short, sweet and sharp

hello!
this morning when i reached school, it was amazing to see some of Rameses's ogls still in school! Joel apparently only slept for 1 hour plus, and ChangYi (??) and Zhuangyong looked super stone!:) ahha, anyways, thanks changyi for the bag of marshmallows!:))

Band prac was just greeatt today..super productive.:) ive just realised that I suddenly like playing mallets. its probably the band mates that you have that influence you quite a lot. for example, in general, guys dont really like playing mallets, but here, Sidney, tim and matthew love them! haha so it kind of rubs off onto us:) anyway, im growing to love the bells part for Spartacus. yay:) and my mortal, gave me this whole treasure chest of chocolate coins! aah! all of my angels and mortals totally pamper me..hmmmph!

ok shall talk another time, taa!:)

Bold and Beautiful

Hello again!:))
VJC really rocks man. All the people are so enthu and happy and fun!:) especially 07A13!:) yay!
this is a email from my CT. (form teacher)

Hey people!This is the email i promised to send you earlier...both to sort out more admin matters and to test that I have everyone's email correct ... More importantly - this mass email list is also everyone's chance to begin to say HI to our "unseen" classmate - the illustrious Deborah Ong. (National Sailor training for Olympics 2008) So here's the first big hey going out to you, Deborah, from me as your class form teacher. My name is Mr David Khoo, and I have the pleasure of introducing you to your wonderful class of 07A13. They've all been having a great time getting to know each other, and I couldn't wish for a better class for you to come home to when you begin your VJC career. We have been collecting notes and worksheets for you, so don't worry about that. I'll sign off here, so it's over to you, Deborah, to write back and tell us a little about yourself and what you've been doing these last few weeks =) Likewise I hope everyone else will chime in with their greetings and self-intros for Deborah. My aim is to get a nice email conversation going so that when Deborah steps off the plane into VJC, she will already feel like she's met all of you. Think of it as writing to one more "angel" or "mortal" you can get to know =) Have a good weekend, and see you all on Monday!

Mr Khoo

Isn't that pretty cool?! All I can say is that i've been blessed so much, with wonderful classmates, og mates, seniors, juniors and even teachers. :)

Anyway, today after school, I went back to SCGS with Annthea, Camille and Eunice to watch Prefects' Investiture. It was really strange sitting in the audience watching the show, without being actually being in it like i was for the last three years! It was a great show, and I screamed my lungs out again and especially for the SC cheer. haha, oh no, my voice! Then after that, 3 of us cabbed back to VJ. Cam and Annthea met their OGs there while I went on to East Coast Park Pit 46 to meet Raven!! Well, it was definitely an eventful time! Min Li got "stoned" on her leg, resulting in a big bruise, while I got grazed pretty badly. ahha, oh well. Min Li, Joel and I went star gazing and JAE reflecting, and we met Orion in the skies! cool! We left at about 10 plus and Thanks Joel for giving me a lift back!:)

OH my gosh, this morning I had to play the crash for national and college anthem! So pai seh! I was seriously sight-reading for the college anthem and for the national anthem, it was based on instinct. seriously, there was NOTHING to refer to. ahha. Thank goodness it turned out ok.
Tomorrow there is Band prac, and later at 4 ill be going down to Millenia Walk to support Jing Han and his fellow mates dance! :) Do join me if you guys can!:)

At investiture, the speech made by the Mrs Low Ay Nar (current Principal) was really interesting.Miss Heng's favourite phrase previously was wanting us to be "kim geks". However, now Mrs Low's one would be urging us to be "Bold and Beautiful". I thought that was cool, because its important to be bold, to step out of our comfort zones, and stand up for is was right all the time, while being beauiful at the same time, maintaining our dignity and integrity, staying elegant and having poise. ahh:)

On the another matter, our class got our very first GP test back 2 days ago. Yay, my class did pretty well (according to my teacher!)yayness:) School's still pretty great, except that there is an increasing temptation to pon lectures (which I shall not succumb to, Andre!). Today half of my class went to LT6 a.k.a Treehouse, while Jing Han and I and a few more trotted obediently to LT 2 for maths.hmmph:)

ok, shall go take my beauty sleep now. taa...:)

Happy birthday Joel!

heh today was ogl Joel's birthday! I cant believe I forgot till about 1 plus...during history lecture! haha so I messaged him, then went on to gather "forces" aka Faizah and the rest of Raven og to meet up after school to give him a "surprise"! So I met up with Faizah after 3rd period PE then went to the igloo to look for timothy and both Darrens. I just realised how blur I am, i never knew there was a pool table and table soccer in the igloo! oh man... haha anyway, Joel got a new pair of Zildjian drumsticks from a friend as a present!cool! our og was backed up by the rest of ogls from Rameses, and together all of us went to dunk him in the fountain...EIGHT times! haha! yay:)

