Today was generally quite slack, but time seemed to have passed very slowly this morning, probably due toe the boring-ness of lessons that we had. Anyway, there was Geography mock test this morning, which was totally too easy that many got full marks (well, not really, since the paper is only worth 7 marks LOL). There were simple 1-mark questions like "calculate the diurnal range of temperature based on the diagram" and another 5-mark question.



Okay, anyone who knows how to read, copy and paste with descriptions from a diagram or table (and knows how to interpret symbols correctly) should be able to score xD Um. I mean, even a Sec 1 with the appropriate contextual knowledge would be able to do that; since the paper only relies on basic skills such as observation, copy-editing and copy-pasting. No critical thinking required (: sort of a no-brainer as Yueyin and I spammed across the answer sheet. And I wonder how difficult or easy will the actual test be (given that Mr Lim CC often confuses himself with things like "The Earth rotates on its axis clockwise"). Okay okay I shall stop niao-ing.

Maths lessons was the usual SPARTA situation with random noises from random corners of the classroom. And this was the particularly interesting episode:

Someone whom I didn't hear clearly: ... Tze Han drunk in oil...
Ms Ang: Wah, Tze Han, the oil price drop so much, very sad leh. Tze Han, will the oil price still drop?
Tze Han: (shocked expression)
Ms Ang: I invest a lot in oil leh... Must be 4L lah, ask Tze Han to produce so much oil...
Tze Han: ...

And Mdm Ong didn't come again. Mr Chew took over, resulting in triple Chemistry, at which I stoned for quite some time because I was quite tired from the lack of sleep the previous day.

Tomorrow is Maths test; and I need to score 33/40 to secure an A1 for this term. Hopefully I'll get that. For now, it's time to MUG MUG MUG xD

Physics SPA was *surprisingly* easy. Hopefully I'll get full marks for that, although I was really really close to failing it. We were required to determine the relationship between 1/V (reciprocal of voltage) and R (the resistance) in a series circuit. No contextual knowledge required (: Almost every procedure and required sections were already printed in the question sheet.

Anyway, there was one part where I nearly got tricked (poor Clement). We were given 3 resistors of different resistance, and we were supposed to observe how the reading on the voltmeter varies with the total resistance. There was one step that was particularly confusing: The results can be obtained by connecting the resistors SINGLY *AND* by connecting them in series. The first time I did the experiment I really did miss out the AND keyword. But I realized that Mr Steven Su was observing me for like close to 5 minutes, so I started to think that something was really wrong.

TURNED OUT THAT I WAS LUCKY xD Once I started connecting them in combinations, Mr Steven Su walked away so I thought I was already doing the right thing ;D YONGJIE you couldn't be more careless than that! Next time pay attention to the details!

Anyway, for those who are interested, my readings:

Gradient: 1.2 x 10^-4
Resistance of voltmeter: 2100 Ω (to 2 s.f.)

On another note, I have completed yet another poster :D But not now. It wasn't actually my work, so I don't want to post it.

Anyway, to any boarding councillor who is reading this, jiayou for NDD :D

Yesterday was National Day Dinner 2008 Technical Rehearsal (at the Boarding School). Well, what could I say other than that the tech run was done up pretty badly ): ): Everything was just totally out of order; plans not prepared in time, logistics not sufficient, and tasks not allocated properly. Anyway, hopefully the National Day Dinner Committee will learn something from it, and make sure we don't do badly on the actual day.

Anyway, I (as Publicity Director) got scolded a little bit too T.T Because the backdrops were not prepared adequately, and the poster was not submitted in time. It wasn't exactly my fault anyway, since actually my sub-committee member was handling the poster. Actually I did remind my sub-com member to submit the poster on time *4 times* before the deadline, but apparently it still came in a little too late. Anyway, as the leader of the committee, I can't really push the blame to others. I shall need to blame myself for being overly lenient on deadlines.

I did see many got pretty pissed off by how everything went; and obviously we were all frustrated. But nonetheless, that isn't really any excuse for us not preparing well enough. I'll not be there for the second full-dress rehearsals as my parents are coming to pick me up for a while; but I shall place my hope in the team to get things straight. Hopefully the second one will be close to perfect, since that will be our very last chance.

Tonight was cluster cleanliness check, and I did take the opportunity to clean up the mess in my room, and to put up the cluster noticeboard that has been delayed oh so long (: Anyway it wasn't really any serious work as compared to the Boarders' Council noticeboard, as more than 10 people actually contributed to it. As for the cluster noticeboard, it's me and only me solo-ing through the entire thing, so it wasn't really expected to be of high quality.

Several photographs I have here (again, taken with my crappy phone camera). From left to right:

1. My external harddisk's USB port is BORKED =.=" Note the missing connector.
2. Cluster noticeboard (okay okay, not exactly nice)
3. Overflowing cluster dustbin after checking
4. My room after checking


Oh, and I have finally completed and finalized the poster for the Beijing Olympics 2008 Telecast at the Boarding School. I made it to fit with the Olympics theme colors very much. Haha looks quite nice IMO (and my ego comes again :D).



