Yups, I moved to Nanyang Girls' High Boarding School last Sunday afternoon. Mom borrowed Uncle Joo's car so that Dad could drive me and my luggage there. Rui Lin came along too out of curiosity. I had spent the previous night and that morning packing my clothes, my notes and necessities into two big trolley bags. Oh, btw, I am back at home now. Yesterday when I return, I sort of felt like coming home was like going on a holiday. haha.
Back to last Sunday. So I met my two roommates - Tang Wei and Wu Shihui - NY Sec 3 PRC scholars. They are nice people - that evening Shihui was cleaning up the room 'cos the house tutor (basically just the floor matron) would be coming around to check the cleanliness every Sunday night. So I asked if she needed help and she replied that it was okay, I can just unpack my stuff. Actually I had already done it, after spending two hours cleaning up my desk, drawers, shelves and wardrobe. Hmms, actually I think I am sort of like an intruder in their room, so most of the time I'll be trying to make as little noise as possible. The matrons treated me kindly too. Since I am new and still unsure of the rules, Ms Goh always helped me sign the permission slip which I was submitting at the last minute (boarders are supposed to get it signed by their house tutors and submit them 3 days it advance - I think its really a waste of paper but its for administration purposes...). You can tell the difference in the way Ms Goh and Ms Tan speak to me and the way they speak to some boarders. haha, so I shall catergorise them into the type who will treat you well if you are humble and treat you firmly if you try to be rebellious.
On the Friday before I moved over, Hui Ling was telling me that they (all the NJ year2s) are in the C block and asked me to request for C block too and even offered to help me move stuff if I wasn't done by the time she returned from M'sia (she goes home almost every weekend). I felt so welcomed by her kind gesture.
So I am staying in B418. I haven't got to know anyone else, since I am not very open, and I returned only at 10pm on Mon, Wed and Thu 'cos of band at NIE.
I started feeling sick on Monday (had the pre-sore throat feeling and slight flu). Then on Tuesday, it worsened and I felt slightly nauseous due to throat irritation. Still, I didn't want to miss school, especially since there was Physics SPA Skill D, even though I didn't really manage to process any of the stuff I was trying to study on Monday night. The assessment was just after break and I felt kind of hungry but didn't dare to eat for fear of vomiting so Pam suggested that I drink a cup of hot milo which I did.
Hmm, I must say fortunately the SPA on oscillations wasn't difficult and I manage to finish it despite feeling nauseous, coughing and sniffing away. Anyway, I think I will be feeling worse if I were not in school. You know, my mind is stronger when I am around my friends. I don't know if I made any mistakes, but my errors/limitations and improvements weren't very well stated.
After school, mom brought over the stuff that I had forgotten to take on Sunday before I asked her to bring me to the doctor's at coro. I got an MC for Wednesday since it was elects speech day so I could afford to absence myself. Hmm, that's the first time in my history in NJ that I was absent from school for illness. I went for band in the afternoon though, after walking to Cold Storage at Sixth Avenue to buy candles for Jurena's birthday brownies that Dency bake.
Oh, Addy lost her wallet on Monday and though I was with her from the time she last used her wallet to the time she realised her wallet was missing, ie. at Jurong East MRT. The band had chartered two buses, another to Yishun MRT. I took this other bus the week before I moved to BS so Crystal and Junhao were puzzled when I boarded the Jurong East-bound bus, and Crystal even came up to tell me that it was going to JE then I confirmed that I was on the right bus. Oh ya, I haven't mentioned that two Wednesdays ago (ie. 13 April), Crystal, Junhao and I had late dinner at Long John Silver in Golden Village at Yishun after band at NIE that day). Amazingly, the two buses take about the same time to travel from NIE to JE and NIE to Y.
Okay, back to the wallet incident. So on Wednesday during band in the recital room (we had just moved there on Monday 'cos the ceiling is much higher ie. the accoustics resembles the Conference Hall's better). Addy was extremely depressed about losing her wallet together with her mobile phone and a few times I didn't know how to reply. Her depression didn't show very distinctively, especially when she talks to others, she'd be like her usual self (and she knows it 'cos that's also what she told me). I don't know how to comfort people so I was trying to reason things out with my usual logic talking.
