Me once again at my traditional Welcome the New School Term Night, which I normally spend rushing through the holiday homework, or if I've been a good boy, having a fragfest on TF2/COD4/Fallout 3, followed by the traditional blog entry.
Yeah, searching is what I spent Saturday doing, looking for the right present for...wait, that's supposed a surprise for Ollyvia...
Meh, what the heck, we're giving the scarf to her on Tuesday, and it's not like news gets around very fast through here unless it involves Matthew's DotA pride.
Ollyvia's moving away to Michigan at the end of the month, and with her birthday coming up soon, we (i.e me and Ronald) thought it would be a good idea to get her a birthday present suited to the climate there. Our (okay, fine, his) idea? A scarf.
The original plan was also to split the cost just between ourselves (also his idea). Yes, I know, me and him are starting to end up like Commander Vimes and Captain Carrot. Anyway, we planned to meet up on Saturday to shop for a scarf for her.
Unfortunately, he suddenly couldn't make it. Panic.
The thought of two "first thing fits me" guys when it comes to fashion and accessories going shopping for a girl's scarf was hilarious. The thought of me going alone however, was not.
Enter Rebecca. I am so damned grateful she could make it on such short notice to go shopping with me. I've had bad experience with department stores since I was 4...
----
Micro : Mum, I'm boooored...I'm tired, can we go home now...
Mum : Just few (10) more dresses Cheng, and we'll go home.
----
Yeah, bad days.
She's a self-confessed perpetual latecomer, so that saved me since she arrived later than I did.
We did still spend a couple of hours simply finding a scarf that seemed appropriate and was within our price range, hopping from Far East to Wisma to Tang Plaza and....well, I lost track after that.
Not that that long time was a bad thing. Bryant's already prepared me for shopping with girls (his record was 45 minutes at Kino. Yes, I timed), and Rebecca makes for great conversation, despite both of us being quiet by AC standards. So far the only I've met in AC I can have a conversation at length with, after Caleb of course.
That's mostly my fault too, according to her. She says I need to talk to more people in the class.
Ordered the cake as I made my way back home, and Beck, I'm afraid we won't have enough cake to splatter on Ollyvia's head, unless some noble soul would like to donate their piece of cake for so she can have one last lulz with the class. Or the class can have one last lulz at her, either way works for me.
Which reminds me...
I seem to have picked up three labels I never thought would end up with me.
-----
Rebecca : Mrs Chiang was quite surprised you left for the rugby tour.
Micro : How come?
Rebecca : She said you looked too refined to be in rugby.
Micro : Er...okay...
Rebecca : I also didn't think you looked like one, you look too quiet and gentle.
-----
Quiet, refined and gentle. And it's not just them. It seems that way to everyone from the PW teacher all the way to some people on the team.
I told Moses about it. I got a "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REAL CHENG HENG!!?!?!" in reply. I appear to be growing up without knowing... My 16 year old self is going "What have you done to yourself mate?"
Of course, I'm not saying they are bad labels. Very different from what I'm used to though. Could certainly get used to it.
Monday, 23 March 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
New Heights!
New heights the J1 ruggers have reached, the 28th story of the Empire Kowloon Hotel to be exact. Journey, perilous it was, and our merry band of 5 braved the blustery Hong Kong skies, hotel security guards and the dangers of a hotel rooftop, all in the name of capturing the perfect picture of the Hong Kong skyline.
Not all of us made it there. Nas and Kun didn't dare to climb the ladder to the highest point on the roof because it was a LONG way down if we slipped and fell, and I almost backed out as well. At first, I only climbed up to give Zongren and CK my camera and I went down again, but they thought I chickened out at the last rung, so I went back up again, and I'm glad I did.
The two photos showing why. There are a few more pictures of us dancing on the roof of the hotel, and one with the two of them doing the Titanic scene and looking so damn gay, but they're all on my Facebook, and I'm too lazy to upload them...