Tomorrow will be Physics SPA test. Hopefully I will do well, although we were not informed of any details of the SPA test *at all*. Yeah, Mr Steven Su says that just *anything* will appear. Wish me luck again xD

Okay it has been long since my last post. Not much interesting things happened, though. I think I did quite okay for English SRQ. I wrote on the title that's similar to "With the advent of technology, a new phenomena in human history has happened: the young seem to be more knowledgeable than the old" - not the exact title though. Around 2 pages for each essay, so total 4 pages. Timing was alright, I did have 1 minute left before the papers were collected xD My stand was a little more to agreeing, but for many other things (i.e. life skills) the aged are still more knowledgeable.

Friday was a totally slack day, half day yay! Due to Track and Field, Judo, Gym, Air Rifle, etc. winning various championships, we had the half day off. So it was lessons till 11:20 AM only. Theoretically this meant that there was only 1 "true" lesson for the day, which is Chinese. The form teacher's period was about financial planning, which I dao-ed because I felt it was redundant for me. I had planned my finances by myself since Sec 1 okayy. For the Chinese compo I just got back (about 报章报道： 老年人的环保意识比年轻一代的多), I got an A1 (53/70)! But Yueyin continues to OWN, getting 57/70 >_>. But I'm satisfied (: For double English periods we had 2 panel discussions, which I admit that I was sleeping for most of the time (since Mdm Ong was seated behind) - and well, that's pretty normal for all her lessons.

And I took my Physics re-test. Unfortunately it was capped ): ): and I believe I could garner an A1 well for this test. It was my fault anyway, for not having taken my first an only chance of getting A1 seriously. But I'm glad this time I had performed to my standard. All 3 of us, Jonathan, Junkai and I finished the paper at almost the same time.

There was no CCA, although Mr Kuek had called us back to continue on our video editing, virtually no-one went back there. So I decided to return to boarding school as well.

Saturday was just another Saturday.

I (sort of) owned Chinese Test, SPA and HSK :D :D

Chinese Test on Tuesday was quite easy, the questions were quite straightforward. The only thing I fear of is paraphrasing too much. 黄老师 warned us Malaysian and PRC scholars not to paraphrase too much or else we'll miss the points at times. I fear my answering style this time might be a mistake :o Depending. But I won't fail, that's 100% guarantee plus chalk =P Otherwise I can zibei and die le. (And KC, that's IN YOUR FACE xD)

Chemistry SPA was quite alright too, although Mr Chew assisted me on one question when I got stuck (well, when you're stuck on one question, you can't proceed to the next). Chemistry SPA was again the typical titration thingo, and this time it's about the same. Hopefully my experimental values are accurate. For 4L'ers who are interested in my experimental results:

Amount of solution P used: 21.50 cm³
Percentage of zinc in brass: 28.6~% (I forgot the last decimal place)

So yeah. And I got B for 汉语水平考试 (高等), and apparently that's to be expected :D I scored 376/500 (damn Yu Hui who got 379, and You Jun who got 382). All no thanks to my 听力, which I got C, and 口试, which I got B. ): The rest (阅读， 综合 and 作文) all A. I gotta niao Khai Khai for getting C (: AND for 初中等.

Today I broke another record for getting only 10/20 for a Chinese summary that we did previously. OMG. Only Yueyin got A1 for that particular piece, and the rest of main score range was from 10-13 marks. But yeah, I did badly ):

Tomorrow is English SRQ exam, hopefully I'll be able to do well. Wish me luck xD

Alright, here it is. Photos from the Green Concert.



On another note, my Facebook account has been switched to the new Facebook layout. For those who don't know, the new layout looks like this:



Anyway the new layout still looks quite clean, so I don't mind the change (: In fact it makes profile pages less laggier by isolating application boxes from each other.

I haven't gotten the Green Concert photos with me yet, so I guess I don't really have anything to post up first. The Green Concert was originally scheduled to be held at the open-air Amphitheatre (at the Boarding School), but it was unfortunately raining that day so we had to move into the Function Hall. Overall the event was quite well coordinated, except for some quirks here and there (sorry Heng Yang for the missing mike stand :D ). The PA group did extremely well this time, the volume controls were flawless, except for some timing issue, the rest weren't really a problem.

And so today was Racial Harmony Day celebrations. Too bad many 14SLC Facs didn't actually wear the shirt (I think I only saw Nicholas wearing lol). Hock Xiang did bring his fac shirt but didn't wear. Apparently the message didn't spread well enough, but anyway, yeah, I was in my fac shirt. :D



The Racial Harmony Day planning was quite alright, with the bazaar quite crowded. And the people who sold the stuff were inherently enthusiastic due to the fact that they weren't students. (The people who sold the foddstuff were mostly parents). The High School Council also set up drinks stall (and Yu Hui, Mr Tan Chee Wee and Hansen was selling the stuff). The items were largely overpriced, but yeah, they would go into a fund so I didn't actually care much.

