Portal 2, Children of Men, Tests and NAPFA

Actually, embarrassingly, guiltily and annoyingly, I had forgotten I owned a blog. Partly because I had no time to do my work, partly because of a movie and a game. And of course I blame the countless tests that us JC students are made to go through.

And how did I remember? Adeeb looked me in the eye today and said with a straight face,

"Hey Seetoh, update your blog or else I will castrate you."

That threat made it hard for me to refuse, even thought it was just a joke(I think, cant be sure with Adeeb). Hence, I am back in front of my Mac, Musing(the band, not the action) and typing all this out. For those who still persist in calling me a mugger, think again. Nowadays, I actually pick out the homework that I want to do. And leave the rest after the deadline. Procrastination. That might be because I had picked up my old bookworm habit,  and am now swallowing CJC's library books whole. And that habit lives together with procrastination. There are plenty of computer addicts but little book addicts.

Find me one person who excrete in the toilet and read a book at the same time. Some do that, but does anyone ever read a book while taking taking a piss? Weird if you are a girl but at least you will be behind closed doors. Guys take part in communal peeing-next to everyone else in the open and into the urinal. This means stares and sniggers for me.

Thanks goodness I quit that habit when I was Secondary One, after one male teacher castigate me for doing just that. All I can say is that was the most awkward reprimand I have ever received(probably wasnt easy for him too).

And when I read while I walk, I can reach the location I was going without knowing which path I took. My best friend liken it to auto-pilot.

And of course, Portal 2 came out. To non-gamers, you definitely do not know what you are missing. I was busy playing Portal again to ready myself for the sequel. It's like Harry Potter; you read the last book to remember and re-immerse oneself into the plot. 

Movie: I rewatched Children of Men. Poignant tale of a dystopian society set in a world where the women were infertile through unknown causes. R21 though. o.0 Like it would have stopped me. For anyone who want to watch the movie, here.

The tests. Hrrrhm. I either studied the wrong topics or wrote the tests in my homework diary...on the wrong day. I need to buck up for the Mid-years. Weirdly, my strongest subject currently is Chinese where I got a distinction for my CA. >.< My weak foundation in Additional Mathematics(A2) wreak havoc on my Maths tests. Barely scrapped a distinction. And let us not talk about the science tests I took.


I made my days busier too, by being in the Chinese Fortnight Organising team AND the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad Open Category training on Saturday. A three hours session of JC1 AND JC2 mathematics that would make one's head spin.

At least I got that Monday to look forward to. Oh wait, that's our deadline for our GPP. >.<

To top it all, I got a Bronze for my NAPFA. Because of 1 cm. That's right, I got silver because I jumped 215cm instead of 216cm(criteria for Silver). ****.

2.4km: 12min 31sec
Sit-Ups: 43
Pull-Ups: 3(hey, I am skinny)
Shuttle-run: 9.6s (kinda slow, ran a 9.3 last year)
Sit-and-Reach: 43cm
Standing Broad Jump: 215cm

I am not really disappointed though, since I am in Debate and not in a Sports CCA. Plus, I have a knee injury that need 2 weeks rest. I(obviously) ignored the instructions and did my NAPFA after 5 days abstaining of all physical activity. And hey, I am 16. Younger than all of you. So there.

I will probably retake it next week.

I love my life(I dun even know whether I am sarcastic anymore).

SO busy... I will try to get a post this weekend. And I just joined Floorball as an interest group- kinda like frisbee. I am exhausted.

Just wasting some time for a quick post

This post will be short. Just a screenshot of my blog statistics(interesting stuffs) and a song whose lyrics I love.

What's Window NT? There is such an OS?

For the second song, English translation of the song is at the top right hand corner. I love the lyrics, I really do.

Longest hiatus ever: Whatever shall I do when Mid-Years come?

Once, in my secondary school, I have given a survey along with my class. The DISC one, if anyone know what I am talking about(I am a D and I). One of the questions in there was: What time of the day do you like best?

