I've found the video on YouTube!

Teachers' Day post!

It was Teachers' Day today! I loved the performances. Especially the one put up by 202. That was so cute! XD I shan't bore you with the details, anyway. The teachers put up a hilarious performance of a day in Xinmin and wow! I was blown away by their folk-rock band. (yes just call me a music geek.)

And I really really really love this song. Not exactly love but infatuated, because it has a beat and you could groove to it (if you ever wanted to). And it's screamo too, Karen O is amazing.



I love the yeah yeah yeahs SO MUCH!! Well, at least, both my sister and I love them. I'm trying to get my hands of their acoustic recordings from the iTunes music store. When it arrives earliest, sometime next year. Gah!

Saturday

What a week!
The SRJC debates have come and gone. I'm quite happy though—we've managed to be the 1st runners up this year, which wasn't surprising though, considering that there were 8 teams and therefore the probability of us getting into the finals was 1/4. Still, I've learnt quite alot from this tournament! Stuff about structure and rebuttals (and bullshittin' on the spot when you realize there's nothing to say, in the case of the finals. Haha)
It was a good experience, in the end, because intensive debating and rushing together for time kinda brings the whole team together. And I'm quite happy for the Nanchiau team, considering the fact that they lost in the finals last year. Maybe we'll even win the Championships next year?
And really, I wouldn't know what we would have done without Darren and Benedict and Mrs Ho who really slogged with us to prepare for the debate!
And finally, after a year— Best overall speaker award! (proud) it was really unexpected though, and more than I had actually asked for, since all one had to do was go up, smile confidently and start attacking and substantiating. But anyway, it's really a motivating factor since I'm all worn-out now.
(And if you do notice, I'm writing in fragments because debating really frizzles one's brains. Phew!)

Tired

Is it just me, or is everyone caught up in their own things? Everyone seems to be preoccupied in a world of their own. But where do I belong?

That was a line from Brace Face. Where do I belong? I'm like this rojak of mixing around with different people and different CCAs and trying to excel in so many areas, I'm starting to lose focus on what I should really be concentrating on. God. Yes, God. He is always there for us even though we may forsake Him, reject Him, doubt Him. And we only turn to Him when we want His help. Who are we to be asking so much of Him? Who are we to even deserve His love?

So from now on, I, Samuel Lee, will treasure my priviledges as a child of God. I will not conform to the expectations of the world, but have my peace in God alone :)

Oh heh heh I'm so fickle that's what I am!

I've just listened to the song we're learning for the Choir SYF next year— The Marriage. And it's what I love right now at the moment! That and Julie Ruin. And Hershey's Kissables.

Sunday

Right now I'm in love with 'Eyes' by Rogue Wave. Though sadly it's the sort that would start turning cheesy after a few listens-to. I searched Youtube, and this the closest I could get to the song! (and plus, it's Fruits Basket. Now that's one anime that I can tolerate)



And SRJCs' are in a weeks' time!! Thank God there's only 7 schools this year plus one swing team. Using the Probability Theory, we have a 4/7 chance of making it to the semis and a 2/7 chance of making it to the finals! We have a lower chance of NOT making it to the semis! Hopefully, we will be able to emerge as champions again this year :)

THBT genetically-modified food is essential to the survival of mankind. Hmm... slightly more difficult that I thought, but DEFINITELY easier than RJC's THBT sustainable development is an impossible dream.

Plus, there's CL debate tomorrow! And Ms Lim's teaching us debate for English! I can smell debate culture brewing in the air... and it sure smells... juicy. I can't wait ;)

The Lightness of Being by ~melocopter on deviantART

Those random blog memes

I went to my sister's blog and she told me to do this:

Name 20 people you can think of at the top of your head. Dont read the questions below before you answer and tag 5 people to do this.

(1) Nicholas
(2) Elizabeth
(3) Hazel
(4) Andrea
(5) Marcus
(6) Esther the sister!
(7) Shaojie
(8) Baozhen
(9) Christine
(10) Ruimin
(11) Leonard
(12) Gavin
(13) Olivia
(14) Jialin
(15) Germaine
(16) Gwen
(17) Xinyi
(18) Elgin
(19) Ms Yap BL XD
(20) and Zizhao!

When did you meet 14?
Ahaha! Last year when I was Sec 1. But I know her better now that she's in the choir comm too!

