10v14 outing :D

Haha

This is going to be a quote filled post, since there isn’t much to really talk about.

Stream of events:

Me, Nachiket, Richard, cheryline went to buy food at shengshiong. Ended up taking ice for the drinks from the person who slices fish (: I hope you all don’t have stomachaches. Bought drinks, tuna, bread, ice cream and Pringles. The bread and tuna were sort of wasted though.

We then went to KFC to eat. Rayson managed to spill my coke accidentally, while moving Cheryline’s bag to another chair. Oh well. lurked around Bedok Central looking for donut shops, and failed. At least I didn’t have to buy 2 3/4 donuts.

At MRT station, we met up with our classmates then proceeded to ECP and sat on this stone thingy which wasn’t a breakwater. It was dirty, slippery and Rayson fell. I also got sunburnt.(near macdonalds) And also sadly, we bored away the 3 nice seniors since we took wayy too long to get things started.

We then cycled to Lagoon hawker centre, and then to bedok jetty and back Super windy and nice!  We also crapped a lot along the way. For example, the ice cream we bought at Shengshiong earlier melted. So, we cut it open, and poured ice cream and Pringles into a cup. I drank it

Shagged, we went to Marine bowl to bowl OH AND I GOT A 93! That, as sad as it sounds, is my highest score. It was quite funny, because we were telling Rayson to squat down and push the ball ala Bok woon(see previous class outing). The girls all also left after their game; somehow they bowl faster. But hey, everyone had an awesome, fun time!

Night before:

Cheryline: “Wei don’t give me the crap about I’m going to be late”

Today:

Cheryline: “Sharks I’m gonna be late!”

———

AT KFC:

Rayson: “err…I upset your coke with Cheryline’s bag”

———

At MRT station:

(In response to Cheryline’s fishy ice)

Rayson: You very no brain leh.

———

At the stone thingy at the beach

Hazel and Aleena : ” OMG our umbrella is brokeennnn nooo!”

———

When waiting for Hazel and Aleena (in reality they fell off their bikes thus they took so long)

Nachiket: “I think they died, honestly”

——–

When going to bowl:

Rayson: ” Let’s go blowing!”

——–

While bowling:

Rayson:” OMG my score is improving”

He didn’t realise that the scores are added up after each round so it looks like 2 5 5 8 10. Imagine if it dropped muahaha.

———

That was hilarious and super funny and I think we bonded pretty well!

Pictures are the new words.

Despite the title, this blog post is not going to be just chock full of pictures. In fact, i think it is going to be totally devoid of pictures.

Blogging feels somewhat arbitrary now, seeing as yes, I do have a regular readership but at the same time I would think it is the same group of people, seeing the statistics in the dashboard. But hey, if you’re one of those regular readers, <3 !

So  yes, basically this blog post is about my holidays. I’ve been volunteering at my dad’s office(in the church) where basically they help migrant workers who are routinely mistreated. And believe me, the number of cases is mind-boggling. In fact, while the office was away at a meeting and I was in charge of taking calls, I had about 5 in half an hour, though they weren’t distress calls.

I’ve also been immersing myself in books such as Men in White. Although, I would say that I am generally unhappy with the way the book is going. In case you don’t know, they are introducing a graphic novel version(read: comic). In this case, if pictures are the new words, then I can’t wait for low to be the new high, and death to be the new life so I can kill myself and live off insurance. (I don’t agree with introducing Men in White in a graphic novel form to merely introduce it to small kids. It is not infinitesimally complex, but rather long. And if they can’t really understand it, try to break it down into chunks. But graphic novels smack of commercialization. Imagine if War and Peace was translated into pictures.)

Then, I’ve changed the theme of this blog, and I think it’s a refreshing; vibrant change and I think that should reflect my outlook on life now. I’m enthused, relaxed and eager to move on to a new chapter of my life. Yet, I can’t help but feel a tinge of regret fleshed out in my thoughts. You win some, you lose some. I guess I’ve elaborated enough, but I’d guess a defining moment of those thoughts was when I went to school yesterday, to help out in some prefect ushering thing. The Veloci-T people had just returned, and I felt kind of lost. But enough of that.