From left to right:
1. Entrace to Kah Kee Hall (Food Bazaar)
2. Coupon Booth (sold in $5 and $10 bundles)
3. Video showing the culture/traditions/etc of difference races.
4. Yu Hui laming around (:


Anyway, despite the stalls being interesting and all, I was compelled to stay in class (well, we really had nothing to do). But somehow Mr Joseph Sim came in during 9:30 AM and asked all of us to go out and participate. So we did and I bought some random foodstuff that included a $3 nasi lemak. The nasi lemak was quite alright, although frankly they could not really be on par with the standard in my homeland (:



After that we went for the Racial Harmony Day sabbaticals. The sabbatical that I chosen was about making the "ketupat" shells and the Bunga Manggar (those kind of decorative items used during Malay wedding ceremonies). It was kinda boring, although there were like 8 4L'ers there. So the end product went to us although Wai Chew was also involved in the making of the bunga manggar.



I didn't go straight back to the boarding school after the whole thing. I still had to present my SMRP (IS) project to Mr Chia (our IS teacher and mentor), who just wants an update on our progress. So the presentation wasn't really formal, it's like just conversing to Mr Chia 2-to-1 (my other group member was Jay) in a normal conversation. And yeah, Jay was a little mad at me for dao-ing him (and well yeah, I wasn't willing to continue our project as of now, but later xD).

I have just bidded for my sabbaticals. It was all out (1000 points), since this is really my last sabbaticals in Hwa Chong. But recently (this year), the sabbaticals that included ACE points have really reduced (mainly to discourage students from being too reliant?) For those who are interested to know what I bidded for:



Anyway, I hope there will be half-day holiday tomorrow (: Since track-and-field had garnered 3 top positions and I think Judo did well too. Recently I'm busy on the Boarders' Council website (my task is to fill it with initial content), and also other related council stuff (like National Day Dinner Celebration).

That's it, I'll post up the Green Concert photos when I have time.

Wear 14slc facs shirt tomorrow during Racial Harmony Day celebration! It's our "ethnic costume" :D :D

On Thursday I had to prepare two things:

• Background information for Chinese Panel Discussion


• Background information for English Panel Discussion

So yeah. I printed tons of materials (probably amounting to slightly over 50 pages) so I can be really prepared on Friday. Chinese panel discussion was about teacher-student relationship (探讨师生关系), so there are generally quite a lot of information that has been provided. However, on Friday morning, the entire discussion was EXTREMELY quiet -_- And not one soul wanted to participate in the discussion except for Tze Han. The other panellists were ill-prepared too - none of their information was crafted to last for the entire session (typically only about 1 minute or so in speech). So obviously I was nervous, and there was also this bunch of people who were sleeping behind, and another group who were playing some lame stuff on paper.

Well yeah. I was quite frustrated by the attitude of my classmates. Those who usually spoke up like Yi Zhang didn't do so, and well, maybe it's just the style of how I conducted the discussion. Probably I'm a boring person, and well, people just don't get entertained. Having said that, I could also trace the dull-ness of the entire discussion to the lackadasical attitude that many had. Even while a teacher was observing from outside the window, there were few lost souls who were sleeping. It was such a disgrace to our class. I'm deeply antagonised by the fact that we don't actually have any class spirit at all. Nobody seemed to have a sense of belonging to 4L, or nobody even had basic mutual respect to listen attentively while their classmates are speaking. Even the CMC members were not responsible enough to keep the class in check.

Speaking of respect, I am deeply upset that someone had actually vandalised my table (as an insult to Darryl, as that table was originally Darryl's seat). If I were Darryl, I would not feel pleased. Dear 4L, it is against Darryl's wish to have such vocals, it's really not what he wanted. I'm alright with the constant "blr blr", but vandalism is really overboard.

I didn't really want to make this rant, but I felt everything was intolerable.

Anyway, what was interesting on Friday was the BlueSky Enterprise Day 2008. It was held during lesson time, and the entire event was located near our classroom. So yeah, between lessons we actually went out to "participate" in this event. There were some primary school kids from Si Ling Primary, and yeah, they wore yellow blazers (so cute ^_^). And there were many other schools there, Jurong Junior College, etc.

And there was even a mobile Old Chang Kee stall set up behind our classroom, and everyone went insane (partly because of Zhang Quan's prescence). Many camped near there (:



CCA on Friday was pretty normal, continuing our video editing course.

During the posting time, Green Concert in the boarding school is about to start. But it was delayed to 8:30 PM since it was raining. I'll post some photos after the event then (:

During assembly earlier this week we had the Hwa Chong International Forum Series 2008. The forum for us Sec 4s was about "Sciences@Singapore", basically detailing what scientific progress has been made by Singapore over the recent past few years, mainly on the biotechnology sector. Our guest speaker was Associate Professor Low Boon Chuan, who is from the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore.



It was quite an enriching talk, although some of the terms and fields were relatively unfamiliar to me. Professor Low also revealed certain career options, and has also addressed ethical issues with the advancement of science, such as that of embryology. Overall he was a better speaker than Lily Neo, the guest speaker for the 14th Student Leaders Convention (judging by the way he answers questions, quite straightforward).



However my future career should remain unchanged. It's infocomm for those of you who don't know. As iDA claims, "The Future is Infocomm: Be A Player" (: (: