Never Ending Story

Eight Weeks in LTTS

2011-06-05T14:29:00.006+08:00

So it's already my eighth week studying under Lufthansa Technical Training Singapore (LTTS). Many people including some of the parents from my swimming club thought that I was working in LTTS but it's not, it's supposed to be a 'professional' training course organised to train the Aerospace Engineering students in my polytechnic for the industry.

Workshop (practical) activities are tiring, and classroom (theory) lessons are boring. So far there's a bit more boredom than tiredness. I must admit that LTTS has sucked out some of my swimming training from my daily routine. My training attendance has been very shaky since my time in LTTS began. Unfortunately, it's gonna carry on like this until 11 October this year. By then I would only have a couple of weeks to prepare for the IVP Swimming Competition (assuming that it's gonna take place at the end of October like the past two years).

Through my time in LTTS, I have made new friends in my new class. I have also found out more about the engineering components in aerospace. Basically learning in LTTS has taught me how the various components combined together to make the aircraft work and safe for flight. The notes are adequate in preparing me for my 1st quiz of the semester tomorrow. We read the notes, and we summarise them in a log book and add value to it later. Writing in the log book has taught me more ways to break down large amounts of information into understandable and more important portions.

In the workshop, I have to admit that it is well-equipped, a bit small, but small enough to help us learn in a conducive place. The tools are well-organised and the place is clean, making it a safe place to work in. The TSOs who are in charge of the workshop's tool store are not. Those who have approached them to borrow tools would know what I mean.

I remember I was doing work when one of the TSOs was talking to the guy next to me who was working on the same workpiece as me. The TSO walked up to him and saw the workpiece and instead of giving some helpful tips in a gentle tone, said "AIYAH! SURE FAIL ALREADY LAH!" If it was my workpiece, I would tell him, "My dear sir, do you know that if our workpieces weren't so "FAIL", you wouldn't be approaching me anymore".

Really, I observed that no one single person in my cohort ever dares to approach the TSOs for advice. In fact, the TSOs like to keep to themselves all the time, not very friendly, I better stay as far away from them as possible. I don't think our instructors even notice this, but I find that they should be more observant and something must be done to ensure that the workplace is a more conducive environment to work in. Otherwise the next time me or any one of my classmates enter the workshop, they wouldn't dare to even open the door to go in when the TSOs are in sight.

Oh well, if they want to be Ah Beng and Ah Lians, let them be! I don't wanna be an Ah Beng. Okay, enough of the TSOs part.

Up to now, I am still glad and relieved that my Lifesaving crash course has ended (about 2 weeks ago). LTTS has brought me enough boredom and exhaustion, thank you very much. But despite all the pain, I still find that learning in LTTS has taught me a lot of new concepts about Aerospace Engineering. I like the hands-on activities in the workshop, and the notes are well-organised to help me study and enhance my learning about the components in the engineering part of the aerospace industry.

I am thankful to LTTS for giving us the privilege to visit the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Open House 2011 on 27th May. I found the event to be very interesting and easy to navigate around (during the preview which we were attending), we even got the chance to watch the aerial display performed by some of the RSAF pilots.

So yeah, LTTS is a course that I cannot afford to skip in my daily routine. It puzzles me to know that there is a 90% attendance requirement, and the other 10% will go down regardless of whether we got valid reasons or not. So I always tell myself, "I cannot afford to fall sick until after IVP. If I ever fall sick during the LTTS course, my 100% attendance will evaporate. And it is not going to be easy trying to catch up on the lost progress, just like how time waits for no man. And if I fall sick after the LTTS course but before the IVP, I can kiss my IVP progress goodbye."

So yeah, it's going to be a busy period for me until 11 October when the course ends, and it will be a large amount of weight taken off my shoulders, if I can at least pass the course, or else...

I never thought of temporarily stepping down from my swimming to focus on LTTS. Because I got a big competition heating up after the course ends, and I will not go home without a fight this year.

There you go, another post to half-empty my mind before I proceed for my first quiz of the semester tomorrow. Lots to study but still informative.

Best,
Justin

Lifesaving (Crash Course) Reflection

2011-05-20T21:12:00.002+08:00

It has been 2 packed months for me, until today. On 27th March, I decided that I should try out a bit of the CCA of Lifesaving. It required me to train in order to pass the Lifesaving 123, CPR and Bronze Medallion tests.

At first I was so reluctant to join, then I started to think if I would actually kick myself for saying "Yes, I'll join Lifesaving", or not. It really reminded me of the movie Tron: Legacy, like getting stuck in a virtual world and dying to get out. So I decided to give it a try anyway since I did my job well during the 42nd Singapore National Age Group (SNAG) Championships, and I thought I should take a 'break' from swimming for once.

The training was quite easy to follow, everything that was taught actually made sense. At first I was not happy at deciding to go through this crash course, I nearly kicked myself for deciding to do this. Because I thought that by doing so, I would lose progress and form in my swimming and it wouldn't be easy getting it back. Deep down I thought it was stupid of me to make that decision to go through this course. But that actually made my swimming coordinator quite happy, cos he's been trying to get me to try it out for once, during the past 2 years in Temasek Polytechnic.

I never thought managing 3 things in one week would be easy. It felt painful for a while, before I got used to it. By then I was starting to think I was losing my swimming form. And my timetable just kept getting busier and busier.

I am so glad that I passed all the tests that I had paid for. I am also glad that the certificates which I have achieved will appear in my portfolio when I graduate. I realised that managing between studies, swimming and lifesaving requires great sacrifice. But now that I have finally found my way out of a stressful lifestyle, it doesn't make any difference from spending longs hours out of the house, if you know what I mean. But my chilling time at home, especially at night will be extended after today, that's the good news!

Coming to the tests, I managed to get past the Lifesaving 123 tests with ease. I was very very lucky to pass the CPR test, screwed up quite badly at the last part: Unconscious Choking. And I finally kept my cool at the BM test. But this does not guarantee that I will want to take up the job as a lifeguard. I have my reasons and I am going to kick myself if I ever say "I WANNA JOIN LIFESAVING THIS TIME!" People around me will be scratching their heads wondering how I'm going to manage 3 activities in one week: Studies, Swimming and Lifesaving.

I must admit that all these require lots of commitment, hence lots of sacrifice. But there are plenty of lessons to learn from managing all these.

To end, I find that this crash course has taught me the basic concepts of saving lives and also what lifeguards must consider before entering water to save casualties. I found out that a lifeguard must keep his own life safe before saving others.

So that's it for my lifesaving reflection. Until the next time I write about new and eventful stuff that happened.

SNAG 2011 Reflection (Overdue)

2011-04-24T14:23:00.003+08:00

Hello again. It appears that I have almost forgot about blogging ever since I got my Facebook account. I'll just reflect about my performance during the SNAG 2011, just to pass the time.

My progress in swimming before the SNAG 2011 has inspired me a lot to achieve fantastic results for my 1500m FR event, unfortunately I could've done a lot better with my 400m FR but I was to excited and impatient, hence missing out on my PB by 1.51 seconds. I still can't believe I shaved off 19.51 secs from my 1500m FR PB in just around four and a half months.

Ever since the IVP last year, I haven't been training at my hardest because of the disruptive weather and I had to deal with my exams in the February-March period. What's more, I didn't get a chance to go to Kunming like a few of the guys in my club, to train and speed up my swimming progress. But then again, I have observed that training after Kunming still requires consistent attendance back home in order to keep the fast motor running.

I never expected to shave off that much for my 1500m FR, I thought shaving off 2-4 seconds would be enough. In the end I did a 17:16.60, and came in first in my heat and age group. Many thought this was a massive achievement, even the experts said the same thing.

Before the IVP, it took me more than one year to shave off 19.37 seconds from my previous PB set during the SNAG 2009. And after the IVP in 2010, it took me just around four and a half months to shave off that much (19.51 seconds).

It is understood that it takes 12 months to produce the result I have just achieved in this competition. Oh well, I actually didn't think I would actually this sort of timing. I just kept my cool before diving into the freezing water for the race, and just plotted how I was going to survive throughout the 30 laps.

So there you go, that's the wrap of my reflection for the SNAG 2011. If I ever have something I want to spill out, I might come back. Cheers.

Post-2010 Reflections

2011-01-02T14:43:00.002+08:00

We're not in 2010 anymore! Time does fly quickly, doesn't it? It has been another eventful year for me, I met a lot of new friends from other swimming clubs, and a few other school mates from other schools. I observed that there were many improvements in the swimming club and and in the TP swim team this year.

I feel like I still have improved in terms of swimming and academics. The previous year has taught me how to keep up the good work. I feel like I have shown more care and concern for my friends too. The improvement rate in my swimming has continued to maintain its tremendous rate. I feel like I have learned new things about myself, my swimming and academics.

However, I strongly feel that the year 2011 will be a better year for me to improve and also meet more friends. With that, I'll be entering my final year in Poly education. That will be closer to National Service but I'll be ready.

Alright then, that's all I can write about 2010. Let's hope for a happier year ahead.

IVP 2010 Preview

2010-10-27T21:14:00.002+08:00

Hello everyone, it’s been a while…

Anyway, I’m here to update you guys about what’s going to happen this weekend. There’s going to be a 2-day swimming competition taking place at the Singapore Sports School. It’s one of the most important school competitions in my swimming career.

I am so looking forward to this competition, after spending months training up for it. I am targeting a 100% PB record for this, at least PBs are worth more than just medals. Below are the events which I will be swimming during the weekend. Also listed below are my current PBs which I’m hoping to break. Those events highlighted in yellow are my individual events.

Day 1: Saturday, 30 Oct 2010

1. 1500m Freestyle (17:55.57)

2. 100m Butterfly (1:04.20)

3. 4 x 100m FR Relay

4. 4 x 100m IM Relay (I’ll be swimming 100 Fly)

Day 2: Sunday, 31 Oct 2010

5. 400m Freestyle (4:27.32)

6. 4 x 50m FR Relay

7. 4 x 50m IM Relay (I’ll be swimming 50m Fly)

8. Mixed 4 x 50m FR Relay

Total: 2350m

Looks intimidating, but it’s not the first time I’ll be going through this.

My coaches believe that I will be able to deliver fantastic results despite the huge number of events that I’ll be swimming. I think I have trained hard enough during the school vacation for this competition.

Okay then, I hope to have a great weekend this week. All the best to those who are also taking part in this competition. Good night, folks!

Five Weeks Into Year Two

2010-05-17T22:09:00.001+08:00

So it’s already Week 5… Time really waits for no man. The subjects in school, so far so good. Math is slowly becoming a breeze for me. Managed to survive the first quiz of the semester, EMATH3. Just finished another quiz today, next quiz on Friday: Principles of Dynamics.

It’s another two weeks more to the term test week, three weeks more to the Singapore Open, and another four more weeks till I’m going fishing in Bintan for 2 nights, during my term break.

I haven’t been training regularly for about two to three weeks. Reason being I fell sick twice, not really sick just irritating cough. So… disrupted my training a lot. My hopes of swimming 1500m Freestyle in the Sing Open are officially dashed. Gonna try and go for 100 Fly, 400 Free and 800 Free. After that, time for Bintan! Haha

Gotta start firing up for the Sing Open now… Hope I don’t fall sick again…

Okay, seems like that’s all I have for now. Good night, folks.

Vacation’s OVER

2010-04-17T19:31:00.001+08:00

Hello again! It’s been a while… Yes, my vacation has come to an end, nothing much has happened during this period of time, except that I took part in the SNAG 2010 last month. Had a lot of fun during training, great time to unwind and brace for a new school year.

Glad to have a couple of my swim mates who will be joining me in my school next week. Bryan Chong and Joe Phan, welcome to TP! :) It’s official! Hahaha.

The past few weeks have been spent trying to catch up on my Mousehunt on Facebook :P School Nats is coming next week, hope you guys are prepared if you’re swimming. Yet another perfect opportunity to show your worth to your school. :) Like how I did just before I graduated from secondary school.

Glad to have met a few new faces during the past few weeks of no school, especially after SNAG 2010. I still haven’t gotten over the fact that I have achieved so much during those 4 days of stress. Hahaha Glad to know that I haven’t lost my touch since the exams started. And I’m still improving in leaps and bounds, impressive huh? :) But there’s still work to do to reach the top level, and I’m going at such a pretty comfortable pace at this kind of age.

Was quite relieved to see this semester’s timetable. Not as long as I thought it would be, but anyway it still suits my daily routine… not completely though, but good enough.

Oh well, that’s all I can blog about for now. Til next time…

Post-SNAG Review

2010-03-24T11:23:00.001+08:00

Hello, long time since I last dropped by!

So the 41st National Age Group Championships have finally ended, last weekend. Did 4 handsome PBs out of 4 events. Didn’t make it to the top 8 for all my events but I feel that getting a PB is more important. The whole event took place at the Sports School, the pool water was freezing as usual, but I usually do lots of PBs down there. :)

Swam in the same heat as Derek, Alan and Jun Han for 200m Free on Day 1. At first I thought it would add some spice to my competition. In the end, I came in first for my heat. :) Totally didn’t expect to do a 2:06.63, and I shaved of 4.17 secs. from my previous record of 2:10.80 which I set in June 2009. Quite an unbelievable result, from 2nd last I bulldozed my way to FIRST. Hahaha

Day 2, 400m Free. Felt fully motivated to do well after my swim on the previous day. Swam in the same heat as Matthew. Did a 4:28.44, shaved off 7.51 secs. from my record set in November last year during IVP. Came in first for my heat again, totally unexpected. I never thought I’d break the 4:30 barrier either :).

Day 3, 100m Free. Swam with Zhong Hui and Joey in the same heat. Did a 59.30, means I shaved off 0.71 secs. from my previous record set in November 2009, during IVP. Came in 2nd for my heat. :)

Day 4, final day. 50m Free. Coach told me to go out there and have some fun and get a good timing for myself, since my ‘pet event days are over’. She was pretty pleased with the results I’ve been showing on the first 2 days. Swam in the same heat as Nigel Chan, Andy Wee and Jinson. Did a 27.36, shaved off 0.80 secs. from last year’s record. And came in 2nd for my heat, after Jinson. :) OH not forgetting, I BROKE THE MEET RECORD OF 29.91, SET BY SILAS HO LAST YEAR! :D

Overall, magnificent swimming. 100% Clean sweep of PBs to brighten up my school vacation. :) Everyone’s all fired up now… Gotta watch my back… Added many friends to my Facebook list too. Haha

For those who think they didn’t do well enough, never mind, try harder next time. :) Success tastes sweeter after each failure.

Okay then, that’s all for my update on the recent competition. Later.

Here’s a summary of my timings and how much I shaved off. And my overall position.

50m Free: 27.36 (-0.80), 48th

100m Free: 59.30 (-0.71), 45th

200m Free: 2:06.63 (-4.17), 20th

400m Free: 4:28.44 (-7.51), 12th

GONG XI FA CAI!

2010-02-16T21:01:00.001+08:00

Hello again! Glad to be back to update again. Yes, the Year of the Tiger has already begun. I sense this will be the year which calls for lots of change and new things to come.

My last day of school has already ended, just before CNY eve. Perfect timing, however the big exams are coming next week, obviously I hope to end this once and for all and embark on my well-deserved vacation! Meanwhile, I shall be cutting down on training because of the exams and will be back at full speed the week after, just in time to put the icing on the cake for next month’s SNAG.

Talk about my last day of school, I purposely skipped all my revision lectures to get through with my Engineering Design project and yes, IT’S OVER! The deadline has passed, and I’ve submitted all my paperwork. JUST in time before the CNY celebrations kicked in.

So on Saturday, had the usual steamboat for reunion dinner, the house was all lit once again. The sound of the Mahjong tiles rumbled around the house, once again.

So that was it, the clock struck midnight, everyone was cheering and free money again. :) Went to my Uncle’s, played Mahjong with the elders on the first day of the celebrations, and it all went quite well. Not the best of Bingo for me, didn’t win anything. But oh well, the fun was still there. :) There was plenty of food to wallop as well, Mee Rebus, Hokkien Mee, Marble Cake, Pineapple Tarts, Cheesecake and lots more. Received plenty of red packets too!

Most of Day 2 was spent at home, until the following evening, we had steamboat again and my dad’s friend’s place. We also had BBQ, Sukiyaki and Lo Hei, all in one night. :) Boy, that was marvellous.

Yeah, didn’t go anywhere today. Spent half of the afternoon studying at home, exams next week, don’t forget!

I’m sure there’ll still be celebrations to come for the next week or so. Oh well, there goes half of my CNY holiday, thanks to the exams.

Alright then, that’s all I have for tonight. Happy CNY once again. :)

Showing Signs of Recovery

2010-02-03T21:48:00.001+08:00

Hello again, since the last time I posted about a slow start to the year 2010, things have started to go back according to plan and have really spiced my life in 2010 up, so far.

EMATH2 Quiz 2! Got 14/20, don’t know about Quiz 3, but at least it’s much better than the 9/20 which I got for the previous quiz. SSMAT too, 20/20… Better than the 13/20 which I got for the previous quiz, same for my DFUND2 and EDEVCKT lab tests. Back in December before the term tests began I admit I was still a bit spacey about the subjects I have been made to study. But now, I understand more, what I have been reading from the books ever since the term break ended just after Xmas. Oh well, better late than never! :)

Talk about swimming, Coach Jin has told me not to swim 1500m for SNAG coming next month. Well I had to agree with her on that because I wouldn’t be training so hard for that event, especially when the BIG EXAMS are just around the corner. Yes, people may say it’s chicken feet, but I’ll tell you what, it’s easier said than done! ;)

There will always be a next time, like the IVP in maybe October or November this year.

Got a couple of my swim mates joining me in TP, Joe Phan and Bryan Chong :). Let me just wish them a very warm welcome to TP, in time to come you’ll find that Poly life is so much more colourful than being in JC. Oh well, works for me! :)

Now at least the TP Swim Team won’t be counting on me, and ME only to save their bottom in the IVP. ;) At least give Bryan a chance to shine for the team and become a well-respected first-team player. In time to come I’m pretty sure he will shine for the school, too.

Exams coming in about three weeks’ time, one week after the CNY celebrations begin. I plan to study hard enough next week, so that I can worry less while I’m ushering in the Year of the Tiger.

Oh well, that’s all I have for an update tonight. Good night, folks.

2010 so far…

2010-01-04T21:43:00.001+08:00

Hello again, hope you all had a great start to the new year. For me things hadn’t been going swimmingly ever since we went into 2010. For the first four days I’ve been drowning in more bad news than good news.

Got back my term test results last week, not as good as I expected. So I decided to come up with a new year resolution: cut down on my Facebook usage and start studying hard for my exams next month. And it’s going to take place almost immediately after CNY, how depressing indeed.

Secondly, I sprained my left toe after kicking-off with a track start on a lousy plunging board at the pool. So yeah, went to get a rub and some TCM yesterday. The doc wrapped nearly my whole foot with bandages and Chinese medicine, told me not to remove it ‘till tomorrow, so yea a 2-day layoff from training. I still went to attend a swim clinic yesterday morning, anyway. And boy, was it really helpful, tips that we have been waiting for a very long time were given. It was a short session, but I learned some things that I shall never forget. :)

Thirdly, my DFUND2 mini-project circuit is still in a mess, couldn’t find a way through to solving problems with my circuit functions, well neither could the lecturer and I’m less than 48 hours away from the deadline. I checked my circuit over and over again for almost the whole of today, and I see no improvement in the current situation I’m in. Bah, I decided that I should start from scratch and try to wire up the circuit more neatly this time. Sigh, double work! What a excruciating way to start a new year.

I watched Man Utd lose to a vicious Leeds Utd side last night. Such a heartbreaking display from an almost complete first team. I seriously don’t know what’s happening at Man Utd now. Oh well, hope they’ll come back again.

APSC is getting quieter and quieter nowadays, didn’t see a large crowd at the recent Xmas swim as compared to the previous years. Where’s the old and better APSC, that we’re lacking today? I see more and more people leaving the club and the number keeps snowballing. Nothing hurts me more than to see me and my swim mates being torn apart, because they’re leaving the club, one by one.

Oh well, that’s all I have to write for now. Hope that things will get better in a few days.

Oh! And I wanna wish all those who returned to school today, all the best and study hard! Meet some new friends and hope it all goes well. :)

Bye for now!

Post-2009 Reflection

2009-12-31T22:03:00.001+08:00

Well, this year has been a really quick year for me, and for all of us. Haha it hasn’t really been the perfect year for me, but what can I say, I enjoyed it anyway. :)

Let me just take some time off to reflect on my swimming form this year. I have really enjoyed the company when I was with Coach Tian while she was still in the club, with my gang and all that. In terms of training I never allowed her style of training to bring me down especially when I fell and sprained my ankle one month before the SNAG in March. That was the most glorious and memorable moment to remember, because I still did a five-star performance without a fit ankle to kick with, and hence received a 16GB iPod Touch as a reward (: Since I use it everyday, it’ll always bring me flashbacks of that glorious occasion.

Overall, I feel that this year I have dug deeper into my ‘true’ swimming events, consisting of longer distances. Although my true form hasn’t been unleashed yet, like last year, I certainly hope that it’ll come back next year. (:

Studying in Poly so far has really occupied more than half of my weekly schedule, of course not for the vacation! Haha, I took the opportunity during my first Poly vacation to train hard enough for the IVP in October. And the hard work really paid off, although I didn’t expect to swim seven events in two days. but I still came home with two medals and a hat-trick of PBs. (: Not bad, not bad. I hope to do it again next year haha.

