the flip side of the coin could look nicer than the other
Math tutorials are really killing me. I can't seem to find a reduction formulae for the reduction formula questions! And those were supposed to be further maths questions in JCs ten years ago. I should have been able to do it, because i'm technically in the JC level now and if people could do it ten years ago, i should be able to do it now right? Yet, when i look at the question, my mind goes blank and i have no idea how to proceed after integrating by parts. That's rather surprising because i could do all the examples in class so i should be able to get these ones!
Somehow, she sounds nicer over msn than she does in real life, and i just can't figure why. Over msn, she's just a sweet and dainty girl whom I don't mind talking to. But when talking face-to-face, i'm always trying hard to control myself not to snap at her when she makes remarks that make me uncomfortable. I thank God that i've been able to exercise much self-control so far, and that it has all been fruitful. I hope one day, i'll be like Shaniese, and be able to turn people's perception of her around. But before that, i've got to turn my perception of her around, and that's not going to be easy after a few years of unpleasantness and rumours.
I'm exhausted and sleepy. I wish i could just fall asleep now but i know i can't because my hair's not dry and I would get a headache if i fall asleep. And its slightly too early; perhaps i'll sleep at 9pm but i've got a lot of work to clear.
Once again, 403 went Clementi for kbox! It was cool, eating KFC as 8 people then Aik Ann and Jia Qing left because they don't know any songs and hence don't want to waste their money looking at others singing. I thought I should leave too because i don't know any songs too! Most of the time i just listen and somehow catch the tune and sing along. Few times i actually know the tune well enough to sing loudly into the mike, if i ever get one of the two mikes shared among ten over people. (Today we had about 15 people, so many!)
But anyway we went kbox for $8/person + drink + some tidbits. Its relatively cheap compared to other days where we used to go for $10 or $16 per person. But we basically sang about the same english songs and random chinese songs which only Qu Zhi and Wei Jin really know the tune. But we somehow sang enough songs to last us four hours, with the bulk of it as chinese songs! And ohohoh, Qu Zhi dedicated a song to Ming Yan :D And they sang one song together, how sweet!
After which, we took roughly ten minutes to decide where to eat and ended up at the hawker center. It was heartening to gather together once again and leaving our homework and studies back in the hostel while we chatted and joked about absolutely everything under the sun. With 403, you just can't stop laughing. And we decided over dinner that we're going to give Ms Sie a VALENTINES GIFT :D Just to cheer her up while she is going through such a tough time. One day, thirty to forty years on, it'll be our turn to go through what she's struggling with now; i hope by then we'll still be together and support each other!
I'm in my room right now, looking out the school gate and the school track, seeing students walk to the bus stop and cars zoom pass. I remember the agony I used to experience when we were told that we had to stay back or when the timetable ended late, at 6pm or 5pm. Because home is a long way from school, whether by bus or by car.
I'm sleepy and tired, which is strange because i slept very very well last night. The boarding school is doing PA system testing over and over again. Not that I bother anyway, but its quite loud when you can hear the words clearly due to a speaker in the toilet. I'm looking forward to school everyday! EVERY DAY :D Because there are new surprises each day!
Somehow the titles of my blog posts don't really relate to the content of the post. Most of them are just random inspirations i have that i type down. Its 2pm and i'm back in my room. I've got a lot of things to do today, and this weekend that i hope *really hope* that i can finish them. Like: change bedsheets, get doctor's letter, write essays, write reflections for broader perspective (though the articles are so shallow and superficial), study for math quiz. I shall promise to eat dinner within half an hour and not play pool and keep away from the music or games room tonight and study for my math test which i have procrastinated over the entire nov/dec holidays.
Vanessa's facebook statuses do make me envious. I wish i could be as good as her and get unconditional offers from those universities. But that seems like an impossible dream. I shall work hard and try my best though. Accountancy :D
Sunday's there's cluster outing to vivo to watch Avatar in 3D. That's bad because i've already watched avatar! Okay but since we're using the cluster fund of $100 per person (or maybe per cluster, i don't remember), then i shall just tag along. At most i'll sleep in the cinema. The plot isn't very captivating; its the graphics that lure people to dig their pockets. But the effect doesn't last long and it has since worn out on me. Next sunday there's boarding games day; I hope i can play.
Back to school once again! We've got a very thick stack of english notes of 41 pages to read for reference. Our chem notes is somewhat less thick at 20 plus pages. It seems that teachers now print all the notes at one shot and we have to lug them to class every morning.
Dinner was mandarin oranges and chicken and spinach. If i eat more spinach i'll grow stronger! There's hostel bonding games today at 9pm; i'm thinking whether i should go. Latest it would end would be about 1030pm but then i'll probably be tired out.
O level results were out today. I didn't get what i wanted but i got higher than i expected. It's rather good, considering the fact that i was having heart pain during the paper such that I took two panadol pills during the course of the paper. Perhaps i could have done much better without the pain. Two isn't far from one, is it?
Sometimes, things fall short of your expectations. But when you don't expect much, you are often surprised. It's the second day of school and my second night in hostel tonight. Day of seconds! It's orientation for the first three days, so its quite relaxing; mainly house games to bond with the houses.
My mentor is Ms Ng Tiong Eng :D Okay, she's not as cool as Ms Sie, but she is cool in her own way. As I replied her regarding how it was for the first encounter (she didn't teach me physics in year 4), I seldom think negatively of anyone unless something really severe happens. So today's building our own dream house. We spent a lot of time thinking about the structures (and the physics like whether this stands etc) and we spent very little time building our little kampong house. It's not as cool as others with their big gigantic structures and two teddy bears and boat house, but at least we did it as a class. That's what matters, right?
Though I've only spoken to a few people in 508 in these few days, I think I'm happy to be in this class. Of course, i'll miss 403 and all the fun and laughter and support they provided, but 508 seems quite a fun bunch too. Maybe I should speak up more and talk more to them so that I would make more friends :D
Hostel's cool and I hope I can sleep well every night. Ms Cheng's our cluster mentor and she's quite funny. Again, she's cool in her own way. Everything else, i'm adapting well; in fact i'm enjoying it. Except for the fact that I want to be able to fall asleep every night. I mean, fall asleep quickly and into a deep sleep. Lord, would you grant me this prayer?
