Lotteries have been called a tax on the poor. Ultimately at only a dollar or two a ticket, anyone can play the lotteries. However, many people become addicted to buying tickets and they can cause family/marital problems. Discuss this topic with a parent and get their view on lotteries and specifically lotteries in Singapore. Include at least one quote from an adult, one quote or reference from either an NPR presentation or YouTube video in your discussion. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words in length and you must either support lotteries or condemn them.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
My Father's view on lotteries: I feel that lotteries are OK, as long as one does not become addicted and overspend on them. To me, they are just a harmless (albeit expensive) form of "entertainment", as I rarely bet on lotteries, and even when I do, it's never more than 10 dollars. I believe people buy lotteries in order to get that feeling of satisfaction when you strike something, even if it's not the first prize. However, there are some people I've encountered whose lives have been severely affected by the lottery. They believe in superstitions, and spend huge amounts of money on betting, and when they do not succeed, that only spurs them on to spend even more money on it.
For my part, I largely agree with what my father has said. However, I have a few points to add on which he had overlooked. For one, even if you do strike it rich and become a billionaire overnight, that does not mean that you get the knowledge of a billionaire. Allow me to elaborate. A person who suddenly becomes rich will not know how to use his money wisely. He might think that a billion is more than it actually is, and start spending extravagantly. Before you know it, he is knee deep in debt and soon loses his wealth. For this reson, I propose that the government conduct checks into the background of people who win the 1st prize. If they are overnight billionaires, the governemnt should cinduct classes on how to spend money wisely, for example, to use the cash to set up a business that will generate a steady, dependable income.
These are mine (and my father's) thoughts on gambling. Thank you for reading.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at
The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed
________________________________________________
The poem is written in free verse, with little or no rhyming at all.
___
1.
The poet's carefree (or simply not caring) attitude "...or something" is something one would expect from a normal schoolboy. This helps strengthen the image of the poet being not disabled, until the fact is revealed at the end of the poem.
2.
The poet's dirty shoes also help fortify the belief that he is a normal schoolboy as that would mean that he is very outgoing, playing sports in the muddy, dirty field.
3.
The poet reluctantly admits that he admires the thighs (or in this case, the muscles in the thigh) of the scouts, completely overlooking the fact that scouts are valued for their dilligence and kindness than their physical fitness.
4.
The poet seems envious of his richer classmates who even have chauffeurs to fetch them to and from school, something any other average student would do.
5.
The one liner "seven to the power of 5 is unreasonable" shows his dislike of mathematics, and the fact that it is only one line further exemplifies this. This is also another of the many factors that contribute towards our belief that he is a normal, healthy student.
6.
The poet shows that he is amused by using three whole lines building up to the "climax" of the stanza, describing the situation, then abruptly stating that the teacher sang a malay song on Chinese new year.
7.
This one liner shows that he is learning Geography, much like any other schoolboy, but also shows his nationality; we can infer that he is proud of his country.
8.
This stanza enforces the illusion that he is an ordinary schoolboy, that he does not like exams or tests for the thing itself, but rather for the amusement they bring when one of his classmates act up and do something amusing is desperation.
9.
This is the most important part of the poem, where the poet drops the bombshell that he is actually wheelchair bound. This fact gives the previous lines a higher level of meaning, so in order for you to fully appreciate the poem I strongly advise that you read it twice, or more.
____
This concludes my analysis of the poem.
(By the way, I did not mean to insult disabled people; when I stated that non-disabled people were "normal, ordinary etc" I did not mean to insinuate that you were not...it's just that I couldn't think of other words to use. No offence intended :p)
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed
________________________________________________
The poem is written in free verse, with little or no rhyming at all.
___
1.
The poet's carefree (or simply not caring) attitude "...or something" is something one would expect from a normal schoolboy. This helps strengthen the image of the poet being not disabled, until the fact is revealed at the end of the poem.
2.
The poet's dirty shoes also help fortify the belief that he is a normal schoolboy as that would mean that he is very outgoing, playing sports in the muddy, dirty field.
3.
The poet reluctantly admits that he admires the thighs (or in this case, the muscles in the thigh) of the scouts, completely overlooking the fact that scouts are valued for their dilligence and kindness than their physical fitness.
4.
The poet seems envious of his richer classmates who even have chauffeurs to fetch them to and from school, something any other average student would do.
5.
The one liner "seven to the power of 5 is unreasonable" shows his dislike of mathematics, and the fact that it is only one line further exemplifies this. This is also another of the many factors that contribute towards our belief that he is a normal, healthy student.
6.
The poet shows that he is amused by using three whole lines building up to the "climax" of the stanza, describing the situation, then abruptly stating that the teacher sang a malay song on Chinese new year.
7.
This one liner shows that he is learning Geography, much like any other schoolboy, but also shows his nationality; we can infer that he is proud of his country.
8.
This stanza enforces the illusion that he is an ordinary schoolboy, that he does not like exams or tests for the thing itself, but rather for the amusement they bring when one of his classmates act up and do something amusing is desperation.
9.
