October Update

1/10/06
Encore telecast for the Results show of Singapore Idol: The Final Showdown, which I did not watch because I was studying in school. Taufik Batisah is so gonna be like the Kelly Clarkson of Singapore: the winner of season one makes it big, while others will eventually fade away. I could still remember the stadium's reactions to the announcement of the different artists performing on the Results show, and the cheers for Taufik were the loudest. I believe most Singaporeans are proud of Taufik being our first Singapore Idol. :)

2/10/06
I had been told that Mdm Esther Leow wanted to pay me to photocopy my F. Maths notes. WARNING LIGHT: Copyrights. Better check with Mrs Yeo at least, 'cause all her notes have her name at the bottom (YCF - Your Close Friend). We also had our last Maths S Paper lesson today. I'll miss Maths S Paper.

3/10/06
Last Physics S Paper lesson today. I ... won't miss Physics S Paper as much as Maths S Paper.

4/10/06
Another scholarship tea session; this time it's by the Singapore Armed Forces, for the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship.

5/10/06
Went back to NHHS this morning with Mr. Loo, Mr. Sim and Mrs. Hong for Outreach. The rest of the school were having their last few papers before celebrating Mooncake Festival on Saturday. The Sec 4s are restless as usual, some preferring to have their little conversations in their groups.

6/10/06
Nothing much. Haze is getting worse.

7/10/06
PSI levels exceed 100 and enter the "Unhealthy" range. Really bad today.

8/10/06
Woke up in the morning and was delighted to see that the haze (PSI level reached 150 late last night) was gone, air quality is in the "Good" range and we can breathe fresh air again.

9/10/06
School is ending soon, with baccalaureate on Wednesday. We had our last PCCG period, Chemistry lecture and Chemistry tutorial.

10/10/06
It's as if baccalaureate had started early. Everybody in our class were pretty sentimental today. FM lecture became a sharing session of our two years of studying what would become history in a few months' time (no, history students, you do not need to study FM).

In other news, my parents have gone to China for a 10-day holiday. ;)

11/10/06
It's Baccalaureate Day. The hall had been adourned with balloons in red, blue and gold. Report books were being transported to the hall by people and trolleys. Then the service began and got more emotional as more songs were sung and more people gave speeches. Once we had sung the school anthem, the whole J2 cohort went camera-crazy, shooting photos of everyone as if the world would end in the next 30 minutes. I would know; the moment I returned to my class, everybody swarmed over me to take pictures with me. I had initially no plans that afternoon and was planning to attend the NS talk by Mr. Mak (yes, after the no-show on September 11, Mr. Mak had planned for it to take place at a time when most students will probably be out enjoying quality time together in their classes), but since my class decided to have lunch together, I went with them. (Yes, Jun, I can imagine the look on your face right now.) I mean, considering that one can literally use the fingers on both hands to count the number of times 2SA1 had actually gone out as a class, I could not miss this opportunity for class bonding.

So we went to the newly-opened Vivo City, where there were only three restaurants which were opened. We eventually settled for Carl's Jr, which seemed like a hot favourite with the lunch crowd. (Then again, there were only three restaurants which were open in Vivo City.) We then headed up to the rooftop garden of some sorts (which, of course, was supposed to be out of bounds since it is still work-in-progress, but failed to escape the eyes of the public) and had some quality time together as 2SA1.

It's kinda sad that we only got to bond so well towards the end of our JC life, but it's better than 2SA1 remaining divided. :)

12/10/06
Maths Mock Exam. I think people were in a post-Baccalaureate sort of mood. :)

13/10/06
Had a mock Oxford interview with Mr. Prince this morning. And I found out that my computer has broken down. Grrr.

14/10/06
ACJC Open House 2006. I was around to help out with Drama stuff, considering there were about a hundred things going on for Drama-related stuff: DEP booth in the Hub on Level 1, ACSian Theatre booth in the Hall on Level 2, DEP Lecture in the Black Studio on Level 2, Drama Performance in LT3 on Level 2, and Roving Mime. It has been one busy day indeed. Kudos to the J1 Drama members for their hard work.

