A month. That's a month without logging into my blog here. But my excuses are sound(whose excuses arent?): it is my MYE exam results. My horrible, extremely horrible, excruciating Mid Years Examination result. I failed a subject. A failure, that is, my exams and me. My resolution in my first post of my blog (it has been 67 posts since then), was to score straight As'.
Bleh. ****. Rats. And all the other four letter words ever existed that might convey a sense of shame. I did not study a single bit. Not a week, not a day. A couple of hours, maybe. I seem to be sinking back, arm in arm with my old friend, "Last minute studying".
My results are a mixture of Bs' and Cs' with one fail thrown into the mix. As my teacher might note, "Seetoh, your chemistry results are absolutely disgusting."
Devastated would be an understatement. In fact, it would be an understatement to call it an understatement.
:(
:(
:(
:(
A picture speaks a thousand words, so here's four smileys. I would add more, except that I wouldnt be able to stop. As a matter of fact, I just wanted to type one more in. I digress again. It stands to show one more resolution made is one more resolution failed. I guess I am just not resolute enough. I dread to think about my parents at the Parent-Teacher Meeting, where my form teacher will break the news(yes, that's right- my esteemed parents have no knowledge of my travesty of my results) I better prepare a defillibrator for my dad and an oxygen mask for my mum. Just 2 months ago, my parents put on the table all kinds of threats- if I dont achieve 4 A1. That's what they asked.
4A1. I spent the next two hours haggling. First of all, I told them there were no such grades as A1s' in JC.
"There's no A1s' in JC, Mum!"
"Shut up, boy. 75% is an A1. JC and Secondary School are next to each other. Are you telling me you will just aim at a A2?"
-Speechless-
Next, I bargained with the 4A1s'.
"Mom, fine. Bs'. All Bs'. JC life is new to me. Give me the time to adapt. I will give you the As'...sorry...A1s' during the End Of Years Examinations."
"Nice try, sonny. Make sense though, so this is the only time I will cut you loose. 3A1s'. I expect to see that 4A1s' during your EOY though."
-Open-mouthed-
Enough of that. I guess I will reaped what I sowed during the PTM. (I left my last will and testaments in my second drawer, third compartment)
Anyone read "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother"? With the strict parenting style by Amy Chua? And her poor daughter, Sophia?
You get off too easy, Sophia.
A teenager enjoying his College life. This blog is about day-to-day events in an island called Singapore in a college, seen from the eyes of a 17-year old youth.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
*Yawn* Life is just so tiring.
The holiday is coming to an end- and I have done a lot of things. Or the last three weeks, I have borrowed tens of books, reading classics and contemporary fictions. I have gone through another Grisham's novel and one of Murakami's writings. I have slept for 13 hrs and woke just to have dinner before going back to sleep. I have practised multiple illusions and car d tricks so as to amaze my friends and relative. I have watched 2 new movies and watched Momento and Inception, both for the second time. I have practised debating (my club/society in school) to hone the art of arguing for one's stand. I have played a lot and done much more.
Yet, the only thing I seemed to have neglected is my studies. For every three hours doing stuffs not related to my schoolwork, I spent ten minutes flipping through my lecture notes. This cannot do. So this last week of school holidays will be spent doing work- I do want to top my school. (heh) Still, it seems like my determination is at a all time low, when the holidays had started, it had seemed a lifetime of fun and enjoyment was waiting for me. Yet, just a mere three weeks later, it now seems more the end of a long and surreal dream.
As I typed this words out, I am next to the window and it is 2.20pm. I hear the crows cawing and a gentle breeze is streaming through. The sky had streaks of blue mixed with specks of white. There's no cloud, so it probably will not be raining. I have a chilled Ginger Beer next to me (zero alcohol content) and on my lap lays my mathematical notes on Vectors. I haven't glanced at it in the last hour. Instead I have been day-dreaming, imagining myself flying in the sky because I had the power of flight.
