updates: 4-2-07

On monday, I have to go to a workshop known as " Super-teen workshop ". This workshop is about bringing out the best in us by building our self-confidence and self-esteem. It starts at 8am and ends at 9pm. I can't believe when I first heard it. It is so absurd... Even lectures don't last that long... Moreover, we have to eat our lunch and dinner in school. The canteen will not be open at night and we are not allow to go out and eat. Instead, we will have to pay for packed dinner at $2.
That means we will not be having any lessons from Monday to Wednesday. However, I would rather have lessons and A maths tests everyday than to go through this torture.
The teachers said that we are lucky to go to this workshop, where we can "relax" and "have fun". Sorry, but this is not the case. We would need to bring textbooks and writing materials to this workshop. To put it simply, we are going to have long day of lessons there.
I am being forced to go, for it is compulsory.Given a choice, I would not have sign up. I am going to bring my own food there, although I will still pay for the dinner. If it is not suitable for me, at least I have something to eat.
Best Wishes

Updates for 2007

It had been a long time since I posted anything in my blog. My computer was down at the beginning of the year and also because of the Taiwan earthquake that slowed down the connections.
This year is a crucial year for me. It is the "O" levels year, which everyone dreads. For 3 weeks, I did not have time to touch the computer. We have extra lessons everyday and lots of homework.
Not much things have been going on...
In 2006:
~ great-grandmother had past away

Trip to Malaysia

On the 16th of December, my family went to Malaysia to attend my father's Annual Dinner & Dance cum Family Outing. It was held at Sofitel Palm Resort. We reached there at about 5+ pm. After resting in our rooms for a while, it was time to go. There was approximately 300 guests attending. The were several activities going on when we were eating our dinner. It was a fun and light-hearted event.
There was one activity when we had to stand on the chairs and sing Ali Baba. There were also "bidding" and luck draw. In the "bidding" activity, people must used casino chips to "bid" for 'a trip to nowhere', 'washing machine' and 'Gucci shoes'. Actually, they were not for real. We all had a good laugh. We left at 11.30, but the event lasted till 12.30.
The next day was supposed to be check-out day. But we stayed until monday as my cousin's family will be joining us. At about 2+pm, my relatives arrived. Due to the consistent rain, they cannot played golf. We spent time inside the rooms watching TV and playing games.
I was to look after the "children", while the adults went to play golf. I took them to breakfast and went swimming. After the adults came back, it was time to leave. I had a relaxing time there.
However, I lost my watch there. I left my watch on top of the TV before going next door to my brother's room. When I returned to my room in the afternoon, it was gone. My father went to counter to check, but apparently, the maid did not find anything in the room. So, my watch got "stolen". It was not an expensive watch but it was given to me by my aunt.
6 days to Christmas~~Ho Ho Ho

Vacation at Guangzhou

It was cold in Guangzhou. There was a bus to take us to our hotel. Upon reaching the hotel, we were all delighted. At least this time we will be staying in a "real" hotel. But unfortunately, people were allowed to smoke inside the lobby. I was sharing the room with my cousin. The room was just like a typical hotel room.
After a while, we all went to Beijing Road. There were a lot of people everywhere. We walked for hours and our feet were tire out. It was 10+ pm when we went for feet massage. It was a great experience for us. This was my first time having a feet massage.
The second day, we walked around and went shopping. About 5pm, we visited "shang jiu lu and xia jiu lu". The air pollution level was very high as many people were smoking. The streets were filthy and filled with litter. I am so glad to be living in Singapore. That night, we had feet massage again.
We went to various attractions the next day. Our first stop was Wong Fei Hong Memorial Hall. There, we learnt about the history of Wong Fei Hong. Next, we visited Chimelong Xiangjiang Safari Park Guangzhou. The zoo was really big. Their newest attraction is the Koala House. We also saw panda and white lion. At night, we went to Cirque Du Chimelong to watch a circus. It was a good show with live animals like hippo, horses, monkeys and white tiger.
This was our last day in Guangzhou. We went to Dr Sun Yat-Sen's Memorial Hall and 2 other attractions. After that, it was time to go to the airport. We boarded SIA and went back to Singapore. I was not feeling good all the way.

