When I first tasted peaches, I found the taste really familiar. After a while I exclaimed, "oh, it tastes just like peach tea!"
I mean, it's pretty weird. Any similarity between "peach" the fruit and "peach tea" the drink seemed purely semantical before I ate a peach. Maybe if there is such a thing as peach flavouring, I'll still think of it "peach tea flavouring".
Perhaps, it's like the difference between me and a French guy. When I first drank beer, I thought "Yuck it tastes like herbal tea with gas." When the French guy first drank herbal tea, he said with a frown, "It tastes like beer without gas."
Speaking of French, I was reminded of syphilis. In the 15th century, syphilis was known as "The French Disease" to pretty much everyone in Europe. Except the French. Sound like "French Fries" or "French Toast", doesn't it? Or maybe "Penang Laksa", but that's different because it really came from Penang. The Penang people just call it "Laksa".
Which makes me wonder, do Hong-Kongers call athlete's foot "Hong Kong feet" as well?
Monday, July 30, 2007
Some bored people do quizzes. Some bored people create quizzes. Some very bored people do time-consuming quizzes. I shall create a time-consuming quiz.
Is this your lucky day?
1. Close your eyes. Turn left. Walk 1 metre forward. Turn right and take 2 steps back. Turn right again. Now open your eyes. Note the first object that you see. Search that object on Wikipedia. Click the sixth link to appear on the page. Do this 5 times. What is the title of the page you arrive at?
2. Grab the nearest book to you. Turn to 286th page. What is the 437th word from the start of that page?
3. Find the number of pixels on your screen according to your screen resolution. Take the natural logarithm of that number. Add up the first 4 digits. Divide this number by 26 and take the remainder. Let 1 be A, 2 be B and so on. What letter do you arrive at?
4. Now from the previous 3 answers, you have a title, a word and a letter. If you can find the letter in the word and the word in the title, today is your lucky day!
Is this your lucky day?
1. Close your eyes. Turn left. Walk 1 metre forward. Turn right and take 2 steps back. Turn right again. Now open your eyes. Note the first object that you see. Search that object on Wikipedia. Click the sixth link to appear on the page. Do this 5 times. What is the title of the page you arrive at?
2. Grab the nearest book to you. Turn to 286th page. What is the 437th word from the start of that page?
3. Find the number of pixels on your screen according to your screen resolution. Take the natural logarithm of that number. Add up the first 4 digits. Divide this number by 26 and take the remainder. Let 1 be A, 2 be B and so on. What letter do you arrive at?
4. Now from the previous 3 answers, you have a title, a word and a letter. If you can find the letter in the word and the word in the title, today is your lucky day!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
From my personal experience in RJ, people are envied and respected based on their potential, and not so much on their achievements. For example, two people may achieve the same thing, but if one of them is perceived to have put in less effort, he/she would be more greatly envied.
This, I believe, has led to a phenomenon called "closet mugging". In RI, you can tell who mugs or not, because the people who want to be cool don't bother to mug anyway, since there are no consequences to not-mugging. In RJ, everyone mugs, and it's only a matter of whether you see them mug or not.
It is not a new phenomenon. My sister in RJ experienced this 9 years ago. People will claim that they have not studied, when in fact they obviously have, and then proceed to ace the tests and exams. It is not that worrying though, since by J2 everyone would have wised up, and there is no point hiding the fact that you are mugging, since it is frigging A levels and there is absolutely no reason not to mug.
According to my mother, the fact that people respect and envy the people who put in less effort shows a lack of maturity. One cannot expect to succeed without putting in the necessary effort, and the people who persevere will ultimately prevail. It is the people with determination whom we ought to respect and envy.
I don't agree. I'm not really sure who the people we "ought to" respect are, but it is quite clear that if given a choice, we would like to have greater potential. Determination requires more determination to maintain. While potential does not require maintenance, it is also not mutually exclusive to determination. You can see that many people in RI and RJ who seem to have achieved their PSLE grade effortlessly are now working very hard.