Some answered morning. "Oh, the morning is the time where one's brain is at the best- oiled and ready-to-go." And I agree fully. Morning is a great time to study; I just hate the waking up early part. And by the way, early morning means one starts his or her day at 6.30am onwards. *Eyes the late-risers who think 10am is early*

And the afternoon. I hate it. I feel sleepy, especially after lunch. Unproductive is the word for the afternoon, the only thing good after 12pm is slacking. As in, kicking back in the armchair in the sweltering heat and just day-dream your way to sleep.

And the night. Some of my classmates(the smarter ones, heh) chose the night. The night is quiet and silent, black and ominous, foreboding and filled with tension. And yet, it is such a great to contemplate. The average student, nay, the average Singaporean's day is filled with people palavering, with day-dreaming, essentially nothing useful most of the time. We have to filter out this massive load of information, into the useful and non-useful category. Again, to clarify, conversations with friends belong to "useful". And "homework". Hmmm. That would take some thoughts.

On a serious note, the night is a great time to spend with your only companion- your own mind. And that is your most trusted friend- not your friends or relatives. Perhaps your family, though even that is debatable at times. The night is the most quiet part of the day and your mind will have no need to strain itself, sieving through your 5 senses for information earlier on in the afternoon. And how many times have you lie awake in your bed, reflecting about your experiences...just thinking there?

And this might be why I like to blog at night, where there is no one but me in my own private and personal little world. Kinda ironical, really, to pour out my "innermost secrets" in my blog at the most private part of the day.

Enough with my thoughts. Heh. After that ramble, I wonder how many shares similar view? I, personally, sleep anywhere from 12am to 2am. And occasional 3am. This also might explains why I am usually a late riser. But not too late. Perhaps about 8.30am to 9am?

Moving on. Recently a fellow debater came to me and told me, "Seetoh, you dont update your blog often enough." She didnt praise me for interesting or humorous content(okay, that could be just my wish), but that simple statement flattered me a great deal. I dont blush, but if I do, but face would have been the shade of an apple. So, thank you Michele, for not praising my blog but just informing me that your follow it. And I suppose, you too, Ding Yan.

I suppose one becomes happy when your work, no matter what kind, have people appraising it.

And next up: SAF-CJC partnership. That proved to be a day of many "firsts". My first time firing a gun. A machine gun, a pistol and a SAR 21. Note to self- guns are pretty loud. Especially a machine gun. Maybe it's a guy's thing, but there is something about a gun that make a guy pump up with adrenaline. Could be the testosterone but every male in my class would grin about their learning to strip a pistol. My reasoning? Military weapons is a human construct and this just make us proud. Not proud of its usage for violence but proud that we could produce something so powerful. Pride of the creator, pride of its user.

And hey, even girls felt it was kinda awesome. I mean, carrying a 8kg bazooka? Who would have given the chance up? Not to mention the army camp boosted a huge town- an artificial one. One with shophouses and residence area, all empty and used to simulate urban combat. Soldiers, perhaps to pacify their superiors, gushed about NS life.

"You get $200 if you get a Gold for IPPT(NS's NAPFA) and $100 if you get a Silver."

I could see the dollar symbol in everyone's eye.

Hmm. And the Hindi movie. To be honest, I have never watch a Indian movie in my entire life. Perhaps watched a few excerpts and they were those dancing and singing scenes. I am neutral to musicals, save a few, and almost all Indian movies are a musical. Added on with the language barrier, this means "The 3 Idiots" was the first Indian movie I watched.

I watched it because it was witty, funny and exposes life in a new perspective. It showed many flaws in the education system and praise the virtues of friendship and camaraderie.

It is not the best comedy film I have ever watched, but it was a great one. To skeptics, cast away the racial stereotypes and watched "The 3 Idiots". I guarantee there will be no disappointment. Below is the first portion of the movie. Someone uploaded the entire 2009 movie up. I recommend

 

 Click for Part 2 of the movie

  Click for Part 3 of the movie 

The rest are also on Youtube, just click the name of the fella who uploaded all these to see everything. 

That was how I spent my weekend, or rather, in view of the "hiatus", the entire week.

*If you notice, I didnt mention myself doing any homework. So eh-hem, just to clarify, I am not a mugger. :D*

Apologies

Once again, I will not be able to post a blog post today. Two mathematics test and one physics test.

By the way, on something totally unrelated, I am signing up for REACH CAmbridge. Hope I get in.

Spam, debate, Beijing and Alexandra Wallace

My Macbook, no longer as new as it was a month ago is still in good condition(Duh). There isnt much problem with it, other than the fact it is pristine white. Whenever I just finish reading the newspaper, your fingertips tend to turn grey, or black, depending on how much you read and how you hold your newspapers. And these colours like transferring themselves on the keyboard. And because I always forget to wash my hands after reading the papers, my keyboard is no longer that white it had started with. >.<

First of all, this post IS going to be long. Starting with spam. Fellow bloggers might know what is spam. Your blogs will get comments and after awhile, when you have amassed more followers and readers, you get these weird comments that are the following:

1. Selling electronic items
2. Selling sexual accessories
3. Utter gibberish

Could be just me, but I didnt get these things in the past; it only happened when the number of readers of this blog passed a certain point. I supposed these stuffs happen. I guess I can take into comfort the fact that the spam filter is working perfectly because none of these comments made it out.

Debate. I (not in a good way) stand out in debates. And that's because I am the only one with no debating experience. While everyone goes straight into brainstorming and tearing into their rebuttals, I needed some clarification of the formats. And I get nervous. Perhaps I should have gone into public speaking, as I had some experience there. The strict format of debates make me a little uncomfortable. And I tend to stumble on my words. Lack of experience and lack of practice. That's why I resolve from this day onwards, I shall practice my second speaker role every moment I can. No more singing while I bath. It would be purely debating as I shower.

Actually, I just did it today. Debated while I shower. And wow. It did help. My thoughts just transmitted itselves fluently into words.

There IS something special about being alone in a small enclosed room naked with warm water pouring down. I kid you not.

On a more serious note(actually I was pretty serious about the shower thing), I really do need more practice. It wouldnt do to lag behind the rest of the debaters. I constantly worry about the fact that I dont have that cynical mindset that every debater should possess.

And oh, I cant believe I am saying this but I actually miss sports. As in having a sports CCA. That physical exhaustion I undergo three times a day last year has turned into mental fatigue once a week this year. And it is not necessary easier.

Beijing. My brother is heading off for Beijing. For six weeks. Hwa Chong has a campus of its own there, joined together with a Chinese university. My brother is going there to get a feel of studies in China. Six weeks. Might be a wink of an eye but that's still the longest period of time my brother have been away. Actually, the second place would be a five days stay for the ASEAN Youth Convention. By me. Thus six weeks is a horribly long time. To me and my parents, that is. I mean, imaging being alone at home with noone to talk to.

Also, it is interesting to note that it will be the longest amount of time my brother will be separated from me since we popped out of our mother. Hrm. I shall get my revenge when I get that 6 years scholarship to study medicine in Imperial College.

My brother is definitely not feeling sad. My father had just bought him a new laptop and a sixteen megapixel camera for his stay there. >.<

And finally, a little rant about an American girl. This was introduced to us in General Paper lesson.

And I thought discrimination has reduced considerably after President Obama was voted in. Seems like discrimination will always be rampant. And the sad thing is, the racist people today never seem to think they are racist. Rather, they feel they stand for the norm in society.

And here is a reply by an Asian in a song. I loved it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

On blogging and on liars, hypocrites and saints

Nadah on interesting events. I am certainly not living as exciting a life as some of my friends, though I am certainly living a good one. Two comments about my blog that struck me today. First, my classmate asked me why wasnt I doing more posts? I do it once every three or four days. And he does his once every two days.

One, I would just like to mention that my blog post takes up half an hour(Could be just me). Some people just type out what's on their mind, while others like to play the role of observers. I am the latter, though I do indulge in a little of the former. And that brings me to what my GP teacher, Mr. Casimir Kang asked today, why blog? A platform to post your innermost secrets? And let the public view it?

There are a couple of bloggers in class(perhaps three). I dont know whether it is just me, but I sure dont post up my innermost thoughts into my blog. There was a comment about narcissism. And I admit it. I am narcissistic...as much as the next person is. I believe everyone is narcissistic and hypocritical. The thing that really matters is do you exhibit those characteristics openly? And you might be a hypocrite, but to what degree? And to those who are extremely idealistic, disagrees with me and also think lying is bad, have you lied before, sir?

Because if you have never lied before, never made a hypocritical decision ever in your life and have never made a selfish choice, you, sir, cannot be described as an honest man. To name you a saint would be more correct.

Woe betide those who said you have never lied before because lying is bad. Because if you have lied before, that makes you a liar AND a hypocrite at the same time. And the interesting thing is, if you lied but have never been caught at it, does that make you a liar? Some says yes, but I know of a few friends(and two from KI) that would disagree to a certain extent. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

And to those who still feels strongly against blogging, I have to say, from the perspective of a person who blogs and once kept a diary, a diary does not equate to a blog. And that said, a blog is more therapeutic. It relieve stress and you get to have your 5 minutes of fame(depending on the number of views you get). And because I do believe a blog is to get readers and I DO like the idea of having strangers read my thoughts, I guess I am narcissistic.


Phew. This post is really quite philosophical but hey, Cogito ergo sum.

Sogurt and It's Friday

Aaargh. My phone broke down on me again. I mean, seriously, it was working a few days ago. So now, I am using a phone that had no colour on its display screen. No colours, no camera. It's quite nostalgic, really. The only game inside is Snake. That IS cool. And taking it as a social experiment, it is really interesting to note that I dun really mind a phone whose only function is, well, call. No cameras. No recorder. No internet. Case in point, long gone are the day where there sell a phone that just has a single function.

So a few days ago, while waiting for my brother to finish up in his school, I went Sogurt. Yes, the Sogurt I read so much about(mainly from Amy's blog).

Atmosphere: 9/10
Price: 8/10
Yogurt: 7.5/10

Now, I love the atmosphere of the place, I mean, really. Everything about Sogurt shows the thought and planning the owner must have been through. I also like how they have a redemption/stamp card. And the price. It is slightly pricey for any student with an average allowance but Sogurt IS supposed to be a treat and not really a daily affair. But the shop does give a 10% discount to students and I love it.

My gift card and my first stamp. A step closer to that membership card.

That 10% does matter to students and you can see the satisfied face of the customers that they do enjoy the whole eating experience in Sogurt. I based the rating on all the ice-creams/yogurts I have ate, from unknown stalls selling Ice-Kacang to Anderson, Ben and Jerry, the works. And mind you, the best yogurt/ice cream does not even belong to one of those "branded" names. And thus I rate it a 7.5. Mine did taste good, but I find it tasteless after a while. Cookies and cream. I cant taste much cookie nor cream. The texture was superb but it tasted plain after a while.

Perhaps it was just the favor. Or the fact I got 250 grams instead of the minimum 100 grams?

 Looks a little like dog doo, since I ate a mouthful already.

 A little side-tracking, but the best yogurt I had was in Marine Parade. I cant even remember the name of the store but the ice cream there was $2.50 bucks for a 100 grams and boy, the taste haunted me the rest of that week. Cant eat there anymore though- too far from my current school.

I tried the waffle and my rating would be: 8.5/10

Chocolate waffle

I liked it. I liked it a lot. And it might be the cloying taste of chocolate that resulted in a poorer rating for the yogurt.

Moving on. Today IS friday. And that brings to mind a viral video of a song song by a 14 years old girl singing about Friday. And in the video, it is implied:

• she played traunt
• she hangs out with people more than 2 years older than her
• She goes to a party with alcohol drinks
• She does this every Friday

And remember, she is 14 years of age. I mean, wow. And the last I checked, the video had garnered 73 million hits and has:

• 171,964 likes, 1,398,980 dislikes

And then to top it all, I chanced upon this article. I love this guy.

I love how he writes out the whole thing. He embellish, he sign-post, mainly, he bullshit. Pardon that word but I cant find a better word to describe this. :D Really, I love it.

And debates today was fantastic. I cant talk much about what went on today. But suffice to say Mr. Na and Ms. De Souza debated together. I laughed my ass off at the whole debate. Heh.

Signing off. The pile of homework has decreased. The end is in sight. *Picks up a pen wearily*