natday celebrations!

supporting ihc with kovan, ye wei, shihua and giraffe;
playing mass games with wanjoo, ye wei, kovan;
national day celebrations with housed;
singing at council canteen with random councillors;
cartwheeling with hwee leong;
walking around school in the rain with jiening, lynette, wanjoo, kovan, ye wei
supper with the usual gang;

Yesterday was one of the most fun moments I've ever had (: National Day celebrations was really well-planned, kudos to the Nat Day Comm this year! haha perhaps our Handover legacy will begin a trickle down effect and perpetuate a virtuous cycle for a long, long time to come. Handover to Council is like what the Internet is to Knowledge - the sum of shared experiences across many councils is more than the sum of its constituent council parts, just as the community of international scholars is more than the sum of its constituent national parts.

Walking back home last night with the residues of happiness still deeply embedded in my heart, I just felt like I'm the luckiest person in the world to have so many great friends - the usual gang of councillors, the scouties, and the guys in the class, friends whom I'm proud to say have largely shaped my JC life into a form I will look back at many years to come and still be glad to embrace. (:

buddy line outing

haha initially I wanted to get my hands on the group photo we took at our buddy line outing before posting about it, but I guess I shall just write about our fun outing first (:

Buddy Line: 24th(Kay Hwee), 25th (Junli), 26th (Justina), 27th (me), 28th (Tiddy)

haha seems like a pretty long line. I can't imagine 10 years down the road when we have another buddy line outing o.0 haha 15 people lunching where to find space?! Anyway, it we met at City Hall and eventually decided to dinner out at The Asian Kitchen. At first Kay Hwee was lost so we told him it was next to some japanese restaurant (Shokudo or something). haha turns out he went to the one at Raffles City instead, hence when he finally met up with us, he was all sweaty from running about the place xD

Our conversations are quite random! Like one moment it's about Tiddy (and the touchrug J1s' fetish over their J3s o.0), and the next we will be listening to Junli's interesting experience overseas. haha we also talked about some philosophical stuff (Kay Hwee's taking PPE at OXFORD haha smart dude), like how do we know black is black etc... and Justina was telling us of her evil plans to sabotage Kay Hwee's tooth extraction, which is scheduled at the place she's working (haha but we know it won't happen 'cos my 26th buddy is too nice). and next we were talking about how scandalous each incoming batch seems to be (haha the 28ths' exco... tsk tsk).

oh oh and we were talking about The Curse of the Buddy Line! haha apparently none of us has ever been attached! we're all guai hai zi lol and somehow I'm supposed to break the curse with the 'help' of the girls. full of nonsense (:

and Kay Hwee, Justina and Junli are super funny haha keep on suanning people, especially Justina and Kay Hwee. Keep on teasing one another about everything. The little one got teased a lot also. lol they keep making fun of her height, terrible people. I think I'm the nicest of the lot =D haha nah just kidding all of us are super nice people! Hopefully Tiddy won't get some attitude buddy next year and continue our nice-buddy line (:

and finally, get well soon Junli!

1 more week

Oh man there's only ONE WEEK left to finish studying and I can't finish on time! zzz nvm I shall sacrifice a bit of maths and history. Bleargh, it was bad organization of the subjects to study this round. Hopefully can maintain results. OK ENOUGH OF REGRETS.

haha council canteen really rocks. We had a mini-adventure recently. Basically, the girls' toilet has its lock recently repaired. A syzygy of a random girl entering the toilet, reports from Hwee Leong, Ben and Jiening that the door had been locked since as well as our strong sense of moral obligation and curiosity brought us to investigate what would later be known as the Mystery of the Girls' Toilet.

So from our observations and evidence presented before our eyes, there was no way the door can be locked from the outside, seeing that the keyhole has been secured by some weird-looking blue tape. So the only way for the door to be locked would be from inside.