This is the most important part of the poem, where the poet drops the bombshell that he is actually wheelchair bound. This fact gives the previous lines a higher level of meaning, so in order for you to fully appreciate the poem I strongly advise that you read it twice, or more.
____
This concludes my analysis of the poem.
(By the way, I did not mean to insult disabled people; when I stated that non-disabled people were "normal, ordinary etc" I did not mean to insinuate that you were not...it's just that I couldn't think of other words to use. No offence intended :p)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Willaim Wordworth
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH was born at Cockermouth, Cumberland County, England, April 7, 1770, and he died on April 28, 1850.
The poet attended school first at Hawkshead School, then at Cambridge University. William was also entered at St. Johns in 1787.
He inherited large sums of money form both his father and friend and then lived in seclusion until he was 23.
In 1793, in his twenty-third year, he appeared before the world as an author, in "Descriptive Sketches" and "The Evening Walk." The sketches were made from his tour in Switzerland with his friend, and the Walk was among the mountains of Westmoreland.
In the spring of 1813 he removed from Grasmere to Royal Mount, where he remained for the rest of his life, a period of thirty-seven years. Here were passed his brightest days.
At the same time he commenced to write poems of a higher order, thus greatly extending the circle of his admirers.
His income was increased and honors were showered upon him, making glad the closing years of his life. But sadness found its way into his household in 1847, caused by the death of his only daughter, Dora, then Mrs. Quillinan. He died in 1850, on the anniversary of St. George, the patron saint of England.
After some research, I find that most of William Wordsworth's poems are actually quite cheerful, as opposed to the bleak and sombre style of many poets then and now. This is a welcome change, something fresh (which is actually ironic since he died centuries ago). But anyway. Even now, when I read his poetry I feel rejuvenated, but at the same time the depth behind the poems intrigues me and prompts me to think. Now I attach 3 of his poems that I enjoy the most for your reading pleasure.
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
London, 1802 by William Wordsworth
Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent , bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did the sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
The poet attended school first at Hawkshead School, then at Cambridge University. William was also entered at St. Johns in 1787.
He inherited large sums of money form both his father and friend and then lived in seclusion until he was 23.
In 1793, in his twenty-third year, he appeared before the world as an author, in "Descriptive Sketches" and "The Evening Walk." The sketches were made from his tour in Switzerland with his friend, and the Walk was among the mountains of Westmoreland.
In the spring of 1813 he removed from Grasmere to Royal Mount, where he remained for the rest of his life, a period of thirty-seven years. Here were passed his brightest days.
At the same time he commenced to write poems of a higher order, thus greatly extending the circle of his admirers.
His income was increased and honors were showered upon him, making glad the closing years of his life. But sadness found its way into his household in 1847, caused by the death of his only daughter, Dora, then Mrs. Quillinan. He died in 1850, on the anniversary of St. George, the patron saint of England.
After some research, I find that most of William Wordsworth's poems are actually quite cheerful, as opposed to the bleak and sombre style of many poets then and now. This is a welcome change, something fresh (which is actually ironic since he died centuries ago). But anyway. Even now, when I read his poetry I feel rejuvenated, but at the same time the depth behind the poems intrigues me and prompts me to think. Now I attach 3 of his poems that I enjoy the most for your reading pleasure.
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
London, 1802 by William Wordsworth
Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent , bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did the sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Road Not Taken Analysis
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
_______________________________________
Okay...analysis. The two roads represent the choices we make in life. Since (obviously) a person cannot make two different decisions at the same time, he is forced to choose just one. Although he tries his best to predict where his choice will lead him, he is unable to arrive at a conclusion.
The poet's indecision about whether which path is "better" manifests itself here. (And having perhaps the better claim,)
(Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay,)
(I took the one less traveled by,)
The poet's hesitation in the last 3 lines of the poem (I-I took...) further augments his indecision, and he finally concludes that the path he took was "the path less traveled by".
What does all this mean? I don't know. Maybe there'll be further elaboration done in class or something.
Why do I like this poem? Erm...I'd like to say that I really appreciated it for it's deeply symbolism and the many little intricate meanings seamlessly woven into the fabric of the poem. I can't. What I can say, however, is that I do understand a wee little bit of what this poem means, and it has been quite enlightening. I just prefer it to other poems somehow (if only because it's the only one I can comphrehend. :p )
And that's that.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
_______________________________________
Okay...analysis. The two roads represent the choices we make in life. Since (obviously) a person cannot make two different decisions at the same time, he is forced to choose just one. Although he tries his best to predict where his choice will lead him, he is unable to arrive at a conclusion.
The poet's indecision about whether which path is "better" manifests itself here. (And having perhaps the better claim,)
(Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay,)
(I took the one less traveled by,)
The poet's hesitation in the last 3 lines of the poem (I-I took...) further augments his indecision, and he finally concludes that the path he took was "the path less traveled by".
What does all this mean? I don't know. Maybe there'll be further elaboration done in class or something.
