squeak.

2006-12-05T19:51:00.000+08:00

2006-11-29T23:48:00.000+08:00

ive been going out alot these two weeks (:

it's actually quite tiring cos have to keep running around from here to there, and i mostly end up stoning and boring everyone out. doesn't help that my house is in jurong, school is in bishan, chalets are usually in SUPER ulu places, and everyone else lives everywhere else =/ but yeah it's been fun (:

watched step up at j8 with jean and zihan on tuesday, without sam cos he wasnt really interested in step up. (sam also warned me that i'd be experiencing hell going out with them but javis didn't go so it wasn't that hell ><) anw that was like the first time i talked to jea in person so it was really awkward at first, but as usual you talk a littlebit more and walk around a littlebit more and there you go. by the way step up's nicenicenice. a big -booo- to whichever stupid newspaper rated it one star! went down to tpy and then to ps after that... man they sure are arcade addicts :D

hockey gathering on saturday! yeah i missed movie marathon at church cos i figured it'd be quite sick to have to travel from bukit batok all the way to tanah merah early in the morning. so hm... got to tanah merah quite early... alex came first, followed by nadz and hossain. caught the 1.30 shuttle cos no one else seemed to be coming at that time, and reached the resort feeling kinda lost. hahah then rachel came to pick us up from the visitors centre. she kept beaming and going slightly hyper, proudly proclaiming she'd made pasta herself o.o ahem we ate some when we got to the chalet... and it was really quite nice. though it would have passed off better as roasted marshmallows (:

the rest of the day we spent bowling, pooling and arcade-ing. alex tried to run off without paying for bowling but he stupidly left his phone behind and when he went back to collect it they asked him to pay =P heh heh.

earlier this week. HAPPY FEET! yeah everyone's going nuts over it now. the penguins are really cutesey yes. just the storyline and ending suck pretty bad. watched it with sam, jean and pearlyn at ps cos it was raining and we didnt wanna soak ourselves running over to cathay. killed time while waiting for the girls... by uh coming up with being-late theories =S for more details refer to sam's blog. hahah yup. oh and we saw an AMAZING bun at breadtalk! :D

when they finally came we went to get snacks. mixed candies cost 2.50 for a pathetic handful so i dumped them. jea and pear wanted the stuffed penguin that comes with the happy feet combo, so i got the combo and let them keep the penguin. random comment: i officially dont really like salted popcorn it tastes like soggy marshmallow =/

shikei joined us after the movie cos he had nothing to do at home. went arcading again, more people joined in. sam and shikei kept bullying me and dragging me onto the ddr machine knowing jolly well i cant get more than ZERO. reminds me of the time when sam dragged me into the middle of the ice skating rink when i was still a noobie and couldn't skate at all. freaky people.

and then and then. -some- people got addicted! at first i thought the girls were already addicted enough... then sam joined in -.- i was thinking *die man*. shikei and i, totally hopeless at ddr, escaped and went to play tc instead. mm we kinda stayed around for almost an hour and a half, then jea had to go home so we all said byebye and the three of us went back to ps for dinner. some stuff happened during that time, and jea lost her wallet, then i bumped into pear and han coming back from the arcade when i was going there to try find it o.o yeah so they joined us for dinner, with all the "my mum wants me to take photos of you all" and all that jazz. hahah seriously lah! scariness.

by the time we finished it was past 10, it was late and so that was the end of the day.

training yesterday felt quite weird. havent trained since my operation, so i felt like an old old man. couldn't run around very much or sweat alot in case the thingy got infected again, but joined them for some drills and two sides. sigh im not sure if i should play for combined schs or ORA in next year's league. if i play for combined schs it'll be in a lower division but i'll get nat colours again. if i play for ORA i wont get nat colours but i'll be in the premier league and jasmeet says the national coach's watching out for u21 people from the premier league. he also says ORA doesn't really have enough forwards next year so i'll be one of the main ones. so now it's like a decision between awards and higher level exposure.

met up with the same people as monday to go to sam's house. actually no i met shikei at clementi first, went to get cardboard for making the empire state building, then had lunch with sam before going over. the girls arrived while we were playing tabletennis, but we stopped after a while and they took over. when they did, that was it. sitting at the side was quite a terror cos they were hardly using the table and balls were flying everywhere =p

lazed around and sam's house, built the tower, tried to play some stuff on his ps2 (jea got disappointed cos sam's ddr only works on ps), played with his little hamsters, watched borat and family guy, blah blah. hahah took a train down to jurong point after that, played arcade again, almost fainted watching sam and the others ddr some super fast song at x3 speed. daytona-ed too... but after a while it seemed we werent playing together cos han and shikei both came in first, and so did sam and i o.o

had dinner, talked lots of rubbish :D and i was SO happy i found the 2nd atapchee but sam tried to kope it from me -.- you see the main treat in an icekachang is what? THE ATAPCHEE. like duh it rocks. what else would you pay 1.50 for? nothing by the ATAPCHEE.

okay ahem back to the main stuff. sam had to rush off soon after, the rest of us took our time to walk back to the train station. we could probably say that was the most freaky time ever :x first, jea and han rushed out of the toilet screaming and laughing, then while walking they and pearlyn took turns to hurl one another at shikei and i =S when we got out of the building they formed a human chain and didnt let us walk o.o and grand finale when i said bye and started walking towards the bus interchange.

"bye bye danieeeeeellll........"

okay it doesn't seem so freaky here! but mygosh it was super loud. in front of a darn huge crowd of people la! when i walked off there were like a few people staring at me like i was some cheekopek :x

hahah save all the freaky stuff, and apart from always feeling very old, going out with all of them is fun (:

2006-11-19T23:56:00.000+08:00

class chalet :D

sorry for not updating in such a long time! this week's been packed full with stuff... class chalet... extra lectures... trips to the doc to do redressing... the youth conference on board the mv doulos...

class chalet was fun! though the place wasnt big and quite few people were around, it was a good getaway to engage in some totally meaningless activities and take our minds off the tough past year =p stayed over both nights... spent most of the time playing or slacking around. jerome's ps2 got us hooked, and the beer got sam hooked. i tell you, he got really drunk and insane -.- but dont worry i didnt drink. ive already promised myself to abstain from alcohol. climbing over the fence of ms lee's class' bungalow in the middle of the night to do surprise delivery was fun though!

ms chiang drove us out to changi village on the second night, after jerome and a few others had gone to bed. the usual bapoks were there, and so were the nice hawker stalls. but the real highlight was going down the the jetty and walking along the pathways lining the coastline. it's super ulu and dark down there, but really romantic and dreamy. real neat! couples-to-be looking for a good spot to make out, that's a great place to be. for more spots, we could ask ms chiang, she probably knows lots more... ahem o.o

hahah alright i better shut up before she really makes me do more demonstrations in class next year.

my ear thingy's recovering well, just i don't know why it has to take so long. i miss training, and even running around the place. now when i climb the stairs or do anything ive got to be real careful not to perspire, otherwise i might get myself into trouble again. going back next thursday for my third review... hopefully it doesn't drag on for yet another week!

yah. so what's left.
ah friday.

went to join sam caleb and shikei at crossroad47 after maths lecture. the youth centre's actually pretty neat compared to when i first saw it. maybe it's the kids that make all the diff. what i really couldn't get was how playing violent shooting games on the xboxes would get them to know Christ :/ and it was quite funny seeing ps cuixian watching them play so intently.

sam playing xiangqi...

with me!

sam constipated

doing some work after playing monopoly, tablesoccer and jenga

left for the get a life.com youth conference in the evening. vivo was huge, but terribly boring. somehow there seems to be a lack of eateries, and all the shops looked the same =S very very disappointing. ate sushi for dinner, then boarded the vessel. now just imagine that, being on the oldest sailing passenger ship on earth, only 2 years younger than the titanic. anyway the conference focused on several aspects of missions and tending to the needs of those in distress. was quite inspiring to know that there were 56 different nationalities sailing on the same ship and going for the same missions, and that many of the volunteers had given up their careers and comfy lives to seek God through service. i just might wanna join them for a short term trip sometime in future =p

more photos!

hahah the cute flower sam gave me today for my birthday (what an emo shot)

HE'S CUTE RIGHT.

pics courtesy of caleb and jon!

CIAO (:

.

2006-11-07T09:03:00.000+08:00

back from my op... the doctor made an incision and drained out the fluidy stuff from the cyst already. even under anaesthesia it was friggin painful when they cut me up. i probably yelped more "ow"s during those 15 minutes than ive ever ow-ed in a year. now that area's quite bloody and everything, and ive got to go back daily to remove the old packing, insert a fresh one, and redo the dressing. should be fine within a week unless the culture test indicates the bacteria is something more serious. meanwhile, no more training for me =( thank God so much for the successful removal of that huge nonsense thingo though.

by the way the whole thing was quite traumatic cos i easily had to go through 5 or 6 doctors before the last one could perform the actual procedure. and getting referred from this dept to that dept was quite. freaky. especially when you dunno what they're gonna do to you.

anyway, pics from last saturday's drama-filled src 4-a-side tournament. we had a very smooth run but lost to some older nyp guys in the finals, so not very happy with that, but whatever lar.

2006-11-05T15:31:00.000+08:00

JANICE SOON MADE ME SO THIS :D

in the past 24 hours, have you
1. cried? teared, yes. during svc.
2. worn jeans? nono i dont like jeans.
3. met anyone? alot of people!
4. done laundry? nope.
5. went hungry? halfway through the 4-a-side tourney i got kinda hungry.
6. talked on the phone? short call to my dad... yeah.
7. say I love you? nope.

do you believe in
8. yourself? possibly...
9. your friends? i'll always trust in them until something bad actually happens.
10. tooth fairies? ee stupid fairytale nonsense.
11. destiny/fate? partly. going by definition it seems half accurate.
12. ghosts? our dearest holy spirit (:
13. UFO? those flying things? bible doesn't say other beings exist. so for now i take it to be no.
14. Have you ever wished of having another name? no way man. my name rocks.
15. Do you like anyone? i prefer not to 'like'. 'loving' is better.
16. Which friend of yours acts most like you do? nobody lah... im weird.
17. Who was there with you, when you cried the most? nobody. only god (:
18. What's the best feeling in the world? knowing that other people are happy.
19. What's the worst feeling in the world? losing.
20. What's the time now? 3:34pm

which is better?
21. Chocolate or Vanilla? ooo vanilla!
22. Coke or Pepsi? both are nice. but root beer is better!
23. Love or Lust? LOVE.
24. Sprite or 7-up? sprite. it's sweeter and ive got a sweet tooth.
25. Girls or Guys? both are marvelous.
26. Scruff or clean-shaved? no difference?
27. Movie in the day or night? does mid day count? but you're in the cinema, isnt it still dark?

the last time
28. you took a shower? just half an hour ago.
29. cried? i teared just now during svc.
30+31. Who makes you smile/can make you smile no matter what? haaah. dont tell you.
32. Are you in love right now? so ba gua -.- but im in love with God all the time.

do you ever
33. sit by the phone waiting for calls? that's freaking retarded.
34. save AIM conversations? isn't it auto save nowadays...
35. wish you were someone else? nope.
36. wish you were of opposite gender? are you kidding me -.-
37. stay online for more than 8 hours? most very certainly. it happens practically every day.
38. gotten stuck in a lift? yes...it was a silly experience.
39. gone out with people you don't know? erm friends friend(s) maybe.
40 hate a person to the core that you wished they were dead? i choose not to bother about people i don't like.
41. swear at your parents or siblings? only when im driven to breaking point?
42. read comics until you cry? how do you cry at comics...

who was the last person
43. that you saw? mum and sis watching some movie
44. that you talked to? raphael foo on msn
45. you hugged? i think it was sam. BUT... he's the one that goes around hugging people. not me hug him o.o
46 who instant messaged you? ahaha raphael la

do you...
47. colour your hair? no way. i will NOT dye my hair.
48. have tattoo? NO. nononono...
49. have piercing(s)? NOOOOO!
50. put on lipstick? that is utterly gay.
51. own more than 10 flip-flops? i dont even have one pair. plan to get one though.
52. like someone? oh gosh not again
53. hate someone? nope.
54. have any money with you now? yeah dad gave me some to go see the doctor tomorrow.

5 people to do this
1. the people i have in mind probably have already been asked to do this by someone else, or don't have blogs, or have already closed down their blogs, so... anybody who wants!

2006-10-30T22:24:00.000+08:00

sam takes me to the gym and shows me the rowing machine

hello! yeah im back again. nothing much's been happening as usual, apart from rushing pw and thinking of dreadful cheena coming up on friday. preparing for and teaching cell on sunday was creepy, but at least im getting more comfortable with each opportunity. worship during service - im really beginning to find many contemporary songs and the clapping and exclaiming and blah blah very distracting, so as of now what im doing (or plan to do) is to keep my senses together, not sing out loud or clap until i know perfectly well what im singing about. seems to work better than "letting go" of yourself to worship "freely". after all we'll never know when our hearts and minds become taken over by an impulsive surge of emotion caused by the physical stirring of the senses.

went to school early for group pw meeting this morning, went upstairs and koped the archives room and played tcm while waiting for the others. spent the entire morning after that running through our powerpoint and scripts, trying to make sure everything'd be smooth for tomorrow's dry run with ms lim. listening to val talk about the humans classes' presentations was quite depressing, but i'll try real hard to make the best of what we have and enjoy doing the presentation.

we had lunch at yoshi, where we starting talking about a whole lot of random stuff, including a short portion about the countergirl who came to pass me my tori bits. anna said she was really pretty, (i kinda agreed =x), and i said she reminded me of one of those people who act in MVs and look really 'star'. as in seriously, she got a super duper actress kind of potential or something lar. why should she be working here in yoshi. should step out there and be an instant hit on tv! okay of course i wasn't lame enough to request for a photo with her lar but. oh man!

followed val to meet sam at tanjong pagar after lunch, cos they wanted to go rock climbing at the singapore mountaineering federation place. val was trying to be vain - she wanted to buy what towel...shampoo... just cos she thought she'd stink after rock climbing (fyi the rock walls are all in a comfortably nice, fully-airconditioned hall). sam was desperately asking us about chinese stuff... it's amazing how he's turned from an ardent cheena hater into a monster mugger so quickly.

watched the two of them rock climb as i played tcm again on my laptop. rock climbing looks rather fun eh...maybe i'll join them the next time we go over. manly sam repeatedly attempted the really hard 90 degree wall...but seemed much too crazy for him to execute. val belaying sam was the joke of the day. as sam descended she slid forward and almost got pulled off the ground, if not for my quick reflexes to anchor her more firmly as sam fell.

more stuff in school tomorrow! happy hols for those who just finished their cheena o's!

2006-10-25T10:46:00.000+08:00

just played a friendly against the national team, lost 1-6 but i scored our only goal and it was quite nice... similar to the sri lanka game but maybe a little more explosive. the rain was terribly heavy but we carried on playing anyway... jude played for our rojak team too, and it's really funny the way he plays but always there's a super lot you can learn from someone like him.

class outing yesterday was fun! weather was scorching and i think everyone got a nice little tan but it's the first time our class has gone out for something so 'outdoor' and it turned out great.

2006-10-20T23:22:00.000+08:00

colours ceremony;

17 Oct;

2006-10-17T20:30:00.000+08:00

us and the 933 deejays

walking back to school jolly and high

playing game of life

anna being toootally cool

earlier in the day...

sam sleeping in maths lecture with ms chua sitting next to him

pw... what's sam doing with the powerpoint?

oh right -.- it says "RARRH. i eat ho."

sam in nicole's sc jacket

going off to j8 for lunch

hahah. the really weird things we do when exams are over and there's absolutely nothing better to do.

2006-10-16T22:47:00.000+08:00

lots of things happened today... and i mean lots. full of activity trauma surprises and tension...

1. promos

ms chiang came into class in the morning and told us we all got promoted, which was absolutely great news considering ive forever been on the dangerous side. got back lit, wasn't too bad... got back hist, a big fat U. which surprised me cos to promote you cant get more than one U... and i knew my maths was already a definite U so how did they promote me if i'd gotten a U for hist too? i went absolutely hysterical after lecture and starting freaking out... called ms chiang and she had a chat with me during break, told me they reviewed us and allowed some of us to promote even though we didnt hit the mark. what's even more sick is that i got a third U for econs... which kinda means the only h2 pass i have is lit, and no h1 pass at all. at the moment this whole thing is driving me nuts but i guess ive really got to push it for next year and not disappoint my teachers and classmates anymore.

gp was the most ohmygoshgoanddie paper i got back today cos i expected at least a B but ended up failing. compre nothing to say lar... it was quite tough, but for the essay i got a marker that was completely useless. im sorry to say this, but to mark in such a rubbish manner an essay written by the great-hoho-who-has-never-failed-an-english-essay-his-whole-life is appalling. she tried to correct my grammar but her correction was WRONG. she tried to mock my claims but all she did was demonstrate her utter ignorance of the subject. she tried to put down a quote by a reliable personality. she didnt read properly and misinterpreted so many things. she gave me 22/50 -.- ahem. and how do i know it's a she? the way the comments were written was so ngiao you can tell right off it.

2. class

we didnt do much in class today besides get back our papers and sulk at them. ms ng owned us upside down during hist lecture (and i think i deserve it), the rest of the day was really quite free. during gp ms nair subtly owned us too. she said that all her 3 classes give her really different responses to doing work. one will be super on and even stay up till 4am just to finish her work, another will try and bargain but somehow still get the job done, but our class would always procrastinate and say "aiyah ms nair! don't need to do lar!" and never hand in our stuff. hahah.

something bishbash happened later in the day, but hope it doesn't get bigfatblownup and everything'll be alright at the end (: seriously man, get on with life and be happy.

3. dinner

had dinner at some crystal jade thingy with ms chiang, ms chua and (some of) the class at taka... the food was quite nice and we talked a darn lot of junk. our class can really be funny pls, even with a pathetic 13 people. helps too that quite a few of our teachers are new and young and hippening. dessert was on sam, cos he won some cash again from his dota tourney in m'sia, so we had drinks and choc pies downstairs at some cafe. i promise you the pie is a solid chocblock. irresistable :D

ms chua gave anna jieying and i a lift back home afterward, and she listens to jay chou in the car! see what did i say about our teachers being hippening! yeah and she's got a pair of really cute chip and dale plushies on the dashboard, and two super fluffy ikea cushions at the back. anw we happened to be talking about a levels and what we'd be next time and i was saying how crap i'd be and end up roaming around with nothing to do cos i was too lousy... and anna said something about the gp presentation i did earlier last term, something about it being "surprise of the year" and the class being really impressed by it. somehow that encouraged me again... if i could do something so well just because i loved doing it so much, why couldn't i do that for other things as well.

hahaha sigh it's like everyone thinks im capable but i always turn out giving crap results... it's been like that since secondary school. still remember how hard ms kuang fought for me to get me into LDP and all that. cant continue with this anymore... i better get back in and start working harder for next year.

2006-10-13T21:05:00.000+08:00

our very pretty hockey booth (:

open house today was long and boring but time seemed to pass quite quickly... jordan and i did quite well for our first cca display but the second was a total messup. anyway for the first one after i stopped jordan's flick i flicked back super high and it hit the ceiling... mr hodge was standing right there watching (he must have been silently cursing me) while everyone else went "ooooooh." then jordan's wallet dropped out halfway when we were doing tricks and everyone burst out laughing too.

quite fun lah huh. though most of my time was spent just roaming around or sitting at our hockey booth, occasionally dropping by the hissoc booth to check out on things, saying hi to people, playing hockey with the others, slacking with the frisbee people...or wondering why there were so many rg girls but so few ri dudes... oh and there's several people i know interested in joining hockey! :D

alex and hoho

i wrote "we *heart* hockey, yao/sian changed it to frisbee, sup wrote "frisbee is for losers!"

hoho, yap, yao/sian (crap...until now i still cant differentiate between the twins)

pathy with our very nice stickers

yap and hoho - ULTI!

st nick's hockers want to play hockey

2006-10-07T19:46:00.000+08:00

guess who's falling asleep during pw mass lecture!

went to watch you me & dupree with class after the lecture, it's totally hilarious and r-tarded i promise. sorry those under 16 can't go watch!

anyway i went to the doctor today to check out that lump behind my ear... i found out it's one of the symptoms of skin cancer but thankfully the doc said it was just a cyst, not too badly infected and unlikely to be cancerous. i'll be on antibiotics for the time being but if it doesnt shrink and go away i'll have to go for an op to get rid of it.

oh the horror. everyone knows im terrified with this kind of thing. i cant even tahan an injection -.-

well at least my headache's getting better (i hope)... pray for me alright?

