This author is currently on hiatus for the ignoble cause of mugging. The public is advised to remain calm, as this routine protocol has been shown to have no effect on one's violent tendencies in 96% of cases.
| Saturday, October 10, 2009 |
 From Obama to Nobel Prizes to eggs to Sheng Shiong, Singaporeans have got it all covered. With impeccable sarcasm to boot.(No, i didn't have the balls to post that comment.) |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:04 am.
| Monday, September 28, 2009 |
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There's only one thing I hate more than people spamming Facebook quizzes, and then ironically proudly publishing every single one of their results on "Are you dumber than George Bush?" to their news feed. It's none other than the quiz creators themselves. But little did I know, there was a conspirator lurking right in our very midst...  Spot the double fail: The same person liked his own post.If you've been wanting to know who's behind the evil ploy to distracting people from their work with useless Facebook quizzes, causing your exam results to go "boomz!", well, now you know. ...It's Ris Low. HA! |
'Twas teh winnar at 7:26 pm.
| Tuesday, September 15, 2009 |
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One might have expected me to use my free time "productively" during the September holidays by blogging. I actually half-expected that of myself too. Guess what? Didn't happen. (You saw that coming.) In fact, I didn't really much during the break at all, other than getting a nagging headache from sleeping 12 hours a day for nearly the whole week. The reason? I didn't really have a battle plan for the holidays. Okay fine, I didn't have anything planned at all, other than completing Prototype on Normal (some awesome friends got me that game for my birthday, so it's only right that I do them justice.) I'm glad to say that I did achieve, at least - in just first two days of the holidays too. NOTE: Not planning anything is different from planning to do nothing. I completed Prototype, and that's gotta be something right? (Then again, I'm just trying to make myself feel better with this statement.) Only problem is, the rest of the days was spent rotting in front of the computer, watching random YouTube videos of japanese gameshows and stalking people on Facebook. So much for the promotional exams coming up in a few weeks and us supposedly freaking out over it and starting our revision. Lesson learnt: If you didn't plan to do something, you ain't gonna do it, as much as you try to convince yourself otherwise. In the case of blogging though, I actually did have a few posts planned out. Except most of them are still in the "draft" stage - none managed to make it past the "procrastination" phase. I kept going "Oh I'll do it tmr, there's still x days of leisure time left" and as it always goes, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow... and then you lose all motivation and go back to eating people's brains in Prototype instead. It's just so much more satisfying, because you can't possibly eat the brains of visitors or else then who will be left to view your blog?! So after a meagre three posts, I'm officially going back into hiatus again. Maybe one day if I get back into the blogging mood, I might rise from the dead once more. That, or if I become an overnight celebrity and get paid to blog. :D If you actually read this, then thanks for being a faithful reader and sticking around for so long. No apologies from this recalcitrant blog murderer though. Hey, you should be thanking me for at least giving advance warning this time, rather than leaving the future of this blog in limbo. Now I've saved you from the suspense and agony of having to check back here, only to be greeted with that same old post from weeks ago. Now I must get back to determining whether I'll die from alcohol or hedgehog from that Facebook quiz, thank you very much. I need to prepare for the future. |
'Twas teh winnar at 6:12 pm.
| Saturday, August 29, 2009 |
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You know, I didn't even know that last week was the last week of lessons for our J2 seniors. So when Andai was saying how he got bonded instead when he wanted to say goodbye to Poon, it suddenly dawned on me why the number of class photo-takings and videos of "last PE lessons" uploaded to facebook jumped so much in that week. Life seems filled with farewells these days, boo. And now I kinda feel bad for not spending more time with our great seniors in the mere six months with their company, all along thinking that I'd still be seeing them around school till the end of the year. Well, at least this probably won't be the last we see of them, 'cos I certainly wouldn't want to suddenly be never meeting them again like that after taking for granted that they'd be in the campus somewhere every day. Very soon - just one more year to be exact - it'll be our turn too. The pace of life for us is starting to pick up exponentially, and I just can't help but keep getting reminded that this chapter is going to be over soon. Secondary school life was really lax and pretty much still floating by, but now JC life is practically whizzing past us. And that would pretty much be the end of our teenage years, and then there's NS and uni and work and work and babies and naggy wives aaaaahhhhh ...Okay, I think let's not think too far into the future yet. Anyway, as cliche and oft-repeated as this is, we should be treasuring this last couple of years so we can leave with no regrets. In fact, at the start of orientation, I was telling myself that I wanted to make the best out of the next two years and really go all out and enjoy myself, but now it seems we have even less time than that. I'll certainly miss being a student at the end of this, but I won't go so far as to say I'll miss lectures and lessons all that much - I'll probably still be dozing off in Chem lectures, that's for sure - but more of the honest company and the friends I've had the privilege of bonding with (though the same can't be said for being bonded by). But hey, at least the school's gonna get much less crowded from now on. And we get to invade our senior's class bench as well, so we might actually be able to fit the whole class on the class benches in the mornings now. (Okay, maybe except Goodbye, seniors. And don't feel too bad Andai, taking (someone else's) clothes off is our senior class's way of bidding farewell. D: |
'Twas teh winnar at 3:59 pm.