Even if determination and potential is equally valued by students, determination can only be perceived where there is a lack in potential. Potential is best perceived in the lack of effort, but not necessarily determination. When you see someone working hard in one aspect that you breeze through, it shows determination, and at the same time, a lack of potential. However, when someone breezes through something that you have to work hard in, it shows potential, but it does not show whether that person lacks determination or not. This justifies why people envy those who can achieve without seemingly putting in effort.
From an outsider's point of view, "closet mugging" is deceitful, and only serves to lower the guard of others so that one can gain the upper hand, resulting in nothing but loss for the school community. However, if we view this from the point of view of a student, we can see that this act can also be perceived as an attempt to raise one's standing in school, and not a malicious act.
This, I believe, has led to a phenomenon called "closet mugging". In RI, you can tell who mugs or not, because the people who want to be cool don't bother to mug anyway, since there are no consequences to not-mugging. In RJ, everyone mugs, and it's only a matter of whether you see them mug or not.
It is not a new phenomenon. My sister in RJ experienced this 9 years ago. People will claim that they have not studied, when in fact they obviously have, and then proceed to ace the tests and exams. It is not that worrying though, since by J2 everyone would have wised up, and there is no point hiding the fact that you are mugging, since it is frigging A levels and there is absolutely no reason not to mug.
According to my mother, the fact that people respect and envy the people who put in less effort shows a lack of maturity. One cannot expect to succeed without putting in the necessary effort, and the people who persevere will ultimately prevail. It is the people with determination whom we ought to respect and envy.
I don't agree. I'm not really sure who the people we "ought to" respect are, but it is quite clear that if given a choice, we would like to have greater potential. Determination requires more determination to maintain. While potential does not require maintenance, it is also not mutually exclusive to determination. You can see that many people in RI and RJ who seem to have achieved their PSLE grade effortlessly are now working very hard.
Even if determination and potential is equally valued by students, determination can only be perceived where there is a lack in potential. Potential is best perceived in the lack of effort, but not necessarily determination. When you see someone working hard in one aspect that you breeze through, it shows determination, and at the same time, a lack of potential. However, when someone breezes through something that you have to work hard in, it shows potential, but it does not show whether that person lacks determination or not. This justifies why people envy those who can achieve without seemingly putting in effort.
From an outsider's point of view, "closet mugging" is deceitful, and only serves to lower the guard of others so that one can gain the upper hand, resulting in nothing but loss for the school community. However, if we view this from the point of view of a student, we can see that this act can also be perceived as an attempt to raise one's standing in school, and not a malicious act.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
It is strange, but sometimes I feel that my dreams do have a rather large effect on my life. Sometimes after I wake up, the way I think just changes.
In around May, I felt that I have suddenly lost something, and I don't know what it is. The way I think suddenly changed, and it felt like my IQ just dropped by like 10 points. It became difficult for me to consciously relate memories to my thoughts, and I find myself saying rather silly things.
This morning, it dawned on me that I can't remember my past in first person perspective. I would remember what I did in terms of the facts, how I reacted, and the words that went in my mind then in an attempt to describe how I felt, but I can no longer feel what I had seen or felt then. An attempt to relate the past to the present is no longer simply empathy with my past, but rather the recalling of hard facts of the past and synthesizing them with the current information. I'm not sure if you can understand how this feels like, but I'd suppose you can see that it makes thinking rather tedious for me.
It is useful to remember the past in the first person's perspective, and I didn't realize how helpful that was until I have, perhaps, lost it. For example, I could try to recall reading a particular page in a textbook, and the picture of the text could appear in my mind without any understanding involved. This helped a lot, because it gave me ample time to think over what I have learned but not really understood, without the hassle of referring to a textbook all the time.
I have wanted to say this for a long time. But no matter how I tried to put it, it just seems like angst, and yet it doesn't really feel like angst to myself. Now that I have finally found the words for it, I'm quite appeased, because I have a feeling that if I don't try to describe it in words, I'll eventually forget it. It is rather scary when your memories depend on how you describe the event in your mind.