2006-10-01T17:54:00.000+08:00

lionel, hoho & cute kitty.

ps cuixian told us about the new cell structure for next year during input today... seems like it's gonna be quite a big change. ace won't be ace anymore, sam josh and ch probably wont be with us anymore, i wont even be cm-ing ace anymore, the raffles people're going to be together and stuff... the guys looked a little stunned and sad when i told them we'd be splitting... and the scariest thing for me is i'm going to be teaching alone now. cos lionel's probably going to be an rl or something. uhhuh. this year seemed rather slack and easy cos lionel did most of the teaching, and all i did was attend input and teach sometimes when lionel wasnt around. i didnt even try any bit of the apologetics part. and considering j2's going to be much busier i really need to start preparing myself for all of that. scary scary.

anyway, went to anchorpoint for lunch with lionel kendice kristy and chanhong after svc.
lionel drove... angsted at other drivers and pedestrians along the way cos he kept getting stuck in traffic.
food was burnt and took forever to come. cos the guy overcooked my lasagne and forgot all about it until i reminded him.
went walking around the shops after lunch, lionel played with one of those grab-the-toy machines...
there were really cute disney stuffedtoys around so yeah.
first attempt - utter failure. we couldnt even get a sweet -.-
second attempt - the machine seemed to have grabbed the toy but didnt look as if it would hang on for long. as the toy got lifted up... we noticed that one of the 'pincers' slotted perfectly into the label thingo on the kitten's butt... so perfectly it couldnt even release the kitten!
what luck!
anyway the shopkeeper was nice and opened the machine to let us take it out. plus we got a bonus sweet too :D

lionel ken and kris left, chanhong and i went to the arcade for a while then hopped over to ikea while waiting for daddy to come. i went a little insane with the furniture displays and started taking silly photos. but nevermind =/

yeah that kinda summed up the day. looking forward to one week of break!

2006-09-28T18:04:00.000+08:00

PROMOS ARE OVER!

phew finally. time for a break from intense intense mugging. the papers were really bad... but then again it's cos i'm lousy and i write really slow. hope my markers won't be evil and fail me too badly? i dont wanna get retained =/

anyway yup. that's us in our blazers and stuff after the zone colours ceremony last week. fahrul accidentally set it to b&w...hahah emo right. met amandasoh and jeanting there too, plus the rest of the guys from the other schools. the ceremony itself wasnt as boring as i thought it'd be...the c kunalan person was pretty funny and the presentation part went much quicker than we expected. look forward to seeing some folks again at natl colours next month!

(samuel... your black shoes were super uncomfortable can -.- i went home with 2 blisters on each foot, and the whole day i couldnt walk properly. but thanks for saving me last minute anyway!)

okay this is very very random but i'm eating chicken mcspicy now cos i tapao-ed it home after lit paper today and i'm DYING from its hotness. i've approximately consumed 12 icecubes together with half a burger. and still counting. guys please stay away from chicken mcspicy it is a very very dangerous burger. it makes me tear more than laksa (in fact i'm crying now not tearing) and sniff more than chicken curry (my nose is running like a river now). DIE YOU BURGER.

oh and the veggies are raw don't eat them.

kk

2006-09-19T21:00:00.000+08:00

team singapore group photos...

arrival at hotel

lining up for our first match

coach lim and team

watching another match

the HORRID opening ceremony. they made us wait 45 minutes in the hot sun for the GOH to arrive -.-

moving off...

after the sri lanka game (we love the sri lankans:D)

state dinner hosted by chief minister of pahang (hahah yes. singapore floral shirts.)

at the beach

where did our bus disappear to?

last group photo with our coach and teachers

2006-09-17T02:54:00.000+08:00

grahh im super sad now cos i accidentally deleted alot of my hockey trip photos =S anyway im still getting photos from the webbie and other friends so gimme a few more days to post them here kk? i promise promise they'll be up quick (:

on a very irrelevant note, i seem to have gotten a new name overnight.

and im now a pig too -.-

hahah :P thanks for the very cute and funny drawings. grr.

2006-09-16T01:00:00.000+08:00

yes im back from my trip!

for those who don't know, we were taking part in the 3rd asian schools hockey championships in kuantan, pahang. it was tough having to play 7 games within a week, going up against opponents like m'sia and sri lanka, but being with the team on the trip was a great experience. i'll blog day-by-day accounts over the next day or two, but for now here's a sneak peak =p

table of our results:

we lost 1-2 to thailand in the plate match though. the match was, well, very sickening. shall blog more about it later.

our formation for matches was something like this:

goalee (jamal)

sweeper (hossain)
stopper (alex)
rightback (faris)
leftback (zonghe)

right mid (fahrul)
centre mid (jeremy)
left mid (nizam)

right wing (ashlee)
centre fwd (song yun)
left wing (ho sheng)

hoho scores singapore's opening goal against thailand

coach mr lim's half time team talk

faris goes in for a tackle against a sri lankan player

of course, there was off-the-pitch fun:

outings to the beach

evil monkey comes to attack our food

playing around and doing stupid poses in the hotel room

okay! more coming up after tomorrow's sea hist and maths extra lessons -.-

2006-09-06T01:55:00.000+08:00

2006-09-05T22:14:00.000+08:00

here's my last post before i leave tomorrow (:

been training together with the rest of the guys for quite a number of session now... feel much more at home, looking back at the first time we came together, hardly talking to one another and feeling super awkward. but it's nice and quite humbling to get to play at this level together with guys from other schs. normally in our rj team it's like everything so easy... so little pressure to perform cos you know you're basically the best team and the best few players and stuff. but for something like this when you have to go face other asian countries... it's really overwhelming to know you're almost nothing anymore.

but it's nice! and im really thankful for this chance. training's been frequent and tiring but i'm enjoying playing with the team and pushing for pcs and stuff... the next 10 days isnt going to be easy either but i really want us to go all the way through to the finals =p seems quite farfetched but whatever. we'll see... hahah.

packing's such a hassle -.- not the first time ive been on a trip, but first time im going to be away this long. it's like...should i bring this? or bring that? or how much should i bring? will this be too much? i still remember my china trip at the end of sec 3... it was a 7 or 8 day trip i think, and i packed a whole big fat luggage bag of stuff, ended up returning to singapore with less than half of my stuff used. so my policy for this trip - bring just enough (and if not enough, go there and buy =x).

oh speaking of china trip. went out for lunch and movie with jeanting and candice before training yesterday. havent gone out for a darn long time, so it'was good to see them again! though everyone's grown up now. gosh they're going to be my schoolmates next year, how cool's that. time passes real quickly. ate at pastamania, took some pics... then belle came by and joined us cos her friend pungseh-ed her for someone else. tsktsk. yup cand started having stomach cramps and it was quite worrying =S the four of us talked for quite long anyhow. kept scaring jt with the horrors of being in science and not arts... belle joined in and suanned her even more. and cand's planning to join hockey next year! yup. hahah then szemin passed by pastamania with her friends so said hi to her too.

watched monster house later in the afternoon! said bye to belle first, cos she had to go for some physics crash course thingo o.o weirdness right. said her mum signed her up for it after seeing the ad in the papers. yeah anyway the movie was quite funny! but jeanting got scared nuts! she kept hiding behind her sweater when the house started making sudden noises or when it began eating stuff up -.- then there was this scene when the two policemen were at the house and they were super evil to the kids so cand kept muttering "eat them up! eat them up!"

heheh the whole bunch of them are so crazy and funny.

walked over to borders to kill some time after the show. the tv was playing high school musical so we stood around to watch... then this guy dressed in a big red doggie costume came around to say hi to the kids... dont know for what lar... but he was cute so we took more pics with him =D

yep that was about it. fun fun chill time before a tiring training session in the evening (:

shall post our pics up when i get them from cand after my trip!
meanwhile, here's hoho signing off (:

2006-08-31T02:20:00.000+08:00

combined schs training was cancelled today cos of the rain, so i joined my class at great world city to catch the singapore dreaming gala premiere. mum said it didnt get good ratings, but i felt the show was really good for a local production... so all of you please go support them and watch it when you're free! managed to get some shots together with the stars too... will be posting them up here once i get them transferred from anna's phone (: had fried carrot cake and aloe vera in ice across at zion rd foodcentre after mingling around with the director and the celebs... then daddy sent me home.

teachers' day celebrations tomorrow! not sure what's going to happen... they kept it kinda low profile... but should be fun! after that maybe i'll go back to hpps or fairfield. ri can go anytime-it's just next door =x yeap. hope the teachers like the stuff we got for them! :D

-6 days to kuantan-

2006-08-25T19:46:00.000+08:00

SLEEPYHEADS;

sam and hoho during lit (photo courtesy of anna)

hoho and sam (and john from another class) - all sleeping in almost the same position during lecture! (photo courtesy of avery)

hahah now we know what our classmates are up to when we fall asleep. -glares

2006-08-19T14:31:00.000+08:00

it's almost 3am now and there's combined schs tomorrow morning, so i'm giving myself just a little under 5 minutes to write this post:D gotta get this out really really quick!

the past week's been boring. well what can anyone expect. when it gets to term 3 and everyone's worrying about promos and getting lots of homework, there seldom remains much spice and mood for fun stuff. ive been angsting alot recently too... which obviously isnt good. to whoever ive angs-ted at, forgive me for being so nonsense =p

thursday's gp presentation was something good to cheer about though. the topic i chose was "science versus god", something i knew i'd enjoy doing. spent the whole of wednesday working on it (you're probably thinking "mugger" right now but no thank you i'm the direct opposite), thinking through the entire topic and coming up with my own thoughts and arguments... i hardly referred to any other outside information. i didn't want to do it the way the other groups did for their topics either... mainly just listing and describing. i wanted something really different, that could be more applicable and throught-provoking, and something through which i could finally make a stand on how proper discussions and gp as a whole should be like, without first getting brushed off as being cynical and onesided. so anyway, hope my class found it special as well and enjoyed it... their reaction after the presentation was quite good. ms nair even asked us to copy our thingo onto her laptop (: but still i just found it most amazing that i could finish preparing a full presentation and a 5 page script, fully thought through and handtyped, all in under half a day, knowing the utter slacker i am.

hmm let's see. if it were a dead topic or a maths assignment (no offence to maths =/), i wouldnt even have gone half a page into it? see how passion can REALLY drive someone into enjoying his tasks and doing them well? hahah.

only 8 people turned up in class today, and i was the only guy. not bad eh. got me super LONER. guess everyone was rushing hist term essay or something. as usual, i was sleepy. so half my time was spent figuring how to stay awake. (fyi my teachers do read my blog so i shan't go too much into that! but then again, what's new. i keep falling asleep. yikesyikes.) yup. and anna brought stuff for us to eat during civics... which was toootally WHOO. it's like this cake thingy with digestive cookie at the base, and jelly on top with a strawberry buried inside. her mum made it i think, it was WHOOx100. got quite addicted to the digestive base... took one... two... three... just couldnt control myself la! =x

yeah. if i can order a box sometime soon i can let you all try too:D

on a slightly different note, all 5 of us made it past last week's trials, so we're now in combined schools! joel's probably not joining us though... his parents wont allow him to go to kuantan with the rest of us... so that leaves 4. eh but it's really exciting and im super happy... cos it's the first time ive ever gotten to play in combined schs and i get to represent singapore to go for a regional tournament too! hahaha. when i got the sms to say i was in, i suddenly started shouting and jumping around the house... my mum was kinda traumatised =p yup. so there's briefing and training later, in a few hours, and i think i'll be away up in kuantan from the 7th to the 14th of september to get thrashed by other countries' teams. during training ytd mr gopi was telling us stuff like... faster buy ur mouthguard, wrist guard, gloves and all that... cos the overseas players (esp. the m'sians) can get real violent and rough. hahah... sounds scary man... i dont wanna come back with broken bones and stuff.

okay shall poof off to bed now! nite nite!

2006-08-13T23:14:00.000+08:00

planetshakers ultraviolet;

we <3 christ! (hoho, cand, nikki)

mandy, hoho, cand

hoho & samantha

josh and hoho

sam and hoho again!

wcg @ suntec;

view from below stage

team zenith competing

and the crowd looks on...

2006-08-07T23:28:00.000+08:00

cell and service started an hour earlier yesterday. met sam at tiong bk in the morning, could see he was really not well and coughing like crazy. bought manda and des's lollies :D then met up with josiah and chanhong later on and made our way to lionel's house for cell.

service was a little different. ps ronald talked about tattoos, which is quite a deviation from normal topic-by-topic sermons. they had this model demonstration thingy too, which i of course didnt quite like. hahah. but yeah anyway, sam's friend javis came, got to talk to him a little, and it was overall quite a refreshing change. timing, people, subject and all. des came too by the way. and i just realised -somebody- didnt keep any potatosalad for me!

lunch was at ps (again!). the first bus came and it was super cramped. but manda jan and jessie squeezed on, leaving us behind. so much for loyalty huh. i suggested cabbing instead of waiting for another bus but no one seemed interested somehow, even though i offered to pay the full thing -.- yep anyway. lunch was at bk, cos yoshi and the other places were packed with people.

was SUPER DUPER sleepy the whole of today. ms prakash made me go wash my face in the middle of lit. gah i slept through most of history, though surprisingly i seemed to more or less get what ms ng was saying. cheena... aiyar no need to say =p maths econs and gp was so so. sam jerome and i had a short chat with ms nair after gp, and the more i think about it the more disillusioned with school i get.

hahah. whoever's reading this and doesn't really get me... hopefully you'll get to understand better as you grow up.

anyway, we were going through some questions on the kinked demand curve for econs, and last time ms chiang mentioned her other class keeps calling it the "kinky curve"...so today i was asking her what "kinky" meant. i really didnt know lar! and she was giving me that -whaaaat- look and told me to ask ms nair. yeah. then i thought the word kinky sounded kinda cute, so i kept saying "i'm kinky i'm kinky" =x

then when ms nair came in for gp i asked her what kinky meant. i asked if it was anything to do with cute (cos the word itself sounds cute), she said "yeah. it's something like cute, but a little more sexy-cute". according to her, "when you think kinky, you think me." -.- then avery was like..."no! but i don't want my girlfriend to be known as kinky!"

SO EMBARRASSING PLS! we were all laughing like crazy. avery arh avery...tsktsk.

yeap. then jerome and jolene were doing their presentation on medical ethics. went something like this":-
jerome: what the farmers do is they inject these female hormones into both the male and female turkeys to make them grow bigger breasts. and cos of these conflicting hormones, the males cant breed with the females, and this usually drives them crazy!
lestari: lesbian turkeys!
jerome: NONO! i meant the HORMONES drive the turkeys crazy!

hahaha. goodness. my class is just full of nonsense.
and i really hardly talked in gp class.
let's see how long more i can sustain it.

for now, here's a pic of me sleeping in starbucks. i think nicole took it around the beginning of the year, when were having lunch after church.

gosh what a terrible sleepyhead.

ohyeah. and i went for meet-the-peoples'-session (MPS) at boon lay just earlier this evening. probably the most freaky mps ive ever been at. had to tend to one murderous man and one mentally unsound woman. as in really. their stories were quite disturbing lar. but to see people so emotionally-driven to such a point is scary. the guy's niece just died in prison (the doctors said it was cos of a heart attack), but he was unwilling to accept that explanation and kept demanding an investigation. he was speaking to us so aggressively... as if we knew what happened -.- the woman claimed to have been mentally tortured by the police and was demanding compensation as well as asking for them to be sacked. as we were recording her case, she broke out into an inexplicable blabber about how inefficient the singapore government is, and how long her case took to get processed. something about "how can you compete with hongkong and japan? this is why you are losing out to them in everything!" (like what on earth. if you cant do any better than whine, just shush wont you.) coincidentally, she is a mental patient with the institute of mental health. right.

------

Everybody cries
Everybody bleeds
No one ever
Said that life's
An easy thing
That's the beauty of it
When you lose your way
Close your eyes
And go to sleep
And wake up to
Another day

When your world
Breaks down
And the voices tell you,
Turn around
When your dreams give out
I will carry you
Carry you
When the stars go blind
And the darkness starts to
Flood your eyes
When you're fallin' behind
I will carry you

You should know now
That you're not alone
Take my heart and we will find
You will find
Your way home

to YOU - cheer up ((:

2006-08-03T23:23:00.000+08:00

flying off into the sky;

i hate school.
i want to get it over and done with and leave this freaking rubbish place quick.
oh wow guess what. i even withdrew my application to be an OGL.
as in i didnt turn up for my interview, and i dont intend to ask for another one.
surprise surprise.
they can go have their fun for all i care.
cant believe they're asking interviewees to entertain them for 2 minutes.
at least that's what hongquan said they had to do.
what is this becoming...some circus?
and from now on im going to just shut up in class.
nothing i say seems to get anything or anyone anywhere.
just about nothing fits what other people want to hear and what our dear teachers expect to hear.
and as we all can see, it's irritating everyone off.
so sorry for being such a weirdo, bringing up things that are so different they just end up seeming pure rubbish.
when we talk about religion, none of that seems to ever matter anymore.
at least not in school anyway.
when we talk about anything nowadays, even absolute truths are seen as fluffy self-induced ideas.
we've got to be oh-so-objective about everything, even if there's nothing to be objective about.
tolerance isn't just about acknowledging that people hold differing ideas anymore now. it's about acknowledging that people's differing ideas are all valid and right.

so whatever.
i shall be good from now on and shush.
everyone can go be their own screw ups and i can just be my own.
just love that! it's like the whole abortion and morality thing.
hey man, if you think people should be given the option of whether to abort and be let off for doing it
i should be given the option of telling you what I THINK and you jolly well respect it too.
unfortunately it doesnt work that way in school does it. everyone else is right and i hardly ever am just cos i think differently.
my gosh. and fyi, just cos i laugh together with what i say doesn't mean i'm joking.
i just get so disillusioned with some of the things we go through day after day i cant help but laugh in resignation.
but hey nevermind that, cos whatever i say is crap anyway.
maybe it's only when i finally go nuts and start running around laughing to myself that anyone'll really think ive seriously gone mad.

REALLY. I'M JUST ABOUT TO BLOW IT.

man...everyone's probably thinking im some mentally deranged loser right now. won't be surprised if people suddenly start trying to give me private counselling or something. but nah, don't worry, i don't need tips on why-i-should-do-that-this way or why-i-should-do-this-that-way.

all that stinks of junk. i'd just be better off not doing anything.
after all, "no one even cares for kids anymore". neither does anyone care to wonder why the things we learn should have some actual significance in life. maybe i shouldn't either. nobody should.
oh wow. cos we've all got to be "pragmatic" and do it all for the sake of getting past jc.

what on earth is going on. i don't even know. seriously...how often have you actually even seen me post like this. it's just nuts. i've really blown it.

GEE. i just love the way people do things these days. (:

(oh and on a sidenote, i know im very luo suo...but you really really dont have to show off a tatoo to teach that tatooing is bad. y'know what i mean...it's just weird. like modelling as a murderer to teach that murder is wrong. plus it's not going to make you look very nice either, even if you do get some attention or have fun doing it. you've got all the right to withdraw. i mean i won't force you or anything, but that's just some of my thoughts. yeah. oh well.)