15/10/06
It's really a great break from all the studies to actually go out and enjoy myself, considering that it's been mostly school and home these past few months for me. I visited the InnovationNation exhibition at Expo, held by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to celebrate 25 years of infocomm development in Singapore. I was really impressed by the exhibits (especially those high-tech ones - and lights!), but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn't go alone. And, this was an excellent reason to take the MRT to Expo, since I have never touched that part of the MRT system before. :D

16/10/06
Physics Mock Exam for Papers 1 and 2 this afternoon.

17/10/06
GP Mock Exam in the morning and Chemistry Mock Exam Review after that. Then I went to the airport to meet my parents, who are coming home today. Hehe, another reason for taking the MRT, this time to Changi Airport. :D

18/10/06
It's the Oxford Interview today. I arrived very very early at British Council, and I spent quite some time calming my nerves. At 11am, I was ushered into a room with a few other interviewees where we were to read our assigned passages before the interview at 11.30am. I looked down at my sheet to find 8 Math questions, out of which we only had to choose 2 to 4 questions for discussion in the interview. I later confirmed that it was really an academic interview, especially since my interviewer was a Mathematics tutor. There were absolutely no general "why-go-to-Oxford" questions. In fact, I must say I had a great time with the Mathematics questions which my interviewer set.

Then it's back to school for another round of Physics Mock.

19/10/06
F. Maths Mock Exam in the morning.

20/10/06
Physics extra lesson in the morning. Then headed to British Council in the evening for a presentation by the Oxford interviewers.

21/10/06 - 22/10/06
Break days.

Rest of October
Study, study, study... Special stuff include Ms Lim's birthday (26/10/06) and watching Rae perform in A Stoppard Double Bill at Alliance Francaise (28/10/06).

September Update

1/9/06
Teacher's Day.

2/9/06
Headed to Esplanade earlier that day for The Straits Times "A Part of my Life" event to see if my jigsaw puzzle could win a prize. The few fringe performances were pretty good. The beatboxer was fabulous (Deo would have been pleased), and it was a long time before I realised that the Malay singer in the acapella group which performed was the runner-up of the last Talentime on Channel 5. (I think so, actually; whatever it is, that guy looked very familiar to me.)

Then that afternoon, I attended a PSC Seminar at Orchard Hotel. My father was pleased to help clear the food (which of course went into his stomach), but he also reminded me of the stress of taking up PSC scholarships. At that time I had no intention of choosing PSC, satisfied with applying for a MOE scholarship. Met quite a number of friends, both ACJC and NHHS.

3/9/06
Sunday.

4/9/06
First day of school holidays. (Well, specifically the first weekday of school holidays.) Went back to school for a photoshoot for ACSian Theatre's alumni play next year. Won't reveal too much now; besides, I don't even know if I'll be able to take part in it, thanks to the unpredictability of NS enlistment. I was also encouraged to try for a PSC scholarship because the teachers believe I can get it. Thought about it a lot that night, and spoke with my parents.

5/9/06
Ok, so I'd decided to try for PSC. That means that I have 10 days left to send the Oxford application form to Oxford. Spent the day drafting my personal statement.

6/9/06
Originally was supposed to film the Tapestry dance for Raj, but we spent the day dealing with university application essays and what not. :)

7/9/06
It's the DEP students' examination again; this time it's the group devised piece and the show's titled "Inventio". I volunteered to help out as stage manager, and my first job as crew was to go to The Concourse to get lightsticks. (Woo-hoo!) It was an excellent experience working backstage as stage manager. I was managing stage left, where every group entered from. I had to make sure that they stay silent backstage and that they set their props and get ready for their performance. Generally the DEP students did well, and I enjoyed the performances. The madams, Rae, Fruit and I went out for dinner at Azhang after packing up, and some of us got quite high late into the night. :D

Hehe, one day I'll find a chance to work on lights. Intel lights, yay!

8/9/06
A rest day. The DEPers were in school receiving detailed feedback about their performances last night.

9/9/06
It's a "Have a Break" party organised by the J1 Drama members for mainly the J2s, but also the J1s. After the buffet at 12nn, we headed into the Black Studio to watch "A Christmas Carol" (the college production in November 2005, if you recall) on DVD in its entirety, and snippets of "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Tempest" on DVD as well. It was an excellent get-together party for the Drama members. Kudos to the J1 comm and the other members.

10/9/06
The Sunday before the final term begins. *cue suspense music*

11/9/06
Firstly, the 5th anniversary of September 11. Having worked in "The Guys", I found it a little more meaningful and connected to the incident than I had ever been, as if I was there when it happened. Then again, we did do "The Guys" for 5 months; it's hard not to feel anything for the incident.

