Went swimming with Jackson and Desmond.

The first official Drama Comm 05-06 meeting wasn't exactly the most ideal meeting for the simple fact that we had the meeting on the marble floor outside the Drama Studio instead of Holland Village, as we originally planned. Otherwise, the meeting was rather smooth; we finished within an hour.

Today is the day of the Temasek Seminar 2005. The ACJC representatives set off from school at about 7.35am together with the SAJC batch. After arriving at the SAFTI Military Institute and Officer Cadet School (SAFTI MI & OCS), we headed to one of the auditoriums where the seminar would be held. I spotted Kegan sitting in the row in front of me and Chii Yeh on the left side of the auditorium.

The morning's programme included an address by the Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Defence, Mr. Teo Chee Hean, a talk by ex-Singapore Ambassador to the UN and now Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS, Mr. Kishore Mahbubani, the presentation of the winning entries for the Tagline Presentation (NJC won with their tagline "The Singapore Lighthouse: Light Beyond our Horizons") and a media-free forum with Mr. Teo and Mr. Mahbubani.

The end of the forum marked the end of the Temasek Seminar. After lunch, there was a tour of the OCS conducted by officer cadets from Delta Wing. ACJC's tour guide, coincidentally, was from ACJC. We were brought to places like the Initiation Hall (a rather sacred place in OCS), the SAFTI Tower (the wind up there was extremely strong) and Delta Wing's living quarters and watched demonstrations of an ambush attack, the different rifles used in the SAF and Close Combat Training. It seemed rather stressful to be at OCS...I still can't do any pull-ups anyway...

We finished the tour at 4 plus and headed back to our respective schools, me sleeping on the bus shared again by ACJC and SAJC. We arrived at the ACJC main gate just in time for me to see Raj (dance choreographer) leaving the campus; the dance audition for A Christmas Carol has ended for the day. There will probably be a second audition a few days later.

Physics SPA today. I think I probably did okay. Just okay.

Went to school at 11am to help out with other ACSian Theatre members and some Dance members in the cleaning of the Cage, a narrow but high strip of room behind LT1 on Level 3. The Cage has been home to our props, costumes and other materials for years. Of course, regular cleanings have been done, but when we went in, the place was like a junkyard, with stuff everywhere covering any empty patches of floor which one can possibly walk on.

We set about clearing up the room, first removing all costumes from the Cage for sorting, folding and re-packaging, and then sweeping up rubbish and sorting out other props and furniture. By the time we finished the job at 6pm, the Cage looked much better. The clothes were sorted out and packed in boxes lined along the wall with the windows, while all other furniture were arranged neatly to corners of the Cage. And there actually was a floor; in fact, we've cleared so much of the floor that at least 6 people can sleep on the floor in there. Tiring, but with a fulfiling result.

NHSS 88th Anniversary Dinner cum Official Opening of New School Campus

I woke up at 11.39am this morning and had lunch. Seriously. Then headed to Westmall Popular to get a copy of the Half-Blood Prince (albeit the children's edition; the adult's edition was reserved for those who pre-ordered) and had a hair cut at a neighbourhood barber.

I then changed into formal wear for the NHSS 88th Anniversary Dinner (long-sleeved white shirt, black T-shirt inside and beige pants). Boarding the bus to Clementi MRT Station with me was Juliet, and on the bus already was Zhi Yuan (near the back door of the bus) and a sleeping Chii Yeh (back of the bus). We were heading to Clementi MRT Station to meet with the other 4o1ers who were also going. Once most of us were here, we walked to the school.

After signing the canvas sheets for guests (acting like guestbooks) and passing through security checks, we came to our tables. Tables 89 and 90 were next to each other, while some of us got Table 101, which was separated from us by a few giant lanterns. There were two dining areas: the Hall was where the Guest-of-Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and other VIPs would be dining, while the Parade Square was for the others, which included past and current students. In the Parade Square, the tables were arranged such that they make the numbers 88, with lanterns in the holes of the figure '8' and a small stage between the two numbers.

We had a bit of wait before a few performances by the Harb Ensemble, drums section of the Chinese Orchestra and the Symphonic Band. After that, PM Lee arrived, his car escorted by two others, and he, together with Principal Foo Suan Fong, walked towards the centre stage to officially declare the new mascot of NHSS. Since I was seated between the stage and the flagpole, I could see what the mascot was already: a yellow figure with some sort of an inverted comma for its head; kinda like the Pokemon Makuhita (go check it yourself!). The life-size mascot was like balloons filled with air and the poor little person holding the mascot up had to be escorted up the steps of the stage with much difficulty. That one looked horrendous; the drawn version looks cuter. Students representing different groups of the school held placards showing the mascot specialising in their corresponding areas.