It is dry as hell in Hong Kong, and I've fufilled most of my main objectives there, namely
-Buy new shoes
-See the nightlife (Non-existent where I was)
-Count how many 7-11's I could see from my hotel (3)
-Find a new entry for engrish.com
-Play in the match we went to there to play (failed)
Yeah, I was pretty upset about that last one. Very upset, but perhaps I did get a bit too emotional about, looking back now sneaking away from the rest of the team when they went for the dinner reception wasn't the best thing to do. It's painful though, listening to them recount their stories on the field, that crash that left a guy out cold, the run that gained more than 20 meters, that tackle to stop the one that almost got away... To here all these post-match tales, unable to join in because you have none of your own... It hurts, really.
But meh, I'll get over it. Aside from that, everything else was fantastic. Left to roam the streets of Kowloon by ourselves most of the time, we jumped from shop to shop, possibly annoying quite a few shopkeepers by trying out just about everything in their stores before finally deciding on something, or worse, not buying anything at all, but those were rare cases since everyone was eager to spend and most stuff is really cheap there.
Execpt for two VERY important things I hold dear to my heart.
Video games, and food.
For some reason, both cost more than back home, the average NDS game costing at least SGD$40, and that's the for the not so popular ones, where 30 is the norm here, and I couldn't find a place that would sell a decent meal for anything less than $5. That made me sad. Okay fine, at least they compensated for the meals by having super large portions, but that's beside the point.
Oh yes, speaking of meals, there was this conversation that practically sealed my reputation as team dreamer...
-----
(Peter Wang and Keith talking about something I misheard)
Micro : Wait, wasn't the hotel gym closed?
(Very long puzzled silence)
Mr Lim : Err, Micro, you're watching wrong channel, everyone one here is tuned to MTV, I think you're on Discovery right now...
Zongren : So what channel are you watching sir?
(whispered) Micro : His TV is broken already...
-----
Zongren almost covered the table in tea upon hearing that.
Hehe, the kangaroo court sessions... Turns out the stuff Lincoln was furiously scribbling down was all the so-called charges he would prosecute us with. Our first hint was when he bought all those century eggs and raw brocoli, someone should have suspected something, but we all assumed he would get his wife to cook or something, and me being me I was too happy carrying two 2 litres of bottle Coke that I would get a share of for carrying to notice anything suspicious.
Turns out, all that stuff was for eating. Raw. As punishment for charges he fabricated. A few of the charges...
---
"Keith, you are accused of being too much like a tourist, always having a camera out to take photos of yourself."
"Edmond, you are accused of learning how to pass balls on the 11th floor of the hotel, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Micro, you have two charges. *Gets century egg ready* You are accused of not being a team player by not letting anyone else carry the Coke, and for posing as an SJI boy on an ACJC rugby tour" (I only wore my tracksuit, and George wore the bottom half...)
"Tim, George, Nasril and Song, you are all charged with stealing my bananas to eat them."
"Peter Wang, you are hereby accused of not going out with at least one J1 player."
"Mr Lim, you are accused of *insert ridiculous charge here*"
-----
Prentice has a video of Peter freaking out for at least 2 minutes before eating the century egg, and Mr Lim only finished his after much complaining, threatening the judge and pleading. No problems on my end, two bites and it was over.
Most importantly though, I've learned on a lot of people who look real fearsome and intimidating can be quite nice once you get to know them.
I've learned that not everyone is the talented but distant Space Marine I thought them to be.
I've learned that truly, you won't be left behind or forgotten here, even if it seems like you have been.
And I learned to play hearts.
Not all of us made it there. Nas and Kun didn't dare to climb the ladder to the highest point on the roof because it was a LONG way down if we slipped and fell, and I almost backed out as well. At first, I only climbed up to give Zongren and CK my camera and I went down again, but they thought I chickened out at the last rung, so I went back up again, and I'm glad I did.
The two photos showing why. There are a few more pictures of us dancing on the roof of the hotel, and one with the two of them doing the Titanic scene and looking so damn gay, but they're all on my Facebook, and I'm too lazy to upload them...
