Valentine's Day is creeping around the corner, and that means the surge of confessions and dates... and maybe proposals. Love is in the air, whether we like it or not. It's the day when couples get a special day to put in extra effort to strengthen their relationship, and for some singles to go forth and seek for the special soulmate. Unfortunately for those "Forever Alones"... just endure like I will.
However it'll also be another day to remember a legend who has recently passed; Whitney Houston was a superstar who has a whole repertoire of popular songs, including the legendary "I Will Always Love You" featured in the movie "The Bodyguard". Having dealt a battle with drugs, she passed away at the age of 48, right before she was due to perform at the pre-Grammy party. So in the midst of Valentine's Day, you can expect the aforementioned song, along with her other love songs, to sky-rocket in terms of dedications. Probably see her album flying off shelves too.
13.2.12
8.2.12
Past Entry 16
December 8th 2011
It's been quite some time since I've written the last Past Entry. I've been recently reminded to continue the Past Entries after seeing two pop up on my blog within days of each other. I really wonder if I could have chosen a better name for these Past Entries? Blasts From The Past? Sounds too cliché. Forgotten Pages From The Chronicle? Way too long and fantasy-like. Well nobody else has voiced their opinion on the name Past Entry yet so I'll just go along with it like I've done for the previous 15!
I suppose I could schedule this to be published two months later because that date happens to fall on a unique date, at least to me and a certain somebody close...
It's been quite some time since I've written the last Past Entry. I've been recently reminded to continue the Past Entries after seeing two pop up on my blog within days of each other. I really wonder if I could have chosen a better name for these Past Entries? Blasts From The Past? Sounds too cliché. Forgotten Pages From The Chronicle? Way too long and fantasy-like. Well nobody else has voiced their opinion on the name Past Entry yet so I'll just go along with it like I've done for the previous 15!
I suppose I could schedule this to be published two months later because that date happens to fall on a unique date, at least to me and a certain somebody close...
5.2.12
The Various Types of Youtube Commenters
Sure Youtube is a great place to put videos to enjoy. A major source of entertainment in this century so far, it's brought about billions of videos to the web where others can watch and laugh/cry/rage/be confused etc. But what fun is it if the posters who upload the videos can't interact with the viewers themselves? That's why the commenting system is another part of the magic. Of course after years of experiencing this, the generic patterns in popular comments start to surface. So here's a list of the more common ones:
- "FIRST!!!1!: This commenter aims to be first to comment on the video. No one knows for sure why, but most speculate the reason to be a random sense of satisfaction and achievement gained from knowing you were the first comment on a (possibly soon-to-be viral) video. Of course his actions tend to be met with remarks like "Nobody cares" or "So?". Other times it starts the chain of ranking, where others scream out "2nd" or "4th" or "56th" for the heck of it. Note that the "FIRST!" guy isn't always successful at timing, and may land a later spot. That usually triggers even more comments on what a failure this commenter is.
- "The commenter above/below me is X": Another one that may cause reactions or approvals from the crowd, depending on what the attribute X may be. If for example commenter A says he thinks the video sucks big time, then commenter B above him may say "the commenter below me has absolutely no sense of humour" or some other similar insult. Sometimes magic happens when a "commenter below me" comment becomes a top comment, while a "commenter above me" comment gets second place. E.g. Top comment: "The commenter below is a complete liar." Bottom comment: "The commenter above me is an honest guy." PARADOX!
3.2.12
The Story Continues
Istoria: In the broad sense of its meaning, a story or a tale. More commonly used in the context of paintings, where the painter must, with subtle details, depict a complex narrative.
...more or less what this year's orientation theme in RI for the Year 5s means. Not sure if this really IS what the orientation leaders were trying to bring across. Maybe just the "story" part, not the painting.
For 4 days the batch of 2013 endured fatigue and bad weather, strengthened familiar relationships and forged new ones, and are finally released from their quest to save the day and restore peace to... whatever it is they were tasked to save. I'm sure all participants are relieved (and perhaps disappointed to some extent) to see the conclusion of the orientation programme. And coming from someone who generally dislikes orientation programmes, I don't know why I'm really doing this post. Perhaps to congratulate the orientation student leaders and other assistants for sacrificing precious lesson time to assimilate the Year 5s? There's no way I'll give up something so BIG just to do that.
One of the first things the newcomers had to learn is to forget about past rivalry between schools. The battles between RI and its other rival schools are now discarded, and now everyone works together and plays together as a new unified Raffles. Doesn't mean total abandonment of roots to their respective secondary schools though, NOBODY advises that. Too many precious memories attached.
...more or less what this year's orientation theme in RI for the Year 5s means. Not sure if this really IS what the orientation leaders were trying to bring across. Maybe just the "story" part, not the painting.
For 4 days the batch of 2013 endured fatigue and bad weather, strengthened familiar relationships and forged new ones, and are finally released from their quest to save the day and restore peace to... whatever it is they were tasked to save. I'm sure all participants are relieved (and perhaps disappointed to some extent) to see the conclusion of the orientation programme. And coming from someone who generally dislikes orientation programmes, I don't know why I'm really doing this post. Perhaps to congratulate the orientation student leaders and other assistants for sacrificing precious lesson time to assimilate the Year 5s? There's no way I'll give up something so BIG just to do that.
One of the first things the newcomers had to learn is to forget about past rivalry between schools. The battles between RI and its other rival schools are now discarded, and now everyone works together and plays together as a new unified Raffles. Doesn't mean total abandonment of roots to their respective secondary schools though, NOBODY advises that. Too many precious memories attached.