Random thoughts:
If iron(III) thiocyanate is the same colour as blood, and the colour is only due to the inter transfer of 3d electrons in Fe3+, does that imply that thiocyanate causes the same splitting of the 3d orbital energy levels of Fe3+ as the haem group and oxygen? That is rather strange, because iron(III) thiocyanate is symmetrical, but haem and oxygen bound to Fe3+ isn't.
Knowledge of microbiology is heavily dependent on culture.
I can't stand the thin guy on channel U's "Shoot 3". He always talks like he's on moral high ground, and his arguments are full of holes, assumptions, hasty generalizations and slippery slopes. You can't possibly be convinced by him if you already disagree with him, and if you already agree with him you would start wondering if you were right in thinking so.
I can't believe that the Singapore ARMY actually sponsors a mediacorp drama serial. Again, I can't bring myself to watch it because I don't know if what it says about the army is true.
In around May, I felt that I have suddenly lost something, and I don't know what it is. The way I think suddenly changed, and it felt like my IQ just dropped by like 10 points. It became difficult for me to consciously relate memories to my thoughts, and I find myself saying rather silly things.
This morning, it dawned on me that I can't remember my past in first person perspective. I would remember what I did in terms of the facts, how I reacted, and the words that went in my mind then in an attempt to describe how I felt, but I can no longer feel what I had seen or felt then. An attempt to relate the past to the present is no longer simply empathy with my past, but rather the recalling of hard facts of the past and synthesizing them with the current information. I'm not sure if you can understand how this feels like, but I'd suppose you can see that it makes thinking rather tedious for me.
It is useful to remember the past in the first person's perspective, and I didn't realize how helpful that was until I have, perhaps, lost it. For example, I could try to recall reading a particular page in a textbook, and the picture of the text could appear in my mind without any understanding involved. This helped a lot, because it gave me ample time to think over what I have learned but not really understood, without the hassle of referring to a textbook all the time.
I have wanted to say this for a long time. But no matter how I tried to put it, it just seems like angst, and yet it doesn't really feel like angst to myself. Now that I have finally found the words for it, I'm quite appeased, because I have a feeling that if I don't try to describe it in words, I'll eventually forget it. It is rather scary when your memories depend on how you describe the event in your mind.
Random thoughts:
If iron(III) thiocyanate is the same colour as blood, and the colour is only due to the inter transfer of 3d electrons in Fe3+, does that imply that thiocyanate causes the same splitting of the 3d orbital energy levels of Fe3+ as the haem group and oxygen? That is rather strange, because iron(III) thiocyanate is symmetrical, but haem and oxygen bound to Fe3+ isn't.
Knowledge of microbiology is heavily dependent on culture.
I can't stand the thin guy on channel U's "Shoot 3". He always talks like he's on moral high ground, and his arguments are full of holes, assumptions, hasty generalizations and slippery slopes. You can't possibly be convinced by him if you already disagree with him, and if you already agree with him you would start wondering if you were right in thinking so.
I can't believe that the Singapore ARMY actually sponsors a mediacorp drama serial. Again, I can't bring myself to watch it because I don't know if what it says about the army is true.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
I'm back.
Usually I'm not very interested in reading about other peoples' trips, so I shall not talk much about it too.
After being treated like kings for the past 10 days, it takes a while to get used to go back to studying. It doesn't help that the two days of school that I've had so far are extremely boring. Oh well, looking at the bright side, I am enduring 10 less days of school than others. I can't imagine how I'm going to survive until A levels.
I'm very bored.
I'm very very bored.
People are busy studying and writing stuff to help their future, and they are not in the mood to play anymore. I suspect that this situation will worsen, and school will get even more boring.
I'm not looking forward to school like I used to.
Usually I'm not very interested in reading about other peoples' trips, so I shall not talk much about it too.
After being treated like kings for the past 10 days, it takes a while to get used to go back to studying. It doesn't help that the two days of school that I've had so far are extremely boring. Oh well, looking at the bright side, I am enduring 10 less days of school than others. I can't imagine how I'm going to survive until A levels.