GAH. bye people!

2006-08-02T00:06:00.000+08:00

hahah now that r-age awareness is over, im beginning to feel like something's missing somehow. even manda does too. can't imagine myself not going for practice anymore. to think it's almost been two months since we began our time together as a choir. still recall the very first session, when i was angsting that sam dragged me into it and embarassing myself by not being able to stand straight. all the warmup exercises and rubbish-talking in between... the billions of times i had to tell chanhong and sam to stop playing around and making noise... i really miss all of that.

maybe it's the first time i've been in a choir, or been so close to this group of people, meeting up every week and spending a few hours practising and stuff. quite cool lar. funniest thing is that the very something i viewed so negatively at the start turns out to be a time i'll never ever dunk out of my mind. and all the stuff about "i cant sing"... or "trying to imagine you're throwing balls from above your head is stupid"... i take all of it back :D i'd never want to exchange this experience for anything else in the world. even if i had to wake up early so many saturday mornings. even if i had to rush from hockey and spend money on cabs just to attend practice.

abby
amanda
chanhong
gab
grace(ng)
janice
jessie
joseph
keith
phuisee
sam

man...this is going to sound really crazy but...
I LOVE YOU GUYS :D

hahah. the other people too, of course. even though i hardly know them. and JOY and bigAMANDA for putting up with us for so long!

-lookingforwardtoGIIOpening!-

You ask me do I love you but
Do you remember
Why I walked on water for you
Do you remember
My first steps on the moon
Have you ever wondered why
I gave three wishes to you
You asked the question
But the answer lies
In you, in you
The answer lies in you

heh. such a sweet song (:

p.s. ms deborah liu (if you're reading this) - don't worry so much okay! be tough and live it out cos you can! just chill alittle and be happy! life's good...plus we're all here for you (:

2006-07-30T02:44:00.000+08:00

nice... it's almost 3 am now.
got to be in church by 7 in the morning.
looks like i'm not going to have any sleep tonight (:
anyway today was kinda okay
went for another haircut this morning
teachers were complaining it got too long and messy.
planning for lunch was a total failure
we spent like half an hour discussing then at the end no one could go
so that gave me an extra hour of napping time =P
singing for sat night service ended around eight
my mike couldnt work when it came to my one-liner...
when it ended the group of us just sat outside and waited
and talked. and crapped. and lamed around.
the isi gang tried to pull my pants off -.-
cos i borrowed from sam...and it's too big even for him.
kept slipping off...and it was too long too.
dad came after his theatre thingy ended, met patrick the china guy
jessie and phuisee got off at jurong east
and then i went home.

bah im tired and lazy and draggy and WOLS (quote somebody).
so im typing in this weird way o.o
heh dont mind it.
tomorrow's the BIG DAY :D

2006-07-26T18:05:00.000+08:00

and our class won the racial harmony day contest!

sam, nicole, mich, and a stupid-looking hoho.

yeah... kinda silly... we got chocolates chocolates and more chocolates... anyway the thingy i wore was lestari's brother's. and it looked weird. whoops =/

going to church for rehearsals now! tata!

2006-07-25T21:02:00.000+08:00

pictures from class;

clara on the phone while anna sets up the laptop

jerome playing with his erm. fishing rod =x

sam and mich

jerome wielding jolene's tennis racket

laptop & ms lim (looking blur)

clara looks on as i type stuff

ms lim talking to jieying

what's anna doing with the mouse?

ohno! who's that!

sleeeepy...

-----

szemin's birthday in two days!

2006-07-18T23:16:00.000+08:00

we've got to come together;

hey everybody! haven't blogged in a long time. too busy, too tired, too lazy. havent gotten a chance to talk to alot of people recently, to go out and all that. the past week's been kinda crazy, with lots of things going on over the weekend especially.

chinese orals was a total flop. so much for getting the same topic as our common test. the reading part was okay, but the question-discussion part was like super mental block. so rubbish lar. listening compre today wasn't too bad...rushed over after hockey meeting, but everyone else was like earlier than me and the teacher got angsty -.- anyway, hope i do well for it. the way they conducted it was pretty cool too...we had this radio in class and they just tuned in to 92.4, and we were super surprised when after all the classical music the deejay started talking about cheena exams. hahah.

yup. back to stuff over the weekend. went for combined schools' trials on saturday morning, but they had some pitch booking mixup so it got postponed. we ended up filling in particulars and played two sides the rest of the session. and i'm feeling SO zibei...cos everyone else who went for trials is like HOW pro can. i'm probably the lousiest loser there who cant even tackle anybody or dribble past anybody. bahh. been playing friendlies against NTU and the national team too. which gets me all the more zibei. the more i play, the more inferior i feel. and other than joel, the other guys are like twenty plus yrs old and all so fast and pro. GAH.

rushed over to church in a cab at around eleven, met up with the rest for practice, manda had to leave after that but the rest of us had lunch over at PS yoshi. r-age awareness week's coming up really soon, and G2 opening as well. can't say we're very prepared for it either huh. standing in front of so many people is a scary thought =p

after lunch, rushed over to boon lay for sunday's street soccer tourney briefing. cos there's a number of us who're helping our seniors in this, and another few who're doing sports fest. waited almost an hour for the barricades to come, then by the time they arrived on the lorry i had to rush off to orchard for class outing =S

daddy was kind enough to wait for me for the two hours i was at boon lay, then sent me over to cine. met classmates at BK, talked alot of nonsense, then went upstairs to watch pirates of the carribean. we waited for our blur comrade, whom i tried to trick into going to taka instead of cine, and kept laughing at his lao ah pek dressing. anyway, the show was UTTERLY HILARIOUS! i loved it! but like everyone says, the ending's pretty bad. if it's even an ending at all. went to yoshi again after the show, and my eyes started hurting really bad cos my contacts had been on since like 6 in the morning.

rushed back home to shower after that, then rushed back to boon lay to sleepover at our clubhouse.

nothing much happened at the clubhouse, except this erm. ahem. cockroach incident. (sounds familiar doesnt it.) yesyes anyway, there was this cockroach running around the place...then you know im scared of cockroaches right! so i JUMPED on to my chair. and when it crawled closer to me i almost ran right into the door =/ yar but baoli just calmly went to the toilet, took some toilet paper, came out, ran after the cockroach, caught it with nothing but the toilet paper, and PICKED IT UP. then dumped it into the toilet bowl and tried to flush it down. sick can! ugh! yar then the rest of them were like laughing at me for getting so hysterical -.-

yes. so that concluded a whole day of rushing here and rushing there. just rushing my whole life away. didnt get to go to church today, but of course my dear friends updated me on what happened over the phone.

woke up at 7 on sunday morning, and the rest of the day was normal. yeah. setting up, watching games, playing games, running in the rain, slacking in the clubhouse, refereeing the albirex game, getting scolded by players when i refereed other games, lunch, lan with the seniors. when i get some pics of the event i'll upload them :)

mm. i need a long rest very badly. shall blog another time. tata! (:

2006-07-10T20:00:00.000+08:00

望向窗外，
望向远方，
想像雨滴溅湿了窗台，
想像大雪覆盖了沙漠。

望向窗外，看见天空的明月，
望向远方，看见你缓缓地向我走来。

但视线突然变得模糊，
原来又是寂寞准时来探访我了。

2006-07-08T23:39:00.000+08:00

faith, hope, love;

信任
不能医治岁月留下的伤痕
希望
无法挽回流逝过去的美好
但爱情
却能弥补所有一切，创造奇迹。

2006-07-07T20:44:00.000+08:00

- JJ: 只对你说 -

It's been so long baby
So many hours so many days
我心里的这句话还是想对你说
莎郎嘿唷

站在寂寞的舞台上
灯光下拖着自己的影子
音乐重复我们共同的忧伤
不是每一次的演唱
就可以淡忘明天没有你
In my heart we'll never be apart

残留手上的香味提醒我
在数位相机里留下的承诺
每一封简讯传出的思念
都对你说

莎郎嘿唷 means I love you
代表着我离不开你
每分每秒每一个声音
只有你撒娇会让我微笑
莎郎嘿唷只对你说
I will love you and forever more
我答应 baby you will see
每一个我都属于你

Oh baby I will love you because
我都属于你

2006-07-05T21:28:00.000+08:00

come once again;

we'll walk through all this
knowing there's a magic that still lives on.
and i'll choose to believe
that in weakness we are made strong.

2006-07-03T23:38:00.000+08:00

happy youth day!;

(I HAVE VERY KINDLY BEEN GIVEN TEN MINUTES TO WRITE THIS POST:D)

went to amanda's house this afternoon! supposed to do some mugging but ended up having lots of fun doing all sorts of nonsense =D i got to kembangan like super early so hopped over to kembangan plaza and walked around while waiting for manda, jan and jessie. got a little bored of the place after a while...cos there wasn't much there except 7-11 and some kids learning centre with cute kids running around the place...so went to sit down on the stairs and watch people walk by. then the security guard and the cleaner kept staring at me and conversing aggressively in malay. scary man.

anyway, when the three of them reached i was like how embarrassed pls. cos of my hair...they kept laughing about it. horrible people. hahah. yeah then dansoh said hi over the phone, for the 3rd time in less than 24 hours. and agreed to help me out with my hair on sunday. then on the bus there was like this handphone number on the backseat and janice almost wanted to call it -.-

yep arrived at manda's place around three - nobody could mug more than like 10mins; kept getting distracted by everything else. hahah. and her bro was around and kept coming into the room, irritating the very irritable manda who swiftly proceeded to shoo him off with subtle hand signals and loud scolding. he returned moments later, holding a bar of chocolate, asking if he could eat it, then left for a while and returned again soon after to kope more chocolate that was lying on the ground. cute lar.

janice started playing guessing games with us, attempted to throw raisins into my mouth but horribly missed every single shot. jessie stole my beloved pillows, and to my horror, manda turned absolutely violent and began throwing all sorts of stuffed toys at me and hammering me with pillows =x she was nice enough to pass me a monkey later on to calm my already unstable mind. of course, not forgetting the hazardous layout of her room, which caused me to bang my head in weird spots and gave me additional trauma.

mass convo-ed with kerpal later on (with like three of us still in the same room -.-). jan and manda you all scream until so LOUD can. tsktsk...kerpal asked me silly questions, then started some storytelling thing that was so nonsense la! then everytime skip my turn skip manda's turn...how to say anything at all. but quite funny and ridiculous nonetheless. left jessie on the phone, went out to the porch and stared at the clouds in the sky while listening to manda and jan sing our choir songs.

dad came to pick us up in the evening, and so we sadly said byebye =( thanks guys! enjoyed myself and had lotsa fun today! back to school tomorrow (:

(argh i exceeded the time limit by like 15 mins. -sorry arh.-)

2006-07-02T18:48:00.000+08:00

what a mess;

cheers people.
went for a haircut after church and lunch
and my hair is now in a horrid state.
i told the guy,
"xian zai you shen me liu xing de.
sui bian jian duan."
and so here i am
stuck with a hairstyle that needs to be gelled
otherwise it looks terrible.
he used like one whole HANDFUL of gel
and sprayed something from a can like 20 over times.
but i don't want to use gel
cos it's so pai.
plus i've never used gel before anyway
so even if i decide to, i'll mess my head up.
ARGH. helpppp. :(

and that's after abit of washing.
imagine what it was like when all the gel was still on.

:(

2006-07-01T18:50:00.000+08:00

sandcastles in the sky;

the past week's been full of nonsense! late nights, english essays made up of weird words, lotsa last-minute mugging, and worst of all, a cockroach in oil.

monday - chinese and econs tests. the hall was really cold. so cold that i cramped when i walked out.
tuesday - history test. couldn't finish the essays...mr kwok was sad :( nicole says she blanked out cos of the cold and couldn't finish either.
wednesday - lit test. couldn't finish AGAIN. i'm gonna be so dead.
thursday - maths. (blah forget it. whoever knows me should know the wonderful condition of my maths.)
friday - waste my time pls! go all the way to school to spend half an hour doing a FIVE mark cheena listening compre test. but stuff after that was fun though (:

went to parkway to meet manda to get sam's bday present and write on his card. never knew there were so many schools around that area. anyway, i was like so blur... when the bus reached parkway i was still sitting inside staring out of the window. then manda saw from the bus stop, and had to call me to tell me to get off the bus =x anyway des was with her, and soooo excited to see *ahem*. *ahem*, szemin and another person were at yoshi, and *ahem* naturally looked kinda shy. but of course, we left them to enjoy their own privacy, then walked around the place to find stuff. see! ended up getting food as usual =D from marks and spencer...a box of liquor dark chocs and gingerbreadmen! was so tempted to get other stuff for myself, but couldn't make up my mind.

somehow, the rest like disappeared when we were done. and szemin tricked us into walking everywhere la! first to popular, then to what hawker centre o.o but not bad...popped into some pet shop with cute guineapigs, and walked over a cockroach in oil =S and NO i didnt scream...it was just a small yelp. righht. and -you- would definitely have screamed even louder if you had seen it...so cannot suan me! hahah.

on a totally irrelevant note, andersen's of denmark has got nice cheescakes (: and manda decorates cards like SUPER well. writing on the same card made me feel so horribly inferior...

hope sam enjoys eating up his presents!

had choir prac in church again today, practiced "through it all", another new song. kept laughing la...the range is very weird for me. and it's not just i laugh at myself, even other people laugh at me too! sorry lor i cant sing properly. hahah. so best is still go all the way bass. but then again, why is my normal voice not low but my singing voice so low? -wonders

lunch at taka after that. no, raw veggies are NOT good. then sam suanned me as usual. tried calling lionel like 3 times but he didn't pick up, but sam called him once and he picked up -.- gab bought a coconut. and manda kept singing bop to the top again! jan had to go home early, so manda left with her after eating.

sheesh. how long have i taken just to write this short blogpost? why can some people just naturally write faster than others =p

2006-06-24T16:00:00.000+08:00

HAPPY BDAY SAM

sam's birthday yesterday! they went on an amazing race for regional, pity i couldn't join in cos of afternoon's finals. but sam called and woke me up at like 10.30 nonetheless, asking me to go to clementi to join his group for a while. so much for 'asking' - it was like:

me: hello?
sam: are you free now? we see you in clementi in 20 mins arh? thanks!
me: har...?!
sam: ya thanks!

super funny lar he. reached clementi, liying and i dropped in at bengawan solo to get a cake for him. joined his team later, along the way kept talking about how unhappy he was cos he and chanhong got split. anyway other than that nothing much happened, went to west coast park to finish a station, and returned to clementi for lunch before going back home for a short rest.

in the afternoon, manda sam & matt came! at first rama came into the stadium then the three of them were just a little behind him, so my teammates thought rama brought his fanclub. hahah then when i told joel they were my friends, all of them were quite surprised cos like khabs said, (i'm) "very low profile". but yes anyway their presence encouraged me alot, and we went on to win the gold! it was 1-1 at full time, then had to go into penalties. and that was probably the most nail-biting one ive ever experienced, especially since it was also the first time in a competition i was one of the five taking penalties. plus i was put last flicker, which is super pressurising. the situation then was that if i didnt score and narpal didnt save the next shot then we'd be out.

but i scored and narpal saved the last shot so yay (: really wonderful team we have; it's hard to imagine next year without people like daniel benjy rama ian and the other j2s playing alongside us. and really wonderful fanclub i have too! with sam going "go hoho!" at regular intervals and freaking me out sometimes.

choir this morning - gorged myself with 2 cheesy creamy crab puffs (did mobil actually intend for that alliteration?) and that floppy jelly icecream, then died of phlegm. but singing today wasnt too bad, at least they didnt make me stand straight (fyi, i cant stand perfectly straight) or poke my head here and there again =D yup. went a little crazy with sam and chanhong midway through the session; we just lay on the stage and started laughing about fig trees o.o quite fun lar... just that they really should keep quiet and listen to big amanda and joy when they're telling us stuff, cos it's getting abit rude sometimes.

broke off to go home after that. and so here i am typing this slacky post. bah should be mugging instead, tests are like in two days. jiayou to me!

:)

2006-06-21T23:55:00.000+08:00

birthday yayness;

u-18 matches have been going okay so far, we'll be meeting acsi in tomorrow's semis, and finals'll be on friday afternoon so feel free to come down and watch us if you want to. i haven't scored any goals yet so wish me lots of luck so i can break my dry spell (:

anyway, yesterday was manda's birthday, and it was FUN. you know it's like after match i'd expect myself to be totally dead, but havent been to parties very much so yesterday's was super cool. reached kembangan mrt and lost my way cos there were 2 covered walkways when i turned right, then when i finally got my bearings right and sat down at the bus stop there was this guy who kept asking me why the bus was taking forever to come. then i was like, "i dunno i dont live here this is my first time sir dont ask me im sorry" but he kept pestering me! yup but anyway when it came i counted 3 bus stops cos manda told me 3... so i got off at the 3rd but it turned out to be some ulu place in the middle of nothingness so i just walked and walked till i reached the siglap area. where i unsurprisingly got lost again cos there are a billion and one hills and they all look the same. so poor manda was like running all over trying to find me, and when she finally did she just squatted down like she was about to drop and faint. hahah sorry for making you run around on your birthday, but your area's really very complicated =/

anyway! i kinda missed the first part but we played several other random games before dinner. truth or dare was utterly disgusting; those evil people made momo and i share a lollipop and lick it together at the same time... the hand patting game was rather cool as well, in addition to a short game of polar bear after that. sang lotsa random songs, played around with a frog kerpal caught in the front yard, sat on the swing and stared at the big dark sky... got smeared with cake and smeared cake too, took photos and watched sam trying to sabo manda after that...

another one of those events i'll never forget. and i think her mum's really nice, and her bro and sis are cute. plus that lamp beside the comp? it's just so pretty pls? if only i could have a house like that. manda's one super happy, lucky birthday girl. anyway, the day ended on quite a high, and jan's dad gave us a lift back home.

oh well... another birthday coming up on friday! everybody's getting older!

(pics taken from amanda's blog)

2006-06-19T00:49:00.000+08:00

looking back in time;

vbc rocked my socks! we had a great time working with one other, with the adults for the kids, and amidst the many problems we faced this was an experience we enjoyed and learnt from. (our little group of youth helpers includes sam, dansoh, caleb, momo, janice, yongbing and myself.) of course, we had the final evening graced by mel and gab and their cute doggie (: anyway, the way this year's vbc proceeded was quite fine, save some bits here and there which several individual were unhappy about. those im quite sure can be resolved easily, but for the sake of this short post let me just touch more on the human aspect.

bluntly speaking, we came to serve, and so when we say serve we mean we gladly do what our leaders tell us to do without complain in terms of assigned tasks. i know its hard when roles get switched, or changes are made in task requirements super last minute. but if we are up to it then out with the whining and in with the doing!

and one more thing. there comes a point when evil remarks at *certain* unpopular people do get a little out of hand, and the "for fun"-ness would be better off if stopped a little quicker. i mean it's not remarks made at me (if it was me i wouldn't bother), but even if *that* person's really so irritating we needn't hammer him so much behind his back right. joke abit for a while is okay, but repeatedly over so many days? tsktsk.

gosh this post sounds so angsty. don't mind it too much.

back to other stuff; cousin sebastian visited youth service today. super surprised to see him over here, hope he sorts out his issues with his current church soon. went over to sam's house together with several other peeps later in the afternoon, and i kinda fell asleep half the time. so well. but other than that, interesting moments included the very nice toothpaste-on-cheek, and cocoon-in-spiderweb which got me quite freaked out =S had more talktime with matthew as well, before having a wonderful dinner and cake cutting session, and then returning home.

yup should be about it...vbc pics below!
and it's amanda's birthday tomorrow! go wish her! and party'll be great =D

by the way, the kids sounded so sweet and angelic when they were worshipping without any music (: love them like mad.

