Teachers' Day 2008

Today, I, together with my friends went back to OPSS as it was teachers’ day celebrations. It was great to be back. Much has changed, and since the new principal take over, the connection with the school seem lost. That’s my feeling though. There were 2 giant fans in the middle of the hall now. I don’t think they would help much. The hall is still as stuffy as ever. The Art Rock Cafe now sells cakes and many more new items.
Last year, we were still sitting inside, perspiring away due to the lack of space. This year, we were standing outside the hallway, watching the performance, still perspiring away. My point is, it seemed so not long ago that we were students in OPSS. I missed those days there. Give me a choice and I would rather go back to be a secondary school student.
Many alumni went back too. One thing regrettable was that not many people from my class went back.
We chatted with our ex-form teacher. After that, we decided to have lunch and play pool. I was really hungry as I did not have breakfast and we took such a long time to decide where to have our lunch. At last, we went to Buddy Hoagies which is near OPSS. The 8 of us (4 girls and 4 guys) took mrt to Yishun and took a shuttle bus to Orchid Country Club. We played nearly 2 hours of pool. It was fun, been so long since I have played. The shuttle bus was really smelly though, liked overcook eggs or sulphur smell. We had to endure that along the way.
I had fun today. It’s not every time we get to meet up like this.
Hope to go out again soon.

POM & Accounting

Yay, end-semester exams are over!
POM was OK, I supposed. MCQs were quite easy. Essays and case-study were a little difficult. It doesn't help that I can't elaborate on the points. I already knew that some of the answers I wrote were wrong...
Accounting was OK too. I did the paper slowly but finished it on time. Majority, I think I did alright. It's only some little questions that I'm not too sure about.
Needless to say, I was really stressed earlier, before the papers. Nothing seemed to go in at all.
Anyway, holidays are here.
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Now that the Olympics 2008 is over, there's nothing much exciting going on. Unless, you want to count the Singapore table tennis fiasco.
Well, in about 2 years time, there's the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 and Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 to look forward to. Of course, in 2012, London will be hosting the Olympics. Winter sports is another sport I like, especially ice-skating.
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Tomorrow, schools island wide will be celebrating teachers' day. I wanted to go back to my secondary school. However, I will see 1st. Depending on a lot of factors, one of which is the some new rules about stepping into the school, since the principal has changed. I'm too sure about that... And to see if any other classmates are going back. Nothing is confirm, but I wish to go back.

Had enough.
Started studying at 9.30am. Currently doing Accounting mock paper. But enough is enough, no mood to continue.
Then, I need to go through POM again...zzz
How?
I'm really worried that, in the end, I can't make it for both subjects...
One is complete theory-based, one is complete practical. Both I'm not good at.
Less than 24 hours before exams.

POM is zzz

2 more days to POM and Accounting exams and I'm panicking already. A bit late for that now...
For the past 2 days I've not really been seriously studying. Yes, I completed POM but the problem is, I can't seem to remember anything. I've not even start on Accounting. I tried out one past year paper, to my utter horror, most of the MCQs choices are quite close and I'm not sure what answers to put. I don't even want to talk about the case-study and essay questions...
I can't help but to hate POM. How can I like it when it doesn't like me in the 1st place.
Why doesn't anything get into my mind?
One consolation is that this paper is 40%, thank goodness. With 60% of the overall secured with an A, maybe I can afford not to do so well. Hmm, at least a C+ or B for overall? But of course that thought must be hold.
Looking back, I think I'd rather take CSA again...

Olympics 2008

I read with amusement at this article 'Show respect' Rogge is father of party-poopers by Tay Yek Keak on The Sunday Times, August 24th 2008. It's not every time I agree with what he wrote as he can be a real critic sometimes. With witty and sarcastic remarks, this is truly a refreshing article.
In my opinion, if a person has the goods and delivered it wonderfully, by all means celebrate and show off a bit. But, of course don't overdo it. Usain Bolt obviously has the right to be happy seeing he scored triple golds and made new records at the same time. People should not criticise his actions unless they manage to beat his records.
Don't tell me that a person will be content to just stand at the podium and pretended nothing happen (showing respect to his competitors), when he have just been crowned the winner and broke a record in the process.

MicroEconomics

1st paper ended. Overall, it's quite ok. MCQ were a bit tricky but, generally, most of the answers should be correct. Open-ended and essay questions were alright too. It's just whether my answers hit the points and if I missed out any points. It's unnerving to see 10 marks when the question was like so short.
There is one thing I must point out though. I really hate the font (Courier) used in the exam papers. Why can't they use normal fonts like Arial or Times New Roman? The more I read, the blanker my mind go, especially in those long questions. Sometimes, I would just stare the question without it processing in my mind...
POM and Accounting next. I hate POM! Theory all the way... And, like I say before, I'm not a study-material kind of person. Regardless of the time, the moment I open my notes, I'll keep yawning.

