The week started off with cleaning up of my room on Sunday. Haha. On monday, i signed up for car driving at Ubi Comfort DelGro Driving Centre. Afternoon, shopped for presents at Parkway Parade. Birthday presents and farewell presents. In the evening, went to Margaret's house. My class were planning to go for night cycling. At her house, before the rest came, Subra, Wee Leong and i played Dancing on the Wii. It was quite fun. Good exercise and warm up for night cycling. We rent the bikes at 9 plus, celebrated Ben's birthday, then started our night cycling at 11. 13 of us came. Me, Subra, Nazri, Justin, Nick, Matt Ho, Wee Leong, Anil, Megan, Michelle, Margaret, Ben and Denise. Cycled from ECP to Changi Village (took a short rest for drink) to Pasir Ris (took another rest for Macs, hungry sia!) to Tampines to Bedok back to ECP (took a photo-taking break lol). Second part of our journey, Michelle, Ben and Denise went back to Margaret's house first while the rest of us cycled from ECP through Fort Road, Indoor Stadium and Nicoll Highway to Singapore Flyer. We reached there at around 5.30am. It was beautiful! We took several photos with it because the Flyer kept changing colours haha. Red, orange, yellow, blue and green. Then we made our way back to Margaret's house, reached at 6.30am. According to Nazri's bike distance meter, we cycled around 55 km. After taking a bathe, slept for one hour, we had to return the bikes and i had to go for work at 10am. It was cycling again. Kenji and i had to cycle to Clarke Quay area to explore the rest of the routes for our Amazing EnviroRace. Cycled a total of 60km overnight and during work! After that, i constantly felt like sleeping during work. Heheh.
On new year eve, i invited my church friends to my house for caregroup meeting. For this caregroup meeting, we welcomed Althea into our caregroup because of the caregroup re-structuring process. But we have to say farewell to Melvin because he have to be transferred to NS caregroup. Before caregroup meeting started at 2pm, we had lunch and watched a Korea Channel on CableTV. Karen and Cheryl got crazy because of some Korea singers on tv. Particularly Karen, who started screaming haha. Then caregroup started. We reflected on year 2008 as well as things we will want to achieve in 2009. After that, we did a welcoming ceremony for Althea before we took turns to affirm Melvin of his walk with God and wish him all the best as he transfers to the NS caregroup. It has been great to know such a great brother in Christ. He really encouraged my spirit of giving and helped me grow spiritually by constantly sharing to me how his life has been changed to the better with God. Let me know that God is powerful and able to influence our lives. We must rely on God always. After caregroup, it was left with me, Melvin, Rochelle, Karen, Cheryl, Li Lin and Joel. We played mahjong and then had dinner at Chomp Chomp. The food was good. Then went to Clarke Quay for countdown. We took photos of ourselves in 2008 then in 2009! Great way to have my first countdown outside home with such great people around! After that, we went back to my house, took a bathe and played Indian Poker plus Truth or Truth. We found out quite interesting stuffs about one another. Haha secret within ourselves only. We played the card games Cheat, Bridge and Hearts also. Slept at 6am and woke up at 9.30am. Then had breakfast and they left. New year eve and new year day were certainly enjoyable.
As the year draws to a close and i enters a new year, there are many events this year which deserve to be reflected on. First, it was a year of exams, A levels. Had to handle all the stress. Second, track competition. It was my final year and thankfully i achieved my wish of getting into top 8 of nationals. Third, getting to know God which changed my life. He was able to change my personal life, be more patient and caring to others: family and friends. More aware that life is not just about yourself but God and his people. Serve the people, serve God. Spread the gospel. So my new year resolution will be to make full use of my remaining time before entering army to do good things. Serve the youth group in ushering and pioneering before i'm transferred to tertiary NS group in April. Besides that, i hope that i can do my best for all the scholarship interviews. DSTA scholarship interview coming up next tuesday, but i dunno why i applied for it actually, just go and get an experience of interview perhaps. Also, for my job, i hope that i will make full use of this working experience to develop my intellectual skills. Plan the Amazing EnviroRace successfully and all the other events. 2009 promises to be an exciting year! Running around in the jungles too!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday 22/12 to Saturday 27/12
Monday morning to afternoon, finished preparing all the christmas presents and cards for my caregroup.
Tuesday morning, i went to work at 11am. WWS is planning to organise Amazing EnviroRace, Singapore's version of Amazing Race for environment awareness. Anyone can take part. Postgraduates, corporate members and students. So Kenji and I had to cycle around to look for places where we can set up stations for our amazing race. How exciting! Detour, road block and fast forward. All these have to be thought of thoroughly. Haha just like the real Amazing Race. Also, there were visitors from Singapore Polytechnic that day, so some of us had to go on bike patrol with them. Apparently, they claimed that the visitors were a bit weird. Then, i left work early and went to Subra's house at Jurong for a so-called class gathering, actually his parents want to see us haha. We gave Anil a prank call, Robert Lau calling from SMU law faculty, asking all sorts of questions about him. Haha Ben and Justin, they came up with the script before we called Anil. So it was foolproof. Nick 's voice managed to trick Anil into believing him. We had a good time after that, talking about random stuffs like our 2 years school life and we ate the Indian food Subra's parents cooked. Left at 10.30pm.
Wednesday afternoon. It was the day of Christmas eve celebration. I met the friends i invited for my church celebration for lunch. Subra, Nazri, Justin, Zong Xing and Kenji. Nick and Han Wei came later. I was like a Santa Claus, carrying a big bag of gifts. Except that my bag looked like a bag stored with bombs. The christmas eve church celebration was not bad. Performances, testimonial sharing and service. It was my first time experiencing Christmas as a Christian. It's definitely more meaningful celebrating Christmas this time because now i know the real reason for celebrating. Not for the superficial gifts but to honour and give thanks to God and Jesus Christ for sacrificing so much for our good. It definitely will not matter how much you spend on gifts for your friends. It is the thought that counts. Writing a letter to assure people and encourage his or her spiritual life will be the best gift. However, i still think that the best way to bring joy to caregroup friends and encourage them to enjoy their spiritual life is to buy them presents. Presents like chocolates, shirts and toys. After all, who wouldn't want them? So i gave them Christmas cards and gifts. Spent around 120 dollars in total. After that, the unit, VJC TJC TPJC MJC DHS, went to Chia Ling's house at Serangoon to have our unit Christmas party. Food and drink were scarce. Lucky i ate at Subway before that. Then we went carolling at the houses nearby. It was an enjoyable experience, my first ever one. We were split into 2 groups. 30 plus of us. We asked the owners if they wanted us to carol for them. Some were quite enthusiatic about it. We were invited into the house to sing Christmas songs for them. After singing, some house owners gave us packet drinks while others gave us chocolates. One of the house owner even invited one of our group into the house to have Bee Hoon. Not my group unfortunately haha. We did carolling mainly to help spread the joy in this Christmas festive period. Some of the house owners even paid us but the money will go to church of course. After carolling, which lasted for 2 hours, we had an individual year review, running through in your mind all the things that you will give thanks to God in 2008. God has really changed my life. From a selfish and prideful person who always think about personal success to a more thoughtful one, even though not perfectly thoughful at times haha. We had some sort of a countdown to Christmas. Reached home at around 2am. Slept at 3am after opening all the presents and reading all the cards i received.
Thursday, my skin started to peel. After all the sun-burn, i can virtually tear out my skin now. Went shopping with family at Orchard. Apparently, it was not as crowded as i had expected. Bought a long pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. In the evening, went to East Coast Park. My sister rode the bike, i went on the rollar blades while my dad jogged. Dinner was also at ECP.
Friday morning, went Kallang Cage to play soccer as early as 7am. Played with my classmates and some other friends. Had fun except that it was quite tiring, having not trained for so many weeks. I wore my old soccer boots and it was causing a lot of injuries to others. Then in the afternoon, went shopping for sneakers with Matt Foo and Wee Leong. Bought a brown Everlast shoe for 50 dollars after discount. At night, went to watch soccer at Paradix with Nick and Nazri. Man U won one nil at Stoke City! After the match, it was 11pm. We decided to catch a movie and take the night rider home. Watched Bedtime Stories at 11.20pm to 1am. The movie was quite funny. About a guy, who's bedtime stories to his niece and nephew came true. Reached home at 1.30am because my dad came to fetch me, thankfully haha.
Saturday morning, went to WWS. Kenji and i rode the bikes to Marina Barrage. Wanted to check the route there so that we can make it the Fast Forward for the Amazing EnviroRace WWS is organising. After that, had a meeting for upcoming NS church guys like me. They told us that we will be transferring out of our current caregroup near our enlistment date. There will be a lot of challenges that we will be encountering for our spiritual life. Different temptations will come. So it will be hard work remaining committed but we must have faith! Then, it was church new year service. There were a few performances put up. After service, there was a meeting to tell J3s like me about pioneering, where we will be sent to TJC or MJC to try to set up a caregroup because theirs are dying. All sorts of things that we may do are to do surveys on people, crash their orientation, etc. It will be quite a learning experience. Then had dinner at a Hong Kong Restaurant at Tanjong Katong. My dad met a friend, who decided to pay for our meal before we even know. In the end, we paid 70 cents for an extra bowl of rice.
Monday morning to afternoon, finished preparing all the christmas presents and cards for my caregroup.
Tuesday morning, i went to work at 11am. WWS is planning to organise Amazing EnviroRace, Singapore's version of Amazing Race for environment awareness. Anyone can take part. Postgraduates, corporate members and students. So Kenji and I had to cycle around to look for places where we can set up stations for our amazing race. How exciting! Detour, road block and fast forward. All these have to be thought of thoroughly. Haha just like the real Amazing Race. Also, there were visitors from Singapore Polytechnic that day, so some of us had to go on bike patrol with them. Apparently, they claimed that the visitors were a bit weird. Then, i left work early and went to Subra's house at Jurong for a so-called class gathering, actually his parents want to see us haha. We gave Anil a prank call, Robert Lau calling from SMU law faculty, asking all sorts of questions about him. Haha Ben and Justin, they came up with the script before we called Anil. So it was foolproof. Nick 's voice managed to trick Anil into believing him. We had a good time after that, talking about random stuffs like our 2 years school life and we ate the Indian food Subra's parents cooked. Left at 10.30pm.
Wednesday afternoon. It was the day of Christmas eve celebration. I met the friends i invited for my church celebration for lunch. Subra, Nazri, Justin, Zong Xing and Kenji. Nick and Han Wei came later. I was like a Santa Claus, carrying a big bag of gifts. Except that my bag looked like a bag stored with bombs. The christmas eve church celebration was not bad. Performances, testimonial sharing and service. It was my first time experiencing Christmas as a Christian. It's definitely more meaningful celebrating Christmas this time because now i know the real reason for celebrating. Not for the superficial gifts but to honour and give thanks to God and Jesus Christ for sacrificing so much for our good. It definitely will not matter how much you spend on gifts for your friends. It is the thought that counts. Writing a letter to assure people and encourage his or her spiritual life will be the best gift. However, i still think that the best way to bring joy to caregroup friends and encourage them to enjoy their spiritual life is to buy them presents. Presents like chocolates, shirts and toys. After all, who wouldn't want them? So i gave them Christmas cards and gifts. Spent around 120 dollars in total. After that, the unit, VJC TJC TPJC MJC DHS, went to Chia Ling's house at Serangoon to have our unit Christmas party. Food and drink were scarce. Lucky i ate at Subway before that. Then we went carolling at the houses nearby. It was an enjoyable experience, my first ever one. We were split into 2 groups. 30 plus of us. We asked the owners if they wanted us to carol for them. Some were quite enthusiatic about it. We were invited into the house to sing Christmas songs for them. After singing, some house owners gave us packet drinks while others gave us chocolates. One of the house owner even invited one of our group into the house to have Bee Hoon. Not my group unfortunately haha. We did carolling mainly to help spread the joy in this Christmas festive period. Some of the house owners even paid us but the money will go to church of course. After carolling, which lasted for 2 hours, we had an individual year review, running through in your mind all the things that you will give thanks to God in 2008. God has really changed my life. From a selfish and prideful person who always think about personal success to a more thoughtful one, even though not perfectly thoughful at times haha. We had some sort of a countdown to Christmas. Reached home at around 2am. Slept at 3am after opening all the presents and reading all the cards i received.
Thursday, my skin started to peel. After all the sun-burn, i can virtually tear out my skin now. Went shopping with family at Orchard. Apparently, it was not as crowded as i had expected. Bought a long pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. In the evening, went to East Coast Park. My sister rode the bike, i went on the rollar blades while my dad jogged. Dinner was also at ECP.
Friday morning, went Kallang Cage to play soccer as early as 7am. Played with my classmates and some other friends. Had fun except that it was quite tiring, having not trained for so many weeks. I wore my old soccer boots and it was causing a lot of injuries to others. Then in the afternoon, went shopping for sneakers with Matt Foo and Wee Leong. Bought a brown Everlast shoe for 50 dollars after discount. At night, went to watch soccer at Paradix with Nick and Nazri. Man U won one nil at Stoke City! After the match, it was 11pm. We decided to catch a movie and take the night rider home. Watched Bedtime Stories at 11.20pm to 1am. The movie was quite funny. About a guy, who's bedtime stories to his niece and nephew came true. Reached home at 1.30am because my dad came to fetch me, thankfully haha.
Saturday morning, went to WWS. Kenji and i rode the bikes to Marina Barrage. Wanted to check the route there so that we can make it the Fast Forward for the Amazing EnviroRace WWS is organising. After that, had a meeting for upcoming NS church guys like me. They told us that we will be transferring out of our current caregroup near our enlistment date. There will be a lot of challenges that we will be encountering for our spiritual life. Different temptations will come. So it will be hard work remaining committed but we must have faith! Then, it was church new year service. There were a few performances put up. After service, there was a meeting to tell J3s like me about pioneering, where we will be sent to TJC or MJC to try to set up a caregroup because theirs are dying. All sorts of things that we may do are to do surveys on people, crash their orientation, etc. It will be quite a learning experience. Then had dinner at a Hong Kong Restaurant at Tanjong Katong. My dad met a friend, who decided to pay for our meal before we even know. In the end, we paid 70 cents for an extra bowl of rice.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday 18/12 to Sunday 21/12
Thursday morning went to Li Yin's house for caregroup meeting. Afternoon, went for work. The boss wanted 2 rafts. The first one made of PVC pipes, used as a WWS exhibit. Already completed on Tuesday. The second one is made of Newater bottles and cable ties. All scrap materials. It is to take part in the Singapore Polytechnic raft competition. We didn't have enough cable ties, so Kenji and I went out on bikes to buy them. It actually took a lot of work to tie up the bottles together. Quite painful and tiring to pull them together. At night, started making Christmas cards for my caregroup. Haha making use of my gift of craftsmanship from God.
Friday. Reported for work at noon. Then we took a boat to Singapore River to have lunch at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Wow cool to the max! We parked the boats by the river and then went for lunch, most of us under-dressed with our WWS t-shirts and shorts. When we were back, we did a bit of work at the jetty then continued making our Newater raft. Then i had to leave early from work because i had to meet the unit committee for the Christmas party on Christmas eve at Chia Ling's place. I'm the logistic head together with Jun Wei, with Joel Yee and Jie Zhi to help us out. We have to buy trash bags, candles, utensils, cups and sparkling juice for the unit Christmas party. At night, we had church service. Unfortunately, we didn't catch the choir performance we expected because the pastor forgot about it.
Saturday morning to afternoon, i went to Sentosa for a church unit outing. We were supposed to meet at 9am and only 6 guys turned up. Me, James, Melvin Tay, Melvin Tan, Joel Yee and Jun Wei. We took the monorail and then the bus to Tanjong Beach. Played some beach volleyball and soccer. I had a short sun-tanning session haha. Without sun block, asking for it! Then we went for a swim near the beach shore. We didn't really dare to swim far because most of us were not great swimmers. Around noon, 3 more ppl came. At 2pm, around 10 more came. Melvin and I left Sentosa early to shop at Vivo City for Christmas presents for our caregroup members. We were so tired and burnt. We walk all around Vivo City, stuck to our budget of at most 10 dollars per person and i spent around 90 dollars for 10 people during that period, 4.15-6.45pm. At night, after having dinner with my family, continued to shop and bought 2 presents for around 20 bucks. Went home and continued to write the Christmas cards for my caregroup.
Today. After brunch out with my family, i started baking cookies at home. These cookies will be Christmas presents for the rest of the unit members. For the whole day, i was in pain. The sun burn on my shoulders and back is really bad. Whenever i lie down on the sofa, i'll be in pain. My whole body is so red.
Christmas in 4 days time. So exciting!
Thursday morning went to Li Yin's house for caregroup meeting. Afternoon, went for work. The boss wanted 2 rafts. The first one made of PVC pipes, used as a WWS exhibit. Already completed on Tuesday. The second one is made of Newater bottles and cable ties. All scrap materials. It is to take part in the Singapore Polytechnic raft competition. We didn't have enough cable ties, so Kenji and I went out on bikes to buy them. It actually took a lot of work to tie up the bottles together. Quite painful and tiring to pull them together. At night, started making Christmas cards for my caregroup. Haha making use of my gift of craftsmanship from God.
Friday. Reported for work at noon. Then we took a boat to Singapore River to have lunch at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Wow cool to the max! We parked the boats by the river and then went for lunch, most of us under-dressed with our WWS t-shirts and shorts. When we were back, we did a bit of work at the jetty then continued making our Newater raft. Then i had to leave early from work because i had to meet the unit committee for the Christmas party on Christmas eve at Chia Ling's place. I'm the logistic head together with Jun Wei, with Joel Yee and Jie Zhi to help us out. We have to buy trash bags, candles, utensils, cups and sparkling juice for the unit Christmas party. At night, we had church service. Unfortunately, we didn't catch the choir performance we expected because the pastor forgot about it.
Saturday morning to afternoon, i went to Sentosa for a church unit outing. We were supposed to meet at 9am and only 6 guys turned up. Me, James, Melvin Tay, Melvin Tan, Joel Yee and Jun Wei. We took the monorail and then the bus to Tanjong Beach. Played some beach volleyball and soccer. I had a short sun-tanning session haha. Without sun block, asking for it! Then we went for a swim near the beach shore. We didn't really dare to swim far because most of us were not great swimmers. Around noon, 3 more ppl came. At 2pm, around 10 more came. Melvin and I left Sentosa early to shop at Vivo City for Christmas presents for our caregroup members. We were so tired and burnt. We walk all around Vivo City, stuck to our budget of at most 10 dollars per person and i spent around 90 dollars for 10 people during that period, 4.15-6.45pm. At night, after having dinner with my family, continued to shop and bought 2 presents for around 20 bucks. Went home and continued to write the Christmas cards for my caregroup.
Today. After brunch out with my family, i started baking cookies at home. These cookies will be Christmas presents for the rest of the unit members. For the whole day, i was in pain. The sun burn on my shoulders and back is really bad. Whenever i lie down on the sofa, i'll be in pain. My whole body is so red.
Christmas in 4 days time. So exciting!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Yesterday after camp, went for work. We finished building a raft out of PVC pipes, haha a new toy. Then went out for sightseeing. Took photos of Marina Barrage, Esplanade, S'pore Flyer, Merlion, etc. Played some pool. At night, had a meeting for the Asian Water Symposium to be held at Dunman High next June. There's a possibility that i'll be sent out to JCs to talk to people about the symposium in February. A new experience!
Good news. I got the EAGLES award, presented to me by school. First time man. Thank god! :)
Today did some newspaper reading and housework. Because my mum just had her operation on Saturday and can't do too vigorous work. I was the slave of the day, my sister said. I did sweeping, mopping, washing of plates and utensils after meals and hanging of clothings to dry.
Good news. I got the EAGLES award, presented to me by school. First time man. Thank god! :)
Today did some newspaper reading and housework. Because my mum just had her operation on Saturday and can't do too vigorous work. I was the slave of the day, my sister said. I did sweeping, mopping, washing of plates and utensils after meals and hanging of clothings to dry.
