Yesterday we went to visit the Bukit Brown Cemetry in the morning, guided by the Asia Paranormal Investigators, lol. We didnt actually do anything paranormal la, just had a tour around the cemetry, looking at the tombstones and epitaphs, and trying to make out what is written and understanding them. Found out that many of Singapore's famous people are burried there, expecially those philantrophists, dunno why all there, haha like Gan Eng Seng, Chew Boon Lay and there's even an area for OCBC director's wives lols. Rather than a walk, some parts were more like hiking, cos we were going through trees and walking along tombstones, some times even tripping over some... But well, did really learn more about the traditions, and also about Singapore history, like the past kampongs that were all around Singapore, and the change of Singapore's land use over time... Overall, I would say that this module, "The Space of The Living and The Dead" is quite an interesting and unique way of learning more about some cultural and human geography...haha. Just a random example here from the trip to the columbarium (cos i promised): I realised that, yeah we are actually imposing our way of organising on the dead...if you take note of how the urns are placed in the columbarium, you would find that, they are actually organised by letters and numbers, and there are also a lot of floors, all the way up. Thought of something similar? Haha, they are just like our HDB flats! To save space and to be organised...do you think the dead might want it? I dunno...

Anyway, today my mum did something I never even thought she would do, haha. She brought us to go watch a the Mama Mia movie! I guess it is partly becos she saw Jim and I studying 'so much' and because of her love for Abba, haha! Lols, I was looking forward to it for the same two reasons, haha. We even went with our aunt so that my mum would have somebody to discuss with about abba, haha. The movie was really nice, the songs...still hits to me! The movie was about this girl living with her mother on an island, which was said to belong to the greek god of love, Aphrodite. So, she grew up not knowing who her father is, and now shes getting married and thinking that she will know who her father is when she just invited 3 possible men to her wedding after looking through her mother's diary. They came, but she couldnt tell. Lols. Thats roughly the beginnging...

Haha some parts of the movie was really quite funny, some parts were suggestive, and some touching too, but overall I felt that the movie was just full of energy, some great acting, and again the songs, haha, still cant get them out of my head...in fact, my mum wanted to go buy the soundtrack immediately after we went out of the cinema! lols, looks like the songs really evoked a lot of memories...haha. Think she wants to say/sing: "Thank you for the music, for giving it to me..." Haha, mama mia here i go again...only its to SCHOOL tomorrow...2 more days of DMP...

Haha I think im a mini-Abba fan now. =D

Yesterday was an interesting day...Jim and I were walking up to class and went past the notice board at the bottom of the Rajaratnam block. We saw a list of names and the OIP logo, but thought nothing about it, until after morning assembly when Mr Tan announced that the list of people who have been selected and where they were going were up on the notice board. Lols, lots of people were crowding around the notice board when I got back there. So I waited till recess, and still there were people there, but less. So I looked at mine. And saw that I will be going to Vietnam, haha. Im going to a school called Nguyen Tat Thanh High School in Hanoi for about 14 days. Jim's one is different, he's going to Chiangrai in Thailand... Yes, though it looks like I wont be able to see my Korean friends during this OIP, but still, I will definitely be looking forward to the trip!

I just returned home from a trip to the Khong Guan Biscuit factory, as part of the DMP module, Food Through the Geographical Lens. It was quite interesting, to see how biscuits are made, especially a local food company, which is rather rare these days... We were first briefed on the basics of their production process, like the mixing, baking, cutting and packaging. And then spammed the person with lots and lots of questions, haha. Then we watched an old corporate video made before 1994 on the company, before taking pictures with the 'haircaps' on...oops. Haha luckily I dont have it, lols. Then we went in to look at the production process...the real thing, like how the machines work, what the biscuit goes through before it becomes what we see in the supermarkets, lols. He told us lots of interesting things about their biscuits while we were walking through and still asking almost too many questions, haha. One thing I noticed about the company was that they tend to depend on tradition, like the packaging, which hasnt beened changed for more than 10 years, the machines there. and their target customers too i guess. After finishing a tour of the factory, we went to have a short break and drank some lemon tea haha. Then of course was the sales shop, where we bought a lot of the biscuits haha. I think the most popular was the army kind of hard biscuits, lol. Tried it, not that hard la, and tastes not bad, lols. Tak Wei, Rong Jun and I also bought a tin for 01, lols, since it was supposed to be cheaper there. Oh and Adi was a good guide, lols.

