An Orientation Went Wrong

An orientation is meant to give newcomers an brief experience of an event or programme, introducing them to a new environment or situation. Yesterday, we, sec 2s, organised the RSP orientation course for the new sec 1s students. I believe it etched a bad impression of us to the sec 1s. We were rather unorganised, letting the teachers down.

The course was meant to be an introduction for the sec 1s to the Regional Studies Programme. At the end, they are expected to be a step closer to Malay culture, which includes traditional games, spices, musical instruments used by the Malays, and the language of Bahasa Indonesia.

The sec 1s are suppposed to go through a treasure hunt may be called an amazing race (that is not amazing at all because of us). During the hunt, they were exposed to the aspects of Malay culture as stated above. They also get to play the Indonesian version of the spelling game, Scrabble. (I believe it is very tough for them considering the depth of the language they are exposed to)

I was under Yi Long in the traditional games leg of the amazing race. We did some eleventh hour preparation for the rules and regulations of our station. It was said that there will be 3 groups during the race. Then, news came to us that there will be 4 groups and later 6 groups. We were confused and messsed up our procedures. We decided to go for an impromptu games for the sec 1s.

We got ourselves ready at the parade square waiting for the first group to arrive. They were quick! We were amazed at their speed and enthusiasm. We got the first group to play chapteh and five stones. Things were going fine until the second group arrived while we were debriefing the 1st group. They were in complete disarray! The 2 groups were in a complete mess we could not identify which group is which. I decided to gather they and demonstrate how to play each of the traditional games they need to know. Thoses games ranges from Chapteh, Five Stones, Gasing to Sepak Takraw. Here are some images of the traditional games we play:

All hell broke lose when another group rushed to our station! Some of us, the seniors, were playing as well. Chaos plus even more chaos! Those impatient impish juniors were kicking the sepak takraw balls all over the parade square! It took us some time to get them settled down.

After the sec 1s are dismissed, all the sec 2s were given a deserved lecture session by our teacher-in-charge, Mr Leo and Miss Shyamira. As seniors, we were expected to be more mature, more disciplined and more organised than the juniors. However, some of us did not display the required expectations. I'll treat this as an lesson learnt and will improve on our leadership capabilities.

Here's some pictures or me playing Chapteh and Sepak Takraw:

Something Unusual That Happened

I was having my Electone class when my classmate, who is a polytechnic student, broke down when the teacher questioned her rustiness on the electone. She was extremely upset that her parents often quarreled or should we say they quarreled everyday. This had intrigued me as she was often the jovial type, the person who adds life to our lesson (we do not really talk), she had suddenly broken down.

It’s normal for parents to fight or argue from time to time. They often fight due to disagreement about money, home chores, or how to spend time. They might even disagree about little things that don't seem important at all. Or maybe they had a bad day at work, or they're not feeling well, or they're really tired. Just like kids, when parents aren't feeling their best, they can get upset and might be more likely to argue. Most of the time, arguments are over quickly, parents apologize and make up, and everyone feels better again.

Most of the time, parents would sit down the next morning, have breakfast together and even go out together.

Loud voices and angry words (and sometimes vulgarities) parents might use can make kids feel scared, sad, or upset. Even arguments that use silence — like when parents act angry and don't talk to each other at all (giving the cold shoulder to each other)— can be upsetting for us.

If the argument has anything to do with the kids, kids might think they have caused their parents to argue and fight. If kids think it's their fault, they might feel guilty or even more upset. In worst case scenarios kids may feel depressed and could not concentrate on their studies.

It's important to remember that the parents are arguing or fighting, not the kids. We shouldn’t stick our nose into their argument. We just ignore them or retreat into our room. I usually just get my head stuck in my books or stuff my ears with my earphone.

However, it's essential for parents to fight every now and then. As this allows them to get feelings out in the open instead of bottling them up inside. After their quarrel, they may understand each other better than before and feel closer.

My classmate soon wiped her tears off her face then returned to her normal self, happy and talkative as ever. I appreciate her courage to spit this incident all out, making her feel better.

