Seraph

now and forever

2008-10-10T23:26:00.004+08:00

____ __ ___ __, ______ ___ ___ _____ __ ___ ___ ):

Now and forever, you are a part of me
And the memory cuts like a knife
Didn't we find the ecstasy, didn't we share the daylight
When you walked into my life

Now and forever, I'll remember
All the promises still unbroken
And think about all the words between us
That never needed to be spoken
-Carole King

HGP (:

2008-10-03T18:51:00.003+08:00

Welcome to wherever you are
This is your life; you made it this far
Welcome, you gotta believe
Right here, right now you're exactly where you're supposed to be
Be who you want to be, be who you are
Everyone's a hero, everyone's a star

When you wanna give up and your heart's about to break
Remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes

HGP (Human Genome Project) a.k.a (3)H's - Goodbyetolessons - Party :D

gwace! (and philby the crasher) (:

addy! :D

i have a feeling i will remember today for the rest of my life (:

silly balloon hats, wearing aforementioned hats all over sch and to math lecture, camwhoring :D, taking class photos with the teachers wearing cute balloon hats, musical chairs, caterpillar, tarzan, follow the leader, pictionary, etc etc

i'll miss you, 3H ):

These are the special times
Times we'll remember
These are the precious times
The tender times we'll hold in our hearts forever
These are the sweetest times
These times together
And through it all one thing will always be true
The special times are the times I share with you
-Celine Dion

you're not alone

2008-09-30T20:16:00.004+08:00

5 more weeks till A's start.
Formal lessons have kind of ended, and this is essentially the last few moments we have left as J2s.

We should really be treasuring the little amount of time that we have left, but somehow it hasn't exactly been feeling that way since we came back after the prelims + marking break.

I know the pressure is mounting and we're all beginning to feel the stress, but i hope that doesn't change the way we were as a class. Even now, there's a perceptible difference in the overall atmosphere. Everyone's quiet and serious and sombre, and i guess that can't be helped.

But i do miss our pre-prelims studying sessions ):

even so, i'm glad i can take comfort in the fact that even in the lowest of moments there'll always be others around who'll support us and help us up and i guess we should all be thankful for that (:

(Friends by ~nunoamos0 on DevArt)

You're not alone,
There is more to this i know.
You can make it out,
you will live to tell.
-Saosin

i'm yours

2008-09-23T23:58:00.005+08:00

i'm not quite sure how to start my personal essay :/

cycling + stayover tmr! (: (: (:

You touch these tired eyes of mine
And map my face out line by line
And somehow growing old feels fine
I listen close for I'm not smart
You wrap you thoughts in works of art
and they're hanging on the walls of my heart
-The Script

prelims ):

2008-09-13T23:13:00.002+08:00

~~GP Paper 1~~
~~GP Paper 2~~

~~Biology Paper 1~~
~~Biology Paper 2~~
~~Biology Paper 3~~

~~Chemistry Paper 1~~ X_X
~~Chemistry Paper 2~~
~~Chemistry Paper 3~~

~~Math Paper 1~~
~~Math Paper 2~~

~~Econs Paper 1~~
~~Econs Paper 2~~

YAY(:

side note:

"Since August 2005, We Feel Fine has been harvesting human feelings from a large number of weblogs. Every few minutes, the system searches the world's newly posted blog entries for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling". When it finds such a phrase, it records the full sentence, up to the period, and identifies the "feeling" expressed in that sentence (e.g. sad, happy, depressed, etc.). Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written. All of this information is saved."

We Feel Fine

According to the findings, Singapore is ranked as the saddest and 7th loneliest city in the world. Food for thought.

1209

2008-09-12T22:10:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Grace! (: (:

<3

spring pools

2008-09-07T22:56:00.003+08:00

These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.
The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods---
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that melted only yesterday.

-Robert Frost

deep and meaningless

2008-08-29T00:23:00.003+08:00

so prelims have started! (kinda)
one subject (2 papers) down, 4 more subjects and TEN more papers to go.. :/

GP was okay.
not fantastic, but i thought it could have been worse.

rest of the papers start in slightly more than a week's time!
ahhhh i need more time ):

so these few days have been spent mugging (as usual)
mugging with the class is never dull though so it's not that bad. (:

Uni apps are just around the corner too!
and US uni life sounds both exciting and intimidating at the same time..
most of us have started researching on unis and finding out the appropriate info.
i've pretty much decided on the US universities that i'll be applying to and there are alot of forms to fill up!
not to mention it's about $75 for a single application so that'll be quite a sum of money spent just on applications. :/
it'll be pretty cool if any of us in class end up in the same school!
and if we end up in different parts of US we'll be able to travel around and visit each other :D
i'm quite glad that i'm done with both SAT I and II now so it's just all the essays left, which i'll probably take a week off after prelims to do before focusing on the A's.
ahh busy busy.

teacher's day tomorrow!
pong xinlei yujia and i were reminiscing about RG during lunch today.
the 312/412 days brought back so many happy memories (:
especially all the funny april fool pranks we played on the teachers :D
i miss RG ):
hopefully there'll be people who want to go back with me after celebrations tmr! (:

If you call me today
I'll say that I'm fine
But I bet you can tell by the tone of my voice
It's just a lie
You knew what you had
You still walked away leaving me in this mess
My love for you is deep and meaningless
-Rooster

ahh love this song (:

great companion

2008-08-23T00:51:00.003+08:00

an update about what's been going on in school!
9pm sessions are productive and lots of fun :D
on tuesday we had dinner along the 5th floor corridor that joins block A and block B and we had a pretty nice view of the sunset.
plus we realised that with some imagination, the side of block A looks like the side of a huge ship.
and that was the day that the whole UN thing started as well hahaha!

no time to elaborate now but just some pictures of what we've been up to (:

(:

What we were I never knew nor did you
That's exactly what you hated
For three years you were confused
And for three years, my intentions left unstated

And our history will never be erased
You were a great companion
And some memories will never ever fade
So I love and so I hate
-Landon Pigg

wonderful world

2008-08-18T23:37:00.002+08:00

first 9pm of the week (:
mega mugging madness is really cool at least now we can order our dinners from j8 and have them delivered to school :D

today was really exciting!
while we were walking out of school, it started drizzling.
and even before we reached the traffic lights it started to rain rather heavily.
luckily the guys had umbrellas! so grace ler and i shared one while yy and jason squeezed under yy's small umbrella hehehe.
and there was quite alot of lightning!
grace and i were quite scared but it was still exciting :D :D
navigating the open pathway from S11 to j8 was also quite treacherous and the ground was flooded and full of puddles.
but we managed to reach J8 quite safely in the end!
it was quite an adventure :D

These are the kinds of memories that will stay with us for a long long time!(:
and we've got to treasure this week as a class because it's practically the last official week we'll have with each other ):
Next week's the start of prelims, with GP on Wed and the various H3 exams..
so Monday's the only day with lessons.
and then after the Sept hols it'll be prelims.
and after prelims, it'll soon be official study break before As. ):

Time flies like the wind. ~~fruit flies like a banana~~

Sometimes I feel so full of love
It just comes spilling out
It's uncomfortable to see
I give it away so easily
But if I had someone I would do anything
I'd never, never, ever let you feel alone
I won't I won't leave you, on your own
-James Morrison

how to be a michael phelps

2008-08-17T21:37:00.003+08:00

My personalDNA Report

pretty cool and probably one of them more in-depth and accurate personality tests i've taken i think.
ha.

anyway, for those aspiring to be like Michael Phelps, here's one way to start:

For breakfast, consume: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

wow. o.o

and David Archuleta has a new single! (:(:

9pm

2008-08-15T22:48:00.003+08:00

today was an awesome possum day!
not because anything exciting happened, but because it was such a wonderfully productive day. heh.

9pm mugging sessions are wonderful the view of the sunset from the library is really pretty and at night everything just seems so peaceful and nice (:
from the library, all the little car headlights and traffic lights and lights from the surrounding buildings look really bright and twinkly in the darkness. (:

i don't think i've ever done so much work in one sitting before.
accomplishment!
more 9pm-s next week please!(:

and yay we can order proper dinners next week. :D

edit
what is it about the night that intensifies feelings and emotions?

somehow as the harsh afternoon light softens and darkness falls, it blankets out the heat and noise and raucousness of day.
all the daytime distractions are removed; There are no longer any hassles and hurries, nothing to complete, no more mindless chatter and laughter, and all that's left is you, yourself and your thoughts.

i'm not being emo or anything, just a thought that struck me after a conversation.

tonight was the night that was weird and magical.
/edit

love remains the same

2008-08-13T20:58:00.004+08:00

recently i've been getting comments that my hair's curly..

i think even the stress is getting to it. )<

time's so tight nowadays that even lessons feel like a waste of time!
(esp. revision lectures)
they should just give us many many free blocks for self study :(

andandand PORTFOLIO.
grrrrr.

A thousand times I've seen you standing
Gravity like lunar landing
You make me wanna run till I find you
I shut the world away from here
I drift to you, you're all I hear
As everything we know fades to black

Half the time the world is ending
Truth is I am done pretending
-Gavin Rossdale

jason lezak

2008-08-11T21:16:00.000+08:00

Man of the moment!
and the most exciting race ever (:

the girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

2008-08-09T21:56:00.001+08:00

taken from karen's blog (:

this was in 1992.
what have we done since then?

.

2008-08-08T19:01:00.000+08:00

no, now is not the time for distractions.

can't let go

2008-08-07T23:08:00.006+08:00

a wrapup of this week:

tuesday was yy's birthday (:
and it was a mini reunion for all our class pets :p

haha hope you had a great birthday yy!
we went to swensens after school to celebrate and found out that philbert can tie a cherry stem knot with his tongue! :O
hahaha.

today was a wonderfully slack day!
Mrs v had something on during gp, and we were following wednesday's timetable.
so we technically had 1.5 blocks free :p
and after school we were free till national day celebrations started!
so we watched ihc basketball
it was really cool!
the guys were really good and the final between MT and BW was really exciting (:(:
pong and i have a new idol now hehehe.
and HH won for the girls (:

walked around after that.
got a rush of adrenaline when i was suddenly asked to run for inter-CCA relay, the kind you get before a race that gets you all pumped up!
alas, because of bad weather they cancelled the last few track events ):

national day celebrations were held in the hall instead because of the rain ):
all that money wasted on the stage..
anw, celebrations were okay.
the funniest part has got to be when yujun got picked to go up on stage for our own version of the "don't forget the lyrics" game show. :p
and he was really lousy he didn't know how to sing the song hehe.

and they threw light sticks around!
super cool (:
plus they had the huge inflatable beach balls like the huge inflatable shapes they had when we were in p5 and went for the ndp preview. (:
so basically everyone was just whacking them around!
and we had this brilliant idea to grab the ball(s) when they came!
so for a period of time we were holding on to like 3 of them, and cause there was so little space (the entire school was packed into the mph), we were all squashed by the balls!
it was hilarious(:

andandand community singing was fun (:
chara prissyfu pong and i were super enthu and kept jumping up and down (:
and the post-celebrations euphoria lasted while we were walking to the lockers ahhaha
pong graceler cassie karen and i were holding hands belting out national day songs at the top of our voices!
and while singing home we walked past the busbay where the elsie's kitchen caterers were clearing up and keeping everything, and they applauded us!
it was really embarassing but really funny! :D:D

the class went to subway for supper and we were singing random old westlife/bsb songs while walking to j8.
hahaha.

i love my class!
now would be the perfect time to stop the clock forever and ever(:
and i guess most of the 3H-ers will be feeling the same way.
it's so ironic that the last few months we have left with each other are the most precious, yet it's precisely these few months that we have to mug like crazy..
being in the RP makes this separation worse cause we've never had to go through it before.
in sec4 it didn't matter that much because we were all going to RJ anyway.
but this time it's really different.
after this year, we'll all be embarking on our separate journeys ):
i was feeling pretty good thanks to the celebrations, but jason just had to remind me about this and youkai's emo blog post kind of dampened my spirits too ):

ah well.
nothing lasts forever so i think what's important is that we treasure every minute we have left with each other (:

Well you're the closest thing I have
To bring up in a conversation
About a love that didn't last
But I could never call you mine
Cause I could never call myself yours
-Landon Pigg

on my way here

2008-08-01T22:45:00.004+08:00

wednesday was milk day! (:
(and aloe vera gel day but that's private so i shan't say anything heehee ;) )
anw, mrs v brought cool straws to class because 7-11 gave her a huge bag of free samples!
the kind which adds flavour when you use it to drink your milk(:

well obviously we all couldn't wait to use it so immediately after gp was over yujun and philby went to 7-11 to buy lots of milk!
28 packets to be exact. haha.
and cause wednesday is no break day (which sucks) we distributed the milk during math lecture, and got spotted by the lecturer who asked us why in the world we were distributing HL milk during lecture since we were not supposed to be eating/drinking hahaha.
and cause we bought so much milk the people at 7-11 gave us more free straws!(:(:
one of the reasons i love 3H so much is because you never know what's going to happen!
and it's because of that that i actually look forward to going to school everyday(:

and today was badminton day!
fridays might become 3H's official badminton day (:
what better way to destress after a whole week of mugging?
so 10 of us trooped down to bishan sports hall for an hour of badminton, which is much too short!
but it was fun while it lasted (:
then to j8 for yami yoghurt to cool off(:
looking forward to more badminton days! ha (:

this post is punctuated with lots of (: not because i'm feeling particularly happy, but because these will be all that's left - happy memories to look back on, in the future. in fact, i'm feeling pretty pensieve right now and i've decided to record down as many of these happy memories as possible. it's a little bit late considering there's only about 1 month+ of formal school lessons left, which means less fun with 3H. ): but better late than never right?

i'm not really looking forward to life after jc..
it seemed like just yesterday when we got informed of our classes during orientation and i felt devastated that no one in my og would be in my class,
i remember being in the huge swarm of people moving from the hall to blocks A and B to meet their classes for the first time,
i remember being like everybody else, anxiously calling up old classmates to find out which classes everyone had been allocated to,
i remember scanning the namelists on the boards at the bus bay looking for a familiar person who would also be in '08S03H'
i remember the relief at finding out that pong chara and xinlei would also be in that class with me(:
i remember complaining about the orientation system and wishing that my OGmates could be my classmates after spending time with the class and deciding that i really didn't like it (haha)
i remember actually thinking about changing classes..

yet 19 months down the road, so much has changed!
i can't properly put down into words what happened and how..
but somehow somewhere along the way, during those 19 months, subtle changes were occuring all the while that led us to grow so much closer as a class.
i can't even remember the number of times when other people (who know people in our class) have asked us, "wah another class outing?" everytime they see a huge bunch of us troop down to j8 for our random class lunches and stuff.
and hearing that always gives me a little burst of happiness and pride(:
not to mention that there're people who're actually jealous of our class (:

that's why right now, the thought of jc life ending so soon is pretty depressing ):
i'm not sure how i'll feel about this class pride and love for my class thing many years down the road when i read all these old posts.
maybe by then, i'll have become cynical and jaded and all these emo-ness about leaving the class will just be really amusing and childish.
maybe by then, we'll all have drifted and started leading our own lives, eventually becoming unreachable and uncontactable.
maybe in 10 years time, all these memories won't even matter to me and i'll have forgotten the names of most of my classmates.

But all i know is that right now, in this very moment, the thought that there ~~is an extremely high possibility of not ever having~~ will never be a class like 3H again is making me feel quite lousy. ):

i guess it isn't for fun that people keep telling us to treasure our 2 years in JC, because by the time you realise that, everything will all soon be over..

On my way here
Where I am now
I’ve learned to fly
I have to want to leave the ground
-Ryan Tedder (of OneRepublic)

easier to be

2008-07-27T22:03:00.006+08:00

i baked apple/pear pie today!

it was a spur of the moment thing and it actually turned out looking (and tasting) pretty nice so i decided to take some pictures of it :D
(pardon the lousy quality phone camera)

anw, here's the recipe for anyone who wants to try their hand at it!
it's actually pretty easy, and i based most of it off what i could remember from watching jamie oliver on his show. so it's probably a little modified.

Pastry:
500g flour
250g butter
2 eggs
handful of sugar
splash of milk

Filling:
fruit of choice
ground cinnamon
icing sugar

1. mix flour and sugar (you can alter the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you want the dough to turn out) and rub in butter till everything is crumbly.
(Make sure your butter isn't all melty and runny or the texture won't turn out well. But then again this isn't crumble so it's okay if it doesn't turn out exactly right (: )

2. beat the eggs lightly and add to dry ingredients. (leave just a teeny bit behind for the eggwash later on)

3. add enough milk and lightly mix to make the dough come together (don't add too much or it'll be too runny).

4. Divide the dough roughly into half and put one half away (for the top). Flour the countertop and roll out the other half till it's the right thickness (estimate).

5. Place the sheet of dough carefully onto a pie dish (or something that looks decent enough to be a pie dish and is oven proof) and press it down against the bottom and the sides. Leave a little bit of excess to hang over the sides of the dish and tear the rest of the dough off.

6. Chop your fruits up into chunks (not too small!). This is an apple pie recipe but you can use most fruits i think. I used apple and pear and raisins cause i only had one apple left. But you can add blueberries/raspberries/almost anything you want if you think it won't taste weird.

7. Squeeze the juice of half an orange over your fruits and sprinkle some ground cinnamon and icing sugar on top (according to taste). Toss everything like you would toss a salad so all the chunks of fruit are equally coated in juice/cinnamon/sugar.

8. Pour your fruits into a pie dish and arrange them so that it's slightly heaped in the middle.

9. Roll out the rest of your dough for the top of the pie. Brush the edges of the pastry meant to be the bottom of your pie with the remaining egg and then cover everything with the second sheet of dough. Press the edges of both layers of dough together. (The dough will look lumpy in the middle cause of the fruit but that's alright.)

10. Poke some holes in the dough with a fork and brush the top layer of dough thinly with eggwash.

11. Pop it into the oven and bake for 40-50mins at 180 celsius.

You can serve it piping hot with ice cream (mmmm) or be like me and just eat it straight away if you can't wait! (:

on a side note, i shall stare at these pictures everyday to motivate me to mug mug mug (:

We speak in silence,
Words can't break
It feels like we are
Falling Awake
In a place and a time
Of our own
-Lifehouse

christian the lion

2008-07-27T15:34:00.001+08:00

this gave me goosebumps (: (:

the benefits of failure

2008-07-18T23:46:00.005+08:00

The long speech below is J.K. Rowling's commencement address at Harvard's graduation day 2008.
It is wonderfully, superbly and beautifully written!
and extremely thought-provoking.
so please read it if you have the time (:

"President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates.

