Happy Bday roomie!!!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
New Expectations
What does a new year mean?
It’s like a chance to hit the refresh button. We all wished at one moment or another that we could start all over again. Starting a new year is something like that. Of course we can’t ignore the past completely but we look forward to the new year as if it would erase all our mistakes of the past so that we can start anew. We draw a line at 2007, leaving what we don't want behind. It’s a significant step as we step over to 2008. We want to be harder, faster, stronger, better. It’s rare for a human being to want to stay stagnant and be truly happy with what he’s got at the present. Even if one is content, one would strive to maintain that level of happiness that has been achieved and bring it over to the next year.
It’s pretty much the reason why people have New Year Resolutions. Some people try to buck the trend and not give themselves any because they know that they wouldn’t do it anyway. But isn’t it great to set foot in a new year knowing what dreams you’re going to achieve and what fears you’re going to conquer?
Go do things that you haven’t do before. Dare to dream. Limits and boundaries are placed upon you by people who are narrow-minded. You place those on yourself because of poor self-image. Let go of those because at the end of the day they aren’t the most important things in life. Work at how you want to be remembered if yoy should leave tomorrow. As an old friend once told me, it’s the relationships that you have with other people that matter the most. Everything else is secondary.
Every year, new people enter my life. Some people leave and never look back. It's a matter of cause and effect. Sometimes I welcome them in, at other times I block them out. Seldom do i take the intiative. Usually I react to the dirt thrown at me. I've comitted my fair share of mistakes but thankfully I made more right decisions than wrong ones. I feel great that I've managed to salvage my social life, though I wished it could've happened been earlier. No matter. I feel as complete as I can ever be.
Looking back I've improved tremendously the past year. I've done things that I wasn't brave enough to do previously. I've taken on challenges with regards to managing my finances and although I wasn't very successful in saving, I've managed to fund myself for the whole of this semester with the exception of my lappy! I've balanced teaching tuition and studying (fcuk maths), and I'll continue to do that next semester. I've tried out new sports like Water Polo and Cheerleading. I haven't been outstanding in either of them but I thought it was great that there were people patient enough to show me the ropes. I'll be god-like next year.
Kidding.
Seeing that I'm doing rather well, I think my methods of dealing with stuff will still be more or less the same next year. However I hope to achieve more, put myself out there - be it my thoughts or work and push myself to the limit. That was what I set out to do this year and it turned out to be rather rewarding. It's always hard to take the first step, but since I've done it many times, it can only get easier and my improvement will be accelerated.
I judge myself by my own standards.
It’s like a chance to hit the refresh button. We all wished at one moment or another that we could start all over again. Starting a new year is something like that. Of course we can’t ignore the past completely but we look forward to the new year as if it would erase all our mistakes of the past so that we can start anew. We draw a line at 2007, leaving what we don't want behind. It’s a significant step as we step over to 2008. We want to be harder, faster, stronger, better. It’s rare for a human being to want to stay stagnant and be truly happy with what he’s got at the present. Even if one is content, one would strive to maintain that level of happiness that has been achieved and bring it over to the next year.
It’s pretty much the reason why people have New Year Resolutions. Some people try to buck the trend and not give themselves any because they know that they wouldn’t do it anyway. But isn’t it great to set foot in a new year knowing what dreams you’re going to achieve and what fears you’re going to conquer?
Go do things that you haven’t do before. Dare to dream. Limits and boundaries are placed upon you by people who are narrow-minded. You place those on yourself because of poor self-image. Let go of those because at the end of the day they aren’t the most important things in life. Work at how you want to be remembered if yoy should leave tomorrow. As an old friend once told me, it’s the relationships that you have with other people that matter the most. Everything else is secondary.
Every year, new people enter my life. Some people leave and never look back. It's a matter of cause and effect. Sometimes I welcome them in, at other times I block them out. Seldom do i take the intiative. Usually I react to the dirt thrown at me. I've comitted my fair share of mistakes but thankfully I made more right decisions than wrong ones. I feel great that I've managed to salvage my social life, though I wished it could've happened been earlier. No matter. I feel as complete as I can ever be.