2006-06-11T23:04:00.000+08:00

rmunated;

my first ever rmun, and boy was it fun! only managed to catch the last two days, and i wasn't like some bigshot director or comm chair that had to sit in the same place for 3 days chairing debate so it'was cool being able to pop in everywhere and do all sorts of things, and help out when needed. press corps went nice and smooth as well - this year we've got really pretty newsletters! save a couple of little mess-ups here and there, the entire programme went well, finishing off on a superb high with d&d (where everybody went mad and yar... just went mad).

emails are pouring into the rmun2006 yahoogroup like nobody's business, and it's just so encouraging to see that all our hard work actually touched the guys and made that spart in their lives, giving them something they'd never ever forget. it's scary that we as a single cca are organising something of such a huge scale, but so much thanks goes out to all the delegates for giving us such an enjoyable time, for making rmun so wonderful and special this year =)

will upload more pics that the photog person captured over the three days when i get the cd. meanwhile, just some quick glimpses (:

committee session in LT

awaiting instructions

mr kwok!

committee session in SR

press corp group photo

bah our dearest com lab 2

the dreaded deadline!

cheng chai going crazy before d&d

----------

on a slightly different note, we had handover ceremony for tyc @ boon lay earlier this afternoon. mp mdm ho was there, the other rc and grassroots leaders as well. quite cool lar... exciting projects coming up soon!

by the way, it was raining super heavily just after lunch and the whole place got flooded right up to the clubhouse door, soon threatening to enter and submerge all of us o.o

ciao!

2006-06-08T03:24:00.000+08:00

if the sky falls down today, suddenly turning from blue to grey;

just returned from two and a half days of retreat in KL - it was a tough decision how to juggle retreat and rmun, but i feel i came to a good compromise, even though it meant having to make extra arrangements and take a small risk by getting back to singapore on my own.

retreat itself was extremely enjoyable, save the searing headache id been having since the morning of day one. alot of things happened, but let's just say the key thing that impacted me was how the messages of "what happens if you die tomorrow" and "go for the things that matter" kept recurring, be it through other people or through prayer. how that applies to me is pretty straightforward, it simply tells me that in pursuing knowledge ive got to learn where to draw the line, to see what really matters and what does not so i dont keep harping on what doesnt matter. and after that, as matt mentioned, we've got to learn to "walk the talk".

many thanks to the retreat comm for taking care of so many of us, and for accomodating my decision to return to sg early to attend rmun. my first chance at retreat yes, and even if it was a mere two days i'll never forget it(: and to matt, sam, my roommate josiah, as well as everybody else i know or got to know in that short time =D

yup...alot of things have been happening and i need some time and peace to sort them all out, but all's good! keep those who're still in KL in prayer!

waiting to leave church

jam jam jam

unloading at the hotel

look! the other coaches are here!

hotel room

coach tics for my return trip

the coach i took back from KL

ohmy... comfy seats

time for a break

pretty view of the evening sky from pit stop

arrival back in sg!

will post more pics soon (:
wish us luck for the next two days of rmun!

2006-06-03T18:44:00.000+08:00

let's be us again;

just returned from janice's birthday celebrations yesterday (happy 13th bday by the way :D); we had it at a chalet, far far away from home, and i must say it's always nice to take a break from life's routines to get together and spend time with friends. won't be talking about the usual go-beach, have-bbq kind of experiences, cos what overshadowed all of that were the times of simple, sit down chat sessions we had.

that really was the highlight of the past two days, mainly just spending time in the little room on the upper floor with jan and samuel in particular, talking about anything and everything under the sun. pardon me if im wrong, but i find it easier to talk openly in a smaller group setting than when all one billion people were still around on the first evening. not saying i'd rather the others not be around (i did enjoy their presence fully), but being the more solitary person i am, i enjoyed the time spent with sam and jan much more when it was just the three of us and maybe benedict in the room. another good thing was that at chalets people usually have the mindset of lazing around, not bothering about their busy lives, and that's when the brain starts working and mouths start to open more while the body is slacking.

the only danger which kept ringing at me time and again was how not to go into gossip mode. it's hard to consciously draw the line as we're speaking; words just flow without reprive. an area in which i know i'm still struggling with and have to keep in control before i can ask others to do the same. as of now, all i can do is come humbly before the Lord and ask him to forgive me for that, and work on it as best as i can.

back to the talking and sharing we had at the chalet, do appreciate sam for being so open with me about things he wouldn't say to other people, and for valuing my views even though i'd still consider myself a young and immature christian. and jan as well, for always injecting that interesting element here and there.

(until now i have such difficulty with blogging about these events, because in order to go in depth i'd have to start talking about what we conversed on, which isn't very nice considering it's only right i keep them private. bleagh hahah =x)

but anyway, learnt as much from both buddies as much as they learnt from whatever i said (i hope =p), even if half the time i didnt make sense. the prata excursion at almost 3am, the sitting up doing nothing, all that and more. the little activity we had at subway yesterday morning was kind of unexpected as well, but extremely beneficial to all of us i suppose. we were basically supposed to name one good and one bad point about each other person in the group. quite scary actually, when you've never done it before! but i realised we really do need these things more, especially when you're always so cooped up in your own self-thinking, oblivious to the kind of impact you have on others (be it negative or positive).

sam, jan and abby more or less pointed to one thing - 'hoho must learn to be less serious sometimes'. heh yesyes will work on it!

shall leave you with a couple more photos now, didn't take the effort to capture nice ones but some're always better than none =)

benedict; jann's bro (and now mine too!)

cute right =)

sam, jann and abby

jann's odie...which i am obsessed with o.o

on a slightly different note, my granddad passed away a couple of weeks ago, and now my grandma's in hospital and my dad just told me she's braindead. whatever decision they make, it's a really troubling time for us all now, even though i wasn't too close to them it's scary to have to face this kind of thing happening to people related closely to you. do keep all the people on my dad's side in prayer if you can (i can just imagine how tough it is for them now), and may the Lord have his way.

goodnight.

2006-05-29T10:26:00.000+08:00

faith;

wherever i go, i listen to people tell me that religion always boils down to a-thing-called-faith, and faith in itself cannot be rationalised. they imply that faith is about feeling and sometimes blind belief, and has nothing to do with the logical mind. sometimes in church we might be taught to have "childlike faith", to possess innocence and simple acceptance when coming to jesus.

but where did such an idea originate from?

i was listening to an audio clip from ravi zacharias' "just thinking" series that matt sent me a couple of weeks back, and in it he mentioned that amidst the age of the renaissance, with all the creativity and philosophical thinking, somewhere somehow the church assumed a notion that in order to approach the concept of faith, man had to abandon all reason, because faith has nothing to do with the mind but all to do with the heart.

the english dictionary defines the term "faith" as a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness in an implied subject. this confidence comes from one's rationality; his knowledge and understanding of the thing or person. faith is trusting when there is good evidence, evidence enough to believe it is true. for one, why do you believe that your mum and dad will do all they can to protect you from harm by strangers and baddies outside? is that faith unfounded and based simply on blind belief? you know they will do everything in their ability to keep you safe because of their past actions, from their nature and from their love for you, in bringing you up to become who you are today. it comes from understanding and knowledge, and an experience.

similarly, our faith in God is biblical faith. the bible doesn't indicate any abandonment of reason when it comes to faith. it speaks of a reasonable faith. it's about time we understand that belief and faith in Christ comes because of living factual, historical, existential and experiential evidence. evidence and testimony, not blindness. this is why we have faith. he is indeed the way, the truth, and the life; his love and truth reaches the mind, stirs the heart and purifies the imagination.

when matthew 18 spoke of 'childlike faith', many fail to observe the situation in its entirety. "2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." yet verse four goes on to say, '4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.' what jesus was doing was highlighting an inherent attribute of children that tends to become lost with age - humility when stepping into the presence of God as a disciple of God. he wasn't saying "accept without understanding" just as the typical child usually does.

let us march on strongly with the love of Christ, because with that we stand on solid ground. the secular world has infused us with this thinking that faith is non-rational, separate from evidential reality. it tells us that faith is not knowledge, not understanding, and cannot be rationalised nor verified with real evidence. it tells you that reason has been torn apart from your very being and your mind has been isolated when you have faith. in times like these, are you confident enough to face the world today and be able to explain faith, your faith?

where is your faith in God carrying you today?

2006-05-25T19:25:00.000+08:00

champions;

7 games, one season, one gold. yep it's over, and we've done it again. still a little dazed though, it all went by so quickly. got in hard, finished it off quick. hahah it was fun playing alongside every one of you, especially the matches i got to start in rama's place and cover in for him. never thought i'd do anything much compared to that international superstar of ours, but thankieyouall (even benjy for screaming at me like 10000times over) for pushing me harder and harder each time. just as ian felt, i'd never trade any other team in my life for our team. raffles hockey rules!

thanks judy (our wonderful coach), and all you marvelpowerownagepwnzor peeps for coming down, for cheering and screaming for us. and also to the one billion people from my fan club pouring in smses and opening msn convos with me the night before the finals ^^, and sinni for your superlicious brownies this morning =D

like you said, "just do ur best and God'll do the rest!" heh heh. spot on.

one team. one love. one dream. we did it (:
looking forward to next year!

2006-05-16T21:40:00.000+08:00

getting old;

today in school someone said: "don't you feel like we're becoming very old?"

got a chance to revisit and think about all of this while waiting for my dad to come pick me up, and yeah, i really do feel very old now. old, stiff, almost lifeless.

ive lost the energy to do alot of things. im no longer the jumpy, here-there-everywhere person i used to be. while i used to skip around or run from place to place, all i can do now is stroll, if i can even bring myself to get off my seat at all. i spend half my life thinking about things, and 99% of that time i realise i am lost and end up stoning. when i suppose im finally making sense of anything, it seems never to be "there" enough anyway. people come to me as an elder brother for help, and yes i can help quite well, yet im not even helping myself with my own issues. most of the time im smiling and cheery, but most of that time i know there's little to really be glad about.

it's tiring, when your priorities cant seem to fit in line with what the world expects of you. it's tiring to have to struggle in this whole atmosphere when you're more concerned with the simpler things in life. but all this, God knows.

ive become slightly more docile as compared to maybe last year, less rash and pushy, why? stillness and patience.
i cant resolve all my thoughts properly, why? sometimes i need to look back to God for the answers, not rely on my own understanding. let's be realistic, im too stupid. compared to the all-knowing Father up there.
i help others but cant even help myself, why? no, it's not that. i learn to settle myself through learning from helping others. i learn to appreciate where i am, when i see where others are.

i guess getting old isnt that bad. tiredness sharpens and refines, even though it gets you moody and lifeless the way it's gotten at me right now. even in times like these, i'll still always remember the verse candice wrote for me two years ago.

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

how true. it's worked before, and it can never fail.

on a slightly different note, matt encouraged me to write on a series of topics for my own personal learning. will be attempting this over the next few weeks. hope whoever reads can connect and draw something useful from it as well.

and by the way, this is anna having a sweet nice nap in class (:

lastly, HOCKEY SEMI-FINALS THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AT DELTA! do come down and support us =)

2006-05-13T23:22:00.000+08:00

UNAS Seminar '06;

that's me and the RJ essay team (:
took a picture with mr kwok too

went to RELC for the UNAS seminar earlier today, lots of other schools turned up as well. and for some reason we were one of the only schools wearing blazers. now didnt that look weird. quite surprised to meet jeanting at the seminar as well (with her horde of bodyguard friends who seem to enjoy blocking my way. tsk =P). havent seen her and the other jiangnan people in a long long time, so yeah it's nice to see she's all fine and looking less stressed now.

anyway, saw an interesting bit of how leaders from various sectors presented their views on the UN, and how troubling the current world situation really is. was just thinking of the theme of a New World Order, whether this showed signs of what some people have been telling me about recently, that the coming of the one-world leader and government is on the road to fulfilling a prophecy about the antichrist. quite disturbing how many prophecies seem to be coming true these days, and this one came out quite strongly as i sat through the presentations.

the world is awakening to the stark reality that no nation can isolate itself and survive. all are interlinked; the survival, prosperity and problems one has are bound to have an impact on another. it is crying out for a "someone" or "something" to take control of this problematic situation. someone called the antichrist, full of mistruth, deceiving man into submitting to its 'authority' and attempting to change God's law.

the prophecy of the end times antichrist is real. but yes it's hard to accept. i myself cant be certain that the UN is indeed playing such a role, though studying the prophecy tells you just how accurately the UN fits into the descriptions. for me, i did get slightly disturbed. but well, for now im aware of the possibilities so at least i can get prepared and ready. about time we started knowing a little more about these things too.

prophecies... what do you think, how should we act?

2006-05-10T20:59:00.000+08:00

The Rainbow;

9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

(Genesis 9:9-17)

* the rainbow i saw today; what a wonderful renewing of God's promise.

what do we think when we see a rainbow? (:

2006-05-02T01:01:00.000+08:00

looking at the world through a hole;

(bah i left my glasses in school. in the toilet. only just realised when i was taking off my contacts. sheesh im going to be blind.

beat innova jc 11-0 in our first match, and millenia 5-0 today. for some reason ive been shifted to left half. next match's going to be this thursday, against yjc 4.30pm at delta.

goodnight!)

determinism and choice?

2006-05-01T03:27:00.000+08:00

happy labour day (:

was just looking through last year's cellkit, and came across a lesson about Joseph being sold as a slave into Egypt. what Joseph's brothers did in selling him into slavery was evil, yet the Bible also says that it was God who sent Joseph to Egypt for a good purpose. that one situation can be both good and evil, how could this be?

Joseph's brothers had intended it for evil, while God intended it for good. Genesis demonstrates an active initiation by both parties. the Bible doesn't say that God turned the situation into something good only after Joseph had been sold into slavery, neither does it suggest the reverse. it's amazing how the two can fit together so perfectly. Joseph says to his brothers in Gen 45:4-"you sold me into Egypt", yet in verse 8 he mentions "it was not you who sent me here but God". both actions (by his brothers and God) are causes for his situation and neither can be excluded, although it was clear to Joseph that the one behind this action was ultimately God and God alone.

to me, the wonder of divine determination is that it does not distance itself from human freewill. it is hard to understand that predestination and man's free choices are compatible, but they can work together! in discussing predestination and how our freewill becomes diminished as a result of what God wills, we have missed out on a lot. don't get me wrong, predestination is worth talking about. there's a whole horde of verses in both the OT and NT concerning this subject. even in the midst of knowing that our life is determined by our choices, it is necessary that we are aware of predestination as well, because it is something that does exist and is important. now anyway, back to the case of Joseph, we see how the choices of man and divine determinism work hand in hand to achieve the will of God. this is only one example, there are many more.

so is it possible that man can have freewill and choice even with predestination? in other words, if God can predetermine everything, can there still be this element of Man having freewill? the story of Joseph already tells us alot, but i'll leave it at that for the time being. (there's no need to go into what predestination and freewill are defined by... even just taking on its most basic sense will suffice.)

on a slightly different note, what's also important about the story of Joseph is that it teaches us to not to be like Joseph's brothers, but to reassign our values, to let our will be reactivated in a way that yes, we choose according to what we want, but our choices are now in line with what God wills as well. our desires have transformed to adopt what God desires. look, what happens if that can be achieved? we do what we want to do, and we also do what God wants to be done. without worries =)

happy birthdays!

2006-04-30T01:11:00.000+08:00

happy birthday jeremy! =D
happy birthday mandy! =D

(argh i am so so so sorry i totally forgot, and i mixed up the dates *slaps myself*)

on a slightly different note, ive been elected into 2 excos. time to work harder! im director (communications) for hissoc, and project coordinator for boonlayyouthclub. sigh looks like im never suited for high(er) positions... hahah.

maybe God has his ways.

2006-04-18T21:17:00.000+08:00

"you suck... i wasted my vote on you!"

that said it all. summed up my day.

it's over.

2006-04-11T19:20:00.000+08:00

vote me for council (:

really sorry i couldnt deliver a better campaign speech this morning. it was really hard... all i got was 30 seconds. the other groups got so much longer before getting chased off because they've got more members. just my luck. but thanks anyway to all the people who kept my calm before we started going up to talk.

looking at everyone else, im just kinda scared. it's hard campaigning as an individual, especially since i dont have anyone else to back me up or work with. but i guess i made the right decision. i'd rather have people vote or not vote me based on who i am, rather than attach myself to a team and end up having to assume a different stance altogether. yes, there're fewer resources and everything, but that's quite secondary to me maybe.

so just wanna ask all voters to give me a chance yeah? (:

on a slightly different note, us TYC people camped over at a changi chalet during the weekend, and goodness was it fun.

started off the day at rjc opening/ora day in school, had to do ushering duties and run from place to place shuttling people around. first time actually doing something of this sort on such a big scale, so it'was tiring but quite an enjoyable experience too. anyway for all the preparation rj's been doing over the past week or so, i think the outcome wasnt as grand as it was intended to be. what a terrible pity. hahah janice (from mg, *ahem*) crashed the ceremony and smuggled herself into the LT, and got herself totally bored with the whole thing.

the fair at blocks a and b wasnt too bad though... just kind of small and repetitive. checked out the buckle booth after ushering and got a number of badges as well as two balloons from mandy and cassie. now my bag strap's full of greeny badges! and no im not rich... once-a-year event no harm splurging a little right =P walked around abit after that... subhi and i spent alot of time enjoying the aircon at the art room in between sitting around at the YC booth giving out fliers =/ saw several other non-rj friends around too. sad thing we all couldnt make it out for lunch or something... it's been a long time since i've seen all you guys.

went over to the bone marrow donor programme area for blood sampling as well. i was really traumatised, and im still traumatised. but thanks richard rayner and martin for pushing and encouraging me heh. you know i hate needles and sharp thingies and the freaking fingerprick hurt like mad but oh well. i did it! (despite yelping madly and going nuts when the person pressed the spring for the fingerprick =S)

as for what happened later that afternoon... i'll upload some photos from saturday/sunday's chalet a little later and let them speak for themselves x)

2006-04-02T01:59:00.000+08:00

walking into the dusk;

(had a really great time with the blyc-ians the whole of today, starting off with an amazing race beginning at smu, then finishing off at the clubhouse in boon lay. big thanks to our facilitators daniel, subhi and weining for making our day =D i was like the only guy who turned up for the activity so it'was rather intimidating and awkward, but it turned out better in the course of the race, so yeah. really looking forward now to getting involved more in the club... to do something i like to do and benefit the community as well. cheerios!)

2006-03-23T21:36:00.000+08:00

hang me a rope.

it ain't so dark anymore.

(both photos were taken in school at almost the same time, same place. it's the same rope you see in both pics. just felt that it was really special cos the sky was almost split in half... one side was filled with dark clouds and the other was nice and bright. so keep looking on the bright side!)

2006-03-15T17:42:00.000+08:00

this post isn't going to sound a single bit like me. in fact, as im typing this, im fuming mad. not over any specific instance, but as a grand result of a buildup of events. i've never typed or said anything of this sort before, but let's just get this clear once and for all and move on with life.

IM SICK OF PERPETUALLY BEING THE SUBJECT OF FALSE ACCUSATION.

im sick of *you* saying i installed another telephone beside my comp because i use it to overhear your telephone conversations, or saying i do certain things to oppose you when in fact im just being me and doing what i normally do without underlying intentions or exploits.
im sick of you claming i don't do certain things according to your instruction, even as im about to do them. for goodness sakes, it's all a matter of timing so just be a little more patient and understand i need to get things done one step at a time and not all at once in your timing? take life easy man.
im sick of trying to explain stuff to people so they can understand better yet being brushed off as trying to be smart alecky or trying to embarass them.
im sick of being nice to people i dont particularly like yet being called a pain-in-the-ass hypocrite for the good ive done.
im sick of being expected to help when others need help (and people who act nice just to get favours), yet being treated differently and accused of being a suck-up once they've gotten what they want.
im sick of baseless rumours damaging to my name being spread around as a result of pure heresay, and continuing to surface even after me denying/denouncing them with the truth.

most of all, i just don't appreciate baseless accusations spreading around in public for no good reason. for one, im not even aware they exist until someone finally mentions it, and there's absolutely no way i can dispel such myths on my own considering the already messed up reputation i'd have by then. and yes, in case you havent realised, that is sad. if you don't feel it, at least know that i do.