A new life journey begins
Heroes Camp: Saturday 13/12 to Tuesday 16/12
Normally a camp is remembered well if the games and activities are enjoyable. But this church camp, my first ever, will be memorable for its ability to touch my heart. Not that the games were not fun, but the emphasis of the camp was more to help campers grow in their Christain life. From this camp, i got to learn several important lessons regarding life.
My camp objectives are to experience God full-time, be more to know new people and guide people to know God. Now that the camp has ended, i can say that these objectives are more or less attained. A new life journey shall begin, one which is more meaningful and fulfilling.
In this camp, we had games, activities and worship. The games involved less group-to-group competition and emphasize more on the people cooperating together to serve people and God. There was an event called Minilution. People had to dress like a kid. There was also a workshop to tell us about our spiritual gifts from God. The name of this church camp is Heroes Camp as there were altogether 5 teachings about 5 different heroes who God has chosen to serve the people. Moses (Obedience), David (Loyalty), Abrahim (Faith), Esther (Courage) and Paul (Ambition). They have really taught me a lot.
We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Everyday we flip through the newspaper and see reports on murder, robbery, arsenal, etc. People are not perfect. They are guilty of many sins and lack in several abilities. Nevertheless, God uses us and fulfill our dreams. We rely on God and put trust in him because he will guide us on the way to success. Even though every one of us lacks in certain ability, God continues to encourage us to serve people, in doing things that will show love to the rest. God is a great motivation in our lives because he will be the cheerleader, supporting us when we feel incapable. We must keep in mind that we cannot be as perfect as God and we are the sheep in this world, seeking to learn and improve oneself as much as possible. To do so, we need to constantly seek help from God and also ask him for advices to improve ourselves. It is very difficult for us to tell if we do something wrong or not, so we will need a shepherd to guide us along the way, someone who is also not perfect but given the honour by God to love people. I shall no longer just remain in my comfort zone but venture out of it. Do something that i am not suited of doing, so that i will learn to rely on God for aid. The fact is that no one in this world is perfectly suited for any tasks but the honour has been presented to us by our holy God. So maybe i can be a shepherd one day. And for the pioneering that Jasmine mentioned, i could try too, if my schedule allows me.
But being a shepherd will not be easy. You will have to love your sheep, give him all your best, visit him when he's ill, be sad if he commit a sin, be happy when you see him grow, etc. From the camp, i realise that i have never loved anyone before in my life. I have always failed to give my all to any person because i'm gulity of been too selfish at times. I have the tendency to care more for myself and not for others. To love someone, it really takes a lot of courage and commitment. I must give and examples how i can give are to teach a friend or to buy a gift for a friend to encourage his or her spiritual life. Sacrifice till it hurts. This camp told me that i have not been committed to love a person before. Perhaps i'm not ready yet but there is never a perfect time. So what i have to do is to improve my spiritual life, look to God. He will give me the opportunity one day and i must not reject it. I must believe that i'm capable of doing it and God will guide me along the way.
I have a simple faith in God. During obstacles and difficulties, I will definitely seek help from God because he serve people so well. God is so great as to send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our numerous sins to redeem us. It is so hurting to see a loved one been killed or commit a sin. When i see a friend doing something wrong, i will have the urge to help him or her. We must submit to God's will. Life definitely exists plenty of room for improvement. Put faith in God to grow in our spiritual life. Even when life is simple and slack, do not forget God's love. I admit that when there's no difficulties like studies to drive me, i tend to stray away from God. So i'll promise to give him more of my time, set my daily quiet time at 10.30pm.
I learnt about the different spiritual gifts by God to people. For me, it's the gift of craftmanship, adminstation and help/serving. True, i can help people like in studies. I believe that i should commit myself to make use of these gifts to serve people, encourage people to build up their lives spiritually and open up to people to talk and explain to them about how God loves us so much. It is very difficult to love someone unless you are emotionally attached. God brings Christains together as a whole family, attaching us so that we can develop ourselves too, to be more selfless to each other.
This camp has helped me grow. I learn that sometimes i am too prideful of my own ability. For example when playing games, i will tend to chiong and neglect the rest because i think that i am more fit than the rest. I will ignore other people's contribution in the process. God taught me to slow down and give thought to others. Be willing to give them their equal share of responsibility.
Moses/Humility. God know us inside out, our sins. We must admit our wrongs, repent and do something right. God is great. He blesses us to overcome these problems. We must acknowledge this and be willing to give him all. Rely on God so that we will be somebody.
David/Loyalty. We must stay committed to care for the people, encourage people to know him and submit to God authority. We cannot be too self-centred and selfish. Be loyal in our love for people around us. Be loyal in worshipping God, offer him more time. Be loyal in sharing God's love. Be loyal in admitting our mistakes without bitterness and hatred.
Faith/Abrahim and Courage/Esther. At certain time in our lives, we will be given opportunities to lead e.g cca/church. We must be willing to take on these roles and trust that God will pull you through. There will be difficulties along the way but have faith. Believe that you have the ability to do the job. We are not perfect but God chooses us because he loves us and believes in us. So give your best and trust youself and God.
Paul/Ambition.
I will keep the promise to grow.
Normally a camp is remembered well if the games and activities are enjoyable. But this church camp, my first ever, will be memorable for its ability to touch my heart. Not that the games were not fun, but the emphasis of the camp was more to help campers grow in their Christain life. From this camp, i got to learn several important lessons regarding life.
My camp objectives are to experience God full-time, be more to know new people and guide people to know God. Now that the camp has ended, i can say that these objectives are more or less attained. A new life journey shall begin, one which is more meaningful and fulfilling.
In this camp, we had games, activities and worship. The games involved less group-to-group competition and emphasize more on the people cooperating together to serve people and God. There was an event called Minilution. People had to dress like a kid. There was also a workshop to tell us about our spiritual gifts from God. The name of this church camp is Heroes Camp as there were altogether 5 teachings about 5 different heroes who God has chosen to serve the people. Moses (Obedience), David (Loyalty), Abrahim (Faith), Esther (Courage) and Paul (Ambition). They have really taught me a lot.
We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Everyday we flip through the newspaper and see reports on murder, robbery, arsenal, etc. People are not perfect. They are guilty of many sins and lack in several abilities. Nevertheless, God uses us and fulfill our dreams. We rely on God and put trust in him because he will guide us on the way to success. Even though every one of us lacks in certain ability, God continues to encourage us to serve people, in doing things that will show love to the rest. God is a great motivation in our lives because he will be the cheerleader, supporting us when we feel incapable. We must keep in mind that we cannot be as perfect as God and we are the sheep in this world, seeking to learn and improve oneself as much as possible. To do so, we need to constantly seek help from God and also ask him for advices to improve ourselves. It is very difficult for us to tell if we do something wrong or not, so we will need a shepherd to guide us along the way, someone who is also not perfect but given the honour by God to love people. I shall no longer just remain in my comfort zone but venture out of it. Do something that i am not suited of doing, so that i will learn to rely on God for aid. The fact is that no one in this world is perfectly suited for any tasks but the honour has been presented to us by our holy God. So maybe i can be a shepherd one day. And for the pioneering that Jasmine mentioned, i could try too, if my schedule allows me.
But being a shepherd will not be easy. You will have to love your sheep, give him all your best, visit him when he's ill, be sad if he commit a sin, be happy when you see him grow, etc. From the camp, i realise that i have never loved anyone before in my life. I have always failed to give my all to any person because i'm gulity of been too selfish at times. I have the tendency to care more for myself and not for others. To love someone, it really takes a lot of courage and commitment. I must give and examples how i can give are to teach a friend or to buy a gift for a friend to encourage his or her spiritual life. Sacrifice till it hurts. This camp told me that i have not been committed to love a person before. Perhaps i'm not ready yet but there is never a perfect time. So what i have to do is to improve my spiritual life, look to God. He will give me the opportunity one day and i must not reject it. I must believe that i'm capable of doing it and God will guide me along the way.
I have a simple faith in God. During obstacles and difficulties, I will definitely seek help from God because he serve people so well. God is so great as to send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our numerous sins to redeem us. It is so hurting to see a loved one been killed or commit a sin. When i see a friend doing something wrong, i will have the urge to help him or her. We must submit to God's will. Life definitely exists plenty of room for improvement. Put faith in God to grow in our spiritual life. Even when life is simple and slack, do not forget God's love. I admit that when there's no difficulties like studies to drive me, i tend to stray away from God. So i'll promise to give him more of my time, set my daily quiet time at 10.30pm.
I learnt about the different spiritual gifts by God to people. For me, it's the gift of craftmanship, adminstation and help/serving. True, i can help people like in studies. I believe that i should commit myself to make use of these gifts to serve people, encourage people to build up their lives spiritually and open up to people to talk and explain to them about how God loves us so much. It is very difficult to love someone unless you are emotionally attached. God brings Christains together as a whole family, attaching us so that we can develop ourselves too, to be more selfless to each other.
This camp has helped me grow. I learn that sometimes i am too prideful of my own ability. For example when playing games, i will tend to chiong and neglect the rest because i think that i am more fit than the rest. I will ignore other people's contribution in the process. God taught me to slow down and give thought to others. Be willing to give them their equal share of responsibility.
Moses/Humility. God know us inside out, our sins. We must admit our wrongs, repent and do something right. God is great. He blesses us to overcome these problems. We must acknowledge this and be willing to give him all. Rely on God so that we will be somebody.
David/Loyalty. We must stay committed to care for the people, encourage people to know him and submit to God authority. We cannot be too self-centred and selfish. Be loyal in our love for people around us. Be loyal in worshipping God, offer him more time. Be loyal in sharing God's love. Be loyal in admitting our mistakes without bitterness and hatred.
Faith/Abrahim and Courage/Esther. At certain time in our lives, we will be given opportunities to lead e.g cca/church. We must be willing to take on these roles and trust that God will pull you through. There will be difficulties along the way but have faith. Believe that you have the ability to do the job. We are not perfect but God chooses us because he loves us and believes in us. So give your best and trust youself and God.
Paul/Ambition.
I will keep the promise to grow.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
WWS work was slack yesterday. Morning, woke up late, play a bit of psp fifa street 2, afternoon at 1pm went for work. We did some post-camp packing up. Then we had nothing else to do because it was school holidays and there's no preparation for any other school programmes. So the leader Eugene told us to build a raft to compete for the annual raft competition. He challenged us to build it entirely out of Newater bottles, so PUB will be happy. The rest of the day, i had nothing more to do. At night, i finished my fifa street game.
Today, i was making some cookies in the morning to bring to camp for my leaders. Hopefully James won't read my blog before he goes to camp. Keep it as a surprise. Watched Seconds from Disaster, about an explosion in Puerto Rico. Played a new game on psp. Then at night, went out with friend for dinner, then arcade and then went friend's house for mahjong and bridge for an hour or so.
Genesis 22:2 Letting go of what you love. Life is full of obstacles. You will have to let go of things to build yourself up. Do not get troubled by present woes but look more to the future. For example, if a friendship will be jeopardized by a certain decision, let it go. In this way, the friendship will not only remain but will be strengthened too.
Finally, i pray for my sister and mum. I pray that my sister will recover from her rashes, she has been so irritated by it these few days. And my mum will have to undergo an operation this Saturday. I'll be at church camp from Saturday to Tuesday so i won't be there for her. Hope God's presence will bless her though. It's not a major operation but she will have to rest at home for the next whole week. Then i must do house work next week. Ah the thought of it makes me feel lazy. Haha still i've to help out more or less. :)
Today, i was making some cookies in the morning to bring to camp for my leaders. Hopefully James won't read my blog before he goes to camp. Keep it as a surprise. Watched Seconds from Disaster, about an explosion in Puerto Rico. Played a new game on psp. Then at night, went out with friend for dinner, then arcade and then went friend's house for mahjong and bridge for an hour or so.
Genesis 22:2 Letting go of what you love. Life is full of obstacles. You will have to let go of things to build yourself up. Do not get troubled by present woes but look more to the future. For example, if a friendship will be jeopardized by a certain decision, let it go. In this way, the friendship will not only remain but will be strengthened too.
Finally, i pray for my sister and mum. I pray that my sister will recover from her rashes, she has been so irritated by it these few days. And my mum will have to undergo an operation this Saturday. I'll be at church camp from Saturday to Tuesday so i won't be there for her. Hope God's presence will bless her though. It's not a major operation but she will have to rest at home for the next whole week. Then i must do house work next week. Ah the thought of it makes me feel lazy. Haha still i've to help out more or less. :)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Farewell to a great friend
Today, around noon, i went to send off Joseph at the airport. He will be going back to Malaysia, first for a camp then back home before his school term at Australia International School starts in February. He applied through his Prelims results so he wouldn't need to come back to Singapore for his A levels results. He will be studying environmental engineering, same as me.
I was the only VJC person there sending him off. Didn't ask the rest because i thought they might be training. But it was public holiday, i forgot. The rest of the people were all his church friends. Even though i didn't know all of them, i didn't feel awkward either because they were very friendly. My fellow God believers. A sense of unity in heart! :) We took photos, prayed for Joseph before he left. It was quite emotional. Joseph shed some tears. So it's good bye..
Joseph has been a great friend to me. We know each other first through track. He took the same events as me, long and triple jump. We are both in Earthwatch too. So many similar things between us lol. And some of our track juniors mix our names up at times. Funny, they say we look alike. I'm really very grateful to him. During the track season, he will always push me on when trainings are tough and tiring. Similarly, i'll push him on. Even though we are less built compared to the rest of the athletes, both of us were able to achieve great things at the end of our track career. He has been a great motivation to me.
This good friend of mine, Joseph, is the main reason why i became a Christain and committed to God. When i'm struggling with injuries, he constantly offered to pray for me so that i will fulfill my dream to achieve something from years of track and field training. He has led me to believe in God's power because i managed to push on despite back pain on the competition day. His prayer must have worked wonders.
So i say farewell to one of my best friend ever. It may be the last time i'll get to see him. I'll wish him all the best and have an exciting life journey ahead. Hope that he will be a great environmental engineer. Maybe one day when i'm working as a fellow environmental engineer, i'll get to work with him. :)
I was the only VJC person there sending him off. Didn't ask the rest because i thought they might be training. But it was public holiday, i forgot. The rest of the people were all his church friends. Even though i didn't know all of them, i didn't feel awkward either because they were very friendly. My fellow God believers. A sense of unity in heart! :) We took photos, prayed for Joseph before he left. It was quite emotional. Joseph shed some tears. So it's good bye..
Joseph has been a great friend to me. We know each other first through track. He took the same events as me, long and triple jump. We are both in Earthwatch too. So many similar things between us lol. And some of our track juniors mix our names up at times. Funny, they say we look alike. I'm really very grateful to him. During the track season, he will always push me on when trainings are tough and tiring. Similarly, i'll push him on. Even though we are less built compared to the rest of the athletes, both of us were able to achieve great things at the end of our track career. He has been a great motivation to me.
This good friend of mine, Joseph, is the main reason why i became a Christain and committed to God. When i'm struggling with injuries, he constantly offered to pray for me so that i will fulfill my dream to achieve something from years of track and field training. He has led me to believe in God's power because i managed to push on despite back pain on the competition day. His prayer must have worked wonders.
So i say farewell to one of my best friend ever. It may be the last time i'll get to see him. I'll wish him all the best and have an exciting life journey ahead. Hope that he will be a great environmental engineer. Maybe one day when i'm working as a fellow environmental engineer, i'll get to work with him. :)
Week Review
It has been a week of fun and emotions. :)
A recap of what i've done for the past week: Tuesday 02/12 to Sunday 08/12
Tuesday, played psp for the whole afternoon. Fifa Street 2. Then went to SDD. Most of the girls looked so different because of make-up. The guys looked the same. The food sucks. The MC had all his sick jokes esp during the Q&A for the prom kings and queens. Prom king was Nazri! Prom queen Isabelle. Took a lot of photos with my friends during SDD.
Wednesday. After SDD, most of my class went to Ashley's house. Played "Beijing Olympics" on the Xbox. Then, played mahjong. I didn't sleep at all and had to leave Ashley's house early to go for work at WWS. I had thought that it will only be a meeting. On the way to WWS, the bus was crowded so i had to stand on the bus. But somehow i managed to fall asleep at times, my knee knocking onto the side of the bus. Lol. When i reached the place, there were many other people too. I assumed that i had to attend the meeting with them so i sat round the table with them. When the people-in-charge came out and make a head count, she was surprised that there were more people than listed. She called out the names and didn't mention mine. Then she laughed and said, "Oh you our member, you should be inside." At the office, i had to read through the details of the camp that they will be organising over the next few days. I had to skip the word for life session at church that day because they wanted me to stay over to help clean up the place. The place was so dusty. When we swept the place, dust was blowing out as though the place was on fire! Together with the facilitators, we attended a few more briefings. I really had trouble keeping myself awake, nodding off at times. After work, i met James near church for shepherding. He gave me a pre-camp devotion guide and asked me to set myself camp objectives. They are to experience god full-time, be more open to people and ask god to teach me how to guide people to him.
Thursday morning, went to unit caregroup at Mount Faber. I had decided the previous day to skip work on Thursday morning because i was too tired. But i wanted to spring a surprise to my friends so i didn't tell them that i was going. In the end, i was late because meeting time was made earlier. We had a mini Amazing Race but the main aim of it was to bond our unit together and get to know new friends. The games involved a lot of running. Didn't feel as tired as the rest because i was the only tracker aside Li Yin. My team Anzio was Team Number One. Yay! Had a mini picnic together, ate bread with tuna/ham/cheese/etc, before it started to rain and we had to run down the mountain. Thank god i didn't fall because i was running with slippers and nearly couldn't brake. Phew! Had lunch at Vivo City then went WWS to report for work. At WWS, the camp was already on-going but some of the activities such as bike patrol had to be cancelled because of the rain.
Friday, i spent the whole day working at WWS. It was quite slack in the morning because the secondary school students were left to do their own stuffs and they didn't need much help from members like me. They were building sand castles so i took a bike to cycle around for fun. There's a pool table at the work place so free pool! Played pool and some card games with Shiang Nee. Late afternoon, it was the event of the camp. Raft building. The students had to build rafts using wooden planks, PVC pipe, containers and strings. Then, they had to race a short distance along the sea. It was quite fun. Some of the rafts worked while others shattered before they started racing. Kenji came in the evening after his internship at MOE. After the raft competition, it was back to slacking. Shiang Nee left early because she was sick. Got drenched by rain the previous day. Kenji and I played 8 games of pool before we left. I was on form for pool man! Play 2 games with Shiang Nee, won both. Played 8 games with Kenji, won the first 7 games. 9-1.
Saturday morning, went to WWS again. It was time to break camp. We had to clean up and after that, reflect on the events of the camp. It was actually quite smooth flowing except for the rain. The students were also quite obedient, something that is seldom these days. In my previous camp, Under No Roof, i had a terrible time handling the participants. The participants were JC1 students from different JCs who came from the same secondary school class, one of them Joel, my church friend now. He was the more obedient one while the rest of his friends didn't bother doing reflections on the camp. At this WWS camp, i was surprised when one of the students came to me with his diary and asked me, "In one word, how will i describe my role in WWS?" I told him member. After that, went for church service. Before service, had something like a usher interview with the rest of usher-wannabes, actually just a sharing session on why i wanted to be an usher for my church lol.
Sunday afternoon, taught Rochelle some maths. She had to take R-paper when school starts. Went to play mahjong at Ben Tay's house after that.
A recap of what i've done for the past week: Tuesday 02/12 to Sunday 08/12
Tuesday, played psp for the whole afternoon. Fifa Street 2. Then went to SDD. Most of the girls looked so different because of make-up. The guys looked the same. The food sucks. The MC had all his sick jokes esp during the Q&A for the prom kings and queens. Prom king was Nazri! Prom queen Isabelle. Took a lot of photos with my friends during SDD.
