Hiatus.. indefinitely..

Dear all

I'm going on a indefinite hiatus. You can find out more about me on Facebook where I am more active now.

Thank you all for reading and commenting.

Take care.

Just testing...

Haven't blogged in a year!!!

There are many reasons why I haven't blogged in a year... I've been busy with the As and subsequently national service thereafter.

Here's my results for those of you who don't know:

History C

Economics C

Mathematics B

General Paper A1

I was disappointed with my A level subjects. But the disappointment simply vanished when I realised to my astonishment that I scored A1 for GP. I regard it as perhaps my greatest academic achievement yet. It is widely acknowledged, even by the top school students that scoring A1 for GP is something highly difficult. I guess scoring A1 for both GP and Chinese was the factor that granted me a place in NUSS FASS.

I could have blogged about life in NS but I was strongly advised against doing so. Only till June, six months into NS, did I get to book out on Friday evenings. Previously, I booked out on Saturday mornings and booked in on Sunday night.

Right now, I have settled comfortably in my unit. Life is good and my vocation is lesser taxing than the Armoured pioneers.

It's great to blog again...

Flawless skin... Impeccable complexion

JFK-Moments before Death

Like many others, I have been haunted by the Zapruder film. The Zapruder film was the clearest video that captured the entire John F Kennedy assassination.

The video below was taken from Discovery Channel programme titled "Unsolved History" on JFK's assassination.

(Ignore the background noise.)

The culmination of my SHSS reunions!

Yesterday, 21 June 2006 was the culmination, the climax, the finale of my SHSS interactions! After visiting SHSS last Thursday, I've been spending almost everyday going out with my secondary school friends. The event yesterday is likely to be the last SHSS reunion in the June Holidays.

I went for a BBQ with the my usual group of upper secondary school friends, (in random order) Samuel, Shaun Lee, Eugene and Shikhar. The BBQ was held at Shikhar's place at Melvile Park.

I brought about twenty chicken wings, Samuel brought pork chops, Eugene brought satay and Shaun brought marshmellows and sausages.

As usual, Eugene was in charge of the setting up of the charcoal and the fire-starters while I skewed the chicken wings onto the satay sticks. Shikhar was running around, buying tissue paper, paper plates and a packet of ice and many more.

While eating we chatted around and somehow the conversation shifted to the many events of secondary school. All of us pieced together the various individual memories we hold to regarding the various events between 2003 to 2004 in SHSS. We didn't remember everything, some forgot while some remembered.

The topic most actively discussed was on our Physics teacher Mr Lee Kim Seng. He is still teaching at SHSS.

He's a polarising figure, someone you either love or hate. He's the most irascible, short-tempered and to a large extent volatile teacher I've come across so far. However, he is also capable of being humourous and light-hearted as well. The reason why I described him to be volatile was because he has rapid mood swings, laughing at one moment and exploding in a fit of outburst at the other.

I remember having to stay constantly vigilant and alert in his lessons, taking care not step into the abundance of OB markers. What usually sets him off is any challenge, direct or indirect, to his authority. To remain safe, do not break any school rules, such as improper attire etc; do not be argumentative and submit to whatever he says. If you really want to say anything, make sure it's a clarification. Do not try to advice nor give suggestions. Lastly, make sure you can answer any physics questions he throws at you. Failure to do so will result in a nasty castigation.


As I have said, he's a polarising figure. On hindsight, many of the unpleasant incidents are simply hilarious or enlightening. I learn quite a lot from the man and I remember there was once this group of ex-students paying him a visit during lesson time. Depsite his nefarious reputation for his bad temper, there's more to him than just fear and reproachment.

I've decided to compile a list of memories from my secondary school days. To my fellow secondary school friends, please send me any incidents, be pleasant or sad, that you remember from the days in SHSS. Discretion will be exercised in handling and processing the information.

Don't let these precious and wonderful memories be lost forever in the sea of memories.

Secondary School outing

Hello everybody. Sorry I’ve been away for such a long time. Much has happened and I felt this need to write down what happened today first.