| Sunday, August 23, 2009 |
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As I was typing out my previous post on NDP, it just kept growing and growing into one heck of a mammoth-sized post. Guess that makes up for my six months of absence from blogging, huh. In any case, if i were to compress it all into a single post, you'll either get bored of reading it halfway or grow old without kids just sitting in front of the computer trying to finish reading it. And that would be sad. So, for the sake of your sanity and my time, I've split it up into two parts - the narrative and the reflections. Here's the second part. As most reflections go, I'm tempted to go angsty emo teen mode and moan on and on about how I miss NDP and all the friends I've made and how much I love Singapore (ORLY?), but that would be so conformist. Still, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness that this chapter ended as suddenly as it began - we were all just starting to get to know each other better and all of a sudden it's our last performance on National Day itself and we probably won't be seeing each other again. In fact, I'm so accustomed to spending all of my Saturdays out at rehearsals already that I don't know what to do with them now. I guess I actually have to do my tutorials now, boo. Seriously though, I didn't even feel this way after SLC or Dance Nite - but I guess that's because I know I'll still be seeing those guys around nearly everyday in school even after the performance, for at least a couple of years more to come. Not that it's always a good thing though - if only my abang would stop pinching me and stepping on my toes. When I first joined NDP, I wasn't really expecting much from it - it was more of a "oh my friends are going, I have some free time and it sounds cool so why not?" Talk about herd mentality. That was four months in advance. Four months to learn a five-minute choreography - sounded easy enough, considering M.A.D. could rush out a dance performance of around that length in just two weeks for Greenworks. And then we would execute it flawlessly on 9 Aug, entertain the nation for that five minutes, and that would be the end of my commitment to NDP. At least, that's how far my expectations went. How wrong I was. I certainly didn't expect the week-after-week of rehearsals first just to get the timing nailed down, then the formations, then to get used to the costumes and the props, and finally all the numerous National Education performances for the Primary 5 kids before the actual thing. Not that it was such a bad thing after all, especially with the pretty fireworks we were rewarded with at the end of each rehearsal. Plus, it's amazing what weeks of stoning for five hours straight together does for human relationships - from random small talk evolving out of boredom to exchanging contacts and eventually I didn't expect much for the treatment of the performers either - I was prepared to tolerate meals to be hard dry rice with cold dishes and perhaps a little squashed tofu. Or maybe we might get some noodles with salty gravy, if we were lucky. To some extent, some of the food we got did prove me disgustingly right (*cough* Singapore Food Industries), but the Old Chang Kee snacks and Pizza Hut more than made up for it beyond what I could possibly hope for. The crowd, too, went beyond my expectations. I'd thought that most of the people who went to watch NDP were mostly made up of aunties there for the goodie bags, but the way the excited audience cheered and clapped and actually stood up for Singapore showed a different image altogether. It felt good to be feeling the crowd from down on the stage, too. I guess you could say my prior expectations towards performing in NDP weren't too high, which could be why I was so easily impressed. Call me a pessimist, if you may. But that's the nice part about being one - you're either always right or pleasantly surprised. I was pleasantly surprised this time round, thankfully. My only gripe? The bloody retarded box that we had to wear on our heads.  In fact, all the performers were against the box-helmet-letterbox thingy for both aesthetic and practical reasons - the outer reflective layer is supposed to act like a one-way mirror, but with the lights inside the box we couldn't see outside at all and were essentially blind chickens running about in the dark. I can't remember how many times I crashed into people while trying to locate my position with that thing on my head. Still, the organisers insisted on us wearing them; I think they thought we'd somehow look more "futuristic" and robotic that way. That, or perhaps they wanted to save on makeup costs. At least they eventually relented a bit and cut us a slit so we could actually see through the box. Needless to say, the costume design fell short of my expectations. The silver "power suit" (read: Western-style blazer and pants) was supposed to portray the idea of "corporate warriors", but didn't really go well with the overall theme of our performance, what with the traditional Chinese music and martial arts. I suppose it was also partly supposed to depict the merging of Western and Chinese cultures, but it turned out to look more like a clash of cultures instead. Dressing under three layers of clothing in this tropical climate while swinging a long stick about is quite a sweaty affair too. That said, the lights were a nice touch, probably inspired by