Thursday 21/4/05 I did the NAPFA test five items although I hadn't recovered - I still had a strong nasal sound (alamak.. I was trying to translate 'bi yi' into English when I realised I forgot how to write 'bi'. gosh!!) - I completed the five items and got a minimum C for all items, alot thanks to the lack of strictness of the J3 girl who was the tester. All the girls did the test together while the guys played. I suggested to do shuttle-run first since it needed the most energy and they accepted my idea. Almost all of us did better then we had expected =) and when I said "run faster!" when some of them were doing the final run back, it was quite satisfying when you see the effect. haha. hmms, running is really about pushing yourself. Amazingly, I came in under 11s, if I didn't get it wrong it was 10.89s. I never ever did so well for shuttle-run. I did over 12s in sec 1 and 2 which made me drop from a gold to a bronze. I think it was because of the lack of friction between the wooden floor of the hall and my worn-out school shoes. In sec3 and 4 we got to run bare-footed I think.
haha, my mom just helped me dig out my primary school report and boy were my NAPFA test results lousy. I never got a 4 or a 5 in all three years (p4-6) - all 1s, 2s, and 3s. Guess the number of sit-ups I did. 13 in p4 and 12 in p5. I just feel like laughing at myself for being so bad at it. My standing broad jump too - 130 in p4 and 133 in p5. Then suddenly in p6 I did 20 sit-ups and jumped 157cm! wow, 24cm improvement within one year. I really wonder what happened. I can't remember a single thing about the NAPFA tests in primary school other than doing shuttle run along the corridor outside the classrooms. My 1.6 run was the most consistent - C all 3 years.
Back to present. I think i could have done better for standing broad jump, but it was ok. The worse cheat case was for sit-and-reach. Everyone didn't put the starting position to as far as it should be. haha. Yay, all of us (except Yanlin and Joyce who did more) did the bare minimum of 31 sit-ups to get an A. As usual, I found the last few extremely hard but pulled through. The last station was my worse one - inclined pull-up. I nearly couldn't do the seventh one to get the final C I needed, but somehow, I pulled all I could and with everyone's encouragement and perhaps abit of cheating (I don't know if my chin really went pass the metal rod and I jerked a little) and finally the J3 said "seven" ('cos if she approves of it then it will be counted).
Hmm, maybe my peak at pull-up was the week before because during that PE lesson, Mr Menon, eh, or was it two weeks before since the week before we did our 2.4 run. Anyway, Mr Menon had said my technique was good when we had to do 5 pull-ups without anyone pivoting our feet at the metal bars without the rods.
Youzhi wanted everyone to go down for combined sectionals at the recital room that evening since it was our last time there before we moved back on Friday. However, I found it very ineffective since we only reached there past 6 and the practice ended before 8.30pm and halfway we had to move back to the NIE band room because a conducting student, Brenda wanted to have a rehearsal with her band in the recital room as she was going to hold her concert next Friday and she would be assessed on it as part of her graduating grade. Furthermore, most of us weren't concentrating or listening..
Friday 22/4/05 It was Earth Day and the Fabric Mosaic was supposed to be put up before assembly but there were some miscommunications and by the time we (Joyce and I carried two tables each from outside the hall all the way to the atrium before she left for choir and Peiling came, followed by Addy. Anna, Irene and Huimin came by to help too) were done, the back of my blouse was wet..
After school, I had to do my overdue GP essay but after doing the Paul's Wheel, I got stuck at my Thesis. (the question was "Advertising encourages a desire in products which people do not actually need. Discuss.") So I had to ask Ms Chua for help and even though she was very busy, she attended to me after telling me to give her another half an hour. She spent almost 40minutes helping me and even though at the start she said that I was "talking to a teacher whose brain cells are dead", I was the one who was having mental blocks. Then towards the end, she pointed out a great weakness of mine which I had never realised - I "always try to please everyone". That's why I got stuck at my Thesis in the first place and its also why I get into such conflicting situations in my life.
Wow, someone has finally helped me identify my problem for doing so badly in my essays despite being able to think from both points of view. I am very grateful. Hopefully I'll improve and not waste Ms Chua's efforts.
