How to recognise a Japanese game without seeing any Japanese words/lyrics etc:
1. Costumes are modelled after traditional Japanese costumes e.g. kimono
2. Traditional Japanese values e.g. humility and trying to take the blame are common
3. There is a strong connection with other living things, the spirits in trees, animals etc.
And, of course, almost everyone involved in the production process are Japanese! The Japanese are fantastic patriots.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Vocal Consort
the other day swee hao asked the choir members whether they were interested in joining the vocal consort choir for a performance with the singapore chinese orchestra(sco). i wasn't particularly interested in joining vocal consort but i jumped at the chance to perform with the sco again. last year i did really enjoy performing in the sco concert and singing all sorts of buddhist songs, most of which i'd never even heard of.
so swee warned us that if we wanted to join even one practice, we would have to stick with it all the way unti9l the performance. so it was with some trepidation that i went down to siglap south cc today to join the vocal consort practice.
btw the sop SL looks super young even though i think she is probably much older than i am. think she only looks young because she is so very fair. the other members are rather much older than us actually.
I met one aj choir alumni who said that she didn't join the alumni choir. i told her that the guys' uniforms are now changed to the banana suits and she was rather surprised. her comment was 'yuck'. but she seemed nice enough, and told me that she was 22. she said that she felt extremely old among us, but actually when i looked towards the guys' section, i could see some singers that looked as though they were 30 years old or even older. i told her that, and also that there were some secondary school singers in vocal consort. i guessed that due to the o levels, they had been given leave to study for their exams. kane, the aj choir member who is also an official member of vocal consort, was also absent.
so we sang carols. some of them sounded quite nice, but what left the deepest impression on me(perhaps it was because i had heard it before?) was actually the song called 'O holy night' strangely, whose music sounded as sad as the lyrics sounded celebratory, just like the 'god bless you merry gentlemen'
after that i headed back home because my parents said that they would not be fetching. hazel called me up to ask where i was. she told me that she was taking the bus. i wanted to take the bus too but i had no idea where she had gone. so i decided to just take the route i had taken before: take the bus to an mrt station and go home from there. on the way though, i met zongyi who jaywalked me wailing to the other side of the road.
we discussed many matters: perhaps too many and as we approached the bus stop where we were supposed to take our bus we met hazel and colin. on the bus since zongyi wanted to sit with hazel, so i sat with colin.(he's still deeply in love with the kwei, btw... or so that's what he says =p)
colin recommended some methods of getting somebody to like you. method 1: use black magic, which apparently involved some weird ingredients including 4 locks of hair(easy to come by if you're just starting on chemo) and bat's eyes and a pig's heart, which had to be halal. goodness knows how that can possibly come about. and also some other strange ingredients which i have forgotten. he instructed, 'and don't forget to speak the name of the person you wish to bewitch loud and clear. then you dance around the pot where you have put all the ingredients.' when asked afterwards what to do with the strange brew in the pot, he replied that one had to drink it. when asked what would happen if one vomited, he recalled some important ingredient and said, 'well it doesn't really matter because you have to put in bat's vomit anyway' that was method 1, folks
method 2: engage the services of a certain arrow-shooting pal of his called cupid. no idea on how that can work. lol. and that's method 2.
good luck! you'll need lots of it if you believe in colin. =p
so swee warned us that if we wanted to join even one practice, we would have to stick with it all the way unti9l the performance. so it was with some trepidation that i went down to siglap south cc today to join the vocal consort practice.
btw the sop SL looks super young even though i think she is probably much older than i am. think she only looks young because she is so very fair. the other members are rather much older than us actually.
I met one aj choir alumni who said that she didn't join the alumni choir. i told her that the guys' uniforms are now changed to the banana suits and she was rather surprised. her comment was 'yuck'. but she seemed nice enough, and told me that she was 22. she said that she felt extremely old among us, but actually when i looked towards the guys' section, i could see some singers that looked as though they were 30 years old or even older. i told her that, and also that there were some secondary school singers in vocal consort. i guessed that due to the o levels, they had been given leave to study for their exams. kane, the aj choir member who is also an official member of vocal consort, was also absent.
so we sang carols. some of them sounded quite nice, but what left the deepest impression on me(perhaps it was because i had heard it before?) was actually the song called 'O holy night' strangely, whose music sounded as sad as the lyrics sounded celebratory, just like the 'god bless you merry gentlemen'
after that i headed back home because my parents said that they would not be fetching. hazel called me up to ask where i was. she told me that she was taking the bus. i wanted to take the bus too but i had no idea where she had gone. so i decided to just take the route i had taken before: take the bus to an mrt station and go home from there. on the way though, i met zongyi who jaywalked me wailing to the other side of the road.
we discussed many matters: perhaps too many and as we approached the bus stop where we were supposed to take our bus we met hazel and colin. on the bus since zongyi wanted to sit with hazel, so i sat with colin.(he's still deeply in love with the kwei, btw... or so that's what he says =p)
colin recommended some methods of getting somebody to like you. method 1: use black magic, which apparently involved some weird ingredients including 4 locks of hair(easy to come by if you're just starting on chemo) and bat's eyes and a pig's heart, which had to be halal. goodness knows how that can possibly come about. and also some other strange ingredients which i have forgotten. he instructed, 'and don't forget to speak the name of the person you wish to bewitch loud and clear. then you dance around the pot where you have put all the ingredients.' when asked afterwards what to do with the strange brew in the pot, he replied that one had to drink it. when asked what would happen if one vomited, he recalled some important ingredient and said, 'well it doesn't really matter because you have to put in bat's vomit anyway' that was method 1, folks
method 2: engage the services of a certain arrow-shooting pal of his called cupid. no idea on how that can work. lol. and that's method 2.
good luck! you'll need lots of it if you believe in colin. =p
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Everyone assumes that I'm SUPER free
Yep. Promos are over.
Finished the last paper, geog, at around 5.45 or so.