Life at home’s not the same anymore, not without my dog, which passed away in May. He stood by me for 13 long years and watched me grow up from a young boy to a young man, from a child in the wading pool, to a competitive swimmer in the first team. And from a kindergarten kid, to a Poly student. Sigh, those were the days indeed. Without him it’s much quieter now, but there’s no stopping our valued guests from entering the house, excluding cockroaches. Haha…

Ever since my aunt passed away on Friday the 13th of February, I had plenty of visions of her, alive and kicking etc. She even appeared in my dreams before the IVP swimming competition and after my 1500m race deficit, and “promised” me that everything would be alright after that. And really that was a “promise” kept. :D

Also, this year I have seen a many landmark celebrities pass away. Like Michael Jackson, oh well… the poor guy really. I really was a crazy fan of his when I was a kid. I really think the last concert killed him.

Anyway… I really enjoy meeting up with a lot of new friends this year, hope to meet some more next year. :) Thanks for giving me a chance to be your friend, you guys rock. :) Proud of you.

Oh well, so I end my post here. Here’s to a HAPPIER YEAR AHEAD! :D

FW: Indian goes to a grocery store

2009-12-22T22:07:00.001+08:00

Just sharing an E-mail sent to me earlier this week. Enjoy! (:

“An Indian goes to Australia and goes to Woolworths (A grocery store in Australia). He finds cat food at special prices. He picks a dozen cans of cat food and goes to check out.

The Manager gets suspicious. He thinks that this guy cannot have a cat and will probably feed cat food to his kids. He asks the Indian to show him his cat before he could let him have cat food. The Indian goes home and returns with a cat and gets to buy the cat food.

Next week the Indian finds dog food at special prices. He picks a dozen cans of dog food and goes to check out.

The Manager again gets suspicious. He thinks that this guy has a cat but he cannot have a dog and he will probably feed dog-food to his kids. He asks the Indian to bring and show him the dog before he can let him have dog food.

The Sardar goes home and returns with a dog. He gets to buy the dog food.

Next week the Indian comes to Woolworths with a bag. He asks the manager to put his hand in the bag.

The Manager puts his hand in the bag, feels some thing slimy and immediately takes it out. He shouts at the Indian, What the F*** is this? Is this shit you Idiot?

The Indian calmly replies, “Yes, and I want to buy toilet paper.”

Looking like thunder

2009-10-03T17:52:00.001+08:00

Today, I woke up to a call from my sis that she had damaged our car during an accident this afternoon. I was still have my usual afternoon nap from training when Mom woke me up and told me to come along with her to the scene and snap photos.

Today unfortunately was also the day my dad had to drive to his friend’s house with a huge cache of ingredients and utensils. So Mom, my sis and I went to fetch my dad from work at Old Airport Road. Along the way, Mom vented her frustrations about doing her heavy-duty activities everyday - and really everyday, non-stop.

From sending and fetching me to and from training/school, then sending and fetching Dad to and from work, cutting the beef, making chili sauce, refreshing the vegetables, plucking bean sprout, peeling lime, collecting beef, to helping my Dad at work almost ever morning and every night.

So she finally snapped and took it out against me and my sis in the car. I was like, “Did she even ask me to help out in the first place? No.” Really, I offered my help to my parents, seeing them working their asses off and nearly breaking their backs. But they insisted that I’d sit back and relax. What is this? And now my Mom, after a year since my dad started his own business at the stall, lashed out at us just after the accident.

All the time she had to keep quiet. And for what? So that she could save her anger to vent it out at times like this, like a dam waiting for a ‘right time’ to finally burst open and let water rush through the cracks like blood rushing through our veins in anger.

Mom told me she didn’t want me to suffer ‘cos I had to study. But since I’m on vacation now, I’m free! I can help! When I asked, “can I help in any way here”. “No” was the answer. Hey, come on! A little bit help speeds things up a bit, doesn’t it? At least that kind of exhaustion can be short-lived, at that pace!

Every time somebody walked past me and asked, “how come you’re not helping your parents,” do you have ANY idea how guilty I felt? Oh well, at least they called me to help out a bit with carrying heavy loads of ingredients and stuff.

With business getting better these days, I could see only my mom doing such heavy-duty activities. I know she’s been working her ass off as well, it pains me to see her suffer like that, honest.

Now, with the car damaged in front, our plans will change again. So what’s left of our transport? Do you have ANY idea how badly we needed the car? I can guarantee it’s a lot easier travelling by car than public transport to so many places everyday!

We need it to:

- Transport ingredients (as heavy as 20-25 kilos everyday) from markets which can’t be seen from our doorstep

- Transport ingredients and utensils to my dad’s catering functions

- Drive to and from training/work, also not that near to our doorstep (ONCE OR TWICE DAILY)

- Drive to school with at least 3kgs. of books and stationery on my back

Dad’s always been complaining about local taxi drivers here, they think they’re ‘kings of the road’. Stop and go anywhere and anytime they like. They don’t care whether they’re in the middle of the road or not. But now…

How unfortunate of my sis to bump into a lousy cab driver today, I must say. Her own day out sent me and my parents into a daze. ‘Cos we use the car EVERYDAY, and we don’t care how much petrol we consume, so long as we don’t break our backs.

It’s so torturing to be in a situation like this. We had this in 2007, and we’re in it again. There’s repairing, claims and last-minute change of plans to be done! I don’t blame my sis though, after all, nobody wanted this to happen. However I still think she has to react faster when it comes to, you know. But FORTUNATELY, we can still drive the car with a bad front bumper, but without air-con. The driver’s door also could not be opened.

Not a happy mid-autumn festival for us this year. Not happy at all. Dad’s in a daze, Mom’s furious, Sis is guilty, I’m…(see title).

But what can I say. Better safe than sorry. That’s it.

17th Birthday ‘Speech’ (:

2009-08-21T22:57:00.001+08:00

Hello, hello! The most special annual event on my calendar has finally come! Today, not only do I celebrate 17 years of age, but also 3 years in the APSC Red & White team! :D For now, let me just reflect on the experiences I had on my 16th year.

When I celebrated my birthday last year, I was in the middle of my stress period, meaning the preparations for my O Level exams. I was in the middle of my prelims by the way, but I still made good time to celebrate.

Before the O Levels, my stress level had yet to reach boiling point, the highest I’ve experienced so far. But it was back to normal right after my last paper. In December 2008, I had the most wonderful time I could ever have with my swim mates while we were training in Kunming. Before that I had lost so much weight and momentum, and I wanted to win it back immediately after I’m through with my O Levels.

I remember when I turned 16, I was still stuck in RW2. Many of my swim mates asked why I was not training in the RW1 team. I only used the three words to reply them, “I’LL BE BACK!”. And now, here I am. BACK IN ACTION!

Many things have been accomplished during my previous year. I still managed to graduate with appeasing O Level results, brilliant enough to book a place in Temasek Poly in the Aerospace Engineering course. By then it was a fresh start in my new level of education.

Thank goodness for DPA, I would have had to work extra harder in my studies, but anyway, it’s settled. For my swimming, I celebrated my own victory by meeting the qualifying criteria to get back into the RW1 team, during the SNAG in March this year.

I managed to keep my ‘promise’ to my parents and the parents in APSC. I also wanted to get back to RW1, and I did it, just like living a dream. :D

But still, I wish my crew was joining me in my new team. All the hard work had paid off, including my efforts in Kunming. I managed to get my strength back.

Anyway, here’s to another fruitful year for me being 17. And another fruitful year to my swimming career with the RW team! (:

Cheers everybody! :D

Tagged by Samuel Tee

2009-08-05T21:57:00.001+08:00

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7.45am

2. How do you like your steak?
Medium well.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Ice Age 3

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
New York, USA

6. What did you have for breakfast?
3 chocolate muffins

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Red Bean Pau

8. What foods do you dislike?
Squid

9. Favorite Place to Eat?
McDonald’s

10. Favorite dressing?
T-shirt and shorts!

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
Porsche 911 GT2, Lamborghini Gallardo

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
England

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
1/2 full.

15. Where would you want to retire?
Bintan

16. Favorite time of day?
Night time!

17. Where were you born?
In the operating theatre

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Soccer

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
No idea.

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
No idea.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
No one

22. Bird watcher?
Nope!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Night.

24. Do you have any pets?
A dog who WATCHED me grow for thirteen years

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
I almost got full marks for my 2nd DFUND1 lab test.

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
Michael Jackson

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Swimming

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Dog

29. Are you married?
No

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Not really

31. Been in a car accident?
Yes, July 2007, 3 cars involved

32. Any pet peeves?
What?

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
Cheese!

34. Favorite Flower?
Orchid

35. Favorite ice cream?
Haagen-Dazs

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
McDonald’s, KFC and Carl’s Jr.

38. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
What driving test?

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
What credit card?

40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Nope

42. What was your favorite vacation?
Melbourne + Sydney

43. What are you listening to right now?
Nothing

44. What is your favorite color?
Red, Blue and White

45. How many tattoos do you have?
None

46. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
12

47. What time did you finish this quiz?
21:56

48. Did you realise that you have already answered 50 questions although the number says 48?
Of course!

My clone is a spaceship (?)

2009-08-05T20:37:00.001+08:00

[ ] - You like cheese. (Neutral)
[ ] - You hate peanuts.
[x] - You agree that this quiz is random.
[ ] - You have farted today.
[x] - You have choked on something.
[ ] - You are a writer.
[ ] - You smoke.
[x] - You like to swim.
[ ] - You have farted more than once today.
[x] - You like ice cream.

TOTAL SO FAR = 4

[x] - You have lied more than 10 times.
[ ] - You are an only child.
[ ] - You have more than 3 pets.
[ ] - You prefer water to other drinks.
[ ] - You are an alcoholic.
[x] - You are under 20 years old.
[ ] - You are over 30 years old.
[ ] - You have a boyfriend/girlfriend.
[ ] - You like jewelry.
[x] - Your favorite music genre is rock.

TOTAL SO FAR = 7

[ ] - You weigh more than 140 lbs.
[ ] - You like pirates.
[ ] - You like anime.
[ ] - You are a fangirl/fanboy of something.
[ ] - You take a prescription drug every day.
[ ] - You have a job.
[x] - You live with your parents.
[x] - You like to eat eggs.
[x] - You have a religion/ you believe in a God.
[ ] - You dress stranger than other people.

TOTAL SO FAR = 10

[ ] - You have had diarrhea in the past 2 weeks.
[ ] - You have eaten something odd before.
[ ] - You are bad at math.
[x] - You love electronics.
[x] - Someone/something has pissed you off in the past week.
[ ] - You cuss a lot.
[ ] - You believe in aliens.
[x] - You play video games.
[ ] - You have low self-esteem.
[ ] - You carry a purse when you go out.

TOTAL SO FAR = 13

[ ] - You like flowers.
[ ] - You are bisexual or homosexual.
[ ] - You are a Capricorn or a Scorpio.
[ ] - You have used tarot before.
[ ] - You believe in ghosts.
[ ] - You believe in horoscopes.
[ ] - You thought some jokes you read today was really funny.
[x] - You have gotten some riddles right.
[ ] - You have gotten in/came close to being in a fist fight.

TOTAL SO FAR = 15

[x] - You like fire.
[ ] - You have fainted or passed out before.
[ ] - You have a high school diploma.
[ ] - You live in America.
[ ] - You use hand sanitizer a lot.
[ ] - You consider yourself a nerd.
[ ] - You have tried chewing tobacco.
[ ] - You are a conspiracy theorist.
[ ] - You sleep in the nude.

TOTAL SO FAR = 16

[x] - You have imagined yourself being famous.
[ ] - You own a stuffed animal.
[x] - You like watermelon.
[ ] - You live in Europe.
[ ] - You have a fetish for something.
[ ] - You fidget a lot.
[x] - You agree that this quiz has nothing to do with anything.
[ ] - You won't re-post this quiz.
[x] - You have your own personal computer and don't share one.
[ ] - You have a brother.

TOTAL SO FAR = 20

[ ] - You can cook well.
[x] - You like to party.
[ ] - You are a bad dancer.
[ ] - You are a professional dancer.
[ ] - You have crossed paths with a black cat.
[ ] - You have a friend that you think is crazy.
[ ]- You have under 10 good, close friends.
[x] - You are anticipating your answer to this quiz.
[ ] - You have ran away from something.
[ ] - You have watched the movie: "X Men 3".

TOTAL SO FAR = 22

[ ] - You like to mix soft drinks together.
[ ] - You have done an odd experiment.
[ ] - People have stared at you oddly in public.
[x] - Your grandmother(s) are still alive.
[ ] - You have a step-mom or dad.
[ ] - You hate to be tagged.
[ ] - You have been a member to soompi for under 3 months.
[ ] - You have a soompi addiction. You come here at least twice a day.
[ ] - Your hair is brown.
[ ] - You love to eat candy.

TOTAL SO FAR = 23

[ ] - You have dressed up for Halloween.
[ ] - You love cats.
[ ] - You have a quirky personality.
[ ] - You are a coffee addict.
[ ] - You live near a body of water.
[ ] - You have had a toothache.
[ ] - You currently have to go to the bathroom.
[ ] - You like reading others' comments on this quiz
[ ] - You are a vegetarian/vegan.
[x] - You use the term: "Epic Fail".

GRAND TOTAL = 24

Results:
0-25 = A spaceship.
26 = Corn.
27 = The Chosen One.
28 = A donkey.
29 = Flashlight.
30 = Weed.
31 = Stalker.
32 = Poodle.
33 = A turd.
34 = Pacifier.
35 = Chili.
36 = A continent.
37 = Bamboo.
38 = A Nissan Skyline.
39 = Pedophile.
40 = A rather large and smelly fish.
41 = Parachute.
42 = Mob of angry sheep.
43 = A clone of yourself.
44 = A mortified chocolate deer antler.
45 = Pincushion.
46 = Toilet seat.
47 = Ninja.
48 = Psycho passion fruit.
49 = Yellow snow.
50 = Flammable.
51 = A poison Easter basket.
52 = A dirty diaper.
53 = Mammary gland.
54 = A moose humping a guardrail.
55 = An illegal immigrant.
56 = Tofu.
57 = Microscopic testicle fuzz.
58 = Staple gun.
59 = Tail feather.
60 = A white rapper.
61 = A shotgun shell.
62 = Sexy as hell.
63 = A popcorn fart.
64 = A rusty, herpes infected needle.
65 = Fortune cookie.
66 = Barack Obama.
67 = Chinchilla.
68 = Weapon of mass destruction.
69 = An epic failure at everything.
70 = Sweat.
71 = Naughty nymphomaniac.
72 = Bicycle tire.
73 = A semi-proportionate and anonymous fish scale.
74 = The Bubonic Plague.
75 = Turkey.
76 = Amoeba.
77 = A lice-infected hobo.
78 = The ruler of all evil.
79 = Horny toad.
80 = Fairy Godmother.
81 = Tuba.
82 = Anorexic llama capillary.
83 = Moldy snot.
84 = Miley Cyrus wannabe.
85 = Doppelganger.
86 = Future porn star.
87 = Unnatural disaster.
88 = Statistical database.
89 = Genital lice.
90 = Rocket launcher.
91 = Ruby vomit.
92 = Maggot.
93 = Selfish antagonistic poofing cat.
94 = Pudding.
95 = A gravy train.
96 = Santa Claus.
97 = Paris Hilton's big toe.
98 = Decaying insect corpse.
99 = Blood bank.
100 = Freak of nature and humanity

Forecast for my Birthday Month

2009-08-02T21:51:00.001+08:00

Hello! Sorry for not updating my blog for a very long while. Oh well, there’s been nothing much for me to write about anyway. But for now, I’ll just update this with what’s going to happen to me this month.

Birthday month!

So welcome to the month of August, my birthday month! I’m only just 2 weeks away from starting a Chapter 17 in my life story. The aura of celebration just dawned upon me yesterday. It is a new month, a month after a few ups and downs in the previous month. I have always been on shall we say, stand-by mode since there were no major events taking place last month.

Swimming

Since the Singapore Open back in June, I’ve been pretty uncertain of what other swimming competition to look forward to besides maybe Inter-varsity which is more than 2 months away from now. I haven’t been really training that hard for the month or so, since I have been staying back in school trying to finish my assignments, projects, and attending remedial lessons.

Because I cannot make it for Monday training with the club these days, I have to show my face to the swim team (mandatory). Down there in the very warm pool, I swim my own devised program which is two times the mileage of the normal swim program in school. But I still manage to train for an average of like 6-7 sessions anyway, for last month. Maybe I should just concentrate on my studies for now.

So many people including the swim team coach in my school have been bugging me to take up Life-Saving or Triathlon as another CCA to boost my chances of getting a CCA Gold Award. I was like “Holy cow, it’s like an award to die for…”, if you know what I mean. But one thing’s for sure, I’d rather go for club training.

School + Exams

Last month, I was pretty impressed with my DFUND1 lab test results, got an 18/20 for it. I guess this finally compensates for my theory upsets. Likewise for my EFFCOM Writing test, 14/15. (: And finally, my EMATH Quiz 2, 17/20.

But right now, it’s going to be hell of a busy, but a less dull month than the previous. Study week is in two weeks, which means no school and a more or less ‘isolation’ week before the exams in the following week. Ironically my birthday week also falls on the study week. That means no school on that week! How impressive!

Dad’s beef-noodle business

Also on this month, I predict that my dad’s beef noodle business will improve sharply. I never thought the impact of the media was massive. My dad' started to sell an average of 100 bowls from about 50-60 in the previous month. So really, I must praise the media for helping to extend the queue, hence making my dad gain more profit and credit. That “Buzzing Cashier 2” episode on Channel 8 which featured my dad’s stall on the 20th last month really made a great deal with the viewers on air.

So yeah, that’s about it for now. Until the next time, goodbye and good luck.

myPaper article about J&J Special Beef Noodles

2009-07-16T23:01:00.001+08:00

Just a myPaper article about my dad’s signature dry braised beef noodles, published on 14th July 2009. (:

Besides that, we also have a new dish to add to the current menu.

Beef Rib Soup! Just added on Tuesday, on the same day the article above was printed. Do come down if you’re free to try it out! Hope you like it!

The Fourth of July

2009-07-04T22:21:00.001+08:00

Hello! Whoa, it’s been a while since I last blogged, huh?

The reason for that is mainly because nothing major’s up recently, and uhm, I just couldn’t find a topic to write about. Haha oh well. Let me start by talking about life after the S’pore Open last month.

So the usual training has already resumed, people have already retreated from their holidays, well some have not especially those taking part in the inaugural Asian Youth Games 2009 (AYG). Quite a bonus for them to have this privilege actually. Haha…

Anyway, I went to watch Ice Age 3 today at Vivocity, along with Andy, Derek, Jinson, and Zhi Jie. Sophie came along too, but she left after having breakfast with us. Joke… So I had a really hearty meal at Vivocity, I probably was the largest eater of the crew. At Carl’s Jr. I had a Famous Star COMBO Up-size meal, then 4 cups of free-flow Coke Light, and finally one large popcorn to take into the cinema.

My other crew members thought I was mad, but in the end the food didn’t go to waste. Lol

Since morning training up to the time we had breakfast at Vivo we were busy talking cock, on the way to the MRT station, inside the train, and on the way to breakfast at Vivo. We still continued to talk a lot about random stuff even though our mouths were that full.

Immediately after Carl’s Jr. we settled down in the cinema and watched Ice Age 3. The movie overall was quite humorous, and I would say it’s worth the time and money. When Jinson asked me out to watch the movie with him I immediately agreed without any thoughts. (:

After watching the movie we headed to a few DVD shops, walked around and looked at some of the IT gadgets that are pretty popular here. Then we split up and headed home afterwards.

It’s a shame a few others missed the opportunity to catch the new movie. Like Aloy, Alan, Sheryl, and a few other people in our swimming crew.

Anyway enough of that. Time to start writing about random stuff.

So the H1N1 bug continues to spread around Singapore, we've already reached more than 1000 cases of the bug. There are some good news though, and that is, we’re still surviving this ordeal. No fuss just yet, but everybody’s basically guarding their asses now that school’s already begun.

I received an Email from a director of my school which read that we’ve 4 cases of the bug in our campus. O.o but there are also good news, and that is they did not get the bug from inside TP. However, school’s not going to conduct home-based e-learning. Aargh! When I first heard from one of my friends that we had the first 2 cases of the bug in our school, I felt like slapping the guy for giving false information but in the end, the truth was finally revealed. One Email from the director wasn’t early enough from making me not want to whack his ass for spreading fake news, but anyway I didn’t.

Oh speaking of AYG, I was quite surprised when news came of the absence of the crowd during certain events, and they’re still selling tickets. HAHA I read the news one day and it said that only 7% of the tickets were sold. But seriously, I’d rather stay at home and watch from the TV. I can get the close-up view of the events that are happening, who’s there and so forth. ALL FREE OF CHARGE! And it’s not worth the damn to be somewhere else in this kind of weather and getting a sore throat. Wouldn’t you agree?

Ah well, the show on TV here at home is thrilling enough for tonight. (: Was looking at the crowd at the Singapore Sports School swimming pool, what a fantastic and vibrant audience!