Looking back I've improved tremendously the past year. I've done things that I wasn't brave enough to do previously. I've taken on challenges with regards to managing my finances and although I wasn't very successful in saving, I've managed to fund myself for the whole of this semester with the exception of my lappy! I've balanced teaching tuition and studying (fcuk maths), and I'll continue to do that next semester. I've tried out new sports like Water Polo and Cheerleading. I haven't been outstanding in either of them but I thought it was great that there were people patient enough to show me the ropes. I'll be god-like next year.
Kidding.
Seeing that I'm doing rather well, I think my methods of dealing with stuff will still be more or less the same next year. However I hope to achieve more, put myself out there - be it my thoughts or work and push myself to the limit. That was what I set out to do this year and it turned out to be rather rewarding. It's always hard to take the first step, but since I've done it many times, it can only get easier and my improvement will be accelerated.
I judge myself by my own standards.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Results
Everyone is eagerly anticipating the release of my results. Especially Maths. I've complained a hell lot about it and I suppose everyone wonders if it as really as bad as I said it was. Remember when I said that I'd give everyone a car if I passed.
Well, obviously ya'll ain't getting it!
Anyway, I'm not too upset about it despite the impact that it has on my GPA. I did decently for those that I did study for. I got 2 B+ and a B- for my cores this semester, and another 2 B+ for my Theatre and History, both which comes as a bit of a surprise considering the lack of feedback at my progress in both subjects. Theatre is non-examinable, and I've only had to do one week's worth of tutorial in the entire semester. Looks like I have decent smoking skills after all! I am so staying away from courses which have a "correct" answer, kind of opposite of what some of my friends would rather take!
I'm quite satisfied at my results and I think they look rather encouraging. It's only the first semester after all and I've got 7 more to go, so there's plenty of time to catch up.
I still do pride myself in not being such a mugger.
Well, obviously ya'll ain't getting it!
Anyway, I'm not too upset about it despite the impact that it has on my GPA. I did decently for those that I did study for. I got 2 B+ and a B- for my cores this semester, and another 2 B+ for my Theatre and History, both which comes as a bit of a surprise considering the lack of feedback at my progress in both subjects. Theatre is non-examinable, and I've only had to do one week's worth of tutorial in the entire semester. Looks like I have decent smoking skills after all! I am so staying away from courses which have a "correct" answer, kind of opposite of what some of my friends would rather take!
I'm quite satisfied at my results and I think they look rather encouraging. It's only the first semester after all and I've got 7 more to go, so there's plenty of time to catch up.
I still do pride myself in not being such a mugger.
Post-Results
It's late and everyone's checking their results. I haven't because I promised a friend to check it out with him, and I don't want to be distracted. I need to focus on my water polo training tomorrow. It's not going to be easy considering the fact that I'm quite tired from today's cheerleading. It was great though. I got to try a lot of stuff today, prompting Mun Chun to say that he hadn't seen me sweat during training in so long. It's fun to be doing more stuff, but I think I just didn't have enough strength to continue and that sucks.
I realise that I'm as kaypoh as everyone else with regards to finding out their results. Some people I ask to suss out their academic standing and some I ask out of concern. I've seen results posted on some blogs and MSN nicks. I don't really know what to think of it though.
Anyway, to all of you guys who've received (voluntarily checked) your results and didn't do as well as expected, just remember that your self-worth should never be measured by mere alphabets and numbers. It's okay to acknowledge failure and mistakes; it isn't okay to dwell on them and stop you from trying harder.
There are much more important things in life than results. For most of us it's only the first sem and there's a long, long way to go.
Hopefully I won't be eating my words when I see what I've got tomorrow. I'll confirm plus sperm fail one elective so I'm banking on doing decently for the rest to give me a pass-average grade. I'm freaking nervous.
I realise that I'm as kaypoh as everyone else with regards to finding out their results. Some people I ask to suss out their academic standing and some I ask out of concern. I've seen results posted on some blogs and MSN nicks. I don't really know what to think of it though.
Anyway, to all of you guys who've received (voluntarily checked) your results and didn't do as well as expected, just remember that your self-worth should never be measured by mere alphabets and numbers. It's okay to acknowledge failure and mistakes; it isn't okay to dwell on them and stop you from trying harder.
There are much more important things in life than results. For most of us it's only the first sem and there's a long, long way to go.