The whole group then headed to the Hall for a few speeches and PM Lee signing on the school plaque to signify the official opening of the school campus. After his speech, we began the 9-course dinner. There was a cold dish, shark's fin, ginseng chicken, red snapper, fried yam paste with duck, mushroom in abalone sauce, rice wrapped in some kind of leaves (forgot what), prawns (which I didn't eat thanks to some photo-taking; well, I wasn't into de-shelling prawns anyway) and fruit pudding. A splendid meal, but perhaps the air in my stomach sort of reduced the amount I could eat.

Some of the best things about the event were the performances and the lighting. Ther performances reminded me of the 117th IOC Session Opening Ceremony in Singapore. The first act, sticking to the theme of Oriental Splendour, was carefully planned. On the forefront, performing were the Dance Society, members of the Calligraphy Society, the Guzheng Ensemble and the er-hu genius (according to Ms Wassan, he was only Secondary 1). The backdrop was highlighted with excellent lighting work and tall bamboos (with leaves). The second act was a purely Dance number, but it was equally enjoyable.

The lighting and visual effects were also done spectacularly. In the Parade Square, light which changed colours were installed around Level 2 shining down, while the visual effects projectors (the type you see in the MediaCorp Studios shows like Project Superstar and the charity shows) were used in the Hall to give the performances a magical makeover. And because the backwall of the stage was white, the visual effects worked very well. The school spent more than $40,000 on all these stuff, and I must say it was well used. They sure pulled out all the stops on this opening ceremony.

There were also quite a number of photos taken. I took pictures with the Exco, with some members of the Piranha group (from the Leadership Camp a year ago) and of course, with my class. We left the place at about 10.15pm, having thoroughly enjoyed the event.

NOMAD Carnival & NDP Parade@Padang 2005: NE Show 2

1) Launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Before going anywhere I headed to Westmall at 8.30am to buy the latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Popular there was almost like a deserted area; only a few souls were around. I tried to buy the book with the gift vouchers I got at the Nan Hua Speech Day, but the lady at the counter explained that since the book was already at a discounted price ($40.59), I couldn't use my vouchers. So I decided to get it another day.

2) NOMAD Mega Carnival
After that, I headed to Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) for the NOMAD Mega Carnival, since I received an SMS a few days ago saying that as a committee member of ACSian Theatre, I was supposed to be around. A few members of ACSian Theatre are performing mimes for the kids there.

When I reached the school I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the people. When I eventually found them in a holding room for one of the performing classes for the Dramathon, Yi Jun (holding the position for Publicity I/C) was entertaining a few boys with card tricks. Around him were Sharm, Jill and Yarong. The moment I came in, they offered to spray my hair. I was a little reluctant, but it was all in good fun. At the end of the process I had hair with red and a tint of gold.

After also spray-painting Yi Jun's hair (he now has purple with streaks of silver), we walked around the campus making quite a bit of noise with our instruments. We were waiting for the other mime performers to come, since they were having an Economics lecture in school. They arrived at 11 plus. Shortly after I left at 12nn, had lunch at the nearby Newton Food Centre and travelled by MRT further down into the CBD.

3) NDP Parade@Padang 05: NE Show 2
I reached City Hall at around 1 plus, ahead of my reporting time. My duty today was with Mr. Henry Tan, and we'd be at the command post (wherever that was, I thought at that time). Both of us headed down to the Command Centre, which was actually behind the Green sector in a container. Our job was mainly to keep track of the arrival, seating and dispersal of the schools coming in. Mr. Tan would get the info through his walkie-talkie and handphone, and I would record the time. Again, our duties only revolved around arrival and dispersal, so we were free to go around during the Show segment. We finished our work at about 10.30pm when the last schools departed on reserve SBS buses. All the while I had my NDP05 cap on. :P

For double PE period today, we had our first lesson on Body Combat which ACJC has organised. Our instructor was probably someone from some gym, wasn't sure which. Anyway, I was expecting some sort of karate or kungfu when I walked into the Badminton Hall for the lesson, but really, it's like 'kungfu' dance. I loved the music and it just got me moving. By the end of the two periods I was, like, sweating like mad. We still have a few more weeks of it.