I'm very bored.
I'm very very bored.
People are busy studying and writing stuff to help their future, and they are not in the mood to play anymore. I suspect that this situation will worsen, and school will get even more boring.
I'm not looking forward to school like I used to.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Good luck have fun, to the chem, bio and math Olympiad people.
Random:
On the bus I once saw a tanker with the Milo logo painted on it. I wonder why Milo is transported in tankers. Why don't they just transport the powder?
In the pokemon breeding centre, if you breed any pokemon with ditto, you get back the same pokemon in an egg. But wait, suppose your original pokemon is male, then ditto will copy and turn into a male, right? Then how can they breed?
In "Switched" (the Fann Wong and Ou Xuan drama), the characters don't seem to behave like they are switched anymore. [Actually the initial stage Ou Xuan doesn't really remind me of Xinyu, she just seemed like a kinder version of Xinhui, but Fann Wong really reminded me of Xinhui.]
What has grapefruit got to do with grape, mangosteen to do with mango, and pineapple to do with apple?
Random:
On the bus I once saw a tanker with the Milo logo painted on it. I wonder why Milo is transported in tankers. Why don't they just transport the powder?
In the pokemon breeding centre, if you breed any pokemon with ditto, you get back the same pokemon in an egg. But wait, suppose your original pokemon is male, then ditto will copy and turn into a male, right? Then how can they breed?
In "Switched" (the Fann Wong and Ou Xuan drama), the characters don't seem to behave like they are switched anymore. [Actually the initial stage Ou Xuan doesn't really remind me of Xinyu, she just seemed like a kinder version of Xinhui, but Fann Wong really reminded me of Xinhui.]
What has grapefruit got to do with grape, mangosteen to do with mango, and pineapple to do with apple?
Sunday, July 08, 2007
More random stuff.
Found this picture as part of a skin-care product advertisement. If you can't read it, the caption says "Intensive research & development". The intensive research & development involves pouring a blue liquid from a beaker to a measuring cylinder. Wow, I feel really pro, I use even more sophisticated equipment, like burette and pipette, than the people doing intensive research & development. And I also know how to use a measuring cylinder properly! Why is he staring at the beaker? He should place the measuring cylinder on the table and look at the desired mark at eye level. But I do agree that doing so would make him look a lot less pro to the untrained eye.
My sister also found this pamphlet for a brand of soap (A-Yuan) that is supposedly made famous in Taiwan even without official advertising. I'll leave you to judge its merits from the pamphlet.
'Handmade Soap Q&A
I'm sure you will have no problems finding its logical flaws. But some non-logical flaws:
A stinging sensation is a mild form of pain. Pain is an indication that you are taking damage and losing HP. There are other bactericides that do not leave a stinging sensation, which means that they are better than citrus tangerine as an additive.
"Purity can be judged by crystallization" does not mean that things that produce crystals are pure; the crystals that are produced need to have a constant melting point for the crystals that are produced to be considered pure. Even if the crystals that are produced by a soap is pure, it does not imply that the soap is pure. In fact, soaps should not be pure. Natural soap is a mixture of saponified oil, glycerine, unsaponified oil and water. Pure saponified oil makes the skin dry, and the rest of those do not have any cleaning effect.
Preservatives added to soap are in concentrations that are too low to cause any harm. Preservatives and antioxidants prevent bacteria from growing on the soap and oil from turning rancid. Rancid oils and bacteria that grow on soap can cause rashes or infection, creating worse problems than can possibly be created by preservatives. Anti-oxidants are usually good for skin.
Technically, you cannot say that the facts given in the pamphlet are wrong, but the way they are presented is very misleading. If they have to use these pamphlets to persuade people to buy their soap, I'm skeptical of its effectiveness in doing whatever it is supposed to do.