And now, as I clicked "Upload" to put it up my blog, the house is quiet because I am the only one here.
A lifetime can last a moment, and yet a moment can also last a lifetime.
*Yawn* I will study...perhaps...after a short nap to rejuvenate.
Yet, the only thing I seemed to have neglected is my studies. For every three hours doing stuffs not related to my schoolwork, I spent ten minutes flipping through my lecture notes. This cannot do. So this last week of school holidays will be spent doing work- I do want to top my school. (heh) Still, it seems like my determination is at a all time low, when the holidays had started, it had seemed a lifetime of fun and enjoyment was waiting for me. Yet, just a mere three weeks later, it now seems more the end of a long and surreal dream.
As I typed this words out, I am next to the window and it is 2.20pm. I hear the crows cawing and a gentle breeze is streaming through. The sky had streaks of blue mixed with specks of white. There's no cloud, so it probably will not be raining. I have a chilled Ginger Beer next to me (zero alcohol content) and on my lap lays my mathematical notes on Vectors. I haven't glanced at it in the last hour. Instead I have been day-dreaming, imagining myself flying in the sky because I had the power of flight.
And now, as I clicked "Upload" to put it up my blog, the house is quiet because I am the only one here.
A lifetime can last a moment, and yet a moment can also last a lifetime.
*Yawn* I will study...perhaps...after a short nap to rejuvenate.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A video I did to practice a new trick
Still to lazy to write my usual inane stuffs. Here is video I took practicing a magic trick. Still havent got it the way I want yet though. Why do I keep screwing up? >.<
Oh, and the sniffling sounds were because I am having a cold. :\
Oh, and the sniffling sounds were because I am having a cold. :\
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A whimisical reflection on the Perfect Crime
When the holiday comes, I always revert to my sluggish self- where I just feel bored and day-dream. And just think.
And because I am lazy to write a full long blog post about Pre-Univerisity Seminar, I will just post a reflection I did on my iTouch whimsically. I didnt want a long-winded essay so it took up 20min to type it out on the iTouch. This was after reading "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A perfect crime isn't that hard to achieve- it requires perfection in which we human are rarely able to attain. Though difficulty is relative, if the pinnacle of care and intelligence cam be breached, there is no reason for a murder to be solved.
For such a heinous act that is murder, the authority relies on a few crucial factors to solve the crime. Namely, the evidence, the motive and the witnesses. For evidence, there are sub-categories: those found on the body and those found away. For witnesses, there are the visual witnesses and the audio ones. In short, you either saw the incident or you heard the commotion, if any.
To commit an unsolvable murder, one must keep in mind: the less factors you contribute to the crime itself, the less chance you have of being caught. The biggest opponent of a perfect crime would be that of pressure. A perfect crime must only be attempted after planning; the duration will be according to where and who will the victim. To kill a vagabond is infinitely easier than to kill a person living in an apartment or a high-ranking corrupted official. Not leaving physical evidence is the rudimentary portion of a perfect crime- the easiest part, yet it is this part that the police use to the greatest effects. Of course, even if there are no physical evidence, whether on the murder weapon or otherwise, there are still other ways that a police can go into.
Motive is always an important part of any deductive work- theories on the murderer(s) involved lead to profiling- racial or religious, age group or sexes. Thus far, we have seen that to kill off someone close or someone one knows would be disadvantageous. That is not to say that a perfect crime cannot be committed- it is just that the difficulty had risen exponentially. You will get questioned and it is a fact that many interrogation leads to the criminal confessing. To get away from interrogation, one has to be a fantastic actor. It is not just the act of taking the Fifth or putting on a poker face- you have to show the correct range of emotion with just the right degree. Assassination is one of the only type of murder where finding the connection between the murderer and the victim will prove to be nigh on impossible.
Murder should always be for murder's sake and not a by-product of rape, robbery, a fight or a burglary. The other factors all complicate matters and are just a platter of evidence to be handed to the police for dissection.