Why do I like this poem? Erm...I'd like to say that I really appreciated it for it's deeply symbolism and the many little intricate meanings seamlessly woven into the fabric of the poem. I can't. What I can say, however, is that I do understand a wee little bit of what this poem means, and it has been quite enlightening. I just prefer it to other poems somehow (if only because it's the only one I can comphrehend. :p )
And that's that.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
End of term reflections
This post is a coupla days overdue but I have noting else to blog about so I'll do it anyways.
Hmm...lets start with my results. An MSG of 2. Not too bad, and it was a fairly big improvement from last term where my MSG was about 2.65. And even though I was quite unlucky in that I missed A1 for both maths and chinese by 1 point each, I guess I have no cause to complain as I did improve and some other people in my class got an MSG of about 4. Still, it was a pity that I missed A1 by so little. Amazingly (but not very surprisingly) Wang Fan got an MSG of 1. Total ownage. Even though hes a bit irritating and annoying at times, at least he's not a complete nerd, unlike some other people i knew.
Next, CCA. Training was in many ways a big dissapointment, as some of us after reading the SMB saw a message that said Friday was eat with your family day, all CCAs would be dismissed at 5. Sadly that did not include judo, and training dragged to about 6.30. Also, my coordinator blasted us all for sucking at our kata(grading syllabus). I mean it's our fault as well but can't you say it to us nicely? You're what, 2 years older than us? You're not even a teacher!
All in all, it would have been a decent day if not for training. Ah well.
Btw form now on on posts on my day, I will be giving that day a rating out of 20.
Friday's rating: 13/20
Hmm...lets start with my results. An MSG of 2. Not too bad, and it was a fairly big improvement from last term where my MSG was about 2.65. And even though I was quite unlucky in that I missed A1 for both maths and chinese by 1 point each, I guess I have no cause to complain as I did improve and some other people in my class got an MSG of about 4. Still, it was a pity that I missed A1 by so little. Amazingly (but not very surprisingly) Wang Fan got an MSG of 1. Total ownage. Even though hes a bit irritating and annoying at times, at least he's not a complete nerd, unlike some other people i knew.
Next, CCA. Training was in many ways a big dissapointment, as some of us after reading the SMB saw a message that said Friday was eat with your family day, all CCAs would be dismissed at 5. Sadly that did not include judo, and training dragged to about 6.30. Also, my coordinator blasted us all for sucking at our kata(grading syllabus). I mean it's our fault as well but can't you say it to us nicely? You're what, 2 years older than us? You're not even a teacher!
All in all, it would have been a decent day if not for training. Ah well.
Btw form now on on posts on my day, I will be giving that day a rating out of 20.
Friday's rating: 13/20
Judo camp: Last day
Well, for the last day of camp this went a lot more badly than it should have been.
Overview:
First some warmups, then 5x10 uchikome, then moving uchikome. Three rounds around the dojo, it was no easy feat. Then...i think it was 5x3 nagekome, which would normallt be preety easy but after the three rounds around the dojo it got tiresome. Then without giving us a break sir ruthlessly progressed to 10 bouts of randori. It went badly enough by itself, but then the old boy punished us twice. 70 pumpings for not spreading out, and another 250 for the same offence a while later.
320 pushups for not spreading out. I ask you.
Then when randori was over and sir said the blessed phrase "3 minutes break" I thought that salvation had come at last. But the old boy made everyone (but the girls, how sexist is that!!) do another bout of randori. Since all sec 1s were used up I did it with meng xiang, who taught me some stuff, and praised my ippon.
After the break was newaza, 8 bouts. I got through it fine, and a J1 praised me (although essentially all i did was run around and make it hard for him to hold me :p)
Then I took the opportunity to pon(skip) shiai (randori and newaza combined) because i had to go to the dentist. After I came back an hour later, surprise surprise, the oldboy punished us yet again (neck breaching, front breaching) because some sec 4s were talking. Hows that for fairness?
After training dad fetched me home and bought some fried hokkien mee and yam cake for lunch.
All in all, an OK day, but a lot worse than i had expected it to be.
Overview:
First some warmups, then 5x10 uchikome, then moving uchikome. Three rounds around the dojo, it was no easy feat. Then...i think it was 5x3 nagekome, which would normallt be preety easy but after the three rounds around the dojo it got tiresome. Then without giving us a break sir ruthlessly progressed to 10 bouts of randori. It went badly enough by itself, but then the old boy punished us twice. 70 pumpings for not spreading out, and another 250 for the same offence a while later.
320 pushups for not spreading out. I ask you.
Then when randori was over and sir said the blessed phrase "3 minutes break" I thought that salvation had come at last. But the old boy made everyone (but the girls, how sexist is that!!) do another bout of randori. Since all sec 1s were used up I did it with meng xiang, who taught me some stuff, and praised my ippon.
After the break was newaza, 8 bouts. I got through it fine, and a J1 praised me (although essentially all i did was run around and make it hard for him to hold me :p)
Then I took the opportunity to pon(skip) shiai (randori and newaza combined) because i had to go to the dentist. After I came back an hour later, surprise surprise, the oldboy punished us yet again (neck breaching, front breaching) because some sec 4s were talking. Hows that for fairness?