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.
Thank you very much."

All the bolded phrases are my favourite (:
and the whole section on Amnesty International was extremely eye-opening and sad ):

i think this is one address which i will be reading and rereading many times in the future (:

mraz (:

2008-07-14T23:55:00.003+08:00

SINGFEST 2008

Mraz will be in town for Singfest! :D:D:D
and OneRepublic and Travis and Melee and so many other great bands/performers!
but tickets for Sunday cost $180 ):
(which, considering a usual concert alr costs >100bucks, is actually really worth it for so many bands at once!)

ahhh.
but there might be CIP on that day too.
which i really want to go for as well. ):
how.

ahhhhh but Mraz! live! :D :D :D

a dance 'round the memory tree

2008-07-13T23:05:00.004+08:00

for some reason, i find it comforting when it rains at night. (:
you can't see the dark clouds and the raindrops, but somehow the sound of the rain, the raindrops splattering against the windowpanes and the roof tiles, is oddly soothing.
the world outside my window feels like its been blanketed by a layer of coldness and calm.

this weekend has been rather unproductive, unfortunately.
i think i can call it a weekend of memories, just because so many memories were unearthed this weekend.
and all those memories keep bouncing around inside my head and refusing to settle down, which makes it very hard to concentrate on anything else. (except watching private practice hoho)
sometimes i wish we were able to choose which memories to hold on to and which to let go, because oftentimes, it seems the ones we hold dear melt away faster than snow on a sunny day and the ones we would rather forget seem etched eternally in our minds.

between this year and the last, so many many things have changed.
i've grown so much closer to 3H this year(yay for that (: ), but at the same time it feels like the distance between myself and the whole swimming fraternity is widening.
it's so strange how previously, when so much of my time was devoted to swimming, i never really felt like i was making sacrifices in terms of going out and a social life and stuff like that, yet now when i actually have time to spend with the class, time (and energy) to actually go for class outings, i feel like i'm making a sacrifice in terms of swimming.
What of, i can't really put into words, but the feeling does weigh down on me from time to time.
and sometimes i wonder how the retirees have done it.
how is it possible to cut yourself off completely from something which you have been involved in for so long?
maybe i tend to hold dearer the friendships i've forged with fellow swimmers, since i've known most of them alot longer than majority of my current classmates.
but whatever the case, i'm sure the bonds formed within the class will strengthen overtime too (:

hmm this was such a reflective post!
but i guess that's enough reflection for now, time to get to grips with reality and work on electrochem tutorial.
blah :/

oh and
hello yujun and jason! haha(:

Words we have said
Grew in my head
Coloured my thoughts
Sang me to bed

Lost memories
Grew into trees
Covered the doors
Swallowed the keys

Winters have come and gone, you know
Winters have come and gone, you know
But I'll meet you young and free
For a dance 'round the memory tree

Said I forgot
But I did not
Dreams we have had
Play in my head

Did we believe
The cry of the leaves?
Did we regret?
Would we forget?

Winters have come and gone, you know
Winters have come and gone, you know
But I'll meet you young and free
For a dance 'round the memory tree
-Oren Lavie

clean sweep

2008-07-09T23:23:00.002+08:00

today was the second and final day of my very last sch nationals.
darn. that makes me feel so old. :/

anw, it was still a brilliant year to end it all!
for the first time, we (RI/RG/RJ) managed to clinch all 6 division titles!
well done, Raffles! :D

combined celebration dinner at The Pines was bellyachingly full of laughs!
thanks to the J1, RI and RG excos for planning everything!
and Kristian (and Andrew, to some extent) for being such an entertaining emcee for the night. ha.

quite tired now, so it's time for bed!
i don't really feel like going back to school tmr ):

when you say nothing at all

2008-07-06T01:19:00.003+08:00

quick update about today!

tuition in the morning from 10-12 which wasn't anything special since we alr knew all the stuff that was covered.
and i wish k-lin was teaching us instead ):
her lessons are always really interesting!

anw, after tt pong philby jocelyn and i met yujun at united square for lunch.
philbert pong and i had to leave early so we left jocelyn and yujun alone to enjoy some private time haha!
met jason, grace and xinlei at orchard mrt and we made our way down to orchard hotel for the PSC thingy.
sat through MAS and PSC talks, then walked around the exhibition booths area.
nothing much i think, especially since it's practically the same as the RJ Scholarship day.
but even after today and the load of extra information, i'm still not sure what i want to do!

sometimes i wish i was the kind of person who knows absolutely what he/she wants to do later on in life, but alas, i'm still as indecisive as ever.

When i was young, i always wanted to be a doctor.
but the thing is, i have no idea why.
and unless i manage to do some soul searching and come up with a really good reason why i want to be a doctor, i'll still feel abit apprehensive going down that path because of the long years of study, the cost, and the fact that once you're in, there's no backing out.
studying to be a doctor is so specialised that if you decide later on in life that being a doctor is not for you, you might not really have the skills to pursue anything else unless you go back to studying.
and the whole finality of the situation is pretty daunting.

earlier on in secondary school, i decided that what i really wanted to become was a marine biologist and study dolphins and sea mammals and corals and marine life and such.
it was a pretty idealistic career because for some reason i feel an attraction towards marine creatures, not to mention my swimming background and such.

then as i grew older and became more pragmatic (and after doing some research online), i realised that such a job offers no stability because money is based on research grants and there is no steady income.
that might sound mercenary, but although money is not the most important factor to me, i guess i'm still pragmatic enough to realise that it is still quite significant.

other careers i considered included being a veterinarian of course.
but then i don't want to be yet another vet owning a private practice and competing with the numerous vet clinics already out there.
and i don't want to treat dogs and cats and dogs day after day and perform countless boring sterilisation surgeries (which is pretty much what they did when jason and i were at a clinic for an attachment).
if i become a vet, i want to treat wild animals, like in a zoo, or in a wildlife rehabilitation centre.
i would like to be out on the field in South Africa chasing lions/rhinos/elephants and darting them and giving them checkups and tagging them to help in conservation efforts. (yes i'm probably influenced by too much animal planet hoho)
but what are the chances of that happening?

and then recently, i found myself questioning my previously rock solid conviction that whatever i do when i grow up has to involve interacting directly with living things.
i.e. no economics, finance, business yadayada
but these areas of study are usually the pragmatic ones, and having a degree in one of them means you have a wide range of employment opportunities.

which means, of course, that since my range of choices has widened considerably, it's getting harder and harder to arrive at a conclusion.

sometimes i wonder whether my interest in a subject/area of study is due to my genuine passion for it, or whether it's only because i'm telling myself that that is what i should like.

confused?
well, i am too!

but it's time to sleep,
so good night!

(class BBQ at xinlei's house tmr! (:)

It's amazing
How you can speak
Right to my heart
Without saying a word,
You can light up the dark

-Ronan Keating

if it kills me

2008-06-30T20:21:00.003+08:00

stayover at Philby's house was pretty fun!

andddd Spain won Euro 2008! :D
unfortunately, the only goal of the match was scored during the short interval of time when i was at the washroom! ):
grrr..
I thought the Spanish team showed exceptional teamwork and coordination throughout the match and except for a few slip ups here and there, majority of their passes were superb!
plusplusplus Torres is so anazingly fast on his feet :O
haha.

school passed by in a blur today since we didn't really do anything majorly productive.
swim meeting after school and we collected our nice nike shirts!
red nike soccer jerseys actually, in really big men sizes with really small collars.
how weird.
but they still look nice so it's okay (:

ok, i'm definitely turning in early tonight.
so, goodnight!

Hello, tell me you know
Yeah, you figured me out
Something gave it away
And it would be such a beautiful moment
To see the look on your face
To know that I know that you know now

And baby that’s a case of my wishful thinking
You know nothing
Cause you and I
Why, we go carrying on for hours, on and
We get along much better
Than you and your boyfriend

Well all I really wanna do is love you
A kind much closer than friends use
But I still can’t say it after all we’ve been through
And all I really want from you is to feel me
As the feeling inside keeps building
And I will find a way to you if it kills me
If it kills me

Well how long, can I go on like this,
Wishing to kiss you,
Before I rightly explode?
This double life I lead isn’t healthy for me
In fact it makes me nervous
If I get caught I could be risking it all

Baby there’s a lot that I miss
In case I’m wrong

If I should be so bold
I’d ask you to hold my heart in your hand
Tell you from the start how I’ve longed to be your man
But I never said I would
I guess I’m gonna miss my chance again

All I really wanna do is love you
A kind much closer than friends use
But I still can’t say it after all we’ve been through
And all I really want from you is to feel me
As the feeling inside keeps building
And I will find a way to you if it kills me
If it kills me
If it kills me
It might kill me
-Jason Mrazzzz

and another awesome song by mraz (:

butterfly

2008-06-29T00:35:00.003+08:00

i just watched Lord Of the Rings (part 2) on channel 5, and even though i've watched all 3 parts probably about a gazillion times now, i'm not in the least bit (and probably never will be) tired of it.

i still get goosebumps at the exact same parts, and the same feelings of awe/sadness/happiness at the same parts.
it's a truly awesome movie, and i can say without a doubt that it is (and probably will always be) my favourite movie(s) of all time.

what can i say? J.R.R. Tolkien was a genius. :D

long day tmr!

trng in the morning, church and shopping with wt, then stayover at philbert's house at night!
exciting exciting!

okay i'd better sleep now,
goodnight! (:

Butterfly well you landed on my mind
Damn right you landed on my ear and then you crawled inside
And now i see you perfectly behind closed eyes
I want to fly with you and i don't want to lie to you
-Jason Mrazzzzz (:(:

i thought it was over

2008-06-27T02:56:00.002+08:00

my 301th post!

i love this post-exam feeling!
even though it's just CT2s, but i feel exceptionally liberated.
and i've been having stress-free deep sleeps at night complete with wonderfully sweet dreams!
(which explains my reluctance to wake up heh heh)
ahh. this is the life.

i've managed to catch 2 movies online so far, Sweeney Todd and Ice Age 2, which i've watched before but decided to watch again cause i really like it (:
Sweeney Todd was, mildly disturbing.
Not so much the gore (even though that was definitiely squirm-worthy), but just the whole setting and characterisation and everything, not to mention the really disturbing and tragic storyline, is enough to send that chill down your spine.
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (but esp. johnny depp heh) together are brilliant!

Anw, more post-exam activities.
Thursday was a really fun day. :D
After the bio paper ended, the class headed out but i had to stay back in sch to wait for trng to start.
luckily i met andrew (who was waiting for trng to start as well) and christel who was there for some DSA stuff so i didn't have to hang around alone.

Trng was fine, and after trng i went down to NYDC at wheelock to meet the class for dinner. (:
post-dinner was exceptionally hilarious!
in a nutshell: the Mr Men/Little Miss character-matching at borders, story-telling by Yujun and a warped version of The Price is Right complete with host Yujun and model 'Tiffany' Loh Yong Yao (who was a complete failure of a model HAHA)
our class is so quirky (i mean, which other class would attempt to play The Price is Right??) that it's impossible not to love it(: (:

came home, checked out my June SAT subject test scores, which were wayyyy better than i expected (: (:
watched Sweeney Todd, and then crashed till 1pm on Friday. haha.

sleepover at Philbert's house on Sunday!
our class is so happening! haha.
we're staying over at his house on Sunday and then trooping down to sch together on Monday since sch starts late. (:
and surprisingly, so far number of girls staying over >>> boys.
haha.

okay, that's about it.
think i shall go catch another movie now!

I'm in love with a fool
And you don't know what you've lost
It hurts from the bottom to the top
I thought it was over, but it's not.
-The Feeling

i'll stand by you

2008-06-23T23:04:00.004+08:00

(just to make myself feel better)

~~ECONS~~
~~MATH~~
~~CHEM~~
~~BIO~~

i really need a lamp on the right side of the table.

edit
i just realised this is my 300th post! (:
/edit

And when, when the night falls on you baby
you're feeling all alone
you won't be on your own,

I'll stand by you
-Carrie Underwood

ordinary world

2008-06-12T23:11:00.003+08:00

suddenly felt like blogging so here i am!

first things first,

Happy birthday Yujun! (:

today was quite a good day.
went for training in the morning and did dryland before getting into the pool
it's been AGES since i last had dryland trng and i can foresee tmr being a sore and achy day.
the swim set was okay though cause we missed the main set so it was mainly kicking.
which we seem to be doing alot of recently.
and which i absolutely hate cause i can't seem to move even though i'm kicking so hard my legs are about to drop off.
and it doesn't help that the RI pool doesn't have wavebreakers so the waves are ginormous.
oh well.

gave afternoon trng a miss cause we went to surprise the birthday boy at his house!
was supposed to meet the other 3H people at sengkang MRT at 2pm.
but when i reached, grace yy and jason were still getting yujun's present so i went to join them, and they managed to trick me with the fake bread! grrr. haha.
the shop assistant must have been really amused.
I was standing there wondering why action city started selling bread and staring at all the nicely packaged buns for a really long time not noticing that they were fake!
ahahaha.
but then of course we hatched our wonderful prank for the birthday boy. hehehe.

after getting yujun's present we made our way to his house.
youkai managed to lure yujun out by asking him whether he could come over to borrow some econs notes (when he was alr standing outside his door) and then when yujun answered the door, told him that he had cake for him which he left at the lift lobby.
(i can't believe yujun fell for tt! ahaha)
so anw, the rest of us were hiding behind some wall at the gross rubbish chute area and when the both of them walked past we jumped out and started singing happy birthday!
and yujun was a funny sight but i shan't embarass him by elaborating further.
(pictures can do all the talking anw hehe)

after we were all comfortably seated in yujun's living room we told him we didn't manage to get any cake and only had bread for him.
and we said that of course he had to eat it right away since it was his "birthday bread".
and so yujun, who i'm assuming was quite overwhelmed by the surprise (and who wasn't wearing his specs), agreed and started unwrapping the bread.
after a brief tussle with the plastic packaging (during which we were all super scared he would find out the bread was fake) he finally took the first bite!
which was the golden moment of course! ahahahaha!!
i think xl and grace have some pictures.
luckily he discovered it was fake before actually biting a whole chunk off so there was only a slight toothmark on the bread.
(which is supposed to be like a stressball)

and after that we presented him with his real cake (:

sat around looking through yujun's baby photos after that and heard interesting stories about his kindergarten love life. haha!
we wanted to watch kungfu panda but there were no suitable movie timings ):
so we made our way down to compass point to pass time.

that was about it!
feeling rather sleepy now and there's 4 hours of econs tuition tmr ): ):
so, goodnignt! Y

If time could find a way to turn around
I would walk along the stars, till I was back at your door
Every word, every word is spoken but without a sound
And I found out what my heart is for

Close your eyes and feel me hold you
Can you lead me through this ordinary world
Let the sky cry, restless rain to wash away the miles
Between us, 'cause without you it's just an ordinary world
-Katharine Mcphee

sleeping to dream

2008-06-11T01:27:00.006+08:00

I'm dreaming of sleeping next to you
I'm feeling like a lost little boy in a brand new town.
I'm counting my sheep and each one that passes is another dream to ashes
and they all fall down.
And as I lay me down tonight,
I close my eyes, what a beautiful sight.

Sleeping to dream about you
and I'm so tired.
Of having to live without you
But I don't mind.

Sleeping to dream about you and I'm so tired.
-Jason Mraz

yay love mrazzzzzzzzz (: (:

tree hugger

2008-06-09T00:47:00.002+08:00

hahahaha i could watch this video over and over again!

The flower said, "I wish I was a tree,"
The tree said, "I wish I could be
A different kind of tree",
The cat wished that it was a bee,
The turtle wished that it could fly
Really high into the sky,
Over rooftops and then dive
Deep into the sea.

And in the sea there is a fish,
A fish that has a secret wish,
A wish to be a big cactus
With a pink flower on it.
-Kimya Dawson

(i love this song it's really cute! (: )

A light on a hill

2008-06-08T01:41:00.002+08:00

end of the 2nd week of holidays!
SAT II's finally over (thank goodness).
it wasn't that bad, but studying 3 subjects (esp. bio, which has a very diff syllabus from what we learn in school) at once was pretty hectic.
now i can finally start getting down to studying properly for CT2s.

been gng to school almost daily the past 2 weeks to study with the class.(:
pretty productive i must say!
it certainly helps when everyone around you is mugging so there aren't many chances to get distracted and there's a tendency to take less breaks. (:

okay, time for bed!

(i baked jelly hearts again today (: )
(plus after finally watching Juno, i'm currently in love with the OST. thanks yy!)

That's no way to live
all tangled up like balls of string.
And we woke at dawn
and watched the sun glide over the hill.
-Margot & The Nuclear So and So's

dream

2008-05-31T00:08:00.004+08:00

have i mentioned that i reallyreallyreallyreally love grey's?
season 4 was awesome and the finale was both heartbreakingly sad and happy at the same time!
the last scene actually brought tears of joy to my eyes.
but i shan't say anymore cause i think this is alr a pretty big spoiler hehe.

can't wait for season 5!
i wish grey's would neverever end (:

Long walks in the dark
through woods grown behind the park,
I asked God who
I'm supposed to be.
The stars smiled down on me,
God answered in silent reverie.
I said a prayer and fell asleep.
-Priscilla Ahn

last day of term 2

2008-05-24T01:36:00.004+08:00

class outing today was super fun! (: (: (:
shall update more another time, but here're some pictures!
(our class' fave pasttimes are stoning and camwhoring haha)

(:

p.s. i realised that a number of class people read my blog! drop a tag if you visit, i won't bite! haha

longer

2008-05-21T23:45:00.008+08:00

alright, i haven't got down to changing my blog layout yet, but i decided to blog before my memories of last Friday start fading away.

Anyway, i HAVE to blog about last fri cause it was possibly the most exciting day of the year so far!
it was a rather productive day, since we(part of the class) essentially supported 2 events.
Netball finals (xinlei!) and co concert (jason!)

well, those who were present at the netball finals will understand what i mean when i say it was ___________!
i can't even think of a proper word to describe it cause it was sosososososo heartstopping-ly exciting!
from the second the whistle blew to signal the start of the first quarter, the tension just started building and building, even during the breaks after every quarter.
I must say the RJ netball team was the dark horse this time round, considering both RJ and ACJC's previous matches against HCI. (we beat HC by 2 points while AC beat them by a whopping 30+ points)
Still, the netball girls put up what i thought was a very good fight, and for most of the match, were trailing by a mere 3-4 points.