My parents had just argued on where to have dinner as my brother insisted on having seafood but my mother was having a sore throat and did not want to aggravate her symptom. I supported my mother but Dad was with my brother. We were already in the car! Soon, we reached the junction where turning right was for steamboat, turning left was for seafood. I could see my dad in a dilemma. He gave in to my mum but my brother went sulking the whole dinner (He have got attitude problem). See, minor things can cause a conflict and things will return to the norm really soon! (The steamboat at Nomin Steamboat Restaurant Rocks! MUST TRY! It's near Lim Tua Tow Road (I like this unique road name))

Not worry if your parents are having a conflict. It is a healthy sign that they still cares for each other. If things are getting out of hand, consult your school teachers or councillors they know what's best for you! 

It's late now and I still have to learn my 听写 (Chinese Spelling) for the 3rd chapter! Bye!

Love Fridays?

Fridays have always been the best day of the week for most students. However, this is not the case for me. I've got CCA till 6 and sometimes as late as 7. Living in Serangoon is a disadvantage got me as travelling takes 40 minutes and sometimes as long as an hour. Time is wasted on the road. I would be listening to music on my phone for the majority for the time but if necessary I will mug my books. (Usually learning听写 (Chinese spelling) lol!) 


Every morning I would wake up at 5.30am, complete the necessaries by 5.50am and wait for my bus at the bus stop. The first bus arrives at 6 to 6.05am. Why do I take the first bus? Because the following buses will be filled with people (usually Tanjong Katong Girls and Chung Cheng students) everyone was packed like sardines in a moving metal object. I will then have to wait for about 20 minutes into the bus ride (@ Tanjong Katong) then there will be seats available for me. 

Fridays are when most Victorians stay back for CCAs. I'm no exception. I went for Infocomm Club Games Day. We played some icebreakers with the sec 1s (was so boring... Time wasting) we wasted time till about 4 plus then some action finally came. (yay...) PT....(Physical Training) We ran a bit then drop down to do some stretching, push-ups, sit-ups and finally pull-ups (I did 4! My highest so far) we then went to the field for soccer only to see the field being used by the soccer team. We used the alternative location-- the tennis court. The sec 1s are a hopeless bunch of people with potential muscles (fats, sorry guys) except for a minority. They can’t run much, they can’t sustain during push-ups. Victoria School is famous for their all-rounded education. Pull up your socks, juniors!

We played a losing soccer game “short pants” vs. “long pants”. (lower secondary vs. upper secondary) We relied on mass defending to play: 10 to 15 players crowding in front of the goal. The seniors used long balls to try and penetrate our sea of defenders. The seniors broke the dead lock when Mustaqim headed a corner kick into our net. 1-nil was the final score. Losers have to complete 100 sit-ups. 

It was 6.30pm when we were dismissed. I rushed home as fast as I could. Through the heavily jammed Upper Paya Lebar Road.


I reached home at 7.30, took a bath, grabbed my packed dinner, Father picked me up and I left for Chinese tuition at Serangoon Gardens. I finished my dinner in a short 3 minutes in Dad's car! (I would only eat that fast if I want to play my computer)


My tuition ended at 9.30. I returned home, collapsed on my bed and slept till the next morning. 


What a Friday!

New Year's Resolution

After reading an article in a recent edition of Reader’s Digest on how to create a realistic new year’s resolution, I decided to come out with my own goals. It will guide and motivate me to a fruitful year 2010. I secondary 2 now and it’s time to start the hard work and start doing things right. Victoria School has a very competitive atmosphere being a premier school. Regardless of academic, CCA and even leisure, do expect competition.  In this environment, we need a guideline to achieve what we desire for. Being in the RSP class, we expect to get lesser (or even no) rest time compared to the other Victorians in our cohort.

                Time management is an important factor in achieving your targets. We must find time to de-stress after a stressful day or week. Yet, we have to consider how not to let these de-stressing moments kill you in your studies. Yes, I can follow some people who rather skip CCA or extra lessons for LAN sessions but it will lead to addiction. Once addicted, you will have a tough time kicking it. Too much studies can result in you being anti-social as the saying goes “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” Balancing play and study is necessary in this stressful society.

  So, resolutions of 2010:

1)      Get a MSG of lower than 1.5 (current 1.9)

2)      Achieve a result good enough to land me a spot in a 4 year IP Programme.

3)      Achieve something for VS and Infocomm Club (last year was slacking)

4)      Increase my stamina for running to 3 and a half rounds of fast jog without stopping

5)      Get the red dots out of my face (and hopefully for life)

6)      Widen my social network

I hope that I can fulfil my goals and wishes all a fruitful 2010 ahead!