I went to Sentosa with Jianlong, Xianhong and Vincent, my chums in secondary school. We were in the same class for secondary one and secondary two and thereafter separated. Only Xianhong and I went to same class in 2003.

Sentosa is the prime tourist attraction and an aggregate of the best that puny Singapore has to offer.

Upon arrival we went to the Underwater World. I think it is the first time I’ve been into the expensive attraction. It offers a wide variety of marine life, from flimsy jellyfish to gigantic stingrays, a metre-wide crab and many more. It was more of an educational exhibition for interested marine biologist if you asked me.

We visited each section carefully and Xianhong took many pictures with his camera. The highlight of that tour was probably to view the fishes while standing on the travelletor. You stand on the travelletor and it brings you into a tunnel where above you are fishes of all sorts and kinds. It was a surreal experience as if you were completely immersed in an underwater world. I saw sharks, enormous fishes that I cannot name, stingrays and many more. It was so fascinating that we went for three rounds; each round was around seven minutes.
Afterwards, we went for lunch at Burger King. Then we set off to the beach to collect souvenirs and goodies. Vincent’s father, who I believe worked for Singapore Power, was given vouchers for collecting the gifts and prizes there. But it was nothing grand or exquisite. There were simple ponchos, prawn crackers and many bottles of mineral water that tasted bland and disgusting. We ambled slowly to our next destination which was the skyride and luge ride.

While we were queuing for tickets, this woman came up to us and offered us four free tickets. She said she and some other person had enough of the rides and wanted to give the tickets way. The rides aren’t cheap, costing eight dollars per person. We jumped at the opportunity and thanked her! Haha… What’s more, we successfully jumped queue even without the other tourists realizing. We also managed to bluff our way through by going straight for the second luge ride that had far less people queuing than the in first ride queue. In order to go for the second ride, we needed to have the stamp of approval, literally, on our hands. Jianlong suggested telling them we went for the first ride in the morning and thus the mark was gone by that afternoon. Only after the rides did I realized from Jianlong that if the personnel had been more observant, he would realize the tickets were bought at 3pm. It was therefore impossible for us to have come in the morning.

The skyride is like basically a cable car except that it’s the kind like you sit on a bench and press down a bar that keeps you from falling. It was terrifying and suddenly the cars stopped moving when we were at the peak. We wondered what was happening. Was it a malfunction? If it was, then we would be stuck for probably hours! In what seemed like hours, the cable cars started moving again. Eventually when we reached the other end, we tried to test whether we could lift the safety bar that kept us from falling. When we almost reached terra firma once more, we lifted the handle and it went up immediately. Phew…

We went for the pink dolphins which were the last attraction for the day. Simple performance although I was intrigued at how one of the keepers literally rode on the waves by standing on the top of two pink dolphins. Pink dolphins, by the way, are not entirely pink. They were slightly pink at the head and at the tail.

We took a bus back to Singapore and Jianlong and Vincent had dinner at a hawker centre near Harbourfront MRT. We took the long ride back to Tampines and got them to reminiscence about our secondary school days and the many events that happened. There was so much laughter and joy in remembering the good, the not-so-good and bad events. We parted at the MRT station. Xianhong and I took the bus service 3 home. On the way home, we talked about the days in secondary school and how we chatted to one another over the phone or on bus service 3.
It was wonderful to catch up with the old friends once more. Indeed, my secondary school days and the friends I made then are people I would not forget easily.

The Prince and the "Pauper"

This is the second time I changed my skin aimed to provide my readers with a more comfortable reading experience.

I hardly blog about my personal life but more of my views on issues and events so don't come hoping to peek into my life :P.

For those who know the title, it was a novel written by Mark Twain of the Tom Sawyer fame on two identical looking boys switching lives. The prince becomes the pauper and the pauper becomes the prince.

But in the context of my life, there is no prince nor pauper but mainstream and premier schools. I was contemplating how it would be for me to attend college in JCs such as those located in Bishan or Bukit Timah and have a feel of life there.