As the first quarter drew to a close, the teams were tied at 10-10 after our netball girls managed to close the 3-4 point gap during the last few minutes.
After the second quarter, we were trailing by about 8 points (if i rmb correctly)
But the girls put in a really good fight during the third quarter and caught up until only a 3 point gap remained at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Undeniably, the last quarter was the most exciting since the last 15mins were crucial in determining the outcome of the match.
For most of the last quarter, the 3 point gap remained since everytime we scored a point, the other team would score a point too.
But at the very last few minutes(the netball girls seem to have a knack for last minute comebacks), the team played extremely well i thought, and we miraculously managed to bounce back.
It was SO tense cause the clock had stopped by this time, signalling that the game had gone into the 1 minute overtime.
And it was only during this 1 minute overtime that the final, deciding point was scored.
I think it was clear to see that the netball girls and all the Raffles supporters were pretty delirious with joy when the final whistle blew, ending the game with a score of 51-50 to RJ.

Even though i was merely a passive observer, the surge of adrenaline and happiness i felt was really unbelivable.
I guess i really lack the experience of being on this side of the playing stage so to speak, since i very very rarely go for match supports.
but this is probably one of the reasons i felt such a strong surge of emotions since
going to many match supports would probably have dulled such feelings.
Anyway, what i must say is that i really admired the netball girls' fighting spirit throughout!
Never once leading throughout the entire game (except for the very first goal of the game which RJ scored) must have been terribly worrying and demoralising for the team, but i thought it was awesome how they managed to pull through at the very end, where the pressure to catch up would have been at its highest.
But i guess maintaining their cool and having that 'never say die' attitude was what led them to victory, and i must say that they really deserved it! (:
So, congrats to them! (: (because i know xinlei reads my blog hehe (: (: )

okay, that aside.

After mulling around toa payoh for awhile, yujun yy chara jocelyn weiming and i headed down to tanjong pagar to support jason (the CHAIR of CO)at his CO concert.
Admittedly we were dreading it since it was kind of an anticlimax after the heart-pumping excitement of the netball finals, but it turned out to be a pretty nice end to what had been an exciting but exhausting day.

As expected, a certain person fell asleep (nearly the entire 2nd half!) though he claimed to be Jason's loyal friend. haha!
and of course said person denied falling asleep even though i have incontrovertible proof in my phone since Chara very kindly took a photo hehehe.
Thought the concert was pretty good even though some parts sounded messy.
(but who am i to judge anyway cause i'm not an expert in co music haha)
the Pirate of the Caribbeans theme song was really enjoyable and sounded surprisingly good delievered with Chinese instruments (:
anyway, after the concert ended, we handed Jason the very nicely decorated sunflower we got for him and then we all headed off for home!

Overall, it was a really good day and it was the perfect start to a long weekend!
(:

oh btw,
David Archuleta's performance during the AI finals today was SUPERB!
like Simon said, it was so totally a knockout! :D
haha.
i apologise to David Cook fans, but to me, it's pretty clear who has the more superior voice quality and who is better able to captivate the audience through his singing.
But on his part, i think david cook made the wrong song choices, so he could definitely have done better.

Results tmr!
Can't wait!
:D

I'll bring fires in the winters
You'll send showers in the springs
Well fly through the falls and summers
With love on our wings
-Dan Fogelberg

edit
The song you're now hearing is the studio version of Longer sung by David Archuleta!
you've gotta love his voice (:
and below is the live version of In This Moment during the final performance. Additional evidence of his amazing voice! (: (:

In This Moment (Live) - David Archuleta

Now tell me, can david cook do that? >:)
/edit

no more H3 (:

2008-05-11T17:48:00.002+08:00

H3 is finally over!
the exam was last monday, but i didn't feel like blogging until now.

anyway, nothing much to talk about.
i feel like changing my blogskin.
hmmm.

live twice

2008-05-01T16:25:00.005+08:00

yesterday was a fruitful day!
had swim exco 08/09 elections!
congrats to our newly appointed captains Tze Kang and Mel and the rest of the exco elects! (:
rushed down to Novena for econs tuition after that with philbert and jocelyn.
met pong there, and after tuition we went for a semi-class dinner (with chara and yujun)!
yj originally cancelled it cause few people could make it but we had dinner in the end anyway. ha.
ate at Han's and had a fun time talking and bullying yujun by making him pronounce words on the menu like "sea bass" and "sirloin" and then laughing at his pronunciation. :pPp

and then we walked around velocity and i saw this beautiful purple Nike bottle!
ahahaha. awesome purple(:<<<<
it's like the one i already have, just that the body of the bottle is a nicer purple colour (: (:
maybe i should get it now as backup for the day when i lose my current bottle, which i'm very prone to doing. x)

anyway, today i realised (in the midst of mugging) that one of the simple joys in life is when you run out of correction tape and discover that you still have some new refills at home!
(realised that sounded super nerdy but wdv. haha)

nothing irks me more than not having correction tape when i need it!
seriously got to wean myself off using correction tape since it's not allowed for As. heh.

the H3 season is starting!
Prissyfu's module's final exam is tmr!
which is the earliest i think.
followed by NTU Molbio on Monday! (!!!)
and then all the subsequent external H3s!
(many many exclamation marks haha)

they should've made tmr a holiday as well ):<

3 more dayzzz!!
i don't know whether to feel happy or worried.

for now,
i'd better get back to accompanying my best friend of these few days, Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts Et Al (5th Edition).
ha!

Please forgive me
If I didn't say
I love you
Every single day
-Darius

(superduper nice song! thanks graceler(: )

the best you never had

2008-04-29T18:27:00.002+08:00

Because I told you, you would look to regret it,
and now I don't wanna make you feel bad,
But when it comes to me just forget it,
I'll be the best you never had

nice song (:

TAS aquathlon on Saturday!
was pretty fun (:

it was actually really hot, but sometime before the A div boys were due to start the thunder clouds started rolling in.
and boy, were the winds strong!
the waves became REALLY choppy and huge.
they delayed the flag off for awhile to wait for the waves to subside.
Eventually the boys started, but then the waves were so big that the safety crew were kept really busy towing people back on speedboats, especially cause it was so easy to go off-course.
So our wave, the C,B and A div individual and relay girls, got delayed too.
The wind died down a little but the waves were still really big!

But anyway, we were finally allowed to start, and the starting was terrible!
by far the worst start i've had even though i think the fuji xerox open water thing in 2006 and 2007 had more people at the start line.
i was standing right in front (everyone kept jostling to the front even BEFORE the A div guys left, until the starter had to ask us to back off o.o) but i guess i wasn't agressive enough at the start!
the girls behind were really rough!
everyone just flailed around indiscriminately and swam over people to get to the front o.o
and pulled on whatever they could get their hands on, be it arms, legs, costumes!
gosh.
i was really afraid my championchip would drop off cause some annoying person actually grabbed my championchip-ed ankle and took what felt like forever to let go. sheesh.
not to mention the masses behind were so overwhelming i was pushed down underwater cause people kept going over me! o.o

anyway, left most of the pack behind after a while.
But cause the waves were so huge (it was like riding a rollercoaster), it was hard to avoid the other swimmers, and i kept banging into people. oops.
fighting my way to one of the few in front pretty much took nearly the entire distance to the first buoy.
by the time we rounded the first buoy, i think there were about 3 of us in front - kat, rachel goh and me.
and swimming to the 2nd buoy, i kept banging into rachel goh (sorry!) cause the waves were really really big - one moment you think you're a comfortable distance from the lane rope and the next you're nearly under it.

rounding the 2nd buoy, i was leading by a little bit.
coming back was not nearly half as bad since we weren't fighting the currents that much anymore.
but i think the entire distance we swam was definitely more than 750m.
probably 800+m, considering how much the lane ropes were bent by the current.
so instead of swimming straight we were swimming semi-circular courses. heh.

finally reached the shore and ran past the swim check point in 13mins+.
first time transiting, but there weren't any major problems.
so off i went for the 5k run!
a couple of relay runners overtook me not long after i started running, so i kinda used Audrey (Kat's runner) as a marker for how fast i was running.
the start of the running leg was abit tiring, but it got better after that.
in fact, my returning 2.5km was alot faster.
but then again maybe the 5km wasn't really divided equally both ways cause the return route was straighter.

in retrospect, the running leg passed pretty quickly.
it only really started to hurt at the last stretch of the 5k.
when i stepped onto the red carpet leading to the finish line i remember thinking that it was still such a long way to the finish line.

but anyway, finally made it past the finish line in one piece, and it was a great feeling!
i'd probably do it again (:

anyway, RJ girls did really well!
we got 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th for indiv(:
and Kat and Audrey's team got 2nd for relay.
a pity we were short of one relay team or we would've won the team championship ):

ah well.
it was good fun(:

You put me through so many emotions,
Now baby it's your turn for that,
'cause in your empty heart I have left a mark,
The best you never had.
-Leona Lewis

think of me

2008-04-24T22:57:00.004+08:00

watch this:

and then watch this:

sorry for turning this blog into somthing resembling a david A fansite, but i'm so amazed every single time i just have to share it with people :D
haha. i loved the way his pitch perfect voice made it so soulful and, in my opinion, even more beautiful and breathtaking than the original.
(even if he did mess up the lyrics a little in the middle.heheh)

anyway, AI aside,
cross finals were yesterday.
The guys did really well and managed to clinch the gold! (:
the girls got third, which i thought was really good too! (:

I know the girls are very very disappointed that we didn't get the gold and i feel slightly guilty that i don't really share their disappointment, probably because i haven't spent enough time with the team/trained as hard(in terms of running).

But frankly speaking, i thought all that matters was that everyone did their best!
and putting in their all despite the various injuries that they were nursing was really really brave. (:
besides, having all 6 runners come in top 20 is no easy feat(:

2 Timothy 4:7 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

so no matter what position we got in the end, i really feel that the runners should be proud of themselves for giving it their best shot, and we should be proud of them for fighting so hard. (:

Think of all the things
we've shared and seen -
don't think about the things
which might have been.

Think of me,
think of me waking,
silent and resigned.

Imagine me,
trying too hard
to put you from my mind.

Recall those days
look back
on all those times,
think of the things
we'll never do -

There will never be a day,
when I
won't think of you.
-composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber

when you believe

2008-04-20T23:58:00.003+08:00

o.o
talk about vocal acrobatics!

He sung it so movingly.
This is definitely one of my favourite songs.
It has such a hauntingly beautiful melody and really great lyrics.
i still remember watching Prince of Egypt for the first time in the cinema.
i thought it was a great movie (still do in fact), and the song was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the show. (:

Yet now I'm standing here
My heart's so full I can't explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe
-Mariah Carey

never leave your heart alone

2008-04-19T16:27:00.003+08:00

23rd April - Cross Nationals
26th April - TAS Inter-school Aquathlon
5th May - H3 EXAM (!!!)

It's the last stretch for H3!
and after we're done we can laugh at the MOE H3 people hahahaha!
just kidding :p

During H3 on Friday Dr Yu gave us a "pre-exam briefing"
it was WONDERFUL
his ppt consisted of one slide each for each past lecture we had.
and on each slide was a wonderful array of ticks and crosses! (more crosses than ticks for most of them thank goodness)
all the crosses were for stuff we didn't need to study :D :D
so, with all those crosses, the stuff that we actually need to study has decreased by a rather substantial amount. :p
not to mention many of the crosses were for topics that left us going ????
yay. (:

training is sososososososo tiring now o.o
not in a John's set kind of tiring.
in fact, during the set this morning i distinctly rmb wishing it was still John in charge.
for John's set, the limiting factor was always how much your heart could take.
for Jack's set, because of the STUPID SHIRT AND DRAGS, the limiting factor (for me at least) is how much your arms can take.
seriously.

take today's 12x150 for example.
it was on 3.30 each which = sprint set not a making time set.
but unfortunately i could only plod along slowly cause by 75m my arms would stubbornly refuse to move.
i think my stroke rate decreased approximately 50% over each entire 150m. haha.
and it wasn't even aerobically-challenging (same goes for the 18x200 PULLING), only my arms felt like they were working.

i seriously need to:
1)increase my arm strength!
2)get proper drags!
using the COE one's like condemning yourself to die a horrible death. even with the pockets folded in, they still come out the reverse side so it's still very draggy.
but i'm not really sure how much of the drag is attributed to the shirt (esp. the 'parachute' which forms where the shirt covers the hole on the back of the costume) and how much is attributed to the drags. I'm just hoping getting a proper/lighter pair of drags will help.

other than that, i think dryland's quite fun :D

The moral to the story goes
Never leave your heart
In a box
Locked up with cold cold ice
Never leave your heart,
Never leave your heart,

Never leave your heart alone
-Butterfly Boucher

Not Alone

2008-04-14T22:29:00.004+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUSSELL/PARKER/SHEENA!
(:

3 in a day! haha. (:

Mr Tay gave us our x running vests/FBTs today.
it's a little big though so i might change to a smaller size tmr.

walking to the bus stop today was really funny :D
yujun(suddenly and very randomly), "eh. who's taking pictures of us!"
when the 5 of us were in RI walking toward the bus stop cause there was this very quick flash.
doesn't sound very funny here but it's just yujun and his yujun way of saying it. haha!

i wonder when jason found the extra load of stones in his bag!
hahaha (:

i think i'll totally miss RJ after the A's are over ):

Things i need to do:
- reschedule wed's tuition
- make a new student's EZlink card (!!!)
- pay finance office $60 for H3
- register for June's SATS
- tell J1s swim exco interview has been postponed
- ice shins EVERYDAY

And I, I get on the train on my own
Yeah, My tired radio keeps playin' tired songs
And I know thats there's not long to go, ohA
nd all i wanna do is just go home

'Coz I'm not alone (no, no, no)
But I'm not alone (no, no, no)
-McFly

speedtest

2008-04-13T17:42:00.001+08:00

93 words

Speedtest

hoho.
not bad! :D

close to you

2008-04-13T00:33:00.003+08:00

another x competition today!
organised by Swift, same 3.2k route as last week.
I don't really know what the difference between today's and last Sat's race was, but i'm just thankful that my shins didn't hurt very badly after last week's race(:
being able to race twice in a week is a HUGE accomplishment, i hope my shins don't give in now ! (:
i can't seem to find my Voltaren cream, all i found was the cap sitting on the table. so my tube of cream's just lying open somewhere, but i've searched all the possible places i could have left it and i just can't find it! ><
so i have to rely on my old Fastum gel but i don't think it's as good as Voltaren.
Maybe it's thanks to Voltaren that my shin didn't hurt after last week's race (:

anw, i was praying that it wouldn't rain today, but it did!
quite heavily in fact.
thank goodness it stopped before the race.
but the route was even wetter and muddier than last week!
all the puddles everywhere.
Strangely though, i didn't find the downslopes as slippery, maybe because i was bracing myself for them.
or maybe all the rain caused the leaf litter to spread out over the ground so there was slightly more traction.
starting was slightly slower than last week cause i was stuck in the middle and people were pushing and pushing ><
but i think my timing in the end was around the same.
position too i think. around 16th maybe?
RJ team 1 got 2nd for Women's U20 yay (:

my shoes were practically unrecognisable by the end of the race.
they went from still relatively new and white to splattered with mud ):
but there was something fun about deliberately running through the squishy mud and puddles and sending mud/water splashing everywhere (apologies to the person/people running behind me! haha)
came home and immediately went to wash my shoes before the mud sank in too deep.

anw, dou niu yao bu yao's showing on starhub channel 56 every saturday! :D
found it while browsing this evening.
i've finished the series, but it was nice watching it again (:
Mike He is total eye candyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy (:(:(:(:

found this on karen's blog
Cat culling in china

terrible terrible terrible. ):<

And even if the day turns into night
I will love you by candlelight
And even if he water starts to run over
I'll be there to put you on my shoulder
And if it's hard for you to get to sleep
I will sing you a melody,
I wanna feel this way
Till the end of time, cause I pray one day
That you will be mine
-Avant

in this life

2008-04-09T23:20:00.006+08:00

had donut factory donuts today (: (: (:

"People can't understand why a man runs. They don't see any sport in it. Argue it lacks the sight and the thrill of body contact. Yet, the conflict is there, more raw and challenging than any man versus man competition.

For in running it is man against himself, the cruelest of all opponents. His adversary lies within him, in his ability, with brain and heart to master himself, his emotions and his pain."
-Glenn Cunningham

isn't that so true for swimming as well?

Thanks Yufang for the little booklet of "Why run" quotes (:
This one's my favourite (:

14 days to x nationals.

Three steps fight an honest fight
Two hearts that can start a fire
One love is all I need
In this life
-Delta Goodrem

quiz

2008-04-08T23:46:00.002+08:00

Social Life at Hogwarts

Lots of people like you, very few don't. You are nice, understanding, and don't judge people until you know them. You treat everyone fairly and make friends with practically everyone. You are very smart and cunning. You love to laugh. You have many admirers, but don't take notice.

Harry: He is in love with you, but doesn't know what to do. He's not sure if he should ask you out. He gets jealous very easily and doesn't understand how you can be nice to the Slytherins, specifically Malfoy. He wants to be the man of your dreams and hopes that you like him more than a friend.

Ron: Loves you as a friend and nothing more. He thanks you profusely for getting him and Hermione together and like Harry, he doesn't understand how you can be so nice to everyone.

Hermione: She thinks of you as her best gal pal and thanks you for getting her and Ron together. She's glad that you take your studies seriously and thinks you are great. She knows you treat people equally and respects your decisions.

Ginny: She doesn't like you because Harry loves you. She thinks you are great, but is really jealous of you. You two have grown distant, but you have hardly noticed with all the friends you have. Maybe one day you two will be friends again?

Neville: Has a little crush on you because you are the one who helps him with his schoolwork.

Fred and George: They think you are the best person in the world. You always come up with great pranks and laugh at their jokes. They love you and hope that you will always be there for a good prank.

Oliver Wood: Had a crush on you, but the age difference didn't work out right. He knows that you only love him as a friend and accepts it. He still has a crush on you, but has moved on. And that's okay with you.

