Thursday, June 30, 2005
We chose the japan trip product today. Voted for shannon’s group one. The holographic pen. Damn cool. I dunno who else is in his group, cos he was the only one there waving the pen haha. congrats to you guys. I think that group is definite winner liao. other nubbad ones were the comic toilet paper and platform shoes. Haha. my group got TWO votes! We were like so happie lah. cos the ppt was rushed. And the product was ghey. Should have used the mini-pen larh.
Haha. then I went for the nasa talk. Mmm. Some people like, some people dun like. Personally it wasn’t really my area of interest. It used to be lah. for a while in primary school. That’s why I read up so much haha. the various parts. Now it’s back to aviation. Like it always was. won the first prize for knowing Goddard. Lolness. “He launched the space age with a 10-ft. rocket in a New England cabbage field”
=)
haha. Then I stayed in school for awhile for the open house thing and a mugshot taken. Then my parents brought Nick and Shannon home and we went for dinner. Haha thanks to nick for the cool Yoda poster! =) so fun!
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23:14
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22:22
YOUR school has been doing all of you wrong!
(well my old sch.)
you can still join the vip or any other ip even if you have applied for the dhp! (and the dhp REALLY sucks anyway) dun listen to the dhs bullshit about not being able to apply.
our teachers want you! they want to give you a better education. a better life! and we want to see you be happy! the vip was a choice that i have NO regrets for. it's great!
this is your only chance to become a vip!
do not hesitate.
join the vip. there's NOTHING stopping you. and it's the best!
go ahead: http://www.vjc.moe.edu.sg/vip/vipohreg.shtml. there's NOTHING stopping you.
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21:08
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20:39
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
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22:36
Originates from latin meaning martial. From a Roman clan name (Marcius) and first name (Marcus) that are both believed to be related to Mars, the god of war. A similar form is Marcellus, or "little Mark", which gives names such as the French Marcel and the Italian Marcello. The second Gospel was written by Mark, who apparently had many of the firsthand details from Peter, the leader of the twelve apostles. Mark is said to have traveled to Italy, and the name has always been popular there, especially in Venice, where the famous church of St. Mark is located. In the thirteenth century, the Venetian Marco Polo visited the court of Kublai Khan and brought back the first accurate description of China. The name was introduced in England about the same time, but it was seldom used until the 1800s, when it was adopted in Britain and the United States. However, the widely known American author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) took his pen name not from Mark but from an expression used by Mississippi riverboat pilots. It dropped from fashion early in this century, and then in the 1960s, it began a strong revival.
Variations of the name Mark: Marc, Marco, Marcos, Marcus
a moment in time.
21:30
And the perfect story ended at the start
I thought you came forever and you came to break my heart
Now I’m hanging on , on the chance that you’ll come back to me"
- Love So Right - Bee Gees
the stuff people talk about.
we need more of that mantalk stuff. there was one question i didn't ask cos it would have strongly implied something. and i wanna ask now. haha and it felt quite good to be there talking about that kind of stuff. it was quite fun.. in a very strange (and maybe disturbing) manner. wondering what the girls talked about. hmm.
a moment in time.
20:57
Anyway, today was sex-ed day! How very queer. Haha it was like back to kindergarten. When teachers used to gather the kids together and tell them stories. Today we were told the story of the missing piece. You know, the one where this pacman dude rolls around to find his missing piece. And when he finally does, he decides to let it go because he can’t do all the stuff he used to do without the missing piece.
Basically, they’re just talking to us about relationships. Bgr that kind of stuff. haha then we heard the story about the missing piece who turned into a round thing. so he didn’t need a bigger piece. Ahh. Dunno why they make such stories. Haha I think vjc encourages bgr. If the parents knew they’d freak.
Teacher encouraged us to go group dating. I guess that was said as an alternative to one-on-one dates. Where things could go wrong. Hmm. The second round was super interesting. It was mr koh and us (v11 and v13 guys) in a circle, and discussing stuff you wouldn’t usually discuss except as secrets. And we’re supposed to keep the stuff secret. Yupp. Quite rightly so.
mmm. very interesting. Heh. Can say that I learnt quite a lot. It was something we called man-talk time and again. When there was a valid reason to reveal your secrets or discuss the usual sensitive stuff like how to tell a girl you like her, how to tell a girl that you don’t, dealing with rejection, BGR, homosexuality. The kind of stuff you find on the list of popular friendster searches. lolness.
Ahh well. then I took 31 home… alone. Since everyone else had electives. And the nanotech and philo people were scattered. Hai. Now I’ve gotta go do Chinese photodiary before I die. Ahhh I dun wan to present for open house!!! Scary lehh. Blehh.
a moment in time.
20:53
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Now got homework again. The weird innovation ad haha. quite simple. But what my group wants to do can only be done in flash I think. Or maybe office 2003. I got the basics going liao in 2000. ahh. Office 2006 next year. So I’ll just wait.
Haha. then we watched the whole Russell Peters thing! 3 full times! And replayed small bits all afternoon! The best part is the !xobile one! Lolness. You wouldn’t get it if I wrote it here. Haha go watch! Woo. Too funny. Too funny.
“Somebody is going to get a-hurt reall baddd” woo.
a moment in time.
23:17
Monday, June 27, 2005
Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is (he has)
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky
I can't take my eyes off of youI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my
eyes off of youI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my eyes off youI can't
take my eyes...
And so it is (he has)
Just like you said it should be
We'll both forget the breeze
Most of the time
And so it is (he has)
The colder water
The blower's daughter
The pupil in denial
a moment in time.
22:20
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21:43
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19:18
You are in the top 15.03% richest people in the world.
There are 5,097,727,272 people poorer than you.
How do you feel about that? A bit richer we hope. Please consider
donating just a small amount to help some of the poorest people in the world.