Wednesday. After SDD, most of my class went to Ashley's house. Played "Beijing Olympics" on the Xbox. Then, played mahjong. I didn't sleep at all and had to leave Ashley's house early to go for work at WWS. I had thought that it will only be a meeting. On the way to WWS, the bus was crowded so i had to stand on the bus. But somehow i managed to fall asleep at times, my knee knocking onto the side of the bus. Lol. When i reached the place, there were many other people too. I assumed that i had to attend the meeting with them so i sat round the table with them. When the people-in-charge came out and make a head count, she was surprised that there were more people than listed. She called out the names and didn't mention mine. Then she laughed and said, "Oh you our member, you should be inside." At the office, i had to read through the details of the camp that they will be organising over the next few days. I had to skip the word for life session at church that day because they wanted me to stay over to help clean up the place. The place was so dusty. When we swept the place, dust was blowing out as though the place was on fire! Together with the facilitators, we attended a few more briefings. I really had trouble keeping myself awake, nodding off at times. After work, i met James near church for shepherding. He gave me a pre-camp devotion guide and asked me to set myself camp objectives. They are to experience god full-time, be more open to people and ask god to teach me how to guide people to him.
Thursday morning, went to unit caregroup at Mount Faber. I had decided the previous day to skip work on Thursday morning because i was too tired. But i wanted to spring a surprise to my friends so i didn't tell them that i was going. In the end, i was late because meeting time was made earlier. We had a mini Amazing Race but the main aim of it was to bond our unit together and get to know new friends. The games involved a lot of running. Didn't feel as tired as the rest because i was the only tracker aside Li Yin. My team Anzio was Team Number One. Yay! Had a mini picnic together, ate bread with tuna/ham/cheese/etc, before it started to rain and we had to run down the mountain. Thank god i didn't fall because i was running with slippers and nearly couldn't brake. Phew! Had lunch at Vivo City then went WWS to report for work. At WWS, the camp was already on-going but some of the activities such as bike patrol had to be cancelled because of the rain.
Friday, i spent the whole day working at WWS. It was quite slack in the morning because the secondary school students were left to do their own stuffs and they didn't need much help from members like me. They were building sand castles so i took a bike to cycle around for fun. There's a pool table at the work place so free pool! Played pool and some card games with Shiang Nee. Late afternoon, it was the event of the camp. Raft building. The students had to build rafts using wooden planks, PVC pipe, containers and strings. Then, they had to race a short distance along the sea. It was quite fun. Some of the rafts worked while others shattered before they started racing. Kenji came in the evening after his internship at MOE. After the raft competition, it was back to slacking. Shiang Nee left early because she was sick. Got drenched by rain the previous day. Kenji and I played 8 games of pool before we left. I was on form for pool man! Play 2 games with Shiang Nee, won both. Played 8 games with Kenji, won the first 7 games. 9-1.
Saturday morning, went to WWS again. It was time to break camp. We had to clean up and after that, reflect on the events of the camp. It was actually quite smooth flowing except for the rain. The students were also quite obedient, something that is seldom these days. In my previous camp, Under No Roof, i had a terrible time handling the participants. The participants were JC1 students from different JCs who came from the same secondary school class, one of them Joel, my church friend now. He was the more obedient one while the rest of his friends didn't bother doing reflections on the camp. At this WWS camp, i was surprised when one of the students came to me with his diary and asked me, "In one word, how will i describe my role in WWS?" I told him member. After that, went for church service. Before service, had something like a usher interview with the rest of usher-wannabes, actually just a sharing session on why i wanted to be an usher for my church lol.
Sunday afternoon, taught Rochelle some maths. She had to take R-paper when school starts. Went to play mahjong at Ben Tay's house after that.
Monday, December 1, 2008
A new month begins
A recap of what i've done for the past week: Sun 23/11 to Sun 30/11
At the start of the week, i was bored. Dunno what to do. I was at home, playing psp for the entire day. I thought i must do something else other than just staying at home and playing psp. And be a couch potato. I must plan something to do. But at the end of the week, i wanted so much to have some time at home to rest.
Here's how the week went.
Monday morning, i continued to play psp. Afternoon, went out to celebrate Han Wei birthday, belated. Also watched the movie, "Body of lies". The movie was so-so. Didn't really get to enjoy the movie much. Because i was preoccupied with holding my bladder right from the start. Imagine holding it for 2 plus hours. OMG. Also, the movie ended somewhat abruptly, like a lack of meaning in the end. So life was still very slack.
Tuesday morning went airport to send Tifen and Li Lin (church dudes) off to Bali. Afternoon, went to WWS for a short briefing. Got my first pay, 20 bucks for 3 hours of work, mostly taken up by the briefing by leader Eugene which lasted 2 hours and did a bit of washing of containers too. After that, went Bras Basah to sell some books, totally worthless trip, got 2 bucks for 4 books. Had a bus concession card and plenty of time, so i wouldn't mind wasting the trip.
Wednesday morning, i went for my first training in 3-4 months. Did some staircase drills and then gyms. Subsequently, my calf muscles were pulling for the rest of the week. It was really horrible walking around with the pain. I was walking much slower than my usual quick speed of walking. Afternoon i went to church for Word for Life session, which taught people how to live a better life as a Christian. It was quite useful, had some fun during the session, thank god. Night, i went to buy a long pant for SDD and a birthday present for Ashley. Things were starting to get busy.
Thursday morning, went Yin Ling's house, all the way at Tampines for caregroup. We actually had to meet at 930am but i woke up at 845am. Quickly went to bathe, left home at 9am and managed to reach at the same time as some of my church friends at her house. What a wonderful comeback in this Amazing Race! Thank god. Afternoon, we went to church together for harvestor. We were then sent out onto the streets in town to do a Christmas survey on people. It was a good experience doing something meaningful for god. I had to leave early though, to be back home. Night time, i went back to town again, this time Dhoby Ghaut to meet up with my secondary 4 classmates from Catholic High. Really nice to meet up after such a long time, even though most of the people who turned up also studied in VJC. After that, went Ben Tay's house for a short while to download some games for my psp. Yay finally some new games to play, all my games are old fashion and i'm too lazy to download new ones myself. Touched home at midnight.
Friday morning, went to training again but it was kind of a waste of time. My calf muscles were pulling so i couldn't do much runs or jumps. Played some soccer though, quite lazy, didn't run much. Had late lunch with the trackers, went back home and prepared a short powerpoint presentation for YEE networking session the next day (not preparing to present to them but just in case they ask for it). Then, went Bugis to meet mum and sis for dinner before making another trip to airport to send Yin Ling off, on a trip to Australia to play basketball, represent Singapore. Touched home around midnight again. My legs were totally burned out.
Saturday morning, i went for the YEE networking session at Science Centre as early as 9am, with Shiang Nee and Tricia. Kind of slack because we spent the entire time listening to people's interesting presentations. About an online billing system (to save on papers for phone bills), electronic recycling, eating meatless meals and green buildings. Friends who are reading my blog, i encourage you to change your phone billing system to an online one, to save papers. :) Singtel and M1 offers this system but not Starhub. After the sharing session, i immediately rushed to town for church. Service was great. It taught us to try our best to forgive people even though they have done wrong to you because God has again and again forgiven our numerous sins. Excellent! After that, there was a ministry thing, something like CCA walk-about. I signed up for usher, "Hi welcome", "Thanks for coming". At night, went out with family. We went to an electronic store, bought a radio and a camera.
Finally Sunday. I was so tired but had a patrol duty at WWS with Kenji and Shiang Nee at 11am. Thank god it rained! :p We couldn't go for the boat or bike patrol in the end. I was also too exhausted to do so. Afternoon, i just slack at home, something i didn't plan to do at the start of the week, i was doing it again! At night, i went to Paradix, Singapore Pool, to watch soccer with my class. Man U versus Man City. Man U won one nil, Wayne Rooney! An entertaining match and drama at the start of the match because we had to find ways to sneak into the place. Because slippers were prohibited in the area, apparently. Touched home around midnight. Met a drunkard in the mrt and another on a bus on the way home. The first one sounded quite crazy, claiming that he was very stressed. Someone tried to talk to him, what a brave soul! The second one kept yawning so loudly.
Okay, so a new month begins. One thing for certain, i will be busy. Today, i went to church for another Word for life session. Tomorrow will be SDD. Wednesday morning WWS meeting, afternoon Word for life, night shepherding by James. And a WWS camp coming soon. Schedule packed. I definitely will not be slacking!
At the start of the week, i was bored. Dunno what to do. I was at home, playing psp for the entire day. I thought i must do something else other than just staying at home and playing psp. And be a couch potato. I must plan something to do. But at the end of the week, i wanted so much to have some time at home to rest.
Here's how the week went.
Monday morning, i continued to play psp. Afternoon, went out to celebrate Han Wei birthday, belated. Also watched the movie, "Body of lies". The movie was so-so. Didn't really get to enjoy the movie much. Because i was preoccupied with holding my bladder right from the start. Imagine holding it for 2 plus hours. OMG. Also, the movie ended somewhat abruptly, like a lack of meaning in the end. So life was still very slack.
Tuesday morning went airport to send Tifen and Li Lin (church dudes) off to Bali. Afternoon, went to WWS for a short briefing. Got my first pay, 20 bucks for 3 hours of work, mostly taken up by the briefing by leader Eugene which lasted 2 hours and did a bit of washing of containers too. After that, went Bras Basah to sell some books, totally worthless trip, got 2 bucks for 4 books. Had a bus concession card and plenty of time, so i wouldn't mind wasting the trip.
Wednesday morning, i went for my first training in 3-4 months. Did some staircase drills and then gyms. Subsequently, my calf muscles were pulling for the rest of the week. It was really horrible walking around with the pain. I was walking much slower than my usual quick speed of walking. Afternoon i went to church for Word for Life session, which taught people how to live a better life as a Christian. It was quite useful, had some fun during the session, thank god. Night, i went to buy a long pant for SDD and a birthday present for Ashley. Things were starting to get busy.
Thursday morning, went Yin Ling's house, all the way at Tampines for caregroup. We actually had to meet at 930am but i woke up at 845am. Quickly went to bathe, left home at 9am and managed to reach at the same time as some of my church friends at her house. What a wonderful comeback in this Amazing Race! Thank god. Afternoon, we went to church together for harvestor. We were then sent out onto the streets in town to do a Christmas survey on people. It was a good experience doing something meaningful for god. I had to leave early though, to be back home. Night time, i went back to town again, this time Dhoby Ghaut to meet up with my secondary 4 classmates from Catholic High. Really nice to meet up after such a long time, even though most of the people who turned up also studied in VJC. After that, went Ben Tay's house for a short while to download some games for my psp. Yay finally some new games to play, all my games are old fashion and i'm too lazy to download new ones myself. Touched home at midnight.
Friday morning, went to training again but it was kind of a waste of time. My calf muscles were pulling so i couldn't do much runs or jumps. Played some soccer though, quite lazy, didn't run much. Had late lunch with the trackers, went back home and prepared a short powerpoint presentation for YEE networking session the next day (not preparing to present to them but just in case they ask for it). Then, went Bugis to meet mum and sis for dinner before making another trip to airport to send Yin Ling off, on a trip to Australia to play basketball, represent Singapore. Touched home around midnight again. My legs were totally burned out.
Saturday morning, i went for the YEE networking session at Science Centre as early as 9am, with Shiang Nee and Tricia. Kind of slack because we spent the entire time listening to people's interesting presentations. About an online billing system (to save on papers for phone bills), electronic recycling, eating meatless meals and green buildings. Friends who are reading my blog, i encourage you to change your phone billing system to an online one, to save papers. :) Singtel and M1 offers this system but not Starhub. After the sharing session, i immediately rushed to town for church. Service was great. It taught us to try our best to forgive people even though they have done wrong to you because God has again and again forgiven our numerous sins. Excellent! After that, there was a ministry thing, something like CCA walk-about. I signed up for usher, "Hi welcome", "Thanks for coming". At night, went out with family. We went to an electronic store, bought a radio and a camera.
Finally Sunday. I was so tired but had a patrol duty at WWS with Kenji and Shiang Nee at 11am. Thank god it rained! :p We couldn't go for the boat or bike patrol in the end. I was also too exhausted to do so. Afternoon, i just slack at home, something i didn't plan to do at the start of the week, i was doing it again! At night, i went to Paradix, Singapore Pool, to watch soccer with my class. Man U versus Man City. Man U won one nil, Wayne Rooney! An entertaining match and drama at the start of the match because we had to find ways to sneak into the place. Because slippers were prohibited in the area, apparently. Touched home around midnight. Met a drunkard in the mrt and another on a bus on the way home. The first one sounded quite crazy, claiming that he was very stressed. Someone tried to talk to him, what a brave soul! The second one kept yawning so loudly.
Okay, so a new month begins. One thing for certain, i will be busy. Today, i went to church for another Word for life session. Tomorrow will be SDD. Wednesday morning WWS meeting, afternoon Word for life, night shepherding by James. And a WWS camp coming soon. Schedule packed. I definitely will not be slacking!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Leaves in the pocket
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes referees in England should take a leaf out of Roberto Rosetti's book as the ref did not hesitate to hand out a red card to Joan Capdevila for a high challenge on Ronaldo seven minutes from time.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
My plan for the next 4 months before NS
December, January, February and March. These are months before i get enlisted for army. I still do not know exactly when is my enlistment date yet but it will most probably be April i guess because "An enlistment notice will be sent to you two months before your enlistment date." So, what's my plans dude. Can't possibly slack around and count down to the days of army. And wait for money to drop from the sky.
I found a job today, at Waterways Watch Society, the external environment organisation i joined in July. Working days: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Working hours: 11am-6pm. 8 Dollars per hour. Working colleagues: Shiang Nee, Kenji and many other volunteers all around Singapore. What will i be doing: Adminstrative work, cleaning up, etc for the society. Not bad, at least i'm doing something meaningful for the next few months. There will be a WWS camp next week for students from Thursday to Saturday. So expect stuffs to do. Besides that, the group of people will be planning a 2 day conference held at Dunman High next June. Also have to re-organise the adminstrative work at WWS. It's a bit chaotic at the moment, according to the head Eugene.
Okay, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday covered. Saturday is church. Sunday is break. As for Monday and Wednesday, either slack around or look for a part time job which only require me to work once per week (maybe work at hotel as banquet but will be tiring, working hours mostly at night from 530pm to midnight).
Haha must start working very soon. This year, it will be my first Christmas as a Christian, so i'll expect to spend more money than before. Looking forward to all the Christmas presents i'll be getting too. Cheers.
I found a job today, at Waterways Watch Society, the external environment organisation i joined in July. Working days: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Working hours: 11am-6pm. 8 Dollars per hour. Working colleagues: Shiang Nee, Kenji and many other volunteers all around Singapore. What will i be doing: Adminstrative work, cleaning up, etc for the society. Not bad, at least i'm doing something meaningful for the next few months. There will be a WWS camp next week for students from Thursday to Saturday. So expect stuffs to do. Besides that, the group of people will be planning a 2 day conference held at Dunman High next June. Also have to re-organise the adminstrative work at WWS. It's a bit chaotic at the moment, according to the head Eugene.
Okay, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday covered. Saturday is church. Sunday is break. As for Monday and Wednesday, either slack around or look for a part time job which only require me to work once per week (maybe work at hotel as banquet but will be tiring, working hours mostly at night from 530pm to midnight).
Haha must start working very soon. This year, it will be my first Christmas as a Christian, so i'll expect to spend more money than before. Looking forward to all the Christmas presents i'll be getting too. Cheers.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
List of things i'll buy if i'm rich
Once i start working and earn money:
1) Camera
2) Bicycle
3) New shoes
4) Soccer shoes
5) New ipod
1) Camera
2) Bicycle
3) New shoes
4) Soccer shoes
5) New ipod
Saturday, November 22, 2008
A Levels is over, game on!
After months of sufferings, studying day to night, A levels is finally over!
First, a summary of the A level examinations. GP was weird, the essay did not have an environment question and the comprehension had a strange AQ. Mathes was great! Chemistry and Physics was okay, except that i was sick when i took both the paper 2. I really have to thank god for helping me out. Even though i was sick at the start of the 2nd week of A levels, i managed to pull myself through Physics P2, Chemistry P2, Economics P1&2. Couldn't think as sharply as usual during these exams but still, i've to thank god. Economics was so-so. Paper 2 was quite unusual because most of the questions involve more of thinking than sheer/brute force mugging. Paper 1, i mis-read the final part of the 2nd question. Maths H3 was do-able but i supposed the bell-curve for distinction will be damn high because of other imba people. The unfortunate thing is that i forgot the method for the integrating factor which costed me 5 marks in one of the question. Overall, quite ambitious but i wish for a perfect score for my A levels results, except for PW and Chinese, which are already over and there's no way back! But whatever results i get, i will gladly accept them because my future is in god's good hands. If he grants my wish, then yay. If he decides to give me something else, i promise not to get too worried because god will always be there to guide me to success in other means.
Next, post-exam celebrations. There were the last day and the last last day of A levels. The last day was on 14th nov, friday. It was after my Maths H3 paper and Chemistry P1. My class could afford to celebrate for a while because Physics P1 was on the following tuesday. We went Marina Square to have lunch at a noodles house and played Indian Poker. Subra and Foo Foo lost haha. Then, we ended up in Leisure Park, played bowling there because Marina Square was packed. Got a total score of around 100, not bad :) We also celebrated Nick's birthday on that day, bought him a cake. The last last day was really the last day. It was after Physics P1. Liberation! Mugging is over! We celebrated like dogs. Went to Bugis because we wanted to go to a cafe to play board games and have lunch at the same time. But the place was close when we reach so we went Pastamania to eat instead. Then we changed our mind and went Nazri's house. Watched Prestige, an excellent movie of magicians. Watched it before but still worth the time. Then we went out to have bubble tea and played in the playground, like kids.
Third, hospital check up and packing of room. On 19th november, i had to go to SGH in the morning to take a breathing test. Missed out on playing soccer at the Cage, so sad :( There were 4 tests in total. The first 2 tests were held in a cabin. I had to breathe in and out, sometimes breathe in hard and breathe out fast and long. It was quite tiring lol. For the 2nd test, the doctor had the cabin's door closed. The cabin was quite special. It could produce echos from outside the cabin. Another doctor was arranging papers and i can hear her hitting the papers onto the table. Wow haha. After that, i was back home arranging my room. It was a tiring task. I took the whole afternoon packing but still i'm not done with it yet. I'll continue to pack tomorrow. The last time i packed my stuffs, i was at the end of O levels. As i was packing, i realise i've too many stuffs in my cardboard. Secondary school books and notes, i thought they were of some use in JC but NO, so recycle or sell at Bras Basah. Toys, time to part with them, i'm too old for them, can't possibly keep them all. I'm just like a rubbish collector. But now, at least my study table is empty. Quite ironic, i only used my study table for putting notes, not for studying. Usually study on my bed or in the living room coffee table or outside home. Also, i'm planning to paint my room, make it as cosy as possible, anyway i've all the time in the world to do so right now before army, re-decorate it to my liking. Cheers!