Hopefully I won't be eating my words when I see what I've got tomorrow. I'll confirm plus sperm fail one elective so I'm banking on doing decently for the rest to give me a pass-average grade. I'm freaking nervous.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
The Jolly Season
Traditionally, my relatives and I would gather at my grandparents' place to celebrate Christmas. This year we celebrated it on Sunday. Although it was a day before Christmas Eve, it didn't affect our enthusiasm! I appreciate my aunts making the effort to set up the tree and get presents to fill up the space underneath! Haha...
And that's almost all of us getting into the spirit of things! Before that we also played a lot of Starcraft! I missed that game a lot. It took me some time to get oriented to the game again after not playing for some time, but after a few rounds I think I was pretty good! Haha... It did become just a little bit repetitive for me after awhile so playing it once awhile is amazing especially since I'm not a gamer!
And camwhored some more.
The youngsters just could not get enough of the games. We also played one round of Age of Empires, which I'm admittedly not very good at! We hung around for a late night chat but I was feeling kind of sick so I left early. It's one of those rare occassions where we would all come together and spill our secrets, especially stuff about relationships! I have no idea why that's always the juiciest bits that we want to know about each other!
Despite leaving earlier than the rest of them, I didn't make it to bed till 4AM!
Yesterday Liqi and I took a trainride to Tiong Bahru...
.. to meet Daniel and Yiping...
... to get food for our steamboat!
We prepared the food with some help from Daniel's family. And yes, his house is jaw-droppingly huge. We ate till we couldn't eat any more! It was rather incredible that we managed to finish the amount of food we did, but I was really hungry to begin with. The butter prawns were especially delicious but then everything else was good too! It was simple to prepare and we just enjoyed an hour or two cooking and eating!
After that we went upstairs for a session of Mahjong. I was the only person who lost! Yeah, I was kind of disappointed and disgusted - also by the fact that my drawer was completely empty after the whole thing! Hahaha... I did learn a lot from them though, and my skills have totally levelled-up so watch out!
We went downstairs to take photo with the Christmas tree and had Tang Yuan for supper! I've had too much of these kinda snacks already - I can feel my tummy coming out as I'm sitting down typing this. I guess I'll have to really exercise more after this season of festivities!
We also had a gift exchange session. I gave Daniel a cake towel, which is essentially a towel that looks like a cake. I should've bought the chocolate one though cos the other one looks less... masculine! Hahaha! Daniel got for Yiping a plushy cushion. Yiping got Liqi an Adidas water bottle. I received a box of chocolates from Liqi! We continued watching a hilarious Hong Kong movie. I fell asleep halfway through but woke up when it ended to play Dai Di! I did rather well despite my grogginess. I can't say the same about myself when I'm fully conscious though!
After only a couple of rounds we gave up and went to sleep. In the morning we had Sara Lee's chocolate poundcake for breakfast before hitting the mahjong table again! I lost significantly less money, but was still the biggest loser. Bah. I can't get enough of the game though. I'll be winning soon enough.
We had lunch at...
... Ikea before heading back home. Great stuff!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas!
I probably won't be in time to wish everyone reading my blog a Merry Christmas so I thought I'd better do it early! I'll be couting down with 3 good friends to the cute day where we all, for a moment, believe that Santa exists and having cool presents is the only thing that matters! I'm exhausted though, having just returned from a celebration held at my grandparents' place. It used to be a grander affair, but I guess growing up does take away some of the magic. It's a pity because the younger cousins didn't get to experience it the way we used to celebrate it.
I just like the fuzzy Christmas spirit, despite how my believes and attitudes with regards to the festival deviate sharply from how it was traditionally.
And this is a welcomed surprise - the Spice Girls sang live on Strictly Come Dancing. I liked how they performed 2 Become 1 and considering how it was the Christmas No. 1 in the UK in 1996, it's appropriate to take a listen to this ballad and remember the good times.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Goal!
I scored one for Hall 12 today during the water polo match against Hall 16.
We were leading and so LaoNa gave me a chance. It was really crazy to be putting on the cap for the very first time, and when I had the chance to get into the water I felt really energetic despite aching muscles which protested during the warm up. Training for polo yesterday and cheerleading got them really worked up.