Many of their lives could be improved dramatically or even saved if you donate
just one hour's salary (approx US$1.44)
Oh, and in case you’re interested you are the 902,272,728 richest person in
the world.
a moment in time.
19:13
Sunday, June 26, 2005
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22:00
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20:42
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16:26
- chinese holiday homework due monday t3w1 - 60% done.
* chinese jap trip assignment due friday t3w2 - 0% done.
* lang arts task 5 due wednesday t3w2 - 75% done.
- lang arts arts reader assignment due t3w4 - 0% done.
ahhh. look at the gheyness.
Tests. the big ones. really big ones.
- Biology - early surprise test - a lot of stuff.
- Chinese (week 2) - the biggie. 1,2,3,5,6,7,11,13,14,15 woo who's gonna study for this one!
- Chemistry (week 2) - chem bonding, not as big as above
- Lang Arts (week 4) - big one. - the arts.
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15:46
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15:31
Saturday, June 25, 2005
I think I’m breaking down.
It’s all that homework.
It’s the air, the sick air.
It’s the guilt.
All the wrong I’ve done.
To my parents.
To my friends.
To everyone.
To God.
I’m just sorry.
But sorry does nothing.
I feel like sobbing.
But there’s no energy.
It’s all that undone homework.
It’s all the tests.
I can’t pretend it’s not bothering me.
I can’t pretend that I really like doing everything.
I’ve done too much.
Deep down, I know I’m expecting too much.
Even when I don’t say so
I’m pushing myself too hard.
Subconsciously.
I’m scared.
I’m really scared.
I should have taken a rest
When I still could.
I’ve gotta stop kidding myself.
Feel like screaming.
But it’s stuck in my throat.
I’m so scared.
Save me.
Really.
a moment in time.
22:21
Friday, June 24, 2005
ahhh. i want new england clam chowder!!!
a moment in time.
18:14
Thursday, June 23, 2005
My aunt (my mum’s cousin) died not too long ago
No energy left.
Have to go to school tomorrow.
SS report is screwed.
Mich got flu. Get well soon!
Trauma.
a moment in time.
21:55
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Mich, Xh, Pamela and sam came to my house today to do IM site, even though none of them is in my group. Haha. I had been feverish since the morn. Haha so anyway I helped them with the im sites (just the sitemap is needed) then mich played neopets. And we chatted on msn. Haha. then we had tea. When they left, I slept till 930. ahh. Now still very feverish. Going to sleep soon.
Maybe I’ll blog more tomorrow. If I feel better. after then feeling feverish I think everyth’s fine. So I’m happie. Haha yayy oh but some of my fonts got screwed up when i installed hansvision. And I haven’t done Chinese japan trip assignment. Ahh.
a moment in time.
22:43
Sunday, June 19, 2005
a moment in time.
21:36
* chinese holiday homework due monday t3w1
* lang arts task 5 due wednesday t3w2
* chinese jap trip assignment due friday t3w2
- content for physics presentation for the vip open house with eunice (t3w1) -> pending because teacher i/c is STILL shopping overseas oO
- lang arts arts reader assignment due t3w4
a moment in time.
19:55
heh. just try. lol i pride myself in the difficulty of it.
haha michh got 20. dear Xh got 0. HAH *snigger*
update: haha eunice got 50 and nic got 30! lols.
update2: vina got 10 and ch got 40! heh nubbad ch. eunice still top scorer. she gets to borrow my phantom of the opera book, which i'm not reading. anyone who gets 100 without cheating with get a silver pen! =)
this isn't bad.
How long can you hold it? HoldTheButton.com
haha and look at my disney mobster results!
You Are: Tigger "The Trigger"
You are Tigger "The
Trigger". Your
head is made outa rubber and your bottom is made outa
springs. What's up with
that? I think that all of your bouncing is just a
cover for your secret life as
the gunman for the Hundred Acre Wood gang.
"Whacking's what Tiggers do best!"
You are currently serving as a bodyguard
for Winnie the Pooh who is being hunted
by Heffalumps and Woozels over a
honey "misunderstanding".
a moment in time.
00:14
Saturday, June 18, 2005
and guess whose bdae it is!!! happie bdae michh! =)
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13:06
Friday, June 17, 2005
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22:19
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21:52
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20:13
my goodness. transformers is top. i mean come on, big, grown, gruffy man watching kid's stuff? oO. and THE LAST UNICORN. woah. and all the low art stuff. the only good one there is We Were Soldiers, apparently the most realistic vietnam war movie. heh.
well at least the us army's got better stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/cm/browse-communities/-/224207/dvd/103-5016507-3366206
even singapore's buying better stuff. and quite unusual stuff too. hmm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/cm/browse-communities/-/215481/dvd/103-5016507-3366206
a moment in time.
19:53
My lone figure, bloodied, broken
The smoke rising in the distance
Together with spirits, of comrades lost
The dust, disturbed, surrounds me
A mass of crimson, strewn
Across the desolate landscape
I hear the wind sigh; beckoning
Come back to me
Come back to me
It calls
The edelweiss fall
A true soldier.
All is finished.
And all is gone.
a moment in time.
17:23
v1:commonwealth of aeroquile and south enthonia - the really boring (and ugly) baby blue and white template (i'm really sad i overwrote it cos it had a really "nice" poem about lame ducks. lol) i stuck with this template for one and a half years
v2:angstblogger - the angsty one from blogskins i got at the end of last year because of angstiness. it looked quite nice, but layout really sucked, with just 2 boxes that were esily filled up with crap.
v3:systemsblogger - got this when i searched for systems at blogskins. looked quite cool with the neon green and matrix stuff and all, but was pretty hard on the eyes for a while, so i gave it up.
v4:brokenblogger - current. decided to take a basic template based on brokenhearts and make it my own. now i'm quite attached to it.
v5:starblogger - as said before, i will most probably go into version 5 with the above basic template, but with the hopeful nice shiny star thing and the much nicer "wished upon a star". heh
a moment in time.