SO FROM NOW ON, I DON'T CARE WHAT NONSENSE I HAVE TO FACE ANYMORE. I'M GOING TO LIVE MY LIFE NORMALLY. IF ANYONE'S EVER THINKING OF COMING UP WITH SOME LAME ACCUSATION AGAINST ME WITHOUT FIRST KNOWING YOUR FACTS AND GETTING THE RIGHT INFORMATION, JUST KEEP OFF ME AND GO AHEAD, COS IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT BAD NAME I GET AS LONG AS I KNOW FOR MYSELF IM IN THE CLEAR.

cos enough is enough. just had to let you know so you could realise and learn. period. (dont mind my harsh language, it's temporary i promise.)

2006-03-11T23:45:00.000+08:00

i have this lack of things to say, even though a billion and one things've been taking place recently. talking about school is becoming rather boring, since it's getting far too repetitive. one happy thing to note though: nicole and sam's appeals were successful, so they're staying in rjc! (they're in my class, by the way) so im glad that im not going to have to endure a terribly tiny 14-man class with 4 guys and 10 girls. then again, what's not-so-happifying is that comrade and several others applied to the humans programme and it's likely they'll leave our class very soon. when that happens i'll turn even more isolationist (when comrade goes off i'll be all alone to continue the rich tradition of NGO and uphold our isolationist policy) and perhaps plunge into a horrible state of depression. ahhh.

two new friends have come over to join us, one spent his first three months in temasek jc while the other transferred over from another class. hope they settle in well and just enjoy their time here. apart from that, deborah and cherie (both from church) have joined rj through second intake as well. which means we've got a nice group of rjc j1 cms serving together back in church. wonderful =)

batchgive took place on tuesday, and i really enjoyed the experience of going out to one-room flats to bring food and cheer to the needy occupants. my group was posted to a block in redhill, and i got to interact with an elderly malay guy. hahah he doesnt even look close to his age please. he's 89 years old or somewhere around there but he moves around and acts with such vibrance it's amazing. an eye opener really, being in a one-room flat very much unfurnished, laden with nothing much besides beds and several armchairs. an eye opener how people living in such conditions can still live the rest of their lives so fully, and how many valuable experiences they have to share to us. and an eye opener how even a small act of paying him a visit means so much that he could quaver and tear before our departure yet at the same time try to hide it all so we'd all leave joyfully without worries.

i promised my team i'd drop by his place to say hi again sometime.

well back to less emotional stuff, ive been nominated to run for council. attended the briefing yesterday, and looking at so many more worthy nominees around me and how they struggle to even make a decision to take part in the process, is so pressurising please. several people gave me some encouragement, and id like to say thanks for all of that. i'll just do my best and see how far it takes me.

made a trip down to the airport shortly after to receive sam from his aussie trip. he's ill and coughing terribly badly now so pray for him yeah. other than that, nothing much else. caleb and i spent some time taking photos and sitting on the skytrain, which i felt was utter trash. =S so much for displaying a model of the new skytrain yet only using the new train for airport staff.

well on a less aggressive note, caleb sam janice and i had lunch at btp this afternoon before engaging in a rare one hour of LAN whilst jan went for her dance lessons. cabbed to sam's house after that to prepare for tomorrow's regional worship. now now, regional worship. ive never led before and im still in quite abit of shock. seriously speaking, i dont know how to lead. is there any "fixed" or "correct" way or sequence or what? i guess at this point in time all of that doesnt matter much anymore, cos i'd just like God to take control over the session. there's only so much that the musicians or worship leaders can do (we are but the instruments), but it's really God who is the focus here. so as we carry out worship tomorrow i just hope that the flow and the conviction will just come directly from him, and we'll all have a great time.

i'll end off with some pics i took over the past two or three days, probably very random but i havent posted pics in quite a while so i like i like I LIKE. =D

sam and comrade watching american pie 3 on the psp

in between breaks

comrade signing mr kwok's bday card. (the two ugly fingers belong to anna =P)

ri boarding house extension - under construction

ri school building attachment - under construction

econs lecture

mr kwok saying hi to some of his j2s

changi airport

T1 level 2

on the way home in my dad's car at night

level three hall

dom, sam, lester and caleb jamming

caleb on drums

daniel and daniel!

2006-02-16T15:18:00.000+08:00

whee im back! 2 things to do before i forget. since i got tagged by nicole and mich, i shall complete what i have to complete... though im not really used to doing this type of stuff >.<

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[[[ first up. nicole's blog thingy. ]]]

5 THINGS I CAN DO
/praise God (:
/stone.
/be super ego and say how nice and shuai i am
/send songs =D
/help people if they need help

5 THINGS I SAY THE MOST
/oh man!
/very cute ley!
/what's your problem you pokpok
/shucks. (or crap.)
/harrrr...

5 CELEBRITY CRUSHES
/eee sorry dont have =x although maybe jennifer love hewitt is pretty.

5 QUALITIES I WANT IN A POTENTIAL BF
/mygoodness... im a guy...
/but i assume ive got to change it to gf. so.
/actually i dont know... a little early to think of such things
/but for now... we just have to click with each other (:

5 SCARY THINGS
/insects (except the harmless ones like ants)
/injections (AHH!)
/people who suddenly scream for no reason =p
/being around large groups of people?
/death.

5 RANDOM SONGS
/o-town; all or nothing
/joey mcintyre; stay the same
/clay aiken; measure of a man
/robbie williams; feel
/hillsong; still

5 THINGS I LIKE MOST
/dark chocolate! yummy!
/yoghurt drinks
/milkshake
/knowing that whatever happens, God is always with us
/just being around with my close buddies =)

5 PEOPLE TO DO THIS QUIZ
/hahah i dont wanna be a meanie! anyone who wants to do can do!
/yup (:

[[[ now for michele's blog thingy. ]]]

1. Need to mention sex of target
- i dont target anybody... besides im in NGO and im proud of it!
- hence i shall strictly adhere to NGO ideals and principles =D
- psst. ask me if you wanna know more about NGO.

2. State 8 different points of my little superhero girl
- that will come much later in life yup?
- hahha meanwhile, like i said above, we just have to click

3. Tag 8 different people
- i really wont be evil! poof! dont tempt me hahahaha...
- anyone who wants to do just do =)

---------

okay shall blog another time about some other things im a little affected by. as in ive been really really affected by alot of things recently but you still do see the normal happy laugh-here-smile-there hoho outside dont you. i sure know how to suppress feelings huh. it's a skill ;) okay nevermind im crapping again... SEEYA!

2006-01-28T00:05:00.000+08:00

sry i havent been back to blog in a long time! school's been busy and i end late on most days so im abit lazy hahah.

yesterday was cny celebrations! quite different in style from what other schools've been doing... ours was "free and easy", so they had performances and items in different parts of school and 8-10am was just free for all to roam about and participate in whatever interested us. of course, our class happened to be uninterested in anything and ended up playing cards in the canteen -.- valval, renhui and i walked around abit, then i met emmaline and mingyan for breakfast before going back to visit hpps. ohoh i forgot... i managed to get a picture of mr kwok before leaving school =p

hpps was still having celebrations when we got there, which was quite a surprise cos pri school celebrations ended early all along. kept suanning emmaline about her having to "bu bu gao sheng" along the way. but anyway we met several teachers in the hall, went up to the PA place to see huang laoshi, then sat inside and watched the rest of the concert. as i stood around and watched all the kids and our teachers, i thought through my time in hpps, how much fun we had within our two classes, how i took so much of it for granted and stuff... aw sad right =p

yep... saw some of my juniors walking around as well. and chelsia! hahah this was very funny... cos i thought chels was someone else, so she kept walking by and peeking into the PA box and i didnt know it was her... until she msged and told me. then i was like *OH oops*. yeaps good to see everyone after so long.

went down to the canteen when the performances ended, met up with the acs people, saw chels and her friends around again, then mingyan and i cabbed to lido to watch inotstupid2. the theatre was packed with noisy rg people, heard they had some discount or something. inotstupid2 is one touching movie, i soooo nearly cried. hm and whoever says chengcai or tom very shuai... booyou. the little boy is much better =D his stoneyface is just. classic. yeah after the movie, dropped by wheelock to look around and taka for a quick bite. hahaha mingyan sure knows her way around orchard... showed me some cool places... like before yesterday i never knew the second floor of wheelock had so much new stuff... that kinda thing.

sending d off at the airport later that evening was quite an affair, and it showed me how people really just come and go... one moment they're right beside you, the next moment -poof- they're gone.

it brought me back 5 or 6 years ago, a couple of days before my psle exams. then, my sis was the one flying off to the uk to study, and our family was at the airport sending her off as well. perhaps i was young at that time, didnt feel very much of anything when she left. but it's always when the person's gone from your side that you realise how that very person stepped into your life and somehow made a difference to it, and realise what an ingrate you've been and how you've taken his presence for granted. it came on the moment he disappeared from our sight... his bubbliness and neverending smile... we missed all of that. hope this next 4 years shoots by real quick, and he'll rejoin us safely (:

lessons are gaining pace, and im starting to love my class. maybe it helps that we're small with only 17 people, maybe it's how everyone's really accepting towards one another. we've probably made time to go out for class lunch and gather together during breaks more frequently than any other class, which is really cool. gotten to like most of our teachers as well. comrade salute!

cheers and happy chinese new year!

2006-01-18T23:55:00.000+08:00

me, marcus, malcolm with our OG flag

malcolm and i doing the scandalous spaghetti game

xianying, mayank, me and lewis

boonshing, malcolm and i... we're tired!

can you spot me in there?

external at the merlion

us at the mini merlion! see im so pretty.

stoning around during lunch at suntec

o-nite... dress up time!

pretty denise and sexy tingyong!

z'kardia '06. the fire burns on.

2006-01-08T22:42:00.000+08:00

(orientation theme)

----------

im in RJ!

the past week's been cool... orientation and stuff... pics arent up yet but promise i'll post some when i get them =) basically my OG's called z'lycoris, lycoris meaning "light". didnt really know most of the people at the start, but do now. first two days was just plain quiet, we didnt talk among ourselves or get to know the others better. but days 3 and 4 were really good yeah? we've got all sorts of funky people, went through all sorts of funky nonsense from tuesday to friday, but i guess i just wanna talk a little about my OGLs here, cos they're the ones who really made this group and this orientation come alive. hahah for me at least.

well, there's denise and tingyong. denise's a councilor, from gym, takes the same combi as i do, and she just totally rocks. super busy but always cheery! she's like always putting us before herself, asking us how we are and all that, even if she herself's tired and stony... really really nice senior with lotsa experiences to share (: and tingyong is one hell of a mad guy. forever joking here and there, making us laugh. and for goodness sakes he goes out so much... if he gets home before 11 it's considered early alrdy -.- but yeah... does lotsa fun and crazy stuff and keeps us going all the time.

tingyong's sexxaye and denise's prettaye! (ooo that rhymes. *clapclap*)

so that's 2 absolutely rockable people! like someone said lar... a few years down the road we probably wont remember the activities we had during orientation, but we'll certainly remember the people. denise and tingyong and the peeps in my og... i'll never forget =) all the late nights hanging out around j8 or in town... just talking rubbish and being stupid... torturing tingyong with african telling time...

ahhh love you all!

anyway im kinda missing RI now that ive left for RJ. four years with the same people and in the same home, wei mian will have abit of gan qing lar. after we finished learning the rj batch song on wednesday, all of us RI guys just broke out together, arms round another's shoulders, and began singing our RI batch song. we missed our time in RI so very much, it just came so naturally and everyone joined in. the rg people and those from other schools were quite stunned, but what to do... we're proud of our batch =) hope we can build the same warmth in the 2 years that we're here, and be a superduper great batch!

oh yes i got this really cool form teacher, or civics tutor as they call it in jc. he's mr edmund kwok, teaches international history, wears coolio-looking shirts, and has this funny hairstyle that reminds me of dexter or something :x but he's really nice... and i guess we're really lucky to have him around for our class.

as for my class 07A01C. 07 refers to our graduating year, A means it's an arts class. it's not bad, just that the guy-girl ratio's kinda imbalanced? imagine having 5 guys and FOURTEEN girls. well that's our class... hongquan and i almost fainted and died when we saw the numbers. for once, i feel like im part of some minority. ah wells we didnt get to do much in our first civics lesson... hope to do more on friday when we have our next civics class.

we had regional worship before cell this morning, caleb and i were running all over the place finding people cos it was raining and caleb's whole group was practically missing. broke off for our first cell lesson soon after that, did some introducing around, then lionel gave the new sec threes an introductory message of his own. i was originally supposed to do vision casting, but scrapped the whole thing cos there were some things which just had to be set right first. basically a number of them aren't sure of why they even come to church, and they don't seem to treat cell and service with due importance and regard. i was stunned at their reactions and responses, but looking back, i think i'll really have to pray for them, pray that they'll have a personal encounter of their very own so they get to realise how important it really is to draw closer to God and not just turn up for cell or service as and when they like because their parents also come to church.

being CM's not gonna be easy at all, and ive got this humongous lack of self-confidence. but God will provide yeah? just as he's been doing for me the past 2 months (:

we had a pastor from the US come in to speak to us for service, he talked about his experiences in missions and ministry. some of his recounts were rather exxagerated and stuff... but that's not the point! the point is i cant wait for the day i get to go for a mission trip! i'd be so so so glad! in fact im alrdy glad that there're opportunities for us to go sometime in June thereabouts. yup i simply have to go. booyou.

lectures start tomorrow... not exactly looking forward to it at the moment but GOGO I SHALL BE ENTHU IN SCHOOL! ahaha... gdnite and sweetdreams!

2006-01-02T23:01:00.000+08:00

HAPPY late NEW YEAR!

quite a number of things went on earlier last week, so im gonna blog about them before school reopens tomorrow! guess im not quite looking forward to rj for some reason, but yeah i'll just try to be open about it when i get there tomorrow morning! been there lots of times, and the building's just kinda too white and too empty... it's really freaky =/

yep anyway... went ice skating on wednesday with sam and gang. sheryl, benfoo, caleb, danielsoh, chanhong, janjan, abby, jeremomo and abby's friend. pretty fun yeah? it was quite funny to watch caleb and daniel getting stressed out -it was their first time-, and also since i more or less can skate now, sam cant bully me anymore =D

had lunch around noontime and spent some time watching jan and sam at the arcade, then rushed off to lido to join the rest of our church for narnia. it was really crowded when we got there, and thank goodness there were commercials before the film started, otherwise we'd have missed quite a huge chunk of the intro. shan't be a spoiler for those who haven't watched it yet, but although the film was quite cool and touching and full of supernice effects, narnia as a story is nothing but a silly fairy tale. can ask me if you wanna know why. the music was nice though... i went back and downloaded the movie and inspired soundtracks (:

after the film, met the rest of the sec 4s for steamboat around marina. i actually wanted to go for dinner with sam and the rest of the group, but since the steamboat was organised by my sec 4 peers, so whatever lar. hahah maybe im just weird, somehow i prefer being with younger or older friends... just cant seem click as well with people from my own batch. ah well! steamboat was okay... but we got so caught up with cooking food and whatevernot i dont think we spent much time talking about anything else? hope the next outing'll hui geng hao!

moving on to saturday, leaders' training at church once again. it was our last of 5 sessions, and definitely the one i learnt the most from. this week's lectures were on creative teaching and learning styles, taught by ps ronald and suhui jie. ended mid afternoon, then grace and i made our way down to join sam and the others at mich's house for barbecue.

hm our gathering was... really eventful =P we watched initial d and played lotsa games, and all in all it was really just fun and laughter non stop into the night. barbecue was really fun as well, with us teasing mich and momo and chatting about random stuff. i mean it's so wonderful being with those guys... it's only been half a year with sam, ch and grace, and barely a month with the sec ones, but we just click together so super well it seems we've known one another forever. it's also been encouraging being with them amidst all the changes we're facing at this point in time, getting the opportunity to watch them grow and all... hahah...

yup! so thank God for all that and more! hope my cell can be just like that =)

okay now comes another amazing part of the day. grace and i went over to sam and sheryl's place after dinner, and on the way there sam was having terrible tummy pains... no one knew why but all we knew was it was really bad and he could hardly talk. when we got to his place it was almost 10, and he went to bed after showering, while his dad and i were outside watching soccer... sheryl and grace were in sheryl's room preparing for sunday's icebreaker games. yar i was outside and sam's door was slightly open, and it was so painful to see him all curled up in a ball and suffering in there. later on, i joined a conference call with jan, abby, sharon, mich, phuisee and caleb just around midnight during the countdown and talked about random stuff again. i told them about sam and his tummyaches and how bad it looked, and we decided to have a quick prayer about it over the phone. it was just as innocent as any other prayer, but whatever it is, ive got 2 words for you.

PRAYER WORKS.

how do i put this... it's so scary. and it's not the first time God's answered prayers just like *that*. what happened was after we left sam's place, i received a message from sam on the way home in grace's dad's car... he msged everyone to say that after we left he went to the toilet and puked everything out, and after that he felt perfectly fine.

like what on earth? it's not coincidence, not when other prayers have been answered before in the same manner. ask and you will be given, seek and you shall find. how truer could that be.

sunday was new year's day, and the day i would become a cell mentor and a jc student. kinda pressurising, getting to see the new sec 2s that'd be in my cell from this year onwards... just pray they'll be open and cooperative in cell as well as during service. caleb and i came early to prepare games, minyang was there to get ready for worship as well. we were meeting as a region, with all the different cells coming together, and i was quite lost when i saw my new sec 2s cos i didnt know who was who... but fortunately lionel was around to get them together. there's david and lee he, both from ri, but the rest were rather unfamiliar to me. shall get to know them more next week =)

everything went quite smoothly, but of course i was quite disappointed when liying, our RL, was speaking to everyone toward the end of the session. she's got a really gentle and soft voice, yet the guys were making so much noise at the back... they didnt show her the respect she deserved lar... and i could tell she was a little upset. it felt really bad for me too, cos those guys are like supposed to be in my cell, but i didnt have enough courage to tell them to shush a little.

oh well. went out with sam and gang to ps again after service, had a bite and walked around for a while. jan couldnt come, mich had to leave midway cos her mum wanted her back home. nicole, jeremy daddy and matt joined us later in the day, walked around again, and went home soon after. and that, was sunday.

hahah that's about all for the week, i'll be having orientation from tomorrow till friday, so wish me luck!

gotta go sleep soon... goodnight! ((:

2005-12-27T14:50:00.000+08:00

R-age choir on christmas sunday!

christmas service was fun! havent sungs christmas songs in YEARS... i guess this year was something special... suppose you know why uh? =) and thanks for all ur prezzies... i didnt prepare any this year but i still owe you all!

anyway! came around 8 plus, and it was still quite empty so i just walked around and said hi to whoever i knew while 8am service was still going on inside... then met bradley, kunjie and some of the other ushers so i stood around and helped abit. 10am service was super packed, and we had to move stacks of chairs out for more people to sit. it was really crazy... sat night saw 400++ people, and sunday 10am went way over 700.

saw lotsa people soon after, including mel gab and their sis, nat and her sis, and sam and sheryl! our choir and a few from the band came out midway after their little item was done, so said hi to some of them too and had a short chat with caleb, nicole and amanda before they had to go back in for 12pm service. ahahaha chocolates forevermore xD jeremy daddy got jealous but fortunately i had a few more in my bag!

hm jas heard about my army nametag story... and i nearly died la... they were all laughing like mad :x but it was such a relief to hear from joseph later that day tell us that the army allows full christian names to be put on nametags nowadays!

so came 12noon service! and my coffee bottle got smashed! thankyou joey and the others for helping me get tissue to clean up! now that area smells nice and coffee-ish! o and i kept trying to use my shoes to stop the coffee from reaching the carpet... so they smell coffee-ish too -.- ah guess what! grace brought along her MAPLE FRIEND for service too! not bad eh... i was telling sam and ch maybe we should set up an online evangelism guild on maple as our cell project next year =S

sheryl and matt during lunch

after service, off to lunch. we gathered in little groups of four and went off by cab to great world city. ate some kinda chicken thingy at the food court. nicole didnt eat anything as usual! by the time she reaches my age i bet she'll shrivel up into a walnut. ahhah. and sam went around firing ice bits at us again. sigh... what to do... it's just the way kids are, shooting stuff around >.<

we decided to go bowling when we were done. vern, jas, nicole and i dropped in at cold storage to find chocolates to munch or bring back with us. chocolates forevermore yah! sigh should have gotten the one i got jas... it looked quite good. yeap anyway the bowling place was full, and some people weren't 16 yet so we couldn't try pool. hung around and stoned before settling on going to town =D

starbucks was next up, and goodness i havent been there in such a long time i even forgot the difference between ice and blended -.- got juice and an eclair for myself anyway, sat down and talked and talked and talked. then poof. it was getting late and we went home. (pardon me for the abrupt ending, but that was the way it was ><

okay blog more another time! after wednesday's narnia! byebye!

