fear

most composers of the romantic period, were close to talented slaves, they were actually. smitten by the fact that they were poor and all, none of them actually dared to rebel, in the sense whereby they refused to write music.
but Beethoven on the other hand, was something different. a crucial figure in the transformation from classical to romantic. he was not like other musicians. he drawed money from the middle class, he did not look up to the rich, nor respect them. once, when a duke had giggled during one of his concerts, he called him a swine, and told him to leave as the hall was booked for people who apprieciated music.
Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, typhus, auto-immune disorder (such as systemic lupus erythematosus), and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. The explanation, from the autopsy of the time, is that he had a "distended inner ear" which developed lesions over time.Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.^[43] He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, typhus, auto-immune disorder (such as systemic lupus erythematosus), and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. The explanation, from the autopsy of the time, is that he had a "distended inner ear" which developed lesions over time.

dont rake up the past?

who forgets war, take ww2 for example, elders who lived through the ordeal are forever haunted by it.

The Japanese had told the people of Singapore that they had come to set them free from British rule. However, the people of all races found that they were not freed. Instead, they had new masters. In fact, they lived in fear of their new Japanese rulers.

Barbed wire was put across the roads to form roadblocks. Japanese guards then bullied the people passing by, sometimes making them kneel on the roadside for hours. Once, a cyclist who tried to ride away when the Japanese guard was not looking was caught. He was made to kneel down and was then hit on the head until he fainted. The Japanese soldiers wanted everyone to obey them and to show them respect. Whenever anyone passed a Japanese soldier on guard duty, he had to bow to him. If he did not do so, he would be slapped, kicked or punished in some other way.

The Malays suffered under the Japanese. Some Malays were arrested from the streets by Japanese soldiers and sent to Thailand to build the Death Railway. They were not spared if they did something wrong as the Japanese did not hesitate to beat them or chop off their heads.

The Japanese wanted the Indians to join the Indian National Army (I.N.A.) to fight against the British in India. However, many Indian soldiers (mainly Sikhs) and the Gurkhas in the British Army refused to join the I.N.A.. Some of those who refused were killed. The Indians, too, were not spared from the Death Railway.

The Eurasians also suffered under the Japanese because they looked like Europeans. Many were put in prison camps. Several of the Eurasians were members of the Singapore Volunteer Corps and had fought against the Japanese. Those suspected of helping the British were shot.

It was the Chinese who suffered the most. They had actively helped China in its fight against Japan. To punish them, the Japanese told all Chinese men between 18 and 50 years of age (sometimes women and children too) to report at certain centres. There, they were "examined" by the Japanese. There was no proper way for deciding who was anti-Japanese. At some centres, men wearing hoods or masks would simply point out certain people as enemies of the Japanese.

Those who were identified as anti-Japanese were not allowed to go home. Some were given a small piece of paper stamped with the word "Examined". The word could be stamped onto their shirts or arms and became an important pass which allowed them to avoid further questioning by the Japanese.

However, there were thousands who were identified as being anti-Japanese. These were taken in lorries to Changi Beach and other beaches on the east coast.

The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya were also forced to form the Overseas Chinese Association and were made to contribute $50 million towards Japan's war efforts. The Chinese leaders found it hard to raise the money. Though they were prepared to sell their houses, no one could afford to buy them. The Chinese in Singapore and Malaya could collect only $28 million altogether and had to borrow the rest from a Japanese bank.

it is from this past we remember our mistakes and improve

are we becoming too reliant on shortcuts

everyone should know about the prestigious 'windows 7', the one fitted with shortcuts at almost every inch of the screen. the question is, are we becoming too reliant on these shortcuts. technology is constantly improving, everything is getting better. things are looking up, and almost never look down. what if there was a day, where all of us had to use the ol'fashioned 'windows 97' again, will those who are overly IT-savvy ever survive?
allow me to relate a LIVE example: i have and old 'windows XP' laptop, and a new-and-improved 'windows 7' desktop. i frequently used the 'windows 7', until the E-learning day. my brother had woken up early to use the 'windows 7', so i had to use the old 'windows XP'. many a time, i forgot the 'hey! i'm not using the 7 anymore, no shortcuts everywhere!' i had a real hard time at the XP!
just think about it, all those people who know all the possible shortcuts. well, too bad for them i guess. they will have have to cope if this "computer downturn" ever turns its ugly face, then how will they cope?