I know that a juxtaposition between the first part of that paragraph and the second part will draw up some blank stares, but hey, reread yeah

So 10v14 has been VERY enthused, very excited, and hopefully it will spread out of the small group of us on Facebook! 10v14 isn’t 10v14 without everyone in it! I guess you could probably infer that VJC is the reason for my positive outlook these days!

But to leave behind Victoria is to leave behind a small BIG part of yourself.

A picture speaks a thousand words.

Yet another VIP post.

You know, I’m not surprised if my dashboard suddenly comes up with many many hits from parents who want to find out about VIP next year. Was kind of frustrated at the lack of ground-feel back then in the crucial period when I was anguishing on whether to join or not.

Like what Ms Tan said, when I met her at the open house: “So is it the right choice?”, when we told her that we were going around to get a feel of the place and to see if it was the right decision.

Buttttttttttttttttt anyway, I looked at some of the people in VJCIP, and I seriously have only one word to describe it: wow.

What goes on in their minds is so crisp and succinct that it makes me go to shame. Oh and apparently like most of them come from the same primary school or in a more likely manner the same secondary school. In fact, I think that VS is overwhelmingly represented in VJC, with about 5 in each of the 5 classes.

I’m actually very excited for Friday because there’s finally reading up to do. I’m particularly interested in our Economics syllabus, and also what Language Arts exactly is. BUT, there is totally zilch, nada, nil, NOTHING under ‘Economics’ for a list of recommended books.

Also, I seem to get the impression that the Language Arts syllabus is really centered largely around iPods. I mean, there was even a quick peek at it in the English paper, through ‘iGeneration’. I still remember the crap I wrote for it, totally missing the mark. I was arguing about how every generation has its own stereotypes, but I missed the point: So is our generation worthy of ‘iGeneration’?

Oh and there are people demonstrating college spirit already! Setting up a Facebook group just hours after the email arrived safely in our inboxes.

On a side note though, I think I’ll never get over people using ‘Victorian Spirit’ in VJC.

My classmates/schoolmates are of such a high caliber that I feel inferior. -.-

Oh if any of you 10V14 people read this, a big shout out to you May we enjoy our two years together! Btw, if any of you happen to see me, and notice that I have unsightly patches of discolored skin, please note that it is kayaking gone wrong. Not vitiligo, nada.

And so a chapter is finished.

From Facebook:

It didn’t feel like it was over; it didn’t feel right. What a waste, that with a new beginning comes an end.

Today was the last day of my life as a student in VS. I could have wished that it be a more meaningful day, but in this day and age of new media, I sort of came to terms with the fact that friendships never die. We can always see each other 2 years on, and even then, the all-leveling NS.

I didn’t take any photos, I didn’t sign any shirts, I didn’t even really get to say goodbye. I did shake hands with a multitude of people though. And I got good wishes here and there, and gave many out. And if anything, that should be enough.

Even Mr Chia wished me good luck!

Before I start going sentimental and wishy-washy though, let’s just say that VS was a great time for me; a time of discovery, opportunity, friendship, improvement and basically I found a whole new other identity of mine.

Of course, not to discredit VJC, I’m sure it will continue to mold this character so that it becomes better than what it is today. And that’s what life is about.

—

Ziyad said something to me that is probably the theme of this post

“Happy Graduation Day!”

I won’t discount that it was said in a slightly sarcastic manner, but it suddenly struck me that hey, I’ll never experience a sec 4 grad night and go through what my seniors have gone through. But then again, I guess that’s life for you. When life gives you lemons, do the Calvin Harris!

Gifts from the PB seniors from wayyyy back.

—

So in tribute to VS and what VS has done for me, let me share something:

It’s all in the name.

A name that inspires you to be more than you can be.

A name that marks the distinction between followers and leaders.

A name that helps you fully develop an awareness of your individual gifts and social responsibilities.

At Victoria, the school name is more than a mere word.

So be a Victorian-and know what it is to live by its true name.

Touche.