the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, though that was much more impressive since they could actually control the lights and make cool patterns with them. The wiring inside our costume was terrible though. After every performance, some part of the wiring would inevitably come loose, basically cutting the connection to a section of the circuit. That would mean another frustrating few hours waiting in line the next week to get it sloppily fixed with some soldering and duct tape... at least for a brief period before the lights stop working again. Sigh. If only the designers could've taken heed from our dear commentators and "think out of the box", heh. At least the costume might still have some practical use later on - Wear a flashy blazer (pun intended) to prom, anyone? After all, you can't do that for say, a warrior outfit or a green barney/crocodile suit. ... I think this year's NDP is probably the coolest one yet though. Not because I'm in it (although im sure that's a key factor, heh heh) but because it was way more creative and "hip" compared to previous years. Granted, I haven't exactly been paying full attention to past years' NDPs, but that's partly because they've been a pretty boring affair with the same set formula of line dancing, fancy mass displays, song-singing and fireworks and more fireworks year in, year out. In fact, the most "memorable" performance I can remember was the year when they had roller blading in fish suits. (The poor guy fell when the camera was focusing on him.) Now fast forward to 2009, where they had wushu *woot!*, drumming, a rock band performing this year's theme song and even pole dancing (which wasn't exactly in very good taste imo). The organisers have even hopped on the new media bandwagon, with NDPeeps.com and their Facebook group, and them roping in Mr Brown to blog on NDP preparations to generate some buzz - I actually heard about NDPeeps from mrbrown.com and Facebook first. Everything, from the performances, music and publicity down to the messenger/tote bag funpack (it actually looks decent) and the island-wide Pledge Moment, screams out rebranding for the better. And I'm glad to be part of this milestone that I think future parades will find hard to beat. So, at the end of it all, you might ask: Was it all worth it? In answering that, being a pragmatic (or kiasu, if you prefer) Singaporean, let's consider what I've gained: - A greater appreciation for the organisation of NDP (Politically correct as always in case my future employer decides to read my blog~) - The chance to be part of Singapore's largest birthday bash! - New-found patriotism <3 - Knowing the lyrics to all our national songs by heart. I should audition for "Don't Forget the Lyrics". - Getting to meet a bunch of the coolest and most fun-loving people I've ever met. I'll miss you guys. :(  And other miscellaneous goodies: - ??? x CIP hours (I've been a lazy ass and haven't checked with the school about this yet, though.) - 189 x photos, mostly unglamorous shots of bored people in funny poses and of terrapins. - 3 x NDP funpacks.  - 2 x NDP tickets - I gave them to my mum and brother.  - 1 x useless costume and pole. Maybe i'll use the flag as a tablecloth...  And for all that, I've had to give up: - Numerous saturdays and weekday nights rehearsing. I've had to sacrifice lots of other personal activities because of this, especially since M.A.D. seems to like to schedule all its events on saturdays. =/ - My dignity in allowing my head to be put in a box. On national television. - Even more time to type up this couple of lengthy posts on NDP. YOU BETTER APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME I'VE PUT IN TO REVIVE THIS BLOG, MAN. Or else I won't post anymore and your life would degrade in quality by three notches. Despite all that, was it worth it? My answer is still a big HELL YEAH! for the unforgettable experience that NDP '09 has given me. In fact, the organisers should try to get more people roped in to participate - it brings patriotism to a new level that incessant government messages can but barely scratch. You won't imagine how much eagerly I lapped up NDP reports and how often I searched YouTube for NDP videos - sometimes in the hopes of that millisecond of fame in the corner of the footage - when in previous years I merely flipped over the NDP headlines on 10 Aug, and would rather be pewpew-ing internet villains than watch it on TV. In fact, I'll probably be catching future NDPs from now on, although I think I still might give the parade segment a miss. Ultimately, it's that feeling of pride of being part of something massive, something special, even though I know I'm just one out the 13,000-strong NDP crew out there. Heck, it can even compel a cynic like me to hum national songs on the way to school, days after the parade is long over. I'd definitely participate in NDP again if given the opportunity to do so; and for the NS men who kena arrow to help out, at least Pizza Hut is tastier than the in-camp food, and besides the parade duties are probably more slack than the sh*t you'd get in camp, so it's a good thing. =P But now, I must revert back to my unpatriotic, whining, hater self. Walao eh why Nat Day this year on Sunday then got one day less holiday?? :(( --------------------------- For more photos and even more retarded captions, check out my albums on Facebook: NDP '09 - Behind the Scenes I NDP '09 - Behind the Scenes @ 9 Aug |
'Twas teh winnar at 1:39 pm.