Similarly, students from premier schools can attend college in Tampines, Serangoon or Yishun and have a taste of what's life there.

I want to do so because it gives me insight on how students from premier schools lead their lives there and how they deal with the pressures most of us in mainstream schools are bereft of. I can also learnt the "secret" on how over ninety per cent of the entire school population score Band 1 and Band 2 for their Project Work and impart them to students, especially my school whom most of them felt sore over the absurd disparity of scores.

Check out Andy Ho's commentary on April 22 in The Straits Times for his take on the issue and suggestions to improve the grading system.

I know this is cliche and getting hackneyed but it is time to move on and work even harder for the A level examinations in November. My secondary teacher whom taught me English for four consecutive years remarked that if you don't feel pain, you are not studying hard enough.

How I hate cancer...

I really hate cancer. Any form of cancer for the matter. To me, it's the most revolting, obnoxious and cruel disease anyone can contract.

I just went to Joan (cancer stricken girl from RGS, RJC) and she had a new blog which I linked to my title so click on it to go there.

There were some pictures of her days in school, photos of her time in NCC and in class. Then there was a picture of her two months ago and, sorry to say, she looked unrecognisable from the other photos. I'll leave you to visit her new blog and see for yourself. I am not trying to be mean or what but this is how I felt.

This is probably the first time I am seeing a real-life cancer patient after treatment and I am shocked.

I've been somewhat depressed when I read about her last Sunday, how this girl with such a promising future was on the verge of succumbing to the hated disease of cancer. I really don't want her to die.

Now I see her recent photo and it just deepens my sadness. Life can sometimes be so unfair, so mean to someone such as her. Why did she have to contract this cancer? WHY?!!

Please don't give up Joan, please don't.

23 April 2006

I'm feeling kinda sad now.

I was reading the Lifestyle section of The Sunday Times today and it carried a report on this girl Joan, ex-RGS and RJC who is dying of cancer. She's turning twenty this year.

Her latest blog entry described her condition badly, she has a big patch of cancer cells on the left side and the back part of her neck. You can visit her blog here.

I'm not exactly sure but I kept seeing top school students more prone to contracting cancer. I mean, much higher than mainstream students.I know this hypothesis I'm postulating could be deem unfounded and shocking but I have reasons to make such a claim.

Entering a top school means you have to hardworking and smart. But how hardworking? I'm not saying all but they are bound to be some who bust their ass, mugging way past midnight and thus sacrificing precious hours of sleep. And being in a premier school would also mean having to survive and compete in a hypercompetitive environment, doing most of the studying on your own since the students are expected to do so and with punishing CCA requirements to boot. Whats' more, some of them damage their health further by consuming junk food and carbonated drinks excessively. In the end, their immunity weakens and hence becomes increasingly prone to diseases. One of them is cancer.

Sleep is often neglected and relegated to secondary even tertiary importance not just by students but teachers as well. This is wrong because sleep is probably the most effective and vital form of treatment your body needs daily. Your body, like a machine, needs rest after a day. Failure to give body enough rest, coupled with stress and unhealthy diet would make things worse and even result in permanent damage. In the human context, it means an incurable disease like cancer.

I don't know the lifestyle and habits of Joan. But it is likely she was under intense stress and pressure playing a strenuous role as a student of RJC and captain of her softball team.

My point is this: Make sure you have sufficient sleep. When I don't have sufficient sleep, I start to develop a fever. I'm glad it is only fever and nothing else.

Of course there are other reasons for her contracting of tongue cancer but giving your body enough rest by sleeping at least seven to eight hours ensures the sound state of your immunity. Cutting down on junk food, carbonated drinks, meals high in MSG, salt and sugar helps a great deal as well. Remember, you are no Superman or Wonder Woman, please don't ignore sleep.

It's really heartrending to see a person with a bright future having her life ebb away by illness. I can only wish her fortitude in her ongoing battle and hope she emerge victorious.

