Argh!!!

//Argh!!!//

It sucks not being able to sing...

I love to sing, not that I can sing very well...but yea I love to sing...it's like sometimes you love a certain subject but you always fail the tests & exams..think along that line...

So back to the point, my damn nose has been bugging me for the past 2 weeks. Since the beginning of the first day of lesson (right after orientation), the runny nose thing has been going on....and to add on to the misery..the cough thing doesn't stop...

And I always feel that it's a waste of time to go see doctor because of this...I mean you have to spend time waiting...then you go in...tell the doc..."oh i have a cough and a runny nose"...then doc writes something on the prescription paper...then out you go...

It's not like I have a fever that doesn't go or something like that..it's just a damn nose problem...and thankfully, it's getting slightly better...last week it was like blocked for 24 hours a a day...now it's onli about 12 hours a day...

But despite me not being in the best health condition...New year goodies here I come! Heck with the nose...I decided that Chinese New Year is the time to enjoy..I shall just continue eating all the heaty food...and make sure my health condition worsens...then I shall go see a doc...though that means no more singing for even longer...

Actually it's not like I totally cannot sing with this runny nose..I can...but last week...I will feel like I'm dying of asthma attack after every song...and my voice totally shuts down when it comes to the even remotely higher notes...and I don't even mean those really high notes..which I can't reach even when I'm with 100% of my voice...but it's ok...cause I always just sing along to the song...so if I can't reach...the singer will be able to :)...I will just pretend that I can reach those not-so-low notes and feel damn good abt it..

It's CNY Eve...though I believe a lot of people are sian-ing and stoning like me...I've got my CNY countdown programme ready! I shall be mugging mugging & mugging! Lol...but seriously..I will TRY to do some of the tutorials due next week...I seriously don't want to bring these work back to Malaysia when I go back to visit my relatives from my mum's side....but if I fail in doing so...fret not!

Actually I think I'm quite zai in copying work lerz...I mean I'm always able to find time to copy work during lectures/tutorials/breaks...and the thing is I can copy work & listen to the lecture @ the same time...it takes a lot of planning, cause you need to decide what lectures to copy what subject's tutorial..so that it's the most efficient (listen to lecture @ the same time) & you are able to finish copying before the actual lesson itself...

Despite not finishing 70% of my work most of the time in my secondary 3 & 4 life...I manage to survive unscathed every single time (except once..)

I know this isn't something I should be really proud of...but I mean..there's seriously nothing much I can boast about regarding myself...so I shall just milk it for its worth...

Back to my CNY eve plan...I've just downloaded Lost season 2 episode 11 & 12...& Charmed season 8 episode 13....so afterwards..I shall just watch Charmed as an appetiser before my reunion dinner....after that at around 11pm...I shall start my mini-lost marathon and watch the 2 episodes back to back...that's basically how I'm gonna spend the moment at 12 am when CNY comes...watching Lost...of course I think I will come online at arnd 12 to wish everyone Happy new year...before going back to Lost...

After that..if I still don't feel sleepy...I will proceed on to watch Stargate Atlantis..I've still got about 10 more episodes to go...

I'm seriously NEVER gonna watch Mediacorps CNY eve prog...it sucks...and I don't have cable and so on...so there will not be any nice countdown shows to watch...I'll have to resort to my downloaded shows then...

What an exciting way to spend my CNY eve.. -_-

Angels & Mortals

//Angels & Mortals//

Dan Brown didn't write a new book entitled "Angels & Mortals" in case you are wondeirng...I just want to comment on this Angels & Mortals thing going on in school nowadays...

Every morning...the first thing I do after putting my bag at the class bench is to check the letter board to see if there's any letters for me...

Every break...the first thing I do after returning to the class bench is to check the letter board again...even if I have already received letters in the morning...it's still kind of a habit to check the board....

I think I'm getting a bit obssessed liaoz...

But I do feel that I tell both my angel & my mortal more about my feelings towards the class, about what I do @ home and so on...then I did towards my own classmates....cause sometimes it's just weird to talk to people about this kind of stuff...and I always express myself better in words than in person...I can talk so much more online than in person...