14:53
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14:44
haha people tell me if you want me to link you and i havent yet. haha yayy ok. time to do hmwk. haiz. must finish task 5! budden i dunno how to do exercise 2! diee.
hope!
a moment in time.
14:21
and i cannot forget the things i done
i know i done some things wrong
and i'm sorry it ended like this
wish you're comin' back again
and i'm sorry for the things i done
and i'm wishin' upon a star for you
a moment in time.
13:56
a moment in time.
13:45
Thursday, June 16, 2005
money: ****-
right. i've been spending at least 20 bucks everytime i go out. i've gone out more than 20 times liao.
love: *****
ahhh. haha heard some stuff, but yeah. lol.
attitude: ****-
then the horoscope crap ah.
You're quite the person about town, making the scene and having a boatload
of fun. Those you leave in your wake are entirely impressed -- and, in some
cases, entirely enamored.
ARGH. LIES! all of them!
and i ain't "flying high" with the two people i'm supposed to be "flying high" with. blehh. i have no idea why i keep coming back for more.
a moment in time.
22:52
then this nick arh, I playing silent scope then he keep on pulling the trigger when I haven’t engaged the enemy. Irritating little boy. =P in the end I still got quite far larh. Heh. And all my missed shots were shot by nick, so I quite happie. Haiz. The walk here walk there. Eat at pasta mania. Then talk. Then after a while I went home to write a card and try to do some homework. Blehh. Hate homework.
Woo. I like this quote from black hawk down: “leave no man behind”. Heh.
a moment in time.
22:51
* chinese holiday homework due monday t3w1
*
* IM site due friday t3w1 (now individual)
-
-
- content for physics presentation for the vip open house with eunice (t3w1) -> pending because teacher i/c is shopping overseas oO
* lang arts task 5 due wednesday t3w2
* chinese jap trip assignment due friday t3w2
- lang arts arts reader assignment due t3w4
a moment in time.
16:34
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
- prevent source code copying/viewing: what's the diff when there's a view source button under Edit?
- prevent "stealing"/"ripping"/"whatever" images: what's the diff when i can hover my mouse over the image and just click the save image icon that appears automatically?
- irritate people: oh wow COPYRIGHTED. oh it's YOUR work. oh i should have ORIGINALITY. right. whatever. this is the only purpose that can actually be fulfilled. heh.
a moment in time.
23:14
and also the ipod mini prize thing! even though it's rather impossible for me to get it. at least we got a term more. i'll completely revamp my design lah. powerpoint website files are way too huge. haiz. ah well. heh.
haha i'm quite happie now. stuff is starting to fall back into place. but i'm still missing some stuff. *sniff*
and going out tomorrow. but i MUST finish the la task 5 by tomorrow. or i'll be totally off schedule. should i delete bf2 demo? it's really REALLY distracting me. haiz. but it's too good to delete. i'll just have to use some weird thing to concentrate.
a moment in time.
23:08
One Winged Angels by Koh Tsin Yen
We are one-winged angels just learning to fly,
riding the piercing sweetness of hope with a pair
of dreamer's wings, shaped of a song tender
and tremulous, soaring high into the clear night
and walking all the stars to dance, a great golden
shower of exuberant exquisite joy.
This is our time, this diamond night, the
bewitching hour, this dreamtime perfumed
with the sandman sleep, this velvet wilderness
of a wondrous grace; and these our hands
will find each other.
a moment in time.
22:52
to this game. even though i've only been playing one level. must. get.
full. retail. product. that. costs. 80. bucks. MUST.
a moment in time.
16:55
a moment in time.
15:39
well, i'm onto lang arts now. a couple down, a hell lot more to go.
argh hate making sites!!! bahness. back to html? umm. aiyah i'll just try dreamweaver lah. sianss
a moment in time.
14:28
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Submit a design folio of your company website, highlighting the
following:
sitemap (overall structure of your site)
web technologies
which you intend to use (e.g. graphics for visual appeal, css for presentation
management, javascript for form validation, etc.)
The design folio should be
submitted as a set of webpages to be uploaded to your web server account under a
newly created directory called design_folio." Individual company websites uploaded to
http://web.vjc.moe.edu.sg/students/yourusername/company
One of which will be selected to be your group's final company website.
Due: Some time in Term 3.
'Happy' Holidays."
a moment in time.
23:52
As I walk through the valley
Of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
I left up my hands
And praise the Lord
For He has been good to me
And I would not be here today
If not for Him
And he has never left me
I cry out “Hallelujah”
And thank the Lord
Went to immigration today for IC making. Lol. then went to tm to shop for.. stuff. bah. Stooped homework. Hate homework. Love school. But hate homework. Blehh.
a moment in time.
21:58
heh.
i wish it could all be the same.
i wish everyone could be happy.
talk to me.
a moment in time.
20:49
how everything ended in 5 seconds. from everything to nothing at all.
how we laughed together. now we don't even talk.
how i did nothing wrong, yet you accused me, yet you got angry at me.
i have no idea what went wrong
game over.
well... this came too late -->
You and ... can overcome any bumps on the road.
Prepare for a communication breakdown -- stock up on flares and
be ready to ask for a jump start. One minute, the two of you are tearing along
like this is the autobahn; you've got the chat window going top speed, and
messages are flying. The next minute, there's a terrible screeching, crashing
noise -- it's one of those 'what the heck do they mean by THAT?' moments, or,
worse, one where it seems like they're saying something awful. More likely,
you're completely misunderstanding each other. Time for one of those
flares.
a moment in time.
18:25
Monday, June 13, 2005
You have earned the Green Lightsaber. You are wise
and skilled as a Jedi. The force is strong
with you. Other Jedi look up to you for
information. You would rather teach others the
way of a Jedi than fight. But if you are
needed you are up to the challenge.