I shall go off now, have bible study tonight, yup taa!:)

Carrot cake.

hello! have I mentioned how nice VJ's carrot cake is?
its yummmm-delicious!
haha well, quite amazingly, my WHOLE class and my GP teacher knows that im some carrot cake fan. hmmm. I guess its nice because its freshly fried everytime you order, plus the lady's very nice, plus its $1.30 for a super bigg portion.

anyway, my angel replied to me once again. Its amazing how he/she keeps giving me so much food, big bags of chocolates and today marshmallows. not only does it further brighten my day, it sustains me and peers during lectures (econs). Thanks angel!:))

Here's the tip to millions of people out there who fall asleep during lectures, especially during the 2pm to 4pm period. JUST STOCK UP FOOD. really. so far, chocolates are the most effective. because it makes you thirsty, then you drink water. and water makes your brain fluffy, hence keeping you awake. chocolate also makes you happy, so it helps you persevere, and find more meaning in learning econs. haha. I like econs ok. Anyway, council's signing up is now open. Camille is nominating me and im nominating Xinhui. haha. the process is rather painful though, we have to photocopy prelim results, cca records, testimonial and write an essay on ourselves. hmmm. Afterwhich, we have to go for an interview, then campaign. woah. I can forsee how difficult it's going to be should I get in, because then I might have to make a decision btw band or council. I've got an amazing part for Band for SYF, an amazing vj percussion section, and the Gold with Honours dream just keeps you moving man. But at the same time council sounds great too. oh yea, and these 2 are probably the only ccas besides choir which is not adviceable for people to take up more than 1, as all are rather heavy on its own.

Something tells me to sacrifice. But, which to sacrifice?

Hurray!!

hello! today was great!!
haha after school Mark, hwee ting, annabelle, daniel, jing han, Andre and I headed to town for lunch and movie!! finally! Ive been aching to go to town for the last few days, since VJ's hangouts are only at like parkway, suntec and marina. hmmph. we ate at Long John's but Annabelle and I shared a 6-inch subway sandwich while Andre and Jing Han shared a 12-inch sandwich! ahha.
we really had a fun time bonding and learning about each other's schools habits and pranks etc...

after that, Andre went back to school for dance (!!) auditions while the rest of us watched Confession of Pain which was good since Takeshi Kaneshiro was in it!!ahha!!

Anyway, the ODAC people are at Back to basics camp now... I cant believe that I didnt go in the end, oh man I think its going to be so fun! Jason, Faizah and Denise, all the best guys!:))
I have band prac tomorrow, hmmph!:))

Changes

07A13 is the best.:)
ahha. anyway, there have been more talk on the upcoming release of O level results, more uncertainty from people, wondering if they did well enough to stay here. On my part, I also share the same uncertainty, because I dont feel too good about it too. However all I can say is that, enjoy our current lives to the fullest man! :) seize the day (as vandaliser #1 carved on my econs lecture table) and just feel as great as you can ok?

Whatever it'll be, Im going to place my entire trust upon Jesus, our Lord who will never forsake us, and pray for the best. Meanwhile, Im going to enjoy my stint here at VJ as much as I can, and do my best to have no regrets at the end of the day. Wherever I head to after our 2 months (or less), or hopefully stay here, Im never ever going to forget the amazing time i've spent here, neither will I ever forget the warmth of the seniors and friends and juniors (IP year 1 students) around me.:)

2 days ago, I was chatting to an ex-classmate, a wonderful friend who wasnt exactly enjoying herself in the institution she was posted to. I was enlightened to the fact the most of my friends who went there were also dreading everyday of school and totally not enjoying any minute of it. I felt quite down for awhile, because I was wondering why such nice people, deserving the best in every way, had to be exposed to such a trying time, when all they really hoped after venturing out of secondary school was to enjoy life in a new way. It was hard for me to say anything worth, because perhaps I havent really experienced what they are currently going through, and I, on the other hand, have been (unfairly) basking in enjoyment everyday.