I love my new timetable! Semester 1, 2010 seems rather slack. Judging by the number of classes I have, I could safely say its the most relaxed timetable ever. The good thing is, I can go back to hostel any time, especially when I end early at weird hours like 12.30pm. Last time I would have loved to end so early because i get to go home to eat lunch, but now I wish it were later; I'm not sure if i can go without food until dinner at 6pm or slightly later. But its so cool, such that on thursday, I only have maths honours class! (Besides mentoring)
Hostel's cool and I can't wait to stay there! It's a mixed feeling of apprehension and excitement. I'm rather excited at the prospect of staying in hostel, especially after that has been pitched to us for four years and already three batches have entered the boarding programme; but at the same time i'm jittery at how things would turn out -- would i get along well with my room-mate, would i be able to have good sleep, would my results still be as stellar, would i be able to wake up every morning without mummy/daddy screaming at me, would i miss my home, would i be able to adapt...
I don't know whether to be happy or upset about mentor group allocations. I don't even know half of the people, and there isn't another 403 person with me in the class! :( And and and, Yawen, Junyan and Xitong are all in the same class, so that makes me the odd one out. I hope i can fit in the class as easily as i fitted in 403.
After being in 403 and 303, everything seems pale in comparison. And your standards of a 'class' and its definitions are set too high. Whether you're a chicken (like Terry), a joker (like Ka-shing), a pessimist (as Dylan calls himself), a nerd (as we often call Bryce), a human (like most of us) or a pig (like Yanling :O ), 403 accepts and accommodates you. We tease each other but we never criticise. We laugh at each other but we never bully.
One day i shall hold a 403 gathering at my house. But mummy has to agree first.
And my mentor is a new teacher too. Akane Yoshida. I suppose he/she is japanese. I can't figure out the gender and searches on google gives different profiles. At least, two years ago, when we searched 'Sie Siok Hui', something definitive came up that tell us she taught in SCGS and her probable age. Aww.
"Since most, if not all of you will be taking the AP Calculus Exam in May next year, you need to remember what you have learnt in Calculus 1 and MA4401" So there. We're going to have a calculus test on the second week of school, the early part of the week :(
I guess i have a phobia for tests and exams. Because there's this worry that I never do well enough.
There's been a lot of debates about learning chinese in the papers nowadays. For example, this lady migrated to Australia 20 years ago to spare her son the agony of learning chinese. Today in the Forum page, one parent commented that schools should teach more vocabulary and idioms and whatever that would be tested in the o levels; in other words, don't test things that are not taught.
Which makes me wonder, is chinese really that difficult to learn? Perhaps these children weren't given a conducive environment to learn (like speaking chinese to their parents/grandparents or to friends from China). Or perhaps they just didn't put in the extra-curricular effort like reading books or even listening to songs (Yanling learnt 坎坷from one chinese song!) After all, chinese is your mother tongue, shouldn't you learn to like it or appreciate it? Or perhaps, schools should teach the chinese culture and china's history first and let students learn the language at the same time; that way, there is more motivation and interest in the language. I remember TPL saying that Ernest's chinese is rather good, he just doesn't put in effort (or something like that). So with effort, anything can be done, right?
I don't know, but this makes me think of something else: the multiple complaints about the PSLE math paper being so tough. I remember reading one forum article (see forum articles are good sources of information, albeit personal views) that the paper must be made tough to distinguish the good students from the average ones. Parents usually complain that the paper comes up with never-seen-before questions that students can't solve with routine maths techniques; it involves more thinking, and that's what the paper is all about.
It's the same in our school; only when you have been in such a system that stimulates and promotes thinking will you truly learn and appreciate the value of the knowledge you have because they are well-deserved. Our math honours paper is intentionally tough and it's good challenge for the mind. It makes you think and it teaches you to think. That's what makes the society progress. Without thinking, there'll be no innovation and without innovation, things like the telephone and the internet would not come about. And if there is no innovation the country only has one other means -- to copy other countries. But copying does no good because copying never allows one to make a statement and you can never truly copy everything perfectly.
So quit complaining and start working. Work on your thinking skills because that will bring you far. I know, my balance sheet is not balanced and my gross profit doesn't add up, but i'm thinking about how to manipulate the numbers to get the correct value and that will take time to start my brain into that mode.
Daddy borrowed Pride and Prejudice, the DVD movie from the library today! Okay, it isn't very nice because it's very draggy and the scenes are super long and it's in pure British english, but it's very enjoyable. The scenery is breath-taking and the costumes and their rituals (or mannerisms) are very elaborate, something you would never find today. It gives me pleasure (together with boredom) to watch this show from the Victorian Era.
What can i do with them? I can make billions of numbers and shapes with tangrams, and mazes give me a headache trying to figure the way out, but they're still cool!
The traditional 7 piece one
Try a 15 piece puzzle, also invented by the chinese, cool!
Mazes! But this one you walk along the black lines or you'll get stuck
I can't wait till Dylan's party! It'll be so cool to have another outing at his house! :P
I cooked Laksa today! With Mei and Mummy :D I thought it was very spicy but Mei thought it wasn't spicy at all :/ And we are watching Flush Away with the surround sound on the HD TV! :O
Four Prawns Each!
And now for some math puzzles
Make this key chain thing by cutting the paper only once! So fold fold fold then cut.
When you get it marvel at your creation!
Dominoes puzzle where the ends have to add up to the same number; expand the problem to Equilateral Triangles and Rectangles and more and you have fun!
3D Periwinkle, because this time if you get 3 in a row (like above) you LOSE :O
This is the peg puzzle which is difficult to explain ...
The pegs are placed on the circled circles and your objective is to eliminate all but one (which would be in the center) by jumping over each other (the peg being jumped over is eliminated)
The Fifteen Puzzle, except that each row adds up to something and you manipulate the numbers about!