Pressure wreaks the human psyche, it paralyzes it and renders the mind useless. Fear of being caught leads to pressure and yet pressure is not a proper subset of fear. The ideal mind to commit the crime would be one that is rational and without conscience. Rare indeed, to find a person who lives without ever experiencing pressure and the guilty conscience that threatens us when we do an act that is of utmost evil. An eccentric, a mad cold-blooded bastard taken straight from the psychiatric hospital- would he fit the bill? He wouldn't. He lacks one more thing- intellect and a understanding of the society in which he had lived in. A common eccentric (oxymoronic) would not conform to society, yet a person who has conformed to a certain extent, one who knows the rules of the society at heart would be able to carry the act of murder and escape.
A perfect crime can only be labelled as such when it has satisfied a series of criteria, an unsolvable crime and an escape. To sneak past the bodyguards and kill a President cannot be perfect without the get-away. And after you run, you must never be caught.
Of course, a few lucky souls who sunk under pressure will still manage to pull off the two conditions stated above- but he or she will live in fear for the rest of his or her life. And finally, to rid the fear in his or her heart, confess to the relevant authority.
The arms of the law are long, but the hands are only so big.
Sent from my iPod
A disclaimer: By no means have I committed the act itself nor am I a proponent of murder. However I do support capital punishment, especially against first-degree and cold-blooded murder. I am also aware of the fact that if a perfect crime had taken place I would not be able to give an example pertaining to the culprit- because he will never be caught.
And because I am lazy to write a full long blog post about Pre-Univerisity Seminar, I will just post a reflection I did on my iTouch whimsically. I didnt want a long-winded essay so it took up 20min to type it out on the iTouch. This was after reading "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
For such a heinous act that is murder, the authority relies on a few crucial factors to solve the crime. Namely, the evidence, the motive and the witnesses. For evidence, there are sub-categories: those found on the body and those found away. For witnesses, there are the visual witnesses and the audio ones. In short, you either saw the incident or you heard the commotion, if any.
To commit an unsolvable murder, one must keep in mind: the less factors you contribute to the crime itself, the less chance you have of being caught. The biggest opponent of a perfect crime would be that of pressure. A perfect crime must only be attempted after planning; the duration will be according to where and who will the victim. To kill a vagabond is infinitely easier than to kill a person living in an apartment or a high-ranking corrupted official. Not leaving physical evidence is the rudimentary portion of a perfect crime- the easiest part, yet it is this part that the police use to the greatest effects. Of course, even if there are no physical evidence, whether on the murder weapon or otherwise, there are still other ways that a police can go into.
Motive is always an important part of any deductive work- theories on the murderer(s) involved lead to profiling- racial or religious, age group or sexes. Thus far, we have seen that to kill off someone close or someone one knows would be disadvantageous. That is not to say that a perfect crime cannot be committed- it is just that the difficulty had risen exponentially. You will get questioned and it is a fact that many interrogation leads to the criminal confessing. To get away from interrogation, one has to be a fantastic actor. It is not just the act of taking the Fifth or putting on a poker face- you have to show the correct range of emotion with just the right degree. Assassination is one of the only type of murder where finding the connection between the murderer and the victim will prove to be nigh on impossible.
Murder should always be for murder's sake and not a by-product of rape, robbery, a fight or a burglary. The other factors all complicate matters and are just a platter of evidence to be handed to the police for dissection.
Pressure wreaks the human psyche, it paralyzes it and renders the mind useless. Fear of being caught leads to pressure and yet pressure is not a proper subset of fear. The ideal mind to commit the crime would be one that is rational and without conscience. Rare indeed, to find a person who lives without ever experiencing pressure and the guilty conscience that threatens us when we do an act that is of utmost evil. An eccentric, a mad cold-blooded bastard taken straight from the psychiatric hospital- would he fit the bill? He wouldn't. He lacks one more thing- intellect and a understanding of the society in which he had lived in. A common eccentric (oxymoronic) would not conform to society, yet a person who has conformed to a certain extent, one who knows the rules of the society at heart would be able to carry the act of murder and escape.