Lastly, it's my class chalet. Class chalet was from Thursday to today. Track chalet was also on Thursday. On Thursday, i woke up late, around 1030am, packed my bag for chalet and by the time i reached Pasir Ris, it was 1245pm but still, i'm the 2nd to arrive, Wee Leong the 1st, everyone else very late. Then, around 3pm, me, Wee Leong, Subra, Marg, Michelle, Ben and Nick went to check in. Apparently, the person at the counter told us that we had to pay 260 dollars more if we are not NEBO members. So i had to join the NEBO membership for 20 dollars. But there's quite a few benefits and privileges from the membership e.g. discount for car-driving test at Ubi ComfortDelGro Driving Centre, discount prices for movie tickets and rental of skates from SkateSports ECP. After that, we went into the chalet. Living conditions were so-so. Upstairs bed and aircon. Downstairs television, toilet and fridge. Played a few hours of mahjong then went to track chalet. The farewell gift was a box with socks and a few photos of the track-and-field memories. Went back to class chalet at around 1130 with Ashley. Played FIFA, then the word "sial" came out from Justin and the guys keep saying sial. Played a car racing game, where the guys tried to smash cars out of the map. Other games: Bridge, Cheat, Homo, Tyti. Quote of the day was when we were playing Homo, at 530am, Subra was quite tired and when he lost one round, he suddenly shouted "Come come come" to Michelle in the Indian style and she went to him like a submissive wife, quoted from Justin. Then, we had nothing to do so i decided to spend some time telling people's fortune in marriage. Not bad sial, i was quite professional. We slept from 7-9am. Second day was FIFA then bowling at E!hub. I was flaccid. I got the 2 lowest scores of my life. 50 and 58, not my day. We played arcade after that. Funny moment of the day, a Malay on the motorcycle with his friend, saying that his motorbike is fast like a car sial. I laugh like a dog sial. Cannot maintain sial. Also, when Zhao Chen played the car racing game with me, Nazri and Justin, Nazri and Justin lapped Zhao Chen and kept "smashing him out of the map". Just when he thought he crossed the finishing line and that he finished 2nd, we reminded him that he had one more lap. Haha. Then, i had an early night, slept earliest at 11pm, woke up latest at 9am. Left with me, Ben, Subra, Nazri, Michelle and Megan. We went brunch and i went to send my church friend off at the airport.
In the afternoon, i had another fun time. James and I decided to play a trick on Melvin. We told the rest to trick him into believing that it's Rochelle's birthday, so that he can buy his own cake. To add salt onto wound, he even went to buy a present, thinking it's really Rochelle's birthday. Rochelle played her role really well, accepting birthday wishes from us like it's really her birthday. After church service, we went to the food court and even made Melvin set up his own cake. Then, we started to sing the birthday song and suddenly shouted his name. He was surprised and tricked. He chose his own cake and bought himself a birthday present. Funny sial. A trick masterminded by James and well-executed by me and Li Yin who accompanied him to purchase the cake.
More fun and enjoyment to come definitely. But i must look for a job soon. So that i will have money to spend. Good news, the WWS thing i'm doing with Kenji and Shiang Nee, is offering us something like an internship thing and we will be paid at a good rate. Alright! We will have to plan a conference which will be held in Dunman High next June.
First, a summary of the A level examinations. GP was weird, the essay did not have an environment question and the comprehension had a strange AQ. Mathes was great! Chemistry and Physics was okay, except that i was sick when i took both the paper 2. I really have to thank god for helping me out. Even though i was sick at the start of the 2nd week of A levels, i managed to pull myself through Physics P2, Chemistry P2, Economics P1&2. Couldn't think as sharply as usual during these exams but still, i've to thank god. Economics was so-so. Paper 2 was quite unusual because most of the questions involve more of thinking than sheer/brute force mugging. Paper 1, i mis-read the final part of the 2nd question. Maths H3 was do-able but i supposed the bell-curve for distinction will be damn high because of other imba people. The unfortunate thing is that i forgot the method for the integrating factor which costed me 5 marks in one of the question. Overall, quite ambitious but i wish for a perfect score for my A levels results, except for PW and Chinese, which are already over and there's no way back! But whatever results i get, i will gladly accept them because my future is in god's good hands. If he grants my wish, then yay. If he decides to give me something else, i promise not to get too worried because god will always be there to guide me to success in other means.
Next, post-exam celebrations. There were the last day and the last last day of A levels. The last day was on 14th nov, friday. It was after my Maths H3 paper and Chemistry P1. My class could afford to celebrate for a while because Physics P1 was on the following tuesday. We went Marina Square to have lunch at a noodles house and played Indian Poker. Subra and Foo Foo lost haha. Then, we ended up in Leisure Park, played bowling there because Marina Square was packed. Got a total score of around 100, not bad :) We also celebrated Nick's birthday on that day, bought him a cake. The last last day was really the last day. It was after Physics P1. Liberation! Mugging is over! We celebrated like dogs. Went to Bugis because we wanted to go to a cafe to play board games and have lunch at the same time. But the place was close when we reach so we went Pastamania to eat instead. Then we changed our mind and went Nazri's house. Watched Prestige, an excellent movie of magicians. Watched it before but still worth the time. Then we went out to have bubble tea and played in the playground, like kids.
Third, hospital check up and packing of room. On 19th november, i had to go to SGH in the morning to take a breathing test. Missed out on playing soccer at the Cage, so sad :( There were 4 tests in total. The first 2 tests were held in a cabin. I had to breathe in and out, sometimes breathe in hard and breathe out fast and long. It was quite tiring lol. For the 2nd test, the doctor had the cabin's door closed. The cabin was quite special. It could produce echos from outside the cabin. Another doctor was arranging papers and i can hear her hitting the papers onto the table. Wow haha. After that, i was back home arranging my room. It was a tiring task. I took the whole afternoon packing but still i'm not done with it yet. I'll continue to pack tomorrow. The last time i packed my stuffs, i was at the end of O levels. As i was packing, i realise i've too many stuffs in my cardboard. Secondary school books and notes, i thought they were of some use in JC but NO, so recycle or sell at Bras Basah. Toys, time to part with them, i'm too old for them, can't possibly keep them all. I'm just like a rubbish collector. But now, at least my study table is empty. Quite ironic, i only used my study table for putting notes, not for studying. Usually study on my bed or in the living room coffee table or outside home. Also, i'm planning to paint my room, make it as cosy as possible, anyway i've all the time in the world to do so right now before army, re-decorate it to my liking. Cheers!
Lastly, it's my class chalet. Class chalet was from Thursday to today. Track chalet was also on Thursday. On Thursday, i woke up late, around 1030am, packed my bag for chalet and by the time i reached Pasir Ris, it was 1245pm but still, i'm the 2nd to arrive, Wee Leong the 1st, everyone else very late. Then, around 3pm, me, Wee Leong, Subra, Marg, Michelle, Ben and Nick went to check in. Apparently, the person at the counter told us that we had to pay 260 dollars more if we are not NEBO members. So i had to join the NEBO membership for 20 dollars. But there's quite a few benefits and privileges from the membership e.g. discount for car-driving test at Ubi ComfortDelGro Driving Centre, discount prices for movie tickets and rental of skates from SkateSports ECP. After that, we went into the chalet. Living conditions were so-so. Upstairs bed and aircon. Downstairs television, toilet and fridge. Played a few hours of mahjong then went to track chalet. The farewell gift was a box with socks and a few photos of the track-and-field memories. Went back to class chalet at around 1130 with Ashley. Played FIFA, then the word "sial" came out from Justin and the guys keep saying sial. Played a car racing game, where the guys tried to smash cars out of the map. Other games: Bridge, Cheat, Homo, Tyti. Quote of the day was when we were playing Homo, at 530am, Subra was quite tired and when he lost one round, he suddenly shouted "Come come come" to Michelle in the Indian style and she went to him like a submissive wife, quoted from Justin. Then, we had nothing to do so i decided to spend some time telling people's fortune in marriage. Not bad sial, i was quite professional. We slept from 7-9am. Second day was FIFA then bowling at E!hub. I was flaccid. I got the 2 lowest scores of my life. 50 and 58, not my day. We played arcade after that. Funny moment of the day, a Malay on the motorcycle with his friend, saying that his motorbike is fast like a car sial. I laugh like a dog sial. Cannot maintain sial. Also, when Zhao Chen played the car racing game with me, Nazri and Justin, Nazri and Justin lapped Zhao Chen and kept "smashing him out of the map". Just when he thought he crossed the finishing line and that he finished 2nd, we reminded him that he had one more lap. Haha. Then, i had an early night, slept earliest at 11pm, woke up latest at 9am. Left with me, Ben, Subra, Nazri, Michelle and Megan. We went brunch and i went to send my church friend off at the airport.
In the afternoon, i had another fun time. James and I decided to play a trick on Melvin. We told the rest to trick him into believing that it's Rochelle's birthday, so that he can buy his own cake. To add salt onto wound, he even went to buy a present, thinking it's really Rochelle's birthday. Rochelle played her role really well, accepting birthday wishes from us like it's really her birthday. After church service, we went to the food court and even made Melvin set up his own cake. Then, we started to sing the birthday song and suddenly shouted his name. He was surprised and tricked. He chose his own cake and bought himself a birthday present. Funny sial. A trick masterminded by James and well-executed by me and Li Yin who accompanied him to purchase the cake.
More fun and enjoyment to come definitely. But i must look for a job soon. So that i will have money to spend. Good news, the WWS thing i'm doing with Kenji and Shiang Nee, is offering us something like an internship thing and we will be paid at a good rate. Alright! We will have to plan a conference which will be held in Dunman High next June.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
So check up at sgh was done yesterday. The check up wasn't any normal check-up. I had to see a specialist to see what happened to me. Apparently, i didn't know the doctor was a specialist until i was told by the specialist herself lol. I was told that i've a scar on the right side of my lungs. 2 reasons: Either i'm one of the special people who is born with it or some serious illness happened to me when i'm young. Because the specialist said, by the looks of the scar, it's quite old and has been there for a long time. Anyway, nothing serious will happen to me. Thank god! But i've to take another CT scan, one that is clearer than normal x-rays and more radioactive. It will be on the friday before A levels starts. Then after A levels, i've to see the specialist again to review the cause of the scar/etc. So most likely i'll be posted into army in April. Because they will not have enough time to post me in January.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tomorrow will be my check up day. Apparently, my x-ray screening from army check-up suggested persistent right hilar opacity. So they gave me a letter to go for check up at SGH tomorrow 10am. What's hilar opacity? Don't know..haha let's see tomorrow man. It will be the first time i'm going to the hospital for any kind of check-up. So it will be scary man. Let's hope for the best and let nothing bad happen to me. Protect me God!
Anyway, revision has been good so far. God blessed me! Since the start of this week, i've finished chemistry njc/rjc/hci/ajc/mjc/srjc prelims and A levels 05-07 papers 2 & 3 as well as physics hci/tjc/njc prelims papers 2 & 3. Brute force! Everyday has been studying, studying and studying. And God! :) Monday: Study in school from 8-12pm then went for mock gp exam. Tuesday: Gp consultation with Miss Chiam then studied in school till 8pm, touched home for dinner at 9pm (starving). Wednesday: Shepherding by James in the morning, bought dad a birthday present then studied at home from 12-7pm. Today: Economics mass lecture then studied in school from 12-6pm. In between, a crazy fire drill lol heheh.
Throughout this period of time, study or rest, tired or active, busy or free, bored or excited, i feel that i still must find time to think how god has blessed me all the time. Regardless of what happens, the relationship with god will be the most steady one. Psalms 18:2 The lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my god is my rock, in whom i take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I shall put god above any relationships. Because he is the one who provides me solutions to problems, grants our wishes and allows me to repent on what i have done wrong.
I have a bad habit, which is to rush through life, do things fast/walk fast/robot my way through. I must slow myself down, savour all the moments slowly, treasure the good stuffs people do for me. God teaches me this. To think through my life. The purpose of human lives, is to care for people around us. Do your best for them and they will give the best to you in return. On monday, for the mock gp exam, i wrote about whether we should extend kindness to others. I wanted to try something new besides environment. But didn't know what pushed me into attempting the kindness question. For the first time, i did such question and i ended up writing as though i was talking. Very casual indeed. Haha. Anyway, i argued that we should extend kindness to others. It's the thought that counts. No matter how much money you donate or how much effort you put in (e.g. teaching your friend), the work we do will be cherished by others. Kindness is a good deed, an act to redeem for our sins and to honour god. Because it is god who taught us the need to do more for others, not just to care for yourself.
On the last note, whenever you guys, yes you people who are reading my blog right now, whenever you go to the beach to play, please clear your rubbish. Around 2 weeks ago, i went for a bike patrol for WWS to clear litter and found a lot of litter left behind by the dragon boaters near the Nicoll Highway area. It was terrible and the group of us could do little to clean up the place. Be kind to your fellow users of the beach and keep it clean. Love the environment :)
Anyway, revision has been good so far. God blessed me! Since the start of this week, i've finished chemistry njc/rjc/hci/ajc/mjc/srjc prelims and A levels 05-07 papers 2 & 3 as well as physics hci/tjc/njc prelims papers 2 & 3. Brute force! Everyday has been studying, studying and studying. And God! :) Monday: Study in school from 8-12pm then went for mock gp exam. Tuesday: Gp consultation with Miss Chiam then studied in school till 8pm, touched home for dinner at 9pm (starving). Wednesday: Shepherding by James in the morning, bought dad a birthday present then studied at home from 12-7pm. Today: Economics mass lecture then studied in school from 12-6pm. In between, a crazy fire drill lol heheh.
Throughout this period of time, study or rest, tired or active, busy or free, bored or excited, i feel that i still must find time to think how god has blessed me all the time. Regardless of what happens, the relationship with god will be the most steady one. Psalms 18:2 The lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my god is my rock, in whom i take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I shall put god above any relationships. Because he is the one who provides me solutions to problems, grants our wishes and allows me to repent on what i have done wrong.
I have a bad habit, which is to rush through life, do things fast/walk fast/robot my way through. I must slow myself down, savour all the moments slowly, treasure the good stuffs people do for me. God teaches me this. To think through my life. The purpose of human lives, is to care for people around us. Do your best for them and they will give the best to you in return. On monday, for the mock gp exam, i wrote about whether we should extend kindness to others. I wanted to try something new besides environment. But didn't know what pushed me into attempting the kindness question. For the first time, i did such question and i ended up writing as though i was talking. Very casual indeed. Haha. Anyway, i argued that we should extend kindness to others. It's the thought that counts. No matter how much money you donate or how much effort you put in (e.g. teaching your friend), the work we do will be cherished by others. Kindness is a good deed, an act to redeem for our sins and to honour god. Because it is god who taught us the need to do more for others, not just to care for yourself.
On the last note, whenever you guys, yes you people who are reading my blog right now, whenever you go to the beach to play, please clear your rubbish. Around 2 weeks ago, i went for a bike patrol for WWS to clear litter and found a lot of litter left behind by the dragon boaters near the Nicoll Highway area. It was terrible and the group of us could do little to clean up the place. Be kind to your fellow users of the beach and keep it clean. Love the environment :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
Prelims results are back. GP C, Maths A, Chemistry A, Physics A, Economics D. And Maths H3 51/68 for now. I'm really glad for the help i got from my friends, in terms of the support they gave me, the motivation to study and the prayers to keep me under the good hands of god. Your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11. During the exam period, i constantly prayed for god's help and he has indeed given the strength and endurance to sit through all the papers, especially maths h3, which was the last paper, at a time when everyone should be playing. GP was always a problem for me so i was delighted to get a C. I got an amazing 34/50 for my environmental essay, about champions of environmental efforts being hypocrites. All the knowledge i gained from my involvement in earthwatch and waterways watch society came in good use lol. Then there were maths, physics and chemistry. An A is an A, so no disputes. For economics, even though i would wish for a better grade, i gladly accept this D because this is fate and this is what god has given me, to motivate me to work even harder if i wish for something better. Today i got back maths h3 and got 30/40 for the compulsory differential equations topic and 21/28 for combinatories. For one of the combinatories question (10b), someone jokingly wrote down his answer, put a "confirm wrong" sign and hand it in. Haha. Anyways, throughout this week, i've been thinking how god has blessed me, creating me with a good mind, one that is good with numbers, my friends say. It's really a pleasure to be awarded with great results but it should serve to motivate one to work even harder and not get complacent. For those who did not perform up to their expectations, do not get discouraged. Because there will always be a way as long as there is god. As long as you work hard, god will acknowledge that. Even though things may look bleak now, you will never know what will happen in years to come. As Nick said, "One day, i'll be richer than all of you all." There is always a chance that you will suddenly find your way and be enlightened. As long as there is a will, there is a way. You will soon be rewarded if you continue to stick hard to your task of fulfilling your goals/targets and fulfilling yourself. Any Man born in this world is brilliant. It's whether they choose to make full way of it and work towards success and god's words and will.
But with great power comes great jealousy/overconfidence. All these are sins which will be harmful to us in some ways. According to god's words, we should repent on such sins and try our best not to commit them ever again. Often, people who perform well go about comparing themselves with others, hoping to be the top of the pile. As Justin said, "The flaccid top seed" and this guy is really a flaccid top seed. He sneakingly went about asking for Justin's results via his friends, hoping to beat everyone in the school! But what for? As long as I keep to your task, fulfill yourself, stick to what I aim for, which is god's will, I can never be faulted. We should never be jealous of others just because they perform better than us. Your rivals are not your enemies. Even if they are your enemies, love your enemies. I was once guilty of such jealousy but somehow when i came to JC, i managed to overcome it.
Today, i spent time to teach my friend in school, before and after my maths h3 lesson, till around 7pm. Life is not just about receiving gifts/knowledge/food/money/care from people. It's also about giving and god taught me this. If there is no one to give, do you think anyone will be able to receive? So i feel that since giving in terms of knowledge is a task which is within me, i shall give in joy to friends who seek me. I sacrificed my soccer playing time this afternoon to teach my friend chemisty: group2, group7, transition metals, organic nitrogen compounds and go through the errors for the prelims. Anyway, i taking a break till the end of the week. Have a break man. Or else the robot will break down. So i spent the whole afternoon resting, doing nothing except teaching my friend. Yup, it's actually quite fun to give. I will feel a sense of fulfilment and the glory of god because god is all about giving to mankind. Even if i have to sacrifice my time, give it up happily in the task of giving. It's the same as spending time to worship god. We have to give up our precious time in this intense studying period.
Perform well, be happy, remember to thank god and continue to work hard.
Do not be a flaccid top seed and become overly concerned about how others perform.
But with great power comes great jealousy/overconfidence. All these are sins which will be harmful to us in some ways. According to god's words, we should repent on such sins and try our best not to commit them ever again. Often, people who perform well go about comparing themselves with others, hoping to be the top of the pile. As Justin said, "The flaccid top seed" and this guy is really a flaccid top seed. He sneakingly went about asking for Justin's results via his friends, hoping to beat everyone in the school! But what for? As long as I keep to your task, fulfill yourself, stick to what I aim for, which is god's will, I can never be faulted. We should never be jealous of others just because they perform better than us. Your rivals are not your enemies. Even if they are your enemies, love your enemies. I was once guilty of such jealousy but somehow when i came to JC, i managed to overcome it.
Today, i spent time to teach my friend in school, before and after my maths h3 lesson, till around 7pm. Life is not just about receiving gifts/knowledge/food/money/care from people. It's also about giving and god taught me this. If there is no one to give, do you think anyone will be able to receive? So i feel that since giving in terms of knowledge is a task which is within me, i shall give in joy to friends who seek me. I sacrificed my soccer playing time this afternoon to teach my friend chemisty: group2, group7, transition metals, organic nitrogen compounds and go through the errors for the prelims. Anyway, i taking a break till the end of the week. Have a break man. Or else the robot will break down. So i spent the whole afternoon resting, doing nothing except teaching my friend. Yup, it's actually quite fun to give. I will feel a sense of fulfilment and the glory of god because god is all about giving to mankind. Even if i have to sacrifice my time, give it up happily in the task of giving. It's the same as spending time to worship god. We have to give up our precious time in this intense studying period.
Perform well, be happy, remember to thank god and continue to work hard.
Do not be a flaccid top seed and become overly concerned about how others perform.
Do not be a hypocrite. Care for others because you have the heart to care.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Prelims is finally over
Alright! My prelims finally ended yesterday. Maths H3 was the very last exam of this Prelims so i was the last dude to be able to say, "Prelims is over!" The maths H3 paper was quite ok. I didn't really spend much time revising for it, just reading through the notes and looking at the examples to familiarise myself with the methods to solve the questions. There were 4 topics to study. 1 compulsory - 4 questions (40 marks), other 3 topics - 2 questions each, choose 4 questions to do (56 marks), 4 marks for presentation of answers. I took a gamble, studied 2 out of the 3 non-compulsory topics, meaning that i will not have any choice of which questions to do for the 2nd part of the paper. Nevertheless, i thought that it will be possible to scrap a distinction for the paper, but a merit has a higher probability, according to bijection principle. Haha just joking.