the troubles of a third child

being a third child in the family, with two brothers awaiting the dreaded PSLE, it is not easy. take my brother for example. he waited for a year for my PSLE, and now he is waiting for another. so, what does he do to waste time while our mother is attending to us, who she spents the most time with during PSLE.
play our computer of course. he is almost addicted to it, trying to play it at every opportunity. we all feel it is detrimental to his health, but what can we do but give a sigh when we watch him play. he used to ask for 5 minutes and play for 5 minutes, but now, he asks for 5 minutes, but plays for 30 minutes. he is oblivious to how much time he has spent. now, we are all wondering, was it even wise to let him start in the first place.
so, my brother and i have tried countless times to stop him. but when he let out his mighty wail, we both had no choice but to interverne, and let him continue. he is somewhat abusing his 'power', just because he is young, he can throw his weights around without getting caned or punished.
well, even parents have failed. even after confiscation for half a month, he will go bak to normal afterwards. we are even planning to take away the whole PC, but morden Singapore, who can keep up without one.
so, this addiction

increasing vulgarities

now, there are more and more people who know the 'F-word', the 'B-word', and so on. what was considered rude and offensive to parents is the norm now, in morden day society. so, what is causing this, the internet, seniors from upper secondary, or is it by peers.
the internet is the most likely. if you click here, not that you want to, you can find avid contributers contributing the latest lingos, and also, some vulgarities along with it. since children are very IT-savvy nowadays, these words will circulate very quickly, and the result, a ruder and more vulgar society.
next will be the presence of vulgar seniors. people have a sort of misconception now. which is 'vulgarities are cool'. in a desperate bid to draw attention, they pick up words from the seniors, so that they can show other, 'hey, i know this word and you don't, so i am cooler and better than you. thus, those who are picked on will also try to learn more hokkien swear words, to prove that they are cooler. this cycle keeps repeating itself, till they all learn how to learn the worst of words, such as 'F***'.
lastly, the point on peers, it is very closely related to the above two points. peers will specially search for rude words. they want to make themselves seen, by making others laugh. they will try many means to do so, such as talking back to teachers, cracking racist jokes, and of couse back to our main topic, the use of vulgarities.
in conclusion, the main thing to me is attention. it is the need of attention, that draws out the worst in most.

the cons of fame

most want to be famous, who doesn't? is it not grand to have your name known far and wide, in a good way of course. take Cameron Diaz for a perfect example, who played Knight and day. i am sure she loves the fame and glory.
Yet, with all this fame and glory, Diaz is the figurehead for many online criminals. having been rated 'the most dangerous online celebrity', one in ten websites holding Cameron Diaz's name leads to risky websites designed to trick visitors into unwittingly downloading viruses that can seize control or computers or mine them for data, according to McAfee. and, Nineteen per cent of the websites in results for searches on the term "Cameron Diaz screen savers" were rigged with malicious code.

so, fame is good in a certain way, but when someone is too famous, that is when there will be trouble. unscrupulous people will use you as a figurehead, just to make a few 'idiots' suffer from the virus that they spread.

indirectly, you are the cause for their suffering and despair, because they saw YOU, that's why they were so tempted to click on the menacing link that introduced virus into their mainframe...

pampered?

Three people were missing and more than 50,000 evacuated from a city on Saturday after flooding along the Yalu river, which forms the border with North Korea, officials and state media said. this is what is happening in the Yalu River, China. About 230 homes have collapsed in the city of Dandong and some transport, power and communication links have been cut off but no casualties have been reported.
this is what is happening in Singapore: loss of valuables, no loss of homes, and the flood cleared in no time flat. but, 'kiasu' Singaporeans, whether living in the affected areas or not, are pressing over-demanding solutions from the government. maybe Singapore has become complacent, just because we have not had flash floods in decades, people make the biggest fuss out of the matter that China is facing, with at least 10 times the devastating effects compared to that of Singapore.
Singapore is just acting like a baby. and China is a mature man. China has matured through experiences like hurricanes and floods. yet Singapore is like a perfectly pampered child, making the biggest hoo-Ha over the smallest scratch.
maybe a natural disaster is what Singapore needs most at his point of time. people do not seem to treasure our lucky geographical on the globe. they have so much, yet they want so much more, China has always been able to stand back up after disasters, after being shaken emotionally and economically, why can't we?

why cant we learn fron China?

hypocrite

it has many flaws being hypocritical, as one of my seniors in squash, is definitely a hypocrite.

let me raise an example: currently, there is an internal quarrel between the captian and the rest of the team, and our coach tried to step in to solve our mini vendeta. when asked,'what about captain pisess you off most, so much that you ostracise him'. he replied that he was displeased that our captain took up a lot of space on the benches, and he was egoistic over fluke wins.

after our coach left, he started swearing that all those claims were false, and gave a whole new sets of complains and expressed how he really felt. but if the coach gets false information, his effectiveness in solving the problem is lower, as he does not have true blue statements of the team.

if you are hypocritical, the only person you are demoting and sabotaging is yourself. others may look up to you at first, but will satart to despise you after they find out your scheme. if you give comments which are hypocritical, people will not be able to help you effectively and completely, thus the only person you sabotage is yourself.

