Friday, March 13, 2009
After my driving lesson today I went to Cineleisure, where we were supposed to meet for Sarah's birthday at the Long John Silver's. I was the first one there, since I knew my lesson ending at 4.30 would allow me to reach by latest 5.45, and I waited around with my coke Slurpee until I met Elaine! Labels: friends
Then we went to find a cake, and decided on apple crumble at this place called Spinelli's at Heeren. After deciding the timing and everything, we returned to LJS, waiting for people to come for about 20 minutes before finally Melody came!
And a bit after that Sarah, Kai Xin and Xiaowen appeared, apparently having walked around for a while after not seeing anyone at the LJS. Actually before the three of them came, Elaine suggested changing to Subway, since we like it more. When they came, followed by Terence and Jeremy, we proposed Subway, and the guys were so relieved! Terence even said they'd meant to da pao the subways.
We managed to get a long string of tables, and were joined later on by Rayshio, Jiayi, Tse Mei and Ben. Then ensued dinner, photo-taking, talking and merriment. Jem had to go for CG, so we quickly took a group photo first!
Under the pretext of just going to Spinelli's for fun (KX and XW left), we surprised Sarah with the apple crumble with a candle on it! Thanks to Rayshio's prisoner cap question that was occupying them at the table, she hopefully didn't see Jiayi and Tse Mei waiting for the crumble to be ready and for Ben to return from the restroom.
We went back to Cine for Sarah to play her guitar hero, but it was booked until 10, so we went down to check out the karaoke which was expensive, then we went downer to look at the movies, contemplating the 'comedy' Friday the 13th, then finally went to this place called Indo-Chine.
By then, it was only Rayshio, Jiayi, Tse Mei, Elaine, Sarah and me left. So while they ordered their Expensive Drinks, we sat there taking photos, talking and listening to the live music - 2 guitars, 1 bass with singing.
I needed to go home, and we left at about 10.20.
I want to complain that after so much time on Rayshio's prisoner cap question, he refused to reciprocate and listen to my prisoner cap question, which I think is slightly harder. Though it made me happy when he said I solved his one quite quickly, though I THINK I might have heard it before, so I know the route to solving it.
Out of annoyance, I shall post my question:
There are 5 hats - 3 white and 2 red. There are three prisoners lined up in a single file facing one direction. Each person has a hat put on them, without knowing the colour. The person in front cannot see anyone else, the person in the middle can see the front person, and the person at the back can see both the other two.
The person who can tell what colour hat he/she has on must tell the warden and will be let off the death sentence. Mere guessing (and getting it wrong) will cause him/her to be hanged.
I confess I can't quite remember how the question was phrased, but it was up to the first person to guess his hat colour, while the other two couldn't. Then you're supposed to say how he guessed.
Oh well, it all goes to show I'm not a very good quiz giver.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Yesterday I met Sarah, Odelia, Su Yee and Shernise at Citylink mall's New York New York for dinner!
As usual, I was the first one to arrive nicely on time at 6pm, and some 10 minutes later Sarah arrived, and we were talking about stuff like results and work. Odelia came after that in her working clothes - she looked so professional!
We went in first, and Su Yee came at about 6.30, Shernise messaging that she'd arrive at about 7! Apparently she met my sister on the bus on the way to violin class! It's all near the Orchard area.
We talked a bit about our results, how the overall results were in our respective schools, university applications, choosing courses, work experience and such. In ACJC they call up everyone who gets at least 3 H2 As, so it must have taken very long! Lol, Sarah and I went to the school website to go see our friends' names!
I found it funny how Su Yee was so prompt, knowing exactly what she wanted to eat, and she convinced Sarah and Odelia to choose the same thing there and then, though we'd been staring at the menu for like 10 minutes before she arrived without deciding anything!
Shernise ordered this dish I thought sounded good but didn't dare to try, and I think since it cost the same as my pasta but looked like more substance, I should have ordered that instead. Sigh. Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken - sounds yummy, doesn't it?
We had fun taking lots of pictures by ourselves, rarely asking the staff to help us take. We also celebrated Sarah's birthday (early), and shared ice-cream and mudpie! We took their free candy floss too! After dinner, Shern's mum was in the area, and fetched Sarah and I home!
It was really nice to be able to meet up with them again, and talk about how our lives have been, and what we want to do for the future. Next time it's Sarah's turn to organize, so maybe we should have it on Ode's birthday in April :D
Also, my parents are bugging me to go get a job, but I'm a noob and I don't know how to go about finding one... the classified ads positions all seem to require at least 1-2 years experience, want you to do it permanently or need certain diplomas and such. HELP.