After the maths H3 paper, i was liberated, freed from studying, but only temporarily. I immediately took a bus home, so that i can watch the 7pm channel 8 show, last episode haha. I was so exhausted on the way back home, maybe because of the mind-straining maths H3 exam. Around 8pm, after the show, i went to my classmate Ashley's house. Several other classmates were already there by the time i reached. Around 15 of us went. We had a Jumbo restaurant supper. Ashley's parents brought the leftover crabs back from their restaurant. They were delicious. Then some of us played mahjong, others played cards, others played Xbox. For some of my classmates, it was their first day learning how to play mahjong. They thought that it was actually very fun and got addicted. Mahjong had an element of stress, as it required them to use their mind constantly. I was the only one who played 6 straight hours of mahjong, from 11pm to 5am. The others got tired eventually and slept. Then at 5am, i stopped playing mahjong as everyone else went to sleep and i tried something new, Halo 3 on Xbox. The 5 dudes who were still awake, me, Justin, Beneb, Wee Leong and Nick. To be honest, i suck at the game Halo 3. Constantly getting killed by them from behind without even knowing. In the end, the race to 25 kills game saw the result: Ben 25, Justin 8, Nick 7, Me 0. I was never a fan of such killing game, so i wasn't really surprising. Then we went to sleep at 530am till 1030am. It was a fun time at Ashley's house, a good post-prelim celebration for me, only finishing prelims the previous day.
Throughout this entire Prelims, i was blessed by God. Usually, I will study according to my study plan. If I fails to stick to it, I will feel stressed up and will not be able to do things effectively. This time, I was at times behind my study plan, mainly because I had to spend time to worship God. Nevertheless, it was time worth spending. Despite being behind my study plan, I will pray to God for help, ask him for confidence and the power to concentrate throughout. It really helped because at the end of the day, I will be able to finish studying.
This prelims was a brand new experience for me, coming to know God in a period which requires lots of mental strength. These friends constantly reminded me that even as we faced obstacles and problems, treat these tests like pure joy. Church service 13/09/2008, James 1:2-6 Exams are just a test of perseverance from God. Request for God's wisdom and he will bring you through them with confidence. He is like a guy standing in front of you during your exam and showing you the answer sheet. He gives you the assurance of your ability, so that we can make full use of the knowledge we have learned to answer the questions in the exams.
Next, I am thankful to all my caregroup friends too, for their constant support in this Prelims, sending sms to give me the assurance that god will always be by my side throughout this mentally-exhausting period. Thanks to Li Yin, Chia Ling and Rochelle for taking time off to pray for me before my Maths H3 exam, at a time when they should be enjoying their time somewhere else. "Thanks for coming!"
After the maths H3 paper, i was liberated, freed from studying, but only temporarily. I immediately took a bus home, so that i can watch the 7pm channel 8 show, last episode haha. I was so exhausted on the way back home, maybe because of the mind-straining maths H3 exam. Around 8pm, after the show, i went to my classmate Ashley's house. Several other classmates were already there by the time i reached. Around 15 of us went. We had a Jumbo restaurant supper. Ashley's parents brought the leftover crabs back from their restaurant. They were delicious. Then some of us played mahjong, others played cards, others played Xbox. For some of my classmates, it was their first day learning how to play mahjong. They thought that it was actually very fun and got addicted. Mahjong had an element of stress, as it required them to use their mind constantly. I was the only one who played 6 straight hours of mahjong, from 11pm to 5am. The others got tired eventually and slept. Then at 5am, i stopped playing mahjong as everyone else went to sleep and i tried something new, Halo 3 on Xbox. The 5 dudes who were still awake, me, Justin, Beneb, Wee Leong and Nick. To be honest, i suck at the game Halo 3. Constantly getting killed by them from behind without even knowing. In the end, the race to 25 kills game saw the result: Ben 25, Justin 8, Nick 7, Me 0. I was never a fan of such killing game, so i wasn't really surprising. Then we went to sleep at 530am till 1030am. It was a fun time at Ashley's house, a good post-prelim celebration for me, only finishing prelims the previous day.
Throughout this entire Prelims, i was blessed by God. Usually, I will study according to my study plan. If I fails to stick to it, I will feel stressed up and will not be able to do things effectively. This time, I was at times behind my study plan, mainly because I had to spend time to worship God. Nevertheless, it was time worth spending. Despite being behind my study plan, I will pray to God for help, ask him for confidence and the power to concentrate throughout. It really helped because at the end of the day, I will be able to finish studying.
This prelims was a brand new experience for me, coming to know God in a period which requires lots of mental strength. These friends constantly reminded me that even as we faced obstacles and problems, treat these tests like pure joy. Church service 13/09/2008, James 1:2-6 Exams are just a test of perseverance from God. Request for God's wisdom and he will bring you through them with confidence. He is like a guy standing in front of you during your exam and showing you the answer sheet. He gives you the assurance of your ability, so that we can make full use of the knowledge we have learned to answer the questions in the exams.
Next, I am thankful to all my caregroup friends too, for their constant support in this Prelims, sending sms to give me the assurance that god will always be by my side throughout this mentally-exhausting period. Thanks to Li Yin, Chia Ling and Rochelle for taking time off to pray for me before my Maths H3 exam, at a time when they should be enjoying their time somewhere else. "Thanks for coming!"
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
It's being a long time since i wrote a blog. Between this period, i've been really busy studying for Prelims. I've also devoted myself to be a christian now. Going church every Saturday afternoon. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Being a christian really changed me. I learned about the sins human beings commit. Disrespect to parents, theft, lying, scolding vulgarities, lust, anger, etc. These sins will send us to hell and god spared us from hell by dying on a cross. Before joining Christ, i thought that i was perfect. Now i know that i am actually guilty of some sins. Disrespect to parents is one. Sometimes i will tend to ignore my parents when they keep bugging me to study. I'm also a very unthankful person. My dad fetches me to school everyday, my mum takes care of me when i'm sick. Yet i never had the habit to say thank you, even to my friends. I'm a forgettful person too. Tend to forget the care and concern by others. Even friends around me, i may forget them if i do not stay in contact. Like my Primary 6 monitor, i forgot who is he when my friends mentioned to me in Secondary 2. Just 2 years, i will forget people, how fast! This is a bad habit that i need to correct. Having known all these sins i commit, i should not just leave it as it is. I should try to repent to god, tell him that i have done wrong, then god will help you overcome your sins and temptations. Besides that, i can pray to god to ask him for help in several things. Tell him what i want and with his power, he can slowly ease me to success one day.
GP was over on Monday. Quite ok, i wrote the essay on environment, people who support environmental causes being hypocrites. Gave an example about my WWS volunteer thing, which i went for bike and boat patrol. :) The comprehension was about gambling. Hopefully, both the comprehension and the essay will go well and i'll get a good grade.
Less than 2 weeks to the rest of the subjects, i pray that i will have all the strength and concentration needed to study and sit through Prelims. Pray that everyone will do well for Prelims! God bless..
GP was over on Monday. Quite ok, i wrote the essay on environment, people who support environmental causes being hypocrites. Gave an example about my WWS volunteer thing, which i went for bike and boat patrol. :) The comprehension was about gambling. Hopefully, both the comprehension and the essay will go well and i'll get a good grade.
Less than 2 weeks to the rest of the subjects, i pray that i will have all the strength and concentration needed to study and sit through Prelims. Pray that everyone will do well for Prelims! God bless..
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The jumping troubles goes on. I was looking for Mr Melvin Tan at the pe dept. I was too lazy to take my shoes off so i stood by the door. As his table was way inside, i tried to tip-top and see if he was around. But i couldn't see clearly so i decided to jump and check it out. Ouch! I knocked onto the top of my head. Hard, so hard that there was a big bang. The trackers outside the pe dept all turned and looked at me. Ouch! I touched my head. It was wet. So i was scared that it was bleeding. Then i looked at my hand. Phew, just water from my bath in the morning. But the bad karma goes on and on. After i fell and damaged my chin last fri. I'm still abit dizzy at the moment. Studying just now was a bit unproductive. Not sure if i'm distracted by Olympics or because of the knock on the head. Speaking about Olympics, studying at home is not really productive now. Because there are 6 Olympics channels on tv. Swimming, archery, soccer, hockey, basketball, shooting, fencing, cycling, handball, volleyball, etc. How do you expect me to control myself? Anyway, Michael Phelps is the man! 5 events, 5 golds, 5 world records! Alright come on ah! 5 in the bag, 3 to go!
Quote of the day:
You can promise to commit to something. But there comes a day when time does not favour your course. Nevertheless, the most important thing is that your HEART remains faithful, loyal and committed.
Quote of the day:
You can promise to commit to something. But there comes a day when time does not favour your course. Nevertheless, the most important thing is that your HEART remains faithful, loyal and committed.
Friday, August 8, 2008
A new lease of life
Yesterday i finally told my parents that i've converted to become a christian. It was a big decision to make because i was once a buddhist. I thought that i have finally accepted god in my heart and i am willing to commit myself to being a christian. At first, my mum asked me why didn't i ask for her permission before making this decision. She asked what made me want to be a christian all of a sudden. She also asked if i will have the time to commit to being a christian and studying at the same time. Christianity has given us a new purpose and meaning in life. It has given me pleasure from the friends i have come to meet so far. From the church service i attended so far, i found the message which they are bringing forward extremely meaningful. So i have decided to be a christian.
On the same day, it was the first anniversary of the youth association in Hope Church. Last year, they started off by setting up care groups in 5 JCs. Then they expanded and their care groups now exist in all the JCs. So i took time off studying and went to Clementi SIM to celebrate, together with my 2 other VJC friends, Chia Ling and James. We interact with people from all other JCs, played games and prizes were given out for the best of the best and the worst of the worst among JCs. I had a really fun time.
The celebration ended ay around 10pm. We left the place and were walking to the bus stop together. I was sort of playful and was jumping around, as usual. Then, i came upon a metal chain barrier. So i decided to run and jump over it. Unfortunately, i took off too close to the chain. I knew that i was in trouble. My leg got hooked by the chain and i fell flat, hurting my chest and cutting my chin. Immediately, i picked myself up because i didn't want anyone to worry too much. My friends rushed forward and ask if i was fine. At first, i really felt okay except for a damaged chin and a bruised chest. All of a sudden, my mind was spinning. I couldn't balance and felt like fainting. Soon, my eye vision was gone. My friends immediately helped me to the ground and i just laid there. I told myself not to faint. I didn't want my parents to worry about me too. I tried my best to regain my vision and it took a while before vision was regained. From dark to purple then back to normal. It was my first ever experience of nearly blanking out. I had to fight very hard to remain conscious. Thank god that i didn't faint. He gave me the strength to fight on for my family and my friends. Life is precious. We should cherish every moment of our lives and should not commit too much sins. That's the reason why i chose to serve god. Maybe this fall will awaken me, for all the sins i have done and i've been punished for them. But after this, i will commit myself to going to church and atone for my sins.
On the same day, it was the first anniversary of the youth association in Hope Church. Last year, they started off by setting up care groups in 5 JCs. Then they expanded and their care groups now exist in all the JCs. So i took time off studying and went to Clementi SIM to celebrate, together with my 2 other VJC friends, Chia Ling and James. We interact with people from all other JCs, played games and prizes were given out for the best of the best and the worst of the worst among JCs. I had a really fun time.
The celebration ended ay around 10pm. We left the place and were walking to the bus stop together. I was sort of playful and was jumping around, as usual. Then, i came upon a metal chain barrier. So i decided to run and jump over it. Unfortunately, i took off too close to the chain. I knew that i was in trouble. My leg got hooked by the chain and i fell flat, hurting my chest and cutting my chin. Immediately, i picked myself up because i didn't want anyone to worry too much. My friends rushed forward and ask if i was fine. At first, i really felt okay except for a damaged chin and a bruised chest. All of a sudden, my mind was spinning. I couldn't balance and felt like fainting. Soon, my eye vision was gone. My friends immediately helped me to the ground and i just laid there. I told myself not to faint. I didn't want my parents to worry about me too. I tried my best to regain my vision and it took a while before vision was regained. From dark to purple then back to normal. It was my first ever experience of nearly blanking out. I had to fight very hard to remain conscious. Thank god that i didn't faint. He gave me the strength to fight on for my family and my friends. Life is precious. We should cherish every moment of our lives and should not commit too much sins. That's the reason why i chose to serve god. Maybe this fall will awaken me, for all the sins i have done and i've been punished for them. But after this, i will commit myself to going to church and atone for my sins.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The past few days, i wanted to write a blog post but i will tend to forget what i wanted to say come night time when i log in. Never mind because i have been very busy, working very hard for prelims and not let anything distract me. I followed my study plan so far and just finished till market structure for economics. I must really do my best in order to get the scholarship and the enrolment in the university i prefer. Yesterday, there was a scholarship fair in my school. Different associations set up booth in the hall and organise talks in the different venues to aid our choice of scholarship. Some of the scholarships really stirred my interest. BCA, Firefly JTC, DSTA, etc. All these scholarships give me an opportunity to seek my future in engineering, particularly civil engineering which involves buildings of stuffs. I heard from BCA that there are 2 choices of the scholarship. One of them is to work with an external industry and be bonded for a shorter period of time. This sounds thrilling because you will be able to get first-hand experience of working in a building and engineering industry while studying. The requirements of all these scholarships? 4As of course. So hard work and a dose of luck is essential.
Anyway, i found a very interesting show on National Geographic Channel, the Mad Labs. Through scientific research, it tells us a lot of crazy stuffs about different findings. Why birds prefer to shit on white cars? What is change blindness? Why people hug? Fish actually fart at night! What is the best cure for spice? The rotation of bread when it falls off the table. Human helicopter in Japan. The new pac man game. Worm can cure asthma. Females have generally thicker ass than males and thus need longer needles for injection.
I'm thinking of changing my study plan a bit. I'll try to finish the first part of my study plan, which is the reading through of my notes as soon as possible. If i finish by the end of next week, when i've time, then i can give my friends some help if needed. :) After which i will start the second part of my study plan, which is the memorising of details in week 9. All the way!
Anyway, i found a very interesting show on National Geographic Channel, the Mad Labs. Through scientific research, it tells us a lot of crazy stuffs about different findings. Why birds prefer to shit on white cars? What is change blindness? Why people hug? Fish actually fart at night! What is the best cure for spice? The rotation of bread when it falls off the table. Human helicopter in Japan. The new pac man game. Worm can cure asthma. Females have generally thicker ass than males and thus need longer needles for injection.
I'm thinking of changing my study plan a bit. I'll try to finish the first part of my study plan, which is the reading through of my notes as soon as possible. If i finish by the end of next week, when i've time, then i can give my friends some help if needed. :) After which i will start the second part of my study plan, which is the memorising of details in week 9. All the way!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Serious studies starting soon
Yesterday was Speech Day. It was boring. So many people didn't turn up and it was a bit of a waste of time. After the event, i went dinner with my family at a seafood restaurant near Yishun stadium. It was a "farewell dinner" for my sister before she enters her university next week. We spent $139, ate a chilli crab, sambal sotong, fish in claypot and pork ribs. It was so delicious! At night, i went Yong Cheng's house to stay over, together with some of my secondary 4 classmates too. Benjamin, Han Wei, Jing Ren and Zhen Yang. We played card games and watch some movies including Jumper.
In the morning, i went for GP tuition at Orchard Plaza at 9am before returning to Yong Cheng's house. On the way, i packaged lunch for all of them. After lunch, we played a few games of mahjong. Then, Yong Cheng, Benjamin, Jing Ren and Zhen Yang went to the condominium's swimming pool to swim while Han Wei and I brought homework to do. I did some part of the Complex Numbers 4 tutorial. After their swim, we went back to the house and finally started to study. The plan was actually to play and spare some time to study. But in the end, only a small portion of time was used to study. Nevertheless, i spent some time studying Economics too. I read the essay plans which my sister gave me. Not bad but i will start serious, really serious revision tomorrow. I had promised myself. Alright come on ah!
Here's my serious study plan
Reading notes/past-year papers:
28/07 - Economics: Central Problem, Demand/Supply, Elasticity
29/07 - Economics: Applications, Theory of Production and Cost
30/07 - Economics: Market Structure
31/07 - Economics: Market Structure
01/08 - Economics: Market Structure, EOS/Size of Firms, Cost Benefit Analysis
02/08 - Buffer
03/08 - Economics: Market Failure, Income Inequality, Government Failure
04/08 - Chemistry: Chemical Bonding, Periodic Table, Group 2 Metals, Group 7 Elements, Transition Metals
05/08 - Chemistry: Atomic Structure, Atoms/Molecules/Stoichiometry, Gaseous State, Redox Titration, Chemical Equilibrium, Thermochemistry, Chemical Energetics
06/08 - Economics: International Trade, Introduction to Macroeconomics, National Income Accounting
07/08 - Economics: Economic Growth, Recessions/Booms, Money
08/08 - Economics: Inflation/Deflation, Unemployment, BOP/Foreign Exchange
09/08 - Physics: Measurement Techniques, Physical Quantity, Kinematics, Forces, Dynamics, Work/Energy/Power, Thermal Physics, Ideal Gases, Thermodynamics, Oscillations, Wave Motion, Superposition
10/08 - Economics: Macroeconomics Policies, Exchange Rate Policy, Conflicting Goals
11/08 - Chemistry: Ionic Equilibrium 1 & 2, Electrochemistry 1 & 2, Introduction to Organic Chemistry, Alkanes, Alkenes
12/08 - Chemistry: Arenes, Halogen Deriatives, Hydroxy Compounds, Carbonyl Compounds, Carboxylic Acids and Deriatives, Organic Nitrogen Compounds
13/08 - Physics: Circular Motion, Gravitational Field, Electric Field, Electromagnetism, Electromagnetic Induction, Alternating Current
14/08 - Physics: Current Electricity, DC Circuits, Quantum Physics 1-3, Lasers/Semiconductors
15/08 - Physics: Nuclear Physics, Radioactivity, Data Analysis
16/08 - Maths
17/08 - Maths
18/08 - Buffer
19/08 - Buffer
20/08 - Buffer
Memorising details:
21/08 - Physics: Measurement Techniques, Physical Quantity, Kinematics, Forces, Dynamics, Work/Energy/Power, Thermal Physics, Ideal Gases, Thermodynamics, Oscillations, Wave Motion, Superposition
22/08 - Physics: Circular Motion, Gravitational Field, Electric Field, Electromagnetism, Electromagnetic Induction, Alternating Current
23/08 - Chemistry: Atomic Structure, Atoms/Molecules/Stoichiometry, Gaseous State, Redox Titration, Chemical Equilibrium, Thermochemistry, Chemical Energetics
24/08 - GP Revision
25/08 - Chemistry: Chemical Bonding, Periodic Table, Group 2 Metals, Group 7 Elements, Transition Metals
26/08 - Economics: Central Problem, Demand/Supply, Elasticity, Applications, Theory of Production and Cost
27/08 - Economics: Market Structure, EOS/Size of Firms
28/08 - Economics: Market Failure, Cost Benefit Analysis
29/08 - Physics: Current Electricity, DC Circuits, Quantum Physics 1-3, Lasers/Semiconductors
30/08 - Chemistry: Ionic Equilibrium 1 & 2, Electrochemistry 1 & 2, Introduction to Organic Chemistry, Alkanes, Alkenes
31/08 - Chemistry: Arenes, Halogen Deriatives, Hydroxy Compounds, Carbonyl Compounds, Carboxylic Acids and Deriatives, Organic Nitrogen Compounds
01/09 - Economics: Income Inequality, Government Failure
02/09 - Economics: International Trade, Introduction to Macroeconomics, National Income Accounting, Economic Growth
03/09 - Economics: Recessions/Booms, Money, Inflation/Deflation
04/09 - Economics: Unemployment, BOP/Foreign Exchange, Macroeconomics Policies
05/09 - Economics: Exchange Rate Policy, Conflicting Goals
06/09 - Physics: Nuclear Physics, Radioactivity, Data Analysis
Anyway, my impression of someone has changed terribly. This friend of mine won an award for a good cause. But i heard from my other friend that she actually asked her classmates to vote for her so that she will win the award and it will appear good in her testimonial. If what my friend said is true, she will definitely lose my respect. I mean, if you wish to do something nice, it should really come from your heart. Don't be driven just because of the achievement you will get, especially when it concerns a human life like adopting a kid. I'm not saying that everyone is perfect and has excellent moral values. But i strongly loathe such scheming behaviour and believe that this is a crime. I will never commit such a sin.