Which Star Wars Lightsaber Should You Have?
Your Lightsaber is Blue
Blue is often associated with depth and stability.
It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom,
confidence, and truth.
What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have?
a moment in time.
22:23
but it's just not the same.
and it hurts me so so so much.
and you don't know how much it pains me.
to see you turn and walk away.
i wish we could talk again.
talk for real.
for hours, just like we used to.
it made me so happy, in all the sadness.
you saved me, you made me happy.
and now it's gone.
and i'm missing that, missing you.
as my tears fall.
please.
a moment in time.
21:11
When everything changes
When you’re being rejected
For no reason
When there’s nothing
That would help
Nothing you can do
When nothing’s the same
When she doesn’t talk to you
When conversation’s forced
When things aren’t being said
When the truth
Is nothing but lies
When sorry don’t mean a thing
When it will never be the same
Ever again.
And that is regret.
Regret that slashes your heart
And that’s why I failed you.
a moment in time.
21:04
Went to school for blog discussion thing. lalala nothing much lah haha. something about choice of drink reflect your personality. Oh. And everyone sign up at http://www.campusmoblog.com.sg/ !!! and give us hits so that VJC can win! http://www.campusmoblog.com.sg/blog/vjc woohoo!
Then i went with darho to plaza sgp to have lunch and watch movie with p6gep ppl. Omgoodness we watched hitchhikers guide to the galaxy! And I have the dvd liao! blehh haha., but super funny lah. a lot of hidden jokes. Its better to read the book then watch. Haha. yayy.
Then went to challenger with my dad. Quite sian lah. see all the stuff also never buy anything. Blehh. I want battlefield 2! Budden 90 bucks. haiz.
a moment in time.
20:56
Sunday, June 12, 2005
update: crap. bf2 is being released in a weeks time at a MSRP of 80 sgp bucks. gta:sa was released yesterday at 96 bucks. damn. two of my most awaited games released in a span of 1 week, at a price more than double that of an average game. i guess i'll buy pacific assault, then wait for illegal copies of gta:sa (its banned. duh) or pirated copies, and wait for prices of bf2 to go down. heh. financial literacy? hell yeah.
a moment in time.
20:21
June Holidays 2005
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15:55
a moment in time.
14:18
Saturday, June 11, 2005
* chinese holiday homework due monday t3w1. the one about food. really ghey. have no idea how to do even after trying 3 times. need help from a certain hcl person. haha
* ss jap trip individual report of 1500 words due monday t3w1. really ghey too. requires attachment of photos and documents.
* IM site due friday t3w1. - awww shid. ghey ghey ghey! bah. stoopid. hate doing websites from scratch. so sian. need help from group! LEND ME YOUR DESIGNS!
* webfolio due friday t3w1. - another ghey piece of shid. bahness. they dun like me powerpoint! oh wait he said can, but i must redo in html. HTML. geddit? back to basics.
- japan trip photos due t3w1. hmm.
- some presentation for the vip open house (t3w1)
- lang arts task 5 due wednesday t3w2
- chinese jap trip assignment due friday t3w2
- lang arts arts reader assignment due t3w4
bah.
a moment in time.
22:25
real thing from flickr's sign up page: http://www.flickr.com/register.gne
"I am over 13 years old, and have read the fascinating Terms of Use."
a moment in time.
22:24
Then we went to the arcade at century square. ahahaha stooped time crisis 3 lah. I shan’t play time crisis 3 at century square liao. the stooped gun sucks lah, shoot also no bullet come out haha. but the sniping there is still good. Shooting’s like my only sport left. Haha shall go join some club when I grow up. Yayy. spent 8 bucks or more on arcade. Then I left. Haha.
Im not happie! A few reasons:
- A shidload of homework and assignments and unconscious (unwritten, unsaid, whatever) homework
- Holiday’s no longer a holiday
- I miss japan trip! must have more vip trips!
- More homework.
- Damn. More homework which I can’t do! (lang arts, Chinese. Ahhh I hate language homework!)
- Pacific assault can’t start up properly! Pwned by Malaysians! I shall have to go buy it from challenger in Singapore. MUST HAVE PACIFIC ASSAULT!!!!
- Stuff that cannot be said.
Boo. I shall go cry. Haha no lah. But im sad. Sniff.
a moment in time.
22:05
Friday, June 10, 2005
a moment in time.
23:17
If faith alone can move mountains, then the two of you combined can shift aWell. Here we go again! Im back! Argh. Port dickson = sucks! To me larh. I dun really relish the 1960s life thing. the hotel was kinda… gheyed up. The lifts could not recognise some instructions, the food was all overcooked or undercooked, the beach was unsightly, all rooms had no tissue paper, the tv had no remote control, there were no matches… the list goes on. But we did not go there for a holiday. We went there for God. Yeah. A short narrative ahead.
mountain range. What is it that needs doing? What seemingly impossible task do
you two have your hearts set on? Now, that's the real question. Very often when
you ask for help, you receive it. The trick is to make sure that you're asking
for the right thing. Once you're both clear on that, you can turn your attention
to moving those mountains -- so you can get your heart's desire well within your
sights.
Monday
- took a bus up to port Dickson. interesting photos. Heh
- mildly shocked by hotel.
- Tired, didn’t call anyone.
Tuesday
- service and workshops
- went shopping at some ghey shopping mall.
- Made first few calls to certain people.
- Found out horrible truth. Angst.
Wednesday
- walked 10 km to pd town and back to hotel for the heck of it
- and for someone too haha
- called again. Haha so funn
Thursday
- slacked in hotel during free time
- thinking about stuff.
- prayed for a revival of class fellowship; MAD
- got prayed for, just cried. And cried. I know why, but won’t say.
Friday
- game over then.
- Took bus back.
- Bought lotsa chewing gum for everyone!
- But didn’t buy gifts! I’d rather buy in sgp.