After this visit, I thought that maybe it had some NE effect on us, like it made me understand how Singapore at least does wat it can to ensure food security for us, and it made me feel...like Singapore can actually do something different from what we always see...white-collared workers everywhere, haha. We can produce our own biscuits! lols, I know that might have sounded dumb...but I learn something!

Will write about the columbarium trip today and the virtual cemetry trip tomorrow with the Bt Brown trip on Saturday most probably...haha

And about the story I wrote...I didnt want to write any thing more after the end so that I dont spoil it, haha. Anyway it wasnt very important la...just wanted to say that it was written for everyone who I know! Strive on! Jiayou! =D

A have a little story to tell.

Once upon a time, there was a boy called Little Timmy. He lived in a world where we can only imagine, a world where there were countless shooting stars every night. Everyone has seen them, and wants to get hold of them, to touch, to feel, to smell and perhaps even taste, the stars they can only see every night.

It was finally his turn, the annual traditional ceremony where all the boys who have reached maturity are given the mark of their adulthood. The rope javelins- which will allow them to support their tribe and families. But Little Timmy was more interested and excited about another thing. He could finally try his luck and attempt to shoot the shooting stars down! Those stars he would stare at until he fell into his dreamland every night, those stars which not only guided him and his tribe, but also gave them hope for the future.

Nighttime finally arrived, and together with his friends, Little Timmy went out into the wild. He could see the shooting stars...and they never seemed closer, afterall it was the one night in the year when the stars were closest to the ground... But, there have also been stories about how some people in the past ended their own lives, when their javelins missed the targets and instead struck back down on them, like a bolt of lightning...but it wasnt going to happen, he had observed how the older men aimed and shot their javelins.

The night went on, javelins were being shot up into the sky, just like how the shooting stars were also racing across the sky. It wasnt easy, and every shot took courage and much-needed skills. The stars slowly got less...and eventually, they were gone. Little Timmy looked at his javelin, he wasnt even sure that was his, but there was nothing. He didnt manage to get any.

Looking around, he realised many ended up like him. But for the special few, they were still out there following the stars which they managed to hit, clinging as tightly as they could onto the rope and trying to pull them down. He knew that upon their successful return, they would be highly honoured, praised and decorated. Only the best of the best.

But Little Timmy and friends didnt stop either, they hurried after those who managed to hit a star, and did whatever they could to help, even if they were only on the ground. He knew that the rest of the tribe were desperately awaiting the stars, and no one wanted to disappoint them. Running non-stop, Little Timmy looked up into the sky, and deep in his heart, he knew that he didnt let anyone down, as long as he has done his best, and continues to do his best.

"Maybe, just maybe, the shooting star I'm running after...is heading to where all the other shooting stars are?"

THE BLOGSKIN GOT DESTROYED JUST BEFORE EOY PERIOD! AND NOW IT LOOKS REALLY UGLY...JUST NOW ON MY COM...ONLY...OK...phew.

And on a side note, Happy Birthday, Chloe! =) Hope you are happy where you are!

Yesterday I went with some of the other DMP people taking the "Understanding Social Deviants" module to the highpoint halfway house in geylang. (mistakenly called 'highway' a few times haha) It was a basically a christian place for drug-addicts and criminals to go after they were released from prison, to help them reintegrate into society. I really learnt quite a lot, not on those academic stuff, but a lot into the minds of these 'social deviants'.

Through the past few lessons, we all understood that there is usually a set of norms that we all have to comply with in a society, without which the society would become disorderly and even fall into chaos. And so with this, there will be a group of people who do not follow these norms. These people will then be punished by the negative sanctions and so on. But what is it that made them the way they are? Is it the rest of the society? or are they born like this?

Returning to the trip, we got some presentations about what the halfway house does, like they actually go to the prisons and help the people inside through conducting church services and advising them to come to the halfway house on their release to help them enter society again, as it is easy for them, who on their release has lost their loved ones- family and proper friends, to go back into their old ways. When they are in the house itself, they help by putting them on a course, which includes a lot of counselling, teaching them how to lead a healthy lifestyle, new work skills, social skills, monitoring them, and even citizen responsibility and helping them to regain the trust of their loved ones and return to their families.