English: love or hate it is indispensable

I come from a Chinese-speaking family, my mother can only speak Cantonese and Mandarin and limited English. I grew up speaking Mandarin at home, having to translate what I've learnt from English to Mandarin, laying the ground for my limited bilingual capabilities.

I don't really know what it is like to be in an English-speaking family. To me the Chinese language seems so easy and accessible to me and I wonder at times is it that difficult to learn Chinese. This of course is a one-dimensional view and someone can easily ask me, "why is it so difficult to learn English?".

But as I grew up, my increasing encounters with friends from English-speaking families open my eyes to a different way of life among the rojak population that is Singapore.

The majority of ancestors of Singapore Chinese came from Southern Chinese provinces such as Canton, Fujian and Hainan. Thus Hokkien and the other dialects were commonly spoken among the Chinese populace in Singapore. Mandarin, on the other hand, is a Northern dialect in China. Hence it is little wonder that many Singaporean families have problems speaking Mandarin. In fact, speaking Mandarin informally is as alien as speaking Russian in today's context. Thus comes the great schism between English speaking and Mandarin speaking families.

They are however, some parts of the population during the sixties that attended Chinese schools, that is, receive their education in Chinese. Yes, it means they learnt their maths and science in Chinese. But the use of Mandarin was in school and usually among friends who spoke different dialects. Unfortunately, this led to the erosion of English in their daily lives back then because to them it had almost no use in their daily lives. As a result, they suffered discrimination when they looked for jobs because being able to speak fluent English was a prerequisite.

Fearful of the communist fifth-columns in Singapore, the government cracked down on Chinese schools such as The Chinese High and Chong Cheng School for Communist activism in a bid to curb communism from entrenching in Singapore during the 50s and 60s. The PAP government succeeded and communism today is more or less a relic of history than a credible menace.

With growing economic and cultural significance of the United States and the legacy of British imperialism, English becomes a ubiquitous lingua franca in the world. Of course, Singapore designated English not just because it was an economically useful language, it was also because the European language was neutral among the three races in Singapore.

English became the first language of every Singapore students since 1987, much to the unhappiness of many Chinese-educated Singaporeans. In fact, it was one of the many reasons that contributed to the sharp reverses the PAP encountered in the 1991 election.

English is the language of administration in Singapore and even if you go into Chinese Studies, there are modules studied in English. Without a decent command of English, you'll find yourself in an unfavourable state when you write essays or thesis in university because you cannot express yourself well. I've written a research paper and I'm telling you the standard expected is nothing short of what expect from a A student in GP.

When students from the archaic Chinese schools went to JC then, they struggled to relearn everything in English. They didn't have a choice, it was either this or an exit from the system.

Do yourself justice by learning the language, mastering it so that you can have an edge. I realised that when I scored a disappointing B4 for my O levels and I'm determined not to repeat history. But I'm not too hopeful, top school students started their encounter with GP-related materials when they were in secondary school.

They had a two year headstart; how do you expect me to catch up?

Segregate, rather than Integrate

This is written in response to the Straits Times article today (22 April 2006).

The author, Mr Chong wrote that students from asymmetrical educational backgrounds come together on equal playing field such as Campus Superstar. Indeed, the top four finalists were a good mix of premier and mainstream school students.

But that's just the superficial side of the story. Do students from asymmetrical educational background mix thoroughly? Do they enjoy mixing with one another?

Consider my example. My brother and I are from two diverse educational background. I was from the Express stream while he is in the Normal stream. There is a stark contrast in the way we spend our time and lead our lives.

For example, I spend almost the whole day in my study room trying to finish the assignments and revising what was taught. On the other hand, my brother commits almost the entire duration of the day to the computer. He usually breaks for dinner or a toilet break before continuing. When my parents chide at him to start getting down to his work, he would patronise them by briefly reading and distracting himself by doing something else concurrently.

When it's about time to sleep, he would iron his shirt and use a small window of time to turn on the computer again. In a nutshell, he hardly spends his time, if at all, on his studies. Expectedly, he fails more than half of his papers during examinations. Failure to him is nothing new while it is almost an anathema to me.