Alright, that’s it for my update for now. Till the next time I blog, provided I have something for you guys, good night, and all the best to those competing in the AYG.

Post-SNSC 2009 Review

2009-06-14T21:15:00.001+08:00

Well, the past few days have been pretty tiring. Anyway, I still got 3 out of 4 PBs from this competition, including the 4x200m FR relay.

Firstly, the 4x200m FR relay with Alan, Aloy and Sean Yap. Since this was a last-minute decision by the club to filed me in this event, I wasn’t really prepared to go all out in the race, but I still managed to shave off 0.07 secs. off my previous PB on Wednesday night. Overall, we finished 5th but I guess that’s better than finishing last. (:

Secondly, the 800m Freestyle final on Thursday night. Before the race I was already so damn upbeat of achieving a PB since I haven’t swum an event of this magnitude in almost TWO YEARS. I never thought I’d be swimming in the finals with all the pros, but anyway I enjoyed it. All the while throughout the race I was expecting to come in 2nd last, until I saw one of the swimmers dying and I killed him in the last lap. Unfortunately, according to my parents who watched me swim, I missed 4th place by around 0.3 secs.

It was rather unbelievable at that part, because I thought that coming in 5th or 6th would have been good enough. But anyway, finishing 5th is BETTER THAN FINISHING 6TH! (: So that was it for the last event of the day.

Thirdly, I wasn’t really prepared to race shortly after the 800m FR final at night, in the 400m FR prelims again FIRST THING in the following Friday morning. Already I thought I wouldn’t do so well, and won’t achieve PB. So I ‘flunked’ my race by swimming 0.1 secs. off my PB. I could’ve been last in my heat, but I equalized with the 2nd last person and beat him by 0.05 secs. O.o But then again I thought, “Bahhh, that’s all the strength I had anyway.” I saw that one coming though.

So after my 400m FR race, I found out that I was in the reserve group of finalists for that Friday night. I didn’t go through anyway, but it was close.

Yesterday, I headed back to Farrer Park to do a 1500m warm-down before my 4th and final race this morning. Finally I managed to do a more decent race than the relay on Wednesday, because speaking of stamina, I was already more prepared and fired up for the next race.

So this morning I was in the 2nd heat of the event, I swam a 2:10.80, 1.73 secs. better than the relay on Wednesday. And according to my mum I would’ve been near last place in my heats again until I caught up and finished 3rd. I was like “o.O How did I manage to do that?”

Ah well, I went back to the Sports School again this evening to watch the last part of the competition. Kudos to APSC for claiming a clean medal sweep for the 200m FR finals, and for attaining silver for the 4x100m IM relay.

If you want you might want to see below for my timings during the race and how much I shaved off during this period of tough times.

200m FR – 2:10.80 (-1.8 secs.)

400m FR – 4:37.05 (+0.1 secs.)

800m FR – 9:27.68 (-7.06 secs.)

Overall I must say I’m pretty satisfied with my performance during this competition. I could have got 4/4 PBs instead of 3/4, if not for the lack of rest after the 800m FR race on Thursday night.

It should get better after this, since now I have more time to train for anymore upcoming competitions. Unlike the time before this when I just switched to training in RW1 back in April this year. I’LL BE BACK!

The 800m FR was really a whopper. I didn’t know that I improved this much, and this would therefore, spur me on to continue improving further in leaps (as usual)

Right, that’s all I have to say about my races during the Singapore Open this year. Congratulations to all those who attained PBs, or have re-written the record books, and won medals. :D

5th SNSC 2009: The Final Countdown!

2009-06-09T20:48:00.002+08:00

Hello! Guess what, I have a relay event to add on to my events list which I’ll be swimming in this year’s S’pore Open. That is, 4x200m FR relay.

Oh well, the story goes like this. This morning Linda from APSC met up with me online on MSN and asked if I was keen in swimming the relay for Matthew who opted out. And I was like, “I don’t mind, but we gotta discuss this with my coach first.”

So it goes on until I came for training this afternoon and Coach gave me the green light to swim tomorrow. At first I was calculating how much of rest I need after the relay, and it seems enough for my 800m Freestyle event the following evening. Oh btw, I’m in the finals for that event! (: At first I was like “Huh, I don’t have to swim twice on the same day? WOOT!”

Haha, anyway this will be my first time racing 200m FR in one year. Back then my PB was 2:12.60, and I guess it should definitely be faster by now. (: Can’t wait to find out my own strength tomorrow!

So yeah, that’s how it went. I seriously can’t wait to swim in this competition. I wanna know where I stand now.

Ah well, that’s all from me tonight! All the best to those swimming in the Sing. Open! :D

New dish for J&J Special Beef Noodles?

2009-05-29T22:29:00.001+08:00

Well today has been quite a long day for me and my sis. We rode in a taxi to Macpherson CC to watch the shooting of my dad’s “cooking class” together with local celebrities, Kym Ng and Quan Yi Feng. Along with my cousin and a couple of my other relatives we had to give our comments about this new dish that the chef was teaching my dad. ‘Tang-hoon’ with Sirloin Beef. In addition to that, a new and modified version of my dad’s beef soup.

Anyway, I heard this chef came from Grand Hyatt Singapore. You really don’t want to mess with this guy. Hahaha. So the five of us who came to taste the food, along with my mom and the chef had to sit in front of the camera while Kym and Yi Feng watched. I couldn’t believe at that moment that I was in front of the media tasting and giving comments about my dad’s ‘new dish’.

If anyone would ask for my opinion of the noodles, I would say the texture of the noodles was very spongy, and smooth. Smell: fragrant. The beef and the noodles really match. However I would stick to the original version of the soup. It’s too herby for me kind of like Miso soup, and the original version of the soup has enough flavor to satisfy my taste buds.

Right after giving the comments, we were asked to show either the ‘green light’ or the ‘red light’ to tell the media whether we liked the dish or not. I showed my dad the green, so did my mom. But my sis wasn’t too satisfied with the soup, therefore showing the red sign.

Oh well, the chef too showed the green sign and explained why he liked my dad’s noodles. I still have yet to know when my dad’s going to be given the green light to start selling. Currently we estimate the price of the dish to be sold at $4 per plate. Any opinions, guys? :D

Yep, so that’s it for my first media interview for today. Until next time then. Good night!

Publicity of our Beef Noodles! :D

2009-05-26T22:09:00.001+08:00

So a few days ago, the media from Channel 8 came to my dad’s stall to do some shooting for their local ‘makan’ TV show. :D This was the first time our stall will be on air when the footage will be shown, scheduled to take place coming July.

In case you guys might be wondering, according to my dad he was struggling to speak in Mandarin during his interview with a couple of celebrities including Kym Ng and Quan Yi Feng (since this show is a Mandarin show). And he had to repeat his lines over and over again until he got them right. But after so many attempts, he was finally asked to say his piece in English ONLY ONCE. Hahaha… I didn’t know the media was so strict about shooting these interviews.

Anyway, my dad is hoping that the publicity would help to attract more patrons to our stall and hopefully business will soar to gaining more sky-high profits.

Already the food that we sell is being reviewed. :D See http://www.insing.com/food-drink/biz-info/23/ab/01/00/JJ-Special-Beef-Noodles for more!

Don’t forget to check out the reviews from the anonymous patrons, including “xin.sg”! On average, our food is rated 4.5 stars out of FIVE! :D

Right now though – right now, there’s been a spike in our business. And to prove it, we’ve sold about 100 bowls on Sunday (NEW RECORD!) and 60 bowls today (provided it’s the starting day for us).

Oh well, that’s all for my dad’s recent publicity about the food he sells. Until next time then.

This week, next week, the coming month…

2009-05-18T19:45:00.001+08:00

Hello again. My apologies for not updating my blog recently, people still think that I still have sore eyes but anyway.

It’s been two weeks since I got sore eyes, but no more. This week’s so full of quizzes, and I’ve got the Singapore Open swimming championship coming next month. My coach advised me not to swim 1500m Freestyle, but anyway… she has her reasons, like not enough training, and I agree wholeheartedly with her, my previous schedule isn't the same anymore.

So I’ll be swimming in only three events for this year, (same for the previous year), but this time there’s no 100m Freestyle for me. It’s like a totally gone case for my body which is totally built for medium-long distances. There’s no swimming 1500m Free for me either, despite the fact that it’s really my forte. Below are the events and the seed times which I have used, to signed up for the coming competition. (:

200m Free – 2:12.60 (as of June 2008)

400m Free – 4:36.95 (as of March 2009)

800m Free – 9:34.74 (taken from the first 800m of my 1500m swim in March 2009)

Wow, I can’t believe I have not swum 200m Freestyle in ONE YEAR! All this time, I’ve been waiting for the chance to break my PB but that has since been called off due to several reasons. There was a golden chance for me to pounce on, during the SNAG recently, but that only clashed with my 1500m, and I wasn’t prepared to swim two events in one day especially my 1500m.

Back then I could train hard enough for it because of my school holidays and the training camp in Kunming last December. But now… things have changed.

Oh well, this reunion with my other coach who seems to know my techniques better than the previous one, has helped me significantly in my stamina and maintaining my pace especially with new challenges from the big boys.

It’s already week five in school. Tests are already pouring onto my brain. But anyway, so far so good. I still have plenty of time to manage my revision. Let’s see what I’ve got for this week.

Tomorrow: EFFCOM Listening Test!

Wednesday: DFUND Quiz!

Friday: CKT Quiz!

Next Monday: ENGDRAW Manual Drawing Test!

The following week, TERM TESTS!

What a headache… oh well, life isn't that easy.

Oh well, that’s all I have for tonight. Until next time then.

Medical Leave BLUES

2009-05-06T21:46:00.001+08:00

Hello again! How’s life? Just want to share with you a bit of my frustration after being on medical leave from school and training for two days, following a consultation with the doctor for sore eyes.

As we all know, the Swine Flu is spreading fast around the world. Right now, my school is taking preliminary measures to prevent any spread of diseases from starting from my school. Thermal scanning is taking place here and there, in the school library, at the Engineering School’s entrance etc.

For me, it just happened that I realized I had sore eyes from Monday right up to now. Praise the Lord that I had no fever or any other flu symptoms. But thanks to a few eye drops and tablets, I can see things clearly now. However, I’m at yet another disadvantage because I missed quite a lot of lessons from yesterday and today. Not a joke, seriously. I also missed the EFFCOM Speaking test yesterday, have to make up for it after school tomorrow at 1.15pm. For my other subjects I have to rush through my lessons to where my friends stopped for today.

Quite a nuisance really. I had to call so many people and inform them that I’m ill etc. You know the school’s attendance policy. If someone’s on MC, got to do this and that in a rush. Must submit the MC within 2 days of the last day of someone’s medical leave, to the office and wait for approval. It’s all so confusing. Now I know that taking leave even because of sore eyes is really a serious matter.

Well, at least I didn’t miss the CDS Academic briefing today at 12pm. I found out that even when you miss a make-up test because you fell ill again, it’s counted as a forfeit. What an unlucky moment. Lol…

Many of my friends in school asked me whether I really got Swine Flu, and I was like “Touch wood! I don’t want to be the first in Singapore to catch the virus.” That was pretty lame, I have to admit.

Oh well, I’ll be back in school and training tomorrow. Yep, that’s all I have for tonight. Good night everyone!

About my swimming… Please read.

2009-04-28T22:12:00.002+08:00

Alright, coming to my 2nd post for tonight. I wish to clarify any uncertainties about my swimming once and for all, which have been raised by most of my classmates or school mates.

Let me begin by typing in some of the most frequently asked questions about my activities and I hope this would give you a clearer picture of my daily routine. Should this post disappear and more questions are being asked about my swimming, do find this post in the archives yourself. I get tired of repeating myself over and over again, and this happens almost everyday.

Q1. “Are you a national swimmer?”

Ans. Not yet, but anyway I’m still trying to get in and I think it will be surely a success in time to come. I just need a little more time, and support. And this will definitely add more spice to my swimming activity. I’m still striving to qualify for the SEA Games even at this stage, or even the coming 2010 Youth Olympics.

Q2. “Where do you usually train?”

Ans. I train in Farrer Park, although it’s quite far and inconvenient for me to get to and from my house in Tampines which is on the edge of town. But what choice do I have, my club just happened to be situated there, that’s it. I got a few other swim mates who live as far as I do, from the training ground.

Q3. “How would you normally separate your time from your studies and swimming?”

Ans. I strongly feel that time management is very important. On some days I even go for a morning swim before heading to school. I also need to set my priorities straight, so as to live an easier life and get the more important things done first (i.e. homework and preparations for a competition). But above all, education comes first.

Q4. “Are you a sprinter or long-distance swimmer?”

Ans. I’m more cut-out for long distance Freestyle and perhaps sprinting Butterfly, my ‘B’ stroke. That’s because I got long arms, low lactic acid level and enough stamina to even swim 3km non-stop.

Q5. “Why can you not stop training, even for a while?”

Ans. Like I said, I’m a long-distance swimmer. I cannot let this ‘feeling’ of the water get away from my body, and let my stamina go down. And since swimming long distances is my forte, it’s hard to get away from training just like that. But since I cannot be training all 11 sessions a week, I can only accept the fact that I’m still training hard enough.

Plus, my previous coach didn’t even let me take a day off from training, except for Sundays which are off-days for the entire team.

Q6. “What do the letters ‘APSC’ on your T-shirts stand for?”

Ans. Aquatic Performance Swim Club.

Oh well, that’s all I can think of. See the next few paragraphs below which will give you readers a full story about my most hardcore activity.

On average I have to swim an average of 5.9km, which is 118 laps up and down the 50m pool. If you find that you ant me to tell you more, let me just share with you guys my experiences and why I LOVE SWIMMING SO MUCH.

I remember I started competitive swimming when I was in P6 in back in October 2004. And from that moment on, I have started training up for competitions like the National Age Group championships in March, Singapore Open in June and other competitions every year.

It is not easy attaining outstanding performance when I swim in the competition. It requires a lot of strenuous training and playing games like basketball regularly to help you to train your legs and your arms. In case you guys must be wondering, I have to go for my swimming CCA after school and train for roughly two hours starting at 4.30pm each day. For me, the coach has to arrange a program for us to swim and train up for any upcoming championships. On every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, I have to swim at least 5km or even 6km in the 50m Olympic-sized pool in my club. On Wednesdays and Fridays, I have to swim roughly 4km after we have played basketball with the coach just to have fun and be flexible in the body. And after training I simply get down to homework.

However most importantly, one must have the love and passion for swimming in order to perform well in any competition. Swimming teaches me how to be disciplined and have the right sportsmanship. Correct me if I’m wrong. Without discipline, generally you won’t improve as time passes you by. The least you can do to attain the best results in a swimming competition is not to be lazy when you train. It only means that you’re simply not hoping for the best to come. And, most of the time as you train, you need some parental support to advise you on how to correct your swimming techniques or even supply you with the right food in order to progress in training without risking exhaustion and dehydration in this hot weather.

Now I’m aware of the right attitude when it comes to failing to impress your coaches during a championship, either when you didn’t improve your performance or when you have been disqualified for any event. As the saying goes, every person fails, champions simply get up and begin again. My first step to become a good swimmer is to expose myself to foreigners in various championships. I now come to a point when I express myself a being proud of being a swimmer. If I don’t swim, I get bored at home, and I don’t want that to happen. In order to enjoy life I need to get myself down to different tasks that include sports. I find that swimming is a good CCA as I get down to it all the time to keep myself busy after school, it also helps to relieve the stress in my mind from school work. Yes!

Welcome to the 2nd week of Poly life!

2009-04-28T21:15:00.001+08:00

Hello! It’s been a while since I last updated my blog. Like I mentioned before, my habit of blogging is going to die soon. Haha. Anyway, school so far has been a breeze for me. I honestly have no regrets choosing poly so far. Life in poly has been really really lively and vibrant. Right now, the first year students in the Engineering School are going through some basics of electronics, proper presentations and stuff.

Anyway, speaking about the School Nats finals taking place this week. I bet the atmosphere down there in the Sports School is full of vibrancy and has really raised the roof, above the cold waters of victory and disappointment. Congratulations to those of you who made it to the finals for your events. For those who have not, you know what to do, right?

With all the information that I have been collecting from my swim mates and some of the parents, I find that this year’s School Nats competition is really full of angst and broken records. So many new records have been broken, many fast-as-lightning swimmers have been disqualified etc. Oh well, so long as they did their best, there should be a reason to be proud of themselves, right?

How I wish I was competing together with them though. Oh well, this is life and circumstances occur. Never mind…

Yesterday I went for a time trial session conducted by the swimming team of TP. Quite unorganised I must admit. We were supposed to start off at 6pm, but unfortunately I only got to swim at around 7.15pm, even though I was the fifth swimmer to start.

Anyway, at around 5.15pm after class, I went to the swimming pool to do my own warm-up. Swam 1500m on my own in a BOILING HOT pool. Oh well, I guess that’s normal since the weather has been melting people’s faces in Singapore recently.

The swim team captain however, mentioned that the pool was heated. I was stunned for a minute down there and I thought my mood to sprint was wearing thin. Oh well, I still did a PB for 50m Fly and set a new training record for my 50m Freestyle. We were only given time to sprint for two 50m events anyway.

See below for my results:

50m Butterfly – 30.3secs. (-0.2)

50m Freestyle – 28.359secs. (new training PB)

Oh well, I’m glad there’s a pretty HUGE chance of getting into the swim team because the captain and the coaching staff already knew who I am, and what’s my pet event.

I was too delighted to sign up and join the TP Swimming Team. :) My classmates even wanted me to take up triathlon and play a part in the relays with them. I told them I’m more designed for, and hardcore in swimming, and only swimming.

Alright, that’s it for my 1st post for tonight. Second post coming right up!

First day of school is over

2009-04-20T20:34:00.001+08:00

Hello! How’s life? Speaking of life, a new chapter is already being penned down in my life diary. As mentioned above, my first official day in my new school is over. This week is just going to be like a ‘warm-up’ week for the freshmen (1st year students), myself included. In fact I have just been informed that tests and quizzes will be starting next week.

Time flies, doesn’t it? But anyway, so far I find studying in TP pretty enjoyable, and to be frank it’s more engaging than the recent School Freshmen Orientation Camp. Seriously, I’d rather be training than sitting down there like an idiot, watching movies and listening to my iPod music for about 44% of the time I spent down there.

Oh well, this week my swim mates will be swimming in the School Nationals. It’s a shame that I’m not involved in that anymore. :/ Oh well… I just hope that everyone breaks his/her PBs and will guarantee satisfaction, and more importantly stay upbeat after all the training that they’ve been through. I wish these guys all the best in doing his/her best for the schools, and also aiming to be the best by beating the rest.

Hope that more people can come over to RW1. Hahaha… But anyway I hope they don’t tense up before the competition, because it’ll only do more harm than good, right?

Oh well, it’s going to be another long day for me tomorrow. Hope to see my swim mates beaming with smiles after the School Nats. ALL THE BEST GUYS! COME ON!

Right, that’s it then. Good night!

Upgrade to RW1: CONFIRMED

2009-04-09T21:03:00.001+08:00

Hello again. How’s life? Speaking of life, it just keeps getting better as time passes by. Right now I’m really enjoying my break before I officially start my first semester on the 20th this month. By then my schedule will be just as hectic as it used to be.

Anyway, just to let you guys know… I’ve finally been handed the green light to train in my club’s elite team, APSC RW1. (: This having met the 1500m Freestyle minimum requirement for training in RW1, while I was swimming during the NAG not too long ago. I will make my move and officially begin training with the team on Monday, temporarily leaving behind most of my best pals in the team I’m currently in now. I’m not saying that I’m going back to train in RW2 again. I’m pretty sure my friends would love to come and join me again when the time is right. I’m not the only one who’s been eyeing this privilege to train in the elite team once again.

The parents in the club have endorsed my movement, well so have my friends. I suppose that should be the way for parents to give support when someone like me is getting promoted. After all, I have been looking forward to training with this team for months already. Now, I finally got my wish.

I’m not only moving up to swimming in RW1, I’ll be staying there on a permanent basis. This evening was my last training session under Coach Tian. the one everyone’s been talking about, most of the time for the wrong reason. I seriously feel that by moving up, I can train at my own pace, I can pace more people during training.

Sadly though, only a few swimmers have qualified to join the team. That doesn’t include my best of friends though. :/

My advice to them: Train hard enough. Be patient, don’t force yourself to achieve this target whenever. And hopefully you’ll be rewarded with the privilege to train with me once again. I’ll be waiting for you! (:

“You’re looking for something you can’t find, if you give it up you’ll lose your mind. There’s always something in your way but what can you say, you’re gonna have a good day!” (:

Some of my swim mates are competing in the ASEAN Cup 2009, over the Good Friday weekend. Wishing them ALL THE BEST and hope they will break their PBs. :D

Right, that’s all I have for now. Good night folks!

Back in Business!

2009-03-29T21:36:00.001+08:00

Hello, I know it’s been a long while since I last updated. Nothing major has taken place ever since I finished all my events in the SNAG 2009. I guess my habit of blogging is slowly beginning to die down. Now I’m back in business, meaning that I still have plenty of time to train for my next competition in June. Life’s back to normal and I'm able to spend more time in school carrying out my daily activities.

