I Want To Know You More.

Hello,

Hah, my computer was down during the whole of last week ( thankfully) so I could actually study for my tests.

But I didn't think it made any difference: we still have the XBOX.

No matter, it's gone.


And yes, I've got the results for the tests, which is surprisingly fast. I got 69 for computing and 56 for math. Sheesh. 56?! I spent the entire week studying only math. And 1 day for computing. Well, I'm sure to be dead for physics, heh.

Had our BB anniversary at Big Splash over at West Coast last Saturday. Got burnt pretty badly. But it was fun of course. Minor screw-ups though. This Saturday would be my last Saturday parade, and my last YouthJam Worship "gig" for the Secondary 4 Graduation. Well, hopefully everything goes well. It's been long since we've (the band) been together to make music for the Lord. Of course, we became rusty.

Oh, speaking of yJ, we met up with the Music Ministry in church for our first ever Advanced Training. The people from the worhip band took time off their schedule to teach us. I had the opportunity to learn from Reiner. I've always thought he was a drummer, I didn't know he could play the guitar so well either! He taught me the different scales, which I've been trying to learn these few days. It suddenly occur to me that riffs and solos were mostly from scales, I've always thought they were randomly fretted notes which sounded beautiful. How ignorant.

Well, it's back to school (when did we ever leave school for the holidays?) and the new term has come. And it will go as soon, I bet. Time to treasure these few remaining months to study study study. If not I'll be regretting again.

Goodnight, and have a nice evening.

Dare You To Move.

Hello,

Happy Fathers' Day to all fathers (including potentials)! Today is the day your good-for-nothings buy presents and give cards, but the question is, do they mean it? If they really do, then what's the point of giving something to you when they are supposed to do that everyday? As I've found that out, I've decided to do something special this Fathers' Day.

I've made a card asking my dad to stop smoking. It sucks to see him puffing away. So I've decided to start my campaign on persuading him to stop that habit. Why campaign? Cos I know it's difficult, and it's gonna have to be in phases. I've been praying about it this whole week, hopefully he'll listen to us.

Today, we also had our secondary school class gathering at Miss Hema's house. It's been a while since we've all came together ever since we went back to collect our results, and it's a good time to catch up with everyone. As expected, there were people who didn't change at all, and of course, there were those who changed totally.

Change is good. Change is a constant. But what we become is most important. That we have to keep in mind.

We watched videos, ate (alot) and chatted. Turned out Miss Hema is actually a "regular" on Vasantham Central, where she sings. She even has about 15 MTV videos on her singing. Cool eh? Haha. Of course, the food was good. There was curry, sushi from Saeki Sushi (pre-u seminar!) and fishballs from Old Chang Kee.

Good food, good buddies, good time.

After we left, we went to JEC to play pool and ate dinner. Got my dad his present and made the card. That's pretty much what I did today.

And I'm exhausted. Did I mentioned I slept at 5am last night?

Time to sleep, hopefully I'll get something positive from the card tomorrow.

Goodnight!

And I should study. 3 more days.

Dare You To Move.

So fast, it can't be handled at all.

ALSKFJASFJLSFJKASFJKAFLAJ

Hello there.

A very quick update before I go back in recluse to my cave to continue studying.


Heh, AKLFJA:AJJ:JSFK:JSJ!!!!!!!!!! Stress alert! Mid years are coming, next week!

I guess everyone is busy busy busy studying eh? Today when I went back to school I saw lots of J2s, and some J1s as well. Everyone's just starting on revisions, but the funny thing is that they appeared cool and calm. And for me, I'm way behind what I'm supposed to do. Right now, if all goes well (but we all know likewise), I should be doing 4 topics a day, which I'm not.

I'm only averaging 1.5 topics a day. A topic includes reading the notes, and doing the revision exercises. Grrr.

It's important to know that we're all doing this not only because of our mid-years, but ultimately because of THAT hurdle, the A levels. Dammit.

I'll be having youthJam tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to focus properly on my work after that. Sheesh! Bababaa.

ARGH!!! A week from now, I'll be done with the math paper. Sheesh.

Can't wait for that to be over.

Okay, till then, have fun studying.

In the immortal words of the White Rabbit, "I'm late, I'm late!".

See you then.

Ohio Is For Lovers.

Hey there.

A quick entry today.

We had BB flag day for Lakeside Family Center today. It's sort of a church cum LFC event. Soo yeah. We went to Tampines Mall, but we (senior NCOS + officers) didnt' had to collect. So we slacked from 8am to 4pm, which seems very fun, but is actually not. It was so boring I didn't know what to do.