The light was on. It has been left on for a long time. As mentioned, our friends thought they saw someone going in earlier in the morning. So how could it be still locked? Could someone have fainted inside?

Any initial impulse to not investigate and instead take the time to study instead was instantly brushed away when we realised someone's life could be at stake. The moral obligation and sense of justice was strong at play. And so we investigated...

Ben and I tried to look underneath the covers if we can spot anyone but the architecture of the door is such that any view of a body lying on the floor is impossible. (haha joan said we looked like perverts -.-" hey we're trying to save the world k!) So after thinking of ideas I finally thought of The Perfect Idea - using a handphone and sliding it in between the spaces and snap a photo of the interior of the toilet. It was the sure way of finding out whether anyone has fell unconscious on the ground.

Thus, with Ben's slick and thin camera, we went to the toilet... and took the photo...

and the photo revealed an empty (and remarkably clean) toilet.

Caught by this unexpected development, we were left pondering whether we have been caught in a parallel universe of X-Men, where abilities to walk through walls are seemingly commonplace.

Hm...

haha anyway, I won't be going to school next week, or hardly I think. History has to be studied at home >< Will be missing the dinners and long chats about anything and everything :(

1 more week.

sigh.

it's never the end

Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things. Pierce Harris

Drawing parallels to the quote, my council term can be compared to the journey along the seashore. Rummaging through my treasure trove of memories, there are really many moments that had unexpectedly become important and precious. Going into the council room during a particularly savage storm and singing songs together was one. The decision to bake 250 cookies for J2s based on impulse, and the subsequent shopping at Holland Village and baking at Felly’s with HouseD late into the night, was one. Walking with Sarah to Concourse to purchase Teachers’ Day Gift Bags and ended up lost, but having lots of fun talking, was one. The nice uncle who gave us Highlighters a ride back to school on the back of his lorry was one. The birthday dinner at Fish & Co. with T’stardust was one. And the list goes on...


I am really grateful for the opportunity to serve the school, and in the process of doing so, encounter so many unique and amazing individuals both within and without council. BB House D, Teachers’ Day Committee, Highlights, Orientation, T’stardust... every experience has its ups and downs, moments of joy and sadness, times of regret and gratitude, memories of light-heartedness and seriousness, but most importantly, each of them has carved out a space in my heart and taught me invaluable lessons, lessons I will carry with me for a long time to come. I have learnt, I have adapted, and I have changed, and at the end of the day, I hope I’m a better person.

It has been a full circle.
A journey that began with such youthfulness and anticipation has ended in confidence and camaraderie. Dreams have been realized, promises fulfilled; aims achieved, and visions too were met.


But I can’t say it has been always been smooth-sailing, for it hasn’t. There were many times when I wished my classmates and friends had understood me better, and instead of making insensitive or derogatory remarks about council, supported me through the tougher periods of my term. Most people simply skim past the superficial surface and see that council is all about having fun, making friends and enjoying yourself. They couldn’t see that underneath this veil lies the arduous and difficult times when we had to sacrifice time and effort, endure many a sleepless nights and cope with snow-piling homework, all for the sake of the school, all for the sake of them. Many complain that councillors are exclusive – but sometimes, do they reflect that what they are doing is in fact the centrifugal force that drives us away from them into the comforts of our fellow councillors, the only people who understood us? Speaking without thinking is akin to shooting without aiming.

Alas, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. After all, all the thoughtlessness only reflects frivolous friendships, filtering out the superficials and retaining the ones who will really stand by you. For that, I’m again thankful. Lizzie recently told me that I like making lists, and upon reflection, I guess it’s somewhat true. In my mind are many lists, and among these lists, I have one of the people who played a significant role in my council term, and I really wish to thank them for the lessons they have taught me, the inspiration they have given me, and of course, the friendship we have forged. I respect and look up to many of them, and I am glad to know them as fellow 27ths’ student councillors. Respect is never given – it has to be gained, and the various remarkable traits these individuals have displayed certainly earned them my respect.