Life in Temasek Poly I have to admit, is so far so good, no regrets or thoughts of reconsidering the decision that I made. My CDS classes have already ended now for some school discover program before we finish the entire Polytechnic Preparatory Programme (PPP) specially organised for the Direct Poly Admission (DPA) students, myself included. Just last week my new friends in the Engineering School were engaged in Problem-Based learning and Robotics as part of out School Discovery Programme.

Apparently we were given a problem to literally ‘solve’ in the classroom. We were given a task of finding a solution to the insufficient number of CCTV cameras in the HDB elevators, hence not really solving the problem of lift robbery and vandalism here. So yeah, my group and I really came up with some wild ideas like sending the crook straight to the police station through teleporting and built-in rocket machines. HAHA It was rather fun brainstorming our crazy ideas using the famous 40 principles of problem-solving.

The next aspect of the programme was more fun and interesting than just solving problems. We were taught how to synchronise robots to follow lines on the track etc. We even had a race to determine who’s the most skilled team to program a robot before a ‘grand prix’. Well, my group came in 4th. And since we won $30 cash for coming in that position, we distributed $10 per individual. Whereas the champion could walk away with $60 cash only. Oh well, we still won something, better than nothing. (:

Last Friday we were engaged in Maths class, kind of like revising what we learnt in Secondary School which would prove useful for the courses that we’re each taking, especially Aerospace Engineering, my course.

Coming back to my swimming, I haven’t been training that hard since the SNAG ended. I have been training for at most 7 or 8 sessions a week, unlike the previous 9 to 10 sessions. I have already qualified to get into RW1, the most elite team in the club, through my 1500m Freestyle timing. I still have yet to start moving up though.

Many of my friends and some of the parents are anxiously waiting for me to cross over, but I find it a bit complicated though because only two swimmers from RW2 (myself included) have made the qualifying mark for RW1 so far. And yeah, I’m still waiting for my crew members to seize the opportunity to come and join me. Since I have no competition next month unlike the others, I knew that by hook or by crook I needed to make that timing to get into RW1 FIRST. If not, GOLDEN CHANCE GONE.

Oh well, my friends have two more competitions next month to redeem themselves. They have the ASEAN Cup and the coming School Nationals.

Coming back to my training, I seriously feel that I’m slowly changing from being a sprinter to becoming a long-distance swimmer. I mean yeah, swimming 1500m Freestyle is actually my forte. But since my coach took over as coach of RW2, I didn’t know I had to suffer so much to maintain my performance in the pool. I mean yes, swimmers like me need more feeling of the water than the sprinters. Somehow, I feel that my innate energy to swim that long comes during the competition itself. It’s just like a building that is trying its very best not to collapse while it’s swaying during an earthquake, though it was designed to withstand such an impact.

Anyway, the Monday before the previous I got myself a 16GB iPod touch 2G. I must admit that I was eyeing only 8GB, but in the end I got more than what I bargained for. I’m grateful to my dad, he said he’d rather buy the 16GB for just S$110 extra. My iPod came with a purchase-with-purchase offer. It came with a S$19 package that’s worth a travel charger, screen protector and dark skin for covering the back of my iPod. Right now I have used up almost half of the capacity given, though it’s actual capacity was 14.52GB. I currently have 603 songs, 3 full-length movies, 965 photos and 18 applications inside. :D I must admit that I made full use of it’s ability to tap into other Wi-Fi networks, especially the free system in the TP campus. I can receive E-mail, Facebook updates, news and so much more. Whoop! Haha, oh well enough of that.

Alright, I suppose that’s all I have for you guys tonight. Till the next time then. Good night!

Post-SNAG reaction

2009-03-18T21:19:00.001+08:00

Hey guys. Finally I got my chance to update my blog once and for all. It’s been a while since I last blogged, it was about my forecast of the SNAG 2009. Oh well, it is finished. (:

Time for my personal reflection. Hmm. I think it was basically a meet that mattered to me the most. This has only been my first genuine taste of swimming in a national competition in eight months, since School Nats last year. And this time, I did it with all 5 PBs for 5 events. (: Listed below are my new timings for the 5 events that I swam during the previous weekend:

50m Free – 28.16secs. (-0.76, didn’t qualify for finals)

100m Free – 1:00.53 (-0.43, didn’t qualify for finals)

400m Free – 4:36.95 (-3.37, didn’t qualify for finals)

1500m Free – 17:55.57 (-20.35, 7th in finals)

100m Butterfly – 1:06.03 (-8.97, got DQ-ed for false start)

I must add that I have improved pretty significantly as well. I felt that this was the competition that was meant for me to improve this much, and my eight months of hard work have finally paid off. Coming back to the part when I have been exempted from my Creative Writing lessons in the Poly. I seriously feel that it didn’t really go to waste and at least I have been given time to train, and I’m very grateful to the staff over there for doing the least by supporting me.

Next stop, SINGAPORE OPEN (Coming June 2009).

Well, for those of you who have done well by breaking your PBs and set new records, congratulations! On the other hand for those who didn't do that well, don’t stop thinking about a new tomorrow! (: There is still time to work on it and shine the next time. :D

I must also thank the parents who came personally to congratulate me after my events. I must add that they really show lots of support for me and I’m very grateful to them. (:

Okay, that’s the wrap of my post for now. Good night!

Ready to ROCK N’ ROLL

2009-03-08T20:31:00.001+08:00

Hey, guys. It’s been a while since I lasted updated my blog huh? Well, I guess I didn’t really update much only with those random quizzes that I have been tagged by my friends on Facebook, to do.

I have been very busy for the past few days. I have been mixed with swimming training as well as my Cross-Disciplinary Subject (CDS) school work. I’m just glad to know that 80% of my CDS experience is already finished. Now, for the final presentation of our group project. After that, GRAND SLAM SWIMMING COMPETITION! :D

I will be at the Sports School from next Friday 7pm, to Sunday morning, because I'll be swimming in the 40th Singapore National Age Group Championships.

In total, I'll be swimming 5 events, 50m, 100m, 400m, 1500m Freestyle (got good chance of winning!) and 100m Butterfly (first time swimming).

This will be one of the biggest tournaments in my swimming career, and this tournament involves ALL THE SWIM CLUBS in Singapore! For me I still have yet to become a national swimmer, but it takes time and a lot of hard work.

Anyway, this will be my first major competition in 8 months! The most recent being the Inter-school Nationals in July last year, when i was swimming for Junyuan Secondary School against swimmers from ACS(I) and RI. But I still beat some of them anyway, for my 400m and 1500m Freestyle. And I was short of the bronze medal by only 3.8 seconds! Argh... but that's okay! (:

The clock is ticking away, if you would notice the countdown on top of this post. Haha. If you all wanna know my entry times for my 5 events, they're listed below. (:

50m Freestyle - 00:28.92
100m Freestyle - 01:00.96
400m Freestyle - 04:40.32
1500m Freestyle - 18:15.92
100m Butterfly - 01:15.00

Okay, I guess that's all I have to say for now.

You Know You’re a Swimmer (:

2009-03-01T22:24:00.001+08:00

1) Number of times you train a week?
7-11 times

2) Do you wear the same swimsuit/trunks everyday?
Sometimes, but at least they dry up fast.

3) Do you live out of your free swimming T-shirts?
Most of the time, sometimes I wear them to bed.

4) Do you smell of chlorine all day long?
Sometimes

5) Long course or Short course?
Long course for long-distance, short course for short-distance.

6) No. 1 stroke? Event? (please pick one ONLY)
1500m Freestyle

7) When was the last time you improved in this event?
School Nats 2008 (minus one minute from my previous PB)

8) Event you can literally die racing?
200m FLY!

9) What do you think about during long sets?
I always see my own engines running and not dying. Haha

10) Favourite meet you raced at outside of Singapore?
2007 Aussie vs. Asia All-Stars Meet, Perth, Australia, ALL PBs!

11) One person who trains with you who you can't live without?
Aloysius

12) Do you have a pre-race ritual?
Sometimes

13) Weakest part of your swimming?
Breaststroke!

14) Strongest part of your swimming?
Swimming long-distance and kicking fast and non-stop (:

15) Favourite piece of training equipment?
Goggles!

16) Worst thing about being a competitive swimmer?
The pressure is always high on my meter, but that's okay.

17) Best thing about being a competitive swimmer?
To show that I have talent!

18) Do you have more swimming friends or school friends?
A lot of swimming friends!

19) Who is your swimming idol?
Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard

20) What kind of impact does swimming have on your life?
I BECOME A STRONGER AND MORE DISCIPLINED INDIVIDUAL! (:

THNKS FR TH MMRS

2009-02-27T20:38:00.001+08:00

Leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot; anything you remember. Don't send a message, leave a comment here. Next, re-post this in your notes and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny and sweet to see the responses.

Must do! :D REALLY FUN!

I've done 33 out of 132 stupid things.

2009-02-22T11:44:00.001+08:00

Do this and post it with the title:
I've done __ out of the 132 stupid things.

Level 1
( ) Smoked A Cigarette
( ) Smoked A Cigar
( ) Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex
( ) Drank Alcohol
SO FAR: 0

Level 2
( ) Are / Been In Love
( ) Been Dumped
( ) Shoplifted
( ) Been Fired
( ) Been In A Fist Fight
SO FAR: 0

Level 3
( ) Had A Crush On An Older Person
( ) Skipped School
( ) Slept With A Co-worker
( ) Seen Someone / Something Die
SO FAR: 0

Level 4
(x) Had / Have A Crush On One Of Your Facebook Friends
( ) Been To Paris
( ) Been To Spain
(x) Been On A Plane
( ) Thrown Up From Drinking
SO FAR: 2

Level 5
(x) Eaten Sushi
( ) Been Snowboarding
(x) Met Someone BECAUSE Of Facebook
( ) Been in a Mosh Pit
SO FAR: 4

Level 6
( ) Been In An Abusive Relationship
( ) Taken Pain Killers
( ) Love/loved Someone Who You Can't Have
( ) Laid On Your Back And Watched Cloud Shapes Go By
( ) Made A Snow Angel
SO FAR: 4

Level 7
( ) Had A Tea Party
(x) Flown A Kite
(x) Built A Sand Castle
( ) Gone mudding (offroading)
( ) Played Dress Up
SO FAR: 6

Level 8
( ) Jumped Into A Pile Of Leaves
( ) Gone Sledging
(x) Cheated While Playing A Game
(x) Been Lonely
(x) Fallen Asleep At Work / School
SO FAR: 9

Level 9
(x) Watched The Sun Set
( ) Felt An Earthquake
( ) Killed A Snake
SO FAR: 10

Level 10
(x) Been Tickled
( ) Been Robbed / Vandalized
( ) Been cheated on
(x) Been Misunderstood
SO FAR: 12

Level 11
(x) Won A Contest
( ) Been Suspended From School
( ) Had Detention
(x) Been In A Car / Motorcycle Accident
SO FAR: 14

Level 12
(x) Had / Have Braces
( ) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
( ) Danced in the moonlight
SO FAR: 15

Level 13
(x) Hated The Way You Look
( ) Witnessed A Crime
( ) Pole Danced
( ) Questioned Your Heart
( ) Been obsessed with post-it-notes
SO FAR: 16

Level 14
( ) Squished Barefoot Through The Mud
(x) Been Lost
( ) Been To The Opposite Side Of The World
( ) Swam In The Ocean
( ) Felt Like You Were Dying
SO FAR: 17

Level 15
( ) Cried Yourself To Sleep
( ) Played Cops And Robbers
( ) Recently Colored With Crayons / Colored Pencils / Markers
( ) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid For A Meal With Only Coins
SO FAR: 17

Level 16
(x) Done Something You Told Yourself You Wouldn't
(x) Made a Prank Phone Call
( ) Laughed Until Some Kind Of Beverage Came Out Of Your Nose
( ) Kissed In The Rain
SO FAR: 19

Level 17
( ) Written A Letter To Santa Claus
( ) Watched The Sun Set/ sun rise With Someone You Care/Cared About
(x) Blown Bubbles
( ) Made A Bonfire On The Beach or anywhere
SO FAR: 20

Level 18
( ) Crashed A Party
( ) Have Traveled More Than 5 Days With A Car Full Of People
(x) Gone Rollerskating / Blading
(x) Had A Wish Come True
( ) Been Humped By A Monkey
SO FAR: 22

Level 19
( ) Worn Pearls
( ) Jumped Off A Bridge
( ) Screamed "Penis" or "Vagina"
( ) Swam With Dolphins..
SO FAR: 22

Level 20
( ) Got Your Tongue Stuck To A Pole/Freezer/ice Cube
( ) Kissed A Fish
( ) Worn The Opposite Sex's Clothes
( ) Sat On A Roof Top
SO FAR: 22

Level 21
(x) Screamed At The Top Of Your Lungs
( ) Done / Attempted A One-Handed Cartwheel
( ) Talked On The Phone For More Than 6 Hours
(x) Recently stayed up for a while talking to someone you care about
SO FAR: 24

Level 22
( ) Picked And Ate An Apple Right Off The Tree
( ) Climbed A Tree
( ) Had/Been In A Tree House.
( ) Been scared To Watch Scary Movies Alone
SO FAR: 24

Level 23
(x) Believed In Ghosts
( ) Have had More Then 30 Pairs Of Shoes
( ) Gone Streaking
( ) Visited Jail
SO FAR: 25

Level 24
( ) Played Chicken
(x) Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on
( ) Been Told You're Hot By A Complete Stranger
( ) Broken A Bone
(x) Been Easily Amused
SO FAR: 27

Level 25
(x) Caught A Fish Then Ate It Later
( ) Made A Porn Video/got asked to make one
( ) Caught A Butterfly
( ) Laughed So Hard You Cried
( ) Cried So Hard You Laughed
SO FAR: 28

Level 26
( ) Mooned/Flashed Someone
( ) Had Someone Moon/Flash You
( ) Cheated On A Test
(x) Forgotten Someone's Name
( ) French Braided Someones Hair
( ) Gone Skinny Dipping
( ) Been Kicked Out Of Your House
( )Tried to hurt yourself
SO FAR: 29

Level 27
(x) Rode A Roller Coaster
(x) Went Scuba-Diving/Snorkeling
( ) Had A Cavity
( ) Black-Mailed Someone
( ) Been Black Mailed
SO FAR: 31

Level 28
(x) Been Used
(x) Fell Going Up The Stairs
( ) Licked A Cat
( ) Bitten Someone
( ) Licked Someone
SO FAR: 33

Level 29
( ) Been shot at/or at gunpoint
( ) Had sex in the rain
( ) Flattened someones tires
( ) Rode your car/truck until the gas light came on
( ) Got five dollars or less worth of gas

I've done 33 out of 132 stupid things.

Tagged by Aloysius

2009-02-21T22:18:00.003+08:00

001. Real name → Seah Kah Liang Justin
002. Nickname(s) → Yi Qian Wu, 1500 in Chinese
003. Star sign → Leo
004. Male or female →Male
005. Elementary → TNPS
006. Middle School → JYSS
007. High School → JYSS
008. Hair colour → Brownish Black
009. Long or short → Short!
010. Loud or Quiet → Both
011. Sweats or Jeans → Jeans
012. Phone or Camera → Both
013. Health freak → Yes
014. Drink or Smoke? → Neither, sparkling fruit juice is bad enough
015. Do you have a crush on someone? → Yes
016. Eat or Drink → Eat and drink
017. Piercings → Forget it
018. Tattoos → Forget it

HAVE YOU EVER?
019. Been in an airplane→ Yes
020. Been ditched→ Touch wood
021. Been in a car accident → Yes
022. Been in a fist fight → Touch wood

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → None
024. First best friend → Aloysius, Andy, Alan, Alyssa, Shao Min, Stacy, Marjorie
025. First award → Can’t remember
026. First crush → Can’t remember
028. First vacation → KL, Malaysia

LASTS:
029. Last person you talked to → Dad
030. Last person you texted → Sophie Rusli
031. Last person(s) you watched a movie with → Family
032. Last food you ate → NZ Prime Sirloin with French Fries and Mashed Potato
033. Last movie you watched → Talking Cock
034. Last song you listened to → Night Fever – Bee Gees
035. Last thing you bought → Dinner tonight
036. Last person you hugged → Family member

FAVES:
037. Food → Roti Prata
038. Drinks → Sparkling Fruit Juice and Soda
039. Clothing → Red and White
040. Books → None
041. Music→ Punk Rock and Pop music
042. Flower → None that I can think of
043. Colour(s) → Red, Blue, White, and Faint Yellow
044. Movies → Kung Fu Panda
045. Positions → None
046. Subjects → Geography

IN 2008..... I
047. [ ] Kissed in the snow
048. [ ] celebrated Halloween
049. [ ] had your heart broken
050. [x] went over the minutes on your cell phone
051. [ ] someone questioned your sexual orientation
052. [ ] came out of the closet
053. [ ] gotten pregnant
054. [ ] had an abortion
055. [ ] done something you've regretted
056. [ ] broke a promise
057. [X] hid a secret
058. [X] pretended to be happy
059. [x] met someone who changed your life
060. [ ] pretended to be sick
061. [X] left the country
062. [X] tried something you normally wouldn't try and liked it
063. [ ] cried over the silliest thing
064. [x] ran a mile
065. [ ]went to the beach with your best friend(s)
066. [X] stay single the whole year

CURRENTLY:
067. Eating →No
068. Drinking → No
069. I'm about to → sleep!
070. Listening to → Please – Elton John
071. Plans for today → Train hard
072. Waiting for → Nothing I can think of

YOUR FUTURE:
073. Want kids? → 2
074. Want to get married? → Yeah
075. Careers in mind → Pilot

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
076. Lips or eyes → Eyes
077. Shorter or taller? → Shorter
078. Romantic or spontaneous → Both.
079. Nice stomach or nice arms → Both
080. Sensitive or loud → sensitive
081. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship
082. Trouble-maker or hesitant → Both

HAVE YOU EVER:
083. Lost glasses/contacts → No
084. Ran away from home → No
085. Hold a gun/knife for self defence → No
086. Killed somebody → Shut up
087. Broken someone's heart → hope not
088. Been arrested → Shut up
089. Cried when someone died → Yeah

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
090. Yourself → YEAH!
091. Miracles → Sometimes
092. Love at first sight → no
093. Heaven → Yes
094. Santa Claus → No
095. Sex on the first date → No
096. Kiss on the first date → No

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → yeah
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life? → Why not?
099. Do you believe in God → Yeah
100. Do you miss anyone right now→ Yes

On my knees for Valentine's

2009-02-13T21:06:00.002+08:00

Hello again, today hasn’t been any ordinary day like before. Mainly because of one tragedy that happened to our family. I’m very sad to say that I have lost one of my aunts, to some heart attack, cancer before that.

Tomorrow’s Valentines Day, it’s not going to be any ordinary day like before when I usually don’t celebrate. But it’s about mourning my aunt’s passing this year on this so-called special day. Roses and other types of flowers will be there for another purpose.

I think her passing was rather expected, she was over 80 years old, and she was already suffering so I guess she has finally but tragically, managed to break free and is now on a peaceful journey to a better land.

It’s very sad that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye for the last time while she was still lying on her deathbed. However I still have the captured image of the last time I saw her up and running last Sunday when we were still celebrating the Lunar New Year. I suddenly thought that moment was really goodbye having shaken hands with her for one last time. But anyway I still think that the last joyous occasion we had last Sunday was better than seeing her lie on her deathbed today.

Although she may have left us, but the most wonderful memories of her presence will remain in our hearts. Meanwhile I would like to um… ‘dedicate’ this song to my beloved Aunty Pansy, it’s a song from Green Day and it’s called “Time of Your Life”.

GREEN DAY – TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Another turning point a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist directs you where to go
So make the best of this test and don't ask why
It's not a question but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

“Journey well, rest in peace, memories of having you with us will live on forever…”

2009 PPP DPA Orientation: A BREEZE

2009-02-12T10:35:00.001+08:00

Hello! Well, I guess it’s been more than a week since I last updated. Oh well here goes…

Recently I’ve been involved in an orientation that’s compulsory for the DPA students in TP to attend. Although it was compulsory, it was rather worth it. No wonder they used the term ‘compulsory’. I guess they didn’t want people to miss all the fun. Well, good thing I didn’t. (:

During the orientation which lasted from last Friday until yesterday, I recall we had lot of time and fun playing those ice-breaking games. But I guess the more heavy-duty activities made the entire orientation a moment to pen down in our eternal diary. Heavy-duty activities like scaling walls, rock climbing, Dragon-boating, Hip-Hop dancing and even the Amazing Race held on the last day which was yesterday.

Speaking of Dragon-boating, we apparently won a race against two other teams. How’s that? (: And speaking of the Amazing Race, we went through difficulties as a team and we managed to overcome it. Now, that’s what I call ‘Amazing’. (:

I took plenty of photos of my group members having lots of fun, and the priceless expressions on their faces. They’re already uploaded onto my Facebook profile anyway, about 80 plus.

Despite the fact that I sprained my left ankle on Saturday morning, I still went there to witness those once-in-a-lifetime events. In case you’re wondering how I sprained my ankle, it happened when I was playing Basketball with my swim mates after land training, and unfortunately I was tripped by my own team mate. DAMN UNFORTUNATE to be there at that time.