I also tried Drummania, that old drum simulation machine in the arcade. Since I was a "part-time drummer" for the worship band, it somehow boosted my confidence for that machine. So yeah I tried that. It's embarassing how I failed at a basic stage. And to make things better, there was this guy from TJC(?) dragon boat who was watching me. I later saw him pwning one of the levels. Heh heh heh.

Tomorrow, we'll have a soccer match against Unity Secondary. Yup, I still don't know why they challenged us. We'll see tomorrow eh? Hopefully we'll win.

A random thought while on the MRT today: "There is no 'I' in a team. 'Cos a team is made up of 'T', 'E', 'A', and 'M'."

To the house 'behind the high school'.

Hi Chork,

It's been such a long time since I've heard from you and the others. How are you? I hope you and the rest are doing very well. Are you still working at the construction site, busy building the BB Youth Centre? I just want you to know that the team is doing very well and we miss all of you alot.

It's been almost 6 months since we departed from Puok Village. It's not a long time, but to many of us, it's feels like a lifetime. Oh, by the way, how's Reuben? Is he coping well over there? Has he found himself a bride already? Haha! We've all become accustomed to Singapore life, where technology and comfort surrounds us. Heh, I can still remember how we told each other we wouldn't adjust back to life in Singapore when we came back. But we did.

You know, Chork, more often than not, the conversations between the team members are often, and besides chatting about that new movie or the latest BB event, we often talk about you guys in Pouk Village. It may seem stupid that we still talk about you all after 6 months, but really, to us, that 14 days spent with you really opened up not only our eyes, but also our hearts. To me, it was a totally different experience for all of us.

Sometimes, when I feel stressed up by schoolwork, I just close my eyes and imagine I'm back in that house, with the small hut in front of the gate. I remember how we played capteh and volleyball at the front porch, how we used to fire catapults at that road sign or sometimes at motorists passing by. That long ardous walk to our construction site was really long, but like they always say, it's not the destination, but the journey there that counts. And it counted indeed. I remember how we walked past the various huts of the village, and how kids as young as 2 would dash out and wave at us, expecting sweets to be given to them. How that cute puppy would run out with the kids, how those cows under the tree would make cowpies. Heck, I even remember the accident involving the cowpies and our water supply. Heh heh heh.

Besides growing in knowledge, we also grew up with each other understanding more about the Lord. Having service with Van San and the rest really warmed my heart. It was the first time I saw a Cambodian bible. You know, I wanted to exchange my Bible for Narath's bible, but he refused. I understood why. To me, I was treating my Bible as an item, trading with people as and when I liked. Of course, a Bible meant alot to all of you. I was too immature to understand that. To me, it was something that could be replaced and bought again when I was back in my homeland. But to you, it was something that few had.

I've been wanting to find the address you wrote for me during our last night at Reaksa's house. Heh, have you read the letter I wrote for you? I asked you not to open it until I left for Angkor Wat, do you remember? Haha, I hope you fulfilled my wish! Only until an hour ago, I decided to look into my pouch and guess what, I found the paper on which you wrote your address to me! Yup, it's right in front of me now, as I write this. I opened this piece of paper for the first time ever since you/I closed it in that small hut late at night.

I really wish that someday, we would all go back to Puok Village to see all of you again. We will, and I can't wait for that day to arrive.

You know, there's a famous saying, that the only constant is change. But after 6 months, Chork, I found out that nothing's changed. We still miss all of you very much. Remember to write back okay?

Yours Sincerely,
Timothy Tan.

What, ask who?

Hello!

Yup, it's the 2nd week of our holidays, and I'm not spending my time to study.

This week is filled with remedials and such. And it's high time to go into studying mode. Mid Years are on the last week! Doh. Tomorrow we've got math remedial with our oh so sexy Mr Lee of course.

This Sunday marks my testimonial soccer match against Unity Secondary School. God knows why they challenged us. And yes, it has been a looonnngg time since we played field soccer. I think it was last year, during our annual Wesley Cup over at Marina Bay.

I'm super duper interested in a Nikon FM2 now. I remember me going down to Peninsular Plaza early last year to check out the prices for that cam. It's like $900 including lens. After that I stopped thinking of the camera, but Pre-U Seminar got me back on track for the pursue of that camera. Been handling video cameras and of course cameras during the event. Found a seller on Ebay, for only US$27! But the problem is he only accepts Paypal, which I don't have. And I need to have a credit card in order to apply for that service. Which, in turn, means that I have to consult my parents. Heh! Good luck to me convincing my dad to lend me his card.

I should consider using the Force.

Anyhoo, back in reality, I have to start studying!

Argh.

Out!

Reflections.

Well, the 5 days of pre-university seminar has come and gone. Fast, and not quite what I expected it to be.