Friday, March 6, 2009
So today was D-DAY. Kind of like Armageddon, educationally speaking. It was the day in which all 2008 GCE A Levels candidates received their results. To most of us, it is the means by which we can decide what university course we can take, which may ultimately decide our careers. Labels: choir, friends, school
So after my driving lesson, I went back home to change and take some Lit stuff for Wei Qiang, and I arrived at school at about 1.10pm. I saw Eugenia there at the bus stop with her friend, and we were talking about driving and such. Gerard 'prodded' me on the shoulder when he got there, shaved head and all, and went in first.
So I went in, and after looking around, managed to see Liu Xuan walking up the stairs to the canteen, but we didn't know where Kaixin was, so I bought my lunch from the new Asian Delights Japanese stall. Their soup is not nice.
We were joined by Tse Mei and Aretha, and later on Kaixin and Huizhen. So the place was getting filled with a lot more of our cohort, many of the guys sporting the army hairstyle, one person even wearing the green uniform. I saw Yong Jian and Amanda having lunch on one end, and Jing An queuing at the drinks stall.
So after a while, Kaixin, Liu Xuan and I were walking aimlessly around the linkway, then we sat down at the oasis, because it was still 2pm. We were joined by Xiaowen, and then Yi Hong and Yi Lin. With abounding excitement and worrying and speculating, we finally headed up to the hall.
We were to sit according to class, and as it was last year, IP05 is at the back left corner. People present: me, KX, XW, Kai Qi, Wu Si, Linh, Sarah, Melody, Jessica, Xin Yuan, Elaine, Sherrie, Ben, Terence, Jiayi, Gerard, Jeremy. I didn't see at which point the rest, like Charlyn, Jessie, Justin, Wan Ting etc. joined in, but they did. Sheryl and Rachel were wilfully late! Possibly Rayshio too.
There were lots of NJC students standing at both sides of balconies staring down at us, and it made me feel more scared and uncomfortable. I admit that I've been among those people for the past two years, and only now do I realise that it's quite intimidating. A bit like being on exhibition at the zoo.
So the principal started talking about how the percentage of 3 As and above increased from 49.9% to 51.7%, I think. The exciting part started when she began saying which subjects had 100% passes. There were massive cheers as the list went on: Biology, Physics, Computing, English Lit, History, Geography, Tamil Lit, China Studies etc.
I don't remember her mentioning Maths, Econs or Chemistry. Anyhow, then she listed those students who'd gotten 8 distinctions! Pity no one in my school got 9 distinctions. Possibly no one even took 9 papers, and I hear all the top students with 9 distinctions come from RJC this year.
The 8 distinctions people, who got their photo taken, included Shiane, Linjiang, Zhang Kang, Apoorv, Tan Junyang, and I forgot who else. She also named the 7 distinctions people, asking them to stand, bow and sit down. I remember it including people like Wendy, Gloria, Wu Duo etc. I was really awed by how they managed to score so well! It felt liberating, and a bit like the celebration of human ability.
Finally we were told to line up in front of our class tables where the civics tutors were waiting with a lot of documents, and the nervousness really went up three notches. I started babbling on about how if I didn't get 3 'A's I'd be below average for my school. I seriously didn't believe that I could get 3 'A's, actually.
It took really long for each person, because we each had to check our testimonial, CCA and CIP certs, and sign the paper, and take one piece of each newspaper or brochure on the desk, as well as a bag with even more scholarship adverts and university information, and then our CT would hand us the results slip, looking at it and saying whether you'd done well or very well or whatever.
So after checking my documents for very long, because I value accuracy, I guess I took so long that Xin Yuan started a bit after me and got her slip first. Then when the CT looked at my results slip (all I could see was the back), he looked at me and said, "Very good", or "Very well done", or something like that.
At that point, I was a little sceptical, like not allowing myself to believe that I'd done well. Anyhow, when I finally saw my results, I didn't feel ecstatic or disappointed. It was more of a relief, like "Oh, okay, good", kind of reaction. I think I reverted back to my stone-ness that I'd been having before going to the hall.
There was talking, and photo-taking, and we collected our College Annual. I went to briefly see my Chem and GP teacher, and my Chem teacher knew my result, and she patted my head! So cute. And my GP teacher was also happy for me, and as I explained how surprised I was, she said that humanities are usually unexpected, and that the GP paper was indeed skewed towards the arts students.