Ahhhh. I miss japan trip! sniff. It was the best time I ever had! Ahhahaha. Angst strikes back!
a moment in time.
22:37
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Jap Trip is being missed much
Tomorrow, I leave for Malaysia
I just wanted to say that I truly, wholly and unforgettably enjoyed the Japan trip. thanks to everyone who made it possible. I believe the whole cohort enjoyed it too. Thanks to the teachers, the tour guides, the behind-the-scenes people like the hotel staff, v11, v12, v14 and most of all ZERO FIVE VEE ONE THREE!!!! Love ya guys lots! Omgoodness I’ll miss you people sooo much!
Haha I bet the church camp wont be as fun as Japan trip! but never mind haha
Oh. And I wanna thank God for keeping us safe, even on Mt Fuji. Yayy!!!
I miss Japan trip so much! Ohohohohoh. I have noted it as a great highlight of the year (obviously) and one of the best times ive had in my life! Even better than my bdae! Actually so far it’s the best time I’ve had this year! This week TOTALLY rocked! Im so happie! Lalala hyperr!!!
Hahaha better sleep now. Cya guys soon! Love ya all lots!
a moment in time.
23:00
Saturday, June 04, 2005
"We continued hiking up and saw Station 5. Ohh, the elation! But we saw no end and the hike grew longer and longer. About 30-45 minutes after station 5, I heard some cheers from below. And I was soo sad because I knew they would be very disappointed and letdown. We didn’t know where the end was anymore. We also knew that it was too late to pull out. We just had to continue.
We hiked and hiked and then we reached this gravel part where there was no more vegetation. I hiked with some girl from V13 across a long stretch of misty gravel path only to see a group of around 40 (I’m bad at estimating…) VIPs huddling together behind a huge rock.
It then struck me that we were lost. My hands had already lost their sensation and were turning really pink and numb. It hurt to touch anything at all. Several people got their J phones out and so did I. I had a really rough time getting the phone out. DW held on the phone, Xijiao was jabbing the numbers and I held the contact list, which was getting wetter and wetter and my numb hands didn’t help.
We dialled Mr Koh’s number but there was no reply. Sandra got through and then I don’t know what happened. I think Subra or Matthias made a decision to hike back after Sandra’s call. I walked back with Benjamin who was really really cold and clung onto his jacket. He later ran ahead without me and I trudged on with YY and Amanda. YY held on to an umbrella and even then couldn’t hold it properly because her hands were rendered useless by the cold, just like ours. Amanda almost gave up but we sang the school song and that really kept us going. Yufei, I think, gave us peanut butter biscuits. YY held on to the packaging, I ripped it open and fed the 3 of us from time to time to keep us going.
And then we reached some place near a shelter. Mr Koh came after what seemed like a century and I have never been so glad to see him. Subsequently, more and more people appeared, including teachers we didn’t see for hours.
I was standing around confused, tired and hungry. My brain wasn’t really functioning correctly. Then Mr Teo told me “ Marjorie, don’t’ stand by yourself, go and hug someone.” And then I just walked to him, because I was too exhausted to do anything else, and he sheltered me with his umbrella to the shelter.
The van came and a hoard of people tried squeezing up. I stayed in the shelter and was shaking uncontrollably. Another van came and went and I couldn’t get up as well. Mr Ng came along and several people followed him to hike up to the end. If I’m not wrong, he was still carrying several balloons and I was like whoa.
Some people started singing 10 green bottles and I sang (or mumbled) with them for a while and that kept me going for a while too.
Vans came and went, but I was squashed near the back of the shelter and couldn’t get pass the people in front of me.
I couldn’t find M2 and so I just had to tell myself that she already got onto the van.
The 2nd last van came with a tumbler of hot water and several plastic cups. Mr Koh passed me a cup of hot water and my fingers instantaneously cramped. I was so scared that I would spill the precious cup of hot water because I was shivering so violently.
The last van came and I got onto it. The driver was driving sooo close to the edge of the road and he was like swerving so fast. I got down the van and reached civilisation . I entered the eatery thingy and Shannon and someone else greeted me with towels and stuff. Someone was taking off my jacket and someone else was drying my hair. Someone else took off my bag and put it on the chair. Shannon was saying, “ Take off your rubber band and dry your hair” and I was sooo touched (but still cold).
Then I went up to the 2nd floor where it was warmer and saw M2. The moment I saw her, I just broke down. The hot steaming thingy was sooo nice but it wasn’t warm enough still. I was still very very cold because my clothes were still wet. I must have been in quite a horrible state, but I presume that a lot of people looked like that too… hahaa
Mrs Jay saw me, and she said “ Ohh, Marjorie, haven’t seen you in a while.” And then I think she realised that I was still shaking horribly. Mrs Jay was nice and warm and nice to hug. She brought me to the toilet to wash up and stuff. The moment I stopped hugging her, I shook again. Oh, when I was hugging her, Shark was like looking at me with a worried and concerned look on his face.
Then Mrs Jay told me to get some food. Mr Ng was feeding me rice. Then he kept digging in the steamboat thingy saying “ let me find something which I think is very delicious for you”. It was a mussel and indeed it was quite good haha. Then he fished something out of the steamboat thingy again and said “ eat this piece of pork, it will do you good”. Mr Ng kept asking me to eat this and that and fed me and I was super super super touched. Later Audrey K came over and hugged me and got me some hot tea.
I opened my bag and I saw Paige. She was soaked and drenched like me and I was totally miserable again. totally floored. her ears were like sodden and soaked. horrible feeling...Later I dried her in the hotel in front of the radiator.
I proceeded on board the bus but realised I had left my bag upstairs. I was like “ arghh, got to climb up the stairs again”. I was halfway up and then Mr Koh said, “ I’ve got your bag” and he carried it all the way downstairs for me.
I wonder how he knew it was my bag….