Rushed home to start practising piano. until around 11.30(I put on the damper pedal, so don't worry).
Woke up at 6.50 to go for choir which was from 8 to 11.30. Nearly shouted at the student conductor even though he didn't do much to irritate me. In any case his ego is so huge that he would probably just brush it off anyway.
Rushed home again to continue practising piano until 1.30 when I left to go for my piano lesson. I actually hadn't finished practising yet.
Lesson lasted from 1.45 to 3.45. Immediately rushed home to do PW.
And everyone thinks that I'm extremely free! How great!
Finished the last paper, geog, at around 5.45 or so.
Rushed home to start practising piano. until around 11.30(I put on the damper pedal, so don't worry).
Woke up at 6.50 to go for choir which was from 8 to 11.30. Nearly shouted at the student conductor even though he didn't do much to irritate me. In any case his ego is so huge that he would probably just brush it off anyway.
Rushed home again to continue practising piano until 1.30 when I left to go for my piano lesson. I actually hadn't finished practising yet.
Lesson lasted from 1.45 to 3.45. Immediately rushed home to do PW.
And everyone thinks that I'm extremely free! How great!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
For your information, I study Norwegian. Thank you.
Today is the day before we move house. My mum and I were removing the books from my cupboard when we stumbled on this comic. My mum asked me what it was, all the words she couldn't read. I told her that it was from the time we travelled in the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Since I know that Norweigian, Swedish and Danish is very similar and the text didn't seem in any way similar to Norweigian, I concluded that it was Finnish and told my mother that it was a Finnish comic. Her reply to that was, "Oh, you study Finnish what right? You take and read lor." For your information, I study Norwegian. Thank you.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Whee! Lol....
Oh yay.... yet another quiz...... lol.....
You are The Empress
Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.
The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.
The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Happy Birthday to Penelope!!
ahh!! ahh!! ahh!!!!!! I almost forgot!!!!! *flaps arms up and down*!! ahh!! I can't forget your birthday, or I'll never forgive myself...haha....and so.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
to my most beloved junior.... haha! (and the norweigian equivalent of that(hope you still remember that I learn norweigian...) is 'Gratulere med dagen'!) You must send me an email about your life soon, now that it's the june holidays. Alternatively, you can send me the link to your blog.... *smiles* look forward to knowing more!
*plays music*
Happy birthday to you....
Happy birthday to you....
Happy birthday to Penelope!
Happy birthday to you!
Oh btw... a lame joke.....
Q: What is the oldest letter in the alphabet?
A: 'U', because for every birthday that anyone celebrates, the letter 'U' celebrates it three times.
Of course, there is always the issue of the blood group becoming 'A+U', but nevermind....
Btw, I hope you still remember your promise to me after I told you my O level results.... I will keep that in mind too.... tsk tsk tsk..... now you're only one year younger than me! You're 15 while I'm 16.... Heehee.....
P.S. I still read those messages that S1 wrote to me in that little purple calendar-like thingy....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
to my most beloved junior.... haha! (and the norweigian equivalent of that(hope you still remember that I learn norweigian...) is 'Gratulere med dagen'!) You must send me an email about your life soon, now that it's the june holidays. Alternatively, you can send me the link to your blog.... *smiles* look forward to knowing more!
*plays music*
Happy birthday to you....
Happy birthday to you....
Happy birthday to Penelope!
Happy birthday to you!
Oh btw... a lame joke.....
Q: What is the oldest letter in the alphabet?
A: 'U', because for every birthday that anyone celebrates, the letter 'U' celebrates it three times.
Of course, there is always the issue of the blood group becoming 'A+U', but nevermind....
Btw, I hope you still remember your promise to me after I told you my O level results.... I will keep that in mind too.... tsk tsk tsk..... now you're only one year younger than me! You're 15 while I'm 16.... Heehee.....
P.S. I still read those messages that S1 wrote to me in that little purple calendar-like thingy....
Shaving
lalalalala...... (if I had said this on msn a very nice penguin smiley will come out). Anyway.... today two people shaved for quite a long time in school outside the audi.... strange place to do so isn't it? ....speaking of shaving! Today Zongyi was reminding the girls to go shave for wednesday's TPJC concert.
Mr Terrence Toh was a little confused and then said, "What do you girls have to shave?? Your have nothing to shave what...." then both Guowei and Zongyi were trying to explain in a way that would not be too embarrassing to all parties present. Unfortunately though, dear Mr Toh was still pretty clueless. In the end Zongyi had no choice but to tell him that the girl's choir uniforms are sleeveless. At this... oh! it was so funny! His face actually turned as red as..... hmm.... Amanda's face! lol... oh my.... haha...
haha... I think I will probably remember this shaving episode very clearly in my mind because that was the first time I ever shaved.... haha.........*shrugs* strange how people remember some things while forgetting others.... Don't you wonder what your life was like in those memories that you have already forgotten.... I guess they just become more untold stories that fade from memory with time...... just like the sands of the desert...(remember zereglee? haha!)
Mr Terrence Toh was a little confused and then said, "What do you girls have to shave?? Your have nothing to shave what...." then both Guowei and Zongyi were trying to explain in a way that would not be too embarrassing to all parties present. Unfortunately though, dear Mr Toh was still pretty clueless. In the end Zongyi had no choice but to tell him that the girl's choir uniforms are sleeveless. At this... oh! it was so funny! His face actually turned as red as..... hmm.... Amanda's face! lol... oh my.... haha...
haha... I think I will probably remember this shaving episode very clearly in my mind because that was the first time I ever shaved.... haha.........*shrugs* strange how people remember some things while forgetting others.... Don't you wonder what your life was like in those memories that you have already forgotten.... I guess they just become more untold stories that fade from memory with time...... just like the sands of the desert...(remember zereglee? haha!)
Friday, May 04, 2007
Okay...