Study Break

3rd day of study break and I completed round 1 of Econs, sort of. I've moved on to POM with not much success.
Let's just say I've short attention span and I can't study for long periods of time. Furthermore, there were too much distractions, namely this, the laptop.
Won't say too much. Afternoon is not for studying in my case...At least, I must go through 4 chapters of POM tonight. Tomorrow is dedicated to Econs seeing as Friday is the big day. But, at 8pm there's Don't Forget the Lyrics. I really want to watch it...

Medal Dreams come true

Once again, congratulations to Team Singapore! A salute to Li JiaWei, Feng TianWei and Wang YueGu for winning silver in Olympics Table Tennis Women’s team Finals! The dream is finally realised!
Today, newspapers of every kind were printed with pages and pages of the match that took place yesterday. Even the National Day Rally 2008 (English) was delayed so that home viewers can watch the match instead. It was indeed a gracious move by the Prime Minister.
"Michael Phelps swam his way to Olympics immortality", to quote a reporter. He came to the games with a dream, to win 8 golds and that dream came true yesterday morning. Furthermore, he has set 7 world records.
-All that glitters need not be gold, but when one gets gold, you know that’s all that matters-

CSA & medal in Olympics

CSA is over~~ Wow, it was easier than I expected. However, that doesn't mean anything, much. Initially, I only wanted to pass the paper. Then, after I read through the questions, I thought, maybe I can do well. Now, I'm not so sure. It seems that I made mistakes in the MCQ. The more I think about the questions, the more wrongs I seem to find. Short-answers questions were generally alright. I was not so sure of some of the answers but that's fine.
When things are within your grasp, you will reach for it, but the higher you aim, the harder you will fall. The pain is so much greater. Isn't that true for most cases? That's why I make it a point to think of the worst case scenario (most of the time), at least... But, I'm not a complete pessimist, when I know I can do well, I will show it.
Anyway, I can pass the paper, and perhaps get a C or C+. A B will be hard, be who knows?
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Congratulations to Team Singapore! It was an intense competition between South Korea and Singapore. A gruelling 3 and 1/2 hours of battle out in Beijing. Li Jiawei, Wang YueGu and Feng Tianwei beat South Korea in Table Tennis Women's semi-finals! What a win! Congrats to the 3 of them.
Singapore is guarantee a silver medal now, to get a gold, we will have to beat China. China will be hard to beat, but do your best tomorrow. Here's wishing Singapore all the best in tomorrow final race to the top. A 48 drought for a medal in Olympics has finally come to an end!
In this kind of circumstances, I don't watch the match live. It's too much for me to take. Even as a spectator at home, the anticipation and excitement is there. I'll be on the lookout for any rolling news regarding the final though.
Good luck!
PS: Heard the bad news? Harry Potter HBP will not be release this Nov! It will be shift back to July 2009! What a let down. I'm so looking forward to it. Harry Potter fans are not thrilled about this.

Updates

Got back my projects grades. A for MicroEcons, A for POM, A for CSA group web project. D+ for CSA Excel individual project.
A huge thank you to my fellow group members! Great teamwork!
As for my grades for various subjects till now, I got an A for POM, A for MicroEcons. I'm not so sure about the other subjects. This is enough incentive for me to work hard in the end-semester exams.
CSA is a bane. Let's just say I'm hopeless in computer systems and applications. Who wants to know about the different components in a computer or hardware or software? Not me. Thank you very much. I can't memorise all those terms and jargon. For CSA, I'll be happy just to pass it.
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On a different note, Michael Phelps was sensational! He has set so many new world records. In his quest for 8 golds, he had already won 5.
In the 4 x 200m freestyle event, him and his team mates set a world record of sub 7 minutes. To quote the commentary " What an extraordinary display by Team USA!" The rest of the teams/individuals just lag behind when Michael Phelps was in action.

Olympics and National Day 2008

Beijing Olympics opening ceremony was magnificent! No words can describe it. I caught the whole of the much-anticipated event live on TV. This is my 1st time watching the opening ceremony so I can't really compare. I can't believe I missed the 2004 Athens Olympics.
From the performers to the fireworks, everything was great! The fireworks were the best of all!
I had enjoyed myself. The delegates from the countries and territories walking in was also a must-watch, though it's a long affair. Team USA looked smart in their navy coats and white berets and so did some of the European countries while some African countries donned their traditional garb. Some like Team Ukraine wore blue and yellow which was memorable. Team Singapore look fine in red and khaki.
All I can say is "Well done China, you have prove yourself to the rest of the world."
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Watched the preliminary round of male gymnastics. My favourite games will be gymnastics, diving and pole vault. You can see that the 3 games shared a common thing.
Honestly, how many people have the strength to balance themselves on the rings or parallel bars and do somersaults or handstands? I really admired these people.
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National Day Parade was just as magnificent. Though I can't be there, it's great to watch it at home. Each year, the parade gets better.
Shine for Singapore!