After school, we had the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for ACSian Theatre, or what they called it, the meeting. (Well, it doesn't take a genius to know what the meeting would be about, especially if it's held this time of the year.) The new committee has ... I forgot how many people, and I've landed myself a spot in the Treasurer place. Suraj is President and Natalie B. is Vice-President. Then when I was going home, Mel, the former treasurer, sms-ed me saying that she was sick and so could not come, and that she had picked me because of my passion for theatre. Wooo, I'm flattered.

First cast reading for the performance to be done at the Arts House. The play is entitled "In Quest of Conscience", set in the World War II period. I won't divulge much (considering I only scanned through the 33-page long script). ;)

NDP Parade@Padang 2005: NE Show 1

I spent the morning printing stuff I think I would need and left home later than I expected. Nevertheless, I arrived at City Hall well before the 1pm reporting time for ushers, so I waited outside the entrance of the City Hall (according to some official, the only entrance for NDP officials and ushers into the City Hall building) for the other ACJC ushers to come, since their security passes are all with me.

However, 1pm came and went and I still saw no one. I was wondering if they were possibly stuck outside, and just as I was wondering, Supreme Court Lane, the road behind City Hall and the only road leading to the entrance of City Hall, was closed. Really, now no one could come in without the security. I spent a lot of time tracking them down one by one (the earliest probably at 1.10pm) and finally went into the City Hall building at 2.10pm with one card still in my hands. It's partly my fault for not giving them my phone number before, but then again the reporting time was 1pm, and we wouldn't have met with such trouble if they had come on time.

When I found the rest of the ushers outside the Media Centre having lunch, I didn't want to get a lunch myself, instead sitting down beside them and drinking water. Everything really got started at around 3pm, with people starting to head to their posts. For me, I had to find Mr. Raja, whom I'd be tagging along. I found him after a bit of time, and he returned to the Media Centre to have lunch.

Basically we slacked (seriously) until about 4pm when the children began to walk into the Padang. My role was perhaps personal assistant to Mr. Raja; I held the walkie-talkie for him while he walked around. We mainly stayed in the City Hall building, occasionally coming out onto the VIP area in front of City Hall. I really sat down to enjoy the show in the middle of the parade, sitting at the back of the VIP area. From there, it felt as though it was the actual National Day and I was really enjoying myself. Everything that happened earlier in the morning was gone, nowhere seen in my head. I was standing throughout the performance, not only because it was hard to see at the back, but also because I was feeling it.

And listen to this review from someone who has actually gone there to watch: it was fabulous. I won't reveal much about what will happen (you can actually read it up on www.ndp.org.sg). But I can say that it was a magnificent show of action, lights and music. The concepts were brilliant and the performance was almost flawless (of course, effectively, it's only a real-life rehearsal). Not to mention the fireworks: I never knew why people liked fireworks so much until I saw it for myself tonight.

After the performers were dismissed from the performance area, it was time to do the opposite of the arrival: the dispersal. This time, I didn't have to tag along Mr. Raja, because he was only hanging around the St. Andrews Road boarding area to make sure everything was running fine. All I needed to do was to look after his FunPack (and mine; a fellow ACJC usher gave one to me). Surprisingly, though it started later than scheduled, it finished earlier. After getting the signal for dismissal from Mr. Raja, I returned to the Media Centre where another 3 student helpers (from other JCs) were watching True Files on TV (it was ending; meaning it was around 10.30pm when the dispersal ended). We cleaned up the room after that and went home after we've settled the stuff.

I can't wait to go back again next week and on the actual day.

Got back the other two Term Exam results. Chemistry was a borderline A for me (56/80), whereas GP was a C5 (28.5/50). In summary (don't kill me),

GP: C5
Maths: A
F. Maths: E
Physics: A
Chemistry: A

Okay, a few stuff today, so needa do it one by one:

1) More results
We got back our Physics paper during the recess break and I got 61/75 (A). We also checked Section B for our Chemistry paper and I had 27.5/30, which meant I only need 28.5 points more from Section A and C combined to get an A. And for NAPFA...well, at least D for 5 of the test items and F for pull-ups (couldn't do any).