So yes. SYF is coming. (what the heck else do you expect me to say???!!!) SYF has been dominating the minds(and mines) of the SYF team choir members. At the expense of more recessive thoughts.
I suppose recre-choir(recreation choir) members have it a little easier... It was really funny when Aggie(our choir president) started off about our resident 'recre-choir'. To cut a long story short(and shot), some people not in the SYF team have called themselves that, after the fashion of sports CCAs. For example, those not in the badminton school team are members of recre-bad(recreation badminton). They shouldn't, really... One does not expect members of sports CCAs to have a very good fashion sense. Just look at their competition wear and our competition wear... I don't have to say any more, do I?
End of story.
Anyway, a whole lot of weird thingys have been happening... Strange that weird=happening, but that's none of my business.
Foolscap: $1.30
Red pen: $1
Total: $2.30
Walked to my locker and deposited the foolscap. Remembered that I had meant to get a hole puncher for a long time so that I could file my geog(raphy) notes. Walked back to the bookshop.
Trip 2:
Spent a long time looking at all the different hole punchers(not that there's a large variety, they only stock three different kinds of hole punchers there). Was rather tempted to buy a relatively more expensive(but comes with more features) model. Then I reminded myself that I had already spent $2.30 at the bookshop today. Got the least expensive one.
Hole puncher: $2.30
Total: $4.60
Walked to the locker again to get my geog file. Found the locker really messy. Tidyed up everything in the locker. Then I helped someone open their locker because the door had become stuck. Went back to my locker. Found my eraser that I had been looking for for a long time. Apparently it got stuck between the pages of my chinese workbook. Anyway, my geog file was not there. Realised that I must have brought it home some time ago. Shut the locker and walk up to the third level outside the choir room where my bag was. Continue doing homework. Make some mistakes(using a pen too!). Am reminded for the (approx., lets say I am reminded once a day for... say... a month?) 30th time that my liquid paper has run out. Thought about correcting the mistakes only when I get home, but then I remembered that I have neither correction tape nor liquid paper at home. Have no choice but to go back down again to the bookshop to get something to correct my mistakes with.
Trip 3:
Think the bookshop uncle is quite mystified by this strange girl who keeps going in and out of his shop buying things one at a time instead of buying them all at once. Spent yet more time choosing which liquid paper to buy(not that there's much to choose from, there's only one brand: Pentel) Mentally calculated using price and volume to see which one was more worth it compared to the others. Apparently, the larger the volume you buy, the more worth it it is. So I got the one with the largest volume. Yes I know I'm thrifty. Thanks.
Pentel 12 ml correction fluid: $4.50
Total: $9.10
I walked back to the benches outside the choir room. On the way, I met Joyce. She said she was bored and waiting for her next lesson, so we walked up and down the science block together. After some time, we walked back to outside the choir room. Decided to test drive my liquid paper. By gosh, it is really 'liquid' paper! When I squeezed it, only water came out. Go to the bookshop with Joyce(cos she's bored) to complain.
Trip 4:
By now I believe the bookshop uncle is quite tired of seeing me. Go instead to the bookshop auntie, who by some miraculous process, manages to revive my liquid paper and bring it back to life. Finally leave the bookshop for the last time.
I suppose recre-choir(recreation choir) members have it a little easier... It was really funny when Aggie(our choir president) started off about our resident 'recre-choir'. To cut a long story short(and shot), some people not in the SYF team have called themselves that, after the fashion of sports CCAs. For example, those not in the badminton school team are members of recre-bad(recreation badminton). They shouldn't, really... One does not expect members of sports CCAs to have a very good fashion sense. Just look at their competition wear and our competition wear... I don't have to say any more, do I?
End of story.
Anyway, a whole lot of weird thingys have been happening... Strange that weird=happening, but that's none of my business.
- SL(Service Learning) discussion was today. We finished 25 minutes before the bell rang and ended up talking about our class outing. They changed the date so many times that I don't even remember what it is now.
- I went to the school library looking for a book that according to my GP(General Paper) tutor I was supposed to read. When I finally got to the library, I forgot the title of the book I was supposed to be looking for. Didn't have (anything or anyone) to reference to with me at the time. Told the nice(and suffering) librarian that I would come back later when I had the title of the book firmly in my head. (anyway, I forgot entirely about the whole business until after the library had closed.)
- I went to the bookshop today(after going to the library)(and anyway the bookshop is close to the library) and spent $9.10 in 4 trips.
Trip 1:
Purchased foolscap paper(for writing on) and red pen(for writing on the foolscap paper)(and marking my assignments)(and peer-marking other people's assignments). Btw the bookshop stocks 'Ballsign' and 'Gellyroll' red pens at the same price. Tried out the inks of both pens and found them the same. Guess that means that 'Ballsign' is the new name of 'Gellyroll'...Foolscap: $1.30
Red pen: $1
Total: $2.30
Walked to my locker and deposited the foolscap. Remembered that I had meant to get a hole puncher for a long time so that I could file my geog(raphy) notes. Walked back to the bookshop.
Trip 2:
Spent a long time looking at all the different hole punchers(not that there's a large variety, they only stock three different kinds of hole punchers there). Was rather tempted to buy a relatively more expensive(but comes with more features) model. Then I reminded myself that I had already spent $2.30 at the bookshop today. Got the least expensive one.
Hole puncher: $2.30
Total: $4.60
Walked to the locker again to get my geog file. Found the locker really messy. Tidyed up everything in the locker. Then I helped someone open their locker because the door had become stuck. Went back to my locker. Found my eraser that I had been looking for for a long time. Apparently it got stuck between the pages of my chinese workbook. Anyway, my geog file was not there. Realised that I must have brought it home some time ago. Shut the locker and walk up to the third level outside the choir room where my bag was. Continue doing homework. Make some mistakes(using a pen too!). Am reminded for the (approx., lets say I am reminded once a day for... say... a month?) 30th time that my liquid paper has run out. Thought about correcting the mistakes only when I get home, but then I remembered that I have neither correction tape nor liquid paper at home. Have no choice but to go back down again to the bookshop to get something to correct my mistakes with.
