Wednesday 28 May 2008

As the Dust Settles

Chinese O-Level is over!! And I think I can pass!! And I did okay for my Mid Years!

That's a bloody rock off my mind, at last, and the school holidays have technically started, although we, surprise surprise, have to go back for remedial lessons for the whole of this week. Can't really complain though, after reading about how other schools hold their students back for the ENTIRE holidays. Poor sods.

O-Levels weren't as frightening as I thought. Just before the first paper started Mrs. Goh, our vice principal, was going around asking students to "Go out there and get that A1!" for Chinese. Me, A1 for Chinese? What are you smoking woman?

Matthew fell asleep during the first paper in the hall. I almost woke him myself before I remembered I'd be dead if they caught me at it, so I got one of the outside invigilators to wake him up. Then at recess...

----
Me : Hehe, Matthew, I saved your ass up there
Matthew : Saved my ass your ass lah, I was finished!
Me : But there was almost an hour still left, I wasn't sure...
Matthew : I...was...finished...
----

I'm so appreciated by those I try to help huh? In the end he forgave me and Bryant and I down to Thomson Plaza for Subway. Remembered to bring back my two cookies this time, and Matthew and I split the two week old cookie Bryant found in his bag.

Finished off my RE4 game at Bryant's house, now doing round 2. Funny to watch all the little villager Ganado die when I turn my pimped up Red9 handgun on them. To think that we struggled through that and came out with a grand total of 2 handgun rounds the first time round. Unlocked all the characters in mercs in just under one hour.

And Sam, you're right, I'll have to partially retracted my statement that UBCS suck, for Agent HUNK's Neck Breaker is made of win. But he doesn't carry a knife despite being a commando, and he's from USS, who are better than UBCS, so they are still partially noobs.

Played TimeSplitters while I was at his place too, Tuesday. And what a game it was, should have asked to play it sooner. Sergeant Cortez is is like me, only with a shaved head and a truckload of badass-ness injected into him. For some strange reason, he got to play Cortez despite being player 2, so I had to play as all the different supporting characters as he jumps from timeline to timeline, from a hippie to a right dapper British chap.

TimeSplitters doesn't have much of a storyline, which I look out for in just about any game, but with time travel, there isn't room for much of that anyway. Of course, it does make for some interesting side effects, like Cortez appearing to aid himself on many occasions, then in the later parts of the game, you have to time travel back to save yourself. Like this.

-----
Future Cortez : Psst, up here! (From a grating above in the ceiling)
Cortez : What the... You're me!
Future Cortez : Hehe, I knew you'd say that. Take this key. (Throws a key down)
Cortez : What's it for?
Future Cortez : You'll find out. Just don't forget to pass it on.

(Key opens a door later)

(Walking a passage)

Cortez : Hey look, a wormhole!! (Jumps through)

(Ends up above a grating where Future Cortez was, you can see Past Cortez from there)

Cortez : Psst, up here
Past Cortez : What the... You're me!
Cortez : Hehe, I knew you'd say that. Take this key (Throws down the key)
-----

Bryant's parents are coming back from South America, so I don't think I'll be going back any time soon. Give any of us a call if you need to man. If its me, call my home phone, I don't answer my handphone that often, but you probably knew that already.

Sunday 18 May 2008

Respite Before the Tempest

The pressure from the Chinese O-Level is getting to me. Due in a week's time, there isn't much time left before it.

Am I ready for it? Probably. Will I pass for certain? No, that is the extent of my uLtRa noobness of my Chinese. Am I scared. Hell to the HELL yes!

I've always been terrible at Chinese. Mostly because I lived in Vietnam and Australia for the first 5-6 years of my life, and no one bothering to teach me the basics when I got back.(Got Thrown into a Chinese class not knowing how to even greet the teacher in Chinese at Primary 1)

While my Mid Year Chinese is somewhat promising,(It wasn't a really bad fail, just one mark off passing) and I heard a third of the level failed as well, combined with the fact that O-Levels are easier than normal school exams, I thought I'd be more confident, but I'm not.

Dammit, its so bad, I can't derive pleasure from many things, not from the fact that Untied has won the title and will probably beat Chelsea in the Champions League, and it destroys my writing mood, which isn't good given how I'm starting on something big now. Much big. Very big. Uber big. MADA OF ALL BIGS! Fine, not that big. But its big. I might get the courage to post it up here when its more complete.

All I've got now is the introduction and one chapter (Okay, half a chapter).

It'll all have to wait till my Chinese is over, provided I feel confidant enough of passing...

And a question to all, do butlers do actual household chores like sweeping and cleaning, or are they just there to provide typical British sarcasm and be prime suspects in murder plots?

Thursday 8 May 2008

Another End...