Saw my mortal during STJ yesterday...I don't think she knows I'm her angel yet...but she can easily find out if she wants to...she still looks quite dao to me...but then I think it's just her looks larz...after reading some of the senior's blog...realised she's quite similar to me too...in the sense that she takes quite a long time to warm up to people...etc..

And from all these blog reading...I sort of have a rough idea who my angel may be...IF my guess is right...then my angel also look very dao lerz...how come I got a dao-looking angel and a dao-looking mortal huh? Do I look very dao too? I have heard from people thay I look very dao....but listless = dao meh?

Ok...I seriously think there's something wrong with me lately...I've gone by a week without blogging (despite so many things that happened)...and now that I've started this entry...I don't know how to continue from here...normally I will feel very inspired about something and I will just sit down and start typing...can't seem to do that nowadays....always get stuck after a few paragraphs...

Never mind....I shall talk about something else...STJ yesterday...ok this time...I shall not give a play by play account of what happened yesterday...

The funny thing is for STJ and JTS...it's supposed to be a session for seniors and juniors to have opportunity to interact..but I felt that I learnt more about my classmates than about my serniors...apart from names that is...

Talked to Denny more than I normally do yesterday...talked with Everlyn a lot too on the train back...talked about our impressions of people in the class and so on...it's interesting to see how different people felt about the class...we gossiped about seniors too...I mean seriously...I realised I've become very gossipy lately...but gossips make the otherwise mundane and boring school life interesting...so I guess it's a good thing then...

I realised the class is quite mug lerz...on Friday...I already see that quite a few people have finished their maths, chem tutorial and so on...scary...and I know some people have already finished ALL the work? wth? I mean Bio and Econs isn't even due till Thur? Yea..I know it's not good to procrastinate...but to finish it so fast?

To all those who have finished all the work that are due next week...WELL DONE! You've succeeded in freaking me out and making me worry if I'm already starting to get too slack...

Alive

//Alive//

Stuck in world
No longer turning
Always the one
Waiting for something
Too many days
Walking around sleeping
Open my eyes
I'm tired of dreaming
- Melissa O'Neil

16 years of my life has come and gone by...have I live this 16 years to the fullest? I'm not sure...

I'm sure everyone will have some regrets about decisions made...like "I shouldn't have come to this sec sch..." or "I shouldn't have join this CCA" or "I should have went for that audition" etc...

But the scary thing is looking back....I don't think I regretted any decisions I made...cause seriously I didn't really make that many big decisions in my life yet....

"Always the one, waiting for something"...yep that's me...I wait for things to happen....I just go with the flow...go with the majority...so most of the decisions have been pretty easy for me...I am always the passive one...and even when there's a opportunity, I hesitate...like when I was in sec 1...I wanted to join Air Rifle, but I didn't even go for the trials..cause I'm worried...worried that I will be too sucky...won' even make it...etc...

"You seem uninterested in so many things, and you look listless almost on every single day..." One of my friends once said this to me....which is somewhat true I won't deny...but it is not really that I'm uninterested in so many things...it's just I'm just too passive and dumb to go for things I'm interested in...as mentioned in the previous para...and this has happen so many times...in sec sch...there were so many prog and stuff...and I let a lot of them just passed by...without even attempting to go for it...so I'm pretty numb about it...which is probably why I don't regret for not going for them...

"Too many days, Walking around sleeping, Open my eyes, I'm tired of dreaming"...and yes...I'm sort of tired of this kind of life...now in JC...there are also a lot a lot of stuff going on....lots of programme...cca...and stuff...like dramafeste...huang cheng...etc...

I wanna run with the reckless emotion
Find out if love is the size of an ocean
Even if I crash down, burn out
At least I'm gonna know what it's like
To feel alive
- Melissa O'Neil

I decided to more active...and try to go for stuff I'm interested in...and not worry about if I can make it...or what others would think...so I went for bowling trials and music & dance auditions...obviously I didn't manage to get into MAD...but at least I tried...

Going in for the auditions, I know my chances are really slim..with so many people joining...and me not being the very dancey type...but I decided to just have some fun...and try my best...whether my best is enough or not is not really relevant...because if I try to evade like I used to...not daring to go for anything simply cause I don't think I will make it...then I can pretty much forget about going for anything....cause I am seriously not talented or good in any specific area...