in conclusion, we should be blunt and truthful. if asked a question, answer promptly and truthfuly, only then, will others look up and respect us.

false phase

ever heard of the phase "there are no strangers in this world, but only friends we have yet to meet". a very nice phase indeed, but not very true. even task like asking a question to a stranger on the MRT can be an embarrasing task to some more 'thin-skinned' people.
allow me to relate an incident that happened today(18/8/10). i was playing pokemon on my phone. it seemed to interest two people beside me. although i did not turn around to look, i could here them discussing whether to ask me about the details of the game. until one of them finaly commented jokingly, 'ai yah! for the sake of our happiness.' and they finally asked about the pokemon game.
if that phase suggest everyone in this world is a friend, then why are singaporeans that scared to lose face. perhaps there were many people on the train, or perhaps it was just a cruel joke, whereby they already knew the answers.
contrary to the scene in the case of the caucasians, or the 'ang-mor's. they are open and are never afraid to ask a question, or give answers to questions asked. once, during the incident where an old woman was crashed by a car. it was not a local that was directing the scattered traffic, it was a tourist, a caucasian.
so, we can really learn a thing or two from these people.

throughout the years, there are inclinations towards certain race, certain people, and certain religion. even now, there is much insensitivity, the whites against the blacks, or the British's 'inability' to deceipher a Chinese from a philipino and others.
but why actually? is it because they are just plain insensitive and naive, or is it because that the internet is now feeding younger children with these 'facts'. though i do not know who is more famous in the US, i do know that most of us students know who is 'peter chao'. the youtube sensation says many insensitive comments, and a few more famous episodes depics him fighting with a Jewish, and there are lots of racist and insensitive comments in their quarrels.
but how can we curb these people like peter chao. he is persistent. although he has been banned 3-4 times, each time he has created a new account to share his insensitive videos.
he does not earn anything, right, but the small amount that buys his merchandise. for that small profit, he is making these videos.
he does it for the publicity, but he does not think of the consequence of his 'publicity', he is not thinking of the tong term consequence. they are copying his racist jokes, and spreading his name far and wide.
should youtube, a site that all videos are accepted, draw a line whereby what kind of videos they are broadcasting to others, and the consequence. if youtube stop being that lax, i am sure that racism will see a curb.

greed

they say greed is the root of all problems, and this statement is true. why is the earth dying, because humans dig up all the available resources, andd when it is all used up, they seek more, and so on.

the phase save our planet is untrue, in a certain sense. the planet will heal over time, it is the human reace that will disappear forever, yet many know this cruel truth, that the planet is dying, and we will be the ones to suffer, but for the sake of profit, many continue the rampant destruction of the earth.

Stephen Hawking, the physicist, recently told the website Big Think that “we are entering an increasingly dangerous period in our history.”

hawking also noted that future of the human race would be in space, and they would have to constantly find new living spaces if they do not learn to cherish the environment there, the human race will just do the same, and if they dont find other spaces to live in, their greed will be the cause for their extinction.

even now, we do not realise the severity of our wastage, our resources are disapperaing faster than we can replace them, if we do not do something, our future generations are the ones to pay for it. we are actually loaning the Earth from future generations, our wastage, over-usage, irresponsible acts, we are not the ones paying for these so-called petty crimes, it is our future genaeraations that will pay the hefty fine.

uni grad is a sampan man

there has been recent news on 'The Straits Times', as one stomper found out that a sampan rower at Marina Bay Sands, was actually a university graduate. this has shocked many, because to them, these graduates with a high paper qualification deserve better than rowing people on sampans. yet others solute this guy, because at least, he is not sitting at home, shaking legs. he is earning money, no matter how low the sum.
while some salute him on his commitment, others are jeering and booing. they say that his degree was a fake, and one stomper gave the comment 'congrats, u just got scammed by a sampan man'. but although it is insulting, it night be true. no concrete evidence was given of his degree, and maybe the STOMPer was just too naive into beleiving his claim.
for those who believe him, they attribute his so-called lowly job to the difficulty to find a good job. they say that degrees are the norm, so finding a good job is difficult.
i am not taking sides with neither party, but this incident, so small. why has it sparkes 8 pages long of comments?

what i hate

something i hate most is the ego of others. yes, i am in no position to comment on anyone's behaviour, but i still find it essential to voice some comments out.
for me, i am a noob in most games due to minimal time given to me and the ever-sharp eye of my mother. due to this, passing questions about the game i am playing, mousehunt to specify, i usually get that kind of "har!? so noob ar, like that also don't know!", from more people than others.
yet the irony is that those that laugh most at my newb-ness are those who are only good in that game. for instance, someone in our class has been commenting on that very subject, yet this particular person had to fail his math test because of the game. this gives me a strong sense of satisfaction because when he played, he lost out.
now i have a clear goal, to prove that ego-maniac wrong. not in the game of course, but in studies, so i can prove to him that he is not better than me in every single aspect of life. after all, as my mother always says, 'who turns out more useful? the person with good grades, or the person with a high-leveled game character?' till now, i only partially believed her, but now i have fully understood what it means!