2005-12-25T00:00:00.000+08:00

it's exactly midnight!

MERRY
CHRISTMAS
EVERYBODY!

love ya all so super much! remember to love Jesus too (:

2005-12-18T03:02:00.000+08:00

on to camp itself! ive decided not to give a superlong narrative or detailed descriptions of all the activities because it seems that other people have alrdy done that on their own blogs... so i shan't repeat...

anyway day one was quite light, the DGLs and camp comm woke up rather early and moved off back to church for registration. was hoping to see sam and ch early considering their enthu-ness but they ended up coming quite late... so it was quite boring sitting around watching everyone else stream in for registration. anyway i got my nametag - it's got quite a cute design lar... plus my games group had a cute name too! GIANOMOUS giraffes!

i have to admit, i didnt look forward to being AIC at all. on the way back to church i was looking through the namelist... and it just happened to be that sam and ch were together in another team, and there was absolutely no one in mine that i knew personally.

(Gianomous Giraffes)
lanz
amandayeo
chelsea
gabrielle
jeremiah
nicole
sherylteo
adora
jaslyn
amandaliu
me (:

yar! so it was like *oh no*. even when we started gathering in our groups, i tried to stay away and stick with chanhong and sam. it was that bad. now the first activity was an icebreaker game, and lanz wasnt there so i had to introduce the rest of them to the game and get it all going. i really wasnt enthu at all, but yeah i just acted super enthu... and thank goodness they were quite nice and cooperative. save the name calling and whatever "nan ren" nonsense *ahem*, first activity was good and i didnt feel strange anymore after that.

the other orientation activities were carried out in the rp basketball courts, etc etc etc. let's fastforward from here. lunch - lanz asked me to say grace. i was super scared cos i dont ilke praying out loud. but it went well and somehow everything just flowed out. amanda(liu) only came for day camp, had nothing to eat, so poor her had to live on my hersheys. nicole didnt eat her chicken either cos there was no one to peel for her.

end of lunch, noontime. back across the road to church for service. got more chocolate from mobil along the way, in case more people might be hungry later on in the day. glad to see more familiar faces like josh and justin, considering id been staring into new faces the whole morning.

after service - broke up into our buses, journey to campsite. sat with chanhong and sam, and got to know one of the sec 1s along the way. his name's joel, has an elder bro called jonan i think, who was my senior. small world again eh =)

afternoon - just watching everyone settle into their dorms. gathered at the basketball courts in our games groups, were given some stuff and asked to make our very own team flag (to be put up in the mock tabernacle). sheryl, amanda(yeo), jeremiah, chelsea and i made a big mess of the silly arrow, but we kinda made up for it somehow and got it to look decent. so many people said it was super creative and cute but yar... i thought it was just okay... and mebbe even a little on the ugly side. the others did a wonderful job with the flag however =) really proud of them. it was so good to see us all laughing and cheery doing the flag even while other groups were so glum and silent.

evening - dinner. everyone says i eat very little. but i'm always not hungry lehh. so lanz got to be my eating machine. at the start of every meal all i had to do was empty 3/4 of my food onto his plate, and he'd finish it all xD

night- service and dg. ps janet is really good. she gets people active and going and that's what we really need since youths are just getting too comfortable nowadays. sermon was on the principles of worship and worship being a relationship. broke into dg for discussion and vesper after that, and i nearly died. all of the guys in my dg were sec 1s, and total strangers. so i acted enthu and everything again, even though i wasnt. always feel very out of place and hypocritical when ive got to do that, but if that's what i gotta do to benefit the guys, that's what i gotta do. just throw myself away for the time being and get going. -shrugs

dg consisted 3 sec 1s - shaun edmund daniel. caleb, my co-leader, was on the way back from overseas so he wasnt there to join us that night. the first session didnt involve teaching so it was relatively okay. the boys can be rather distracted, but if you focus they'll focus. quite nice lar the three of them, always joking around and keeping the atmosphere alive.

after dg, gathered back together in our games groups for the last activity of the day. yep we had to build a tower with some given materials, and there was a whole long list of conditions and specs we were asked to follow. our group really had a fun time building the tower together, and we're proud to say that ours was the most stable, most PRETTY tower =)

pics from day one:

nicole admiring her nicenice booklet cover

our christmas tree tower!

the final few moments before it was dismantled... (some of them in the pic are from other groups)

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more action on day two and three. PT, more worship and sermon, more games, and more interaction. shant talk about all that since you can go read off someone else's blog (it's definitely there). so moving on. i began to realise from the night of day one onwards alot more that rushing through life isnt very wise. we need time to just be still and listen. be still and think. be still and let God have a chance to speak. every night i spent out there in the open when everyone else was asleep gave me that opportunity. and it was really worth it although it compromised on my sleeping time... i gained alot from that (: everyone should try too! once in a while just go somewhere and be alone and quiet. stare into the night sky, whatever! other people might think you're antisocial and whatnot but just do it! it works!

nothing much to mention other than that our games group was a really special and amazing bunch... and i appreciate them so much. upward bound will be something unforgettable in my memory because of these people. we were never at the top of the group ranking, but not a single moment did anyone grouch about it, because we knew we were already on a scale that no one could ever reach. we came from different places, different cells, most didnt know one another, but this was a team that clicked from the very start. and i said team, not group. there's a difference. plus this was a very very very special team... we had a spirit no one else will be able to emulate. those who weren't in gianomous giraffes? sorry but you missed out on more than i can make you imagine. booyou =P

as for my dg, it was a short two days but it was wonderful to see them open up and respond more and more with the passing of each session. not just respond, but take the time to think and reflect and know what they were responding to. i probably wont get to see them alot anymore but i do hope they understand that there's always a season for everything, a season to relax and play and a season to be serious, to get things done. all the best to them until perhaps i get a chance to teach them as a CM again in one or two years' time! sorry for not being a great DGL or anything, ive never been one before, never taught, never led. im not like other DGLs. i dont have experiences to share, i dont even have as much knowledge. like i told you guys on the second or third dg session, i was so terribly afraid. but i did what i could, and yeah... sorry if i got you disappointed. promise i'll work harder!

so here comes the time when i write my short little tributes to all the special people that touched me and kept me going during camp ((:

GOD - thanks for speaking to me at last... and for being there for us each and every moment... and for blessing everyone so much, esp the leaders and the camp comm. it was through your grace that we had such a successful camp. thank you (x infinity). <3>

CampCOMM - i'm just so inspired by the way all of you worked together to serve... your attitude and your spirit. upward bound was one great camp, it'd never be like that without you guys!

SamuelTAN and chanHONG - my closest buddies! so sad i couldnt be with you guys in games or dg! but it was great watching the both of you have fun in joey's group, hanging out together and stuff. thanks so much for being with me all this while, and bearing with me =D it's only been less than half a year but my time here's been marvelous especially because of you! we're gonna grow more and more in cell next year yar? cheerios!

maTT- thanks for spending so much of your precious time speaking to me, explaining stuff to me. i first got to know who you were the first time i came to church, and i clearly remember how you came over to shake hands and introduce yourself to me after service. we didnt keep in contact after that and i never had a chance to talk to you, so it was really surprising that you were so keen to speak to me and help me sort out my thoughts even that late at night during camp, for two consecutive nights. i'll always be thankful for your eagerness to help and offer of yourself to others. i learnt alot from you, and i look forward to learning even more! haha cheers!

joEL, joEY, liaNG - it really wasnt coincidence that you three were in my dorm. it encourages us alot to see the passion and drive you guys have to serve God and the people around you, even when you're tired or just dry. i don't know you guys very well or anything but yes. just wanna let you know that even the way you carry yourself makes so much of a difference to the people around you, or at least it did alot to me (:

bradLEY, kunJIE, jaMES, bEN - ohmygoodness what a cool bunch. got to know you at lunch during leader's training, went for precamp super early and hung out alot together that day. thanks for being so accomodating and everything! your hunger for God is just so strong it goes right -bish- into people around you... cant help it! continue growing and goodluck with leading your new cells next year!

gianomousGIRAFFES (my games group) - I LOVE YOU GUYS LIKE MAD. FULLSTOP. you get what i mean right? i dont have to say anything more.

laNZ - wow, you've got this charisma which makes people sit up and pay attention to. it was great getting to know you... and jiayou in everything you do! hope we get more opportunities to work together again! keep that desire for God burning!

adoRA and jaSlyn - my dear laolaos! it's always nice having OLDER people in the group! thanks for always rushing to help us carry food, always ready to help, and just being a great guide and example to the younger batch (including me) =)

niCOLE and amanDA - you two are like forever stuck together! where there's nicole, there's ALWAYS amanda. hahah. amanda you couldn't join us after day one, but i just want you to know that your being with us for one day was great enough, and we really appreciate our time spent. just to let you know, when you din come on the second day we all felt there was something missing... so yeah. and nicole! crazy piggy. full of enthu-ness and so cheerful the time! man i cant imagine gianomous giraffes without you. hope we all get to make it for retreat next year! rock on!

gaBBY - SO HYPER! hopping around nonstop... even the in the BOX! you made our team come alive even at the weirdest of times... and it's been really nice having you around cheering everyone up and keeping us going! yup that's all... stay hyper!

amandaYEO, sherylTEO, jeremiAH - ah the three of you! forever so chatty! sorry i didnt get to know you three particularly well or anything, but i have to say that our team would never have been complete without you guys. hope you had fun with us, and hope to see you more back in church!

edMUND, daNIEL, shAUN (my dg) - what can i say. im really sorry, but when caleb came in i hope you had a fruitful time yeah? your cell mentors will never be like me dont worry =P may you keep growing in the lord eh? dont just get hyped up during camps... do it all the time!

caLEB - mister ah. i almost died when you werent around for dg. i need to learn alot from you okay. the way you led the group, and also your clarity of mind. you've blessed alot of people around you, and i hope it goes on that way as long as you can sustain it!

cheRYLtan - i dunno! thanks for helping me down three flights of stairs, across the entire corridor, down the the bball courts, across the bball courts, and into the canteen for supper! oh oh and for freaking me out with your doctor stories! =D

grACE - first. it was NOT coincidence you brought me to church. second. i NEVER regretted a single moment of it. so i could never thank you enough. anyway it was good seeing you make so many new friends at camp, and seeing you being games grp IC and everything was also inspiring! may you continue being a blessing to those around you!

veRN - hahaha vern is like my big sister! having her around in church or at camp just makes the entire atmosphere different. she's like my number one encourager, and it's helped me lots and lots! i dunno how to describe it... come to r-age and you'll find out instantly! (and i mean instantly)

THANKS TO ALL OTHER CAMPERS - for your presence! and anything and everything! we're all upward bound together!

pics from day two and three:

the hall, view from stage

day two breakfast

day two dinner

day 3 - it rained!

post-waterbomb thingy. it rained again!

and God sent us a rainbow!

in between phototaking... our own funky poses

bish you!

daniel asking me for my autograph. he's from my dg

ahh chanhong!

final moments before parting

bradley, kunJIE, me, james

R-AGE IS UPWARD BOUND.

Upward Bound!

2005-12-14T22:39:00.000+08:00

ooookay! this is so going to be a long entry! ive got a super lot of stuff to write about!

Just returned from camp this afternoon, after 5 days of fun (: had to go a day extra cos the new CMs were appointed to be DGLs for this year's camp, so Sat was pre-camp for us. This was my first opportunity to take part in a camp, and it's frightening. i hardly knew any of my fellow campers save a couple from my own cell, plus i had to teach for DG, something which i've never ever done before =/ oh wells, more about that later.

To make things easier, let's run through Pre-camp in this entry, then Day One to Day Four in sequence in another entry yar.

Pre-camp (10th Dec)

did some last minute packing and woke up duper early in the morning, reached church almost an hour and a half before reporting time... and stoned. yep. the first person to arrive after me was a CM from another cell, then bradley and some of the other "lao yi bei" people a.k.a. suhui jie -coughs- followed soon after. everyone was basically quite expectant i guess, we just sat down and talked for a while before going upstairs to meet the camp comm people.

briefings started around 9.30, before which joel taught us an absolutely disgusting song? because half the people came late... and he wanted to liven up the atmosphere. okay it's a rhyme, with a funky rhythm... and they came up with it sometime while preparing for the camp, cos well, they happened to be too free.

hm so it goes something like this...

dia-rrhea! *clap clap* dia-rrhea! *clap clap*
i (something something something)
when i felt something sliding down my shin!

diarrhea! *clap clap* diarrhea! *clap clap*
i was running into first,
when i suddenly felt something burst!

diarrhea! *clap clap* diarrhea! *clap clap*
i (something something something)
but my undies kept it in!

(:(:(:

sorry there's more! but i cant remember! anyway the way he said it made us totally grossed out =P deans esther and justin came in soon after to brief us on the programme, went through lessons with us, trained us on how to teach our content, and just kinda took us through how a typical DG session would be like, how to handle our DG people and stuffies like that. seemed straightforward enough, but it'd be alot different during the actual DG itself.

prayer after lunch. it was definitely, the longest and most powerful group prayer session i ever got a chance to be a part of. if only all group prayers could be just like that, true and deep, really impacting each and every one of us. what can i say, it was amazing. to me there couldn't have been a better way to kick off the camp for us. thank God so much for the opportunity to be involved in the camp and giving me all the assurance i needed despite my fears of my "infancy".

went over to the campsite at potong pasir later on in the afternoon, helped move AV equipment and other camp items around the place. was really really really priveleged to get to know several other sec 4 DGLs i never met before (bradley, james, ben and kunjie)... so yar. really touched by their openness towards a stranger like me. will never forget =)

campsite

bradley and james

what're they staring into the doors for?

oh one more thing, while we were strolling around the area waiting for the camp comm to arrive, we met a youth pastor from Ascension Church, which was beside our campsite. he invited us to join the youth group for service, prayed for our camp... these people were so friendly i tell you... they may be small in numbers and humble in capacity but what they have is warmth. i was sharing with joseph that evening how different the atmosphere was, and it just struck me that as we grow we cannot forget to realise that it's this kind of warmth that has to remain with us no matter what.

Ascension Church building... beautiful against the sky huh

the group of us joined in their service

okay sigh im very long winded, but ive got to say what ive got to say. yeah so i mean saturday wasn't exactly eventful or anything, for me personally it was just a time to settle in and get ready, to know what to expect over the next couple of days. There was alot of peace and quiet that night; i just spent some time outside the corridor alone after everyone'd gone to bed. call it stoning or whatever lar, but how often do you get just to be alone, still and quiet, listening to silence. definitely the best night ive had in a long time. it was so beautiful... didnt realise id been out in the open for almost 3 hours before going back in to sleep.

so that was all, for precamp. here's more pics from that night:

lester and jeremy

joseph

ohmygoodness scandalous!

esther

suhui jie and joey

2005-12-09T19:42:00.000+08:00

biking trip consisted:

lionel
sam
chanhong
grace
sheryl
qingxiu
MYSELF.

MUAHAHAHHA.
ok im mad.

yar grace and i brought our own bikes, thanks daddy for helping us mount onto the car and stuff =D we gathered at pasir ris park so the others could rent their bikes. prices were $5 an hour for bikes without suspension, $6 an hour for bikes with suspension, every 2 hrs get 1 hr free. THE CATCH: there were no bikes without suspension, so everyone had to pay six bucks anyway -.-

route was something like this:
pasir ris >>> changi >>> pasir ris.
straightforward right? why did i even bother typing that. anyway the route's not very far. next time let's go down to east coast and make a loop back.

anyway i skidded and fell off my bike like 1 minute into our ride? knee bled quite badly but WHOOOSH came lionel to the rescue. goodness, he came all prepared, map and everything, and with his own first aid kit. so there went the former BB boy, squeezing this and that onto my wound and dressing it up. quoth sam, "next time we go out MUST call lionel man." see? leninkoh's really pei to be our CM eh.

we stopped for a quick lunch at the nasi lemak stalls around changi. the hawker centre's quite famous... and all three nasi lemak stalls, which were almost opposite one another, were featured in makan sutra. after lunch, went eastwards to changi beach, and oh my... that place sure is beautiful. can look out all the way to JB, and the sand's alot nicer than the other beaches. plus it has a playground! with lots and lots of swings and thingos we used to play when we were little kiddies (:

the way back seemed slightly more tiring for the others, cos there was more uphill than downhill road. chanhong's chain came off twice again, lenin's tyre burst outside escape theme park. so the rest went back to the rental kiosk to return their bikes first while i walked back with lenin.

so sad. our exciting trip ended. =/

but nooooooo... still have still have. sam grace qingxiu and i went for a quick bite and bowled after looking around and deciding that the arcades were too crowded, and pool was too dangerous cos sam might get caught underaged. (for those who do not know, sam's sec three.)

okay so sad. after that it really ended. and we went home. ciao. seeya. byebye.

AHH WHEN SHALL WE GO AGAIN? =D

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pics and entry on tuesday's bowling outing + crashing sam's house, please visit http://eggtartx.blogspot.com/

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off to camp tomorrow! bye everyone, you'll miss me right? catch up again next week!

2005-12-09T17:53:00.000+08:00

back by popular demand! im going off for precamp tomorrow, the actual camp starts on sunday for non sec 4s. muahahahh my first youth camp. pray it'll be great! will be back again on wednesday :)

a couple of things to blog about... mainly regional outing and our biking trip yesterday...

ISI organised regional outing this time round, and i really think they did a fantastic job for it... our cell definitely wouldnt have been able to produce anything anywhere CLOSE. met sam and cheryl at tiong bahru for lunch before going back to church, pics are below. hm they seem to like fighting and suanning alot -.-

talk to MY hand

sam driving me nuts

sam and cheryl both going nuts

debrief... that's gabby's sister in the middle (the one looking blur)

david... my junior... joining ACE next year

calebkayzhihao

me lar me lar

OKAY NEXT POST: bike trip 08122005!

2005-11-23T23:22:00.000+08:00

grad dinner on friday wasn't super impressive or anything much, but at least it gave us a great opportunity to get back together to meet our friends and all that. it was just an ordinary dinner kinda thing, not some super formal function like other schools'd usually have.

food was quite nice, could tell from the way bay and jx gobbled up everything even though our table was the one with the least people, and the 7 of us were given 10 persons' share of food <3>

the programme kept us entertained throughout, and hossain really deserved a standing ovation for his comedic performance =D narpal and santa for their dance as well. gogo hockers! not to forget lum... for being nominated for the sotong of the year award =S

uhhuh so here's some pics... decided not to take so many cos the lighting wasn't good for my cam, plus almost everyone else was taking pics as well. here goes...

pay looking surprised as we arrived

zhuoyi looking cuddly as usual

pay, jx and gordon

kenneth, pay and i (klim looks just like some big tycoon eh!)

one word. shuai.

pecky looking blur, gleefully waiting to own the sharks fins soup

the ballroom (taken from our table at the back)

and somemore shots taken by xavier on his cam...
mostly taken in between or after the dinner...

xavier, hy and i

xavier, gosubay and i

xavier, ky and i

xavier, nivek and i

RI FOUR'Q '05 ((=

and that's all. grad dinner for RI sec 4s, year two thousand and five.