Seeing Daniel and Kelvin together with me in the front provided a sense of familiarity. I've been great friends with them ever since FOC and it only strengthened my resolve to do well. I can't remember exactly what happened, except that my contacts shifted position the moment I got to my position and it caused my left eye to be temporarily blinded and I became rather panicky. Apparently I made another shot which missed. And being the first time I've ever been in a match, I forgot that I was supposed to swim back to my half of the pool until the referee pointed it out to me!
It all happened really fast. I realise that in polo things happen without you realising and with so much splashing happening it's really tough to see what's going on! The ball got passed to me. I wasn't consciously aware of where the opponent was (a bad point) and I wanted to pass the ball. I freak out whenever I get the ball, be it while playing soccer or basketball because I don't know what to do with it. But the training helped as I made the choice to dribble the ball in closer before trying to pass it.
Dan and Kel were switching positions and I didn't know who to pass it to, so I held on to the ball. Then I heard shouts asking me to take a chance and shoot.
So I did.
When it went into the top left corner of the goal, I was ecstatic. For that moment I was really overwhelmed with emotion as words of encouragement and cheers filled the air. I was a tad disoriented after that and I could've played better but I learned a lot from being in the match. The feeling was all too new to me and I was playing mostly by reflex, although I felt I should've been thinking a bit more! I guess with a bit more experience I'll become more comfortable playing. I've almost always been a mere benchwarmer during competitions so I've more or less gotten used to the feeling. But the feeling of playing and contributing to the game was something I've never experienced, so I'm thankful for the chance.
I'm aware of my limitations such as the fact that my endurance in water sucks. In fact I was only able to take about 35% of yesterday's training where we were doing things like attacking and defending before I was as useful as a floating cork in water. Of course I did encounter a few self-esteem issues, as with almost everytime I go for training but I realise that by training harder I'll probably be able to make it for next year's IH!
Daniel has been the most encouraging, despite the fact that I listen half-heartedly at times. I do remember him telling me that I shouldn't be afriad to try anything because he and Kelvin were there with me. And then there's his tag on the tagboard. I know there were plenty of times where I seemed like a hopeless case but he never gave up on telling me not to give up. It's been a long time since we've had a heart to heart talk but he's still one of the people who knows me best.
Kelvin, for showing a lot of determination. He got to play the most out of the three of us and it's like almost impossible to enter a game and know how to play right away but he's been improving steadily and making his presence felt in the water.
The seniors... who have been very supportive and vocal with their encouragement. They taught us and trained us hard without being overbearing and earned our respect. They were patient in explaining and demostrating the game to us. It's kind of weird but all of them showcased leadership without ever needing to fight to be the sole voice of the team, which could only be possible of people with that level of chemistry and maturity.
The supporters were really great too, and I really appreciate them coming down especially Liqi, Yiping and Sandar! It's great to feel that you guys were proud of us and we're proud to have you too!
Haha... I know it sounds like a long thank you speech for one mere goal (when Ratta scored about 6 today!) but it's not everyday that one scores, especially not me. Regardless of whether I get to play again during this IH I feel great and finally proud and at least slightly more deserving of the jersey with "Water Polo" emblazoned on its sleeve.
We were leading and so LaoNa gave me a chance. It was really crazy to be putting on the cap for the very first time, and when I had the chance to get into the water I felt really energetic despite aching muscles which protested during the warm up. Training for polo yesterday and cheerleading got them really worked up.
Seeing Daniel and Kelvin together with me in the front provided a sense of familiarity. I've been great friends with them ever since FOC and it only strengthened my resolve to do well. I can't remember exactly what happened, except that my contacts shifted position the moment I got to my position and it caused my left eye to be temporarily blinded and I became rather panicky. Apparently I made another shot which missed. And being the first time I've ever been in a match, I forgot that I was supposed to swim back to my half of the pool until the referee pointed it out to me!
It all happened really fast. I realise that in polo things happen without you realising and with so much splashing happening it's really tough to see what's going on! The ball got passed to me. I wasn't consciously aware of where the opponent was (a bad point) and I wanted to pass the ball. I freak out whenever I get the ball, be it while playing soccer or basketball because I don't know what to do with it. But the training helped as I made the choice to dribble the ball in closer before trying to pass it.