maid tying lace

there was a video posted on the free video/photo sharing site, STOMP. the video showed a maid obviously being mistreated, tying her owners lace.
but why did the maid do such a thing, which is obviously an embarrassment to herself. maybe of the very fear of losing her job, and being sent back, was probably enough to weigh out the staring eyes of the public.
although she is a maid, she is not a slave. her owner has only paid for her services, and given her accommodation, but she has not bought the freedom of the maid. yet she uses the power of money and employment to control the maid. she is obviously abusing her authority.
yet others actually sympathise with the plight of the now notorious woman, noticing her limp she had in one of her feet. yes, maids make life easier, but not so easy till the extent that she cannot even take a seat to tie it herself.
but the people going up the elevator were also too much. although they noticed this act, they did not do anything or say anything to stand up to that act, maybe they thought it was OK, or just because that woman was a maid, so they did not care less.
maybe, just maybe, the maid used a limping trick so not to be seen as evil.
i fully agree with the person who videoed it, STOMPer 'Larvitar', when he said, this is obviously abusing her authority, others should have common sense, maids are not slaves, they are helpers.
link"http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/3552/4136/417958"

rehearsel?

every Saturday is the NDP rehearsal, admittedly, the fireworks are indeed very beautiful, but to what expense. the government is sparing no expense in making this year's a successful one. but this constant firing of the fireworks, what loses will there be.
there are certainly advantages, like the actors having the actual, scene rehearsal, the crowd being formed by hundreds of p5 students.
but what are the disadvantages of this "brilliant" set-up?
just think, how much is spent on these fireworks, and how this money can be used in a more productive and beneficial way. with the current flash floods in Singapore, should this money be used to solve those problems rather than continue with this. personally, any rehearsal can go on, maybe just by substituting that with something else, maybe just a few fireworks, or some sparks.
also, rehearsal takes place on every Saturday, people will be More largely affected by this rehearsal.

projects day reflections

as i am only a secondary 1 student, i think passing the prelims was in a way, very good already. but the preperations for the semifinals were even more excruciating because of the immense stress i was under.
well, i did not want to fail any of my test, for my MSG is already below average. if i did not mug more, i was afraid i would do even worse. thus, i slightly neglected my projects day research and only completed after a warning call from Jia Jie, which was clearly not enough.
the fact that Darrly Chan was missing in action,added to our already so heavy workload. at this point, my only wish was to get this thing over and done with, so i could just go home and do something else that i wanted.
now, the only thing i feel is guilt, for my personal results, i neglected the needs of my group, the ones which were most impotant at that point of time. since i needed to sleep at 9.30, due to parents issues, my groupmates were kind enough to bear that heavy workload for me, they were kind enough to only let me handle the Q and A and the introductory slides, i am grateful for that kindness.
but lets get realistic, i tell myself. they wont choose me next year. i will probably be replaced by someone more competent, someone who can burn the midnight oil. but i was took in this year by them this year, so they are stuck with me, i wonder:who will group with me next year?

recently, i have completed my thickest book yet, angels and demons. it was rather interesting, and it always probed me to read further and further, until i had finished the whole book.
it was about the camerlengo remaking a past cult, the illumanti. he wanted to do this to strike fear in the hearts of the poeple by placing a deadly, explosive amount of anti-matter, which threatens to blow up the whole vatican city. later on, the camerlengo would pretend God had sent him a sign, and find the antimatter that he himself had hidden, letting religion claim credit for that man-made scene. reason being more and more religious happenings were being proved by Science itself, and the camerlengo felt a need to do something so great, he would turn the tables permanently on Science.
this act would have gone unoticed if not for the director of CERN, Dr. Kohler, who had sent robert and vittoria on their quest for the antimatter at the start. from DR. Vetra's records(antimatter creater), Kohler discovered that the only person that knew about antimatter, other than vittoria, was the camerlengo himself.
Kohler consulted the camerlengo, hoping to make the camerlengo tell him the truth. he knew it was likely to be a trip of no return, so he discreetly placed a camera under his wheelchair(he was a cripple).
now, the camerlengo wanted to heroicly get rid of the antimatter by killing himself in a one way trip up in a helicopter. Robert misinterpreys this and goes with the camerlengo. to his greatest surprise, the camerlengo takes a parachute and jumps just before the explosion.
robert on the other hand, falls into the water with minor injuries. he now views the video Kohler(whom he thought led th illumanti) had left him. it was on ly now he found out that the camerlengo had branded himself! and had put the blame on Kohler, then shot him to death.
later on the scam is ruined and another more trusty cardinal is elected pope.
this story tells of the extent anyone will go to achieve something, the camerlengo threatened to destroy the whole vatican city, brand 4 would-be popes and kill anyone let in on his secret plan, only shows the extent anyone will go to achieve what they think is the right way.
the bad side human nature in this book is kept ferociously fresh.