| Sunday, August 16, 2009 |
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'Tis a saturday, and it feels weird to be at home and blogging. Doubly weird, because ive spent the whole of my saturdays for the past four months at NDP rehearsals (that's the National Day Parade for you), plus I haven't blogged for 1.5 times that period. But matters of national importance preside all, so here I am brushing aside procrastination (YES, I KNOW THIS POST IS ALREADY ONE WEEK LATE), Chinese zuowens and even Prototype to chronicle this great moment in our nation's history. And as all great moments go, the story begins a long, long time ago, with months of arduous training through which the hero gains extraordinary powers, while the readers get extremely bored in the process... ...Heck, let's skip straight to the day itself on 9 Aug. 1.15 pm - Arrival at Pek Kio CC, where Martial House participants are beginning to gather. As usual, we wait around for about 30 mins for the bus to arrive. 2.00 pm - The bus arrives at F1 Pit Building, our holding area. If you thought waiting half an hour for the bus to arrive was a bore, well, we'll be stoning here for the next five hours. This is where most of my past saturdays have gone. <_< Good thing there's free food to keep us (and our stomachs) occupied. Yay!    Free Old Chang Kee, ice cream and Mr Bean. Hey, I'm doing product placement for our sponsors! And then there's the cameras... and Yugioh cards... and the PSPs. But for the unfortunate ones who don't have the above, there's always the Singapore Flyer to chill at.  There's even a jungle to explore! Not to forget the makeup, which we don't get because our head is in a retarded-looking box and because we're too busy queuing up to fix the wiring for the LEDs in our costumes anyway, which keeps on coming loose. Come on, you wouldn't want us to get electrocuted or something do you? 5.45 pm - Dinner is served, even though we're still pretty full from the free snacks and curry puffs. It's KFC for once, rather than the usual Pizza Hut or Singapore Food Industries (ugh). A good thing, too - I probably won't be touching Pizza Hut for a quite a looong time after this. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty glad (and surprised) that we actually got Pizza Hut, the slice of Hawaiian pizza plus three chicken drumlets and garlic bread beats Singapore Food Industries any time...  Food fit for but the bravest warriors who dare risk their lives on mushy cauliflower. ...But when you eat it for dinner twice a week for a couple of months straight, the cheese starts to taste a little like cardboard. Fermented cardboard. I hope it wasn't due to traces of the cardboard packaging stuck to the cheese though. D: 6.30 pm - Nearly 5 whole hours later, it's our turn! Time to get changed and get all hot and sweaty in the costume (because the costume's bloody hot, not anything else...) At least we get to enjoy the aerial fly-by and engage in complementary camwhoring outside the pit building before moving out.  7.15 pm - We begin our great journey, uh, little walk to the backstage of the floating platform. Everybody was amazingly calm and chatting normally with the occasional greeting of "jiayou!", despite this being the big show with millions watching on national TV and even online. I guess it's just that we've had so many rehearsals and pre-shows that we're already numbed to the nervousness. Oh, and we knew that in the slightest chance that we screw up, the cameras would quickly switch to another angle. ~ 7.40 pm - "今天...不回家..." The performance before ours starts, and soon it'll be our turn. I swear I can remember all the lyrics for their medley after hearing it with bated breath backstage for so many weeks, heh. And as it ends with a sharp burst of fireworks, the cuemaster held up a red lightstick, our signal to get ready.  ~ 7.50 pm - Red... Orange... Green! The entrance panels slide open, and we're greeted by a gust of fresh air and a sea of red and white lights. Take it from me, the view of the seating gallery, packed with people waving those heart-shaped lights, looks really stunning from down on stage. Somewhere out there, in there, could be a friend, President Nathan or even Chuck Norris himself, but there's no time to contemplate that as we run to our positions, searching for the grid number "MO-32" or other while trying not to crash into someone else. All that, in the dark; but fortunately our weeks of practice paid off here. The next five minutes went by in a blur of perfected moves, chanting of beats and a remix of classical Chinese and techno music. The only thing that I can remember clearly is the explosion of fireworks at the end and the audience erupting into cheers. And then we're scrambling off stage, shouting for joy that we did it, it's over as the show transits to the next chapter and the audience week-after-week predictably laughs at the innocent kid who goes "When I grow up... I want to be a PSP helper!" (He was probably paid to say that.) I sure hope the speakers were loud enough to cover up the din we were making, but it goes to show how elated everyone was. ~ 8.10 pm - Our ecstasy carried on into the finale, when everybody was dancing and hollering as we all ran back on stage for the closing chapter. From all the excitement and how high everyone was, you'd think Singapore just won the World Cup because the Brazilian players were down with H1N1 or something.   You can't really tell from the photos, but for once nobody minded being gay and jumping around and hugging each other. And when the fireworks come on just as the music hits "Stand up if you're Singaporean... Stand up if you're Singaporean!", it's as though the seating gallery explodes into fireworks as well. First it's the orange flashes, and then the gallery's filled with flashes of bright white light - camera flashes, that is. And as the night sky behind us is illuminated with bursts of sparkling light and the scent of smoke wafts down to the stage, I can't help but think: Wow, how beautiful.   Surprisingly, I'm never bored by the fireworks display even though I watch them every other week during the rehearsals. Getting up that close to them, it's a completely different experience from watching them on the TV screen at home. The latter reminds me of all the mind-numbing explosions and boom-boom-pow in Transformers; even Megan Fox starts getting more interesting after a while. Heck, I think the last time I watched a live fireworks display was during the NDP Preview in Primary 5, and even then I don't remember being so dazzled by them. Then again, they were fired from behind us since NDP was still at the National Stadium then, so we all had to stand up and crane our necks just to catch a glimpse of them. And of course, I wasn't standing directly below them at that time, whereas being on stage makes all the difference.  