It is dry as hell in Hong Kong, and I've fufilled most of my main objectives there, namely
-Buy new shoes
-See the nightlife (Non-existent where I was)
-Count how many 7-11's I could see from my hotel (3)
-Find a new entry for engrish.com
-Play in the match we went to there to play (failed)
Yeah, I was pretty upset about that last one. Very upset, but perhaps I did get a bit too emotional about, looking back now sneaking away from the rest of the team when they went for the dinner reception wasn't the best thing to do. It's painful though, listening to them recount their stories on the field, that crash that left a guy out cold, the run that gained more than 20 meters, that tackle to stop the one that almost got away... To here all these post-match tales, unable to join in because you have none of your own... It hurts, really.
But meh, I'll get over it. Aside from that, everything else was fantastic. Left to roam the streets of Kowloon by ourselves most of the time, we jumped from shop to shop, possibly annoying quite a few shopkeepers by trying out just about everything in their stores before finally deciding on something, or worse, not buying anything at all, but those were rare cases since everyone was eager to spend and most stuff is really cheap there.
Execpt for two VERY important things I hold dear to my heart.
Video games, and food.
For some reason, both cost more than back home, the average NDS game costing at least SGD$40, and that's the for the not so popular ones, where 30 is the norm here, and I couldn't find a place that would sell a decent meal for anything less than $5. That made me sad. Okay fine, at least they compensated for the meals by having super large portions, but that's beside the point.
Oh yes, speaking of meals, there was this conversation that practically sealed my reputation as team dreamer...
-----
(Peter Wang and Keith talking about something I misheard)
Micro : Wait, wasn't the hotel gym closed?
(Very long puzzled silence)
Mr Lim : Err, Micro, you're watching wrong channel, everyone one here is tuned to MTV, I think you're on Discovery right now...
Zongren : So what channel are you watching sir?
(whispered) Micro : His TV is broken already...
-----
Zongren almost covered the table in tea upon hearing that.
Hehe, the kangaroo court sessions... Turns out the stuff Lincoln was furiously scribbling down was all the so-called charges he would prosecute us with. Our first hint was when he bought all those century eggs and raw brocoli, someone should have suspected something, but we all assumed he would get his wife to cook or something, and me being me I was too happy carrying two 2 litres of bottle Coke that I would get a share of for carrying to notice anything suspicious.
Turns out, all that stuff was for eating. Raw. As punishment for charges he fabricated. A few of the charges...
---
"Keith, you are accused of being too much like a tourist, always having a camera out to take photos of yourself."
"Edmond, you are accused of learning how to pass balls on the 11th floor of the hotel, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Micro, you have two charges. *Gets century egg ready* You are accused of not being a team player by not letting anyone else carry the Coke, and for posing as an SJI boy on an ACJC rugby tour" (I only wore my tracksuit, and George wore the bottom half...)
"Tim, George, Nasril and Song, you are all charged with stealing my bananas to eat them."
"Peter Wang, you are hereby accused of not going out with at least one J1 player."
"Mr Lim, you are accused of *insert ridiculous charge here*"
-----
Prentice has a video of Peter freaking out for at least 2 minutes before eating the century egg, and Mr Lim only finished his after much complaining, threatening the judge and pleading. No problems on my end, two bites and it was over.
Most importantly though, I've learned on a lot of people who look real fearsome and intimidating can be quite nice once you get to know them.
I've learned that not everyone is the talented but distant Space Marine I thought them to be.
I've learned that truly, you won't be left behind or forgotten here, even if it seems like you have been.
And I learned to play hearts.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Round and Round the Merry-Go-Round
The mood of the day goes, from good to bad and back again about a million times.
It's currently on the bad cycle. It's the NE poster thing's fault. Photos of the mass rallies during orientation were harder to find than I thought. Where are all the camwhores of the school when you really need them... With approximately 10 hours before school restarts again, I apparently, am in crisis. I currently have a few options
1) Grab any bunch of photos I can find, and alter my group's poster thingy to fit the bill
2) Simply go to sleep and throw something together from what we have tomorrow.