After training dad fetched me home and bought some fried hokkien mee and yam cake for lunch.
All in all, an OK day, but a lot worse than i had expected it to be.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Warcraft AGAIN
Another update on warcraft...
I've completed the entire reign of chaos, and am now moving on to frozen throne. No, I'm not a hardcore gamer whos plays 6,7 hours a day. I have a much healthier, more fun solution. I cheat. (YEAH!!!)
I was able to download some custom maps (about 15 in all), but sadly none but one worked on reign of chaos. But ALL of them work in frozen throne. I can't explain the rationale for this, but...who cares?!! I can play custom games now, and thats all that matters. (Yes, thats how self centred I am. :p)
Right, I've been talking about warcraft in this and another blog post, but some might ask: what is Warcraft? Well, warcraft is a RTS (real time strategy) game that pits four races: the orcs, humans, night elves and undead against each other. Warcraft has a very detailed, elaborate history, each character has his or her own personality and history. Warcraft III is the third of the series and expands on it's already extensive history. Warcraft III can be considered one of the models for current RTS games, having started the concept of "hero" units.
Argh, to find out more just go google "warcraft" and you'll learn a lot more than from reading this pathetic little post.
I've completed the entire reign of chaos, and am now moving on to frozen throne. No, I'm not a hardcore gamer whos plays 6,7 hours a day. I have a much healthier, more fun solution. I cheat. (YEAH!!!)
I was able to download some custom maps (about 15 in all), but sadly none but one worked on reign of chaos. But ALL of them work in frozen throne. I can't explain the rationale for this, but...who cares?!! I can play custom games now, and thats all that matters. (Yes, thats how self centred I am. :p)
Right, I've been talking about warcraft in this and another blog post, but some might ask: what is Warcraft? Well, warcraft is a RTS (real time strategy) game that pits four races: the orcs, humans, night elves and undead against each other. Warcraft has a very detailed, elaborate history, each character has his or her own personality and history. Warcraft III is the third of the series and expands on it's already extensive history. Warcraft III can be considered one of the models for current RTS games, having started the concept of "hero" units.
Argh, to find out more just go google "warcraft" and you'll learn a lot more than from reading this pathetic little post.
Judo Camp: Day 2
Okay, see the post before this one for the lowdown on the activities of the day before. In the meantime, here's what we did today:
First was tachiwaza randori. Nothing much to say here, except that i practically lost every single bout (!!!) since all the people i had a chance of winning were either
1.Sick,
2.Overseas,
or 3.At SMO.
Sad, isnt it?
Tachiwaza next, extremely tiring. We did just about every single throwing excercise possible, then like yesterday the seniors had circle nagekome while we sat by and rested. However, we had to do nagekome 5x5 after that while THEY rested.
Lunch was after that, the food was modest, I would rate it in between yesterday's luch and dinner. However the drink was root beer, which was awesome, plus I bought some pomelo barley to add on.
After lunch was AB, and miraculously I did not die as bad as yesterday since it was only normal AB (1 lap, as opposed to 2). I wasn't even the last guy to finish for a few of the excercises.
Another long break, then 10 bouts of newaza randori, the longest ever. We were expecting a killer PT since AB wasnt that tough, but it was exactly the opposite.Sir gave us about 20 minutes to prepare a performance (some bollywood dance) and my group forced me to be the chio bu. To cut it short, Jeffrey and jeremy "fought" over me and then I revealed that I was not in fact a chio bu, everyone "fell down", and our performance was over.
I would rate ours as the third or forth best, with Kent's group being champion and the sec 2s second. I will only elaborate on Kent's one since it was hilarious. Kent went around acting all gay, and did some sort of indian dance with the other sec 3s. Some other stuff (just as funny) happened, but as of now I'm too lazy to write it all down. Then we had a round of Captain's ball where we got soundly thrashed by the J1s and J2s. Ah well.
BEST PT EVA.
First was tachiwaza randori. Nothing much to say here, except that i practically lost every single bout (!!!) since all the people i had a chance of winning were either
1.Sick,
2.Overseas,
or 3.At SMO.
Sad, isnt it?
Tachiwaza next, extremely tiring. We did just about every single throwing excercise possible, then like yesterday the seniors had circle nagekome while we sat by and rested. However, we had to do nagekome 5x5 after that while THEY rested.
Lunch was after that, the food was modest, I would rate it in between yesterday's luch and dinner. However the drink was root beer, which was awesome, plus I bought some pomelo barley to add on.
After lunch was AB, and miraculously I did not die as bad as yesterday since it was only normal AB (1 lap, as opposed to 2). I wasn't even the last guy to finish for a few of the excercises.
Another long break, then 10 bouts of newaza randori, the longest ever. We were expecting a killer PT since AB wasnt that tough, but it was exactly the opposite.Sir gave us about 20 minutes to prepare a performance (some bollywood dance) and my group forced me to be the chio bu. To cut it short, Jeffrey and jeremy "fought" over me and then I revealed that I was not in fact a chio bu, everyone "fell down", and our performance was over.