Cedric Diggory: He thinks you're a good person who cares about everyone. You were the one who introduced him to Cho. He's glad you did and left this world with you as one of him close friends.

Cho Chang: She is your actual bestfriend and thanks you for getting her and Cedric together. You are always there for her when she's crying about missing Cedric, and she appreciates it. You two are like sisters and she's grateful that you're her friend.

Lavender Brown: Thinks you are really nice, but doesn't like you because everyone likes you.

Draco Malfoy: He is also in love with you, like Potter. Him and Harry often fight for your affections. Is easily jealous, like Harry, and cares about you very much. He hopes that in the end you and him will be together. You are the only girl he loves and hopes you feel the same. He constantly worries about your safety and would give up everything for you.

Pansy: Hates you. Enough said.

Crabbe and Goyle: Have little crushes on you, but know that Draco would pummel them.

Dumbledore: Thinks you are a great person. Wishes you luck on choosing between Harry and Draco. He knows that you'll be a very good skilled witch in the future.

McGonagall: Also thinks you are a great student who has amazing skills, but worries that it might be very stressful to be as hardworking as you.

Hagrid: You are his favorite girl student because you didn't give up his class and always help him with the creatures. The creatures in the forbidden forest love you too. Odd huh?

Snape: He thinks you are an excellent student, doesn't like or dislike you. He knows you'd end up being a great witch.

Voldemort: Wants you to join him and hopes that you will end up with Malfoy. If you pick Harry, he plans to kill you instead of recruiting you.

Reputation: Girl who likes Draco and Harry.

hahaha. funny.

H3H3H3

2008-04-07T23:36:00.001+08:00

less than a month till we'll be free from the shackles of H3 forever and ever!
hahahahaha.

but for now, i really feel like strangling the guy who discovered aspirin. or acetylsalicylic acid, as i've come to learn.
RARGH.

D:<

No Air

2008-04-06T22:50:00.006+08:00

The past week was rather eventful.

Tuesday, 1 April
School declared holiday because of the A lvl results.
Went for physio in the morning and saw a few people there. There was class outing after that so i walked over to kallang leisure park from sports council to wait for the class.
In the end only a few people came. Philbert, yonghao, jason, jieshi and karen who joined us later.
Ate a quick lunch then we went iceskating!
It was wonderful cause it was a weekday during school hours so the skating ring was nice and empty. (:
After our 2 hours were up i had to go off and they decided not to wait for yujun and the rest so we all left.
Went for 4.30pm training after that and trained with the COE guys. (:
yay! i missed training with them (:
tried out the new snorkel and zoomers too.
That was pretty much it.

Wednesday, 2 April
John's departure date ):
reached T3 at 7.15 in the morning and after most of us were there, we headed for Macs for breakfast.
i think the arrival hall in T2's nicer though, the one in T3 seems really enclosed and small and dim, probably something to do with the low ceiling.
sat around the coffee place after that while John and the parents and the swimmers chit chatted for awhile.
Tze Kang's dad helped us get drinks too cause he's a SIA pilot and he had a cool tag and everything so he probably has some privileges :D
Then it was time for John to check in.
We knew John was tearing alot even though he was trying his best not to let us see. heh.
and most of us teared too.
it was a sad day ):
Got back Math today too. Not a very good A but at least still an A.
lots of careless mistakes ):<

Thursday, 3 April
Went for the medicine talk after school.
Before we headed to the library to do some work while waiting for the talk to begin, Prissyfu and i went to 7-11 to get some sweets.
Then after we reached the library i realised i left my sweets at the counter so we had to go all the way down to get them again. oops. haha.
and the worst thing was we decided to take the stairs after waiting really long for the lift, but when we reached the 4th floor we realised the lift arrived just after we headed for the stairs.

Medicine talk turned out to be pretty interesting and informative.
The speaker was really witty and spoke from experience so it was quite useful.
I'm not sure i want to do Medicine though, with all the sacrifices like graduating at 30 if you want to be a specialist, not having proper weekends, irregular working hours and all.
Even if i do decide to take Medicine i think i'd choose going overseas to Aussie/UK over NUS medicine, like the speaker recommended.
The experience will probably be quite valuable.

Friday, 4 April
Nth much today except for H3.
Went to Food Junction for lunch.
it was newly opened i think and there were orange lights everywhere, rather pretty (:

after lunch we went to the sony shop where the guitar hero thingy was!
basically the game there's free for anyone to play and there's a camera filming you so anyone walking past below can see you playing.
there weren't many people so we decided to play!
(i think we terrorised 2 RI boys who were waiting their turn though so in the end they just left heh heh)
it was quite fun and Paul was really pro!
haha. too bad the music was really soft so we couldn't really hear the songs properly.
and Paul set a new high score! ha. (:

Saturday, 5 April
Yesterday was quite a busy day.
NTU in the morning till noon.
Then back home for lunch and a quick rest before heading to Macritchie.
Reached there around 3pm to get ready for the Akira/Swift Cross Country National Championships (or something like that).
Did some warm ups and stuff before the Women's Open flag off at 4.30pm.
it was threatening to rain before our run and the sky was really dark and sure enough it started to rain while we were running inside the forest.
But it was pretty fun!
Except the route was as slippery as i remember it (haven't ran that route in a long while), especially going downslope, where i literally had to half walk half stumble down.
and everytime there's a downslope about 10 people would overtake me. urgh.
i have to get over my fear of slipping and falling, but i really don't know how people can just charge down the slope like there's nothing wrong. :/

was super relieved when i reached the road, felt like i could finally stretch my legs and run properly, so i started to pick up speed.
overtook a couple of people and managed to catch up with Prissyfu!
Was running with her from then on till the end where somehow some magical energy reserves allowed me to sprint ahead by a teeny bit.
Not sure about my final position though, except it's in the top 20.
well done Tiffany Cai Sang and Clarisse for making the top 10! (:
and RJ team 1 managed to get 3rd for Women's Open (:

reached home, showered then went to TP for dinner before meeting Wanting at Orchard at around 8pm to do some shopping. (yes i know, my poor legs. shopping after racing!)
it was efficient shopping cause wt had to leave at 9.30 but we both got what we wanted in the end! (:

Sunday, 6 April
Did some work today, lazed around and watched part of the March of the Emperor Penguins.
It's an absolutely brilliant film!
But it made me really really sad though, watching the penguins endure so much.
I know that's really silly and i'm just being irrationally emotional cause the penguins probably accept it as a fact of life so it's not really all as dramatic as the narration and music make it out to be.

Still, it was sad to see the footage of the lone penguin who was lost and wandering all alone cause he didn't manage to keep up during the migration.
He was so so small in the vast antarctic and was calling and calling as if expecting a response but there wasn't any and somehow that scene just made me really really sad!
Imagine being all alone like that facing certain death from the cold. ):
It made me wonder whether for the penguin, death from the cold would be a welcome release from the loneliness in the end.
It's times like this when i think the golden rule of filming nature documentaries is very hard to abide by. That you should never interfere even if the animal is suffering or dying or being eaten up. ):
There were a couple other moving scenes too but i'm too lazy to elaborate.

Anyway, went for the SSA Awards Dinner at Shangri-La in the evening.
The girls all dressed up and everyone looked really pretty (:
Food wasn't bad and there was sushi! (:
Congrats to all those people who got awards! (:
Plus Leonard's band, the Black Friars (which Ting keeps calling the Black Nuns. haha) performed so we stayed till the end of their performance before leaving.
That pretty much summed it up!

So now i'm back home typing this out and i'm really quite tired so i think i'll turn in soon(:
Thank goodness school starts at 9.30 tmr (:

I'm here, alone, didn't want to leave.
My heart won't move, it's incomplete.
Wish there was a way
That I can make you understand

But how, do you expect me,
To live alone with just me?
'Cause my world revolves around you,
It's so hard for me to breathe.
-Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown

(for some reason i really like this song!)

april fool's

2008-04-01T22:20:00.003+08:00

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
chanty's guna give out all the papers during civics tml

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
chris just told me

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
huh!

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
all the papers?

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
as in bio?

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
yes zzz

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
no

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
like last year promos

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
last yr promos?

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
aren't our papers with us?

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
i thought cts

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
haha

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
??

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
he's giving back CT papers zzzz

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
as in giving out all at once

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
like when they gave out promos last year

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
ohhh

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
huh .

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
but i won't be around

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
you sure?

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
oo

on broken glass some things aren't made to last says:
but why would they do that?

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
sending ur coach off rite

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
cuz it's

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
HAPPY APRIL FOOLS

Jason 재선 ジェィソン says:
LOL

hahaha stupid jason. -.-

With You

2008-03-31T21:25:00.002+08:00

I had a bad dream last night.

It's the kind that sounds overly melodramatic when you try to recount it after you're awake, but it's also the kind that leaves you with this shroud of sadness hanging over you and it's the kind of sadness that's so deep and profound that you feel like something's weighing very heavily on your heart. and you feel absolutely crappy in general when you wake up.

It's these kind of dreams that i wish would dissipate fast and evaporate from my mind, yet it seems that these kind of dreams are the ones that remain the most vivid.

Whenever i have happy dreams, the kind of emotions i had in the dream slip away when i wake up as fast as water trickles through the fingers, even though i desperately try to hold on to it to try and feel again how i felt in the dream. Yet whenever i have these kind of really really sad dreams, the sadness just seems so magnified, and try as i might, i can never really pinpoint the root of all the sadness.

It's pretty obvious where my dream drew parallels from in reality, and i guess my only consolation is that reality will never be as bad as the dream.

what a rambling, disheveled post.
i pretty much typed whatever came to my mind, but i guess it's really hard to understand how it really felt unless you've experienced it before.
ha.

anw, it's April Fool's day tmr!
No school!
and there's class outing to Kallang!
Iceskating? (:
yay 3H (or as Ms Lim would put it, 3(tree)Huggers! haha) rocks! (:

And now I know I can't be the only one
I bet there's hearts all over the world tonight
With the love of their life who feel
What I feel when I'm with you
-Chris Brown

The rest of my life

2008-03-28T23:33:00.003+08:00

quite alot of things have happened since i last blogged, but i don't really feel like typing them down cause it's too tiring.
but here's sth significant i did!

i went on the singapore flyer as part of the team singapore outing.
well, what i can say is i'm glad i managed to ride it for free!
i think i would have been quite disappointed if i had paid 30 bucks for that half an hour long ride which wasn't very interesting.
after looking at the view from the top few floors of Taiwan 101, the singapore flyer doesn't seem like a big deal anymore. ha.
might post some pictures up the next time.

Jiaolian's leaving early tmr morn,
and john's leaving next week.
2 of the few coaches whom i have to thank for everything that i have achieved with regards to swimming thus far (and maybe in the future)
it will be sad to see them go ): but as every chapter comes to a close, a new one begins.
and as a door shuts, many more will be opened.
the question is, which one will i choose to go through?

this is especially important to me as their leaving comes at a time when i'm just floating along (pun unintended) unsure of where i want to head/what i want to achieve in terms of swimming and it feels so different not to have any goals.

I watched Stephanie Rice's amazing 200IM and 400IM world record swims and a part of me yearned for the pool, for competing seriously again. Obviously, i'll never know what it's like to be a world record holder, but i realised that i sorely miss the feeling of touching the wall and knowing you've done a great pb, and i would dearly like to have that back.

A part of me wonders whether this is the end of the road for me, whether i've reached my maximum and will never breach this stagnation barrier, or whether i'll even be able to prevent my times from spiralling downwards any further. but i know that hard work and changes in terms of training will definitely be beneficial in helping to overcome this.

Not to mention, i've had a really really long rest mentally, since i haven't been subjected to training stress for a really long time and i think my motivation levels have picked up sufficiently enough for me to give it another shot, just like when i first joined COE and was all raring to go. I've learnt that your mental state really affects the outcome of your training, because once you become all jaded about training and start to dread it instead of embracing hard sessions as a challenge, that's where it'll all start to go downhill.

But then again, i wonder whether i'll be able to commit to training so many times again, especially with this being my A lvl year and with there being so many things that i want to do.

I'll have to think about this long and hard before making my decision, because it's likely that what i decide now will affect the path my swimming career takes in the future.

I just hope that whatever decision i make won't be one that i'll come to regret.

Late last night I made my plans
It was the only thing I felt I could do
Said goodbye to my best friend
Sometimes there's no one left to tell you the truth
-Less Than Jake

best mixtape i have

2008-03-14T21:39:00.002+08:00

"If the heart is always searching,
Can you ever find a home?
I've been looking for that someone,
I'll never make it on my own
Dreams can't take the place of loving you,
There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true.

I would fall asleep
Only in hopes of dreaming
That everything would be like it was before

We get older and blame turns to shame
'Cause everything inside it never comes out right

Sometimes when I'm alone I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seeing the real thing

I learned the hard way
That they all say
Things you want to hear
And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and
Your twisted words,
Your help just hurts

You’ll never know the way,
it tears me up inside to see you
I wish that I could tell you something to take it all away.

After all this time
Would you ever wanna leave it
Maybe you could not believe it
That my love for you was blind
But I couldn't make you see it
That I loved you more than you will ever know
A part of me died when I let you go

Closed off from love
I didn’t need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you’re frozen

You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love

The broken locks were a warning
You got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded
I'm an open book instead
And I still see your reflection
Inside of my eyes
That are looking for purpose
They're still looking for life

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Sometimes I wish I could save you
there’s so many things that I want you to know
I won’t give up till it’s over
if it takes you forever, I want you to know

I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Love hurts
But sometimes it's a good hurt
And it feels like I'm alive
Love sings
When it transcends the bad things
Have a heart and try me
'cause without love I won't survive

You are not what I thought you were
Hello to high and dry

The broken light on the freeway
Left me here alone
I may have lost my way now
But I haven't forgotten my way home"

the all time favourite playlist (:

paint my love

2008-03-14T21:25:00.003+08:00

one week of H3 is over!
at last, no more travelling all the way to NTU
i can now memorise the entire North South line since i've been taking more than half its entire length daily for the past few days o.o
but H3 wasn't that bad.
most of it was prac, and most of prac was just waiting.
so we had quite alot of 'free' time. which was spent mugging for CTs of course.
any available time we had was spent mugging. (or sleeping/eating haha)

and the NTU food wasn't bad!
the cafe had nice western/jap food.
i'm quite sure the chicken baked rice can rival swensen's and it's less than half of swensen's price. haha (:<
and the cheesecake! oh my, it was super super good hahaha :D
not to mention the Nanyang supermarket!
this convenience store in the cafe.
it had practically everything under the sun, and the prices were much lower than 7-11's too.

i think we can safely conclude that too much exposure to EB in the labs has made us all go wonky. haha.
that plus the fact that by 5.00pm everyone's so tired we all become really high.
(the amount of sweets we inhaled everyday probably had sth to do with that too heehee)
like today during lecture, jason was a walking advert for post-it stickers!
thanks to our ingenious plan of placing them sticky side up on the back of his chair, so everytime he leaned his head back they would get stuck in his hair. haha!
at one point he had 4 stuck on him without realising :D
it was VERY hard to suppress our laughter. haha.

oh well, at least we'll still be going back to NTU some saturdays!
we have to complete our mission of running up and down the grassy sloped roof before we say goodbye to NTU forever! :D

alright, back to studying for CTs ):
Thanks to pong i have MLTR to listen to (:

Paint my love
You should paint my love
It’s the picture of a thousand sunsets
It’s the freedom of a thousand doves
-Michael Learns To Rock

Colours

2008-03-09T23:12:00.003+08:00

so NAG's over!
didn't do too badly for a semi-retiree i must say. haha.

and i qualified for SEA age!
for the 1st time i'll be one of the lucky people swimming 1 event if i go. (:
but whether i actually go anyway remains to be seen.
it's my last yr since next yr i'll be too old ):
but then again i want my last SEA Age to be the best!
and last yr's was pretty awesome so it's going to be quite hard to top that.
i wouldn't mind even if last yr's sea age was my last(:

today was certainly a day of ups and downs.

Down because John announced that he's resigning ): ):
i guess it's not supposed to have anything to do with me because i'm not officially in COE anymore, but 2.5 yrs of training 10x a week and numerous overseas meets together strengthens bonds and creates numerous memories you know?
so even though wt and i don't train with the rest of them anymore i think inside we still feel very much like a part of COE ):

Up cause i managed to spend time with the girls!
wt, ting and christel!
(i would say the mozzies but that isn't too flattering. haha!)
so anw we had a sumptious dinner at NYDC!
but after the pasta we were too full to make good use of the fact that NYDC has the most fabulous desserts.
haha oh well.
it was really nice just talking about lots of nonsensical and random stuff(:
plus we rode the world's slowest escalator! TWICE. (:
haha(:

oh well.
better go now.
next week's supposed to be the march hols!
but it's not much of a holiday for the H3 MolBio people ):
our schedule looks something like this:

Monday: 0830 - 1730 at NTU
Tuesday: 0830 - 1630 at NTU
Wednesday: 0830 - 1730 at NTU (and the ENTIRE session's just one wet lab practical! o.o)
Thursday: 0830-1130, 1630-1830 at NTU
Friday: 0830 - 1730 at NTU

There was a class on sat, but it's cancelled! yay (:
and note the 5 hour break on thursday?
well now it'll be anything but a break for building blocks people!
we've got to rush down to Novena for a four hour long intensive econs tuition session from 12-4pm before rushing back to NTU!
oh my. ):

and if that isn't bad enough there's CTs the following week! ><
and that'll be around the end of march which is when John's leaving ):

March is such a sad month ):<

Yesterday I got lost in the circus
Feeling like such a mess
Now I'm down I'm just hanging on the corner
I can't help but reminisce

When you're gone all the colors fade
Amos Lee

Imagine

2008-02-28T21:57:00.003+08:00

David Archuleta then.

and David Archuleta now.

He has improved TREMENDOUSLY and he was already really good then.
His performance was so immensely moving.(:
And it's so obvious from the video that he probably has the largest fan base right now, they just couldn't stop cheering for him.
i think compared to him, the rest of the contestants pale in comparison.
i would be quite surprised if he didn't win.
not to mention his smile just makes you feel all happy inside..
haha! :D

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
-John Lennon

edit
just found this video.

he's really awesome!!
the last note was like, mind boggling. ha. :D
but he kinda reminded me of Zac Efron while singing this song.
It gives the same kind of vibes as when Zac Efron sang Ladies' Choice on Hairspray.

and i think he looks a wee bit like him too.
but David Archuleta's vocals are way superior.
and he's definitely much cuter. hahaha. :D
and the last part was really funny!