2) Briefing for NDP Ushering
Before recess this morning, I saw my name on the list of students chosen to be NDP ushers for the NE Shows of the NDP05. So I got to skip the Security Seminar this afternoon in school (which all J1s had to attend) and hopped onto the bus to City Hall for the briefing. On arrival at the briefing hall, I was called out by a lady, Charis, and she immediately made me the I/C for the ACJC contingent of ushers and a sort-of assistant to Mr. Raja, overall I/C for ushering. I was kinda shocked; my name was only on the top of the list and I got this important role.

The briefing lasted till around 4pm, with a whole lot of stuff covered. Our ushering duties are only for the 3 shows over the coming Saturdays where primary school children will be attending. I personally felt that this is the extreme of organising events; it was nothing like what I've done in NHSS. This is a nationwide stuff, with 178 mainstream primary schools (quoted from the briefing handout) involved. It's a feat to be able to organise all these stuff, and also a lot of things to remember since I'm now sort of Mr. Raja's right-hand man and may have to answer walkie-talkie queries. I'll probably come earlier on Saturday morning (before the reporting time of 1pm) to tour the area and make sure I know them.

3) Drama audition
After the briefing ended at 4pm, the different groups of ushers congregated and some went out to tour the areas they were handling. Since I've lost Mr. Raja, I wasn't exactly needed there anymore. Remembering that drama auditions for ACSian Theatre's upcoming productions start at 5pm, I quickly headed back to ACJC via MRT (at the same time also walking the route taken by students taking the MRT to City Hall MRT station) and arrived with about 10 minutes to spare.

According to Mrs. Creffield, our next two productions are the Night of Laughter 2 and a performance for some event at the Arts House towards end-August. From her description, it sounded like a great production and a totally different genre from Camelot. Our audition scripts are really the first few minutes of the play. We separated into 4 groups and my group went last. I probably flopped my chance again, but then again, results will only be out tomorrow.

4) Olympics 2012 Hosting City announcement
I got home just in time to switch channels to Channel NewsAsia to hear the President of the International Olympic Committee make the announcement of the winning host city for the Olympics 2012. Ah, London. I personally don't have a preference between Paris and London, but I probably felt slight pity for Paris, who lost again. Oh well, keep trying Paris! You'll get it! ;)

It's back to school today, and we've received results for two of our papers. I got 37/70 (E) for F. Maths (9th among the SA combination) and 62/70 (A) for Maths C (er...I'd rather not give my ranking for this one). Thankfully I've got no failures yet.

Tonight the 117th IOC Session Opening Ceremony was aired over Arts Central and Channel NewsAsia. Erm...I think the performance was pretty cool, though the stage was a little plain.

It's a holiday today 'cause it's Youth Day. Slacking at home, a call came in the middle of the afternoon. My mum picked up the call and said in a bit of surprise, "Oh, NDP05?" She then passed me the phone and after confirming my identity, the person on the other end of the phone told me that I had gotten 2 tickets to the actual day NDP05 parade on August 9. I was probably in such a shock that I was sought of speechless.

Apparently, there always appears a case where there will be tickets uncollected after the allocated collection period for the tickets, so then the ticketing personnel will call the people selected on a reserve list to give away the tickets. What luck that I got into the reserve list!

So that evening (5 plus), I headed down to Far East Square to collect my tickets. At first, walking from Chinatown MRT Station, I overshot Far East Square. Then, walking back and looking properly, the ticket collection venue was really sort of hidden from the public's eye from the main roads. Whoo, what a lovely gift for Youth Day! Now looking for someone to go with me though.

The Week in a Glance

Term Exam Week

The opening week of Term 3 is the first major test for the J1s: Term Exams. Starting with GP on Monday (27th June) and ending with Chemistry on Friday (1st July). The toughest paper was easily the F. Maths paper, but the others should be fine for me. Or, at least, I hope so.

Weekend

I spent Saturday morning swimming at Clementi with Desmond. I swam a warm-up lap before Desmond pointed out that another two guys beside us looked very familiar. Alas, it's Shao Ming and Kel Lay, also here for a swim. Shao Ming and I chatted quite a bit in the pool. Left the pool after Shao Ming and Kel Lay at about 12.30pm.

Sunday afternoon, then, was spent at K-Box Jurong East with June Teng, Jesslyn, Beiqin, Wern Jian and Ho Yuen. I think June Teng and I sang the most songs today, and I went off key so many times because I was trying to sing on a higher register, which is not my cup of tea. But I can't wait for the next trip to K-Box again. ;)

Tomorrow is a holiday (Youth Day), but I'm probably gonna spend some time doing some tutorials, especially F. Maths.