We also watched some videos by the Central Nacotics Bureau, I would say not the usual that we watch cause one was quite wierd as it was animated, and then the other one was acted out, but really quite real and slightly scary? They were both just telling you that drugs are bad and that you have a choice- whether you want to lead a good life, or lose your life to drugs. Then was the touching part, where the people share their stories with us. I could tell that they really lost a huge part of their lifes...most of them were in prison for about 20+years...thats even more than how much I have lived... Yea and they started sharing with us their feelings and what they went through...Like how they mixed with the wrong people and how they fell into the trap, which really costed them. Some thought that it was macho? and that they could stop anytime they wanted to. They were wrong. And it was just one mistake. Even after the prison stay, like what I mentioned, without anyone to 'anchor' them, it was easy for them to find the old gang again and the same thing happened. Many of them went in and out of prison like this, each sentence being harsher than the past. Until they found this halfway house, where their lives were changed. They said that being there gave them some form of hope, that they can someday return to society and stand proud again. Which those that shared eventually did and made some use of their life, by achieving something for themselves.

Then I finally understood, that the halfway house is called a halfway house because it is halfway into re-entering the society. And on our way back, Ms Goh highlighted something interesting to us, that we have actually helped those people who have shared with us, because them sharing their stories with us, will have a therapeutic effect on them, allowing them to realise that their experiences are of some use to the society, to educate, to share, and to warn.

Note: I think Cold turkey is to describe the effects someone will experience when the person gives up drugs, like the withdrawal effects. The person will be placed in an air-con room and left there for a while to cool down, reflect and to think. It kind of makes the person more comfortable and soothes the person.

Today was fun. Haha, especially the Mathematical Logics class. I dont believe im saying this, but really it was fun to think about some logical stuff haha.

This sort of like a semi-private quiz thing, dunno how it came about, but I wanna try it. And to respect it, I shall do it the 'traditional' way. If you would like to know the descriptors, feel free to email me or ask me on msn! haha.

1. Sup
2. Jim
3. Myself. Maybe god?
4. Shaun Chang
5. Ming Chan
6. Anurak
7. Shayne
8. 'The Group'- 5 of us. you should know haha
9. Mr Koh
10. Yee Shing
11. Zi Heng
12. Abstract
13. Justin
14. Hiok Yang
15. Alvin Lum
16. Benjamin Ng
17. Brandon Peh
18. Manfred
19. Alvin Chua
20. Francis
21. Zhong Jun
22. Wan Jing
23. Kenneth Kuan
24. Alvin Chua
25. Hiok Yang
26. The One
27. Jian Wei
28. Bryan Lim
29. An empty mind
30. Dont worry if u r not named!

Will talk about SDs next time...

This is a short post, but mind you, i took quite some time to finish this...haha

Haha, for some time I havent dared to even visit my tagboard or other ppl's blogs, for fear of seeing something like: "Update leh!" Haha...Im getting lazier... yes, even though its DMP period. I think its becos things work opposite sometimes, when it was the really hectic period, I needed something to get my mind off all the stressful stuff...so naturally...blog, haha. But now, when its the more relaxing time, I feel so good that...I dont need to get my mind off things? haha.

Another reason why...I have become(okay partially?)a slave of sleep. Dunno how I should explain this, but again, because of the lack of work, no i mean lack of work to be handed in, there doesnt seem to be anything stopping me from sleeping nowadays lol. And whenever this happens, I go and sleep. Lols. The EOYs arent powerful enough to move me yet. So, someone please buy me over! lol (think i use too much friends for sale)

Now about DMPs...I simply love it, hahaha. Its so relaxing, to be learning something almost purely based on your own interest. And something NOT going to be tested in the exams. And a break from the usual schoolwork. Maybe that's how education is like in some other place...I wonder. Okay, I mean both systems have their merit but Im quite sure that students studying in the other system are happier students. lols. Now at least I've gotten a taste of what its like haha.

Lols i really like most of wat I have chosen for myself. Thats why I feel slightly happier these days, lol, even though my timetable is still like usual...and I didnt choose any science modules at all...lols, ok that was actually becos those that i wanted were full when I tried to register, but again, the humanities DMPs just seem so fun. Lols, took 3 Geog, 2 SS, 2 maths and 1 philo module, lols. Looking forward to the rest of the 2+ weeks of DMP!

Really, learning about social deviants, the Singaporean identity, finance, spaces, fashion, logic, food and metaethics is not really all that bad!

Today was quite fun, I went to school at about 1pm with Zhao Yuan, then waited for the rest to arrive. Some went for their DMP trip, some went for fun, some went for the National Weather Studies Project next year, while some like me went for the Humanities Club trip, haha. So we went to Changi Airport Terminal 2 first, lols still as high class. Went to the NEA office there, which acts as the meteorological station for the flights... Learnt a whole lot there...some too chim haha, but still interesting...


Nice Equipment...




Those black lines are pencil-drawn! wow...