"You can only vote for him, you actually can't adopt him."
haha!(:
edit

best days

2008-02-17T12:00:00.002+08:00

time for an update i think!

14 Feb, Thursday
was Valentine's day! (a.k.a chocolate day due to the sheer amount of chocolate i consumed on that day. haha)

Thanks for all the notes/chocolates/gifts/flowers! (:
I think VDay in RJ is really heartwarming, everyone's in high spirits and just seeing all the flowers/balloons everywhere makes you feel happy and loved (:

(:

15 Feb, Friday
Take 5 at pasir ris park!
that wasn't the highlight of the day of course. haha.
the main event of the day was going over to ~~yongyao's house~~ yonghao's/yong house (heehee) for sushi class lunch!!
which Jon Koh treated us to cause of his ind. gold for sea games last yr! :D
it was great! He ordered 6 pizza boxes worth of sushi from Sakae!
and they were really yummy! it was like sushi heaven 8)
Thanks Jon Koh! (:
oh before that we made him give a speech/cut the ribbon (artfully constructed from the string used to tie the sushi boxes)/eat the first sushi to declare the sushi lunch open! it was funny(:

and after lunch we explored yong house and some of them played twister (:
too bad there was still external H3 so a couple of us had to leave earlier ):
but i borrowed yonghao's (or his sister's) Time Traveller's Wife to read.
i read it in sec 3/4 i think, but it's a really good book!
the kind everyone should own. (:

16 Feb, Saturday
Cross training today!
Which was probably the most satisfying event that occured this entire week!
(except from getting to eat as much sushi as i wanted to of course 8) )
37.02 for 8k!
i'm not sure what my exact time was cause i promptly forgot it after Mr Q told me (my brain doesnt seem to function properly when my body is tired), but it's probably somewhere between 37min and 37.10 :D
which is almost 3mins off my previous 40.00 pb :D
yay! :D

cross trainings make me wake up on Sunday mornings (today included) a little less mobile cause my muscles ache like nobody's business (esp the quarts and the calves! and the biceps for some funny reason o.O) and going downstairs is an absolute pain.
but it's a good kind of pain, the kind which leaves you satisfied in the knowledge that you've worked hard! (:

anw here's a video (no it's not a gruesome one like the fur trade one. ha.) from AI!
i totally hope he wins! (although Luke Menard is not bad too) hahahaha. (:<

Presenting.. David Archuleta! :D

I count the steps
The distance to
The time when it was me and you
It's so far gone

Another face,
Another friend,
Another place,
Another end,
But I'll hang on

And it's a winding road,
It's a long way home

So don't wait
For someone to tell you it's too late
Cause these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of tonight
Here comes the rest of our lives
-Graham Colton Band

China fur trade

2008-02-06T13:16:00.000+08:00

Shocking Fur Trade in China:

Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org

WARNING: This is not a very nice video.

I couldn't even bring myself to watch half of it, so please do not attempt to watch it if you have a weak stomach.

How those people can be so cruel totally eludes me.

Please DON'T ever buy real fur!!

On a side note, Happy Chinese New Year!
(though it's not a very happy one for sharks ):< )

9 crimes

2008-01-21T23:16:00.001+08:00

school's really fun!
yes, i know how that sounds, but it really is!
(if you discount tests and hw and all that, which actually isn't that bad cause even staying back to study is rather fun with the right company (: )

today Pong and i were really happy people (:
talk about monday blues. haha.
i think the protected time on monday mornings makes us much happier people (:

and chem lecture today was really funny!

chem lecturer (i dont know his name), "Today's my CT rep's birthday!"
(cause his form class was in the lecture group too)
so everyone starts singing happy birthday and aforementioned CT rep gets huge poster saying "We Love _____" from his friends.

then after everybody quietened down, yujun and some other 3H people sitting at the other end of our row started singing happy birthday!
at first pong and i really thought it was someone's birthday, then we realised they were singing for yong~~hao~~yao!
even though it was obviously not his birthday.
and they called him yong hao again.
so the chem lecturer went,
"whose birthday? Yong Hao ah."
or something like that.
and it was terribly funny, especially the whole Yong Hao thing, which is like a class inside joke (:

Poor yong~~hao~~yao, his fate was sealed the day the PE teacher accidentally called him Yong Hao during the PE briefing

:p

chem lessons are really funny!
be it prac or tutorial.
like during one of the tutorials last week.

Mr Ng, "So i have cis-trans, trans-cis, cis-cis and trans-trans right?"
Leon, "I'm in a trance now."

Mr Ng (on the number of structural isomers for a compound with 3 double bonds and 2 different groups and everyone was already very muddled up),
"So if i add another double bond here, then how?"
Leon, "Skip question."

haha! (:

and because Mr Ng's really particular about s.f.s and workings and everything for Skill C of chem pracs, he makes us check our answers with him first so he can mark on the spot.
and we can only proceed on to skill D if we get every single nitty gritty detail correct.
but the thing is he doesn't tell you what's wrong if something's wrong so you have to go figure it out by yourself.
and sometimes you have to go up to him like 3-4 times before you finally get everything right.
which can be frustrating but quite funny too.

so anw during prac today,
i think yong~~hao~~yao was really frustrated at going up so many times,
so when Mr Ng spotted yet another thing he wasn't satisfied with,
yong~~hao~~yao let out a really loud non-human sounding grunt!
it was really funny!
cause most people were working on their skill D already and the grunt was really quite loud!
hahaha (:

i think we're lucky to get such nice teachers.
most of our lessons are that much more interesting/funny because of them
(:

oh and on a sidenote,
because it was SO hot today, pong weiming and i dropped by J8 to get yami yoghurt!
Yami yoghurt's so so so nice, perfect for a hot day (:

Leave me out with the waste
This is not what I do
It's the wrong kind of place
To be thinking of you
-Damien Rice

Sleepless nights

2008-01-21T00:08:00.000+08:00

Put yourself in her position
All she needs is recognition
Love's not enough when you say it
don't you know, you've gotta mean it.

p.b. of 40.00 for 8km at macritchie on saturday! :D
and my shins didn't really hurt

yay
((:

next target will be <39.30!
then gradually <39. hopefully(:
if my shins don't start hurting again.
but the signs are good (:

and my legs have worked really hard this weekend.
i think they need a nice long massage (:

Take her and make sure she feels it
Let her know, you'll never let her go.

Screwing up the best thing ever
is something you'll regret forever
-Faber Drive

you make my dreams

2008-01-18T00:30:00.000+08:00

today, praya pong and i made exciting plans for the future

(: ((:

I'm down on the daydream
That sleepwalk should be over by now.

You, you make my dreams come true
-Melee!(:

P.S. I Love You

2008-01-17T00:35:00.000+08:00

yayyayyay i'm happy!

i have pretty earrings shaped like giraffes which, get this, glow in the dark!
hahaha how cool is that!

thanksthanksthanks wt! :D

and today during trng it came off (common occurence which is really annoying cause it leaves you with 1 earring D: )
and i was so sad cause i thought i'd never be able to find it!
(the waves were humongous and the earring could have got swept to goodness knows where)
but thanks to WT! (again)
i got it back! cause with her super duper eyes she managed to spot the little needle on the floor while doing her super breaststroke sweep!
hahahaha
and her success has prompted her to start a future company called
hai di lao zhen!
hahahaha isn't that corny? ((:
"lost your diamond earring underwater? no problem we'll find it for you!" 8)

and thanks to wt (yet again!) i've also got P.S I Love You!
everyone keeps saying they cried like mad while reading the book.
but honestly, i think it's overrated.
in fact, i think i'll get through the book without a single tear.
the way she writes isn't deep enough to bring out the emotion deep deep down which is what really matters.
her characters all seem shallow and not developed enough, cause she launches straight into the plot.
if your writing skills are good enough, the whole plot doesn't matter as much, it doesn't have to be a really tragic tale to make you cry.
like The Outsiders, which is not your typical tragic tale, but was enough to make me tear.

but i guess if you're a sentimental person with a penchant for sappy love stories, P.S I Love You might just make you cry buckets. hah.

when i'm with you

2008-01-10T21:54:00.001+08:00

Letting go isn't that bad,
you experience the exhilarating rush of the free-fall
and then the comfort and stability of getting caught in the arms of friends (:

today i was really annoyed with myself!
I had not 1, not 2, not even 3, but EIGHT bouts of hiccups!
it was really annoying!
the first bout came during civics in the morning (if i remember correctly) then chem lecture, before lunch, after meeting to discuss swim camp, while i was doing math assignment in the canteen, twice before training, and the last one while i was walking to the pool!
it was REALLY annoying and very uncomfortable. D:
and i tried all the traditional methods of making them stop like holding your breath and drinking water (which made me drink a WHOLE lot of water today. for the first time in my life i had to refill my 1 litre bottle in school. ha.)
but they didn't really work (the hiccups would go away on their own then come back when i least expected it! >< )

which led me to look for cures online.
and 1 of them is quite effective!
you pinch your nose and drink 10-20 sips of water until you feel like your lungs are ready to burst, then you take a deep breath of air.
ha. 8)

anyway, other than that it was a good day!
special mention goes to FARISH!
haha i have Faber Drive's Seven Second Surgery now thanks to him!
yayyayyay :D
he gave it to me before flag-raising yesterday and throughout the whole day i couldn't wait to go home and listen to all the songs. :D
most of them are really good!
my favourite (aside from tongue tied) is When I'm With You!
it's only the 3rd song in my ipod to have been awarded the honour of being played on repeat the ENTIRE night. (i.e. until today morning.)
and no, i have not grown sick of it because it's such a sweet song with a really nice melody. (i can't find a good word to describe it other than the generic 'nice' but you only have to listen to the song to see what i mean (: )

and these few days i've been feeling particularly motivated to study (i.e. become a full-time mugger ahaha)
the atmosphere is seriously contagious.
i guess the importance of this year has not escaped us (the J2s).
lectures are now SO quiet. and everywhere in the canteen after school you see people mugging. which i must say is rare for merely the SECOND week of school.
in contrast you see the J1s hanging out in their OGs/classes, playing their little games and having fun. (AND taking up the canteen tables i must add!)
seeing them reminds me of this time just last year when we were in their shoes!

but regardless of all their playing and having fun and just enjoying their J1 year, whereas we have the terrible A's looming over ours, i don't envy them at all and i would never want to go back to being a J1.
There's this feeling that this is the last lap, the home stretch for us and i would just like to put my head down, go full speed ahead and finish it.
rather than start all the way at the beginning (like the J1s are currently doing), because its been a rather long and quite tiring journey to get to where we are now.
(not to mention there's no PW in J2! nothing against my PW group, it's just that PW gets really irritating after awhile)
AND of course we get to come in at 9.30 on Mondays!
hahahah (:

okay, i should go do something productive now.
but before that, here's When I'm With You!
(ignore the video, Faber Drive needs to have an official video for the song! it's too much of a waste if they don't make one )

When I'm with you,
I'll make every second count,
cause I miss you,
whenever you're not around

mozzies ftw!

2008-01-07T21:17:00.001+08:00

Endings might be sad, but they do come with new beginnings (:

to my dear wt, ting and christel:

we might not train together anymore, but we'll always be

the mosquito squad! (:

and some things never fade <3

//edit
btw, i came across this video twice today.
once during our principal's address during protected time this morning, and another time totally by chance.
it's quite a nice one i think, the kind that inspires and makes you think.

if not now, when?

love carries on

2008-01-06T18:15:00.000+08:00

I first fell over, falling over you;
On broken glass some things aren't made to last.

had OG outing today!
not a bad turnout, 10 of us including wanchee and seetoh.
it was sort of a farewell lunch for seetoh who's enlisting next week!
hah.

went to swensens at PS for "sentimental reasons" as Farish puts it, since it was (almost) exactly one year ago when we had our first OG dinner at swensens in j8 where practically everyone ordered chicken baked rice. 8)

One year later, 1 of our OG members (china scholar) has literally gone missing.
as in, left-school-went-back-to-China-stole-a-laptop-and-a-few-thousand-bucks-from-his-parents-and-then-ranaway-and-hasn't-been-found kind of missing.
apparently his parents flew down to Singapore to look for him.
people have been talking about it since last year but i never knew anything about it until today.
no wonder i haven't been seeing him around school..
you hear stories about people running away, but this is the first time something of such epic proportions has happened to someone i know (sort of. he was actually my assigned 'buddy' for EA last yr o.o)
and seetoh doesn't even rmb what he looked like. tsk tsk. :p

so after lunch we stoned around for awhile.
wanted to watch a movie but there was nothing nice.
and i can't believe the boogeyman 2's M18!
presumably for horror.
i watched the first boogeyman and it wasn't remotely scary.
i suppose they upped the horror levels drastically this time round..

and i wanted to get Faber Drive's Seven Second Surgery but Sembawang didn't have it. D:
so i got Melee's Devils&Angels instead.
not bad, but i still really want Faber Drive!
they're awesome :D

If fate were different,
You'd be here.
Just know the past is through, why can't you break away?
-Melee

freerice

2008-01-05T16:51:00.000+08:00

today i helped donate 2000 grains of rice to the hungry! :D

and so can you!
not to mention it helps improve your vocab as well.
FREE RICE

2008

2008-01-02T21:30:00.000+08:00

it's the new year!

i think i say this every year, but the years really do zoom past quickly!
and the end of each year always calls for reflection of some sort, so, i guess here's my 2007 in a nutshell(:

1) SWAKUS!
the first bunch of new friends i made in RJ! (not counting the people i already knew)
orientation was a really fun experience, and walking around school today looking at the new J1s having their orientation really brought back memories (:
anw, we said we would never drift apart, but i guess it happens even though we don't want it to. At least we have our outings!
Like the rather successful one at fish&co during the hols (:
and bumping into each other along the corridors, which is always nice(:
we must have more outings okay! :D

2) 08S03H!
i have to admit, i didn't really have a good first impression of the class, even though there were 4 of us from 412 moving up to 3H together.
i guess it was because orientation was ending, and having bonded so well after 4 days with my OG, it was kind of hard to accept the fact that we were all separating and going to different classes
And i think i was quite sad when i found out no one from SWAKUS was going to be in the same class as me, not to mention you have to get to know a whole new bunch of people.

But of course, that changed with time!
and i would never trade 3H for any other class!
sure, we have our quirks like the really bad habit of stoning at the same spot for AGES even after we've decided where to go (like RI or thomson plaza for lunch when we had the really long break on monday)
amusing the teachers by being childish and doing weird things in class (i remember the balloon episode and the random shout-outs during one of the econs tutorials after promos when we were watching a movie in class 8D )
and many many others which i can't remember on the spur of the moment but is what makes us 3H (:
sadly, it's our 2nd and last year together but we'll have plenty of opportunities to make more memories together, especially after we've defeated the dreaded A's!
and of course there must be class reunions after we've graduated :D

3) SEA AGE 2007
This sea age was already my 4th one and it wasn't even held overseas, but it was special cause it was my first time being captain(-ess)!
especially since the group was extra-big due to it being hosted in Singapore.
even though i didn't really do alot, and probably didn't have as much responsibility as i would have if it was held overseas, it was still a terrific experience!
working with russ and christel to come up with the item, teach the item, and watching everyone perform on the last night was a really good feeling.
and it was great working with the captain! ha (:

4) CTs
was probably the first time i took an exam in a big hall with so many people!
even PSLE was held in class.
it was definitely a different experience but post-CTs was such a good feeling!
even knowing that promos were coming right up..

5) all the major comps
Asean schools in Bangkok, AIG in Macau, FINA world cup in Sinapore and in Brazil.
it was my first time taking part in all these meets so even though the swims weren't too good, they were great experiences!
especially the major ones like the FINA world cup, where the camera's trained right at your face during the finals so everyone can see it on the big screen, and you have to wear the lane number sticker on your shirt.
and of course the fact that it was my first time swimming short course ever!
i still can't decide which i like better. ha.

6) Attachment at Mt. Pleasant
again, another wonderful experience which i wouldn't mind reliving.
even though we did alot of standing around and watching, while i was filling in the (long overdue) feedback form today, there was a section on what skills/lessons you have learnt from the attachment and i was forced to stop and think of exactly what i had learnt.
and i realised that i have actually learnt many many things!

like for instance even though we were only allowed to watch surgeries, it was still a learning experience!
seeing how incisions are made, how the bleeders are causterized, the thoroughness required when stitching up the wound.
(and contrary to popular belief, during surgery the inside of the animal isn't just a red bloody mess that you grope around in, it's actually quite "clean" and usually doesn't have much blood spilling around, unless you cut through a huge vein/artery or something)

not to mention how the animals are prepped for sugery, the anaesthesizing, shaving off the incision site and swabbing it down with lots of disinfectant, intubating the animal, monitoring the heartbeat of the animal during surgery and turning up/down the anaesthesia accordingly.

and all the other non-surgery related stuff like taking the temperature of the animals (by stuffing the thermometer up their butts, to put it simply), how to set up an IV drip, how to syringe-feed so you don't waste any food/choke the animal, how to handle the animals, esp during procedures like taking blood, what consultations are like, how the admin work is done, etc etc

i think i could go on and on but i'd better move on (:

7)holiday-ing in Taiwan
i guess all the other experiences in Taiwan paled in comparison with soaking in the hot spring!
the shopping was good, but it was the first time in my life soaking in a hot spring!
and not even a pseudo-hot spring where you sit in a private resort in some fancy tub with spring water pumped in through pipes.

Noo.. the experience in taiwan was way better!
sitting in the natural outdoor hot spring, which was near the banks of the really clear blue river, mingling with the locals.
the water that comes out is REALLY hot, around 80 degrees celsius so you have to be careful where you step and sit.
and it was quite cool cause while that part's really nice and warm, the rest of the river was freezing!
and they even created a makeshift sauna which was basically made up of a tent-like structure around a grill-covered hole in the ground where they pour the hot spring water.
and it was different cause we were there after the sun had set, and the inside of the tent was pitch BLACK and REALLY hot. ha.