Can you spot the guy waving the green lightsticks on the roof of the control HQ? He's actually there to guide us through the movements for the medley of songs in the finale. I'm not kidding, how do you think they managed to synchronise the movements of all the 1,500 performers on stage? ...No, the government hasn't figured out how to implant microchips in our brains yet. 8.22 pm - The Pledge Moment. When you see everyone in the stands rising up and reciting the pledge (yes, even the old uncles and those people in white shirts sitting in the VIP area), it's one of those rare moments you truly feel the spirit of the nation. It's pretty infectious, and you even feel motivated to tag along and repeat those age-old words that everybody daos during morning assembly. I swear this is the loudest time I've heard the pledge being said - or was it just the speakers playing the pre-recorded version really loud? For once, I'm quite sure it's the former, although I gotta say it sounded louder during the National Education shows for the primary school kids than on the actual NDP itself. Talk about how effective the National Education 8.30 pm - Gurmit Singh yells "It's time to party!" after the last burst of fireworks illuminates the Marina skyline. As the crowds begin to disperse, a young guy who looks like he's an NS man takes over, announcing that he's "the host for the after-party!" We're treated to a short video montage, after which the head honchos go up on the second level of the stage to thank everyone, cut some cake and pop some champagne. And promptly spray it all over each other. Not much of a party, though I guess we didn't need one to keep up the zi-high atmosphere anyway. xD ~ 9.15 pm - "Martial House, you are dismissed." We're usually one of the last to go and we'd always be b*tching about that for past rehearsals, but this time I didn't actually want to leave. It's that sense of knowing it's all finally over but not wanting it to be, knowing that that might be the last time you see those newfound friends that you've stoned, performed and talked cock with for the past few months, and that you won't be getting free Old Chang Kee again anytime soon. Damn, I hate it when people get sentimental, but this is unfortunately one of those times.  That night, after we all had supper together and sat around chatting so long that the Burger King staff had to shoo us out, we barely managed to make it for the last train home. The chaos at City Hall MRT when the announcer goes "The last train to Jurong East is approaching. Please proceed to Platform A." is something I won't forget. Just like how I won't be forgetting my experience in NDP '09 anytime soon. A fitting end to the blur of faces and rehearsals over the past few months, I suppose. Thanks for all the fish, NDP '09. For questions such as "Any regrets joining NDP?", "Is Gurmit Singh's mustache fake?", "Are you gay?" and other such deep philosophical musings, stay tuned for the next post! |
'Twas teh winnar at 12:43 pm.
| Saturday, March 28, 2009 |
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This is one of the few rare weekends where there actually isn't any pressing homework (that's the reward for not letting overdue work pile up! =P), which is why I've finally gotten off my lazy ass to clean up my links, deleting those which I have no idea how they got there and linking some new blogs as well. I don't really have inspiration for a light-hearted proper post though, so I guess this will suffice. Fine, maybe that's just an excuse to be lazy and not type out another long post, but hey at least I updated my links. D: If you don't already know or are too lazy to read the instructions, check out my links by double clicking on the background pic. And if your blog isn't there - I'm pretty sure I missed some - drop me a tag or catch me on MSN if you want me to link you as well. :) |
'Twas teh winnar at 5:53 pm.
| Monday, March 16, 2009 |
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Have you ever wanted to know which keyboard brand you are? Never managed to figure it out for yourself, but think a lifeless computer algorithm could do better than you? Well then, click >>here<< to take the FREE quiz! Oh, and tag 25 people while you're at it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Did you actually have the urge to click that "link"? Did you? DIDCHA? =P It seems the amount of quizzes done on Facebook (and on blogs etc) is directly related to the amount of boredom people are experiencing. Considering it's the March holidays, that would explain the sudden surge in quiz-spamming, and why every time I refresh Facebook I see yet another note entitled, "MY TRUE AGE IS 63 YEARS OLD", "I AM 46% GAY", or "I AM 'Sexy Back' by Timberlake!!" Please don't scare the hell out of your friends with such shocking revelations. I'd rather not know that you've kissed friend #2 before, thanks. I know such quizzes have never claimed to give accurate results (seriously, who would've thought knowing how to spell "expreince" would increase your marriage age by a year?), but hasn't it ever struck you that most of the quizzes out there either 1. Compile your responses and throw it back at you in a different format; or 2. Give some canned response no matter what your answers are Here's an example of the first type. How many close friends do you have? If you chose (a), your result would very likely go along these lines: "You are an introvert who likes to keep to yourself most of the time. You are not very comfortable around people and would prefer to limit your social circle to a few friends you can trust deeply in." And if you chose anything else, it would be the very opposite: "You are a very sociable person who gets along well with people. You enjoy being surrounded by friends who can laugh along with you." Such is the art of expanding an obvious fact into a nice-sounding paragraph to make you feel good about yourself. The second type is even easier to tackle. Do you believe I have psychic powers that can travel through internet connections and can tell what your personality is simply by you visiting this page? Nope? Click here to activate my PSYCHIC POWAHZ! To sum it all up, if you haven't realised already, quizzes are utterly useless and serve no purpose other than to suck your life away little by little. In fact, I swear they are a conspiracy by Facebook to waste all your spare time away, now that their Mousehunt application has failed on them - it seems people have finally realised its futility and disabled it in disgust. If you're bored with REALLY nothing better to do, then well go ahead and try some quizzes so you can laugh at the results, but PLEASE don't tag others and make them waste their time on it as well. D: Spread the word. HALT THE CONSPIRACY. And copy this into a new note and tag 21 friends in it. |
'Twas teh winnar at 3:18 pm.