In the morning, i went for GP tuition at Orchard Plaza at 9am before returning to Yong Cheng's house. On the way, i packaged lunch for all of them. After lunch, we played a few games of mahjong. Then, Yong Cheng, Benjamin, Jing Ren and Zhen Yang went to the condominium's swimming pool to swim while Han Wei and I brought homework to do. I did some part of the Complex Numbers 4 tutorial. After their swim, we went back to the house and finally started to study. The plan was actually to play and spare some time to study. But in the end, only a small portion of time was used to study. Nevertheless, i spent some time studying Economics too. I read the essay plans which my sister gave me. Not bad but i will start serious, really serious revision tomorrow. I had promised myself. Alright come on ah!
Here's my serious study plan
Reading notes/past-year papers:
28/07 - Economics: Central Problem, Demand/Supply, Elasticity
29/07 - Economics: Applications, Theory of Production and Cost
30/07 - Economics: Market Structure
31/07 - Economics: Market Structure
01/08 - Economics: Market Structure, EOS/Size of Firms, Cost Benefit Analysis
02/08 - Buffer
03/08 - Economics: Market Failure, Income Inequality, Government Failure
04/08 - Chemistry: Chemical Bonding, Periodic Table, Group 2 Metals, Group 7 Elements, Transition Metals
05/08 - Chemistry: Atomic Structure, Atoms/Molecules/Stoichiometry, Gaseous State, Redox Titration, Chemical Equilibrium, Thermochemistry, Chemical Energetics
06/08 - Economics: International Trade, Introduction to Macroeconomics, National Income Accounting
07/08 - Economics: Economic Growth, Recessions/Booms, Money
08/08 - Economics: Inflation/Deflation, Unemployment, BOP/Foreign Exchange
09/08 - Physics: Measurement Techniques, Physical Quantity, Kinematics, Forces, Dynamics, Work/Energy/Power, Thermal Physics, Ideal Gases, Thermodynamics, Oscillations, Wave Motion, Superposition
10/08 - Economics: Macroeconomics Policies, Exchange Rate Policy, Conflicting Goals
11/08 - Chemistry: Ionic Equilibrium 1 & 2, Electrochemistry 1 & 2, Introduction to Organic Chemistry, Alkanes, Alkenes
12/08 - Chemistry: Arenes, Halogen Deriatives, Hydroxy Compounds, Carbonyl Compounds, Carboxylic Acids and Deriatives, Organic Nitrogen Compounds
13/08 - Physics: Circular Motion, Gravitational Field, Electric Field, Electromagnetism, Electromagnetic Induction, Alternating Current
14/08 - Physics: Current Electricity, DC Circuits, Quantum Physics 1-3, Lasers/Semiconductors
15/08 - Physics: Nuclear Physics, Radioactivity, Data Analysis
16/08 - Maths
17/08 - Maths
18/08 - Buffer
19/08 - Buffer
20/08 - Buffer
Memorising details:
21/08 - Physics: Measurement Techniques, Physical Quantity, Kinematics, Forces, Dynamics, Work/Energy/Power, Thermal Physics, Ideal Gases, Thermodynamics, Oscillations, Wave Motion, Superposition
22/08 - Physics: Circular Motion, Gravitational Field, Electric Field, Electromagnetism, Electromagnetic Induction, Alternating Current
23/08 - Chemistry: Atomic Structure, Atoms/Molecules/Stoichiometry, Gaseous State, Redox Titration, Chemical Equilibrium, Thermochemistry, Chemical Energetics
24/08 - GP Revision
25/08 - Chemistry: Chemical Bonding, Periodic Table, Group 2 Metals, Group 7 Elements, Transition Metals
26/08 - Economics: Central Problem, Demand/Supply, Elasticity, Applications, Theory of Production and Cost
27/08 - Economics: Market Structure, EOS/Size of Firms
28/08 - Economics: Market Failure, Cost Benefit Analysis
29/08 - Physics: Current Electricity, DC Circuits, Quantum Physics 1-3, Lasers/Semiconductors
30/08 - Chemistry: Ionic Equilibrium 1 & 2, Electrochemistry 1 & 2, Introduction to Organic Chemistry, Alkanes, Alkenes
31/08 - Chemistry: Arenes, Halogen Deriatives, Hydroxy Compounds, Carbonyl Compounds, Carboxylic Acids and Deriatives, Organic Nitrogen Compounds
01/09 - Economics: Income Inequality, Government Failure
02/09 - Economics: International Trade, Introduction to Macroeconomics, National Income Accounting, Economic Growth
03/09 - Economics: Recessions/Booms, Money, Inflation/Deflation
04/09 - Economics: Unemployment, BOP/Foreign Exchange, Macroeconomics Policies
05/09 - Economics: Exchange Rate Policy, Conflicting Goals
06/09 - Physics: Nuclear Physics, Radioactivity, Data Analysis
Anyway, my impression of someone has changed terribly. This friend of mine won an award for a good cause. But i heard from my other friend that she actually asked her classmates to vote for her so that she will win the award and it will appear good in her testimonial. If what my friend said is true, she will definitely lose my respect. I mean, if you wish to do something nice, it should really come from your heart. Don't be driven just because of the achievement you will get, especially when it concerns a human life like adopting a kid. I'm not saying that everyone is perfect and has excellent moral values. But i strongly loathe such scheming behaviour and believe that this is a crime. I will never commit such a sin.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Prelims!!!
4 more weeks to GP. 6 more weeks to Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Economics. Prelims, how exciting man! Tips for the most important thing to do before any exam: Make a study plan. Do not leave everything to the last minute. No doubt that the thrill of studying last minute will drive you on. But isn't it better to give yourself enough time to cover everything?
I've written down my study plan for this Prelims and it starts next Monday! I've allocated days for each of the subjects.
Alright, here are what should be done:
Maths: Look through the notes and recall all the methods and formulaes
Chemistry/Physics: Read through the notes, go through past-year papers to know how to answer the questions
Economics: Read through all the notes, do a list of definitions, look through past-year papers to see how to answer all the different questions
I've written down my study plan for this Prelims and it starts next Monday! I've allocated days for each of the subjects.
Alright, here are what should be done:
Maths: Look through the notes and recall all the methods and formulaes
Chemistry/Physics: Read through the notes, go through past-year papers to know how to answer the questions
Economics: Read through all the notes, do a list of definitions, look through past-year papers to see how to answer all the different questions
Sunday, July 20, 2008
A good day finally!
Louis is back. Screw all the worries and problems i faced the past week! Sorrow gone. Happiness found. My spirit is back.
Today was a good day. In the afternoon, i went for the US and UK university and scholarship talk at Suntec City, met Justin there. Then, i had dinner with my coach and the rest of the jumpers. The dinner was at Clarke Quay, Riverside Indonesian Restaurant. It was meant to be a treat for Miss Yu but she ended up treating us. We took several photos and had a great time together. A pity that Nic Kang couldn't come because he had to celebrate his dad's birthday. Otherwise we will have a big family together.
We also gave Miss Yu a card and a gift, which i made. The gift consists of several pokemon figurines which are my old childhood toys. Each of them represents each and every one of the jumpers plus Miss Yu. Here are the names of all my fellow jumpers:
Nic Kang, Kenji, Anil, Joseph, Shamin, Vincent, Shamir, Jeolinita, Cheryl, Gracia, Celeste, Eva, Shiang Nee, Li Hwa.
Then i also gave every jumpers a gift. 3 pokemon figurines each, wrapped up, so they can randomly pick. After dinner, we went to take photos at a bridge at the Singapore River. Some of the jumpers left after that, mostly guys. Then it's left with me, Kenji, Jeolinita, Shiang Nee, Gracia, Cheryl, Eva, Celeste and Miss Yu. We went to a Japanese ice cream store and treated Miss Yu this time round. It was a good reunion. Most of us had spent the past 2 years training together. 10 J2s and 5 J1s in total. Thanks for the memory!
Today was a good day. In the afternoon, i went for the US and UK university and scholarship talk at Suntec City, met Justin there. Then, i had dinner with my coach and the rest of the jumpers. The dinner was at Clarke Quay, Riverside Indonesian Restaurant. It was meant to be a treat for Miss Yu but she ended up treating us. We took several photos and had a great time together. A pity that Nic Kang couldn't come because he had to celebrate his dad's birthday. Otherwise we will have a big family together.
We also gave Miss Yu a card and a gift, which i made. The gift consists of several pokemon figurines which are my old childhood toys. Each of them represents each and every one of the jumpers plus Miss Yu. Here are the names of all my fellow jumpers:
Nic Kang, Kenji, Anil, Joseph, Shamin, Vincent, Shamir, Jeolinita, Cheryl, Gracia, Celeste, Eva, Shiang Nee, Li Hwa.
Then i also gave every jumpers a gift. 3 pokemon figurines each, wrapped up, so they can randomly pick. After dinner, we went to take photos at a bridge at the Singapore River. Some of the jumpers left after that, mostly guys. Then it's left with me, Kenji, Jeolinita, Shiang Nee, Gracia, Cheryl, Eva, Celeste and Miss Yu. We went to a Japanese ice cream store and treated Miss Yu this time round. It was a good reunion. Most of us had spent the past 2 years training together. 10 J2s and 5 J1s in total. Thanks for the memory!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
A lecture joke
I was a joke today. During the Chemistry lecture in the first 2 periods, Justin and i made a fool of ourselves. In the midst of the lecture, the lecturer suddenly turned to our direction and said, "I have observed you two for a long time. You all have been talking a lot and turning to your friends behind as well. Please get out of the LT now." At that time, i was feeling very tired. I couldn't really sleep the previous night because i kept thinking about how the track dinner went. Then, i took a glance behind and the lecturer instantly said, "Yes you two, don't need to turn around." I can't be bothered to argue with the lecturer or check whether it is us who talked. So i put down my stuffs and left the LT with Justin following behind me. We went to the canteen and planned to stay there till the end of the lecture. The time will be well spent discussing soccer tactics for our matches today. Then, Jared suddenly appeared and told us that it actually wasn't us. It was Benjamin and Eugene. By then, Benjamin and Eugene have also been sent out of the LT. Then, Justin and i walked back into the LT and people were laughing. The lecturer said, "... you two must be guilty conscious." Apparently, when we left the LT, the lecturer continued to scold people for talking. My friends thought that she might be warning the students as a whole. The lecturer then said, "What's the names of the two of you?" People in the LT found it a bit weird because Justin and i had already left the LT. Then, she said, "I don't want to make it so explicit but the guy with the red spectacles and the guy beside you, please get out now!" The people in the LT started to laugh. Poor Subra, he had to sit alone in the LT for a short while as the 2 people on the left and on the right side of him had left the LT. It was definitely a moment of madness and i willingly sent myself out of the LT. Nevertheless, it "brightened" my spirit for the rest of the day from the disaster the previous day.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Congrats to VJC track and field team for exceeding expectations this year. The guys finished 2nd overall, ahead of HCI and only 10 points behind RJC. The girls finished a respectable 3rd after giving a tough fight from start to finish. It was a brilliant day as the VJC track team showed to their competitors what they are made of. For the high jumpers, Nicholas Kang, Kenji and Anil, good job! You all have done yourselves proud on a day of dreams. The relay runners as well as the 100m, 800m girls and 1500m guys also deserve lots of credit for their performances. Everything was tilted towards an excellent celebration dinner at Jumbo restaurant after that.
However, things were not as simple as we think. I feel very sorry that tears were dropped due to unforeseen circumstances. This celebration was meant to be for the team. But i just don't understand why some people chose to stick their ass into our celebration and make it a chaos. It may seem to be a happy and delightful celebration based on the cheerful faces of the fellow track and field members but i disagree. Why can't some people just f*** off! Sorry, i'm a bit lucid now because i'm really angry and in a huge dilemma. Is it our mistake that we didn't stamp our authority and prevent them from attending the dinner or is it their fault. Sometimes i don't understand why some people have to be so thick-skinned and attend a dinner that is not meant for them. If you know that someone may not be fully supportive of you appearing in a celebration, why not disappear? He even used underhand methods to get themselves into our celebration that frustrates me. I'm not talking about my former treasurer in this case. He has been a great man, showing us support and understanding what we feel. Actually, i will like to thank him for playing his part in consoling the person who cried because she thought that she did not do her job well. I strongly believe that no leader is perfect. A leader can only be a leader if people have belief and trust in him or her. We really believe in her so i don't think that she should blame herself for her inability to handle this situation. Those inconsiderate people are just rocks that you will definitely trip over if you do not move them away. At times, these rocks are just too heavy and we cannot do anything to push them off. Also, i'm quite frustrated why some people choose to treat these "rocks" like their true blue friends. I am in huge disbelief! I don't want to explain this to these innocent kids because i don't want to be a bastard. I also don't want to look like an enemy to these unstoppable "rocks". I have chosen to distant myself from these innocent kids so as to allow myself to forgive and forget. I'm sorry that it may sour some relationships in the process but i really have no mood anymore. Now, i just have to concentrate on my studies. Nothing else matters to me anymore...
However, things were not as simple as we think. I feel very sorry that tears were dropped due to unforeseen circumstances. This celebration was meant to be for the team. But i just don't understand why some people chose to stick their ass into our celebration and make it a chaos. It may seem to be a happy and delightful celebration based on the cheerful faces of the fellow track and field members but i disagree. Why can't some people just f*** off! Sorry, i'm a bit lucid now because i'm really angry and in a huge dilemma. Is it our mistake that we didn't stamp our authority and prevent them from attending the dinner or is it their fault. Sometimes i don't understand why some people have to be so thick-skinned and attend a dinner that is not meant for them. If you know that someone may not be fully supportive of you appearing in a celebration, why not disappear? He even used underhand methods to get themselves into our celebration that frustrates me. I'm not talking about my former treasurer in this case. He has been a great man, showing us support and understanding what we feel. Actually, i will like to thank him for playing his part in consoling the person who cried because she thought that she did not do her job well. I strongly believe that no leader is perfect. A leader can only be a leader if people have belief and trust in him or her. We really believe in her so i don't think that she should blame herself for her inability to handle this situation. Those inconsiderate people are just rocks that you will definitely trip over if you do not move them away. At times, these rocks are just too heavy and we cannot do anything to push them off. Also, i'm quite frustrated why some people choose to treat these "rocks" like their true blue friends. I am in huge disbelief! I don't want to explain this to these innocent kids because i don't want to be a bastard. I also don't want to look like an enemy to these unstoppable "rocks". I have chosen to distant myself from these innocent kids so as to allow myself to forgive and forget. I'm sorry that it may sour some relationships in the process but i really have no mood anymore. Now, i just have to concentrate on my studies. Nothing else matters to me anymore...
Monday, July 14, 2008
Today i got back my GP results. C - 60 marks. Yay it's the highest i have gotten for my whole JC life. Well done ah! All the hard work i put into submitting the essay plan Miss Chiam wanted me to do every forthnight and the weekly GP tuition i am put through by my mum. Good job man, keep it up!
I left school today after helping Anil with his high jump training. I don't know what drove my mind upside down. I took 31, thinking that it will reach Paya Lebar mrt station. I had to alight near Boon Keng mrt station where i change bus to 13 and back home. I spent around 1 hour 15 minutes as a result. Along the way, my back was quite painful, considering that i had to stand for most of the journey. A suffering indeed. But it don't really matter now as i have already retired from track except that i am going to play inter-house soccer with my class tomorrow. I will definitely be okay by tomorrow, just a strain i guess. On the bus, i saw this neighbour of mine who stays on the same HDB block. He's in army now. He is doing some kind of office work because there's some problem with his eyes and he can come home from army everyday. I don't talk to him but know some things about him through my mum who knows his mum. This guy is a genius. He studied in the gifted education programme in RI then RJC. Even on the bus, he was reading a book which has a lot of science stuffs on it. No wonder he is a genius.
My class did a lot of crazy stuffs today. Justin managed to find a blog which talk about the relationship of a lesbian in the school. Before this, i have never seen any real lesbians before and the feeling is ...basket. Then, we had a break in between our GP lesson. The guys took photos in the toilet through the mirror.
The track season ends on Wednesday. The latest standings see VJC in 2nd place, 12 points behind RJC. But there is still hope of being champions as the event high jump will earn us a lot more points than RJC and hopefully NicKang, Kenji and Anil perform well. I looked through the results of the Track and Field championship and saw a few familiar names. My cousin, Charlotte from RGS got 7th for Javellin B Girls. Then, one of my former classmate, top scorer in Catholic High School with 10A1s, Chester from SAJC got 2nd last for 800m. I don't know why the hell he join track for. From AJC, Joel (my secondary 1-2 classmate) got 7th for 400m hurdles and 110m hurdles DNQ and Nicholas Leong 400m hurdles and 800m DNQ. Then, some of my former Catholic High track and field team members, who quitted in secondary 4, re-joined this year in their respective JCs. Shawn Lee from SAJC, 100m DNQ. Joshua Chia from RJC is going to take part in high jump on the final day of the competition. I'm not sure how high he can jump but he may be a threat to my school's high jumpers' chances with all his trainings with RJC soccer team as well.
I left school today after helping Anil with his high jump training. I don't know what drove my mind upside down. I took 31, thinking that it will reach Paya Lebar mrt station. I had to alight near Boon Keng mrt station where i change bus to 13 and back home. I spent around 1 hour 15 minutes as a result. Along the way, my back was quite painful, considering that i had to stand for most of the journey. A suffering indeed. But it don't really matter now as i have already retired from track except that i am going to play inter-house soccer with my class tomorrow. I will definitely be okay by tomorrow, just a strain i guess. On the bus, i saw this neighbour of mine who stays on the same HDB block. He's in army now. He is doing some kind of office work because there's some problem with his eyes and he can come home from army everyday. I don't talk to him but know some things about him through my mum who knows his mum. This guy is a genius. He studied in the gifted education programme in RI then RJC. Even on the bus, he was reading a book which has a lot of science stuffs on it. No wonder he is a genius.
My class did a lot of crazy stuffs today. Justin managed to find a blog which talk about the relationship of a lesbian in the school. Before this, i have never seen any real lesbians before and the feeling is ...basket. Then, we had a break in between our GP lesson. The guys took photos in the toilet through the mirror.
The track season ends on Wednesday. The latest standings see VJC in 2nd place, 12 points behind RJC. But there is still hope of being champions as the event high jump will earn us a lot more points than RJC and hopefully NicKang, Kenji and Anil perform well. I looked through the results of the Track and Field championship and saw a few familiar names. My cousin, Charlotte from RGS got 7th for Javellin B Girls. Then, one of my former classmate, top scorer in Catholic High School with 10A1s, Chester from SAJC got 2nd last for 800m. I don't know why the hell he join track for. From AJC, Joel (my secondary 1-2 classmate) got 7th for 400m hurdles and 110m hurdles DNQ and Nicholas Leong 400m hurdles and 800m DNQ. Then, some of my former Catholic High track and field team members, who quitted in secondary 4, re-joined this year in their respective JCs. Shawn Lee from SAJC, 100m DNQ. Joshua Chia from RJC is going to take part in high jump on the final day of the competition. I'm not sure how high he can jump but he may be a threat to my school's high jumpers' chances with all his trainings with RJC soccer team as well.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
I got back my economics common test 2 paper today. I got a D. So far, my common test results are AACD. It's left with GP next week and hopefully i can pass it. Based on the amount of effort i put into studying in the June holidays, i'm actually quite satisfied with my results. At the start of the June holidays, i went to Thailand for a shopping trip with my family. I came back and had a bit of a hangover and took time to settle down. For the whole of the holidays, i had training 3 times a week. And i also had a one-day track camp and a two-days under-no-roof camp in the middle of the holidays. So, i spent the most of my holidays, resting after exhausting camps and trip, training, studying and slacking at times.