I would rate ours as the third or forth best, with Kent's group being champion and the sec 2s second. I will only elaborate on Kent's one since it was hilarious. Kent went around acting all gay, and did some sort of indian dance with the other sec 3s. Some other stuff (just as funny) happened, but as of now I'm too lazy to write it all down. Then we had a round of Captain's ball where we got soundly thrashed by the J1s and J2s. Ah well.
BEST PT EVA.
Judo Camp
Whew! The worst of the judo camp is over, but it ends tommorow. Here's an overview of what i did:
Monday- PT in the morning. Wasn't too bad, but then again all PT is bad, so there you go.
Next, video viewing for TWO whole hours in LT 2. Very slack, and fun. We watched the 2007 world championships for judo, and it was kinda cool, yet a bit funny(i.e. this guy lifted in the air by his opponent, then walking on his hands while his opponent tried (unsuccessfully) to throw him.)
Next was lunch. Common food, some rice from the stall, and some sort of dilute ribena as drinks.
Now the real training starts. Double AB, i very nearly died, but at least i pulled through. Then some other random newaza excercise and then a long break.
Some tachiwaza(throwing practice, inclusive of uchikome and nagekome)then another break for dinner. A plus point of tachiwaza was that sec 1s got to rest during circle nagekome for some reason or another.
Dinner...lets just say it was not very good.
The third warmup for the day, then a lot of randori. The old boys talked to us about the sense of belonging and stuff, then sir and mr chen added in. Then we all went home, beat.
Ah, i'll just do tuesday's update in another post.
Monday- PT in the morning. Wasn't too bad, but then again all PT is bad, so there you go.
Next, video viewing for TWO whole hours in LT 2. Very slack, and fun. We watched the 2007 world championships for judo, and it was kinda cool, yet a bit funny(i.e. this guy lifted in the air by his opponent, then walking on his hands while his opponent tried (unsuccessfully) to throw him.)
Next was lunch. Common food, some rice from the stall, and some sort of dilute ribena as drinks.
Now the real training starts. Double AB, i very nearly died, but at least i pulled through. Then some other random newaza excercise and then a long break.
Some tachiwaza(throwing practice, inclusive of uchikome and nagekome)then another break for dinner. A plus point of tachiwaza was that sec 1s got to rest during circle nagekome for some reason or another.
Dinner...lets just say it was not very good.
The third warmup for the day, then a lot of randori. The old boys talked to us about the sense of belonging and stuff, then sir and mr chen added in. Then we all went home, beat.
Ah, i'll just do tuesday's update in another post.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Warcraft
Recently got warcraft 3 and frozen throne from my friend. I havent really had the time to do much, but I completed the prologue orc campaign in the first day and am halfway through the human campaign. I hadn't played warcraft since P3 on my cousin's computer, and warcraft is quite an old game now. Still, I got it for free and the graphics are OK, so I'm not complaining. I havent even begun frozen throne yet, due to lack of time. However one thing I am not happy about is the absence of maps in the version that i got form my friend(maybe he deleted them accidentally or something...) so I cannot play custom games. There is something wrong with the custom game interface anyway. If I have time I will go download some maps, but I doubt they'll work.
In the human campaign I am at abt chapter 3 or 4, and I have just met with the elven priests. I am on my way to go destroy some infected grainary(but im not very sure...I havent played for a week.)
I probably will be able to play today night, but later or tommorow or monday I will need to do chinese revision and complete my homework.
Well, I've finally completed the 5 post pre requiste for term 2, so don't expect to see me post for some time. Later!
In the human campaign I am at abt chapter 3 or 4, and I have just met with the elven priests. I am on my way to go destroy some infected grainary(but im not very sure...I havent played for a week.)
I probably will be able to play today night, but later or tommorow or monday I will need to do chinese revision and complete my homework.
Well, I've finally completed the 5 post pre requiste for term 2, so don't expect to see me post for some time. Later!
Judo training, 8 May
Friday's training was the best of all the other trainings, with the exception of the orientation trainings, where we did not have to do PT. There was no AB (dunno what it stands for, its some really hard excercise where you crawl/push/drag, etc yourself across the dojo), and training was a bit different because we had 10 second uchikome and nagekome, and other less common stuff. Plus during sparring I threw Nigel Ng from 1i1 like 6 times, and ZiYing from 1i3 twice, once really hard. It was really satisfying hearing him go smack on the ground. (lols i do not hate Nigel or Ziying, just that I like to win.) As for the other bouts...lets just say they did not go so well. PT was slack enough, especially cos during the run around the school was unsupervised, so I basically just lagged all the way. After that our quartermaster Wen Cong punuished us (in a kinda slack way) by making us do frogjumps too and fro across the dojo. It was originally supposed to be 2 laps but then for some reason it was reduced to 1 lap. After training I played Gish with a senior and then went home to lots of fried stuff.