Oh...and I signed up for Interact club!!! Lol...which I don't think I would do in the past...but doing some community work...well..this is really sincerely something I have been wanting to do in the past...not for the CIP...not for the portfolio...but something I really wanted to do....

I have been wanting to do some community work for a long long time...but I never did put in any effort or time to go look for some organisation...case of being too passive again....

Ok...I really don't think I should continue now...my whole mind is sort of incoherent now...can't think straight for some weird reason...I spent like eons trying to type out this short entry...which turn out to be very incoherent too...

A Spoon?

//A Spoon?//

Phoebe: You know I'm not afraid of our powers. I mean, everyone inherits something from their family, right?

Prue: Yeah, money, antiques, a strong disposition. That's what normal people inherit.

Phoebe: Who wants to be normal when we can be special?

- Charmed

Yes, normal people inherit money, anitiques and so on...but what can a class inherit?

A Spoon?

After campfire on the last day of orientation, we were asked to meet at the canteen by our senior class...and we inherited a spoon from them...

Let's rewind...campfire's pretty boring initially with all the performances from all the facs, and by tht time it reaches the third faculty (Ares I think), the whole class was in the canteen eating our dinner from Poolside...

After that we were so bored by the campfire games that we decided to go to the class bench and chit chat, and later we went to the area near the field, formed a circle and sat down and chit chat and played games n discussed what we want to sell for the CNY stall...

By the time it's the song and dance, we were back in the central plaza...singing & dancing together...and of course we sung our 71-ing song...

But all these are not the main point....after the campfire ended, we met our senior class at the canteen, with a whole bunch of seniors from previous batches hanging around...

We were told to squeeze on 2 canteen tables...and do some cheers, and in particular, we are supposed to do this cheer that we have to jump, shake and turn around...

And then came the moment...the watermelon eating ceremony...we were given one watermelon, one spoon (which of course wasn't really used) and one minute to finish up the whole watermelon...

The eating part wasn't much of a problem, it is the part in which we have to open up the watermelon that was a problem, and we spent at least half the time trying to squash it open...

We more or less managed to finish the whole watermelon in one minute....and after the whole thing, Alicia was told to keep the spoon and passed it on to the next batch...and I heard that this watermelon eating tradition was started in 1987...and when I said "heard" I mean really overheard 2 seniors talking something about 1987 batch..so I just assumed...

Earlier that day after war games, I was collecting the valuables for the class in the hall, this teacher was from 71 too (96s71), which make exactly 10 years our seniors, guessed she went through the same watermelon eating thing too...

Later the class went to KAP (again) with the senior class...I am completely and utterly sick of KAP...played 终极密码...

All the fun's ended and here comes the lessons...sianz...actually I won't say "fun's ended" cause I don't really think that this orientation is that fun...though we had a lot of class interaction through practising for the performance, painting the banner and going out to eat together everyday....but the orientation programme itself is quite boring, which was made even worse by the bad weather...

But regardless of how fun the orientation, the REALLY boring lessons are beginning...

DANCE!!!

//DANCE!!!//

All we need is music, sweet music
There'll be music everywhere
There'll be swingin', swayin' and records playin'
And dancin' in the street...
- Martha & The Vandellas

Dance dance & dance, that's pretty much how I've been spending my past few afternoons & evenings...

Alicia came up with this damn cool dance for the class performance, though unfortunately I think it only look really cool with her dancing, the guys looks really pathetic compared to her...

But when you put 13 guys who have no dancing gene in them, and expect them to dance this really cool dance, I thought we actually did not do too bad...we did the best we could to learn all the moves and make it look coordinated...

There is only this much we can do, so I'm proud of ourselves...considering the fact that we only learnt in on monday....

The girl's dance is not that much easier than ours either, theirs is less strenous I guess, without all the "leg split" moves or rolling around in pumping position, but their tempo seems faster and their moves seem more complicated....