Happenings On Monday of the 3rd Week of School

Monday blues strike back again for the 3rd time this week... We started the week slow with a class discussion on things like class logo, motto....... It wasn't productive at all. Rowdy people are all over the place either chatting or lazing around doing nothing. I spent my time talking with Xiang Zheng as things are not going anywhere. (I feel guilty... -.-)

        During CDE, my class discussed about our strengths and weaknesses and ways to overcome these weaknesses. We watched an inspiring, touching (very!) video on this man born without limbs and how he lived his life. This man is Nick Vujicic. It teaches us to persevere and never give up on any problems we encounter.

        English, Biology and Literature followed after. We wrapped up diffusion and osmosis (One of the most boring topics in Bio. You should know which the most anticipated chapter in Sec 2 Bio is. I know what you are thinking!)

        During my 3^rd language lesson (Bahasa Indonesia, in case you do not know), we played of Scrabble in Bahasa Indonesia. It’s the first time, we played this game. Due to our weak Bahasa Indonesia vocabulary, we came out with onomatopoeia words like “Ha, ya, lor…” It’s rather difficult to continue adding words onto the board. Sigh… We were asked to take down what words we had found and translate them to English. Next, we were asked to form sentences out of these words. Here, the headache came. We wreaked our brains to form sentences and came out with random or meaningless sentences. Joke time! We were asked to present our sentences in front of the whole class. My joker friends came out with sentences like: My mum suddenly mutated and her chest changed colour. (LOL! Wt*… were the comments) we had a great time laughing till our sides hurt badly. Streaks of laughter continue to burst out long after and as you know laughter is contagious the whole class started to laugh. This concludes the lesson in a jovial note.

        Next I went for Infocomm Club and was amazed to the number of sec 1s. There are only 9 to 10 of them. (Nerds, no offence) So little intake this year? Something will be lurking this Wednesday…

        Okay, I need to get some sleep now. It has been a tiring day. Bye all! 

My 2nd Sunday Of 2010

"Blurb!" Just had my aromatic abalone porridge for dinner and I'm in the mist of digesting the savory meal. Nothing beats my Mum’s cooking! My biceps, calf, hamstring, abdomen, ankle... are aching badly.

I just went running and swimming at Serangoon Stadium and Swimming Complex respectively. My Dad and brother, Shawn, are with me. It's father and sons day out. I initiated the exercise as I had done badly in my 2.4km run during PE on Wednesday. (I had not done much or even not done any rigorous exercise for over 3 to 4 months) I decide to devote time for physical training every week to build up on my fitness. Dad and I went jogging rounds and rounds round the stadium. I managed 3 rounds of jogging without stopping and 1 round of sprinting. I completed a total of 8 rounds round the stadium which is 3.2km.

I had music lesson in the morning. I am the only boy in class….-.-(but the youngest!) There a problem came. My teacher posted a challenge to use we had to improvise a piece of music with just chords (OMG!) and one student has to create the first introduction. One of the girls was asked to craft the question. “Nice one. Now, who shall we begin with…” *Girls looked at each other then turned to look at me…* “Okay… Gentleman first. Let’s welcome Calvin up” In me I cried “Conspiracy!!! What the….” I forced a smile and dragged my feet to the electone. “Okay cool it dude, you can do it and you can do it to show them who’s boss” I said to myself. I quickly got over my turn with a fast and catchy jazz-themed piece. My teacher praised me and phew! The girls took their turn and I managed to be the best!

Next, I had Math lesson, one-to-one, I started on Quadratic equations (Chim!) and wrapped up Factorisation of Algebra. A boring one and a half hour. (Almost dozed off…)
It’s late now gtg! Need to sleep early there's Lit test tomorrow… ZZZzzzzzz……

(p.s. I can get my Diby Drillbot liao! YaY! XD)

My 1st Blog Post

Hello people! This is my 1st blog post of many more to come! The year 2010 is the year of the tiger, the year which my sec 3 subject combinations are decided(if I fail to get into IP). A very crucial year ahead!!! I hope that I'll be able to fulfil all my targets of this year. Wish all a fruitful and meaningful year ahead! Hope that the people of Haiti may recover from the latest nature calamity.