Final Night is a not a night where journeys end and bonds sever. It is a night where the end marks the dawn of a new beginning, a time where friendships become stronger as we let our emotions interact and interweave into a singular entity.

I have walked the whole length of the seashore,
And I have picked up many pebbles along the way.
Stored in their present state pure and raw,
They shall always remain in my heart every single day.

<3 27ths!

SYMPOSIUM...

the little boy had to write lines as punishment.

concentrating hard, he almost did not see the note that was slid under the door.

he went over and picked it up.

drawn on the note was a sad smiley face.

the little boy smiled.

two lines and a curve had just made his day.

WAS GREAT! hahaha it was very enriching and insightful, and really allowed us to get a better grasp of the student councils from jcs like nyjc, njc, pjc, vjc and hcjc, as well as gain greater perspective. most importantly, we learnt a lot of good practices by other councils that can really help our council become more efficient, disciplined and united =D

LIKE fining people late for meetings $4 with additional 10 cents for every minute late. imba? cheo will totally become bankrupt.

the size of other councils really begs the question whether our council is too large. mmm but that would be something to discuss another day.

oh we saw the mass dances of other councils too! very nice and entertaining. hahaha it was truly the highlight of the day, watching the performances. but of course, it couldn't be compared to the ideas and perspectives gained today. =D

all in all, students' council symposium rawked! hahaha and here are some of the designs created for scs =)

camp is coming!

haha, it's 1 more day to council camp!!! can't wait for it (: anyway, i was feeling very tired today... struggled to keep awake during lectures, so gotta resort to eating. then during econs lecture, i realised that copying everything the lecturer is saying is a more effective way of staying awake xD so i just wrote... and wrote... and wrote.. generally a lethargic day. energy lvls were below acceptable standards. lol.

after school, went to help shihua and wanjoo with some coolio green day thingy with sabrina. initially, i was still feeling quite sluggish.. lol, then it's like all of a sudden, sruthi decided to 'assault' wanjoo with paint.. and a war sort of erupted. sruthi was painted on the face by rng, so wanjoo sort of lost her target 'enemy'.. and somehow i became the victim -.- lol, so my hands got a 'little' dirty and painted, then sabby and shihua thought it was fine to paint me too. haha, ouch ><

pretty fun. finally managed to put my sluggishness aside a li'l and we just tried to paint and cut out as many of those fruit-sized thingies. lol, we talked and fooled around a lot actually e.g. playing pictionary (wanjoo is pro-ded x.X) so we only got arnd 8 completed i think. nvm, it was still an achievement =)

went back home. had a lot of interesting convos once again. lol, one of the funniest one was with willie.


---
willie: eh
willie: xiu hue says ur handwriting is sexylicious
after a few mins, he decided to distort it even further.
willie: maybe she didnt say that after all
willie: she say YOU'RE sexylicious
a few more minutes elapsed. i finally managed to pull the truth out of him! haha
willie: ok la
willie: she just say ur handwriting is damn nice
---

lol.

talked about council camp with a few other councilors. i have a weird inkling that there'd be kayaking and hike. haha, i dunno. kayaking would be fun. i <3 kayaking! mmm, i better go finish packing my bag.. and to those who are feeling down on this fine day.. cheer up! life is eventually a fairytale waiting to happen... =)

p.s. did another tickle test! x.X aha

---
Nicholas, you're a Chosen One!

You're warm, giving, knowing, and patient. Chances are you're not afraid to actively pursue your goals and dreams. As if all that weren't enough, you pretty much set the standard for emotional health by being filled with positive feelings and energy.

You'd be a great person in an emergency and you always return phone calls. You're no fair-weather friend.