And I realised dancing is a pretty good form of exercise...it exercise your muscles, make your more flexible, make you sweat a lot, and at the same time you must try to focus on doing the right steps, and concentrate on hand-leg coordination....not an easy thing at all...

1 last day of fun before the terror begins....

Campus Superstar Prediction

//Campus Superstar Prediction//

After watching all 10 guys and 10 girls performed...let me make a prediction for the guys and girls who will get into the semi finals...

First group of girls:

No chance at winning at all (eliminated next week):

Yvonne Chua (sung Fly Away)
She was only saved last week cause she is chio-er than Siew Ping. But looks can only carry her this far.

Barely missing the semi finals:

Shermaine Goh (sung 幸福的地图)
Not as bad as Yvonne, but she is just not as good/cute as the other 2 girls in her group. I do think she underperformed last week because she's too nervous so don't count her out yet. She might just make the semi finals, bumping one of the other 2 girls whom I think will make it out.

Semi Finalists:

Ng Imm Khim (sung 爱的主打歌)
She's cute, with a cute voice, and she doesn't 怯场 (like one of the judges mentioned). But somehow I don't see her doing well with slow songs with that her voice and age. But stick to fast-tempo songs and she should be a semi-finalist.

Geraldine (sung 解脱)
She's so coooool, her voice is unique, but then she is VERY nervous last week, work on that and she's a confirmed semi finalist.

First group of guys:

No chance at winning at all (eliminated next week):

Renfred Ng (sung 爱上未来的你）
Aunties who find him cute might vote for him...but I think that's all the votes he's getting, IF he make it through next week, then I guess there's no doubt he will be a semi-finalist cause he's clearly not as talented.

Barely missing the semi finals:

Lee Yin Wei (sung 简单爱)
Bad song choice last week in my opinion, does seem to have a pleasant tone, his fate really depends on his song choice next week, I wouldn't be surprised if he make it to the semi finals, but as of now, I don't think he will.

Semi Finalists:

Ng Chee Yang (sung 普通朋友）
Has the best technique among his group, but his voice is probably a love it/hate it kind. Based on what I know he's singing next week, he MIGHT be in danger cause people might be wow by his high voice and his technique, they might not necessarily like the high voice.

Chen Yi Yuan (sung 莎士比亚的天份）
My favourite voice of a guy among all guys. If he doesn't screw up badly for the next 2 weeks, I don't see why he won't make it.

Second group of girls:

No chance at winning at all (eliminated next week):

Sheena Goh/Clara Tan (sung 理想情人 & 最熟悉的陌生人 respectively)
Both has average voice, ok technique, and I think both underperformed this week. Clara might have done much better with a different song cause the chorus wasn't bad at all. Sheena does sound like she lost her voice (unless that's her natural voice)...so between this 2, I can't predict who will be out next, it depends on their performance next week.

Semi Finalists:

Ng Yang Ce (sung Cappucino)
She's so adorable! I think she will make it to the semi finals based on her looks + okay/cute singing. I also think she sounded like she no voice like that, so it's really a toss up between this 3 girls as to who will be eliminated and who will make it to the semi finals.

Teresa Tseng (sung Cinderalla)
I don't think there's any doubt she will make it to the semis. However, she need to have GREAT performance all the way, one little glitch might just put her out, though she look pretty, but she isn't exactly the very cute type, and she does look old for her age.

Second group of guys:

No chance at winning at all (eliminated next week):

Kenneth Lim (sung 我还能爱谁）
His singing just seems off to me, I can't pin point the exact thing that is bothering me, but I just don't think he have enough talent/look to pull him through another week.

Barely missing the semi finals:

Hong Yu Yang (sung 爱的就是你）
Really unique voice, really bad song choice. If he can choose a good song and wow us all, then he would have a really good chance in making the semis, especially with his looks as one of the judges pointed out. But he seems very uncomfortable on stage though.

Semi Finalists:

Adriano Huang （sung 爱你就等于爱自己）
I really really like his voice too, at least it doesn't sound too generic. Might be in danger if Yu Yang manage to garner enough votes.

Samuel Tan (sung Piano)
He has a rather pleasant voice too, but quite generic I would say. He does seem very comfortable on the stage though. Might be in danger if Yu Yang manage to garner enough votes.