You know, before the event, I thought the seminar was a gathering of people who are intellectually adept, and that they could spend 5 days discussing about politics and the state of our country's economy without feeling jaded. Yeah, of course I was right. But I also found out how wrong I was.

I was attached to the AVAC team, with one computing junior under me. Together, for the past 5 days, we took charge of the lightings and sound of the major events that happened during the pre-U seminar. Heck, before the seminar actually started, we had to wake up at 5am and reach school soon after that so rehearse. You know, more often that not, I ask myself why I do what I do. But I soon found out the answer myself.

It's nice to know that no matter what school we're from, we're all eighteen, with our own traits and desires, with totally different way of responding to situations. We're all the same. So what if we're from HJC, ACJC, YJC, TPJC, or JJC? There's no difference. Sure, sometimes we dress differently, speak differently, but other than that, we're still the same. Heh, I found out how true this was during the seminar.

The organising commitee really did a great job. It's difficult to handle a few hundred students at a go for 5 straight days. But they did it. Heh, the SLOs were great too. They made huge sacrifices, be it for health or others, for the sake of the participants. It's the first time JC2s paired up with JC1s to serve the school together. And probably the last time too. As a result of this, I noted how the juniors became closer to their seniors. We did not have that chance to be that close to our seniors. Thumbs up guy, way up!

On Thursday night, we had Pre-University Seminar Night 2005. It was kind of like JJ Nite, but this one was totally different, as it included all schools nationwide. The participants were decked out in blue, with SLOs in white/red, AVAC/IT in white/black, and CDC in red. It was one heck of a party. It really was orientation from a point of view. We sang, danced, cheered, some even cried. We went crazy that night. After the event, Apple went on stage. He asked them if they've ever been to a 'higher' concert before. Only 2 hands shot up. One guy said he's been to the Linkin Park concert. What shocked me wasn't that 2 hands shot up, but what shocked me was that only 2 hands shot up. Maybe they were being polite, maybe they didn't bother to raise their hand at all, but I think otherwise. It was a great concert all in all. Thank you!

After the concert, while they were boarding the bus, some groups cheered for JJ. It was great of course, and I strongly believe that one of JJ's strength is truly in boosting the morale of people, be it in songs, dances or cheers. Hell, sometimes when I'm down and out, I cheer myself up literally with cheers.

Of course, equipment broke down alot of times. But what Mr Owyong told us during our ride to the MPH before the concert was meaningful, and I agreed with it wholeheartedly. He said, "Equipment will always break down, but what counts is how people react to the situation". How true indeed. Equipment broke down today, when Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam was using it. Shit, I thought, we're dead. But the crew worked together, and with a bit of help from Mr Tharman's adjusting of the microphone, it worked out well.

The speeches from the minister and various VIPS during the opening ceremony and panel discussions were very interesting. The speeches on paradigm shifts and economic outviews were not only insightful; it will help us out in the future. I really learnt alot. The parallel discussions were also very good. I was blown away by TPJC's video, tickled by ACJC's presentation, and truly enjoyed VJC's video. I was surprised by how professional TPJC's video is. Really really good looking. Hehe.

After everything ended this morning, whereever I looked, groups were hugging each other, cheering, or just silently reflecting on the days that passed by ever so fast. Bonds and friendships were of course forged and binded, and these run deep. Even though I didn't directly came in contact with the participants, I had the rare opportunity of striking up a few conversations with them. I also made new friends with the J1s, which were wonderful. The groups of course, were the most affected by the end of the seminar. Something unexplainable and magical always happen during camps when people sleep together. I could almost hear what everyone were thinking of - whether they will still keep in contact with each other; whether if this is truly coming to an end.

Of course, this was coming to an end. But what truly matters for the former is how they continue to keep in contact. Sure, they will go out for one or two outings, and chat on MSN here and there, but it will become severely difficult to continue to keep in contact after a few months. Almost all groups which I was in previously ended out in naught. Keep in contact, we said. Remember to call! Make sure we go out regularly! Sure, we all meant well, and meant well indeed. The most important thing is of course comunication. Without communication, everything will fall apart.

Heres the chorus of a song I learnt during the camp, which I liked very much.

Verse:

Tonight we remember
The times that we spent here
The joy and the laughter.
Tonight we cherish
The moments that we spent here
Because it's the only time we have

Chorus:

Look at us, and see our smile
This is where we all belong
I remember the times we shared together
Until my last December.

Heck, I truly regret not being a participant.

Oh and, to that unnamed SRJC girl, thanks for the dance.

Nice meeting you Mr Daryl-Gomes Alphonsus, game more yeah? :)

With distractions coming from all places (including my stomach), I shall stop writing now.

Lengthy, but reminiscence nonetheless, that's what counts.