I also went to the atrium to look at the list posted of the people who get a certain number of distinctions. It was quite cool to see my name, since I never imagined it'd ever be there. My older sister called me because I hadn't called her (only smsed my parents), and we talked for quite a while. I requested a present from her, and she said she'd get me a ticket to New Zealand. I only realised at home that she never mentioned a return ticket!
Afterwards I went to the choir store and handed Wei Qiang the stuff. After leaving my stuff in the AVA, I went back down to get a drink, and spent time talking to Ben, Elaine, Tse Mei, Joanne, Wilbert, Jiayi, Zhirong and Gloria. I really miss IP people! I also hope that if lots of us can get into medicine together, it'll be so much better!
Jing An, Yong Jian, Rachel, Ling Chung and I went for the choir practice (Beng Hui went too), and there was aircon in the AVA! Amazing! Inside was Xuemin taking combined girl sectionals for the J1s, and she's become really strict! Then of course the stupid guys said she learned from me. Hmph!
We talked to Ms Lim for a while about grades and university course choices and personality. Later on we saw Chye Keong, Cheng Luan and Xiang Ting come as well, and talked about our results, naturally. And Sheena and five others came back from this song recording thing, and she told me she got A for her Chinese! I'm so envious!
We left when the choir combined under Ms Lim's conducting, and I was tired and wanted to go home. I wanted to thank all those people who wished me all the best for my results - I got smses from Odelia, Jia Wen and Michelle, Marcus, Xuemin, and a few well wishes from some choir people I saw on the way.
I don't really know how I feel about getting back my results. Before entering the hall, I wasn't anxious. I'd spent a lot of time praying about it, asking for peace and no worrying, and leaving it all up to God, and I supposed He answered my prayer, buffered with hymns :D
I confess I was worried when in the hall, about to get our results. It was as if the previous 12 years of education was all culminating in this short span of time, too much pressure on this one day.
But when the slip was handed to me, I just felt like I wanted to just see it and get it over and done with. After seeing the results, like I mentioned earlier, I wasn't particularly joyful or anything, mostly relieved, and a wee bit disappointed in my H3.
I also felt a bit like I didn't quite deserve my results. Just as my sister put it, "you feel like it's not fair that other people who worked harder don't get as good as you". I don't know if I worked hard. I know I worked harder than ever before, but certainly not as much as other people, such as LC, who deserves the mugging crown if anyone ever did.
I was thinking, that my apparent lack of excitement in the end might have shown that I learnt that perhaps grades just aren't that important. I think this process of my thinking that I was quite screwed for my results, praying hard to leave it all to God, and then getting what I did and realising that it didn't quite matter that much, was a learning journey for me.
But this could be hypocritical, because I'm sure I'd have been sad if I'd gotten all 'D's or something. Is it that I can say all this because my results are okay? I at least hope some of my perspectives have changed. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
It's raining right now, and I find it partially significant and amusing, but I'll say why later.
Today was possibly my last day at the clinic, though it wasn't particularly different. I left at 3pm to go to Plaza Singapura to meet Xiaowen and Elizabeth, to watch the Japanese movie Suspect X!
It was quite a good movie, in my opinion, though not quite what I had expected. From all synopses seen, I thought it would be some cool mental game between the physicist and the mathematician trying to cover up the murder, with a lot of false alibis and misleading information and tricking the police here and there.
It wasn't quite so much of that, though the alibis were really boggling me, until of course the ending part where the physicist Yukawa manages to solve everything and tell it to the mathematician Ishigami, who says by the time he finds proof to turn the hypothesis into a fact, it'll be too late anyway.
The actress playing Hanaoka is pretty! Besides that, I think I understand why one review said one thing the movie might have lacked was what it was supposed to be talking about, in terms of theme. Is it about logic, crime or love? You watch it and desperately want to know just how it was done, even though you know the murderer from the beginning but sympathise greatly with her, and even the guy helping her cover up.
At the end, really the only character I didn't like was the guy who was killed in the beginning! I quite like the policewoman Utsumi, who's being unfairly treated by those chauvinist men she works with. I think it might have been better to be like Elizabeth and actually have watched the drama first, which stars the same actors for Yukawa and Utsumi.
Afterwards we went to the Ichiban sushi to eat with Kaixin, Sheryl and Rachel. The three of us started ordering and eating first, and I abandoned my previous plan to eat this sashimi rice set. Sheryl came by 7, I think, but Rachel only reached at about 7.30 because of bad traffic.
We ate lots of sushi and sashimi, and I got my chawanmushi and agedashi tofu, and we talked a lot about many things, including Kaixin's accounts of how NJC has changed, people's work experience, and a lot of other things that I can't quite seem to remember now. The dinner cost more than I thought it would!