What would you do if you never meet 1?
I might never have known about debate :(( But then again, it was Jonathan who introduced me o.0

What would you do if 9 & 20 dated?
OMGdness ew! XD

Did you ever liked 19?
She's one of favourite teachers!! XD

Would 6 & 17 make a good couple?
HAHAHA NO WAY!

Describe 3
Female, sharp-witted, mature, eloquent

Do you think 8 is attractive?
She has a very bubbly personality, so I guess that her charm would attract guys (prays that boazhen would never read this XD )

Tell me something about 7
Vain! And sits next to me.

Do you know any of 12's family?
Wow, actually, not really.

What's 8's favourite?
God, and I think, being in band? It's just a wild guess :P

What would you do if 11 confesses that he/she likes you?
I'd be laughing for the rest of the year!

What language does 15 speak?
english & chinese.

Who is 9 going out with?
Oooooh... I really wonder XD

How old is 16 now?
She's gonna be 14 soon!

When was the last time you talked to 13?
After choir in front of the bubble tea shop. Does crappin' away and laughing like idiots count as talking?

Who's 2's favourite band/singer?
hmmm... it's probably someone or some people who can make music that has a beat that you can dance to

Would you date 4?
If I was female, then... I dunno? I would probably be criticizing him for putting me in his trap of emotional enslavement because I would be a modern, liberal woman that would be still be whole without some other person in her life. And besides, he would rather date someone else, right? XD that was all in the spirit of jest, of course.

Would you date 7?
(see above answer. Intensify it by 20x.)

Is 15 single?
yeah, i think. no, maybe not. haha XD

What is 10's last name?
Li. (or was it Lee? *cowers in shame*) I think it's Lee.

Would you ever be in a serious relationship with 11?
Hmm... no. No way XD

What school does 3 goes to?
XMS

Where does 6 lives?
In the same house as me!! XD

What's your favourite thing about 5?
Funny facial expressions; beaver-like qualities

Have you seen 1 naked?
EW! NO!

Name 5 people to do this
(1) Zizhao
(2) Elizabeth
(3) Nicholas
(4) Olivia
(5) Germaine

Brave New World

Brave New world by *bigcbigc on deviantART

Cool! deviantART now has this new feature which allows us to embed art in websites! I like this photo. It's the Eiffel tower taken from a whole new different point of view. Rather postmodernist, I must say.

Since my blog is mostly diary-based I shall talk about my day. Mostly routine stuff, probably the only things special (that's a good thing) was we had a debate in class today and then there was the Chinese common test that I had been silently dreading these few days.

I don't mind taking tests. It's the receiving-of-results moment that I fear the worst, because I have no idea what to expect. Sometimes, I, expecting to fail horribly, receive the paper with hands clammy and trembling, only to realize that I've passed. And lost by 1 mark to the person to scored highest. But that's a good thing and normally, good things don't happen all the time.

Most of the time, I'm expecting a much higher score, only to miss my target by a few marks. And then I'll be frankly quite annoyed because I hate disappointing myself. But I'm starting to develop an immunity for it, anyway. I think it's important to aim higher than your potential since it give you space to do even better than what you had desired.

I couldn't remember much about the debate but it went very wrong at the end.

... and hair wax can also cause cancer

That amused me, although if that were true I'd start being very concerned for many people. Well, I've done my research and apparantly, there is a similar myth that shaving one's armpits causes cancer. And also one about bleaching agents causing cancer. But nope, nothing about carcinogen-loaded wax.

In fact, it's the dyes used that may have a link to cancer. So, heaving a sigh of relief, metrosexual men won't lose their hair or die of cancer. (it's probably just a slight dandruff problem, that's all.)

(abrupt ending, as usual =P )

gloom-coated tuesday

Warning: the following is a rant. Please, do yourself a favour and skip it.

This sucks. Not only have I missed the deadline for IP form submissions, so many people I know are applying as well. But do I really want to be an IP student and wear cool IP clothing because I think I'm way too mature for secondary school, or do I really want to study more than what I'm doing now? I remember being Sec 1 and hearing about the NJC IP program. Then a year later I see their adverts dangling beckoningly on the railings of bus 55. And then I hear about the VJC one. And the TJC one. And soon as I told my parents about IP, I'd started to realize I couldn't just leave now. It wouldn't be considerate, and furthermore, I'm more committed to the various stuff I'm in such as choir and debate, than just leaving the ends untied and fraying. Although, sometimes I just see those as excuses for not daring to go all out and experience new channels of learning, and of procrastinating and of being so undecided about where I was going.

But still, it's all stupid how I have to pretend to join in my friends' happiness when inside I'm struggling not to stop breathing. It's so hypocritical of me. It's as if I've just joined the swarms of teens who have given up and perhaps, even find delight in putting on a stupid mask. Stupid, supressive masks. It's so cliché.

Applying for IP somehow paralleled me as a Primary 6er applying for DSA. Really, I could have made up my mind and go for it but of course, I just HAD to wait and rethink and analyse my decisions, wondering whether it was just on an impulse based on superficial ideas, or my calling, and being further supressed by relatives stricken with anxiety over having to skip Os to take A levels. And the worst part is? I don't have anyone who will ever understand me enough to empathize with me.

Snippets

Yep. So right now I'm in love with ZIG Clean Color II. (sorta) They are pretty easy to scribble with and I bought them at only $1 at Kinokuniya. (though it was more of a clearance sale thing.)


I've stumbled across this design blog aptly named design*sponge that has really funky finds. You know. Things that I can only dream of owning. But still! Browsing through the pages of patterns and pottery has a rather calming and therapeutic effect on me (who is coughing and cursing the rising air pollution levels and has a Chinese test on Thursday. Woe.)


And I've found this blog that revolves around choral music and choirs in SIngapore! And that's Shima e playing on the blog. Neat, huh? Vibrancy of Voices (Speaking of Shima e, that was one of the first songs I heard XM chorale sing, when I first entered in Sec 1. The other song was daemon irrepit callidus. Oh how I loved those days. Of Perth and the joy of being Sec 1.)


Gah it's 11.07 already and I had promised myself to sleep at 10 and wake up earlier!

Woebegone on a Wednesday

(Don't think of reading these few paragraphs if you're afraid of looking at your own reflection in the mirror of morality)

I laugh! I mock! I jest! I can't help but feel pangs of sadness and sympathy towards people who whine all day about their teachers and how sad school is. It's not the teachers' fault that everytime they pass a class that sends awful memories, they tend to shift their attention and favour towards other more deserving classes? What we have here are delusions of our own appearance and reputation. We shouldn't be going around complaining that we have a supposedly lower learning capacity in comparison to other classes, because as a matter-of-fact, the margins that seperate the classes here differ by only 2-4 PSLE aggregate score marks. What are we to force assumptions that everyone is smarter than us? People grow and learn at different paces than the others—some will even catch up with the students in supposedly smarter classes and in schools that are, in a sense, 'dressier' with glossier reputations (but that's a separate issue altogether, anyway.)

And I really do admire the teachers for having to deal with such moronic behaviour and asinine attitudes (hey—alliteration). If I was a teacher, and if I were to carry a vapourizing zapping gun thingy to zap people that really bother me, most people would have disappeared by now. The science labs would be nearly empty and the classroom blocks would stand lifelessly. Then only i would be truly satisfied because the huge talking learning barriers that breed my contempt will finally be gone. A small victory for me.

Besides, the onus is on us to create a condusive learning envirnonment for ourselves, though sadly most of us tend to completely ignore the very glaring fact that we're the source of the trouble. Are we then, really willing to change?

Probably not since I've noticed the flood of self-righteous pots in a very elabourate charade.

Frankly, these past few days I have found no reason to blog. I had no opinions, nothing on, nada zilch whatsoever. Except that yesterday was the first time I stepped into the new Cathay Cineplex with Elizabeth and Ruimin, drawn particularly by its wonderful Ben & Jerry's parlour. And watched a PG movie that Ruimin said was very 'horny'. It was spastic and had an equally spastic title. 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend'. And I didn't like the characters. They were promiscuous, confused and to be frank, their acting couldn't save the dry storyline. I hope this isn't the rise of new Hollywood films that offer psuedo sex scenes in every genre because it doesn't entertain, it only distracts and gives a very bad impression that New Yorkers have sex with everyone they go out with. Call me a prude but if I went with my family, we might have walked off by the 30th minute. Moral standards are declining! I feel an urgent need to migrate to a parallel universe and I don't mind even if I had to spend a googolplex of lifetimes just to cover the journey.