Trip 3:
Think the bookshop uncle is quite mystified by this strange girl who keeps going in and out of his shop buying things one at a time instead of buying them all at once. Spent yet more time choosing which liquid paper to buy(not that there's much to choose from, there's only one brand: Pentel) Mentally calculated using price and volume to see which one was more worth it compared to the others. Apparently, the larger the volume you buy, the more worth it it is. So I got the one with the largest volume. Yes I know I'm thrifty. Thanks.
Pentel 12 ml correction fluid: $4.50
Total: $9.10
I walked back to the benches outside the choir room. On the way, I met Joyce. She said she was bored and waiting for her next lesson, so we walked up and down the science block together. After some time, we walked back to outside the choir room. Decided to test drive my liquid paper. By gosh, it is really 'liquid' paper! When I squeezed it, only water came out. Go to the bookshop with Joyce(cos she's bored) to complain.
Trip 4:
By now I believe the bookshop uncle is quite tired of seeing me. Go instead to the bookshop auntie, who by some miraculous process, manages to revive my liquid paper and bring it back to life. Finally leave the bookshop for the last time.
- I can't remember the last time I bathed. Presumably it was yesterday. Then again, I don't really remember when I bathed. *looks at clothes* Okay... I suppose I did bathe yesterday then...
- My parents(yes, plural) forgot to go to the doctor to get the replacement antibiotics. Parents attempt to play doctor.
Yes. That's about it. Ah well... Choir tomorrow morning at 9.30 in the choir room... Have to go sleep...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Term 2 Day One
Whee! Everyone's in the AJ uniform now, and oh, what chaos on the first day of school... It's really quite funny at times... when I walked in and saw Nambi sitting at the benches, he actually said, "I was wondering why that girl looked so familiar..."
Other than that, Kenneth looks rather like Howard in this new uniform! Especially with that haircut. The spectacles aren't that alike though... haha...
Carol wrote in my warm fuzzy! Thanks Carol, for that, and for reading the rather silly message I wrote... but you knew what I wrote... after all, you were sitting just next to me in photojournalism lecture doing your warm fuzzy too! haha!
Well, day one of term 2 over, let's see what day two brings...
Other than that, Kenneth looks rather like Howard in this new uniform! Especially with that haircut. The spectacles aren't that alike though... haha...
Carol wrote in my warm fuzzy! Thanks Carol, for that, and for reading the rather silly message I wrote... but you knew what I wrote... after all, you were sitting just next to me in photojournalism lecture doing your warm fuzzy too! haha!
Well, day one of term 2 over, let's see what day two brings...
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Names??
Lol... Tried out this name generator....
Your movie star name: Peanuts Koh
Your fashion designer name is Koh Brussels
Your socialite name is Carrot Cake Singapore
Your fly girl / guy name is K Kar
Your detective name is Horse Cedar
Your barfly name is Pineapple Tart None
Your soap opera name is Joo Huang Brighton Crescent
Your rock star name is Weather's Original Cheetah
Your Star Wars name is Kohfid Karnam
Your punk rock band name is The Contented Maths
Strange indeed...
Your movie star name: Peanuts Koh
Your fashion designer name is Koh Brussels
Your socialite name is Carrot Cake Singapore
Your fly girl / guy name is K Kar
Your detective name is Horse Cedar
Your barfly name is Pineapple Tart None
Your soap opera name is Joo Huang Brighton Crescent
Your rock star name is Weather's Original Cheetah
Your Star Wars name is Kohfid Karnam
Your punk rock band name is The Contented Maths
Strange indeed...
Monday, February 05, 2007
*grin*
*grins and shows all my teeth* To anyone out there who is free enough to tag me, do tell me in some way, e.g. email...? or a comment will do. Otherwise, I'll never see that I'm tagged. Which is good in a way... *grins in the same way again* Hee!
Btw... the unseasonably warm(or some would say hot) weather(due to global warming) has caused me to come out of hibernation! Lol!
Oh man, that really reminds me of my favorite comic 'Calvin and Hobbes'(not to be confused with my brothers, they are 'Kelvin and Stanley'(HAHA!)) Basically, Calvin was having the hiccups, and he told Hobbes to scare him, and Hobbes started to say something like, 'Global warming is accelerating beyond our control, our oceans are filling up with garbage...' etc etc. Of course, that didn't cure Calvin's hiccups... the story is continued in the next comic. And it's really funny. To date, I haven't found a person that doesn't laugh at the end of that particular story yet. Heehee! There are two 'Calvin and Hobbes' books in my new school's library!! Yay!!
Btw... the unseasonably warm(or some would say hot) weather(due to global warming) has caused me to come out of hibernation! Lol!
Oh man, that really reminds me of my favorite comic 'Calvin and Hobbes'(not to be confused with my brothers, they are 'Kelvin and Stanley'(HAHA!)) Basically, Calvin was having the hiccups, and he told Hobbes to scare him, and Hobbes started to say something like, 'Global warming is accelerating beyond our control, our oceans are filling up with garbage...' etc etc. Of course, that didn't cure Calvin's hiccups... the story is continued in the next comic. And it's really funny. To date, I haven't found a person that doesn't laugh at the end of that particular story yet. Heehee! There are two 'Calvin and Hobbes' books in my new school's library!! Yay!!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
I am obliged to put up this post
Alright, so I have been asked to put up a post. Here it is. Now let me go into hibernation again for another six months.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Some good experiences and bad experiences
Today I went to another school(other than my school of course) to try out the piano that we would be using for our 'O' level music practical exams. As this school is a Music Elective Programme(MEP) school, it is the exam centre for a few other non-MEP schools, so my new music teacher(the previous one went to NZ for further studies) requested for us to try out the exam piano. I must say that I was extremely surprised that the music teacher in the school agreed. Competition among schools is often extremely fierce, and the music teacher of that school was really nice to let us try out the exam venue. When we left, she was also very nice, telling us patiently which bus to take.
I cannot say the same of one pupil though. I admit that I am from Cedar Girls' Secondary School(so who's going to throw eggs at me?), and the pupils from my school and the pupils from the other school are not exactly on very good terms. I used to wonder why this was so. I once asked my senior, how come we hate that school so much, so much that at international competitions, we would rather support the teams that are not from Singapore than support that school? She replied that since they didn't like us, so we didn't like them too. Which I found a very unconvincing reason.
However, I finally realised why there was such an 'enemity' between the two schools. I was waiting at the front porch/foyer/whatever-you-call-it of the school to be cleared by the security guard so that we could enter. That's when I saw a girl sitting down, with a green cast on her left foot. The cast was scribbled all over with words and I found myself thinking why people often like to write things on casts. That's when I heard her say, very clearly, to her friend: "Oh, Cedar?? Aiyah, all the students are all stupid lah!!" If someone said that about your school, what would you think??
Most importantly, no one in Cedar says, "Oh, school X?? All the students are all stupid!" At least we have a lot more manners.
I cannot say the same of one pupil though. I admit that I am from Cedar Girls' Secondary School(so who's going to throw eggs at me?), and the pupils from my school and the pupils from the other school are not exactly on very good terms. I used to wonder why this was so. I once asked my senior, how come we hate that school so much, so much that at international competitions, we would rather support the teams that are not from Singapore than support that school? She replied that since they didn't like us, so we didn't like them too. Which I found a very unconvincing reason.
However, I finally realised why there was such an 'enemity' between the two schools. I was waiting at the front porch/foyer/whatever-you-call-it of the school to be cleared by the security guard so that we could enter. That's when I saw a girl sitting down, with a green cast on her left foot. The cast was scribbled all over with words and I found myself thinking why people often like to write things on casts. That's when I heard her say, very clearly, to her friend: "Oh, Cedar?? Aiyah, all the students are all stupid lah!!" If someone said that about your school, what would you think??
Most importantly, no one in Cedar says, "Oh, school X?? All the students are all stupid!" At least we have a lot more manners.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
My star sign is VIRGO????!!
I don't know how Blogger managed to get this, but my star sign is most definitely NOT Virgo. It's Libra. Very weird. I apologise if I'm sounding funny, cos I'm having a blocked nose (who's going to say: "Whatever..." :P). Flu is making the rounds...
Poof! It seems so long since I've last made a post, and well, it IS long... hahahaha. What with prelims and all...(that's not to say that I've been studying the whole time...), but at the same time I've been picking up a new language. Perhaps I'll be able to type it quite fluently soon...? (quite wishful thinking, it'll probably take a long time...(I HATE grammar))
To be honest, I don't have much more to say. I'll be updating my F1 blog(http://thunder-nemesis-of-the-south.blogspot.com/) later though. I think Alonso is a bad loser.
Poof! It seems so long since I've last made a post, and well, it IS long... hahahaha. What with prelims and all...(that's not to say that I've been studying the whole time...), but at the same time I've been picking up a new language. Perhaps I'll be able to type it quite fluently soon...? (quite wishful thinking, it'll probably take a long time...(I HATE grammar))
To be honest, I don't have much more to say. I'll be updating my F1 blog(http://thunder-nemesis-of-the-south.blogspot.com/) later though. I think Alonso is a bad loser.
Friday, June 30, 2006
We apologise for the inconvienience caused...
ok I would have liked to talk in detail all that happened today, but now I'm so tired that I can hardly move and at the same time I'm having a headache. I think I have to go to sleep early, I'll just talk about everything tomorrow. I think.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Norweigian Tribute
On display in my home is a small, flat box with a circular hole at one side to show the contents of the box. The name reads 'Norweigian Trivet', and in it there is a reindeer holding in its mouth a Norweigian flag while having a scarf with the national colours of Norway. I suppose that it's a trivet, but honestly I do not know what a trivet is. Oh nevermind. Today, I pay tribute to the country of Norway, which celebrates its 192nd birthday today, having gained independence on 17 May 1814.
For my English exam, I wanted to write about the country I would like to visit most, but then I chickened out and chose a safer topic. It's an exam after all, better safe than sorry. So I shall write the composition that I wanted to write, but have never written until now. I personally don't think it will be a very good one, so don't expect much.
Anyway, I think it might be better if I write it sometime in the future, or else I shall never get this post done.
The good thing about typing out compositions is that you are able to add in text easily and also edit what you have written quite easily. It is also much neater(if you have bad handwriting, like me). Of course, I am also cheating, cos now I have a large data base from which to check up on info compared to those writing for such a topic in the exam. Heehee...
For my English exam, I wanted to write about the country I would like to visit most, but then I chickened out and chose a safer topic. It's an exam after all, better safe than sorry. So I shall write the composition that I wanted to write, but have never written until now. I personally don't think it will be a very good one, so don't expect much.
Anyway, I think it might be better if I write it sometime in the future, or else I shall never get this post done.
The good thing about typing out compositions is that you are able to add in text easily and also edit what you have written quite easily. It is also much neater(if you have bad handwriting, like me). Of course, I am also cheating, cos now I have a large data base from which to check up on info compared to those writing for such a topic in the exam. Heehee...
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Ouch!
Exam today was bad... Chem paper was one of the worst I've ever done. I really think I could have done better though. Geog elective was pretty bad too. I think I was practically writing nonsense all the way.
After that, I 'kiap'ed my finger (in other words my finger got caught) in the car window. The window was coming up and at the same time, my finger was there... ouch....! It's a good thing that I still can type properly, it won't be a problem in tomorrow's exam. Surprisingly though, after the pain in the 'kiap'ed finger subsided, now it's the neighbouring finger that's hurting. There must be something really weird about it.