I left on the bus and sat with Subra, next to the window. Then Mr Koh told me to switch places with Subra because the window seats were normally colder. Mr Teo was behind me and Mr Ng was on my left. I was still shaking and tried covering myself with my bag but it was useless. Mr Teo asked Mr Ng if he was cold and whether he could lend me his jacket.
His blue fleece jacket was nice, comfy and kept me warm. The best thing was that it was really big and I could wear it like a dress =).
I got back to the hotel the hotel staff dried our shoes. The rain was kind enough to wash my shoes off any mud and grim.
I got back to my room and Tina was so nice and helpful and prepared some instant noodles for me.
Later, I heard from Mrs Jay that when she was at the top, they could see that the weather was getting worse and worse. They were quite worried and panicky. But phone calls from the teachers reassured them that we were okay and were plodding on. And then they looked out of the window and panicked again and the phone calls came again and reassured them.
Mrs Jay said that the first few people were cold but they were okay and she didn’t expect the subsequent groups to be in “ that state”.
I also heard from Tina that some flakes of snow were found on someone’s black jacket and that the temperature was 1.5’C.
Then I was like, huh? I survived 1.5’C drenched from head to toe with little protection? And then I was so glad that I didn’t know what the temperature was before."
a moment in time.
22:29
Jap Trip is being missed much
Well. I’ll be blogging about jap trip now. Gonna take a while lol. really had fun, and I’ll never forget it. ohh and I know why my cam drained my batteries. Cos I used lithium on the second day, and apparently it was too powerful. And im supposed to use NiMH batts instead of alkaline. Aiyoh. Never heard of NiMH until I got this cam. Bahness larh
Day 1
We met at the airport that fateful day early in the morn. It was not even dawn yet, but the brightness blinds. Still loving changi airport over here. Lol. nick helped me buy some subway cookies! Great 2nd breakfast stuff. lols. And everyone clapped and some even cheered as we left Singaporean ground. W00t. I still enjoy airborne flights as much as I did as a child. I love to fly. Ahaha. Oohh and the inflight meals on JAL are great. Haha stewed beef and fettucine noodles! Whee~ oooh. And now Alexander is instantly related to that sex scene none of us were expecting, because none/few of us realised that it had an R rating. Boo.
As we left Narita airport, there was instant gratification at the surrounding scenery, and it got even more breathtaking as we entered Tokyo at dusk. Haha the sky’s so pretty! So diff compared to the sunset in Singapore. Actually there’s no such thing as sunset in Singapore. The sky just turns dark. And the concrete jungle blots out everything else. So sad right! Haha but japan rocks!
Here’s what I wrote in my notebook about the scenery we encountered on the first day:
“boundless cities that fade into the mist, the sunset that casts vermilion and violet upon the landscape”
ahhh. Oh and we had our first stop for buying stuff! the night was pretty cold, but not as cold as our classroom. Saw some… hentai. Thought it was decent mags lah. wahlao. Then some guys even go and read de. And GIRLS too leh. Lol. then I had my first taste of wasabi mustard. It’s a taste I’ll never forget. Hort damn.
Haha dinner was great larh. Like the formal jap style. But diff from the usual jap cuisine im used to, which is the salmon set at rtc. Lol. the jap food at the first hotel was usually pickled salad, jap rice, soup, fried side dishes and a couple of other stuff. lol the food’s great over there. I bought a jap icc as a souvenir. And called back. Called a few ppl that night, but only got thru to my parents and Joanne haha.
Then went to 7-11 on the first group shopping expedition. The ice cream thing is nice! Milk ice cream! lols. Haha and we got photos of lake kawaguchi at night, but it wasn’t that clear becos of my lousy auto iso. I shld have set it to manual. Lol. like Daniel did. Hope he got some nice shots. Then we (me, kog, jastine, jared) all went to sleep.
Day 2
This day was filled with numerous unexpected events. Haha went to onsen (hot springs). The water is hot lah. and full of nude male bodies. Eww. But damn shuang lah. Especially when you wake up freezing like hell. (oooh oxymoron!) then we went to lake kawaguchi to take photos. I got quite good shots of the lake. The landscape is striking! Haha almost as good as lake Lucerne. But too many buildings liao. lol.
Then we set off for mt fuji. It started drizzling at the shrine. It was pretty cool. Haha. cos we saw our own breaths! Then they brought us to the starting point. We hiked for VERY VERY long. Way more than the intended 6 hours. and we had no idea how much time we spent hiking. It got pretty boring by the time we reached the first station. FIRST station. At least that was about a quarter of the thing, and pretty easy.
It got hard around the 3rd/4th stations, where there were some steep slopes, and some people helped the rest – that was the only way we got up without slipping. Eventually, my group was kinda split up. I become part of the 2nd last group of people, which was a mix of people from different groups, because it got really messy and we were all struggling. Morale hit a low from the “5th station”, when we realised that there weren’t any shops or restaurants or even modern buildings but a dilapidated wooden hut.
It turned out that it was the old station 5, and that it would have taken more than an hour to reach the new station 5. we didn’t know this, and kept pressing on. And on. And on. Until at some weird rest stop, we saw a whole big group walking backwards. First thing in mind: we had gotten lost without a guide/ranger. They had reached station 6, and not seeing any shops or restaurants along the way.
At this point, it started raining pretty heavily. And it was effing cold up there, with little shelter from the numbingly cold winds. The land was desolate, just a patch of tar and pitch road, and mist surrounding the whole area. Visibility was around 200m. We were all helpless. We stayed there while the teachers and tour guides deliberated about what to do. they called the restaurant which sent vans down to take some students up. Some really brave ones took the 30 minute hike to the restaurant. Station 5, in this case, was like beyond station 6 or something, thus the confusion and distress.