Found this picture as part of a skin-care product advertisement. If you can't read it, the caption says "Intensive research & development". The intensive research & development involves pouring a blue liquid from a beaker to a measuring cylinder. Wow, I feel really pro, I use even more sophisticated equipment, like burette and pipette, than the people doing intensive research & development. And I also know how to use a measuring cylinder properly! Why is he staring at the beaker? He should place the measuring cylinder on the table and look at the desired mark at eye level. But I do agree that doing so would make him look a lot less pro to the untrained eye.My sister also found this pamphlet for a brand of soap (A-Yuan) that is supposedly made famous in Taiwan even without official advertising. I'll leave you to judge its merits from the pamphlet.
'Handmade Soap Q&A
1. Can handmade soap be used to wash the face?
"A‑Yuan Soap" does not contain chemical properties. It cleanses and moisturises completely, you can definitely wash your face with it!
2. Why does some handmade soap leave a stinging sensation on the skin after wash?
This is because of the citrus tangerine ingredient. It has the effect of killing bacteria and cleaning. It can also remove the dirt on your skin. Please put your mind at ease.
3. How do we preserve handmade soap?
Handmade soap contains lots of glycerine and moisturising fats that is not yet saponified, thus place the soap in a cool and dry place at all times so that the moisturising properties in the soap can be kept fresh. To extend the life of the soap, keep the soap dry after use and do not soak it in water.
4. What are those white specks on Taiwan Soap?
Those are the crystals formed when the essential oil meets the cold air. In overseas, the purity of natural properties in handmade soap is judged by the crystallisation.
5. Soap and shower cream, which is better for the skin?
Soap is better, but it depends on which one. Reason: Shower cream is a complete composition of chemical properties with coupling active agent as the key ingredient. It is said to contain moisturising cream or vitamins, but to maintain these nutrients in the liquid, preservatives, anti‑oxidants and bactericides must be added to preserve it for as long as three years. On top of that, in order to give the consumers that "moisturising smoothness*, ingredients like phenyl trimethicone (dimethicone fails under this category) is added. Hence after washing off the shower cream, if you still feel the smoothness, you have better be careful. The cheap bars of natural soap sold in the market have had the glycerine removed so they are only useful for cleaning.
6. Shower cream is more convenient than soap.
I'm sure you will have no problems finding its logical flaws. But some non-logical flaws:
A stinging sensation is a mild form of pain. Pain is an indication that you are taking damage and losing HP. There are other bactericides that do not leave a stinging sensation, which means that they are better than citrus tangerine as an additive.
"Purity can be judged by crystallization" does not mean that things that produce crystals are pure; the crystals that are produced need to have a constant melting point for the crystals that are produced to be considered pure. Even if the crystals that are produced by a soap is pure, it does not imply that the soap is pure. In fact, soaps should not be pure. Natural soap is a mixture of saponified oil, glycerine, unsaponified oil and water. Pure saponified oil makes the skin dry, and the rest of those do not have any cleaning effect.
Preservatives added to soap are in concentrations that are too low to cause any harm. Preservatives and antioxidants prevent bacteria from growing on the soap and oil from turning rancid. Rancid oils and bacteria that grow on soap can cause rashes or infection, creating worse problems than can possibly be created by preservatives. Anti-oxidants are usually good for skin.
Technically, you cannot say that the facts given in the pamphlet are wrong, but the way they are presented is very misleading. If they have to use these pamphlets to persuade people to buy their soap, I'm skeptical of its effectiveness in doing whatever it is supposed to do.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
The washing powder advertisement: "Mum! My shirt has a lipstick mark on it!" "Don't worry, such a small stain is no trouble for me at all!"
Imagine if she finds out that her family doesn't have this particular colour of lipstick.
_____
Yang Guo is just like a fairy godfather! The way he grants Guo Xiang's wishes one by one (except the last one), and the way he descended from the sky after her wishes were granted, it's totally GODLIKE.
_____
Today the PSC day (not PSC nite) was quite interesting. The first interesting thing was that the MOH people gave out big red sweet crunchy fuji apples! I ate two on the spot. I mean, fuji apples! They are really quite big, I think I ate the equivalent of 3 normal apples.