These few days, i have been quite sick. My ears are blocked because of the flu. At times, i can hear and feel the sound of my footsteps. It's quite bad because i feel tired everyday. It's quite difficult to concentrate, hear and sometimes speak properly. Hopefully i can recover soon because my class has qualified into the next round of the inter-house soccer competition next tuesday. Then i can play. Speaking about soccer, i shall go to school tomorrow morning to play soccer with my class during PE, then go for maths lecture and physics tutorial. After that, i'll leave school at 11.35am and go to choa chu kang stadium to support the track and field events. I'm going to skip (pon) lessons again! I have been very lazy the past few days, maybe because the track season is ongoing or because of my flu. The examinations mood is still not in me yet. But i shall start doing work again during the weekends then.
These few days, i have been quite sick. My ears are blocked because of the flu. At times, i can hear and feel the sound of my footsteps. It's quite bad because i feel tired everyday. It's quite difficult to concentrate, hear and sometimes speak properly. Hopefully i can recover soon because my class has qualified into the next round of the inter-house soccer competition next tuesday. Then i can play. Speaking about soccer, i shall go to school tomorrow morning to play soccer with my class during PE, then go for maths lecture and physics tutorial. After that, i'll leave school at 11.35am and go to choa chu kang stadium to support the track and field events. I'm going to skip (pon) lessons again! I have been very lazy the past few days, maybe because the track season is ongoing or because of my flu. The examinations mood is still not in me yet. But i shall start doing work again during the weekends then.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Hair for Hope
Today Joseph and I went for a shave for the "Hair for Hope". It was quite a bad event. There was a stage at Novena Velocity for at least 8 people to shave their heads at the same time. We are totally bald now. I can see the shape of my head very clearly. It's very cooling. It's my first experience of been so bald since i was bornt. I can't stop rubbing my own head. I think the hair should take around 2 months to grow back.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A fairytale, a dream fulfilled
This is a fairytale finish to my track career. Today i made history. I finished 7th in National Inter-School Track and Field Championship Long Jump event. I am delighted. I finally fulfilled my dream of finishing in the top 8. After 6 years of training, i have achieved something. This means so much to me.
A-Boys Long Jump Final
1) Goh Eng Wei RJC 6.66 9pts
2) Chan Wei Hao HCI 6.56 7pts
3) Chew Han Wei RJC 6.40 6pts
4) Aran Atsuo Shanmugaratnam HCI 6.19 5pts
5) Chew Guan Yu HCI 6.18 4pts
6) Chua Wee Chao Jonathan MI 6.14 3pts
7) Louis Chong VJC 6.06 2pts
8) Joseph Ting VJC 6.00 1pt
Previous years, i have been very unlucky but nothing was going to stop me this year. I woke up in the morning feeling good except for a bit of a sore throat. My dad has passed his disease to me again! But i was not to be deterred. After all, i didn't want 6 years of training to go to waste. I slept from 10pm to 9am and was refreshed. I left home at 11am and reach choa chu kang stadium at 12 noon. The girls long jump final was still in progress. However, things didn't exactly go our way as Jeo, who was expected to be the champion, got 4th. It was a wasted opportunity and i feel sad for her. Phy got 5th while Celeste just missed out on top 8, finishing 9th. After that, i went to rest in the badminton court.
At around 2.45pm, Joseph and i went to warm up. Shamin could not jump today as he had pulled his hamstring in the National Juniors before the common test week. I could understand how he felt as i had pulled my hamstring at a similar time last year.
Then, it was time to jump. The weather was bad. The head wind was really strong. It was definitely not favourable to jump. I was the 2nd jumper. My first jump was okay. A distance of 5.99m, which could have been better if not for poor landing. Then my back pain began to set in. I realised that my poor landing was attributed to my back pain. I couldn't really bend my back well. Most of the time, i would force myself down too quickly, minimising the distance i would jump. 2nd jump - Fault, 3rd jump - 5.62m!!!. After the first 3 jumps, i was 8th, meaning for the last 3 jumps, i would jump first. Joseph was 7th with a distance of 6m. 4th jump - 5.72m!!!, 5th jump - 5.91m!!! Finally it was the last jump. Someone was saying that it will be his final year so he will take his own sweet time for his final jump. This gave me the extra drive. These 6 years of training, i have seen my juniors grow. I have also seen my seniors "retire". Now it will be my final jump of my track career in National Inter-School Track and Field Championship. It's time for me to "retire". I stepped forward to the running lane. =========[] I closed my eyes and enjoyed this very last moment. I really wished that i could jump my personal best which was 6.3m or even my target 6.5m. This would have earned my coach and me 4th or even 3rd place, bronze medal position. Then, i started my run-up and landed. It was a poor landing again. The distance was 6.06m but i was satisfied. After the rest finished their jumps, Joseph and i thanked the officials and took photos with the big board which could display our distances. We also took photos with our dear coach Miss Yu at the long jump pit.
I would like to thank everyone who sent messages to encourage me. Anil, Subra, Nazri, Nick, Ben Tay, Yong Cheng, Han Wei. I appreciate the support from those who came all the way from school to choa chu kang stadium to watch my event. Li Hwa. My seniors who graduated last year still showed great interest in the sport. They messaged me and asked about the results. Yuan Hong, Jian Feng. And Shaun Chook who came down to take photos of every moments. Thanks you all. And the rest of the jumps team. Joseph, Shamin, Phy, Celeste, Jeolinita.
Now, i have "retired". But i will continue to show support to the rest of the Track and Field team for the next 2 weeks by going down to watch and cheer them on. All the best to them and may wishes come true. Alright, come on ah!
A-Boys Long Jump Final
1) Goh Eng Wei RJC 6.66 9pts
2) Chan Wei Hao HCI 6.56 7pts
3) Chew Han Wei RJC 6.40 6pts
4) Aran Atsuo Shanmugaratnam HCI 6.19 5pts
5) Chew Guan Yu HCI 6.18 4pts
6) Chua Wee Chao Jonathan MI 6.14 3pts
7) Louis Chong VJC 6.06 2pts
8) Joseph Ting VJC 6.00 1pt
Previous years, i have been very unlucky but nothing was going to stop me this year. I woke up in the morning feeling good except for a bit of a sore throat. My dad has passed his disease to me again! But i was not to be deterred. After all, i didn't want 6 years of training to go to waste. I slept from 10pm to 9am and was refreshed. I left home at 11am and reach choa chu kang stadium at 12 noon. The girls long jump final was still in progress. However, things didn't exactly go our way as Jeo, who was expected to be the champion, got 4th. It was a wasted opportunity and i feel sad for her. Phy got 5th while Celeste just missed out on top 8, finishing 9th. After that, i went to rest in the badminton court.
At around 2.45pm, Joseph and i went to warm up. Shamin could not jump today as he had pulled his hamstring in the National Juniors before the common test week. I could understand how he felt as i had pulled my hamstring at a similar time last year.
Then, it was time to jump. The weather was bad. The head wind was really strong. It was definitely not favourable to jump. I was the 2nd jumper. My first jump was okay. A distance of 5.99m, which could have been better if not for poor landing. Then my back pain began to set in. I realised that my poor landing was attributed to my back pain. I couldn't really bend my back well. Most of the time, i would force myself down too quickly, minimising the distance i would jump. 2nd jump - Fault, 3rd jump - 5.62m!!!. After the first 3 jumps, i was 8th, meaning for the last 3 jumps, i would jump first. Joseph was 7th with a distance of 6m. 4th jump - 5.72m!!!, 5th jump - 5.91m!!! Finally it was the last jump. Someone was saying that it will be his final year so he will take his own sweet time for his final jump. This gave me the extra drive. These 6 years of training, i have seen my juniors grow. I have also seen my seniors "retire". Now it will be my final jump of my track career in National Inter-School Track and Field Championship. It's time for me to "retire". I stepped forward to the running lane. =========[] I closed my eyes and enjoyed this very last moment. I really wished that i could jump my personal best which was 6.3m or even my target 6.5m. This would have earned my coach and me 4th or even 3rd place, bronze medal position. Then, i started my run-up and landed. It was a poor landing again. The distance was 6.06m but i was satisfied. After the rest finished their jumps, Joseph and i thanked the officials and took photos with the big board which could display our distances. We also took photos with our dear coach Miss Yu at the long jump pit.
I would like to thank everyone who sent messages to encourage me. Anil, Subra, Nazri, Nick, Ben Tay, Yong Cheng, Han Wei. I appreciate the support from those who came all the way from school to choa chu kang stadium to watch my event. Li Hwa. My seniors who graduated last year still showed great interest in the sport. They messaged me and asked about the results. Yuan Hong, Jian Feng. And Shaun Chook who came down to take photos of every moments. Thanks you all. And the rest of the jumps team. Joseph, Shamin, Phy, Celeste, Jeolinita.
Now, i have "retired". But i will continue to show support to the rest of the Track and Field team for the next 2 weeks by going down to watch and cheer them on. All the best to them and may wishes come true. Alright, come on ah!
Monday, June 30, 2008
My last training
Today will always be a memorable day. This year will be my final inter-school track and field championship. As my long jump event is on Thursday, i had my last training session today. So did Phy and Jeo. We felt particularly sad as we have trained routinely for the past 6 years and couldn't bear to "leave". We had trained very hard since we joined track in our respective schools in secondary one. We really hope that our hard work will be rewarded handsomely in our final year. We did our last drills, last jumps, last sprints and last gym session. We cherished every minutes of the training session and ended training at 7.45pm. The final training session had an atmosphere which was similar to that of a competition. I managed to jump around 6.20m which was a respectable distance in a training.
I really hope that i will reach my target of 6.50m in this year's competition. Honestly, i will sacrifice my CT2 results if i can do well in nationals this year. I hope. I really hope for the best. I will like to reward my coach Miss Yu for the hard work she put in me too. She has been my one and only jumps coach. Today, i made her sign on my water bottle so that she will bring me luck in my long jump competition on Thursday.
I really hope that i will reach my target of 6.50m in this year's competition. Honestly, i will sacrifice my CT2 results if i can do well in nationals this year. I hope. I really hope for the best. I will like to reward my coach Miss Yu for the hard work she put in me too. She has been my one and only jumps coach. Today, i made her sign on my water bottle so that she will bring me luck in my long jump competition on Thursday.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Nationals
National Inter-school Track and Field Championship starts this week on Thursday.
My number tag this year is 222. And my event Long Jump is on Thursday, 3rd June 2008, 4.15pm. In 5 days' time!
This will be my final year and i hope everything goes right. My back pain has been better these few days. The exam stress is over i guess.
Monday will be my final official training session as i will have to rest 2 days before my event. I will have to finalise my run-up and make all the necessary preparations for my competition. Eat healthy food and stay fit.
Good luck to me and everyone else in VJC track team taking part in Nationals!
Alright, come on ah!
My number tag this year is 222. And my event Long Jump is on Thursday, 3rd June 2008, 4.15pm. In 5 days' time!
This will be my final year and i hope everything goes right. My back pain has been better these few days. The exam stress is over i guess.
Monday will be my final official training session as i will have to rest 2 days before my event. I will have to finalise my run-up and make all the necessary preparations for my competition. Eat healthy food and stay fit.
Good luck to me and everyone else in VJC track team taking part in Nationals!
Alright, come on ah!
Friday, June 27, 2008
My destiny
Who am i? What do i want to be in the future?
Actually i'm interested in becoming a civil or environmental engineer.
So why do i want to be a civil or environmental engineer?
Why a civil engineer?
Civil engineering. It deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and natural built environment. Infrastructure, skyscrapers, etc.
Maybe i have been influenced by my father since young. Like the chinese cheng yu. Forgot what is it, lol. My father is a land surveyor and at times i will help him take measurements of buildings.
Sometimes i wonder, how are buildings constructed and how can it withstand the weight of so many people and furnitures on it without collapsing?
In a country where land is sparse, skycrapers and HDB flats are extremely important. Infrastructure are also very important as it facilitates movement of resources and encourages business making. So if i were to become a civil engineer, playing a part in constructing all these buildings and infrastructure, my role in this society will be crucial.
At times, i will tune into the Discovery Channel to watch documentaries. About the september 11 collapse of the world trade center, etc. It will go on to investigate how the buildings collapsed and what went wrong. These documentaries really interest me so i guess this might be my future. I strongly feel that the maintenance of buildings and infrastructure is an important job. Several lives will be lost because of such accidents occurring.
Designing of buildings thrills me too. Imagine that you are given the opportunity to design a building and live in it. You will definitely make it comfortable and suiting to your taste and wants. In my opinion, the design of the IR is very beautiful. So i will want to be involved in making my country a gorgeous place.
Why an environmental engineer?
I really admire the works of an engineer. An engineer can change the world. I love the TV series Heroes. It's about saving the world. I feel that being an engineer will give me the ability to save the world and slow down its depletion. We will want to ensure that our younger generation can continue living in this world comfortably and the earth will be able to provide for them. An environmental engineer can assure them of resources to stay alive while a civil engineer will provide a secure and prosperous place to live in. We are on an Amazing Race against time and perhaps the end of world, some may say. An engineer can do something to help and so i will want to become an engineer. I have found my destiny.
Actually i'm interested in becoming a civil or environmental engineer.
So why do i want to be a civil or environmental engineer?
Why a civil engineer?
Civil engineering. It deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and natural built environment. Infrastructure, skyscrapers, etc.
Maybe i have been influenced by my father since young. Like the chinese cheng yu. Forgot what is it, lol. My father is a land surveyor and at times i will help him take measurements of buildings.
Sometimes i wonder, how are buildings constructed and how can it withstand the weight of so many people and furnitures on it without collapsing?
In a country where land is sparse, skycrapers and HDB flats are extremely important. Infrastructure are also very important as it facilitates movement of resources and encourages business making. So if i were to become a civil engineer, playing a part in constructing all these buildings and infrastructure, my role in this society will be crucial.
At times, i will tune into the Discovery Channel to watch documentaries. About the september 11 collapse of the world trade center, etc. It will go on to investigate how the buildings collapsed and what went wrong. These documentaries really interest me so i guess this might be my future. I strongly feel that the maintenance of buildings and infrastructure is an important job. Several lives will be lost because of such accidents occurring.
Designing of buildings thrills me too. Imagine that you are given the opportunity to design a building and live in it. You will definitely make it comfortable and suiting to your taste and wants. In my opinion, the design of the IR is very beautiful. So i will want to be involved in making my country a gorgeous place.
Why an environmental engineer?
Environmental engineer. It's about improving the environment, providing healthy water, air and land. Water and air pollution control, recycling and waste disposal. Implementing policies, creating new items which will aid in conserving the environment.
I have a lot of experience of dealing with environmental projects from my CCA earthwatch. I attended several workshops which taught me the most ideal method in grabbing the attention of the people. Using these knowledge, i was able to hold activities during the Recycling Week and Earth Day successfully. The success in these projects drove me on and slowly developed a pro-environmental attitude in me. It stirred my interest in environmental engineering too. I became more conscious of the country's environmental efforts and more aware how one can play such an important role in saving the struggling environment. The role of an environmental engineer in today's society is very important. The earth is dying. The global temperature and sea level is rising. It has indirectly led to several natural disasters occurring. The most recent is the Myanmar earthquake. Therefore, i will be able to make a huge difference if i becomes an environmental engineer.
I have a lot of experience of dealing with environmental projects from my CCA earthwatch. I attended several workshops which taught me the most ideal method in grabbing the attention of the people. Using these knowledge, i was able to hold activities during the Recycling Week and Earth Day successfully. The success in these projects drove me on and slowly developed a pro-environmental attitude in me. It stirred my interest in environmental engineering too. I became more conscious of the country's environmental efforts and more aware how one can play such an important role in saving the struggling environment. The role of an environmental engineer in today's society is very important. The earth is dying. The global temperature and sea level is rising. It has indirectly led to several natural disasters occurring. The most recent is the Myanmar earthquake. Therefore, i will be able to make a huge difference if i becomes an environmental engineer.
I really admire the works of an engineer. An engineer can change the world. I love the TV series Heroes. It's about saving the world. I feel that being an engineer will give me the ability to save the world and slow down its depletion. We will want to ensure that our younger generation can continue living in this world comfortably and the earth will be able to provide for them. An environmental engineer can assure them of resources to stay alive while a civil engineer will provide a secure and prosperous place to live in. We are on an Amazing Race against time and perhaps the end of world, some may say. An engineer can do something to help and so i will want to become an engineer. I have found my destiny.
A reflective day
Why I started a blog
Today, i shall start my first blog post. Why did i want to start a blog? I met Mr Teo today and we discussed about the university programme i wanted to take. Then, he asked me what is the biggest obstacle for me getting into a programme i want. It is the interview. So he told me to start reflecting on my strengths, weaknesses and my daily life. It is good that i start a blog because it will help me express out my thoughts more often. So i made up my mind to start a blog. But there is also another reason why i made this decision. I have been facing with lots of problems and stress over the past 2 years and writing a blog will ensure that my sorrow will not be hidden within me. My blog post will be mainly on my JC life as my memory fails easily so i won't be able to remember clearly what happened more than 2 years ago.
Joining VJC
The first issue I want to address is why did i go to VJC. The first reason i thought of is that my english cannot make it so i might risk getting kicked out of RJC after the first 3 months. But another reason is that i don't want to face so much competition in RJC. Also, most of my friends are choosing VJC, so i will definitely have company if i go to VJC although it will be a very long journey from home to marine parade. 1 hour bus ride on bus 13 indeed. So i am in VJC on January 2 2007.
First days in VJC
On the first day of orientation, i felt very weird. After all, i have been in a all-boys school for 10 years. A monk they call. I found it very difficult to talk to a girl, considering that i do not have any female friends before i went to JC. It was made tougher for me as my orientation group consists of only 2 other guys and they were not the active kind. So i was bored and was a bit of an introvert at that time. But the games brought out the best out of me and i "opened up" eventually.
To join track or not to join
My next concern was whether to join track. I was having a real headache as i had a bad "fault" problem for my jumps. It stole the belief i had in myself that i will do well in track and qualify into the top 8 of nationals, which is extremely prestigious for me. I thought i was no longer good enough so i will not be able to stand a chance to represent VJC in track as they had a history of a strong track team. However, the teacher in charge managed to dissuade me to join track. I didn't have any other options also. It is my passion to jump. I have jumped around since young and i will continue jumping in my JC life.
My Class
I was amazed, truely amazed that i was put into an IP class. But i thought that i should just accept it as life is always about knowing new people. My classmate, a non IP student, thought that it was weird and wanted to switch class to join her friends. But i managed to persuade her to stay on and it was not a decision to regret.
My class is extremely lively, especially the guys. We will "bastard" anyone even though it may spoil our reputation. The term "bastard" is used in different ways. The first way is when someone makes a bad slip and says something wrong, we will keep repeating it. The victim of this "bastardation" can be a student from other class or even a teacher. The second way is as follows. Most of my class guys are associated with a girl he like, even though it might not be true. I am a victim of this "bastardation" too, but mine is true. I like someone. Whenever we see a girl our classmate likes, we will start making funny noises and signal to the guy. This will make the guy feel embarrassed. Another unique character of my class is that we treat our teachers like friends. This is because they are also victims of our "bastardation", in both ways of "bastardation".
My classmate, Justin, introduces several inspiring words in my class like flaccid (to describe lousy), lucid (vulgar), etc. This makes it a very fun and entertaining class. My class is also full of smart people and we have a very muscular PRC classmate Zhao Chen. He does a lot of funny things like setting alarm during the recent GP paper. It was a terrible slip which we "bastarded" after the exam.