I had been thinking about it randomly for the past 2 days or so, and yesterday during band practice, during some 'free time', I was just comparing the differences btw my fellow percussionists here at VJ and previously in AC or SC. I started thinking of how many adjustments I have made, or tried to make, during this short period of time, and how i have gained something out of it. It is indeed futile to cling onto the present and the predictable (tet:)), because change IS necessary. I realised that having a great time at such places will naturally cause one to be emotionally attached to it. However, changes are present to cause one to be immuned to the uncertainty/worry/frustration, to help the person to grow, to grow into one who is adaptable, who is flexible and be open to new surroundings. Life cant be a bed of roses, moreover, never a perfect straightcut one at all times, because your life will be so monotonous and the idea of life having no meaning will surface even more frequently. Wont it be better to get use to experiencing change, so that when we eventually have to 'let go' and move on, the wounds wont hurt anymore as they used to? Then we get to stretch our time of enjoyment, rather than wallow in the pain of missing objects and people.:)

Likewise, for my dear friend, you have been experiencing change too, but its undoubtably 10 times harder for you to adjust and adapt to such a new environment, worse off, to find the meaning of being tested in such a situation. However, you have been given the rare privilege of being provided with such a 'real' situation to expose your vulnerabilities in such a situation, and while you may feel that you are stretched to the extreme already, the strength within you as well as the strength thrusted upon you by Him above will be sufficient to maintain you, and make you even stronger than ever before. In the blink of an eye, this trying period will eventually pass, and you would have been 'twisted' to form a super flexible, strong person of character, enabling you to endure more changes ahead, and most probably giving you more joy in an enjoyable circumstance than others would feel, because you would have been to the worst before, therefore you know the standard of the best.:) Therefore, dont feel too sad or down, and dont ever lose yourself (as you mentioned). Dont forget what you were made out to be, dear friend! I will not send you any condolences or give you my pity, but I will feel so glad that my dear friend has been given such an excellent opportunity to grow so much, so much more than you had ever imagined.:))

for myself, after switching from St. Margaret's to SCGS, then initially to ACJC then eventually VJC, and after getting Os, possibly another change again, I feel ready for anything to come (or so i hope), because im going to enjoy my current cca and class to the fullest (!!), but do my best to not become emotionally dependent on it. That was kind of what happened after dropping AC Band, and walking into the uncertainty of getting a cca I really enjoyed here, since cca really plays a big part in my school life..
what im sure of though, is that ill would never be where I currently am, if not for Him. Honestly, I often wonder what on earth I've done to be able to be where I am, for simply being who I am, and for even be given the opportunity to step into my dream school ( since the beginning of 2006).
Indeed, how great are you Lord...

07A13:)

hi all!

Im finally posting on the official SCHOOL life of VJ. I cant thank God enough, my class is amazing! Well, at least amazing enough to sustain my interest and make me not dread school or anything. My class has: 8 guys and 11 girls. quite balanced:) there's also a national sailor in my class Deborah, who is still missing in action as she is our representing our nation. Cool! :)I actually feel happy in the mornings, preparing to go to school. Other than 07A13, lectures and tutorials have been so-so only. Econs lecture was REALLY boring- I nearly fell asleep. It helps to have a tall person in front of you to "ward" off any evil. haha. Math lessons are still just as interesting, at least they aren't speeding as fast as how the teachers said they would be! GP rocks, because its quite interactive. History was not really enjoyable, because there's this big focus on Cold War, a topic i know surely caused me my doom during Os, hence I still feel a little grudge against it. haha. PE was cool, however, this really caused me to miss SC so much!! PE in SC was superrr funn, running with PAU, dancing on the track while running, singing with the whole class... oh man, here its just running, in silence. my PE teacher also has this thing with Hockey girls, haha poor Anabelle!:)anyway, we took height and weight, and im finally 1.6!! yay!!!:))haha!

Food is good here!:)) haha Ive been eating carrot cake for quite alot, and trying variations of fruit juice. I shall try something new tomorrow. yess! haha. We have so many opportunities to eat over here... so many long breaks, I think eating's going to be a huge part of VJ life.
Anyway, Ive finally decided to drop the idea of joining soccer and ODAC! haha and Im actually in Band now! (something just made me go back again. hha. oh well.:)) yea.. but im still considering joining house comm/ sc...yup:))

Just for interest, there's this thing about J1s having to wear the collar pin on our secondary school uniform. well, we were told to do this as soon as possible. however, unknowingly, i've been secretly putting this at the back of my head. till yesterday, i was still faithfully wearing the SC badge. today, the SC badge was gone, but neither was the VJ pin in place of it. tomorrow, i shall be obedient and finally put on the VJ pin, awww!

Orientation Day FOUR

hello:))
yesterday was the final final day of orientation for the VJ first intake people...boo!
Sea Regatta was a very good finale to this whole orientation fantasy!