While waiting for the MOE talk to start, I went hunting for goodies. I think MCYS gave the best stuff, a book light! (quoting kin kit, "So that you can mug anywhere even if there is no light") Just the thing you need to help you become a PSC scholar.
_____
When tutoring my sec 4 "nephew" today, I actually forgot a lot of the stuff I learnt in sec 4. I made up a method of solving trigonometric equations on the spot that sec 4 students can easily understand, and it seems like he's taking it in pretty well. At the end of the session, I was quite amazed at myself for being able to come up with such an unorthodox yet effective way of solving trigonometric equations! But on hindsight, it is actually based on complex numbers, just that neither of us knew about it at that time. So strange sia. But anyway, when tutoring him, I pretended to know my stuff all along, so now
I gain 20 mysticality!
I gain 50 moxie!
I amazed myself this time for teaching and learning at the same time. Seriously, complex numbers rock.
Imagine if she finds out that her family doesn't have this particular colour of lipstick.
_____
Yang Guo is just like a fairy godfather! The way he grants Guo Xiang's wishes one by one (except the last one), and the way he descended from the sky after her wishes were granted, it's totally GODLIKE.
_____
Today the PSC day (not PSC nite) was quite interesting. The first interesting thing was that the MOH people gave out big red sweet crunchy fuji apples! I ate two on the spot. I mean, fuji apples! They are really quite big, I think I ate the equivalent of 3 normal apples.
While waiting for the MOE talk to start, I went hunting for goodies. I think MCYS gave the best stuff, a book light! (quoting kin kit, "So that you can mug anywhere even if there is no light") Just the thing you need to help you become a PSC scholar.
_____
When tutoring my sec 4 "nephew" today, I actually forgot a lot of the stuff I learnt in sec 4. I made up a method of solving trigonometric equations on the spot that sec 4 students can easily understand, and it seems like he's taking it in pretty well. At the end of the session, I was quite amazed at myself for being able to come up with such an unorthodox yet effective way of solving trigonometric equations! But on hindsight, it is actually based on complex numbers, just that neither of us knew about it at that time. So strange sia. But anyway, when tutoring him, I pretended to know my stuff all along, so now
I gain 20 mysticality!
I gain 50 moxie!
I amazed myself this time for teaching and learning at the same time. Seriously, complex numbers rock.
Some thoughts that I get from watching TV advertisements.
Advertisements of TV. They show you a High Definition TV. The image on it looks really clear. But wait... that images comes from your TV!! So if a High Definition TV image looks so good on your TV that you actually want to buy it... then you already have a very good TV, and you don't need a new one!
Milo advertisement. "You have dived one thousand times, now you will dive like never before. With the new formula powered by MORE MILK, MORE MALT, with the same GREAT CHOCOLATY TASTE, Nestle Milo brings out the champion in you."
If what you want to be is a champion, how does the chocolaty taste actually matter?
Another random thing, when I went to Woodlands library, I went to look for the toilet, following the toilet sign. But when I entered the door with a toilet sign outside, when I went in, it was a long corridor with a door at the end. Naturally, I went out to check if I saw the sign wrongly. Then a stranger walked out towards me from the corridor, and seeing me looking for the sign, casually remarked, "It's in there."
It was an interesting feeling then, rather strange and warm at the same time. Strange that he knew what I was thinking from the way I acted. Warm that he bothered to make a remark rather than giggling away.
__________
Happy things first.
I only need 11 more marks to get an S grade for Physics!
The structure of aluminum chloride reminds me of 69.
Today was the most shiok Bridging session I've had! In that session I played a 1 no-trump and a 1 yellow game each, because everyone had lousy cards, and won both! Played another 4 yellow game, and won with continuous feeding, eating and out-trumping with the entire game under control. SHIOK! I think most of the fun comes from winning with lousy cards. And Furen learnt how to play bridge in less than 1 hour. Smart! But he quite suay get lousy cards; no beginner's luck. (Unlike my first bridge game, where I had 3 aces and 5 hearts, and I bid 3 hearts and won.) Of course, I must claim some credit, along with kinwai, on teaching him how to play bridge.