Forgive me if my writing is disjointed, I have a REALLY bad headache right now....

And its the end to yet another exam. Of course, the Chinese O-Level is coming up VERY shortly, but I think I'll take a break for now. My head hurts like a bitch now anyway...

Physics was pretty good, made a couple of careless mistakes, but I think I can manage an A1. I selected the "moves left option" even though I figured out it was right. Mistook atmospheric pressure for one million Pa when its supposed to be only 100000 Pa. Aside from that, sweet.

Lit, ah yes, lit. It was pretty good, selected the poem for once for the unseen prose, because for some reason, I could just connect real well with another poet for once. It just fitted in so nicely, connected so well, like a plug into a power socket. Of course, insert a plug wrong and you get electrocuted...

Of all times for a headache, why now, after the exams, when I'm a free man for a while... Probably not going for blerrie dragon boat thing Mr. Nathan gang-pressed the team into...

Monday 5 May 2008

Didn't Get Everything, But Still Got A LOT!!!

Mid Year Exams have started, so far, it has been pretty good. English, I finished with enough time to re-write my summary for the sake of making it look neater, and wrote a full length poem for the bloody fun of it. I can't remember completely it was about, recall one talking about French cheese, but thats about it. Maybe it was easier than normal because I don't have to help a multitude of people *cough* Kee Hao *cough* with answering every second question, but I hope thats the case.

Social Studies Section A was kinda gay. It looked like it was set by Michael Moore. Out of the 5 sources, 3 blamed AMERICA for the 9/11 attacks.

-One blamed the incompetency of the CIA and the FBI. Gah, stupid red dot, keeps getting in my eye...

-One was a conspiracy theory by a Russian minister that it was all a set up by America to have a new enemy and threat to world peace to unite against, like Fascism in the 1940's and Communism from then till 1991.

-And one was saying its because America oppressed the Arab people, or some jazz like that. Sounded like a sympathizer.

Essay was okay at least.

Then came E Maths. If were Damien, I would have dubbed the feeling I felt at the end as sex (And smart alec from NCC Land will add Shen Shin). I discovered I think WAY better relaxed. Rushing for time, I skipped quite a few questions, thinking I'd run out of time. Realizing that 2 and a half hours stretches for quite a long while, I returned back to them, slow and at ease, and finished all questions except for one subquestion of another subquestion.

Paper drew different reactions from different people...

---------------
Sam : There is a God!!
Me : And it is the Flying Spaghetti Monster!!
---------------
Sam's a proud atheist by the way.
---------------
Zhongxi : How many marks you lost already?
Me : Just 2
(Zhongxi gives me the finger)
---------------

---------------
Mark : GGed....
---------------

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Bryant : Was like a 1988 paper, quite easy.
Me : Tung having one of his senior moments. Thinks he's setting for guys twenty years back!
---------------

Thursday 1 May 2008

An End and A Beginning

Well, Mid Years have officially started, had the Chinese papers on Monday, which actually went okay as far as Chinese is concerned. It bodes well indeed, the real deal is in a month's time...

Anyway, FINALLY got my medal for rugby yesterday. Its close to a month after our last match, but I can't really get too angry at Mr. Nathan, not after he turfed Eugene Chong out of the front row so I could get a seat there during the photo taking, since I had been with the team about 3 years longer than he had.

It kind of brought a finality of it all, that I've graduated from the team. I felt it coming off from the last game from St. Andrews, watching a match being played without any of the senior players, but it never impacted on me this hard, that its all over now. The memories of the whole time just went round and round my head. First match, first tackle (It HURT), first charge, first gaffe (I make it a point to make everyone laugh when I step on the field, ask around). It sounds like I'm getting awfully worked up about this, but unlike a LOT of people I know, I actually enjoy my CCA, and my team.

I'm not sure if I can train under another coach aside from Teo though. I might only ever had trained under him, but its easy to tell he's better than the rest of the coaches. It'll be hard to get used to a lesser coach, after taking him as the benchmark.

Will I continue rugby in JC? Certainly, if its available where I go, and I can make the team.

Thanks for the memories guys.

Sigh, after thinking through all that I feel so melancholic....

Well, there was one event yesterday that I must mention. Khai Sam had managed to convince me to stay back for Mr. Tang's extra lesson. While waiting, we got bored, and Zhongxi attempted to jump over moving OHP cart, and let it sail harmlessly under him as he balanced on top of two chairs on either side of him. Sounded like something straight out of Mythbusters.

Of course, on his third attempted, he not only came within inches of qualifying to work in the ancient Forbidden City, he also bruised himself badly, the said bruise being the size of his hand, causing him to whine and call out for his mummy all throughout Mr. Tang's extra lesson. And thats why they tell kids that not to try this or that at home!