29.1.12
Late Night Bloghopping 5
...Yep. Haven't done this in a long time. Just suddenly had the random thought of doing this again. So here goes...
- The Clever Sheep: A blog with an appropriate header picture that describes a clever title. His posts tend to revolve around learning and Creative Commons, most of which I believe our teachers and other professional coaches in Singapore should be reading!
- Growing Dreams: Shows the not-so-ordinary life of a woman with a few kids, having transitioned from newspaper article writing to nursing, and interested in improving health care within the community.
- CLAS Villanova Uni Blog: A special blog meant to disseminate info about the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Villanova University... wonder why my school doesn't have such a blog? Then again with a Facebook page(inactive) and a regular email newsletter there's probably no need to...
24.1.12
Awkward
...erm... yeah...
...so, where are you from?
Hello? I said where are you from?
Oh, you're from there? Huh.
...what? No I wasn't making fun of you! It's just... I knew someone from there once.
20.1.12
Past Entry 15
25 September 2011
Well hello there. I've just witnessed the finish of the Grand Prix race here in Singapore. Vettel's not confirmed champion yet, so things are still intense. Also I've just written a really lengthy post, partly in a sort of practice in preparation for the GP promotional exams in less than 2 days time.
Speaking of which, how will I do for the exams? Will I get promoted to Year 6? Or will I screw up really badly and have to retake an entire year from scratch?!? That's what I dread, because that would mean having to deal with the same boring topics all over again, and tackling the stupid PW segment one more time!!! Well even if I DID pass the promotional exams, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll also pass the HMT 'A' Level exams. Well if I pass the HCL promo exam there's a good chance I'll be fine later, but I'd never truly know what could happen. And retaking HCL is almost as dreadful as retaking PW, because next year the HCL syllabus will change dramatically! That would be a headache for me to re-digest the newly formatted information.
Well hello there. I've just witnessed the finish of the Grand Prix race here in Singapore. Vettel's not confirmed champion yet, so things are still intense. Also I've just written a really lengthy post, partly in a sort of practice in preparation for the GP promotional exams in less than 2 days time.
Speaking of which, how will I do for the exams? Will I get promoted to Year 6? Or will I screw up really badly and have to retake an entire year from scratch?!? That's what I dread, because that would mean having to deal with the same boring topics all over again, and tackling the stupid PW segment one more time!!! Well even if I DID pass the promotional exams, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll also pass the HMT 'A' Level exams. Well if I pass the HCL promo exam there's a good chance I'll be fine later, but I'd never truly know what could happen. And retaking HCL is almost as dreadful as retaking PW, because next year the HCL syllabus will change dramatically! That would be a headache for me to re-digest the newly formatted information.
16.1.12
The Dragon Cometh
Once again Chinese New Year is approaching again. Being the only Chinese-related holiday that's celebrated in Singapore as a public holiday, a lot of us are excited. Or at least supposed to be. With four more days to the long weekend for Singaporeans, most of us are getting things planned quickly; applying for off-days to extend the break, finishing off work before the weekend, doing spring cleaning and planning for reunion dinners etc.
This year would also be the year that Chinese couples may try to conceive a child to earn the prestigious title of the parents of a "dragon baby". And also the year where there'll probably be a surge in students taking PSLE near the end of the year.
9.1.12
One More Year
Yup. One more year of education coming up. More specifically my last year in Raffles Institution if things go smoothly for 2012. And to "kick things off" there was the Homecoming 2012 event that occurred today. You know, the usual "it's so great to see you guys again" speech, the other "do your very best and enjoy your final year here" speech, the music performance, the montage of photos/clips to remind the batch of just how wonderful/terrifying 2011 was...
One unique thing that happened was the so-called class breakfast where classmates would sit together in the canteen with the CTs. Except we didn't actually eat breakfast with the CTs; they just met us and gave a quick few announcements before disappearing off. The rest of us just lingered around in the canteen, while the somewhat-average performers on the temporary stage in the canteen performed simple renditions of popular songs. Never bothered to queue up for the food as the line stretched out pretty long.
One unique thing that happened was the so-called class breakfast where classmates would sit together in the canteen with the CTs. Except we didn't actually eat breakfast with the CTs; they just met us and gave a quick few announcements before disappearing off. The rest of us just lingered around in the canteen, while the somewhat-average performers on the temporary stage in the canteen performed simple renditions of popular songs. Never bothered to queue up for the food as the line stretched out pretty long.
1.1.12
2011 + 1
Welp. We made it. Humanity has survived another long(short to some) year on Earth. Thankfully we haven't been wiped out yet.
Well technically the other side of the world hasn't reached 2012 yet. That's when I engage in one of my recent traditions: witnessing the New Year Ball drop in New York. Thanks to the wonders of technology I won't be needing to teleport over there or buy an emergency flight ticket, but instead watching a live stream of the event. And I get to interact with others online in the chat room too!
Unlike previous years I'm currently not at home at midnight of the first day of 2012, but I'm with my family at another countdown dinner at some country club. Might be better than cooping up at home watching the TV while surfing the net. Or not?
Well technically the other side of the world hasn't reached 2012 yet. That's when I engage in one of my recent traditions: witnessing the New Year Ball drop in New York. Thanks to the wonders of technology I won't be needing to teleport over there or buy an emergency flight ticket, but instead watching a live stream of the event. And I get to interact with others online in the chat room too!
Unlike previous years I'm currently not at home at midnight of the first day of 2012, but I'm with my family at another countdown dinner at some country club. Might be better than cooping up at home watching the TV while surfing the net. Or not?
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