As it draws near...

This week was extremely busy. Had pracs everyday till 7-8 pm plus...sianz. Already started to lag behind in tutorials. Btw I pia-ed the statistics tutorials during the march holidays and haven't done a single one since term 2 started. Glad that my efforts were able to last for abt 5 weeks, to one week before syf. Phew...if I chose not to pia during the hols, then my tutorial pace would really be a disaster now.

Finally, next week lies the crucial day...has been awaiting this day for many weeks liao. Although the conductor kept praising us for our good playing, I still dun think that our standard is good enough compared to other bands. There seem to be so many audible flaws as we play, mostly random. Just hope that none of these flaws will emerge in the competiton, but the probability of all the flaws not occuring on that day is so negligible. (linking my statistical knowledge with band...lol) Gold with honours remains elusive, unless we play really really well, and other bands play really really badly. Perhaps acheiving a gold is more probable, considering our current standard. Silver...most likely not, unless we screw up big time. Anyway we cannot afford to obtain silver, since guitar and harmonica got a GOLD in syf. (congrats to them!) String orchestra got a Gold with Honours. And I have confidence that Chinese Orchestra and Choir and attain a Gold with Honours as well. The band competition day comes last of all the musical groups...a bit stressful eh.

Watched 'Jing Zhong Ren' for the past few days. The story is getting interesting liao, with Xiaofen discovering that Yixin and Joeann are the same person!

Exchange

Hmmm...yesterday was the band exchange with 5 other JC bands: TJC, YJC, MJC, NYJC and SRJC. It was held at MJC. Wah, I love the school campus a lot, so new and big, looks beautiful too! A large contrast to the HC campus, which is rather old. The best band present was TJC, luckily the better bands like RJC and ACJC weren't there otherwise we would be even more stressful. TJ was the first band to play, their playing was quite impressive and it sounded perfect. Next came YJ...seriously they sounded terrible (the worst out of the 6 bands). Maybe they were extremely stressed by TJ before them, even the conductor seemed very paiseh. After that was us, cannot really tell how it sounded overall but I think it wasn't as good as what we practised the day before. Next MJ, they have a very big band and they played rather loud and impressive. Then NY, which played the choice piece of tchs band for the previous syf. I still think the tchs version was better...haha...a bit bias here... Last was SR, which played a piece that we played during a combined concert last dec hols. Sounded very weird since many parts were cut off. Now that we roughly know each other's standards, it's time for us to buck up and practise harder since ours weren't the best sounding of all. Haiz...

This morning my maid was sent back to Philippines for borrowing money from others and not return them. Even we knew the matter quite long ago, we wanted to give her a chance to tell us truthfully abt her financial problems but she lied repeatedly, insisting that she did not borrow any money at all. She even approached my neighbours and other maids for money. The next-door uncle lent her $350 but even after several months the money wasn't returned. The worse thing is she wanted to borrow some more...haiz. The another maid too, was continuously drained of her money by my maid. However I think my maid was a victim too, she was cheated by other maids who borrowed money from her. The money cannot be returned since the maids were suddenly sent back to Philippines. She even gave her luggage bag away (so we had to give her our own traveller's bag). After she left, she sent a msg to my family, expressing her remorse. But it's too late...sigh. This case is better than 2 years ago where we sent the maid back to Indonesia for stealing money. In total abt $2000+ was stolen. My money wasn't spared either...she managed to pry open my locked drawer and take all my hongbao money and my savings (sobz...my $500+ gone like that). After since I dun bother to save anymore, as my bro said the money shld be spent rather than be saved and then stolen. As long as I have a maid, I dun think I will save my money at home. Maids are really getting out of hand nowadays... Anyway I really hope the new maid would be honest.

Baddiley sucks lah...I wonder if I shld really spend my time doing the 5-6 TIME AQs...she wun check anyway rite?

New furniture

The table had 4 legs. The TV rested on top of the table. Over time, the 2 front legs became weak and finally gave way. The whole table was tilted forward, and the TV would most likely slip off the table and smash onto the ground, turning into a useless heap of metal. Very fortunately there was a rosewood sofa right in front of the TV, which prevented it from falling completely to the ground. The TV is saved, but now the sofa is broken. As the heavily-loaded table tilted, VCR tapes were strewn to the floor. The VCR player and the game consoles slipped out from their compartments, but were held suspended by their connecting wires. What a close shave, all the appliances are fine. Now I just have to look forward to new furniture.

"This is a milliammeter eh! Not an ammeter eh. If you read wrongly, I send you for CS ah!" <-- works wonders

Yawn, approximately 2 weeks (15 days) to SYF. Time seems to pass so slowly when you are suffering, and go as quick as lightning while you are enjoying. I wonder if that day would ever come, and how I would feel when the ordeal is finally over... (Ecstatic obviously, as I've more time for games and comics!) Whether the band can get a gold w or w/o honours/or even silver, is still a question mark. Most worried abt major screwups that will happen due to stage fright, like solos not coming in properly or tuning problems. We'll never know, as it all depends on our state of mind and reflexs during the 10min+ on stage. One chance and that's it.