Dan and Kel were switching positions and I didn't know who to pass it to, so I held on to the ball. Then I heard shouts asking me to take a chance and shoot.
So I did.
When it went into the top left corner of the goal, I was ecstatic. For that moment I was really overwhelmed with emotion as words of encouragement and cheers filled the air. I was a tad disoriented after that and I could've played better but I learned a lot from being in the match. The feeling was all too new to me and I was playing mostly by reflex, although I felt I should've been thinking a bit more! I guess with a bit more experience I'll become more comfortable playing. I've almost always been a mere benchwarmer during competitions so I've more or less gotten used to the feeling. But the feeling of playing and contributing to the game was something I've never experienced, so I'm thankful for the chance.
I'm aware of my limitations such as the fact that my endurance in water sucks. In fact I was only able to take about 35% of yesterday's training where we were doing things like attacking and defending before I was as useful as a floating cork in water. Of course I did encounter a few self-esteem issues, as with almost everytime I go for training but I realise that by training harder I'll probably be able to make it for next year's IH!
Daniel has been the most encouraging, despite the fact that I listen half-heartedly at times. I do remember him telling me that I shouldn't be afriad to try anything because he and Kelvin were there with me. And then there's his tag on the tagboard. I know there were plenty of times where I seemed like a hopeless case but he never gave up on telling me not to give up. It's been a long time since we've had a heart to heart talk but he's still one of the people who knows me best.
Kelvin, for showing a lot of determination. He got to play the most out of the three of us and it's like almost impossible to enter a game and know how to play right away but he's been improving steadily and making his presence felt in the water.
The seniors... who have been very supportive and vocal with their encouragement. They taught us and trained us hard without being overbearing and earned our respect. They were patient in explaining and demostrating the game to us. It's kind of weird but all of them showcased leadership without ever needing to fight to be the sole voice of the team, which could only be possible of people with that level of chemistry and maturity.
The supporters were really great too, and I really appreciate them coming down especially Liqi, Yiping and Sandar! It's great to feel that you guys were proud of us and we're proud to have you too!
Haha... I know it sounds like a long thank you speech for one mere goal (when Ratta scored about 6 today!) but it's not everyday that one scores, especially not me. Regardless of whether I get to play again during this IH I feel great and finally proud and at least slightly more deserving of the jersey with "Water Polo" emblazoned on its sleeve.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sports and Games
Sports and Games is what I've been up to! It's a great way to enjoy the holidays, hanging out with people, enjoying their company and working towards a common goal.
Last week my school won a volleyball match, but today we lost one against NIE. It was a rather ok match. I enjoyed the rapport that I've developed with my team mates during such a short time. I knew I could've done slightly better. I guess I'll take next semester to train for it if I have the time! Ooh yeah and I also attended and supported quite a few IHG like soccer, badminton and table tennis. That's also partially because I had photography duty.
I also went for my first cheerleading session last week. That was really... well, it was challenging to do some of the stunts and I had to overcome my initial apprehension about it. The trainings are going to be constant and intense. We are preparing for a competition somewhere in January so there's only a month left to go. With all the sports that I've been taking part in, I've been aching so bad that everytime I lay down on the soft bed, I don't feel like getting up! Damn...
I don't know why I get myself involved in so many things! Ooh, and our school lost ISG badminton this morning. I played Men's Doubles with Tian Ping. It was tiring!
Also I've just finished a Dnd meeting this evening that went on for almost 3 hours! I'm happy to announce that the theme for Dnd '08 is The 12th Parallel - Heroes vs Villians. I was just a little bit sad that it wasn't Las Vegas, although it is indeed overused, it works! There were a lot more suggestions that popped up during this session, but I'm happy that I have a theme to work with. I've got to start work on getting a website done, the video... etc. etc. Sounds like a lot of work to do during the holudays.
And I'm broke.
And I played about 40-50 rounds of Asshole Daidi with Dan, YP, Liqi and Sandar. I spent about half the time being the slave! Rawr!
Last week my school won a volleyball match, but today we lost one against NIE. It was a rather ok match. I enjoyed the rapport that I've developed with my team mates during such a short time. I knew I could've done slightly better. I guess I'll take next semester to train for it if I have the time! Ooh yeah and I also attended and supported quite a few IHG like soccer, badminton and table tennis. That's also partially because I had photography duty.
