Nothing much happened today (or yesterday) but I just wanted to add a post because I am so 'sian3' bored.

I realised a few days ago that Qiaojie (or George) had this book that I had wanted to buy called "1421:the Year China discovered the world" by Gavin Menzies. It's an interesting book because the whole idea of the book is to offer proof that Chinese sailors like Zheng He had travelled not only to Africa and India but also discovered the New World, Australia and New Zealand long before the Western World did.

I noticed this book when I was lying down on his bed as I was listening to a CD that contained 130+ MP3's that belonged to his roommate, Yi Jian. Yi Jian likes many, many types of rock music and Kylie Minogue songs...no pop songs for him. On the other hand I listen to nearly the wide spectrum of music, spanning many genres. For example, I listen to hard rock, rap, pop, ballads, instrumental, emsembles etc. I have also enjoyed music in different languages: English, Mandarin, Malay, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, even Arabic. Anyway, I felt really nice listening to some of the loud songs that were blasting out of the speaker because they were songs that I haven't heard in a long, long time, like Tender by Blur and Shimmer by Fuel.

Had my Chemistry test today... it's not as hard as what the Chem teachers usually make it to be, but it's still quite impossible to score good results for it. I hope I can pass?

Oh, another thing is that the Chinese AO results will be out next Thursday or Friday, and sooner or later the PW results as well... But most students that are worrying now are those JC1 students because they keep worrying that they can't stay in TJ (results out tomorrow...)... I don't know how that feels because I had no choice to choose where to go... a bit like being thrown around?

The Hub is closing now...

Yesterday (Tuesday) I realised the need to be optimistic in overcoming obstacles in life...this is what happened...

Well, the day started with me cursing all the mosquitoes buzzing around my ears because I was awoken after I was bitten by one of them (somehow), at about 6.25 a.m. (I usually wake up around 6.45 a.m.) The sleep didn't help to rejuvenate myself...I was still lethargic when I woke up.

Anyway, I had set in my mind the 4 obstacles that I would have to face early in the morning. The first was having to write an essay during GP double-period. I settled on Q11 "The answer to crime is harsh laws. How far do you agree?". I had absolutely no idea how was I going to write the essay but when we had to pass up our essay I had 3 lines on the 4th page. I managed to complete it! And I was glad.

The second obstacle was the lightest of them all, enduring the Chinese period. That was quite swift...

The third obstacle was the Maths S paper test. I had 2 periods to prepare before the test but I was still worried and nervous when I entered Lecture Theatre 2. Imagine my relief when I found out how similar the questions asked were compared to what I had been revising in the past hour! Unfortunately though, I had no time to complete the paper (my brain's thinking to slow)... We only need to score 30% to pass...

The fourth obstacle was actually my weekly choir practice because I always feel pressured to sing properly... It's quite difficult for me sometimes coz I can't seem to get the pitch and techniques correct... Well, I'm still glad coz I get to stay in contact with music and I've actually improved my music knowledge along the way...

At the end of the day, I was rather relaxed... the day had went on smoothly and I atribute it to being optimistic (and a bit of luck too?)...

Oh, Miss Tham (our choir conductor) told us the story behind one of the premiering pieces SYC ensemble singers (also under her tutelage) will be performing this Saturday at the Esplanade. It is to do with these 2 mythical characters called Narcissis and Echo. Narcissis was a handsome but arrogant person who thought no woman could ever be fit for him. He was therefore cursed to fall in love with the first person he sees after being cursed. He saw his reflection in a pool nearby... Echo was a woman who liked to talk, talk, talk, talk... She was therefore cursed and could only only repeat the last few words of a sentence spoken by other people (Hence, the word 'echo'). She fell in love with Narcissis but Narcissis was in love with himself (hence, the word 'narcissism'). Narcissis would be at the pool all day staring at his reflection without eating and drinking saying things like "love me, want me" and Echo would be repeating after him. In the end they both died, most probably due to starvation......

Haven't written a blog for some time, but actually there really isn't anything much to write.
There has been a lot of tests these few weeks... the trend now is alternating Physics and Chemistry tests with Maths tests occasionally.

Anyway, Valentine's Day was celebrated last week but it meant nothing much to me. In TJ the day before that day was known as Friendship Day and 'Be Yourself Day'. I received some sweets and stuff like that but I (guiltily) didn't give any to others... I'm not used to celebrating this...

I woke up at 3-something AM today, not that I wanted too... there were 2 reasons. The 1st reason is because I slept straight after my dinner yesterday, and the 2nd is my roommate Yi Cheng went in and out the bathroom around 3.15 AM to vomit... He says he felt sick after his 4 km run on Monday but he was getting better. He never thought he could suddenly feel the urge to vomit...but then again it may not have been caused by the run. He doesn't run too well because he's a bit fat and he's not used to running around a lot (Back in Malaysia we don't usually do those things unless Sports Day is coming up--PE classes in Malaysia is quite slack).

Embarassing thing happened today... my handphone's (placed in my bag) alarm suddenly sounded on and off in the lecture theatre today and I took nearly 10 minutes before I realised it was mine. People were quite irritated... Oops... Physics lecture today was about Analogue Electronics. The lecturer was my Civics Tutor Mrs. Kitty Tan but unfortunately it was quite soporific. She did TRY to make us laugh, but actually it was a bit embarassing. She was explaining the microphone as an input device and she said how it could capture her "beautiful sound" or something like that...