Manga
recently I've been reading loads of manga, mostly (actually only) Naruto. I've been introduced to a free manga scanlation (scan+translation, sice manga is in Jap) website.
http://www.onemanga.com
The scanlations that I've read (so far) have been of reasonably high quality, and the thing is that they're all fan (made??). During the March and December holidays I watched quite a lot of anime (watched the whole 25 episodes of gundam00 season 1, and about 12 episodes of season 2, in addition to about 20 random naruto episodes). Now I've started watching naruto Shippuden, and reading a lot of the manga.
http://www.onemanga.com
The scanlations that I've read (so far) have been of reasonably high quality, and the thing is that they're all fan (made??). During the March and December holidays I watched quite a lot of anime (watched the whole 25 episodes of gundam00 season 1, and about 12 episodes of season 2, in addition to about 20 random naruto episodes). Now I've started watching naruto Shippuden, and reading a lot of the manga.
Projects day prelims
This post is long overdue, but I'll do it anyways...
OK, my group was very nervous since we were one of the last groups to present (abt 6th or 7th last) and we thought that our powerpoint was crappy compared to the other seniors, most of whom were in sec 3 and 4. Then I had an argument with theodore and smiley had to be the mediator. But surprisingly, I think our presentation went preety well compared to the seniors with overly "chim" topics, and the judges asked a lot of questions they could not answer. But ours went quite well and we could answer all the questions. In the end we were one of the few sec 1 groups that got into cat 2 semi finals .W00T!
OK, my group was very nervous since we were one of the last groups to present (abt 6th or 7th last) and we thought that our powerpoint was crappy compared to the other seniors, most of whom were in sec 3 and 4. Then I had an argument with theodore and smiley had to be the mediator. But surprisingly, I think our presentation went preety well compared to the seniors with overly "chim" topics, and the judges asked a lot of questions they could not answer. But ours went quite well and we could answer all the questions. In the end we were one of the few sec 1 groups that got into cat 2 semi finals .W00T!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Poolside Cafe---Closure
First, my thoughts on the above.
WHY THE HECK DID THE (deleted) MOH COME AND CHECK THE POOLSIDE CAFE!!!???
OK, now that my rant is over, I'd like to present my thoughts in a more, erm, calm way.
I am really kinda pissed that they closed the poolside cafe at such short notice, and with a hastily worded SMB post. First, why just for the sec 1s and 2s, and not the 3s and 4s, and the JC? If it's not MOH/E approved "healthy food" , why should the upper sec be given one up on the lower sec? The whole thing seems quite ridiculous to me.
Next, about the whole "healthy food" issue. Can't the school just tell the vendors to only sell their supposed "healthy food" and stop selling the fried stuff? The poolside cafe is the only place me and my friends can go after my CCA which ends at about 7 every session, 3 days a week. It gives us a place to "hang out" and just relax before we go home to face a deluge of homework.
There's nothing we can do now but wait until we're sec 3 and above before we can continue patronising the cafe.
SIGH.
WHY THE HECK DID THE (deleted) MOH COME AND CHECK THE POOLSIDE CAFE!!!???
OK, now that my rant is over, I'd like to present my thoughts in a more, erm, calm way.
I am really kinda pissed that they closed the poolside cafe at such short notice, and with a hastily worded SMB post. First, why just for the sec 1s and 2s, and not the 3s and 4s, and the JC? If it's not MOH/E approved "healthy food" , why should the upper sec be given one up on the lower sec? The whole thing seems quite ridiculous to me.
Next, about the whole "healthy food" issue. Can't the school just tell the vendors to only sell their supposed "healthy food" and stop selling the fried stuff? The poolside cafe is the only place me and my friends can go after my CCA which ends at about 7 every session, 3 days a week. It gives us a place to "hang out" and just relax before we go home to face a deluge of homework.
There's nothing we can do now but wait until we're sec 3 and above before we can continue patronising the cafe.
SIGH.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
OMY!!!!
Okay, class catch phrases. Since I've got nothing much else right now to post, I'll make a list of various class catch phrases. Ctach phrases are basically something random a person says over and over again when he doesnt nkow what to say, or just to annoy other people.
Eg: Wise: Hi.
Marc: Omy.
Wise: I cry ah.
Boss: I like catz.
Alvin: Bao chi an jing!!
Me: FOOD!!
CKY: *fights with LZH*
Alvin: OI!!!!
Philman: iiii gots you.
...yeah.
That was about the only catchphrases I could remember, at this time. CKY always fights with Zheng hong, so yeah. I have no idea how these catchphrases started going around, since evryone says "I cry ah" and "OMY" now. Maybe someone says them and everyone starts copying him/her.
I know this is a bad excuse for a post. But hey.
Eg: Wise: Hi.
Marc: Omy.
Wise: I cry ah.
Boss: I like catz.
Alvin: Bao chi an jing!!
Me: FOOD!!
CKY: *fights with LZH*
Alvin: OI!!!!
Philman: iiii gots you.
...yeah.
That was about the only catchphrases I could remember, at this time. CKY always fights with Zheng hong, so yeah. I have no idea how these catchphrases started going around, since evryone says "I cry ah" and "OMY" now. Maybe someone says them and everyone starts copying him/her.
I know this is a bad excuse for a post. But hey.