| Wednesday, March 11, 2009 |
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Just a little incident I thought I'd share. :D This morning, I was taking 852 as usual, except the bus was a little late so it was more crowded than usual. And so the bus trundled along, it got more and more packed, and a few stops down the road, our protagonist (or should I say antagonist?) boards the bus. She's a relatively short middle-aged Indian lady (and I'm short enough myself, so you can imagine her height) with an unassuming black dress, blending in just like any other commuter. Only problem being, there's not quite enough space so she's standing on the step right in front of the front entrance. And she had the sense to grab on to the door pivot (you know that black bar which the doors swing inwards around?) Needless to say, any sensible would have seen what was coming at the next stop. The doors open, but one side hits her hand, effectively trapping it, and gets stuck. She cries to the bus driver to close the doors so she can free her hand, and he does so obligingly. Thankfully the doors aren't damaged, and neither is her hand; but this is where the drama starts. "Those kids arh, refuse to move back!" She begins ranting at no one in general (although I think it was directly at the bus driver, who honestly doesn't give a damn about her and ignores her throughout the trip.) "Glubblablablabloe (Editor's note: I think she was trying to imitate the sound of an intellectually disabled rambling, oh the irony), bodok dunno how to move behind is it!" Of course, everyone simply disregards her remarks and rolls their eyes, squeezing a little towards the rear so she has a little more standing room now. But that doesn't stop her rant: "Next time, if the students don't move again, I'll call the police! Then arh, they'll have no more bus to take!" No wonder the Singapore police say 7 out of 10 calls they receive are non-emergency calls. It's the people who think the police are their guardian angels, are there for their every whim and fancy, and are there to protect them in any situation when their self-interest might potentially be harmed in the slightest. And the thing this, this is not the first time that Indian lady has decided to vent her anger on the bus for nothing. Half the time I see/hear her on board, she'll be b*tching about how people are not moving to the rear and yelling at everyone to move it, and I'll go "Here we go again..." I mean, it might be the passengers' fault for not filling up spaces in the middle of the bus, but there's a much more polite way to go about telling them to make more room for those squeezed in front rather than rudely announcing your presence. Whatever happened to the courtesy campaign anyway? So finally, the bus reaches her stop at Coronation Plaza, and she snaps impatiently at the bus driver, "Open the doors lah!" (Which he does, even though the bus is still metres away from the bus stop.) Guess that's what having to wake up early does to people, huh. I know that lady was probably just making a silly empty threat about the police, but it's funny how some people think the very mention of the police is an argument-stopper, giving them the upper hand by simply yelling, "I'm calling 9-9-9!" And as if the other party would then shirk away in fear, crying "Nooo, not the Powerpuff Girls! I'll give you anything, I promise, just please don't press the red button!" But it is too late! Using their ultra super powers, Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil! And they save the day, again! (Sorry, I got a little carried away and couldn't resist that. But you get my point, I hope. =P) On the bright side, on that very same bus I saw a student giving up a seat to an old lady, who actually graciousness rejected it, saying she was getting off a couple of stops later. Too bad such heart-warming gestures are overshadowed by the black sheep. :( |
'Twas teh winnar at 7:15 pm.
| Tuesday, March 03, 2009 |
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For one long year I've put up unwavering resistance, I've ignored all the "You have been poked!" emails, I've stayed out of Mousehunt conversations and I've closed my mind to its omnipresent power. But just like that, the temptation draws me in again. I've finally given up after having the following conversation repeat itself countless times: Random guy I met during orientation: "Do you have FB? Add me!" Me: "Yeah I do, but it's been inactive for a year now." Random guy: "Just log in and add me so I have more friends...please?" Me: "NOOOOOOOOO!!" *runs* So yeah, after being totally oblivious to Facebook for ages, I finally decided to log in, initially just to check a few photos. Then I noticed the following: 44 unread inbox messages 72 friend requests 116 other requests 814 unread email notifications And in that moment of impulse, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and cleared the entire (still) mounting pile of messages. Okay fine, I simply selected "Ignore all" for the "other requests" and mark all the emails as read. But hey, at least I don't have ugly three-digit numbers in bold glaring at me anymore. Thus began the process of my Facebook revival. Next up: Deleting all applications. I decided that if I didn't want Facebook to be sucking out my life from the inside by making me log in every hour to launch an attack with my broomstick/earn 20 points/feed my pet unicorn, then those apps all had to go. So don't bother sending me any Mousehunt invites or anything from now on (no, I won't join for that precious 100 points you get as a reward). Final step: Changing my profile picture. I don't the first thing people see to be a not-too-glamorous picture of me from a couple of years back. So yeah, add me on Facebook etc. etc. And please, no sheep-throwing. D: |
'Twas teh winnar at 10:55 pm.
| Sunday, March 01, 2009 |
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Even though I'm quite bored currently with some spare time on my hands, I'm not really in the mood for blogging. Which is quite contradictory, because here I am blogging after all. That's what sheer boredom can do to you. I know I should be feeling pretty elated after getting accepted into MAD, the Post-Orientation Party and the Senior-Treat-Junior BBQ last night (<3 you seniors), but somehow I just can't help feeling gloomy on this Sunday afternoon. Maybe it's the torrential rain that's battered our spirits over the past few days (and threatened to drench us as we were walking to the faraway bus stop after STJ, with three people to an umbrella). Or maybe it's my sore throat, which the BBQ hasn't helped much. Or maybe it's the fact that Athena is probably gonna come out bottom again this year, despite all the cheering and enthusiasm we've put up during orientation and more. D: Considering how rushed the Athena faculty dance practice was - no thanks to the manufacturer who kept delaying the delivery of the hoodies - and our low turnout, I was already expecting us to lose the dance competition. Yet that didn't stop the tinge of sadness I felt when the news that Apollo had won became official. And seeing the gloating of my Apollo mates didn't help either, even though they certainly did put up a good show and deserved to win. The rivalry between the faculties does have a way of getting to you sometimes. I should probably go watch an episode of Toradora now - I swear it's like happy pills. Nothing like some animu entertainment to bring you out of emo mode. xD |
'Twas teh winnar at 6:02 pm.