O' Levels results
I got my O' levels results and was somewhat happy. Happy that i got 8 A1s and somewhat dissatisfied that i got 8 points as my english was B3 and my higher chinese an astonishing D7. However, i got on with life as usual. My parents had asked me to consider going to RJC if my results are good. But i told them that i would like to stay at VJC for my friends and the fun. My dilemma was gone after the results came out as D7 for higher chinese left me with little chance of switching school to RJC. So i decided not to switch school and stayed at VJC. But i decided to re-take chinese as H1 subject as i wasn't satisfied with D7.
Earthwatch
I joined Earthwatch as a CCA in term 2. This was mainly because most of the trackers were in earthwatch. After a while, i came to realise that it was actually a great CCA. The mission is to save the earth and we had the task of influencing our schoolmates to be more environmentally-pro. I took up the position of project head and this has developed me as a person. I became more independent. My job was to implement projects for the school and these projects will help develop pro-environmental mindsets in our schoolmates.
I organised activities for the Recycling Week last year and the green quiz was a success. This is despite the fact that very few people signed up initially. I didn't want to give up and my preseverance paid off as some enthusiastic house-comm people took part as they are attracted by the reward of house points.
This year, i organised activities for the Earth Day. It further developed my leadership abilities, innovative skills as well as my capability to deal with stress. I wrote the proposal for Earth Day and it consists of a flea market, video screening in the canteen, talk for JC1s by an external speaker and a standing exhibition in the concourse. However, everything didn't seem right at first. No one bothered to sign up for the flea market except for the president Shiang Nee's enthusiastic TSD friends. Our advertising efforts were also "flaccid". We had to forego the standing exhibits in the concourse as we didn't have the time to look for the posters. I was in charge of looking for videos to screen in the canteen on Earth Day. Unfortunately, i downloaded the videos in the wrong format and realised this late at night. This means that i didn't have the time to download all the videos i intended to screen. The next day was Earth Day. The external speaker was to give a speech for JC1s during their CT session. Before that, i had to screen a video to entertain the JC1s in the PT. But i had a hard time saving the videos in the laptop i borrowed from the school and arrived at the PT late. This built up a lot of stress in me and it was terrible considering that i had back pain on that day. After that i had to screen the videos in the canteen. Due to technical problems, the videos couldn't appear on the screen. But i didn't give up and try again later in the afternoon. At last, it appeared on the screen. At this time, several students have already left school and didn't have the chance of watching the videos. Nevertheless, i felt a sense of satisfaction and it demonstrated my never-say-die attitude. As for the flea market, it was a success.
Now, i have already stepped down from my post in Earthwatch and passed my duty on to my junior. I seriously hope that they will do a great job in developing VJC environmental efforts. Joining Earthwatch has not only strengthened my knowledge of the earth, it has also developed me as a person.
JC results
So far, my results in JC are relatively satisfying. I realised that to cope well in JC, we have to be independent and follow our work frequently. The most important thing is to do our tutorials as it is the best way to understand the topic you are studying. However, GP is my main worry and i have been doing my best to improve it, going for tuition and reading the newspaper frequently to update myself of current affairs. Maths, Chemistry and Physics are all As in mid-year, promos and CT1. Economics has been fluctuating from E to D to E. But i think i will screw up CT2 this time. Chemistry and Physics papers were way beyond students' abilities and certainly unexpected. Even if one were to study for the whole holiday, he or she will not be able to do well either. Nevertheless, i still hope for good results. I have very high expectations of myself. I strongly believe in the saying that if you aim high, you will achieve even greater things.
OCIP
I signed up for OCIP to gain the experience of living a different life. OCIP was at Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was a village located on top of a mountain. We had to interact with the villagers as well as assist in building a library for them. The living conditions was vastly different. The guys and to live in a hut beside a pig sty with spiders on top of the ceilings. This was actually the house of one of the villagers. Imagine living with the spiders and listening to the grunts of the pigs daily. This will be unthinkable for most of us. But we were extremely thankful to the villager who gave up their house to accomodate us. Next, we had to bathe in the open in cold water and at freezing temperature. At home, most of us will have water heater in our toilets and are showered with warmth and love. This is definitely a change and i developed the allowance for the difference in standards of living between countries. At the time of our visit, the country was celebrating Loy Krathong and this showed that every country has an extremely rich culture.
The villagers there were very friendly while the kids were welcoming and carefree-looking. In my opinion, you will never see such faces in my country due to the high level of competition we are facing which accumulates stress in us. I had joy in playing with them and seeing them smile even though we were not connected by language. The village life had a relaxing environment, an alternative to the fast-paced urban life. It was conducive in encouraging true friendship and relationships between people due to the simplicity of life. I learned to treasure the work of people like the bangladesh in my country too. We had to make cement and build the library and it was a tough task even though there was a large number of us.
Overall, OCIP was a memorable experience for me. I learned several lessons and became more independent after that.
A' Level results
My A' levels results have been very disappointing so far. My Chinese H1 was a B and i had expected an A. Nevertheless, i was somewhat satisfied as my grade improved from O' levels higher chinese D7 to A' levels chinese H1 B.
However, the worst was to come. My project work H1 got a C. I was shocked, stunned, traumatized. The overall grade for my group was B. Blame it on luck or blame it on my lack of ability, i had the worst grade in my class! I was so sad that i cried. I was inconsolable at that point of time. I didn't expect myself to fail so badly. It robbed me of my self-belief. It took me a few days before i got over this "thrashing". I would have to thank my classmates and teacher Miss Chiam who played a part in consoling me at that time. All was not over yet. I still have 1 H1, 4 H2 and 1 H3 subject which they believe i would definitely do well in. My best friend Han Wei told me that it was always good to try falling now rather than later in life when it gets tougher to pick myself up. I would have to absorb the blow now and get on with life as usual. My other friend Li Hwa told me that i am an over-achiever. Everything will be fine soon and the reason why i'm feeling this way is that i have never tasted failure. She gave me the assurance that i will eventually do well in A' levels.
All these helped me discover a new lease of life. I told myself that this is a wake-up call. Instead of feeling sour over this "thumping" and get emotional, I must now do my best in improving my communication skills which is weak at times. I will make this an extra motivation to succeed. I promise myself that i must not fail again. I must not be a slacker anymore and cruise my life away.
Track
Back to track now. So i decided to join track. It was all going well. For the first time in years, i have a jump coach. My long jump was improving and i could finally jump beyond 6m. I had the aim to improve by 30cm every year so my target was 6.2m last year. I was signed up for 200m for nationals too as there were not enough sprinters. A few weeks before nationals, i strained my hamstring. I had just finished my sprints training and missed jumping. So i decided to go to the long jump pit alone to have a jump or two. My muscles were already cooled down at that point of time and thus, the unfortunate incident happened. It was a small strain but i didn't want to risk any injury. So i stopped training and immediately did a lot of stretching to relieve the strain. 2 days before my event, my season effectively ended. The strain on my hamstring was still there. As i prepared for the last jump of my training, i was thinking about the majestic atmosphere at the nationals when i jump in 2 days' time. Then, i started my run-up and took off. I pulled my hamstring. Good game. But i didn't want to give up and immediately went for acupuncture that day. 2 days later, i went for the competition, limped to the finishing line of my 200m race and then reported for my long jump event. I told myself that i must do this but i couldn't even take off. I was quite sad at that time. I could have easily qualified for top 8 for nationals as my "fault" problem was solved. Never mind, there is still next year. I consoled myself.
This year, injury after injury strikes me. I really don't understand why i am getting injured so frequently. I had been injury-free in secondary school. First, i have heel pain. I went for acupuncture and did a very good jump at the all-comers in April. I had my personal best. The actual distance was 6.3m but i stepped one foot under-board and the registered distance is 6.0m. After a while, the heel problem came back again and subsequent competitions were bad. I went to heal it again. Just when everything seems right, a new injury came. The back pain. I'm turning old. It has troubled me for a month and the competition i took part recently had not yielded satisfactory results. I still have the back pain now but i think i should just bear with it during nationals. After all, it is still possible to jump, not like last year. As the saying goes, if you think too much about your injury, you will find it hard to recover. So i should stop thinking that something bad will happen when it actually will not happen, as said by my friend Li Hwa.
Today, the track team had a team talk. My coach Miss Yu gave an inspiring speech. She said that if your first jump is bad, don't be discouraged. Continue believing that you will do well and your jump will be great. This has enlightened me. During Secondary 3 & 4, i had a constant "fault" problem. This is because i always got nervous and disappointed when my first jump is "faulted". Through the guidance of my coach, i hope to achieve greater heights. I wish that i will get a medal this year to award her for the hard work she put in me.
Today, i shall start my first blog post. Why did i want to start a blog? I met Mr Teo today and we discussed about the university programme i wanted to take. Then, he asked me what is the biggest obstacle for me getting into a programme i want. It is the interview. So he told me to start reflecting on my strengths, weaknesses and my daily life. It is good that i start a blog because it will help me express out my thoughts more often. So i made up my mind to start a blog. But there is also another reason why i made this decision. I have been facing with lots of problems and stress over the past 2 years and writing a blog will ensure that my sorrow will not be hidden within me. My blog post will be mainly on my JC life as my memory fails easily so i won't be able to remember clearly what happened more than 2 years ago.
Joining VJC
The first issue I want to address is why did i go to VJC. The first reason i thought of is that my english cannot make it so i might risk getting kicked out of RJC after the first 3 months. But another reason is that i don't want to face so much competition in RJC. Also, most of my friends are choosing VJC, so i will definitely have company if i go to VJC although it will be a very long journey from home to marine parade. 1 hour bus ride on bus 13 indeed. So i am in VJC on January 2 2007.
First days in VJC
On the first day of orientation, i felt very weird. After all, i have been in a all-boys school for 10 years. A monk they call. I found it very difficult to talk to a girl, considering that i do not have any female friends before i went to JC. It was made tougher for me as my orientation group consists of only 2 other guys and they were not the active kind. So i was bored and was a bit of an introvert at that time. But the games brought out the best out of me and i "opened up" eventually.
To join track or not to join
My next concern was whether to join track. I was having a real headache as i had a bad "fault" problem for my jumps. It stole the belief i had in myself that i will do well in track and qualify into the top 8 of nationals, which is extremely prestigious for me. I thought i was no longer good enough so i will not be able to stand a chance to represent VJC in track as they had a history of a strong track team. However, the teacher in charge managed to dissuade me to join track. I didn't have any other options also. It is my passion to jump. I have jumped around since young and i will continue jumping in my JC life.
My Class
I was amazed, truely amazed that i was put into an IP class. But i thought that i should just accept it as life is always about knowing new people. My classmate, a non IP student, thought that it was weird and wanted to switch class to join her friends. But i managed to persuade her to stay on and it was not a decision to regret.
My class is extremely lively, especially the guys. We will "bastard" anyone even though it may spoil our reputation. The term "bastard" is used in different ways. The first way is when someone makes a bad slip and says something wrong, we will keep repeating it. The victim of this "bastardation" can be a student from other class or even a teacher. The second way is as follows. Most of my class guys are associated with a girl he like, even though it might not be true. I am a victim of this "bastardation" too, but mine is true. I like someone. Whenever we see a girl our classmate likes, we will start making funny noises and signal to the guy. This will make the guy feel embarrassed. Another unique character of my class is that we treat our teachers like friends. This is because they are also victims of our "bastardation", in both ways of "bastardation".
My classmate, Justin, introduces several inspiring words in my class like flaccid (to describe lousy), lucid (vulgar), etc. This makes it a very fun and entertaining class. My class is also full of smart people and we have a very muscular PRC classmate Zhao Chen. He does a lot of funny things like setting alarm during the recent GP paper. It was a terrible slip which we "bastarded" after the exam.
O' Levels results
I got my O' levels results and was somewhat happy. Happy that i got 8 A1s and somewhat dissatisfied that i got 8 points as my english was B3 and my higher chinese an astonishing D7. However, i got on with life as usual. My parents had asked me to consider going to RJC if my results are good. But i told them that i would like to stay at VJC for my friends and the fun. My dilemma was gone after the results came out as D7 for higher chinese left me with little chance of switching school to RJC. So i decided not to switch school and stayed at VJC. But i decided to re-take chinese as H1 subject as i wasn't satisfied with D7.
Earthwatch
I joined Earthwatch as a CCA in term 2. This was mainly because most of the trackers were in earthwatch. After a while, i came to realise that it was actually a great CCA. The mission is to save the earth and we had the task of influencing our schoolmates to be more environmentally-pro. I took up the position of project head and this has developed me as a person. I became more independent. My job was to implement projects for the school and these projects will help develop pro-environmental mindsets in our schoolmates.
I organised activities for the Recycling Week last year and the green quiz was a success. This is despite the fact that very few people signed up initially. I didn't want to give up and my preseverance paid off as some enthusiastic house-comm people took part as they are attracted by the reward of house points.
This year, i organised activities for the Earth Day. It further developed my leadership abilities, innovative skills as well as my capability to deal with stress. I wrote the proposal for Earth Day and it consists of a flea market, video screening in the canteen, talk for JC1s by an external speaker and a standing exhibition in the concourse. However, everything didn't seem right at first. No one bothered to sign up for the flea market except for the president Shiang Nee's enthusiastic TSD friends. Our advertising efforts were also "flaccid". We had to forego the standing exhibits in the concourse as we didn't have the time to look for the posters. I was in charge of looking for videos to screen in the canteen on Earth Day. Unfortunately, i downloaded the videos in the wrong format and realised this late at night. This means that i didn't have the time to download all the videos i intended to screen. The next day was Earth Day. The external speaker was to give a speech for JC1s during their CT session. Before that, i had to screen a video to entertain the JC1s in the PT. But i had a hard time saving the videos in the laptop i borrowed from the school and arrived at the PT late. This built up a lot of stress in me and it was terrible considering that i had back pain on that day. After that i had to screen the videos in the canteen. Due to technical problems, the videos couldn't appear on the screen. But i didn't give up and try again later in the afternoon. At last, it appeared on the screen. At this time, several students have already left school and didn't have the chance of watching the videos. Nevertheless, i felt a sense of satisfaction and it demonstrated my never-say-die attitude. As for the flea market, it was a success.
Now, i have already stepped down from my post in Earthwatch and passed my duty on to my junior. I seriously hope that they will do a great job in developing VJC environmental efforts. Joining Earthwatch has not only strengthened my knowledge of the earth, it has also developed me as a person.
JC results
So far, my results in JC are relatively satisfying. I realised that to cope well in JC, we have to be independent and follow our work frequently. The most important thing is to do our tutorials as it is the best way to understand the topic you are studying. However, GP is my main worry and i have been doing my best to improve it, going for tuition and reading the newspaper frequently to update myself of current affairs. Maths, Chemistry and Physics are all As in mid-year, promos and CT1. Economics has been fluctuating from E to D to E. But i think i will screw up CT2 this time. Chemistry and Physics papers were way beyond students' abilities and certainly unexpected. Even if one were to study for the whole holiday, he or she will not be able to do well either. Nevertheless, i still hope for good results. I have very high expectations of myself. I strongly believe in the saying that if you aim high, you will achieve even greater things.
OCIP
I signed up for OCIP to gain the experience of living a different life. OCIP was at Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was a village located on top of a mountain. We had to interact with the villagers as well as assist in building a library for them. The living conditions was vastly different. The guys and to live in a hut beside a pig sty with spiders on top of the ceilings. This was actually the house of one of the villagers. Imagine living with the spiders and listening to the grunts of the pigs daily. This will be unthinkable for most of us. But we were extremely thankful to the villager who gave up their house to accomodate us. Next, we had to bathe in the open in cold water and at freezing temperature. At home, most of us will have water heater in our toilets and are showered with warmth and love. This is definitely a change and i developed the allowance for the difference in standards of living between countries. At the time of our visit, the country was celebrating Loy Krathong and this showed that every country has an extremely rich culture.
The villagers there were very friendly while the kids were welcoming and carefree-looking. In my opinion, you will never see such faces in my country due to the high level of competition we are facing which accumulates stress in us. I had joy in playing with them and seeing them smile even though we were not connected by language. The village life had a relaxing environment, an alternative to the fast-paced urban life. It was conducive in encouraging true friendship and relationships between people due to the simplicity of life. I learned to treasure the work of people like the bangladesh in my country too. We had to make cement and build the library and it was a tough task even though there was a large number of us.
Overall, OCIP was a memorable experience for me. I learned several lessons and became more independent after that.
A' Level results
My A' levels results have been very disappointing so far. My Chinese H1 was a B and i had expected an A. Nevertheless, i was somewhat satisfied as my grade improved from O' levels higher chinese D7 to A' levels chinese H1 B.
However, the worst was to come. My project work H1 got a C. I was shocked, stunned, traumatized. The overall grade for my group was B. Blame it on luck or blame it on my lack of ability, i had the worst grade in my class! I was so sad that i cried. I was inconsolable at that point of time. I didn't expect myself to fail so badly. It robbed me of my self-belief. It took me a few days before i got over this "thrashing". I would have to thank my classmates and teacher Miss Chiam who played a part in consoling me at that time. All was not over yet. I still have 1 H1, 4 H2 and 1 H3 subject which they believe i would definitely do well in. My best friend Han Wei told me that it was always good to try falling now rather than later in life when it gets tougher to pick myself up. I would have to absorb the blow now and get on with life as usual. My other friend Li Hwa told me that i am an over-achiever. Everything will be fine soon and the reason why i'm feeling this way is that i have never tasted failure. She gave me the assurance that i will eventually do well in A' levels.
All these helped me discover a new lease of life. I told myself that this is a wake-up call. Instead of feeling sour over this "thumping" and get emotional, I must now do my best in improving my communication skills which is weak at times. I will make this an extra motivation to succeed. I promise myself that i must not fail again. I must not be a slacker anymore and cruise my life away.
Track
Back to track now. So i decided to join track. It was all going well. For the first time in years, i have a jump coach. My long jump was improving and i could finally jump beyond 6m. I had the aim to improve by 30cm every year so my target was 6.2m last year. I was signed up for 200m for nationals too as there were not enough sprinters. A few weeks before nationals, i strained my hamstring. I had just finished my sprints training and missed jumping. So i decided to go to the long jump pit alone to have a jump or two. My muscles were already cooled down at that point of time and thus, the unfortunate incident happened. It was a small strain but i didn't want to risk any injury. So i stopped training and immediately did a lot of stretching to relieve the strain. 2 days before my event, my season effectively ended. The strain on my hamstring was still there. As i prepared for the last jump of my training, i was thinking about the majestic atmosphere at the nationals when i jump in 2 days' time. Then, i started my run-up and took off. I pulled my hamstring. Good game. But i didn't want to give up and immediately went for acupuncture that day. 2 days later, i went for the competition, limped to the finishing line of my 200m race and then reported for my long jump event. I told myself that i must do this but i couldn't even take off. I was quite sad at that time. I could have easily qualified for top 8 for nationals as my "fault" problem was solved. Never mind, there is still next year. I consoled myself.
This year, injury after injury strikes me. I really don't understand why i am getting injured so frequently. I had been injury-free in secondary school. First, i have heel pain. I went for acupuncture and did a very good jump at the all-comers in April. I had my personal best. The actual distance was 6.3m but i stepped one foot under-board and the registered distance is 6.0m. After a while, the heel problem came back again and subsequent competitions were bad. I went to heal it again. Just when everything seems right, a new injury came. The back pain. I'm turning old. It has troubled me for a month and the competition i took part recently had not yielded satisfactory results. I still have the back pain now but i think i should just bear with it during nationals. After all, it is still possible to jump, not like last year. As the saying goes, if you think too much about your injury, you will find it hard to recover. So i should stop thinking that something bad will happen when it actually will not happen, as said by my friend Li Hwa.
Today, the track team had a team talk. My coach Miss Yu gave an inspiring speech. She said that if your first jump is bad, don't be discouraged. Continue believing that you will do well and your jump will be great. This has enlightened me. During Secondary 3 & 4, i had a constant "fault" problem. This is because i always got nervous and disappointed when my first jump is "faulted". Through the guidance of my coach, i hope to achieve greater heights. I wish that i will get a medal this year to award her for the hard work she put in me.
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