Starting to miss home already, after reaching home late from band prac/s paper almost everyday. At this rate I'll eventually lag behind for tutorials. No dotas for me anymore...cannot afford to get too carried away at this point of time. Btw Lich rocks!!!

PW

PW results released today. The class overall didn't do very well. 5 got Band 3 and the rest got Band 2. Not a single Band 1 at all...haiz. Perhaps the class is too slack already, did a lot of last minute work, esp my grp...hehe. But some ppl really put in a lot of time and effort, and do not deserve a mere Band 2. Seems that the rest of the class pulled them down. Most classes have at least a few 1s, majority 2s. Heard in one Arts class everyone got a 1...arts mah! Nvm lor, at least I'm with the majority.

Attended a PSC scholarship talk today, but didn't really pay attention to it cos I dun think I'll apply for a scholarship. With those prerequisites and interviews, I doubt I can make it. Haven't given a serious thought abt scholarships before... And my family can support my further education =)

Moo...moo... Has anyone spotted herds of cows at grass patches around Singapore recently? They can often be seen along the roadside grasslands, so keep a lookout for it! So far I only spotted them at one location: BKE just before Eng Neo exit.

功亏一篑

Very disappointed with my NAPFA results today...didn't manage to attain a silver...*sobz* Was doing fine for the first 5 items, but then 2.4 run was a disaster. My worst nightmare finally come true - dizziness. Felt very giddy after the fourth round, but pressed myself to continue running. However I was running slower and slower, and my legs started to hurt. Completed the run in 13:00 mins...terribly slow. One of the last 10 ppl (out of abt 60) to finish the run. That really sucks lor. After the run, I was feeling extremely giddy. Felt like fainting (but didn't cos dun want to make it look so serious), felt like vomiting also (but didn't cos the stuff just cannot come out). So I just drank some water and took a quick nap, before I recovered and was ready to continue the rest of the 6 periods. Still thinking abt the 2.4 run...sigh...what a waste. Btw I scored ABBDD for the first 5 items (not very impressive lah, but already exceeded the minimum requirement of 15 points to get a silver.) If only a E is allowed for silver...haiz. Have to take a retest on July lor. If things still dun turn out well, have to go to Toa Payoh already. (which I dun want >_<) Worse come to worst, report earlier for NS lor...

Still having a slight headache...I think I'd better take a nap.

Hahaha...

That lau cok cok finally got to lecture for phy today! Haha...this would let majority of the cohort know how lousy he is. I think most ppl dun understand what he was talking abt, so many complained abt the way he speaks. He displayed his CS-mindedness during the lecture when he said "If you use this eqn for other currents I send you for CS eh!" -__- Although it's a boring lecture, I'm very excited to see all his stupid antics!

Will be taking NAPFA tmr, all 6 items together...so tiring lor. Haven't been training much recently so I think I might not meet the silver mark. The most confident item is pull-up while the least confident one is 2.4. (not sure if I still can run as fast as last term). Anyway are there any grading table for NAPFA available from the net? Cos I want to plan how to get the minimum requirement for silver...hehe. Just hope everything goes well tmr, no headaches or stitches.

Good, finally can go home early on thurs cos no chem s tmr...yay!

Well Done!

Yay...three cheers to myself for performing so well for the first block test (the test that most ppl were unprepared for)! Got AAAB...I think most shld know which sub I scored a B. A narrow miss of 2 marks to get a perfect score...haiz...if weren't for some really stupid mistakes. Really wondering what was I thinking in the exam hall... But nvm lah, the results are good enough liao. (I dun think anyone in my class got 4As cos I'm the only one who got A for chem...muhahahaha...) <- *so evil*

Gonna study harder for the second block test. Tsk, can't believe I'll be reading thru those boring notes again, for the 2nd time of the year. Then prelim would be the third, and finally the A lvls fourth. Hopefully by that time all the information would be pinned into my brain forever. Still remember during sec sch, I read the phy geog textbook so much that I was able to memorise most of the phrases and diagrams, anticipate the pages, regurgitate everything in exams (this may be good and bad). "When the thinner, denser oceanic plate collides with the thicker, less dense continental plate, the oceanic plate subducts under the continental plate, causing tremendous friction which melts the rocks into basaltic magma. The magma burns through the lithosphere, emerging from the surface as lava which piles up, cools and solidifies to form a volcano." Sth like that lah...haha...might be a bit off.

For those who didn't do very well for this test, it's not too late to buck up for the next block test. Learn from your mistakes and ensure that all the doubts are clarified. Actually hor, most ppl dun do very well for school tests but when it comes to A lvl, they will get a lot of As. As long as you study hard, getting 4As at the end of the year is not impossible!

Almost forgot there was Maths S today...tot I could go home early and play (since sectionals are banned till Thursday...). That maths s lecturer Miss Hia super slack leh. All she does is come into the LT, points to her answer key to explain the solutions, goes to lock the air rifle room. Then comes back and point point point again, before dismissal. She never prepares her lesson before coming to the lecture. Only when someone points out her mistakes, then she would start to ponder abt the answer (I bet before that she dun even know what she was talking abt...), and give some crap explanation for minimum satisfication. In fact I dun think maths s needs a lecturer, a *good* answer key does all the explaining.