| Friday, February 20, 2009 |
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It's been two weeks since we've been separated from our OGs and sorted into our CTs, yet it seems the trend is still prevalent: Be it on MSN, Facebook or face-to-face chats, people are still going "I miss my OG, my CT sucks bawww... D:" This shall hereby be termed the "OG Nostalgia Syndrome". There's actually nothing wrong with being nostalgic over our OGs in principle (despite having been separated a mere couple of weeks ago, aww.) I too, miss my OG (OG! <3) and would like to relive all the experiences we shared together, if I had the chance to. But the problem arises when people begin to cling to their OG too much, refusing to let go, and as a result affecting their perception to their CT and the proper functioning of the CT as a result. It's people with this attitude what I'm targetting in this post - though no one in particular, please take note - and hopefully that can change in time to come. Causes - What's with the draw of the OG? What makes us miss our OGs so much anyway, after a mere one week of orientation together? Let's presume that it's the people in the OG that we bond with in that short time who make it such a memorable experience. From my observations, it's generally the people who are enthusiastic, fun and hyped-up that help to lighten the mood, raising the spirits of everyone in the OGs and allow everyone to have such an unforgettable time. Let's term this group of people as "X" (because they have the X-factor, yo.) Assuming these people that belong to X don't have a split personality and remain that way even as we're separated into our CTs, they should also similarly be able to cheer up their CTs by carrying on with their fun-loving ways, thus making the CT seem "fun". Now logically, X would be randomly sorted into CTs, resulting in quite a spread across all CTs. Consequently, you would expect some people to be unsatisfied with their CT, because they unfortunately ended up in a class with less of X as compared to their OGs. On the flip side, there should thus be people who are happy about their CTs, because if there's less of X in some CTs, then obviously some other CT should have more of X. As such, you'd see some CTs with less of X and some others with more of X, and people would be according satisfied with their CT or otherwise. Yet, it still seems nearly everyone is still complaining about how unenthusiastic their CTs are, how the CTs pale in comparison to their OGs, etc. There is obviously a discrepancy here. There has to be some people who are more than happy with their CTs, because if everyone is that unhappy, then where did X go? That group of people can't have disappeared into thin air, can they? So after rambling for so long and going in a giant loop, we can finally go back to disprove our earlier presumption to say that in fact, it's not the people who make the OG that memorable. So what exactly makes us want to cling to our OGs that much anyway? I've thought of a couple of possible answers to that: 1) Those in our OGs are the first people we get to know in an unfamiliar environment, and we get to know our OG better first before advancing to our CT; 2) The fun activities we get to enjoy while in our OG, namely OG games. 1. We get to know our OGs first before anything else. Being thrown into an unfamiliar environment, we'd be more willing to want to quickly make friends in order to make the community seem less foreign and perhaps even hostile. As such, this aids in the bonding of the OG. Having made these new friends, we'd be unwilling to leave them and have to repeat the process all over again with our CTs. Some even refuse to participate in opportunities for getting to know the CT better, since they already enter with the closed mindset that "My OG is still the best while my CT is so boring, why bother?" Instead of bonding with the people whom you're going to spend the next two years with, they instead prefer to dwell in the past one week, mulling over the fun times they've had with their OG, and letting that get in the way of bonding with the CT. Which brings me to my next point: 2. OG Activities Perhaps it's not the people that make it all that memorable after all, but rather the activities that you participate in with them. The OG games were admittedly much more fun than the CT games, and the only really thrilling game we played with our CTs was the war games, which wasn't as much of a class effort as compared to working together as a faculty anyway. If we had the chance to have as much fun with our CTs, I think it would have helped out much more with bonding. But unfortunately we don't, which leaves people yearning for their OG, and mainly for the fun that came along with it. We remember our OG so well, not just for the crowd but more so for the good times, which left us with a pleasant impression of the OG. In contrast, the CT might seem dull, not because of the people, but because of the lack of fun and wild activities, which is partly due to the fact that we were to be gearing up for studying mode already. Problems Like I already mentioned, missing your OG is not a problem per se, but only when it begins to impinge upon your CT life. Going out for OG outings/meals is fine and all, but when you start to spend more time with your OG than your CT, leaving no room for interaction with the latter, then the problem arises. Why are you sticking with people you've known for a week instead of those who will directly influence two years of your life, and whom you will depend on for academic help in the first place? The worst part is, it's not just that person him/herself who will be affected by such an attitude, but the entire CT as well. And this is what I have the biggest issue with (and I think many others too, except they don't quite voice it out as openly.) If you're going to go emo over your long-lost OG, keep it to yourself and not drag the mood of the whole CT down with you. Worse still, don't start being a wet blanket and spoiling the atmosphere by making cynical remarks about how "sian" the CT is, or how things aren't meeting your expectations. With people clutching to their OGs and not giving the CTs a chance, how are we honestly going to bond well? Solutions - Making