3) Wait for inspiration to hit me.
Option 1) looks possible. Option 2) is the route I'd have taken in another totally different set of conditions, if I knew everyone else's filed this in their heads the same way I do (Things no one cares about.), but I'm not sure if it is. I've trodden on enough toes as it is.
Option 3) however...
Is how many of my magna opera came to be, my Commonwealth credited essay, Chapters 1-2 and most of my powerpoints. A lot of my best work is forcibly dragged out of my head and onto paper/keyboard in these moments.
But I'm coming up with nothin----
"Stop the car!" *SCREECH!!!* "Look at that beauty, get me sack and noose Terri!"
*CRASH*
"Gorgeous! Look at that blighter!"
Amazing. I have just found and abducted a photo suiting our needs Steve Irwin style on maniAC! I need to do this more often...
I will never doubt the power of the internetz again!
My posts are becoming shorter and more weird than usual. Uh-oh...
It's currently on the bad cycle. It's the NE poster thing's fault. Photos of the mass rallies during orientation were harder to find than I thought. Where are all the camwhores of the school when you really need them... With approximately 10 hours before school restarts again, I apparently, am in crisis. I currently have a few options
1) Grab any bunch of photos I can find, and alter my group's poster thingy to fit the bill
2) Simply go to sleep and throw something together from what we have tomorrow.
3) Wait for inspiration to hit me.
Option 1) looks possible. Option 2) is the route I'd have taken in another totally different set of conditions, if I knew everyone else's filed this in their heads the same way I do (Things no one cares about.), but I'm not sure if it is. I've trodden on enough toes as it is.
Option 3) however...
Is how many of my magna opera came to be, my Commonwealth credited essay, Chapters 1-2 and most of my powerpoints. A lot of my best work is forcibly dragged out of my head and onto paper/keyboard in these moments.
But I'm coming up with nothin----
"Stop the car!" *SCREECH!!!* "Look at that beauty, get me sack and noose Terri!"
*CRASH*
"Gorgeous! Look at that blighter!"
Amazing. I have just found and abducted a photo suiting our needs Steve Irwin style on maniAC! I need to do this more often...
I will never doubt the power of the internetz again!
My posts are becoming shorter and more weird than usual. Uh-oh...
Sunday, 8 March 2009
1SB2 - A New Beginning (Two weeks late as usual)
Yes, it seems I've been at ACJC for a month now, and that the March holidays are...one week away? That was fast... Mostly due to the fact that everything is so rushed now that I haven't got time to stop and think.
Two weeks into the job, and surprisingly, I haven't been sacked as class rep yet. Yet. Sarcastic and cynical as I seem about having taken on the job, it's starting to grow on me, though if there were a grade for this job, given how I've moved (or not moved) the class, I think I'd get a subpass at best.
Oh yes, the class has the misfortune of having me at the helm. What can I say about them? Well, to be honest, I'm getting the same feeling I was getting at Corryn during the first week I was so damned miserable about, that something vitally crucial happened that everyone was supposed to have taken note of, but I just happened to blink. Of course, that problem eventually fixed itself quite conveniently at Corryn, and with any luck it'll happen here.
Two weeks into the job, and surprisingly, I haven't been sacked as class rep yet. Yet. Sarcastic and cynical as I seem about having taken on the job, it's starting to grow on me, though if there were a grade for this job, given how I've moved (or not moved) the class, I think I'd get a subpass at best.
Oh yes, the class has the misfortune of having me at the helm. What can I say about them? Well, to be honest, I'm getting the same feeling I was getting at Corryn during the first week I was so damned miserable about, that something vitally crucial happened that everyone was supposed to have taken note of, but I just happened to blink. Of course, that problem eventually fixed itself quite conveniently at Corryn, and with any luck it'll happen here.
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