Pictures I took in HK

Bus in Hong Kong


Jellyfish at Ocean Park


Night Scene


Night Scene at Victoria Harbour


Hostel I stayed in

Vacation at Hong Kong

I woke up at 5am on 30th of Nov. 29 of us including my uncle's liondance group members will be leaving for Hong Kong. Our plane took off at 8am so we had to reach the airport very early. I was happy that we were boarding SIA. I did not eat much for breakfast as I was already feeling queasy. It was a 3 1/2 flight.
When we reached there, my head was spinning, stomach was lurching and was nauseous. The weather was still fine there, not too cold. Our first stop was Ngong Ping Village. To reach there, we had to ride on a cable car for 1/2 hour. To make matter worse, there was no ventilation.
We then visited other attractions like Lan Kwai Fong. To our horror, we were staying in a hostel. It was passable inside, although the room was very small. You can't even change your clothes inside the toilet.
The next day, there was no bus to take us around. We had to ride on their MTR and public buses. The 29 of us were split into 2 groups. We took a bus to Stanley Market. Later, we went to Ocean Park. There were a lot people, we managed to play a few games. At evening, we rode on a cable car to get down. This was much better than the ride on the first day. I had an enjoyable time there. At night, we went to see a laser show at Victoria Harbour. The air was refreshing but it was tainted with cigarette smoke. One thing I can't stand is cigarette.
We left for Guangzhou the next day. We took a 2 hour train ride there.

Phobia of mine

Tomorrow, 30th of November, together with my family and relatives, I will be going to Hong Kong. I am really excited and hope that we will have a fun-filled time there.
But, yesterday I am already starting to feel giddy and nauseous. I always have this stupid phobia of travelling on an airplane. The same goes for travelling by sea. Everytime, I am going overseas, I have to take medicine. I hate this but have no control over it. I am suffering right now.
I am thinking that it will be worse tomorrow. Once the plane take off, I will be worse. This does not happen to me only, my brother is also affected.
Hope everything will be fine.
Happy Holidays!

Sick day...

I am ill right now, having fever and blocked nose. I am just recovering from a bout of flu 2 weeks ago. I'm so angry that I am ill. My parents wanted us to get the flu jab before our trip to Hong Kong. I insisted I don't need it, I can just improve my immune system by taking more vitamin C.
I must get well before my father comes home from Thailand on Friday. If not, he will ask me to get the flu jab. My body aches and whenever I sit down, I can't breathe properly.
Till next time...

end-of-year results

Today I got back my report book. Nothing surprising as I already knew my marks.

I am 6th in class, my average percentage is 61.1%. So long as you pass English, you will be promoted to sec 4. Here are my results:

English: 59--C5

Chinese: 64--B4

A maths: 39--F9

Maths: 65--B3

Combined sciences: 65--B3

Combined humanities: 70--A2

Except for my A maths, I am quite pleased with my results. My L1R4 is 16 while L1R5 is 20, which means I could go JC. Tomorrow is the last day of school. We can go home at 10 am. But, we still need to go for 2 weeks of extra lessons.

Warm Wishes

PSI level : Unhealthy

The haze is driving everybody crazy. All thanks to the forest fires in Indonesia. It's been going on for about 2 weeks now. The weather is so hazy, it makes my eyes watered when I look at the surroundings. This haze this year is the worst, the highest PSI level being 150.
We are breathing in smoke right now not air. Besides, the weather these days had not been good, many people are falling ill. Recently, there was an outbreak of the "stomach flu", hitting 2 schools in Singapore. I blamed it on the haze.
Sources say that the haze will be gone by end of the month.
I can't wait to breath air again....But till then, we all must endure the haze.....

Post exam activities

There was nothing much to do after exams. We stayed in the class for the whole day, some sleep, some read books while others played games. These few days were very boring.
On Tuesday, 15 students from my class did not come. This was the record so far. The same thing happened to the other classes. Yesterday, 19-10, we went to science centre. It was quite fun as we got to walk around and looked at the exhibitions. But still, 9 students did not come.
Today is Promotion Day, so I do not have to go to school. It means the teachers gather to see if you get promoted or advanced or retained to the next level.
^.^

The perfect day

Today was the best day of my life. I went out with my parents in the morning and came back in the evening. It was quite strange as today was a school day. I seemed to be the only teenager walking in Orchard.
My mother went to see her doctor and after lunch, we went to JewelFest 2006. It was so beautiful. I've been looking forward to this every year but this was my first time going there. Finally, New Moon was mine! I went to Borders and was not disappointed. I was so happy that I got the book.
Later, we went to Causeway Point. As my father had a $3500 voucher, we planned to buy furniture with it. But in the end, we ended buying diamond necklaces for me and my mother. It was not the design I wanted but it will do. I like necklaces with patterns, mine was simple.
I can't believe it, I have a diamond necklace...Hooray!
What a lovely day~~ It's everything I wanted!

End-of-year exams--final part

At last, the end-of-year exams had come to an end. Physics was quite all right, I think. I did know know how to do a few questions though. Biology paper 2 was a little difficult, we had been warned by our teacher. He said he "want to kill us" in this exam. I did not know how to do 2-3 questions.
So, tomorrow and Friday are "off-days". Tomorrow is art paper, but since I do not take art, there is no need to go to school. Friday is marking-day. I am disappointed to find that New Moon by Stephenie Meyer is not available in Singapore. I am looking forward to reading it after my exams. I have yet visit borders to check. This Friday, I think I will be going to borders to check if New Moon is available there.
Warm Wishes

End-of-year exams--part 3

Today's papers were Additional Maths paper1 and 2. Both papers were disasters. I would rather not talk about it. I did not have much time to update this blog and tomorrow is the last day of exams. Yay!
Biology paper 2 and Physics tomorrow.