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went to watch GOF on tuesday, it was quite okay i suppose. but yeah, nothing great. im looking forward to more movies, maybe just like heaven or something like that. ive downloaded sky high and some other stuff already, so can take my time to watch.

today sam took his friends and i to jec to ice skate. the whole group's super toot. hahah you have to "experience" them in person... quite fun actually... but still hard to describe. met solomon and pok there as well... they happened to be there with their families and friends. solomon's really good at ice skating, tried to teach me how to stop sliding backwards but sorry i failed totally :X

er so thanks to sam and gang? they taught me reaaaaally well. huh YES. by dragging me to the centre of the rink and LEAVING ME STRANDED in the middle of nowhere when i DIDNT EVEN KNOW HOW TO MOVE FORWARD. or move in any direction. ugh. but that's like one way to teach newbies how to zi4 ba2 and it worked! so i know how to skate alittlebit now...

had dinner at ljs after that, then went over with sam to visit grace at the hospital. cos she got admitted with dengue on tuesday yeah. we were kinda unfamiliar with the bus route and missed the stop? and landed up in some ulu factory. but still managed to get a cab quickly and make it to the hospital.

then came the really wonderful part. i was SO sure it was ward 55 bed 44... sam was like asking me "no leh you told me ward 53 just now?" and i was like "nono don't confuse me it's ward 55 bed 44... or 43..." so. we went down the corridor, followed the signs and got to ward 55. bed 44. and it was empty. then we looked at bed 43, and an old woman was sleeping there. so we thought maybe grace went to the toilet or something. and we waited.

waited.

waited...

waited.

"HOHO! who's this?! madam ong... ... ..."

okay i was stupid kk =/ sorryyyy. wrong ward. -slaps myself

yar so we got the place right and enzheng was there too. with grace and her parents. she looks quite good, but can tell it's quite tiring and sianded to be there. so we were just talking and talking among ourselves for a while, then enzheng asked me to pray for her.

i dunno... i was just silent. im afraid when people ask me to pray out loud cos i always pray in private, just God and i alone and no one else. in cell yes lionel asks me to pray quite frequently for the group but it's always about simple things. so that time yesterday, i didnt know what to do. i mean i had to do it and i wanted to do it, but nothing good came out of my mouth...

when people ask of something they expect something, and i just couldnt deliver. whatever i was thinking couldnt come out, and whatever did come out was darn rubbish. the moment i opened my mouth i could just feel everyone and everything sink... cos like hello? somoene's sick and looking for some form of empowerment and strength and what am i doing? it just felt like crap. if everyone else wasnt disappointed, at least i was. if i were in her position, and she or sam or whoever else in mine, that person'd definitely have done so much better, and i'd feel great.

i was too ashamed to say sorry to anyone, and i didnt even look up. it was embarrassing and ridiculous and whatever. most of all i felt dumb and useless. enzheng says i should pray out loud more often, even when im on my own. goodness knows when i'll be able to do it properly, or at least ACCEPTABLY.

bleh. feels bad enough. goodnight.

2005-11-18T23:39:00.000+08:00

Just back from class chalet! I'm on a 21 day fast from all computer games, so sorta wondering what i'm gonna be doing over the next 3 weeks, but here's a short little summary of what happened over Thursday and Friday anyway.

Thursday, 1200hrs: visited suntec to support our classmate Galvin (gosubay) at WCG 2005 Grand Finals

there's bay having his practice session in the foreground

more competitors

defending champion Grubby from the Netherlands... and there's bay's fixture

bay plays on the big stage in his little cockpit!

bay getting interviewed by fiona xie and another channel U guy after his match with Avatar, in which Avatar won

Thurs, 1600hrs: made our way to Costa Sands (east coast) to join up with the rest of the class

the xbox gang going nuts over gaming again. oh so tempting for me =/

lossy and yappie

from left: liben, adrian, poey, klim

Thursday, 1730hrs: off to check out the beach

frisbee!

wow nice background =)

sorry gordon, that is not your kite.

my name...

my FOOTPRINT...

sun hasnt set yet =( but it's beautiful against the waves

Thursday, 1830hrs: bbq and dinner!

iw preparing the charcoal and pit

After dinner, everyone was either slacking around playing board games or playing on the xbox. Gordon, poey, chenzhen and I decided to rent some bikes overnight so we could go midnight biking.

Expedition @ 2130hrs - Chalet to Changi Airport and back
(This trip was with gordon and chenzhen. Poey pulled out at the last minute when he heard we were going to go all the way to the airport.)

Expedition @ 1145hrs - Chalet to Marine Parade and back
(This trip was with poey, adam and chenzhen. Route was rather slack.)

We got back to the chalet at almost 1am and rested for a while, watched the others play xbox, and I taught adam and yamies how to play weiqi. At around 3am zy, hy and xavier decided to go to 7-11 and Macs for a late night snack. So chenzhen, gordon and I decided to make another bike trip out to grab a drink as well.

There you go. Our bikes nicely lined up in front of 7-11.

My supper. heh macs has new sauces for chicken mcnuggets

Gordon spent like 5 minutes comparing the two packets of orange juice, cos although both were marigold juices one had "no sugar added" on the packet, and it cost 5cents more than the one with added sugar.

Got some drinks and snacks from 7-11 and Macs before returning to the chalet for something like the 9th or 10th time. Gordon and I had a game of weiqi before getting on our bikes again at 4.45am to pedal to Bedok Jetty to watch the sunrise.

Tian bu zuo mei ah! Reeaaally daomei, we waited so long just to watch the sunrise but there JUST had to be clouds.

upon reaching the jetty

nice round moon. before 6am.

6.15am to 6.35am. sad lar.

we took these back along the beach slightly later on

yup so that was about it for this morning, we packed up and checked out sometime before noon. hahah i'll miss the late night bike experience man =p and the super beautiful sky...

2005-11-07T20:39:00.000+08:00

Amnesty calls for global action to save Nguyen

Singapore - Action for Van Tuong Nguyen

Dear friends,

Australian Van Tuong Nguyen has lost his appeal to Singapore's President and now faces execution for drug trafficking. Please respond immediately to Amnesty's Urgent Action appeal below, which was issued 24 October (I have just returned from three weeks away, hence the delay in sending it). Van Tuong Nguyen, who came to Australia as a refugee when he was 6 months old, agreed to carry the drugs in order to pay off debts owed by his twin brother.

In Australia the case is generating a very high degree of political, media and community interest. AI Australia is leading the campaign to mobilise pressure on the Singapore government to reconsider their decision and spare his life. The Australian section of Amnesty has done extensive media work, distributed action materials to supporters and a range of organisations, and profiled the case on AIA's website (www.amnesty.org.au). The Amnesty Australia International Parliamentary Group has developed a petition to the Singapore President and Cabinet, which has been sent to every member of Australia's Federal Parliament and their staff.

Once clemency is rejected, prisoners are usually executed within weeks in Singapore, so clearly there is not much time.

Please let me know if you are taking action on this case, so that I can inform the Australian section and so strengthen its media message and activist networks. Clearly – as always – the global response is vital.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Best wishes
Margaret John
Coordinator for Singapore and Malaysia
Amnesty International Canada

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Australian national Van Tuong Nguyen, who has been condemned to death in Singapore, had his appeal for clemency rejected by the President on 21 October, and is now facing imminent execution. A date has not yet been announced, although the hanging is likely to be carried out within weeks.

An Australian of Vietnamese origin, Van Tuong Nguyen was arrested at Singapore's Changi airport in transit from Cambodia to Australia in December 2002, after police found a package of heroin strapped to his back and a second package in his backpack.

In March 2004 Van Tuong Nguyen, a former salesman, was sentenced to death for importing 396.2 grams of heroin into Singapore. He was convicted under the Misuse of Drugs Act, which carries a mandatory death sentence for anyone found guilty of trafficking in more than 15 grams of heroin. In October 2004 the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal against the death sentence.

Van Tuong Nguyen, who had no previous criminal record, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and moved to Australia with his mother and twin brother when he was six months old. He told investigating officers that he had agreed to carry the drugs in order to pay off debts owed by his twin brother. He said he did not know how much he was being paid for the trip. It was his first trip outside Australia. Since his arrest he has shown remorse and cooperated fully with the authorities. The Australian Federal Police have confirmed that, while in custody, Van Tuong Nguyen assisted their investigation into the international drugs syndicate for which he had worked.

Background information

There is usually very little public debate in Singapore about the death penalty, partly as a result of tight government controls on the press and civil society organisations. However, the case earlier this year of Shanmugam s/o Murugesu, who was sentenced to death after he was found in possession of just over one kilogram of cannabis, sparked unprecedented public discussion. In April and May, local activists organised a public forum, petitions, vigils and other events to campaign for Shanmugam's life to be spared, and to raise awareness in Singapore about the cruel and arbitrary nature of the death penalty. The authorities refused to allow an Amnesty International representative who attended the public forum to address the meeting. Shanmugam was hanged on 13 May. His lawyer was reportedly subjected to attacks on his character in government-controlled newspapers over his work on the case.

In April, the Singapore Law Society Gazette published a commentary on Van Tuong Nguyen's Appeal Court decision, arguing that there was "light on the path" because "it is now open to an accused to show ... that a mandatory death sentence is cruel and inhuman punishment under customary international law".

Singapore, with a population of just over four million, has the highest per capita execution rate in the world. More than 420 people have been executed since 1991, the majority for drug trafficking. The Singapore government has consistently maintained that the death penalty is not a human rights issue. The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for a mandatory death sentence for at least 20 different offences and contains a series of presumptions which shift the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defence. Prisoners facing execution may be granted clemency by the President, but this is extremely rare.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of one of the most fundamental of human rights: the right to life. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and there is no escaping the risk of error, which can lead to the execution of an innocent person. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has called for the death penalty to be eliminated for drug-related offences. In April 2005, the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) renewed calls upon all states that retain the death penalty to abolish it completely and, in the meantime, to establish a moratorium on executions.

Recommended action

Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:- urging the authorities to reconsider the decision to refuse clemency in the case of Van Tuong Nguyen, and commute his death sentence;- urging them to impose a moratorium on executions, with a view to complete abolition, in line with the April 2005 UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) resolution on the question of the death penalty; - noting that the UNCHR has urged states which still maintain the death penalty not to impose it as a mandatory sentence, or for crimes without lethal or extremely grave consequences.

APPEALS TO

Prime Minister
LEE Hsien Loong
Prime Minister's OfficeIstana, Orchard Rd
Singapore 238823
Fax: +65 6332 8983
Email: lee_hsien_loong@pmo.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

Minister of Law
Prof. S. Jayakumar
Ministry of Law
100 High Street
The Treasury #08-02
Singapore 179434
Fax: +65 6332 8842
Email: jayakumar_s@mfa.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Minister

Attorney General
Chan Sek Keong
Attorney General's Chambers
1 Coleman Street #10-00
Singapore 179803
Fax: +65 6332 5984
Email: agc@agc.gov.sg
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

COPIES TO:

His Excellency Vanu Gopal MENON
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore to the United Nations
and High Commissioner to Canada
231 East 51st Street
New York, NY 10022
USA
Fax: +1 212 826 2964
Salutation: Your Excellency

PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with Margaret John, Coordinator for Singapore and Malaysia, AI Canada (malaysiasingaporecoordinator@amnesty.ca), or the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 5 December 2005.

---------------

source:
SDP website
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/

2005-10-31T19:17:00.000+08:00

okay i'm finally going to post something non-RC related, since it's AFTER EXAMS AND I'M SO FREAKING HAPPY.

first thing's first, CTs. i did so much better this semester in the first semester, but because my dear old maths had a gp of 0.8, and because it's double weightage, everything else got pulled down. as for the other papers, all the humans subjects very good as usual, just the sciences somewhat lower. but so wasted larh pls. why must maths be double weightage =(

HCL O's ended today! and i'm sort of like quite sadded cos looking back and discussing the paper, i think i made alot of stupid careless mistakes. the paper was supposed to be quite easy, as all O lvl papers are meant to be, but now i think my A is out of reach =/ for one, i wrote more for yingyongwen then zuowen... which isn't supposed to be the case. my zuowen had so little content although we practiced that topic before. but what's passed has passed! and i'm freeee.

yar anyway i went back for training with my juniors. yes, to pop in and see how the new coach was like. and YOU KNOW WHAT. i don't like him. he's just a toned down version of bull. and his training is so boring? at least bull had some crazy or funny things here and there, but this guy? NONE. 3 hours of boring rubbish. i ended up getting so sick of it that i went to train with the goalkeeper just to get away from that nonsense.

yes and christian told me to give him more time, cos he's actually a nice person. well, im sorry but first impressions count alot. in between breaks i went to meet him personally to say "hi, i'm sec four and i just came over today cos our paper just ended", and guess what he said? not even looking up at me, he said "oh. did you come for training last friday?"

the way he said it was so... i-don't-care-ish. bleh whatever. and sec fours havent even had to come since MARCH. what do you mean by did i come last friday? he's just weird. so what if he's the combined schools' coach. he's still weird.

yup. so we did some running before actual drills, and i felt utterly toot. cos i haven't been doing any running since april when my season ended, so hardly could run 5 rounds at a minute thirty each. so pathetic, i was losing to my sec 2s okay. but then again i had NO motivation to run at all, looking at that new coach's face after every round. he's seriously like a bull. we should just stage an uprising and overthrow him the way we tried to overthrow bull. even mr sharom is better o.o

ah wells i'll just try not to be too involved with him. if i ever go back for training i'll just try to stay as far away as i can.

have i told you? I'M SO HAPPY =D yup. school's closing, and we can look forward to two sweet months of holidays.

friday's going to be graduation ceremony, and our four years as ri boys will just end right there. i don't know what's going to happen, but i think i'll be quite sad. rjc's not going to be as nice. if anyone ever asks me if i regretted joining ri the answer's going to be a flat out no. being here really gives you that sort of spirit you'll never get anywhere else in the world. no matter how much we've sulked and sulked, i still think we really love this place.

shall go get dinner now, byebye (:

2005-10-18T18:26:00.000+08:00

5 down, 3 left to go.

I havent been blogging or posting articles on RafflesCritics for some time now, CTs are killing me. English, SS, Chem, Maths, Bio are done, we've only got Physics, Lit and Hist left to go. Chem and Maths are the 'confirm fail' ones as usual, but the rest were good. Mrs Smith passed Ian Wern and I our RE assessment reports for this year, and to our delight we got something like 85%, which is an A+. wonderful wonderful. If only that could be counted in my darn GPA -.-

Anyway, amidst this CT madness, RC has been active. We've been collating comments and testimonies from everywhere, not just the RC site but also personally in school. Second review of nominees will be underway by Thursday i presume, and RC has decided to carry on with our proposed dialogue session on Friday whether or not the school admin grants us clearance. Dialogue is mean for anyone and everyone to attend, clarify issues, and for us to advocate our stand. Venue is still to be confirmed, an LT is unlikely to be obtained but we'll still hold it in another place. Time is running out, and we are ready to act on our own.

Do join our mailing list, which can be found on the right column of the main site. We'll release monthly emails concerning developments of issues and of RC itself, so it's a good way to keep yourself informed. Post-CTs, we'll be drafting a formal proposal to reform the current elections system and the RIPB, which we feel in many ways has been severely ineffective in it's role.

Recruitment for next year will also be carried out, we're looking for anyone passionate about our cause and willing to join us as official contributors. As of now, we already have two probable successors, but we do encourage more of you to join. As you know, Gordon and I will be moving on to RJC next year (me - hopefully), so while we're going to be more concerned with RJ matters we do hope to continue RC's work back here in RI. So do drop us an email if you'd like to join.

Just an update on visitorship, the coming of CTs has seen a slight decline in visitor numbers during weekdays, although numbers do peak rather sharply on weekends. We're now at the 7000 mark, just under a fortnight into operation. Comments have been coming in steadily, so do keep up your support (:

Wish me luck for the last 3 papers!

2005-10-14T14:00:00.000+08:00

In response to certain criticism and concern that RafflesCritics - http://rafflescritics.blogspot.com - may be considered defamatory, we have studied the statutes of Singapore law and referred carefully to Chapter XXI of the Penal Code.

Under the Defamation clause of the Penal Code, our posts (in particular the report on nominees) cannot be considered defamatory because they are protected under Exceptions 9 and 10.

Ninth Exception.—It is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of another, provided that the imputation is made in good faith for the protection of the interests of the person making it, or of any other person, or for the public good.

Tenth Exception.—It is not defamation to convey a caution, in good faith, to one person against another, provided that the caution is intended for the good of the person to whom it is conveyed, or of some person in whom that person is interested, or for the public good.
For more information, do visit http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/

On a separate note, visitor numbers just broke the 4000 mark last night, just one week into operation. Despite concerns by certain readers that our visitorship seems to be dropping, we do not find this very much of a problem. Don't forget that this is common test period, where students are busy and aren't so active on the internet. Besides this, we have been mocked at and received quite abit of stick from several persons over the past week or so, but the cause will continue and we will press on. In fact, we are heartened by the range of viewership, which has now spread to communities outside of RI.

The RafflesCritics committee is planning a dialogue session of our own, to be held prior to election day. We are still in the proposal process, and do sincerely hope that the school administration will cooperate.

Thanks again for all your encouragement and support!

cheerios =)

RafflesCritics update

2005-10-09T15:18:00.000+08:00

i am pleased to annouce that our RafflesCritics site, http://rafflescritics.blogspot.com , has been gaining readership instensively and acquiring tremendous support. just 3 days into its operation, we have already received numerous posts and valuable comments from students and prefects alike. in addition, we have attained an impressive record of over 1000 hits within a span of just 80 hours. viewers are engaging in heated discussion, proving that we as students are indeed serious with regards to school issues and how current systems can be improved for the better.

apart from some prefects remaining defensive and narrow-minded towards our efforts to invoke thought and change, the site has been running smoothly and efficiently. as from today, we will be accepting requests for main site page articles. in the spirit of free speech and expression, we welcome all submissions of letters and articles, which will DEFINITELY be displayed on request. unlike the situation on the official RIPB feedback site at ripb.org, we actively denounce selective censorship of comments and suggestions, and seek to dispel their questionable practice. emails and any other submissions can be made to: danielhosheng@gmail.com , no topic restriction has been imposed.

With transparency high on our priorities, it is also our responsibilities to present to you what we will be doing in with regards to the elections, in chronological order.

1. Analysis of ALL nominees

We will be requesting comments from all of you on nominees you personally know. This monday, we will also be interviewing various Rafflesians on whom they know personally and are ready to recommend. Based on our observations during their speeches and at the forum sessions, together with comments/recommendations from Rafflesians, we will publish our analyses either on Monday or Tuesday.

2. Elections Campagin

Immediately following the analyses, we will officially adopt some nominees (with reasons stated in the analyses) and will support them in their campaign, garnering votes. Do vote them! :)

3. Elections Review

Immediately following the elections, we will again be requesting opinions through this RC blog, as well as interviewing some of you in school at random.A proposal for a revision of elections procedure based on popular consensus will then be compiled. It will be presented here on the RC blog and fine-tuned with your valuable comments and advice.Finally, the proposal (possibly with a petition), will be submitted to the relevant people in charge.