I'm really looking forward to the end of tomorrow's exams. After that, exam is as good as finished cos I only have one more paper left, which is music, next thursday. Music is no sweat. I've always done very well in it. In fact, I do think that it is my best subject. So far, the practical has gone quite well, I think. Listening, melody writing and harmony & analysis is fine too. I only have a slight problem with world music. Over the course of 5 days, though, that can easily be resolved. For now, though, there's still E maths and Bio to go... T.T
After that, I 'kiap'ed my finger (in other words my finger got caught) in the car window. The window was coming up and at the same time, my finger was there... ouch....! It's a good thing that I still can type properly, it won't be a problem in tomorrow's exam. Surprisingly though, after the pain in the 'kiap'ed finger subsided, now it's the neighbouring finger that's hurting. There must be something really weird about it.
I'm really looking forward to the end of tomorrow's exams. After that, exam is as good as finished cos I only have one more paper left, which is music, next thursday. Music is no sweat. I've always done very well in it. In fact, I do think that it is my best subject. So far, the practical has gone quite well, I think. Listening, melody writing and harmony & analysis is fine too. I only have a slight problem with world music. Over the course of 5 days, though, that can easily be resolved. For now, though, there's still E maths and Bio to go... T.T
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Practicality & Egoism
Some people ask me why I don't put all sorts of wallpaper and stuff like that on my blog to decorate it. Simple. A blog is a place where you express your feelings. It's not an art gallery. Besides, when I read the blogs of others which have such wallpapers, it's sometimes becomes really hard to scroll down and this makes it rather irritating to read. Anyway, the reason why I put the background black colour is so that it is less painful on the eyes to read. I find this is the problem when reading blogs with white backgrounds. Alright, I know most people don't have this problem but I happen to be problematic so I'm always very grateful when I find one with a black background.
I suppose I apply the same principle to my looks. No one ever says that I'm ugly or anything, but they always say that, "You know, Karen, you are actually very pretty, if you..." and here they always go off into tangents on how I might look better. Either that, or it's "Karen! Do...(this this this) and you'll look very nice." Personally, I think, what use do I have for looking nice at this stage in my life? I am a student after all, am I not? Students don't have to dress up. In fact, I only make any attempts at looking nice when going to perform on stage. Performers are supposed to look nice. After the event, everyone comes up to me and says, "Wah, Karen, how come I didn't know that you're so pretty?" hahaha, now I sound as if I'm advertising myself. Truthfully though, I don't really want to look nice. Less trouble if you're inconspicuous. Actually, everyone is good-looking so long they bother to make themselves look nice.
To do so, the most common method is make-up. Clothes as well, I suppose. Let me tell you a story. A friend of mine went out to Orchard Road to go shopping and she put on mascara. After some time, she felt that her eyes were very itchy so she rubbed them. Although she didn't know it at the time, her mascara was badly smudged and she looked as though she had panda eyes. She didn't even go to the toilet, so she didn't know why people were staring at her. It was only when she reached home did her mother say to her, "Why are your eyes like that?" so she looked into the mirror and found out the problem. Now, what a huge problem make-up is. Not only do you have to buy the things to apply it, you also have to buy the things to remove it afterwards. So terribly troublesome.
Equally troublesome is the trouble parents take to name their offspring. In Chinese tradition, the surname is first, and the last is your given name(otherwise known as your first name). So, of course, when I am asked for my first name, because my full name is 'Koh Joo Huang Karen', of course I put down my first name as 'Koh' and my last name as 'Karen'! Therefore, in one of my certificates, my name is 'Koh Karen'. Hello, my name is Koh, and I hail from Karen tribe. *extreme sarcasm* (no offense meant)This is like my friend Joyce Wong. Since in many parts of the world, 'Wong' as a surname isn't all that common, many people hence think that her surname is 'Joyce' and her name is 'Wong'. So, she gets plenty of people telling her: Wong, can you do this? Wong, can you do that? Poor Joyce.
The strange thing about me is that i often change characters from day to day. I might be saying something today, but the next day I might say something different. So one shouldn't take my words far too seriously: I also have too many things on my mind at the same time.
I suppose I apply the same principle to my looks. No one ever says that I'm ugly or anything, but they always say that, "You know, Karen, you are actually very pretty, if you..." and here they always go off into tangents on how I might look better. Either that, or it's "Karen! Do...(this this this) and you'll look very nice." Personally, I think, what use do I have for looking nice at this stage in my life? I am a student after all, am I not? Students don't have to dress up. In fact, I only make any attempts at looking nice when going to perform on stage. Performers are supposed to look nice. After the event, everyone comes up to me and says, "Wah, Karen, how come I didn't know that you're so pretty?" hahaha, now I sound as if I'm advertising myself. Truthfully though, I don't really want to look nice. Less trouble if you're inconspicuous. Actually, everyone is good-looking so long they bother to make themselves look nice.
To do so, the most common method is make-up. Clothes as well, I suppose. Let me tell you a story. A friend of mine went out to Orchard Road to go shopping and she put on mascara. After some time, she felt that her eyes were very itchy so she rubbed them. Although she didn't know it at the time, her mascara was badly smudged and she looked as though she had panda eyes. She didn't even go to the toilet, so she didn't know why people were staring at her. It was only when she reached home did her mother say to her, "Why are your eyes like that?" so she looked into the mirror and found out the problem. Now, what a huge problem make-up is. Not only do you have to buy the things to apply it, you also have to buy the things to remove it afterwards. So terribly troublesome.
Equally troublesome is the trouble parents take to name their offspring. In Chinese tradition, the surname is first, and the last is your given name(otherwise known as your first name). So, of course, when I am asked for my first name, because my full name is 'Koh Joo Huang Karen', of course I put down my first name as 'Koh' and my last name as 'Karen'! Therefore, in one of my certificates, my name is 'Koh Karen'. Hello, my name is Koh, and I hail from Karen tribe. *extreme sarcasm* (no offense meant)This is like my friend Joyce Wong. Since in many parts of the world, 'Wong' as a surname isn't all that common, many people hence think that her surname is 'Joyce' and her name is 'Wong'. So, she gets plenty of people telling her: Wong, can you do this? Wong, can you do that? Poor Joyce.