And that's just scratching the surface!
---

p.p.s oops, i promised to introduce the 'guy terms' thingy. lol, kk, the next word would be 'ownage' = 'pro'(abridged). xD gotta sleep soon. unabridged version another day k?

random

was feeling random. then i typed 'www.bored.com'. and there's actually such a site! >< lol, so did this death forecast thingy and i'm expected to die at the age of 82. haha, nice.. i have 66 years more to live xD

http://www.bored.com/deathforecast/result.php?record=1384454

school was pretty ok i guess. got to know my pw group! haha, consists of ame lakshmi long qing nigel and i =) mmm, recently, with the announcement of pw groups, i've heard of a lot of angst and sorrow, joy and happiness when the group constitutions were announced. and it seems like the terms 'imba' (meaning 'imbalanced' = pro) and 'slackers' are used more often these days o.0

i dunno. personally, i feel that the most important thing in a project work is to have fun and get work done. haha, this brings back fond memories of last yr when i picked a fun group consisting darren funx and huching and our project was EXTREMELY FUN! aha, and while we did not win anything in the thinkquest competition, we manged to make it to the re congress finals and got a silver! =) lol, it's really the best project work i've done so far. hope my pw group will be equally the same or even better! =D

after school. funx raj and i decided the fates of 16 individuals. haha, after an hour of discussion, we finally settled on the sec3s and their coh posts. then went for council camp briefing. pretty strict and stuff. gotta memorise the council oath! lol, despite rumours of it being a tekan camp, i still can't wait for it!

that shld be all for today. been feeling tired these few days. maybe i'll rest even earlier today.

o0

lol, mel wanted to be featured here. so being the nice guy i am.. yup here's part of our convo xD. MEL, YOU'VE BEEN OFFICIALLY FEATURED ON NICK'S U-NICK BLOG! =)

kk, there u go! x.X aha

tonight's been pretty interesting. lots of convos on lots of interesting topics. and the coolio question "apples or bananas?" had a lot of weird and interesting response too. lol ><

k, gotta join the rest for another dota game. man, been playing a lot. nvm, at least i've finished my maths hw! aha, tmr must start on econs le =X

oh yes, before i forgot, thanks to shi hua's aka chocolatey-lover! reminder..

I WANNA THANK S-A-N-D é SANDSATIONALS ONCE AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING!

THANKS [S]HIHUA, [A]NNA, [D]EXTER!
(mmm, i just realised that without me, we would have been SAD! xD lolz)
MUCH THANKS TO MY BELOVED GROUP FOR ALL THE FUN AND CRAZINESS!
aha, am i becoming too SANDtimental? xD

"we were so lovely lor!" aha, yup, ok la =P

a dream come true

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France

have you ever had a gamble with life and destiny with heavy stakes that will inevitably affect your future?

haha, well, if you had, you must have understood how i felt during the campaigning process for council. it was a hard decision for me to give up the opportunity to be in odac core - after all, i have always loved the outdoors and nature, having experienced the beauty of nature many times before, and allowed the comforting presence of mother nature smother me, putting me into a trance of peace and tranquility.

but i have always experienced this.. want, or rather, need, to challenge myself even further. joining odac core would definitely be a great experience and i'd definitely make great friends as we weather the storms of nature and hardships together. yet, the idea somehow doesn't seem to be satisfying and fulfilling enough.

maybe i'm a bit weird.. but i've always liked working under pressure. or rather, there have been many incidents in the past where i excelled under heavy stress. this remind me of an old post, and the link to a site on which the author suggests that the normal human inability to exert oneself to one's physiological maximum is the result of "acquired inhibitions that in turn are subject to disinhibition by pure Pavlovian procedures, by anesthetization of inhibitory mechanisms, or by pharmacologically induced symptoms serving as stimuli for disinhibition."

lol, there are some alien terms there.. but i think you can get the general meaning of it. maybe stress can open up a corridor leading me to the excess reserves which i've subconsciously stored and placed inhibitions on. oh well.. i dunno. just some lame hypothesis. back to the topic..