Through this 2 year journey, though short, I think that it should be said that we are Victorians, curtailed as our stint might be. It is only in our shortcomings do we learn and grow.

Victoria has taught me what it is like to have opportunities, what it is like to bond, what it is like to argue and yet come out better through all of it. Victoria has taught me what friendly competition is about, a stark reminder of what I’ve failed to do thus far. It has given me opportunities to excel, to fail, to triumph, to fall.

Ups and downs in both Prefectorial Board and Scouts. In class life and in school life. A smorgasbord of events and happenings which included:

• Sec 1 Orientation Camp
• Changing Corner
• Bullying Incident
• Blackout Incident
• 1st in level
  
• Blogging Incident
• Bali Trip
• VIP application
• Literature Dramatization incident.
  
• 2nd in level
  

And I feel that I should take this opportunity to thank the teachers who have accompanied me along this journey to help and guide me, as much as I bitch about them, and as much as I don’t like them sometimes.

I’m going to have a lot of trouble listing them down, but here goes.

Sec 1: Mr Tan, Ms Shyamira, Ibu Diah, Mr Denny Aw Yong, Mr Munir, Mdm Farrah, Ms Koh, Ms Raksha, Mr Leo, Mr Quek, Ms Choo,  Mrs  Lim, Ms Lim, Mr Nat Tan, Mr Chew, Mr Sng.

Sec 2: Mr Tan, Ms Shyamira, Ibu Diah, Ms Koo, Mr Koh, Mdm Nabilah, Ms Boey and Ms Ricca, Mrs Ouyang, Ms Raksha,, Mr Ben Khor, Ms Choo,  Mrs  Lim, Ms Lim, Mr Nat Tan, Mr Chew, Mr Sng, Mr Maran.

I’ll probably end this by thanking my friends, my teachers, my seniors and everyone who has made my VS journey so memorable, a color palette of the good, the bad, and the really good. I really wish and hope that I’ll be able to see you guys somewhere down the road, and if you haven’t seen this side of me before, now you have.

In the words of someone: “It’s saddening beyond words”

To summarize VS into mere words is almost woefully inadequate.

Nil Sine Labore comes close to perfect.

Thank you.

Scouty boots which will never be used in the way that they were meant to be.

VIP OUTing!

Haven’t blogged about specific events in a long time, namely:

• Visit to Old VS during URA Architectural Heritage Awards.
• VS Visit to Gongshang Primary.
• End of Exams.

I shall end that streak today!

Lunched and movie-ed with the 7 VIP people today. Minus Ryan haha.

It was actually quite dumb at first because no one(okay fine me) checked the time at GV Vivocity before deciding on where to go. So yeah, changed location to meeting at Dhoby Gaut MRT station from Harborfront.

Of course, poor Brendan was invited by DK, and being stuck with a spoilt hand phone :/ DK’s treating him to lunch someday.

Accompanied the small boy(aka Joejyn) to Dhoby Gaut because he had no idea how to get to Plaza Singapura. Had to lend him my spare hand phone too :/ This is what you get when you don’t bother to turn on your phone, haha.

So yeah, we panicked when we didn’t see Brendan at Dhoby Gaut, because Jason told his maid specifically to tell Brendan not to go to Harborfront. Spent about half an hour running up and down Dhoby Gaut MRT Interchange and in the end decided just to treat him to lunch :/

Totally-worth-it-$9.90-Lunch-at-Manhattan-Fish.

For about $11(service charge) you get a gigantic, big gulp-esque drink, soup of the day and fantastic fish and chips which no one could really finish because it was just so large.

So yeah, talked cock and ‘bonded’, including making remarks on how the restaurant would have an everlasting supply of oil and mayonnaise if we sold certain people to Manhattan Fish.

Thankfully they gave us a cordoned-off section or we would have been driven out.

When it comes down to movies at this period, especially when only VS is having marking days, it results in one

very undesirable thing: lack of movies. With the situation being as such, we decided to immerse ourselves in something that people from all-boy’s schools would not normally do: Watch a chick flick.

(500) days of summer.