The strange thing about me is that i often change characters from day to day. I might be saying something today, but the next day I might say something different. So one shouldn't take my words far too seriously: I also have too many things on my mind at the same time.
Friday, April 28, 2006
General Election is coming...
Had English mid-yr today. It was ok(that is what my siblings and I always tell my parents, and they always complain that we are always saying that our papers are 'ok').
After the paper, my friend(Joyce) and I were walking out of school(which is located in a quiet area far from the main road, so good for studying but a little hard on the foot) when we saw a pick-up. It was driving along and there was a loudhailer announcing something about what the PAP will do for the Potong Pasir constituency if they won in the coming elections. Or something like that. It was speaking in Hokkien, and even though I am Teochew and Teochew is quite similar to Hokkien, I couldn't hear it clearly anyway.
When we saw it, the first reaction we both had the same reaction: we both said, "Oh my God!" at exactly the same time. I am usually against saying the words 'Oh my God' because the person either does not believe in God, or that he/she is taking the name of God in vain. Perhaps we said that due to the shock of seeing such a vehicle for the very first time.
Of course, we have seen something similar in our history textbooks, but for me it was the first time seeing it with my own eyes. Or possibly I might have seen it before but I forgot. Or maybe I saw it in a picture and it got stuck in my memory, leading me to think I've ssen it before.
I couldn't hear really too properly, but I heard the name 'Sitoh Yih Pin' being said, and before I heard that, silly me was still thinking, which party's truck is this? Then I realised that all the PAP flags were all over the pick-up. Sorry, I am just hopeless. Knowing this, when the vehicle drove past, I was looking for Mr. Sitoh in the cab of the vehicle cos that was what was shown in the history books. However, I only saw a middle to old-aged man sitting there by himself. That was when I realised that it must be a tape or CD of some sort and the driver's job is just to drive past houses and more houses while the taope/CD played of it's own accord.
Now that I think about it, it's really silly to think so. In the past, when the pictures in the history books were taken, things such as tapes and CDs weren't invented yet, so of course the real person had to sit in the back of the pick-up and speaking into a loudhailer. Now, with much improved technology, these tapes/CDs can be loaded onto a pick-up with an appropriate player, then you can just hire a guy to drive the pick-up wherever you want to recommend yourself to the people. This method also cover more ground in a given time, especially in the limited time before the big day, which by the way is on May 6th.
I originally thought that the constituency I was living in was uncontested, but it seems like it is. So this evening at about 6.45, we too heard another PAP pick-up driving past, but this time asking the people to vote for Mr. George Yeo. Or maybe it was Mrs. Lim Hwee Hwa. Actually, it is rather shameful to know the political situation better in the area my school is in than the situation in the area I live in.
My school plays an active part in the voting process. hahahaha. Okay, actually, my school's hall is the voting centre for Potong Pasir constituency and it is at the same time a counting centre for another constituency. A pity I can't vote... not that I really want to vote, but I want to see the people voting. That's what I'm interested in. So, the school has to surrender it's grounds on May 5th so that specialised personnel can check the school throughly for bombs and such.
Originally, when my school received this news, it decided to move the mid-yr exams which were on Friday, May 5th to the following Monday. However, now they(and following that we) were told that the school authorities only have to hand over the school grounds at 2 p.m. on Friday. So we are having the exams on Friday as usual... T.T.... and now I have to go study, already used up too much time writing this.
After the paper, my friend(Joyce) and I were walking out of school(which is located in a quiet area far from the main road, so good for studying but a little hard on the foot) when we saw a pick-up. It was driving along and there was a loudhailer announcing something about what the PAP will do for the Potong Pasir constituency if they won in the coming elections. Or something like that. It was speaking in Hokkien, and even though I am Teochew and Teochew is quite similar to Hokkien, I couldn't hear it clearly anyway.
When we saw it, the first reaction we both had the same reaction: we both said, "Oh my God!" at exactly the same time. I am usually against saying the words 'Oh my God' because the person either does not believe in God, or that he/she is taking the name of God in vain. Perhaps we said that due to the shock of seeing such a vehicle for the very first time.
Of course, we have seen something similar in our history textbooks, but for me it was the first time seeing it with my own eyes. Or possibly I might have seen it before but I forgot. Or maybe I saw it in a picture and it got stuck in my memory, leading me to think I've ssen it before.
I couldn't hear really too properly, but I heard the name 'Sitoh Yih Pin' being said, and before I heard that, silly me was still thinking, which party's truck is this? Then I realised that all the PAP flags were all over the pick-up. Sorry, I am just hopeless. Knowing this, when the vehicle drove past, I was looking for Mr. Sitoh in the cab of the vehicle cos that was what was shown in the history books. However, I only saw a middle to old-aged man sitting there by himself. That was when I realised that it must be a tape or CD of some sort and the driver's job is just to drive past houses and more houses while the taope/CD played of it's own accord.
Now that I think about it, it's really silly to think so. In the past, when the pictures in the history books were taken, things such as tapes and CDs weren't invented yet, so of course the real person had to sit in the back of the pick-up and speaking into a loudhailer. Now, with much improved technology, these tapes/CDs can be loaded onto a pick-up with an appropriate player, then you can just hire a guy to drive the pick-up wherever you want to recommend yourself to the people. This method also cover more ground in a given time, especially in the limited time before the big day, which by the way is on May 6th.
I originally thought that the constituency I was living in was uncontested, but it seems like it is. So this evening at about 6.45, we too heard another PAP pick-up driving past, but this time asking the people to vote for Mr. George Yeo. Or maybe it was Mrs. Lim Hwee Hwa. Actually, it is rather shameful to know the political situation better in the area my school is in than the situation in the area I live in.