In other school-related news, most of us were under the assumption that Prelim results will be out today, but alas! all the results will be released after school on Friday. Speaking of after school, our time tables have been adjusted such that there's no more Mother Tongue, no more PE, and all lessons end by 2.30pm (in 2SA1's case, most of us have days ending at 1.50pm). For most of the rest of the days, the time after school is spent studying in the Black Studio.

There was also supposed to be a dialogue session hosted by Mr. Mak about NS for the guys after chapel this morning, but it didn't happen.

12/9/06
Meeting for Honour's Night awardees. Major discussions about the stringent rules on the uniform code, especially shoes.

13/9/06
There was a briefing by Mr. Prince after school about applying to UK universities using UCAS. Went home after that to watch Singapore Idol. :D

14/9/06
Went out after school to get a banker's draft for my application to Oxford, after which I passed my application form to Ms Lim, who would add in her reference and seal the envelope. In other news, Jonathan and Hady become the Final 2 for Singapore Idol 2. :)

15/9/06
Prelim results: AABC and C5 for GP. Was also informed about me being shortlisted for Principal's Honour Roll, subject to Prelim grades. Haha. Also received my application form from Ms Lim sealed. Sent it using FedEx thanks to madams' help.

16/9/06 - 18/9/06
Don't think much happened. I think I received an email from Oxford acknowledging the receipt of my banker's draft, which means my application was sent successfully.

19/9/06
Rehearsal for Honour's Night. It wasn't exactly smooth-sailing leading up to the rehearsal, thanks to the hard-to-get cream-coloured pants for the No. 1 uniform. The pair I borrowed from Jit's friend (who was from Band) was quite tight, so I had to bear with it throughout the rehearsal.

20/9/06
Attended a talk after school by ex-vice principal Mr. Lenn for all Special Paper students.

21/9/06
Honour's Night. I was initially quite disgruntled when the so-called solemn event turned into regular ACJC fare with your usual screaming gals, but at the end of the day, you can't deny that this was a typical ACJC event, and being friends and all, it's hard not to show your support for your friends. My parents had a great time eating in the Viewing Gallery during the post-ceremony reception, and the Special Awardees also let loose quite a bit there.

So anyway, congrats to all the people on the Principal's Honour Roll: Shaun, Matthew, Wen Jun, Joshua, Kee Wui, Judith, Lim Hui, Clarence, Meixi, Clarissa, Yuan Hao, Yi Jun and myself (lol). Congrats too to all the Drama Service and Outstanding Service recipients: Gwen, Ank, Haz, Nat, Thea, Sabrina, Jo Zhan, LC, Jit, Jia Yi, Jill, Matthew, Jo Koh, Judith, Lindis, Dinesh, Gloria, Kass, Pamy, Darius, Clarissa, Yi Jun, David and Krish.

22/9/06
The Principal's Honour Roll was announced to the school. Suddenly there were so many congratulatory messages from my teachers and peers. I was slightly overwhelmed. Thanks everybody.

23/9/06
Nothing much on.

24/9/06
Singapore Idol: The Final Showdown at the Singapore Indoor Stadium! I had won a pair of tickets for tonight's show, and I came alone again because I couldn't find someone else to come with me. The tickets were for balcony seats, which do not get goodie bags. Boo. But the great intel lights soothed my feelings. Yay! Though I had worn blue to the SIS (in support of Hady), I voted for Jonathan because he probably had a greater chance of promoting Singapore music in general regionally. And the atmosphere was so great I couldn't bear to leave, especially since I did not win any tickets for the next day's Results show.

25/9/06
Maths S Paper lesson, tea session about the Singapore Police Force Overseas Scholarship, and studying in the studio, hence missing the show live on TV. I heard Hady won with about 70% of the votes. Oh well.

26/9/06
Nothing much on.

27/9/06
GP Mock paper after school.

28/9/06
Second day in a row for the absence of Ms Lim. Sounded like she was really sick.

29/9/06
Ms Lim's back. Today also marks another round of classmate birthdays coming one after the another. Today is Jun Yi's birthday; naturally you know what Barry will try to do.

30/9/06
Nothing much except watch the encore telecast of Singapore Idol: The Final Showdown on Channel 5.