Poolside Cafe
To sum it up for you lazy readers out there: HCI POOLSIDE CAFE ROCKS. It sells tidbits, drinks, ice cream and all sorts of stuff like french fries and fried rice and nuggets and onion rings...
Back to the main topic. Okay, the cafe has enjoyed big popularity with students, but why? Firstly, it has gassy drinks like coke, which are a big hit since HCI disallows those "unhealthy" drinks to be sold in the canteen. At one point I couldnt find the F&N grape because there were only two cans left, hidden all the way in at the back.
Also, there is a wider variety of tidbits than in the vending machine in the canteen, which is almost always sold out. My personal favorite, the cassava chips, are also sold there.
Thirdly, the air con. Nuff said.
It also sells deep fried food like nuggets and onion rings, which HCI has also considerately banned so that the poolside cafe will not go bust.
Ice cream. It's cheap, cold, and good for poking your friends with. Whats not to like?
There's my thoughts on the poolside cafe. Now for fun I will list twenty of the food items available there.
1 jack & jill potato chips
2 black pepper cassava chips
3 jack & jill japanese powder shaker thingy chips
4 rip roll sweets
5 coke flavour sweets
6 multi flavour sweets
7 m & ms
8 TOP chocolate
9 coke
10 coke light
11 F & N grape
12 F & N orange
13 F & N cherry
14 F & N weird green stuff
15 Fries
16 Nuggets
17 Onion rings
18 ice cream
19 fried rice
20 root beer
I could go on. But I won't.
Back to the main topic. Okay, the cafe has enjoyed big popularity with students, but why? Firstly, it has gassy drinks like coke, which are a big hit since HCI disallows those "unhealthy" drinks to be sold in the canteen. At one point I couldnt find the F&N grape because there were only two cans left, hidden all the way in at the back.
Also, there is a wider variety of tidbits than in the vending machine in the canteen, which is almost always sold out. My personal favorite, the cassava chips, are also sold there.
Thirdly, the air con. Nuff said.
It also sells deep fried food like nuggets and onion rings, which HCI has also considerately banned so that the poolside cafe will not go bust.
Ice cream. It's cheap, cold, and good for poking your friends with. Whats not to like?
There's my thoughts on the poolside cafe. Now for fun I will list twenty of the food items available there.
1 jack & jill potato chips
2 black pepper cassava chips
3 jack & jill japanese powder shaker thingy chips
4 rip roll sweets
5 coke flavour sweets
6 multi flavour sweets
7 m & ms
8 TOP chocolate
9 coke
10 coke light
11 F & N grape
12 F & N orange
13 F & N cherry
14 F & N weird green stuff
15 Fries
16 Nuggets
17 Onion rings
18 ice cream
19 fried rice
20 root beer
I could go on. But I won't.
CCA
Right. CCAs. Everyone likes them, right?
Wrong.
Okay, mine is fine. But I'm certain certain people like nigel from 1i1 hate it. Here's a brief description of what happens every training which is on Monday, Wed and Fri. The official time is 3-6, but sometimes (like just this friday) it becomes more like 2-7.
Anyway. First is warm ups (duh!!) and then either uchikome to nagekome or just uchikome. See the glossary bellow. Then we have randori and then sometimes a peptalk by our coach. Then there's newaza and PT (physical training), which is so horrible I don't even want to try and describe it.
That was the official version. And now for the unofffical (and TOTALLY SADISTIC) version. The coordinator will sometimes pump us for stuff like failing to sweep the floor clean enough (but at least we tried rite???) . After a horrible PT he will unfailingly talk to us about some stuff such as the recent thefts. Then he might pump us, then we're all clear and many of us will head on down to the poolside cafe which totally ROCKS. I'll talk about the poolside cafe in another post.
Glossary:
Uchikome: Just the practiced throw, you don'y actually throw the guy.
Nagekome: You actually throw the guy. If you're nice, you just mime the throw and he falls on his own. If you're not, you flip him with all your force and he goes smack onto the floor.
Uchikome to Nagekome: Uchikome a couple of times, then nagekome on the last throw.
randori: Sparring.
Newaza: Sparring, but on the floor, fighting with holdings. Looks very sick. I will not elaborate.
Wrong.
Okay, mine is fine. But I'm certain certain people like nigel from 1i1 hate it. Here's a brief description of what happens every training which is on Monday, Wed and Fri. The official time is 3-6, but sometimes (like just this friday) it becomes more like 2-7.
Anyway. First is warm ups (duh!!) and then either uchikome to nagekome or just uchikome. See the glossary bellow. Then we have randori and then sometimes a peptalk by our coach. Then there's newaza and PT (physical training), which is so horrible I don't even want to try and describe it.
That was the official version. And now for the unofffical (and TOTALLY SADISTIC) version. The coordinator will sometimes pump us for stuff like failing to sweep the floor clean enough (but at least we tried rite???) . After a horrible PT he will unfailingly talk to us about some stuff such as the recent thefts. Then he might pump us, then we're all clear and many of us will head on down to the poolside cafe which totally ROCKS. I'll talk about the poolside cafe in another post.