But the part that made me feel good about myself was, there was one part when I got good cards, and I let him play "because I want [him] to have the joy of winning". I'm not sure if he won that game. I think he did. But damn, that made my day. He seems to be quite interested in bridge now, cos he was talking about it even after we stopped playing.
Sometimes I think that there is net happiness that comes out of playing bridge. Just like many things in life, there are some elements that can be controlled, some elements that can't be controlled. Therefore whenever you lose, you think "nah, I did everything right, it couldn't be helped" but when you WIN, you think "OH MAN EVERYTHING WORKED OUT RIGHT AT THE END DAMN I'M GOOD". Chances are, you won't lose every single game, so bridge should turn out to be quite an enjoyable experience.
Sarge placed his UNO cards into a box that resembles a box of condoms, but actually it contained sunblock. I like the naughty descriptions. (To think that in the Shakespearean times, "naughty" connotes evil intent. Just imagine a pastor who travels from the Shakespearean times to the present to preach to homosexuals.)
Received a lot of criticisms for my IS. I thank my classmates, especially Shin Jung and Zilin, who gave the most constructive ones. (There were also many others who helped too, but if I list everyone here then "especially" would lose its meaning) I think I chose something quite challenging. But never mind, it was quite fun finding sources to back up a heretical stand. When I stepped up to the board, I wasn't so confident of my stand, but after the session, the direction to take was illuminated.
(Random discovery: if you do spelling correction for the word "Zilin" on blogger, "smiling" turns up as the first alternative.)
I'm very happy to meet the class after so long. It feels strange coming out of me, but I did miss some of my schoolmates.
________
Now for not so happy things.
Bad CT results, though I shouldn't have expected anything much considering the amount of effort I put in. I guess I was too conceited.
I don't have the drive that I had in JC 1. But I think the source of the drive was partly emotional. Lacking the emotional source of drive, I'm now feeling quite tired of studying. I know, I must study, but at this point in time I feel like the path ahead is predetermined to be boring and tiring. I might get into some mischief in the near future, just for the fun of it.
The way I think now is very different. At any point in time, I don't remember much about the past. I respond to stimuli spontaneously, and hardly any thinking goes through. Last time, whenever I do or say anything, I felt like my mind was reading off a script somewhere, but now I just talk or act without thinking. I just follow instinct. Perhaps that's why I don't really keep track of what people do or say. In fact, I probably pay more attention to what is said by in-game characters than what is said by real people.
Despite almost 2 years in JC, I'm still shy around girls. When I entered JC, when Mr Hodge briefed all of us, I had hoped it would get better. It hasn't gotten much better, and I don't reckon a miracle will take place in the span of 2 months of dreary school life. I think I mature slow.
I think the reason why suicide is wrong is because those who make the choice never get to present their case. No, I'm not contemplating suicide, even though I'm slightly depressed. Don't worry about me, in case you do.
Most who contemplate suicide don't die anyway.
_________
Hmm, causes of sadness = causes of happiness. I must feeling quite... balanced.
Advertisements of TV. They show you a High Definition TV. The image on it looks really clear. But wait... that images comes from your TV!! So if a High Definition TV image looks so good on your TV that you actually want to buy it... then you already have a very good TV, and you don't need a new one!
Milo advertisement. "You have dived one thousand times, now you will dive like never before. With the new formula powered by MORE MILK, MORE MALT, with the same GREAT CHOCOLATY TASTE, Nestle Milo brings out the champion in you."
If what you want to be is a champion, how does the chocolaty taste actually matter?
Another random thing, when I went to Woodlands library, I went to look for the toilet, following the toilet sign. But when I entered the door with a toilet sign outside, when I went in, it was a long corridor with a door at the end. Naturally, I went out to check if I saw the sign wrongly. Then a stranger walked out towards me from the corridor, and seeing me looking for the sign, casually remarked, "It's in there."