Fruitful week

This week has been quite fruitful; balanced the time spent on work, reading (comics) and play. Planned a 'time management' scheme for the period after I get home from sch every weekday. Mon, Wed and Fri would be comics, while Tues and Thurs would be Warcraft. At the same time I would carry out my daily net surfing, dose of 933 and mugging of tutorials/assignments if necessary. In all, I have made my life more packed and well spent, in expense of afternoon napping time. (I guess the lack of sleep might accumulate until the weekends) I find these activities quite enriching (dun underestimate comics...you can really learn a lot from them) and glad that my life is not completely consumed by schoolwork alone. Will try my best from now on to engage in more activities (beside than sports and reading novels) and take note of the latest trends. Dun want to be a 'mountain turtle'. However during this period of time, there are some time constraints from the band...can't really do much stuff in the weekends, esp when they are also reserved for sleeping/napping/mugging. Playing in the weekdays and studying in the weekends, do you think it's more effective?

Last night an acute pain from my calf woke me up in the middle of the night. It was so damn unbearable...grabbed on my leg until the pain went off. I think my calf muscle was pulled or sth, probably due to thurs' PE run. (then why did I feel the pain only on fri and not the day before? And why didn't it happen last term where running was more intensive then?) Funny...I could never understand how my body functions. Ya, I always wonder why do bodily changes take place the fastest when we are sleeping? Any bio students can answer? Haha...

No...

Heard from Mr Lee LJ today that Mr Wong likes our class! Haha...but too bad we dun like him. It's just yi xiang qing yuan from his part. Not only there are no mutual feelings between us, we grew disdian towards him. He hasn't come to sch for 2 days already, I hope he would continue to stay at home and let Mr Lee take over us for the rest of our jc life. At least Mr Lee is much much better than him. And where is our phy paper?!

GP presentation today. It's such a pity when one grp took the effort to prepare nice powerpoint slides, but ended up only having to present in words. For my case, I didn't lose out a lot. The piece of info gathered from the net has been stagnant in my file for months already. Didn't even try to prepare my speech (since it was a last minute decision). Btw the topic I'm presenting abt was literature and arts...pffft...the worst topic I could ever present on. Arts is a big NO NO for me. Was just reading from the script blindly, stammering several times. Dun even know what the hell am I reading (luckily Bad didn't stop to question me, probably cos she doesn't know a lot either...). What naturalism, realism, romanticism, fakism, wth-ism.

Physics lecture today abt NMR: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Chimology.

The Great Equaliser

Someone introduced this theory to me a few years ago and I tot it would be interesting to share with you all. First of all as the name suggests, it discusses abt the equality among everyone in terms of skills and talents. No one is more skilled than another in the general picture. Everyone has different aptitudes in different aspects and the reason why one does appear to be very talented is becos we haven't seen his/her weaknesses. Similarly, a person bearing a weakness definitely has a strength somewhere else, which could be undiscovered by the person himself. Homogenity does not exist in the human society, the skilful reflects the inept, the wealthy reflects the deprived, the good reflects the bad. However altogether they form a neutral world where positve virtues and negative traits cancel each other out. Imagine a system where you dedicate a fixed number of points to your characteristics such as personality, health, intelligence, etc. (a higher number of points would mean one is better in that particular aspect) Almost everyone would have a different combination of points allocated to each category. As such everyone is a unique being, having no exactly similiar skills and interests with each other, like our fingerprints. The god is fair I believe (the mention of the word 'god' here doesn't necessary imply my belief in gods, it's just merely used to represent a supernatural phenomenon), allowing the maximum number of points to be spent for each person. This means if you are weak in one area, you would be strong in another. Nature by itself may be heterogeneous but the human policies may not. The education system in Singapore is a good example, showing that it favours those with aptitudes in maths and sciences. Having some language ability may help but it is under-emphasised in Singapore. (perhaps in the future languages and humanities might become a critical part of the curriculum when ppl with such skills become rarer) Apparently the system did some injustice to a certain group of ppl who find it difficult to cope with the current compulsory syllabus and therefore is implementing some modifications to ensure everyone gets their fair share of education. We can't expect everybody to perform well in the mainstream subjects esp when some are more adept in arts and sports. The ideal situation would be, able to do well in multiple aspects in the curriculum but according to the theory it may also mean losing out in other types of development, probably sociability or looks. However, some traits may be influenced by another, to make one seem more bad/good than one actually is. For instance having low morality and high intelligence. Such person would most likely commit high crimes like getting involved in the terrorism network or technology invasion (eg. hacking/spreading viruses). As for high artistic capabilities but low health, one might not be able to fully develop his artistic potential and further perpetuate his talented works. How about high sociability but low looks? The strength in social aspect may be slightly penalised. And so on, the list is inexhaustible. Instead of moaning and groaning abt our weaknesses, we should attempt to convert them to our strength (perhaps in the process sacrificing an aspect of our character) or at least alleviate our weaknesses using our strengths in a proper manner. In order to keep us aware that no human is a failure, we must remember the Great Equaliser.