powerful people.

people that ruled in history such as Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, Napoleon Bonaparte, and the ever notorious leader of the Nazis, Adolf Hitler. even invading countries like Japan, what do all these conqeurors have in common? i personaly feel that is the need to keep their power.

to do these, rulers have gone through even the most bizzare methods to keep this power which they treasure so dearly. toturing, mass killings and so on must have been the common scene of the places these corrupted rulers comtrolled.

but why? with a close reference to biographies, people like Adolf and Napoleon all had dark childhoods, this could be the very motivation that spurs the people on to make a whole new society, one to his/her liking. after this 'ideal' society is built, they wish to keep it that way, and do not want to lose their standing in their so-called picture perfect society.

they will result to propaganda, torture and controlled flow of what the people read, just for the fact that they are able to keep their standing. they will ruthlessly destroy all possible enemies in their attempt.

but perhaps, it is these experiences that make the people of the present wiser, and more concious of the danger of a single ruler, especially one who is bent on changing the entire structure of politics. it is perhaps thanks to these corrupted people, that we have the society it is today.

toy story 3

after watching the movie toy story 3, i found out it was more than just a bunch of toys running around, but it also displayed important values such as friendship, determination, and most importantly, giving up the past.
yet again, this story is somewhat comparable to Animal Farm, where a tyrannical bear, lotsa, dominates the entire sunnyside daycare, with himself as the supreme ruler, abusing newer and more naive toys by placing them in the caterpillar room, where the children abuse their toys, while lotsa and his companions enjoy the pampering of the butterfly room, where the children are older.this is something like Napoleon of Animal farm, who too abuses the stupid.
lotsa is one who is frightened of losing his authority. thus he manipulates a much bigger and stronger toy, a baby manikin, who is responsible for catching the would-be escapees. similarly, napoleon uses his nine ferocious dogs to threaten the animals.
but the story is not totally the same as well.
later on, lotsa and the gang end up at the Junkyard after an unfortunate series of events. lotsa tricks Woody the cowboy into helping him escape. he is the first to escape from the burning death they would have faced, but is tied to the front of a garbage truck because the driver used to have one. unlike napoleon who gets away with the backstabbing of Snowball, and is still the ruler.
while the others are about to get burned, they lives are saved by the three aliens. the irony of this scene is that the aliens are usually portrayed as the stupid and naive ones, the ones that create trouble rather than solve problems, they are the heroes of the movie. later on, the gang sends Barbie, who has a lover in sunnyside, to govern the place fairly, where toys, ironically, took turns to be abused by the violent tots.Napoleon, on the other hand, was successful in eliminating Snowball, and still continued his corrupt ways, all the way till the story ends.
although there is a happy ending to toy story 3, Animal farm ends on a cliff-hanger, where nothing more is said,(e.g. what happened to Napoleon).
personally, toy story 3 seems more correct, where lotsa the tyrant faces retribution. it almost seems that this movie was showcased just to show that those who abuse power will not get away with it.
Animal farm, it is impossible to say that it is incorrect though, because the message Orwell was trying to convey was:'absolute power corrupts absolutely',and not so much about their retribution.

the blackhole

my brother, is now like a black hole.a black hole is what happens when a star goes into supernova, or is about to die. well, now, my brother is real close to death of his DSA and unintentionally drags everyone down with him.
now, everyday, i train my head off with him him, even though i am tired from morning's training and just wish i can lie down on the sofa and take a break. this is all i can help with, because academically, i have my own problems, and have minimal time for his issues.
this responsibility is thus handed to my mother, who already has housework on her hand, and still helps all of us academically, now this is her best saying to her friends on the phone:'last year, including this year, no mahjong for me at all!' i can see how much she is willing to sacrifice for his academic excellence.
my father on the other hand, is the last resort, more intelligent, but prefers to spend his spare time on the sofa than in the study room. we only consult him at the most desperate times.
he shows me no thanks, still giving me attitude...

what have i achieved?

now it is already the third week of the June holidays and what have i achieved? other than more stress, the answer is nothing. i have done nothing during the month of June and now i am paying the price for it.

now, i am spamming my work like crazy, stopping only for meals and an occasional cartoon to relax for a while. Currently i have started on 'minor' worksheets, such as those only a page or two long which do not require me to think that hard. such as the Science worksheet, of which i only have to write words which can be found on the periodic table. these are more time-consuming than brain-racking.

now i go on to the notes which are both thick and scary. just monstrous thickness of each worksheet chills me to the bone and when i start, i only have a single question on my mind:"when will this end..."