Given the differences in the way we live our life, how is possible for people from premier schools such as RJC mixed adequately from students in ITE? How many out there would believe that a student from perhaps RGS have a stead with someone from a mainstream school at first mention? And if you don't believe it, even despise the notion of such a relationship, how different are you from a bigot?

One people, one nation but one class? Do we belong to the same echelons of the society?

Singapore has to stop being elitist and actively (aggressively) promote more non-academic talents. Yes, we have the Arts school and Sports school but will we accept them? Can we see them in the same light as we do in conventional schools? While it is essential that utilise every human resource, surely we can let a few to not study but just concentrate on say, football? Nobody gives a damn about the qualifications of Ranaldo or Beckham. Unless, these unconventional talents can shine and be given enough space to display their talent, it's going to be hard to convince the majority of the conservative parents.

What's wrong with wanting to be a writer or a dancer?

22 April 2006

Today is the start of the celebrations commemorating the 20th anniversary of Tampines Junior College.

I was supposed to perform my skit for the History Seminar as part of the programmes. I have to say I'm unhappy with performing this time round.

Firstly, I was neither informed nor consulted for this performance during the TPJC Carnival. In fact, I happen to find out only by accident when I overheard a conversation between the CLDDS members. In case you are wondering why do I feel so strongly, it is because I am the lead actor in the skit and it is only right that I am consulted first. Moreover, they wanted two performances in a day!!

Secondly, the performers, at least in my class, were officially informed by my civics tutor only on 17 April 2006. And he started off this way, "You know that we are performing this Saturday right?" Sorry, but we don't know. I asked who was the one who recommended us for this performance. I found out that it was a girl with the initials SHC.

Thirdly, I told my civics tutor today that I wanted to perform only once. He agreed, feeling it was kinda pointless to performance twice. When SHC knew about it, she tried to persuade us to perform twice! Hello, this is not your perfomance and you are not even acting at all and you certainly have no right to dictate how many times we perform. You didn't even talk to the lead, a.k.a ME or the whole team and you insisted on another performance. What do you take us for?

We were inadequately prepared to perform since the grand finals on 25 Feb. We were so out of touch. Does she know she's gonna screw us up by getting us to perform twice?!

We did perform today but only to a group of perhaps eleven in the Audi. We didn't adhere to the script and took cues from one another in an impromptu play. I decided to perform so as not to waste the time and effort by the others to bring in the props. I was glad for the small crowd that which comprised of only TPJC students.

I left the college around noon and saw a small crowd ofsecondary school students in the college. I asked myself is this going to be a repeat of the fiasco we experienced during the 2005 Open House? Why isn't many people interested in TPJC?

I can only think that many out there who perceive TPJC to be slack and somewhat substandard. They all look up to newcomer Meridian with its impressive resuls and so on and so forth. Why is it other JCs such as Victoria able to bond so well and create a strong school spirit that others find it so infectious? Everyone wants to go to the top JCs, Raffles, Hwa Chong etc. They think Tampines is slack.

As a TPJC student, I concede the environment is really slack. TPJC students are hardly proud of their school. I see students going to Orchard Road in their RJC and Hwa Chong uniform but I find a TPJC girl feeling disgusted in our emerald green PE shirt. Students don't usually like to be in their uniform so it must be something cool if they choose to parade in the streets in it.

Top school must be feeling proud as a member of a premier school. But TPJC? I think most of them came because they couldn't go to other so-called top JCs. What's wrong with TPJC? What's so good about being in a top school? Yes, it looks good in your testimonial and the name gives you a sense of pride but do you think you will enjoy there? The environment, sad to say, is elitist and highly competitive.

My NUS mentor was in TPJC for his first three months and he continued to have fond memories, even remembering how the foolscap looked like when I showed him. TPJC was strict and disciplined then. What had come of it?

The students decide what TPJC is going to be. It's the students and no one else. Of course teachers have an important role to play in shaping the school but it's ultimately the responsibility of the students. The onus is on us to make a difference.