Again, another hearty welcome to all the crashers. heh, SSHH.:)
The weather was really great great even though im sunburnt now. All the games planned there were amazing and i especially liked the water volleyball game. So fun!:) Min li is a great volleyball server you know!! haha anyway, besides the hyper atmosphere, music, great mc-eeing, games and water, it was also an excellent bonding session for my og- Raven. we really enjoyed the (salt)water, sand, and sun! ah! and my ogl Tracy dunked me!!NO!! we played alot alot again la, as usual, and mass danced along the shore:)

after that, we went back to school to bathe and ate lunch. went to marina square to watch Night at the Museum (my 2nd time!) and the cheese from the Nachos really made me feel super sick...gelat! Mass dance at Suntec fountain of Wealth was a superr thrilling experience and thanks Cheryl, kat, eugene,matthew,caleb,kenneth,shawn and melvin for coming to support cw and I! haha you guys rock!:))

had supper then went home with cheryl and kat.
ah. NO MORE ORIENTATION!arrhh!

RAMESES!!

hey all!! finally, the promised vj post-orientation post!
haha actually last day of orientation is only on monday but since the weekend is here, i shall blog on the previous 3 days first (summary)! and by the way, im currently semi-voiceless!:)))

Day One
Day 1 was good! It could have been fantastic, but the compromise comes because i suddenly got a fever at about 3 plus and sore throat! haha ok i shall start!

My first day of school was ultra significant. Firstly, this was the first first day i took public transport to school in the morning since i was primary 1. ahha. it was a great experience. left my house at 7.20 and reached VJ at 7.40. nice! haha met Denise along the way and met all the excited sc people at the school porch : Camille, Chiawen, Nat Phua, Wanping, Jingxuan, Charing, Audrey, ... SECONDLY, this time i was wearing my pure SC uniform without my bolero!! arrhh! haha. quite fun, except many of the vj people cant be used to its "bareness".

The whole theme of orientation was based on Pirates and Patriots.
We got split into our ogs, im in Rameses!! (ok, time for some history)..Rameses was the Pharoah of ancient Egypt, and was mummified and buried in the Valley of the Kings. A pirate who was sailing through the seven seas in search of a legendary lost treasure was the only survivor from the huge storm they encountered....The soul of the pirate was fused with the Mummy and Rameses the Resurrected was born. 'Alone, they were powerful beings to behold. Combined, they are INVINCIBLE!" YEA!

my og was quite quiet on the first day, and lunch was awkward! haha but luckily, after mass dance, (MASS)cheering and games, we were much better and more "warmed up". yay!
during mass dance was where i started having fever, i was really praying so hard that I wouldn't have to leave halfway, and typically exemplify a home-pampered "kim gek" from SC. haha. but thank God, I managed to persevere even through to the end and after the games! yay! I even had 2 forfeits, of which i shall not mention, due to its level of embarrassment and difficulty. haha!

I rushed home and slept through (without dinner) till the next morning. I really was so grateful to the Lord for replenishing my strength and keeping me fit to enjoy the rest of orientation. Thank you Chia wen also for lending me your umbrella so that I wouldn't get sick-er under the rain from bus stop to my doorstep, while you had to brave the rain home on your part!

Day Two

Day two was the best for me! I really could feel the VJ vibes and E-N-E-R-G-Y!!!! We had a combined assembly with the introduction of staff and a talk on code of conduct. Really, VJ has nearly NO rules. the only ones they had are: to be punctual and not to offend the Discipline Master. Girls can have their hair done in any way, whatever coloured hair accessories. big or dangly earrings allowed (or rather not checked for) and any kinds of shoes can be worn. amazing! (not saying that i agree its good)

we learnt 2 more mass dances and had more madd wett games! including a segment where guys had to wash girls' hair to collect the foam! we ended the day with more cheers and 1 more mass dance. seriously, the VJ cheering sessions are just fabulous. everyone's just so enthusiastic, you really cant afford to be "tired"/"sian" or whatever. the dances are also quite demanding, mentally and physically!

after we were dismissed our og went to suntec for dinner and later played games at the fountain of wealth. super super fun! as usual, i was the erhem, loudest contributor and by 10 plus, i was seriously losing my voice. In an attempt to preserve my voice for the next day, i decided to leave with Minli, Xianhui and Wanqin. thanks gals for the company!