but now, my greatest fear is math. Since i am not the fastest in solving equations, i foresee that will take the longest to complete, but how long?

long as in till school reopens and i am barely halfway through, or long in the sense that i will complete it on time, but only just.

i try to juggle two things every in vain, work and play. both are essential, but i find that i am doing the latter a lot than the former, thus my work productivity is slow.' now i just have to complete my work' , i tell myself. i had better buck up, or i will get owned by my teachers :]

versatality of the internet

many things can be found on the Internet, it is just typing a few words and a click of the mouse. google any topic and you are sure to find many links popping up. but, how many of these sources are reliable, written by someone with intentions to help, or just a cruel joke by a prankster, with an intention to trick people into believing random nonsense.
there are also sites, with the good mixed with the bad. such as sites with a topic which all can discuss. again, people with different intentions will enter the conversation. some will tell you genuinely useful things, while some just utter nonsense.
that is the good and bad of versatility. on one hand, it gives you the benefit of quick information, on the other hand, it will affect your ability to discern between right and wrong.
with overwhelming information thrown to you, it is very likely u will be like a sponge, doing your best to absorb it all.
but with false information, will u still be able learn right? what if you see two links, both different, which will u choose, what if u choose wrong?

who really wins

from the radio, i heard of the site who really wins, it is about south Africa hosting the fifa world cup 2010.
definitely, this event has put south Africa on the world map, but what are the prices that they have to pay for this hosting? many in south Africa do not have much benefits we consider essential. essentials like free-flowing water, electricity, toilets, items none of us could live without. instead of trying to raise the poverty, government is using it to draw fame by building a 46,000 seat stadium. they are proud of the stadium, but for how long.
instead of trying to help the people, they are spending precious money, precious in a sense that it will put a stop to poverty, to bid and eventually to host the world cup this year. perhaps the people are wondering, thinking of the fact that they are not exactly the richest nation, yet the are holding such a big-scale event, which may dent the nation.
but, in everything, there are two parties, the winner, and the loser. if S.Africa loses in such a situation, who wins. that will be Fifa itself. hundreds, thousands, millions around the whole world, fans of the world cup, all the money, is most probably swallowed by Fifa itself. it has got television rights and so on, fifa has already got its money.
fifa act like the good Samaritans, offering tickets to those who laboured for this project, the construction workers. but if they give tickets to the affected, it will be countless. public funds are being taken, people thrown into poverty, all for the entertainment of us. perhaps man is selfish by nature, for our entertainment, who should we thank, Fifa, or the south Africans.

things, differently

time flies so quickly, before i know it, i am already on the second week of the month-long June holidays and it will soon come to an end. it does not bother me, for i have little to look forward, but i wonder, what should i do for the remainder of the holidays
now, i have a rather monotonous schedule: i wake up, then watch television. shortly after, i will be forced to start labouring till lunch. after the hour long lunch, i will start to work again, so that i will be rewarded with computer time. just to summarise, life during holidays revolve around work and play.
i always hope for a single spark of excitement in my holiday life, perhaps an excursion to brighten up the mundane holidays this June. alas, all these hopes are dashed by the single fact that my brother is Primary 6 this year and has to study for the dreaded PSLE.
no one escapes PSLE, i think to myself as memories of that laborious year flood into my mind, now i understand how my brother felt last year when he urged my mother time and again for an outing, but was turned face down. i remember how disappointed he must have been for sharing the same cruel fate as me, though he did not have to sit for the test.
i realise how selfish i had been with the mindset of 'i can't have any fun, why can he'. this has led to much quarrels between us.now, my wish is to let time fly more quickly so that i can play again, i know this is a rather selfish resolution to have, because my brother's studying time will be drastically reduced, but i cant help it, this holiday will be a boring one i bet!

holidays~recuperation or torture time

holidays, what are they, a chance to rest from the pass examinations, or is it a chance for students like me, who did not score so well to study to the extreme to catch up for upcoming exams.
undoubtedly, holidays do pose certain advantages which are almost impossible on an average school day.firstly, i can wake up at anytime i please, which is much better compared to the usual 5.30, which i summon all energy just to stand up from my comfortable bed.
secondly, there seems to be no freedom of speech in a classroom,only at home, where i can stop from my backbreking work to chat with a couple of friends or my brother, which proves to be a blessing when i am bored.
there is also a reward with all work, such as 1/2 an hour on the precious computer.