The Class Chalet Pictures are out on Facebook! I bet it was cooler than all other chalets that anyone ever had! Even mum said so!
And we're going to get a new LCD TV! Which is coming in... One hour's time!
So i packed my room again, because i didn't finish packing yesterday :/ Actually i was supposed to pack my room after the exams ended but i promised mummy that i'll pack only after the class chalet because loads of exam papers aren't back yet and loads of other excuses :O
So i'm going to spam pictures!
Lovely Chocolate muffins!
God Answers Prayers, so never give up waiting! (And i'm still waiting for one!)
I don't know where this comes from, but it has quite some meaning
Don't give up because prayer works!
And we got some Ferrero Rondroir! With the flash, this picture looks cool :D
And this is the box without the flash. But the chocolate is super nice!
Some Young Scientist Project that we had to draw a bird and label its parts and collect 10 stamps of birds.
I really drew so well! Or maybe i traced it from a book :O
Haven't we been looking forward to the holidays since school started? Because that means that our days are filled with doing what we want to do (like kboxing, reading, shopping, slacking) instead of what we have to do (homework and homework) :P
I was packing my stuff and i found some really old stuff. Its really interesting to think back and wonder what i was thinking as i drew those cover pages.
This was so long ago that i can't even remember when! I must be such a nut that i couldn't spell those words then, or i must have been super young!
I think i drew these cover pages when i was year 1, when the requirement for a file check was a nicely designed cover page. Since then, Biology files were pink and chemistry files had no colour.
Now for some chalet pictures! These are the scenes of the chalet itself, not of what we did. I didn't take pictures for what we did because... i didn't :/ But Gerlynn took loads of pictures and i can't wait to see them!
The view from the room! Beautiful place!
The Master Bedroom, which belongs to the lovely 8 girls! (And our soft toys!)
Oh, this was at Downtown East! Their Christmas Decoration was so beautiful!
Instead of being upset about the things i cannot do (like cycle the 10+ km we did on sunday or climb the steps from the living room to the master bedroom of the chalet), i should rejoice in the things i CAN do (like go to the chalet! and do well academically and play the piano)
And my past five days were spent at 403's awesome class chalet! I don't have pictures here because i didn't bring my camera, but it was just fun and joy! The chalet itself was HUGE! It was a bungalow off Changi Beach, some SAF bungalow that has 3 storeys, 5 rooms, 1 living room and a huge balcony with a swing and beach chairs and more than enough place to play frisbee!
So we had a lot of fun playing mahjong, playing bridge, gaming ( i don't know what game it was), cycling and kboxing! It was just fun and fun! Okay i don't know how to describe it; it can't be described it words (haaha.) Mummy came for bbq yesterday! And so did daddy! And Bernard's parents and Hokk! :P I don't know, we did so many things that i have to look at the pictures to remember what happened and the pictures, i have to wait until Gerlynn uploads it to facebook!
I'm really glad that i could participate so much in the chalet because i didn't expect to. I didn't expect the guys to be so nice to offer to cycle me on a double bike for the 10+ km from Changi Beach to East Coast Park. I didn't expect Rachel to ask her parents to send me (and Ming Yan and Gerlynn) to Changi Beach bike rental and i didn't expect everyone to stop to wait for me to catch my breath when i was struggling to keep pace with them. That's 403, the best class ever and i hope we can have more outings together!
Right, let's talk about life. "In Life, there are two doors: the front door and the back door. The front door is where people enter through grades and other achievements. The back door is never closed but is seldom used. Entry through the back door depends on how you can convince the guard there." From monday's speaker on Curiousity and other stuff, part of which i adapted for my pre-u scholarship application essay.
Lovely day! Because my gradebook on espace shows wonderful grades, much higher than i expected. Yet, I still wished I did better and put in more effort, especially for my exams. Then again, looking at my exam grades, I may have a better chance sitting for the exams in a better state of mind (and body), like now; but that would be too late. It was no until after the exams that things began to be clear why they fell apart in the first place.
Lousy day! Because its raining, and because i'm really tired, I so cannot go for Wisco outing :( Its going to be the last council outing i ever have, yet I cannot attend. Well, that's sad, but I'm really glad this committee was such a wonderful one, with people like Janice and Yu Jia to be nice ladies, Yihui to do student lounge duty with me (and call me when i forget mine), Nikki and Yuhan to talk rubbish, and Roslyn and Chui Yi to lead the comm.
Prof was super funny yesterday, working out the reason why population always ages using set theory :/ I don't think i can put the proof here because blogger doesn't have the facilities, so ask me if you want the proof (that is, ask me after I have sorted out the proof).
This is how you get your honours. And that is why they put the box of that size for you to fill up.
This Games Day 2009, semester two, was unlike any other. It was within levels, so most people were playing games; if not, there were not enough players and most house level reps hate to know of a walkover. So i was left sitting outside the hall in my red Fibo tee, reading. At 9am, the admin notice board ouside the hall was crowded with people, because our subject specialisation was out. Immediately after knowing their subject specialisation, there were three things that people would do: quietly walk away because I got the specialisation i wanted, stay in front of the board counting the number of people who were offered the honours (20% for bio, math, physics, 50% for chem), run to the general office to take the appeal form because i want BIO honours. The entire world is appealing for bio honours, and i don't get why. Anyway, i got all three honours that i applied for (bio, math, chem), so i'm happily walking away and sitting down to read my book again.
Then we went for boarding fingerprinting. Oh, spoil my finger! :O haha, the girls were super funny! After that, it was lunch and making a paper crane mobile for Roslyn, WisCo's vice-committee head. We made paper cranes for Chui Yi, our comm head, but its going to be in a form of a book, so there is no need for threading and tying knots. The guys were super slackers who only whined to go home and couldn't really fold paper cranes properly (Who's that idiot that folded that crane!)