8)joining cross
which only happened the last few weeks of December.
well, i can't say much about it yet, except that i enjoy trainings and i think it's going to be a great experience! (:

so, that pretty much summed up my 2007!
(a pretty long summary i think. hehe)
thank you everyone who made my 2007 such a wonderful year!

it was a great year, but i hope 2008 will be even better!
even with the stress of the A's on our shoulders, i hope we'll all still make time for each other and for all the other things which will ultimately contribute to our overall growth as Rafflesians (:

a day late, but
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! (:

you gave me the best mixtape i have

2007-12-30T12:43:00.000+08:00

No, I can't find the words cause I lost them
The minute they fell out of my mouth

this week has been pretty fun.
met up with wt on wednesday before we joined the rest for dinner.
and at wheelock we bumped into scott nickchew cameron and gareth who were out celebrating cameron's birthday i think.

so at 6 we went to taka to meet up with the rest.
Ting, marcus, pam, leonard, marcjoe, lionel and his gf.
We ate at crystal jade and christel joined us later with a whole bunch of people- rainer, eve, jiahao and others but we had limited seats so only christel stayed.
Pam's friend Adeline came later too.
Thankfully we went for dinner early and got our table almost immediately, cause after we were done there was a really long queue outside. ha.
Wanted to watch a movie after that, but there weren't any nice ones that everyone could watch, so we headed over to NYDC at heeren for dessert!
yumm. haha (:
sat and talked, and i finally got my watch from city chain!
It's Adidas and orange-y and abit bigger than i wanted, but it's still quite nice!
and functional of course so i guess it's fine (:

and then on Friday there was a party at Christel's house!
it was quite fun.
we ate and watched human tetris and date movie(which really sucked) and played with the dogs!
Scamper Coby and Tess (:
Coby's really cute and big and fat and so huggable. ha. :D
then later on when almost everyone was gone, christel russ ben ting and i played pictionary in the study.
it was really amusing!
i still remember russell's depiction of waffle iron! and ting's "head in the sand"!
ahahaha. too bad wt couldn't join us ): <

anw, this is a really really great song.
Lyrics are sometimes so much more powerful than words.
and when you find the perfect lyrics to the perfect song, it's just extraordinary.

You say hello, inside I'm screaming I love you
You say goodnight, in my mind
I'm sleeping next to you
You drive away from my car crash of a heart
And I don't know

But you gave me the best mixtape I have
And even all the bad songs ain't so bad
I just wish there was so much more than that
About me and you

You talk to him, and it burns me like the sun
You talk to her, and you say that you feel like he's the one
I talk to me, but you can't hear the pain I feel
You don't know

Cause you gave me the best mixtape I have
And even all the sad songs ain't so sad
I only wish there was more than that
About me and you
-Butch Walker

Ho ho ho

2007-12-25T00:28:00.000+08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! (:

Tattoo

2007-12-24T23:45:00.000+08:00

went for my 2nd cross training today!
At Macritchie this time.
And i must say for the first time in my life, i ran 9k without stopping!
It was quite okay, and i wasn't that tired cause i haven't, in my entire life, ran such a long distance before and i wasn't sure whether i'd be able to last.
And running without a watch is really terrible cause you don't know how long you have left!
Worse since it was my first time running that route and everything looks the same anyway, just trees, so it's not like there was any interesting scenery to enjoy.
I think the highlight of the run was when a squirrel suddenly dashed across the path in front of me, narrowly missing getting squashed by my shoe.

After the run we walked back to school for team talk and Mr Tay very kindly bought us lots of yummy goodies to eat!
Peach tarts and cream puffs and eclairs and log cakes and what not. all in the spirit of Christmas eve. yay (:
Team talk by Mr Quek after that gave me a deeper insight into what cross country comps are about i guess, so i think my individual goal for now is to try and make the school team?
as Mr Q said, 8 register, 6 run but only 4 are counted finally for the school's ranking.
It'll be tough i guess, but i think it's worth a try (:
And i think it's quite cool that for the first time in my life, i'm actually fighting and working for a chance to be in the school team.
So it'll just be alot sweeter if i really do make it into the school team and run for the school :D

Ha. I really need a watch!
Excellent time to get myself one anyway, it shall be my christmas present to myself. :D

Speaking of which, went to watch National Treasure with Wanting today!
I would say it's comparable to the first one, but i'm not sure which is better since i can't really remember the first one anymore.
But i think the second one was not bad.
Except i think they tried to squeeze in too many things into the plot. I mean the whole clues part was fine, it'll leave you awed by the ingenuity of it all as usual. But there was one specific part in the middle where it feels like a part of the film has been entirely cut off.
well, shan't say too much or it'll be a spoiler.
It's good anyway, worth your money. i think. ha. (: <
and it left me really interested in Lincoln's assassination.
i think US history is really fascinating 8)

anw, before the movie started i tried to find a nice watch.
but to no avail since all the nice ones were not digital ):

oh well.
it's Christmas tomorrow! (:

Don't look back, got a new direction
I loved you once, needed protection
You're still a part of everything I do
You're on my heart just like a tattoo
-Jordin Sparks

miss you in a heartbeat

2007-12-21T23:18:00.000+08:00

today wasn't a very good day.
i'm aching all over and suffering from a really annoying nose which alternates between being leaky and being blocked.
had to miss class party at philbert's house ):<

but at least i finally started clearing out my room.
i've only managed to clear out abit though, seeing as my already achy muscles protest when i sit in the same cramped position for a long time.
it was quite interesting, going through all my old worksheets.
i have all my worksheets from p4 onwards!
ever since entering gep forced me to start filing everything fastidiously.
(sort of. i hated file checks with a vengeance)
it was rather amusing reading old compos and stuff.
and i must say the math worksheets we got in pri school were really really fun!
not to mention all the little notes from various people buried amongst worksheets and in the files i used to bring to school.
and i managed to find my p6 class photo!
which i tried to find a long long time ago.
p6 was a fun year (:

all fond memories indeed.(:

I believe, that there's something deep inside
That shouldn't be from time to time.
I sure found out, for love was such a crime.
The more you care, the more you fall.
-Def Leppard

built to last

2007-12-20T11:13:00.001+08:00

Back from my 1st cross training.
it was.. different. definitely. and tiring.
in swimming you don't have to bear your own body weight, and switching strokes means we get to use different muscles, instead of using the same muscles throughout the entire session.
so i did 10x400 intervals on 95s + 1min rest inbetween with Grace (the girls' capt).
Considering my best 2.4 time is only 10.06, which is an average split of 101s per 400, you can imagine it was pretty tiring for me.
And the fact that i haven't exercised for the past 2 weeks (not considering all the walking we did in Taiwan) didn't really help much.

but, i guess training's quite okay!
it's nice knowing that you're pushing yourself.
looking forward to the next session on Sat! (:

I've looked for love in stranger places,
but never found someone like you.
Someone whose smile makes me feel I've been holding back,
and now there's nothing I can't do.

Walking on the hills that night with those fireworks and candlelight
You and I were made to get love right

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.
-Melee

i love this song (:

Grey's

2007-12-19T17:47:00.000+08:00

"Cristina,

I could promise to hold you, and to cherish you,
I could promise, to be there in sickness and in health,
I could say, till death do us part,
but I won't.

Those vows, are for optimistic couples, the ones full of hope.
And I do not stand here on my wedding day, optimistic, or full of hope.
I am not optimistic, I am not hopeful.

I am sure. I am steady.
And I know. I'm a heart man.
I take them apart, put them back together, i hold them in my hands.
I, am a heart man.

So this, I am sure.
You are my partner, my lover, my very best friend.
My heart, MY heart, beats for you.
And on this day, the day of our wedding,
I promise you this.
I promise you, to lay my heart in the palm of your hands,

I promise you,
me."
- Burke's(cardiothoracic surgeon) wedding vow

I don't know why so many people think Season 3 of Grey's is crappy because i really loved it!
but it was really sad that Burke never got to say his really sweet wedding vows to Cristina in the end.
The last scene was really really heartwrenching, seeing Cristina all heartbroken after Burke left.

Why do they keep assuming that they're loving their partner by walking away/letting her go?
That it's for the girl's own good and that by leaving it'll cost her less pain?

It happens again and again in the story,
Derek walking away from Meredith so she can be with Finn cause Finn's 'the good guy',
Burke backing out from the wedding last minute even though Cristina had put in so much effort to accomodate his wishes to have a big traditional chapel wedding,
Alex letting Ava/Rebecca go back to her husband, 'the decent guy', even though she practically begged to be with him,
even George 'doing the right thing' by staying with Callie even though he's probably in love with Izzie.

Isn't it rather obvious that being hurt by the person they love is much less painful for them than being left alone?
I mean, it's getting rather tiring seeing the same mistakes being made over and over again in the show, i sure hope some smart fellow sees the light in the next season before it's too late.

and i thought the scene between Izzie and George in the locker room when Izzie confesses was really moving too.
Sad, but beautiful in a way.
And George never says a word, because he's just a guy who does the right thing, but his eyes say so so much. His eyes say all the things that he can't.
It's really touching.

(Izzie was in the OR when Burke was getting opinions about his wedding vow hence you see some similarities.)

"I am an optimist. I am hopeful.
I am not sure.

Because i'm your best friend, because i love you,
if what you want is to be with Callie,
then i will do everything in my power just for you,
and help you make your marriage work.

Because i'm your best friend.
And because I love you.
And so, i have to say,
that i'm in love with you.

I'm in love with you,
and I can't promise the future.
I can't promise perfection because we're us, you and me, and who knows what will happen.

But in my heart im sure,
I'm in love with you George.
And I hope you're in love with me too."
-Izzie to George

unsuspecting sunday afternoon

2007-12-08T22:37:00.000+08:00

sadly, it was the last day of attachment today ):
this week spent at the clinic was quite fun!
even though the first few days were quite boring at times cause there was nothing much to do, it got better later on when we became more familiar with things and knew what to do without the vet techs telling us/giving us stuff to do.
we got to watch cool surgeries too! and Dr Wong very kindly let us sit in during consults.

today was the best day by far!
we got to watch a caesarean!
(most of the time the surgeries were sterilisations, except on the first day where we got to watch the vets remove lumps from a dog suspected of having cancer.)
anyway, the mummy dog (i think it was a maltese) got brought in and she was really huge!
i think one of the puppies got stuck during delivery.
but the vet managed to deliever all 3 puppies safely in the end and they were really cute!
their eyes were closed but they alr had a layer of fur and they were making really loud squeaing noises. ha.

Zelda the Doberman went home today too, but we missed it cause we went for lunch so we didn't get to say bye ):
which was quite sad, cause Zelda was brought in the first day we were there and later on when she was healthy enough we were responsible for bringing her for her daily walk in the mornings.

so i'm really glad i went for this attachment!
it really opened my eyes to the world of a veterinary surgeon.
which is really quite tiring and challenging, but my experience there hasn't really discouraged or encouraged me particularly.
i guess it still remains one of my options. (:<

anyway, on to another topic.
we had a 'class' dinner on tuesday!
'class' because only 8 or 9 of us turned up. ha.
it was quite fun though!
we went to the sakae at the heeren for dinner, then went up to the neoprint shop to camwhore with philbert's cam in the booths!
haha it was really random!
cause fitting 8 people in a booth (especially those with the steps/sofas at the back) was really quite hard and philbert kept putting his camera on timer so we weren't ready for half the shots.
but it's okay, spontaneity's what makes it fun!
ha (:

and i received my really belated present from the class!
Thanks 3H! I love my bear!
thanks alot to those who went to the build-a-bear workshop to have her made and suffered undue embarassment because of the shop attendant's 'instructions'!
haha i'll post a picture of her up soon cause she's really special and definitely one of a kind :D

leaving for taiwan tmr!
will be back next saturday!
night! (:

This sweet relief
Unexpected things
Is this the end or only the beginning

Last night I saw the fireworks
The kind of pain that never hurts
The one you hate to love is made for you
Another unsuspecting Sunday afternoon
-Backstreet Boys

Ever ever after

2007-11-30T22:30:00.000+08:00

back from Brazil!
took quite alot of photos but i'm not going to upload them here, too troublesome.
they're all up on facebook though! (:

so we took the 2+am flight on the 20th (Tuesday) to Dubai.
We were flying on Emirates and there was a screen, but the 7hr flight still felt really long since it was quite cramped and all.
Waited a few hours at Dubai airport where Shengjun got scammed into buying 10USD noodles from the Thai Express there. haha.
while waiting for our plane to Sao Paulo we were playing cards, and this really cute Brazilian boy came over to 'play' with us. Actually he was just having fun messing the cards around.
Then he suddenly got hyper and tried jumping onto us (we were sitting on the floor)
Shengjun got the most attention, unfortunately for him. ha.
when his mum came over to pull him away he refused to leave, so we played with him till it was time to go.
and he ended up sitting in the row behind us in the plane from Dubai to Sao Paulo. :p

the flight was super super long!
like 15hrs.
Emirates again, and the screen was really quite good and quite big, but it was unbearably cramped and the annoying guy behind me kept asking me to push my chair up because HE wanted to watch his screen, when the guy in front of me had his chair all the way BACK. sheesh!

so we finally reached Sao Paulo and stayed a night at the Hilton there, which was really nice!
pity we were only staying there for a night.
took a 1hr flight to Belo Horizonte the next morning and endured a really bumpy 45min bus ride before finally reaching the hotel.
the hotel rooms were quite nice and spacious, lots of space between the beds and the tv.

went to the shopping center opposite the hotel after lunch to scout for Havaianas!
we didn't have to look long though since every sports shop and supermarket sold them.
some more expensive shops sold them too, but the designs were way different and much pricier.
there was also a havaianas stand in the mall.
and even the 24hour drugstores sold them. ha.

after that we took the shuttle bus to the pool which was at some country club-like place called Minas Tenis Club. (yes it's a tennis club)
the club has a reputation for producing good swimmers and apparently they were the no. 1 club in Brazil in 2006. (there was a sign)

back to the hotel after that and that pretty much sums up the first day.

second day, we left for the pool in the morning.
the sun was really strong!
but it wasn't hot cause of the wind and low humidity and the temperature was rather nice and cool.
then we went shopping again in the afternoon, but we kind of explored the area around the hotel this time.
bought our first few pairs of Havaianas!
haha. we kept going back again and again and buying a few at each time for the next few days (except comp days), the shopkeepers must have been rather amused.
pool again in the afternoon.
then back to the hotel to rest.

third day, heats started only in the evening.
so we went to the pool in the morning again.
(the 4 of us thought we should stay in and rest but the coaches wouldn't listen, so.)
had 200IM in the afternoon, and got a first taste of the Brazilian crowd!
they were super amazing and enthusiastic, so much better than the Singapore crowd.
Half the time most of the crowd would be standing up, and people come early for standing room at the bottom of the stands just behind the railings to be as close to the swimmers as possible.
and everytime you get out of the pool (it doesnt really matter to them what position you came in) they scream at you for your cap.
so i gave mine away after my last event during the last finals session. ha.

fourth day, had finals in the morning and heats in the afternoon
fifth day, finals in the morning and we were done!

there was a frenzy of photo-taking and autograph-signing and tshirt exchanging, not to mention buying merchandise since it was the last chance we had, before we finally went back to the hotel.

it was a sunday so after lunch we went out!
(yes shopping again)
took a cab to Diamond Mall (apparently recommended) only to find out it was like their paragon with really high-end boutiques and stuff.
probably a good place if you have lots of money (they must have thought we were quite rich) but definitely not on our budgets.
so after spending an hour or so there we took another cab back to BH shopping.
(we spent like 40+Reals on cabfare alone for that trip. S$1 = 1.2Reals. go figure. haha)
managed to get most of our Havaianas this time and bought Macs back to the hotel for dinner to eat while watching Death Note 2 in the room. ha.

On Monday we were only leaving for the airport at 4.30pm so we basically had alot of time in the morning.
no prizes for guessing what we did again.
haha.
bought the rest of the stuff before we left for Sao Paulo.
this time we didn't get to stay in the Hilton cause our flight to Dubai was a midnight flight ):

so around 1+am we took another long long flight to Dubai.
but this time it was much better cause it was about 2hours shorter and there were really few people so it was VERY spacious.
each person could have like 3 seats to lie on.
i thought the turbulence during the beginning of the flight was terrible, they even had to ask the cabin crew to sit down and fasten their seatbelts.
but apparently i was the only person concerned over nothing since the rest were already sleeping soundly and didn't even feel a thing!
ha.

at Dubai we spent a REALLY long time looking for the person who was supposed to fetch us to our hotel.
reached the hotel only about 2hours after arrival.
it was an apartment-type hotel, so our rooms each had a living room area, a kitchen area and the bathroom.
played cards all night and told ghost stories (actually just one), but it was enough to freak Shengjun out so much he didn't even dare walk out from the bedroom to the living room area which was literally just out the door.
he also managed to scare himself with his reflection in the bedroom window. ha.
not to mention Rainer even had to follow him INTO the bedroom toilet cause he didn't dare stay inside on his own. sheesh! haha :p

the next morning was a whirlwind.
we almost missed our flight because a very irresponsible someone woke up late!
and it wasn't the alarm clock or a mistake or something because jiaolian woke him up but he went back to sleep!
AND it was definitely not the first time he was late.

we were all really pissed and shengjun and tingting had to go up with the hotel staff to wake him up, cause the cars that we arranged to take us to the airport were already here.
imagine that, the swimmers had to wake the apparent 'team manager'!
and guess what? he answered the door in nothing but a pair of pants and HUGGING A PILLOW.
how embarassing is that?

well, because of him we missed our cars since they obviously couldnt wait that long.
and it is IMPOSSIBLE to get taxis in Dubai.
the car company couldnt reschedule the cars.
(he argued that no one told him the cars were leaving at 7 since he thought they left at 7.30, but we were all down by 7 except him, when HE was the one who told us to be down by 7!)
the taxi booking company only started operating at 9.30am.
and trying to flag down a taxi by the roadside is really futile.
so after spending i dont know how much time trying to flag down a cab, we had to walk to another hotel nearby to call up a Limo company for transportation to the airport. (since there were 6 of us we needed a big car)

the really really bad part was that not once did he apologise!
and while we were all there getting really worried and frustrated he still had the audacity to laugh! like there was nothing wrong and the situation wasn't urgent at all!
jiao lian was REALLY pissed with him.
and so were we for that matter.

traffic was bad, so we reached the airport at 9am when our flight was scheduled to depart at 9.10am!
the moment we stepped into the airport we heard the final call for boarding.
luckily we didn't have to check-in cause we were just transiting in Dubai, but we didn't even know the gate number!
and we still had to pass through the passport control and security screenings.
in the end four of us plus jiao lian just ran ahead first without waiting for him.
we had to run alot!
all the way to the departure gates area, look for our gate number, and then run ALL THE WAY to the gate!
it didn't help that it was gate 46, which was REALLY far away. (there're only 50 gates in total)
we were so late that there was a guy with a walkie talkie waiting for us, the 6 Singaporeans.
there were only 5 of us since we left him behind but we just told the walkie talkie guy to go ahead and bring us there first, we really didn't care about him anymore!

in the end, all 6 of us managed to catch the flight.
(secretly we were hoping he would miss it! since he couldnt even be bothered to care!)

and that pretty much sums up our trip.
it was really fun though!
all the card games and endless DVD watching and funny moments.
even though we had to be really responsible for ourselves this meet, from going through the correct counters at the airport, arranging the time to take the shuttle bus down to the pool to be in time for the comp, etc etc, since jiaolian didn't understand english and the 'team manager' practically didn't know anything.

it was still an enjoyable trip! not to mention a wonderful experience
(apart from the whole nearly missing our flight thing)
it's good to be back though(:

and SATs tmr!
urgh. :/

i really really want to watch Enchanted! :D

Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true
Deep down inside we want to believe they still do
And a secret is taught, it's our favorite part of the story
Let's just admit we all want to make it true
-Carrie Underwood

brazil!!!