New coach, whole new training

the nationals have already ended, the sec 4 students do not require training,since our C division achieved a miserable 5th, while the B division achieved 2nd, our teacher i.c made us train with the B division coach, Coach Ernest.

at first, i thought Coach Ernest would be strict, mean and his training would kill me.i always thought these were the attributes of a coach who pushed up the B division, from a miserable 5th last year, to an astounding 2nd this year. on the contrary, he was more easy-going than our previous coach Dermadi, and looked more into our control, rather than our strength when we hit the ball. he claimed that power would come naturally if we could control the ball well.

our first training with Coach Ernest reflected well on his training tatics, which is building on our weaknesses. he first accessed us by letting us play a game with one another, and took a video on each of us.

he is also in fact, more caring in a way. he noticed my difficulty in speech due to my braces, ut told me not to worry, as this was only temporary, and the pian of the foreign object would pass as i got used the braces.

i am looking foward to training more than ever now, because i have a good coach to train with, and better seniors such as yee hark, jing shiuh, gareth and samuel.

the pain of braces

last Sunday, i went to the dentist for the worst experience of my life, braces. for the past 6 months, my parents both had designs for braces, claiming they would straighten my crooked teeth, but for three days in a row now, it has been antagonising.

on Sunday, the exact day i placed the braces, i was told that i would have to cut down on my candy intake, and had to brush after every meal.i could not eat solid food as my teeth hurt when chewing. on that day, i was stuck to eating oats.

Day 2:Monday; something shocking has happened, i feel pain while chewing my food, but an especially acute pain on my front teeth, again i am stuck to eating soft food like porridge. YUCK!

even now while i am writing, the pain is still there. even when trying to sleep, my tongue keeps feeling something foreign on my teeth. when will i adapt to something so new and sudden? only time can tell i guess...

PTM

oh no!the dreaded parents teacher meeting is finally here. the only time where the teachers and parents meet. when i think of the overwhelming complaints my parents will receive, i chide myself for being so stupid as to give my parents the consent form.
this year, fortunately, the complaints were not that bad, except for a few teachers like my form teacher, miss lim.she said in her never ending lists of conplaints that i liked to talk a lot,which is not that surprising, because i know thats the truth. what i did not expect is that my mother made such a big fuss out of it.
the first thing she did when she got home was to tell me to get out of my room. i braced myself for a greay scolding and expected a cane to be brandished in my fathers hand. thankfully there was nothing of the sort, just the usual(scolding, reading results etc etc).
thanks to that, i missed mythbusters!

multiple intelligence test.

After I did the test the test, I found out that my best multiple intelligence was visual, followed by intrapersonal,kinaesthetic,interpersonal,musical,logical,naturalistic and linguistic, dead last.

I felt that it was expected for my linguistic to be last because I have never been really good at expressing myself. At times, I just shut up to avoid conversation.

The only surprising thing in this survey was that my intrapersonal was only a little lower than my highest (interpersonal), i love working in groups. It rocks. I don’t like working alone. How did it turn out second highest!?

This survey was rather good,. It was like a mirror, allowing me to know myself better than before. It was overall meaningful and enjoyable.

I will make sure I work on the areas where I was not so good. And make sure that the next time I do this survey, it will all be close to full!

long sleepover

I am so excited. My third uncle has just sold his place at toh drive. He will be moving in with us in June if the other party is willing to sign the papers.

After I received the news, i start to think about the last time they came over. His stay lasted for close to a month and my brother and I had a great time. Why? Because of his three children.

His oldest daughter, Felicia was already about 18, and was excellent when it came to teaching us and baking us delicious pastries to eat.

His son, yes Hong, had what Ming Le came to adore. The one and only PSP, so you could say he was partly responsible when he agreed to sell us the PSP cheap. He was a plumpish 16 years old before his national service, which used to eat McDonalds everyday for lunch, or so everyone says.

His youngest daughter arena is who like best. She is jovial and very likable. She was the reason why we were so willing to let them stay, even if it meant having to sleep on mattresses. She helped us whenever possible and loved to crack jokes. We called her 'Mei Mei ' although she was older than us. This habit occurred while we were kids. Everyone called her 'Mei Mei' and so we did too!

I hope this visit from them will be even more meaningful than the lasted

my bro

My brother (his name is Ming Le by the way) is like a pro at the play-station portable(PSP) for his young age. He completed the game Dynasty warrior 2 long before I did. Sadly this pro-ness of his was due to too much playing.

He played every single day if possible. The only reason he would not play PSP when there was something more fun. Maybe like the even newer PS3 or the Nintendo DS. Once his 'condition' was so bad my father had to bring the PSP to his office to ban Ming Le. He cried for an average OF 2 DAYS, SCREAMING AND SHOUTING FOR HIS LONG LOST TREASURE.

My father seriously could not take it. So after 5 days of continuous screaming, my father gave up. All hope is sort of lost I guess. Even while writing this post, he is playing!

My mother says he is a typical singaporean.why? Every sentence he says, he has to add something extra. For example "you see Lar, now I die already lar.how Lar?" my mother has reprimanded him time and again to speak proper Queen's English. But alas he does not listen.