the future two years more awesome than anything. Let's face it - people come and go, friends are lost and found, and yes the world is forever changing. Sure, I'd like to go through that one week of pure fun with my OG again, cheering our hearts out, trying to climb slippery slope and lying down at night in the central plaza gazing at stars, but we all have to accept the harsh reality that orientation has ended and that the fun and games are over. Perhaps CTs would be more interesting after all if those still afflicted by the "OG Nostalgia Syndrome" would also start facing up to reality and having a more open mindset towards CTs. After all, it's no use reminiscing about the past while neglecting the future. Of course, it's good to stay mutual friends with your OG mates, and in fact I would most strongly encourage you to not lose contact with them, but don't let that prevent you from making new friends in your CT. Do you honestly want to come off as unapproachable and unfriendly to your CT, leaving behind a negative first impression, just because you can't let go of your OG? It's time to forge new friendships that will last you for the next two years at least, whether you like it or not. I know the feelings of attachment to one's OG would die down soon enough after a couple of months, but if the week of orientation with the CT and the first week of lessons is anything to go by, it's already caused enough damage as it is. I you're still reminiscing about your OG, please just let the thoughts slide and allow yourself to integrate into your CT. Learn to let go. Give your CT mates a chance, for they might just be the X you're looking for after all. The message is simple: Instead of clinging to the past, get your priorities right and focus on creating strong bonds with your CT. All we can do right now is to make the best of what life throws at us, and make these two years the best years of our lives. If you know of anyone who's still down from the "OG Nostalgia Syndrome", please pass on this message for the sake of you, me and everyone else. Tell them not to let their nostalgia govern their life, and instead look towards a (hopefully) happy future. If things don't turn out, well, so be it, but at least give it a shot first. |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:10 pm.
| Saturday, February 14, 2009 |
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It's that special day when love is in the air (or at least when you pretend to be so), and I'm in no mood to go into emo mode about how awesome orientation was, how much I miss my OG, how I dread the start of lectures yadda yadda. That said, I won't go all mushy and confess my feelings here (who confesses through a blog post anyway, honestly?!), so if you're looking for some romance go here instead. I gotta admit though, this was my first time experiencing some sort of school celebration - though not exactly official - for Valentine's Day. Coming from the single-sex high school, I guess us boys weren't exactly the romantic type and thus the day would pass pretty much uneventfully. Of course, that's with the exception of the few who were already in a relationship. Yeah, call me a loser or whatever for being single, I know. D: Yet now in JC, you see the girls handing out candy with hand-written notes and the seniors sharing boxes of chocolate, even with the juniors. Our senior class even nicely printed out some cards with a class photo we took for all of us in 09S6C. And everyone, guys and girls alike, seems to be walking around with stalks of flowers and heart-shaped balloons in their hands, bought from the student's council stall which they specially set up for the occasion to take orders from students. Back then, the only time we'd buy flowers - and from the bookshop, at that - was on teacher's day. :V It's certainly a whole new experience altogether in a co-ed school. Now I'm feeling so guilty for not preparing anything for anyone, ugh. Although well, I guess I don't mind the free chocolates. =3 And if you too are feeling lonely this day, don't fret! I've got just the thing for you: |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:46 pm.
| Wednesday, February 11, 2009 |
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I suddenly found much inspiration for blogging again from the start of JC life, the days spent with my orientation group (OG1!), a new CT (fancy acronym for "class"), all the random orientation games and dances and staying back late in school. Only problem is, between the 6 pm dismissal, nightly mass MSN conversations and sleep time, there's hardly any time left to actually compile all my thoughts into a massive blog post. Looks like that'll have to wait till the weekends, after orientation ends off with the campfire. That is, provided I finish Meanwhile, have fun! AH HOOT~! |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:21 pm.
| Sunday, February 08, 2009 |
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Well, we just had some guests over at our home, and since its still during the Chinese New Year period we ended up with the routine - you guessed it - blackjack gambling. My luck was insanely good, and even though I was betting just a couple of bucks each round I got THREE blackjacks (my first hand was a blackjack too) and didn't bust even a single time for most of the first part. In fact, I was so lucky that I got worried and quickly stopped playing once it seemed my luck was beginning to falter. 风水轮流转, y'know. Didn't want to lose it all back after that incredible winning streak. I think the luck was spread around the table though, since there were quite a few double aces as well. Usually you'd be considered lucky if you even saw one or two double aces throughout the game - I myself have only ever gotten it once too. Poor banker. So I ended up with about 15 or 20 bucks in winnings. Could've been more, but let's not be too greedy. On the flip side though, my dad lost 60+ bucks. :( Of course, gambling's mainly just a once-a-year event for fun, but I guess I wouldn't mind winning some extra pocket money on the side as well. ;) And thus wraps up the CNY celebrations for this year. Not a bad start, I gotta admit. Now if only I got the same luck with the CT groupings... |
'Twas teh winnar at 5:11 pm.
