening, from the look of it, I can roughly understand what is going on. Don't worry! Every girl has such moments."

The funny thing is, after my embarrassing incident, Ai Ping also had HER embarrassing moment of which it has to be kept under wraps. heh heh!!!


Ok,enough about my exciting day, now for the updates on today. Nelson ended practice at 5.25pm!!! Yay! I was actually prepared to endure through until 7pm..he rocks! Sochenda and Seng Keat were picked randomly for a solo today and Ms. Choo our new principal dropped in to listen to us. Emily paraded the new choir gown to the J2s and some ammendments to the colour of the gown were made. (One load off our minds!)


After that, dinner at Simei with what was supposed to be Terry,Luke,Prem,Seng Keat,Jillian,Fiona,Zhiyi,Violet (the new J1),Charlie Brown,Duc,Shannon,Ai Ping,Mimi and Valerie but as we couldn't decide promptly where we were having dinner, the Tenors left to find their own makan place. Val and Mimi ended up going home and the rest of us went to Eastpoint Foodcourt. Fact of the day: Duc IS very funny. Besides the fact that he's gross at times (digging his butt and ear and whatever hole he has and touching us after that!), he can really make people laugh..hahaha...

Ok! I'm off! =)