2007-11-19T20:22:00.001+08:00

off to Brazil soon!!
i'll try to take lots of pictures of Brazil and Dubai!
(:

so exciting!! :DD

adeus amigos!
:D

Bridges

2007-11-18T16:13:00.000+08:00

i really like Lifehouse
Jason Wade's voice is really deep and husky and moving and delivers all the right lyrics<3

Our common ground was broken long ago
What slipped through the cracks i fear we'll never know
I'll walk you through the graveyard of my mind
Show you a love that i buried alive

We both lit the match that burned the bridge
we both lit the match and watched the bridges burn down
-Lifehouse

edit
attachmentattachment!
yay jason and i got our attachment at mount pleasant!
its all the way at east coast,
but nevertheless!

:D:D:D:D:D
/edit

stardust

2007-11-16T21:04:00.000+08:00

finally watched Stardust on Sunday!
it was a really really good show! The kind where all the different, initially separate, plots weave together and connect so beautifully near the end of the show. I like those kinds of movies (:
Not to mention it had lots of funny scenes, tense moments which literally leave you holding your breath, and of course the prerequisite sweet romance (:
It was really sweet the way the star glowed everytime she was happy, especially when she was around the guy (who really looked quite dashing with his new hairstyle 8) )
Imagine if we all did that!
everyone would be able to read your emotions like a book, but then again it would probably save alot of confusion wouldn't it?
anyway, it's an excellent show and definitely worth watching! :D

had OG dinner on tuesday!
Thanks to the initiative of the self-appointed L'ruz Farish :p
hah it was quite a success!
10 of us turned up, must be the biggest turn out since orientation!
so we went to the Fish & Co glasshouse and had a good time catching up with everyone (:
unfortunately no one brought a camera, so no pictures ):

3 days till Brazil!
so many people have asked for Havaianas, but i would like everyone to know that there are absolutely no guarantees!!
due to limited luggage space and cash$$ of course.
not to mention all i have are everyone's sizes and no one tells me what they like/want!
so how am i supposed to choose.. :_:
oh well, i'll worry about that when i get there!
brazil brazil brazil! (:

oh and i came across this on Jason's LJ!

yay 3H!
we have so many many random class outings but i think i missed majority of them ):
nvm, love3H! :D
we must be the wackiest, craziest, most childish, fun-nest class ever!(:

What do you do with memories too painful to keep and too precious to delete?

pictures in my head

2007-11-14T23:28:00.000+08:00

INFP - The "Dreamer"

INFPs are introspective, private, creative and highly idealistic individuals that have a constant desire to be on a meaningful path. They are driven by their values and seek peace. Empathetic and compassionate, they want to help others and humanity as a whole. INFPs are imaginitive, artistic and often have a talent for language and writing. They can also be described as easygoing, selfless, guarded, adaptable, patient and loyal.

About the INFP

"To understand Healers, we must understand their idealism as almost boundless and selfless, inspiring them to make extraordinary sacrifices for someone or something they believe in. The Healer is the Prince or Princess of fairytale, the King's Champion or Defender of the Faith..."
- The Portrait of a Healer Idealist (Keirsey)

"INFPs are highly intuitive about people. They rely heavily on their intuitions to guide them, and use their discoveries to constantly search for value in life. They are on a continuous mission to find the truth and meaning underlying things. Every encounter and every piece of knowledge gained gets sifted through the INFP's value system, and is evaluated to see if it has any potential to help the INFP define or refine their own path in life."
- Portrait of an INFP (The Personality Page)

"creative, smart, idealist, loner, attracted to sad things, disorganized, avoidant, can be overwhelmed by unpleasant feelings..."
- INFP Jung Type Descriptions (similarminds.com)

"An INFP's feelings form the foundations of the individual. They are sacred and binding, in the sense that their emergence requires no further justification. An INFP's feelings are often guarded, kept safe from attack and ridicule. Only a few, close confidants are permitted entrance into this domain."
- INFP Profile (INFP Mailing List)

"Highly creative, artistic and spiritual, they can produce wonderful works of art, music and literature. INFPs are natural artists. They will find great satisfaction if they encourage and develop their artistic abilities. That doesn't mean that an INFP has to be a famous writer or painter in order to be content. Simply the act of "creating" will be a fulfilling source of renewal and refreshment to the INFP. An INFP should allow himself or herself some artistic outlet, because it will add enrichment and positive energy to their life."
- INFP Personal Growth (The Personality Page)

"INFPs never seem to lose their sense of wonder. One might say they see life through rose-colored glasses. It's as though they live at the edge of a looking-glassworld where mundane objects come to life, where flora and fauna take on near-human qualities."
- INFP Profile (TypeLogic)

"Their job must be fun, although not racous, and it must be meaningful to them. They need a strong purpose in their work. They want to be recognized and valued, without undue attention given to them. They may become embarrassed when make the center of attention. As a result, they may undersell their strengths in order to avoid being singled out and made to feel conspicuous. They would rather have their worth be noticed gradually over time."
- INFP - The Dreamer (Lifexplore)

Famous INFPs

Real INFP People

A. A. Milne - author (Winnie the Pooh)
Albert Schweitzer - theologian, musician, physician
Aldous Huxley - English author
Amy Tan - author (The Joy-Luck Club)
Annie Dillard - author (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek)
Audrey Hepburn - actress (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
Dick Clark - television personality
Donna Reed - acress
Fred Rogers - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Fred Savage - actor (The Wonder Years)
George Orwell - author, journalist
Helen Keller - deaf/blind author, activist, lecturer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - American poet
Isabel Myers - psychological theorist
J. R. R. Tolkien - writer (Lord of the Rings)
James Herriot - veterinary surgeon, writer
James Taylor - singer-songwriter, guitarist
John - Disciple of Jesus
John F. Kennedy, Jr. - lawyer, journalist, publisher
Laura Ingalls Wilder - author (Little House on the Prairie)
Lisa Kudrow - actress ("Phoebe" on Friends)
Luke - physician, author
Mary - Mother of Jesus
Mia Farrow - actress
Neil Diamond - musician
Peter Jackson - filmmaker (Lord of the Rings)
Princess Diana - Princess of Wales
Scott Bakula - actor (Start Trek Enterprise)
Tom Brokaw - television journalist
Virgil - ancient Roman poet
William Shakespeare - English poet and playwright

Fictional INFPs (Characters)

Anne - Anne of Green Gables
Bastian Balthazar Bux - The Neverending Story
Calvin - Calvin and Hobbes
Deanna Troi - Star Trek: The Next Generation
Doctor Julian Bashir - Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Doug Funnie - Doug cartoon
E.T. - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Fox Mulder - X-Files
Rocko - Rocko's Modern Life
Tommy Pickles - Rugrats
Wesley Crusher - Star Trek: The Next Generation

INFP Career Matches

INFPs are often happy with the following jobs which tend to match well with the Dreamer/Visionary personality.

Activist
Actor
Architect
Artist
Church Worker
Counselor
Editor
Educational Consultant
Employee Development Specialist
Fashion Designer
Filmmaker
Graphic/Web Designer
Holistic Health Practitioner
Human Resources
Journalist
Legal Mediator
Librarian
Massage Therapist
Minister
Missionary
Musician
Photographer
Physical Therapist
Psychologist/Counselor
Researcher
Social Scientist
Social Worker
Speech Pathologist
Teacher/Professor
Translator/Interpreter
Video Editor
Writer

Hmmm.
that was interesting.
James Herriot and J.R.R.Tolkien were INFPs!
and E.T.?!!
how do they figure such things out??

Thank you in advance for the love you give me
I’ve had a glance of the good life
You’ll be there when nobody believes me
I’ve gone through it all in my mind

Thank you for the best times
Thank you for the journey
-Westlife

the land of havaianas

2007-11-12T22:39:00.001+08:00

i just had to post this up.

rows and rows and rows of Havaianas!
and guess where all these are?

In a supermarket in Brazil!
apparently the plain ones cost US$2 each and the rest range between US$4-$10!
oh boy. :D

Stardust was really really really good, but more about that next time! (:

rule the world

2007-11-10T21:34:00.001+08:00

a great big thankyou to everyone who wished me happy birthday!
and especially to grace yongyao jason and chara for the surprise cotton candy cake at New York New York!
and wanting christel ting and all the coe peeps for the surprise cake at the pool!

thankyouthankyouthankyou
(:

i'm in love with my Secret piano score book! ahaha (:
wanting remember to practice your part! (:

Stardust, please
(:

You light the skies, up above me
A star, so bright, you blind me, yeah
Don’t close your eyes
Don’t fade away, don’t fade away

Yeah you and me we can ride on a star
If you stay with me girl
We can rule the world
Yeah you and me we can light up the sky
If you stay by my side
We can rule the world

If walls break down, I will comfort you
If angels cry, oh I’ll be there for you
You've saved my soul
Don’t leave me now, don’t leave me now

All the stars, are coming out tonight
They're lighting up the sky tonight
For you, for you
-Take That

edit
AWESOMEST :D

/edit

stranger by the day

2007-11-07T22:49:00.001+08:00

okay, time to update my blog!

firstly,
PW IS OVER!!! :D :D :D
it kind of ended on Monday, after OP (which wasn't too bad, luck was on our side! _____ wasn't there hehe xD)
and then on Tuesday we met up to hand in our I&Rs and finish filing stuff in our GPF, and then our cycle of PW officially ended.
well, i've already done my reflecting in the I&R, but just a little shoutout to my lovely group members:

THANKS SO MUCH!!
i wouldn't have wanted any other group and i really appreciate all of you!
especially having to deal with my going overseas and stuff, and even having to push back our OP because of me.
not to forget all the happy times i.e. going to the zoo, filming the video :D
even though meeting up for PW was always a bother, it was never stressful! and even quite fun (thanks to Daniel's laptop hehe)
i think our PW cycle really went quite smoothly!
since we never had problems with responsibilty and everyone was willing to compromise,
you guys are the best (:
good luck to all of us for the results! (:

and now, moving on to AIG in abit more detail.
so we arrived there on the first day, got our rooms sorted out and went to the pool for a swim.
the pool was quite nice, though somehow the tiny bubbles created by people dont dissipate so after awhile the pool gets REALLY cloudy/milky and lots of bubbles stick to your skin.
then it was back to the hotel and some people went to the Venetian for a massage since that was where the masseuses got to stay.
oh we also discovered they were playing huan huan ai on tv!
one of the last episodes.
so we settled down happily to watch
(except Christel who promptly fell asleep. haha)

second day,
heats in the morning.
luckily heats started quite late, at 10
so our wake up call was only at 7.30
back to the hotel for lunch and to rest
then to the pool for finals which started at 7, so we had quite abit of rest time in the afternoon.

next 2 days were basically the same.
then after heats on the last day of competition,
while some of them stayed in Macs to wait, the rest of us explored the area near the pool where they had quite a few shops.
bought almond cookies and stuff and had fun trying out the different kinds of bak kwa!
they have piglet and wild boar and all sorts!
so if you want a sample the shop assistant will just snip off abit for you.
then lunch at a portugese restaurant, where the portugese(i think) owner had an iphone!
it was really cool! we got to do the picture zoom in/zoom out thing with our fingers :D

after finals,
we headed to the Venetian for dinner.
it was REALLY REALLY big and grand!
and they had free flow of haagen dazs for dessert!
walked around abit looking at all the branded shops.
a pity we didn't get to take the gondolas though.
and i thought the bell boys' uniforms were really cute! ha. :D

on the last day we headed over to mainland Macau to shop.
there wasn't much and we didn't have alot of time.
but i managed to get a bag and a wallet.
so i FINALLY have a wallet.
i was getting really annoyed at having to dig through the pouch for coins.
after that, we headed back to the hotel for our luggage and left for the airport.

there, that about sums it up!
i dont have many pictures though, waiting for uncle swee leng to send them out!
Roanne has quite a few pictures though (:

ohoh,
and lynette!
because you didn't go, guess who had to swim back for BOTH the 4x50 and 4x100 relays!
me!
normally, no one who has ever watched me swim back would even think of making me swim back in an IM relay, but.. oh well.
it was really embarassing especially since back is the first leg!
..and obviously i was the last to reach the wall.
bad baaad experience.
never again please!
hah.

okay, time to sleep!
goodnight(:

Snow is falling from the sky - in the middle of July
Sun was shining in my eyes again last night
Alarm goes off without a sound - the silence is so loud
Something isn't right

It keeps getting
stranger by the day
-Shades Apart

Dreaming out loud

2007-11-03T21:36:00.001+08:00

back from Macau!
(photos another time)
was quite fun, and rather slack :x
4 out of the 11 of us fell sick, and i had the unfortunate luck of pulling my right rhomboid muscle on the 2nd day.
luckily it healed rather quickly.
it was quite painful while it lasted.
the food was really really good though!
i don't really want to step on the weighing machine.
haha.
and the weather there was really nice,
except at the indoor pool, where it got cold enough to turn our toenails and fingernails a royal blue. heh.

tired!
time to wash up and then sleep.
PW tmr,
OP on Monday,
and then i can finally take a deep breath and
RELAX.

Im dreamin out loud,
dreamin out loud,
and all at once its so familiar to see,
Im dreamin out loud,
dreamin out loud,
cant find a puzzle to fit any piece of apart of me
-OneRepublic

wait

2007-10-26T21:09:00.000+08:00

hmm. nothing much to blog about these days.
Promos were okay, quite expected, so nothing out of the blue.
world cup starts tmr, and we're leaving for AIG on Monday at 6am in the morning.
OP presentation on the 5th Nov.
(can't believe my bad luck here! guess who i got as OP accessor?!! gr.)

~~and my birthday on Deepavali heehee :D~~

and then a slight breather before leaving for brazil on the 19th.
flight details have changed though.
from Sg we're taking a 14 hour flight to london, reaching there early in the morning.
then we have a day there before taking an evening flight all the way to Rio.
which is about 11 hours i think.
then from Rio, an internal 1hr flight to Belo.
Aside from the internal flight, both ways should be by British Airways.
not that bad i guess 8)
we'll be back on the 28th, which gives us about 1 day's free time in Belo i think?
comp ends on the morning of the 25th since finals are held in the mornings.

taking SATs on the 1st of December too.
hope i'm not too jetlagged then.

after that i'll be leaving for Taiwan on the 9th and coming back on the 16th/17th December.
now all that's left to settle is the vet attachment!
i really hope i'm successful.
ahh busy busy.

and soon it'll be christmas!
and then it'll be the new year and we'll be thrust into our lives as J2s, with a neverending, year-round mugging marathon, college applications and interviews and of course, not to forget the dreaded As starting this time next year.
ahh!

and then.. what?
the future's like the murky depths of a really really deep ~~pool~~body of water right now.
looking into it, even thinking and wondering what's in it is pretty scary.
oh dear.

shouldn't think so much!
focus focus on race tmr!!

this post is rather disjointed.
goodnight.

Wait till you don't doubt no more
Wait till you know for sure
And you will wait too long,
he will be gone
-Get Set Go

thankfully i have Grey's to indulge myself in 8)

big red button

2007-10-21T19:26:00.001+08:00

Put The Big Red Button on your site

getting over you

2007-10-16T21:22:00.000+08:00

today was a rainy day.
rainy days make me pensieve.
the pitter patter of the raindrops seem to block out the rest of the world
and leave you wrapped in your own little coccoon of thought.

and storms are scary,
but the danger outside seems to make you feel even more safe and warm when you're nice and cosy under a blanket.

i like the rain.
(:

on a less philosophical note,
the rain nearly saved us from a hard set this afternoon.
16km on Monday and 11km today.
i foresee the rest of the week isn't going to be any easier.
:/

I'm getting over you, most of the time
If I say it like I mean it,
Then maybe I'll believe it
Like it's true

I'm getting over you
-The Click Five

Grey's

2007-10-14T21:39:00.000+08:00

"You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairytales?
That fantasy of what your life would be,
White dress, Prince Charming who'd carry you away to a castle on a hill.
You'd lie in bed at night and close your eyes,
and you had complete and utter faith.
Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming,
they were so close, you could taste them.

But eventually, you grow up.
One day, you open your eyes, and the fairy tale disappears.
Most people turn to the things and people they can trust.

But the thing is,
it's hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely,
'cause almost everyone still has that smallest bit of hope, of faith,
that one day they'll open their eyes
and it will all come true."

Oh, how i love Grey's :D

"At the end of the day, faith is a funny thing.
It turns up when you don't really expect it.
It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale
maybe slightly different than you dreamed.
The castle, well, it may not be a castle,
and it's not so important that it's happy ever after,
just that it's happy right now.