My school plays an active part in the voting process. hahahaha. Okay, actually, my school's hall is the voting centre for Potong Pasir constituency and it is at the same time a counting centre for another constituency. A pity I can't vote... not that I really want to vote, but I want to see the people voting. That's what I'm interested in. So, the school has to surrender it's grounds on May 5th so that specialised personnel can check the school throughly for bombs and such.
Originally, when my school received this news, it decided to move the mid-yr exams which were on Friday, May 5th to the following Monday. However, now they(and following that we) were told that the school authorities only have to hand over the school grounds at 2 p.m. on Friday. So we are having the exams on Friday as usual... T.T.... and now I have to go study, already used up too much time writing this.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Languages
haha, had Mother Tongue exam today. My mother tongue is Chinese, of course. It's a lovely language and I can hardly believe it when people say that they hate learning Chinese. It's amazing how beautiful languages are. A mix of sounds, symbols or even gestures in the right order, and you get a perfectly usable language.
I particularly think it's nice to be a linguist. It is always good to know more languages so that you know what people are talking about and whether or not they are scolding you. You are also able to compare the differences between languages and then you are more aware about the meanings behind them and why they were formed in this way. .For example, have you ever stared at a certain word or letter and wondered how come it was formed in that particular way, like why the letter 'a' looks like 'a'? In this aspect, I like Chinese because there is always an explanation as to why the word was formed in this particular way because Chinese script is pictorial, just like the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Of course, it is not really that pictorial now because Chinese words have been changed many times over the millenia when the Chinese civilisation is in existence.
Maybe I shall be a linguist, but where will I learn languages then? At a language laboratory? hahaha. There isn't any that I know of. Unless you learn from somebody then. Actually, I learn Japanese.
An encyclopedia I once read wrote that Japanese is apparently unrelated to any other language. I disagree. Yes, it may be that spoken Japanese words are quite unrelated to other languages, but the written script is very similar, the traditional Japanese script that is. Chinese can read some Japanese words because they are written in Chinese-invented script, just that it is pronounced in a different way in both languages. In fact, when the Japanese invaded Singapore in 1942, the soldiers could communicate with the Chinese locals by writing down what they wanted. If they wanted to talk to Malays or Indians, they would just ask the Chinese to tell them what they wanted.
This has a historical origin. During the rule of the Chinese emperor Qin Shihuang, people were ordered to look for a herb or any type of medicine that would enable someone to live forever. Since everyone wanted to get rich, many people tried to make the 'Elixir of Life' but ended up inventing gunpowder instead. I am sidetracking, if you didn't notice. Okay. So people either wanted to get into the emperor's good books(and just see what happened to the people who tried to do that) or get as far away from the Chinese empire as possible.
A certain old man went to the emperor and told him that he would be able to find the herb guaranteeing immortality, but the conditions were that he would have to sail to a far island to brew this concoction, and at the same time, he needed 50 virgin boys and 50 virgin girls. So the old man and the 50 boys and 50 girls(the ship must have had been very crowded. I wonder if they got seasick?) sailed for a long way east. At last, they reached a land which is today known as Japan. As Japanese originally descended from Chinese, it is hardly surprising that some of the olden script used in China at the time is present in the Japanese written language. To be fair though, they have been different from the Chinese for 2000 years now and the invention of their language is just as remarkable as any other.
haiyah. Look how far I went just talking about languages. Oh well, going to prepare for English mid-yr tomorrow!
I particularly think it's nice to be a linguist. It is always good to know more languages so that you know what people are talking about and whether or not they are scolding you. You are also able to compare the differences between languages and then you are more aware about the meanings behind them and why they were formed in this way. .For example, have you ever stared at a certain word or letter and wondered how come it was formed in that particular way, like why the letter 'a' looks like 'a'? In this aspect, I like Chinese because there is always an explanation as to why the word was formed in this particular way because Chinese script is pictorial, just like the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Of course, it is not really that pictorial now because Chinese words have been changed many times over the millenia when the Chinese civilisation is in existence.
Maybe I shall be a linguist, but where will I learn languages then? At a language laboratory? hahaha. There isn't any that I know of. Unless you learn from somebody then. Actually, I learn Japanese.
An encyclopedia I once read wrote that Japanese is apparently unrelated to any other language. I disagree. Yes, it may be that spoken Japanese words are quite unrelated to other languages, but the written script is very similar, the traditional Japanese script that is. Chinese can read some Japanese words because they are written in Chinese-invented script, just that it is pronounced in a different way in both languages. In fact, when the Japanese invaded Singapore in 1942, the soldiers could communicate with the Chinese locals by writing down what they wanted. If they wanted to talk to Malays or Indians, they would just ask the Chinese to tell them what they wanted.
This has a historical origin. During the rule of the Chinese emperor Qin Shihuang, people were ordered to look for a herb or any type of medicine that would enable someone to live forever. Since everyone wanted to get rich, many people tried to make the 'Elixir of Life' but ended up inventing gunpowder instead. I am sidetracking, if you didn't notice. Okay. So people either wanted to get into the emperor's good books(and just see what happened to the people who tried to do that) or get as far away from the Chinese empire as possible.
A certain old man went to the emperor and told him that he would be able to find the herb guaranteeing immortality, but the conditions were that he would have to sail to a far island to brew this concoction, and at the same time, he needed 50 virgin boys and 50 virgin girls. So the old man and the 50 boys and 50 girls(the ship must have had been very crowded. I wonder if they got seasick?) sailed for a long way east. At last, they reached a land which is today known as Japan. As Japanese originally descended from Chinese, it is hardly surprising that some of the olden script used in China at the time is present in the Japanese written language. To be fair though, they have been different from the Chinese for 2000 years now and the invention of their language is just as remarkable as any other.
haiyah. Look how far I went just talking about languages. Oh well, going to prepare for English mid-yr tomorrow!
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