Got a scholars meeting later. I've just realised it is not compulsory but I just want to go because I need to meet up with the juniors... there's too many of them and we don't quite know each other...

Saturday I went for an American Maths Test Selection Test. It was very hard for me... not quite so for those bright Indian and China scholars though... had to answer 17 questions in 50 minutes... Even the teacher-in-charge (invigilator) said that he couldn't complete the questions in the time given.

Anyway, after that I went out with a few classmates for the NKF Flag Day activity to gain CIP hours. They wanted to go to Bugis MRT, so I just tagged along. Quite a lot of people were there by 10 am, and we had competition from other schools too. Some people donated really generously, like this Chinese woman who said:" for donation ah?" in Chinese, and then dropped S$10 into my donation bag. Also, I tried to use Malay to ask the Malays to donate. I was a bit shocked though when there was this Malay man who looked like a religious teacher who just walked past me without bothering to know what this donation thing was all about. There was also a few people (especially young adults) who don't care, and even an old man who said the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) was very rich already. I don't know about that...Singaporeans would know better. There was also a Malay lady who said 'bagus' to me after I had ask her to donate in Malay, and I said 'saya dari Malaysia' then she said 'patutlah!'

No time to type liao, will type later....

Not much time to write...

SAT results were out online today. I've managed a 1430 out of the maximum 1600: my Verbal score is 630 and my Maths score is 800 (max). Hmm... most of my friends think I scored not too bad, but knowing that the results will account for 25% of local university entry requirements, I'm likely to take the test again in June (however, it costs more than S$80...). I should be more prepared by then...

Going to Tampines later with Cliffton. We're forming a study group (along with Jeffrey and Winnie)... Meet every Friday somewhere in Tampines and...uh...study lah!

Next Friday's swimming lessons will be cancelled... it'll be 'Be Yourself Day' and every class has already been making wishes on what to do that day (like wearing casual wear etc.) and hopefully the school will allow it. We will have to pay (like $1, $2 per person per class per wish), but the proceeds go to charity. Our Civics Tutor said the harder your wish can become true means the more you'll have to pay... The school administration has already encouraged students to bring their beloved pets to school on that day too... Looks like Minh Huong will be skipping school on that day (she's terrified of animals).

Actually, nothing much happened on Monday except that my parents came down to visit me.

I didn't wake up too early though because I slept around 2 the day before with a headache. When my parents came I was halfway studying Organic Chemistry.

We talked a bit in my room and they brought the stuff I had requested them to bring... my box containing some stuff (postcards, maps etc.) I brought back from Europe, lecture notes I left in Malaysia, and some extra reference books. They also brought some biscuits and Angpows back from Malaysia.

Soon it was 1 something and I suggested to go out and eat somewhere. Unfortunately, my father couldn't find his keys for the gear lock. We spent around 1~2 hours (?) searching for it in my room and around the hostel. In the end we had to call a 'lock-picker' specialist to come and open it for us. It costed us quite a huge sum. I'm still suspecting the guard though... you know he sleeps in the air-conditioned TV-room when everyone is sleeping when he is suppose to be on guard duty! Anyway, on that day he said he didn't see the key and just yesterday he asked me how much did my father pay to get the lock picked... hm... I dunno....he's rather suspicious...

Got to go for lessons now....

My memory seems to fail me... I can't remember what happened on the days before Sunday...

So, I'll just start with last Sunday. I always wake up earlier than most people on Sundays, around 7.30am. No difference today. Went to train my pull-ups first (still can't make it, but I'm slowly improving), ate breakfast, send laundry downstairs and went to buy Sunday's Straits Times.

After Ching Mien and Wai Kit discussed about going to 'Bodyworld' at Singapore Expo during lunch, me and Jiann Hooi felt like going too. But first I called my parents to see if they wanted to go too because they were coming on Monday and if they wanted to go, I'll go with them instead. My parents disliked the idea so I just went ahead with the gang.

Arrived there at around 2.30 pm. Had to pay S$3 more than Wai Kit, Ching Mien and Wilson because they got their ticket through their teachers (triple science class). Anyway, the money was quite worth it because it really was quite fascinating. But I think I'll be a bit hard to describe it here... basically there were many dead bodies (adults and foetuses, pregnant and sick, male and female) and most of them were 'de-skinned' and postioned in many positions, for example: a man 'thinking' of the next move to make on the chess board with his skull halved but still pivoted in front; a man making a javelin throw; a dead pregnant woman with her stomach cut open to reveal the unborn child in her womb etc. I rushed through some parts because I had to meet Jeffrey, Cliffton and Winnie at City Hall MRT at 5 pm.

Anyway, I still had to rush because I didn't want to be late (they wanted to treat me). Met Jeffrey in the MRT. Met the rest at City Hall MRT (Cliffton came last). I think he is still listening to 'the Prayer'...everyone is asking me to listen to this song too...dunno why...

Ate at Sakae Sushi. It was quite expensive (but majority of my friends think the price was OK). It was nice...first time I tasted sushi. Went to Orchard afterwards. Scanned through books at Kinokuniya (one of my favourite places at Orchard).

After that, I had to rush to ECP. It was quite late when I reached there (I couldn't find my way you see), so there were only 4 juniors left (out of the total of 48, I think). Played 'lame' games. Then we went to this eatery near the hostel. I ate Roti Prata (Roti Canai) and Teh Tarik. Many ordered roughly the same and most of them played Bridge while I looked along. Went back to the hostel around 1.00 am and slept...

Short of time to write about Monday. I'll try to write tomorrow...