See, once in a while, once in a blue moon,
people will surprise you.
And once in a while,
people may even take your breath away."

all i need is

2007-10-13T23:34:00.000+08:00

Saber at 10 weeks! :D
he's really grown immensely, especially if you compare it with what he looked like at 7 weeks (below)

haha 3H is the coolest class ever!
class outing on monday!
hate not being able to go for class outings cuz of trng. ):<
today's class convo was..hoho.
maybe i'll upload it another time 8)

poor --ara & geo----- teehee! :D

We dont need to go that far
let's hold on to where we are
if it's real we'll make it through
cause all i need is
you
-The Click Five

flipside

2007-10-11T22:03:00.000+08:00

PW OP dry run today!
was okay, quite fun actually.
and slack. hehe.
i'm so glad it's over!
finally for the first time after promos there's REALLY nothing to worry about
(until nearer our actual OP)
phew.

training is really tiring.
but i suppose it's good since i feel like i'm putting in alot of effort.
and thinking of all the meets coming up helps to keep me focused.
now if only my legs would stop aching from the stupid lunges ):<

no school tmr yay!
i'm sleepy, goodnight.

Waiting for the day when I'm complete
Without you I'm doing what I can to let you be
Making sure there's nothing showing on the outside
Something's dying on the inside
I'm still broken but I'm free
I'll see you on the flipside
-The Click Five

i like their new album.(:

Mary Jane

2007-10-10T21:17:00.000+08:00

lunges are literally a pain in the butt (and legs)
seriously.
my poor aching legs have me walking zombie-like because bending my knees causes both legs to ache at 5 different spots at least.
argh.
and sitting down/standing up requires much effort (and weird face contortions)
i hope we're not doing MORE lunges during dryland tmr morning!

on a random note,
i feel like baking 8)
friday maybe?
(if i don't end up napping the whole afternoon away hehe)

PW OP dryrun tmr!
eek.
:/

Would you catch me if I had to fall
Would you even find the time without it all
Tell me how
Help me say the words out loud

Could it be
That nothing's gonna change
Cause time has got a way of taking back
Everything you thought you had
-The Click Five

mesmerized

2007-10-09T22:34:00.000+08:00

a really nice short little movie from Pixar called Delivery

i think it's quite thought provoking.
haha.

anw, did PW today after the leadership conference lunch break.
creating our video was super fun!
hahahaha.
yay i really like our PW video :D

Get well soon, Russ!(:

Reaching into your eyes,
I can feel you crawling
Through my veins like
Catching the first sunrise
Mesmerized

Sever the skies
Bury the truth
Forget the time
These were the years

You tried to leave behind

Whatever we are
I'll still remember the way we were
-Lifehouse

Pour some sugar on me

2007-10-08T21:07:00.001+08:00

Open Water yesterday!
managed to win the 3km :D
and my time was considerably faster than last year's too, probably because it was my first time swimming in the sea last year.
i think experience is really important for open water swimming.
once you've got over the almost zero visibility in the water and the saltiness in your mouth, it's actually pretty alright.
the waves weren't that strong yesterday (not while i was swimming anw, thankfully) except when the annoying jet skis zoomed past and left behind terrible petrol fumes.
water was much cleaner too, at least i didn't bang into any floating logs, get tangled in seaweed or encountered any jellyfish.
heh.

swimming 3km in the sea doesnt feel very tiring, since you can't really go fast without risking being kicked by the masses of people you try to overtake.
you can't see them in the water until their feet are right in your face, and by then it's too late, so you have to keep lifting your head up to look for caps bobbing up and down, and then try and navigate through without deviating too far away from the lane rope.
but you certainly feel the effects of it the next day!
all the battling of the currents actually work your arm and shoulder muscles quite hard.
felt terrible at trng this morning, with achy shoulders and all and John had to give us a 7.4km set!
(not to mention another 7.1km set in the afternoon)
blah. at least it's dryland tmr yay :D

and today's leadership conference was a terrible waste of time!
okay so the Kouzes-Posner Student Leader Practices Inventory evaluation thing was rather enlightening, but the talks were terrible!
not that the guest speaker was lousy, but seriously, a 2.5 hr long talk is not what we need at 9 in the morning.
plus the PAC was freezing!
luckily i brought the blazer :D (meaning to return it but didn't in the end since we still need it for National Colours)
can't believe we'll have to sit through the same thing tmr!
from 9am-4pm.
goodness. maybe i should just pon hehe (:<

alright,
back to OP speech. blah ):

Razzle 'n' a dazzle 'n' a flash a little light
Television lover, baby, go all night
Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet
Little miss-a-innocent sugar me, yeah
-Def Leppard!

(this song is awfully catchy! it's from Balls of Fury 8) )

love it when you call

2007-10-06T19:26:00.000+08:00

woah.
today was major pw day.
but it was quite fun in a way!
preparing for OP.
we went to j8 to interview little kiddies for our video (:
hah. some of them were really cute! (8
but it's quite surprising, the number of little kids who dont know who steve irwin is!
shows a need for our project hehe :D

i'm so glad it's finally saturday.
training has been super tiring and it's the first time in a long long while that i've been to so many hard trainings in a row!
not to mention there were very little opportunities for an afternoon nap this week even though promos are over.
and i had to keep going back to school for swimming/pw stuff.
seriously, having a swimming booth at open house is just a waste of time and space.

rest of the year's going to be quite busy for me.
so many things/competitions going on.

7/10 Open Water

11/10 PW OP dry run

20/10 World Cup trials

27/10 - 28/10 Singapore leg of the World Cup

29/10 - 3/11 AIG in Macau
thanks to the S'pore World Cup which we're MADE to swim in, we can only leave on the 29th when AIG starts on the 30th! Nuts >:(

5/11 PW Oral Presentation

23/11 - 25/11 Brazil leg of the World Cup
and YES i have something to say about this. the flight's 35 hours long. yes that's right. THIRTY FIVE! and we're transiting not once, not twice, not even 3 times, but FOUR freaking times! oh my goodness. here's what the flight plan looks like:

Singapore -> Frankfurt, Germany -> Madrid, Spain -> Rio De Janerio, Brazil -> Belo Horizonte, Brazil

o.o

and including the flight back, total flight time =
35 x 2 = 70 = almost 3 days!!! :O
the competition itself is 3 days.
i'm really dreading the flying.
on the plus side we get to drop by a few countries on the way ^^

?/12 - ?/12 at least 1 week job attachment at a vet surgery
if i manage to apply successfully. I sure hope i do since i decided to reject the Mount Pleasant one for Brazil

it's going to be a busy busy holiday for me.
ah well.
can't wait for christmas! 8)

phew.
being out the whole day since 5+ in the morning has really drained me.
and there's still open water tmr!
3km, flagging off at 7.45am.
so early! but on the other hand, it won't be hot.
ha.
i still think they shouldnt flag off the men's and women's events together, i hope i don't get stampeded on/swum over/kicked/etc etc :/
got to turn in early tonight!
luckily i've finished huan huan ai :DDD so there's nothing to distract me.
(but we'll leave that for another post)
haha. bye! (:

Remember me?
I used to be
Your best-time buddy
That you couldn't wait to see
We're getting old
It takes it's toll
And hearts getting broken leads to people growing cold
-The Feeling

promos

2007-09-28T21:07:00.000+08:00

GP was alright. Have been doing the science qns all year so essay should be prettyyy safe. and i've read passage 1 of paper 2 in TIME before! well well. not that it helped much anw hoho. on to econszzzz! yucks. ):<

~~ECONS~~

Econs was okay.. well the case study was a little difficult and weird. and now i wont be able to visit coffee bean without thinking of the fact that there are 10 million farmers out there surviving on growing coffee beans for a living. ha. Essays were okay and do-able, just the same old story, not enough time! rargh. 2 essays in 1 hr 30 mins is seriously not enough. Nvm, at least the worst is over. Next up, bio!

~~BIO~~

Bio was okayy. harder than CTs definitely, esp the structured questions. But i thought the mcq was quite okay, and so was the essay. But somehow for bio it's not really that you dont know the answer, it's more like you know it but somehow no matter how much you write you seem to be going around in circles and you don't actually HIT the spot. how frustrating. and as usual, if only they didnt give us so much time for mcq and more time for paper 2!!!

~~MATH~~

Was so-so. Overall rather do-able, except for a few annoying questions. But knowing my propensity to make careless mistakes, i'll be lucky to get an A! (like the other time hehe) nvm, just ONE more paper left!!! :D

~~CHEM~~

Chem sucked!! Enough said. haha. what a nice way to end the promos. and so the infamous RJC Chem Dept strikes again. hehe.

But it doesn't matter!
cuz it's over!!!!
whee!

~~PROMOS!~~

time to get down to the after-promos to-do list! :DD

anyway, went out with the class after chem.
we mrt-ed down to cine for lunch and a movie.
ended up watching Great Balls Of Fury!
yes, i know the movie seems extremely stupid and brainless, but man it was hilarious!
and brainless movie + friends + nothing to worry about + a whole lot of laughter = the ultimate post-promos destresser (:
after the movie pong and i hopped over to centrepoint to get percy/fizzy pigs!
spent a nice time window shopping and smelling random soaps at marks and spencers. :D
so now i have nice percy pigs (and friends) to enjoy :D

finally went back for trng today as well.
there are 2 trng slots in the afternoon now, 4.30-6.30 and 5.30-7.30.
I'm still not sure who's supposed to start at what time, and whether it's john's group or the sea games people who are supposed to start at 5.30.
anyway, whatever it was, john gave me the 5.30pm distance set!
which was really hard.
(i bet he wanted to get back at me for missing almost a whole week of workouts by watching me struggling to make time)

this was the set we did:
8x300
2 on 3.55
2 on 3.50
2 on 3.45
2 on 3.40
and almost immediately followed by:
12x150
3 on 2.05 1 on 1.55
2 on 2.00 2 on 1.50
1 on 1.55 3 on 1.45

surprisingly i felt quite good considering the last time i swam was last sat morning.
made all the times for the 300 except for the 2nd 3.40 one. But for 150 i started to miss times from the 1.50 onwards, since 1.50 for 150 is the same pace as 3.40 for 300.
ah well.
i don't think i would have made those times even if i had been trng regularly anw hehe.
time to really get back to trng hard!
no more missing workouts!
AIG coming up really soon! :D

and here's my tentative plan for the weekend:
Saturday
training
breakfast
sleeep
more sleep
lunch (maybe, if i can wake up)
stone/use the laptop/play with Saber
sleep (if i'm still sleepy)
dinner
stone/use the laptop/play with Saber/go out/whatever
sleep

Sunday
sleep in!!
breakfast (if i wake up early enough)
stone/read lifestyle comics!/whatever
sleep (because i always feel sleepy after breakfast on Sundays o.o)
lunch
stone/watch stuff on youtube/whatever
stone/watch more sutff on youtube/whatever
stone/watch even more stuff on youtube/whatever
dinner
watch Constantine! (which my dad recorded when they broadcasted it on ch5 last sun)

boy oh boy!
:D

p.s. LJ's really annoying. i cannot for the life of me get the hang of their method of editing/creating layouts. why can't they just use html?? I think i shall just stick to my good old blogger(:

storm

2007-09-27T17:03:00.001+08:00

because the sky was so dark i wanted to take a picture of it, plus i was bored and i just remembered my phone camera has cool functions! :D

and one with colour. the sky doesn't look too dark here though. but right now it really looks blank and gloomy and washed out. like it's been whitewashed. grey-washed? haha.

and i really like this one. it looks so artsy BD

thunder and lightning. heh.
darn the power just tripped.
thank goodness for a laptop.

How long have I been in this storm?
So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form
Water's getting harder to tread
With these waves crashing over my head
-Lifehouse

careercruising

2007-09-25T21:43:00.000+08:00

A short break from Bacteria :D

Bold - Those that sound rather interesting(:
Italics - ??!!!/no way. :p

1.Veterinarian
2.Athletic Trainer
3.Horse Trainer
4.Animal Trainer - don't ask me why horse trainer doesnt come under animal trainer o.o
5.Conservation Officer
6.Chiropractor
7.Massage Therapist
8.Personal Trainer
9.Artist
10.Horticulturist
11.Gardener -(I only chose 'like' for the working with plants question! That doesnt mean i want to be a serious gardener..)
12.Clergy
13.Park Warden / Ranger
14.Naturopath
15.Nurse Practitioner - Why can't they just list it as Nurse?
16.Pediatrician
17.Professional Athlete - NO THANKS. ha.
18.Dermatologist
19.Obstetrician-Gynecologist
20.Kinesiologist
21.Mental Health Nurse
22.Aquaculturist - This means the cultivation of species that live underwater. Interesting.. i suppose. But weird.
23.Psychiatrist
24.ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language teacher)
25.Arborist - another plant-y career o.o
26.Nurse - aha! Now there's nurse.
27.Outdoor Guide
28.Animal Caretaker - a zookeeper would fall under this. well i suppose i wouldn't mind..
29.Anesthesiologist
30.Animal Breeder
31.Neurologist
32.Teacher Assistant - I don't really want to be an 'assistant'..
33.Zookeeper
34.Forestry Technician
35.Physical Education Teacher
36.Physician Assistant - same goes for the assistant thing
37.Dietitian
38.Licensed Practical Nurse - Nursing's not really my thing
39.Doctor
40.Pet Groomer

More about my top match!
Veterinarian
Job Description:
Veterinarians treat sick and injured animals, provide preventive medical services, and give advice about animal care and breeding to owners. They may specialize in the care and treatment of either small or large animals.

Small animal veterinarians deal mostly with household pets, such as dogs, cats, birds, rodents, and even reptiles. They usually work in cities and have owners bring their animals to a clinic or office-place.

Large animal veterinarians, who commonly work with horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and other farm animals, often have mobile practices. Like a character in a James Herriot novel, they may travel all over the countryside at all hours of the day and night, performing urgent procedures on sick or injured animals. Unlike James Herriot(<-- I've read all his books! :D) characters, however, today’s veterinarians do much of their work with food-producing animals on large, corporate-run farms.

The day-to-day work of veterinarians involves examining animals, making diagnoses, doing blood tests or x-rays, treating animals’ diseases or injuries, performing necessary surgery, and preventing animal illness through vaccinations. They are also often called upon to help very old, sick, or unwanted animals die in a relatively pain-free way.

Some veterinarians work with companies that develop and produce food or drugs to keep animals healthy. Others are employed by the government to inspect livestock for diseases. Quite a few take part in medical research projects that use animals as test subjects.

Earnings:
Earnings for veterinarians depend on experience, responsibilities, location, and employer. In general, people in this profession can earn anywhere from $35,000 to $120,000 a year. Median annual earnings for veterinarians in the US are about $65,000.

Veterinarians who are employed by government or corporations tend to have higher earnings than those who work in private practice.

Related Jobs:
Anesthesiologist
Animal Breeder
Animal Caretaker
Animal Trainer
Aquaculturist
Dermatologist
Doctor
Horse Trainer
Farmer
Marine Biologist
Pet Groomer
Veterinary Technician
Zookeeper
Zoologist

and on a sidenote, why i shouldn't become a doctor -
I dislike:
1)Being responsible for other peoples safety or well-being
2)Asking questions and interviewing people
3)Working under pressure
4)Working shifts including nights (haha)

that was rather enlightening :D
now back to bio!

these open arms

2007-09-24T00:00:00.000+08:00

because i can't find a nicer video on youtube o.o
nevertheless, the song's really nice!
i love his new album!
even though it's just a cover of the old old songs <3 :D

What if everything you ever took for granted, was gone?
And everything you ever thought was right, was wrong?
And what if everyone you ever loved was torn, from the pages of your life?
Would you reach out for tomorrow, or try to turn back time?

Did you really love the ones you said you loved, think twice.
And did you make a bit of difference in somebody elses life?
Tell me, is there someone you can count on when you need a friend?
Can you see I need a friend?

Surrender your heart
Give in, stop questioning why
Open your heart up to love & you'll see you will find

These open arms will wait for you
These open arms can pull us through
Between what's left and left to do
These open arms,these open arms

These open arms, will wait for you
-Clay Aiken!

A thousand days

2007-09-23T17:06:00.000+08:00

Through my eyes,
I have seen the world start spinning like a ball.
Stars light up and then fall for you.
So then what's a man like me supposed to do?
If I gave you the moon would you notice,
That I'm right beside you?

Well now a thousand days and thousand nights are not enough.
Cause I can't hold back the way I feel about my love.
Won't let it go, won't let it go.

And if the angels came, I'd fight them back to win your soul.
And when everything was said and done
They'd go back home.
And they oughta know, they oughta know.
That you're mine, all mine.

In my world,
You're the sun that shines and lights up the evening skies.
Clearing up the horizon, hold on.
Come with me and I will never let you down
Oh, and in this love we'll drown, this I promise you.
Cause they can't hold us down.

Well now a thousand days and thousand nights are not enough
Cause I can't hold back the way I feel about my love
Won't let it go, won't let it go.

And if the angels came, I'd fight them back to win your soul.
And when everything was said and done they'd go back home.
And they oughta know, they oughta know.
That you're mine all mine

I would do anything, just believe it.
Your love means everything ,and I need it.
Your heart won't lie,
Reach out for me..
-Clay Aiken

15 hours.

brightest

2007-09-20T13:34:00.000+08:00

terrible terrible terrible.

And I just know that she warms my heart
And knows what all my imperfections are
And she says that I am the brightest little firefly in her jar
-Copeland

you light up my life

2007-09-19T12:20:00.000+08:00

update!
about what's going on at trng.

hmmm.
john went overseas last wednesday, and came back yesterday
sets are still pretty okay.
the last 2 weeks or so were quite easy, but i think they're starting to get harder!
now that he's back. :/
and sat morn was slack, cuz uncle au yeong let us play soccer!
the dryland group.
so we just ran steps, then got divided into 3 teams, and took turns playing 1 goal matches.
winners continued on, losers had to leave and do a "penalty".
which was really just push-ups and sit ups with the medicine ball.
ha.

then when the rest came out of the gym they joined in too!
so there was some reshuffling of teams.
it was really fun since it's prob the first time everyone actually played :D
in the end we didn't even swim. hehe.

that's about all i guess lyn!
haha. nothing really exciting has happened since you left!
(:

4 more days to promos!!!!

oh and here's a video!
Bianca Ryan from America's Got Talent.
she's really really really good for an 11 yr old and i love the way she sings this song :D

So many nights, I'd sit by my window,
Waiting for someone to sing me his song.
So many dreams, I kept deep inside me,
Alone in the dark, but now you've come along.

'Cause you light up my life,
You give me hope, to carry on.
You light up my days
And fill my nights with song.

It can't be wrong
When it feels so right
'Cause youYou light up my life
-Bianca Ryan