Day Three

Day three was also a fab day because... I got my combination and a nice class!! heh! yay! Eunice Yip is also in my senior class! yay! and i got 2 mortals to pamper. hmmph! it was really cool because one of the senior guys posed as us and wore a catholic high uniform. when asked to introduce ourselves and present an interesting fact to the senior class, he said he had kidney failure and just had a transplant last year, and he needed a lot of funds to pay his hospital bills, and he hoped we would generously support him. Seriously, i was just dumbstruck. I didnt really believe him, but at the same time, I didnt really dismiss his statement also. The senior class was seriously a whole bunch of pro actors and actresses, they were also having such sympathetic/dumbstruck/ expressionless faces, it was hard to tell it was all a joke! and before that when our teacher was still in class, he said he did random spot checks. so he marched over to this "cat high guy" and rummaged his bag. Out came the items: The Great Gatsby, and some Lit texts. I was like "Woah! this guy is nuts! Reading such stuff BEFORE school even started!.."our teacher then threw the whole bag out of class and marched out after saying "this is what I do when I dont like the items within".

Thankfully, it was all a joke. our teacher was playing along with the senior class! haha after we discovered that, my class was really relieved. fancy getting a weird form t for TWO years!

our og had lunch at the grandstand and later Andre* and I (* Andre please dont paint your nails!??!! firstly, you're a guy, secondly, you are scaring EVERYONE (LIKE ME) THANKS!) and one more arts fac girl headed to the LT AVA for the arts fac cheering session. hmmm, we had this mocking science fac session which i didnt really catch. lol. then came more cheering, during which i was forced up the chair to lead Rameses in cheering (which really, wasnt necessary) and more games and the final 6th mass dance!! the finale was also superb, a skit being put up by the mascots from Rameses, (my ogl Joel!!) Voka, Iago, Creon. Thaddeus, Orpheus, Icarus and Ayden. The concluding video was also greaat:)

after that, faizah, timothy and I went up the VJ treetop! it was so nicee!! we watched tracy (my other ogl) having her hockey training and the soccer girls training. so nice! haha. after that daren (my other ogl too) joined us. we all ended up going as a whole bunch with loads of VJ ppl to Parkway. packeted food and ate at carpark, and played till 10 plus again!

amazingly, that wasnt the end! our orientation only ends on Monday! there's this thing called sea regatta at East Coast Park where we go in ogs to play and dunk and there's a biathalon going on which involves a couple running and surfboard paddling. woah! so on eh! in the night from 8 to 9, there's gonna be mass dance (6) at suntec fountain of wealth!

A few things i've gathered from the first 3 days of orientation: The VJ SCHOOL spirit is seriously alive and rocking! everyone's madly enthu and SUPERBLY ENERGETIC, its hard to imagine where it all comes from. no wonder VJ has about 8 canteen stores, with great food. AHHA. did i mention, the carrot cake's great? haha! the orientation organising team is also GREAT because everything was crafted REALLY well to suit the theme, nothing was disorganised or out of place or confusing etc. Kudos to you people! My FIVE OGLS are also great people, thanks Tracy, Joel, Darren, Yong Sheng and Hao Ran for being such caring, responsible, funny, crazy, leaders!! Woohoo! and thanks og mates : faizah, geraldine, minli, Kitharna, xianhui, meng xi,wanqing, (another) darren, (another) joel, dafril, jonathan and timothy for being so enthu and sporting, the guys for leading in the cheers and all, yay you all rock!:))

by the way, i signed up for ODAC (outdoor adventure club i think), House committee, Students' Council and SOCCER! lol!

see ya around!

the FIRST!:)

hello all you wonders!! :)))
i initially didnt really have the "mood"to blog, but it all came back after reading all the tags and selected people's blogs..haha so here I am!
anyway, 2006's new year's eve was ultra memorable for me, beats almost any other form of things I've ever done!:) big thanks to all you people who were there to share the first few minutes of 2007! your were definitely the crowd I wanted to start the year off with a BANG!:)
somehow, new year's eve was given more prestige than new year's day itself for me, how ironic!

anyway, I have finally written my new year resolution. Praying for God's strength to enable me to put the resolution into place. This year's resolution is quite different from previous years. I have given myself deadlines for things to accomplish, and a couple of challenges I need to first garner strength to achieve. My most important resolution: To thank God everyday for even the simple gift of allowing us to live yet another day! Indeed, how great are you Lord!!

tomorrow's the beginning of a new journey for so many of us, or even for those who are just continuing their path towards something greater, I sincerely wish you all the best, and dont forget to appreciate everything around you!:)taa! my next post shall come after orientation. ha. how exciting!:)