Happy National Day?

The flag is up, the date is set, but where is the spirit? Where is the festive mood? Maybe it's there, but I honestly don't feel anything.
Since our school is a tertiary institution, there's no celebration at all. It's times like this that I feel I'm better off in a secondary or primary school. However, if you read my blog in 2007, you would know that my secondary school did little to promote national day. No wearing red and white and no or little celebrations.
Makes me wonder if schools do not even do their part to promote national day, who else will do that?
Maybe, in the years to come, I'll try my luck to get NDP tickets and enjoy the parade live. Only from there, will you feel the excitement and high spirits.

At long last

In celebration of my 200th entry, this post will be dedicated to Breaking Dawn. 1 year since Eclipse was released.

I got the book on Monday evening and started reading it once I got home and finished it at 9.45am on Wednesday, 6th Agust. Took 12 hours, give or take a couple of hours, to finished round 1. One bad point is that I’ve to be more careful with it since it’s paperback.
Ok, 1st round finished. Hmm, the plot is not what most fans expected as it is really unexpected. Make sense? Authors from fan fiction have been writing story after story somewhat close to the plot and I think even they do not anticipated this.

Some fans are not too happy about the plot or the twist in the story, saying this spoils everything and it seems “out” or weird from the other 3 books, I’m not that critical though it’s a bit weird. However, ardent fans should not be put off by this.
At 1st, I don’t like that twist too, didn’t Stephenie Meyer confirmed that speculation before? Now, why did she put that in? Wouldn’t it seem contradicting? But, after reading the whole book, it was nice, sweet even. A chance for them to enjoy real family life.
Happiness and bliss to angst to downright scary then back to bliss again before tension and angst mounts then back to pure happiness. It’s happily ever after for the star-crossed lovers. A happy ending.
It’s quite an intense novel. That’s all I’m revealing. If you want a detailed storyline either go read the book or ask me, haha, after I finished reading the 2nd or 3rd round. I need time to process the information. Besides, you may need to know the whole story before you will understand what that’s all about.
My favourite book in the twilight saga will be Eclipse. There’s not that much emotion roller coaster ride and it focus mostly on Edward and Bella rather than anyone else. It shows their relationship and interaction very well. It’s definitely worth reading and reading again.

I’m not going to be hard on myself by reading those forum posts on twilightlexiconblog.com. I’d rather enjoyed the book than let some comments change the way I feel about the book. So far, there have been mixed reviews. Nonetheless, Stephenie Meyer deserves great credits for doing such a good job. Of course, critics are not unexpected in the world of fiction. Every successful author will go through the same thing.

Supernatural live among us. How much do you know? How much can you understand?
The mythical world of vampires and werewolves (shape-shifters) are unleashed in our world.

Not all is what you think it is

*The Twilight Saga*

Olympics, NDP and nerves

Next week will be a very good week. There's the reading of Breaking Dawn, Beijing Olympics 2008 opening ceremony and Singapore National Day Parade. I'm really excited about all these.
The Olympics has always interests me, especially the Winter Olympics.
However, it's sad to note that politics weave its way through the spirit of Olympics. Gone are the days where honour and sportsmanship are the greatest glory. The ancient game has changed so much since its beginning. I read some truly inspiring tales in Reader Digest August 2008 issue about "The true Olympics spirit". Hoping to catch the opening ceremony from Beijing.
National Day is coming and each year, I wished I could be there to witness the parade instead of sitting at home watching.
Tuesday, we will be having Econs presentation. Hmm, many things to be done since I will be the one tying the loose ends. But, my part is almost done so I think it'll be alright.
2 more days to Breaking Dawn! I won't update my blog anymore until I finish reading it. No spoilers will be post here and even if there's any, it will be very mild. Can't wait~
See this post for further updates. The next post will be solely dedicated to Breaking Dawn.

Ramblings, Part 2

3 more hours to Breaking Dawn...Ahh, those fans in USA are so lucky to be able to get their hands on it.
Everyone will be celebrating while I still have to wait till Monday... Never mind, when I'm going home in the evening, I'll drop by Popular and start reading when I reach home. With any luck, I'll be able to finish the 1st round by Tuesday~~
Anyway, my youngest brother went for an operation on Wednesday to remove a cyst from his elbow. A "simple" operation like that cost $1000+ and the operating theater had 11 people inside it. He was excused from school for 3 days and was even given a certificate of bravery. Haha.
Tuesday will be our presentation for Econs and after that, we will be "quite free". As I said before, exams are coming in less than 3 weeks time.
Oh, I scored 36/45 for my Accounting class test. Better than in mid-semester so I'm quite happy.
~3 days to go~