Now, I’m walking wounded but things just kept improving as time passed. Went for an X-ray scan on Tuesday to check on it, the good news is that, I suffer from no fracture or any hairline crack on the bone. The bad news, I’m not supposed to start kicking until next week or so. :/

But despite all that misery I still made lots of friends down there, including the seniors. (: Honestly what would the orientation have become, without them around to guide and encourage the newcomers? A boring experience indeed. We were strangers until we discovered that we’re on the same boat together.

So once again I sincerely thank those who guided and encouraged me during the orientation, hopefully we can work together and overcome the most difficult obstacles on the road to success. (:

That’s all for now. Goodbye.

Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?

2009-02-04T20:30:00.002+08:00

1. Put your iTunes/Napster/Zune Player/WinAmp/etc on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 or more friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got it from.

If someone says "Is this okay" you say?
An Everlasting Love - Andy Gibb
What do you like in a guy/girl?
High School Never Ends - Bowling For Soup
How do you feel today?
I'm Alive - Celine Dion (Whoa, I didn't know this could be that accurate)
What is your life's purpose?
Breathe - Faith Hill
What is your motto?
Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins (HAHA!)
What do your friends think of you?
Physical - Olivia Newton John
What do you think of your parents?
Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer
What do you think about very often?
No More Cloudy Days - Eagles
What is 2+2?
Carrie - Europe
What do you think of your best friend?
World - Bee Gees
What do you think of the person you like?
In the Country - Cliff Richard
What is your life story?
Unbreak My Heart (Regresa A Mi) - Il Divo
What do you want to be when you grow up?
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
What do you think when you see the person you like?
Midnight - The Shadows
What do your parents think of you?
Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious) - Teriyaki Boyz (That's right!)
What will you dance to at your wedding?
In the City - Eagles
What will they play at your funeral?
Check Yes Juliet - We the Kings
What is your hobby/interest?
Welcome to My Life - Simple Plan
What do you think of your friends?
You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics
What's the worst thing that could happen?
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin - Hall & Oates
How will you die?
Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard (Unbelievable...)
What is the one thing you regret?
When You Say Nothing At All - Boyzone
What makes you laugh?
Angel - Shaggy
What makes you cry?
Telstar - The Shadows
Will you ever get married?
Get Over It - Eagles
What scares you the most?
Party Like A Rockstar - Shop Boyz (What the...)
Does anyone like you?
Magic - Olivia Newton John
If you could go back in time, what would you change?
The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies (Whoa...)
What hurts right now?
Run To Me - Bee Gees
What will you post this as?
Kristy, Are You Doing Okay? - The Offspring

Tag 10 Friends: Andy Leong, Alyssa Lie, Chua Shao Min, Stacy Tan, Marjorie Kong, Tay Aik Ping, Thaddea Chua, Derek Tan, Sean Koh, Aloysius Lam

Wrapped up in RED packets

2009-01-31T14:17:00.003+08:00

Time for an update, at least finally. Since the last time I blogged which happened on Sunday, I have been enjoying myself basically because the Lunar New Year of the Ox has come, and every Chinese folk will be celebrating this most important event of the year.

Well the reunion dinner on Sunday night was just AWESOME! I ate steamboat with four bowls of rice for dinner, followed by a visit to the temple, then the countdown and finally the day ended with a late Mah-jong game. Surprisingly this year my mood for a celebration was not as vibrant as before, but we still celebrated anyway.

So on Monday we went to Uncle Eddie’s place at Siglap for a visit, over there we played Mah-jong and even Bingo! Surprisingly though, not as many relatives turned up like last year, the ang pow money collected wasn't that much but I still won 21 bucks from Mah-jong and Bingo. (: We were treated to the same lion dance (see picture), but this time we even witnessed stunts like pole-climbing and back flips! I recorded an estimated 15 minutes of the action, man it took me forever to post it on Facebook, but if you want to view it, it’s already there in my profile. I refused to paste it here, having waited for a damn long time when I uploaded it on Facebook, I doubt I want to go through that again.

Day two, this year I couldn’t go to the next house for a visit like before, since we had no invitation, I felt rather disappointed but anyway we headed for a BBQ dinner at my dad’s friend’s home at Eunos. I still collected ang pow from there, and I seriously enjoyed the BBQ that even came with pizza! We even had Lo-Hei after that. Man all the vegetables splattered all over the dining table. Isn’t it great? :D

In total I think my ang pow money in total would still exceed my expectations of $1,000 despite the recession. (: PLEASE DON’T ROB ME! Haha…

Anyway this has been a pretty good start for the new year, now that my swimming is improving and dad’s business is constantly blooming. My cupboard is full of my new clothes now, all falling one by one. O.O

Oh well, I guess that’s it for my New Year update, hope you’re enjoying your celebrations!

Goodbye Rat, Hello Ox

2009-01-25T11:42:00.001+08:00

Just to update my blog one more time before we Chinese folks usher in the Lunar New Year. I can’t even imagine myself being in a more festive mood compared to the 2009 New Year celebrations. I think the Year of the Rat has been quite a hectic lunar year for me, especially at tough times like my O-Level exams. But I think it’s time to wash away all my sins from the previous year and turn over a new leaf!

On Friday my family and I were already in a CNY mood, for example, rolling out the Mah-jong set and playing until 11 plus at night. The good news is that, I still made money from both Friday night and last night’s games. I can still remember how to kill the game with my seven pairs combination. Haha (:

Majority of the people I have spoke to are looking forward to CNY mainly because of the Ang Pow money. Haha… Well, same here. I think it’s also a good time to celebrate a new year and forget about the bad times we had the previous year. Most importantly, we must treasure whatever lessons we have learnt from that year.

If you wanna ask me, what I’ve learnt from the Year of the Rat, is not to give up fighting for your rights, and always stay positive even when you’re at your breaking point. Learn to put a good smile on your face wherever you go. At least it helps to reduce stress, clears your mind and also beautifies your facial complexion. :D

Tonight, the lights in my house will shine at their brightest and will be more than bright enough to welcome the spirit of celebrating the most important event of the year for the family. Dinner will be the most splendid of the year, steamboat and you know.

Oh well, that’s all I have to write today. here’s wishing you all a very happy and prosperous lunar new year!

EVERYBODY, GONG XI FA CAI!!

“I’ll Keep Holding On”

2009-01-22T20:48:00.001+08:00

Hello, well it’s been more than a week since I last updated this page, about my O-Level results. Life has been a breeze for me since that moment of truth. I feel that things have been going on swimmingly as planned.

I still have another less than three months before I start my first day in my new academic journey in TP. But right now, I'm taking advantage of the time that I have left, to train hard and improve my swimming capabilities. I know, the rules of the club have not changed. I firmly believe that there would not be any outcome after the club meeting on the 9th this month.

I’m still gonna hang on to whatever I have to train smart, and keep fit. On the bottom line, I just don’t wanna give up. After all, winners never quit and quitters never win. I’ve already shrugged off the feeling the random people are breaking the law in promoting themselves to a better team.

For the past few days I’ve been very pleased with my form, I find that my short-distance is improving very quickly and so is my long-distance. For example, I swam 2:17 for 200m Free without plunging, minus four seconds from my previous record last week. I thought it was a rather beautiful swim. What do you guys think? Hmm… I seriously feel that I have already gotten back my lost form from last year, and it just keeps getting better and better. :]

Talking about training, I think the new arrangements in the schedule have been fruitful for some of the swimmers, some training at 4.30pm, and some are training at 6.30pm. However, majority of them would go for the later slot, which leaves the total attendance for the earlier slot to less than ten people. O.O

FORECAST for the next few days: CNY is coming up, my home is still not decorated, but preparations for the new year are going on pretty well. I doubt we have time to prepare the pussywillow plant anyway. Haha…

Oh well, I guess there’s nothing else I can write about. Good night, then!

P.S: I really hate land training! Though it may sound random but it’s true.

Reaction: O-Level results

2009-01-13T09:36:00.002+08:00

Hello, yes my O-level results have already been released. I felt that the results I got, were pretty good for me. (: Especially when it comes from not having tuition throughout the whole year.

Before I saw my results I stood really calm, as I turned on my MP3 and kept my ears isolated from those sounds of crying and you know. I wasn’t that anxious because I was very confident that I could and would pass my O-Levels with ease and get into Poly education. (:

All I did while waiting was put up a good smile. But after I received the results from Mdm. Irma, I felt that I’ve successfully opened a new chapter in my academic journey. The results I got were more than enough to meet the qualification standards for the course I wanna take up: Aerospace Engineering.

For English, I think I did improve from the Prelims last year. For combined humanities, I know it looks kinda bad, but anyway I’m still remaining upbeat about that, since it was not my pet subject nor did I expect myself to get a good grade. For Geography, it was kinda unexpected that I got B3, I feel that I made a tremendous improvement from the Prelim and that pleases me. Same for Math, Science, and D & T. I didn’t expect myself to get an A2 for D & T! HAHA I still passed my Chinese B, though I pretty much sucked in speaking the language. LOL

Above all, I didn’t show any sign of emotion on the way home, just beams of smiles for the rest of the day. At home my parents couldn’t resist putting up a smile either. And neither did my teachers nor the principal show signs of disappointment. For me, I didn’t expect myself to do that well, I thought a score better than my Prelim results for L1R4 would’ve been good enough. (: But my confidence was pretty much lifted by my successful DPA application. I achieved my goal in getting a better result than my Prelims. I am successfully, officially an enrolled student in TP now. No question asked. (:

For those of you who did well, let me say a word of congratulations to all of you, wishing you a more successful journey ahead. For those who flunked, not to worry, it isn’t the end of the road for you yet. Don’t give up, wishing you all the best in future. (:

O-Level Results!

2009-01-13T09:17:00.001+08:00

English: C5

Combined Humanities (SS/Hist.): D7

Geography: B3

Mathematics: B3

Science (Phy/Chem): B3

Design & Technology: A2

Chinese B: Pass

CCA: A1

No. of subjects recorded: 7

No. of subjects graded 6 or better: 5

Total score: L1R4+CCA = 14

Outcome: “You have been admitted to Temasek Polytechnic via the DPA exercise. As such, you will not be allowed to participate in the JAE.”

FW: Think about it

2009-01-10T16:03:00.001+08:00

Let's all remember to take the time to LIVE!!!!

A friend of mine opened his wife's drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:

'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.'

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

'She got this the first time we went to England , 8 or 9 years ago.. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died. He turned to me and said:

'Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion'.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less.

I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day... I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if i feel like it.

I don't save my special outfit for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words 'Someday...' and ' One Day...' are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.

She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese dinner, her favourite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.< will it>

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably, there's someone you care about.

If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it 'One of these days' , remember that 'One day' is far away... or might never come...

No matter if you're superstitious or not, spend some time reading it.

It holds useful messages for the soul.

No more integrity in the club?

2009-01-06T12:11:00.003+08:00

It's been barely a week since the new year started, and right now I sense that the new year has gotten off to a poor start for me. One good example is what's been happening during training, as well as some events that kind of puzzle me and a few of my swim mates.

Since I came back from Kunming last month, I've already been seeing things that I do not quite like to see. I saw a few swimmers technically, breaking the law in our swim team. How did they upgrade themselves informally? I do not know. But I feel that upgrading to a better team without meeting the qualifications, is not ethical. Especially when these people tend to slack during training. I hate it when these low-profile swimmers can move themselves up by breaking the law with the help of a lawmaker. If these people can move up, WHAT ABOUT US? It lowers the standard of our team, in case you're not aware. Eventually, the most hardworking ones think that this kind of privelege is awfully ridiculous.

Subsequently, we the hardworking ones feel neglected by the coach. No, we're not scolding our coach at all. I seriously feel that this team I'm currently training under, has no more justice or integrity. Imagine the low-profile ones can move themselves up by not doing much, but I have to do double the work just to upgrade myself. It's been more than two weeks since the coaches met to discuss this issue. But still, nothing has been done, and our situation has not improved.

I fully understand the importance of training hard, but what's the point of training that hard, when I see slackers moving up just like that? We have already said our piece to the boss, and seriously I think he doesn't care anymore. Even the parents have given up talking. I even thought of upgrading to a better team myself just like how those lawbreakers did it.

The time trials that have been arranged for us, as far as I'm concerned, do not work for my body. The probability of getting a PB is quite low. I understand the importance of having time trials as well, but one person has already complained to me that he couldn't move up despite meeting the qualifying time for the best team in the club. Absolutely ridiculous, I must say.

I feel that the kind of effort that person has put in, is wasted. I too, want to train hard, meet the qualifications and make my move to the better team. Even the coach over there knows me as well, as the boss. Knowing me better than my current coach, I bet she can still cope with my needs and help me to nurture my talents further.

I take it that the cancellation of the time trial today is a blessing in disguise. Because, right now, I have six parts of my body that are still very sore. Sore, that I cannot even straighten my arms, or even walk down the stairs properly.

Somebody ought to get up, and do something about this issue, I don't wanna waste my time, waiting anymore. Comments are much appreciated.

2008 - Those Were The Days...

2008-12-31T20:56:00.002+08:00

Hello! Here's my final post OF THE YEAR before ushering in a new and hopefully a happier new year.

Firstly, I can only say that 2008 has been one of the most stressful years of my life, if you wanna talk about getting good grades in the academy. Many harsh and last-minute decisions were made thus slowing down progress a bit. I still managed to adapt to that kind of situation, however something obviously has to be done to resolve that matter.

After today, I'm officially no longer a student in secondary school, a new chapter of my life will be written. For four years, I've been through loads of hardship to prepare early for the O Level exams. The exams that cost me my training this year. Which is why I avoid going out to the mall these days to shop, or even hang out with my schoolmates.

For such a hectic year, I still managed to continue to pursue my relationship with my swim mates. Things have changed a lot really, when the new coach stepped in to train all of us. But one thing good about her is that she's dedicated to her job.

Kunming this year has taught me so much, since a few more members of my crew joined us for the first time. I'll make sure that our relationship can continue on like this, and no force on Earth would destroy it.

Okay, I guess that's all I have for THIS YEAR! See you, next year. (:

HAVE A HAPPIER 2009!

2008 APSC Biathlon @ ACS(I)

2008-12-31T17:11:00.003+08:00

I woke up at 5.45am this morning, then my parents and I drove for about half an hour to ACS(I) along Dover Road for the annual New Year's eve biathlon. I was made to swim 1500m and run the same 1.6km around the track, like last year. This was my second time taking part, so I was hoping to break a record somehow, and I did it.

Man, I couldn't quite understand why the administrators tied ribbons around the wrist. The good news is that, it's easy to identify people in the same age group as me. The bad news is, it caused so much drag in the water!

Anyway, after swimming the 1500m, I saw Zach, Sean, Kai Sheng, and Matthew scrambling to wear their shoes and race on the track. I finished in 4th place, which is pretty good. (: I finished in 23 minutes, breaking my previous record by 5 minutes.

Sadly there were no consolation prizes this year. This was the first time I raced on the track in a year.

Oh well, headed for Lukas's house to try out his flight simulator. Surprisingly it was just a joystick with a few buttons and a game that works like any PC game. But hey, I could take-off and fly in a simulated cockpit of the Airbus A320, A330, and the A380! O.O And also the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner. :-D The only problem is when you wanna land. Hahaha...

More to come in just a while. See above post for the next update.

Christmas Swim 2008 / Seasons Greetings!!

2008-12-25T11:07:00.003+08:00

Hello! How's life? Good? Well, this post's about our X'mas swim yesterday morning on X'mas eve, and the party that followed. Oh by the way, I have already finished uploading my photos in Kunming in not one, not two, but FIVE ALBUMS on Facebook. Feel free to take a look!! (:

Yesterday I woke up to my usual morning alarm at six in the morning. I reported at Farrer Park at 7am for the 8km swim 'marathon'. Well, the weather did not suit us that well, but we still finished the marathon at around 9am. Apparently we were given a discount of 2km already. The older guys had to swim 10km... HAH HAH!! But seriously, I don't really mind swimming a further 2km, no much of a problem for my body. Anyway... there was plenty of good food following the completion of the swim. To my surprise the food was so much better than last year's party. There was a bigger variety of food, and the food was much tastier than before. Had two servings of fried rice, one pandan cake, one beef pau, one sausage roll, and two pieces of fried chicken wings! Whoa, I REALLY ATE UNTIL MY STOMACH BLOATED! SIX PACKS REDUCED TO ONE!! xD Too bad, we didn't have a chance to see the log cake this year.

Oh, before I forget, highlight of the party, WE POPPED CHAMPAGNE!! Okay, maybe not champagne but two bottles of non-alcoholic sparkling fruit juice! :-D Trust me, my crew and I treated it like some sort of a typical wedding party in most hotels. Hahaha...

Anyway, treat this as a warm-up. For next week, NEW YEAR BIATHLON!! :-D Okay, that's the wrap of my update.

MERRY X'MAS EVERYONE!! GOD BLESS!!

I Survived 17 days in Kunming!

2008-12-21T20:27:00.003+08:00

Hello! How's life since I left for training in Kunming? Well things have changed this year when I was there. It started off with us taking the morning flight, on the 4th earlier this month. The flight to Kunming was not as bad as I thought. I sat with Andy and Aloysius on board and we watched Indiana Jones on my portable DVD player.

Once we landed, the first time I stepped out of the plane it wasn't surprisingly chilly as we expected it to be. In fact the temperature was no different from when I first touched down in Kunming last year. The same old cloudy skies still remain, but the sun came out on some days and forced me to remove my winter jacket.

Training was much tougher than last year's, now that Uncle Siong was there to monitor our training. The test sets were mostly set on 200m Free. I screwed up in the first week, I clocked in 2:25 and ended up re-doing it, but the time was still the same. Uncle Siong made me sprint 1500m the week after, I swam 19:16 plus. I thought it was pretty good already, unlike days before Kunming when i swam 21 minutes plus in training. -.- That wasn't the end of it. Uncle Siong made us sprint 200m Free again the day before yesterday, hit a 2:16. O.O He challenged me to swim 1500m at a time of 17 minutes with the use of fins and paddles yesterday. If not, no one would go to town for last-minute shopping. In the end I finished in 16:07!! O_O Anyway training in general was torturous, we hit a few hitches but we overcame it as a team. Of course we wouldn't have done that without the support of our coaches and parents. (: From the 1500m marathon yesterday I learned that 17 minutes would not have been possible without my friends' support as well. Thank you guys, YOU RAWK! The victory was yours, not mine. (: You won for believing in the most glorious outcome of this challenge.

Food over there was still the same, fried rice for breakfast etc. I bought new CONVERSE shoes for only SGD$32 after a 50% discount. We still went on the DVD shopping spree. Altogether I managed to smuggle back home six DVDs. :-D I didn't have to pay for excess baggage on the way back, though I exceeded by 20 kilos! HAH!

Accommodation... make that one star. Man we had to shift out of our hotels to other places THREE TIMES! -.-" Anyway we managed to soak ourselves in a hot tub in one of the spa resorts near the pool. DAMN SHIOK!

Altogether I took about more than 100 (and still counting) photos. They're already in my Facebook profile if you wanna look at them. It was fun watching Aloysius and Derek face off in the cherry tomatoes marathon at the dining hall. Hahaha... Believe me, they tasted DAMN SOUR. :P We even counted the number of honks that the bus drivers make every time we ride. Hahaha... trust me we were definitely no longer in Singapore!

Time for a bit of reflection. I think we joined in this camp as a team, although some of us may have different ideologies (unlikely), we still had the same goal in mind: To train extra hard and make the best out of this once-a-year opportunity to do so. Cooperation was encouraged among the team leaders, and I'm very grateful for their continuous moral support throughout this camp.

Highlights... er... make that the HOT TUB, the SPA HOTEL, CHEAP GOODS, as well as the challenges that I faced yesterday, if you know what I'm referring to.

OKAY! That's all I have to write about Kunming! Until next time, bye!

Hiatus until 20 Dec. 2008

2008-12-03T10:09:00.002+08:00

Good morning! I hope you guys are having a bright start to your day. Well so am I, now I just need to do some last-minute packing for the early-morning flight. I'll be on the China Eastern Airlines 3.15am flight to Kunming later. I'm seriously so anxious about exploring what the new terminal where we're checking in, has in store for us. It is also by far the biggest terminal in Changi Airport.

Uhhhh! I seriously cannot wait to touch down in Kunming and get down to some extra hard training, that I have lost, thanks to the damn O Level exams last month. -.-

Yesterday the parents in club APSC had a conference meeting with the boss, regarding how our new coach had been handling her training program.

In my point of view I think her training is good, it's just how she does it that matters most. Anyway, I hope that the boss can counsel the coach and make sure the problems are amended well before we all leave.

ALL RIGHT THEN! That's all I can write down for today. I am gonna enjoy this trip with my swim mates. I am going shopping until I drop. I am gonna train hard.

SO LONG FOLKS!

Getting ready for Kunming

2008-11-27T20:32:00.002+08:00

Hello! It's been a while since I last updated, and life is the same old enjoyable one. As some of you have known, I will be on my way to Kunming next Thursday, and will be staying there until the 20th next month.

Why am I going there? TRAINING would be the answer. The once a year opportunity to train extra hard, and prepare for the new year. Training, as of now is quite long nowadays, but since I asked for that, I enjoyed swimming anyway.