so.. i was sooooooo relieved when my gamble paid off. haha, now that i'm an elect (only officially known as councilor after the investiture xD), it seems so surreal somehow. i'm still trying to get used to the fact that my dream has actually come true.. still trying to condition my brain to accept it. lol, maybe i'll finally arrive at acceptance once i've settled in a department and been through the council camp! =D

CAMP! haha, simply can't wait for it. have always loved camps. so much fun and adventure, shock and surprises..

it's late... mmm, gotta sleep soon. lol, just played 3 dota games. crap. i'm not gonna play until i've completed all my work tmr! x.X haha but not bad la, it's a good feeling to be one of the most influential players in game =P ego-booster xD

to end off.. to those who have faced trials and tribulations only to find their dreams a hopeless cause, remember that if we had no winter, spring would not be so pleasant.. and to fly, we need resistance! cheer up!

p.s. saw funx's blog and decided to do the same test. haha, same results xD

CAMPAIGN!

haha, campaigning's sooooooo tiring! lol, but definitely fun and enjoyable =) the trend of camwhoring in my group is slowly but surely warming up.. haha, and we're getting to know one another better. too tired to type any more.. so..

VOTE FOR US! VOTE FOR SAND!

BB1
Shi Hua.
Anna.
Nicholas.
Dexter.

the SANDsationals!

lol. just one of our many slogans =)

p.s. we took lots of photos today.. but they aren't with me. will post them tmr!

gp! and lots of fun

haha, today's been funnnnnn! lol, gp was hilarious with siti and zijian revealing their 'sick' side xD pe rox! since our pe slot sort of got shelved off or something, we ended up playing handball as a class.. and lijian was imba with his height advantage! haha, top scorer of the game too! then stayed back with dex and jean to laze around and to attempt some of the maths tutorial before meeting with xj and brian to have dinner. got to know shihao who somehow ended up with us too!

lol.. and at night, mel had formed her team with others, so she gave me the email add of anna. talking to girl whom u haven't met before online is sort of awkward at first.. yea, then we talked a bit and exchanged some info.. and tata! the 'SAND' campaign group has been formed! haha, sand's just the initials of our names.. not the real name >< yup, will get to know them better tmr.. and i can't wait for the campaign details to be released! haha, the campaign's gonna be lotssss of funnnnnnnnnn!

kk, gotta rush lots of work today! can't post much... but before i go, here's a tidbit on 'woman - a chemical analysis'.. the reading we were given during gp!

WOMAN - A CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Element - Woman
Symbol - Wo
Discover - Adam
Atomic Mass - Accepted at 53.6kg, but known to vary from 40-200kg
Occurrences - Copious quantities throughout the world, but found to be concentrated in urban areas.

Physical Properties
1. Surface usually covered in painted film.
2. Boils at nothing; freezes without known reason.
3. Melts if given special treatment.
4. Bitter if incorrectly used.
5. Found in various states from virgin metal to common ore.
6. Yields if pressure applied in correct places.

Chemical Properties
1. Has great affinity for gold, silver and a range of precious stones.
2. Absorbs great quantities of expensive substances.
3. May explode spontaneously without prior warning and for no known reason.
4. Insoluble in liquids, but activity increases greatly by saturation in alcohol.
5. Most powerful money reducing agent known to man.

Common Uses
1. Highly ornamental, especially in sports cars.
2. Can be a great aid to relaxation.
3. Very effective cleaning agent.

Tests
1. Pure specimen turns rosy pink when discovered in the natural state.
2. Turns green when placed beside a better specimen.

Hazards
1. Highly dangerous except in experienced hands.
2. Illegal to possess more than one, although several can be maintained at different locations as long as specimens do not come into direct contact with each other.
3. Should you experience itching, burning or rash, discontinue use immediately and seek medical treatment.

enjoy!

p.s. oh yea.. received a belated gift from ame elita and mel! thanks! aha