Semi Finalists:

Girls:
Ng Imm Khim (sung 爱的主打歌)
Geraldine (sung 解脱)
Ng Yang Ce (sung Cappucino)
Teresa Tseng (sung Cinderalla)

Revival Round: Koh Bee Kwee (sung 燕尾蝶）(if she qualify for revival round?)
Choose a better song, and she should be in, her vocal technique is not bad, only hinderance for her is popularity (which accounts for 70% though).

Guys:
Ng Chee Yang (sung 普通朋友）
Chen Yi Yuan (sung 莎士比亚的天份）
Adriano Huang （sung 爱你就等于爱自己)
Samuel Tan (sung Piano)

Revival Round: Hong Yu Yang (sung 爱的就是你）
In fact I think he might not even need revival round to get in, so if he manage to get into the semis, one of the 4 guys above might have to get in through revival round.
Let's see how right I was a few weeks later...

06S71

//06S71//

It sounds like some secret code or something doesn't it?

But nah, that's my new class...

4 days of the orientation went past, and I felt like I didn't play much admist all the academic talks...

My OG was fun, the hexathlon was fun, the cheering was fun, the song sessions were fun, the dance sessions were FUN!

But all these are nothing compared to meeting my new class...which was very very exciting for me!! I mean afterall I'm gonna be classmates with them for at least 3 months (and hopefully for 2 years)

I was at the board with all the class lists, and finally when I managed to locate my name, the councillors were chasing us up the hall, and I only managed to see that Weixin is also in my class.

I admit I wasn't exactly very thrilled to know that (no offence), but after seeing who else is in my class, I must say I was pretty glad that I'm in this class...

I got a primary school classmate, Everlyn (whom I didn't know came to Hwa Chong), Mitchell, Yuming and Ming Shu are in my class too.

And there's Pauline, who I sort of know from NYSJAB...then there's Ferarina from Nanhua and Elaine from Xinmin (both schools are in same zone as CHS for SJAB) and I know quite a few of their friends, though I didn't know them personally...

And there's Wilson (Bing Yuan) from NCC, who was the medic for NCC, and Ming wei and I taught him first aid before...

And I'm very glad that there are guys from other schools too, if not it would be so boring with all the guys from chs...Zhirong from Anderson, who was quite friendly, and Denny and Ivan from Maris Stella...

And the best thing is the ratio of guys to girls is 1:1 (13 guys and 13 and girls)...it just made the whole class seem so perfect..lol...

All of my classmates are quite nice after the one day interaction I had with them...although I admit we are pretty passive when it comes to discussion, but with a few enthu ones like Alicia, Rebecca & Jason (Chun Rui) leading the discussion, most people did contribute one way or another...

And people actually do take the initiative to be part of something...eg. to be part in charge of the cheering, or be part of the dancing group, or in charge of the flag stuff etc...

The first session with the Civics tutor was quite boring...he's a very experienced teacher, being in Hwa Chong for 29 years...and he does seem pretty nice...he actually reminds me of Ong Tiong Meng, who wasn't exactly a very exciting person...

The senior class was pretty cool too...lame too...after we all stepped into the room, they started cheering 3 cheers for 72....and for a moment I thought we were in the wrong class...but after that brief moment, I knew it was a joke...cause most of them can't really lie...they were giggling while cheering...but poor Jason thought we really did come to the wrong class and almost went out....

The person next to me was like whispering to me "last year when they were juniors they must have been tricked by their senior too.."

We played Double Wacko (seniors outer circle, juniors inner circle and we must "protect" one another) which was actually much more fun then the one I played with my OG where no one really knows anyone yet...

We also played game of concetration and so on...and ended the session with singing Birthday song for the class, since 7th Jan is supposed to be official class Birthday (my class is 71 in case you haven't realised)...and through some cake and pizza, we interacted with each other...

I am very excited about Monday's activites and so on, especially since it's with the class...

Anyway, since today is supposed to be class birthday...I shall dedicate this entry to my class 06S71...let the fun begins!