Urgh, I bet the total gross weight of my baggage for the trip would already exceed the maximum allowance of 20 kilos. ARGH, someone give me advice on how to pack!

I'm leaving on the EARLY MORNING flight while the people in Singapore are snoring already, on board China Eastern Airlines. The good news is that, we're taking off from the new terminal at the airport. The bad news is, I don't even know whether I should be training the day before or not. Urgh...

So far I've already packed 12 kilos of my stuff for the 17-day long trip. But since this is a group check-in, who cares about the heavy-weight baggage anyway?

I have not really finalised my shopping list yet, but my priority would be new shoes and DVDs. :-D Unbelievable, the last time I was there I bought DVDs at only two Singapore Dollars per movie. O.O Now I feel like going on the same kind of shopping spree again!

Okay, that's all I can think of, about my travel plans. Good night!

What do you do when a woman talks too much...

2008-11-23T19:54:00.003+08:00

Have fun!

Red Marbles

2008-11-23T17:22:00.002+08:00

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.

Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

'Hello, Barry, how are you today?'

'H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas.

They sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?'

'Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like to take some home?' asked Mr. Miller.

'No, sir. Got nothin' to pay for 'em with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it,' said Miller.

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmm mmm. Only thing is, this one is blue, and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you, ! and next trip this way, let me look at that red marble,' Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.

With a smile she said, 'There are two other boys like him in our community; all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all, and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one when they come on their next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community, and while I was there, learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary, we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform, and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits, and white shirts...all very professional looking.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her, and moved on to the casket.

Her misty, light-blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.

With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket. 'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt.

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.'

With loving gentleness, she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral: We will not be remembered by our words but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath.

Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles:
A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself.
An unexpected phone call from an old friend.
Green lights on your way to work.
The fastest line at the grocery store.
A good sing-along song on the radio.
Your keys found right where you left them.

Send this to the people you'll never forget. I just did...
If you don't send it to anyone, it means you are in way too much of a hurry to even notice! the ordinary miracles when they occur.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER BUT WHAT YOU SCATTER THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU HAVE LIVED.

Finally - Obama's family moving to Washington

2008-11-23T11:55:00.001+08:00

DEER MEAT

2008-11-23T11:53:00.001+08:00

A man kills a deer and takes it home to cook for dinner.

Both he and his wife decide that they won't tell the kids what kind of meat it is, but will give them a clue and let them guess.

The kids were eager to know what the meat was on their plates, so they begged their dad for the clue.

Well, he said, 'It's what mummy calls me sometimes'.

The little girl screams to her brother

'Don't eat it, it's an a**hole...'

What's done is done...

2008-11-17T17:25:00.002+08:00

Hello again! Well, it's been four days since I have graduated, I am seriously enjoying life as it is now. Training for me is still the same, I am slowly building up my power to keep up with the rest of my swim mates. :D

Some people have already started asking me if I were taking up a part-time job. Now, I insist that swimming would come first, since the recent exams had cost me much of my form. I respect those who wanna work during the holidays, anyway. :)

Swam in the ICS tournament on Saturday, 50m Backstroke, 34.38 secs, 1st place. Hmm... I felt a little disappointed that there were no more slots for other events like relays. I still swam in the competition anyway.

Had the flu jab today, NO PAIN! Doctor told me that it's about time I had the jab before I fly to Kunming for training. That jab costs $24.60, which according to mom, is 40 cents cheaper than last year's. Hmm... At the same time I had my pre-poly medical check-up in the same clinic, the doctor certified me as fit for the course I signed up for. However she did not certify me as fit for this afternoon's training sessions. Haha, that's okay, because I have already trained this morning.

Alright, training as usual tomorrow. See you next time. Oh by the way, do check out a new feature that I have just added here. For those of you who wanna follow my blog go ahead. :)

Massage, coming Wednesday. DAMN... I bet it's gonna hurt a lot. But the saying goes, "No pain, no gain." And it's also about time, I haven't seen her in a long while. Apparently she didn't turn up as expected, on Thursday. A little bit disappointing though, because that would have been the perfect time to release the tension in my muscles.

All right, that's all I have for you folks today. See you!

FREEDOM AT LAST!!

2008-11-13T20:09:00.002+08:00

HELLO! How's life? Well, speaking of life, life has been VERY ENJOYABLE for me. Firstly, the countdown to the end of my O-Level exams began, followed by a month of perseverance, then the last paper having been completed, and GRADUATION!

Now that the damned school life has been washed away, I can now proceed to the next chapter of my life. I can go back to training damn hard again, and I will make sure I don't miss out of that for no valid reason. NOTHING'S GONNA STOP ME NOW!

AH, YES! Kunming trip that's coming in three weeks' time! I haven't packed a thing yet. I predict that it's going to be loads of fun, although being stretched to our limits during training may sound like, you know.

Alright! That's it for tonight, GOOD NIGHT!

Another Quiz...

2008-11-09T20:53:00.001+08:00

You're supposed to get below 60 points in total to be considered an angel!

1) Smoked
2) Consumed alcohol
3) Slept in the same bed with someone of the opposite sex
4) Slept in the same bed with someone of the same sex
5) Made out with someone of the opposite sex
6) Made out with someone of the same sex
7) Had someone of the opposite sex in your room
8) Watched porn
9) Bought porn
10) Done drugs

TOTAL: 5

11) Taken painkillers
12) Taken someone else's prescription medicine
13) Lied to your parents
14) Lied to a friend
15) Snuck out of the house
16) Done something illegal
17) Cut yourself
18) Hurt someone
19) Wished someone to die
20) Seen someone die

TOTAL: 5

21) Missed curfew
22) Stayed out all night
23) Eaten a carton of ice cream by yourself
24) Been to a therapist
25) Been to rehab
26) Dyed your hair
27) Received a ticket
28) Been in a wreck
29) Been to a club
30) Been to a bar

TOTAL: 0

31) Been to a wild party
32) Seen the Mardi Gras
33) Had a fling
34) Had a spring break in Florida
35) Sniffed anything
36) Wore black nail polish
37) Wore armbands
38) Wore t-shirts with band names
39) Listened to rap
40) Own a 50 cent CD

TOTAL: 1

41) Dressed gothic
42) Dressed prep
43) Dressed punk
44) Dressed grunge
45) Stole something
46) Been too drunk to remember anything
47) Blacked out
48) Fainted
49) Had a crush on your neighbor
50) Had someone sneak into your room

TOTAL: 0

51) Snuck into someone else's room
52) Had a crush on someone of the same sex
53) Been to a concert
54) Dry humped someone
55) Been called a slut
56) Called someone a slut
57) Installed speakers in your car
58) Broke a mirror
59) Showered at someone of the opposites sex's house
60) Brushed your teeth with someone else's toothbrush

TOTAL: 2

61) Consider Mac, Dre, e40 or Mistah Fab your favorite rapper
62) Seen an R rated movie in theaters
63) Cruised the mall
64) Skipped school
65) Had an eating disorder
66) Had an injury
67) Gone to court
68) Walked out of a restaurant without paying
69) Caught something on fire
70) Lied about your age

TOTAL: 2

71) Owned an apartment
72) Cheated on your boyfriend/girlfriend
73) Cheated with someone
74) Got in trouble with the police
75) Talked to a stranger
76) Hugged a stranger
77) Kissed a stranger
78) Rode in the car with a stranger (Taxi driver)
79) Been sexually harassed
80) Been verbally harassed

TOTAL: 2

81) Met face to face with someone you met online
82) Stayed online for 12 hours straight
83) Talked on the phone for more than 6 hours straight
84) Watched TV for 12 hours straight
85) Been to a fair
86) Been called a bad influence
87) Cursed
88) Prank called someone
89) Laid in the bed with someone of the opposite sex
90) Cheated on a test

TOTAL: 3

91) Cheated on homework
92) Held hands with someone of the opposite sex
93) Been pushed into a pool
94) Played pool
95) Watched 5 hours of MTV straight
96) Had a crush on someone 10 years older than you
97) Had a crush on someone younger than you
98) Wear eyeliner
99) Skinny dipped
100) Laughed at someone who was seriously hurt

TOTAL: 5

GRAND TOTAL: 25 (Hmm...)

Alyssa's Quiz (I almost made her re-do it)

2008-11-08T20:19:00.001+08:00

Ten Sounds You Hear On A Daily Basis...
10. Phone Ringing
9. Voices of my family
8. Music
7. TV/ Radio
6. Muscles crackling
5. Keyboard typing
4. Splashes (from swimming)
3. Car
2. Footsteps
1. Mouse clicking

Nine Animals You Like, But Wouldn't Want As Pets...
9. Snakes
8. Elephants
7. Whales
6. Dolphins
5. Cheetahs

4. Hamsters
3. Guinea pigs
2. Dinosaurs
1. Birds

Eight Bands You Discovered in 2008...
8. Simple Plan
7. Green Day
6. The Ting Tings
5. Europe

4. Yellowcard

3. My Chemical Romance
2. Faber Drive
1. a-Ha

Seven Things Sitting On Your Kitchen Counter...
7. Plates
6. Spoons
5. Forks
4. Cups
3. Rags
2. Bread toaster
1. Gatorade cans

Six Colours You're Wearing (includes accessories)...
6. Black
5. White
4. Orange
3. Green
2. Red
1. Grey

Five Things Written This Month On Your Calendar...
5. Kunming Trip

4. ICS League
3. Graduation Day
2. Training twice a day
1. Bowling day

Four Possible Reasons You'd Be In A Hospital...
4. Car accident
3. Broken limbs
2. Dengue Fever
1. Touch Wood

Three Languages You'd Like To Learn...
3. Thai
2. French
1. Spanish

Two Board Games You Played Last...
2. Monopoly
1. Scrabble

One Reason To Keep On Going Even When You Want To Give Up...
1. "This is the only way that we should fly, this is the only way to go."

Tag 10 people...
1. Alan Leong
2. Andy Leong

3. Sophie Rusli
4. Marjorie Kong
5. Jeremy Mathews
6. Chua Shao Min
7. Stacy Tan
8. Vanessa Lim
9. Sherlynn Teo
10. Everyone else who skimmed through this quiz

Would you rather catch fire, get tortured of sip a nice cup of tea? MUST READ!!

2008-11-06T21:32:00.002+08:00

One tragic day, a suicide bomber named Peter died of cancer and was sent to the underworld downstairs. HE was then greeted by the devil, who offered to take him to three rooms where Peter can finally rest in 'peace'.

After a short briefing by the devil, Peter was aware that what's chosen is chosen. He nodded his head in full agreement and the devil escorted him to the three rooms in hell.

In the first room, it was SCORCHING HOT when Peter noticed the room being set on fire. It was just so hot that the heat almost melted Peter's face off. The devil shut the entrance door after three minutes.

In the second room, Peter noticed many many people including his 'terrorist champion' getting tortured. These people screamed in agony s they were caned, whipped, electrocuted, and even castrated. The devil shut the entrance door after three minutes.

In the third and final room, Peter noticed many friends sitting down on the tables sipping hot tea and cappuccino. "May I join you guys?" asked Peter.

"UHHHHHHHHHHH sure why not?" replied the tenants inside.

Peter then convinced the devil that the THIRD room would be his final resting place. The devil shut the entrance door after three minutes in agreement.

HALF AN HOUR LATER, after some ice-breaking with the tenants inside, the P.A sound system made an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, you've had your one hour of tea break, time to put your heads into your own poop and stand on YOUR HEAD for the next remaining hours of Today. YES, NOW!"

Everyone INCLUDING PETER was forced stuck their heads in poop three minutes later...

POLITICALLY CORRECT NON-PARTISAN JOKE

2008-11-06T21:12:00.001+08:00

While walking down the street one day a 'Member of Parliament' is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'

'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

'Now it's time to visit heaven.' So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'

The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. 'I don't understand,' stammers the MP. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?'

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning.... Today you voted.'

CHINESE AIR STEWARDESS... NEVER TAKE CHINA STUFF

2008-11-03T21:36:00.001+08:00

I didn't compose this, it was just sent to me by my dad. HAHA

China Southern Airlines Announcement ...Hilarious !!! This is a good one! [Pre-take off announcement on a China Southern Airlines Flight]. This is true.................TQ PLLM! An account of what was heard on a recent flight from Shenzhen to Qingtao.

Chinese Air Stewardess:

"Good afternoon, Ladies and the German. This is your cheap purser Wang Lui speaking. On behalf of China Sudden Airlines, I would like to welcome you on board our Bowling 737 from Shenzhen to Qingtao. Members of my crew speak Chinese and other languages that you do not know. It is a great pressure serving you to-die. Should you need any resistance during the fright, peace do pest the call button. I and my gals are available to make you feel comfortable. Meanwhile, the airkwaft is going to fry. Peace sit upright and keep you belt tightly fastened until dinner is served at five dirty p.m. Hope you would enjoy your fright with us. Funk kill (thank you)."

Future of Singapore Airspace

2008-11-02T09:55:00.002+08:00

"Damn it man! What is this!!!"

ERP prices are skyrocketing high these days...

TWELVE DOWN, SEVEN TO GO

2008-10-30T21:36:00.002+08:00

I'm just two weeks away before I officially disengage, separate, divorce, break free, and running further and further away from my school. Whoah, whoah. After that, I'm free to train about twice a day for good. Whoah, whoah. Come the 13th of November, I'd be singing a song of my long-awaited freedom. That means, no more getting involved in school activities, no more studying (temporarily), and I'm free to celebrate my freedom with my swim mates. Graduation day would also be the time, I'd be ripping the school uniform on me, and exposing my jammers... :-]

Just another seven more papers to go. English Language and E Math are already finished. Next stop, SOCIAL STUDIES! I've already arranged my plans for going back to training as and when I can make it, I think it's about time! Trust me, my swimming kakis are improving, and I wanna make sure that I do the least by maintaining my standard.

Okay, that's all I have about the first half of my O-Level exams. ONWARD TO GRADUATION! (And there's no turning back.)

Final update before O-Level exams

2008-10-11T22:21:00.002+08:00

For quite a while, I naturally thought that I wouldn't be able to update my blog before I sit for my O-Level exams, coming in less than a week's time. But let me just update you one more time, on the latest news regarding my preparations for the coming exams.

Since my Prelim exams ended, supplementary classes have been building up, to gear us up for the exams of our lives. I pray that the courses I have paid for, will help to build up my understanding of the subjects, and hopefully get this exam over and done with. I can only say now, that I'm already 75% prepared for the coming exams. At this moment, school has already ended and the time to clear our minds has come. That means, no more homework, no more tests, no more projects, just self-revision at your own pace in a comfortable environment other than school itself.

The continuous support from my friends, family, teachers and the Principal herself can spur me on in giving me positive 'booster jabs' for one of the most difficult times in my life. The least I can do right now, is to stay calm, and clear my mind clearly.

For my brave swimming kakis, I'll only see you when I see you, at the pool. Continue to train hard, don't quit. Looking forward to see you again very soon. And try to put up with the coach's bad temper. Without your support, I feel hopeless, and I'm very much grateful to have you in my life. Someday, most of you would be taking my place. And it'll be time for me to repay you the luck and the advice you've been giving me in tough times this year.

For my resilient teachers, I thank you straight from the heart, for not giving up on us and I feel that you deserve a lot of credit for the continuous effort in helping us to gear up for the O-Level exams. It's been a pleasure to have you with us. Without you, I feel like I'm helpless in the coming exams. Wouldn't you agree?

For my trusted schoolmates, we should work hard and pick up from how we performed in the Prelim exams this year. I think it's important to study hard, because the exam you'll be taking, decides your future. Do not give up, keep pushing, cos' this is the moment of our victory and success in putting this burden to an end. Stay calm, and most importantly, STAY FOCUSED. ALL THE BEST!

For all those taking the O-Level exams this year, ALL THE BEST TO YOU! May the smartest candidate win. Freedom awaits you in mid-November. COME ON!

2008 Prelim Results: More Detailed

2008-10-11T21:53:00.002+08:00

English Language: 57.5% C5

E Maths: 62% B4

Science (Phy + Chem): 65% B3

Combined Humanities (SS + History): 52% C6

Geography (Revised): 52% C6

Design & Technology: 68% B3

CME: A

CCA: A2

P.E: B

Total: 356.5 / 600

Percentage: 59.4%

Class Position: 2 / 28

Level Position: 68 / 219

L1R4 Aggregate: 17

L1R5 Aggregate: 27

Promotion Status: Completed S4 EXPRESS

Conduct: VERY GOOD

Attendance: 186 / 191

Comments: A sports enthusiast, Justin is a person with clearly defined goals who will spare no effort to attain them. His sense of focus and his ability to strike a good balance between his academic responsibilities and his CCA, competitive swimming, display his maturity at such a young age. His success at competitive swimming should inspire him to work even harder to achieve his academic potential.

Principal's comments: Your determination & resilience will stand you in good stead in the coming 'O' level exams. You should do much better. All the Best!

No remorse about missing Prom Nite 2008

2008-09-29T21:48:00.006+08:00

This shall probably be my last post before my O-Level exams, since they're less than a month away, I shall not procrastinate any longer. But let me just pen down my burden that's still vivid in my mind, to make room for the content that is critical and much needed in the coming exam.

Since the time I first set foot into this school, I have been very unhappy with my school's environment around me. I hated the last-minute schedule changes made by the teaching staff about any extra classes or events. It affected my daily routine very significantly. I hated the people who talk like idiots around me, but seriously. I feel that I want to burst out of the school gates already. I know it's ridiculous if I do that before my O-Levels, I WILL do that after Graduation Day following the end of my O-Levels.

This school is a DAMN BORING place to study in. I'm not saying that I hate studying but I hate wasting my time walking around the school for nothing, especially during recess. Somehow I wish I could really just turn on my music and do my revision, which UNFORTUNATELY, is banned in school. DOUBLE BOREDOM! I'm saying all this because I feel no remorse, no shame and no pity. EVEN MY PARENTS are not happy with the last-minute changes in my school schedule because they face the same problem as I do: FRUSTRATIONS!! So I'll have backup for those of you who criticize my post for tonight. NO WAY YOU CAN CONVINCE ME THAT I'M WRONG IN DOING SO.

AND FROM WHAT do I deserve to be in the Prom Nite anyway? Is it because I represented the school in swimming competitions? I'm sorry, but you thought wrong. It's because I don't feel like I should have a genuine celebration with people who look, think and talk like idiots. I'm not referring to all, but MOST of the people in my Sec. 4 level. DON'T WANNA BE A JUNYUAN IDIOT! >.< I'm totally SHUT DOWN, by the atmosphere in the school.

I agree that one good example of criticizing this school for making steam coming out of raging bulls, like me is the National Day Celebrations this year. ABSOLUTE BOREDOM! So I think the Prom Nite would be just as boring, I wouldn't feel shameful about missing it.

Not only do I not feel remorseful for missing the Prom Nite 2008, I too, don't feel so guilty for not signing up for the School Alumni. If you ask me why, I suggest you go back to reading from the 2nd to the 3rd paragraph again.

On the bottom line, DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE ME BACK IN SCHOOL NEXT YEAR, OR EVEN AT THE PROM NITE DINNER in November, this year.

Prelim Verdict - Satisfactory...

2008-09-26T20:27:00.002+08:00

Hello! Well, firstly I would like to apologize for failing to update my blog for more than a week now. It has been quite a hard time, ever since I finished my Prelims, which means that it's going to be another 2 weeks of intensive revision, hectic schedules and more supplementary lessons after school. I'm not saying that all is bad. I would say that sacrifices have to be made sometimes, in order to sort things out.

I'm glad to say that I have improved VASTLY on some subjects like English, Math, Chemistry and even Social Studies. :-D Although I would have scored an 'A' for Math and Chemistry, I knew that I have done my best. Now it's also helpful to me, to know that my Physics and History have slumped to my lowest records so far. I don't know how that happened but I kind of figured out a way to venture of of that 'abyss'.

I feel that the results I get shows how prepared I am for the O-Level exams. It's going to be a more pleasant experience for me because I can revise for the 2nd time, and just in time for the big match. But the least I can do right now, is stay calm. More stress, slower performance, right?

My arch rivals are still hot on my ass and um, I think it makes me bolder and makes me wanna study a little harder. So I'm gonna have a go for that one. Hmm... And here's some advice who have slumped in their Prelims this month, who's to say you're stupid? It's just a matter of whether you have the passion in studying the subject or not. 'Stupidity' is the most contradictory word to apply at this stage of the year.

Anyway, I haven't been training so consistently lately. I just pray that I can still maintain my standards. So as I said before, I will be skipping Prom Nite to train harder again with the rest of my crew.

Okay, that's all I have for tonight. Here's wishing every student I know, all the best for the End-of-Year exams. And to my Sec. 4 brethren, ALL THE BEST IN PREPARING FOR THE BIG MATCH! Stay focused!

Lighter Side: 1st Edition

2008-09-17T20:52:00.002+08:00

Hello again. Firstly, I'm very pleased to announce that my Prelim exams have come to an end. Now for the part with the most anxiety, as the results shall be revealed to us from tomorrow onwards.

I'm just very delighted that my stress is half-eliminated, the other half stays until I have completed my O-Levels.

Anyway, another piece of good news is that, I don't have to worry about my D & T project anymore. IT IS FINISHED!

Alright, I have also confirmed my holiday get away to KUNMING later this December. It's gonna be filled with loads of excitement and hard work, if you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I'm talking about a 17-day training camp on 1900m above mean sea level. Yeah, it's gonna get harder and harder to breathe, but it made little difference to my lungs, so I shouldn't be a problem for me. (:

Right, that's all I have for you today. Until next time, good night!

201st POST

2008-09-16T12:29:00.003+08:00

Finally, just to share with you the last article from an E-mail sent to me by Mom earlier this afternoon. Please feel free to leave any comments on this. Thank you.

The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.

2. Not urinating in the morning.

3. Too much eating.

4. Skipping breakfast.

5. Consuming too much medication.

6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.

7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.

8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of the liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to 'schedule.'

DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH...............

AND PASS THIS TO ALL WHOM YOU LOVE & CARE

FOR. ....................SAFETY FIRST!!!

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

2008-09-16T12:23:00.001+08:00

Just to share with you another article from an E-mail sent to me by my Mom this afternoon. Please feel free to leave any comments on this. Thank you.

1. No Breakfast

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power...

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain

The Top 5 CANCER-CAUSING Foods

2008-09-16T12:20:00.002+08:00

Just to share with you guys an E-mail recently sent to me by my Mom this afternoon. Please feel free to leave any comments on this. Thank you.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH!!

Live Life Without Limits!

AND PASS THIS TO WHOM YOU CARE ABOUT!

The top five cancer-causing foods are:

1. Hot dogs
Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.

2. Processed meats and bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams, may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4. French fries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adam.

5. Chips, crackers, and cookies
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.

Random Quiz...

2008-09-12T20:51:00.007+08:00

1. The person who tagged you is...

Andy Leong

2. Your relationship with him/her is?

Swim mate and one of my best friends

3. Your five impressions of him/her

Committed, versatile, cheerful, mature, understanding

4. The most memorable thing he/she had done for you

The invitation to a BBQ dinner at the chalet in Pasir Ris, back in BOXING DAY in 2004.

5. The most memorable thing he/she had said to you.

"All the best for your O-Levels!!! Score AAAAAAAA."

6. If he/she become your lover, you will feel weird?

I don't mind if we're lovers on friendship issues, not the homosexual issues. (:

7. If he/she become your lover, thing he/she has to...

Anything, so long as we don't have sex. (:

8. If he/she becomes your enemy, you will...

I doubt that'll happen, right?

9. If he/she become your enemy, the reason will be...

Different ideologies

10. The most desired thing you want to do for him/her now is?

Continue to be mentors with one another. :-D

11. Your overall impression of him/her is...

As I said, understanding, easy-going and versatile

12. How you think people around you will feel about you?

Ask them, I'm not sure.

13. The characters you love of yourself are...
Versatile, adaptable, committed, passionate

14. On the contrary, the characteristics you hate most about yourself are...

I've got nothing to discuss about.

15. The most ideal person you want to be is...

Myself! Everyone is unique, just the way they are.

16. For people that care and like you, say something to them...

Hello! I'm glad that you're still with me, I greatly appreciate your overlooking of everything I do!

17. Pass this quiz to 10 people, whom you wish to know how they feel about you pass to people that have blogs only.

1. Aloysius Lam

2. Alyssa Lie
3. Marjorie Kong
4. Sophie Rusli :P
5. Sherlynn Teo
6. Vanessa Lim
7. Alan Leong
8. Christy Ho
9. Roy Pek
10. Everyone who reads this post, and has a blog

18. Who is no.6 having relationship with? (Vanessa)

No idea, I don't wanna find out.

19. Is no.9 a male or female? (Roy)

Male

20. If no.7 and 10 are together, will it be a good thing? (Alan + Everyone else)

Depends...

21. What is no.2 studying about? (Alyssa)

Things that are different from what we're studying here in Singapore

23. When was the last time you had a chat with no.3?(Marjorie)

Last night!

24. What kind of music band does no.8 like? (Christy)

Not sure...

25. Does no.1 have any siblings? (Aloysius)

Ask him...

26. Will you woo no.3? (Marjorie)

I'll try. :] :] :]

27. How about no.7? (Alan)

Ask him whether he feels bored now :]

28. Is no.4 single? (Sophie)

Yes, she is.

29. What is the surname of no.5? (Sherlynn)

Teo

30. What’s the hobby of no.10? (Everyone)

I'm not gonna ask the whole world about this... :]

WORK, WORK!

2008-09-06T21:39:00.002+08:00

No, no, no, no! The term school break has already come to an end. No doubt I enjoyed it a lot, it gave me a pleasant time to relax and recharge before returning to school this coming Monday. The holidays were half-spoiled, due to the fact that I had to kick in some revision. I mean, what choice do I have?

It's just a matter of preparing to go through an entire week of exams this week and the "O" Level exams from next month until November.

Okay, so here's the time-table for my coming PRELIM EXAMS, next term.

Monday: Maths Paper 1 + Geog Paper 1

Tuesday: History Paper

Wednesday: Maths Paper 2 + Geog Paper 2

Thursday: Physics Paper 3

Friday: Chemistry Paper 3

Next Monday: D & T Paper 1

Next Wednesday: Science Practical Exam

Alright, the next week is D & T and science practical. -.-" Thanks to my previous D & T project, now I have to revise my D & T theory from scratch again. 0.0

Right, that's all I have to post, in this update. Good night, everyone.

The Great Depression

2008-09-05T23:07:00.002+08:00

Alright, so yesterday we had the 12th APSC Championships at the pool in Farrer Park. Guess what, the moment I did my warm-up, I FORESAW that I was not going to be able to get all 3 PBs for the night. Damn it, our coach made us train and corrected our stokes, moments before the competition.

So we had this retarded march-past thing again at 5:15pm. Me, Aloysius, Derek, Sheryl, Sophie and Stacy were called out and were presented with club T-shirts for volunteering to help out in the juniors' meet the previous two nights.

So we started out with 400m Free, with Aloy, Matthew, Joshua, Aik Wen, Charles, Andy and Derek being in the same heat as mine. End result, I clocked in 4:44.54. Honestly, how UNCOUTH could these numbers sound like? The number '4' can sound like "death" in Chinese. -.-"

Next was the 200 IM, I finished with a time of 2:35.47. Minus eight seconds from my previous time in April this year. Hmm...

Finally, I swum 100 Free, in the last heat of the meet. I didn't do so well for that either. At the 35th metre I was already like "Aiyah, cannot make it!" So I ended up finishing in 1:02.63. Damn...

The day ended with me coming in 3rd overall for my age group. I can only rate my performance 3 stars out of 5. Because, I know that my preparations for the meet have been lousy. The atmosphere under the new coach has changed significantly. I think she's training us for the army instead of the 2010 Youth Olympics. See us do MORE LAND TRAINING than swimming these days. I don't even get the feel of the water now. -.-"

I feel that our club is shrinking in size now, ever since I joined RW, people have been starting to quit, as in not going to switch club or anything, but seriously stopped swimming. O.O I feel that our new coach cannot control much of her anger, she doesn't laugh as loud as we do, she only takes a puff during training. Some of our swimmers quoted that they won't swim until our new coach resigns. Hmm...

Here's the bottom line, I can only focus on my "O" Level exams now. After that, can my soul be "set free" from the world of idiots. Honestly, I want to neglect those idiots in school for life, 99999999999999999 x 10 to the power of, you know. I'm so desperate to get them out of my sight, I don't want them to ask the same questions about my swimming, I'm DAMN EXHAUSTED in answering these stupid questions.

That's it. OH HOW I WANT TO BE FREE... Good night, everybody.

12th APSC Swimming Championship 2008

2008-09-03T20:46:00.001+08:00

Hello again, guess what! I'm in for yet another swimming competition at my OWN TRAINING BASE tomorrow afternoon/evening. This year, the meet will comprise of only one night of entertainment and fun, unlike the previous years when we've been hosting it for 2 nights. -.-

Anyway, I'll only be swimming in 3 events: 100m Free, 200m IM and 400m Free. Oh well, listed below are my seeded timings for tomorrow. Note that they're the times for me to beat and continue improving. No trophy is okay, but I'd be grateful if I can go home with 3 PBs in mind.

100m Freestyle, 1:00.96

200m Individual Medley, 2:43 plus

400m Freestyle, 4:40.32

Alright then, the meet will start at 5pm tomorrow, I doubt there'd be any serious activity over there, since it's an informal competition and the atmosphere will be filled with loads of laughter and excitement.

Right, that's it then. Good night.

Teachers' Day 2008: If You're Gone

2008-08-29T22:45:00.002+08:00

Greetings to all teachers in Singapore! The time has come to honor your efforts in bringing education to life and life to education. Without you, education would seriously have not been made possible. What are we, if we don't have teachers like you? We wouldn't have accountants, nor environmentalists, nor even ministers.

Today we celebrate Teachers' Day, to honor your efforts in gearing us up for the next chapter of life. For me, as a graduating student, I feel I would be advancing to my next chapter of life next year, in Temasek Polytechnic. Without your guidance, my direct admission into Poly, would not have been possible.

Now, at long last, it is time for me to thank you, thank you for your very much needed guidance, you were always there to help us out of trouble and erase those question marks from our minds. Next year, I won't be returning to school, because I seriously need to train hard for the 2010 Youth Olympics now. But not to worry, your strong character still remains. Let me just take this moment off to acknowledge the efforts of my teachers below.

Mdm. Irmawati - Form Teacher of our class

Mr. Loh Chee Teng - for helping me out on the "O" Level D & T project

Mr. Kelvin Koh - for your encouragement and continuous support

Ms. Ross - for helping me improve on my History essays

Mdm. Faraziyah Osman - for helping me improve on my SBQs

Mrs. Sharon Tan - for helping me to improve Math

Right, let me dedicate a song to you, to show you how important you are to me and how much I would miss you when I walk out the door next year. It's titled "If You're Gone" by Matchbox Twenty. Enjoy the song. (:

Thank you.

Happy 16th Birthday, Justin!

2008-08-21T22:10:00.002+08:00

The day that I have long been waiting for has come! The time I turned 16 years old today was when I was doing English work in class this afternoon. Between 12pm to 1pm, my teacher and class sang the traditional song, not the song by The Click Five but anyway... Haha

I must add that today is the happiest day of the year for me, this day of the year is very unique to me. Because it reminds me of my purpose of bring brought into this planet in the year 1992. Today, I celebrate 16 years of everlasting love and care specially given to me by my friends and more importantly, my friends.

Let me just take this time off to thank everyone who wished me a very happy birthday to me today. YOU GUYS ROCK MAN! In addition, I want to thank the following people for the presents! :-D

Bryan - 'Beijing 2008' T-shirt and collar pin

Aunty Jean - Cake with 1 large, and 6 small candles

Aunty Janice - Box of 6 donuts from 'Donut Factory'

Aunty Wendy - Red APSC T-shirt

Sis - 'Indiana Jones' sweater

Dad - 'Creative' ZEN MP4 player

YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS MAN! You remind me that sometimes, sacrifices have to be made in order for things to work out according to plan. Hmm...haha. Oh by the way, I don't know what to expect from Marjorie but if she's reading this, she's gonna be giggling away. I'm gonna have to wait for next year to get her present. :/ Anyway, thank you in advance once again for the moral support you guys have given me, and that you really recognize who I really am. You guys really helped me to recognize my true potential, to my swim mates, you have really helped me a lot by letting me compete with you in training. It's the key to helping me in improving my swimming timings! (:

I also want to thank my school mates for scoring higher than me in some tests, it has really made me bolder into knowing that I could only do better and up my standards. (:

Now, the time has come to thank my family for giving me both emotional and moral support in the most difficult times of my life. I gladly acknowledge the atmosphere you have built for me, at home and even how I should express my feelings outside. I am delighted to know that I'm living in a peaceful world. I am delighted that I have friends who show their support to me. I am delighted that I can get along with people well. I am also delighted of the food that I have been fed with. THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD for the FREE FOOD! :-D Without my friends and family, life to me would have been so meaningless, I could die a very painful death. Touch wood...

I should also feel blessed, knowing that I have confirmed my place in TEMASEK POLYTECHNIC, with the Aerospace Engineering Course! YEAH, BABEH! In addition, I praise the Lord for not letting my History teacher test the class on Hitler today. xD Except that tomorrow, I have my PRELIM PAPERS, consisting of Mother Tongue and Social Studies. :/

The donuts and cheesecakes that Mom and I brought to training today were perfectly delicious! If you had missed them, rest assured, I'll be celebrating again at my Dad's stall at the Old Airport Road hawker centre on Saturday night, after training. Because my birthday IN THE LUNAR CALENDAR falls on that day! Sounds auspicious to carry out a get-together 'party', doesn't it? Haha

Anyway, I conclude my post by THANKING YOU AGAIN IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND WELL WISHES FOR MY UPCOMING "O" LEVEL EXAMS THIS OCTOBER!

Good night, folks!

16 consecutive years of love

2008-08-20T22:37:00.001+08:00

Yes, tomorrow's the day! Less than 24 hours away from now, until I turn 16! Just to inform you that I have a History SEQ test tomorrow, and PRELIMS on the day after.

However, NOTHING SHALL BAR MY HAPPINESS TOMORROW! Okay, will blog more tomorrow. For sure. (: Be right back.

Time for some consideration

2008-08-14T15:09:00.002+08:00

First, there was one FURIOUS neighboring resident. Second, one FRUSTRATED school Principal. Third, groups of very SENSITIVE oral examiners. Fourth, one BAD-TAMPERED English teacher. Fifth, one very THREATENING disciplinary master. WHO WOULD IT BE, NEXT?

It all started when the frustrated school Principal came up onto the stage in school yesterday, to read out an E-mail sent by one of the neighboring residents with a toddler in her hands. That resident was furious about some students in our school, who refused to move to the rear of a bus, despite the instructions given by the bus driver and the woman herself. Because none of the students moved, she had to stand. And no one on board the bus was kind enough to offer her a seat. One traumatizing morning yesterday, the frustrated school Principal scolded the 1,500 students in the school, having read the E-mail which stated that "Junyuan students don't have the heart". I couldn't bear with the E-mail longer, because not all of us don't have that heart. And yet, our school Principal YELLED at the whole lot of us, as if everyone in the school is guilty. Since I haven't boarded a bus in 6 months, I think the sole credit shouldn't go to me or any other innocent students. Moreover, THAT RESIDENT should have hailed a cab to sit in, instead of standing in a CROWDED BUS!

Another issue that has come to my attention is that the oral examiners are very sensitive. From what I heard from a bad-tampered English teacher, some of our candidates' conduct was poor. Some even wept after the exam. And all it took, was one bad-tampered woman to shout at us AGAIN this morning, AS IF WE'RE GUILTY YET AGAIN. Most unfortunate for those who took the mock exam today. For God's sake, they have a mock paper today and a preliminary exam tomorrow. All per the Principal's instructions and her lousy time planning.

Lastly, the threatening disciplinary master seemed eager to catch anyone who skips the paper today.

MY question to those adults who complained for two days in a row. "What do you expect us to do now?" We've heard you people complaining, so what do you expect us to do after this?

Anyway, here're the answers for the 3rd trivia on the previous post.

1. True

2. True, won a nailclipper set from the coach.

3. False, I got full marks for that test.

4. True

5. True, see my Facebook profile if you wanna find out more.

3rd TRUE or FALSE trivia

2008-08-10T16:52:00.002+08:00

Hello, readers. Just for the sake of updating my blog again, let me just add in another trivia about myself. But this time you have to tell me what you think of the statements given below this paragraph, whether it's true or false. After that, I'll be keeping you guys in suspense until the next time I update, when I give you guys the answers. :-) Does that sound good? Hopefully so...

1. I don't go for tuition.

2. My best bowling score for one game was 181 pin falls last week.

3. I got a near perfect score for my recent Physics test.

4. I lost out to the perfect score by 5 marks in my English Prelim Oral last Monday.

5. I can not only study, swim and bowl.

What do you think of the five statements above? True or false?

Worst celebrations in my life...

2008-08-10T11:41:00.003+08:00

Recently, we 'celebrated' our country's 43rd year of independence. At the same time, the 29th Olympic Games have also commenced with Czech Republic winning the first gold medal of the games.

On Friday, I reported to school as usual at 7.15pm. The event kicked off with us heading to the rugby field for the food and fun fair. My first thought of the day was that there was really nothing much to do, we didn't even get to watch the concert nor observe the parade. At the fair, I really had nothing enticing to do, but wait until about 10am, when this recycling campaign was scheduled to kick off. I'm telling you, some students refused to cooperate in the attendance-taking, some of us strayed to other areas in the field to delay the start of the campaign.

So we set off for the neighborhood apartments 879 and 880, along the main road. So our class split into groups, only to realize that we could only collect less than 2 kilos of newspapers. I felt that those people wanted to sell their old newspapers to the rag-and-bone lurking in the carpark nearby. So my class and I headed back to the school at 11pm, half an hour before the others. The moment I saw our Guest-of-Honor Minister Mah Bow Tan, I felt like the school has catered for the VIPs more than us, students. I could even think of drawing a cartoon showing the school enjoy watching the concert while the graduating classes pick up the trash.

I felt that the 'brilliant' celebrations were a complete failure. The celebrations this year were 86.5% worse than last year's. Such a lousy ending to our stay in this school. I could only say "No comments, it was just a very badly organized event."

At home yesterday, I didn't even have the mood to watch the National Day parade on TV. I thought of watching those swimmers cruising in the pool at the Water Cube Aquatics Centre in Beijing.

It was like the whole world is watching the Olympics, while only half of Singapore watching the National Day parade taking place.

Even Mom didn't enjoy the celebrations in school on Friday, alright. She told me that the Parents Support Group in school is "very unsupportive". I thought that I shouldn't be visiting the school after I collect my "O" Level results early next year. Mom agreed, saying that she'd rather support my swim team.

Believe me, Mom was fuming with anger with the set-up on Friday morning. I'm telling you, I was FUMING WITH ANGER AND DISAPPOINTMENT. All those wretches... GET THEM OUT OF MY SIGHT, MAN.

That's it, folks. Until next time, goodbye.

Pain is temporary, glory is forever...

2008-08-06T22:07:00.002+08:00

Since the school holidays in the month of June ended, I have seen exam pressure building up because the Prelim exams are now A WEEK AWAY from now. And that the 'O' Level exams, the ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM is coming up in less than 80 days' time. O.O

Before the day of our 43rd year of independence on Saturday. I would like to take time of now to wish the people I know, who are going to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, ALL THE BEST IN BRINGING HOME THE DREAM WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, TO COME TRUE! :-D

And also, just a few words of encouragement to those who are feeling the exam stress now: "This is the only way that we should fly, this is the only way to go". :D Remember those words. It shall teach you to go through our moment of suffering and we can THROW IT ALL AWAY when the time has come, IN NOVEMBER.

TO AAARMS!

Sorry, Grandpa... I still love you

2008-08-02T21:44:00.003+08:00

Hello! So today I went for the Inter-Constituency Swimming Championships 2008 at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex. It was only today that I realized that this date on the lunar calendar, was the death anniversary of my grand dad. So I thought that I'd honor him by doing my PBs again. WHICH I FAILED TO DO SO.

So today was an ordinary competition day for me, I started my warm-up at around 12.45pm at the public pool. I finished at 1.15pm, when I was like scanning the whole complex looking for Marge. It was only until after my Freestyle event that I confirmed that I had really seen her, ALL THE WHILE. The sad thing was that we didn't even talk, we just like waved each other "Hello". That was the only time that I got to see her after we collected our Identification Cards at the counter.

Before my 50 Freestyle event, I registered at the counter, surrendered my IC, and sat under the hot sun, waiting for my turn to race. That guy who arranged the chairs under the sun ought to be slapped in the face, it was a good time for dehydration.

So I swam, and I looked up at the timing board, and saw that I clocked +0.17 off my PB. Darn it... After that, I thought I could rely on my breaststroke to impress Ah Gong, but unfortunately, I got disqualified, DQ-ed. ARGHHHHH! Busted...

Okay, end of the story, I went home empty handed, but knowing that I got 12th position for my Freestyle with a time of 29.09 secs. Moral of the DISQUALIFICATION, never splash yourself with pool water when the race is still ongoing. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT, but I didn't. So, never mind...

Okay, I'll end my post here. To Andy, Happy 17th Birthday, sorry for not making PBs to give you a good birthday present. I DID MY BEST! Same for Ah Gong, sorry for not doing my PBs to impress you well enough, I really did my best to honor my love for you. :-) Hear me. :-) I was wrong about my performance, about the rules, and about the competition. Hmm...

Okay, I'll end my post here. Good night. :-D

In the month of August!

2008-08-01T21:39:00.002+08:00

Ho! It's already the start of a new month. It's the start of my birthday month, it's also the start of the 7th month in the lunar calendar. In less than 3 weeks' time, I'd be celebrating my 16 years of age and my 2 years of being with the RW team, in my swimming training.

The countdown to the 21st of August this month has already begun! I just cannot wait to celebrate with my friends in school as well as during training. And tomorrow, I'm headed down to Toa Payoh Swimming Complex at 12.30pm for the Inter-constituency Swimming Championships 2008. Also known as "Inter-con".

Well, I'll be swimming 50m Free and 50m Breaststroke. As usual, I'm hoping to hit my PBs again and do my family, friends and coaches proud. I'll be swimming for Tampines North, well at least it's not a one-man team anymore. And it's quite a relief to realize just that.