It was an interesting feeling then, rather strange and warm at the same time. Strange that he knew what I was thinking from the way I acted. Warm that he bothered to make a remark rather than giggling away.
__________
Happy things first.
I only need 11 more marks to get an S grade for Physics!
The structure of aluminum chloride reminds me of 69.
Today was the most shiok Bridging session I've had! In that session I played a 1 no-trump and a 1 yellow game each, because everyone had lousy cards, and won both! Played another 4 yellow game, and won with continuous feeding, eating and out-trumping with the entire game under control. SHIOK! I think most of the fun comes from winning with lousy cards. And Furen learnt how to play bridge in less than 1 hour. Smart! But he quite suay get lousy cards; no beginner's luck. (Unlike my first bridge game, where I had 3 aces and 5 hearts, and I bid 3 hearts and won.) Of course, I must claim some credit, along with kinwai, on teaching him how to play bridge.
But the part that made me feel good about myself was, there was one part when I got good cards, and I let him play "because I want [him] to have the joy of winning". I'm not sure if he won that game. I think he did. But damn, that made my day. He seems to be quite interested in bridge now, cos he was talking about it even after we stopped playing.
Sometimes I think that there is net happiness that comes out of playing bridge. Just like many things in life, there are some elements that can be controlled, some elements that can't be controlled. Therefore whenever you lose, you think "nah, I did everything right, it couldn't be helped" but when you WIN, you think "OH MAN EVERYTHING WORKED OUT RIGHT AT THE END DAMN I'M GOOD". Chances are, you won't lose every single game, so bridge should turn out to be quite an enjoyable experience.
Sarge placed his UNO cards into a box that resembles a box of condoms, but actually it contained sunblock. I like the naughty descriptions. (To think that in the Shakespearean times, "naughty" connotes evil intent. Just imagine a pastor who travels from the Shakespearean times to the present to preach to homosexuals.)
Received a lot of criticisms for my IS. I thank my classmates, especially Shin Jung and Zilin, who gave the most constructive ones. (There were also many others who helped too, but if I list everyone here then "especially" would lose its meaning) I think I chose something quite challenging. But never mind, it was quite fun finding sources to back up a heretical stand. When I stepped up to the board, I wasn't so confident of my stand, but after the session, the direction to take was illuminated.
(Random discovery: if you do spelling correction for the word "Zilin" on blogger, "smiling" turns up as the first alternative.)
I'm very happy to meet the class after so long. It feels strange coming out of me, but I did miss some of my schoolmates.
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Now for not so happy things.
Bad CT results, though I shouldn't have expected anything much considering the amount of effort I put in. I guess I was too conceited.
I don't have the drive that I had in JC 1. But I think the source of the drive was partly emotional. Lacking the emotional source of drive, I'm now feeling quite tired of studying. I know, I must study, but at this point in time I feel like the path ahead is predetermined to be boring and tiring. I might get into some mischief in the near future, just for the fun of it.
The way I think now is very different. At any point in time, I don't remember much about the past. I respond to stimuli spontaneously, and hardly any thinking goes through. Last time, whenever I do or say anything, I felt like my mind was reading off a script somewhere, but now I just talk or act without thinking. I just follow instinct. Perhaps that's why I don't really keep track of what people do or say. In fact, I probably pay more attention to what is said by in-game characters than what is said by real people.
Despite almost 2 years in JC, I'm still shy around girls. When I entered JC, when Mr Hodge briefed all of us, I had hoped it would get better. It hasn't gotten much better, and I don't reckon a miracle will take place in the span of 2 months of dreary school life. I think I mature slow.
I think the reason why suicide is wrong is because those who make the choice never get to present their case. No, I'm not contemplating suicide, even though I'm slightly depressed. Don't worry about me, in case you do.
Most who contemplate suicide don't die anyway.
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Hmm, causes of sadness = causes of happiness. I must feeling quite... balanced.
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