Oh, about moving to BS, Pam stayed in shock even a few hours after I told her on Monday during break that I moved there and wished that I hadn't told her. Addy couldn't believe it either and thought I was joking. Jus understood my stand though and was quite unusually calm. haha. On the bus to NIE, Christina was sitting behind me and initially she couldn't believe it (in addition to the fact that she didn't see me around at all on Sunday) and the others who were around asked, "You are not a scholar right?" and I had to explain I am not but I am really staying in the BS. Hmms, actually to think about it, its actually quite unbelievable but its not ridiculous either. Anyway, Christina soon accepted it and told me about how a clean freak she is and about how she flaunts BS rules. It was then that I found out she's not as guai as I had thought. Oh ya, btw, Christina and Edo are together now. hmms, I didn't know about it until on the bus the two Wednesdays ago when the Exco and gang were talking about C & E then Junhao finally told me on the way home. Haiyo, such a big news about my section and I had to find out from people of another section. K, then when I was taking 156 on my first school night back to BS, the back door wouldn't close and even after I tried helping the bus driver (I was at the seat where the backdoor was right in front of me) to close it - he was pulling from outside and I was pushing from inside - it still opened when he tried to drive off. We tried again but it didn't work so me and a few other girls (I think they are poly/uni students) had to get off.
Oh boy, is there something wrong with me taking 156. A week or two before this incident when it was the second time I went to school via Clementi MRT, and the first time I took 156 from that interchange, the bus nearly had an accident when turning at a road junction and the driver even got off the check the bus and took down the time.
wishing; 4/24/2005 09:30:00 AM
Have Read
'04 year-end holidays (highest number of books read in a long time)
-The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (gd read)
-Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky by Meg Cabot (fun read)
-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (must read - inspirational)
-Slab Rat by Ted Heller (full of office politics and R21 stuff - not for kids)
-The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (makes u want to finish it)
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks (simple but meaningful)
-The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (can identify with)
-The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (romantic love story with too much R21 stuff)
-Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (even more R21. ugh)
-The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
-Unstrung Heroes by Franz Lidz (autobiography about his four uncles and father)
-The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (very unique POV of an autistic boy)
-The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (love the breadth of the plot, one of my favourites)
-Wild Orchids by Jude Deveraux (alternating between two first persons' view - unique, but don't like e plot)
-Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (philosophy tb in a story; gets abit dry though plot saved)
-forgot what i read...-
-Working Wonders by Jenny Colgan (story of an urban planner)
-Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (impressive intelligence with bits of great humour)
-Just between Us by Cathy Kelly (thickest bk i've ever read-600+pg, too long for me but not bad)
ha, started a few bks but didn't enjoy them enough to read more.
'06
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel (novel based on true story; a lot to learn from the book - animals, religions,
survival, appreciation of simplicity; marvelous descriptions of both the tangible and the intangible,
such that I could feel their realness; bits of very enjoyable humour; a must read)
-The Complete Analects of Confucius, Volume 1 - Asiapac Comic Series (some good teachings.
didn't read everything though)
-The Parable of the Pipeline by Burke Hedges (lent to me by Shujun; like she said, its a short version
of Rich Dad Poor Dad - good financial tips)
-The Alchemist by Paul Coelho (simple story with deep meaning)
-Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
(hai, doesn't seem to be working for me - cos im not applying..)
-haven't been updating from Jun'06 to Jul'07-
'07
-Take a Chance by Sarah Webb (very interesting twist towards the end)
'08
-A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer (very saddening. made me realise how significant family is in how a child behaves)
-Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden (refreshing book with many pics)
-The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Rui Zafon (amazing how people can think of so much plot to pack into one book, wld b a gd tv series)
-The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (the story is interesting but i think the ending cld hv been better written)
-This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes (a bit thought-provoking on relationships but i didnt like e abrupt ending)
-Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner (gd knowledge but partly qte repetitive)
-For One More Day by Mitch Albom
-The C Words by Mark Mason (made me keep wanting to read on. light & funny)
'09
-Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux (another good read from Deveraux)
-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (gosh such vivid descriptions! very well written book. i liked d theme of friendship and the realness of the story)
'10
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (a must-read!! i love the expressed thoughts of the protagonist, esp those about friendships, and the writing style - it seems like she's telling me her story specifically to me)
How to Save Your Own Life by Michael Gates Gill (an inspiring read, for emotional liberation and greater joy in life)
Reading
on hold
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
Waiting for chance to get hold of
The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Gotai Fumanzoku or An Unsatisfactory Body (Translated into English as No One's Perfect) by Hirotada Otatake
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Other Recommended Readings by Marc
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes. Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s emotional and moral life. Dickens states that we must learn to go against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”
Lolita – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each. The story is as devious as it is beautiful.
Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done. Nuff said.
How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating. Pretty much the greatest cookbook ever written. Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll be a master chef by the time you’re 30.
Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful fiancée. Life was good. But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him. So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years. This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self discovery.
Self-note: Tip for my future business =D
give employees reasonably high pay to keep them- otherwise they are unlikely to stay loyal.
treat employees not according to how well they treat me but how conscientious they are at work
(of course, musn't expect them to only do work throughout the entire working hours -
give some breathing space too, we are humans, not machines) Movies watched(listing started on 6jan08)
in cinema from VCD/DVD
1Sep07: "Hairspray" w TK, GH & SH
14Sep07: "Ratatouille" w mom & extended family
28Dec07: "The Pianist" w Jus & Pam (heartbreaking but good lessons; i recommend!)
2Jan08: "I Am Legend" w Sherm (scary! but good acting; thought provoking; i recommend!)
5-6Jan08: "A Good Year" alone (excellent show! i like the acting; funny; good lessons; touches my heart; i recommend!)
11Jan08: "Le Grand Chef" w WLing, JT & Irene (good! funny, very touching, :) nice; watch if like humour+meaning+food)
7Feb08 (CNY 初一): "Ah Long Pte Ltd" w parents (pretty hilarious - but u gotta understand dialects, some teary parts. wells typical of jack neo movies but with diff content)
11Mar08: "The Leap Year" w Sherm (so sweet! :) and apart from couple relationship it touches the theme of mother-daughter and best friends too)
6Jun08: "P.S. I Love You" w Sherm (don't know if its coz we watched it on laptop, coz it didn't impress me as much as it did for him in cinema)
8Jun08: "The Forbidden Kingdom" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (ums..guess i'm really not into kungfu)
8Jun08: "What Happens in Vegas" w Lisa, Karen & Sandy (simple,relaxing show)
7Jul08: "我和狗狗的10个约定" w Sherm, his ma & sisters (very simple,touching but actually not my type of show)
10Jul08: "Before Sunrise" w Sherm (hmm maybe watchg on laptop really affects appreciatn of movies..)
30Sep08: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" w Sherm (i didn't like it as much as i thought i wld when i saw the ads)
31Dec08: "Yes Man" w Mom (inspiring and funny)
11Feb08: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" w Mom (not as impressive as i thought it wld be)
1Jul09: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" w Yumei, YY & Matt (the best thing was the soundtrack. heh.)
14Aug09: "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" w Joyce (it was awesome! best action movie i've ever watched)
17Aug09: "Food, Inc." w SYL & RuiQ (learnt some stuff abt the American food industry but it was a bit boring and not worth the $10)
22Sep09: "The Time Traveller's Wife" w WB, VanD, WLing, CHL, Irene, VanQ, Mf, Pg (i liked it. having read the book really helps w udsg)
21Nov09: "Gokusen" w Mf, Eva, Tony, Sarah (funny inspirational movie)
24Dec09: "十月围城" w Tony, WLing, VanQ (action action and a bit funny? tony criticised the plot. my fav scene was the running n jumping through the crowd along the five-foot ways w/o cuts)
30Dec09: "Sherlock Holmes" w Irene, Tony, Sweetee (my favourite genre of books made into a movie - what else can be more cool? acting effects humour excitement suspense all in)
12Jan10: "Avatar 3D" w Mom (didn't appreciate the digital effects which everyone wowed about. content etc was so-so. cathay's 3D glasses were too heavy for me)
8Feb10: "The Truman Show" w Ky n sis n Yuhshin (a must-watch. very thought-provoking, funny. reminder to be spontaneous and create your life the way you want, instead of falling into a typical routine
14Feb10: "New York, I Love You" w Mom (I loved it! a good couple movie with meaningful pointers to keep it going. but i think some stories could be more developed)
16Feb10: rewatched "The Pianist" (still find it good, tho i still feel first viewings are the best)
17Feb10: "Valentine's Day" w CHL n WB (laughed throughout - a feel-good movie; liked the fact that the various stories binded tog so well with the little surprises here and there, vs NY ILU in which each story was separate)
20Feb10: "赤壁二" w Addy, Karen, Sharon, SJ (should have watched the first one first cos i ended up not knowing who's who and what's happening and had to keep asking :/ and couldn't pay attn.. if not i think it should be a pretty good movie..)
4Mar10: "Alice in Wonderland 3D" w Mf (i found the 3D effects of this @ CCK Shaw SO much better than Avatar @ The Cathay =/ and the movie was much more enjoyable too! - cheered a sad me up :)) favourite quote - the Mad Hatter: “You used to be much muchier before. ... You have lost your muchness.”)