Then after a few lectures there and a fun tour, we went off and headed to Paya Lebar where the release of the weather balloon was going to take place. It is something which is done twice daily for the radiosonde to be lifted into the air by a helium-filled balloon and then sending weather information back to the station, which is then shared with stations all over the world. So I got a rare chance to see the whole process, very complicated...but I guess its important. Here are some pics of the rather run-down and ulu place...kinda like those places u see in tv shows where the gangster hideouts are found...haha. Spam pics to make up for lack of them at Changi Airport.


Get what I mean by run-down and ulu?





The balloon we r going to use...



See the helium at work? haha




The conventional kind of rain gauge



Lols, new kind...




Preparing for the release...



Off it goes!



Data coming in...



Sophisticated instruments...



Me!! haha.



The end. Wonder why its protected.

Lols, so today woke up early and went to Pathlight for CIP. I went there very very carefully this time, cos I dont want to get lost again....always liddat on bus 55. Haha so it went well this time...luckily for me, cos I saw Zi Wei while I was on the bus and he was at the bus stop, if not I would have continued on with the ride, lols... (note to self: must improve on travelling skills or...I wont be able to go overseas myself, lols)

The first thing we did was ahem...(the worst) to scrape the paint/masking tape off the ground. There were many tools for us haha, like the teppanyaki thing...(yummy), chisels, 'metal combs' (lols, NOT suitable for your head), sandpaper (very effective but NOISY!) and more which we found, haha. Scrapping was tiring, cos the chisel was so small but there was so much to remove and it was so difficult to remove them, haha. Okay, I admit I was thinking about how scrapping would help the kids, but then I thought that maybe helping them with this can help save money which then can be spent on them. Haha that was what I was scraping so hardly for, lols.

Then we had a seemingly vegetarian-like lunch, ok im not sure if it really is... Well, to be fair to them, it wasnt bad la, just thought that maybe they should give us some meat cos we are doing like manual labour...haha. But its ok, cos what we did after lunch was easier, just putting up notice boards and checking the classrooms for stuff.(why do the clocks need to be so exact?) Then we just went into the com room again and played hangman while resting. Hangman can be really fun, lols. And then we had more food! We all got hotdog buns and shared some random food like beehoon, bao and lomaikai, haha. We also got one poncho each cos it was raining and then...home!

Tomorrow will be meeting our RE mentor at NUS, so work to be done tonight...

Haha today morning woke up quite early to meet Teng Chuan and Alvin Lum at Hougang Mall for our SS project on NS. Since it was rather last minute, we couldnt actually do much and just planned some of the questions and did a little research before the interview. Then we went to eat lunch with Jim and then decided to go bowling, lols. Thanks to Jim for helping me carry my stuff haha. Bowling was quite fun la, Alvin claimed that he hasnt bowled in a long time, but he owned us in one of the games. Teng Chuan on the other hand was trying out his new technique, where the ball will go really close to the gutter before turning in another direction back to the centre of the lane and hit the pins down. When he does that and gets a strike, it looks like its hitting a glass panes or something. just beautiful. but difficult. only for pros. I just did my normal ones, spinning it a little then whack. but very inaccurate sometimes la...Haha they were all making jokes and saying funny stuff during the whole thing... I even said some good ones myself, haha. Like..."Teng Chuan got guts" haha. After bowling we went to the arcade for a while cos there was like almost nobody there so we could do whatever we want, like walking around in circles not knowing wat to play. But i did play just one in the end, its a music one so just press the buttons lor...actually wanted to play the drums one but suddenly some dam pro people started playing and just didnt go off haha. But its still nice to watch them la...haha

Then after I got home, went to rest then ate dinner and watched the 2 'must-see-tuesday' shows on channel 5, haha. Dunno why since I heard about this 2 shows during NDP then started watching until now, cos they are just so funny. I watch them every tuesday except last tuesday cos too busy...haha. Well thats about the only 2 shows i follow on tv, other than animes of course...speaking of animes, I just finished one anime movie yesterday. Im sure you would have heard of 'The Girl who Leapt Through Time' cos it was once in the cinemas, even in Singapore. Very nice. I mean, the animation was just alright la, not exactly fabulous but ok. Its the character, story and humour that I enjoyed. There is also a touch of the touching feeling towards the end (haha), and it really makes you think. What are the things you do that can affect others, and how. Also, how 'Time waits for no one' Haha that was a recurring theme throughout the movie. And it applies to us too haha. Ok, I should sleep earlier. lols, good luck to all those having their OIP now! Have fun and learn lots!

I was just thinking...about how laughing...happiness...humour are playing a part in my life...how important they are and how much I like them...haha. =D