Most, if not all, of us were shivering. They brought a hot water bottle. And as I took a cup of hot water in my hand, the water just dropped out as my hand shivered. Lol. we all huddled together while waiting for the van to arrive for the 3rd time. It was really traumatic for some people. Some were crying and stuff. it was that bad. The temperature was hovering between minus degrees and 1.5 degrees. haha i was right! I can take temperatures till 5 degrees with not much problems! lol. apparently me and subra were the only crazy ones who took photos at that point. one photo is in the previous post.
I wasn’t really affected that much, knowing that there were others with me, and being too cold to be affected. its much worse being lost at a desolate site alone. The proposition of death hit me at some point, but the realisation did not. I cut my finger quite badly just before boarding the van, so I had to apply pressure on my finger manually. Heh. The ride up was bumpy and crowded, and the 3rd group of us was all packed like sardines into the van. It was urgent that we got up there as fast as possible.
From shannon’s blog:
“We had our lunch in a rush as teacher told us there are vans to fetch those who dint make it.
Shocked to see people in tears. Batch by batch they came. Shivering and cold as we were when we came. Some in worst conditions. The blue hands blue legs. We dried people up and served them hot tea which they received in shaking hands, of gratitude and cold. It was sad. Dint felt like taking any video at that moment as it must be rude to do so. Help was all we did for each other. Interdependent.”
The earlier groups had turned the restaurant into something not unlike battlefield hospitals. They had torn open packages of souvenir towels and I had my hair dried as soon as I entered the building. Spent some time clearing up the blood. Now I realise that I didn’t even have time to clean the wound. Lol. we ate quickly, and were rushed back to the hotel. They cancelled the boiling valley thing because of the traumatic experience up on mount fuji, and allowed us to rest in the hotel till dinner.
The onsen really helped things at this point in time. The hot water felt great. Heh. Dinner was some steamboat which was great too. The steamboat was also the sumo stew, and it wasn’t that bad after all. oooh. And iki masho started while we were having our meals. Haha v13 got 2nd! Great job people! Yayy! v13 rocks! Haha v11 got first. Their’s had more entertainment value than ours lah. haha and we got to see mr koh sing kylie’s “love at first sight” and we also celebrated Wilbur, yee jek and mrs jay’s bdaes! Wah 3 bdaes in one day leh. Damn pro. Haha. And there was the mass dances! Oooh.
Day 2 had so much stuff. I (or we, whatever) really saw sides of people we never expected to see. Saw how helpful so many people were. This is the side of the VIP that is rarely seen, but yet it is in the hearts of everyone. That’s why the VIP rocks! It’s not just the intellect or academic or even athletic performance, but it’s the personalities and traits and the achievements that make the VIP stand out. Thanks! To everyone! Haha now I truly understand that I have never regretted my choice.
Day 3
We left lake kawaguchi with the hotel staff standing in one line outside to greet us, a symbol of well-known Japanese hospitality. Went to a sake factory on the outskirts of Tokyo. Oooh. Alcohol is so alluring! Mmmm… heh. Oooh. And i woke up on the bus just as we entered Tokyo, and took a photo of the first image of Tokyo I saw. Haha.
we had a bbq buffet lunch, just like at seoul garden. I ate with sean and sam. Damn. We should be available for hire as professional eaters! There was a pile of beef (courtesy of sam) 5 cm thick! Woooo. We finished about what 3 others tables of 4-5 people had eaten!
Then it was ginza. Ginza = the most expensive piece of land in all japan. W00t. and the most high-end shopping too. So we went window shopping, not shopping. And sony building rocks! Ahaha PSP! Lol. Haha i played it more than 1 1/2 week before everyone else! I think. Ahaha and mr koh actually played on the psp. I think no other games can beat halo lah. aiyoh. So disappointing. Ooh but I love the new sony clie! Nice cover! Reflective and semi transparent! Nice! Haha and we took a group photo there (me, leanne, Cheryl, yang le) lalala and we visited Toy Park! Quite disappointing becos a regular Singaporean toys r us has more star wars stuff as a lower price! Haha.
Haha on the way to the hotel, we had dinner (western food, but sucky) at Tokyo tower! W00t! it’s an obvious rip-off from the Eiffel tower, but its great nonetheless. The architecture is striking in its national colours (red and white) and is like a jewel overlooking all Tokyo at night! I got pretty good shots of Tokyo up there and the sunset from there is superb. Heh. The view astounds.
The second hotel, the new takanawa prince is an epitome of Japanese lodging. Like most high-end Japanese buildings, the hotel room had an advanced (Japanese-made) toilet bowl complete with spray and a bidet. Lols. fun lah. Oh and the view’s not bad too! Haha could see many landmarks from the hotel! Haha I learnt some secrets that night. Lalala. Haha for that night, many people came to my room to play and stuff. lols.
Day 4
Haha we had a continental breakfast with nothing Japanese! So ironic! Ok whatever. I love cereal! Lalala. We went to the national museum of emerging science and innovation! Oooh. The deco there pwns. But only some of the content was interesting and unique. Like the light pen thing! cool! You write stuff on some board, and the stuff gets animated, and it recgonises various “commands” too like drawing arrows! Woooo!
And I found free internet service! But it was pretty hard typing on a jap keyboard, that’s why my tag came out all conky. Haha. I bought a nice concept book with most of the stuff there inside, and I found out that the cds sold there were all made in SINGAPORE! Irony!
We had an Italian buffet lunch at some shopping mall. Lols. Ate with sam and sean again. (who are the champions?!) haha we FINISHED (ie nothing left) more than 10 plates loaded with food! Ooh I love Italian food! And we got photos of Tokyo Bay and the rainbow bridge! Apparently some people left loads of food. I saw one table piled with uneaten food. Aiyoh.. must learn to be like me, sam and sean lah.