A perfect crime can only be labelled as such when it has satisfied a series of criteria, an unsolvable crime and an escape. To sneak past the bodyguards and kill a President cannot be perfect without the get-away. And after you run, you must never be caught.
Of course, a few lucky souls who sunk under pressure will still manage to pull off the two conditions stated above- but he or she will live in fear for the rest of his or her life. And finally, to rid the fear in his or her heart, confess to the relevant authority.
The arms of the law are long, but the hands are only so big.
Sent from my iPod
A disclaimer: By no means have I committed the act itself nor am I a proponent of murder. However I do support capital punishment, especially against first-degree and cold-blooded murder. I am also aware of the fact that if a perfect crime had taken place I would not be able to give an example pertaining to the culprit- because he will never be caught.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The $40 play and Pre-U Seminar
Surreal experiences are rare but when they happen...they are almost enjoyable. Two days ago(wasnt really long ago, I guess), I went to the library with Adeeb. The Central library- gigantic one located at Dobby Guaut. He needed to return books($1.80 fine) and I wanted to borrow some.
And no, the trip there wasnt the surreal experience. Though for blogging sake, here are the books I borrowed: Dante's Inferno, Death's Head, Wolverine: Origin and The Internet is a playground(yes, I do read comics from time-to-time).
The surreal experience came later. When Adeeb and I sat on the steps outside the library with a drink each(mine:lemon tea, his:coke), we talked about a variety of things. And toward us walked a woman with a white ticket in her hand.
Surrealism. Noone can predict such a day. And because it differed so much from my normal routine.
The woman started off mentioning the price of the ticket. I guess it was to appeal to the pragmatic...nah...kiasu part of Singaporean. The mention that it was a "sensory play" came much later. And it was not as though I was versed in the Arts- therefore, the description of it was lost on me.
It was fabulous. I thought it would be those plays where your ass cheeks get glued to the seat for 2 hours. It was not to be- yet it would be really bad of me if I spoil the play. Suffice to say it was a first-time experience for me and immersion would be the word. You are in the play. Touch(ho ho ho), feel, hear, sight(you lose it at a point in time). And even, taste.
Best play I have been in my life(sadly, I havent been to many nor have I lived that many years yet).
Actually, I am pretty lazy to do a long blog post. So here are photographs that I have taken with the new camera. You know what they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words",
Toodle-loo. I need to pack for Pre-U Seminar. That's 5 days in NUS chilling out.
Am I going to enjoy this.
And no, the trip there wasnt the surreal experience. Though for blogging sake, here are the books I borrowed: Dante's Inferno, Death's Head, Wolverine: Origin and The Internet is a playground(yes, I do read comics from time-to-time).
The surreal experience came later. When Adeeb and I sat on the steps outside the library with a drink each(mine:lemon tea, his:coke), we talked about a variety of things. And toward us walked a woman with a white ticket in her hand.
Surrealism. Noone can predict such a day. And because it differed so much from my normal routine.
The woman started off mentioning the price of the ticket. I guess it was to appeal to the pragmatic...nah...kiasu part of Singaporean. The mention that it was a "sensory play" came much later. And it was not as though I was versed in the Arts- therefore, the description of it was lost on me.
It was fabulous. I thought it would be those plays where your ass cheeks get glued to the seat for 2 hours. It was not to be- yet it would be really bad of me if I spoil the play. Suffice to say it was a first-time experience for me and immersion would be the word. You are in the play. Touch(ho ho ho), feel, hear, sight(you lose it at a point in time). And even, taste.
Best play I have been in my life(sadly, I havent been to many nor have I lived that many years yet).
 |
| Testing the 16 megapixel camera |
Toodle-loo. I need to pack for Pre-U Seminar. That's 5 days in NUS chilling out.
Am I going to enjoy this.
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