The training in my club has already changed to a new program through a new coach. Believe me, you wouldn't wanna throw something in her way, she behaves like the female Josef Stalin over there. If you know what I mean! Haha...

The countdown to my Prelims has reached to a tally of less than 14 days already, and in less than 90 days, I'll be sitting for my 'O' Levels. ROAR! More supplementary lessons have been stepping up, which to me is a good thing. At least there shall be more time for revision with the teachers to guide us. This could be bad news for me as well, this means that I'M BECOMING BUSIER! AHHHHHHHHH!

Anyway, there's nothing much more I can write about for my first post of the month, except this: HAVE A PLEASANT MONTH AHEAD!

Ah Lek's Composition

2008-07-28T20:41:00.001+08:00

You might like it. This is hilarious... ..even an
Englishman could not construct sentences using numeric, which is exclusive only to Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Ah Lek was asked to make a sentence using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Not only did he do it 1 to 10, he did it again from 10 back to 1. This is what he came up with.....

1 day I go 2 climb a 3 outside a house to peep. But the couple saw me, so I panic and 4 down. The man rushed out and wanted to 5 with me.. I ran until I fell 6 and threw up. So I go into 7 -eleven and grabbed some 8 to throw at him. Then I took a 9 and try to stab at him. 10 God he run away. 10 I put the 9 back and pay for the 8 and left 7-eleven. Next day I called my boss and told him I was 6 . He said 5, tomorrow also no need to comeback 4 work. ! He also asked me to go climb a 3 and jump down. I don't understand. I am so nice 2 him but I don't know what he 1.

At home... sick again...

2008-07-25T15:45:00.001+08:00

I am still ill, since Wednesday, I haven't been schooling. Since the start of this week, I haven't been training. Define "ill". "ILL" meaning fever + sore throat + nose infection + headache. I have absolutely no idea considering whether it was fated or it just happened to be passed on from another individual, or perhaps it was due to the unpredictable chilly weather outside.

I don't know. Perhaps I knew I was gonna get a fever on Tuesday, when I experienced a bad head, thus my concentration on my studies waned. Both my arms are resting on top of my head, wandering when this would end.

By the way, I'm shortlisted for an interview on Monday at the Temasek Engineering School at 4:15pm. I pray that my illness wanes just before it so happens that I might fall apart in that room. Pfft... ALSO, I have my Prelim EL Oral Exam on Wednesday at 2.30pm. I hope that my sore throat would wane, before my interview. I'll be waiting...

I hope to start preparing for the interview during this weekend. I hope that I can recover fast to catch up with my schoolwork and not-so-rigorous training. Oh well...

Nothing else to write about now... Until next time, folks.

FARTMAN!!

2008-07-21T22:34:00.001+08:00

Just a video similar to what I received from Dad through E-mail. Have a good laughter, folks! :-D

Another quiz, and a quick update

2008-07-20T21:05:00.002+08:00

Just for the sake of updating my blog here.

TEN things you wish you could say to TEN different people right now, don't name the person
1. No use quitting, because winners never quit and quitters never win!

2. The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire.

3. A problem spoken is a problem half-solved.

4. Failing does not make you a failure, giving up does!

5. Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.

6. Never say die.

7. You must feel good at doing lots of things, in order not to bring tension to yourselves.

8. Live today, FIGHT TOMORROW.

9. Suicide is the most foolish way to end serious depression.

10. It's not over tonight, just give me one more chance to make it right.

NINE things about yourself:
1. I am sitting for my "O" Level exams this year.

2. I am constantly improving in my swimming.

3. I'm proud to be alive right now.

4. I respect my family members most.

5. I'm not a quitter.

6. I dislike smokers.

7. My sister is 18 years older than me (correct at time of publishing).

8. My favorite color is red.

9. I dislike people who talk and think like idiots.

EIGHT ways to win my heart
1. Love my family.

2. My friends shall stay on my side forever.

3. Speak to more adults, parents mostly.

4. Pass my "O" Level exams.

5. Listen to music to relax my mind.

6. Migrate to Australia.

7. Go bowling and go swimming.

8. Impress the people who know me, by doing well in swimming and studies.

SEVEN things that cross your mind a lot
1. I should cut down on my training for now.

2. I wish that I can train in Kunming after my "O" Level exams.

3. I need to improve my Chinese.

4. I wanna travel and see the world.

5. I wish I could fly.

6. I need to study EXTREMELY hard now.

7. I need food and water, and enough rest.

SIX things I wished I never did
1. Shatter my bones

2. Die a horrible death

3. Be arrogant for life

4. Eat bugs.

5. Go to those countries in South Asia

6. Be involved in an "I shouldn't be alive" scenario.

FIVE turn-offs.
1. Idiots

2. Hypocrites

3. Vulgarities

4. Gangsters (got a few in MY SCHOOL)

5. Tricksters

FOUR turn-offs (Huh? Again?)
1. Irresponsible

2. Sabotage

3. People who judge me by my appearance

4. People who call me an idiot

THREE words to sum up my life
1. Peaceful

2. Enjoyable

3. Hopefully eternal :-]

TWO things I won't do 'til I die.
1. Eat a cockroach.

2. Commit suicide

ONE last confession

1. My dad cuts my hair every 2 to 4 weeks.

Okay, the quiz is done. Just one more thing before I end my update for now.

My study timetable is going according to my plan, to study intensively for my coming "O" Level exams. I think I can make it to a direct entry into Temasek Poly. Hopefully so.. And this hope shall never die. :-D I hope that my intensive studying does not turn me into a lazy swimmer for the time being, since I have to cut down on my training for now. I hope that I wouldn't let my passion for swimming die either. Hmm...

That's it, I have nothing much more to write about now. Good night.

Tagged by Marge: TOP EIGHT QUIZ

2008-07-16T23:04:00.002+08:00

Top 8
1. Aloysius Lam
2. Andy Leong
3. Marjorie Kong
4. Alyssa Lie
5. Jeremy Mathews
6. Chan Kai Sheng
7. Sherlynn Teo
8. Alan Leong

NUMBER 8
1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN 8?

4 years, I think

2. HAVE YOU EVER DATED 8?
Nope

3. IS NUMBER 8 ONE OF YOUR CLOSE FRIENDS?
Of course!

4. HAVE YOU EVER KISSED 8?
Nahhh

5. Name one favorite memory with 8?
Swimming with him all the way

6. DO YOU TRUST 8?
YES!

7. WOULD YOU KEEP A SECRET FROM 8?
Nope!

8. WOULD YOU TAKE A ROAD TRIP WITH 8?
Of course! I wouldn’t mind a off-road trip though…

9. IS 8 DATING ANYONE ON YOUR TOP 8?

I doubt so…

10. ARE YOU IN 8'S TOP 8?

Not sure… haha

NUMBER 7

11. HAVE YOU EVER KISSED NUMBER 7?

Nope, I don’t know when it’s gonna happen but…

12. NAME ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT 7?

SO GLAM!
13. WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING FOR 7?
Hmm

14. ONE THING 7 IS GOOD AT?
Slacking

15. ARE YOU OLDER OR YOUNGER THAN 7?
Older than her by 5 months and one week

16. HAVE YOU EVER HUGGED 7?
Nope…

NUMBER 6
22. HAS 6 DONE ANYTHING ILLEGAL?

I hope not…

23. DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS WITH 6?

Nahhh

24. HAVE YOU EVER KISSED 6?

Nahhh
25. ARE YOU IN 6'S TOP 8?

I have absolutely no idea…

26. EVER LAUGHED WITH 6?

AR-BUH-DEN!

27.WOULD 6 BE THERE FOR YOU?
No idea… but hopefully so

29. WOULD YOU BE THERE FOR 6?

If I can…

30. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT 6?
He likes challenging me in a friendly manner

NUMBER 5
31. HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW 5?
Pretty well.

33. HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN NUMBER 5?
One year and 2 months

34. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE WITH 5?
Swim

35. HOW DID YOU MEET 5?
Swimming

38. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT 5?
His character, mostly…

38. ARE YOU ON 5's TOP 8?

Maybe?

39. What do you have in common with 5?
We swim…

NUMBER 4
41. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW 4?
6 months back…

42. HAVE YOU EVER MADE OUT WITH 4?
Sadly no…

43. ARE YOU RELATED TO 4?
As friends, yes…

44. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL WITH 4?
Nope, I don’t study in a girls’ school like Aly…

45. HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN 4?
More than 5 months…

46. ARE YOU ON 4'S TOP 8?
No idea…

47. WHAT'S YOUR BEST MEMORY WITH 4?

Chatting on MSN haha

48. HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON WITH 4?
We’re swimmers

49. DO YOU LOVE 4?
As a friend, yes…

NUMBER 3

50. HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN 3?
4 months

51. WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE 3?
Can’t remember… haha

52. HAVE YOU EVER DATED 3?
Nope…

53. HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON WITH 3?
WE SWIM!

54. ARE THEY FUNNY?
Quite…

55. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL WITH 3?
I don’t go to a girls’ school like Marge…

56. ARE YOU ON 3'S TOP 8?

No idea…

57. WHATS THE LAST THING YOU DID WITH #3?
Chat on MSN

58. WHAT IS SOMETHING 3 IS GOOD AT?
Good at creating blogs

59. WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT 3?

Guess :-D

NUMBER 2
60. HOW DID YOU MEET THIS PERSON?
In swimming

61. WOULD YOU EVER GO OUT WITH #2?
If I have time…

62. DO YOU LOVE #2?
As a friend, yes…

63. HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN IN TROUBLE WITH 2?
Nahhh

64. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO WITH 2?
Swim! And race one another!

65. DO YOU LIKE THIS PERSON MORE THAN A FRIEND?
Yes…

66. WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT #2?
His motivational character…

NUMBER 1
67. HAVE YOU EVER KISSED NUMBER 1?

Nahhh
75. DO YOU LOOK UP TO THEM?
YEAH!

76. HAVE YOU EVER FOUGHT WITH 1?
On the bed in the hotel room, yes…

78. WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING FOR 1?
If I can…

79. DO YOU LOVE 1?
As a friend, yes…

80. WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT 1?

He likes to argue with me, in a friendly manner

MY TIME HAS COME!!

2008-07-11T22:28:00.002+08:00

It's been a week since my recent national Inter-school swimming competition ended. And all the supplementary lessons are already being put into practice, DAILY AFTER SCHOOL.

Oh well, since my MOST IMPORTANT COMPETITION of the year has ended, it's time for me to 'fall back to Earth' and concentrate on my studies. At least I can now study in peace. Seriously, I am not blogging so often now, because there is nothing much to write about and I have assignments to complete at night, after a swim for stress relief. I shall temporarily consider my training as stress relief until after my "O" Level exams.

I have already booked a place in Temasek Polytechnic, here in Tampines. I chose Aerospace Engineering as my first choice, followed by Aerospace Electronics, and Aviation Management and Services. GOTTA WORK EXTREMELY HARD FOR THIS! And by the way, I have already finalized my intensive self-study timetable, just now. Which means I want to study the ENTIRE DAY until 9:45pm. And also, I won't be online until 9:45pm from Mondays to Saturdays. Thus, SUNDAYS WILL BE MY REST DAYS!

I chose polytechnic instead of JC, because I feel like I'm gonna crack my head in JC, so it's no point going there, or even thinking about going there.

Okay then, until the next time I have updates for you guys. Good night.

4 years of continuously achieving PBs

2008-07-04T20:42:00.004+08:00

I'm feeling very thrilled, to know that my winning streak of PBs is continuing. 4 consecutive years of achieving PBs in the Inter-school competitions. I really made my school proud of me, because they found out that I came in 4th for my 1500m Free, and 9th for my 400m Free.

Ms. Salina, who followed me to the Sports School on Wednesday, exposed what she had experienced when she saw me swim the 1500m Free. She saw me coming in first for my heat, and she noticed that I was only 3.88 seconds shy of achieving a bronze medal. She also knew that I was ONLY 0.08 seconds shy of becoming one of the top 8, for 400m Free.

Well, both my events are timed final events, that means I don't have to return to the Sports School again to swim in the finals.

Many of the people I know came to shake hands with me and said "Congratulations" like they'd really mean it.

This was the first meet that I'm in the top 8 for one of my events and that I was very close to winning a medal. This was also the first meet, when my teachers also shook hands with me, and when even my school Principal said that she'll make a public announcement in school about my performance. :-D

Below are my timings and the time difference from my previous record, last month.

400m FREESTYLE, 4:40.32 (-2.85 secs.), 9th position

1500m FREESTYLE, 18:15.92 (- ONE MINUTE PLUS), 4th position

Also, I must congratulate my friends who have made it to the finals, whether first time or not. :-D I hope you've achieved PBs.

I must also encourage others who didn't make it, or didn't hit PBs. Oh well, these things happen, there's always another time to fix it. :-) Marjorie I know how you feel, there must be a cause to your under performance, find it and FIX IT! :-D

Okay, I shall end my post with photos. If you wanna see more, you can find them in my Facebook. :-) Good night...

49th Inter-Schools Swimming Championships 2008

2008-06-28T22:32:00.003+08:00

Hey, folks. What's up? Anyway, what's up for me the fast coming week is that, I'm in for another national tournament stated above.

The event is going to be held at the Sports School. This event is my FINAL OPPORTUNITY to stand up for my school, as a secondary school student. I still represent the school, SOLO in this tournament. I'm very much grateful to my classmates, my teachers, and my Principal for giving their support. Some people in my school even shook hands with me. Haha...

Anyway, I'd be swimming in ONLY TWO EVENTS. They're the 1500m and 400m Freestyle. I'll be swimming this coming Tuesday and Wednesday morning. So don't expect me to be in school on these two days. I submitted seed timings as shown below. Note that this is the first time I'm swimming 1500m for the first time in any competition in my swimming career.

400m Freestyle, 4:46.79 (OLD PB)

1500m Freestyle, 19 minutes (COACH'S RECOMMENDATION)

Right then, you can send me your well wishes through tagging me. :-) This is really the last time I'm swimming in an Inter-school event. I hope to make the best of this opportunity. :-D

OK then, there's nothing much I can write about. Just a reminder to my classmates, while you're in school, at around 9am, I'd be on the starting block with the school's reputation at stake. So wish me luck! :-D

TRUE or FALSE trivia: 2nd edition

2008-06-26T10:35:00.002+08:00

My apologies, for not updating my blog. I'm getting busier these days, since it's back to the old school for most of the students here in Singapore. And that means, back to more homework and project work. I'm at home typing on the keyboard now, due to the fact that I'm ON M.C for 2 days. -.-"

That means, no school and no training for Today. Sigh. :-( And it's less than ONE WEEK to my Inter-School competition at the Singapore Sports School. My events fall on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, starting with 400m Free and 1500m Free respectively.

Anyway, it's been a week since I set this true or false game, most of you seem to have enjoyed guess whether I bluffed or told the truth about 5 statements, about myself.

NOW, LET THE GAME CONTINUE!

1. My Chinese Language really sucks.

2. I'm the swim captain of my school swim team.

3. I was sent for detention, by my teacher for not doing homework, yesterday.

4. I've been keeping short hair for nine years.

5. I usually go to the barber to get a haircut.

ANSWERS:

1st statement: TRUTH, reason being I don't speak Chinese at home.

2nd statement: TRUTH, because I'm the solo swimmer in my school, so I take charge of myself. (Recognized by my CCA coordinator)

3rd statement: BLUFF, because I always hand in my work on time.

4th statement: TRUTH, because I've been keeping short hair since I was in Primary School.

Final Statement: BLUFF, because my dad cuts my hair.

OK, that's all I have to write about, Today. Good day.

I've been tagged...

2008-06-21T20:25:00.002+08:00

Instructions: remove one question from below and add in your own personal question then tag eight people in your list, list them out at the end of the post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag has a blessing from all.

1.Do you like your present school?
Yes, but I'm so eager to leave this school, BREAK FREE you know?

2.What do you want the most now?
An iPod. I need that to store my 500 plus songs. :]

3.What type of ice-cream do you want to be?
Chocolate or coffee, since I order those flavors the most.

4.Do you hate your friends sometimes?
Now why would I ever think of that?

5.Name something annoying your friends do that annoys you.
Sabotage.

6.What is your goal this year?
Get good grades, improve my times in swimming, go to a polytechnic.

7.Do you forgive or forget or both?
Both

8.Do you believe in eternity love?
Good things must come to an end, right? So, no.

9.Have you ever done something for a crush or boyfriend/girlfriend?
I dedicate posts on my blog, to them on their birthdays. :]

10.What do you enjoy doing the most?
Swimming, bowling, fishing and spending time with my family and friends.

11.Have you done anything for your admirer?
I don't even know who's my admirer. Haha

12.Do you like your CCA?
I don't like my CCA, but I love it A LOT more than studies. haha

13.Do you cherish every single friendship of yours?
OF COURSE!

14.Who would you probably spend the rest of your life with?
Myself, since I want to live life to the max.

15.What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
The heart!

16.Do you find life meaningless?
Nope.

17.What do you live for?
Love

18.Who do you talk to most in school?
SO MANY PEOPLE!

19.Who is the last person/people you've talked to on msn?
Marjorie Kong

20. Why are you doing this quiz?

I'VE GOT TAGGED, guess who did that! :]

Tag 8:
1. Aloysius Lam

2. Marjorie Kong

3. Sherlynn Teo

4. Andy Leong

5. Alyssa Lie (RE-DO IT!)

6. Alan Leong

7. Jeremy Mathews

8. Stacy Tan :]

TRUE or FALSE

2008-06-19T21:25:00.002+08:00

Hello, folks. I just feel like playing this simple game with you tonight. The objective of the game is to make sure you know as much of me as possible through 5 statements. I'm gonna give you 5 statements, and all you have to do is guess whether I'm bluffing or telling the truth.

The answers will be shown directly below the picture, but DO NOT CHEAT! Cos if YOU CHEAT, trust me, the game shall not be fun anymore. :-D LET THE GAME BEGIN!

1st: My sister is currently older than me by 17 years.

2nd: My MSN window is red in color.

3rd: I swam 11 sessions last week.

4th: I've got no girlfriend.

Finally: I've been featured as one of the "SLACKEST" swimmers, in my team.

ANSWERS:

1st statement: BLUFF! In fact, she's 18 years older than me now.

2nd statement: TRUTH

3rd statement: TRUTH, I went to Senai last week to train with my swim club, and we managed to accomplish 11 training consecutive sessions at the resort. And I swam one more session before I even went there.

4th statement: BLUFF! I got more than one girlfriend in swimming, guess who... :-D

5th statement: BLUFF! In fact most of the adults I know, keep saying this to me "you're always on the ball", "resilient, disciplined, hardworking, and focused"

OK, GAME OVER! Bye folks.

APSC RW Camp 2008: The experience

2008-06-15T21:23:00.001+08:00

Well, I think I have not much more to write about my experiences during the camp which lasted from last Monday until Today. Oh well, let me just begin here.

I remember that I was placed in Room 310 with a swimmer from Blue Com on the 3rd floor. The room was at a very incovenient location, somewhere well secluded from the lift lobby, and Aloy's room. It was a mere 300m from both places. Anyway, I'm glad to have my firends with me who played Taidi and Bluff on the bed. We even flirted with the girls. :P Like prank calling, climbing to each other's balcony, and knocking on each other's door. Well, the girls just screamed, I don't know why. But we had a whole lot of fun, right guys? :P We even raced one another to the elevator. :P

I still remember Uncle C.P saying "Thank you for monkeying around, I got calls from the security guard. :-)"

LOL anyway, I certainly want to thank my friends, the parents, Uncle C.P, and the coaches for making our stay at the resort a pleasant one. The parents played a significant role in letting us go for this trip, the coaches also deserve credit, for training and gearing us up for the Inter-school champs this coming July.

OK then, I'll end my post here. Good night. :-)

Back from one week in Senai, Malaysia

2008-06-15T20:13:00.003+08:00

Hello, folks! I suppose you all have been waiting for an update to come for quite some time huh? Well, my apologies. I was on a club trip to the Palm Resort, Senai, Johor, Malaysia for a week-long training camp. It has really been a while since I was taken on a driving trip North into West Malaysia.

Anyway, the resort was really a 5-star experience. There were many activities over there like Bowling, Tennis, Pool, Cycling, Archery, Squash, and many others. Let me just share with you, my 1-star experience in the bowling alley. The lanes were simply uneven, especially when the ball goes from "left to right" as quoted by Andrew, our assistant coach who challenged me and my gang into a hand-to-hand combat! Oh well, I still managed to keep the highest record amongst the entire camp, with a pinfall score of 161, with the 13-pound house ball. Kudos to Jeremy, who made a high score of 153.

Anyway moving on, I find the camp one hundred percent FUN. The SGD 650 worth of the trip paid off, with one week of fun, one week of training hard, one week of good food, one week of good hospitality, and one week of break from the rush, here in Singapore. Some of our parents even took time off to drive up all the way to the resort to see us having fun, and training with each other. I feel that credit should be given to the parents who paid for our trip and let us train at a place away from stress, and they even took time off their daily schedules to see us. :-)

I took more than 30 photos during our camp. They are being flashed below. :-D

Hold on, I'm not finished yet! I still have more to write about. Please see the above posts. :-)