Honest-to-goodness-ly speaking, there were fun parts, especially since there was this scene which involved continuous shouting of ‘penis’ and sexual jokes. But chick flicks being chick flicks, they’re really meant for girls and so I was kind of bored.

‘Mayonnaise boy’

So that ends the outing

Music and post-exam life.

Good music is timeless (:

But of course, bad music is forever. From my elementary listening of music from the 60’s, 70’s, it really seems that rock really is a descendant of blues and rock n’ roll, to a ever-so-slightly more obvious extent.

I mean, from the top of my head the slightly more run-of-the-mill bands I can think of are Daughtry, Fall out Boy and more commercial entities. Now go back a little in time and listen to Richard Johnson, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, BB. King, Jimi Hendrix, and see where they would be now if it were not for these people, some of whom who have passed on already.

It’s like, you can have an appreciation of any genre as long as you don’t have any preconceived notions. But of course in my case, I make an exception for Rap and Hip Hop. With the current image of Rap and Hip Hop, even the long haired devil-worshipers(What a statement) are more deserving of respect.

Which is also why whenever I flip to MTV there’s this look of disgust on my face. The last time I actually bothered to flip to MTV, which was about 6 months to a year ago, there was Kanye West and 50 Cent, both gyrating(masculine gyrating?) to their motley collection of beats (Or was it the women they hired for the videos?)

Complete Clapton for the win (:

–

Recently went to Borders to use up the $100 gift card.

Bought CM Turnbull’s A History of Modern Singapore, Subhas Anandan’s The Best I could, Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith and The Penguin History of Modern Russia, From Tsarism to the Twenty First Century.

1 book on Law, 2 books on History and another book on philosophy, to coin it in a loose sense.

Actually, all of us would have read a little of  Constance Mary Turnbull, and seen a bit of her in Discovery Channel’s documentary on the History of Singapore. She also has been oft-quoted in our History exam sources (: Hem-hem.

The Russian book is something of a first for me, it’s a gamble that the book would allow me to understand the different facets of government and the reason why some systems work for some and some just don’t, like communism and democracy.

What better way to explore than to use Russia?

The other two books don’t need much explanation, with Law being something I am very strongly considering  doing in future and Mitch Albom a perennial favourite.

–

I’m going to refrain from the SA2 analysis seeing as, to put it in very blunt and direct terms:

I don’t give a f*ck.

Just go in, do your best, come out, hope for the best.

How easy is it to lose?

I recently discovered a very shocking piece of news, at least to me. It kind of comes as a crushing blow that something you’ve worked so hard for just falls around your knees.

What happened to the confidence, the Elan? When you lose something you’ve worked hard for, when you’ve lost to someone you’ve derided as a complete retard from days of yore, how should you feel?

How WOULD you feel.

It’s crushing. Ah well, the vicissitudes of confidence.

Maybe its time to give up the competition while there’s still shreds of dignity left.

Mid-exam post.

Hello people,

Haha, tomorrow’s history, something which I’ve been painfully mugging for since it requires the most attention and largest memory ever. Wish me luck, now that I’m diving deep into Lim Chin Siong, Singapore Factory and Shop Workers Union or whatever.

Maths was quite alright I’d guess, considering that I’d pass/ fail not too badly, nothing to say about English Paper 1 and MT Paper 1.

Just hope the rest of the exams pass by soon 

Ciao

Inspiration

Doing ‘06 EL summary with Ms Koo’s oreo and M&Ms.

Every morning, when I sit on the bus, I see clips entitled ‘inspiration’ on TVmobile.

Every day, I hear some inspiring song which pushes me to soar and to do the best I can.

With SA2 coming soon, we’ll need all the inspiration we can muster. And we have to thank those that give us inspiration, those that try their best to help us to soar. Not only parents, but also friends, teachers.

Though sometimes, those who help us might seem strict, short-tempered, annoying, we are not in a position where we can forget whose heads we have stepped over. People whom we have annoyed, teased and terrified to death.

Push yourself to make these last 2 months more meaningful to carry home a fond memory. Good luck everyone

“Aim for the stars, for even when you fall, you’ll land among the clouds”