Concrete Angel

//Concrete Angel//

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel...
- Martina McBride

I have been listening to this song for quite some while...(that is the chorus by the way)...

But despite listening to it for so long, I didn't really took note of what the lyrics meant, I just took the chorus literally (the concrete angel standing hard as a stone etc)...

She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace
- Martina McBride

I always wondered what does this first verse has anything to do with the "concrete angel"...though it was quite obvious, somehow I just never realised...

But after watching the MTV just now, I finally realised what this whole song was about, and it brought tears to my eyes (yea I know, I've been pretty weird recently...crying so much over little things like this..)...

I always thought it is a beautiful song, but seeing the MTV really made the whole song better...

A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot
- Martina McBride

I cried at this point (the bridge I think) during the MTV, cause this part of the lyrics seems quite straightforward (and the MTV is quite straightforward too, just showing scenes describing the lyrics), but what I visualised for the scenes for this part of the song is totally different from what I saw, the scenes in the MTV sort of caught me by surprise...

I really recommend you to watch the MTV here...(the girl in the MTV did a really good job)...or listen to the song here

Campus Superstar

//Campus Superstar//

I went for the live recording for the first round...thanks to Chee Yang/Ying Cheng...(for the tickets)...

The girls were alright...no "wow" singer from the 5 girls tonight, mostly sweet voice, uptempo songs, except for F5, she's quite cool, the way she dressed and sing, but I can't get over the fact that she is super pitchy...some notes were way off...

But I would like to comment that F4, sounded really bad singing "Fly Away" live, after watching back, it's not so bad, but hearing it live, she was so overwhelmed by the music, and she sounded like she is singing in the wrong key or something...she was slouching..etc...

As for guys...Chee Yang did great at the later part of the verse and the chorus, but he started off really shaky and bad...Hui Shi was damn right when she says he should "Xiang Shang Fa Zhan" cause his lower register isn't exactly his strength...

M2 has a GREAT voice, technique-wise he's above average, there's this part where there's supposed to be a falsetto I think, but he didn't attempt it, lack of technique I guess? Great voice nonetheless...

M4 (the RI guy) sounded very robotic, and monotonous...which in my opinion is because of a wrong choice of song, it just doesn't suit his image...

M5, still don't like him, I think he's getting by with the ACAC factor....(Act Cool Act Cute)...

As for those 2 eliminated, must be pretty sucky for them to return to school tomorrow just after getting eliminated the night before...it sucks to be them right now...

School's starting tomorrow with a supposedly 2 week orientation...God I hate orientation, with all the cheers, etc...let's hope this orientation make me change my mind...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

//HAPPY NEW YEAR//

I'm sure you guys received at least quite a few sms greetings to wish you Happy New Year...

I did too (a few sms from Thailand too, thanks!!), but 2 of the sms...I didn't quite expect...

"I've opened an A/C for u at Global Bank Of Blessing & deposited 365 days full of love, joy & hope. Enjoy spending each of the day! HAPPY NEW YEAR CHEERS!"

This message was from Ms Sunita, she sent it to me at around 9+ on 31st Jan, and I wasn't quite expecting new year greeting sms yet, so I thought she sent the msg to the wrong person, till I saw the later part of the msg...

The other sms is even more unexpected, when I opened my Inbox, it says the message is from "Ram Hp"...then I was trying to recall if I know any "Ram" from Thailand (cause their nicknames are mostly one word kind)...

"I wish u 12 mths HAPPINESS 52 wks LOVE 365 days SUCCESS 8760 hrs GOOD HEALTH 525600 mins GOOD LUCK 31536000 secs FUN *HAPPY NEW YEAR. This is Rameshon."

I was like "WTH?!", not that I disliked him or what, cause he is a really nice guy from the little interaction I had with him, but I certainly wasn't expecting a sms from him wishing me Happy New Year, afterall I only interacted with him a bit during the cross country while planning the first aid post...

Well..maybe he mass send New Year greetings to all his contacts, but the point is I did receive one from him...

Kinda weird way to start the new year....seeing Rameshon's sms...

Anyway, let's hope for a peaceful year ahead...(as peaceful as it can gets)...with as little natural disasters...war...fighting as possible...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!