He is like a girl. So conscious about how he looks. He has started to gel his hair till it spikes up like the comb of a rooster.

training

it's actually nothing much... i came in by DSA squash.so i started early. on the first day, i felt so lost, no familiar faces whatsoever.first, the coach asked me to go warm up in court 3. so i did. he looked rather strict and i dare not disobey.
it's so unfair. the first one i played with was the captian.(ifound out later that his name was Chin Ann). i knew his name after i made him fall and twist his ankle. he looked like he was in great pain. well duhh.. who would not after continuing to play even after a twisted ankle.
that day, i played 3 games in a row. i was exhausted. but hey! it was all worth it, i was selected to play for the C division. i'm so excited.
i l ost hope after another senior told me that our C div had not won anything at all. i was dumbfounded, i just hope that things will be better this year.
my "rival" wold be wei lin, he started a lot earlier than me and he is also sec1(uh oh).he was tough to play with but by some miracle, i won!!!

i so noob!!!

today was the anuall cross-country meet. i was running the competetive race. in the Aphelion race, (the one that is held during the P.E lesson) i was 4th. i was exhilerated. but during the actual race today,the one today involving the whole school, i was 17th. how sad!
it did not go too well, even at the start. i was immedietaly pushed to the back. it kind of demoralized me. thankfully, as i was reaching the finish line, i managed to summon all my remaining to complete the race.what a relief:D!
the competitors were very fast, i feel so useless and weak. i think this may be the last time i ever run competitive in my school.MR. ho was dressed like some professional athelete. clad in his 2009 marathon shirt(which looked obviously too tight for him) and short shorts which exposed legs twice as hairy as darren's.
i had never seen him dressed as sporty as this before, and i guess i never will again. maybe next year, but not anytime soon.
the milo van was jammed pack with students, each taking two cups at a time. by the time it was my turn to take my milo,i was almost dehydrated.
luckily the MRT had plenty of spaces. by the time i reached Simei, the whole row was vacant.
next year i shall run with the masses, it would be less competitive!!wont it?

Muesem

Today was a rather memorable day for me. My class, 1A1, and 1A2 went to an ancient Egypt exhibition. This field trip was organized by my IH teacher, Mr. Ho. I actually had squash training today, but Mr. Ho was insistent that I went. I do not regret going, the teachers were friendly and the overall was eventful. Benedict Chin (5) and Lee Jia Wang (13) were both punished by our teacher. They were making nuisances of themselves by talking while the teacher was speaking. They did not observe the "golden rule". Benedict, who was dressed as a phahorah, the one with an extra-pointy beard. Whilst Jia Wang was dressed in a Queen's outfit (he looked more like a joker actually!)

Later on we visited the gallery, where all the artifacts were placed safely in their cases. There were statues of gods, godesess and guardian angels of the phahorah. There were also jewelry which belonged to the Kings and Queen.

Later on the train, I was exhausted beyond words, and no one offered a seat to poor, poor me! Before I left, this woman conveniently shook her head, causing her smelly hair to choke me. It must have been a habit, as most women do from time to time.

Now, even while writing this blog, I am still slightly panting and sweaty.8 words, WHAT A DAY!

New year

in a flash, another year has passed. the new year is here again. this year,(tiger) decorations can be seen everywhere. even the usually bare Pasir Ris West Plaza is now filled with new year decor.
this year has been a very fruitful one for me. the loss of my files more or less affected the New Year mood. My father was less cheerful than he was the year before.
On the day of the reunion dinner, i made a mess out of the "yu sheng". the whole table was scattered with shredded vegetables. i was severely reprimanded by my father who was coincidentally sitting on the same table as me!
during the first day, i was literaly pulled out of bed by my over-exited younger brother. if not for the pulled out my matrss, iwould have fallen flat on my face. during the 12 hours of visiting, i collected an average of $75.
on the second day i had to drink a nasty cup of red date tea. my mom claimed it was good, but in reality it stank! "harvest" was rather good, an average of $50 was earned. i also gambled a lot. i knew this would be my only chance this year. so if i did not treasure it, i would have to wait for 1 whole year before i get to do it again.
the third day would be the most memorable so far. after reaching my father's friend's house,i shot straight up to my friends's room. his name was Xavier and he was a year older than me. we played maplestory all the way from 6.00 to 11.00. what arare opportunity!my eyes were so sore that i laid of the computer for a very long time.
on the 7th day "ren ri" we went to another friend's house till 9+. it was rather boring. the only thing that was humorous was the Mr. Bean that we watched(i laughed till my sides ached).
i collected $200 in total.

Bored

Today, everyone at home is BORED except for Ming Le, who is watching T.V like some crazy addict.

before new year i said BYE-BYE to my old LSS, LA and chinese. i spent about 40 dollars to replace everything( excluding photocopying fees).

Poor Poor me, i had to pay for EVERYTHING!!! so sad...