The Shibuya visit was meant to be the mother of all shopping sprees! Lols. Main shops visited by my group were:
- HMV : one random cd picked out randomly of a random sale collection (The O5 – Pretty Nonsense. Turns out to be a not so well known German band specializing in something like alternative pop)
- LoFt: lotsa mini pens and pencils that are like super cute larh.
- Claire’s: where some jewellery was bought.
- A jeans shop: where we waited for leanne to buy stuff haha
- 1st book: English books were under foreign books (as in all Japanese bookstores) at the 3rd level, but were way more expensive than in Singapore.
- MacDonalds: got rip-offed when we bought small (as in really small) drinks which were half the size of small drinks in Singapore.
We didn’t take the subway that day. or at all. because it was the rush hour. It would have been crazy to take the subway. So we took the buses back to the shopping mall and went for a different buffet. Heh. Eating’s too easy, no? oooh. And got really great shots of Tokyo bay at night! Wooo beautiful! And I nearly got addicted to some shooting game. I bet its rigged lor. I hit so many times, but nothing dropped off! So sian de. Some lucky people got stuff haha.
Oooh and I love my new op shorts because so many people said it was cool! Haha. even Nicole! Who like usually criticises my fashion sense lol.
Day 5
This day, I realised how much I loved japan. Ahh.
Disneyland Tokyo. The whole day was Disneyland. W000tt. I went around with Justin, sam, sean, kog and ganesh. It’s way easier going around in 6’s, cos many rides are taken in pairs or threes. Haha. The first ride was the “ultimate star wars adventure” – star tours. Haha quite sian lah, because it’s a simulator. But the graphics aren’t bad. Lol.
I ate a mickey ice cream sandwich! Its my fave food over there! Along with the seafood pizza! I love Disney food! W00t w00t! haha then we went “sharpshooting”. Wah lao. I got 10 lor. Perfect leh. And got witness hor. Then shared shot with someone so only counted as 9. wahhhh. Blehness!
Haha then I got tricked into taking the big thunder mountain, thinking it was a the slow train ride that went around the lake. When it started to ascend just like the Jurassic park ride at Universal Studios LA, I knew there was a big problem. Just like the US one, I got a great shock out of it as it dropped from that peak. The ascents and descents and turns never stopped haha. The craziest part was the spiral downward. It felt like you were flying off. The shock rocks. And you just cheer. heh.
The haunted mansion was not scary at all lah. But the graphics are quite good larh. Especially the hologramish ghosts. Damn cool leh. Wonder how they do that. Hmm. (note: apparently holography has been a technology available since the 1970s… but not as popular yet). Haha after meeting the teachers, we rode the western river railroad (the slow train that goes around the lake) ahaha I took lotsa nice pics! Yayy!
At this point in time, it started raining, and we all split up. Went window shopping and shopping with sean sam and Justin. Haha then we split up again. Had another pizza with sean and we also tried waffles. The waffles there suck. But its quite satisfying cutting and biting into mickey’s head. Lol.
Went to some Queen Mall place. Woke up just as we reached. Had some potato lasagna instead of Subway which is a total ripoff there (the cookies are half the size and 1.5 times the price of Singapore’s) and went window shopping. Haha. and we saw the Tokyo Bay fireworks! Omg so pretty! I took some spectacular video shots of the fireworks! W00t.
Day 6
The last day was quite sad cos we were leaving japan. We went to the studio ghibli museum – where the masterpieces of anime lie. Haha I love the film cells stuff! so cool! Ahaha I want the porco rosso scrapbook! Its about the golden age of the flying boat! whee~ but I didn’t find any copy of it on sale! Boo. Then we went to some beef place for lunch. 5 rounds of beef, courtesy of sam. That’s a record! And red wine ice cream! and teriyaki saba fish and sushi and octopus balls! oooh. W00t w00t.
Shopping for the day was at Aeon. Wahh. Found a bookstore. And the first manga I saw were all ghey hentai! Wahlao. Damn sick sia. I didn’t buy anything in the end cos apparently those that interested me were already sold in English in Singapore. So I spent my cash on time crisis 3 (which is like S$1.50 there) and pwned kog and sean at it. it was also my best game. Lols.
We then headed for Narita airport. It’s not comparable to Changi, but not bad too. Haha. as the plane lifted off, I felt an emptiness that resounded of the great times I spent in japan with the VIP cohort, and its something I’ll never, ever forget.
As the plane went into stable flight, I didn’t really feel good. Actually I just felt like puking. Not because of motion sickness, I never had and never will have that, but because I ate too much at the beef place. Ahaha so I forced myself to sleep. Skipped dinner (which I chose beef, ironically) which was supposedly great. Haiz. Haha. I woke up halfway through the flight. Most people were sleeping. The flight wasn’t as fun as the first one. Haha. I wrote in my notebook and wrote a postcard too haha
Aftermath
Saw the lights of tekong and changi. Emotions surging. Lols. Helped to take out baggage. Met parents who were with other parents. Everyone went home to sleep. I slept at 230. woke up at 230 today. Lol. 12 hours of sleep!
PS. A lot of people got ripped off buying merchandise haha. the esplanade shops sell the same stuff at a smaller price.
Ah well. didn’t do much today. So siann… haha conferenced with mich and Xh on the phone! Cos mich was like bored or smth. And I got pwned at halo by chun han. Bahness. I need some warming up. But for now, I better sort out my homework and start on some. leaving for port Dickson on Monday. Blehness! I wanna go japan! But msia means cheap cheap cds.
List is here!:
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
Halo PC
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Any other random stuff
a moment in time.
22:19
a moment in time.
21:21
Lol people! I’m back! Missed you guys! I had a hell lotta fun there! Shall devote tmr to blogging and doing homework (priority is zuo wen) lol I love japan! Ooooh naz says halo! K guys. First halo game after japan! Ok. so not. Cos chun han is tired. And im pakcing my souvenirs! Totoro! Oooh chun han is creating server! Gtg pwn!
a moment in time.
01:33