I am upset that I can't get the book New Moon by Stephenie Meyer in Singapore. I thought that after the exams, I will be able to read it but none of the bookstores here have it. I am thinking about ordering it in amazon.com......
~.~

End-of-year exams--part 2

Geography paper today. It was quite difficult , the map-reading took up 1/3 of my time.
There was 1 question " What are the characteristics of Hi-tech farming in Singapore", I think I answered it wrongly. Also, I only studied 2 advantages and disadvantages for industrial concentration. However the question was worth 10 marks which means that I had to give 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages for it. I managed to write 3 each.
I am worried that I will not do well in this paper. I have high standard for geography.
Tomorrow's paper is Chemistry, a subject that I am not very good in.
.....>.<

End-of-year exams--part 1

Today was the 1st day of my main EOY exams. Today's papers were social studies and E-maths paper 1.
For the social studies paper, there was 1 question I was not too sure about the answer. It was about the IRA in Northern Ireland. But I still complete the paper in time. I have high standard for my social studies so I am worried that I might not do well. I must get at least 70% for my social studies paper.
I skipped quite a lot of questions for my E-maths paper 1 in the 1st round. No calculator was allowed for paper 1. I finished all the questions during my second round of checking. I think it is still all right. I must get at least 65% for my paper 1.
Tomorrow's paper is geography, another subject I have high standard for. There are lots of things to memorise.
Wish me luck....5 days to go

Exams---CA2

The september holidays is over. About 2 more weeks before end-of-year exams starts. The first will be English paper.
Anyway, here are my exams marks for Term 3, CA2. They are the average marks.

English: 64.8--B4

Chinese: 56--C5

Additional Maths: 41--E8

Maths: 60.9--B4

Biology: 63.4--B4

Combined Physics and Chemistry: 53.8--C6

Combined Social Studies and Geography: 78.7--A1

I thought it was quite alright, except for my A maths, Biology and combined Physics and Chemistry. The second test for biology was difficult so it pull down my bio marks. As for my A maths, until now, I had only passed 2 tests. All I wish is to pass my A maths. Physics and Chemistry are difficult for me, as they require a lot of calculations.

I must work hard for my end-of-year exams!

September hols is coming

September holidays is coming soon. It falls on the 2nd of September. Anyway, it is only 1 week of "break", and we still need to go back to school for extra lessons. Besides, there will be a lot of homework to "keep me company".
I had endured at least 2 weeks of constant tests. One test per day. I had enough. The teachers keep reminding us that after the September holidays, it will soon be our end-of-year exams.

Is school is all about exams? Many people don't think so, but to me, it is so.

Term 1:

Lots of tests

March holidays:

homework

Term 2:

prepare for mid-year exams

mid-year exams

June holidays:

Lots of homework

Term 3:

lots of tests

September holidays:

homework

Term 4:

prepare for end-of-year exams

end-of-year exams

December holidays

And it starts all over again. I am tired of it. Study, tests, exams, this is school.

National Day

I was right. The "celebration" for national day in my school was so pathetic. It can't even be considered a celebration. We just watch some videos about the SARS crisis and that's it. We then went back to class to discuss it with our teacher.
Furthermore, most students from other schools got to wear red and white while we were the ONLY school that was dressed in sombre uniforms. We looked like we were going to attend a funeral. It was "refreshing to see that our school is so unique". The thing I hated most was they gave excuses as to why we were not allow to wear red and white. The reason being, (quote) " We gave you freedom, but some of you abused it". It was only 'some', not all, which means that majority were all right, just a few spoilsports. Why do we allow our spirits to be crushed by these few? We could have continued with our celebrations.
I was really disappointed by this......

Happy National Day?

Singapore's national day is on 9th of August.
There is something terribly wrong with my school. I feel that they are not putting enough effort in the celebrations. We aren't allow to wear red and white to school on the eve of national day. The celebration is going to be boring, even the teachers say so. One teacher told us it is going to be "one-man talk", meaning there is going to be "lectures". What is this? It is the nation's birthday, why are the celebration lukewarm?
The same goes for our racial harmony day, the other schools allow their students to wear their races costumes while we can't. Not only that, the teachers made all sort of excuses why they don't let us wear. Besides we never really celebrated the day, we only saw a play and thats it. I still remembered the good old days in my primary school where we celebrated racial harmony day. I feel so ashamed, why this is happening to my school?
On a good note, I can get to enjoy 2 days of holiday. Tomorrow is going to be a half day for us, 9th and 10th are holidays.
Happy National Day! >.<