18Mar10: "Nodame Cantabile" w Irene, Mf (i thoroughly enjoyed some of the orchestra pieces - SO impressive! the expressions of the actors were really amusing :D)
23Apr10: "Ice Kacang Puppy Love" w Mom (funny, touching and meaningful - about love between friends and family. i cried 3 tissues! cos some touching parts i could really understand the feelings of the characters involved)
Inception
Letters to God (very simple Christian movie)
22Nov10: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" w Ame, Irene (they loved it. pretty good, i guess the main problem i had was that im not familiar with HP :X)
13Dec10: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" w Sj (not bad, could follow the story unlike HP. like the meaningful teachings, too long - in a post)
2Mar11: "The King's Speech" w Ame (hilarious, inspirational, tho it doesn't impress me that much to understand why it's the Oscar winner)
Mar11: "10 Things I Hate About You" very funny. silly sweet high school romance. just right for having breaks in between doing homework
23May11: "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" w Wb Yl Ame Pg (pretty good - scenery, freakish parts, fighting scenes, dressing, humour, bits of Christianity like when the Spanish said "only God gives life")
6Jun11: "Xmen First Class" w Wb Ame Pg (i was very keen on watching it and it was really good! intellectual, makes sense, cool action, some humour)
9Jun11: "Legally Blonde 2" w Irene (seems like some dumb blonde movie but kind of meaningful too - speaking up for yourself and what you stand for)
17Jun11: "Something Borrowed" w Sandy Lisa (quite funny, somewhat meaningful wrt friendships. they didn't like the lack of sense for one part tho)
16Jul11: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" w Irene, Sweetee, Kw (not bad. i didn't understand some parts again but the humour and effects were pretty good)
Aug11 "Horrible Bosses" w Ma (she fell asleep! gosh. the movie was very crude i must say but there was the humour)
25Oct11: "The Three Musketeers" w H (i would rate it 3.5 for humour/intellectual language and 4 for action. it's by the same producer or director as Sherlock! but a bit less awesome albeit a good chill out movie)
5Nov11: "Real Steel" w Hl (action packed but not too hardcore for me. i liked that there was the father and son element and how the father eventually softened his heart and especially the part when charlie was having trouble telling max sth and max was so understanding saying "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." touching and demonstrates true fighting spirit)
12Dec11: "50/50" w L (adopting her words - a heavy topic put across in a lighthearted way, but not taking away d meaning. most of it was rather hollywood-ish trashiness but there were a couple of punch lines "u can't change ur parents, but u can change d way u respond to them.")
25Dec11: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" w KY (ultimate action packed! super tense almost throughout the movie, and interesting Tom Cruise made it such that not everything happened smoothly - he would jump and misland and get all sorts of injuries..it's really the courage to jump without hesitation even though you are not sure you'll be alive after that. KY loved d movie and said she would watch it again!)
3Jan12: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" w KY (i love mystery (: and the witty sarcastic dialogues. good level of excitement with the action. didn't understand some parts as usual. i like Holmes and Watson they depict such a true pair of buddies ;D)
23Jan12: "You are the Apple of My Eye" w mom (now i understand why guys like this movie so much - the anxiety of chasing after a girl and the acts schoolboys do to get the girl's attention and hopefully affection. the initial fluttering and the subsequent quarrelling)
22Mar12: "The Iron Lady" w KY (really love Thatcher's sharp words. inspiring and thought-provoking, tho i was still left uncertain of what to do with my life, the movie is definitely an encouraging one)
29Mar12: "Barney's Version" w SJ (a funny movie of a screwed up life of a man who had 3 wives, smoked and drank but very heartwarming at the same time, the relationships with the dad and the 3th wife - quotable quotes!)
27Apr12: "The Hunger Games" w Mom
4May12" "Avengers" w MF n PS (funny, action-packed)
7Jul12: "The Amazing Spiderman"
21Jul12: "The Dark Knight Rises" (fantastic depth, loved the twists)
20Aug12: "ParaNorman" w Mom (simple funny animated movie, heartwarming support)
Performances watched (listing started on 25Apr10)
20Jan10: Patrick Marber's Closer by outoftheBLUE, NUS Science w Pam (
13Mar10: The Rain Came Down Like Pearls the Night I Died... The New Musical - Sing & Tell by Mark Chan w Addy & Jy
21Mar10: Quintessence by NUSCO w CHL