I also went for my first cheerleading session last week. That was really... well, it was challenging to do some of the stunts and I had to overcome my initial apprehension about it. The trainings are going to be constant and intense. We are preparing for a competition somewhere in January so there's only a month left to go. With all the sports that I've been taking part in, I've been aching so bad that everytime I lay down on the soft bed, I don't feel like getting up! Damn...
I don't know why I get myself involved in so many things! Ooh, and our school lost ISG badminton this morning. I played Men's Doubles with Tian Ping. It was tiring!
Also I've just finished a Dnd meeting this evening that went on for almost 3 hours! I'm happy to announce that the theme for Dnd '08 is The 12th Parallel - Heroes vs Villians. I was just a little bit sad that it wasn't Las Vegas, although it is indeed overused, it works! There were a lot more suggestions that popped up during this session, but I'm happy that I have a theme to work with. I've got to start work on getting a website done, the video... etc. etc. Sounds like a lot of work to do during the holudays.
And I'm broke.
And I played about 40-50 rounds of Asshole Daidi with Dan, YP, Liqi and Sandar. I spent about half the time being the slave! Rawr!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Kayaking 1 Star
For this entry I'll adopt a different style, mostly because I'm exhausted from working today. It's really quite crazy how hard we work for a single event, but then it just makes me want to see it succeed even more. Dnd 08 is going to be the shizzle dammit!
The past two days I've been braving the elements down at Kallang taking the Kayaking 1 star course. As everyone knows, the weather has been crap, raining heavily one moment and having the sun shining heavily on us the next! The first day we were drenched by the sea water and the rain water; while on the second day, quite a few of us got sunburnt, despite it being cloudy most of the day.
I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. It was the feeling of learning something new (okay, not totally but still!), and working at picking up a skill. Of course, achieving completion with the company of friends is fantastic as well. It was great having them around, to share the laughter, joy and aching of muscles!
There were two events that were really memorable. One was the mass capsize where all of us got capsized and we tried to save each other. I think we worked with pretty good synergy. The second was the small expedition trip which I enjoyed tremendously. I got to be the expedition leader for the first part of the trip! Besides that I loved having my brain filled by the single purpose of rowing and at the same time enjoying the view of Singapore's city skyline by the river. (I think I've got a thing for endurance sports.)It was fantastic. Pity we couldn't bring a camera along to take a shot! I also saw great strength and determination in the girls who paddled alongside us. They never wanted to give up despite the exhaustion. My entire torso was aching like mad after the experience so I could imagine how it must have been for them!
Anyway, the photos:
Last of all I'd like to thank Nick (yeah, that's him in the photo above) for being the brains and brawn behind this Kayaking course and Paddlephilia '08, the biggest overseas adventure next year!
The past two days I've been braving the elements down at Kallang taking the Kayaking 1 star course. As everyone knows, the weather has been crap, raining heavily one moment and having the sun shining heavily on us the next! The first day we were drenched by the sea water and the rain water; while on the second day, quite a few of us got sunburnt, despite it being cloudy most of the day.
I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. It was the feeling of learning something new (okay, not totally but still!), and working at picking up a skill. Of course, achieving completion with the company of friends is fantastic as well. It was great having them around, to share the laughter, joy and aching of muscles!
There were two events that were really memorable. One was the mass capsize where all of us got capsized and we tried to save each other. I think we worked with pretty good synergy. The second was the small expedition trip which I enjoyed tremendously. I got to be the expedition leader for the first part of the trip! Besides that I loved having my brain filled by the single purpose of rowing and at the same time enjoying the view of Singapore's city skyline by the river. (I think I've got a thing for endurance sports.)It was fantastic. Pity we couldn't bring a camera along to take a shot! I also saw great strength and determination in the girls who paddled alongside us. They never wanted to give up despite the exhaustion. My entire torso was aching like mad after the experience so I could imagine how it must have been for them!
Anyway, the photos:
Last of all I'd like to thank Nick (yeah, that's him in the photo above) for being the brains and brawn behind this Kayaking course and Paddlephilia '08, the biggest overseas adventure next year!
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