I left the factory line of paper crane folding (yes, we did a factory line where each person folded a few steps before passing on to the next person) to go for MA review. I expected it to take up the full 20 minutes allocated, but it only took 10 minutes or lesser. And Fangyi only asked me two questions! I thought it'd be some sort of super long interview like process because the board has to cut some people if they didn't do well, so they are going to make sure everyone that stays will contribute to the board. :/ Say so earlier la. Half the time we spent talking about subject specialisation and how the teachers try to discourage people from taking honours. Oh wells. That's what i did in the echo-y orchestra room, and Fangyi was trying to do her jap homework. I know its not true, but She quit french because she sees no point in taking since Donovan isn't taking it. That was from so long ago, when i was sec 1 and everyone teases her about that!
Post exams activities have started, with the first day beginning with a lot of talks. First, there is a talk about Exchange Programme 2010. I know many people would apply, but i wouldn't bother. Though i badly want to go for such a programme but i know there is no way the school would approve of it; they wouldn't want t to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of me. So this leaves me with no choice.
Then there's this Duke-NUS guy who came to talk about curiousity and things like that. The gist of his talk was just about him being very curious and taking loads of of photos to relax and recharge. I love his photos and his camera is such a wonderful camera, being able to capture such details such as the change of water from lamina flow to droplet form while pouring teh tarik.
The last talk was rather boring since i had no intention of joining the SSEF; even if i join it, i doubt i'll get into the finals or anywhere close . But the last part was super cool! The team which developed WizFolio was really brilliant, sitting down to come up with a full-fledged software to improve research paper writings. See, this is inspired by a need. Which proves the point that innovations come about because there is a need.
Goodbye Chinese lessons! I'm so glad i never have to suffer such horrible lessons where you stone in class or do some other homework (usually math honours, because chinese is before math honours) and try your best not to get caught when you sit in the front row.
Its been a long two days. After Chinese O Levels, which went quite well, except for the fact that i was still having a headache and chest pains during the papers, we had MA Bonding Day! And i decided to take a panadol pill to relieve my pain. Despite taking two pills, it was still pain the entire day, and it is still pain today :( It was just so sad that i was in pain so i didn't quite enjoy the bonding day. Like Chua Lynn said, "You don't look happy today, so you must be sick." But anyways, well done Team Mitchell! Haha, it was hilarious. Mitchell totally scribbled a '5' on his score sheet because we dressed Hui Min up in newspapers and used masking tape to write a 'M' at the back and asked for his signature. And we came in first! BBQ was great and it was one of a kind! I never had such BBQ before!
The theaterette was freezing today, still. So i was on my 'hairdryer' craze, because i wanted a hairdryer so badly to warm myself up. Good thing when you step out, it was like Sahara Desert. Divya's hairdryer worked wonders for me yesterday, the first part, at least. Council Training was fabulous; i never had such an engaging training before! And they showed Whose Line is It Anyway? That's so 403-like! We're just so easy to please; suggest to play Whose Line and we can entertain ourselves for five whole hours, while waiting for the Year 6 Farewell Assembly. All the best to the councillors for tomorrow's internal evaluation!
Yesterday there was 403 Christmas party at Gerlynn's house! Her house at Guilin is super beautiful, it overlooks a lovely lake with a nice rock, the kind that looks natural, but i'm not sure if its natural or man-made (my mum says its man-made). So sad i didn't get a picture of it!
It was loads of fun and fun and fun, with everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. It was simply fun. Of course, like Ms Sie says, its somewhat childish talk and games but who cares, we're all young at heart, right? I will so miss all these of 403, and i sincerely do hope that we could get back together again annually.
You see, something that i gained in 403 is friends. True friends. I'm not very close to those people, but they're aware of their surroundings. When i don't feel well, i just have to shout the name of someone nearby and they'll help me. Then more will come and offer me water or a seat, which shows they care. When i couldn't walk, one strong guy would carry me so that i could be picked up by my dad. And following which, my handphone would be filled with sms-es and well wishes, and everyone doesn't forget me. Even yesterday, when i lost my way at the toilet at Gerlynn's condo swimming pool, three girls came looking for me, which was absolutely unexpected. I hope these friendships lasts and i would find more friends like these, friends that truly care about me.
Its not good to do 11 module evaluation surveys at one shot. They're all the same questions in repeats and your evaluation turns from truth to white lies, just to get over the irritating surveys.
There's a question that's been bothering me for some time: what's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist? I knew the difference, but i just felt that was a surface difference and there was a lot more difference between the two. The two are interesting fields, very similar to each other yet vastly different but they work in tandem with each other.
To keep it simple, a psychiatrist is a mad doctor, while a psychologist is a people's doctor. You see the former once in a while to collect medicine and certificates or letters to certify you unfit for certain courses or tasks, while you see the latter more often (usually weekly) to cure your inner being and make your mental state more stable.
The route to professionalism of both are equally tough, though i would say that a psychologist has it slightly easier. A psychiatrist first applies for a medicine, and after obtaining a M.D., he must apply for specialisation in the psychiatry field which requires another 4 years or thereabout. A psychologist doesn't have to go through the hassle of medicine and goes straight to FASS but he has to obtain a PhD in psychology to be able to practice and gain a rapport. That's about six years or more, depending on the country.
When one has a medical problem, the psychiatrist treats the body while follow-ups are done with the psychologist. And i refer to mental or behavioural problems; other than those illnesses, please see a normal General Practitioner. The good thing about a psychiatrist is that he can fall back on his M.D. in times of low demand and go back to be a G.P. A psychologist doesn't have that privilege, and can only work in fields of counselling and will reap money depending on his own skills.
Few knows this difference, and the first time that i was exposed to it was when Ms Sie told the class that very little people can make this distinction and hence will fill in university application forms with a wrong idea until they do further research.
the flip side of the coin could look nicer than the other
Math tutorials are really killing me. I can't seem to find a reduction formulae for the reduction formula questions! And those were supposed to be further maths questions in JCs ten years ago. I should have been able to do it, because i'm technically in the JC level now and if people could do it ten years ago, i should be able to do it now right? Yet, when i look at the question, my mind goes blank and i have no idea how to proceed after integrating by parts. That's rather surprising because i could do all the examples in class so i should be able to get these ones!
Somehow, she sounds nicer over msn than she does in real life, and i just can't figure why. Over msn, she's just a sweet and dainty girl whom I don't mind talking to. But when talking face-to-face, i'm always trying hard to control myself not to snap at her when she makes remarks that make me uncomfortable. I thank God that i've been able to exercise much self-control so far, and that it has all been fruitful. I hope one day, i'll be like Shaniese, and be able to turn people's perception of her around. But before that, i've got to turn my perception of her around, and that's not going to be easy after a few years of unpleasantness and rumours.
I'm exhausted and sleepy. I wish i could just fall asleep now but i know i can't because my hair's not dry and I would get a headache if i fall asleep. And its slightly too early; perhaps i'll sleep at 9pm but i've got a lot of work to clear.
Once again, 403 went Clementi for kbox! It was cool, eating KFC as 8 people then Aik Ann and Jia Qing left because they don't know any songs and hence don't want to waste their money looking at others singing. I thought I should leave too because i don't know any songs too! Most of the time i just listen and somehow catch the tune and sing along. Few times i actually know the tune well enough to sing loudly into the mike, if i ever get one of the two mikes shared among ten over people. (Today we had about 15 people, so many!)
But anyway we went kbox for $8/person + drink + some tidbits. Its relatively cheap compared to other days where we used to go for $10 or $16 per person. But we basically sang about the same english songs and random chinese songs which only Qu Zhi and Wei Jin really know the tune. But we somehow sang enough songs to last us four hours, with the bulk of it as chinese songs! And ohohoh, Qu Zhi dedicated a song to Ming Yan :D And they sang one song together, how sweet!
After which, we took roughly ten minutes to decide where to eat and ended up at the hawker center. It was heartening to gather together once again and leaving our homework and studies back in the hostel while we chatted and joked about absolutely everything under the sun. With 403, you just can't stop laughing. And we decided over dinner that we're going to give Ms Sie a VALENTINES GIFT :D Just to cheer her up while she is going through such a tough time. One day, thirty to forty years on, it'll be our turn to go through what she's struggling with now; i hope by then we'll still be together and support each other!
I'm in my room right now, looking out the school gate and the school track, seeing students walk to the bus stop and cars zoom pass. I remember the agony I used to experience when we were told that we had to stay back or when the timetable ended late, at 6pm or 5pm. Because home is a long way from school, whether by bus or by car.
I'm sleepy and tired, which is strange because i slept very very well last night. The boarding school is doing PA system testing over and over again. Not that I bother anyway, but its quite loud when you can hear the words clearly due to a speaker in the toilet. I'm looking forward to school everyday! EVERY DAY :D Because there are new surprises each day!
Somehow the titles of my blog posts don't really relate to the content of the post. Most of them are just random inspirations i have that i type down. Its 2pm and i'm back in my room. I've got a lot of things to do today, and this weekend that i hope *really hope* that i can finish them. Like: change bedsheets, get doctor's letter, write essays, write reflections for broader perspective (though the articles are so shallow and superficial), study for math quiz. I shall promise to eat dinner within half an hour and not play pool and keep away from the music or games room tonight and study for my math test which i have procrastinated over the entire nov/dec holidays.
Vanessa's facebook statuses do make me envious. I wish i could be as good as her and get unconditional offers from those universities. But that seems like an impossible dream. I shall work hard and try my best though. Accountancy :D
Sunday's there's cluster outing to vivo to watch Avatar in 3D. That's bad because i've already watched avatar! Okay but since we're using the cluster fund of $100 per person (or maybe per cluster, i don't remember), then i shall just tag along. At most i'll sleep in the cinema. The plot isn't very captivating; its the graphics that lure people to dig their pockets. But the effect doesn't last long and it has since worn out on me. Next sunday there's boarding games day; I hope i can play.
Back to school once again! We've got a very thick stack of english notes of 41 pages to read for reference. Our chem notes is somewhat less thick at 20 plus pages. It seems that teachers now print all the notes at one shot and we have to lug them to class every morning.
Dinner was mandarin oranges and chicken and spinach. If i eat more spinach i'll grow stronger! There's hostel bonding games today at 9pm; i'm thinking whether i should go. Latest it would end would be about 1030pm but then i'll probably be tired out.
O level results were out today. I didn't get what i wanted but i got higher than i expected. It's rather good, considering the fact that i was having heart pain during the paper such that I took two panadol pills during the course of the paper. Perhaps i could have done much better without the pain. Two isn't far from one, is it?
Sometimes, things fall short of your expectations. But when you don't expect much, you are often surprised. It's the second day of school and my second night in hostel tonight. Day of seconds! It's orientation for the first three days, so its quite relaxing; mainly house games to bond with the houses.
My mentor is Ms Ng Tiong Eng :D Okay, she's not as cool as Ms Sie, but she is cool in her own way. As I replied her regarding how it was for the first encounter (she didn't teach me physics in year 4), I seldom think negatively of anyone unless something really severe happens. So today's building our own dream house. We spent a lot of time thinking about the structures (and the physics like whether this stands etc) and we spent very little time building our little kampong house. It's not as cool as others with their big gigantic structures and two teddy bears and boat house, but at least we did it as a class. That's what matters, right?
Though I've only spoken to a few people in 508 in these few days, I think I'm happy to be in this class. Of course, i'll miss 403 and all the fun and laughter and support they provided, but 508 seems quite a fun bunch too. Maybe I should speak up more and talk more to them so that I would make more friends :D
Hostel's cool and I hope I can sleep well every night. Ms Cheng's our cluster mentor and she's quite funny. Again, she's cool in her own way. Everything else, i'm adapting well; in fact i'm enjoying it. Except for the fact that I want to be able to fall asleep every night. I mean, fall asleep quickly and into a deep sleep. Lord, would you grant me this prayer?
I love my new timetable! Semester 1, 2010 seems rather slack. Judging by the number of classes I have, I could safely say its the most relaxed timetable ever. The good thing is, I can go back to hostel any time, especially when I end early at weird hours like 12.30pm. Last time I would have loved to end so early because i get to go home to eat lunch, but now I wish it were later; I'm not sure if i can go without food until dinner at 6pm or slightly later. But its so cool, such that on thursday, I only have maths honours class! (Besides mentoring)
Hostel's cool and I can't wait to stay there! It's a mixed feeling of apprehension and excitement. I'm rather excited at the prospect of staying in hostel, especially after that has been pitched to us for four years and already three batches have entered the boarding programme; but at the same time i'm jittery at how things would turn out -- would i get along well with my room-mate, would i be able to have good sleep, would my results still be as stellar, would i be able to wake up every morning without mummy/daddy screaming at me, would i miss my home, would i be able to adapt...
I don't know whether to be happy or upset about mentor group allocations. I don't even know half of the people, and there isn't another 403 person with me in the class! :( And and and, Yawen, Junyan and Xitong are all in the same class, so that makes me the odd one out. I hope i can fit in the class as easily as i fitted in 403.
After being in 403 and 303, everything seems pale in comparison. And your standards of a 'class' and its definitions are set too high. Whether you're a chicken (like Terry), a joker (like Ka-shing), a pessimist (as Dylan calls himself), a nerd (as we often call Bryce), a human (like most of us) or a pig (like Yanling :O ), 403 accepts and accommodates you. We tease each other but we never criticise. We laugh at each other but we never bully.
One day i shall hold a 403 gathering at my house. But mummy has to agree first.
And my mentor is a new teacher too. Akane Yoshida. I suppose he/she is japanese. I can't figure out the gender and searches on google gives different profiles. At least, two years ago, when we searched 'Sie Siok Hui', something definitive came up that tell us she taught in SCGS and her probable age. Aww.
"Since most, if not all of you will be taking the AP Calculus Exam in May next year, you need to remember what you have learnt in Calculus 1 and MA4401" So there. We're going to have a calculus test on the second week of school, the early part of the week :(
I guess i have a phobia for tests and exams. Because there's this worry that I never do well enough.
There's been a lot of debates about learning chinese in the papers nowadays. For example, this lady migrated to Australia 20 years ago to spare her son the agony of learning chinese. Today in the Forum page, one parent commented that schools should teach more vocabulary and idioms and whatever that would be tested in the o levels; in other words, don't test things that are not taught.
Which makes me wonder, is chinese really that difficult to learn? Perhaps these children weren't given a conducive environment to learn (like speaking chinese to their parents/grandparents or to friends from China). Or perhaps they just didn't put in the extra-curricular effort like reading books or even listening to songs (Yanling learnt 坎坷from one chinese song!) After all, chinese is your mother tongue, shouldn't you learn to like it or appreciate it? Or perhaps, schools should teach the chinese culture and china's history first and let students learn the language at the same time; that way, there is more motivation and interest in the language. I remember TPL saying that Ernest's chinese is rather good, he just doesn't put in effort (or something like that). So with effort, anything can be done, right?
I don't know, but this makes me think of something else: the multiple complaints about the PSLE math paper being so tough. I remember reading one forum article (see forum articles are good sources of information, albeit personal views) that the paper must be made tough to distinguish the good students from the average ones. Parents usually complain that the paper comes up with never-seen-before questions that students can't solve with routine maths techniques; it involves more thinking, and that's what the paper is all about.
It's the same in our school; only when you have been in such a system that stimulates and promotes thinking will you truly learn and appreciate the value of the knowledge you have because they are well-deserved. Our math honours paper is intentionally tough and it's good challenge for the mind. It makes you think and it teaches you to think. That's what makes the society progress. Without thinking, there'll be no innovation and without innovation, things like the telephone and the internet would not come about. And if there is no innovation the country only has one other means -- to copy other countries. But copying does no good because copying never allows one to make a statement and you can never truly copy everything perfectly.
So quit complaining and start working. Work on your thinking skills because that will bring you far. I know, my balance sheet is not balanced and my gross profit doesn't add up, but i'm thinking about how to manipulate the numbers to get the correct value and that will take time to start my brain into that mode.
Daddy borrowed Pride and Prejudice, the DVD movie from the library today! Okay, it isn't very nice because it's very draggy and the scenes are super long and it's in pure British english, but it's very enjoyable. The scenery is breath-taking and the costumes and their rituals (or mannerisms) are very elaborate, something you would never find today. It gives me pleasure (together with boredom) to watch this show from the Victorian Era.
What can i do with them? I can make billions of numbers and shapes with tangrams, and mazes give me a headache trying to figure the way out, but they're still cool!
The traditional 7 piece one
Try a 15 piece puzzle, also invented by the chinese, cool!
Mazes! But this one you walk along the black lines or you'll get stuck
I can't wait till Dylan's party! It'll be so cool to have another outing at his house! :P
I cooked Laksa today! With Mei and Mummy :D I thought it was very spicy but Mei thought it wasn't spicy at all :/ And we are watching Flush Away with the surround sound on the HD TV! :O
Four Prawns Each!
And now for some math puzzles
Make this key chain thing by cutting the paper only once! So fold fold fold then cut.
When you get it marvel at your creation!
Dominoes puzzle where the ends have to add up to the same number; expand the problem to Equilateral Triangles and Rectangles and more and you have fun!
3D Periwinkle, because this time if you get 3 in a row (like above) you LOSE :O
This is the peg puzzle which is difficult to explain ...
The pegs are placed on the circled circles and your objective is to eliminate all but one (which would be in the center) by jumping over each other (the peg being jumped over is eliminated)
The Fifteen Puzzle, except that each row adds up to something and you manipulate the numbers about!
The Class Chalet Pictures are out on Facebook! I bet it was cooler than all other chalets that anyone ever had! Even mum said so!
And we're going to get a new LCD TV! Which is coming in... One hour's time!
So i packed my room again, because i didn't finish packing yesterday :/ Actually i was supposed to pack my room after the exams ended but i promised mummy that i'll pack only after the class chalet because loads of exam papers aren't back yet and loads of other excuses :O
So i'm going to spam pictures!
Lovely Chocolate muffins!
God Answers Prayers, so never give up waiting! (And i'm still waiting for one!)
I don't know where this comes from, but it has quite some meaning
Don't give up because prayer works!
And we got some Ferrero Rondroir! With the flash, this picture looks cool :D
And this is the box without the flash. But the chocolate is super nice!
Some Young Scientist Project that we had to draw a bird and label its parts and collect 10 stamps of birds.
I really drew so well! Or maybe i traced it from a book :O
Haven't we been looking forward to the holidays since school started? Because that means that our days are filled with doing what we want to do (like kboxing, reading, shopping, slacking) instead of what we have to do (homework and homework) :P
I was packing my stuff and i found some really old stuff. Its really interesting to think back and wonder what i was thinking as i drew those cover pages.
This was so long ago that i can't even remember when! I must be such a nut that i couldn't spell those words then, or i must have been super young!
I think i drew these cover pages when i was year 1, when the requirement for a file check was a nicely designed cover page. Since then, Biology files were pink and chemistry files had no colour.
Now for some chalet pictures! These are the scenes of the chalet itself, not of what we did. I didn't take pictures for what we did because... i didn't :/ But Gerlynn took loads of pictures and i can't wait to see them!
The view from the room! Beautiful place!
The Master Bedroom, which belongs to the lovely 8 girls! (And our soft toys!)
Oh, this was at Downtown East! Their Christmas Decoration was so beautiful!
Instead of being upset about the things i cannot do (like cycle the 10+ km we did on sunday or climb the steps from the living room to the master bedroom of the chalet), i should rejoice in the things i CAN do (like go to the chalet! and do well academically and play the piano)
And my past five days were spent at 403's awesome class chalet! I don't have pictures here because i didn't bring my camera, but it was just fun and joy! The chalet itself was HUGE! It was a bungalow off Changi Beach, some SAF bungalow that has 3 storeys, 5 rooms, 1 living room and a huge balcony with a swing and beach chairs and more than enough place to play frisbee!
So we had a lot of fun playing mahjong, playing bridge, gaming ( i don't know what game it was), cycling and kboxing! It was just fun and fun! Okay i don't know how to describe it; it can't be described it words (haaha.) Mummy came for bbq yesterday! And so did daddy! And Bernard's parents and Hokk! :P I don't know, we did so many things that i have to look at the pictures to remember what happened and the pictures, i have to wait until Gerlynn uploads it to facebook!
I'm really glad that i could participate so much in the chalet because i didn't expect to. I didn't expect the guys to be so nice to offer to cycle me on a double bike for the 10+ km from Changi Beach to East Coast Park. I didn't expect Rachel to ask her parents to send me (and Ming Yan and Gerlynn) to Changi Beach bike rental and i didn't expect everyone to stop to wait for me to catch my breath when i was struggling to keep pace with them. That's 403, the best class ever and i hope we can have more outings together!
Right, let's talk about life. "In Life, there are two doors: the front door and the back door. The front door is where people enter through grades and other achievements. The back door is never closed but is seldom used. Entry through the back door depends on how you can convince the guard there." From monday's speaker on Curiousity and other stuff, part of which i adapted for my pre-u scholarship application essay.
Lovely day! Because my gradebook on espace shows wonderful grades, much higher than i expected. Yet, I still wished I did better and put in more effort, especially for my exams. Then again, looking at my exam grades, I may have a better chance sitting for the exams in a better state of mind (and body), like now; but that would be too late. It was no until after the exams that things began to be clear why they fell apart in the first place.
Lousy day! Because its raining, and because i'm really tired, I so cannot go for Wisco outing :( Its going to be the last council outing i ever have, yet I cannot attend. Well, that's sad, but I'm really glad this committee was such a wonderful one, with people like Janice and Yu Jia to be nice ladies, Yihui to do student lounge duty with me (and call me when i forget mine), Nikki and Yuhan to talk rubbish, and Roslyn and Chui Yi to lead the comm.
Prof was super funny yesterday, working out the reason why population always ages using set theory :/ I don't think i can put the proof here because blogger doesn't have the facilities, so ask me if you want the proof (that is, ask me after I have sorted out the proof).
This is how you get your honours. And that is why they put the box of that size for you to fill up.
This Games Day 2009, semester two, was unlike any other. It was within levels, so most people were playing games; if not, there were not enough players and most house level reps hate to know of a walkover. So i was left sitting outside the hall in my red Fibo tee, reading. At 9am, the admin notice board ouside the hall was crowded with people, because our subject specialisation was out. Immediately after knowing their subject specialisation, there were three things that people would do: quietly walk away because I got the specialisation i wanted, stay in front of the board counting the number of people who were offered the honours (20% for bio, math, physics, 50% for chem), run to the general office to take the appeal form because i want BIO honours. The entire world is appealing for bio honours, and i don't get why. Anyway, i got all three honours that i applied for (bio, math, chem), so i'm happily walking away and sitting down to read my book again.
Then we went for boarding fingerprinting. Oh, spoil my finger! :O haha, the girls were super funny! After that, it was lunch and making a paper crane mobile for Roslyn, WisCo's vice-committee head. We made paper cranes for Chui Yi, our comm head, but its going to be in a form of a book, so there is no need for threading and tying knots. The guys were super slackers who only whined to go home and couldn't really fold paper cranes properly (Who's that idiot that folded that crane!)
I left the factory line of paper crane folding (yes, we did a factory line where each person folded a few steps before passing on to the next person) to go for MA review. I expected it to take up the full 20 minutes allocated, but it only took 10 minutes or lesser. And Fangyi only asked me two questions! I thought it'd be some sort of super long interview like process because the board has to cut some people if they didn't do well, so they are going to make sure everyone that stays will contribute to the board. :/ Say so earlier la. Half the time we spent talking about subject specialisation and how the teachers try to discourage people from taking honours. Oh wells. That's what i did in the echo-y orchestra room, and Fangyi was trying to do her jap homework. I know its not true, but She quit french because she sees no point in taking since Donovan isn't taking it. That was from so long ago, when i was sec 1 and everyone teases her about that!
Post exams activities have started, with the first day beginning with a lot of talks. First, there is a talk about Exchange Programme 2010. I know many people would apply, but i wouldn't bother. Though i badly want to go for such a programme but i know there is no way the school would approve of it; they wouldn't want t to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of me. So this leaves me with no choice.
Then there's this Duke-NUS guy who came to talk about curiousity and things like that. The gist of his talk was just about him being very curious and taking loads of of photos to relax and recharge. I love his photos and his camera is such a wonderful camera, being able to capture such details such as the change of water from lamina flow to droplet form while pouring teh tarik.
The last talk was rather boring since i had no intention of joining the SSEF; even if i join it, i doubt i'll get into the finals or anywhere close . But the last part was super cool! The team which developed WizFolio was really brilliant, sitting down to come up with a full-fledged software to improve research paper writings. See, this is inspired by a need. Which proves the point that innovations come about because there is a need.
Goodbye Chinese lessons! I'm so glad i never have to suffer such horrible lessons where you stone in class or do some other homework (usually math honours, because chinese is before math honours) and try your best not to get caught when you sit in the front row.
Its been a long two days. After Chinese O Levels, which went quite well, except for the fact that i was still having a headache and chest pains during the papers, we had MA Bonding Day! And i decided to take a panadol pill to relieve my pain. Despite taking two pills, it was still pain the entire day, and it is still pain today :( It was just so sad that i was in pain so i didn't quite enjoy the bonding day. Like Chua Lynn said, "You don't look happy today, so you must be sick." But anyways, well done Team Mitchell! Haha, it was hilarious. Mitchell totally scribbled a '5' on his score sheet because we dressed Hui Min up in newspapers and used masking tape to write a 'M' at the back and asked for his signature. And we came in first! BBQ was great and it was one of a kind! I never had such BBQ before!
The theaterette was freezing today, still. So i was on my 'hairdryer' craze, because i wanted a hairdryer so badly to warm myself up. Good thing when you step out, it was like Sahara Desert. Divya's hairdryer worked wonders for me yesterday, the first part, at least. Council Training was fabulous; i never had such an engaging training before! And they showed Whose Line is It Anyway? That's so 403-like! We're just so easy to please; suggest to play Whose Line and we can entertain ourselves for five whole hours, while waiting for the Year 6 Farewell Assembly. All the best to the councillors for tomorrow's internal evaluation!
Yesterday there was 403 Christmas party at Gerlynn's house! Her house at Guilin is super beautiful, it overlooks a lovely lake with a nice rock, the kind that looks natural, but i'm not sure if its natural or man-made (my mum says its man-made). So sad i didn't get a picture of it!
It was loads of fun and fun and fun, with everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. It was simply fun. Of course, like Ms Sie says, its somewhat childish talk and games but who cares, we're all young at heart, right? I will so miss all these of 403, and i sincerely do hope that we could get back together again annually.
You see, something that i gained in 403 is friends. True friends. I'm not very close to those people, but they're aware of their surroundings. When i don't feel well, i just have to shout the name of someone nearby and they'll help me. Then more will come and offer me water or a seat, which shows they care. When i couldn't walk, one strong guy would carry me so that i could be picked up by my dad. And following which, my handphone would be filled with sms-es and well wishes, and everyone doesn't forget me. Even yesterday, when i lost my way at the toilet at Gerlynn's condo swimming pool, three girls came looking for me, which was absolutely unexpected. I hope these friendships lasts and i would find more friends like these, friends that truly care about me.
Its not good to do 11 module evaluation surveys at one shot. They're all the same questions in repeats and your evaluation turns from truth to white lies, just to get over the irritating surveys.
There's a question that's been bothering me for some time: what's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist? I knew the difference, but i just felt that was a surface difference and there was a lot more difference between the two. The two are interesting fields, very similar to each other yet vastly different but they work in tandem with each other.
To keep it simple, a psychiatrist is a mad doctor, while a psychologist is a people's doctor. You see the former once in a while to collect medicine and certificates or letters to certify you unfit for certain courses or tasks, while you see the latter more often (usually weekly) to cure your inner being and make your mental state more stable.
The route to professionalism of both are equally tough, though i would say that a psychologist has it slightly easier. A psychiatrist first applies for a medicine, and after obtaining a M.D., he must apply for specialisation in the psychiatry field which requires another 4 years or thereabout. A psychologist doesn't have to go through the hassle of medicine and goes straight to FASS but he has to obtain a PhD in psychology to be able to practice and gain a rapport. That's about six years or more, depending on the country.
When one has a medical problem, the psychiatrist treats the body while follow-ups are done with the psychologist. And i refer to mental or behavioural problems; other than those illnesses, please see a normal General Practitioner. The good thing about a psychiatrist is that he can fall back on his M.D. in times of low demand and go back to be a G.P. A psychologist doesn't have that privilege, and can only work in fields of counselling and will reap money depending on his own skills.
Few knows this difference, and the first time that i was exposed to it was when Ms Sie told the class that very little people can make this distinction and hence will fill in university application forms with a wrong idea until they do further research.
Lynnette is a sweet little girl
Whose favourite day is 18th October
Where she is born into the House of God
And she loves playing music
From SNGS to NUSH, she loves them all
:P
Wonderful parents
Great sister
Great friends, who never hesitate to help me, yay 403!
Be able to cope with council, MA and school
A nice research mentor and a great team
A lovely hostel mate, just as i requested you and great toilet mates
Teachers' Day celebrations IC under MA
Good grades, and coping with physics
A new TV and stereo system!
Prayers
God has blessed me richly!
High School Never Ends :P
More 403 reunions
A great class next year
A great mentor next year
Great friends
Coping with hostel life
MA Exco
To be healed
To have the perfect family