-----

Thanks for your continuous support! Do keep visiting us and participating in our discussions!
-Consectatio Melioris Aevi-
(Striving for a Better Age)

cheers,
ho sheng

RIPB nominee forums

2005-10-06T19:45:00.000+08:00

This week's RIPB nominee forums have been far from satisfactory.

So far, candidates have not been able to respond directly to questions raised by participating members of the audience, albeit countless attempts at rephrasing or refining our questions. Surprisingly, they appear defensive, and may even smirk or grin while the speaker is posing his questions. Better still, certain nominees demonstrate how sharp-tongued they can be through their repeated application of sarcasm and rhetoric.

A fine example would be that of Kristian Lee Jian Yang of class 1C, a member of swimming CCA. When asked if everybody could join the RIPB then since his qualities were not unique to him, Kristian exclaimed, "Well, looking at YOUR attitude, I'm sure you can't make it as a prefect."

Is this what being a nominee is about? Putting your voters down when faced with tight situations?

So much for certain nominees claiming that they will strive to uphold our rights. But then again, they appear to be unsure of what rights even are! Some chairpersons needlessly shied nominees from public opinion by playing down public opinion and making obvious attempts to interrupt speakers in the middle of questions. They act on the pretext of the audience posing questions supposedly unrelated to the nominees. Related or not, it remains for all present to see.

The facilitation of discussions showed slight improvement today, and can be said to be relatively good and smooth-flowing. However, we are still unclear as to what concrete plans these nominees have for us. We continue to be baffled by the responses they provide. They are akin to aimless wanderers seeking employment, without so much as even fulfilling the basic requirements set by their employers.

Are we to make our sacred choice based on these forums? Has a dialogue truly been achieved? As students, we have been given the chance to participate in the forums. It is our duty to make full use of these sessions to observe nominees and question their intentions, how they will operate. suppression by chairpersons and higher authorities is but a tool to put us off, but we must remain clear in our stance and our message.

2005-10-05T21:37:00.000+08:00

i hereby announce the launch of RafflesCritics, an independent site set up as an explicit challenge to the RIPB and its online forums that we can provide a better alternative for views and suggestions. RafflesCritics serves to provide an avenue for free, uninhibited speech, and transparency in the discussion process. visitors are all welcome to engage in discussions and post comments, no topic restrictions have been enforced. we look forward to your active participation.

RafflesCritics can be accessed at http://rafflescritics.blogspot.com
it is a site co-owned with Gordon Li

ripb elections 2005

2005-10-04T21:19:00.000+08:00

first of all, let me congratulate you all for sneaking through all the way to this stage, and for impressing all your audience this morning with your effective use of corny ideas and silly publicity stunts. you are indeed a unique bunch of nominees, so unique that i cannot help but say that i've never seen any other batch of nominees so base and ridiculous as you. are you really sure you are in the right event? this isn't Rafflesian Spotlight, you know.

now you draw parallels between youselves and certain things and tell us of the value of these things, but until this moment your speeches have told us NOTHING about yourselves, NOTHING about what you do or intend to do, absolutely NOTHING. maybe the RIPB should tape the campaign speech section during assembly every morning so you guys can go back and see how pathetic you can get, and maybe go have a good laugh at yourselves.

what makes you so sure that you can live up to your promises? countless batches of prefects have promised to bridge the gap between students and the school administration, provide an avenue for students to voice their concerns, represent us in dealing with school issues, BLAH BLAH and more BLAH. what has come out of all that trash? if they are so hypocritical, why would you be any different? oh but then again, some of you are smart. you say you wil not promise us anything! so on what basis should you enter the RIPB?

what do you make of the applause and laughter you get during ur campaign speeches? that we are agreeable with what you claim? that you are entertaining? William Hung received enthusiastic applause from his audiences as well, just to let you know. so, what are your election issues? what difference will you, or CAN you make? we really need to know to make a wise vote. be it a rule or a policy, or whatever! what exactly do you want to do? where are your concrete plans? where are the areas that the school needs to address and improve, and how can you make sure you will be able to make that change?

because i'm certainly not sure at all.

dialogue session: part 1 post

2005-10-01T21:17:00.000+08:00

Dialogue session was held yesterday. Part 1 of my posts will address the technical aspects of dialogue session, part 2 (to be uploaded soon) will explore the discussions carried out. So now, just to give a brief introduction of this dialogue session.

Walter, chairing prefect: "Welcome to the third and final dialogue session of the year, brought to you by the Voice of the Raffles Institution Prefectorial Board. (...) For today's dialogue session, we will be focusing on the Raffles Programme. The Raffles Programme has been in place for nearly 2 years already, and the school has seen some great changes within that period of the time. The student body of RI has been the protagonist of the Raffles Programme, and today's dialogue session has been organised with the hope that your views can shape your future. Do feel free to raise your opinions or give your own feedback. (...) "

Let's now take a look at some extracts from my documentation of the session.

==========

SITUATION ONE

[Around the beginning of dialogue session]

Mrs. Tan: Do feel free to speak up, you will not get blacklisted. Even if you mention your name, your class, there’s nothing much we can do if… So anyway just speak your mind and tell us your concerns.

Chairing prefect: Okay so we can have… (gestures to me)

Me: First of all, good morning Mrs. Tan (…) Thank you, I actually have two questions and concerns for today. First of all Walter, will I be allowed to complete both or will I be denied the right to speak on the pretext of lack of time?

Chairing prefect: Er you can just go ahead, we have a lot of time.

[After first question raised and commented on by Mrs. Tan]

Chairing prefect: Thanks. Can we now move on to… (gestures toward someone at the back of the LT)

Me: Erm I haven’t finished my second question?

Chairing prefect: Oh? Okay. (slumps back into seat)

==========

SITUATION TWO

This is the ultimate showing of oppression.

[After both my concerns have been raised and responded to, and two other sec 4s (they both raised academic issues) had also completed their questions. I raised my hand and was about to raise another concern.]

Prefect 1: Sorry ma’am could the sec 4s take their leave now? They have to go for a talk by RJC.

Me: Can the sec 4s please finish questioning before they leave?

Chairing prefect: Alright er I think can we go on to someone else, because it’s been stuck with the sec 4s for quite a long time. So yeah. Can we…

Mrs. Tan: Just a minute, the sec 4s need to go for the?

Prefect 1: The sec 4s have to leave for their prematriculation talk…

==========

So that was it. I stormed out, followed by my juniors who had come to witness the RIPB's usual act of putting down opposing views. They were questioned by prefects, who asked them if they were sec 4s. Clearly the motive was to eradicate the sec 4s (esp. me) before we caused them any more embarrassment, and leave the juniors in the AVT to continue being brainwashed.

Dialogue session, brought to us by the Voice of the Raffles Institution Prefectorial Board! most definitely! We HAVE NO VOICE.

The above excerpt demonstrates how the Raffles Institution Prefectorial Board has yet again made an obvious attempt to despicably curb opposing viewpoints on their usual pretext of lack of time. The prefect chairing this dialogue session agreed to allow me to speak on two issues without interruption, as can be seen from the first extract. My clarification was meant to preempt what the RIPB often does, that of cutting students off when they are faced with difficult situations. This time it has been recorded on tape and we have clearly seen that the RIPB does not tolerate fiery comments that may be otherwise damaging to the school’s reputation, and had hence tried to avoid my second question by attempting, unsuccessfully however, to move on to another student.

My second question was a critical attack on the RIPB and the concentration of leadership in school. The content of what was raised at the dialogue session will be documented in text in a short while, and I promise it to be extremely entertaining. Philo master Mr. Kenneth Low might have laughed at the folly of Mrs. Tan had he not been a member of the authoritative school administration. At this moment, all who would like to listen to the audio recordings I made are welcome to make requests anytime, and I will gladly send you a copy.

The time was 1.52 when a prefect raised the issue of sec 4s leaving for the RJC talk (technically due to begin at 2pm but was set to begin at 2.30), yet there was more than sufficient time to take in one more comment and response before heading to the school hall, which from the AVT takes around 3 minutes at the most. Mrs. Tan was on hand to cover up the flaws of the chairing prefect, who admitted that he was not keen to give the sec 4s anymore opportunities to speak. Mrs. Tan brought everyone back to the issue of sec 4s leaving in order to distract the student population in the AVT. Of course, the prefects were all ready to wrap up a beautiful act by responding spontaneously to her “question”.

The RIPB clearly “works closely” with the school administration for the betterment of pupil welfare. Our voices have certainly been “heard”.

NEXT ENTRY: DIALOGUE SESSION – CONTENT INFORMATION

$36million vs $35000?

2005-09-28T19:21:00.000+08:00

the school is embarking on a two year project to revamp the existing campus. additions include a cca hub, additional teaching blocks, an enlargement to the existing school hall and canteen, a cca hub, a 600-seater performing arts auditorium, as well as new boarding complexes.

all these "exciting developments", as the school administration calls it, will cost a total of SGD$36 million. the school administration has also informed us that brand new schools, 'normal schools', only cost around $14-20 mil to build from scratch, hence it was even more "exciting" that we would be having a $36 mil project, just to revamp the existing campus. in addition, it is to be noted that the construction of 'normal schools' will take almost 3 years to complete, yet our $36 mil project would be completed under a short period of 20 months.

during assembly today, the ripb played a video regarding a fund raising project for the viriya home. this project, organised by the ripb and entitled the van project, aims to raise a total of SGD$35000 to buy a van for the home, providing its patients with more convenient and cheaper transport. "$35000" is not a small sum of money, the ripb said, but with the help of every member of the school, it was in fact an achievable target.

how ironic it was to hear of the "exciting" $36 million upgrading project, followed by the $35000 van project. three zeroes makes alot of difference. might we not cut down on the building of a room or two, or stop paying extravagant sums of money to complete building projects fast and quick, but instead set a side a thousandth of this building cost to ignite a spark in the lives of those who need it more? is just a thousandth that hard?

on one hand, the school advocates a philantrophic spirit of giving back to society and doing our part by being involved in community projects, yet on the other hand the board, pockets brimming with cash, cannot spare a thought for this cause? where's the justice in this system? how will people respond to this laughable joke?

a 36 million dollar luxury.
a 35 thousand dollar necessity.
corruption must not be tolerated.
boycott RI PRIME today.

2005-09-24T20:34:00.000+08:00

okay yes ive finally dropped by once again =D

everything's been super busy these past few weeks cos we've been bombed with a billion and one assignments and stuff. then it's like even more bomb cos lit on tues and thurs stretches all the way till almost 6. we're on our film criticism module now, which is quite refreshing cos films aren't what u'd expect to be doing for lit... it's not like those read and mug cheemcheem texts that u see liao then wanna bomb urself.

and even more bomb cos there're 2 major assignments due next week: physics and ss. physics must do something like a ship that can move by itself based on electromagnetic induction... and that is really haarrrrrd. it's supposed to be due on wed but report due on monday, which means everything is due on monday anyway cos how do we write the repot if we havent finished making the boat o.o

then ss we can select any topic of our interest and film a documentary on it. im in gordon's group, so naturally we're on another anti-PAP campaign. gordon... our group everyone except me is already 16 yrs old rite? if we get into trouble for making a "party political film" then u all are going to get into trouble not me kk? the pap always wins all its lawsuits.

as will be seen in our documentary, in which i happen to be the commentator (naturally. my charming and captivating voice is simply too irresistable =x), the PAP has yet to lost a single one of its civil lawsuits. the International Commission for Jurists observed that defamation lawsuits have “done little to overcome the courts' reputation as improperly compliant to the interests of the country's ruling People's Action Party (PAP).” well anyway, hope we can meet the deadline for this dumbo thing.

careers forum was yesterday, and we were given the opportunity to meet professionals from various business fields to learn more about career choices and the work they do. we were supposed to like go for 3 or 4 sessions, so i went for one session by this law firm but decided to pon the other 3 sessions and go for trng instead -.-

clinton is my kangaroo
josh is my pillow
chris is my number 1 fan
eugene is my nephew
benjy is idol number 1
zhihe is idol number 2
nikky is koala bear...
faris is stupid mat -.-

wahahha i have a fetish for my juniors. MOVING ON... =S

the list of school award awardees was released this morning, and a few hockers got the merit award, besides the three nat players who got their colours. merit awardees are hossain, jordan, daniel, santa, and myself.

another person, whom i shan't name, was also on the list, but i refuse to acknowlege it. first of all, his getting the award is not justified. as an award that not many people in the school have a chance to get, it is the school's duty to ensure that people who have not met a certain criteria do not find their way into the final list and make a fool of it nor of the system which had happily stamped their names down. maintaining the dignity of the award is a prerequisite.

the person involved is an established self-centred flirt, a teammate who by any standard fails horribly when it comes to being a teammate, an absolute hypocrite, and a two-faced, double-talking suck up. He is an utter softie who falls flat in the face of adversity and takes advantage of harsh situations to appear as deserving of pity. For the record, i do not hate him, nor do i care about his existence in any way, but the bottomline is that HE should not be an awardee.

the first step i took was a rash one, that of crossing out his name on the list with a pen. rayner found this unacceptable because that in itself is irresponsible behaviour, and urged me to pursue the matter through a more viable alternative. i whitened it later and cleared it of all stains, and sought to speak to my teacher in charge later in the day. mr koh was kind enough to entertain me in duscussing the issue, to which i had several questions:

1. what are the criteria for selection?
answer: give ur 100% on the pitch, put in effort, i nominate u.

2. is that the school's criteria? did the school have a list of criteria?
answer: no the school had no criteria. they didnt inform me about anything. that was my own criteria.

3. how is his getting awarded justified given his past record of missing trainings until a month or two before the start of the season?
answer: his case was special. (reason 1 - bull had made racist comments, so he was frustrated and on the verge of leaving, but had the determination to stay. reason 2 - he is suffering in his work, and we are worried about him.)

4. i have probably been subject to the most criticism and scolding from bull. neither am i doing well in my schoolwork. how different am i from he? if i can cope with this, why can't he?
answer: he is doing really bad... i don't think he can make it in jc, but i think and i know you can.

(at this point let me make this clear. my gpa for the first semester was 2.12, probably lower than anyone else in the cohort.)

5. i can feign being hurt by "racist or spiteful comments" and choose to leave. will u then convince me to stay, to which i will agree, and give me an award at the end of sec 4?
answer: no u don't understand. his case is very difficult. can u please be more da fang (open-hearted).

6. so tell me, in what way has he contributed the way the rest have?
answer: as long as i see u coming for the trainings, putting in effort and helping out, i'll put ur name in. it's unfortunate they dont have something in between colours and merit awards, because if they do you're the only one i can, and will, nominate for it.

hmm how did that answer my question? fallacies and persuasive techniques galore. so that was a short summary of how it went, i'll leave it to you to interpret these points. one major chunk i decided to leave out in the conversation was about this person being a flirt. i may have controlled my tongue here and now, but there will come a time when everything will just fly. let me just say that he would come to school with his stick on a training day, and sneak off at the end of the day without even appearing at training, still carrying his stick. and where would he be off to? he would be off to some secluded bus stop in the middle of tampines with a girl at 10pm at night.

how did we know this? a junior out to buy groceries with his mum would happen to walk by and catch the two of them up to some hanky panky. he would just happen to. and the mother would sigh in disbelief and disappointment at the way RI's seniors can easily tarnish the school's reputation. well, merit award for best external relations, i should say. merit award for neglecting his very own teammates to indulge in personal pleasure. merit award, for putting up a pitiful, victimised front in the presence of teachers.

it is easy to get past the system, but it's even easier for people to spot it. this is not a matter of me being jealous or envious, cos ive alrdy gotten the award myself. but i'm doing this cos u are outright undeserving. the rest may be sheepish and not want to step out to say this in your face, but u know it for yourself. don't push too far. and if u'd like to respond to this, please feel free to post a tag or two. and be public about it.

congrats on getting the award.

2005-09-08T14:09:00.000+08:00

hahah hi again =D

yes xava thanks i know i havent been blogging... and u miss me... but i really dont have much in my life to write about

anyway! last week's teacher's day stuff was quite cool, different from the normal hansy wansy stuff. some of us were involved in this mob thingy, where we treated the teachers like stars and started crowding around fighting with everyone else to get autographs and pics while the security guards tried to hold us back... then the prefects put up this super funny parody of star wars... and we had to go back up on stage for the finale dance and dance to reach for the stars -.-

yep it was quite short lah? but funfun and different from the concerts we used to have

after that spent some time looking around for hpps people so we could go back together, but er yeah... hardly anyone wanted to go ><>

ahhah after hpps went back to bishan for class outing! or actually, ms kuang's house in ang mo kio... her house ROCKS... and her dog ROCKS... and her basement ROCKS... and i ROCK. okayy nvm, anyway we stayed till quite late playing games and stuff, then walked over to some kopitiam for supper. hm it's really funny watching everyone play that game.. wat's it called ar? the one where they give u a word on a card and ure supposed to describe it for other people to guess but not allowed to say certain words in ur description

bleh anyway i totally fail at that lar, keep having to describe in chinese. wonder why im so cheena already. AHH that reminds me, chinese prelims is on monday! and look at me maple all day! o well, i'll bring stuff to mug during chalet later =D

yes, and about the chalet, i think my juniors rock again -.- they always rock... im the only sec 4 they wanted to invited kk?

o doesnt that mean i rock more? *winkwink* ah and my biggest fan christian is prolly there preparing stuff now. which means i shall go maple abit more then wait for my dad to come. i'll be away tonight, maybe come back home for a while tomorrow, then go again on friday evening

on a slightly different note, let me *ahem* give some comments on something really crappy. i may (actually i will) get blasted for this or something, but oh well i'll just be honest. a blog is a blog rite? a blog is for people to read rite? and everyone is entitled to pass their own comments about you or whatever you write about... it's just a result of how u go about doing ur own things. it's not as if i havent gotten blasted on my tagboard... people like bay actually go around calling me an f for fun cos he thinks it's funny or he's really too free and needs to spend his time saying "f" on my tagboard o.O so instead of getting all worked up and mad and spouting vulgarities at your own classmates, SOMEONE really should just live with it and respond to it in the right manner? im not involved in this whole thing but YOU really have alot of clearing up to do when it comes to ur attitude about things like these. not saying people are right in messing up ur blog, but really, i hope u wont respond in this horribly violent way =S

yeap that's all. typing that felt weird. im going to get blasted liao...

HAHAH! need to go maple before i leave! cyaa!

2005-08-22T19:45:00.000+08:00

2005-08-19T00:07:00.000+08:00

hey my dear c div (:

today was a proud day for me

the bunch of you fighting side by side
for yourselves, for one another, for what we really are
you touched me so strong so deep

you deserve every single bit of it
you deserve every praise and everything i could give
hijazi and zhihe, you did make me weep
but ben, i wasnt sad =)
you overcame it all, because u'd already given me the greatest gift i could ever want

i haven't been with u guys for very long
but this short time meant so much
it went beyond being mere seniors and juniors
it proved our friendship
it showed how great our spirit could be
every conversation, every greeting, every poke, every smile
i owe you so much

it matters nothing to me whether you "won" or "lost"
it matters not, whether it was a final or not
it really doesn't, cos what matters the most to me at least,
is you being who you really are
and being true to yourselves

you amaze us all
time and again
you won our hearts
once again

you could lose a thousand games
and i'd still love you as much
you could lose a thousand games
and i'd still care to drop by everytime to say hi
you could lose a thousand games
and i'd still want to be around to crawl with you every part of the way
you could lose a thousand games
but nothing would change

when im gone,
i hope u'll always be the same
for ever, and ever again
you are my joy and hope
you are why i feel so close
i regret not doing enough
for not being with you guys more often
all i seek is your company and friendship
i'll come back more i promise!

stay funky and cheery darlings =D
thanks for everything...

to ri c div hockey 2005
especially:

benjy
christian
dylan
guan chua
paul
ned
balu
zhi he
hijazi
eugene
nikki
julian
hsiu hsien
faris
clinton

u guys rawk =D