Glossary:
Uchikome: Just the practiced throw, you don'y actually throw the guy.
Nagekome: You actually throw the guy. If you're nice, you just mime the throw and he falls on his own. If you're not, you flip him with all your force and he goes smack onto the floor.
Uchikome to Nagekome: Uchikome a couple of times, then nagekome on the last throw.
randori: Sparring.
Newaza: Sparring, but on the floor, fighting with holdings. Looks very sick. I will not elaborate.
Tests
It should have been a normal day. I got to school, had lessons, ate reccess, as usual. After reccess, we had our maths lesson, but this time it was not so usual. Science was just after maths, and everyone was of course going crazy about it. In actual fact, the topics werent very hard. Just some physics and stuff. But during maths I (and some others as well) were surreptously glancing at the science textbook under our desks. It was a hair raising experience, especially because of Mr Tancw.
The test was bad, to say the least. BAD. Like, BAD BAD, not just bad. Even though I had revised for it the night before, the questions were still merciless. Who woulda thought Mr Tankk was capable of such things, huh?
And then there was the english test. That one really caught me of balance. I didnt even know that there was one, so I did absolutely NO revision. Zero. Non. Ironically, I felt that I probably did better in this one, since compo writing needs practically no revision anyway.
(To cut costs due to the economy meltdown, this post will end without a proper ending.)
The test was bad, to say the least. BAD. Like, BAD BAD, not just bad. Even though I had revised for it the night before, the questions were still merciless. Who woulda thought Mr Tankk was capable of such things, huh?
And then there was the english test. That one really caught me of balance. I didnt even know that there was one, so I did absolutely NO revision. Zero. Non. Ironically, I felt that I probably did better in this one, since compo writing needs practically no revision anyway.
(To cut costs due to the economy meltdown, this post will end without a proper ending.)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
SBS Bus Service
I'm only doing this because I am unsatisfied with the quality of service offered by SBS buses, particularly bus 156.My school has a rather strict policy regarding punctuality and I was nearly given a demerit point becuase of the irresponsibility of SBS. Let me describe the scenario:
I had woken up at my usual time at 6.05 pm, and was downstairs at the bustop by 6.15. From my experience, I knew that there was a 6.15 bus, a 6.20 bus, and a 6.35 bus. I accept that I was a little late on the day, and so missed the 6.15 bus. However, I did not expect much of a change from my usual schedule and assumed that I would be in school in time by taking the 6.20 bus.
I should have been warned by the unusual number of people at the bustop that day, including my friend who is usually quite punctual and takes the 6.15 bus. When I asked him why he was still here, he told me that he had been here since 6.10 but that there had been no bus.
Twenty, thirty minutes passed and by the time 156 came, it was so crowded with people that all the people waiting at the bustop could not get on board and had to wait for another bus.
I understand that it might not have been the bus driver's fault, but in the end, after pondering this issue for some time, my theory is this:
-SBS reduced the number of morning buses for reasons of it's own, perhaps for servicing etc.
-As a result, the people from all three buses were squeezed into that one bus. This also led to longer boarding time at bustops since people had to slowly move in to the rear so that others could get on.
Usually, I would be able to find a seat at Junction 8 which is only 1 stop away from my house. However, the bus stalled for almost 5 minutes there...
...and I didn't manage to find a seat anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had hoped that this was an isolated case but this is not the only time such an event has happened.
YEAH THIS IS A REALLY BAD, OVERLY FORMAL POST, SO TO COMPENSATE I WILL WRITE THIS LINE IN CAPS LOCK.
That really makes up for it, rite?
I had woken up at my usual time at 6.05 pm, and was downstairs at the bustop by 6.15. From my experience, I knew that there was a 6.15 bus, a 6.20 bus, and a 6.35 bus. I accept that I was a little late on the day, and so missed the 6.15 bus. However, I did not expect much of a change from my usual schedule and assumed that I would be in school in time by taking the 6.20 bus.
I should have been warned by the unusual number of people at the bustop that day, including my friend who is usually quite punctual and takes the 6.15 bus. When I asked him why he was still here, he told me that he had been here since 6.10 but that there had been no bus.
Twenty, thirty minutes passed and by the time 156 came, it was so crowded with people that all the people waiting at the bustop could not get on board and had to wait for another bus.
I understand that it might not have been the bus driver's fault, but in the end, after pondering this issue for some time, my theory is this:
-SBS reduced the number of morning buses for reasons of it's own, perhaps for servicing etc.
-As a result, the people from all three buses were squeezed into that one bus. This also led to longer boarding time at bustops since people had to slowly move in to the rear so that others could get on.
Usually, I would be able to find a seat at Junction 8 which is only 1 stop away from my house. However, the bus stalled for almost 5 minutes there...
...and I didn't manage to find a seat anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had hoped that this was an isolated case but this is not the only time such an event has happened.
YEAH THIS IS A REALLY BAD, OVERLY FORMAL POST, SO TO COMPENSATE I WILL WRITE THIS LINE IN CAPS LOCK.
That really makes up for it, rite?
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