I'm supposed to meet Kaixin and Liu Xuan for lunch at school tomorrow at 1pm before our results are released at 2.30pm. Though most likely they'll spend the first 15 minutes waiting for people to arrive, and the next half hour talking about how 'well' we've done, and who the top students for each subject or stream are.
And that brings me back to the rain. I'm guessing all the thousands of JC students and private candidates who sat for the 2008 GCE A Levels are experiencing some degree of nervousness right now. The rain just adds to the mood and signifies the worry and anxiety felt all around the country at this point.
Personally, I'm not feeling worried. It's not because I'm supremely confident about my results, but more like I've handed it over to God, and anyway worrying is not going to magically change my results to suddenly get 6 'A's or something. Why worry over what you can't affect, or rather, couldn't affect ever since you handed up that exam paper?
I have a sneaky feeling my results will be average. I always have these imaginations before getting results, such as the miraculous 4 'A's, and the disastrous 4 'D's. It happened when I was waiting for my PSLE results, when I swung between worrying that I wouldn't get above 200 and wishing that I might get 270. In the end I got 263, which should have been roughly expected.
Then it happened again when we got back our O Level Higher Chinese results. I was both dreading that I got a D and wishing that I would somehow scrape an A2, but in the end I got a B3, which was also to roughly be expected, a B at least.
Maybe my idea of average isn't the same as everyone else's. Perhaps ABBC? I'm not contemplating getting an A for GP, since I never have, but I really hope I can at least get an A for math. I've never not gotten an A for math in a final final exam, I think. My mum would probably be so disappointed she'd disown me, but not before my older sister did. Haha!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sounds like a weird heading, but I have my reasons.
Today's driving lesson made me feel rather depressed afterwards. I finally started on parallel parking, but I felt a lot of uncertainty on whether I wasn't turning enough or whatever, but somehow each time I finished I wasn't far enough 'into' the lot.
And this is why I hate going to 4th gear. I went to 4th gear on a 70 kmph road, and I was looking at this green traffic light in the distance, all the while thinking, Please don't turn amber, please don't turn amber, don't make me go down to 1st gear again...
And I was so happy when I saw it remaining green, I happily sped along, and didn't notice when it REALLY TURNED AMBER before I reached the last arrow on the ground, so my instructor had to brake hard for me!
Afterwards, I was to turn out into the main road, and it was a red light for that road, the line of cars stretching very far back as they were stopped. Only a bit later did I realise that this bus was halfway on the road and halfway in MY yellow box! As was the van beside in on the right-hand lane! By rights I should have the right of way to turn in.
And then the instructor wanted me to try to inch into the right-hand lane so I could u-turn, but I was apparently too slow, and got a little stuck at this 50 degree angle in the left lane as the light went red again. So I was again too slow to get in front of the yellow box in the right lane, and this minivan went there.
Then this motorbike came along and kind of blocked the other car in the yellow box, so when traffic resumed moving, I was able to go to the right lane! Thanks to the motorcyclist!
Anyway, this experience has made me question slightly whether I should be allowed on the road, if I'm not focused on the traffic signals and have slow reaction-time. Driving is practically wielding a potential murder weapon based on how good your brain, eyes, hands and feet are working. Unsafe drivers should be banned from the roads.
This is linked to medicine, because being a doctor concerns lives as well, maybe not always as serious as death, but definitely impacting quality of life. Thus, people who are unsuitable for the profession ought not be given the opportunity to acquire it.
And this is why getting into medicine is so hard, right? Being a doctor doesn't just require you to have 4 or more 'A's on your GCE A Level certificate, to show that you're brilliant at your science and math and language and a contrasting subject to boot, as well as at juggling multiple studies at once.
Of course, they want the medical students to be good speakers, capable people, not too susceptible to stress, able to constantly work under pressure and lack of sleep, confident in making decisions...etc. And I guess doctors need to have good people assessment and communication skills in order to deal with all kinds of patients. And they need to be morally upright, or at least trustworthy, so that people are willing to entrust their health to them.
How many people are there like that who want to become doctors? Yet there's more than 2000 people fighting for the 250 places in NUS medicine here, perhaps not all of whom are thus qualified.
With luck, those 2000+ will reconsider, and realise that their skills will be better applied elsewhere. Or maybe some of them will discover that they can't handle the blood and gore, and leave a better chance for me to enter.
Of course, it'll all be revealed this Friday when we get our life-changing results. And hoping is not of much use if you get 4 'C's and a D for GP.
What's the moral of the story? Leave it all in God's hands, duh. SO SIMPLE AH.
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities
